Juliet stood among the group, clenching the hilt of her rapier, it was obvious she was becoming furious, from the sheer temperature drop around her. Without any warning, she swung the rapier down, shouting, “Quit screwing around!” In an instant, an entire glacier erupted from the ground in between the group and Roland. Roland, with his unnatural reflexes, leapt back, narrowly evading the attack. The rifle he stole was frozen solid within the glacier.
The glacier became an impenetrable barrier between the group and Roland. The group including Akemi were stunned in silence, not expecting Juliet’s reaction. From the other side, they heard the wicked laughter of Roland. Although it was quieter than the previous cackle from the confrontation between him and Yurina, it still echoed menacingly through the chamber.
“Haha! Pathetic! An elite rank throwing a tantrum?!” Roland mocked, before calming down, his face was distorted from the ice, making it difficult to see his expression. “It is quite obvious I am capable of retreating ... .But this is a perfect opportunity to see the effectiveness of a little project I’ve worked on recently…” He said, his voice full of malice.
He snapped his fingers, a mechanism in the ceiling activated, 2 humanoid figures were seen, clad in knightly armor with a peculiar insignia sewn in the chestplate. The 2 figures were also caged, then began to descend slowly, as if the mechanism was being careful, then Juliet looked closely at the insignia in the knight’s armor, her eyes widened in shock.
“The Azure family insignia?!” She gasped, in complete dismay, the group turned toward her, “Azure? A relative to Ludwig Azure?” Edward asked, his voice was full of suspicion.
Roland spread his arms wide, his smile twisted with pride. "That’s right!" he said. "After the fall of the Azure family at the hands of a prodigy, I gained full access to their corpses! Perfect specimens, wouldn't you agree?" He laughed maniacally, his eyes gleaming with malice as the two knights shakily rose to their feet with the help of a halberd and sword, moving like reanimated corpses. They smashed through the glacier with ease, their movements uncoordinated but deadly.
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"Prodigy? Ludwig killed all of them?" Juliet muttered under her breath as she prepared herself for combat. She charged at one of the knights, her rapier flashing with precision. "Juliet and I will focus on the knights! You all take care of Roland!" Akemi shouted, conjuring a water barrier to shield herself from the knight's vicious attacks.
Juliet in fluid grace, effortlessly pierced one of the knight’s armor with each strike. “That explains why Ludwig ranked from elite rank 20 to 15..” She pondered as she stepped back avoiding a devastating slash from the knight. “Even if these knights are reanimated, their strength, if I get hit I’ll suffer a fatal injury!” She thought.
Meanwhile, in the basement of the VHC headquarter in the 5th capital, a dark room, with the only light being from the light from the hallway. It led to a small dim room, “been awhile since I’ve been here.” Rin sighed as Ludwig was following him from behind. It was evident that this was Rin’s own elite rank quarters, but also noticeable that he has barely entered the quarters for years, perhaps even decades. Ludwig then turned on the lights, his demeanor still cold, and serious.
Rin then approached a desk, his gaze lingering toward a photo of him and a young woman in her 20s, she had dark silver hair, with sky blue eyes, smiling next to him as if they were taking a selfie. Rin made a light, bittersweet smile, before opening a large drawer.
Inside the larger drawer, was a spear, wrapped in bandages. “You don’t need to tell me, you already told me years back.” Ludwig remarked, expectant, before Rin turned to him, holding the bandaged spear carefully with both of his hands.
Rin stared at the spear, deeply contemplating, before speaking, “I have a thought, more so a prediction..” He said, dust still lingering in the air from the sheer age and negligence of the room.
“What is the prediction?” Ludwig asked with a raised eyebrow, his arms crossed, interested in the prediction Rin is thinking about, while also glancing at the bandaged spear.
Rin’s expression was full of concern, but also determined and grim. “In the next 5 years, this world will fall.”