Archibald stared out the car window. Even from kilometers away and on that winding road, he gazed at the massive cluster of what seemed to be millions of lights. Pendragon, the capital of the Norteon Union.

He let a grumbled sigh. "Why is the airport so far away from the city?"

"Security purposes," Smith answered. "If you wanted to be quick, you could've used a transporter, y'know. Then, I wouldn't have to drive you this whole distance. It's unnecessary."

"Well... Not my fault they scheduled a meeting at midnight. Who does that? Anderson's just doing it out of spite."

"Why would he do that out of spite?"

"Well, yeah, he's pretty pissed at the way I talked to him last time. But, hey, I was just telling the truth. Not my fault he didn't like it."

"You're childish for your age, you know that?"

"If we weren't friends, I would've hit you multiple times by now," Archibald said as he chuckled.

Smith laughed. "There's still time until your meeting the meeting, though. Need to stop somewhere?"

Archibald smiled. "No, I think I should be early for once." He stared out the window. The smile faded from his face. "Stop the car," he ordered.

"Sir?"

"Just do it."

Smith hit the brakes. Archibald stepped out of the vehicle, before tapping at the driver's door. "You need to get out of here."

"What?"

He sighed. "Just do as I say, please. Fast as you can."

The car immediately sped away as Archibald stared at the full moon.

A shadow suddenly pierced the stark moonlight.

Arnold smiled, before crashing his fist down at the pavement. The ground erupted with cracks and crevices, spreading to Archibald.

For a single second, their eyes met.

"So... who are you?" Archibald asked, pushing up his glasses. 'He purposely chose an area with no people. Limiting casualties? No. Avoiding possible reinforcements.' Archibald smiled, cracking his knuckles.

Arnold smiled as he stood up straight, the ends of his pale coat flapping in the wind. "Your doom." His hand crackled with lightning.

"Childish response." Archibald sighed, beginning to roll up the sleeves of his stark white dress shirt.

'He's stronger than some Paladins, I can tell. People like him don't show up often. Can't let this opportunity go to waste.' He began cracking his knuckles.

Charles Archibald hadn't attacked him immediately as he expected. Arnold's smiled widened. "What's the matter? Getting scared?"

Archibald smirked. "No. This is starting to get fun."

"Fun?" Arnold raised his hand at the sky. "You have no sense of danger."

"No sense of danger, huh? Well... We'll see."

Arnold smiled, his hands glowing with blinding light. The light burst outward as thunder exploded in the night sky, shaking the very ground itself.

Archibald disappeared for a moment, before reappearing meters behind his white-haired opponent. His grin widened as he spoke, "Combining light to blind and thunder to deafen, huh? Basically a magical flash grenade. Not bad."

Arnold's rapid footsteps clacked against the broken pavement. "But there's more," he muttered. His arm shot downward as lightning descended from the dark night sky. The brilliant ray of lightning ripped through the air, crashing down at Archibald. Archibald tried to jump back but...

Arnold immediately dashed behind Archibald. "Too slow!" Arnold shouted, his face twisted with a manic smile. He thrust out his hand, his palm just a foot away from Archibald. "Far too slow," he repeated. A surge of lightning burst from his hand, exploding, lighting up the night sky.

Arnold saw nothing within the flowing cloud of dust and ash, pure magic energy rising up into the air from his attacks. But the only magic to be sensed was his own. Not a single trace of the human remained.

"Is that it?" he sighed. "Of course Atlas was exaggerating. Humans these days aren't special. And to think he's called the 'Strongest Paladin'. Seems he was nothing much."

"Who are you calling nothing much?" Archibald asked, approaching Arnold from behind.

Arnold's eyes widened as he spun around. "Even someone like you would've suffered damage from that."

"If it hit."

He furrowed his eyebrows. 'But I hit him. I'm sure I did!'

Archibald grinned. "You're sure you hit me, aren't you? You're thinking, 'I know I hit him!' Right?"

"Alright," he continued. He extended his hand, displaying his palm. "Give me your hand."

"…What?"

"Give me your hand," Archibald simply repeated.

'I'm not sensing any killing intent from him.' Arnold sighed, before extending his hand at Archibald.

Arnold's hand slowly reached closer to Archibald's. A few centimeters away, Arnold's hand froze. He furrowed his eyebrows, pushing his hand forward. No change. Arnold's hand remained stuck in those few millimeters from Archibald. He quickly drew back his hand.

"What the hell is that?"

"Try again."

"No."

"Try again and I'll explain."

Arnold sighed. He slammed his hand into Archibald's. But... It began to slow. A single inch away, his hand stopped. Unease had begun settling in his stomach.

"Spatial magic. But my version is a bit different, you see. It's not simply controlling space. In a way... I'm controlling reality. Infinity and Negative Infinity. Matter and Anti-Matter. That type of stuff. My magic applies those concepts into reality, and through reality..." He clenched his fist. "...Space."

"This spell... I call it Infintisemal. No matter how much magic energy, no matter the attack, physical or metaphysical... It just won't touch me."

Arnold paused and furrowed his eyebrows. "...I see."

"So... Ready to continue?"

"Huh?"

Archibald slammed his fist into Arnold's stomach, leaving nothing more than a blur in the air and an indentation in Arnold's chest.

'What the hell?!' Arnold gasped, blood spewing from his mouth. 'He's fast! Way too fast! And this strength! He's only human but... I don't get it! I have to understand!'

"Not done yet," Archibald muttered.

Archibald's fist struck again. And again. And again.

"Don't mess with me!" Arnold shouted. He forced down the congealed blood in his throat. Arnold clenched his jaw and grabbed hold of Archibald's fist. 'Wait-'

"You- You called off the spell?!"

"Yeah. It's fine, isn't it? Because you're weak."

Arnold fumed. "Weak?!"

Archibald smiled. 'Knew it. Too much pride. Pretty standard for guys like him.'

"Yeah," the paladin repeated. Weak."

Archibald appeared above him, slamming his fists at Arnold's head. Arnold spun in the air, crashing into the forest.

Arnold scurried through the forest floor, through the clouds of dust, like a cornered beast. 'I have to get out of here! I have to-'

"What's wrong?" Archibald asked, his feet gently grazing the ground. "You came here acting all confident and smug, and now what? You're just gonna let yourself get beat up like this?"

Arnold tried to push himself back up, his breaths stifled. He remembered the conversation he had with Atlas. It was just a mere half hour ago, but that now felt like an eternity as every cell in his body screamed out to him in pain.

Archbald smiled to himself. "Y'know... The moonlight makes it easier to see how pathetic you are."

"Fine. But you'll probably die." Atlas' words echoed in his head. He wasn't kidding.

'I need to get out of here.'

"You're not going anywhere," Archibald said, smiling.

"Atlas!" he cried. Blood spewed from his cracked teeth.

Archibald's face hardened. "Don't you know your actions have consequences? You started this war. But now you won't get to see it end. This is where you die." He extended his hand at Arnold's face.

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"Wait-"

"Don't tell me you came prepared to kill... but not prepared to be killed?" He gripped Arnold's face, slamming his head back into the ground. "The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to face death themselves. Me, I've been prepared for quite some time now."

Archibald's hand began to glow with pale light. "I wanted to learn more about the Golden Dawn. But there's no point anymore."

Arnold disappeared.

Archibald turned to the side and looked up. "Wow," he muttered, staring at Arnold, floating some 50 feet in the sky. "You're definitely faster than before."

He kept on talking. "You can levitate, huh? That's pretty rare."

Arnold's vision had gotten hazy, his breaths were labored. 'Right before impact,' he told himself. 'His magic energy spiked.'

Blood continued dripping from his forehead and nose. 'So right before that, I'll-' A blow landed in his chest.

Another.

And another.

Archibald again appeared above Arnold. He was too fast.

Arnold slowly turned his head at Archibald, his eyes widened. The back of Archibald's hand struck Arnold's face.

'He can fly, too? Is there anything he doesn't have?!'

Arnold saw the right hand aimed at his chest. So why did the impact come from behind? More hits. More impacts. More pain. With the seemingly endless barrage of attacks from all directions, Arnold let out a breath.

'What is this... fresh sensation? Is this death?'

Arnold crashed to the ground again.

Arnold's eyes began to glow. "Right now... I'm just thankful to you." He clenched his fist, before a brilliant ray of light shot down from the sky.

The lightning ripped through the air, crashing down at Archibald. It lit up the night, destroying the area, blasting the ground to gravel. "I understand now," he muttered as the corners of his mouth began to arch upward. "I understand."

"Atlas!" Arnold cried as the thunder rattled the forest. "Get me out of here!" He disappeared with a ripple of darkness.

As the thunder dissipated, Archibald let out a defeated sigh. He stepped back unto the ground before extending his hand out. His cane flung into his hand, as he began to walk away.

Archibald sighed staring at the singular stain of dirt on his side. "Damn," he muttered. He pulled out his cellphone from his pocket.

"Yeah, I guess I'll be late again," he said. "Ran into some trouble. But I should get there in a while."

As he hung up the phone, Archibald let out another sigh. "He's thankful to me, huh? I don't like the sound of that."

- - - - -

Arnold laid in a hospital bed. During that short battle, he suffered fractured vertebrae and cracked ribs. Other than that, nearly a dozen more cracked bones and bruised limbs. Even after being treated by some of the Golden Dawn's best healers, Arnold still found it difficult to move.

Arnhild sat in a chair beside his bed. She stared at him and swallowed her saliva. "That's a Paladin?" she asked. "There's more like him?"

"No," he coldly muttered. "That's a monster. An anomaly. No human should be that powerful." He winced as he sat up, clenching the side of his chest.

"If what you say is true..." a voice muttered. "Then how will we bring him down?"

A man in the same Golden Dawn cloak walked in.

Underneath the normal white cloak, he wore a dark grey suit. His hair was longer than Arnold's, leaving his shoulders covered with silvery-white hair. His eyes weren't yellow like Arnold but a pale azure. His glossy blue eyes scanned over the room, judging the looks the others sent them.

"I'm still of the house of Arn, am I not?"

"Barely."

"Barely? We're cousins."

"Shut up, Arngeir. I already made you General of the New Genesis Vanguard, so leave us alone."

"I'm not the one that almost got killed by a human. If Atlas hadn't been there, you would be long dead by now. You're reckless, impatient, and arrogant. Now I see why your father-"

Arnold pointed at Arngeir with a single finger. "Finish that sentence. See what happens."

Arngeir spat out a sigh as he crossed his arms. "I'm just looking out for you, cousin."

"Forget about that. To answer your question, I already have a plan. I can't use it for some time, unfortunately. But when the time is right, I will succeed. I will kill Charles Archibald," he said, smiling and staring at the palm of his hand as it crackled with pale yellow lighting.

"Now is when our war truly begins."

- - - - -

Alexander had been sitting in a waiting room for the past half hour. He, along with the other six Virtues, was waiting for Charles Archibald.

He glanced around the room. Anastasia was reading a book, Leonard was on his phone, and Gabriel was impatiently tapping his foot against the floor.

He smiled. For a Paladin's office, the sight reminded him of a typical doctor's waiting room, with soothing music playing and a small TV playing the news in the corner of the room's ceiling.

Alexander stared at the TV in the corner. A reporter stood right outside what seemed like a blown up forest. The road was practically shattered and acres of surrounding forest had been wrangled apart by some "unknown" force.

"It's crazy, huh?" Leonard said, his eyes still fixated on his phone. "That happened right outside Pendragon, too."

Alexander nodded. "Apparently, there's remnants of magic energy. So it could've been lots of things, but no one really knows."

"Maybe a Gateway exploded," Leonard said, finally looking up.

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Now how do you know how it works?"

Alexander paused.

"Don't listen to Leonard," Gabriel interjected. "Each conversation you have with him kills your brain cells."

"That's just rude."

Archibald walked through the door, briefcase in hand. "Sorry for being late. But, at least, the demon hasn't been summoned yet," he said, walking towards the door.

"Please, all of you, follow me."

He rolled up his sleeves as he led them into his office.

"Alright," he said. "Today's the day. So, all of you. Onto the circle, please," Archibald said, tossing the briefcase at the window.

They all stared at the floor. A thin white line created a circle onto the carpet in the center of the room. None of them had noticed it before.

"What is this?"

Anastasia stared at the white circle. "Basically a manual transporter," she told the others. "It's an old technique. Very old."

"Oh, and Alexander," Archibald said, motioning him to the side. "Those magic energy bracelet things. Whatever they're called. You've been using them, correct?"

Alexander nodded, pushing up his sleeves, showing the thin silver bands across his wrists.

"Perfect. When was the last time you got shocked by it?

"Around... I think two weeks ago."

Archibald smiled. 'He's already getting the hang of energy manipulation. Quite a quick learner.'

"Well, other than magic, you're gonna need a weapon," he said, reaching into his desk. He pulled out a sheathed sword, handing it to Alexander.

Alexander gripped the sheath with one hand and the hilt with another.

He unsheathed it, the scabbard pulling apart from the sword. It was a one-handed, double-edged sword. The sword's bronze blade shimmered, its leather hilt fitting perfectly into Alexander's hand.

"Nice," he muttered, before sheathing it back. "Thanks."

"Alright, you gotta get onto the circle, too. Don't have much time left."

As Alexander stepped inside the circle, Archibald addressed the group. "We received information that the summoning is taking place near these coordinates. Good luck."

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows as he also stepped inside the circle."Wait, 'received'? From who?"

Archibald smiled. "Good question." He clasped his hands.

Alexander's vision blurred, before instantaneously shifting to a stark white hallway.

"Where-"

"Paris catacombs," Gabriel said, tracing his hand against the white tiled wall. "That's what Archibald told me. They renovated it about a decade ago, I think."

"They renovated catacombs?"

"Apparently."

Giovanna sighed. "How the hell are we supposed to find a single demon in some underground cemetery maze thing?"

"With determination."

They were in the middle of a wide hallway. Dark corridors surrounded them from both sides.

"So..."

"We have to split up," Liam said. "Three and four," he said, running off into the darkness. With each of his steps, more and more lights turned on, illuminating the corridor as he passed.

Giovanna and Lumiel ran after him as the others went in the opposite direction.

Alexander still stood, standing in the middle as the others dashed off into the surrounding catacombs. "God, this is actually weird," he said, before rushing after Anastasia and the others.

For nearly ten minutes, their path had was monotonous. Other than the sounds of their rapid footsteps and their breathing, their passage was silent.

The repetitive, seemingly endless hallways reminded him of their first mission. As he continued running, he smiled at that thought.

Until they noticed the hallways that branched off to the sides.

"We have to continue going straight ahead," he said. "There's nothing down there."

Again, it was repetitive. More and more hallways on each side and more reminders to only move forward.

Until...

Alexander got ahead of the others. With just another step forward, another light bulb turned on.

And there it stood.

A demon.

It was around seven feet tall with the build of a human and long, lanky limbs. And no face.

The demon had sickly grey skin, with cracks spread throughout its body, and a red-orange glow emanating from them. Two crooked, curved horns stood on the sides of the demon's faceless head.

The Virtues froze.

Gabriel placed his hand onto Excalibur's hilt.

And at that moment, another demon appeared, bursting from one of the hallways they had just passed.

It lunged at them from behind.

Gabriel's eyes widened as he spun around. "Not fast enough," he muttered, pulling Excalibur from its sheath.

With a single rapid strike, the sword slid through the monster's body.

And from the halls behind them, more and more beasts crawled through.

Three more demons.

"Well, this isn't good."

"Obviously not, Leonard," Gabriel said. He cleared his throat. "Demon-Born," he continued, raising his sword. "Handle the one ahead."

Alexander nodded and slowly placed his hand on his sword's hilt. Being called 'Demon-Born' had always annoyed Alexander, but now wasn't the time to complain. Instead he only steeled his nerves and braced his body.

The demon lunged forward at him.

He drew his sword. Alexander twirled his hand, before his dashing at the monstrous demon. He slid beneath the gap of its legs, before jumping back up, slamming the bronze blade into its back, using his momentum to slide the sword back down, ripping the demon apart.

Even so, there wasn't any blood. Alexander sighed as the demon began to fade into dust, ashy fragments of its being floating in the air with faint light. "That worked exactly as I thought I would," he muttered. Alexander sheathed his sword, smiling. "God, that was awesome," he mumbled to himself.

"You're all wrapped up over here?" Gabriel asked.

"Yep."

"Didn't think you were capable of killing your own kind. You better show that lack of mercy when we see the Prince. Although, you'll probably die, anyway."

"...Sure."

Alexander looked past Gabriel. Those faint orange and scarlet glimmers danced in the air. All the other demons had been killed as well.

"Don't think you're special just because you killed a single demon. I handled two of them."

He sighed. "Congrats."

'Guess he woke up on the regular side of the bed.'

Alexander stared at his hands, his eyes still wide. He smiled. "I'm strong," he told himself. "We can handle this."

Gabriel turned. "Let's just keep looking," he said.

Alexander turned to Anastasia. "Any luck?" he asked.

Even if Anastaisa couldn't sense magic energy, she could sense space and things within space. Still...

She shook her head. "I have a very limited range, y'know. I didn't even notice those demons until the last second. Unless it's something massive, it won't work."

Alexander spat out a sigh as he turned to the others. "At this rate, we're gonna be too late. I'm pretty sure the demon's already been summoned."

A demon suddenly fell from the ceiling. The monster had the same appearance as the last.

"Behind you!" Leonard said.

Alexander spun, driving his fist into the demon's face. Again, glowing sparks filled the air as it began to fade.

"I guess that makes two," Alexander said.

"What the hell was that?" Leonard asked, staring at Alexander.

"What?"

"You just punched him."

"Yeah."

"You punched him once and he died?"

Alexander paused, staring at his fist. "Yeah, I guess."

"So what now?" he asked turning to Anastasia and Gabriel.

"These demons are weak. They were sent to slow us down. That must mean we're close."

The three of them stared at Gabriel. "Y'know," Leonard began. "Saying stuff out loud doesn't make you sound smart. Especially when we're all thinking the same thing."

"Shut up, Leonard. There's no time for that."

Alexander continued walking ahead, a couple feet before the others. Before long, he stopped.

More hallways shrouded in darkness stood before them. "Alright, so, there are three more hallways," Alexander said. "The others have probably faced the same thing, right? I think we should split up again."

"Just hold on a minute," Leonard said, his hand bursting into flames. He condensed the fire in his hand into a ball, launching it into one of the dark hallways.

"Well, that's a long way down," Alexander muttered, staring at the passing orange glow of Leonard's flames.

"You know what's weird?" Leonard asked, preparing another ball of fire for the next corridor.

"The fact that we haven't seen any of those Golden Dawn guys?" Alexander said.

Leonard snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

Gabriel pressed his palm against his forehead. "I think I found one."

They all paused.

A shadow spread from under their feet.

"Anastasia..." Gabriel began, staring at the surrounding shadow. "What is this?"

"I... I don't know."

"Why hasn't it gotten to Alexander?" Leonard pointed out. Alexander was only a few feet ahead of them, but the darkness hadn't even moved closer to him.

"I think it's targeting us."

"Well, this isn't good," Leonard muttered.

"Obviously not, Leonard."

All Alexander did was stare at the circular shadow in confusion. The sense of dread he was feeling just from the sight of that darkness... It was a demon. One far stronger than the ones he had just faced.

The shadow engulfed them without a sound nor a trace.