Kelz was laying in bed looking at the ceiling.
(Who knew I was this weak? I was forced to sacrifice a good pawn to save my own life….)
She clicked her tongue.
(If that bastard didn’t seal my abilities as Lord…)
She clenched her fist.
“Madam.”
Someone called out from behind her door.
“Fayax? What is it?”
“The soldiers of Gustav Fernandez wish to see you.”
Kelz frowned.
“Are they here to blame me for their leader’s death?”
She sighed.
“Send them in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The door opened and Raphael walked in with his siblings behind him. Kelz sat up as they lined off before her.
“It’s good to see you’re recovering. Kelz.”
Raphael spoke to her.
“Thanks. I’ll be fully recovered by tomorrow.”
“That’s great news.”
Kelz nodded.
“So, what’s the purpose of your visit?”
“We wanted to know what’s your next move. You have gathered your people, your rebellion is common knowledge among the enemy, so we want to know your plans going forward?”
(No mention of Gustav?)
Kelz examined everyone’s faces. None showed any specific emotions. She could hardly differentiate them from the Android.
“I plan to go to the Promised Land and take back what’s mine.”
“How are we going to reach the island above?”
“There’s something called the Holy Gate. It connects here with the island above. We will use it and reach there.”
“I take it that the enemy is in possession of this gate?”
Kelz nodded.
“The man I fought last night, Drax controls the gate…”
Kelz’s eyes widened. In a flash, all of their faces twisted into that of demons. All except Raphael and Roxanne’s.
“Drax, huh?”
Raphael mumbled the name under his breath.
“Kelz, do we need to defeat him to use the gate?”
“That’s right. We intended to attack his base in a few days.”
“Then, we will handle him and his people. Your forces can preserve their energy for the battle in the Promised Land.”
“I can’t do that. My people and I have already—”
“My apologies for cutting you, Kelz. However, I feel the need to clear up a misunderstanding.”
Kelz’s eyes narrowed.
“What misunderstanding?”
“The misunderstanding that we were asking for your permission.”
“What?”
Raphael looked at Kelz with indifference.
“We only need to know what’s the next step, after that we will do as we see fit. Right now, not only our’s but your top priority is to obtain the gate.”
He pointed at himself and his siblings.
“We will make sure that happens while also settling some debts.”
“You’re going to challenge the person who killed your leader who was stronger than all of you? That’s suicide.”
“Again you misunderstood, Kelz.”
Hellfire started burning in Raphael’s eyes.
“We’re challenging no one. We’re going to kill the bastards there and burn everything to the ground.”
“Is this what Gustav would want you to do?”
“The desires of the dead are meaningless to living unless you’re defending their honor. That’s what our father taught us.”
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They all placed their fists over their hearts.
“So we will defend his honor by sending his enemies to him in hell.”
Kelz looked at all of them for a while then smirked.
“Alright, but make sure to beat his ass for cutting off my arm too.”
Raphael smiled.
“Noted.”
The following day, Kelz called for a meeting with her subordinates and Ralphael and his siblings in the central building in the open space. Inside the room, everyone sat around a large table with their eyes focused on Kelz who was standing.
“I want to discuss our plans moving forward, but first I would like to introduce you guys to each other.”
She pointed to the man and woman at her side.
“This is Fayax and Brix, they’re my most trusted subordinates and friends. They followed me down here when I was banished from the Promised Land.”
Fayax and Brix stood up and greeted Raphael and the others.
“And these are the soldiers of the man who allowed me to escape. Raphael is the new leader.”
Raphael stood up and greeted Fayax and Brix and so did his siblings. They all sat back down.
“Alright, Raphael and his siblings have volunteered to take on Drax and his men for us while we secure the Holy Gate. I gave them the approval, any problems?”
“Are they up to the task?”
Fayax asked.
“Considering who trained them I believe so. Also, the determination is quite commendable.”
“I have no problem if Madam thinks they can do it, however, I must ask Raphael a question.”
Brix spoke up.
“Go ahead.”
“Ok, Raphael. Your goal is obviously revenge, so I expect you to be ruthless but also reckless. It would be a blow to us if you risk everything to get revenge and die. Can you assure us this won’t happen?”
“When you set out for revenge make sure to stay alive at the end. The best part of revenge is when you’re alive and laughing at your defeated foe. This is something our father taught us.”
Roxane answered instead of Raphael. He smiled at Brix and spoke-
“My sister has spoken. Are there any other problems?”
“…No, I’m satisfied.”
Kelz nodded.
“After we capture the Holy Gate, we will immediately invade the Promised Land where we will meet up with my old allies and wage war on the Lord.”
Gina lifted her hand.
“Yes.”
Kelz gave her permission to speak.
“We’re Outsiders, so we don’t know your history or much about your people. In order for us to be as efficient as possible, I think you should tell us about your race.”
“Weak points, strong points, and biological make-up would be greatly appreciated.”
Chul added.
“I believe that’s fair.”
Kelz pointed at the blue gems embedded in her shoulders and neck.
“We call these Celestial Stones. We are born with them. They help us absorb the God Essence in the atmosphere, which allows us to survive without eating or drinking.”
“Yet, you still eat? So is it a case where you can’t get stronger without eating and the Celestial Stones can only keep you alive?”
“That’s right but also not quite, Gina.”
Kelz’s Celestial Stones lit up. Her muscles bulged and became more defined.
“Celestial Stones have another function. They can instantly absorb a great amount of God Essence in the atmosphere and boost our power to a different level. We called this Blessing.”
The Celestial Stones stopped glowing and Kelz returned to normal.
“However, only warriors can use Blessing, that’s the case even in the Promised Land.”
“Magnax and Janx mentioned Warriors. Are they different from soldiers?”
Chul asked. Kelz pointed to Fayax and Brix.
“Warriors are like these two, trained fighters who are equal to a hundred men. If I had to use your terms…When Outsiders first came here over 40 years ago, it took 3 tanks and two fighter jets to take down a single warrior. Even then, the warrior was lacking experience.”
“Damn.”
Damini mumbled.
“Gustav was as strong as a High-Class Warrior but didn’t have the regeneration of one.”
Kelz added.
“There are classes?”
Roxanne asked.
“Fayax and Brix are High-Class Warriors. Drax was a High-Class Warrior, the Outsider known as Julius was as strong as a Mid-Class Warrior.”
“And you?”
Ryder asked.
“I’m not a warrior, I’m a Lord who had her power sealed.”
“Is Lord like Royalty? And what do you mean power sealed?”
Raphael asked.
“Lord is the ruler of the Promised Land and this island, Paradise, by extension. Only direct descendants of the first gods, Tiama the Serpent Goddess and Octivinus the Phoenix God, can become a Lord.”
She showed off the golden ends of her hair and her golden eyes.
“These are proof you’re a potential Lord.”
She lifted her shirt and showed a tattoo of a serpent entangling with a Phoenix above her navel. However, the tattoo was scarred.
“This tattoo is the source of my power as a Lord. I got it during the coronation ceremony, but my brother interrupted the ceremony and damaged it using a sacred artifact, sealing my powers as a Lord. I’m currently as strong as a High-Class Warrior but I’m supposed to be peerless.”
She put her shirt down.
“So our enemy is your brother?”
Raphael asked.
“Yes, my twin. It’s because we’re twins that he could steal my Lord title.”
Kelz took out some scrolls and rolled them open on the table.
“This is a map of the Promised Land. I’ve marked the places we will attack and where we will gather allies.”
She pointed at a point on the map.
“This is where our research facilities are. We need to destroy it first. The reason is that’s where the Lord is creating super soldiers rivaling Warriors. Once he obtains the ideal number he will launch an attack on the outside world.”
Raphael and others’ eyes widened.
“He’s planning on attacking us? Why, as retaliation?”
“No, it’s a long story and I’ll explain in more detail later, but we basically came here to take back the world. I was against it and wanted to coexist…Like I said, long story.”
Kelz’s pointed to another spot.
“This is the Holy Temple. This is where you’ll find something called Phoenix Tear. This is what you need to save the person you all came here for. However, we can’t go there until—”
She pointed at another spot.
“This is the House of the Lord. This is where my brother resides with his Holy Knights. Before we go to the temple we must destroy this place and those inside.”
She pointed to another section.
“However, it won’t be easy because we also need to defeat the army of Outsiders he established.”
“Outsiders? You mean he turned those who came here into his soldiers?”
Kelz nodded.
“He was able to defeat me by bringing them to his side. I was caught off guard when those I defeated and locked up came back with our powers. He now has hundreds of them under his rule, and their offspring too.”
“So trained soldiers like us are there too…”
Raphael thought about it for a bit.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. We were expecting to fight gods, so fighting humans aren’t a big deal.”
Kelz’s smiled.
“That’s assuring.”
She then took a seat.
“Alright, let’s go over detailed plans on how we’re going to move.”
Everyone started to brainstorm about the upcoming operations. While this was happening Kelz became a bit quiet.
(There’s still the issue of Gustav’s body. It bothers me that Drax took it. Especially since Gustav is an abnormal existence.)
Meanwhile, Drax was in his office. A stone with glowing ancient writings was on his desk.
“Did you get the sample I sent?”
(Yeah, it’s incredibly fresh. If this person is as special as you say there’s something I want to try with him.)
A voice came from the stone.
“What?”
(It’s a surprise but it might be my greatest masterpiece yet.)
“Or your greatest regret. I sent the sample to help the Lord. I don’t know how you Outsiders view things but don’t overstep your boundaries.”
A laugh came from the stone.
(You rarely lectured me. Was this sample that terrifying?)
“…Just be careful not to create something you can’t control.”
(Don’t worry, the Lord will be supervising this. With him here, what can go wrong? He’s a true God after all.)
The call was cut and Drax leaned back in his seat and sighed.
“Maybe I should’ve disposed of it like Julius said?”