Democratic Republic of Pelkesk, Underground Facility: 936, May 14th, Monday, 11:30 AM.
“W-wait, where’s the lieutenant!” Jacob asked hastily as he was pushed away by princess Eutychia.
After Claire managed to escape the flaming room during her fight with Euthemia, the plan to rescue Jacob from Paradise was carried over thanks to her spectral gear—bringing back all residents nearby as well. In her desperate attempt to break free from the flames of the room however, the lieutenant’s gear transported her towards the broken bronze sword Jacob held in his arms—trading places with the people of Paradise.
“I’ll find her!” Eutychia roared. “You get out of here with everyone else!”
“Hold it!” Eric stomped forward, followed by Scott, Gaspard and Tori. “We are coming too.”
“That’s right,” Scott nodded. “We are a team after all.”
Yes!” Tori stepped forward—both hands clasped together. “She’s our lieutenant, we can’t leave without her!”
The black knight clicked her tongue, snarling at Bloodhound. “Someone has to get these people out of here,” she stated. “This place is collapsing with flames and they won’t make it out on their own, let me handle this myself.”
With those last words, Eutychia sprinted away further into the facility—unaware that Claire did not reside inside it any longer. Bloodhound was stunned at the princess’ urgency as they had no time to retort, her words managed to convince the group in leaving everything to her however—nodding to each other in resignation before proceeding to escort Paradise survivors to safety.
Exploring the maze-like facility—filled with fire and smoke, Eutychia fought off horde after horde of mutated soldiers—finding nothing in her search for Claire. Her mind still wondered about her own sister—Euthemia, who she was promised to see during the operation.
“Exile’s spawn,” the black knight spoke through the speaker in her ear. “Are you there?”
“I told you my name,” a smug voice replied on the other side. “But yes, I am here.”
“I can’t find this girl of yours. She’s gone somewhere, but she is not in this place.”
“I see… how bad are things over there?”
“The place is coming down, but we have rescued some survivors.” the princess reported. “From both here and… and Paradise.”
“Good to hear,” Sovereign paused for a quick second—thinking twice about his next decision. “You didn’t find your sister I assume?”
“…”
“I didn’t lie to you, but it sounds like things didn’t go according to plan. Leave the area before it collapses on you, I’ll deal with the rest.”
“Are you sure?”
The call was cut abruptly, leaving the princess with no answer. Just as she prepared to abandon the place however, the tall shape of a dark figure already awaited her from within the black clouds of smoke. The gladean knight, emerged from one of the halls with its weapon at the ready—his clothes ragged, and his body covered with cuts and bruises.
“You again?” Eutychia snarled—recognizing the opponent she previously fought.
Under the Floating City of Paradise, Open Sky: 936, May 14th, Monday, 11:30 AM.
Atalanta cut down specter after specter as they continuously surged from within the black tower—the energy veins in its body radiating with a strong crimson light. The belfry had a sturdier structure and was considerably taller than any other, having rose from the ground below to pierce the floating island of Paradise from underneath. The Golden Lightning sprinted rapidly in a vertical position, darting across the walls of the belfry as she slashed the specters climbing towards Paradise.
In her way down, a powerful blast suddenly burst through the wall of the belfry near her feet. The rubble caused by the impact hurled Atalanta away into the air, and from within the gigantic hole left by the explosion—emerging with an earsplitting roar, was a massive spectral dragon.
The crimson veins on its black exoskeleton radiated fiercely, flopping its wings to soar above the air. Its enormous mouth carried long and sharp fangs, just as dangerous as the claws on its feet.
“Gh!” Atalanta spun around as she avoided the massive rocks falling on her.
Soaring across the sky, the dragon suddenly plunged from above into a straight line towards her—snapping its jaws open with flaming breaths. Utilizing the rubble plummeting around here, the knight planted her feet in one of the massive rocks and propelled herself out of harm’s way at the last second.
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The dragon snatched its mouth closed against Atalanta, only to be met by the debris of the belfry—biting into a gigantic rock with its powerful bite, and crushing it into dust. Free to counter her opponent’s attack, Atalanta bent her knees slightly before propelling herself upwards towards the dragon—leaving a trail of lightning behind her.
“In one hit!” the knight roared as sparks of electricity emerged from the pores of her skin.
The astonishing speed and strength behind her charge split the air in her path, approaching the spectral dragon with terrific velocity. Atalanta gripped her glaive tightly in one hand as she neared the demon, reeling it backwards while placing her free arm in front of her—protecting her face from the wind.
Hardly able to respond at The Golden Lightning’s attack, the dragon attempted a swift retreat by swinging its large wings forward in a single and quick motion—the force of their movement propelling it backwards. Its desperate attempt to save its own life bore no fruits however, as Atalanta quickly arrived like a missile that tackled its body in a powerful impact.
As they both soared away further—leaving a large trial of lightning behind, the knight pressed her forearm against the dragon’s throat as the creature snapped its jaws at her—desperately attempting to break free from her clutches. The belfry remained standing as they battled, and Atalanta had no time to waste on her opponent. With a thrust of her arm against the creature’s neck, the knight pushed the dragon a short distance away from her—giving herself enough space to react with a rapid spin in the air, decapitating the demon with a swift slash of her glaive.
As the crimson energy abandoned its body, the dragon’s motionless body flopped down as it dissipated into embers, bringing the fight to an end. Wasting no time, Atalanta fixed her eyes on her next objective, hurling her weapon at the belfry with a powerful throw. The glaive pierced the sturdy walls of the belfry, fissuring the structure on impact. Atalanta propelled herself in mid-air with a strong kick, flying across the empty skies and crashing straight into the black walls of the tower—slamming her fist against it, which reaped a small crevice at contact.
“Let’s end this,” the blonde knight said to herself—taking a hold of her glaive.
Pulling the weapon out from the belfry, Atalanta gathered a large amount of electricity around her glaive—its sparking noises snapping louder as it grew in strength. Her artery network suddenly shined brightly, releasing a powerful azure light from within her body. Clenching her fingers tight on the steel pole of her glaive, Atalanta planted her feet firmly on the wall before pushing herself backwards—Slicing the belfry with a spinning slash of her weapon.
The skies burst with a deafening thunder that echoed throughout the region as the knight released the contained energy within her, splitting the sturdy black walls of the belfry with a single slash. Having been sliced in two, the tower began to collapsed in on itself instantly—bringing down the remaining specters that climbed their way towards Paradise.
Atalanta observed as the demon’s vanished into embers, accompanied by the falling structure as it crumbled into pieces. Falling from rapidly from the sky, with her back towards the ground.
“Alright… this should be enough to save the people above.” she exhaled loudly through her mouth—relaxing her body. “Now back to Paradise.”
Floating City of Paradise, Knight’s District: 936, May 14th, Monday, 11:30 AM.
As the battle between knights and specters reached its climax, things began to calm down around the district. Some gladean knights lied motionless on the ground, having lost their lives in the fight. No specter could be seen on sight around the knight’s district, but the destruction left behind by the demons was as clear as day. A large portion of the area was razed into plain rubble and dirt, many buildings were destroyed, the statues of knights and the goddess turned to dust, and the wall separating both districts open with many breaches.
Through the dead bodies of knights and the chaos of the region, an unconscious Claire was being carried into the massive castle of the knight’s district by one of King’s knights—one hand supporting her back, and the other carrying her legs from underneath. King—accompanied by an escort of guards, guided him across the halls of the castle into the throne room.
They strode their way behind the throne into a secret gate, camouflaged like a wide and sturdy wall made of concrete. The gate slid open at the presence of King, with the upper half lifting upwards, and the lower sliding down into the floor.
Beyond the massive gate was a beautiful garden, intact by the horror of the battlefield. It was as if they entered an entirely different world as soon as they stepped into the soft, green grassy field. The flowers swayed lightly with the gentle wind, and the statue of Gladea stood tall not far in the distance—surrounded by a large body of water.
“Bring the girl to our goddess,” King commanded. “She must now join her strength with ours, and help the order overcome this crisis.”
Meanwhile, at the remains of the human district.
Claire’s abandoned pistols were left near the outer wall by King, who—like the other knights, was incapable of putting their hands on them. Juno lied naked on the dirt, while Jupiter was kept on its holster next to it—both pistols slumbering with no crimson light. Thanks to Atalanta’s efforts in destroying the belfry, the specters no longer roamed the area, and due to Claire’s actions, most of the residents were evacuated and brought back down with Eutychia and Bloodhound.
Somewhere near the spectral gear, lied the broken bronze sword the lieutenant picked up from the building—its corroded bluish blade covered with dirt. As it silently rested on the ground, a large crimson hand suddenly buried its fingers to pick the sword into its palm. The demon lowered its head, fixing its glowing eyes on the broken blade.
Unlike a common specter, its exoskeleton was of a crimson color instead of black—with its energy veins radiating a strong amber fire from within. Its body was tall and of muscular structure—rivaling the physique of a gladean knight. The creature possessed long horns on its head that bent all the way backwards, and the mandibles near its mouth displayed a sharp pair of blades like an insect’s.
With a quick motion of its arm, the horned specter hurled the broken sword over the massive wall of the district—sending it back down to the ground below. With the sword out of its way, the crimson demon took both Juno&Jupiter into its hands—turning its head to face the large castle in the distance.
END OF CHAPTER