The Chosen, Legendary Keeper, Avatar of Seasons and God of War had already begun with their search. The World Tree of Upiezen had been repaired, with the Saintess and her Guardians present by the World Tree.
"Ah... Avatar of Seasons. Legendary Keeper and the War God. It is a pleasure to have you here." The World Tree hummed its words for all to hear.
"The Demigods have shifted from this world to yours. It seems as if they truly wish to work with the 82nd Lord of Thorns against you. This world will soon open as a trading space and hunting for beasts of all kinds. Even the Divine Beasts and Summon Spirits are interested in participating in this. For all creatures upon death will make their way to me for their rebirth. Avatar of Seasons.. I would like to present this gift." An item floated to Albert's hands as he picked it up. It was a rifle. Something beyond of this world's technological capabilities.
"A railgun." Ye Qiu uttered as he stepped close to observe its mechanisms.
"It is a firearm of sorts but... It means that another world is in danger, but... At the same time. Yours is in danger at this very moment. The Demigods have brought their allies, along with their spoils of war from this realm to yours. It may be prudent if you headed back." Albert's appearance changed to Silas. Yuliana was present with Serena.
"Are you surprised, Yuliana?" Silas asked her, where she nodded.
"I am going to die soon. I suppose this must be my fate." Silas shook his head.
"As long as you drink the tea, you will regain your strength but I may have to leave here. Do you still have ties here?"
"Only Serena." Yuliana held Serena's hand.
"I am the Maiden's blade. I do not have any ties to Vestivia either."
"What about I bring you two with me? Would that be possible?"
"Of course Avatar. You've protected this realm and it has been linked with yours. The Chosen will serve you in times of need when you call for them. The residents here may go to your world. With special permits and passes, even aiding your world's Hunters as porters, supports and even as combatants. I'm sure they will all enjoy it. The technological changes that you may bring will also be interesting." Yuliana and Serena looked at Silas who gave a smile towards them.
"Will we not be estranged if we go over there?"
"No. You won't. Despite being a Maiden of Vestivia, due to the link this world has with a Supreme One. It is also possible for you to lengthen your life by heading there, by staying near the Avatar of Seasons. You will be able to have your life force replenished over time. Which, if I recall correctly, the Avatar of Seasons has a bountiful garden of beings he had placed into his garden."
"He is correct, My Lord. The Maiden herself may be linked to you as a Familiar that will prolong her life. Of course, there wouldn't be much changes to her power." Grimoire Raizel spoke up as he fluttered over to Silas's side.
"A Familiar? But how would that work?"
"As I've said before the possibilities for the Lord of Thorns with their familiars is endless. There were times when certain individuals may become a Maiden rather than a Rose Knight or a Servant of Thorns. They do not fight, but they empower the people and protect them with barriers. Shielding the weak. But there must be an Ancient who agrees to it." Silas paused for a moment. He needed to think of an Ancient.
"Why the long face, Lord?" It was Lopt who was smiling to them.
"Lopt?"
"I've not had a Maiden nor a Rose Knight to my name."
"But you're the Blade Tyrant." Silas said where Lopt shook his head.
"Before I was the blade tyrant. I was a trickster of many plots. Scheming against my father and brother for the sake of it. It was the Avatars that freed the three of us to our fate. For I may be a schemer, but my blade is known for its tenacity. However, when in times of need. I aid my allies by making my enemies fall to deception. Illusions, confusions and by making them be uncertain to their actions. To be my Maiden, it will require you to be the shield of the people. Through lies and deceit, always hiding the greater truths that lead to strife and chaos and for your guard. To be the Iron Rose Knight. I will only require one thing. Your resolution."
"I accept, Blade Tyrant."
"So do I!" Serena said as the energy coiled over to them.
Yuliana.
Class Maiden of the Iron Rose Level 50
A Maiden of Vestivia.
One who was brought to the Reznoa Kingdom.
At first as a hostage.
But she found peace within the home of Duke Sylvanus.
The famed executioner.
Is that what it was said?
She changed her view, and despite living on borrowed time.
She was able to relax without much worry.
Yet, the Avatar of Seasons wishes to prolong her life.
Personality : Reserved. Shy
Maiden of Iron Rose. Under the commandment of Lopt, the Blade Tyrant.
She is the First Maiden of Iron Rose.
Increases debuff effects by 25%
Debuff duration increased by 75%. Iron Rose. The Iron Rose is able to deceive the masses with her words.
Able to calm the people with her voice.
She may opt to choose deception or to tell the truth. Maiden of Vestivia Her healing powers are not for show.
It is to heal others.
Now without any drawbacks because Lopt has granted her the power to heal others. Sleipnir. The 8 legged steed, Sleipnir will respond to her calls. Jormungrandr As the Maiden is not a warrior, Jormungrandr the dragon of Lopt's bloodline will be by the maiden's side. Able to change genders between male or female. In human form, it will be a knight who wields a dane axe. Progenitor Maiden. As the First Maiden of Iron.
She will set the requirements.
Serena.
Iron Rose Knight, The Tyrannical Rose
Class The Iron Rose Knight. Level 500
Captain of Vestivia's Guards.
Serving exclusively as Maiden Yuliana's guardian.
She serves the maiden fully.
Dutiful.
Personality: Protective, Blunt and Brash.
Iron Rose Knight. The Tyrannical Rose.
A fitting name for the Tyrant Trickster's Rose Knight.
To dominate the battlefield like a Tyrant. Tyrant's Reign Allies within the Iron Rose's area will be granted buffs to their agility and increasing parry tactics.
Enemies will suffer a random effect.
Either losing one of their senses or losing track of the Iron Rose. The Sword of the Tyrant. Lopt's special swordsmanship is granted to Serena.
It is a sword technique that is built on tenacity.
Scheming to force enemies to attack, exposing their attacks.
The Tyrannical Rose's Rule Following Lopt's combat style.
The Tyrannical Rose will get riled up for combat. The longer and more chaotic the situation, the more favourable it is for the Tyrannical Rose.
The Tyrant's Dancing Swords. Armed with multiple swords used by Lopt. The blades that are unused will float around, following the will of the Iron Rose.
An assortment of 10 blades. The Progenitor Rose A New Rose Knight has been brought to life. She will set the criterion for the next one.
Silas looked at Lopt who smiled, then turning to Yuliana and Serena.
"I am delighted to make your acquaintance. My sword technique has been said to be superior to most of what humans can use."
"It is true." Seijuro spoke up. That was surprising for Seijuro to answer considering of his swordsmanship being able to take on the heavens itself.
"There has been no record of anyone facing against him and winning. When I saw Lopt's swordsmanship, I remembered he was someone I had faced during the 3rd Lord of Thorns's crusade against the many Ancients. The Ancients at the time had broken their bond with the worlds and I had joined her on that crusade as her Ancient."
"Surely you must be mistaken Seijuro. If I fought you the way you are now. I would sure lose." Lopt said as he shrugged his shoulders. That easy going personality was just part of it.
"Have a safe travel, Lord of Thorns." Silas and Jensen offered their hands to Yuliana and Serena.
"Call me when you need me Jensen. I'll be here to help train them for a bit."
"Thanks Ye Qiu." Ye Qiu gave a nod as Jensen and Silas vanished with Yuliana and Serena.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Appearing at the front door.
"How are we going to explain this to grandpa?"
"Explain what?" Ericson asked with bags of groceries.
"Oh. You brought two new people. They can take your mother's bedroom. Should be good for them. Now help me bring these in and get dinner ready."
"About Bigby and Alex..."
"Yes, they've awakened. I know, the school teachers were trying to explain everything but I told them don't worry about it." Ericson was playing it cool as he went to the kitchen with Jensen and Silas. Silas gave Ericson the tea for him to brew, while Silas and Jensen continued with their work.
"Make some soup. Clear, chicken stock base. Add some tofu, seafood tofu and the specials I bought for a steamboat. It'll be easier on their stomachs and for the Maiden's body." Silas nodded as he went to prepare the soup, while Jensen cut the onions and some daikon to add into it. Silas poured everything else into the soup, while Jensen was handling the vegetables.
"Don't put potatoes. Would rice or noodles be okay for you two?"
"Rice." Yuliana spoke her mind which Serena gave a nod.
"But how did you know that I'm the Maiden." Ericson chuckled.
"I'm the Wise Sage. It seems that my grandson, Silas or as you knew him as Albert had taken care of you very well. There's a bit of changes to your body already. You're more energetic and you don't feel as tired correct?"
"How did.."
"Wise Sage." Siilas and Jensen answered as they continued with their cooking, with Silas looking over at Jensen making the rice.
"We got a rice cooker, Jensen. I think grandpa just bought one the other day."
"Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me... Er.." Jensen grabbed the rice cooker but he had no idea what to do with it.
"Use your finger. If it goes past the first line on your index finger, then it's too much water. Or just use the cup." Jensen poured water into the pot.
"Jensen."
"What?"
"The starch is a lot. So you might want to rinse the rice first before anything else. Do it at least three times or until the starchy water is cleared up." The sight of the two brothers cooking had Yuliana and Serena chuckling. The door unlocked, where Silas turned to see Terra.
"Master Silas. May I aid you in cooking?"
"Just help make sure our guests get something to eat. Grandpa, this is Terra. My Black Rose Knight."
"Greetings, Master."
"Please call me Ericson. Just leave the cooking to those two. Do relax, Terra." Terra bowed to them as he went to assist with getting the cookies from the fridge.
Half an hour later, the soup was prepared with Terra helping set up the table. Silas was checking on his tea, the special brew from his garden. A fragrant smell of lemon and mint with a hint of sweetness from the lemon. Pouring it for the others as Jensen brought the huge pot over.
"Dinner's ready." They all took their seats with Silas and Jensen seated next to each other. Sitting opposite of the Maiden and the Iron Rose Knight. Ericson and Terra sat opposite of each other, in between the pairs.
"Oh that's perfect. Good balance on the stock. Quite peppery though." Ericson shot off a remark while Silas turned to Yuliana. Making sure that she was comfortable with the food.
"This is lovely. It's very soothing too."
"It's supposed to, the World Tree gave me some crops for my garden. The kind that helps with restoring life force, keeping dark energies and curses at bay. The vegetables, including the peppers that I've used were enhanced with my garden's abilities. Perks of being an Avatar of Seasons." To which the door unlocked ,where they see Bigby and Alex coming back.
"So how was your escapade over there?"
"Aside from the fact that I'm in the body of a kid. I'm fine. We manage to clear things on our end." Bigby said as he took off his coat.
"We found the Demigod there. Broke her limbs, pile bunker her body to bits until only a fragment of her was left. Until Satanael made his appearance with Etana and Lucius to grab the Demigod. There's a dozen of them wanting to take over this world but the Avatar of Seasons has them rethinking their strategies." Alex added on as she and Bigby joined the table, whereby seeing sprites flying over them to clean up their bodies before their meal.
"Oh who's this?"
"My younger siblings. Alex who is Summon Spirits Companion and Bigby, the Lord of Beasts." Serena and Yuliana's eyes had widened to that revelation. While Terra seemed to be at ease, pouring bowls of the soup for Bigby and Alex.
"This is Yuliana and Serena. They will be living here from now on."
"Sure." Alex said before blowing on her soup, perhaps it was a little too hot.
"Terra's my butler in that world. So he's going to be here as well. Terra, where would you sleep?"
"Oh don't worry about that, Master. I will be staying in the living room. Should anyone try to break in. I will deal with them silently." Terra said as he continued to enjoy his soup and rice. Whereby Jensen was mixing rice with the soup.
"Would this be considered as porridge?" Terra asked as he observed Jensen's bowl.
"Oh no. It's just. I guess old habits die hard. Back during the whole world got into a war with the Garden. We just made soups and put whatever else we had and mixed it up. Easier to digest and wasn't as much trouble."Jensen's comment was met with a chuckle from his family. Silas poured himself another bowl of soup as he mixed the rice with it.
"Thank you for letting us stay here." Yuliana said as she looked at Silas who had finished his meal. Going over to the sink to clean the dishes.
"I'll do the dishes, Terra. Please make sure their rooms are set up properly."
"Of course Master." Terra went to the master bedroom to prepare everything for Yuliana and Serena, where the others brought their bowls and plates over to Silas while Jensen would store the soup in a large pot, now to put it somewhere. Everyone turned in early because they were all tired.
The next day, Silas went out from the house first to the university, riding his bike as he heard the report from 151.
"Currently the Garden is quiet, but there have been movement. Different groups are shifting altogether. The Daemon Punishers and Void Dancers had infiltrated their intelligence areas and Lord. You may have a problem."
"What kind?" Silas had parked his bike, taking off the helmet.
"It seems a few Nobles of different countries have begun to look into us. Some have begun demanding that we work for them, and some are trying to pay for a meeting with you."
"What has Hargrave said?"
"It is up to you to make the decision. We will follow your words."
"Then do the usual. I'd rather not be wasting time with nobility. How are their attitudes?" Silas headed to class as he shouldered his bag. Waving to Caroline, Nora and Hardin. Even seeing the newly formed Xiao who was much taller and muscular than before.
"If it were not for the rules. I would have cut them down with my blade. However there is one who stood out. A Princess of Beruta Kingdom. She has requested our aid in securing the safety of her people in a civil war led by the Hunters." Silas checked on his phone to read about the civil war, it was brutal from what it said. The country's leadership was one which had a Royal who was the symbol of the country and a legislative body that would operate to govern it.
'King and Prime Minister of Beruta Kingdom were assassinated during a speech of economic growth policy'
'Hunters of the Conservatives and the Progressives have declared an all out war on one another.'
'750 dead, a few thousand injured.' Just reading those, Silas felt his skin crawl. Not of fear, but of disgust. But one thing did stand out from all of this. Upon a closer inspection, Silas could see a knight in armor. The feeling that he had.. It was familiar, and he knew why.
That's a Rose Knight. Unknown which Rose it was but it was definitely a sign that the Garden was involved. Then another figure. A familiar feeling but he can't quite put a name to it.
"151. Tell Fitz to check the photos of the Beruta Kingdom's civil war. We might be seeing Garden activity from there. Not directly but that's a Rose Knight right there. Not one that I know off." Silas said, whereby Grimoire Raizel appeared floating above his head. The lecturer paused for a moment.
Raizel floated to Silas, showing him the differences. The Rose Knights that Silas had acquired were those on the side of the Gods, who wish to bring peace and equality. The ones with the Garden are those who are of chaos alignment. There are many Rose Knights in the neutral alignment, and even the list of Ancients have been updated.
Surprisingly, Ancient of Slaughter is of the chaos alignment but there was an interesting point by it.
> The Ancient of Slaughter does not care about alignment. Merely bloodshed. She has chosen you because of the chaos and bloodshed that is all around you. Iesar does not view you in a bad light but she is satisfied because the Crimson Reapers are worthy of her title.
"Mister Glenn!" Grimoire Raizel floated to the lecturer.
"Sorry about that Mister Edgewood. Something important had popped up." Silas said as he went out first, grabbing his phone as he dialed Chairman Hargrave.
"Oh, Silas. What is it?"
"The Baruta Kingdom. That's where Garden is operating."
"How is that possible? They were out of it previously."
"That's because one of them is a Rose Knight. They're like 151 and if this Garden has them. It means that we've got more trouble. I'll be headed there with my Rose Knights and Servants." Silas said as he continued running through the people, Silas headed back to Midnight Wind. The remains of Mulligan.
Where he could see Leon, Kastella, Chairwoman Maya and Jun waiting for him.
"Lord." They knelt before Silas, keeping their heads down.
"We've got big trouble this time around. It's a civil war and it looks like another Lord of Thorns is working with Demi Gods to wreak havoc. I might have to ask for your help... But before that, how's our world?"
"Doing a lot better than before. With the Venerator Unions out of the many political schemes. The four of us had been able to lead the Unions into a better direction. Now there's less legislation trying to control us and letting us do what we need to do. Now everyone's able to level up much easier." Leon said as he smoked his cigar.
"I've retired from being Chairwoman. I'm just on the disciplinarian body." Maya said as Leon passed her a cigar, taking seats on the glass chairs that had formed behind them.
"This'll need some time to prepare." Jun said as he checked his katana.
"I won't be going there immediately. Might be a few days. So take the time to prepare."
"My guild Assault Works will be on standby until you call for us. I'll talk to the Guild. It might be good experience for our rookies but at the same time, fighting in a war would do us good. It'll help keep our senses sharp. So about the Hunters.Are they like us?"
"More or less. But in terms of teamwork. The higher ranked Guilds are better, but in terms of raw power. I think our Venerators could give them a run for their money."
"Good to hear. By the way, I just found out that I can bring my own team. I guess being a Servant of Thorns has its perks. I became a Berserker of Thorns. Apparently I can't get drunk now and I can enjoy being extremely tipsy. Turns out the cigars that ol' Leon makes is soothing for our mana recovery."
"It wasn't my brew, it's the Lord of Thorns's brew." Leon answered with a grumble as he smoked that cigar with ease.
"Still, being able to bring my team's great. it seems that I became the 'Wind Caller'. It's nice since wind's my specialty and speed's the name of the game." Jun said as they watch Silas bring out a bottle of wine.
"Ho what's that?" Maya looked at it with an expectant stare, she was itching to taste it.
"A special brew. It seems that Asim had sent this over because he wanted us to enjoy ourselves.' Silas said as the cups appeared before them, with specially made ice spheres within. Silas poured it for the others first.
"To Joshua Gates." Silas spoke as he made a toast.
"To Joshua Gates." Their glasses tapped as they took a swig, the smooth taste and its abundant flavour bursting inside. It was definitely alcohol, but its flavor was something that was beyond words.
"So. You enjoying yourself over there?" Leon asked as he swirled the drink in hand.
"Yeah. I got a lovely grandpa, a twin brother and two younger siblings. I suppose Joshua just wanted me to enjoy life where I could have a lot more relaxing days. I hope he's resting well." Silas said with a smile, one of sincerity.
"You know I've never seen that kid smile with joy. It's always a tired smile. Like he's tired of life but he pushed on. That's a lot of strength right there." Leon said as the others gave a nod. In that moment of brief silence, they were all reminiscing about Joshua Gates. The way he had fought in the original world.
"Thanks for meeting me. I gotta go back. I got classes at the university." Silas bid them farewell as he left first. Returning back to the university, seeing Yrvad and Zyx pouncing on him. Licking his face while Zerx was just watching the entire thing happen with a sigh.
"They do like you. You'll just have to accept it." Zerx said as Yrvad was perched on Silas's head while Zyx was rubbing its snout over Silas's cheeks. Ticklish but Silas gave them rubs. Seeing Zyx just show its belly to him while Silas gave it belly rubs. Yrvad was play biting Silas's fingers.
"So this fight with the other Lord of Thorns. How confident are you?"
"Not so sure, Zerx. It is going to be difficult." Silas said as he got back on his feet, heading to another class. Zerx faded into his shadow while Yrvad was resting on his head. Zyx just sat beside him, then putting its snout on the table. Silas prepped for his next class. This time, with some other issues lying in wait.