“You can’t just leave him like this…” Yeon’s sorrowful eyes looked at the silver haired woman lying on the bed. “He still needs you…”

The bedridden woman smiled gently. She breathed through an oxygen mask, and was connected to a vital sign monitor—which reported slow paced palpitations. The woman’s breathing was somewhat loud, and her eyebrows were dropped with exhaustion.

“I’ve lived my life, Yeon.” she expressed with a soft voice. “I lived the best life I could. All I had left… all I wanted, was to see my son live.”

With a dry throat and puffy eyes, Yeon sighed to calm herself before replying. “He is on his way to the hospital right now… it shouldn’t be long before he arrives.”

The silver haired woman huffed a quick chuckle. “He’s grown so much… hasn’t he?”

“He has,” Yeon replied—releasing a quick sigh. “I just wish he wouldn’t flirt with me so much… I saw him be born after all.”

Her words drew out a quick laugh from the mother, who scrunched her eyebrows into a worried look. “Please don’t be too harsh on him, he’s got that trait from me after all.”

“You told me before, but I still find it hard to believe it…”

“Not if you knew his father,” the silver haired woman said. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to snare him into my web of love.”

“Now you just sound evil…”

The pair shared a chuckle, falling into short silent contemplation right after.

“Take care of him for me, Yeon.” Sovereign’s mother requested.

“Luna…” Yeon’s expression dropped into a sad frown. “Please try…”

Luna shook her head slowly, smiling warmly at Yeon. “I can’t.” she said. “Trust me, I want nothing more than to spend more time with him.” She clenched her jaw as to maintain her smile. “But my death was long overdue, and I already had my second chance… Please, Yeon. Help him find his.”

Cerberus HQ, Meeting Room: 936, May 14th, Monday, 8:00 AM.

‘Look at him, Yeon!’ Luna hopped up and down while keeping her hands clasped together, witnessing her child crawling on the wooden floor.

Yeon watched an old video on her phone while sitting in the meeting room in front of a desk—which remained split in half by a clean cut through the middle. The walls were busted, the windows broken, the floor shattered, and the ceiling fan collapsed at the center of the table. This were the results of Claire’s encounter with Eutychia during a meeting two weeks ago, both women lunged at each other in a rivaling match—leaving the place a complete disaster until Yeon put a stop to their match.

‘Did you record it?’ the silver haired woman asked enthusiastically—overjoyed by her son’s achievement. ‘He is learning so fast, look at him!’ Unable to contain the joy she felt, the woman picked up the small boy in her arms into a tender embrace, swaying him around while rubbing her cheek on his.

‘I did,” young Yeon in the video replied. ‘Oh… your phone is running out of battery; do you have a charger somewhere?’

The mother continued embracing the young boy, taking a sit on a nearby couch as Yeon awaited her answer. She went silent for a short minute, gently caressing her child’s silver hair with a wistful smile.

‘Luna?’ Yeon called while approaching her.

‘Oh! Sorry, Yeon.’ Luna replied. ‘I was just thinking… he looks just like his father.’

The loud ringing noise of her phone suddenly interrupted the video, surprising Yeon who flinched back in surprise. Noticing the name ‘Don’t Answer’ on screen, Yeon promptly pressed the green button to answer the call.

“Soverei—”

“Ki-Joon, leave the offices!” the man thundered with haste. “Evacuate everyone at HQ now!”

The call was cut abruptly, prompting Yeon to dash her way out of the room into the hallway—slamming the emergency button placed in one of the walls, which triggered red blinking lights across the entire building. Continuing her way down the stairs, Yeon assisted in evacuating the employees of the higher floors by organizing them into a line.

“Yeon!” Arwen encountered her as he evacuated the building himself. “What happened!”

“I don’t know yet!” she replied. “I received a call from Sovereign, he wants everyone out immediately.”

“Sovereign?” Arwen’s eyes widened. “It must be really bad then…”

Thankfully, Cerberus’ personnel were strongly prepared for emergencies at any moment—making a swift and painless evacuation through the main and emergency doors. Arwen and Yeon left the building while continuing to guide everyone into a safer location, aided by the empire’s hybrid warriors and the company’s own officers.

“Uh?” from the corner of Yeon’s eye, strings of smooth, long blonde hair swayed elegantly among the crowd—catching her attention. “That hair…”

The man was dressed in a white uniform as well, he had a tall stature and a fragile appearance—with a somewhat feminine look thanks to his long, and elegant locks.

“Yeon, what is it?” Arwen suddenly interrupted. “We have to leave; the emperor’s soldiers will take care of the situation.”

“Evacuate with the others, I’ll follow soon.”

“What? Wait!”

Yeon rushed in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd, pushing her way through the mob while keeping her eyes glued to the alluring golden hair. She panted heavily while trying to keep up with the elegant figure, which seemed unbothered by the dire situation.

“Stop! Stop him!” Yeon yelled at the emperor’s hybrids.

Within the fleeing mob, a few white uniformed soldiers of the Gladean Empire noticed Yeon chasing the tall man, making chase towards the mysterious blonde figure. With his disguise compromised, Theo—King’s right hand, ripped the uniform open to reveal his clothes underneath.

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He was dressed in a fancy azure robe with golden bracelets around his wrists, and a circlet of the same color around his forehead. “So be it…” the man said under his breath.

One of Cerberus’ hybrids attempted to apprehend the blonde knight, but was repelled with ease by a swift strike to the gut—an attack so fast, the hybrid was unable to perceive it with his eyes.

Reinforcements arrived quickly, and a group of three other hybrids attacked the man in a single charge. One of them suddenly plummeted to the ground however, followed by the second and then the third hybrid—collapsing motionless against the floor.

Yeon’s mouth remained opened in pure shock, watching the emperor’s warriors drop one after the other. She instinctively took a step back to prepare her escape, with the crowd dispersing around the knight as they ran to safety.

“Hm?” Theo turned his gaze to look over his shoulder, fixing his glowing azure eyes on Yeon. “I recognize you,” he said.

Taking another step back, Yeon held her ground while waiting for reinforcements to arrive—glaring at the elegant figure. “Why are you here?”

Turning around to look at Yeon face to face, Theo remained stoic as he explained his presence. “Where is the girl?”

“Stay away!” Yeon yelled as Theo took a single step forward—stopping his advance. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Another group of four hybrid’s arrived to the scene in Yeon’s aid—with two of them rushing the knight from opposite directions, aiming for a pincer move. Before they could even reach Theo however, both hybrids were forced to bend forward by a powerful gust of wind—knocking them out instantly. The remaining pair of soldiers trained their rifles on the blonde knight, pressing the trigger and unleashing a barrage of bullets in his direction.

The projectiles flew straight towards Theo, but collided with what seemed to be an invisible wall of wind—bouncing off it and dropping to the floor. Commanding the winds in his favor, the knight responded with a powerful burst of air that struck both knights in the face, causing their heads to ricochet violently in a quick motion—breaking their necks.

A loud gasp escaped Yeon’s lips at the death of the two hybrids. Her body was frozen in shock, but her quivering legs prepared to make a swift escape if necessary. “Leave us alone…” she requested, maintaining her composure. “What business do you have with Cerberus?”

“Lucy Engel,” Theo answered. “Could you please take me to her?” his voice was soft and gentle, displaying his elegant demeanor not only in appearance, but in conduct as well. “I only need the girl,” he said. “I shall make my leave promptly after.”

“…!” Yeon’s phone suddenly rang in her vest’s pocket, but her eyes remained fixed on the gladean knight—afraid to even flinch.

“Please go ahead, I have no issue waiting.”

“Wait for this!” a masculine voice roared from behind him.

With a hefty jump in the air, Sebastian—leader of the Heretic unit, brought down his large sword against Theo—forcefully pulling the blade into a downwards cut.

“…!” For only a quick a second, Theo’s serene expression broke into a shock as his opponent approached rapidly.

In order to avoid getting cut in half by Sebastian’s sword, the knight leaped to the aside and managed to dodge a deadly blow—which collided against the ground, and shattered the concrete into pieces. With a quick huff from his nose, Theo repositioned himself to face the major, who smirked innocently while resting the sword on his shoulder

“Hey, it’s you!” Sebastian exclaimed. “You are the one from that TV show, right?”

Paying no mind to the man’s buffoonery, Theo dust off the dirt that landed on his robes—maintaining his composure. “There is no need for us to fight,” he claimed. “The order is your ally, humanities ally. Please, leave everything in the gladean knights’ hands. We are your savio—"

“Nah!” Sebastian interrupted. “I don’t like what you are selling.”

“Major!” Aria—a member of Heretic’s unit, pulled in to assist, leaping into combat next to Sebastian. She wore her usual white uniform, with the white and black headband tied around her forehead.

“Whatever you need done will be done, miss Ki-Joon!” Xun—the last member of Heretic, rolled in on her mech suit, fixing her glasses as she pulled next to Yeon. “Leave this to us and evacuate with the others.”

In a breath of relief, Yeon exhaled loudly from her mouth while letting her shoulders drop. “He is extremely dangerous, prioritize survival.” she instructed the unit before making her exit.

“So, he is a gladean knight?” Aria asked.

“In the flesh, isn’t this exciting?” Sebastian replied. “We met another one.”

Xun placed both hands in the controls of her mech, resting her fingers in the buttons that manage her weaponry. “What kind of twisted world is this?” she expressed. “Now we have to fight gladean knights too?”

“You have interrupted my conversation,” Theo addressed Heretic. “Could you please bring me the girl you know as Lucy Engel? It is an urgent matter.”

Aria placed her hands in front of her, clenching her fingers into tight fists. “All you’ll get is this knuckle sandwich!” she thundered. “Come get it!”

As she rushed towards the massive gate separating HQ from the outside world, Yeon’s heavy breath quivered as sweat dropped from her forehead—rolling down into her eyebrows. Her mind wondered as she approached the exit, noticing the large crowd that had gathered at the gates.

“What… what’s happening?”

Reaching her destination, Yeon pushed through the crowd by using her arms to open a path for herself. The unclear words of the mob’s chatter echoed in her ears, but her attention was solely on reaching whatever stopped them from evacuating. When she finally broke through the wall of Cerberus employees, a loud gasp escaped her lips once she noticed the small group of gladean knights standing in front of the crowd.

“Arwen!” she yelled.

In one of the knight’s arms, Arwen was being held captive by the neck—struggling to break free. “It’s fine agh! I’m okay, Yeon!” he tried to deescalate the situation.

“Ah?” A gladean knight—who’s back was turned towards the crowd, proceeded to reveal his face as he turned to look at the large assembly of people—wearing a self-assured grin on his face. “I was about to leave, but it seems like we found some entertainment at last.”

“Loki…” Yeon gritted her teeth.

“You know my name?” the knight raised an eyebrow, keeping his cocky attitude intact. “You must be really smart, because I don’t recall ever meeting.”

“…”

“Quiet, aren’t we?” Loki began to slowly approach Yeon, strolling lazily while swaying from side to side. “How long do you think that silence will last?”

Democratic Republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, May 14th, Monday, 8:00 AM.

“…”

“…”

“U-um…” Tori kept her hands clasped together while strolling the streets of Kapono-capital city of Pelkesk.

Bloodhound patrolled the quiet and peaceful streets of the city, known for its greenery and forest like appearance. No cars drove on the road, and only a few people walked on the sides—with the cold breeze caressing their skin under the clear blue sky above.

“Ahem!” Scott cleared his throat while sweat rolled down his forehead.

“What good weather today, wouldn’t you say?” Eric expressed, looking at Gaspard.

“It is indeed, master Eric.” the butler agreed with a smile. “It’s the perfect weather to make peace with our enemies in fact.”

Both Claire and Eutychia growled as they walked next to each other, throwing angry glances at each other from time to time.

“I only accepted this task under your boss’ request,” the black knight broke the silence. “I still intend to settle things with you after our first battle.”

Claire frowned—curving her eyebrows in a downward curve. “You attacked me unprovoked… twice.”

“And I’ll do it a third time right now.”

“Wait, please!” Tori jumped in between the pair. “We are a team now, can we um… j-just get along?”

“Fine.” Both women replied in unison, averting their angry gaze.

“Help!” a sudden cry in the distance caught Bloodhound’s attention. “Someone, help me!” the voice of a young woman kept crying for aid.

“Bloodhound, with me!” Claire commanded—rushing with Bloodhound towards the helpless cries for aid.

As they continued sprinting across the mostly empty streets of Kapono however, a few red flags suddenly raised in the lieutenant’s mind—lowering her head slightly with a contemplative expression. She glanced from side to side at the short population roaming the city, looking inside the mostly empty buildings, or the few pedestrians strolling the roads.

“No reaction?” her mind wondered—watching the citizens continue with their daily routines.

END OF CHAPTER