On the fields right outside of Kondo, an army of hundreds were marching in unison. The one heading this party was Rada Khan.
"Hand me another Cannon".
He took the cannon and with movements like a pitcher, threw the cannon over the walls of Kondo and a huge explosion could be heard.
This went on a couple of times.
As for the condition on the other side...
"They're over 200 of them, I don't sense any relics from them though"
He had deployed his shadow to spy on the marching army.
"What now!" The one who spoke next was Reginald, he was panicking evident from how he was aggressively pulling his hair.
"What else, we fight"
"H-hold on!" Reginald interjected
"I didn't sign up for war, this is his problem."
He was pointing at Vorus.
"Regi..."
WHACK!
Ace slapped him shocking everyone around them.
"He is our Clan mate now, and we don't abandon our friends!"
He exclaimed furiously.
Reginald had a puzzled look on his face as he held the spot he was slapped.
"You can either help us out or run away like a coward, but I am not going anywhere!"
Vorus could only stare at Ace with admiration and respect.
He wasn't the only one too, the 50 Guards that were assembled around them and the trio were present too.
'Now I see what the Commander saw in you'. Cain thought to himself with a smile.
Ace turned to face Vorus with the usually warm smile on his face.
"What's the plan Vo?"
"I've sent word to Regrah and requested backup from that witch, we're all facing a common enemy here"
"Right, who is this Radykon anyway".
"It's Rada Khan". Ruth corrected.
Vorus began explaining...
"You know the story of how relics emerged 800 years ago?".
Ace nodded.
He continued.
"Rada Khan is one of the Four Generals of The Cronoa Region, a Nation hell-bent on returning the world to how it was before relics came".
"They believes that Relics are evil and all those who use them are no different".
"So the Region is waging a war on all Relic users?"
"That's right."
Cronoa is a Region South of Ernia. It's called the land of Swords.
"That means none of them use relics! No wonder I didn't sense any on them earlier"
All soldiers of Cronoa are trained diligently in the Basic and Advanced Arts of using Ain to face off against Relic Users.
Ain is the Sole weakness of Relics as a strong enough Aura burst of Ain could negate the abilities of Relics.
"The strongest members are the Four Generals.
"Commander!". Cain Exclaimed looking worried as he continued...
We have a problem, our signal is being jammed we can't reach out to Regrah, we're on our own".
Everyone's faces turned Grim at this development.
"What do we do now?". Vidal Asked.
"What else, we fight!"
"We're heavily outnumbered!"
The current stats for the pending war was 250 against 50.
There might be relic users on their side but the difference in numbers plays a lot in war not to mention that the opposing General is someone said to be on a level that even the district commanders haven't reached yet.
"I have a plan to take down Rada Khan". Reginald who had been quiet all this time suddenly spoke.
"It's not gonna be easy though".
Ace smiled seeing that his friend was willing to help them.
"Regi..."
"You're right Demon spawn, clan mates should look after one another, I'm sorry for what I said earlier too Vorus".
He gave the Big man a hand signaling him finally accepting him as an ally.
Vorus grinned and in return lifted Reginald with a massive hug. The sound of his bones cracking could be heard.
"Ouch! Hey! Put me down you big palooza!"
Ace could only laugh at this exchange.
A few minutes later...
"Right, so everyone knows their role?"
Reginald had shared his plan with the crew and they were all geared up for battle
"Yeah!".
"Let's get these Cronoa Bastards"
"Hahaha, this plan is crazy enough to work, no wonder you're the strategist"
Ace faced the army of 50 in front of him.
Besides him were Reginald, Vorus, Cain, Ruth, and Vidal
"Today! The world shall witness the rise of Aegis!"
Back at the fields, the two armies were facing one another.
Rada Khan came forward and Ace did the same.
"Are you the Commander of this army, A mere teenager? Hah!"
He mocked, liking the odds he was facing, a small army led by a kid against an army of hundreds under his command.
What he didn't know was that Ace was the one who defeated Vorus in the video Kira showed him the other time.
He urges the soldiers on his side.
"My companions! The time is nigh, we will purge this world of the impurities of these accursed Relics, and the people that worship them".
He pointed his sword forward.
"Attack!"
...
Nothing happened.
He looked around to witness that his entire army was gone. He grinds his teeth and turned towards Ace.
"You! What accursed Relic did you use?"
"Who me?" Ace pointed at himself acting like he didn't have anything to do with what just happened
"I didn't do a thing, you Bastard!"
Rada Khan was confused and frustrated, his army vanished and he was now all alone facing the opposition army.
'I'm sure this is the doings of a Relic but what type?'
He thought to himself, trying to figure out just what in the world is going on here.
He figured it wasn't an illusion-type Relic cause he would have felt their presence using Seismic Sense.
He couldn't feel a thing.
What he didn't know was that he was playing right into Reginald's trap...
A few moments ago, Reginald was explaining his plan to the crew.
"Eh! You're gonna transform into me?"
"Yes demon spawn"
Reginald is the owner of Lupin's Hat, one of the abilities he received was the power to transform into anyone.
Lupin was a master thief and a master of disguise.
Rada Khan had never met Ace so he wouldn't know who was the original.
"Ace and Vorus will take this path and circle around the army while I stand in as the commander of ours".
The plan was simple.
Reginald knew Ace and Vorus are two individuals with Vast amounts of Ain, if they could somehow combine their powers in unison, Ace could use his relic to control not just his shadow, but the shadow of the hundreds of soldiers.
He recalled how Ace had used His Shadow to follow him into the prison when he was arrested, he blended with the shadow completely and could move through narrow places.
Ace confirmed this hypothesis.
"It's possible to have their shadows absorb them but even with all that Ain it can only last for a little while"
"A little is all we need here, I will use my relic's other ability. 'Snatch Steal' which allows me to copy any relic ability and use it on the spot."
He snickered as he explained that part
"Hehe, a perfect ability for a Master thief don't you think?".
"We can actually win this!"Ace had his hands folded as he watched the General plopped in confusion.In front of him were the countless soldiers and Kira who got trapped by their own shadow.He dubbed this technique "Shadow Realm Prison."The inside of the shadow itself was a whole different dimension, that was why Rada Khan could not sense his army even after using seismic sense, an advanced ain technique in which the user could feel the presence of everything and everyone within the radius of their ain's aura.In this case, Rada Khan's Seismic Sense could reach well over one kilometer."We don't have much time, Regi should wrap this up"Ace was feeling the backlash of the hundreds of soldiers trying to use their aura to escape."If it goes on like this they'll escape in less than five minutes".
"Ahahaha, mommy stop".In an old and dusty shack with barely a plank of wood to call a roof, a little boy was being tickled by a woman."It tickles! Stop it! hahahahah".Scene shifts to the boy and his mother sitting on the floor with a roasted fish in front of them."Eat""But mommy...".The boy was all skinny and weak like his mom."I've eaten already so don't worry about me".He reluctantly picked up the fish knowing that she was lying, she looked pale and sick but had the warmest smile on her face warm enough to make them oblivious to the harsh downpour of rain that was pouring down on them.With only a single plank of wood to count on as a roof, the two were drenched in the rain.The scene changes once again.The boy was holding the hand of the woman
In a dark alleyway on the streets of Cronoa, a man was standing amidst a stack of dead bodies.His eyes, blinded with rage as he seeth the sword that was strapped on his waist.He then threw away the newspaper that he was holding which depicts the image of Rada Khan and a crossed picture of Ace.As the paper sways gently in the sky, the man vanished into thin air with a single thing raging on his mind...'Stupid brother, I will avenge you'"Achoo!"Ace and Vorus were currently on Dragonheart and on their way to find a healer that could heal Reginald."Achoo!"Ace was rubbing his hands together as he ended up folding his arms.He was now wearing a white scarf on his neck with his usual attire."Captain, are you sure you're alright"Vorus addressed his new c
"There!"An arrow was shot at a bird only for the bird to dodge."Shoot! Over there!""Argh! I can't concentrate if you keep yelling at my ear, Sir Vorus!"Conroy who was hopelessly trying to shoot a strange bird exclaims as he readied another arrow.They were currently on foot and a few meters away from their destination when suddenly they were attacked by a giant rainbow-colored bird with long talons."Sun purge!"Conroy shot another arrow only for the monstrous bird to swiftly dodge it.Vorus couldn't help but dodge incoming attacks from the bird as he was carrying a sick Ace on his back.With a mighty caw, the rainbow-colored bird started to flap its wings really fast generating a strong wind current that manages to push the adventurers back."Vorus, put me down.""But Captain, it's too dan-""Trust me."Ace who had barely regained consciousness got down from the big man's back and approached the bird."Look, the birds calming down."Conroy said as he put away his bow.Ace then ra
"What is it that my tea time couldn't wait, this better be good, Mel!"In the meeting chambers of one of the four Generals of Cronoa, General Mel had called upon the two other Generals for a meeting.General Mel was a tall and boisterous woman known for her ruthlessness and savagery in the entire Region.General Axel, the short muscular man who complained earlier had his feet placed on top of the meeting desk as he kept whining about being summoned to the meeting as he places his two broad swords on the desk."Now now, Axy. I'm sure Mely has a good reason for summoning us, let's hear her out."The one who spoke this time was General Gantala, the youngest of all the four Generals famous for his cunning tactics in war and recon."It's Axel! Pff whatever, carry on, Mel!""Thank you for coming on such short notice, I will cut straight to the point."She places a map on the desk and spreads it open as he continues."My spies have spotted the ark of our culprit around this area here."Axel
"You sure your brother's in there?"Ace and Rohan were currently staking an abandoned mansion in a darkling forest not far from Lily town.Rohan had spent an entire day unconscious, after he woke up, Ace narrated how his battle with Rada Khan went and how a mysterious person with a scythe came to the scene and picked him up."If they're using a scythe, it's definitely that witch." That was what Rohan said as he clenched his fists and slammed them on the desk."Luckily their hideout is not far from here and I know where it is.""Good, I'll help you find your brother, and then you will join my clan."Ace said cheerfully with sparkles in his eyes.He wanted Rohan to join Aegis because he was astonished by the swordsman's skills from earlier.'Had I not taken power from Malacoda, I would've lost.'That was the case.Similar to how he gave up a year of his life to defeat Rada Khan when he exhausted his powers, Ace made a deal again but this time around he wagered 3 months.It was one of th
"Kill switch!"The familiar attack created a huge explosion that crumbled a section of the walls of the room they were in.As the dust settles, the battered red-haired man was shown getting back up panting heavily."Huff. Huff. H-how could you hit me?"He was surprised over the fact that Ace had managed to trap him even though he was moving a couple of times faster than the speed of light."I wasn't just using my relics' power, I combined it with doping,but you still managed to strike me."Doping is one of the three basic techniques in using ain.As the name suggests, the user channels their ain and has it passing through their veins resulting in massive boosts in physical abilities.It's the opposite of aura which has the user exerting their ain outwards.He was using doping together with his boots of Hermes relic to maximize the speed he can reach thus no one could keep up with his speed.His eyes lit up as he disappears again.Back in the security room..."It seems like Chase is ge
Clank!Sparks flew as the hard metallic boots clashed with the sword made from an unbreakable substance.Reginald was breathing excessively as he gazes upon his opponent who was also trying to catch his breath.They have been attacking and canceling each other's attack for ten minutes now with neither side taking any hit.Neither has taken damage but they were both exhausted.For one, both of them couldn't use aura techniques which can only be used by individuals with massive ain reserves.They focused on using doping to boost their physical abilities past the human limit thus putting a lot of strain on their bodies.What's more, the two were both overlapping their doping with the power of their relics.The boots of Hermes which grant near-lightspeed powers and the Hat of Lupin, which copies the abilities of relics which in this case, was copying the powers of the boots. Transforming into an identical pair of boots.'The effect of combining two speed buffs is amazing. Demon spawn kept