Republic of Kaldstein, Northern Border of the Deadlands: 936, August 12th, Sunday, 5:00 PM.

“I guess we made it…” breathed Atalanta, landing a distance away from the massive wall keeping the specters away from the outside world.

After running to safety—feeling their weakened artery networks succumbing to the Deadlands’ influence, both Loki and Atalanta were able to escape the battle against Specter thanks to Ninigi’s help—leaving the hellish region through the north. Their bodies had yet to recover however, displaying many cuts and bruises through their ragged and dirty clothes.

“You alright, Loki?” she asked—receiving no response.

Both body and pride wounded, the order’s champion gritted his teeth with shaking fists—keeping his eyes in the distance, where nothing but grass and snow could be seen. Approaching from the side, the blonde knight placed one hand in Loki’s shoulder—which he immediately rejected with a quick motion.

“Stop, what is this tantrum going to do?” protested Atalanta.

“You saw him, did you not?”

“I could’ve helped more if—”

“I shouldn’t need you interfering!” he snapped at her. “Maybe I just let my guard down…” the knight said between gritted teeth, relaxing his tone as his angry frown fades at the thought of the god’s core. “Or maybe…”

“What? You went quite all of a sudden.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I’m not playing that game… tell me.” Insisted the blonde knight.

Scoffing at her persistence, Loki turned around to face the massive concrete wall that kept the Deadlands away. “I think you have more pressing matters to worry about.”

His words prompted Atalanta to turn as well, her eyebrows scrunching down as both corners on her lips formed an angry expression. “King…” she muttered.

“I do not wish to fight, Golden Lightning.” Claimed the giant—just as bruised and injured as the pair. “I was hoping for you to return to my order, and fight for your people once again… the world needs your strength more than ever.”

“Don’t bother,” replied the blonde knight. “I will not turn a blind eye to the things you’ve done any longer. Those people deserved better… my comrades deserved better.”

“I know we’ve hurt many in order to end this war with Specter,” King admitted, slowly approaching the pair. “But when all of this is over, there will be no need for sacrifices anymore, and those people will be remembered as heroes of the new world. You and Loki are our last resort, the last pure gladean knights capable of ending the god’s life… and restoring the order to its former glory.”

“What?”

King stopped approaching once his words caught the Golden Lightning’s attention. “Two paths have been laid out in front of us,” he said. “Specter finds himself at his weakest, and if we were to defeat him this time… we could rebuild the order with the two of you, and maintain the peace on earth as its guardians. Humanity will no longer destroy itself in conflict… no more wars, hunger, crime, or violence.” He continued preaching. “But if that route becomes too dangerous, if we are incapable of achieving that goal… then raising a new generation of knights will be required for us to succeed. Regardless of your strength, no knight can live forever, and losing you both would be detrimental to the existence of our species.”

“Bastard, I’m not falling for your tricks.” Atalanta retorted.

“Loki…” the giant turned to his champion. “I have confidence in you… but you must know that I speak only the truth. Your warden knew how to instill the mindset of a champion in you, and you’ve become the greatest warrior of not only your generation, but our time. However, victory is never guaranteed when it comes to fighting Specter… as you came to realize during your encounter with him.”

“…”

“You can’t listen to him!” the blonde knight protested, turning to the knight. “Listen, I know we may not be in the best of terms you and I, but he is lying to you and you know that! Come with me, Loki.” Suggested Atalanta. “With you, me and Ninigi… we can win. It’ll be like before, but—”

“I’ll pass,” replied Loki with little concern—interrupting Atalanta. “I am the champion, remember? The place of the legendary warrior is with the order and his people, not a rogue who enjoys smelling flowers in the sun.”

“Then help me, champion.” King requested as his round azure eyes shifted into a sharper gaze—stretching the fingers in his hands while seizing the opportunity laid before him. “The Golden Lightning stands no chance against you and me… if we take her back to Paradise then—"

“Then what?”

“…”

A quick chuckle escaped Loki’s lips as he enjoyed the silence, watching the cautious giant staring into his eyes. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out how Theo knew Specter’s identity?” he said.

“What do you mean, champion?”

“Loki, what are you talking about?”

A snarky grin drew itself in the knight’s expression, baring his teeth with excitement. “You are a daemon, king. You are one of the god’s pawns too.”

“…!”

His claim immediately threw King and Atalanta off guard, forcing the Golden Lightning into a defensive stance—keeping her hand close to her glaive, shrunk down into a small pipe in her lower back. The giant stood his ground however, cautiously keeping both knights in his sights while taking one quick step back.

Figuring that King had no desire to speak, Loki continued to explain his claim with confidence. “Like Theo, you are just another one of those husks you pass as gladean knights. Weak and fragile after being brought back to life thanks to the fountain and Gladea’s statue, but… even when they become daemons, they are nothing but a fraction of the real thing.” Said the knight. “You, are one of them. That’s why you need the fountain and the statue, to keep yourself from losing your mind to his temptations. It doesn’t give you power, it gives you control.”

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A gasp escaped from between Atalanta’s lips, recalling the strange feeling she felt during the fight with Specter. “That’s what I sensed from him when he showed,” she said under her breath. “But a daemon… all this time?”

“This is how Theo figured it out,” claimed Loki with a wide grin. “Your god was calling for you, wasn’t he? And you almost answered the call once he revealed himself. Just look at you, revitalized and livelier than ever. You talk big about a Paradise that was revealed to you by Gladea… but perhaps all you saw was ‘his’ Paradise instead.”

Gladean Empire, Empire’s Seas: 936, August 12th, Sunday, 5:00 PM.

“We may be able to stop it from harming the ship,” said Maulik—addressing the issue of the aquatic monster with Claire, Gal standing next to him with an unconcerned smile. “But neither of us has experience fighting in water, so this might become ugly either way.”

“Yep.” Added Gal.

During their return home, the lieutenant and her team spotted a gigantic specter lurking in the waters of the empire. Knowing well the creature could demolish their vessel in a single blow, Claire devised a plan in a desperate attempt to prevent disaster from striking. During her planning process, both hybrids—Maulik and Gal, known to be Ninigi’s students, appeared on the ship to provide their aid.

Falling into deep contemplation as her team carried their own tasks, Claire rested her chin in one fist while humming—offering her reply to both hybrids. “A beast is still a beast… we should lure it to one side of the ship, and focus our efforts there. That will reduce its chances of causing harm somewhere we can’t protect…” she fell into contemplation once again. “But its tail might be a problem if its surrounds us… this thing might just have the strength to crush our vessel like a thin can.”

“Aren’t you curious how we got in the ship?” asked Gal, maintaining a nonchalant attituded.

“No, I’m thinking…”

“We snuck in.”

“Shut up.”

“I know Ninigi taught us be calm in any situation but…” Maulik allowed one hand fall on the girl, bumping her in the head. “I don’t think this is what he meant.”

“I got it!” claimed the lieutenant—slamming one fist in her palm. “We’ll stay here at the front deck, where we’ll stand our ground and keep it busy.” She announced. “I will call for my team’s assistance once the staff is safely hidden inside, and then we’ll keep its attention on us here.”

“What about the other side?” Maulik asked.

“I got it covered,” confidently replied the lieutenant. She materialized both pistols in her hands, appearing with a small burst of crimson. “They should have enough energy for what we need…” she whispered.

Maulik looked cautious, but bit down his protesting words before replying with a different sentence. “I see you’ve gained better control of them,” he commented. “Ninigi said not to worry but…”

“There’s no time to fight amongst ourselves,” claimed the lieutenant. “Follow the plan, and we should be able to be able to get out of this one alive.”

Nodding in agreement both Gal and Maulik, proceeded to follow Claire’s plan—putting their trust in the young lieutenant. Taking their position at the front deck, the trio settled their gazes on the haunting beast in the distance—sliding across the blue waters of the empire with ease.

“Not gonna shoot’em?” Gal asked, turning to look at Claire. “I thought you wanted its attention.”

Shaking her head slowly, the lieutenant led one hand to her ear before opening comms with Scott. “Scott, respond.”

“In position and ready for action, lieutenant!” responded the young sniper. “I-if my voice shakes a little it’s because of the bad signal…”

“Do you think you can land a few shoots on our target?”

“There’s nothing I can’t shoot, unless I can’t see them of course.”

“Good. I want you to face the front deck and get the specter’s attention with a few shots, I will deal with the rest here. All I need you to do is to provide further support.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Aren’t you in the front deck?”

“Yep!” Gal replied immediately—chiming into the conversation, and followed by Maulik right after.

“Gal and I will assist your lieutenant,” claimed the hybrid. “Do as she said, and we’ll deal with the problem here.”

“How the hell…” clearing his throat before speaking, Scott confirmed his new task. “Alright, get its eyes in the front deck and provide support, got it!”

“Thank you, Scott.” Said Claire with a warm tone.

“H-hahah… I’m just doing my job. Stay safe, lieutenant!”

Cutting communications, Claire immediately contacted the noble and his butler next. “Eric, how are things with you?”

“We are almost done, lieutenant.” Replied the noble. “We managed to get the staff indoors, but maintaining order is proving to be a little difficult at the moment.”

“I need you and Gaspard at the front deck in two minutes, think you can make it?”

“Won’t be a problem.”

“Thank you, Eric.”

“You are welcome… don’t do anything stupid until I get there, got it?”

“Copy.”

Lastly, as Scott’s powerful shots echoed with a bang across the ocean—drawing shrilling and intimidating screeches from the aquatic demon. Claire made her final call by contacting Tori, who was assigned the protection of Jean—the captain of the ship.

“Tori, what’s your situation?”

“Your head will hang in my wall, you abhorrent beast! My name will be known by all who travel the seas once your body sinks to the depths of its waters!” Jean’s voice leaked through the call as she yelled at the monster. “You will know the name… Jean Bonheur!”

“What the—”

“S-sorry, lieutenant!” apologized Tori, replying to the call. “I’m here for whatever you need!”

“Right… how many darts do you have in your taser?”

“I carry five on me at all times, lieutenant!”

“Five… I recall them having good range. Do you see the front deck from your position?”

“Um…” a small paused proceeded. “Ah!”

“Tori!?”

“I-Im fine! I just… the creature is lurking in closer and it startled me a little…”

“Don’t scare me like that…”

“Sorry, but I see it. It’s a little far for me to shoot it from here, maybe if it was closer.” The young medic moaned, scared at the thought of fighting such a creature. “I think I know what you are thinking, but isn’t it too dangerous for you to be there. Also, I see two more people with you.”

“They’ll be helping me deal with the specter, think you can shoot from your position? You’ll just need to wait for my signal.”

“Yes, lieutenant!” Tori replied with confidence. “I will do anything you need me to!”

“Thank you, Tori. Make sure to stay safe, okay?”

The lieutenant’s concern drew a giggle from the young medic, who responded with high spirits. “Always! I won’t let you down!”

With her plan laid on the board, Claire watched the now agitated demon splashing closer and closer to the ship. As expected, the specter had abandoned its mindset of circling around the vessel once its pray focused on one side of the ship—focusing its sole attention on the front deck. Maulik and Gal stood at the ready to prevent any harm to their transport, while the lieutenant gripped her pistols tightly while trying to remain calm—taking paced breaths during the wait.

“Are you all actually soldiers?” Maulik asked Claire—causing her to raise an eyebrow at the question.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You seem very comfortable around each other,” Gal replied instead—keeping a calm smile in her face. “I thought you’d be more like,” the girl faked a deeper voice. “Do as I say, unless you want to know what hell really looks like, private!”

“Get ready!” The lieutenant suddenly yelled, bringing the hybrids’ attention back to the approaching serpent—which was now sliding directly at them.

Taking one last look at her pistols in hand, Claire inhaled deeply before releasing the air through her mouth—noticing the weak and blinking crimson light emanating from them. “Don’t let me down now…”

END OF CHAPTER