Standing in utter silence, Gabriel finally felt a slight unease settle in his stomach.

He had no reason to be afraid, he told himself. But that didn't change the risk he was taking. In all unlikeliness, he would lose his life.

"Well... Let's just get it done," he mumbled to himself. Gabriel quickly unsheathed Excalibur, only to dig his blade into the ground.

Other than the grand warship before him, half a dozen rowboats drew closer to the island. Each of them carried easily a dozen soldiers. All in all, Gabriel estimated he was facing at least 150 soldiers.

"Let's see how far I can go with magic alone."

Gabriel stared at the sails that adorned each and every ship. All he had to do was push wind against it and they wouldn't move forward.

As simple as that was... "That's no fun."

From eyesight alone, Gabriel judged the ships were a little over a minute from reaching the island. The worst part was the fact that they hadn't attacked yet, except for a single arrow.

He squinted, his eyebrows furrowing.

Gabriel took a step. Followed by another. And another. And another. Gabriel didn't stop until he was knee-deep in water.

And with every breath he took, the near-still waters shifted. More and more waves crashed into the smaller ships, becoming more crooked, more violent with each breath he took in and let out.

A thin smile cracked his lips open just as he let out another exhale. While that exhale turned to fog and mist in the air, Gabriel lifted one of his feet and placed it above the water. He left his foot hovering for a single second until the water beneath him solidified into ice.

As soon as the crystal blue water turned to pale ice, he brought his foot down and stood upon it. Gabriel did the same until he was above the water. He uttered, "Let's begin."

"...What did he just do?" Vaughn said, staring out at Gabriel as the rough waves continued to crash into the side of the ship.

"He... He turned the water into ice so he can stand on it, it seems."

"I didn't know he was capable of that," the brigadier muttered, spitting out a sigh. "I suppose he's doing this to the waves as well. He's got a good range." He looked up. "Shoot him down."

"Prepare to fire," the man said, giving the order.

Gabriel sucked in air through his teeth. "Is it gonna be arrows again?"

Just over a hundred meters from Gabriel stood the ship. Just over a hundred meters away, a volley of arrows flew out in an arc. All aimed at him.

"Knew it. Damn arrows."

With an exhale, his breath turned to white mist in the air.

As soon as he pressed his foot against the ice he stood on... Gabriel disappeared with a blur of white. But that blur reappeared with a flashing impact onto a ship, charging waves through the river shooting up a pillar of water into the sky.

"What the hell even was that?" a woman shouted out, the white rapids of water crashing into her ship as dense energy burst forth within that pale pillar.

A single minute later, Gabriel had already destroyed two of the six ships. And he was well on his third, using Excalibur and any spell of magic he could to destroy. He couldn't kill, Gabriel understood. But that wouldn't stop him from cleaving apart the wooden sailboat and crashing into soldiers with pure magic energy and force.

Even as they let out shouts and prepared attacks, Gabriel's face remained still. Salty water and wintry wind crashed into him as he attacked, his hair flowing within his rhythmic motions. Duck, deflect, dodge, slash, thrust, cut. And as he continued, he turned and stared at the many warriors aboard the warship next to him, spears and swords were drawn, bows and arrows were readied to attack.

Gabriel couldn't help but smile as he let go of Excalibur. Water crashed and covered all those in that ship, only for Gabriel to jump up into the air.

Now in midair, Gabriel's azure eyes began to gleam within the golden sunlight. Just as Excalibur's smooth hilt slid into his hands once again, a crooked grin split apart his lips. "You!" he shouted at the many soldiers. "Just try and stop me!"

- - - - -

"If you value your life, you won't move."

Alexander froze and swallowed his dry saliva before immediately and slowly raising his hands. Even if it was inches away from him, Alexander could feel the cold metal of the spear aimed at his back.

"If you value your life... You won't move," Liam said, stepping through a blue Connection.

The other Virtues rushed through immediately and drew their weapons.

Anastasia's eyes scanned over the crowd. Dozens of plain citizens stood there, huddled behind the few with weapons. Swords and spears were pointed at the Virtues. And if they made a wrong move, that man would drive his spear through Alexander's chest.

'As much as he's survived, that's not something we can heal,' she smiled as she thought to herself, recalling all that Alexander has been through. For their sake, most of the time.

"We can't waste any time," Liam said, his eyebrows furrowed and his voice tinged with

Alexander's back was still turned. Still, he asked. "Wait, where's Gabriel?"

"Across the wall," Anastasia said, her eyes still fixed on the spearman.

He clenched his jaw.

Lumiel stepped in front of Alexander. "We can't waste time," she said, repeating Liam's words. "Our friends are gonna die unless we get to the God Crystal first. You will die unless we get to the God Crystal first. Unless we get to the Crystal first..."

"Get out of our way."

Liam grabbed the spearhead and lowered it. He was taller than this warrior and clearly stronger with how much he struggled to raise the weapon again.

But even through that struggle, the spearman didn't budge. As much as his arms trembled, his feet were still firmly planted onto the ground. Liam glared at him and the others.

Alexander finally turned around and lowered his arms. Now facing the crowd, he swallowed his dry saliva. "Listen," he began to say. "We're not here to hurt you. We're... We're here to help," he told them between his labored breaths.

The spearman's eyes were still locked with Liam's. His teeth were grit as he continued to struggle. Even so, he would not falter. "The Golden Dawn..." he said. "I'm sure the Golden Dawn has helped the many peoples of this realm by relieving them of their lives."

"We're not with the Golden Dawn!" Giovanna shouted out.

"If we wanted you dead, you would've met your gods minutes ago," Liam said. "After all... You don't know how to use magic, do you?"

He nervously gulped down his saliva, his eyes still wide at Liam's hulking figure and explosive growth of energetic power. Shaking his head, he let go of the spear.

Liam raised his head and spoke to the crowd. "None of you are warriors. But you still want to protect yourselves. We are capable of that. We're capable of protecting you. But we need the God Crystal. Before it falls in the wrong hands. We have to retrieve it and take it someplace safe. If not, everyone in the realm will suffer a horrible fate."

He threw the spear to the ground. "We need the God Crystal. Are any of you willing to help us?"

After a moment of silence, a single hand raised itself, piercing the veil of crowded heads. "The crystal is underground," that voice called. "I know how to get there."

That hand was quickly lowered. But in the following second, it was raised once again. And again, it was forced down. Mumbles and complaints were heard from the silent crowd as many started to move.

"Get back here!" a voice shouted out.

But no response. No other sounds to be heard but footsteps and the ruffling of clothes.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It was the one who raised their hand. A crimson-haired boy fell as he crashed through the huddled mass of citizens and onto the ground. He immediately looked up from the ground and wiped the dirt from his face.

"I know where it is. I can lead you to the crystal."

This boy was even younger than Alexander. And so, he extended a hand to him. "What's your name?" Alexander asked.

"My name is Karna."

"Where's the crystal?" Anastasia asked him. Pulling himself up, he spat out a sigh. "I'll take you there right now!"

"Don't!" a repetitive voice cried out. An elderly man broke through the crowd just like Karna had. "Karna, don't tell them."

"I have to, gran-"

The man gripped Karna by his ear. "You don't have to do anything. You have to live. What you're doing is dangerous," he said, pulling Karna closer. "Stop this at once."

Karna winced and pulled himself back. "Grandfather, you don't understand!"

The ground shook.

The energy emanating from the battle of Hunters and the Vanguard burst into the wall. More spells and denser energy rang out from the opposing side of the wall. Even from those hundreds of meters between them, they could still feel the effects of the conflict.

"They have to get to the crystal. The Golden Dawn is already coming for it." Karna turned to the crowd once again. "They will burn this town just as they have over this realm! They will take all that is ours! We have to fight back any way that we can! But we're too weak to fight. We have to get human children to travel across Yggdrasil to fight for us. If we have to put our hopes in them, then..."

"They cannot wield the power of the crystal!" the man protested. "They will fail and they will die. And we will die."

He clenched his jaw. "So we're going to die either way, correct? Does that mean that there's no point in any of this? They have a chance. That means we have a chance." Karna turned back to the Virtues. "I choose to believe in that chance. I choose to believe in them."

Karna's eyes locked with Alexander's. "We have to go." He quickly turned and ran off to the side.

"Well... It worked either way," Liam said with a smile, patting Alexander on the back before he ran towards Karna.

Alexander spat out a sigh and kept moving.

It wasn't long of passing through alleyways and alongside trees before they reached it. The black doorway. Standing alongside an archway of dull-colored bricks, all that stood before the Virtues and the path to the crystal was a black door.

Karna gripped the handle and swung it open. And again, pure darkness was all they faced.

Anastasia stared at it from the side. There was nothing behind that door. Nothing past that archway. 'It's an entirely different space. So...'

Her thoughts were interrupted by Alexander. "Anastasia. We have to go."

Karna continued to explain. "I will not enter with you. You alone will go forth. The gods will decide your fate. If you are to die at the hands of the Golden Dawn, it is their will. If the God Crystal falls into the hands of those scum, it is their will. We will not question it. But... Please... Please don't lose. May the will of the gods be in your favor."

Alexander stared into the abyss of utter darkness. He swallowed his dry saliva, before turning back to Karna. "We... We'll do what we can."

And with a sharp breath, Alexander stepped into the dark.

As soon as he did, the sun's light from the outside faded in an instant. The exit behind him no longer existed. And with another unsteady step, he fell.

"Fuck!" Anastasia cried out.

Cries of confusion left each of the Virtues as they fell into the darkness.

In an instant, Alexander grasped his surroundings. His instinctive, innate spatial perception allowed him to understand everything near him and everything that enveloped him, even without as much as a glance.

That was what terrified him. Other than his fellow Virtues... Nothing else surrounded him. The very air had disappeared, the very moisture in the air. All that there was... was darkness. Blank and utter darkness.

It was only a second more before the Virtues each crashed into stone.

Anastasia clenched her jaw and forced down her urge to vomit onto the paved brick walkway. "Why..." she muttered, her palms pressed against the stone ground. "Why does this always happen to us?"

Alexander swallowed his dry saliva, panting to himself as a single bead of cold sweat dripped down his nose and onto the ground. The very warmth of his blood was stolen away.

'Get up.'

"We have to move," he said, his voice slightly echoing in the chamber. He quickly pushed himself up and grit his teeth.

"I couldn't even breathe in there," Leonard coughed. "Gimme a minute."

Alexander tightened his belt and the harness that held his sword to it. "I don't think a minute is something we can afford."

Liam sighed, his back pressed against the wall. With a labored breath, he forced himself to stand. "He's right. We have to move," Liam told the Virtues, already beginning to head deeper through the corridor.

Alexander traced his fingers across the stone walls.

As unfortunate as it was, this was real. The whole space was. It didn't matter if they were still in the fortress, or even on the island. It didn't even matter if they were underground.

The darkness that burned into his brain and enveloped the Virtues in entirety was more than just darkness. It was a subspace. And through that creation of space, it deleted everything inside.

No air, no light. No space at all.

Alexander forced down his saliva and followed Liam.

With every few steps taken, torches on each wall of the corridor lit up, bursting with flames and light nearly instantaneously.

The torches lit up their path as they moved forward, glistening with crimson flames and orange glows.

Alexander smiled at that. "Just like the first battle, remember?" he said to Anastasia, recalling the corridor that ignited with pale light with each of their steps. "Right before Belphegor."

"That's not a good thing," she told him. "Don't remind me of that," Anastasia said, a thin smile growing along her lips.

"Still," Liam said. "Just like last time... It looks like we're gonna have to split up."

"Oh, God," Leonard mumbled to himself. Five hallways stood before them.

"Dammit!" Giovanna shouted out, before sighing. "No."

Liam turned to her in confusion.

"No," she repeated. Giovanna quickly pushed her hair behind her ears and crouched down onto the ground. "I'm gonna sense the paths ahead. I can find the crystal."

After just half a minute, Lumiel grabbed Giovanna from under her arms and pulled her up. "Yeah, that's not gonna work," she told Giovanna as they stared out at the five paths laid out before them.

Liam had already dashed into the leftmost path, leaving no sounds in his footsteps or no words to help the others.

Alexander swallowed his dry saliva. "Anastasia. Head down the middle and try to sense the anti-magic," Alexander said, facing the deep darkness of the corridor on the side. "We have to destroy the crystal," he told the others, turning to them. "Retrieving it is too risky. We have to move. And we can't let the Golden Dawn get to it. Understand? If you find it... You have to destroy it."

Anastasia nodded. And with nothing else, Alexander dashed into the darkness.

Anastasia took in a deep breath and followed Alexander's words, grabbing hold of her warhammer before disappearing into the corridor.

While Leonard and Lumiel ran through the dimly lit hallway, Leonard couldn't help but ask. "Where the hell even is Gabriel?"

"According to Anastasia..." Lumiel told him between her shaky breaths.

"He's fighting half of the Golden Dawn. Y'know, all those people on the boats."

Leonard stopped and struck the wall with his fist. "Dammit, that's cool!" he painfully admitted. "I should've done that!" Leonard said, his voice carrying complaints and distinct annoyance.

"No offense," Lumiel said, already moving forward and ahead of him, "but it wouldn't have gone too well for you. Gabriel has two affinities and more energy. And those affinities match up perfectly with this situation. We're on an island, after all."

Leonard spat out a sigh and threw on his crimson hood. "Technically... half of what the New Genesis Vanguard sent. So... not that much." He quickly stepped forward and caught up to Alexander.

"Still..." Lumiel muttered, a thin smile crossing her lips. "You gotta wonder how he's holding up."

Just as those words left Alexander's lips, just at the same instant, a thud echoed onto the floorboard of a ship. The grand warship between all the rest.

That singular thud was the impact, just as a man's back fell to the wooden floor.

Gabriel Archibald pressed his foot against the soldier's chest, his ribs slightly creaking under the pressure. He smiled as he noticed the flickering blue glow on the soldier's lapel. The same device as earlier.

Even with the man's hands wrapped around Gabriel's ankles, even with all the force he could muster from his bones being poured into his arms to remove Gabriel, the blond boy didn't budge.

Refusing to shift, Gabriel cleared his throat and spoke. Loudly and clearly, he said: "I'm sure you can hear me, Vaughn Leonhardt."

He continued.

"Earlier, you asked me if I could protect myself and my friends at the same time. Well, what about you? Can you protect yourself, and the men you brought with you?"

'God, I'm so cool!' Gabriel thought to himself, keeping his glare stern and forcing his smile down and away.

- - - - -

Unfortunately for her, Anastasia Velda was alone. And the corridor she was left with was by far the worst.

Well, it was the only one she had entered, to begin with. But it was horrible. Disgusting, even.

The very air surrounding her was damp and moist and smelled like boiled cabbage, an unfortunately familiar smell to Anastasia. The corridor was lit up completely, even in the dozens of meters before her and each of her steps.

But instead of bright, glowing torches of crimson flames, only putrid yellow-orange light filled the hallway. She spat out a sigh with another step, her boots clacking and echoing through the cracked and hollow stones beneath her feet.

She kept her hand pressed against the moldy stone wall at all times. All she had to do was sense anti-magic. An area not just devoid of magic, but one that draws it close to destroy it. Even with Anastaisa's advanced perception of space, she couldn't do much. What she need was the capability to sense magic energy and the lack of it.

Anastasia cleared her throat. That singular sound echoed, just like each of her footsteps. "Dammit, why'd I end up with the creepy hallway?" she mumbled to herself, finally letting out a complaint.

But after just a couple of seconds, the echo of her steps began to fade. Again, she froze. It wasn't that the echoing stopped.

There were more sounds. And those dull vibrations drowned out her echo. Anastasia clenched her jaw and drew her hammer. With just a second, it exploded with mass and grew into a weapon of war.

And the dull vibrations that shook the walls around her continued. Not just continued, but grew.

But it was then that Anastasia saw the source of that trembling sound. Or rather, she felt it.

The ground beneath her was trembling. She gently placed her hand onto the ground. Even if it was coming from underground... Where was it coming from?

Just a second after her smooth hand came into contact with the coarse stone...

Cracks spread through the ground and exploded with crevices. The hollow ground, she realized. "Well then..." she muttered. "I'm fucked."

The ground beneath her caved in and crashed down into itself. And Anastasia crashed through the ground.

"Jesus Christ!" Anastasia coughed out, the second she hit the ground, panting and struggling to take in a breath as the dust filled the room.

The impact took less than a second. Even as she could feel the blood pumping through her body and through a wound, Anastasia knew she wasn't hurt. Not badly hurt, at least.

Anastasia raised her sleeve to her nose and raised her head while the dust began to settle.

Wait. That's right. She fell into a room. She pushed herself up and spun her head in every direction as sunlight poured from the ceiling.

Thin rays of golden light seeped through, filling the room with a slight warmth.

Anastasia patted off the dust on her clothes, before wincing, finally noticing the gash on the palm of her hand. Blood drenched her hand in crimson, gushing through. She clenched her teeth in pain, before scanning the ground again.

She found and gripped that hammer of hers and clenched her jaw. Even if she was bleeding, she had to be ready to fight.

But as she turned to her side, she dropped her weapon without a second thought. With that sight, all semblance of pain slipped from her mind. As soon as she saw that, the sunlight gleaming onto that crystalline mass, she swallowed her dry saliva.

"Oh."

That was the only thing she could mumble. That was the only sound that left her lips as she gazed upon the massive chunk of darkness. The gem-like mass that sat on a pedestal, just a few meters away from her... was the God Crystal.