Haru braced herself to face off against Luciel, Su-Yun, and Hyeon Bae without any backup aiding her, but she saved faced and readied her great sword once again. She held her sword in a Hanging Right stance before charging forward with a decisive slash toward Luciel, her blade being encased in flames as it came down.
Luciel parried her slash then thrusted her weapon forward, Haru swiftly evading her thrust then blocking her next slash with a Hanging Left stance before countering with a wide slice. Luciel tried to phase through the attack, but the slash was too wide and struck her as she became tangible once more.
"It's a wide covering attack, you won't be able to avoid it that easily!" Su-Yun called out as she rushed forward, catching Luciel and setting her down before launching herself toward Haru.
"Captain Sa Nu Rim, I don't know how you're still alive, but by the law you must pay for your crimes!" Haru bellowed, slicing down at Su-Yun with strong enough force to release a fiery cutting wave.
"Whoop!" Su-Yun exclaimed, twirling around the fiery cutting wave and pulling her tail to prevent it from getting seared by the residue flames along the ground. "You must have the wrong person! I'm not Sa Nu Rim!"
"If you're not Sa Nu Rim, why are you dressed as her? That's a crime within itself! However, I know you're lying because only one woman has that specific battlesuit!" Haru retorted, pointing her sword at Su-Yun.
'Geez, why did I think that would work..? I promise you I'm not Sa Nu Rim! I am Lee Su-Yun!' Su-Yun said mentally, patting herself on her forehead with her palm.
"Enough with these games! It's time I take you in!" Haru demanded, launching herself toward Su-Yun with another slice.
Su-Yun gasped and used her enhanced reflexes to duck under Haru's slice then clawed at her ankles to sweep her off her feet, but Haru leaped over her hands and went for a stab upon her back. Before her blade reached Su-Yun's skin, a figure of spiritual energy rushed forward and struck Haru critically upon her midsection.
Haru groaned loudly as she was knocked back into the fiery wall behind her then landed upon her feet, looking up and noticing an ethereal labador retriever stanced in front of Hyeon Bae like a guardian. He growled lowly at Haru, his body emitting silver spirit energy, the particles floating upward to the sky.
"Eek!" Su-Yun squealed, leaping away from Hyeon Bae's dog and hissed instinctively, neither her nor Sa Nu Rim taking much liking to dogs. "What kind of dog is that?!"
"It's a Labrador Retriever, his name is Hoon and he doesn't hurt people who are my friends so don't worry!" Hyeon Bae assured, giving Su-Yun a thumbs up and a bright smile.
Haru scoffed at Hyeon Bae, not knowing what her ability was just yet so she didn't see her as much of a threat, just an annoying obstacle. "A Code Rainbow, Code White, and Code Yellow...detain one, subjugate the Stigmata...and kill the Threat."
Without warning, Haru dashed toward the trio and leaped into the air with a powerful slash, her blade crashing down with intense force, but Luciel managed to block the slash, grunting heavily as she was brought down to one knee. Haru pulled back her attack, her fist coming in at high speed and connecting to Luciel's jaw to knock her away.
Luciel used one of her butterflies to warp to safety, her hand holding her cheek from the burning aftermath of Haru's attack. Feeling the increased intensity of Haru's attack, her Holy Fire began to ignite from her chest.
"Alright, you want to play rough...let's play rough!" Luciel challenged, spreading her wings and getting into a low stance with four butterflies fluttering around her body.
Luciel's body became a light purple silhouette and warped toward Haru, catching her off guard with a spinning slash that sent her flying backwards. She warped forward once again, catching Haru's ankle and used her third warp to go airborne then let her go.
Haru let out a roar as she let out an omni-spinning slash, but only hit Luciel's silhouette and grunted in shock while looking around in the air. As she descended to the ground, Luciel appeared above her with a roar, striking the back of her head with an Origin Palm.
"Strike now!" Luciel called out from the air, her voice reaching down like a shout from the Heavens.
Su-Yun's body immediately fell into Luciel's Divine Command, her pupils becoming sharp as she bolted forward with a Catiger Strike to Haru's midsection, a paw shaped energy explosion blowing Haru away. Haru groaned as she crashed through the fiery energy wall, her body rolling into the cornfields.
"After her, Hoon!" Hyeon Bae ordered, pointing to the cornfields ahead and ran ahead.
Hoon barked and ran ahead at top speeds, using his powerful sense of smell to track Haru as he raced through the cornfields. He began to howl as he sensed danger, coming to a halting stop and pushed Hyeon Bae out of the way of a fiery cutting wave.
A barrage of fiery waves began rushing toward the two, but Luciel flew ahead with amber glowing eyes and sliced through the cutting waves with her bladed scepter and threw it forward and warped after it. She used her Divine Discernment to find Haru, catching her with a vertical spinning slash but Haru blocked the slash and grunted as she slid backwards.
Su-Yun ran through the fields as well, looking up in the air and noticing Luciel and Haru taking their battle to the skies, gasping in awe at Luciel's angelic figure. "Whoa...she looks like Lady Magdalene from how The Chronicles described her..!"
Hyeon Bae and Hoon continued charging forward until reaching an open area with multiple crossroads with one sign reading "Dotari" beside her. She glanced in the air, noticing Luciel and Haru's dance continuing in the air and gasped softly in awe.
Luciel parried each of Haru's attacks before returning the offense with a flurry of slashes, Haru blocking each one but Luciel warped behind her, grabbing her by her collar and threw her to the ground. "Heavenly Father, hallowed be thy name...May you raise the waters from below to cleanse my oppressors!"
The ground began to rumble and shake by Luciel's prayer, Hyeon Bae and Hoon steadying themselves from the low magnitude earthquake happening below them. Hoon began to howl and bark as a powerful geyser burst through the lands below to strike Haru, sending her flying into the air.
Luciel warped above her once more with her Holy Fire blazing powerful from her chest. "This is my Spiritual Husband's move! Heavenly Impact!"
Luciel roared as she struck Haru's body with spiralling divine energy, her attack releasing a burst of howling winds to send Haru crashing to the ground. As she hit the ground, a large wave of smoke began to stretch out across the open fields, the shockwave causing nearby car alarms to go off.
Hyeon Bae watched in fear and awe of Luciel's power, seeing firsthand what walking with God looked like. A small ember sparked from her chest, her Faith becoming restored by Luciel's display. "Whoa...that was amazing..."
Su-Yun watched from a distance as well, looking at her hands then back up at Luciel. "I could do that someday..?"
Haru slowly rose up onto her feet, her Stigmata, Orishi: Wrath, glowing brightly upon her upper back. Her lips slowly curled into a smirk as fiery energy circled around her feet, her aura pulsing around her body in flares, her adrenaline running wild around her body.
"This girl..." Haru began, looking up at the sky at Luciel, her vision distorting into seeing me for a moment before returning back into seeing Luciel. "You share his essence...who are you really?"
Luciel looked down at Haru and began to descend to the ground and folded her wings, pointing her scepter at Haru and glared. "I am Luciel Genessi. In The Chronicles, it is written that not only did Yuvah come down in flesh, but Genesis did as well."
"Genesis and I are one, Sovereign Mother and Sovereign Daughter! Just as Yesha is Yuvah, my Spiritual Husband, Nox is Ascea, who is Yesha, who is in turn God in the Flesh!" Luciel finished, holding her sword in a Hanging Left with her legs more spread out.
Haru glared at Luciel and scoffed at her, watching as she copied her stance with an added variation. She got into her stance as well, giving Luciel a cold stare. "You want me to believe that Dark Lord is God? We can agree on one thing, he did liberate St. Meishi and he COULD be the Messiah of The Chronicles..."
"But to say that he is Yesha and God..? To say that he is Ascea?! You're a Herisee!" Haru bellowed, dashing toward Luciel with a vicious slice.
Luciel effortlessly blocked and locked blades with Haru, pushing her front foot forward to force the blade lock into equal standing. "I've been through this song and dance before, and I'm not as silent as I was once before about this. Before I would've held my tongue, but your defiance will get you slain.."
"Ha! Slain by you? You don't sound too Ascean like right now...but I wouldn't expect that from a Herisee!" Haru scoffed, pushing Luciel back and launching a slice at her midsection.
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire echoed in the air, one of Su-Yun's bullets flying between Haru and Luciel, causing Haru to pull back her attack. Haru glanced over at Su-Yun, lowering her weapon and bracing herself for any trickery.
"She's anything but a Herisee! You are clearly blind if you think that! Sure, her husband was scary on the news, but if anything, he's proven to be more of a Savior than Merin was branded out to be!" Su-Yun said, coming in defense for Luciel.
"Yeah, plus Merin never sat right with me anyway! If Luciel is a Herisee...then I am one too!" Hyeon Bae said, stepping forward with her hand upon her chest.
"Then you can die a Herisee," A voice sounded in the winds, a Nether Bullet firing from an unknown location toward Hyeon Bae's chest.
"Hyeon Bae!" Luciel yelled out, quickly flying toward Hyeon Bae's aid and taking the bullet to the back.
Luciel grunted heavily as she hit the ground, the Nether Energy burning her the spot it hit like excruciating venom from a deadly spider. Luciel cried out in pain, beating her fist against the ground and huffed heavily.
"Luciel!" Hyeon Bae and Su-Yun called out, the two of them rushing to aid Luciel in her moment of weakness.
The unknown combatant walked forward from behind his vehicle, his black hood draping over his face and leaving his right eye uncovered. He carried a high tech crossbow in his hand, the bow shaped as a cross, yet carried energy meant to strike down the Holy.
"A-Aah, Lieutenant Owen...you came to assist?" Haru asked, bowing to Owen with high respect.
Owen chuckled softly at Haru then looked at the trio of girls, aiming his crossbow at them and charging up Nether Energy. "Command gave a new order...eliminate all targets associated with Code Rainbow. That includes the Vow of Night and Day, Sa Nu Rim."
"H-Huh? Wait, we can still use her power and tame her!" Haru said in disagreement with the new order, rushing forward to grab Owen's arm.
"Tame me..?! I would rather be killed than to be controlled by you all..." Su-Yun said lowly, Sa Nu Rim speaking for her once more.
Owen aimed his crossbow directly at Luciel, preparing himself to finish her off with one last shot, his finger ready firmly on the trigger. As he fired his next shot, a bolt of lightning shot down in front of Luciel and deflected the Nether Bullet into the air.
Su-Yun and Hyeon Bae stared at the woman that was in front of them, Hyeon Bae recognizing the familiar black and blue Valkyrian battle dress nearly immediately with a soft gasp. The woman slowly stood up on her feet, fixing the black veil across her face that hung from her crown.
"Mistress Yuta! How did you find us? Were you watching the entire time?" Hyeon Bae asked, relieved to see the headmistress of her school.
"I was awoken from my rest due to your battle, but I can see why...the ACU, still causing trouble for us Stigmata wielders?" The woman answered, looking back at Hyeon Bae with a soft smile.
"If it isn't the famous S Rank Valkyria, Kaguya Yuta...Protecting those who go against the law is an arrestable offense, you know that right?" Owen asked, waving his crossbow at Kaguya and flashing a toothy smirk.
"You obviously think because you have the power, you can use it however you want. I've been watching the news and keeping track... unlawful raids in neighborhoods, snatching people off the street to force them into giving up their Stigmatas," Kaguya began, summoning her spear and began charging it up with shadow energy.
"Now you put one of my dear students in danger and expect me to stand back? No, now you answer to me!" Kaguya bellowed, launching her spear at Owen like a javalin, the weapon hurling toward him at high speeds.
"Ahh! Now this is the battle I've been waiting for! A chance to take the Stigmata of the Shadow Gardens, Hisumi's Stigmata!" Owen laughed, dodging Kaguya's spear then dashed toward her at high speeds while firing multiple Nether Bullets at her.
Kaguya performed the Eagle Hand Seal, summoning a Senyata Eagle and commanded it to cut down each bullet headed her way. The Senyata Eagle screechedand used his wings to send out slashing projectiles to cut each bullet, a few razor winds flying toward Owen to intercept his path.
While Owen was temporarily stopped by the cutting winds, Kaguya performed the Bull Hand Seal and summoned her Ancient Bull, the eyes of the ruinous bull flashing red before charging forward at dangerous speeds. Owen laughed at the sight of danger, summoning a second crossbow and taking aim, firing a beam of energy toward the Ancient Bull to clash with him.
"The Ten Passing Shadow Gardens, such an amazing ability isn't it?! It must be nice to be the descendant of Hisumi Yuta Nomura right, to have all of her abilities!" Owen taunted, grunting heavily and covered his face from the explosion from the clashing beam and Ancient Bull.
Kaguya stood tall in front of the explosion, the smoke engulfing her body, but as quickly as her body became surrounded in darkness, a bright light shone brightly and a rush of winds cleared the smoke from around the area. Kaguya transformed into her Valkyria Form, rainbow aura pulsing around her body and her hair becoming a divine white color.
Luciel stared up at Kaguya in awe, seeing she had never lost her way unlike Leonidas once had. She could perfectly see Kaguya's fruits, the presence of a True Hero. "You... you're Alrean aren't you..?"
Kaguya glanced back at Luciel, meeting her exhausted eyes and nodded at her. "I am. My name is Kaguya Alrean Yuta, the Headmistress of Grushia High School. Once this is all over, I'll get you all to safety."
Haru felt her heart stop at the sight of Kaguya, sensing her energy levels were off the charts to the point of giving her goosebumps. She glanced over at Owen, who didn't seem to back down as his mind shifted from Luciel to Kaguya for her Stigmata of the Shadow Gardens.
Owen launched himself toward Kaguya with a thrilled laugh, twisting his body into a spinning Aero Kick. "Once this is all over, your Stigmata will be mine!"
Kaguya smirked at Owen, a red and yellow flash of energy pulsing around her body as she switched her Valkyria Mode to Speedster and Attack Mode. She rubbed between her nose and mouth with her finger, perceiving Owen approaching her in slow motion.
"Heh...this is almost too easy," Kaguya taunted, draining Owen's wind energy and rendered his attack Null before countering with a Quick Strike at near invisible speeds.
Owen groaned as he was knocked away at high speeds, but recovered on one foot then glid backwards along the ground, swapping the elements of his crossbows from Nether to Spatial. He aimed both of them toward Kaguya, firing a volley of warping bullets toward her in waves.
Kaguya got down into a running start with one hand upon the ground, yellow lightning flashing from her eyes as she began charging up lightning into her legs. She let out a powerful howl, her body becoming a streak of lightning as she propelled herself forward.
"Come at me, Descendant of Hisumi Nomura!" Owen challenged, teleporting toward Kaguya and clashing with her, their clash releasing a powerful shockwave across the area.
Both Kaguya and Owen raced across the fields of Dotari, each clash releasing sparks of yellow and black energy through the areas. Owen tried to hold his own against a Queen Valkyria, but couldn't handle the pressure Kaguya gave him.
Kaguya began rushing him with Quick Strikes, each one growing faster to the point of her afterimages rushing toward Owen to strike him while she stood still with her arms crossed. Upon her last strike, her body became a silhouette of white energy, warping toward Owen with a kick to his face, the force of the kick launching him away.
Kaguya landed upon the ground and swiped her hand across the air in front of her summoning her signature katana and grabbed a hold of it. "Yukota Technique: Seven Decrees!"
In a blind of an eye, Kaguya appeared behind Owen while he was still airborne and sheathed her blade, seven powerful delayed slashes striking his body and spiking him to the ground. She flourished her weapon with her back turned to the defeated Owen, Cerebral's Stigmata upon her back vanishing and being replaced with her original Shadow Gardens Stigma.
"That was only a taste of what the Cerebral Hounds can do. You've never met the real Cerebral and you better pray you never meet her," Kaguya said, turning around to face Owen and watched him rise to his feet.
Owen scoffed at Kaguya with soft pants, walking away and gesturing for Haru to follow suit. Haru grunted softly and slowly backed away before following Owen back to their unit and retreating back to their base.
Kaguya made her way back to Luciel, Hyeon Bae, and Su-Yun and smiled at them, reverting back to her normal form then dusted herself off. "Hm, I didn't expect to go all out like that with him. It's a force of habit~"
Luciel chuckled softly at Kaguya's casual comment, her arm draped around Su-Yun's shoulder for support since she was still exhausted. "It's an Alrean thing, trust me...Leonidas has his ticks with being Yascean and of course, my Spiritual Husband is on his way of being Yesha through and through..."
"Ah, we should thank you for saving our tails. We had Haru beat until Owen came...luckily it was just him. Thank you once again, Miss Kaguya," Su-Yun said thoughtfully, gratefully bowing, forgetting she had Luciel around her shoulder and exclaimed as she nearly slipped off her shoulder.
"Whoa!" Kaguya and Hyeon Bae exclaimed, hurrying toward Su-Yun and Luciel to help them stay stable.
The four women laughed together, Kaguya inviting each of them to her home to rest. Happily agreeing, Hyeon Bae, Luciel, and Su-Yun began to trail with Kaguya to her modest abode, each of them complimenting each other on their combat abilities on the field.
As the sun began to set on the horizon, Su-Yun's body began to glow her Stigmata shifting from a Sun Symbol to a Moon Symbol, reverting Su-Yun back to her original form. The other women gasped at Su-Yun's transformation, the only three to witness Su-Yun's phenomenon with a mix between awe and wonder in comparison to Su-Yun's shock.
----------------------------
I sat outside at a courtyard table that sat next to a local cafe in Bulan, my cheek resting against my palm as I scrolled through the pictures Luciel sent me of her with Su-Yun, Hyeon Bae, and Kaguya, a small smile forming on my lips. I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching me, my eyes lifting from my phone to see Do-hari approaching with two cups of mocha lattes in hand.
Do-hari set one cup down and sat across from me on at the table, smoothing her dress down before taking her seat. She cleared her throat elegantly, gesturing for me to take a drink first. "Meonjeo deuseyo.."
I turned my phone screen off and slipped my phone into my pocket, fully turning on the table to face Do-hari, picking up my cup and taking a sip of my latte. Do-hari watched my reaction for a moment, gently teething upon her fingernail until seeing a pleasant reaction from my face.
Do-hari smiled and picked up her cup as well, taking a sip of her latte as well then let out a soft sigh. "Thank you for coming out with me...I know it was probably a lot to even drag you with me like this."
"Mmm...not really. I don't have much else to do around here, and the Beloved John conveniently went missing after bringing me to you all. So, all I have to look forward to is running into you," I said truthfully, taking another sip of my latte.
Do-hari nodded slowly at my words then looked off into the distance, watching the people of Bulan traverse the sidewalks and the cars ride along the roads. She traced the rim of her cup slowly, her cheeks flushing into a soft red.
"Uhm...so my aunt spoke with me before we went out and she said that I should...invite you over to my house. Y'know...to live with me..." Do-hari mumbled, her tone just loud enough for me to hear.
"You don't sound particularly happy with the idea," I said, raising a brow with a hint of curiosity.
"It's not that I'm not excited per se...it's more of...I don't know how my family will take it. I mean, yeah, they've been pushing me to get married...but..." Do-hari began, taking a sip of her latte so she didn't have to finished her sentence.
I let out a soft exhale as I realized Do-hari was beating around the bush, so I snapped my fingers and planted one of my butterflies upon her cup, warping it in my hand. "You're not testing my patience, just get out with it already..."
"Aishh! It's my children okay? I don't know how good you'll be with them because one of my requirements for dating me and living with me is to be good to my kids!" Do-hari blurted, gripping the edges of the table as it took everything in her to say it.
"Tah! You don't think I'm good with children after telling you I have three? I'm literally half Ragnarok, THE Sovereign Lord of Justice, THE Dark Lord who does nothing but foster monster children on His free time," I scoffed, leaning back in my seat with a skeptical stare and set her cup down.
I do way more than that on my free time...
Do-hari and I heard Ragnarok's thunderous whisper, my lips curling inward to prevent myself from laughing, Do-hari doing the same with an awkward stare. I cleared my throat and crossed one leg over the other, and regathering myself.
"He didn't deny it so still, my point stands. I know what to do with children," I said confidently, my gaze never breaking from Do-hari's.
"Mmm... alright, I'm choosing to trust you...NOT because I like you, but just to see if you can hold true to your words," Do-hari said, slamming her hand against the table with a defiant blush on her face.
"Yeah, I got it...yeesh...drink your latte before you blow a fuse..." I said, pushing Do-hari's cup back toward her.
Do-hari quickly grabbed her cup from the table, taking embarrassed sips from her drink and looking away from me. I couldn't help but to chuckle softly at her, knowing I was in for a long ride with Do-hari and uncovering all her truths.