Sitting in awkward silence, Alexander and Emilia sat beside each other in Archibald's office. They both stared at the elderly Paladin as he smiled at them.

"..."

"..."

"So," the Paladin said. "What can I do for you?" he asked, breaking the near-minute long silence.

Alexander turned to Emilia. "Tell him," he whispered.

"You tell him," she whispered back.

"Dammit, Emilia, just-"

She slammed her elbow into his ribs. Alexander winced before clearing his throat. "Fine, then," he said, letting out a sigh.

"So, Archibald..." Alexander said, his eyes meeting the Paladin's. "Emilia," he said, gesturing to her. "-was wondering if she could come along with us on the mission."

"Quest," Archibald corrected.

"Huh?"

"It's a quest, not a mission. An important distinction, Alexander," the Paladin said with a smile. "So," he continued, turning to Emilia. "Do you have any experience?"

Emilia swallowed her saliva. "...No."

"Then, I'm afraid you can't go," the Paladin said, letting out a sigh and drooping his head. "This mission- Quest, dammit."

Archibald cleared his throat. "This quest will be quite difficult. I don't think it's best for someone inexperienced to go."

"Okay, but..." Alexander interjected. "One could say... that since she needs experience, she should go. To acquire said experience. Right?"

Emilia excitedly nodded. "Plus... I'm getting really good at healing."

"Not that good," Alexander mumbled.

Again, she drove her elbow into the side of his chest. And again, he winced.

Archibald chuckled to himself. "I understand," he said.

Emilia's face lit up.

"But, still... I can't let you."

Her bright smile quickly faded as she drooped her head.

"It's just too dangerous," the Paladin told them. "Even someone like your brother wouldn't be safe. In fact, Alexander got both his arms broken last month. Remember?"

Emilia's eyes widened as she turned to Alexander. "You got your arms broken?!" she asked, her eyes glowing with awe.

"Yep," Alexander said pridefully. This was not something to be prideful of.

She smiled. Of course, Alexander would always be the one to get the most injuries.

Emilia understood the possibilities of danger. Even so, that didn't drown out her desire to go on missions and quest. She spat out a dejected sigh.

"Fair enough," she said. "Guess I'll find something else."

"Don't you go to the Magecraft Academy?" a voice asked. "There's plenty of assignations over there, right?"

Emilia turned to face the woman in the corner.

She was tall and had long brown hair that cascaded down her back and reached over her chest. She was a Paladin. Vanessa Romanov.

"Yeah, actually," Emilia said with a smile. She had been giddy for the past twenty minutes, being in a room with two Paladins and all.

Romanov stood next to one of Archibald's towering bookshelves. She held a scarlet-covered book in her hands as she stared at them.

"...Cool," she responded.

She hadn't intended on entering the conversation. Still, she spat out a sigh. "But don't worry about getting experience that much. It comes with time. Look at Archibald, he only became a Paladin a couple years ago."

"Eight years ago, actually. Almost nine," Archibald said in his defense. "Besides, I've been a High-Grade for way longer."

All three of them stared at him.

"Literally two decades ago," he said, holding up a pair of fingers. "I've been a High-Grade for twenty years. Just to clarify."

Archibald had jumped so quickly to defend his reputation when it wasn't even being attacked. Alexander smiled. Until he realized:

"Wait, it took you until you were in your forties to become a High-Grade?"

"Yep," Archibald responded, his voice tinged with pride. "...Wait."

"Wait, wait, wait," Archibald continued, his voice now confused. "My forties? What do you mean by that?"

Alexander swallowed his saliva. "I mean..." He waved his hand over his face.

"How old do you think I am?" the Paladin asked.

Alexander clenched his jaw. He didn't want to insult him. Alexander cleared his throat. He nervously spoke, "Well, you don't look a day over sixty. Sixty... Sixty-five."

Archibald spat out a sigh. "Goddammit," he mumbled. "Can't believe Adam was right again."

"You know..." Archibald said, waving his hand over his face. "I'm not actually this old."

Alexander and Emilia both furrowed their eyebrows and stared in confusion.

"I'm only 39."

They squinted.

"So then why do you look... Y'know..." Alexander said.

"So old," Emilia interjected.

Archibald chuckled. "Time magic. Well... Time form."

"What's the difference?" Alexander asked.

He had been studying magic for months and even been attending one of the best Academies in the Norteon Union, but he hadn't learned the difference.

Again, the Paladin before them chuckled.

"Basically, I'm copying the specific frequency of the energy within time magic. Through that, I can replicate it as my own. It's a lot simpler than it sounds. Especially with easier affinities, like wind, fire, water, those types of things."

"So," he continued. "When you copy magics that arent your affinity, it's called a magic form. Don't know why, though. Lots of stupid terminologies out there. So basically, since my body isn't supposed to use time magic, it has this effect on me. Effects like these happen, know?"

The Paladin continued. "Wanna see how it works?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.

Again, Emilia's face lit up as she nodded with excitement.

Archibald tapped his cane against the rugged floor, causing it to morph into a pale silver blade.

Alexander recognized it was the same blade as last time. From when he intervened against the Golden Dawn. But those thoughts were cut off as Archibald raised his arm.

The Paladin lifted the sword and slashed it into his arm.

Alexander's eyes widened in shock, as a soft shriek left Emilia's lips. Alexander instinctually extended his hand, covering Emilia's eyes. "What the hell was that?!" he said.

Emilia immediately brought down Alexander's arm so she could properly see.

"Archibald!" Romanov exclaimed, staring at the deep gash.

A sneer floated onto Archibald's lips, as he said, "Watch this."

Alexander sucked in air through his teeth.

At the same time, Archibald inhaled, as the flowing blood began to stop, dripping and sliding back into the deep gash. Soon, the deep crimson wound connected back into his intact pale skin.

"What'd you think?" Archibald asked, chortling as he set down the blade and pushed up his glasses. "Awesome, huh?"

The silver blade quickly shifted back into a wooden cane, adorned with a golden handle and crimson gem at the top.

"What'd you do that for, you idiot?" Romanov said, slapping him in the back of the head.

"Oh, did I scare them?" he asked. He turned to Alexander and Emilia. "Sorry about that."

Archibald smiled at that. He understood that Alexander had a fear of blood. Even so, he didn't look away. Rather, he shielded Emilia's eyes. Emilia pulled his hand down anyway. That much made him chuckle.

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"No, dumbass," his Paladin comrade said. "You used it again."

"Relax, it was only ten seconds," he said.

Romanov sighed, saying, "You're an Archibald, a literal genius, and a Paladin. So why do you still act like a child?"

"Because it's fun," he said, again, turning to Alexander and Emilia. "So, yeah, that's pretty much it. Anything else?"

- - - - -

Anastasia spat out a sigh as she dropped her head onto the table.

"Why the hell are we learning about potions in a General Magic Studies class?" she complained. "If I wanted to learn about potions, I would've taken a damn potions class!"

Lumiel laughed as she ruffled Anastasia's jet-black hair. "Relax," she said. "We'll figure it out."

"Please, don't do that again," Anastaisa mumbled, lifting her head and letting out another sigh.

Again, Lumiel laughed. "Just don't worry. You'll pass it, anyway. We probably all will."

"Not Gabriel," Leonard said.

Gabriel turned to him with exasperation.

Leonard only smiled. "Y'know, actually, Gabriel's grade in Tucker's class is worse than most of ours. That's probably because he's always falling asleep."

"Shut up, Greek," Gabriel said.

Confused, Lumiel interrupted. "Huh?"

Leonard sighed. "I told him I'm half-Greek. So now he's using it as an insult. Makes no sense, though. It's not like I'm Turkish."

The others simply stared at them, until Leonard's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, I'm not even half-Greek. I'm only like a quarter Greek. If anything, I'm basically Italian.

Lumiel stared at him and squinted. "I don't think that's how it works."

"That's exactly how it works," Liam said sarcastically.

"Exactly! Thank you!" Leonard said at Liam's remark. "For practically purposes, just refer to me as the Italian of the group. After all, what's the point if a group of demon-fighting teenagers doesn't include at least one Italian?"

The others stared at him in confused silence.

"...What the hell did I come back to?" Alexander muttered.

They all turned to Alexander as he shut the door.

"Oh, hey, Emilia!" Leonard said, waving at them as they entered.

She simply waved back in silence.

Alexander tried to ignore the fact that Leonard immediately greeted Emilia. He simply sat down and let out a sigh as he smiled at the others.

They were in Lumiel's house. Just as usual. She always invited them to study ever since their first celebration after the battle against Belphegor.

He smiled as he sat down across from Anastasia. Alexander still didn't know what he was doing there so he simply sat and glanced around the room in silence.

The house was primarily made of wood, with its walls painted pale blue. Dark brown furniture was scattered throughout the room. And at the room's end was a grand window, letting in the bright sunlight of the afternoon.

"You guys are still studying?" he asked.

"Technically, this is just the study guide. But yeah," Lumiel said.

"Oh, I finished that like two days ago," Alexander said, chuckling.

They stared at him. "...You didn't think it would smart to send it to us?"

He stared back in silence.

Gabriel let out a heavy sigh. "Classic Demon-Born," he muttered as he stood up.

"Feeling racist today, huh?" Leonard asked.

"I'm not racist."

"Well, you do think you're superior to everyone."

"That's because I am superior." He simply walked away to the couch and sighed as he threw himself onto it.

Alexander turned to the others. "What's up with him? Aside from constantly being rude."

"He's just salty. Pointed out how he's constantly asleep in Tucker's class."

"You can't expect me to stay awake by the end of the school day!" Gabriel retorted.

"Dude, the class is an hour past noon! You can't stay awake past noon?"

Gabriel fell silent. He faced the TV that was pressed against a wall and turned it on. At the same time, Giovanna turned to Emilia. "So you can't go with us?" she asked.

Emilia shook her head. "But whatever, I'll just find some other mission," she said chuckling.

She turned to where Gabriel sat and smiled at his constant state of being. "So he's just the annoying cousin, huh?" she asked Lumiel.

Lumiel chuckled. "No. Not at all. Gabriel isn't even annoying compared to our other cousin. He... He shall remain nameless."

Gabriel continued to try to ignore the conversation around him. Until he switched the channel to the news.

"Gabriel," Leonard said. "I try so hard not to insult you."

"Shut up, Leonard."

"You're literally watching the news. At 3 pm. On a Saturday. What is going on right now that you need to see?"

He spat out a sigh and ruffled his curly blonde hair. "Uncle Charles handled a Gateway. Just wanna see what they say about it."

The newscaster let out a sigh before starting at the camera. "Onto the next topic," he spoke. "Gateways. Again, Charles Archibald handled an A-rank Gateway. By himself. That's a good thing, right? Maybe not."

Another reporter interjected. "Exactly. There are all kinds of factors to consider when it comes to things like this. Firstly, let's visit this clip," he said.

The screen transferred to a video. It was shot from a helicopter, hovering hundreds of meters above the ground. And as the camera zoomed in onto a destroyed town, it became clear that there was a single man standing on the ground.

Dressed in white, it was Charles Archibald.

Looming above him, even above the helicopter was a massive cloudlike shadow. It floated above the torn city. And just like a storm cloud, it echoed with crackling thunder.

That shadow was the Gateway.

And all it took was for the Paladin to clap his hands.

With that, the shadow disappeared.

The camera shifted to the sky. Not a trace of it was left. Not a speck of darkness, nor an ounce of magic energy.

"Y'see, Charles Archibald destroyed the Gateway from the outside. This man didn't even have to enter it to do anything. It's kind of terrifying, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's exactly," the other said. "The fact a single human being is capable of doing that is just-"

Gabriel clenched his fist and muted the TV.

Alexander stared at the screen. "...Are they seriously trying to discredit Archibald just for doing his job?"

"Exactly," Gabriel said, snapping his fingers. "It's all propaganda, I tell you."

"Is everything propaganda nowadays?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Alexander paused. "So if it's propaganda, why are you watching it by choice?"

"..."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute," Lumiel interrupted. "Why are we studying?" she asked.

They all stared at her in silence.

"Now hear me out..." she continued. "Like... We're going on a quest in a few days, and we cant take the test. So why the hell are we studying? I mean, since we registered the quest with the school, we're excused. So... We don't actually have to study."

The Virtues fell silent.

"Oh my God, I really wasted a whole day for this," Leonard muttered.

- - - - -

Arnold Norr was having a good day. A day filled with discussions, planning, and thinking. A day free of the bureaucratic nonsense he usually does. As unfortunate as it was, being the Vice-Commander of the Golden Dawn wasn't a full-time job.

Even so, he smiled to himself as he walked through the stone-walled corridors of the Eagle's Fortress. Or rather, the subterranean levels of his home.

He entered a cavern.

Its ceiling stretched dozens of meters above the ground. Even though it was underground, the stone ceiling was cleanly cut, with dozens of fluorescent lightbulbs illuminating the vast room below.

And what stood in the cavern-like room were three grand ships, built of wood and steel. Unlike essentially everything in possession of the Arn family, it wasn't adorned with ornate designs or precious metals. It was a simple wooden boat, built as sailing frigates.

Even so, its massive size and simplistic grandeur more than made up for it.

Aside from those three grand ships, the only other being that stood in the room was a long-haired woman dressed in a white cloak.

That was Arnhild.

From there, he approached his sister and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Good morning, sister," he said, taking in a deep breath as he smiled, staring at the grand wooden ships before them.

Her voice was stale, "Good morning."

"Have you seen my plans?" he asked her.

She nodded.

Arnold's smile faded. His sister was usually far more expressive. And those expressions were typically positive and joyous. She should be smiling in gleeful preparation and excitement. Even so, she spat out a dejected sigh.

"This mission is far too dangerous for Hector," she muttered.

"What?"

"I can't let you take him with you," she said, looking up at her brother.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "And why's that?"

"It's too dangerous," she repeated, moving away from Arnold, dropping his arm from her shoulder. "Hector's not ready for this."

"Dear sister-"

"I won't just let my son, or any of my children, into harm's way."

Arnold drooped his head as he sighed. As he took in a deep breath, he ruffled his stark white hair. "Arnhild... The boy's strong. And with his curse-"

"Exactly. He's cursed. That's never a good thing."

"But that curse is perfect for us. With that curse, I believe he's capable of wielding the crystal's power."

"It's... It's just not worth the risk."

"Yeah, but..." Arnold said. "You sent him to fight those humans. That was also a risk."

"The humans were weak children. And the God Crystal will be sought by everyone. There's no telling how many you will have to cut down. There's no telling how many he will have to cut down."

Again, Arnold approached his sister. A thin smile began to spread across his lips as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Arnhild..." he said. "Trust me. Just as I have promised to protect you, I promise to protect him. I will let no harm befall him."

He continued, "And if anything, you can come with us. So you can protect him, if necessary. At the very least, I'm sure you'll see what he's truly capable of."

Arnhild spat out another exasperated sigh. "Fine," she muttered.

"Fine," Arnhild repeated. "Keep him safe, brother."

"Of course."

"You know if you're offering her to join the quest, you might as well ask me, too," a voice said, echoing across the artificial cavern.

They turned to another white-haired man as he traced his fingers across the wooden hull of one of the ships.

"Hello, Arngeir," Arnhild said as she waved.

The man waved back. Unlike the siblings before him, he didn't wear the white uniforms of the Golden Dawn, but rather a black suit.

His dress shoes clacked against the stone-bricked floor as he approached them.

"I'm not sure you heard me the first time, Arnold," he said, his pale blue eyes glistening with zeal. "I'm asking to join the quest for the God Crystal."

"I did hear you the first time, actually. I'm just saying no. Besides, it's a mission, not a quest."

"Same difference," Arngeir said as he spat on the gravel ground. "Why are you constantly denying my opportunities of glory?"

"Because you're weak."

"Of course, High-Grade. Of course," he said, letting out a sigh.

'What's up with everyone sighing all the time?' Arnold asked himself.

He cleared his throat. "So anyway..."

"I'm gonna need about 800 of your guys," Arnold said to his cousin.

"Huh?"

Arnold crossed his arms. "For the mission. The quest or whatever. I need 800 soldiers, more or less. Cool?"

"No."

"Come on," Arnold complained. "We're cousins, aren't we?"

Arngeir sighed again. "So we're family when it convenes you?"

"Precisely."

"That's the thing," Arngeir said, turning to Arnhild. "Arnold and I are the same. The only difference is he's stronger."

Arnold laughed at that statement. They're the same? "No."

"Arngeir, you're just limiting yourself at this point," he said, approaching Arngeir. "Don't compare yourself to me." For a second, Arnold's golden eyes began to glow.

"But seriously," Arngeir said, lifting his head to meet eyes with Arnold. His cousin stood almost a head taller than him. "We're the same. We make plans and fight wars. We-"

"Make plans," Arnold said as he scoffed. "Again, don't compare. I'm a strategist. You're a tactician."

Arngeir chuckled. "And what's the difference?"

"You play checkers. I play chess."

"That's why," Arnold continued as he turned away. "I'm Vice-Commander. And you're just the general of our army."

Arngeir clenched his jaw. "The New Genesis Vanguard is more than just the combat force of the Golden Dawn. We're-"

"Not really," Arnhild interrupted.

Arngeir turned to her in shock. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.

"Don't take this personally, cousin," Arnhild said with a reassuring smile. "Arnold knows what he's doing. He always does."

Arngeir's jaw remained clenched. "Always, huh?"

Arnold smiled at him. "So... the soldiers?"

"The soldiers," Arngeir muttered as he nodded his drooped head.

"Perfect," the Vice-Commander said. He clapped his hands together. "The operation for the God Crystal will commence three days from now."

"Prepare your troops," he ordered.

Arngeir hesitantly nodded as his blue eyes meet Arnold's. "Yes sir," his stale voice muttered, before he began to walk away.

Arnold took in a deep breath as he once again stared up at the ships. A smile grew upon his face. "This..." he muttered as he stretched his arms. "This is all so perfect."

Before long, Arnhild was back at her office. Or rather, her bedroom. To her, they were one and the same, unlike Arnold who had three or four offices.

In her hands, she held a file of papers.

Arnhild smiled as she read to herself. "The God Crystal Operation."

She continued. "Four Titans. Arnold Norr, Atlas, and Eve and Lilith. The Titans of the skies, space, life, and death, respectively. Three warships, each carrying around 250 soldiers of the New Genesis Vanguard. And one Hector Hild."

As she set the papers down, she chuckled, thinking about what was to come.

Arnhild reached over to the stamp at the end of the table. For a second, she stared at the crimson stamp that bore the Arn family's coat of arms.

It was the image of an eagle, its wings spread and pointed at the sky. Behind it were rays of light coming from the rising sun.

She smiled at that, before stamping it against the paper.

And with that, she let out a content sigh and rested herself on the desk.