Cerberus HQ, Main Building: 936, February 7th, Wednesday, 12:00 PM.
Arwen walked into his office, having arrived safely from his trip to Heildin. The gentle light of the sun filtering through the windows illuminated the pile of documents laying on the desk alongside a pair of red framed glasses. In the distance, the lively city of Kaldstein could be seen through the glass as the snow gently fell from the sky.
“You heard the news, right?” Yeon asked nonchalantly, already waiting for him inside as she sat in the chair in front of the desk.
Arwen sighed with exhaustion and untied his tie. “To think it would actually work.” he responded, approaching the desk and laid the tie on top.
Yeon took a sip of the steamy coffee in her hand. “It is quite the accomplishment I would say... even I’m shocked at the results.” she said with a mildly surprised expression.
“Truly a cause for celebration,” Arwen cheered, taking his square glasses off. “How about some lunch? You know, like old times.” he smiled while putting his red-framed round glasses instead.
“Your treat...” Yeon smirked. “Like old times,” taking another sip of her coffee, she stood up and proceeded to move towards the door, “want me to look away?”
Arwen raised his eyebrow, puzzled at the sudden question. “No... I’m just taking my jacket off.” he said, laying the black suit jacket on top of the desk. “Black doesn’t really suit me...” he claimed with sad furrowed brows.
Yeon laughed with amusement, covering her mouth with her hand. “I didn’t think it was too bad,” she said with a frisky and sarcastic voice. “I could suggest some changes if you want.”
“Thanks, but I rather stick to my strengths.” Arwen proceeded to take the white lab coat hanged on the wall near his desk. “I always had a soft spot for the smart look,” he claimed—putting the coat on and making his way out.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Yeon scowled, stopping Arwen at the door and pointing to his head. “You don’t want to mess this up right at the end, do you?”
Flinching with sudden realization, Arwen grabbed his hair and pulled the wig off his head immediately, revealing his grayish hair underneath. “I almost forgot...” he fretted, taking a quick breath of relief.
“How did you survive the conference...” Yeon pinched the bridge of her nose.
Jacob chuckled in response. “I told you I could it,” he left the wig on top of the desk and walked towards the door. “So, what do you want to eat?”
Gladean Empire, Voyin Province: 936, February 7th, Wednesday, 12:00 PM.
The massive belfry stood tall in the middle of the green fields, burning and scorching the earth around it. Claire rode her motorcycle with Eric sitting in the back, the pair scouted the situation from a distance while waiting for Gaspard, Scott and Tori to arrive.
“Looks pretty bad...” Eric lamented as Claire circled around the belfry. “I will not allow them to do this to my home.”
Claire huffed with frustration at the scene before her, witnessing the once beautiful grass field be trampled by the horrifying creatures as it burned into ashes. “We must look for the one holding the belfry’s core,” she stated with clenched teeth. “It should be enough to destroy the others around.”
“How does that work?” Eric questioned, holding tight to his sit.
“We are not in the Deadlands, taking down the belfry should be enough t—” With a quick and violent turn of her bike, Claire managed to avoid the sudden attack of a specter leaping at them from the side.
The specter continued to chase behind them, catching up with incredible speed. Claire zigzagged around the creature in an attempt to break its focus and lose its track, but the specter proved more resilient than a normal alpha threat as it kept up with her movements and continued to tail behind.
Having enough of the specter’s game, Claire attempted to unholster one of her pistols to deal with the pestering creature—immediately stopped by Eric. “I’ll take care of it, you handle those.” he offered while unsheathing his sword—pointing forward with his eyes.
The lieutenant directed her gaze in Eric’s pointing direction and spotted the mob of specters heading their way, splitting in smaller groups in an attempt to encircle them inside. Quickly unholstering her pistols, Claire released a rain of bullets against multiple targets and began to mow down as many as she could—attempting to open a path for her bike to break through. Eric crouched on the back seat of the bike and confronted the tailing specter with his sword, deflecting the creature’s claws with a quick swing as it leaped towards him with ravenous intent.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“They are getting closer!” Claire warned with a shout.
Lunging at the noble once again, the specter dove head first with its sharp fangs aiming for his torso. Eric responded just in time with a downwards thrust of his sword, impaling the creature on the rear cowl of the motorcycle.
“My bike!” Claire roared furiously.
“It’ll be fine!” Eric retorted.
The specter continued to squirm aggressively as its body was dragged along by the motorcycle. Putting the creature out of its misery, Eric forcefully plunged his dagger through the specter’s back, breaking the core and vanishing the monster into embers. The noble relocated himself and sat back on his sit, holding tight to it as Claire skillfully maneuvered through the diminished horde’s attacks—leaving the mob of specters behind.
“Are you done yet!” She yelled.
Eric nodded with a quick sigh, “of course!”
“Good, brace yourself!”
“Wha—”
The bike suddenly dispersed into embers without notice, catapulting the lieutenant and the noble forward with great momentum. While the grassy field cushioned their fall slightly, the pair continued to roll on the ground while protecting their heads. They eventually stopped their stroll through the floor and lied flat on the spiky grass blades, landing a couple of miles away from the belfry.
“T... this thing... needs a helmet...” Eric groaned, picking himself back up.
Claire stood back on her feet, holding her back while soft painful moans involuntary left her lips. “Didn’t think it would end so fast...” she observed her guns with a puzzled frown, the crimson light of her pistols fading away slowly.
The thundering scream of a specter brought them back to their senses, directing their eyes to the demon leaping at them from above. The sudden impact of a large projectile knocked the creature out of the air however, falling to the ground with a broken core and dissipating into embers right after.
Turning their heads towards the bullet’s origin, the pair noticed Scott providing support from the distance. Both Gaspard and Tori doing everything in their power to attract as many specters as possible, buying them crucial seconds to plan their next move.
“Maybe... we acted too hastily?” Claire mentioned with her pained voice.
“A little late for that... don’t you think?” Eric breathed, holding his injured left arm.
A strong earthquake suddenly struck the region a second time, plunging both Claire and Eric back to the ground. As the trembling slowly faded, the specters stopped their assault without warning and turned to face the massive tower. Most of them fell to the ground motionless, their energy veins shutting off like the screen of a computer which battery has just died off.
“Great, we won...” Eric implied sarcastically. “Nothing to say about this?” noticing Claire’s silence, he turned his head towards her and set his eyes on the massive creature that has rendered the lieutenant speechless.
At the gate of the belfry, a massive draconic head writhed furiously as it struggled to break free from the interior of the tower. Using its monstrous strength in one last push, the draconic specter shattered a large portion of the sturdy walls of the belfry to break into the outside world—displaying its sharp reptilian scaled body with many crimson veins running through the fissures inside. The massive core rested inside its chest with an intense light, giving life to its terrifying glowing red eyes.
The imposing spectral dragon spread its tattered wings brimming with crimson energy, the embers of the fallen specters flowing into its core—absorbing their power into its own.
Center of the Deadlands, Ruined Castle: 936, February 7th, Wednesday, 12:30 PM.
The silver haired man stood in front of a large open room, the wreckage inside conveying past memories into his mind. Rubble and broken pillars lied on the floor and multiple deep cuts were displayed on the walls of the castle—a devastation only capable by the hands of a gladean knight.
He walked up the stairs of the room towards the black throne, its crimson veins inactive like the rest of the structure. Beside the throne lied the core of a specter, supported by a small platform with sharp edges placed on top of a small table. Unlike the entire castle, the core irradiated a faint amount of energy still—burning brighter and brighter as the silver figure approached.
He stood in front of the throne in silence, the core’s energy blinking with excitement like a dog who has just reunited with its owner. “The Order of Knights...” the man whispered to himself. “It's time I finish what I started... so many years ago.” he grinned with utter confidence.
With his left hand inside his pocket, the silver figure turned back towards the exit of the room—his stride suddenly put to a halt by the sound of his phone ringing with an incoming call. Holding the device, he looked at the screen and answered to his contact displaying the name, ‘Fav Employee.’
“Where the hell are you, Sovereign?” Yeon’s puzzled voice came through the phone, the sounds of vehicles and people’s idle chatter filtering through the speaker. “We have a meeting in an hour and I haven’t seen you around,” she expressed with mild frustration. “I might’ve helped you with the funds, but this is still your company to run.”
“Sorry about that,” he offered an unconcerned apology. “I was just...” Sovereign paused for a moment, looking back at the empty black throne. “...Recalling past memories.” He playfully stated with a smug grin.
“I don’t care,” Yeon coldly answered—her voice calmer than before. “It’s my savings you throw away every minute this company loses money, get out of the Deadlands and hurry back here.”
“Where are you by the way?” the man asked with genuine curiosity as the sound of the crowded street continued to filter through the call. “Not having fun without me, are you?”
“Just had some lunch with Jacob,” Yeon answered nonchalantly.
“...”
“Sovereign?”
“You didn’t invite me?” he furrowed his eyebrows into a sad expression.
“You weren’t around,” Yeon’s voice began to slowly pick up with anger. “Just head back already, I bought you some lunch from the restaurant.”
“Really?” Sovereign beamed at her answered. “This is why you are my fa—” Yeon cut the call abruptly before he could finish his sentence, leaving him puzzled as he looked at the screen. “Better eat it while its hot,” Sovereign smiled—putting his phone back on his pocket and strolling his way out of the eerie castle inside the Deadlands.
END OF CHAPTER