It was in the middle of September when Celestia had finally returned home, to the Sunken Metropolis. As expected, her and Zeke’s long disappearance had caused a lot of worry in their entourage, but they were left with no answers for a long time. The only people who knew a little bit about the matter were Sulong, Jeremy, and Jack, who refused to answer anything, even when Edward personally came. The trip back to the Nezulian Republic was, at least, comfortable for Celestia. She was escorted by the Witch of Destruction all the way to the border, and from then on, she travelled on foot until the nearest big settlement. “What’s wrong, sweety?” In the fancy manor in which the Black household lived, Celestia’s father softly smiled and asked his absentminded daughter. “A-ah… nothing.” Unlike her usual rebellious and defiant attitude, Celestia was, for most of the time, in a daze and responded with perfunctory answers. “I didn’t believe them when they said you went and got yourself kil
Weeks and then months passed since Celestia’s return to the Sunken Metropolis.Erys' students returned to the academy and continued their life, and the Special Investigation Squad continued taking care of clandestine and dangerous matters happening all around the school, though such matters were very scarce.However, there had been an unexpected development concerning one of Erys’ top students: Celestia Black.Two months after her return, she reached all the necessary conditions to graduate. It was said that the Principal personally offered her a lucrative deal, but the girl refused on the spot and, most surprisingly, went to work for the Lightning Flame Merc Company.Her inexplicable actions put more attention on the company and heightened its rise to flame a lot.In fact, the Lightning Flame Merc Company grew so ‘popular’ that all kinds of political and military individuals would hire it for their personal use. At some point, Sulong Braveheart and Celestia Black were visited by Gen
[Full-body reconstruction completed (95%): All stats have been increased.] [Special Mission ‘Missing Eye’ has been initiated: A system Holder’s eyes are irreplaceable and must be protected at all costs. They are directly affected by the System and allow the user to access the Status Windows and interact with the System. User ‘Zeke Orland’, Divine Thunder, must retrieve his missing eye. Rewards: ??? Location of the eye: 5724Km South-West.] [Some of the standard Main-Paths have either been removed or updated. Please check the menu for more details.] [Special Mission ‘Demonic Heart’ has been initiated: After resisting the third Tribulation, all users must undergo the process known as ‘System Merge’. However, user ‘Zeke Orland’ is missing his real heart. Find the Demonic Heart to proceed with System Merge. Optional Objectives: - Learn the truth behind the user’s birth and forgotten past. -Learn the identity of the leader of the Ascetic Blasphemers.] [User: Zeke Orland] [Title:
Crystal City, HQ of the Blood Ghouls.After the failed raid against the Warlord and his people, the bandit group known as the Blood Ghouls had spread their wings across the entirety of the Kingsmen’s Ruins. All opposing factions were either wiped or integrated into their midst.The Mad Dogs, led by the siblings, had quickly surrendered shortly after Zeke’s disappearance. However, the Silver Daggers, led by Zenzo Jyk, were brutally massacred.Their leader, who was defiant to the last second, was spared by Paul but imprisoned in an inescapable cell. He became a toy for the Warlord, kept alive to be mocked or tortured depending on the boss’ mood.In fact, Sena and Roger very much liked to visit their old ‘rival’ and boost their ego by ridiculing his pitiful and miserable state.There was a small celebration atop the pagoda tonight. A large feast was prepared for the higher-ups of the gang; Bards and musicians were playing the instruments and melodiously singing as the atmosphere was ligh
“Ah!! Ahh!!”Paul Franxi was wailing in pain and agony as his hand was cut off and her body was impaled by four spikes made of condensed thunder. No matter how much he tried to resist to free himself, he couldn’t. A fountain of blood was splattering all around him and the pain was making him dizzy.Even his tough body wasn’t able to resist all the critical damage he had just sustained.With a flick of his hand, Zeke made the spikes lift the man off the ground and position him right to the front.“Are you ready to answer?”Totally incapacitated and afraid to die, Paul was barely able to nod his head once as his skin turned pale and blood leaked out of his lips.“Very good. First; Why did Red Mask Fanti Fan target me?”“Ah….”The Warlord tried to respond, but his body was an absolute wreck and he couldn’t utter a single word.Zeke snorted and removed the spikes, but numerous small currents of voltage enveloped the man and kept him floating a few inches above the ground.It took a good m
“Hmmm where should I start?” With a hand caressing his cut-beard, Zenzo Jyk deliberated for several seconds before beginning, “If we’re talking about the most important events, then the war between the Serey Zhan Empire and the Nezulian Republic surely takes the cake.” Zeke deeply creased his brow, but he didn’t interrupt the man. “It didn’t happen right after your disappearance, it was more like a progressive start, so to speak. The Imperials’ army marched Eastwards and when they were dangerously close to the republic’s border, it resulted in a couple of inconsequential skirmishes… all of which were won by the former. It was then that the republicans deployed their heavy technologic artillery and retaliated with full-force. However, in comparison to the Imperials, their armies were small and they relied on their artifacts and military-grade killing machines.” “Is the war over?” “No.” With a stoic face, Zenzo shook his head once, “It reached a stalemate. To better understand, you
Zeke conversed with Zenzo and Destiny for two whole hours. The two tried their best to inform him of what happened during his 5-year ‘hiatus’, so to speak. Unfortunately, Destiny had constantly been on the run from the Warlord and his goons and Zenzo was locked up in the basement, so the two didn’t have an opportunity to gather enough detailed information. Most of what they recounted was either rumors or hearsay.The last strange or perhaps odd thing was the disappearance of Jennifer Savbra one month ago. Apparently, her outpost had been attacked and some witches were killed. The identity of the assailants remained unknown.Nonetheless, Zeke was pleased with what he had learnt and had a better grasp of the general situation.The Serey Zhan Empire attacked the Nezulian Republic, therefore, the latter fiercely retaliated using an artificially-made Dead Ends. As a result of that, perhaps, the real Dead Ends, which originated from where the nuke had fallen, sporadically spread until it co
“Look, the place is sealed up and we’ve got more important things to take care of.”General Zhang was having a meeting with several high-ranking officials, including Minister Bhak Djinn and the irritated and foul-mouthed Teresa King.Once she heard his dismissive and pretty uninterested response, the Minister of External Affairs banged her fist on the table, startling everyone.“Sealed up? It’s a very serious matter, Zhang! While you’re wasting resources and manpower in replicating the godforsaken Dead Ends, there’s something more dangerous lurking close to us.”“Dangerous? Come on, Teresa.” The red-haired General chuckled and shrugged, “No offense, but it’s not particularly unusual for one of your ‘secret’ subordinates to go missing or die during their, likewise, ‘secret’ expeditions. I understand where you’re coming from, but the Imperials are at hour heels and not even the Dead Ends seem to be stopping them anymore. That damned Elena is insufferably stubborn.”“I agree.” Spoke the