“Grandpa, what is happening?” Fiora slammed the door opened with Alastor following right behind.

Inside the mansion of doctor Vincent, the Greymen had already gathered around the table where he sat behind. Upon receiving the emergency call, everyone has rushed here to determine what their course of action would be. Unlike anything previously, this time could be considered as a full scale invasion from the Monochromes. This has never happened before. So what changed?

They could not afford to just rush to the scene only to get killed. Furthermore, even with the full team who has just come back from their missions, it wasn’t enough to take on all of them at the same time.

“How is it that so many Monochromes have gathered here? This has never happened.” A Greyman uttered in disbelief.

“We can figure that out later. What’s more important now is how to deal with them. We don’t have enough personnel to face this kind of frontal attack, even with the government’s help.” Kennedy said.

“With just the Greymen and the government’s defence force, we can’t. But….” Vincent raised his head and looked at the only young boy in the room. “Alastor, will you help us? In return, I promise you that I will dedicate everything I have to help you getting back to your world.”

“Doctor, I know that he is more than capable of handling one of them. But this time, they number in a dozens and are scattered all around the city. He can’t be everywhere at the same time!” Edmur argued. “Furthermore, there are two of them out there which are much more powerful than the usual ones. For all we know, they can be as strong as Alastor.”

“One” a young voice said.

“What?” Edmur turned to the source of the voice. “What do you mean by ‘one’?”

“You only need to worry about one of the two. The second one, I think, will buy us some time for you to take care of the rest.” Alastor said.

“How do you know?” asked Jora.

“Because I can feel her presence from here. One is a Goddess from our world while the other was her sister. However, last time I saw her, she was consumed by the monster that dragged me here. I think that this second source of power is the monster I am looking for.”

“A Goddess? So she is on our side right?” asked Pat.

“Not really! After dealing with the monster which ate her sister, she will probably try to kill me too.”

“What kind of God would do that?” Edmur questioned.

“The bad kind. I don’t know about your God or if you even have one, but the Gods in Astora are pretty weird by my standard. The last one I met committed genocide against his entire race for no apparent reason at all!”

“Still that leaves the smaller ones. How do we kill them with just the few of us?” one Greyman raised the question.

“Do they all have regeneration capacity like the one I killed?” Alastor turned to Kennedy.

“I don’t think so. At least, not at the same level. I have fought the Monochromes for years now and that was the first time I ever saw one with that kind of self-healing ability. I believe that the one you killed is a special Monochrome with that ability.” The veteran answered.

“I see…how many Greymen do we have? And I mean everyone available.” Alastor inquired.

“Thirty…..thirty one!” Kennedy looked at Fiora.

“How many Monochromes are we talking about?”

“Excluding the two we just talked about, about fifteen. Just so you know, two Greymen can’t defeat an S-rank Monochrome by themselves.”

What a dilemma! Using large area effect spells, Alastor could take care of the small monsters easily. However, it would mean destroying the city along with it so that option was rejected immediately. After all, if he ever wanted to return home, Alastor would need the help of these people.

The alternative was to use the Legion to compensate the lack of number. However, he couldn’t contact the Millennium Regiment for some reasons. Perhaps because they were still in Astora, haunting for Odium’s beasts so his call couldn’t reach them. They were after all separated in two different worlds.

That left him only the option to call on the others battalions of the Legion still residing in his dimension pocket which always accompanied him. The problem was, unlike the Millennium Regiment who was the front line of his army, the others squads didn’t have the same number as their compatriots. In addition, their handling was much more situational and many would require a solid defensive position for the maximum efficiency.

“You don’t need to defeat them. Just buy time and distract it!” the boy affirmed.

Confusion was in everyone’s mind. How would they be able to win with just distraction? What were they buying time for? And the most important question was: could they trust the boy? If they failed, it would not be just their lives but the lives of everyone in the city as well. A risky gamble, that was what this was. But a gamble they could not afford to lose. To entrust everything to a boy whom many of the people gathered here have never even met was something preposterous. Sure, they saw the record of his fight so maybe he had the power but what about his intention? Doctor Vincent may have trusted him for some reasons but not the rest. Except for one.

“What do you want us to do?” Fiora stepped up.

“Divide into groups of two! For each group, I will send out a third member. Your task is to lead that person assigned to your group to the monster and buy her some time, all while protecting her at all cost.” Alastor explained.

“A third member? From where?” asked Jora.

“I don’t have time to explain and I believe you too don’t have time to listen to me while the city is being ravaged. All I ask is for you all to put your trust in me and do exactly as I instructed! Else by the morning, there won’t be a place left to protect.”

“Very well! We will do as you say!” said the doctor.

“But…”

“I understand some of you have doubts in your minds. That’s perfectly reasonable. But the boy is our only hope to survive this night. If you have any better ideas, please say it or else we are just wasting our time here while our precious metropolis is on fire!” Vincent proclaimed.

“…..” Even with the doctor, their caretaker seemed to trust the boy. Still, doubt resounded in everyone’s mind as they looked at each other in confusion. It was always easier to doubt than to trust after all. But then, a young woman stepped up and spoke to the crowd.

“While we have only known each other for a few days, I can assure you that Alastor is of no harm to our society and our peace. Believe me, I know! He may look small but he can fight like a colossus. So I ask that you put your faith in him, as I did.” Fiora spoke. With her Psychokinesis, no one would be able to lie to her. So having her words were surely able to sway the crowd to, perhaps not trust, but at least not doubt the boy.

“All right we will do as you instructed!” said the Greymen.

“Perfect! Please wait here for five minutes then gather at outside the mansion! I will go call on the last members of your teams.”

With that said, the boy quickly walked out of the room to the entrance of Vincent’s house. With an unpleasant expression on his face, he cast a large magic circle on the ground. Similar to the Millennium Regiment which was based on the Abyssal Knight, the group he was about to call upon was also based on a certain person from the Abyss, a demon lord. Among all the companies, this group was perhaps the strangest and…the most unfortunate among the Ten Divisions of the Legion. Because they were basically clones of that demon lord but a much weaker version, sometimes it was possible that these clones possessed abilities that not even Alastor could use. But as a person, to have interacted with them meant they once had a connection, no matter how faint it might be. Even if they were clones, deprived of all emotions or personalities, it pained Alastor to do what he was about to do.

“Come, my daughters! Come and serve me, as it is the purpose for which you were created for!”

Dark smog oozed out from the portal like an overflown viscous sea of mud, surging around the boy. Black human arms surfaced and rose toward him, as if they were trying to reach out to him. And from it, fifteen figures aroused from this darkness. Wearing black tattered cloaks and hoods which showed only their bottom half of their faces, these individuals appeared female based on the crimson glowing lips and their pale smooth skin. The most striking appeal would be their bindings: their whole body was covered by chains in such a way that no one could understand how they were able to even move with that kind of restriction.

Together, the women slowly bowed to their knees to their creator.

“My Oracles, heed my call! Your task is simple: to take the lives out of the monsters in this city! Accompany these people. Treat them like you treat your brethren as they will do their best to protect you! As for you….you will know what to do.” Alastor uttered softly.

Without a single word, the Oracles acknowledged the command of their creator with a simple bow. At the same time, the group of Greymen, divided in pair, came out of the mansion. Upon seeing the strange women in weird clothing, none could hide their surprise. Where did these women come from? And most important of all, how would they be able to help in this situation?

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Who are they?” asked Fiora after she approached the boy.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they will help you in your fight against the Monochromes. Remember: your mission is to bring them safely to the monster and buy them some time! After that, they will take care of the rest!” Alastor explained.

“What? What do you mean? How could they even fight with those chains on them?” Kennedy queried.

“They don’t fight. That’s what you are there for.”

“Then how…”

“Every second we lose here, a person will die. Do you want to continue this conversation?” insisted Alastor.

“…Alright! It’s not like I have any other choice. I can only hope they are as capable as you think they are. Let’s move people!” With each woman going with a pair of Greymen, the group left the mansion and charged toward the city, leaving only Fiora and Alastor behind.

“I guess I will go to the two strongest source of power then. What about you, Fiora?” asked Alastor.

“I will go with you. I cannot let you facing those two monstrosities by yourself.” The girl said.

“Fiora, Elemyr is a Goddess, the most powerful beings in my world. Furthermore, this time there is that monster so I cannot guarantee your safety if you go with me.” The boy pled. “So stay here and look after the old man!”

“I don’t remember asking you to keep me safe. I can take care of myself.” Her voice sounded a bit irritating from what Alastor just said. During her entire career, she has been treated like someone incapable of doing anything by herself. That has last enough.

“Fiora, don’t be unreasonable! ….”

“He is right!” A voice spoke, making the two turning back to the gate. They thought all the Greymen have departed with Kennedy so who else would be here?

“Grandpa? What are saying?”

“You will stay with me, Fiora!” the doctor spoke firmly.

“Thank you for your comprehension, doctor Vincent! So Fiora, please stay….”

“Since I will be going with Alastor, I need someone to look after me.”

“WHAT? No one is going with me.” The boy yelled.

“Then go ahead! We will follow right after you.” Vincent grinned.

Vincent has struck a nerve on Alastor. Even if the boy went on by himself, if they wanted, these two could just follow him since they already knew where Elemyr was. Alastor didn’t even understand why Vincent wanted to go. He was just an old man stuck on a wheelchair. How would he be able to do anything?

“…Fine! But don’t blame me if you die over there!” the boy grunted.

“No problem! I have my grand-daughter right next to me. Isn’t it right, Fiora?”

“Of course, grandpa!” the girl said excitedly. However, she herself didn’t understand why would Vincent go with them. With Alastor a bit far ahead of the pair, Fiora whispered to the old man. “Grandpa, why are you going with us exactly?”

“It’s nothing, my dear! I only want to confirm something with my own eyes. Besides, even if I don’t go with him, you will still go so I might as well tag along to keep you safe.” Vincent said.

For a moment, the young woman laughed as she could not imagine how a seventy years old man like Vincent who has been sitting on a wheelchair for half of his life would be able to do anything to a monster like the Monochrome, not to mention to protect a Greyman like her from it. The thought was just too funny to be true. Perhaps he merely said it since she was the only relative left. Who knew?

* * *

Currently, Kennedy, together with Jora and an Oracle assigned to them, were on their way to find their designated monster in district G. Thanks to Jora’s Telekinesis, they were able to stayed afloat from building to building, making the travel much easier than it would be by walk or vehicle in this chaotic situation.

Down below, people was already being evacuated by the military to the outside zones where it was considered ‘safe’. Unlike any other time where these residents of the affected district could be temporarily relocated to another while the army or the Greymen would engage the beast, this time everywhere was affected. The Monochromes have escaped through the Rift and many have wandered outside from its original district and caused trouble to everywhere it went. With this large number of them being all gathered in this same city, it would mean a total evacuation of not thousands but millions of people and that was no easy task, especially when you had no short notice or anything at all.

A child returning from their daily school. A woman going to a supermarket, wondering what she should make for dinner. An office man stopping at a street restaurant after a tired day at work. All these people were just minding their own business before crisis hit Europia. And the most shocking thing was that none of them even knew why they fell into such a state in the first place. During all those years, the government of not just Europia but in most countries around the world have done a fine job of keeping the existence of the Monochrome a secret. They wanted to avoid panic, which was perfectly understandable. What would they tell the public? That humanity was being attacked by an unknown race of monster which came from another dimension? Because that was about everything they could have said about the Monochrome. Even after all those years of research, nothing was known about the origin of these creatures or even what their objective was. The only thing they have done was to strengthen their defence, recruiting more Greymen to counter those monstrosities and that was it, nothing more. How long would this continue? How long would they have to endure this onslaught? They just didn’t know.

“So what should we call you, miss …..” Kennedy asked the Oracle. From his experience, the outcome of a battle depended on the synergy and understanding between the team members. To have someone completely unknown from outside like what he was doing would be unthinkable in his opinion. But it was not like he had a choice so he might as well use this short time to know more about this strange woman and what exactly their plan was.

“I have no name, nor do I need one.” Answered the woman swiftly, suggesting she was not up for a conversation. Why would she want to have one anyway? She knew her orders, as well as these people. Instead of talking, they should concentrate on finding the monster they were assigned for.

“That would be troublesome. If I need to call you in the midst of a fight, a name would be appreciated.” The man smiled in courtesy.

“Then you can call me the Oracle.”

“Why do you have no name?” asked Jora.

“Because it’s not necessary. A name is given to personalize something, to give it a sense of unicity. And because of our fighting style, it’s considered better to not be given a name. That way, things can be….easier to forget.” The Oracle slightly stuttered at the last bit. “Anyway here is our target! Focus!”

A few hundreds meters away up ahead, right at the crossing, a humanoid monster with three horns on its head was smashing a building with its bare hands. A couple of monochrome eye balls monster, similar to the one Luna killed, were also seen floating around the Monochrome.

“So two scouts and a bruiser! What is the plan, miss Oracle?” asked Kennedy.

“Protect me for ten minutes and it will be all over!” the Oracle ordered.

“What do you intend to do anyway?” Jora asked.

“I have no time to explain. Do you want to do this or not?” the woman said.

“…Very well! Jora, you and I will take care of the two scouts first then we will distract the large one to keep it away from miss Oracle. It doesn’t seem to have spotted us yet so we still have the advantage.” Kennedy explained the plan.

“Roger!” Jora acknowledged.

Slowly descending in height until they touched the ground in the middle of the street, the duo prepared for battle. At least, the civilians seemed to have escaped from the area so they didn’t have to hold back for anything. The only problem was what this Oracle woman would do. Would she charge at the monster with some kind of incredible attack or would she stay behind and assist them from the backline? Still, Jora could not fathom what kind of thing she would use to be able to kill the creature, unless she had that same spell as Alastor or something equivalent.

But none of her prediction were true. With the duo charging forward, the Oracle woman simply sat down on the ground, crossing her legs. All of the sudden, she clapped her hand together, clacking the chains and generating a small invisible shockwave from her body, making the monsters taking notice of her presence.

“Let’s begin the ritual! ”