Chapter 26: Alexander; Shauran 40th, 344SR; 7:30

Alexander stared at a cloudy sky, they we're almost directly under the Necropolis. The floating island in the clouds was just west of Lemen's border. After crossing the broken bridge and reaching Hiria, they crossed the ruined Plains of Ziola, and arrived in the luxurious country of Lemen. Alexander looked down, the platform he stood on was at least fifteen stories above the ground. The large buildings of Lemen we're both tall and covered large surface areas, with multiple balconies and platforms extending out. While the buildings we're large, the country was full of wide roads which preserved as much nature as it could.

'The architecture in Lemen is impressive... living here is expensive... but certainly preferable.' The curving gold patterns and platforms of similar shape scaling up the sides of the building, acting as landing platforms. Each building and the ground Alexander stood on we're impressive enough. However each of the buildings had massive statues made of solid gold standing tall on two legs, they resembled a horse with winged graves, the celestial beast known as Mosin. Passed the city, and past Croal's swamp was the giant crags jutting out of the erupted ground. A massive stone structure could be seen past the crags, where the gate sealing the damned was located. He turned to the sound of creaking wheels rolling, and the taps of a horses feet behind him.

"Your squad is quite interesting, Bruno couldn't stop gushing over the architects who built this place," said Carala, the clan leader of Lemen's traders.

"I request you pardon anything foolish that Yami does," Alexander asked.

"He... hasn't done anything...?"

"Yet."

Carala wasn't wearing her robe, just a white full sleeved shirt zipped up to her neck and white pants. She was very thin, but tall, she looked up at Alexander. Her small eyes we're unwavering and focused behind her glasses. Her dark brown pony tail whipped up and down in the strong winds, she moved strands of hair covering her face behind her ear. The numerous gold accessories she wore confused Alexander. Earrings, a necklace. She even had purple lipstick on and her eye lashes we're sleekly curled upwards. 'Even if you're a politician... being this dressed up in the morning...' Alexander's eyes wandered to the weapon being wheeled by several large hybrids.

'Descendants of Jor,' Their large burly hands we're welded to the bars pushing a giant device forward, each of them we're just a few inches short of Alexander's height. The four of them were each stripped down to nothing but a pair of shorts, revealing their muscular bodies decorated with red scars, their stomachs unusually skinny, likely from being starved for days. 'There really is only one way to get a pig to listen. ' They we're hunched over, wheezing desperately as they struggled to push the fifteen foot tall Ballista which probably weighed a ton judging from its appearance.

The ballista itself was made from a grey heat resistant ethore from Argol, fashioned with curving gold patterns similar to the ones all over the architecture. Behind the large device were two men who we're decently well built, with long faces and long straight hair. They rode on horses with white coats, also fashioned with gold armor pieces, their hooves however possessed golden grieves that had a slightly deeper gold hue, rigid silver wings sticking out of each side. 'Mosin's vanguard, a spirit based gift which takes on the form of white horses with grieves which allow for flight.'

The horses pulled a wagon full of large spiked rods, Alexander walked over and leaned over the wagon to observe them. He noticed there was something else in the wagon, a smaller bunch of metal rods with a shinier surface. The other rods we're especially thick, made of a grey metal which was different from the ethore of the ballista.

"What kind of ammunition is this?" Alexander.

"These bolts are made of a substance which Lemen was once most known for, a malleable metal which becomes hard yet still fragile," "However they have a twist, show him," Carala asked the men on horse back.

He got off of the horse and walked over to the wagon, his heeled shoes clicking against the ground. 'Lemen was most known for this?' Alexander looked around at the gold surrounding him, he brushed the thought off as the brown haired man with a purple robe over his left shoulder reached into the wagon and picked up the shiny metal rod. The other man got off the horse as well and picked up the larger rod made of the duller grey metal with both hands. They both carried the rods over to the ballista, the grey one was loaded and Alexander noticed a hole in the back of it. 'What the?' The other soldier inserted the longer shinier metal rod into the dull grey rod, and then turned the part of the shining rod that stuck out on on the end.

"The smaller rod is full of liquid logorite and a catalyst at the end, once rotated the catalyst flows into the logorite and starts a reaction. Ready the javelin, take aim towards the sea," Carala ordered.

"Logorite?" Alexander replied with an intrigued look.

One of the men got on top of the large ballista, grasping a bar and pushing with all his strength to rotate the angle it pointed. Then both soldiers moved to either side of the weapon and grasped the bars on each side of the barrel. The men pulled the front of the ballista down and angled it towards the sea in the distance. As they angled it, the catalyst poured into the rest of the javelin and a green light shone out of the back end of the javelin. It grew in intensity with every second, 'This should be interesting...' After several seconds, Carala raised her palm.

"Fire," Carala ordered with a sudden fierceness as she swung her hand down.

The javelin was released, soaring straight towards the ocean in the distance. The further it traveled, it began to burn up and become engulfed in a green light overflowing with smoke. The bolt hit the water, a large circle of light formed in the water. Alexander's expression lit up as he watched a massive pillar erupt upwards from the explosion. After a second, the rumbling roar of the explosion rippled through the sky.

"Incredible..." Alexander praised at a loss for words.

"With this design, we've achieved an exceeding three hundred percent increase in destructive capability, of course, these weapons have not been kind to the amount of logorite we have. We will can spare a total of four shots, the rest must be kept," Carala informed him.

"I understand," said Alexander 'Without Logos, they have no means to make more...'

"We will provide an escort to the gate via Mosin's vanguard. However we will not allow the vanguard to take part in the battle," Carala explained.

"Battle?" Alexander asked.

"Hm? Yes... the resistance have set up an outpost near the gate, my apologies, I thought the Lightbringers had made that clear?"

Alexander looked at the gate in the distance, a single eyebrow raised as he was reminded of Lector's strange warning.

"Right..." Alexander feigned that he remembered.

"Anyways, if any of our vanguard is hurt, it's coming out of house Rael's-"

The frantic whinny of a horse cut her off in the middle of her warning.

"Woooo!" Yami's cheer echoed through Lemen's capital city.

Carala's expression turned to horror as she ran to the side of the building and looked down.

"I did say yet," Alexander sighed.

Yami rode on the back of a horse trotting through the sky, every time it stepped through the air, a light could be seen beneath it's hooves. The horse trotted frantically as it ran up the sky towards the balcony.

"What-" Carala uttered in a mix of rage and disbelief.

The horse landed on the platform and continued to try and shake Yami off. It succeeded and eventually got him to tumble backwards off it's rump, then kicking the lieutenant in the stomach with one of it's back legs. Yami flew towards Carala and Alexander, landing against the ground and slid to Carala's feet.

"Ow..." Yami groaned as he held his stomach.

"What- how- you absolute moron! Do not attempt to ride one of the vanguard without the proper owner!" Carala scolded him.

"I managed to mount him, but then this explosion rippled through the air and the horse got scared..." Yami tried to reason.

"Ugh! Did you know he'd do this!" Carala turned and asked Alexander.

"Not exactly that, but definitely something equally stupid," Alexander replied.

Vivian and Bruno walked out of the building followed by six white horses mounted by hybrids with purple robes. The hybrids each wore white hoods and jackets with curving gold patterns along their collars and sleeves. They each held simple bows with similar gold patterns engraved in the black painted wood.

"Why did a horse run by us in a panic?" Bruno asked.

"My bad, hehe..." Yami yelled as he scratched his head.

"Of course it was the idiot..." Vivian groaned.

Alexander climbed onto the horses at the front, taking a seat behind the ranger. On their back was a quiver with an emblem of a horse standing tall engraved in gold. Carala ran her palm along the white horses head and then lightly scratched his neck. She reached into her pocket for a small sack, and pulled out an oval shaped stone with a single gold bead in it. 'That device was made by the Lightbringers school of magic, an application of Lector's gift.' Carala handed it to Alexander, it's smooth surface made it easy to pocket, the golden bead had a small circle of light on it.

"Keep this with you, I'll be on the other end, let me know when you want us to fire," said Carala.

"How can I be sure you'll hit them without hitting us?" Alexander asked.

"Don't doubt the rangers of Lemen, you'll find yourself unscathed amongst burning enemies."

Bruno climbed onto a white horse, Vivian looked a little nervous, standing a few feet away. Yami didn't hesitate to climb on.

"A descendant of Mosin is needed to command a member of the vanguard, they will stay nearby in order to get you out of there," Carala explained to them.

"What's the matter? Hurry up," Alexander ordered Vivian.

"Do me and Yami need the horse? We can fly..." Vivian asked.

"Conserve your energy, the resistance members have set up an outpost around the gate so you'll need it."

"Resistance members gathering there? Why would they gather at the gate if they already destroyed it?" Vivian questioned.

"Who knows, whether they are in our way or not, they will be vanquished."

"Get ready for take off!" Carala shouted facing forward.

Vivian mounted the horse, with some assistance from the ranger. Then, each of the descendants of Mosin tapped the horses neck twice and they each started to trot into evenly spaced positions. Their formation appeared similar to an arrow head.

"Advance!" Carala ordered.

Each of the horses started to gallop, Alexander peered past as the edge of the building drew closer. He watched it carefully, a sinking feeling in his stomach approached as the horse ran forward without hesitation. The moment the horses hoofs left the building, the sound of tapping stopped. In it's place, was the sound of glass crackling every time it took a step. Alexander watched in amazement as they soared over the capitol of Lemen.

The horses banked to the left, avoiding the building, and then to the right. They soared over the city, the strong winds whooshed past Alexanders ears, the horses started to hop, climbing in altitude with each jump. Within a matter of minutes they we're already leaving Lemen. 'This is a very good method of transportation... we'll be there shortly...'

"Woo!" Yami cheered with his hands outstretched to the sky.

"You can fly idiot, stop getting excited... over everything!" Vivian shouted as she held the rangers stomach for her life.

'Why are you so afraid...' Alexander turned his head forward, the strong winds pushed his hair up. Each gust flicked by at rapid speeds, Alexander looked down at the ground and he saw it. The giant horizontal slab of concrete in the ground, it was at least the size of a country. 'The gate...' Just south of that gate, was Libra Prison. 'Unbelievable... that report wasn't lying...' The large building which was east of Lemen was reduced to rubble, the hollow circle shaped building now resembled a jagged crescent.

'Something is going to happen on the day of the festival... the Lightbringers didn't inform us of the resistance... there's too many questions... is this a factor in their plans?' Alexander asked himself.

"We'll be approaching the gate in a few minutes," the ranger told Alexander.

"Where is the resistance camp?" Alexander asked.

"North east of the gate."

"Closest to Murdok Bay... at least that makes sense," Alexander muttered that last part.

"We've been unable to get close, descendants of Ziola and Tyra will intercept us each time on ground or air."

"Descendants of Ziola? I thought they we're wiped out..."

"The remnants of stray descendants have realigned their allegiance under Geral, the resistance becomes more powerful everyday, they aren't just the three rogue clans, they almost match Queen Grehilia's forces now. However it's thanks to you angels that they don't, it's also probably why they haven't made their move yet."

Alexander looked down at the gate, the giant slab of dense stone embedded into the ground. There was a massive hole in the center of the gate, revealing a dark chasm with no bottom in sight. The thickness of the gate made Alexander ponder. 'There are three of these structures located across Hiria... each of which we're built in order to stop the Damned from returning. To destroy it in such a way... you'd have to be considerably powerful... Banhu Uunan? No, I don't think it's possible for him to have done it... so who did?'

Alexander looked down at the ground. At the edge of a dense bog, a vivid red light flashed and glowed in the distance. It was around the north east edge of the giant gate.

"Bank left!" Alexander suddenly shouted an order.

The rangers turned their head back in surprise, they did as Alexander said. Each of the rangers banked left, however the horse in the front of the group was suddenly slashed. A red trail of blood dyed the horses coat.

"Damnit!" the ranger cursed.

Alexander looked down, he scanned the area looking for the same light. 'A descendant of Tyra? Just one?' His intention was drawn to multiple red lines soaring towards him. 'We're at a disadvantage in the sky...' The horses dived downwards, avoiding the strikes as they tried to get closer for a landing.

"Pull back your vanguard," Alexander ordered.

"What?!" The ranger replied.

"Just do it..." Alexander took the stone of out his pocket. "Carala, we've lost one."

"Unfortunately, I noticed..." Carala replied with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Fire the first round, north east of the gate, right at the edge." Alexander ordered.

"Got it."

Alexander turned back to Lemen, the city was now so far away, he couldn't see the ballista's anymore. 'Will they hit them from this distance... they don't have a gift for this... it'd be purely skill.' Alexander watched a green glint soar upward through the sky. "They aren't firing directly?!" The javelin glowed a bright green as it soared upwards, arching through the sky as it reached the peak of it's height. The javelin soared downwards at an extreme speed, hitting the resistance camp and erupting into a large explosion.

"Good shot... to think you calculated the trajectory so quickly, impressive," Alexander commended.

"Heh, told you not to doubt the rangers," Carala gave a snarky reply.

"Land my team by the gate," Alexander ordered as he raised one leg over the horse, both of his feet dangled off one side.

"Huh!? What are you doing, we're still at least two hundred feet above the ground?!"

"They won't let us land... I'll be fine," Alexander pushed himself off the horse.

The inertia carried him forward a bit as he grasped his greatsword with both hands. He looked down at the cloud of smoke carefully, waiting for the slashes to appear again. The sword lit up with green flames as he flexed his arms. Multiple red slashes flew out of the smoke, and Alexander swung down, throwing a flaming green slash of his own to intercept. The waves of flames collided in the air and dispersed in all directions.

Alexander landed on his knee, the impact knocked dust in all directions around him. He looked around, suddenly becoming confused. 'Where are the Damned?' The other members of the vanguard slowly made their way to the ground. 'What is this... there's no skeletons in sight... isn't that what he came here for...' As the other members of the vanguard got closer, Vivian and Yami both flew to Alexanders side. Bruno was dropped off much closer as he couldn't take the fall or fly.

"Vivian, keep this with you, stay airborne and try to use the javelins to keep Bruno safe," Alexander handed the stone to Vivian.

"Yes sir," Vivian nodded.

"Bruno, you know what to do, focus on the main priority at hand."

"Already on it," Bruno replied as he walked towards the hole within the gate.

"And me sir?" Yami asked.

"We're going to hit the resistance head on, it's time to prove your worth," Alexander simply explained as he started forward with a slow walk.

"Couldn't sound better," Yami grinned as he conjured his staff in hand.

Alexander knelt down and held his greatsword with both hands, igniting it, before leaping a great distance towards the resistance camp. He soared into the field of tents set up on the field of grass outside the other half of Croal's swamp. Alexander broke his fall with his blazing sword, a cloud of dust surrounded him and the camp, as green flames lashed and burned at everything around him. A mix of surprised voices filled the air. As the dust cleared, several figures rose from the rubble.

"What the heck was that?", "Alright who's drunk...", "Everyone's drunk you idiot! Hahaha," several voices around Alexander didn't take the sudden confusion seriously.

Alexander pulled his blade out of the dirt, and threw his black coat off. He swung his greatsword and the cloud of dust spread out in all directions. With the cloud of dust gone, Alexander stood in the middle of the camp surrounded by hybrid resistance members. They were unlike the hybrids Alexander was used to seeing, many of these ones had scales or slimy skin, they wore the fur of other hybrids over their exposed bodies, each of them was armed with axes and short swords.

One of the drunkards hiccupped loudly, "Hey... ain't that an angel?" he asked the fellow drunkard to his right.

"Yeah you're right, and that mark... that's Alexander Rael... isn't he the enemy? Why'd he come out of the sky?"

Alexander gripped the handle of his sword and it lit up with a bright green flame, as he waved his blade, the flame washed over the various tents and people, setting them ablaze. The camp erupted into a mix of roars and screaming, as one side burned, the other drew their weapons or charged in blindly. Alexander grinned and ruthlessly swung his blade, slicing or crippling several hybrids in a single swipe. 'I feel much stronger, these fools can't even entertain me...'.

"Yami!" Alexander called.

A blue light landed directly in front of the noble, Yami dashed forward to the crowd, his wings tucked behind him. He stopped with a heavy step and from his body a bird with a dark blue coat of glowing furthers launched forward

"Azure Rain Assault!" Yami shouted.

The blue bird made from energy flew up and spread its wings, suddenly, hundreds of small blue drops rained over the crowd of resistance members. One of the hybrids didn't hesitate at the incoming projectiles, the moment the droplet of energy hit him it popped and his entire body was launched backwards. The rest of the projectiles followed, devastating the camp and launching many hybrids through the walls of the camp. Upon impact, each droplet made crackling pop, the green scaled soldier flew back into the crowd, colliding with his allies and knocking several of them down.

"Not bad, but stop calling out your attacks," said Alexander.

"The spirit doesn't follow if I don't though?" Yami scratched his head.

"That means you two aren't a good team yet."

"Oh..."

"Holy crap they're nobles!", "Their strong!" the hybrids shouted.

"What the hell is all the ruckus... huh?!" a woman shouted in a cranky tone.

Alexander turned to one of the tents which he set ablaze, one of their entrances was pulled to the side by a slender hand. A woman stepped out of the tent, her black hair half tied back in a bun, but the amount of it tied back flowed in all directions. On both sides of her head we're horns which curled backward, the way she swayed in her steps made her seem menacing, however she was just drunk. She moved her bangs out of the way and scratched the side of her narrow eyes which glared upwards at Alexander, but then looked around the soldiers on the ground.

"Whose that?" Yami whispered.

She stepped over the fire, however it disappeared out of her path rather than burning her, 'Those black horns... the way they curl backwards, if those are horns of Tavo, and she has both, it could only be one person...'

"Iris Garo, a criminals that escaped Lemen...one of the three commanders of the hybrid resistance." Alexander answered.

She wore a white coat buttoned up to her cleavage, a pair of baggy black pants, on her hips was a sheathed straight sword secured by an iron belt.

"Commander Iris... it's- agh!"

She knelt down and picked up the soldier who spoke by the collar, pulling him out of the pile of corpses he was trapped under effortlessly.

"Hey, what day is it today?" Iris asked with a confused look as she shook the injured soldier carelessly.

"Uh- the... fortieth?" the soldier replied, "we were attacked by those angels standing over there!" he pointed at Yami and Alexander.

"Fortieth? Ugh... this is why we should procrastinate... stupid Geral, now we have all this time and we don't know what to do," she let go of his collar and he fell onto the ground.

Iris reached down and picked up a bottle out of one of the burned corpses hands, she pulled out the cork with a pop, some of the liquid content inside spilled out the top. She raised it to her mouth and started to chug the contents of the glass bottle. She sat down on a broken plank as she continued to gulp large mouthfuls of alcohol, Yami and Alexander stared at each other with squinted eyes as the drunkard chugged the flask with audible gulps. A droplet of liquid ran down her chin and she pulled the tip of the bottle away as she let out a sigh of relief, wiping the alcohol off of her chin and looking up to see Yami and Alexander.

"Yo, idiots... why are angels here-" she looked around and registered the fact she was surrounded by burned corpses, "What the hell happened to these guys?" she asked herself.

"They're dead, you'll be joining them soon," Alexander answered.

Iris squinted at the two of them, before she let out a dragged out yawn and rubbed her eyes, she squinted one more time and her eyes went wide.

"The hell? Why are there angels here? Did Geral make a miscalculation? That damn dork," she complained as she raised the bottle and chugged once more.

"Since you clearly want to die, you could at least tell me what the resistance members are doing gathering outside of Argol, Iris Garo, descendant of T-" the bottle flew directly at Alexander, he moved his head to the side to dodge it.

"Don't say that name in front of me... you shits better run back to your celestial before I break you," the drunk woman threatened, still not caring to look up as the glass shattered against the ground behind them.

Yami walked forward, conjuring his staff in hand. "Can I take her on by myself?" Yami asked.

"Huh?" Iris squinted.

Alexander looked at Yami briefly. "Fine, but be careful, despite her current appearance, she is strong, the horns on her head give her self psionic abilities," Alexander warned.

"Self psionic abilities?" Yami asked.

"She can anticipate attacks without thinking and slightly alter her bodies physical limits."

She stood up and cracked her knuckles, stretched her shoulders and back, cracking her neck. Yami spread his wings out once again.

"Steadfast Rain," the pellets of blue energy rained out of Yami's extended wings.

Iris didn't move, in fact she didn't even blink as the projectiles flew towards her, she drew her sword and grabbed the chain at the end of it, spinning the blade to create a shield to block. One drop hit her shoulder and she stepped back, before a manic grin spread across her face. She walked forward, moving her head to the left and then raising her arm slightly to dodge two shots that would've hit her. Yami's eyes went wide as he realized the extent to which Iris could anticipate, she laughed as her steps hastened.

"Come on boy! Real warriors should get close!" she ran forward through the blazing rubble.

Yami flew forward and made a wide swing from the left. The moment the staff was going to make contact, she drew her sword just enough from the sheath and blocked it. She continued forward, taking a large step and slamming her shoulder into Yami's chest, dropped her sword back into the sheath, and grabbed his head, slamming her own forehead into his. Yami grunted in pain as he stepped back, a trail of blood from his nose to her head. She grabbed the staff and pulled him back in, however he grit his teeth.

"Is this close enough," Yami grasped her wrists so she couldn't dodge.

Her eyes went wide as she tried to pull away, only for Yami's wings to surround her.

"Steadfast rain!" Yami shouted.

Iris grit her teeth as her body was showered from all sides by the impact of each droplet.

"Rgh!" she grunted.

Yami raised both feet up and kicked forward, she raised her arms to block just in time her, she stumbled backwards keeping her ground. Yami rolled in the air before his wings spread out once more while upside down.

"Azur Assault!" he shouted as the spirit left his body and flew directly into Iris.

She landed and immediately was struck in the stomach by the blue bird's beak. It flew upwards, carrying her into the air and exploded into a bright blue light, launching her into a rock.

"Ha-haha!" Iris's laugh echoed throughout the camp.

Yami conjured his wings once more, "She's laughing after that?" he said.

"You're decently strong, I'm surprised. I could crack an angel's skull right open, but you're fine!" Iris praised "And here I thought this would be boring," she slowly unsheathed the blade.

Yami flew upwards directly at her, she kicked off the rock and soared at him with her sword ready to swing. They clashed, but the force of her swing sent Yami straight back down to the ground. He spread his wings in the air in order to slow down, but he crashed into dirt.

"Where did that force come from?!" Yami asked, but she didn't reply.

Iris landed and flipped her sword around, and swung it to the side. While Iris had been drunk and wild in her fighting style earlier, with her sword in hand she was different. She spun the sword in her hand fearlessly as she took a confident stance with her eyes hyper focused on Yami. She put her right foot back and pointed her left hip forward, she crouched down and held the blade high but pointed it downwards. Yami was about to fly back in but he stopped, he hesitated as he saw her focus. She took long breaths in through her nose, and out the mouth. The cracks in her horns glowed red giving her an ominous aura.

"Yami, her sword play is not to be underestimated," Alexander warned.

Yami flew towards her, she lowered the blade and as Yami swung she parried the strike and redirected Yami's entire body out of her way. Yami flew past her and turned, only to see her take up the same stance, looking in the same direction as before.

"Damnit!" he grunted and flew at her again.

She simply crouched down as Yami swung his staff once more, Yami flew past her and then soared between the standing tents that still stood to break the line of sight. She didn't flinch at all, she continued to hold the stance in preparation. Yami's wings flapped and he increased in speed, flying around the camp in circles to try and find an opening.

"Steadfast Rain!" Yami shouted as he zoomed through the camp.

Pellets of blue energy fired through and between the tents towards Iris, she turned around and dashed for the spot Yami would fly to. Yami swung his staff and she spun around quickly, deflecting the strike. Yami spun the staff and caught it with his other hand, continuing to swing the staff with great momentum. She raised her blade and her arm to block the strike, however the moment it struck she simply held her ground without moving, as if she didn't feel the force at all. She spun towards Yami and got close, elbowing him once in the stomach, pivoting and swinging her fist at the same time, smacking him across the nose with the back of her hand.

"Ah!" Yami wailed as he stumbled backwards and held his nose.

Yami barely opened his eyes, he saw Iris jump up and swing her blade down with both hands. Yami blocked the blade just in time, but the force of the swing slammed his back against the ground. Yami hit the ground and bounced off it, he tried to extend his wings and fly off but this was a mistake as Iris hadn't stopped her pursuit. She grabbed one wing and pulled him back with a sudden force, a force similar to what had knocked Yami down to the ground. With a single swing, she ruthlessly cut through one of his wings, he tried to strike in the middle of his fall. 'Fool!' her foot slammed down on the staff, stopping his swing, and her other foot stepped down on his chest to pin him down. Yami looked up and froze as she pointed her blade at his face and thrusted forward, he was unable to dodge the fatal blow.

Alexander intervened and swung his blade at Iris which forced her to block the strike instead of going for the kill. The steel clashed and grinded against the other, Iris squinted as she was pushed off Yami with a force she hadn't expected. Alexander stepped forward and swung his sword with all his strength, launching her into a tent. A cloud of smoke rose upwards. Her horns flashed red from within the smoke and she took one step which launched her straight at Alexander, they clashed blades, the impact created a force which blasted Yami and several tents away.

"Alexander Rael!" Iris shouted, surprised to see him.

"Finally recognize me? Fool," Alexander mocked while holding her off.

"Damn... she is strong..." Yami slowly stood up.

"Go and assist the others, this battle will be too much for you."

"But- I can-"

"Just go, don't make me repeat myself." Alexander ordered.

One of the tents flew over a person sleeping underneath it. A large man wearing a black pair of baggy pants with a metal belt around his waist, he was shirtless, and he immediately raised his hand to shield himself from the sunlight.

"Ah!" the fat, but muscular man cried out. "What the hell! Why can't you assholes let me sleep!" he got up in an angry rage.

Yami flew upwards out of the camp.

"My bad, I was supposed to stop them, I didn't expect Carala to send an angel this time," a slender man with two katanas at his waist entered the camp. He wore similar pants to Iris and the large man.

'This could get bad,' Alexander recognized all three of them immediately. "Iris Garo, Blaize Eluk, Banhu Uunan... the commanders of Geral's resistance."

"Blaize you useless fuck... you we're on guard duty!" Iris scolded him.

"I've been on guard duty for three days straight, the rest of you have been too drunk to take over!" Blaize replied angrily.

"Good, it's a perfect job for you, he-bitch."

"Shut up you stupid sheep..." Blaize smiled as he drew his blades.

Blaize's right shoulder was covered by a red patch of fur which stretched up to the base of his neck. He had red hair which was slicked back, narrow eyes and small eyebrows, sharp teeth and a pointy nose and ears. He raised one of his swords to the fur on his shoulder. As he dragged it against the fur, Alexander heard a grating noise, sparks flew off the fur before his blade was infused with a bright red flame.

Banhu, the large man who had awoken scratched his bald head, he had two orange striped tattoos, on each shoulder which came down to his chest and then down his body. He conjured his gift which Alexander was already familiar with. A large spine with a bell attached to the end appeared in Banhu's hand. He had small eyes, and a brown beard and mustache, he was quite old, his skin around his face wrinkled and scarred.

"Alexander Rael? How much did we drink last night? There's still booze right?" Banhu asked his fellow comrades.

"We're not drunk... and there's probably no more booze after that impact," Iris answered.

"Did Geral say nobles would show up to stop us? His calculations are usually spot on?" said Blaize.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here either, however on the topic of Geral, tell me what he intends to do in Andurill, how did he know about the slave named Jack," Alexander asked.

"Jack? That kid who kicked your ass apparently?"

"Choose your words carefully, scum."

"Oh shut up you tyrant I'll say what I want. That Jack kid is just some random, what he did to you is what's important. After Arken Grehilia was banished to Protor, no one had the will to defy that fake we call a queen, solely because you angels sided with them. But then the news of a slave bringing a noble to his knees made echoes, and he was just a kid too, a little bit of inspiration goes a long way."

"Banished to Protor? Arken Grehilia is dead. Slain in the battle of Cerulea by Shinra Pendragon..."

"If you believe that, you don't know the first thing about Arken, there's no one on Grelt who could fight Arken and win. I don't know who Jack is, or how he beat you. But he's inspired an army to stand against you frauds. Maybe after we take Andurill, I'll save him a seat at our victory banquet."

"What?" Banhu replied, a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, shut up Blaize, you're not cool" said Iris.

"You two are stupid, lets just do this already," Blaize looked up at Alexander, pointing one bright red sword at the noble, the other blade resting on his shoulder.

"Yeah... lets," Alexander took a stance, igniting the greatsword.

Banhu immediately spun the large spine he called a weapon, the bell didn't toll, it simply swung with the momentum of the rest of the weapon. He continued to spin it, creating gusts of wind which Alexander ignored. 'Jor's bell... that bell can release devastating amounts of force based on velocity...' Blaize ran forward, leaping at Alexander with both swords ready to swing. 'Tyra's fur... he can imbue his blades with a crimson flame which can burn through even the strongest ethore,' Alexander dashed forward, with two hands he swung upwards with all his might and clashed with the two blades. To Blaize's surprise, he was launched away at a high speed, crashing and rolling across the ground.

"That's one."

Alexander turned and noticed Iris come from the right and jump at Alexander, but he jumped even higher to her surprise. With his greatsword ready to swing, it ignited into green flames. He slashed at her, she quickly blocked Alexander but was launched away just like Blaize. 'My sword feels so light... something is different...'

"Two..."

Alexander turned to Banhu who still spun the massive spine around. 'I won't let you strike!' they both ran forward with their weapons ready. The large man grinned as he swung the bell at the end of the spine down at Alexander, who raised his greatsword to intercept it. The moment before Alexander's blade made contact, the bell tolled and stopped Alexander's blade in its tracks. 'What! I can't-' Alexander tried to push the blade forward but the ringing vibration stopped him in his tracks as the bell continued forward and slammed into him. The force launched him back to the gate where the rest of his squad was. Debris from the camp rained down in all directions, everything had been knocked away by the force of the bell.

The noble couldn't hear anything due to the ringing in his ears as the force launched him backwards, he collided with the ground, his body dragging against it as he failed to stop himself. Alexander stabbed his sword into the ground and he came to a sudden stop. His head numb from the sound wave that struck him, 'Dammit! I almost forgot how strong he was...' Alexander rose as he looked around. He had been launched out of the camp and now stood on the stone of the gate once again. Yami flew out of the camp as well, extending his wings out and hovering in the sky as he observed the debris raining down.

"Sir!" Vivian shouted.

"Yami no matter what, do not let them get to Bruno!" Alexander ordered.

"What about you-"

"No matter what!" Alexander shouted.

"R-right!" Yami agreed.

Alexander stood up and pulled his greatsword out of the ground, he conjured his armor as he prepared for an intense battle. He looked up and saw Iris jump down onto the gate. A sadistic smile on her face as she ran forward, through and between the falling chunks of debris.

"Blaize!" she called out.

Three waves of red flame flew towards Alexander, he raised his sword above his head and it lit up with a bright green flame, he slammed the sword down, deflecting a majority of the red flames. Iris jumped through the flame with her sword above her head, she swung at Alexander who raised the sword back up to deflect her. The sparks flew in all directions as they clashed, Iris flipped in mid air and landed on her feet, she crouched down and pounced back at Alexander. Alexander grasped the sword with two hands, spinning around as he made a heavy swing and knocked her away once more.

"Damn!" Iris grunted as she rolled against the ground to her feet. "He hits hard..."

"Hey! These pricks are trying to seal the gate!" Blaize shouted.

"Huh!" Iris replied with a sudden surprise.

"Vivian! Be ready to call for the rangers!" Alexander ordered as he ran forward.

He crouched down, and then kicked off the ground once more towards Banhu at the back. The greatsword lit up, he dashed straight for Banhu, a trail of green flame behind him. 'Take out the strongest!' Alexander charged forward, raised his blade and went for a stab, however his blade was pushed down by two katanas which clashed with his greatsword from above. Blaize had fallen from above, he landed on the greatsword with both feet, then jumped up as high as he could, Alexander looked up, 'Shit!' he took his eyes off Banhu who was about to hit him once more. However, a javelin landed behind Banhu and exploded, engulfing him at the edge of the blast radius.

"Agh!" Banhu cried in pain.

However the burning wild man still stepped forward and swung the spine down. 'Shit-' Alexander shielded himself with the face of his blade and prepared for the impact. Banhu's bell slammed into the ground and blew everything backwards in all directions, the stone gate rumbled from the impact, however it was not damaged by it. Alexander flew back once more. 'Damnit! There's no blocking that attack!' His feet dragged against the ground as he tried to hold his ground.

Alexander felt his feet leave the ground once more, he flew backwards, directly over the hole in the gate. 'Shit!' He turned his head and peered into the deep darkness. Vivian flew behind Alexander and caught him, flying back to the edge of the hole

"That guy has devastating power," said Vivian.

"Yeah... it'll be hard to deal with him and the other two..." Alexander replied.

Alexander looked down and noticed Blaize holding both his katanas against the fur on his shoulder, the steel seemed to glow a bright red as they were set ablaze. The dual wielded swordsman raised the glowing katanas, a trail of flame following his blade's path, both above his head as he took a stance.

"Let me go, quickly!" Alexander ordered.

Vivian let go of Alexander and flew upwards, he landed at the stone as Blaize swung both down sending a flaming red cross through the sky at the nobles.

She let go and flew up, evading the projectile slash. Blaize started swinging wildly, sending multiple slashes through the sky randomly. However Yami dashed forward and planted his foot into Blaize's stomach which stopped his attacks. Alexander descended towards the ground where Iris dashed across the dirt and stopped where he would fall. He looked up and saw two more slashes coming his way, he raised his blade to block it but could only block one, the other burned through his shoulder pad and sliced him. A searing pain he couldn't grab through the armor burned, he looked up as Iris lunged forward to stab him with her short sword. Alexander tried to swing, but his shoulder stung and couldn't launch Iris this time. He raised his greatsword with one hand and blocked her strike, she stepped forward and pushed him to step back.

"Come on, one scratch and all that power is gone?" Iris mocked.

Alexander felt the wound on his shoulder start to heal, and he started to push her back. He grit his teeth and his sword and left side suddenly ignited in green flames.

"What the-" Iris stuttered as Alexander held his ground with one hand.

She grit her teeth and tried to push forward, the cracks in her black horns glowed a brighter red, releasing a red steam from it as well. Alexander turned his blade and she stumbled past him. With his other hand, Alexander grasped her face and raised her up, before slamming her head into the ground. Alexander huffed as he held her down, but between his fingers he could still see her enraged eye glaring at him. He let go and jumped back a short distance, taking his greatsword in both hands and raising it. The pain in his shoulder disappeared as he swung the blade down towards Iris, Blaize dashed between them and blocked with both swords.

"Dammit!" Iris yelled as she got to her feet and jumped back, she stumbled slightly and grasped her head, clearly dizzied by the impact to her head.

Both of Blaze's blades we're no longer a bright red. Alexander pulled his blade back and swung again, intent to launch him away and go back for Banhu once more. However Blaize dashed to the left and got behind Alexander.

"Roku's Array! Second form!" said Blaize.

Alexander raised his eyes in surprise as he heard that, he swung the greatsword behind him but slashed at nothing. Blaize jumped over him, instead. 'Shit!' Alexander panicked, as Blaize slashed at Alexander's. His back convulsed from the pain as he grit his teeth. Alexander spun around as he heard Blaize land and run forward.

"Hell's..." Blaize uttered.

Alexander slashed behind him, but to his surprise Blaize stopped, he stood just short of the great swords length. 'Crap-'

"Gambit!"

In a single step, Blaize darted past Alexander, slashing his sides with deep burning cuts. Blood sprayed out of Alexander's sides, he grit his teeth as he stumbled slightly.

"That's some thick armor!" Blaize turned to re-engage. "You'd probably be faster without it!"

Alexander gripped his sword and turned to cut him down; however Blaize didn't try to deflect, instead dodging the swing at the last second by rolling under it.

"Ever think that a greatsword is too slow?" Blaize taunted.

"Huh! What was that!" Alexander roared.

Alexander violently swung his blade, Blaize dodged to the left and delivered a quick slice to the same spot as before, causing Alexander to cringe from the pain. He fell to one knee as he panted, Blaize walked away slowly.

"Roku's Array! First Form!" said Iris. "World-" A javelin landed right next to her and cut her off. "Huh-"

The force from the explosion pushed Alexander back slightly. Iris was engulfed in a blaze of green flames. Alexander held his side as he got down on one knee. 'Only one more Javelin...' Alexander stood up and resisted the fading pain.

"You may be powerful but every one of your powerful swings leaves you wide open after, I don't blame you though, most nobles are hell bent on their strength, you're no different! Just a mad brute drunk on power!" Blaize talked down to Alexander as he approached, infuriating him.

Alexander turned, dropped the greatsword and closed the distance between him and the swordsman from Argol. Blaize's eyes went wide and his mouth hung ajar when he noticed Alexander's fist coming towards him. Alexander stepped forward and planted his fist into Blaize's stomach. Then raised both his hands and pummeled him into the ground with a slam.

"Dodge that- damn brat!" Alexander huffed.

Alexander turned to Banhu, who ran towards Bruno, swinging the massive spine around. Alexander raised his hands and conjured his greatsword above his head, it ignited with a green flame. Yami got between Banhu and Bruno, extending his large blue wings. Banhu swung the spine down.

"Steadfast Rain!" Yami shouted.

The blue pellets shot out of his wings. 'Idiot! That's not enough to-' Alexander was surprised to see Yami targeted the bell at the end of the spine specifically. The multiple impacts from pellets stopped the bell mid swing, causing it to toll early. The force still sent Yami into the air, he spread his wings to quickly stop himself. 'Perfect!' Alexander thought as he swung the greatsword down 'Jealous Flame!' Pillars of green flames erupted towards Banhu, the large man cried out in pain as the pillar sent him airborne. Yami flew above him and dived straight down, thrusting his staff into Banhu's chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him back to the ground. The force from Alexanders attack left several cracks in the stone gate.

"Roku's Array! Fourth form!" Blaize shouted from behind Alexander.

Alexander turned to see Blaize take a stance with both of his blades against his fur.

"Wild-" Blaize stopped as a blue bird flew past Alexander at a great speed and smashed into him. "Agh!"

The bird flew back around, Alexander turned as he watched it fly back into Yami who was falling. As it re-entered him, the wings sprouted once more and he stopped himself in mid air. 'I didn't think he was this capable...' Alexander turned to the hole in the gate. Bruno was breathing heavily, the stone slowly spread out and continued to cover the area of the hole.

"Damnit! I won't let you close the gate!" Iris shouted as she ran for Bruno.

Alexander threw his sword straight at Iris. She tried to block it, the steel clashed and she was knocked off her feet once more. 'Almost... we've almost done it...' Alexander huffed. He looked to the right, Blaize was crawling for his other sword, Iris rolled onto her front. Banhu slowly rose up from the ground as well. Each brawler ready for another round.

"Give up, you're all going back to prison or dying here... I don't care which," said Alexander. "You can tell me where the other resistance members and Geral are as well, I'll kill him next."

"Geral... will never be defeated the likes of you angels," Blaize huffed as he got to his feet.

A sudden rumbling which transitioned to a bellowing roar echoed through the sky. 'What the hell was-' A massive skeletal hand rose out of the hole, and slammed into the ground, pulling up it's entire body. Bruno stepped back in shock as a giant skeleton with strange, black, flesh like tentacles that seemed to come from within the darkness climbed up the skeletons spine and around it's shoulders.

"What the-" Iris stuttered.

"Huh?! Now the damned want to come out of the hole?! What the hell!" Blaize cursed.

'What?! The damned didn't escape into Hiria from here? What are they talking about?!' The giant skeleton let out a wailing cry into the sky, it didn't sound hostile, but it sounded more like it was suffering. Alexander felt like the skeleton was asking for help. It turned it's head to Bruno, and then whipped it's entire body except for it's head towards the lieutenant.

"Bruno look out!" Yami tried to fly into save him.

However, a red slash flew through the sky at Yami and cut him. Yami grunted in pain as he hit the ground, the skeletons massive hand grabbed Bruno. Alexander was about to run forward, but he felt a blade pierce through his stomach. He turned to see Iris behind him, she grit her teeth and pushed the sword even further through him. 'Damnit! Why did I get distracted!' Alexander tried to grab her, but she placed her foot on his back and kicked him off the blade.

"This fight isn't over yet!" Blaize shouted.

"Sir!" Vivian cried.

A javelin flew through the sky and embedded itself in the head of the skeleton. It exploded and blew the giant cranium to pieces. However to his squads shock, it kept moving without a head. Another hand reached out of the darkness, and another giant skeleton began to pull itself out of the depths. This one had a similar look of panic to the last, as it's head looked like it was being dragged around by a body that moved on its own. However, Alexander could only look up as he heard a war cry echo out. Banhu ran forward, spinning his weapon. Alexander tried to get up, but the blood leaked out of him and he felt his strength drain. He slowly got up, conjured his armor, then his sword, all the while a steady stream of red liquid splashed onto the stone.

"Where are you looking!" Iris charged forward and clashed with Alexander.

Alexander's feet dragged against the ground, as Iris jumped up. Blaize's feet dragged against the stone as he took a stance behind Alexander.

"Roku's Array! First Form!" All three commanders shouted.

Alexander's eyes went wide as he realized there was no chance to dodge any of them. All he could muster was the strength to raise his great sword up, and ignite with as much powerful green flames as he could. Alexander looked up briefly, the necropolis was directly above them. 'Jealous Flame!' Alexander swung the sword down.

"World Splitter!" All three of them yelled at the same time.

Blaize slashed at Alexanders back with a single downward swing with both swords, Iris performed a similar motion. They both slammed their blades into the ground, leaving considerably deep slashes in the stone which withstood most of the attacks till now. Banhu swung the bell downwards at the same time Alexander swung his blade down. Alexander engulfed all of them in a pillar of green flames, however the toll of the bell smashed him straight down, through the gate.

***

Alexander's eyes opened, slowly, all around him was rubble and green flames, the crashes and cries of destruction, a scent of burning wood and asphalt. The bones in his body twisted as he pushed himself off the ground with a bloody hand. 'What happened... I was just fighting the resistance... how long was I out...' Alexander rose off the ground and heard drops against a puddle. He looked at his stomach as he got up to see a hole in his abdomen, dripping blood into a pool underneath his stomach. 'Wasn't I... stabbed...' Alexander looked at the gaping hole inside of him, it didn't resemble a stab wound. He looked up, the sky was blood red, but he saw two figures standing nearby.

"So long as he is dead, none should stand in the way of our salvation," said an unknown man, panting from a difficult battle.

"This isn't right... who are we to meddle in their affairs..." another unknown man spoke, he had a much deeper voice.

"Enough Abaddon! There is no room for morality! Not with these- things! They are power, they are the driving force of this universe! It happened with Jalrog and it would have happened here too!"

"We provoked Ragnarok-"

"We were on the brink of extinction!"

"And we solve it with extinction?! The Celestial didn't give us power for this! The harbingers never wanted this! Look at this! Open your fucking eyes Ymir! Nothing but death and destruction surrounds us! It surrounds us everywhere we go and we refuse to learn!"

"You are blind Abaddon! This is what we, the angels, must do! If we don't, it'll be the end!"

The two men hadn't noticed Alexander rise. He walked forward over the rubble, he couldn't lift his groggy head, he could only look at his pale and bloody hands wave back and forth. He stopped as he noticed a body in front of him.

A frail woman laid on the ground, Alexander dropped to his knees over her body. Tears filled his eyes. 'Why am I crying...' He touched her neck and didn't feel a heartbeat, moving his hands up and felt the softness of her cheek. Her blue hair soaked in the puddle of blood she rested in. Alexander looked at her stomach and felt himself lose control of his emotions. 'She's... pregnant...'

"Lavera... Lavera!" Alexander cried out in anguish.

His scream echoed into the air. Ymir and Abaddon turned to him.

"What the..." Abaddon uttered in disbelief.

"How... how are you still alive!" Ymir shouted in fear.

Alexander grasped the skin under his eyes and pulled down, 'What is this...' His fingers pulled through his skin as he slammed his fists into the ground, engulfing his arms in a green flame. He pulled his hands out of the flame and drew his great sword in hand. 'What is this feeling...' His eyes wide with rage, he swung the sword violently as he took stance, before he jumped through the air and cleaved downward. Alexander's roar started to fade. 'It feels so real, this anger, this rage...'

***

Alexander slowly opened his eyes, he was flat on his back looking up at a crack of light that flooded through a ceiling in the distance. Multiple crashes and thuds echoed throughout the cavern. Alexander slowly rose up and looked around, 'I was fighting... Abaddon and Ymir Lightbringer? No... no no, I was fighting those scum from the hybrid resistance... and I got knocked down here...' Alexander looked up, there was a large hole in the ceiling.

"Give them back!" Someone shouted, Alexander recognized the voice.

The sound came from up ahead, Alexander looked over to see a large flash of blue light. 'That's... Yami?' Yami breathed heavily and could barely stand, his staff in hand and his wings spread wide. Alexander looked in front of him to see a massive, horrific, and unfathomable monster. It leaned forward on massive arms thicker than it's entire body. It's legs were tiny and seemed to be the regular size of a man, with pale skin and torn beige pants. However the further up it's torso, the larger it became. Oddly enough it's head was a regular sized skull lacking a lower jaw, with two bright green eyes peering down at Yami.

"I said... give them back!" Yami shouted.

He swung the staff towards the beast, it raised one arm and blocked the strike. Yami flew up and kicked the beast in the head, and it stumbled to the side on its hands. As he flew forward once more he quickly stopped and dodged several black dots that rained down from above. But as he dodged, the massive beast swung the back of it's massive arm at Yami, knocking him into the wall of rock and sending him spinning towards the ground.

"Agh!" Yami coughed, blood dripped from his head and arms.

"You ask for them back, as if they were yours..." A croaking old voice spoke up. "Unacceptable!" A deep, guttural voice, different from the other shouted. "Unacceptable!"

"Shut up... freak! Give me back my squad!"

"Freak? Freak?!" The guttural voice snapped.

'What is that thing... where is that voice coming from... why is it... familiar...'

The large beast slammed it's hand into the ground and jumped forward at Yami who could barely move. Yami blocked the fist with his staff and held it back. He grit his teeth and flew back into the wall. The beast lunged forward once more. Alexander felt a power swell in his chest, he kicked off the ground, conjuring his greatsword and cleaving the massive beast's arm right off. Alexander lowered his greatsword, engulfing it in a green flame and swinging upwards, setting the massive beast ablaze. It writhed as it fell backwards and burned.

"That flame! It can't be!" The old voice echoed through the cave, shaken at the sight of Alexander's fire.

"Yami... what's the situation?" Alexander asked.

"Sir-" Yami sniffed.

"Focus... What is that thing? How long have I been out?"

"I don't know... we came down to help you after that guy with the bell hit you... Bruno was dragged down too... Me and Vivian got down here and found you, but then skeletons covered in black tentacles came from that darkness..."

"From the darkness?" Alexander looked up and noticed a black void which didn't seem like regular darkness.

"Yeah... we were fighting and suddenly that... thing showed up," Yami pointed past Alexander.

Alexander looked at the massive beast he just defeated, however it seemed to turn into a black liquid which entered a small man's shadow. The small man walked forward, his mouth hung ajar. Alexander's eyes widened as he got closer. 'What the...' He wore a strange green robe, with golden triangles lining its edges. Alexander didn't recognize the design, however that isn't what confused him. The old man only had half a face and on that half, a pitch black, empty eye socket. He slowly walked forward with a bright silver staff in his right hand, the staff had a triangle at the end of it. The left half of his body and face were covered by black tentacles that didn't come from the shadows.

"That guy... whatever he is... he summons weird creatures, he said something about... Vivian and Bruno having the essence of envy on them, they were taken somewhere deeper into that darkness..." Yami explained.

"How long was I out?" Alexander asked.

"It's been an hour... the resistance retreated afterwards..."

"Yami... go to Dorad, you can get there with your gift."

"But- What about you!"

"I'll get Vivian and Bruno back... and join you shortly after," Alexander said sternly. "Go to Dorad and warn them... the resistance will attack Dorad and Andurill. They didn't succeed with releasing the Damned... I don't know why... but they'll definitely target those cities next..."

"I won't leave you and the others-"

"Yami. You said you wanted to be the king of the angels, right?" Alexander huffed.

Yami stopped, tears flooding out of his eyes.

"I'll be there to see you take the throne..." Alexander said confidently with a grin on his face.

Yami whimpered as he grit his teeth and rubbed his eyes.

"So stop crying, be strong, go! I won't die here, none of my squad will."

"Right..." Yami sniffed.

His blue wings sprouted out of his back, he jumped up and took flight into the sky.

"My lady did not say you could leave!" the strange old man raised his staff.

Out of his shadow, a giant hand stretched upwards for Yami. Alexander ignited his sword in green flames and cut straight through the arm.

"You will die for laying a finger on my lieutenants!" Alexander threatened.

"You... it's you... the god of Envy!" the old man rambled.