Chapter 51: Jack; Shauran 48th, 344SR; 23:30

Jack turned the corner, the dark steps were lit by another candle down at the next turn. Jack pressed his fingers against another cold metal door, this had been the tenth they passed. At the next corner, Jack's heart skipped a beat. 'No more candles? Are we at the end?!' Elisia turned the corner and stopped, letting out yet another sigh before continuing down. There was another candle at the bottom of more steps. 'That last one just went out... Who keeps these lit anyways?'

Jack felt like his feet would fall off, they had been walking for almost an entire day. The last break they took was at least four hours ago, eight before that one. He groaned to himself as he turned the corner and noticed another candle at the bottom of more steps. 'It's been over a day... Are we lost... No that can't be... It's been a single path and we didn't go through any doors because they're all locked...' They continued through the dark stairwell filled with dust and webs.

"Hey Elisia, can I ask you something, it's a little personal?" said Lector.

"Go ahead," Elisia replied.

"You said those two big... Uh... They kind of looked like trees?" Lector tried not to offend.

"The viceroy?"

"Yeah... You said they were your parents?"

"Viceroy Evangeline is my mother, but Gungnir is not my father. The Aegis family is a distant relation of ours, we are the only remaining lineage of the royalty from Ethos."

"Oh..." Lector nodded.

They continued down several more steps. Lector looked down, seemingly interpreting the response.

"Why do you ask?" said Elisia.

"Huh, oh... Well... Not to be... Rude or anything but... How exactly did they... Have kids?" Lector asked.

Jack looked at the back of Lector's head with wide eyes, his blonde hair bouncing with each step. 'Why would you ask that...' Jack thought about it himself for a moment. 'Actually... How did they?'

"They had children before the angels took Eden. They used their Spirit Blooms to obtain the strength needed to protect our people after Oaraun stopped the spear of Jalrog. However, they've been trapped in that state since that day, I was only a young girl at that time. Reygar is a year older than me, I was born on the sixtieth of Shauran, one hundred and seventy years after the Celestials' arrival. My sister was born in Hemhir six years later..."

"Wait... So you two... You two are over a hundred years old?!"

"Yes. Our people consumed the blood of Oaraun to prolong our longevity... Many of the druids' ages stagnated around their middle ages..."

"Middle ages... Logorite huh..." Lector looked down in thought. "He must have shed a lot of blood that day..."

"What do you mean?" Elisia asked, she was usually quiet but the long walk was probably wearing on her.

"I mean, you remember that mountain south of Helios, Jack knows what I'm talking about."

"Huh?" Jack looked up.

"The mines north of Logos, it's practically made of logorite" Lector glanced back.

"Oh, yeah..." Jack replied awkwardly.

"After the comet landed, our kingdom was buried under the shifting masses of earth... Oaraun vanished on that day..." said Elisia.

Jack's thoughts came to pause as he heard that but then noticed dirt and pebbles. 'Huh- Is this it?' It was cold, and the dirt was very dry. Priscilla walked behind Lector. The white-haired maid snuck nervous glances at Jack and Elisia.

"Who would make this stairwell?" Jack groaned.

"That's a great question... That I think I know the answer too..." Lector replied as he thought about it.

"A member of the Armstrong family?" Priscilla answered.

"I think it was Bruno's dad... The Lightbringers used that gift a lot... Wonder what that's like."

"What do you mean?"

"My gift is relatively new, it's a sound-related gift which is also what my mother had."

"You never told me about your mother and father..."

"Uh, yeah that's true- Hey look!" Lector pointed toward a steel door at the end of the path.

The blonde angel hurried forward and pushed the door open, a bright light shone through. Jack was taken aback by the sudden expanse of space, the sound of water swaying came from below. The four of them walked onto a stone catwalk, gazing upon the massive room. Jack looked left and right, he almost felt nauseous as he tried to fathom the size of the room. There were several floors of platforms and bridges above them, each leading to different rooms built into the walls or ceiling. 'All those doors we passed probably lead up there... Is that why it took so long? We've been spiraling around this single room?'

"This is it... The hangar where the warships are stored... I've- only seen the map... I didn't think it was... This big... These ships are ancient, it's kind of amazing they are still operational..." Lector stuttered.

'Ships?' Jack looked around, white lights were evenly spaced across the distant ceiling, illuminating the light gray walls and floor. On the right side of the hangar was a large walkway that connected to the catwalk Jack and the others stood on. The left side featured three massive hangar doors, all spread across the room.

To the left and right of each hangar were massive platforms supported by steel pillars extended from the floor to the ceiling. In front of the first and second hangar doors were large empty spaces. Jack leaned over the edge and looked over to see a pool of clear water, the surface about forty feet below where they stood. The second hanger also had an empty space in front of it, however, the third seemed to have something built into it. A strange object protruded out of the pool in front of the third door.

"Is that it? That white thing over there..." Jack whispered.

"Yeah... That's the Rafael class... It's a battleship, probably way more powerful than the one they launched earlier," Lector confirmed.

Angels pushed a cart down a ramp at the rear of the ship's round chassis. The middle and back sections of the ship had rounded tops. Similar to the Michael class, three wings were drooping off of the ship's port, Jack assumed the starboard had a similar design. From their angle, they only had a side view of the vessel. Multiple rectangular arms extended off the ship's wings, each with several metal barrels at the end. The front cannon of the ship extended far outwards, it made up three-quarters of its entire length and was over half the size of the room.

"Rations are onboard!" someone yelled, their voice echoing through the room several times.

Jack and the others ducked behind the railing, Lector pulled Priscilla down as well. They sat in the shadow cast by the railing. Jack peaked out of the cover. Several of the guards with gold masks moved carts and wagons toward the other end of the room. 'More guards with gold masks... Without Wren and Dariel it may be difficult to get past them.' A group of angels stepped down the ramp, the one behind them had blonde hair and a white cape. Jack could just barely distinguish some features from that distance.

"We have to hurry, come on, stay low! If they are gathering in the staging area, there is no telling when that ship will be leaving!" Lector stressed.

They crept to the end of the path, the railing could no longer provide cover any further out. Lector poked his head out and observed the long pathway toward the ship.

"Shit..." the blonde angel cursed.

"What's wrong?" Elisia asked, she poked her head past Lector and noticed as well.

Jack looked up, his eyes wandering about as he looked at the large walkway that made up the right half of the room. 'There is no cover...' He squinted as he looked down the wide open path, at the other side, multiple guards were armed with logorite cannons. 'We'd have to rely purely on dodging to get by...' Across the space were three sections parallel to each hangar door, they were each about three stories tall, with a glass window on the second level. A door inside was accessible by a stairwell at the side of each section. Jack noticed a second door adjacent to the one that led to the windowed room.

"We won't make it across..." Elisia assessed.

"Can't we just... Hide in the shadows? Using your plants?" Jack asked.

"We need a path through the shadows, there is too much light above us... And on top of that... I need something to plant the seed in, and the only option is the water down there..."

"Twenty... Twenty-one... Twenty-two guards... And there may be more in those control rooms... Shit... This is tough..." Lector sighed.

Jack looked up at the ceiling, the lights above illuminated the entire room. There were no shadows in sight. He noticed a sign on the wall below the catwalk. 'Authorized Personnel Only' was written in bright yellow. 'Wait a minute...' Jack glanced towards Priscilla and Lector.

"What if..." Jack turned to Lector and Priscilla. "What if you two distracted them... Give me and Elisia enough time to get across, then we can get to the other side and deal with the angels up close..." Jack suggested.

"Distract them? How would that-" Lector suddenly stopped, his eyes widened as he looked at Jack.

"What is it?" said Elisia, her eyes glancing at Jack and Lector several times.

"I get it, technically it is only you two who can't be spotted... Elisia's armor is too loud... But Jack, they wouldn't hear you coming... There should be a way through that door over there," Lector pointed to the door that led further into the facility.

"We make a two-pronged attack, I'll use my gift to make a distraction here, Jack will go around while you draw their attention long enough for us to get in position..." Elisia added.

Lector pulled the inside of his gray collar out and placed two marks with both of his hands. He then placed a mark on Jack and Elisia's shoulders. Jack looked at the bright symbol of light on his shirt, a yellow circle with a dot in the center.

"Don't speak into it, just listen to us so you have an idea of when to move..." Lector gulped. "Remember, we just gotta stop that ship from taking off..."

The blonde angel took a deep breath, turned to Priscilla, and took her hand. The white-haired girl trembled in fear, she didn't stop trembling once that entire time. Jack could see how violent her meek spirit was. Lector stood up with Priscilla and walked out of the cover, they made their way down the long path.

"That woman... I don't know if we can trust her..." Elisia whispered as she pulled a seed from underneath her armor.

"Her spirit has been erratic this whole time... I really hope she doesn't give us away," Jack replied.

"Her spirit?"

"Huh?"

"You can see her spirit's movement? That'd be Spirit Sense... You know how to use Spirit Arts up to that level?" Elisia raised an eyebrow as she asked.

"I'm- I'm not totally sure myself, I was told I'm a natural at it... If that makes any sense..."

"Hm... Well, it doesn't change much that we know now..." said Elisia, she flicked the seed backward, and a quiet splash just barely reached their ears. "The seed will take some time to root a branch, and it won't be strong..."

"Sir Lector?" A guard called. "What are you doing here? Where were you?"

"Hey! The city was under attack- And we tried to take shelter in House Lightbring-"

"You came from House Lightbringer? What is their status? We lost contact with them."

"The enemy destroyed House Lightbringer's cathedral! It's all been wiped out!" Lector shouted hysterically.

"No way! Then... Everyone is..." The guard hesitated. "Hey! Everyone!"

The guard escorted Lector and Priscilla across the large room. It took them about five minutes to walk across. 'There are fewer of us this time...' Jack laid back against the wall, touched his forehead with his wrist, and felt sweat. Elisia turned and looked at him. 'Can we even do this...'

"Are you scared?" Elisia asked.

"Yeah... We're at a disadvantage aren't we?" said Jack.

"If they don't have any gifts, it won't be terribly difficult, but we're both risking our lives," Elisia said calmly.

"Aren't you scared?" Jack asked.

"No. Fear will do nothing for me or you here, cast it aside."

Jack gulped, and a static noise came from the symbol on their shoulders.

"You said House Lightbringer was destroyed? The enemy is already past the gate?!" the guard asked Lector with a concerned tone.

"What is this about? What happened to House- Huh..." a familiar voice spoke.

"Laris..." Lector's tone changed, and Jack heard a slight gasp. "Y-You're alright! That's good-"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Laris asked.

"I... I found my squad mates and we made our way back to Helios-"

"You were in the ruins, you were in Andurill... After you were ordered to remain in Helios. Now you're here? That was two days ago... It's surprising you even survived that and made it back here so soon..." Laris asked with a doubtful tone. "Well, a coward is best at cowering at the end of the day..."

Jack peeked out of the corner, the angels were facing his direction as they stared at Lector and Priscilla. Elisia glanced at Jack with a raised eyebrow, clutching the hilt of her sword as she listened.

"Coward?! I had to hide from those monsters! You, Arid, and Leanne left me behind to die! My own step-" Lector suddenly snapped.

A slam echoed over the microphone, Jack flinched at the sudden noise. A bright yellow light flooded the room.

"Ah!" Lector cried, the pain in his voice made Jack wince.

"Sir Lector!" Priscilla shrieked. "Sir Laris please stop!"

"Watch your tongue, you useless failure. I thought I told you not to call us that!" Laris snapped.

"Aaagh!" Lector grunted as a thump came over the line.

Jack cringed in disgust, he could hear each impact of Laris's foot slamming into Lector.

"Don't forget, we exist in different realms, you filth..." Laris scoffed, then let out a sigh. "Father wanted you to be here, yes, even your disgraceful face, that's why you were supposed to stay in Helios... Don't blame us for leaving you when you weren't even supposed to be there! Curse your own inability to take simple instructions... Fool..."

Jack glanced at the scene, a giant pillar of light was being pressed into the ground. The crowd of angels surrounded it. 'Wait... This is my chance...' Jack looked at Elisia for a moment, then scrambled forward on all fours.

"Huh-" Elisia's eyes widened as Jack hurried out of the cover.

Jack's spirit ignited and he kicked off the ground, staying low while stumbling on all fours. He picked up speed and rose as he continued to tumble forward, all he could hear was Lector's groans from the mark on his shoulder. 'They don't see me yet, please hang on!' Jack sped up and ran on his toes, the sound of air flowing through his ear was all he listened to. He kept one eye on the crowd of angels to the left, one of them started to turn just before Jack reached the other side. He slid to cover the rest of the distance, and a squeak echoed through the room. 'Shit!'

"Ah!" Lector continued to groan in pain.

Jack looked across the path and saw Elisia behind the cover. Her wide yellow eyes glanced back and forth under her hood. 'Did they hear me?' Jack's heart beat rapidly, he held the logorite cannon tightly as he tried to steady his breathing. The block of solid light disappeared and the color of the room returned to normal.

"Ow..." Lector sobbed weakly.

"I'll crush you next time you talk out of line..." said Laris, his voice much closer.

'That piece of shit... If he and the girl with the whip are here... Arid Lightbringer might be here as well...'

"You guys hear that sound earlier?" A guard asked.

Jack's heart jumped out of his chest, he could just barely hear the discussions of the angels surrounding Lector.

"What sound? I couldn't hear it over that... Also, was he about to say step-sibling? I didn't know they were family?" the guard whispered.

"I swear I heard something... Sir Lector are you okay?" another guard replied.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Lector groaned.

"He went way too far... Sir Lector, did you see any personnel back there when you came in?"

"No, no I didn't..." Lector replied.

"That's strange... I'll take a look just in case."

"Oh, uh, alright then, please, make sure you hurry and be careful!" Lector stuttered awkwardly.

"Huh? Uh, yeah... Sure, I guess?" the guard sounded puzzled.

'What... Why did he say that?' Jack looked at Elisia, she pointed at herself and then to Jack. 'That message was for us?!' Jack peeked out of the corner, an angel in white with a gold mask was walking down the long path. 'I can't stay here!' Jack quietly got up and looked up the stairwell to his left. He walked up each step on his toes and then crept through the metal door.

Jack let out a deep breath and turned. The long hallway was about the same length as the room, this one lit with old light bulbs, the annoying buzz fluctuating with every flicker. Jack took two steps down the hall, and a door burst open from the other side. He quickly took cover in an alcove on the right side of the hall, his body just barely hidden.

"We should have an extra power supply in station one, go get it," the angel ordered.

"On it," the other complied.

Jack listened to his own breaths, he looked up at the door he came from. The red label on the floor read 'Station One.' 'Damn!' Jack peeked at the door he hid next to, glancing through the square glass and seeing an orange light on the other side. Jack didn't even think about it, he slowly pressed against the lever and then opened the door, slipping through the moment he could and slowly closing it behind him.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

It was dark, but this room felt warmer. The orange light came from a window at the other end. Jack stepped toward it and heard the metal floor rattle. Jack looked around the darkness, he gulped at the pitch-black space he had no way of gauging in size. The glass window at the door on the other side revealed an even bigger room, and the light came from a larger window beyond it. 'Is this a door?' Jack felt around the cold steel wall, his fingers dragging down the slightly rough surface until it touched a lever. Jack pushed it open and entered the large room.

"Where am I..." Jack whispered to himself.

Jack listened through Lector's gift but was barely focused on what he heard.

"Priscilla, please assist with getting the rations on board, we could use more assistance," Jack heard a woman with a spiteful tone.

"Y-yes..." Priscilla complied timidly.

"Leanne..." Lector greeted with a weak voice.

To the left and right the room expanded in size, it was larger than the hangar, lit orange by the scene going on outside the window. 'What... What is that...' Jack felt an eerie tingle down his spine as he watched the orange flames beyond the large window, it was burning a forest to the ground.

"Is it done, Leanne?" Laris asked.

"Yeah, in just a few more minutes, all of the evidence will be destroyed," said Leanne.

Jack squinted as he looked down, then back up to the burning forest. The chairs and tables in the large room were neatly set up all the way across. It reminded him of the room in Anka's logorite facility, the room where he found Lydia's corpse. Jack gulped. He looked down the expansive room but didn't see anyone, or any movement. He walked forward and realized he didn't see all of the scene, there was a descent. 'What is this place...' A set of stairs led straight to a stage in front of the window, as Jack walked down he noticed more and more chairs and tables on each level.

"So... If you don't mind me asking Le- Ah!" Lector suddenly yelped.

Jack heard a whiplash through the microphone.

"Who said you could say my name, commoner," Leanne spoke down to him.

"He almost said we were siblings in front of the workers... Ugh, just imagine that... Being reminded that I share a bloodline with you makes me want to vomit..." Laris groaned.

"Undoubtedly..." Leanne added.

"I didn't ask for this..." Lector muttered to himself. "Why are you even still here? The Michael class launched over a day ago..."

"You think we'd give up Helios and just leave behind everything for the non-unified wretches to find..." said Leanne.

"But the libraries and all of our archives are intact at the surface... Even if they are destroyed, information can still be salvaged from it..."

"Father doesn't care for those records... This is far more important to our future, this is about Project Archangel..."

Outside the large window, was a charred blanket of grass in the center of a smoldering forest. A swing set was toppled over in front of a large manor. 'How is there a forest... Are we still under Helios? ' Atop the large hill of grass lit like it was broad daylight, was a two-story house. It was large, the property around it even larger. Jack stepped onto the stage. The window looked over the trees that weren't very tall. Jack placed his left hand on the glass and looked at the scene, he saw his red eyes in the reflection up close.

"Project Archangel? I've only heard about that..." said Lector.

"Only Lightbringers and the closest associated could have even heard of it... Nothing is permitted to be written about it... It's even more secret than the texts describing Ragnarok..." Laris described.

The flaming manor was twice the size of the biggest houses in Helios. The eerie house just sat there in the distance, burning to the ground. Jack could see through some of the burning walls. Jack shook his head, he noticed the light from above, but as he looked up he paused. 'Huh...'

"Father has requested we destroy all material associated with Project Archangel while he and Sir Arid defend the city... The facility in the back is rigged with logorite explosives, we'll be long gone by the time it blows, the surrounding water and the Celestial itself will destroy everything," said Leanne.

"Long gone... Without Arid and- Where are we going to go?" Lector asked.

"Don't ask questions and just do as you're told."

Jack put his other hand on the window, he was looking at the bottom of the Celestial. The massive cylinder was embedded into the ceiling of the enormous room. 'You've got to be kidding me... Is she talking about...'

"We took a look at it just out of curiosity... It's just some theater overlooking a big house... I wonder what was so important about it, I doubt we'll ever know," Laris sighed.

'They're talking about this place... I have to move!' Jack reminded himself, turning and hurrying down the large room. Jack's legs flexed repeatedly and pressed into the smooth floor, he listened to the wind pass by his ears as the scene to the right burned bright orange. He focused his spirit on his legs and sped up. Jack heard a commotion from over the radio.

"What happened?!" Laris shouted.

"A tree... A tree broke through the facility! It took out a few of the pilots!"

"I thought we checked Station One!" Laris shrieked in a rage. "Where is the one who patrolled that spot!"

"That guy didn't come back from checking the other side of the room..."

"I'm going!" Leanne shouted and made her way outside.

The wall of the room curved, there were small sofas arranged about, and small tables all empty and clean. 'This room is huge!' Jack thought as he started to tire, he reached the end of the room and ran through the door. He found himself on a steel-grated platform, he made his way across without hesitation and opened the next door. His mind froze as he remembered the two guards, as he turned his head to the left his eyes met the holes in their masks. Jack paused as he stared at them with wide eyes, he pulled the trigger, and the logorite arm cannon started charging.

"Hey... Lector... Why is your gift active?" Laris asked.

"Hey! Where did he?!" the angel stuttered. "Hey! He's armed!"

"Stop right there!" the angel commanded.

"What was that?!" Laris asked again.

"Shit-" Jack muttered as he aimed up.

The logorite cannon released a green blast that struck the ceiling, showering rubble and debris over the two angels. Jack turned to the window to the next room and saw Laris in front of Lector. Laris made eye contact with Jack, then noticed Lector's mark on his shoulder.

"Commence the launch- Agh!"

Lector immediately wrapped his arms around Laris's neck and pulled him to the ground.

"Lector what are you doing?! He's a royal!" an angel shouted as they went to break them up, Jack heard both the actual voice and the one over the radio as he charged into the room with his spirit focused on his foot.

Jack's eyes quickly scanned the room and he counted six. Laris was getting up as two angels pulled Lector off. Two of them turned and saw Jack barge through the door, he ran straight for Laris. 'His gift is the biggest problem!' They were caught off guard as he focused his spirit on his foot and dashed through two guards closest to the door.

Laris was hunched over grasping his throat, his golden bangs pulled down by the ponytail on the left side of his head covering his view of what was in front of him. His white cape and tight clothing were lined with black decals. Laris slowly rose, and Jack saw his yellow eyes behind his glasses. 'Spirit Ignition!'

With momentum and speed, Jack swung the arm cannon down. The white weapon smashed into the blonde angel's head. The arm cannon shattered as a crack echoed through the room. Lector's glasses went spinning off as his head whipped from the force. Laris fell to the ground, his body was motionless. Lector looked down as Laris's body twitched. Jack panicked. 'He's still alive!' Jack raised the arm cannon over his head once more and focused his spirit on his arm.

"Rah!" Jack ignited his spirit and smashed Laris's head into the floor.

The arm cannon cracked slightly as red blood dripped off it, Jack slowly rose as red blood spread from under the angel's lowered head. The female guard at the computer fell backward. Lector looked at Jack and then down at Laris on the ground with shock. Everyone was silent as the ship started to float slightly. The room was well-lit, and multiple panels on the front of the room were being used by angels in gold masks. Outside the room, Jack could clearly see the third hanger door behind the Rafael Battleship. They looked at Jack for a moment before one of them quickly turned to a gold device with a glowing yellow mark on the lustrous surface.

"Intruders in station three! Open the hangar doors!" the angel's command echoed through the room and was even heard outside.

'Shit!' Jack's heartbeat quickly jumped, he pulled the trigger of the arm cannon, and it started to whir.

"Captain, get down! He's armed!" a female guard shouted.

Jack watched the three in front of him cower. One was on the ground, and he could hear the footsteps of the two approaching from behind. Jack turned and fired the green blast of logorite at the ground, catching the two guards by surprise. Both were launched to the sides as they jumped out of the way and the projectile struck the panels, blowing the window open and causing the glass to rain all over the staging area. Jack's adrenaline kicked in as he felt the heat from the blast.

"You bastard!" the captain charged from the other direction.

The captain tackled Jack to the ground. Jack held the trigger of the logorite cannon and started to charge. The captain hesitated as he grabbed Jack's arm and pointed it away.

"Don't!" he shouted.

Jack fired the logorite cannon and the blast struck the control panels and the glass nearby, hitting no one but alerting everyone outside to the commotion. The captain pulled the cannon off his arm, but with the same arm, Jack grasped the guard's collar and focused his spirit on his other. Jack rose off the ground by flexing his core. 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack punched the man in the chin, below the mask. The captain rolled off Jack and grasped his jaw.

The guard quickly got to his feet first, only to fall backward as he lost his balance. Jack slowly got up, the sound of grating metal and running water reached his ears as the hangar door opened up. The water flooded through into the pool, orange lights started to glow around the ship. Jack hesitated as he realized how wide the ship was from this angle, it was truly enormous.

"He's got a blaster!" an angel shouted, breaking Jack out of his daze. "What are you doing Lector?! He attacked Laris!"

Jack looked toward them, the angels cowered as Lector ran quickly toward him. Jack looked at Lector's shocked eyes as he approached.

"We need to go," Lector said with an unnatural calm.

Jack looked back to the angels that cowered, their eyes locked on him as he followed Lector out of the room. They stepped out onto a metal ramp and looked forward, there was a massive tree root splitting the path. The brown tree trunk had divided the group of angels, they turned to see Jack run down the stairs quickly.

"The ship is going to take off any second now!" Lector stressed, "We need to hurry! Elisia! Get to the ship!"

'Spirit Ignition!' The angel was caught off guard as Jack slammed his elbow into their chest. The guard fell backward, drawing the attention of the others. Jack got ready as a platoon approached, however, they froze as they saw Elisia charging on top of the wood with her blade drawn. The spellcaster lunged from the branch, slashing one angel, dragging her feet against the ground, and spinning as her blade slashed through another's torso with an underhand grip. Jack watched as her blade glided through the guard's neck, and a trail of red liquid followed. The spellcaster immediately ignited her spirit and lunged forward, piercing the other guard through the heart with her sword. A whiplash struck Elisia, the golden tether wrapped around her gauntlet.

"All angels stop the intruders! Lector is a traitor! The maid girl onboard the ship may be too!" Leanne shouted.

"Us? We're just pilots and technicians?" a guard hesitated.

"Come on he's just a kid, we can handle them! Leanne will deal with the strong one!" another guard ran forward.

Leanne pulled the whip forward and Elisia skipped against the ground, the angel lifted her leg and stepped on the whip. Elisia stumbled forward and fell onto the ground, her metal clanking and dragging against the smooth floor. Leanne grunted as she turned and pulled the whip over her head. Elisia was dragged through the air and then flung toward the wall. A large crash echoed through the room, and Elisia's body fell limp.

"Elisia!" Jack shouted as he ran at Leanne and focused his spirit.

'Spirit Ignition!' Jack dashed forward, but before he could reach Leanne two of the angels tackled him. They had no weapons, the angels just shoved Jack as best as they could. 'Are these actually guards? They aren't that strong!' Jack elbowed the one on the right and shoved the other one to get past. He tried to ignite his spirit and dash at Leanne again but someone tackled him from behind.

"Agh!" Jack grunted as he hit the ground.

"You watch from there as I kill her!" Leanne shouted.

The blonde woman's cape and ponytail flipped back as she swung Elisia's body back up. The spellcaster knight was dragged upward, her eyes were obscured by shadow. Jack's eyebrows raised as he noticed Elisia's hand gripped on the golden scepter.

"Toll of Envy!" Elisia shouted.

"What?!" said Leanne. "Ah-"

Elisia grasped the tether in mid-air and then pulled Leanne up to her instead. Elisia flipped the blade around in her right hand as Leanne let go of the whip. Elisia ignited her spirit and kicked off the air.

"Ah!" Leanne cried.

Elisia slashed Leanne in mid-air and landed on the ground. Leanne slammed into the ground, her blood spraying out of the slash in her shoulder. As Elisia looked up she opened her bright yellow eyes and locked her gaze on the angel on top of Jack.

"Rgh!" Leanne grunted as she held her shoulder.

The angel on Jack's back stood up as Elisia charged forward quickly. She cleared the distance quickly with almost abnormal speed, grasping the angel's face and then slamming him into the ground behind Jack.

"Holy shit! Are you okay?!" Jack asked.

"Don't worry about me! Let's go!" Elisia ordered.

Elisia and Jack ran toward the ship, Jack got on his knees and crawled under the branch, and Elisia followed. Jack stood up and saw Priscilla and Lector onboard at the top of the ramp. The rectangular entrance to the ship slowly started to drift away as the ship moved. 'Shit!' A golden whip lashed forward and coiled around Elisia's leg.

"Ah!" Elisia grunted angrily, the golden whip wrapped around her ankle.

"I won't let you!" Leanne grunted.

"Shit-" Jack turned.

"Just go!" Elisia shouted.

"But-"

"I can handle these peons on my own! You make sure that the ship doesn't destroy our forces on the surface! Go!" Elisia commanded.

"Jack, come on!" Lector shouted.

Jack clenched his teeth as he looked at the knight's back, she spun her blade as the angels crawled under the branch. 'Trust her, she's strong!' Jack turned towards the hatch, ran forward, and jumped over the gap. His feet weren't going to make it, his stomach hit the edge of the ramp and he held on with his hands as it started to move.

"I got you!" said Lector.

Lector quickly ran forward and grabbed Jack's arm to help him up, the blonde angel gritted his teeth and pulled. Jack managed to get his whole body on the ship, he rolled over as he huffed in and out. The battleship started to move even faster, Jack squatted down on all fours to try and stay steady, and he sat back as he turned and looked out the hatch.

"Hey! Don't stand there!" Lector yelled, Jack couldn't hear him past the sound of the wind.

Elisia and the other angels got smaller and smaller as the ship gained speed. It flew through the tunnel of water, and the ship angled upward. Jack stayed low as the ship sped up.

"Hey! Come on! I have to close the hatch!" Lector's muffled shout could be slightly heard.

The ship zoomed out of the sea. Before Jack knew it, he was looking at the water and the port of Helios. 'Holy shit this thing is really fast!' Lector shook Jack's shoulder and he turned toward him.

"Come on! We have to get further inside!" Lector shouted.

Jack stood up and slowly walked through the dock of the Rafael Battleship. A sudden bell tolled in the distance causing Jack to turn. The sound came from somewhere in the city of Helios, the bell tolled repeatedly.

"That bell only tolls at the start of the new day... " said Lector.

Jack didn't pay it any mind as he turned around. Lector was already making their way across the room to reach the deck of the ship. Priscilla was much more anxious, the young girl was looking at the Celestial in Helios. 'I think I get how she feels... How the hell are we supposed to get back to the ground...'

"Jack, come on, you're our last fighter..." Lector called as he turned around. "Hey? Priscilla, are you alright?"

Jack turned and looked at the girl, she held her head as he slowly curled up. 'Huh?' Jack was puzzled as the girl suddenly crouched and held her head.

"Ah-" she uttered.

"Hey!" Lector ran back toward her.

"My head... It hurts..."

Jack looked at the girl with white hair, her hands were trembling as her eyes struggled to stay open. A look of confusion and fear on her face, her spirit was erratic. Her yellow eyes shut as she curled up into a ball. The sound of the wind made it hard to hear.

"Huh? What-" Lector stuttered. "Is it the air? Come on Priscilla, we should get further inside."

Jack continued scanning the white floors and walls. However, he was suddenly caught off guard as the spirit of Priscilla spiked up extremely violently. Jack turned immediately, the scene hadn't changed. The only difference was that Priscilla's spirit became calm and collected. Lector leaned back as the girl suddenly raised her head. Jack couldn't see her eyes, she looked at her hands and then up at the interior of the ship. She almost looked surprised to see it, she whipped her head to the left and squinted at Jack with blue eyes.

"Is... Is she okay?" Jack asked Lector, her piercing gaze was kind of unnerving, she looked annoyed all of a sudden.

Priscilla suddenly turned to Lector.

"Hey, Priscilla, Priscilla we have to go..." Lector advised.

Jack turned to the door at the other end of the boarding room.

"Is your head okay? We need to-" Lector stopped. "Hey Priscilla, your eyes...They're blue... Weren't they yellow?"

Priscilla raised her hand, and a light glowed within her palm, extending and piercing straight through Lector's stomach. Jack's head went blank for a second, he almost questioned whether what he just saw really happened. The yellow light began to fade, revealing a golden sword, the guard had an eye in its center.

"Ah- What!?" Lector's hands started to shake, he coughed up blood.

"Stupid bastard..." Priscilla cursed. "If I'd known you'd betray me, Lucifer should've killed that whore... Stopping you from ever being born..."

"You- You- Priscilla! You're a Lightbringer?!" Lector was suddenly shocked.

"Lector!" Jack shouted.

"What a disgrace you turned out to be... Lector..." Priscilla sneered.

Priscilla pulled the long golden blade out of the blonde angel, he immediately fell backward and held the wound, blood squirting out of his stomach. Jack's body was frozen in confusion as Priscilla rose and lifted the sword, swinging the blood off of it. 'What the... Where did she get a sword?!' Two blue circles of light appeared behind Priscilla, they crackled as she spoke.

"As if those divine beings weren't enough of an issue... The bastard son was working against us, crippling our forces... Now we have to flee! Hehe..." Priscilla grinned as she slapped her palm against her forehead and laughed, her voice sounded almost hollow as if it wasn't coming from her body. "Ah... What an awful day... At least it's finally over.."

"You're not the same person!" said Jack, his breath was short and he put up his fists for a fight.

"Don't- Jack! That's the Lightbringer!" Lector demanded.

"Huh?" Priscilla stopped laughing and shot a toothy grin at Lector. "Jack? Do you mean that slave everyone keeps talking about? You're that slave?" Priscilla turned and pointed.

'What the fuck...' Jack took a step back, the sudden change from the girl was jarring. A blood lust spilled from their spirit. 'Focus... She's just a little-!' Priscilla lifted the golden sword toward Jack, however, she squinted as if she expected something to happen.

"This vessel is too weak... I can barely cast a single spell with her pitiful excuse of ether... Just manifesting the Lightbringer drained me. Arid was taken down, Leanne and Laris are down as well... Lawrence is nowhere to be found... Oaraun just killed Lucifer... Ymir's bloodline was nothing but a disappointment..." Priscilla ranted angrily as she pointed the sword at Jack. "I need to unwind after this long battle... And I'm going to do it by killing you," Priscilla grinned and walked forward.

Jack focused his spirit on his legs as Priscilla dashed forward with the sword pointed up. 'Shit-' Jack dodged backward, but she continued forward and the blade grazed under his left arm.

"Ah!" Jack cried sharply.

The possessed girl continued to grin as she stabbed forward multiple times, Jack dodged left and right, focusing on the edge of the blade. 'Focus-' Jack ducked and dodged a stab to his throat, 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack kicked himself off the ground and charged past the reach of the Lightbringer. He pressed his fist into Priscilla's face and caused her to stagger. She slashed at Jack while she tumbled backward. He raised his right hand quickly and the blade cut through his left palm.

"Agh!" Jack stumbled backward.

"Spirit Arts? You useless slave... You're capable of that..." Priscilla's teeth ground against each other, her spirit became erratic and violent, and so did the circle behind her.

The gash in his left hand was spilling blood fast, he squeezed it but heard footsteps approach. Jack's eyes lit up as Priscilla charged forward, slashing wildly. Jack jumped back, slipping on his own blood spread over the floor. He stayed on the defensive while he couldn't find a moment of courage to push forward, the long sword was farther than the range of his fists. 'I need to land a Spirit Ignition directly, but I'll get slashed if I try!'

"Those damn divine beings! Meddling where they don't belong! If you'd never discovered Spirit Arts I doubt you'd have made it this far!" Priscilla sliced Jack's thigh. "They are the flaw of this reality! It isn't fair! It isn't fair to be so much lesser than them!" Priscilla twirled the blade and slashed Jack's other leg.

"Ah!" Jack gritted his teeth, but barely felt it. His head throbbed as he heard him say that. "Unfair?!"

Jack staggered on his weakened leg, he raised it while Priscilla was open. 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack threw his foot forward with all his strength. Priscilla blocked, but she was caught off guard as the force launched her back. Jack fearlessly charged forward.

"You have no right to talk about fairness or justice, you piece of trash!" Jack cursed.

"Huh?!" Priscilla gritted her teeth.

"Spirit!" Jack focused his spirit into his fist.

Priscilla thrust the sword at Jack's left shoulder as he ran into range, he moved to the right and managed to dodge, and the blade grazed the side of his bicep. Priscilla was shocked at Jack's sudden ferocity.

"Ignition!" He slammed his fist into the possessed girl's face.

Priscilla stumbled on her feet as she grunted, and Jack continued forward. Jack raised his fist again, aiming for her head.

"Seven Wings..." Priscilla uttered.

Jack was about to slam his fist into the girl's head once more.

"Icaria's Beckon!" she chanted, and suddenly vanished out of sight.

Jack looked left and right, he hadn't felt an attack.

"Seven Wings!" Priscilla chanted from above, "Iapyx Twilight!"

Jack looked up, he quickly raised his right arm but she glided right by him in an instant. The black and white frills of her dress brushed Jack's face as he felt a slash. The possessed Priscilla landed behind him elegantly on both feet. Jack stumbled on his feet as he felt a rush of pain. 'Agh-' The pain coursed through his right arm. Jack looked up at Priscilla's back as a hand fell in front of him.

"Huh..." Jack looked down.

A severed hand rested on the ground, in a growing pool of blood. The beige complexion, the bruises on the knuckles, the light amount of hair growing on it. Jack's breaths became heavy as he raised his right arm, but couldn't feel it. Panic started to creep over him, he slowly looked down to see a steady current of blood spilling from his severed right arm.

"Ah... Ah-"

"I may be in a weaker vessel... But I have more years of battle experience and strength compared to you... You're a fool if you think you could defeat me..." Priscilla mocked.

"Aahhhhh!" Jack screamed out in agonizing pain, he stumbled backward and grasped the wound.

"Jack!" Lector grunted.

"You don't know how much I needed this," Priscilla sighed with relief. "Maybe you slaves can be useful to me one last time, as entertainment. I am going to enjoy this very much..."

Priscilla walked forward, Jack crawled back. Fear coursed through him as he breathed raggedly. 'What do I do, what do I-' Priscilla raised the sword and slashed at him, he raised his left hand but the blade sliced through his palm. hacking his pinky and ring fingers off.

"Ah!" Jack cried as he fell backward.

"Beg..." Priscilla demanded.

Jack tried to crawl away, but to his dismay, the only way path he could go was off the ship and hundreds of meters down the sky. A burning pain coursed through his back as Priscilla slashed him again.

"Aah!" Jack screamed in pain.

'Beg for your pathetic life..." Priscilla continued to torment him, raising the Lightbringer once more before slashing again.

"Ah!" Jack cried as the blade ran through the middle of his back.

"Stop!" Lector shouted.

His blood sprayed across the white tiled floor. Priscilla scoffed.

"Beg! You stupid slave... This isn't fun if you don't beg!" Priscilla pushed the blade into his calf.

"Aah!" Jack's terrified screams echoed through the large room.

"Beg! Beg! Beg for mercy!" Priscilla demanded as she continued to slash him.

Jack reached forward weakly, but his hand fell over the edge. He breathed heavily, his mind consumed by fear and pain. The slave looked up and saw the two Celestials off in the distance, one in Helios, the other in the ruins of Andurill.

"Tsk... You are a disappointment... In both your life and your death..." Priscilla mocked.

Jack looked at the Celestial, his eyes could barely stay open. He felt his head throb in anger as he looked at the pillar, even at this height, it still towered over him.

"I can make some use of that fool over there though... He's of Lightbringer blood... It'd be much better to possess his vessel..." Priscilla muttered to herself while she walked towards Lector on the ground.

"I..." Jack uttered, and he pushed his elbow against the ground.

"Huh..." Priscilla turned.

"I have to kill you..." Jack pushed himself up and immediately gagged on his own blood.

Priscilla glared at him as he turned on his knees. Jack looked the king of the angels right in the eyes. The little girl grinned as she lifted the blade.

"I have to kill you with my own bare hands..." Jack uttered weakly. "It has to be-"

The blade pierced him, and a sharp pain passed through his chest. Jack looked down and saw the Lightbringer embedded into the area between his abdomen and chest muscles.

"Just die, useless fool..." Priscilla kicked him off the blade, pushing him off of the ship.

Jack fell back through the sky, he looked up at the ship growing father and father in the distance. He fell helplessly towards the sea, north of Helios. 'This is how I die...' Jack thought to himself as the winds whisked past his ears. 'I never achieved my goal... I never set the slaves free... But... The Lightbringers lost... The druids will take the city...' Jack closed his eyes. 'What is it that you truly want Jack?' Xenia's words echoed through his mind.

"What I want... Had I not had this life..."

'Is this truly it...' Jack looked at the landscapes around him. Far north of Helios across the sea, were the silhouettes of the mountains on the continent of Pandora. The massive landmasses of Hiria and Kamino seemed so small from the sky, but he had barely seen a tenth of those places. 'Ajal... Sarah... Everyone... Franklin, I'm sorry... I wish we spent more time together... Travelled to more places together... Had... Fun...' Tears started to collect under his eyelids. '...Together...' In a few more seconds, his body would hit the water at a great speed. He looked up and noticed the sky started to change to a green color. 'Huh...' Jack's gaze was drawn toward Hiria, where the sky was its brightest shade. A light glowed from the tip of Xenia's Celestial. As Jack slowly lost consciousness, a blinding green light flashed through the sky.