Jones finally quit pretending to be a statue and replied to the goddess of his heart.
Jaina had recognised him as the top combatant award receiver immediately.
“Aren’t you steel wall?” She chimed.
“I…I…I am…?” Jones said uncertainly.
When they were talking, at another side, a small group spotted them and came over to say hello. Kairos excused himself and walked over.
Alucard and his team were all smiles when they saw him.
“Kairos! You’re an Earl now!” They exclaimed.
As heirs to a noble house, the group does not have actual noble titles like Kairos and his group does, until they take over as the head of the family.
However, when they are named as heir apparent, they will normally be recognised as a true noble.
Therefore, among their team, only Alucard could be technically considered a noble, though he does not have the full title of Marquis as his father does.
Kairos smiled when he saw them. During the Snowdrifts’ trade wars, the five noble houses that Alucard’s team came from had not been petty with their help.
“Kairos you guys didn’t visit us at all during the break!” Alucard complained. He had been wanting to study the runes Kairos created all summer but wasn’t given a chance.
“Yeah, dude, didn’t Tommy promised to come over to train? My grandfather was absolutely thrilled at having a new victi… new disciple!” The one from the Resounding Thunder family said. After half a year, he has grown slightly taller, but his voice is just as loud as ever, and the break had given him, even more, muscles than before.
Now when Kairos paid attention, he realised that everyone’s presences have become stronger than before, and since no one is hiding their aura he could easily determine their ranks with his Soul Perception.
“All of them has reached D rank! Truly the heirs of nobles.”
Just half a year ago, the only ones at D rank were Calculus and Jones. Improving from E rank to D rank within half a year is an incredible result that is only possible because of their hard work and an abundance of training resources provided by their family.
As they chatted, their little group attracted more familiar faces over. George greeted them from a distance and dragged along a sulky Luciette towards the group.
Following behind them is Small and Smaller.
When Tommy saw the two brothers, he started looking around.
“Heh heh… Ho Tommy, are you looking for Snow?” Small asked immediately.
“Uhh.. noo..?”
“Oh, so you were not looking for me?” Snow walked out from behind and said with an indifferent look.
Though she is obviously teasing Tommy, he could not see it and began giving Kairos side glances, that is obviously requesting assistance.
“Don’t look at me, I can’t help you in this when I’m just as inexperienced as you are…” Kairos thought privately and looked away.
At the same time, Edward walked towards Luciette.
The young heiress of the White Snow clan stared at Edward uncomfortably, full of wariness in her eyes.
During the long break, Luciette was harshly reprimanded by her grandfather.
It wasn’t because of her team losing the training ground’s exercise, but because the way she lost was due to her being too trusting of Kairos and allowed their flag to be stolen.
Luciette’s grandfather had been concerned with her naivety for a long time and was waiting for a chance to scare her into becoming less gullible. When he heard of the result of the test, he knew that the window of opportunity has arrived.
Though he gave his granddaughter a disappointed sign, he was secretly gleeful.
“Good! They lost. Heh heh.”
Her grandfather had spared no efforts in making Kairos’ group out as devious young men, so when Luciette saw them again, she was unwilling to go close.
Unfortunately, Luciette was dragged along by George, and even after she hid behind the group, Edward still approached her.
“Luciette,” He began, but once again turn silent nervously.
He felt responsible as the one who shot her on her head, causing her blue team to lose. It could not be helped that he was worried if she would take it to heart.
Against such a talented and brilliant person, they only won by cheating.
And if she becomes an opponent for them during the 2nd year of school, there is no doubt that all hell will break loose.
With the amount of people smitten with either her looks, her background or her personal strength, even if Luciette does not do anything, it will be rather tough for them to guard against her countless admirers.
Just a single thought of such a future caused Edward to shiver, and it made him step forward to resolve their misunderstanding.
Among the brothers, only the archer and Kairos had thought about this, but because of how popular the latter is, unsurprisingly Edward took it upon himself to talk to her.
A rare mischievous glint flashed across Kairos’ eyes when he saw Edward step forward.
By propriety sake, the leader, Kairos, should be the one that offers a resolution to the head of another party. But this sticky situation was brought about by his brothers after all.
“It’s all up to you brother! Heh Heh…”
He has no worry if things would turn for the worse, after all, it is Edward, the most reliable and responsible one among them, that is doing the talking.
He did not know yet, but for once, Kairos’ predictions will turn out terribly wrong in the distant future.
Edward dragged Luciette to the side and started explaining to her about their situation in the past.
As poor commoners, they faced prejudice in school that their chance to learn from the instructors personally.
Till now, they only have a general idea of their own roles in battle.
Edward who is a combat engineer, for example, has completely no skill related to his role that he could bring forward.
Alan, their recon, was taught by Kairos, but the knowledge was learned from Vouno, instead of any teacher.
Jim, their saboteur, knows how to plant bombs. A skill that requires only good sense and experience instead of any particular set of skills.
Only Tommy who is an assault is able to bravely charge in against his foes, though technically because they had learned no martial arts from Saint Cadets Academy, he was inadequate for his role as well.
The one that did the most splendidly among the group is definitely Kairos, who is their leader. But if one thinks about it, he had learned no leadership qualities from school and started out completely uncertain of himself.
Luciette wanted to shrink away from coming too close to Edward at first, but after a while, she began to listen to what he is saying.
For the first time, she realised that for most commoners, if they failed the mock battlefield exam, it would mean expulsion because of the instructors’ reluctance to teach.
For someone like her who is living at the top, it is unthinkable for anyone to fail every written test and need to depend on the practical exam.
“I… I thought that they were merely lazy in learning which caused them to end up in this slum… H… how could those instructors turn away hardworking students like them?
I must speak with grandfather on this!”
A righteous anger flared across her eyes when she heard of their plight, but she quickly remembered not to be too naïve, and she calmed herself down.
But Edward who thought she was unmoved, tried even more desperately to apologise, and she heard with great surprise what would happen to the poorer commoners if they were expelled.
It was not as simple as being kicked out of school when these 12 years olds have a family depending on them.
She gave an involuntary gasp, shuddering at the thought of how people could live and die just because of a test’s result. Most commoners are living on a tightrope and are desperately trying to survive.
What she once believed as basic needs, unimaginably far away from these people. Luciette found herself unable to hate these guys, and her expression softened.
Edward felt a sense of relief when she seemed convinced. Unfortunately, there are many pairs of eyes watching them, and quite a few of them mistook Luciette’s gentle glance towards Edward as eyes that are filled with affection instead.
As the group was mingling, Kairos suddenly asked about Jones’ old rival, Calculus.
At such an occasion, the arrogant young noble ought to have been here already, and making snide remarks. Yet he is still nowhere to be seen.
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George gave Kairos a smile and then pointed at another side, then said, “That’s because someone from the Devilheart family enrolled this year.”
At the place where the first years are standing at, Calculus stood beside his sister, Calculator Devilheart.
Although she is only a first-year student, young nobles like her are here to be tested to assign the fundamental classes most beneficial for them. While those commoners without status and background will stay in the introductory classes throughout their first year.
And if they failed to enter the second year, they will not even be tested, which was why the group did not know Kairos’ bloodline was so poor until recently.
This is the academy’s method to skimp on the costs of activating the testing crystal, and if the students are sent to the trade federate, it is also beneficial for the empire.
In fact, within the introductory class’ modular, the students only learn their roles on a battlefield and crafting.
When Kairos placed his eyes on Calculus, the boy turned and return with a glare.
When he saw a grin appear on Kairos’ face, he walked forward, with insults already forming in his mind. But at this moment someone else came swiftly to Kairos and pulled him away.
“Boss!” Someone called out urgently from behind, then grabbed Kairos’ arm before he could turn about.
“We need to talk…!”
Kairos recognised the voice immediately, and he was shocked at the insistence on her tone.
“Sasha?”
Aisa unexpectedly was the first one who responded, and she spoke into his mind.
Kairos~ I smell something familiar on them. You should go with them.
Kairos turned around and saw Sasha and the other three captains as he expected. He gave them a nod and followed them away from the crowd, leaving his team to continue mingling.
The examination for their progress during the holidays will begin shortly, but until there, they have some time for privacy.
The group walked towards the school compound until they reach an area behind a building that is away from sight, then Kairos let out his soul perception to ensure they are well hidden.
Once he confirmed they are alone, he pulled out some tools and began laying a stratagem.
The essence of making one requires precise placement and linkage of objects of power. A small mistake could render the entire array to become worthless and waste all the materials involved.
However, Kairos quickly finished the formation and gestured for them to step onto it. Immediately, they felt that they have been cut off from the space around them.
“This is an isolation stratagem that I created. Once we are here, no one will be able to see or hear us. Although, it is only a simplified version and provides no protection from attacks.”
The group stared at Kairos without understanding his words. The words: isolation and stratagem, flew past their ability to comprehend.
Powerful and complicated arrays like these should be said by an elder with pure white locks and squinting eyes, instead of a young man as their boss.
“Wa wa… wha… What do you mean by isolation array?”
“Just think of it as a cover that could block sound and sight,” Kairos said with a smile.
“That… that’s amazing..”
“Umm…, isn’t there something you guys wanted to tell me?” Kairos reminded them and retrieved their good senses from their bewilderment.
“Heh heh! Boss, we do have something amazing to tell you!” Sasha smirked.
“Yeah! It will be good enough to revenge the shock you just gave us” John said with a wicked glint in his eyes.
“You will never expect this…!” Silvers said with a grin.
“Can you believe that the world we are on is a sealing stone!?” Long blurted out immediately before any anticipation seeped in.
The others frowned at him, and he returned with them an apologetic smile. It is far too large a news for a chatty person like him to keep in eternal suspense.
However, even without the suspense, the news alone was enough to make Kairos stare at them with wide eyes, “Say what?!”
“The world is a sealing…”
“I’ve heard you, but using an entire realm to seal something? Just what is sealed underneath? No, wait. Tell me from the very beginning!” Kairos asked.
The four captains nodded their heads, and they began recounting what happened. Each of them added in things to complete the entire story.
The four had barely escaped from Aurolia, the capital and frontier city of the Silent Lambs Empire.
With soldiers chasing right behind them, they were forced to take a risk to escape back to Saint Empire.
During that time, their group captured a few weaker foes and gathered information from them. Thanks to Long’s artefact, the ‘Happy Mouth’, those that they caught were most willing to converse with them, and the group quickly heard of Kairos team’s escape.
Though they were glad that their leaders had succeeded in their retreat, because of the Imperial Troops roaming the area, the checkpoint to Saint Empire has been completely cut off from them.
However, not all the soldiers are going after Kairos’ group. Emperor Axtaius had guessed the identity of the four as collaborators who help freed Jones, and he spared no effort to capture them as hostages.
To escape, they sought another path, but by that time, each of them had fought more times than they could recall, and they had run out of food, water and medical pills. Yet the distance between them and Saint Empire has not shortened by much, and things became dire.
In their panic, Sasha made a bold decision and brought Long, John and Silvers towards the most dangerous mountain in the Mortal Realm. The Vox Shalua’s mountain ranges where a Dragonlord is rumoured to roost.
Left without much choices with A ranked Imperial Troops tailing them merely half a day behind, they grimly climbed its steeps.
At the start, things seemed normal, as though the mountain they are on is no different from any other.
The ones chasing them gave them more reasons to be nervous, than whatever that is said to be hidden in this place.
Because of their gear, the four captains that are unarmoured could keep a safe distance from their pursuers.
But quickly things changed.
They noticed by their Soul Perception that one by one, the soldiers who are chasing behind them mysteriously disappeared.
By the time the four realised that something is strange, they already felt an overwhelming presence near them.
It was as though they faced an undefeatable, insurmountable foe.
The Imperial troops and the guys were rooted where they stood, as a gigantic dragon’s snout broke through the ice on the snow mountain and a dragon’s head extended out of the hole it created.
It turned and face them until the dragon’s maw were mere inches away from the soldiers, and they could all feel the hot steam that exited its nostrils.
Then, it opened its eyes, each larger than an adult man, and its fiery irises glared straight into their souls.
“Mortals…” It spoke with a rough, inhuman voice that sounded like a molten river.
They shivered helplessly and prayed to whichever gods, which come to mind that could save them.
Ares, god of war. Hermes, god of thieves. Shiva, god of life and death. Ra, god of the dawn sun.
Even Enki, the god of mischief.
For, who knows if he might be feeling generous enough to blind the dragon in their time of need?
Yet, none of those patron deities answered them, and they could only watch silently, under the spell of fear, as the dragon opened its maws and swallowed one soldier after another.
Then, when all of them were gone, it turned and looked at the four captains.
“Human children. The most tender meat I’ve saved for savouring.”
At this time, an unexpected person becomes their saviour.
Though he was already preparing for his own demise, Long activated his artefact.
“I hope that in my next life, I will be born as a contract beast without a care in the world…, and that my master would be a cute girl.
…And, I’ll be fed all the time.”
But at this time, the unthinkable happened. The Dragonlord’s menacing aura disappeared, and the four of them regained their freedom.
“It…it worked?!”
“It seemed so?”
Losing all the strength in their legs, they sat down on the snow as sweat poured down from their head.
Long looked at the giant dragon with his jaw dropped. Did his relic somehow work?
Dragons are supposed to be highly resistant to all elements and have natural endurances against any mind-manipulation abilities.
Long gingerly spoke, “Hello, I am Long. I…I meant.. my name is Long, not that I am a long person. You’re the long one.”
The other 3 captains stared at him with disbelief.
Sasha rolled her eyes back with a look that obviously said, ‘That’s it. We are all dead.’
John and Silvers fumed at Long. This is their only chance, but he blew it. They swore internally, that on their way to the afterlife they will definitely smack Long.
But instead of the gruesome death that awaited them, the Dragonlord started snorting with laughter, as though it was the joke of the century.
Afterwards, the four safely conversed with it, and they found out that the frost dragon is called Thrym.
At the start, the captains only wished to be let off, but the chat soon turn towards an unexpected direction, and they were told a tremendous secret. The very thing that they wanted to tell Kairos about.
The four listened in silent trepidation as Kairos is listening now.
….
Though they are living on one of the many Mortal Realms in existence, it wasn’t always one.
Long long ago, before Saint Empire even existed, this land is a part of a greater world known as Eden, in the Divine Realm.
At that time, from a tear in space, a large number of devils invaded the realm and had a great war with the gods. The Divine Ones fought valiantly and managed to push back their foes. But they soon realise that these devils are unkillable.
Time and again they clashed. Though they won every battle, the Devils soon returned.
At first, their foes would only possess the bodies of normal beasts, then they will proceed to consume the others, turning them into the first demonic race.
But as time pass, many weaker deities began to fall to the devils, and they changed into what became known as The Wicked Ones.
Because they repaired the abyss which those devils came from, their numbers no longer increased, but The Wicked Ones still managed to turn around the battles to their favour. It was then that the deities realise that their foes are far more dangerous than they supposed.
The Divine Ones quickly formulated a plan for survival. Thus, began the time known as the Great Devil Sealing Era.
Devil Sealers appeared one after another, forming into small teams at first, then turning into large hunting groups, and finally into the now-famous union of divines known as The Wardens. A pantheon of devil sealers.
They trapped their foes with powerful artefacts and sealing arrays, under the ground.
But fearful of the undying race, the divines broke all the lands the Devils are sealed on and sent them into the Mortal Realms. And thus this land like many others, left Eden, and it was renamed, Earth. A name that was destined to be forgotten.
Since then, the locals has called it Terra, Gaea and now Gaia. But they did not know their land, with the weak Heavenly Energy in the Mortal Realms, is used to prevent the devils from quickly recovering their strength should they ever break free of their chains.
Granting the Wardens time to reseal their foes.
Fearing that accidents may happen, and calamities will once again be upon them, the deities sent a guardian to look over each land that has Devils sealed within.
In this land, it is this Dragonlord, Thrym that had been chosen as a guardian and since then it had kept watch for countless aeons.
During that time, the humans had been wiped out several times by the Devils breaking their seals. Each time, depending on a small group that survived, they repopulated Gaia. And each time, The Wardens sealed them back.
But recently, the Devils are stirring once again.
After the Dragonlord had told them this, it said with a tinge of amusement in his voice, “Mortals, because you had entertained me, I will let you know a secret.
I had felt the presence of a superior one on you long before you reach my mountain. An ancient dragon. A primordial one.
It was because of her that I did not bare my fangs upon you, though I could not resist teasing you a little after I slain your foes.”
Long became upset at this point, and he thundered in Thrym’s ears, “You mean that my artefact didn’t work on you?”
Instead of being offended, the dragon laughed heartily at this brusque boy and replied truthfully, “The artefact did work its charm on me, but its effect was ignorable. I simply played along for I wished for you to bring my message to the great primordial one. Perhaps she will ease the burden I bear.”
…..
“How long do we have until they are released upon the world?” Kairos asked at this point, striking at the heart of the problem.
“Thrym said that fifty years at most, ten years at the least.”
Kairos shook his head and mumbled, “There isn’t much time.”
Finally, he now know the reason why Aisa wanted him to go talk with his four friends.
The celestials will easily suppress the Devils when their seals break. With the guardian dragon in place, it could buy enough time for the gods to arrive. But by then, Gaia will be left in ruins, and all mankind and creatures alike will be consumed by the Devils.
Thrym and the ones from the Divine Realm will not care for their survival, and therefore it will fall upon them, those that know the truth, to stop Armageddon from coming.