I

  The dead bodies that laid on the bloody ground, were all gone. All of them brutally killed. Each had been horrified to their last breath. The soldiers looked around as I took a small piece of armor that was cut perfectly. The Joyce army must’ve taken the bodies and what was left of them.

  “Sir, it appears a Hero passed through here.” I chuckled.

  “So, it seems. How long until we arrive to last recent detection of the target?” I asked the Grey Scale. The armored soldier stood straight, her voice sounding firm and emotionless. “Camping today, it will take until the next night to arrive at this pace.”

  Letting go of the fragment of armor, I stood up.

  “Rest for today. We’ll begin moving first thing in the morning.”

  The night was already making everywhere dark, most of the lights seen were by the lanterns placed around for the troops to rest.

  How irritating. I have been sent on a mission to bring the girl. That was going to be annoying. If Juno were here, he would’ve done the usual to the girl.

  Not like I cared. His absence gave me a sudden burst of anger. That idiot might have been a horn-dog, but he was still my friend.

  The mission won’t change my goal —to kill the bastard who took his life—.

  As I took the device that had been spotting the mana of the bastard, I could tell he was calm. That alone was enough to boil my blood.

  The winter began to lose its winds, spring peeking towards us. As expected of the calculations Great One took when plotting the war.

  It was a matter of time when winter would leave, the war bringing forth what would come the end of this world. If Great One really wished to destroy this world, he would’ve just float in space and slash the world in half with his pinky.

  Maybe he is expecting something other than the main goal. But what may that be?

  II

  NOCTIS

  “Expecting me?” I tilted my head. She bowed slightly and walked towards me. She was quite short for a High-Elf. She stared at me intensely, as if she didn’t know what personal space means.

  “Yes. It seems you arrived earlier than what I expected.” I began to feel strange. Could she see the future?

  “So, you say.” I said softly.

  She took my hand, her eyes strangely empty. “You have terrible scars.” She caressed my hand, making me feel sad for a reason.

  “You are Esther?” She lifted her gaze to my find my own. “Yes. I am glad you have arrived before time.” I felt a strange coldness cover my body. “Before time?”

  J went to stand behind me, his calm tone making it more confusing. “She is a seer. The last one remaining of what I know of. She is too valuable for the Tokyo Faction to take.”

  Her hand let go of mine as she sat on the floor. “Hey Esther. You don’t have to sit on the floor. Your knees will hurt.”

  Her entire body let out a simple spark of mana, enough to make me understand that she was already using her own powers for seeing. She knew I was coming, as well of who I was.

  She knew my name; it was surprising. “So why have you been waiting for me?” I asked. Her humming mana stopped, and she looked at me once more.

  “Because… you are one of the fragments I predict will stop the coming chaos.” My eyes narrowed, her expression and body language not changing. She was telling the truth from what I could see.

  Then, I used my ability. Through all the thoughts she had right now, she wasn’t lying. In fact, her heart was too pure to make up lies.

  “Why me? Why choose me?” She smiled faintly. “Why you are the one who would save me eventually. The path that awaits you and those you’ll cherish will be a dark one, with you being the light.”

  Her words. Those words made me doubt once more of her visions. “Cherished ones?” She nodded.

  “Lady Bon-Bon for example.” I jolted a bit. J made a distorted face, twisted between a smug and a face so nasty I wanted to puke the juice I drank.

  “Bon-Bon?” She nodded. “Yes. I can tell your journey will have her involved quite often.” Clearing my throat, I began to feel a burn on my ears. This elf is really indiscreet.

  “I understand. So, you must already know my answer about the situation you’re in.”

  She nodded again. “Yes. I will be in your care.” Sighing, I turned to J, who still had that nasty smug expression.

  Blowing towards him, it slapped him with a thump and made him bend in pain. “Hey!” He shouted as he massaged his forehead.

  “You should really stop making those horrible faces. I confused you with a beast.” Esther for a small moment chortled. In such a second, she twisted from laughing to deadpan. Impressive.

  “I understand now why you wanted me to take her. She really is the last of her kind.” She fell to her knees and held my hand once more. “Thank you.” I lifted her, her slender shoulders bare and having a pink color from bruises that were healing.

  I stared at her for a moment, then she reminded me of a High-Elf I met back in the war. The face faded from my memory as all the others came rushing with it.

  Damn these emotions. I thought I had sealed them away.

  “If that is the case, I will take you when the time comes to take the rest of the refuges to Joyce.” J nodded. “You should rest and relax now Esther.” Her diamond pupils shined and she bowed to him. “Of course. The last thing I wish to speak about is quite important.”

  J gestured her to continue. “What is it, Esther?”

  Her face was deadpan, but her voice broke as she spoke the words.

  “Prynia, it’s going to be attacked in nine hours from now. It’s going to be disastrous even if Lady Bon-Bon defends it.”

  J turned to me. My head span for a minute. Attacked?

  But didn’t the soldier say his comrades would arrive in 3 days minimum. If they really will arrive, then I should leave immediately. “I would avoid channeling mana, they will know your exact location, which would lead to more deaths. That includes many of us in here.”

  I froze. “If you were to use mana this instant, the Hero who is hunting you will lose his patience and come forth on his own. He will slaughter thousands before you confront him.”

  I sat and shut my connection to mana completely. “Thank you, Mister…” I stopped her.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I don’t want to hear you say my name.” She stayed silent. “Is it because of what happened. Or is it because you wish to follow the path of being a shield that will wear out eventually?” I chuckled.

  “A shield may break, but I’m not a shield.” I said as I began to wonder who was hunting me.

  From what I can remember, the bastard Juno was always reckless, never ceasing his temper from overflowing. A big man with an ego so big it was laughable.

  But he wasn’t the leader of the clique they had. No, that was another guy, the friend who grew up with him, a sly but smart bastard. Garo.

  My blood boiled, then it fell back cold. That meant he knows about Bon-Bon, he knows that I am going with her. Hakuto really is a mastermind.

  “Then how should I approach this? Wait until a few die?” She shook her head. I’m telling you this because they will first find the tunnels underneath Prynia and launch their attack here. They plan to take the kingdom by surprise, the Hero that is there is still acting rationally.”

  I nodded. “I see. You do have a point. He only acts out when he finds what he wants faster. But what about Bon-Bon? Will she be okay?” She lowered her shoulders.

  “I can’t see much of her, as she goes into battle first, which drives Garo to face her. If I’m correct, you need to first reach the surface after taking out the small troops that will arrive.”

  She lifted a hand, three fingers up. “Then, there will be three artifacts that will have cosmic energy, which if you are attacked with, you’ll be unable to face Garo without losing civilians or Bon-Bon.” I gripped my hands. “I see. Then I will find my own way.”

  She smiled. “I hoped you would say that.”

  She came close, her cheeks burned red, and she held my hand, placing it on her abdomen. “This is a way to wish for greater things to come to you from the bottom of my core.”

  I knew her traditions. And this, was quite deep-seated. This was her way, of telling me that she trusts me with her life and lineage.

  “Thank you.” Is all I could say as I nothing came to mind. The plan was set in my head. “J, you should start moving the refugees to somewhere safe. I will begin to wait for the ones who will pass through here.”

  “What about the girl you are escorting?” He was already lifting Gabe into his arms. “She will need to face Garo for a few minutes. I will help her once I’m finished here.

  J stated at me intensely. “I don’t know if it’s trust or simply you think she can take care of herself.”

  I didn’t say anything for a minute. “She has proven to have a strong mind, that was enough proof to me that she can hold out Garo for a few minutes.”

  III

  BON-BON

  The twins held my hands as we reached the Guild Hall. Unlike yesterday —which was a busy day— there weren’t as many people. The icy wind passed over more easily.

  Reizha was already inside the elevator when we were right next to the stairway. “You should contact Noctis, what if he gets attacked where he went?” I asked Reizha.

  She chuckled. “Don’t worry about that man, he can’t take care of himself. Now that he is alone, he won’t hold back his gore-ish killing spree.” I felt chills go down my spine.

  I know what she means… but will he really do that when I told him not to? We aren’t that close for me to tell him my opinion, but still.

  “Why does he kill in such a gruesome manner.” For the first time in meeting Reizha, she stared at the doors of the elevator with the eyes of a person about to show her deep and dark thoughts. “The same reason why war is tipped to one side. To show he isn’t playing around. Many of his generation proved to be warriors.”

  She lifted her hand, unswerving her arm, revealing horrible scars. “A rogue Hero made this with his own hands. The mentor of Noctis saved me and from then on, I was in debt with him. Noctis has his mentality of a soldier, knight and even murderer.” I swallowed as my throat felt dry.

  “Are all the Heroes that violent?” Her shoulders shrugged. “The only other Hero I knew that would be as bloody as Noctis was his mentor. But you could say Noctis is far worse than his predecessor.”

  The elevator bell rang and we exited. As soon as she arrived, two knights were already next to the entrance, saluting.

  I felt how Ama’s hand tightens around mine. The face of Ama made me wonder if I was going to be able to protect them, that was enough to make my determination steel even more.

  Entering her office, I’ve noticed how much it was messy.

  “M’Va please contact the commanders.”

  A robotic female voice echoed in the room, and a hologram shaped as a small fawn appeared next to Reizha.

  I jumped, the twins following my lead as we hugged each other. “Woah. You almost blew the ceiling off. Meet M’Va. She is an AI for the Guild.”

  The fawn bowed, the crimson eyes closing as if smiling. “Pleasure to meet you. You are the second Hero I have met since my creator gave me life.”

  I tilted my head. Oh my god. She is so cute.

  The fawn turned to Reizha, her eyes glowing a beautiful red.

  “It appears the Gray Scales have reached land in the night. I have monitored their movements. It appears half the troops entered underground; the other half are marching here with a highly dense mana signature. It’s a Hero.”

  My body felt as if all the blood was drained from it. If that is true, it must mean they are moving just like the soldier told Noctis. It must mean that Noctis is being hunted if they brought a Hero.

  “How long until they arrive to Prynia?” Reizha asked M’Va.

  “4 hours at the pace they are walking. They are confident with the Hero present. If I may suggest, we should begin the protocol to put people in the buildings and activate the force fields to protect all structures.”

  Reizha whistled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Let’s start with that. Inform the soldiers to begin rounding into their positions and to activate the defenses. We will have a head start.”

  The fawn nodded, closed her eyes, then opened them again. “It is done.” Reizha nodded and began to turn on her computer.

  As she typed, I went next to her. As she completed the command, all the devices near us began to buzz.

  “I alerted everyone of taking refuge. They have an hour until the force fields are activated.” Reizha said as she went to the door next to her cabinet on the right.

  As she tapped it with a hint of mana, I was surprised it was an armory. A suit that appeared to be knight armor with a hint of military gear was displayed.

  A beautiful gradient silver armor with a helmet that had a visor made of a strange material that reflected like a mirror.

  Reizha took off her boots and belt, in which she put the suit that was full dark green. As she put on the armor, I understood now why they had such durable weaponry.

  As she activated a field of mana on it, the hum of mana was sensed by my System.

  It was some kind of protection. She let out a deep breath she was holding as she changed. “It’s getting heavy, or probably it’s the greasy food I haven’t burned for the past 20 years.”

  I coughed. Trying not to laugh, I cleared my throat. “If we’re going to pull this off, we’ll need to check the point from where they're coming from. M’Va.”

  M’Va activated a single hologram, it was the land view from space. “Satellites?” I asked no one in particular.

  “Yep. The ones monitoring the kingdom have been tracing all patterns, but unfortunately, it can’t trace underground.”

  As she said this, we saw a line of red color, the line formed into a trace of the soldiers and Hero who are getting closer. They were moving quite fast, too fast.

  “Well, that’s what happens when you have a Hero. No way we’ll be able to keep the civilians out of harms way with that size of a group.” She tapped her finger on the desk.

  “You have me, and if Noctis notices something with the Hero, he will most likely arrive to help us. He won’t let an opportunity to kill another Tokyo Hero go.” I said as I opened the patch on my leg, taking out the device, I bought a few hours ago.

  It scanned my mana and opened the screen. Tapping, I began to send a message to Noctis.

  “If that’s the case, we should begin to round up the troops who will be on the ground. Please be prepared as well.”

  I tilted my head, Reizha pointing at my outfit. I shrugged. “You haven’t reach Phase 5?” She asked me with a worried look.

  “I’m Phase 3 currently.” She sighed. “Well, that’s good. We should begin moving. The girls can stay with my officer. They’ll be in capable hands.”

  They tightened their arms around mine, making me feel like a mother leaving her children. My stomach fell as I saw their expressions.

  I lowered myself; their eyes began to water. “Leaving us?” Mi asked with her lip quivering. “I’ll be back, I promise you. I won’t leave you, Noctis and I keep our promises.”

  She sniffed, Ama standing between us. Then, she hugged me. “Promise?” She asked.

  I wrapped my arms around her thin shoulders. “I promise.”

  She let go and put her forehead on mine. She prayed a bit in her mother tongue, then lifted herself. “Okay. You’ll be safe here with the people.”

  Mi and Ama were left with a lady named Adria. She seemed quite polite, but once given the order to protect the twins, her eyes sharpened like a blade. It gave me goosebumps.

  Turning to see them one more time, they waved their hands, it made me feel sad, a sadness almost as similar to the time I lost my mother.

  “We will begin to form the perimeter to stop the marching soldiers, the Hero will make the first move. If that’s how he’ll fight, we might give Noctis time to help us.”

  She sounded firm and determined, the traits that gave her the confidence to be a Guild Master. We arrived at a small circle at the end of the hall, where it began to hum.

  Before I could ask, I felt how my mana was used to teleport my body to somewhere outside. “Status?” Reizha asked a soldier fully armored with a rifle and a short sword.

  “Everyone is armed. We are ready to kill some lizards.” Reizha smirked. “Good. Prepare the weapons and point them at the coordinates that I M’Va gave you.”

  The soldier stood straight and saluted. As he went to a small tent nearby, I realized we were somewhere on the other side where Noctis and I had come from.

  “We’ll await them, then ambush the soldiers to prevent them from targeting the city. They might head in, but we have armed forces as well taking advantage on the walls.”

  It was already being put in place, the soldiers already checking their weapons and sharpening their blades with a strange clay.

  As I sat near Reizha, I was approached by two young girls with a boy. “Hello. May we ask you something?” I tilted my head. “Sure.”

  They brightened up and came closer. “Is it true you’re a Hero of the new generation?” I jolted back as they threw their faces closer to me. “Y-yeah.”

  The squealed while the young boy only shook his head. “C’mon, can’t you act a bit more your age.” The two elf girls turned to him. “You say that, but all you ‘men’ are fanboys of the female Heroes.”

  He scoffed. “Well. At least we keep ourselves calm.” They stared daggers at each other. Then the other girl turned. “What about the other Hero that came with you?”

  I stayed quiet until the other soldiers came. “He went to visit someone. He will return in a few minutes.” They all looked confused.

  “Is he of the new generation?” Reizha appeared suddenly and giggled. “Oh no. He’s not green. He’s a full-fledged Hero. One who has seen more war than any of you will ever see.”

  They all stayed quiet. “Do you know him, Leader Reizha?” She nodded. “Of course I know him. Noctis, one of the finest Heroes to step Cypher.”

  No one said anything. Then she patted my back. “We will have company in an hour or so. If you wish, get some mental preparation and have some prayers. This will be your first encounter with lizards. Let’s give them one hell of a show.”

  They all saluted.

  The air was cool, icy enough to make the soldiers shiver and groan. The minutes passed, the anxiety I felt became more intense and unable to maintain my cool, I shut myself inside my Cosmo.

  But what I found was a very beautiful golden star, it was the only star with such bright color, the glow being alluring for me to reach out.

  As I got closer, I could hear a beautiful voice singing. The female voice chanting, as if she were pouring her heart out. Sad but harmonious, the words being deeply profound of her emotions.

  As I entered inside, I found a woman. I could tell she was my age by her silhouette and voice. She stopped chanting, her face being covered by what seemed to be a veil.

  The veil dropped all the way to her chest, the robes being too large for her body. Her pale hand lifted and pointed out to something.

  As I turned, I saw what she was pointing to. There, I saw blood. So much, it soaked my boots. My hands trembled and I saw a figure in white armor. Dae-Hyun, Tae-Soo, Hyun-Ha, they were all dead.

  I gasped, my lungs unable to take in air.

  “The future is still drenched in blood. I wish for you two to stop it from happening. Please hold him close. Just like I once did.”

  Turning to her, she was face to face with me, her height being twice as mine. She caressed my cheek, then began to chant.

  Waking up, I noticed how quiet everything was. The soldiers were now still, the snow blinding my eyes from waking up suddenly.

  Reizha covered my mouth before I could say anything. She pointed towards the direction where Noctis and I came from, and what I saw froze my blood.

  Two knights who weren’t wearing armor but a strange purple scale armor with long golden feather hanging from their helmets easily sneaked close to the wall.

  What the hell are those things?! I turned my eyes to Reizha, her expression one of horror. I began to worry.

  But from the way they moved, the way their feet couldn’t be heard. They were probably elites.

  “What do we do, leader Reizha?” One of the knights whispered. Reizha tightened her jaw.

  “Those aren’t regular soldiers. Well, just my luck.”

  Reizha turned and grabbed the handle of her sword, her anger showing more in those eyes. “Their Wyverns.”