"Down came the Rain, Washed away the Pain." Lieutenant Kendo, the head of the reserve troops spat on the ground while riding atop his horse. It was a Tarkheli tradition to ward of the evil, although if one of his soldiers saw him doing it, he would surely become the laughingstock of the entire Luminar regiment. Apparently superstitions were for grandmas and housewives, not for men carrying the honor of their nation on their backs. But he didn't care, the heavy rain covered his spittle and it didn't hurt to be careful.

Kendo rose his hand signaling his men to halt, he pulled the reins of his horse harder than necessary, but the horse stopped nonetheless as it was used to this treatment from its master. Kendo surveyed the scene in front of him. They were outside the walls of one of the last strongholds of the rebel forces, there was nothing impressive above it. The walls were made of stone but the masonry was subpar. The barrier that covered the entire fort in a dome was rippling as the rain fell on it, it was a clear indication that it was weak.

"Tch. Is there sand in their brains? If they don't have much Aether in their reserves they should have simply erected a barrier running along the walls, how do they expect to mount a proper defense like this. Pathetic." Kendo muttered to himself. According to the intel, there were around 700 rebels holed up behind the walls, while they had more than 2000 well-trained soldiers. 'Honestly, this is an overkill', Kendo thought.

The one leading the charge was Ron Alariel a graduate from the Academy and this was his maiden battle. Kendo was aware that the Academy graduates were strong, but still, someone as inexperienced as him, what were those greybeards in the Council thinking? Maybe, because he is a Highborn, I hope he is not a lunatic like his clanmates.'

In Erza people were born with mutations called Talents, normally people with similar mutations were related to each other by blood and they were called clans. The Highborns were the ones with the strongest Talents, thus they were respected and had important positions in the government. Ron belonged to the Alariel clan and their Talent was flight.

Ron walked up to the front of the army and turned to face them. His jet black hair was plastered to his face, blemishing his handsome visage. His golden armor radiated with a faint glow and had two long verticle slits on the back. He held a claymore as long as a man in his right hand and the banner of the Luminar in his other.

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"Men! The one behind me are not humans, they are scum. They betray the soil on whose backs they played and grew up, they betray the Emperor, they betray our God. Don't hesitate, my warriors, our swords will bring justice, we will bring salvation. Chaaaarge!!!" Ron Alariel delivered his orders with a smile that betrayed the fury in his voice.

A vein popped in Kendo's head. "Give me a break, we first need to demand surrender and don't tell me he wants the men to hack at the barrier with their swords."

As if on cue, a massive pair of wings the color of snow sprouted on the back of Ron and he swung his equally massive sword. The barrier tore like an old rag and a section of the wall behind it crumbled. The gap was big enough for the army to charge.

Kendo's mouth fell open at the brazen display of power and recklessness. "I knew it, all of those Alariels are lunatics."

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Ron walked through the dark hallway at a leisurely pace. His heavy boots trampled over the dead bodies of his friends and foes alike and stomped over the basalt floor. The sound was loud enough for his enemies to know that he was approaching even before they could see him. But Ron didn't care, this was his chance to prove his worth to his father, the head of Clan Alariel. He couldn't smell the blood, he couldn't feel the adrenaline in his body, he couldn't hear the screams the ones being massacred. In battle, he was a killing machine.

A kick sent the doors flying and Ron entered the room where the leader was supposed to be present. The room was completely barren and mostly dark except there was a hole on the roof through which light and rain entered the room. At the center of the circle of light sat a bare-chested man in a meditative pose, with his eyes closed.

Ron smiled with glee, 'this is going to be easier than I thought.'

He pulled out his sword which had shrunk to a normal size and jumped at the man, aiming straight for his neck.

"How..." Ron couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as his sword was easily blocked by the man's neck. It felt like he had hit something hard and metallic. The man's eyes opened and he spoke in the voice of a father reprimanding his child, "I hope you don't have any regrets when I send you to hell young one."

Ron backed up as he realized that he had stepped on the lion's tail.