A breeze coursed through the ruined urbanscape, passing by burning vehicles and scattered corpses, those who had undeservingly perished. Upon one ruined building, which had shot-out windows and crumbling foundations, there stood a man with shaft-straight hair as black as obsidian, where the ends turned scarlet. As the wind blew so had his sable coattails, swinging, his open overcoat blending within the obscurity of the false night. Underneath his coat, he wore a form-fitting dim gold shirt in which geometric red lines created an abstract pattern, particularly over his heart. The man frowned, solemn, seeing the dead that had littered Black Paladin Station. Slowly, he raised his two thick gauntlets, pieced together by the finest of leather and blacksteel, and tiny bauble-sized gems adorned the piece, imminent and reddish.

The man had a rectangular head, its features beyond its youthful prime, placing him somewhere in his late thirties. Though, like many of the top-ranking Slayers, he was not ugly one bit. Like many of the top-ranking Slayers, he had a dark expression, having seen his home be torn before his eyes.

Pereyra no longer had any interest in Team Luster nor the others here. Its focus was divided between Alexander, who lied in a crater, and the Slayer above. It seemingly scowled underneath its hood, indignant, shaking its stave to assess the damage. From the looks of it, since the gemstone was destroyed, all Pereyra had was an exaggerated stick. It growled. “So it is! You, the Grandmaster of Fame! The Plaguebearer that is called Archknell!”

“Yes,” deadpanned Archknell, bringing his gauntlets back. “It is I who is called—Actually, save your awful primeval dialect or however you name it. I’m not here for a conversation.”

The gems on his left gauntlet shone; for each shine, a red string was formed, snapping together like connecting-the-dots. Archknell plucked the strings, dragged his finger back until the shape had resembled a slingshot. Then, a long black needle manifested in the space, and he flicked his finger.

The blackbolt soared towards Pereyra; however, as Alexander thought, it had been holding back during its fight with Luster. At the least, had other powers, because its cloak opened to reveal a droning darkness within, swallowing the blackbolt. It reappeared a moment later, to Archknell’s left, through a glass window from the adjacent building. Archknell casually leaned back and let the bolt whizz past, and as if having some sort of psionic ability, it curved.

That must’ve been a skill: Archknell could exert executive control over any projectiles he fired.

Pereyra grumbled and caught the bolt effortlessly, snapping the shaft in its bony, yet shockingly capable hand. “What a tiresome game you play, Archknell.”

“You as well. I have to apologize: I assumed your wand was a centralized magick device. It seems you do have some tricks up your sleeve, don’t you? I wonder whose tricks are greater, magician. Mine’s…” Threads began to form over his gauntlets, like spiders spinning a web. “...Or yours? Or, preferably, you wish to settle this question another time?”

“Hmph.” Pereyra turned. “Archknell, Louis Strander, so shall you and finality coincide in eventuality. All will perish before the stars, and you shall kneel for of our Sirius Aethfell, the Lord of Many.”

Pereyra flourished its cloak, paying one more look to Alexander as though to remind him how close he was to a brutal, painful death. Finally, the cloak swallowed the Comet, and it disappeared, teleported. That was that. It’d be devastating had Pereyra continued the fight, thank God that was over.

Almost. The monsters that Pereyra had summoned were still around, except they were noticeably more twitchy, more reactive. Compared to before, they were quieter as if tamed. Now that their leader had disappeared, some began screeching, speaking in a language that nobody understood. Before he could figure out what was going on, black threads began falling all over Black Paladin Station. Alexander flinched and raised his arms only to find that the threads were targeting the monsters. They moved faster than the monsters could run. Archknell was thorough, probably doing the same to the station and clearing the remaining Incogs.

Here he was, the savior of Black Paladin Station and the famous Guild Master of Glory Guild, cleaning up. Here Alexander was, groaning, laying with the rest of Team Luster who had the shit beaten out of them by a single “person”. Alexander blinked and saw something twinkling in the false night, beyond the Ordo Outbreak Barrier: Kosmos, the white comet, breaking through the stars and tearing them apart. He blinked again, hearing shouting from all sorts of people—soldiers, parents, children—some were screaming, some were crying. Third time, Damien was above him, and a zing of black cut across above.

“Are you dead?” Damien asked, laughing, and lended a hand.

Alexander stood coughing, playfully punching Damien in the stomach but it hardly did anything, his arm was so weak, and when did he get so tired? He hunched over, feeling immense pain in his lower back; at least he wasn’t paralyzed. “Thanks. We, ugh, we…” His thoughts raced, countless things pricking him: Check on Leo and Kirk, lend Team Luster some medical, ensure the metro was actually safe, speak to Archknell, check on Leo, what else? What else? His head spun. He wanted to vomit.

Somehow, at some point, he ended up on his ass again, groaning, head between his legs. “Leo…” Alexander muttered. “Is she… Is she okay?“

“She’s…” Damien looked over to the entrance of Black Paladin. “She’s just like you: miserable.”

“Come down here and say that again…” he heaved, out of his wits at this point. “I’ll knock you the hell out, jackass…”

“I’ll pass before you do.” Damien placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take care of the recovery efforts. Stay here, you’re one of the ones who need recovery.”

“Alright…” resigned Alexander. He hadn’t felt this exhausted since, well, he couldn’t exactly remember. But he had made it. Everyone had. Leona, Damien, Althea, Vernon, even himself. Everyone survived the first night; Black Paladin Station and Ordo University were guaranteed to be safe, and the only thing that was left was to head back to college where everything will surely be different.

Alexander wondered how the juniors were doing, the Slayers within the Systemic Works, especially the Combative guys. He wondered how Victor Victor was doing, if the other Class Representatives were okay too, and their teachers as well. Although many of the juniors had shadowed an expedition before, probably went on a few [Quests] themselves, this was something different entirely.

Tomorrow, tomorrow will be when the real work starts.

For now, Alexander watched everyone. Kirk had survived, thank goodness for that; he was helping the wounded, delivering them to the medical tents that were more or less destroyed during Pereyra’s rampage, but some of the equipment had survived. Surprisingly, he had sustained little injuries, nothing like the injured he carried: one-legged, no-legged, missing an eye, one arm, the works.

Leona sat against a wall, drinking an entire water bottle in one sitting. She had a gauzed wrapped around her arm; something must’ve hit her, but she looked fine. Well, not really. She looked like she emerged from a warzone; technically, she had. They all had. Though she noticed Alexander’s staring and she managed a pained, yet happy smile. They had both survived; that in itself was a victory.

Then there was Archknell, who had came down; Alexander didn’t notice him until now. He lifted Jury, gently, to avoid hurting her. She gasped, hissing through pink teeth; although she was an S-Rank, fractured ribs were fractured ribs. From his [Inventory], Archknell retrieved a decorated potion and made her drink—a [Greater Healing Potion].

Nearby medics approached Archknell, and he told them to give immediate aid to the other members of Team Luster, handing them healing potions. Unlike in video games, healing potions were not immediate; rather, they dramatically reduced the recovery time. An injury that could take months to heal would be healed within a few days; for team Luster, Alexander predicted that it’d take about sixteen hours until they were back to brand new.

Of all the members of Luster however, Problem was the only one that stood, blood caking their cloak. They approached Archknell and the two of them had a quiet conversation.

“Ugh…” Alexander laid down in his crater-bed, waiting for a medic to pick him up.

***

Alexander was down in the metro, ignoring the medic’s advice to rest. He couldn’t. After what happened, he needed someplace quiet to put his thoughts together, so here he was, huddled in a corner and combed through his notifications.

[Quest Update]

Escape from Black Paladin Station is completed!

“When did I get this…?” Alexander recalled the ding he heard when he was in the tunnel. “Oh right. I never had the time to check my notifications then…”

[Sub-quest]

Escape from Black Paladin Station

Black Paladin Station is currently under attack. Evacuate the area and escape to safety topside.

Difficulty:

D

Time Limit:

N/A

Victory Condition:

Exit Black Paladin Station

Rewards:

2,500 standards

+2,500 standards for every [Civilian] rescued

Item - Ironcloth Gauntlets

“It gave me fifteen thousand stands, so the five soldiers I saved gave me twelve-thousand-and-a-half.” Alexander frowned. Some of the soldiers had died during Pereyra’s assault. Poor bastards. “Let’s see what the item is, I guess.”

[Weapon]

Ironcloth Gauntlets [E]

A pair of ironcloths that fit perfectly around your arms. Whenever you perform a fist-based attack, its Power is increased by 1.

Alexander equipped the [Ironcloth Gauntlets]. They were two thick gray bands resembling gauze. He wiggled them, watching it flex and flicker like thin metal sheets. They were wraps basically. As Alexander whipped one against his right arm, it automatically wrapped itself around his forearm. The end split apart into smaller bands, securely wrapping themselves around his fingers as well. Convenient. He didn’t have to do the hard part himself.

It was tight. It’d add an extra layer of protection, plus give his punches an added boost. He hummed and took out his [Hobgoblin Steel]. The hilt scratched against his palm, and Alexander performed a variety of swings, testing how it felt. It has less friction than I thought, but it’s nothing I can manage. But… Alexander decided to hold it by the blade. The edge didn’t cut him. This is possible without injury now.

He practiced swinging the Hobgoblin’s by the blade. For fun.

Two knocks interrupted his playing followed by a rather puzzled hum. “A soldier told me I would find you here. I’d comment but I’ve seen far stranger things. We’ve met before though, haven’t we, Alexander Shen?”

It was Archknell. Alexander quickly stored his things into his [Inventory]—for the gauntlet, all he had to do was tug and it loosened immediately. “Mhm. I attended to a few uh, what would I call them? Gatherings, a few gatherings at Seraph’s behest. I was Leo’s plus-one, the daughter—”

“Yes, Hwaseong’s daughter. I’ve fought with them on a few occasions when Glory and Angels had a joint expedition. But…” Archknell softly smiled, having the confidence of kings. He extended a hand towards Alexander. “Let’s consider this our proper introduction. I’m Archknell. You know who I’m affiliated with already.”

“Alexander Shen.” He shook his hand, remembering the briefing from earlier. “I guess I’m affiliated with Seraph. Let’s skip the small talk and go straight to business: Are we getting back-up for our back-up?”

Archknell sighed. “Yes, we are. Initially, Jury was concerned about revealing her transfer to Ordo University; had the word gone out, there’d be mass unrest. It’d put stress on our already strained transportation, and we’d have to manage not only the monsters but also an unruly population. However…”

His expression darkened.

Alexander nodded. “Yeah, I understand. So all of us are heading back to college then?”

“Mostly. I proposed to Seraph that we could use the tunnels to run supplies without risking the journey above ground; all we needed to do was recapture and protect the stations. Though, given that you were recently attacked, there’s no guarantee. We will consider the prospects though. A few teams will do the analysis and give us their thoughts, including the Otherguard you have in your party.

“But to answer your question: yes. Once the transport arrives, we’ll try to bring everyone to Ordo University. Hopefully, we won’t have to fend off another assault. Considering Pereyra’s temporarily out of commission, we have some breathing room. It’s unfortunate, really.”

“Mhm…” Alexander replayed the incident inside his head. “I wouldn’t call it ‘unfortunate’ at all.”

“Is that so?” Archknell crossed his arms, interested. “What’s your reasoning?”

“Pereyra knew we were coming after it. Just less than, what? An hour after Jury briefed us, it attacked? That’s no coincidence. Whatever a Comet is, wherever they came from, it had the power to watch us. Its leader, the ‘Great Kreutz’ or whatever, must’ve assigned Pereyra to Dawns. Hell, it might even be watching us right now. Probably is.”

“Problem concurred. What else can you tell me? What do you want to tell me?”

“What else…” Alexander began tapping his foot. “Obviously, it has spatial abilities and some strange red magick. I don’t know the specifics, but it’s something to keep note of. Besides from that, I don’t have anything else.”

“I see. I’d rather not share all the information we have anyway. Let’s end the conversation here, lest we make the man embarrassed from gossip.”

“Alright.” Alexander glanced around. The survivors huddled in their own groups, rattled from the attack. They looked horrible. “Why did you seek me out personally? I thought you’d be with Problem or on the radio.”

“Well, I’m constantly in contact with Seraph and Sage. Out of an entire team of Pseudo-Slayers, most of whom are connected to notable Slayers, it was you that they singled out especially. I wonder why that is.”

Again huh? I wonder what’s so special about me? “I don’t know. I didn’t think I was that important to them. Sure, they were interested in me but I thought they were being protective of Leo.”

“I see.” Archknell clicked his tongue. “They didn’t tell me why either; for some reason, they’re keeping it a secret. While Glory and Angels have their differences, I’m willing to trust Seraph’s word here. You seem like a promising man.”

“Heh, just wait until I mess up.”

Archknell chuckled. “If that’s the case, then I would kindly re-assign you.”

“Re-assign me?”

“Mhm. We have prepared ourselves for an outbreak but never an invasion. Victory is not as simple as reclaiming lost portal redirection facilities or extermination efforts; we have commanders leading armies, we have hordes laying waste to our people, to our homes. This is war, Alexander Shen. I have given Silverhonor full leadership of Glory Guild so I can fully devote myself to this operation. To… What was the name again? Of their leader?”

“Kreutz,” answered Alexander.

“Kreutz.” Archknell laughed at the name. “So it is. We have identified the rest of the Comets as well; they had made their introductions in the other parts of the city. We have Ikeya in Creekwood, Wonder in Windvent, and Tewfik in Vesper. Of course, we have acknowledged Pereyra as well and their leader, Kreutz.

“Our first target is Pereyra, the one who sees all.” Archknell motioned Alexander, and they walked towards the exit. “You’re with me, Alexander Shen. When the Ordo Disaster ends, you can return to your life as a civilian. Under my jurisdiction however, you are a Slayer; thus, you are one of my own.

“Together, we will slay the Kreutz Sungrazers.”