“Eye spy with my little eye something that starts with G.” Ernest said as he was slumped behind the glass wall while Shinobu without hesitation answered with Glass. Elysia meanwhile was humming a song about how bored she was while Zion was banging his head against the wall out of sheer boredom while muttering how bored he was the whole time. Mark meanwhile just yawned as he wrote down the thirteenth tally mark on a notepad marking it as the thirteenth day of their quarantine.

The doors to their respective rooms opened up revealing Professor Sara and Merlin as they are accompanied with a handful of people in armored hazmat suits.

"Great news!" Professor Sara said with her arms extended with a smile.

"Are you here to execute us?" Zion said who was on the verge of losing his sanity due to boredom.

"Oh these stooges?" She grinned pointing to the armed security that are standing wearily at them. "They're just here to make sure you guys don't have any funny ideas."

"Putting us in isolation for thirty days can do that to us you know." Mark commented pointing to Zion who's eyes are clearly showing signs of sanity loss.

"Yeah what gives," Elysia spoke up visibly annoyed. "We've been cooped up here for thrity days, those are clearly not protocol material."

"I know you're all annoyed at the callous treatment that we've given you but rest assure these are all necessary protocol. Please change into those clothes and then follow me." Professor Sara said explaining everything to them as they each handed them a set of white clothes for them to put on. All five of them exchange looks but decided to reluctantly took the clothes, they were just a pair of a white button up shirt and a pair of white pants all the while being provided by a set of white shoes for them to walk in.

“Tell me has anyone of your heard of the Neogean Alliance Treaty Organization or NATO?” Professor Sara said as she took off her hazmat suit to reveal a suit underneath all of that, much to the surprise of everyone present.

“No but we heard that we’re still at War with Vakaria.” Ernest spoke up walking towards Professor Sara as they walked through what felt like an endless white hallway and every few steps they’d see people in hazmat suits conducting experiments.

“Well you’re not wrong,” Professor Sara muttered in a low voice as she glanced at Merlin who just frowned at her gaze. Eventually they made their way towards a massive room contained a series of various computers and screens showing various locations across Neogea.

“Are you sure you’re allowed to show this?” Elysia said looking around. “I mean from the looks of things you’re all running a spying network.”

“Technically no but we need your help in something.” Professor Sara said as she took a seat on a large office chair and pressed a handful of buttons on the Computer she was on and revealed a large horde of Svadraugrs and Yotuns that have been gathering on a nearby mountian.

Mark felt his heart quicken as he saw the amount of Svadraugrs gathering on the island, he had seen many in the past but he had never seen this many. But what made the sight all the more grim was the fact at the center was a group of Soldiers gathering at the center, a wave of emotions went through the Knights as they saw the image as they watched the soldiers fight to the last man as they were eventually overwhelmed by the Horde and were promptly ripped apart, Zion and Elysia looked away, Ernest looked like he was about vomit what he had just eaten while Shinobu immediately went to cover Mark’s eyes.

“Unfortunately what you all see is something that is happening in Real time,” Professor Sara said with a grim look on her face. “We need your help, the original plan is to have all of you be properly trained to be our Agents but things have taken a rather drastic turn.”

“Let me guess.” Ernest said swallowing the vomit he was about to release and gave Professor Sara a hard look. “You want us to retrieve something that they were carrying correct?”

“No.” Mark’s eyes furrowed, if that wasn’t the main reason they were told about this then what is. Those were the thoughts that went inside Mark’s head as he looked closely at the screen and noticed that they weren’t trying to destroy the corpses but rather were trying to get to somewhere.

“You want us to activate what they were trying to go to?” Mark said testing the waters.

“That’s right,” Professor Sara said as she pressed a handful of buttons and then the floor before them showed a holographic projection of a what appears to be a Cup.

“That is a Nanomachine generator known as the GRAIL and is part of the Camelot Arms Operation, we need the five of you to get to the summit and reactive it, the only way to activate it is for all of the Camelot Arms to be present.” Professor Sara explained as each one of them exchanged weary looks while Mark kept his gaze on the woman and immediately knew she was lying as the device looked too small to be activated by the other weapons, even if it was built with a proximity sensor he was doubtful that they are able to

“I’m gonna take a guess and assume that ours are the only ones that haven’t been placed into it right?” Zion said walking towards the holographic projection and turned to Professor Sara. “But why not just loan the Camelot Arms to someone more competent and have them deliver it to the site?”

You fool, that is an obvious lie. She only needed one, the rest are just spares. Mark thought realizing it now as she continued to explain how it has a high value failsafe and that a large group of the Camelot Arms are needed to be present. It was clear that the ones they watched get torn to pieces were another batch of ‘Knights’ that were killed trying to get to the grail.

“I’ll do it.” Mark said causing the others to look at him like he had gone insane, Ernest and Shinobu were the most affected as they were horrified. “I read in a book that the one named Arthur is supposed to be the one leading the charge, so I’ll live up to his name and go for it.”

“Don’t be an idiot Mark, I’m not letting you get ripped into pieces.” Zion said crossing his arms and glared at Professor Sara. “I’m going with him.”

“Then why not all of us go,” Shinobu said placing her hands on her hips. “No use arguing on this.”

“Are you sure on that?” Mark said raising an eyebrow at them who all seem to be in agreement that yes if they were to go on a suicide mission then they would do it as a group. After all he means nothing to them, Zion, Ernest and Elysia have probably known each other for a longer time and Mark had only known Shinobu for a short period of time as well.

So why would they be willing to join forces on a suicide mission that will get them killed.

“You may think of us as strangers Mark but by the end of the day we’re supposed to be a Team.” Zion said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world with Ernest smirking in amusement.

“Yeah Power of Friendship, we can surpass this.” Elysia said with a thumbs up.

Fools you’re all marching to your deaths, we are not even that close as a group. Mark thought to himself trying his best to not shiver from their proclamations of friendship as he found the idea all the more cringe inducing.

“Then it’s settled then,” Professor Sara said somewhat surprised at their declarations of friendships. “Well then we should have you all fitting and briefed at the overall objective.”

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[The Second Advent]

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The plan was mostly simple, all they have to do is to run the gauntlet that is the hill where the GRAIL is positioned at. The only downside is that they would have to face an entire horde of Svadraugr and Yotuns, as a result they would have to be ready to fight them off. Fortunately they would be fitted with a handful of armor that would mostly blunt the bites of the Svadraugrs.

Sounds simple right? There’s one small problem. Well it was a big problem.

“What the hell?” Elysia said as they all stared at the image they were looking at. It was a walking abomination comprised of at least eight or more Svadraugr fused together like some form of twisted Rat King. And to make matters worse it wasn’t just one of them, there were more than a dozen of them wandering about.

“We call it the Starkad and it’s an amalgamation of at least eight or more Svadraugr,” Professor Sara explained to them all four of them, save for Mark who was more interested in what was being tested in a nearby corner. Namely one taking on the form of a rather large handgun and is letting out a loud noise as the researcher was firing it causing Mark to wonder how much damage it will do on the Starkad. But more than that, he wants one so he can use for future incidents.

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“I know our objective is to reactivate the GRAIL but I think I found a way to take down the Starkads.” Mark said looking closely, Professor Sara scoffed at that as though it wasn’t the first time she had heard someone suggested that, but she remained silent to hear what Mark has to offer instead.

“But how? Those things look like they’ll rip you into shreds just walking towards it.” Zion asked in a confused manner while Professor Sara just nodded grimly as though she had just witnessed someone suffer such a fate.

“It’s really simple,” Mark said walking towards Elysia with a confused manner.

“You want the Gawain to take them on?” She asked wondering where this conversation is heading. But then her eyes widened in horror as she realized where Mark was heading at and took a step back. “Mark no that idea is dangerous.”

“Relax the Gawain is capable of dishing out that level of energy output,” Mark said burying his hands on his pockets and started to sway a little as though he was bored. “The Gawain has three main modes, the Sniper, the Shotgun and the Anti Material Rifle. If you use the latter, specifically at the epicenter which is usually located in their chest region you should be able to take them out with ease.”

“Is there an alternative besides using that?” Elysia said hugging Gawain, of course the major possibility is that if she continued to use the Anti Material Rifle Mode the entire weapon would overheat causing it to breakdown and she was not fond of the idea of having her beloved HISER breaking down for a suicide mission for people she barely knows and treated her as nothing more than a pest.

Mark Glanced at Zion who was his turn to take a step back, and then looked at Elysia and pointed his thumb at him. “Lancelot can cut through anything but that would mean Zion would get ripped to shreds.

“I see your point but I have a suggestion,” Ernest spoke up, Mark turned to him only to find Ernest turning to Professor Sara with an inquisitive look. “IS there a vantage point where we can fire the Gawain at a safe distance? Surely there’s an elevated plane nearby for her to use right.”

“Yeah that would be ideal.” Elysia replied with Mark just nodding in agreement, it was a better to have her fire the Gawain at a distance rather than point blank range. He remembered that the Gawain has a serious recoil issue with each form which is why he wouldn’t be surprised that the Anti-Material Rifle Mode would probably be far worse in terms of recoil and she would end up being killed cause of the recoil of the gun.

“Sadly no it’s just a hill, however I do have a suggestion.” Professor Sara said as she gestured them to follow her to which they reluctantly do so only to find a Rotorwing waiting for them. It was a smaller variant of an airship that should be able to hold six to eight people, from what Mark had read in the past Rotorwings are often used as emergency transports by the Hashira Enterprises and he had even seen a handful of them flying overhead back on Loria.

“We’ll assign pilots for that and we’ll get that suggestion of yours a try,” She said with a confident smile at them, behind her a handful of soldiers walked towards them carrying a set of combat armor for them to put on. But from the Corner of Mark’s eyes he spotted Ernest, Shinobu and Elysia exchanging glances.

“For now I want you all to put these on, don’t worry they’re a one size fits all and should generally protect you from—”

SHING!

CLICK!

CLICK!

In a split second Shinobu aimed her Mordred at Professor Sara’s neck while Elysia and Ernest went to protect her but this sudden move caused all of the military personel present to aim their guns at the three of them much to Mark and Zion’s confusion.

“Did you really forget that we’re still here to ask why are we the ones allowed to go there and not just loan the weapons to someone else?” Shinobu told her with a hard look on her face while the other soldiers just yawned as though this was just a normal occurrence to them. She tried to activate the Mordred but to her confusion not a single spark of electricity is activated from it.

“Shinobu please stand down,” Merlin said walking towards them with a glare on his face, but interestingly his eyes seem to start glowing or rather blinking like some kind of light form a machine. “So you’re not a human after all,” Zion said clenching and unclenching his hands trying to reach for Lancelot and hoping he can pull out the blades and cause a bigger scene.

“I am Camelot Arms Number Fourteen, code name Merlin.” Merlin explained to them he snapped his fingers causing the handle of Mordred to crackle electricity, Gawain to overheat, and for Galahad to dismantle itself causing all three to drop them to the ground. “I am a counterbalance should the wielders go rogue, my ability is to determine whether or not they are capable of wielding it.”

“So basically you can disable or enable us to wield it correct?” Ernest said with a sigh as he looked at the Galahad lying on the ground.

“Here’s a deal,” Professor Sara said trying to diffuse the tension. “Do this mission for us, and we’ll make you official agents of the Hashira Enterprise.”

“You’re with Hashira also?” Mark asked raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m an Executive after all.” Professor Sara said with a confident smile on her face.

“I say we take it but what do you guys think?” Mark said looking around, being an Agent of Hashira Enterprise meant having all the perks such as access to all Pre-Collision items for them to use and they would get paid a lot but the cost is more or less selling your soul to the Hashira. They all exchanged glances but eventually one after another they would accept it.

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[The Second Advent]

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Mark didn’t what was worse thus making things awkward for the entire flight on the Rotorwing; the fact that he convinced his fellow Knights to sell their souls to the Hashira or the fact he roped them into a suicide mission or perhaps the fact that Professor Sara and Merlin ad the ones piloting the Rotorwing. Either way they were on a flight that would no doubt to get themselves killed.

He took a deep breath as the five of them sat aboard the Rotorwing while Merlin and Professor Sara were flying at a low altitude where a handful of Svadraugr were already beginning to swarm around their landing zone. It wasn’t just them that was flying out there, there were at least four more Rotorwings filled with Soldiers armed with Compound Bows and Firearms all of which are tasked in luring out and thinning the herd of undead allowing them to make a run for the GRAIL.

“Elysia you’re up!” Mark told her as she nodded as Gawain transformed into it’s Anti Material Rifle Mode, she stood up and thanks to the Harness that she was wearing stood up at the stand of edge of the Rotorwing and aimed it at the ground. Gawain made a humming noise for a brief moment and then after what felt like a few seconds she fired the rifle.

A beam of golden light emerged from the Gawain as it ripped through the horde of Yotuns and Svadraugr as anything that was caught within the blast radius would be incinerated thus paving a clear landing zone for them to jump off. Which was the reason why Mark suggested that Elysia remain in the Rotorwing providing cover fire while the rest of them continue to make their way to the GRAIL. As soon as the light subsided Mark and Zion exchanged looks as they unbuckled and jumped out of the Rotorwing with both Arthur Caliburn and Lancelot Arondight and Lancelot Seure in their hands.

Mark was the first to land and the first thing he did was crush a nearby Svadraugr with his Pridwen and then switched it back towards the Caliburn while Zion was already in the middle of cutting down a Yotun with his Lancelots, they were then followed by the arrival of Shinobu and Ernest as they were protecting Mark and Zion with their respective shields.

“Let’s go we got a lot of ground to—”

Mark was interrupted by the sound of an incoming Starkad looming over them, as it was about to make a collective roar, immediately incinerated by a shot from the Gawain. Mark let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Caliburn once more.

Ah well might as well use it. Mark thought as pressed a handful of buttons but in a different order unlike the one used for changing Caliburn to Pridwen. This resulted in the handle of the Caliburn to extend several times turning into a spear while a handful of the nanomachines crawled up to Mark’s arm forming a gauntlet, this is called Rhongomiant the spear mode of Arthur with one of the main features of the Spear is that he is able to recall back the spear through the use of the Gauntlet on his arm.

“Let’s give this a spin,” Mark said throwing the Spear impaling the nearby Svadraugr and killing them in the process.

Despite being just teenagers, the training they have and the Camelot Arms proved that they were a highly effective combat force. They formed a tight formation with Ernest being the lead followed by Mark and Shinobu while Zion remained in the rear, their respective abilities also helped with Ernest taking most of the blunt force from the attacks, Mark and Shinobu flanked his sides with Mark relying on Rhongomiant impaling from a distance while Shinobu would electrocute enemies with her Mordred while Zion protected them from the back with his twin Lancelot blades cutting as many down as he can.

In order to get to the GRAIL they would have to go through house to house using them as makeshift defenses allowing them to rest albeit with a slow process. But they each agreed that it was better than making a run for the GRAIL and get ripped apart by the undead.

As they made their way to the first hollowed out building Mark continued to stab and thrust his way through the horde of bodies with at one point even making a small pile of corpses. At that point Mark was thankful that they were provided with Combat armor that comprised of a fitted under suit that is more or less a chainmail jumpsuit with additional body armor that uses Ballistic plating all the while being paired with a helmet that prevents any blood entering their orifices.

It was slightly heavy but it kept them from being bitten and scratched so it was worth it.

With Elysia and the other Soldiers opening fire from the distance echoing across the field, the small group managed to established a small foothold for them to rest and recover. Mark sat down to catch his breath, silently cursing his smaller frame causing him to get exhausted a lot faster.

“Are you alright Mark?” Shinobu said sitting next to him, nearby they watched both Zion and Ernest go through each room making sure that there are no Svadraugr, Yotun or worse a Starkad wandering about. “I’m just tired that’s all,” Mark waved it off being tempted to take off the helmet that was already filling his line of sight with sweat.

“Do you regret it?” he asked striking a conversation with her.

“Regret what?” She gave him a confused look.

“Agreeing with my idea, you and the others could have turned down the idea and all.” Mark said stretching his legs for a moment. After all he made the decision on his own and didn’t consult the others on their opinion.

“Honestly we’re all confused as to how are you able to come up with such a plan but we all chalked it up to your eccentricities, just remember that we’re a team and we’ve got each other’s back.” She said giving him a playful tap on the head, earning a chuckle from Mark who was amused that they didn’t bother questioning the sanity of his suggestion but if that were the case.

Maybe it’s not so bad if I try and trust them. Mark thought to himself with a smile.