image [https://i.imgur.com/7KFBNL3.png]

As the battle in south Volaire came to a brief pause, some members of Six, Priscilla, Carmen and her friends rested at their base camp. Rivell, however, was extremely active, not taking a moment of rest as he helped tend to the many wounds of the injured. Despite his fairly weak resonance level, Rivell’s Manifest was proving to be quite useful in this situation. Being able to fully heal any and all wounds was a resource they couldn’t afford not to use.

“Geez, look at him go. Rivell’s been doing a lot since we left.” Carmen remarked as she looked out the window of their tent, noticing how hard Rivell was working.

“Yeah, apparently he’s been healing people nonstop today. Such an admirable kid.” Replied Kaleel of Four, applauding Rivell’s efforts.

“He’s definitely a lot more amazing than he cares to think.” Sarah added with a slight blush.

“Rivell’s not the only one working hard. That little girl over there is absolutely incredible to pull off what she did today.” Jordan said as he turned his attention towards Priscilla taking a deep nap on a nearby chair.

“Pfft, you’re telling me. I’ve never seen a summoner raise an entire army by themselves. It’s terrifying that she could’ve accomplished this with the Boundless. If only they knew…” Ka-leel took a seat as he admired Priscilla from afar.

“How’re you guys holding up so far?” Felicity asked as she entered the tent, holding a tray with some cups of water on it. They quickly accepted a cup and took a much needed drink.

“I’m eager to get back out there. So sick of these Lumen and Arista bastards!” Sarah replied with a fire in her eye and you could tell this war was irritating her to no end. The group shared a brief laugh before a couple of guards rushed into the tent.

“Lady Felicity, Ma’am we have a major problem!! The Holy Core Saint Order has made an appearance. They were spotted roughly two miles away from our current location!” The guard remarked with a terrified expression. Felicity’s eyes went wide as she quickly stood, surprised to hear this news.

“What!? Why would they deploy them now, of all times?? Everyone is still tired from earlier…” She questioned, irritated that Volaire’s soldiers hadn’t rested long enough. In that same moment, Zalthia walked into the tent and wondered what the problem was.

“Hmm, I knew they would show their faces eventually. Once Priscilla came into the fray it was just a matter of time. It’s unfortunate we don’t have a bit more time to prepare, but we have to take them down, no matter the cost. We can’t let them come here and capture her.” Zalthia said, looking over at Priscilla, who was clearly still exhausted from her prior summoning.

“Who are the Holy Core Saints?” Carmen asked, wanting to understand the severity of the situation.

“One of the strongest group of Vestas in Alaira. I’d say besides us and Enclave, there isn’t any other group of that size or strength. True masters of their abilities and Manifests.” Ka-leel replied with an incredibly serious and uneasy expression.

“Yeah and I bet that bitch Claudia is out there as well. So annoying…” Zalthia’s demeanor began to shift as she was reminded of the Saint’s second in command, feeling irritated by the mere thought of this woman. Carmen and Sarah looked at each other with confusion before turning to Zalthia again, staring at her with curious eyes. She softly sighed before giving them a vague reply.

“We… Have a bit of history… Don’t worry about it. Anyways, we need to prepare ourselves for a long fight.” Zalthia remarked, still clearly on edge.

“Yeah, but we're down Graymoor at the moment. It’ll be tough to fight them five versus six. Damn it..” Asiah added, crossing her arms as she wondered how they were going to pull this off.

“We’ll fight with you guys!” Sarah hopped up from her chair with a determined look, however this expression didn’t last long.

“Absolutely not!” Zalthia yelled with a surprising sense of shock, shaking free from her prior closed off demeanor.

“Fighting some basic foot soldiers is one thing, but these guys are all Mid to Upper Sapphire Class Vestas. They're completely out of your league. I can’t risk you kids getting hurt or killed. We'll deal with this.” She said, not liking the idea at all.

“But! Who else can-” Carmen was immediately cut off by her sister’s loud voice.

“No!” Zalthia completely put her foot down and refused any kind of assistance from Carmen, Sarah, & Caleb. Carmen looked down at the floor as she clenched her fist, feeling annoyed that she was being treated like a useless kid again.

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As the group continued to plan their next move, Sarah stepped over to Carmen and Caleb, noticing their annoyed expressions.

“I say we take it to those Holy Core chumps. three against one would make things even.” Sarah whispered in Carmen’s ear while wearing a cheeky smirk.

“Huh? But Zalthia said no..” Carmen wasn't following Sarah’s train of thought.

“Since when did that stop you?” Carmen took a brief moment to think before looking Sarah in the eyes, giving her a hearty nod. Sarah then glanced over at Caleb, confirming his willingness to assist them. He nodded as well and in that same moment, Carmen and Caleb felt a heavy gust of wind form around their feet.

They looked towards Sarah with confused expressions, noticing her conjuring up teal colored wind currents. In an instant, the three rose into the air and burst through the top of the tent, flying out of the camp in spectacular fashion.

“YOU IDIOTS!!!” Zalthia yelled out in an absolute annoyed rage, unable to believe they were being so reckless again.

“After them, NOW!” She loudly added and with no preparation at all, the members of Six dashed out of the tent, heading towards the Holy Core Saints. As the trio flew towards their target, Carmen glanced over at Sarah with great surprise.

“Sorry, but I’m tired of them thinking we can’t hang. How many times do we need to prove ourselves?? You’d think that after all the stuff we’ve been through these past few months, they would trust our resilience more.” Sarah said with an annoyed smile.

Caleb nodded in agreement as Carmen chuckles, happy to be with her friends at this moment. Sarah’s wind burst began to dissipate and the trio slowly floated down, landing behind some rocks a short distance away from their enemy.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

image [https://i.imgur.com/K3sYkSi.png]

A few Volairen soldiers were still on the battlefield and like cattle, were getting slaughtered with ease by the Holy Core Saints. Claudia stabbed her Manifest, a large claymore with a black and gold blade, into the chest of a fallen soldier and rested her hands on top of the hilt. Her short blonde hair swayed in the wind as the air grew more chilly.

“How much further til we reach their base?” Byron asked, punching together the red gauntlets on his fists.

“A mile or so, shouldn’t be much longer.” Cassandra replied, twirling her bladed chains around to fling the blood off of them. Moments later, Claudia sensed something in the distance as she turned her head slowly.

“Look alive, we’ve got company...” The Holy Core Saints averted their gaze to the left and saw individuals emerging from the cloudy dust.

Zalthia of One, Asiah of Three, Ka-leel of Four, Jordan of Five, and Felicity of Six walked up and stood before them, not looking thrilled in the slightest. Claudia, still resting her hands on the hilt of her Manifest, smirked as she stared deep into Zalthia’s fiery red eyes.

“Zalthia of One, I see you finally decided to show your face. I thought for sure you'd tuck your tail and run away like last time. That made for quite the laugh.” She said with a cheeky smile, clearly trying to get under Zalthia’s skin. She glared back before chuckling herself.

“Run away like last time? You must’ve gotten dropped on that big forehead of yours, because I don’t recall any situation like that. Since when could ‘Holy Saints' tell such blatant lies?” She replied, sending back an even cheekier grin. Claudia sucked her teeth as the tension skyrocketed.

“Still have that sharp tongue, huh? Looks like I’ll have to beat some manners back into you…” Neither member of each team spoke a word, they just patiently waited behind their respective leaders with great anticipation.

“I’ve been waiting for this supposed ‘beat down’ you keep talking about, but you all keep staying in hiding. I grow bored of waiting..” Zalthia remarked, still egging on her opponent.

“Hiding? Not at all.. This war was just too trivial of a matter that, besides Captain Melrose, our assistance wasn’t needed. Volaire’s forces are so comically weak that it’s honestly impressive you’ve held out this long.” The two continued to glare at each other until Claudia looked at all the members of Six, noticing something different.

“I see you're down a man. Did Graymoor Penult fall in this battle already? Pity, I had hoped I could cross swords with him today.” She asked, feeling disappointed that a fellow Blade Monarch was absent from the Six's ranks.

“Oh no, he’s perfectly fine, unlike your commander. How was he doing again? Ah right, beaten and broken like an old toy. Shame..” Zalthia sharply retorted with a slight snicker. These words irritated Claudia to no end and she finally took hold of her Manifest, ripping it from the dead body below.

“You disrespectful little bitch! Saints, take care of these pests!! Zalthia, you are mine.” The Holy Core Saints nodded as they quickly dashed from behind Claudia, choosing a member of Six to squabble with in quick fashion.

Claudia v.s Zalthia, Cassandra v.s Felicity, Byron v.s Ka-leel, Riegard v.s Jordan, and Simone v.s Asiah.

The battle was set, but Trevor remained without an opponent. Just as he was about to join Simone in her fight against Asiah and Vera, a volley of wind arrows crashed into his path. Everyone looked over and saw Sarah, Carmen, and Caleb standing not too far off in the distance with their Manifests drawn.

“NO! I told you guys to stay out of this!” Zalthia yelled out, desperately hoping they wouldn’t get involved. In that same moment, Claudia clashed with Zalthia, pushing her back away from the group.

“Shouldn’t you keep your focus on me?” Zalthia glared at Claudia with rage filled eyes and prepared to defend herself. The ferocity of these two powerful Vestas was reaching incredible levels as they sized each other up, waiting patiently for someone to make the first move.

Trevor slowly began to walk towards the trio with a smirk on his strong jawed face, eager to teach these kids a lesson for meddling in their affairs. He brushed back his short brown hair as he towered over his young opponents, glaring at them with piercing green eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to entertain some children for a bit. I don’t expect this to take long at all.” Trevor said as he continued his menacing approach. Carmen, Caleb, and Sarah braced themselves as Trevor summoned forth his Manifest, a teal colored spear with a crescent blade.

The air pressure built around him as a dense burst of wind energy gathered at the tip of his weapon. The trio noticed that it was getting more difficult to breathe the closer he got, as though all the surrounding oxygen was being sucked away.

“I pray to the Core that your souls will move on to the next world.” He whispered as he twirled his Manifest around and exerted an immense amount of Core energy.