8th Reverend

Claudia panted heavily, having run miles upon miles. She exhausted so much mana flying and even used Levitation Chaplets as well, but she still had to run a long way. She made the 2 day trip in just a little over a day, but she was on the brink of exhaustion. She crawled over a grassy hill to finally get in sight of Felopsten. She looked up to see the worst possible thing. Destruction laid over the city.

Claudia: “Wh-What’s going on here? My town…”

She sprinted as much as she could forwards. About half a mile out, she could see people running for their lives. Friends and family that she had forged over many years. Smoke rose in the air from multiple buildings. Fires rampaged around the city. Big blimps hovered in the sky. An army marched through the city numbering in the thousands. A line of witches stood in the back casting magic over everything. And…behind them, someone that she had never seen before, but knew exactly who he was. The previous rumors that had sparked were true. The Ruler of Welnir had arrived. Claudia had thought that those rumors were pointless. ‘What would they want with a city based on prostitution and gambling?’ she thought.

She hurried to the city to help. She had come all this way to get help, but right now her focus was the opposite.

Claudia: “Vannett! Vannett! What happened here?! Are you okay?”

“C-Claudia?” she whispered quietly.

Claudia: “Yes. I’m here. I’m here, Vannett.”

Vannett: “I-I’m s-sorry–”

Claudia: “No! Vannett! Please! No!”

Vannett died right before Claudia’s eyes. Blood ran down from the tears in her eyes along with the multiple wounds in her torso. Claudia regathered herself, but couldn’t stop crying. When she stood up, she realised that she had dropped her guard. 2 men in silver armor and a male witch already leaped at her to attack.

Claudia quickly formed a magic barrier with hand signals to deflect the swords. ‘This is insane,’ she thought. Even from the quick barrier she had formed, it shouldn’t have knocked her back like that. That man was affecting her magic somehow.

‘Focus Claudia. Focus. Use what the old man gave you. They are using chaplets against you.’

Claudia closed her eyes and focused on the mana welling up from inside. It was new to her, but she was figuring it out as she went. She couldn’t fully grasp it when fighting Shin, but she was able to get even a fraction of it right now when she focused hard with the ingredients from the Garden. She brought about green mana lines over her face and combined it with her enchantments.

Claudia: “Turpin Inferno!”

A blaze of heat bolted out at them and sent them flying away from her while caught on fire.

Claudia: “I-I did it…”

Claudia had begun her synchronization with her witch half and her elf half. She was starting something unfamiliar to her. Even though Turpin Inferno was not that strong yet, she still blasted her enemies away without question. A fraction of this new power was enough to disrupt a few. Her mana lines went away though suddenly and when she tried to bring them forth again, it didn’t work. Not being fully accustomed to it yet, she wasn’t able to control it. The ingredients from ‘The Garden’ boosted it immensely, but she had to figure out how to use it correctly.

Soldiers still marched in the streets. Claudia couldn’t do anything about it at the moment.

Claudia: “I’ll come back for you Vannett. I swear.”

She rushed to her guild right away crying, only to see large wooden planks that crashed down on the roof. Tears still flooded her face. She ran towards the underground to see if anyone had hid away there. She bolted down the stairs to the arena where hundreds of people sat covered in dirt, dust, and blood. She ran down to the middle of the stage and spoke.

Claudia: “Please! Someone tell me what happened here.”

A man with black hair and torn clothes approached her. His name was Sakuto.

Sakuto: “Why would we tell you what happened? What were you doing all this time? You’re supposed to be one of the leaders of this city. Felopsten needed you and you abandoned it right when there was trouble didn’t you?”

Claudia: “That’s not true.”

Sakuto: “Oh yeah? Then where were you when the invasion started? Where are the other two leaders?”

Claudia: “Huh? Yui and Umaru? Where are they?”

Sakuto: “How should we know?! All of a sudden buildings were on fire and we started getting slaughtered.”

Claudia: “No…Yui…Umaru…”

Sakuto: “How about you explain to us where the hell you were!”

Ritsu: “Sakuto, stop it. Our kid is right here listening.”

Sakuto: “No. I want to know the truth. Sure this city is shrouded in prostitutes, addicts, and gamblers, but it’s still a home. And I forged that here with my family. We changed. We changed each other. We made this city a place to live and you…you weren’t here to save it.”

Claudia: “I–I…”

Before Claudia could finish speaking, a man with sparkling diamond armor came walking down the stairs. He had messy brown hair and golden eyes. His armor was heavy. You could tell just by looking at it that no normal person could even hold an ounce of it by themselves. Around his waist was a belt lined with multiple chaplets. He held a dual sided sword. The handle extended to the other side about 6 feet long. On each side was a sharp end that was shrouded in thick blue mana lines. Almost so thick that it covered the entirety of the blade up the whole shaft. The tips of the blades lit up in a dark red flame. On one end, a golden sharp shard with an interesting symbol covered the whole end of the sword. He spoke in a confident voice.

???: “And who are you to judge that? Why not protect the city yourself? You make a fuss about being a leader. Why don’t you understand both sides then? Leaders have more problems than you do. Instead, you chose to grovel down here and hide like a coward.”

Sakuto: “You bastard. Anybody that would fight against them will die. Who the hell are you?”

He continued to speak.

???: “Die? Just because you die doesn’t mean you are weak. In fact, quite the opposite. It wouldn’t make you a coward like you are at this very moment.” He said this in a threatening tone as he pointed his sword at Sakuto. “Riser of Ashes. Controller of wind. 8th reverend of the 10 Great Swordsmen. Natsuki Tooru, at your service.”

Claudia: “N-Natsuki Tooru? The Natsuki Tooru?”

Natsuki: “At your service, my lady. My boss sent me over here. Said something was going on. He has to protect our land a few miles away, so I drew the short straw. Sorry, I’m a little late. Lots of places around here are suddenly getting invaded. I don’t know much about this Kingdom of Welnir, but they aren’t human that’s for sure. Those knights in armor with swords are nothing more than mana. It’s one person controlling them all.”

Claudia: “But, I just fought 2 of them. And they had a witch. They seemed pretty real.”

Natsuki: “Let me say this. This goes for anyone and everyone here in case you have to fight. Everyone of those knights out there and seem to be witches are not real. They may have strong mana and swords, but they are all linked to one person. Yes, they can fight on a very high level. However, if you kill the source, then they all go. I don’t know how or why the Kingdom of Welnir has access to all this and why they are targeting specific areas, but do your best to flee and not fight those knights or witches. Fight for your families to ensure they do not die.”

Sakuto: “You bastard. That bold introduction to bash me and then tell me not to fight.”

Natsuki: “No. You’re just a coward. You have a family. That means you fight for them. You are not allowed to flee. You sacrifice yourself if trouble arises. That’s part of being a leader. Now sit down and shut up. I’m usually not a mean person, but people are dying. This is not a joke.”

Natsuki looked at him with menacing red flames in his eyes. Sakuto crawled back over to his family that sat on the floor.

Natsuki: “Like I said. Destroy the source. For some reason, someone has enough mana to produce large amounts of soldiers. Probably some sort of elf or witch that is channeling power from other witches. It doesn’t make much sense. Even I don’t have that much mana, however I will go check it out right now. You see, I may not be the strongest out of our group. After all, I’ve seen some pretty incredible people fight, but I can guarantee this fight will be mine. Now…Everyone, make your way out of the city as far away as you can. Through the south exit, keep heading straight. I can’t guarantee this place will last here. The roof may crumble in.”

Claudia: “Sir Natsuki.”

Natsuki: “Me? Oh. Yes?”

Claudia: “That man may be right about me. Yes. I left this city alone. I thought my girls were strong enough to protect it in case this happened. I still don’t believe they are dead, and I will find them eventually, and I will also restore this city to what it was, but…I know this is selfish, but I need help as well.”

Natsuki: “Help? Help beyond what has happened to this city and its citizens? As a leader, I’d imagine you do stay busy. What is so important? I would like to know. And please do not worry. It is not selfish.”

Claudia: “It is selfish and I am ashamed to admit this in front of my people. Truly, I apologize to all before I speak. It is about a man and a boy.”

Natsuki: “Ahhh. Love. Indeed that is quite selfish. However, there is no fault on your end. Love is fantastic. Love is what binds us together. Love is what made me start my journey in the first place. Not just with the love of people, but with the love of a desire. A love for something greater than yourself. It is what creates greatness. No need to explain deeply. I understand. Just explain what you need and I shall do my best to grant that wish.”

Claudia: “I-I don’t think it’s that simple, but…I need help getting back to Deceased Paradise at Kastor’s castle.”

Everyone in the room gasped. People started to throw things at her and curse her for venturing to a desolate land knowing that she would be in trouble herself and potentially die without telling anyone. After all, she had made a similar announcement years ago to her people that she was going to journey to Deceased Paradise to write about it, but she never ended up going due to her people rioting against her.

Natsuki began to laugh in Claudia’s face for no particular reason.

Natsuki: “Seems your people disliked that idea. Kastor’s castle? Let me think…I don’t really have an answer for that one. I’ve never been to Deceased Paradise, although I have heard the rumors. I’m offly young you see. However! If this is for love, then I will personally go with you, my lady.”

Claudia: “What? Really?!”

Natsuki: “Yes. Although, I do have orders from my boss. I must take care of what’s going on in this city first. Wish me luck.”

Natsuki flew through the ceiling above, making a huge hole where anyone could enter now from above. It was like he did this on purpose so that the people below would be forced to leave in case some thought of staying, but also to prevent the roof from collapsing on both sides.

Natsuki knew that the upcoming battle may rip this city apart. He thought, ‘Glad I met the leader of the city. Now, if I accidentally destroy it, then it won’t be a problem since I am helping her anyway. Now let’s see, all these mana knights below me are starting to disperse. The mana seems to be going back to the source, which would be…Ah. There you are. Hiding all the way in the back of the city. I haven't even activated my mana lines yet. I wonder why he is pulling all his mana back. It’s definitely because of me, but how did he sense me? Well, it doesn’t matter for now. That’s a later issue. Let’s get this over with.’