**A few hours ago. Somewhere in the Desert Kingdom**
A large set of stone double doors opened in a chambered room. Three figures stepped out from it casually, chatting amongst themselves. From the other side where they came, the faint colors of pink and boisterous colors reflected onto the floors of this earth-toned place they entered, completely in contrast to the feel and vibe that these quarters gave off on their own. The gray and tan tones meshed; there was only light from the ceiling, which was high up and let off a natural light spotlighting something in the center. Small humps of sand patched the room in different places. This might as well have been an abandoned storage room somewhere in the desert.
"All I'm saying, Alice, is if you just talked a little bit less and quit acting like it's that time of the month every second, then maybe—just maybe—you might grow up to be a snatch like your sister here one day."
"YOU ARE INFURIATING! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, ARE A CAPTAIN OF ANYTHING! Sis, do we have to help him? Can't we just leave him somewhere and call it even, please?" Alice shouted at me and sobbed toward the end, pleading to her sister.
"I'm actually surprised you two are related. You look nothing alike. I mean the eyes, sure... kind of... but still," I said with hands behind my head, strolling by casually.
"Alice and I are actually not related by blood, but I've taken her in as a sister, so she's family," Belle responded behind both of Alice and me, finally stepping through the open door of the Pink Room we came from.
"Ah, okay! Now that makes SO much more sense," I said obnoxiously in a dickish tone.
"KEEPER! YOU ARE AN ASS!" Alice fumed, but I was too busy scratching the back of my head and surveying the area to care anymore.
I looked around and found nothing but a dusty room of stone and sand and… something poking out of the ground in the center of the room—a cracked rock perhaps? But that had been it.
"So why are we here again?" I asked, oblivious and beginning to get bored at the same time.
"We're here to get that." Belle pointed a slender finger over to the center of the room—the rock...
A jagged stone with a crack down the middle of it. At first glance, it didn't seem like anything of significance.
"I don't mean to be dense… but what exactly is that?" Trying my best to still look cool in front of my princess, who was next to me now with a dimpled smile.
I blushed when I saw her and tried my best to hold my composure—futile as it was.
I licked my lips, and she stared at my caressing tongue all the while before speaking again, "That is one of the Arcane King's greatest weapons entrusted to me here in the Desert Kingdom for times when he is absent."
"That so," I said, still looking at her unashamedly, "Well it's a damn cool rock."
"You idiot. It's inside the rock, duh," Alice scoffed.
"Is it now?" I said, finally walking toward the unimpressive stone.
"You're supposed to—Hey! Wait! I wasn't done telling you—"
Before Alice got another word out, I was already at the stone, breaking it open. The stone crumbled effortlessly along with a bunch of seals that I had no idea what the purpose of were, and what was revealed inside was a large claymore the color of shadow-black gunmetal.
She continued her sentence anyway as she witnessed me do this, "how… to break… it open…"
Alice was taken aback, her eyes a pale white, and her mouth gaped open. "You—you big dummy! We were supposed to undo the seals first! But… you just did… how did you?—"
"Hmm… So, my speculations on you were right after all. You even broke the multicast seals without trying," Belle said with a finger to her mouth, spectating me.
"Now for the real test. There's a reason that Claymore is the Arcane King's weapon and his alone to wield. It's something only he can wield indefinitely, and it's to only be used in emergencies. Even I have to use a special type of spell in order to wield it. Made by the Arcane King himself, it's a blade that can wipe away the very essence of magic. The claymore's name is 'The Arc Slay'—"
Just like that, before Belle had finished, I had already pulled the claymore out of the ground and thrown it over my shoulders.
"So, what's next?" I said like it was nothing.
Alice's jaw dropped to the floor, in utter disbelief at what I had just done—again, without any effort. Belle tilted her head, pleasantly surprised, though it also didn't seem like much of a surprise to her for some reason. That's what I sensed in her eyes, at least.
"H-h-h-how? How are you able to pull that from the ground!? Let alone hold it so casually like that!?" Alice stuttered.
I looked at her with an oblivious look. "What do you mean? I mean, sure, it's kinda heavy, but it's nothing to fret over."
Belle giggled with a dainty hand over her mouth, and I swore I felt a trail of blood leave my nose.
"Well, first off—the stone that you broke just now was layered with multiple S ranked seals that only S ranked mages and above are able to undo. Second, the reason no one is able to wield that weapon aside from Daz and a few select mages is that it is a Nullifying magic claymore. Touching it immediately wipes your mana completely, leaving you utterly helpless. Let alone, strengthless to even be able to pick it up, regardless of whether you are strong… I could not even wield such a blade for any longer than ten seconds max without a specific spell that boosts it to a mere twenty."
"And Belle has a lot of mana, too, more than most. So twenty seconds is a long time even for someone of such caliber as herself," Alice added, "It's meant to be a final and all—a last-ditch effort to beat a major threat. Yet here you are, holding it like it's nothing!"
"Hmm… You sure this is the right one? If it's everything you say it is, wouldn't I be reeling and almost lifeless on the ground by now?"
"In theory," Belle said, "but you also don't have any mana to begin with, do you?"
It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Most mages are able to sense mana at first glance, some more than others. So she had to have known this already before taking us here.
I raised a brow and Belle giggled again. If she kept that up, I might as well drop everything now and risk it all. In front of Alice, even. Indecent thoughts…
"You impress me more and more by the minute, Greed. That is the right sword. I have complete control over the Desert Kingdom jurisdiction. The Arcane King, Daz, himself entrusted me to keep that claymore here for safekeeping and gave me rights to access this room once I officially became an SS Rank knight just yesterday. Aside from him, no one knows about this except me, Alice, and now you. The only way to get into this room is through Alice's magic. The room itself is guarded by a unique barrier that others cannot detect or enter. So, unless you have Alice, there is no way to get into this room. Not even I could find it on my own."
There wasn't even reception for our comms here. It's like we were in another dimension completely. Just how valuable was this sword? And why had I been able to wield it?
"Well, now that we have this—what do you say we head back now?" I said, twirling the giant sword down at eye level as I inspected it.
"Agreed. My sources tell me that Syemore is back at the Arcane King's castle… Are you ready to head over there?" Belle asked me.
It took me a few minutes to respond. When I looked at her face and deep blue eyes, for some reason, I felt tears stream down from the sight of her. The feeling... it came out of nowhere.
"Greed?" Her sweet voice echoed in my ears. Slowly becoming more muffled than the next.
Greed? Greed…
For some reason, I saw Ryo, and we were facing each other, both impaled by claymores and shadows, standing atop a fading pentagram and surrounded by pitch-black darkness. My lips were moving, but I couldn't hear the words that were coming out of them. I could only think I uttered the words 'thank you' and 'don't die'.
What was going on? What was this?
My Greed, I thought I heard Belle say. This one was as clear as day…
She was in front of me now, and I had barely noticed. She was literally a kiss away, like our first encounter at the Kingdom's Guild Meeting.
"Are you okay?" she asked so gently that I forgot the world.
"I'm fine. I just spaced out. Let's go now," I said, almost coldly, as I casually wiped away the stray tears from my cheeks like I had not just wept them.
I threw the claymore up over my shoulders again and put my other hand on her shoulder gently. When I walked past her, I carried a steady gaze upon my face, looking only at the door where we had entered to get here. I didn't even acknowledge Alice there, gawking at me.
"Weirdo…" she said as I walked past her and Belle now, both giving a concerned look at my direction afterward.
That look… Does he— Belle reflected to herself before my voice interrupted her thought.
"You comin'?" I looked slightly over my shoulder to them both, back facing. I could have sworn they blushed, but I was often wrong.
"Grr… We were the ones waiting on you, asshole!" Alice replied as she raised her hands to the door we came through, revealing the Pink Room on the other side of it.
We walked through, and I had been in my own head, contemplating in silence at what just happened.
***
**Moments before entering the meeting room at the Arcane King's castle**
Belle, Alice, and I had finally arrived at Valley Kingdom lands, just a few miles away at a nearby town. Alice had been resting her head on Belle's lap as we sat in the back of a tavern, recharging her mana just before going the final distance. At that time, we had received intel from Belle's subordinates about the situation happening at the Arcane King's castle. Though we would probably arrive just a little too late, at least we'd be back in time to stop Syemore… That was the plan, at least.
Due to the Desert Kingdom being quite far away, even if it was in the Valley's jurisdiction, Alice's magic also had its limits. In order for us to even reach the Desert itself, we had to pass through a few other doors on the way that were strategically mapped out just to go that distance; some of these doors were at inns or hotels.
So long as these pathways exist in Alice's memory, we were able to travel, but only from a distance of twenty kilometers between each door. Opening a door cost Alice chunks of mana—and the farther away the door, the more mana she used.
Her recharge time was about ten minutes per interval, explaining why she was resting on her sister's lap at this time. So I used the opportunity to check the group chat that I had Havoc create for updates.
The last message that was there was from Raeyn. We got ambushed at the Crimson Dragon's castle by the Blue Phoenix Knights. They sent an army and 3 of their Executives to apprehend Ryo. Seems Ryo had just taken care of the 1st Executive. I handled the 2nd one, and Havoc the 3rd. He's currently passed out sleeping after fully transforming again… Going to retrieve him now and meet Nash and the others at Wolf Den rendezvous North Gate. ETA is 1245 approximate.
I skimmed past her concise and organized message and read Nash's next, Blue Phoenix Vice Captain, Hen… Henz… Henzoe… Whatever… Their Vice Captain came here a little while ago. Not sure why, but he did a number on Star and Brand. I took care of him. Whatever happened while I was in my room better be good. Wolf Den OTW. Over.
It looked like Phase 2 of our plan was about to begin.
Great job, guys. Leave the rest to me. Was all I wrote back.
When Alice had woken up, she had been ready to send us through the next door. This one was going directly into the meeting room where I was kicked out of the Kingdom's Guild Meeting. Ironic that we were heading right back there, and to kick someone else out instead this time.
***
**Present**
Both Belle and I crashed into the wide-open room. Having jumped through the double doors, I crouched and squatted down with my left fist to the ground and dangling cross earrings clinking from the motion. My right arm propping an enormous claymore, larger than Ryo's blades, as I let it rest on my back. It was a shiny black metal that, if light touched, it only reflected a dark gray at best. The hilt was that of worn bandages that wrapped around it endlessly and had the ends draped down. And the pommel had a short chain that looked like it was ripped off, also dangling from the end of it.
To my right, Belle, the complete opposite from my demeanor, gently landed next to me. Her rose-colored bare feet touched the ground daintily as her sparkling pink toenails glinted from the faint lights above. Even from the shadows, she seemed to glow a dim light. Her entire body exposed as it always was, the only one who could get away with as little as she wore, and decorated in rose gold jewelry, she chimed as she made even the slightest movement. The same colored, glittered fingernails flickered, too, as her slender arms finally rested next to her in an angelic manner along with her beautiful platinum white hair flowing effortlessly behind her.
And her deep blue eyes, like the sky, even in the faint shadows where we were, looked as if they were beacons in the dark. She was like an angel shrouded in darkness that even darkness could not touch. And me, the wolf spawned from that same darkness by her side in contrast to her.
The situation was dire. Two captains had already been taken down before our arrival. Acting Captain Sylva of the Snow Lilies and Captain Jecht of the Silver Sharks. All that beheld us in this moment were the pompous Captain of the Purple Panthers, Tubolt, and Syemore of the Blue Phoenixes—which, for some reason, resembled a Demon or a Spirit at this time.
Syemore's facial expression changed completely. He looked more sinister now as he stood tall in his proud form and laid his bloodshot eyes onto me. It was as if my presence alone was enough to rile him. He didn't even hesitate because, in a quick motion, he dashed at light speeds. Speeds that even I had not been ready for.
DASH!
He was in my face in a matter of seconds. Less than seconds.
His presence in front of me was unexpected. Faster than my reaction time, it had seemed, as he lorded over me. His arm swung as he said, like a haunting whisper, "Disappear, you fucking weed!"
SLAP!
The sound of his hand rushing across my face echoed. Expressions of confused shock formed on both Belle and Tubolt's faces right then.
"What!?" Syemore said, his words dressed in disbelief.
"Hey…"—head draped down, facing the granite—"was that some kind of joke, Syemore?"
A defiant tone overtook me as I bellowed out the next words, my bangs covered and formed shadows over my eyes all the while, "You look like a damn monster, but you hit like a bitch."
He staggered backward. I swore I could sense the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"And here I thought you were going to be worth the trouble. I feel like I don't even need the sword at this point," I said almost hauntingly to him as I raised my head and flipped the claymore off my shoulders and down into the ground. The weight of the sword's pierce caused the granite to shudder, cracking it from where the tip of the blade had forcibly etched.
I knew what he had tried to do. Instant contact from his palm would have shrank any normal mage… but I was no normal mage. Not at fucking all.
Releasing the hilt of the claymore and reeled in my fist. I stepped forward with my left foot, meeting Syemore just inches away. In a drawn-out motion, I shot it at his face, and it rippled upon contact, slightly cracking his cheekbone.
BANG!
The strike was like the shot from a gun, sending him back in the direction he jetted from.
His large membranous wings flapped as he flew back, stopping him yards away as he dragged his feet to the ground just to stop.
He had flown a little past Tubolt as he slung his body back, hunching and looking down from where he stopped.
"My, my… I didn't see that coming. I knew there was something different about you, but I just couldn't put my finger on it…" His attention went to the claymore next to me, standing on the ground. "The great Arcane King of the Valley—Daz's claymore 'the Arc Slayer'… You even manage to wield that blade, yet you strike me with your mere fist!" His crimson eyes met mine once more as his Demon-spirit head swayed to face me. I glared at him from a distance, retracting my stance. "Just who are you, boy?" he asked.
"It's as you say,"—my eyes unwavering, I grabbed the large claymore and began pacing slowly in the direction I shot him—"I'm the mangy mutt captain of the Black Wolves."
The next step from my boot weighed as heavy as the thickening pressure all around us as I went on to say, "So when people ask who defeated you, I'll just use that title."
He gave out a low chuckle that slowly escalated maniacally as he said, "You Valley Knights all like to play tough. You are different, I'll give you that. But you should watch your tone with me, boy." His eyes roared as he studied me.
I said nothing, only smirking and glancing over to Belle, who appeared along to my side.
"You hear this guy? He wants me to watch my tone. What do you think, princess?"
As we stopped just parallel on both sides to Tubolt, Belle closed her eyes, and the sudden stop from her pace had made her perky breasts wiggle. She put a hand to her waist and shifted her weight onto one leg.
"I think, as a traitor, he should know HIS place," she said with a clever sweetness.
Right then, sharp carbon shards resembling spears formed from out of thin air all around me. "How dare you show your face here again, you filthy dog!" Tubolt crudely strained to my left. Pure agitation possessed him.
"Wanna settle the score, bowl-cut?" I tested him.
Belle didn't even flinch when he summoned the carbon spikes at me, like it wasn't a threat. Not because Tubolt was weak—he was far from that—but rather it was by another reason entirely for why she was so at ease...
I stood there unwavering, not letting him trigger me at all—unlike the last time I was here, and we faced off in this very room.
"Well, what's it gonna be? Me… or him?" I replied, shifting my eyes from Tubolt to Syemore in front of us, yards away.
Tubolt's eyebrow twitched. "Come again, mutt?"
"Hard of hearing?" My eyes turned back to meet his once more. It was a harsh glare, one that felt as if I physically pushed him back when our eyes locked.
Tubolt hesitated a bit at the sight of me but kept his stance—as shaky as his resolve had seemed. "What I want is what's best for the Valley," he said.
"And will getting rid of me help you achieve that goal?"
"What kind of dimwitted question—"
"Because it seems that you and I share the same goal right now, and if that's the case"—pointing at Syemore—"that guy right there was the reason her younger sister was taken last night." I gestured to Belle. "So if you don't mind, I'm gonna beat his ass real quick. You can help if you want. And when all this is over, and you still wanna kill me. Go right ahead… well… go right ahead and try."
Tubolt's eyes continued to shudder, assessing his stance.
"I absolutely hate you Black Wolves. I hate all of you. Your crew, your former Captain, what you 'stand' for… and you… You're the worst of them all. I will wipe you all from the face of existence!" It was a calm and focused tone with a hint of irritation weaved within it. Belle and I were expressionless as we let him speak. I didn't even bother to interject as he finished what he wanted so desperately to say—what he had been meaning to say all this time, "One day… Because there is only one thing I hate more than you filthy dogs…" He faced his carbon spears away from me and pointed them toward Syemore as he completed his thought, "and it's a fucking traitor."
Belle tilted her head and closed her eyes, wearing a faint smile across her face after our little settlement; like she had approved of the way I handled the difficult man.
From where Syemore was across the room, a dark aura seeped out like steam from him.
"Haha… AHAHAHA!"
He laughed violently as he bore witness to us three standing there with defiant looks across our faces to him.
"Fine… I tried to be reasonable from the beginning. But I see now, you cannot reason with worms." His tone became ominous then as he stood fully up, towering over us all even from yards away.
"Behold, the power of a god."