1 The Sword and the Shield
Three figures in a large room in the middle of darkness were in a tense situation.
-Stand aside, Atlas; I need to end this. I have waited for far too long to fail. Do you know how much I sacrificed to get this far? This ends now! -
A beautiful woman with stunning looks, long golden hair, and white snow-like skin was currently trying to get past a bespectacled man. The blonde beauty was wearing a silk dress fitted with golden armor pieces.
On her feet were golden armored greaves, and a pair of white fingerless gloves were on the woman's hands.
Six wings that were akin to angels were neatly tucked behind her back. Her eyes blazed in golden light as she violently exuded powerful energies.
A spear with a savage blade and a blood-red tassel burning in golden flames were in her hands. The six-winged angel was known as the Everlasting Warden, Luminaria the Benevolent.
-Lady Luminaria, I am not telling you not to do anything; I was merely going to point out that while it is true that you have been outplayed. Charging into prison now guarantees the failure of your husband's plan.
The Lemegeton Clavicula may know the importance of Arthur Fourreau, but they do not know his part in the final war to come. So as long as we can mask that, their limited knowledge of his value won't allow them to hinder us.
We still have a chance to make it right; in contrast, if you charge into that place now, we will fail. My lady is powerful, and we will assist you to the best of our abilities; we may win against half of them.
But our fall is inevitable, and the remainder will go out and devour the universe once we do. It is not a matter of if but when. -
A brown-haired Caucasian man in scholarly robes spoke in a steady voice. As the man was standing in front of the golden angel, he had both his arms outstretched, barring the way for the blonde beauty.
The man had small clear glasses on the bridge of his nose, analogous to Pince-nez glasses.
His robes were blue with golden armor pieces on strategic places along his body.
The scholarly man had a large book tied to his right hip in a book carrier, reinforcing his visage as a researcher.
However, before the blonde spear woman could answer, another person's words resounded in a voice full of grace and elegance.
-Atlas is correct, my lady; we have not lost yet; your champion is with Arthur, right? If utilized correctly, we can use him as a shield to neutralize the threat that will befall the latter.
If there is no other recourse, we can still assault the prison and slaughter as much as possible until we fall. My blade is yours, my lady, and stands ready at your command. -
The bold declaration came from a female knight with long flowing silver hair with a battle-hungry expression on her beautiful face. The woman revealed a gorgeous figure as she stood with her hand resting on her sword strapped to her waist.
Her cerulean silver armor reflected the light that came from the angel in an almost surreal scene.
Her helmet had wings made of feathers on either side; silver-plated gauntlets and boots adorned her limbs as a white combat skirt hid all but a tiny slit's worth of skin on her graceful legs from showing. The swordswoman's figure screamed heroic splendor as her eyes glowed blue.
Hearing the thirsty for battle words from the valiant warrior, the energy swirling around the angel suddenly dissipated into nothing, taking the spear away from her hand as it vanished. As Luminaria visibly relaxed, a small smile appeared on her lips as she faced the female swordsman.
-If even Reginlief thinks so, I may have been too hasty; I apologize, my beloved friends. Both of you are dear to me and have been with me forever.
I was overwhelmed at the thought of losing everything due to a mistake I didn't even notice.
Now that I think about it, aside from my champion, I can send the wolves to protect Arthur. so long as he fulfills his purpose as the sword to rend this detestable fate, it matters not what happens to the rest-
Elated that he had just survived a brutal death, the researcher promptly chanted a spell as he outstretched his hands onto the sky.
-[Visions of the present yield to me; I laugh in the face of distance; I disdain the weakness of time. I am the eternal watcher; nothing shall remain hidden from my sight. {Eyes of Fate}! ]-
After chanting his spell, a giant mirage appeared in the sky; It started showing a myriad of images featuring various people, places, and events.
The visions had no reason or rhyme, and flashed too fast for anyone to make sense of them. It slowed down a few moments to show a sizeable green jeep traveling across the desert.
-Then, for now, we wait; let us hope our shield is capable enough to let the sword survive the coming trials ahead. -
All three proceeded to look at a floating image in the sky; The image was reminiscent of a moving painting as it showed the scenes from a faraway land.
-------------------------------------------
The land was hot and dry; as the vehicle traveled through the scorching sands, four people were leisurely engaging in small talk as they passed the time.
"Are we there yet?" a large black-haired Caucasian man with a buzzcut impatiently asked the group. The man was sporting futuristic heavy armor with a black nanofiber form-fitting suit. His bulging muscles alluded to the power of his body.
"Abel, will you please shut the hell up? How old are you? 12? How many times are you going to ask that?"
A rough voice resounded from the vehicle's driver's seat; the man had a fashionable textured crop fade and was dressed similarly to Abel. His gigantic frame, sculpted eyes, and jaw indicate his Canadian descent, but before anyone else could comment; however, a voice akin to flowing water started speaking.
"Jin, don't be so hard on Abel. Everyone is impatient. We've been chasing after the rank 5 for three days now.
Our intel said the monster massacred three villages, and the armored regiment was sent to subdue it. It was supposed to be hiding in its cave in the valley."
The voice came from an enchanting beauty with short black hair, a gorgeous figure, and rosy white skin who spoke from the back seat. The fairy-like beauty body was adorned by a black and green battle dress made of the highest quality.
She wore fingerless gloves with giant white-colored gems covering her entire fists.
The dress looked soft to the touch, but was more resilient than traditional bulletproof armor; it gave the woman a fabulous visage, only adding to her beauty.
A calm voice further added, supporting the girl's claim,
"El is right. We should not be far now; her spell said 5 kilometers within this area.
I find this unsettling, and I have a gut feeling that something is wrong; I dreamt that we had already killed this Dark Blood Bear in the valley, only for it to be completely different when we arrived there.
While rank 4s have increased intelligence, it should not have known we were coming. It's like something or someone warned it."
A blond-haired man with extremely handsome features and a quiff haircut elaborated as he sat in the front of the jeep. His brooding expression did nothing to hide his highly charming face.
He was the leader of this group and was likewise dressed in the same black fiber weave but with smaller armor plates indicating his emphasis on speed.
The handsome warrior was also the strongest among the four at 3 Moon. Interrupting his musing, a loud voice echoed.
"You sound like you have been watching too many serial killer flicks, Cain; you seem to want to be like the MC of the movie you keep praising.
Not everything is a conspiracy. What was it called? The Dance of Madness?"
Annoyed by the blatant disdain in Abel's voice as he disparaged Cain's favorite movie, the blond warrior replied.
"It was called Masquerade of Madness written by ThePotatoKing, you uncultured bastard, and it was not a serial killer movie but a horror and suspense thriller.
You weren't even listening to me at all, and I have no intention of imitating Sebastian.
Maybe you could get more imaginative if you stopped watching those stupid reality shows by that lazy ass bum. You're at 1 Moon, and you still sound like a delinquent. What was the show called again? The insatiable wizard or something."
Finding some joy in harassing his typically cold-as-ice leader, Abel continued as he grinned.
"Memories of the Gluttonous Sage, the three supporting hosts were the anchor of the show. Sinclair's Cain persona was just misunderstood by many of his time. Dresil is the best Waifu ever, and she carried the entire thing on her back."
The rest of the group noticed the disappearance of tension due to their ramblings about nonsensical topics. So El and Jin decided to add their thoughts to the discussion.
"I like the romance movie, Your Sweet Presence; Pearl Wang was too divine in weaving love stories about everlasting romances. Bai Dongmei was such a good character." (El)
"Well, Bella and I like to relax to a good fluffy action romance movie; my favorite would be My Legendary Class is Husband Of Deathwill Sisters?! by Sixth. It has everything from action to romance and Celia, who is enough to make anyone keel from sugar." (Jin)
Everyone continued to make small talk by making commentaries about their favorite stories.
Then, after a few moments, a wave of energy struck the jeep and the surrounding area like an incoming tide.
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Proofread By: Pearl_Wang, ThePotatoKing
Edited By: WorthyAdversary, Gautam_goyal,
