Civil War

-Midgard, Cathedral City-

"It's here somewhere." A girl carrying a large suitcase said as she walked through the city streets. Looking at the screen of her large cell phone, a BEEP left it with each step she took.

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

"I'm close." The girl walked faster and entered an alley.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Here!" The girl stored her cell phone and looked at the thing in front of her, a big crack floating in the middle of the alley.

"A rift in reality! And it seems stable! That must have been how Edric entered this branch, which means he comes from another timeline. But which one? None of the recorders found a knight named Edric in other branches." The girl touched the crack only to wince in pain as it shocked her.

"You won't let me pass, will you? Fortunately, I am full of tricks." The girl dialed a number on her cell phone.

"Hello?" A female voice answered.

"This is ARDG — 07865435790966432, requesting protocol FnA72."

"Please wait."

A few minutes passed until the voice returned.

"Protocol authorized, have a nice day." The voice ended the call.

The crack opened in a flash of light and lightning as a strong wind blew the girl's hair.

"We'll see where you came from, mystery knight." She entered the crack, disappearing into a bright light.

-XXXXXX-

She found herself in a dark void, water running down her shoes. A thin fog surrounded her, and white lights glowed among it, forming humanoid outlines.

"Where am I?" She moved forward, her steps splashing as it hit the water.

Suddenly, lightning split the void, creating a rift through which a strong light shone.

"Who are you?!" A booming young male voice came from the rift.

"I'm the one who asks! Who are you?!" She walked towards the rift.

"I am The Monumental, and you are not welcome here!"

"What place is this?!"

"You are in the mist that separates the worlds, now go!"

"I can't, a flaw, in reality, gives access to this place, and a man named Edric came from here! His presence caused a disturbance in the timeline!"

"The Slayer of Demons is free to do as he pleases, his services are no longer required, but he will always be welcome in the Nexus, as are all other Slayers! Now disappear invader!"

A strong wind left the rift and pushed the girl backward.

"Wait, I still have questions! Monumental? Demon Slayer? Nexus? What does that mean?!?" She shielded herself with her arms, trying to enter the rift.

"Disappear! Your interference does not extend to our world!"

The wind grew stronger and the girl flew toward the crack, returning to Cathedral City as it closed.

"This… This is worrying, I couldn't access the branch, this Monumental prevented me! What is the fog that separates worlds? What is The Nexus? I need to report this! I'll have to confront Edric personally if my investigation doesn't yield any more answers!"

The girl ran further into the alley and disappeared in a flash of light upon taking a turn.

-XXXXXX-

If she had stayed in the alley for a few more seconds, she would have seen the consequence of her actions, as forcing the crack open allowed something to enter Midgard, a black sword.

The sword flew like a cannonball, crossing Cathedral City's skies until it entered through the window of the cathedral's tower.

"AAAHHH!" A blond-haired, red-eyed boy screamed as the sword flew into his room, almost piercing him if he hadn't stepped aside.

The sword stuck in the wall of his room, piercing a drawing of a person with an X marking the area where the heart stood.

"What… What is this? How did this sword end up here?" He grabbed the hilt of the sword, but removing it from the wall was his biggest mistake, for he heard the call.

"Bring me more souls."

The events that brought the sword into the boy's hands were improbable, almost impossible, but causality acted once more.

Who knew how much energy it took for the crack to launch the sword? Who calculated the wind speed and direction?

If the boy hadn't left his bedroom window open, he might never have found the sword. Now it was too late. Perhaps the variables made no difference, after all, causality always finds a way, one way or another.

With empty eyes and misty wings, the boy searched for his sister

-XXXXXX-

"My investigation led nowhere." I said to Eupherbia as we walked toward the guild.

"You worry too much. So what if nobody knows how those invaders got here? You beat them, didn't you?" Eupherbia asked, sitting on my shoulder.

"Not exactly, if the invader is already dead, killing him again will send him to the afterlife, but if the invader is someone alive, killing him will send him to his world, allowing him to invade a new world again."

"Does that mean they can come back?"

"Yes, and who knows how many vengeful spirits roam other worlds? It's not just the living we should be afraid of."

"Please stop it, I want to sleep tonight, the thought of the dead coming back… I don't want to wake up and see my grandmother's spirit pulling my foot." Eupherbia shuddered.

"Well, how did your grandmother die?"

"A spider ate her."

"There's a chance she will appear to pull your foot."

"I told you to stop!" Eupherbia screamed in fright.

"HAHA! I am just jesting."

We arrived at the guild and opened the door, meeting a strange sight, dozens of adventurers in front of the quest board with attendants running everywhere, carrying, signing, and stamping papers.

Reha looked awful, with rumpled clothes, dark circles under her eyes, and messed hair.

"Reha, what happening here?"

"Edric, I am glad you're here! I need you to sign these documents, and put your initials here, here and here!" Reha handed me a paper and quill and pointed to the places where I should sign.

"Reha, calm yourself! What are these papers?!"

"Your enlistment papers!"

"Enlistment?!" Eupherbia and I asked simultaneously.

"Yes, to war!"

"War, what war?!"

"Intoner One and Intoner Three have declared war, they demanded the enlistment of all capable adventurers!"

"Declared war on whom?!" I grabbed Reha by the shoulders.

"On each other!"

I released Reha and approached the quest board, pushing the other adventurers aside, and grabbing one of the papers.

"Through this note, I, Intoner Three, declare war on Intoner One. All capable hands shall enlist in my forces, and together we will fight for the glory and prosperity of Midgard, overthrowing my sister's tyranny."

I grabbed another paper on the board.

"I, Intoner One, declare war on Intoner Three, I declare my sister mentally unstable and unable to rule. Join my forces, together we will free Midgard from Three's uncontrolled madness and repair all the damage caused by her."

Eupherbia and I glared at each other, realizing the seriousness of the situation, and then we left the guild.

We ran through the streets, seeing carriages leaving the blacksmiths' forges, carrying swords, spears, shields, and armor. Men were in front of houses, saying goodbye to their crying families.

We ran until we reached Missa's tavern.

"Missa!" I opened the tavern door.

"Oh, Edric! I have not seen you in a while." Missa said, her usual cheerfulness absent.

"Have you heard the news?"

"Yes, looks like I will lose a lot of customers." Missa cleaned a glass with concern in her eyes.

"Missa, I need your help, your knowledge of rumors. What do you know about this war?"

"Considering the situation, I think I can do this for free. Three and One disappeared, and no one has heard from them, until today. They declared war on each other with the excuse that each could not rule. Four has allied with One while Two and Five remained neutral, but Three's forces are moving towards the Land of Seas."

"You have my thanks, but I have to go; I promise I will party here upon my return." I told as Eupherbia and I left.

"Edric, wait!" Missa screamed, but I didn't stop.

"Edric, where are we going?" Eupherbia asked.

"To the Land of Seas!"

"Will you join this war?!"

"Yes, the Invaders, the disappearance of Three and One, and this war must be connected!"

We left the town until we reached the forest, finding the black dragon sleeping in a clearing.

"Dragon, wake up!"

The dragon woke up with a grunt and stretched.

"What do you want human, another one of your missions?"

"No, we are going to war now!"

The dragon reacted unexpectedly; it stood up quickly and smiled widely.

"Fine! What are we waiting for?!"

The dragon took flight, turned, and flew towards me; Eupherbia clung to my shoulder as the dragon's paw closed around me, carrying us.

-Land of the Seas-

"Come on men, fight!"

"Archers!"

"Raise your shields!"

The Land of Seas was under attack, but not by humans. The enemies were thin, and tall, with clawed hands and feet, faces set in a permanent frown with glowing red eyes and skin gray as stone.

Gargoyles flew across the Land of Seas, forming great clouds that blocked out the sun as Five's forces fought hard to finish their enemies.

Several soldiers fought gargoyles on a rocky beach, their battle cries echoing across a once beautiful landscape.

It consisted of a rocky beach with access to the sea, a large stone fortification with archers on top, and a metal gate facing the soldiers, while a similar construction stood behind them.

There were also pieces of ruins spread across the beach, with archers on top firing at the gargoyles.

"Come on, keep fighting!" A soldier slashed a gargoyle's chest.

"Fire the arrows!" Another shouted from behind an archer's line who fired at gargoyles approaching the soldiers.

The soldiers appeared to win as the last gargoyle fell, but their celebration ended when something blocked the sunlight, a flock of gargoyles diving towards them.

They prepared to fight to the death, knowing that this would be the end, but before the gargoyles could land, fireballs destroyed them in a huge explosion.

Flapping echoed through the beach, and suddenly, a black dragon approached and hovered above the sand, dropping a knight and a fairy.

"We will deal with things around here and you will help the battleships!" The knight said to the dragon, pointing towards the sea.

The raging sea stood full of battleships, metallic vessels with chimneys belching smoke and firing their thunderous cannons at the clouds of gargoyles, but they were slowly overwhelmed.

"Since when do you give me orders? But I might consider complying with them, as I will fight a little." The dragon flew towards the sea, protecting the ships on the way.

"Identify yourself!" One of the soldiers demanded, pointing his sword at the knight.

"I am Edric and the fairy is Eupherbia! We are adventurers and we came to help!" Edric showed his adventurer plate.

"Thanks to the Intoners, we were in dire need of help." The soldier answered, offering his hand as Edric accepted the handshake.

"There are more approaching!" An archer shouted from the top of the rear fortification.

More gargoyles landed on the beach, carrying rapiers and crossbows.

"We'll save the greetings for later." Edric drew his Blue Blood Sword and Adjudicator's Shield.

"I agree, but think of the reward if we survive, Lady Five will reward us handsomely." The soldier said with desire in his voice.

"Why do you always drag me into this kind of thing?" Eupherbia asked as magic covered her body.

Edric let out an irritated snort and advanced toward the gargoyles. One of them fired its crossbow, but the knight blocked the dart with his shield.

Seeing its approaching enemy, the gargoyle drew its rapier and thrust it forward, trying to pierce Edric, who parried the blow and cut the gargoyle's chest, ripping out stone fragments.

The gargoyle recovered and tried to pierce him again, but such a slow move would not take down an experienced warrior.

He stepped aside, allowing the blade to miss, and sliced off the gargoyle's arm, the sound of breaking stone was followed by the second strike, which decapitated the monster who fell with a heavy thud.

Small blue orbs left the gargoyle and flew away from Edric when it died.

"Souls? First the Tower of Latria's gargoyles and now souls? What's happening here?"

Edric could ponder no longer, as three more gargoyles approached.

A gargoyle aimed its crossbow, but a magic blast destroyed its hand and weapon before it pulled the trigger. It saw a fairy with hands outstretched, so the gargoyle tried to skewer her with its rapier, but Eupherbia easily moved away.

"You're ugly!" She said into the gargoyle's face, firing magic and ripping off part of it. The gargoyle tried to hit Eupherbia once more but missed.

"And you couldn't hit a giant if he was in front of you!" Eupherbia hit the gargoyle's legs, knocking it to the ground.

"And one more thing, you are dead!" Eupherbia pointed her hands at the gargoyle's head and destroyed it.

She looked around, seeing Edric and the soldiers fighting the gargoyles, the latter having some difficulty against their enemies.

She hesitated for a few minutes, wanting to stay beside Edric's where the chances of survival were higher, but she remembered their previous conversation.

Maybe Edric was right?

Eupherbia flew across the beach, magic covering her body while she fired at the gargoyles fighting the soldiers, focusing on hitting their joints.

Suddenly, the gargoyles found themselves without their arms, legs, or sometimes heads, making it easier for the soldiers to finish them.

She noticed more arriving and attacking the archers on the fortifications, who defended themselves with their bows and daggers and flew above the fight, bombarding the gargoyles with magic and destroying their stone bodies.

"Thank you!" The archers waved at her.

"Hump!" She muttered, crossing her arms and looking away before returning to the fight.

-XXXXXX-

Meanwhile, Edric fought against the two remaining gargoyles, blocking a blow from the one to his left and simultaneously slashing the chest of the one to his right.

Applying more strength behind his shield, he pushed the left gargoyle away and repeatedly struck the remaining one, shattering its stone body.

Then, he thrust his sword into the last gargoyle's chest, kicking it from his blade before swinging and decapitating the monster. Unfortunately, the fight was not over, as more gargoyles surrounded Edric.

The first tried to pierce Edric, who stepped back and slashed the gargoyle's back. A second approached from the left, but he spun his sword, cutting the gargoyle's face.

He saw a gargoyle's rapier approaching out of the corner of his eye, so he rolled away, closing to another gargoyle without time to turn.

Edric then elbowed the monster's chest, the sound of cracking stone echoing across the beach as the gargoyle that received the blow in the back returned, trying to pierce him.

Turning quickly; he grabbed the elbowed gargoyle and lifted it above his head before throwing it towards the approaching one.

Both fragmented upon colliding, creating a dust cloud where Edric advanced blindly, knocking down what remained of the gargoyles before raising his armored foot and stomping their heads, reducing them to dust.

Four gargoyles remained, forming a line of crossbows aimed at Edric, who raised his shield again and ran towards his enemies, slamming his shield into their faces.

Edric pierced the side of the closest gargoyle, pushing the sword aside and slicing it in half before spinning and driving his blade into another gargoyle's neck, who fell dead before he spun again, thrusting his weapon into another gargoyle's waist, bisecting it too.

Two gargoyles remained, one thrown to the ground rose and snarled at the knight, firing its crossbow at him, but he stepped aside, letting the dart pass as the gargoyle lunged with its rapier ready.

Edric answered by piercing the gargoyle's forehead, sending it to the ground again.

The last gargoyle screeched shrilly and several screeches responded. The knight saw an irregular shadow covering him followed by various diving gargoyles.

They covered him with their bodies, the one that called joining its allies. Suddenly, a light flashed between them and they all turned to dust due to a powerful shock wave.

The beach's sand receded, revealing a crater with Edric holding his talisman. Looking around, he saw that the last of the gargoyles fell to the soldiers and the fight ended, for now.

"Hey, Edric, Are you ok?!" Eupherbia asked, landing on Edric's shoulder.

"Yes, and you? Did they harm you?"

"No, they didn't stand a chance against the great Eupherbia!" The fairy put her hands on her hips while puffing her chest.

"HA! Of course, they didn't! Who could stand against the great Eupherbia?" Edric joked.

"Thank you so much for helping us!" The soldier who spoke with Edric earlier said.

"There is no need for that. What will you do now?"

"We will retreat to Lady Five's shrine, where we will rejoin the rest of our forces."

"Would you mind if we join you?"

"Of course not! You two will be of great help!"

"Therefore, let's move!"

Edric, Eupherbia, and Five's forces walked toward the now-open metal gate across the beach, which led toward the Intoner's shrine. Suddenly, the knight stopped.

"This feeling… Invaders!"

Several red circles appeared on the beach, and from each one came a red, transparent being carrying different equipment.

"Those things again?!" The soldier screamed.

"Take your men and leave!" Edric replied.

"But what you?"

"Don't worry about me, I've faced Invaders before. Are you ready Eupherbia?"

"Y-yes." She answered nervously.

The soldier nodded and ran while the archers on the front fortification escaped towards the open gate while shouting.

"She is here!"

"She?" Edric asked himself.

CLANG!

The front fortification gate swayed.

CLANG!

Part of the gate dented inwards.

CLANG!

Another dent appeared.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Finally, the gate fell, raising a sand cloud, and when it dissipated, everyone saw the source of the archers' fear, Intoner Zero.

"What the fuck is happening to the Land of Seas?!" Zero demanded furiously.

"Well, we meet again; I can't say it's a pleasure." Edric replied sarcastically.

"You." Zero growled, her face contorting into a hateful grimace.

The two enemies meet again in the middle of a meaningless war that will decide the fate of Midgard. Meanwhile, the Invaders attacked the Land of Seas.

END OF CHAPTER