Rise Of Steele

Arrival 4

"Ack! What are you doing!?"

Ace who had arrived with Rhea at the nick of time grabbed the blade that was aiming for the captured General's chest.

Before anybody could react to the sudden appearance of the ex-assassin, he sent Rohan flying with a punch.

"What in the world do you think you're doing!?"

"Tsk, it's none of your business." Rohan scoffs as he looks the other side not wanting to make eye contact with Ace. "This is the only way for justice to prevail."

He got back up and wipe Ace's blood that splattered all over his face from when he stopped the sword with his bare hands.

"Justice? You think killing him is justice?" Ace takes a few steps forward till he was standing face to face with Rohan.

"Rhea, what are you doing here? Did you bring the enemy here?"

"Jake, I know this may sound selfish, and I know how far you all went for me and I'm very grateful to you guys. But, let's forget the past and move on."

Jake widened his eyes as he couldn't believe what he's heard. He can understand the others giving up on their revenge, but Rhea?

She was the one who got framed. What's more, her fiancé was killed while she was locked up. It really did a number on her.

But here she was siding with the enemy and asking them to give up on their revenge.

He clenched his fists and approaches Ace.

"You! What mind-warping abilities did you use!?"

He exclaims as he grabs the ex-assassin by his collar.

"Jake! It's not like th-"

Just as she was about to intervene.

"Killswitch!"

Ace had knocked Jake away with his signature move.

He adjusted his collar and dusts his coat as he looks down at the man who grabbed his collar.

"My apologies, but I'm not in a good mood right now."

Jake was foaming in his mouth as Ace turns his attention back to Rohan.

'He knocked Jake out with a single blow?'

"Why were you trying to kill the very person you risked your life to save?"

Ace was angry and it was justifiable. Rohan had made a deal with him that if Ace helps him save his brother he would join his clan.

"It's none of your business what I do with him now, I plan on keeping my word."

Ace wasn't just angry that Rohan had just disregarded their deal.

From his side of the bargain, the deal was fulfilled giving that Rohan had found his brother alive. What he does with him afterward shouldn't have been of concern. But only if it was someone else and not Ace.

"I want nothing to do with a guy that would easily lose his resolve. I don't want you in my clan anymore."

Rohan had popped a vein. If anything, no one feels as terrible about any of this as he does.

Why was this stranger vexing about what he does with the man who was his enemy at one point?

"You were ready to take on me and my friends when you thought that I murdered your brother. Although I don't commend vengeance you were willing to go that far for him."

Ace grabs the swordsman by his collar. "What was it you said? Justice? If you truly sought justice you would have brought your brother back with you to Cronoa and have him pay for his crimes the right way. At the same time absolving Rhea."

That was the case. Rohan had enough backings to have his brother persecuted and at the same time, clear Rhea's name.

He looked down after realizing Ace's point.

"Self-guilt is a terrible feeling, I know that. But to think you'd let it cloud your reasoning and judgment. Pathetic. I'm out of here."

Ace makes his way towards the exit.

"Ace!"

Rohan called out to the ex-assassin.

Ace turns his head and sees Rohan bowing his head and wailing.

"Thank you! I will forever be in your debt."

"Hmph, you're still out of the clan." He walks out. Of the dungeon leaving Rhea who was tending to the unconscious Jake and Rohan alone.

"Now what?"

The one who spoke was Rada Khan as he kept quiet throughout the events that unfold.

"Now, I make you pay for your sins, the right way."

A few moments later, Ace had regrouped with the rest of the team.

"Good to see everyone's okay."

He looked at the once critical Conroy and Vorus as they were covered with bandages and have regained consciousness.

"Yeah well, it's all thanks to Ada's wings. This thing here does wonders!"

Before they left Shoot village, Shuntal had given Ace a sack filled with rainbow-colored wings.

"Whenever one of you youngins is injured, pop this up in your mouth and you'll be fine. Take it as a farewell gift from this old man."

So were the words of the Beast relic user as he gave them the wings.

Reginald had used them to help with Conroy's and Vorus' recovery.

" Say, where's Sir Rohan?"

" Oh, he won't be joining us anymore."

"Huh?"

They all tilted their heads as Ace narrates the events that transpired and how they led to his decision of kicking Rohan out before he could even join them.

"You mean... We risked our lives and fought for nothing!?"

Reginald grabbed Ace by the collar and shakes the ex-assassin excessively.

"Well, I won't say it's for nothing. First, we all participate in heated battles."

Ace says as Vorus grins and nods his head. He seems to be siding with him.

"Of course the big palooza will side with you. You both are power-hungry battle beasts!"

"I agree with Sir Reginald on this one. No offense."

The two "sane" members of the teams glared at their teammates.

"Most importantly though. Regi, Conroy, Vorus."

Ace says as he looks over at the trio with a bright smile across his face.

"You all have gotten stronger. Especially you, Regi."

"Of course I have!" Reginald feeling proud about being complemented began to gloat.

"I, the great Reginald Star have concurred my very formidable foe and rescued my teammates from certain doom!"

As Reginald was about to continue. Ace plops to the ground and fell asleep. The backlash from using shadow apex the previous night and fighting for so long had gotten to his body.

"You know, he kinda looks like a baby when he's not in his murderous state."

"Agreed."

"Affirmative."

The trio bursts into laughter as they shared a drink and could finally call it a night.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the group, someone had been keeping tabs on their battles at the mansion.

"These punks think they can just invade my home when I'm not around and wreck it?" The man who spoke had a sinister aura lurking around him as his eyes flash a purple light.

He finally calms down and the aura subsides while his eyes turned normal.

"Well, there's no point getting excited now. They are both promising rising clans. Let's see if they can reach Ainklad, then I'll have them answer for their deeds."

A week later and the gang was ready for their very first crypt raid together. That too, it was going to be one of the twelve zodiac crypts said to reward successful raiders with puzzle pieces.

They were currently atop a mountain a few meters away from Lily town.

Lily town is a special place for all clans as most clans start their adventures here.

Some fail to solve the crypt's challenge and have to wait three months to re-take the challenge again.

"Huff. Huff. Remind me again why we didn't take the ark and instead hiked all the way here?"

Reginald who looked as if he was going to collapse was barely catching his breath.

"Adventure my friend. Adventure."

Ace pats him on the back as the thief loses balance and slips falling face-first into the ground.

The rest laughed at this sight as the thief picks himself up and begins to dust the snow off his coat.

'Note self: Murder these three when they're asleep. Or better yet, poison them.'

"Wait a sec, don't we need have to be an authorized clan to raid crypts like this?"

Authorized clans are clans that possess a considerable level of honor and fame in the world.

"Actually, zodiac crypts don't require a license or authorization, Sir Reginald."

"Ohh, well, phew! that's that. I'm glad we don't have to run into any more trouble."

Zodiac crypts and crypts that pose an imminent danger do not require authorization before being raided. The latter being allowed for security reasons.

Although this is only the case for crypts that appear in populated areas or areas within the regime of a nation or in some cases, districts.

Anyone is free to raid crypts that appear in remote and isolated places. Many crypts lay dormant in hidden places around the world such as the one Vorus found during his journey.

The authority of a clan is determined by how many zodiac crypts they've raided successfully.

A clan that has raided all A-Rank zodiac crypts is free to raid any crypt that is A-rank and below.

"We'r "Huff. Huff. Huff. Finally made it."

Reginald was carrying an unconscious Conroy as he arrives at the ark.

He lumps the archer on the bed and takes a moment to catch his breath.

"Now for the big palooza."

Vorus was nowhere to be seen as Reginald only arrived with Conroy. Where could he possibly be?

"Undo shadow realm prison!"

The shadow lurking around Reginald swells as the large warrior appears out of it.

Reginald had used snatch steal once again and copied Ace's relic. He then activated the shadow technique that Ace used to send Reginald to the shadow realm when he was in a critical condition.

It was all so that he could carry the both of them to safety while Ace wraps up the battle.

"Now where did we stash old man Shuntal's medicine?"

Rohan was kneeling with his arms spread apart as awaits his faith.

Jake clenched the handle of his sword hard as he charges at the other swordsman.

Rohan closes his eyes and a great silence enveloped the room. He opened his eyes to see the blade pointing at his forehead.

He raised his head to see an infuriating look on the face of his former friend.

"You think that death will make things better!?" He punched Rohan so hard the sound of bones cracking could be heard.

"All we want is justice! Justice for the way that we were treated!" He wiped off the tears on his face.

The five friends were abandoned by their nation, why? Because they agreed to become a unit that uses the very thing the nation stood against.

Although the nation decided to have a unit that uses relics, they were abandoned because of the conniving planning of Rada Khan.

"Is it wrong that we wanted revenge for what he's done to us?"

Rohan had an apologetic look on his face and couldn't bring himself up to answer Jake's question.

He felt like the worse kind of thrash that turned a blind eye to the injustice that befell his friends.

He felt guilty because he repeatedly chose his brother over the people that were also like family to him.

He even went to the extent of attacking Ace when his brother was reported dead.

Rohan loved and cherished his brother. It was this same love that forced him to make the wrong decisions that he made.

He knew apologizing was as useless as a glass hammer.

Crack!

Wam!

Crack!

Jake was sitting on top of Rohan and was brutally punching him as he wailed.

"They took everything from us! We had to live in an abandoned mansion away from prying eyes in another region!"

Crack!

"And yet, you came all the way here with reinforcements too just so you could save your brother? Everything's for your brother!"

Wam!

Blood splatters on Jake's face as he keeps up on the assault.

"If you're really sorry, kill your brother with your own two hands!"

Jake stopped the assault as he stood up, seethe's his sword, and turns his back.

Rohan sat up, his face swollen and covered with blood.

"If that will make you guys forgive me, then so be it. Take me to my brother."

The two began to head towards the hidden dungeon room of the mansion.

Meanwhile...

"I-i-i surrender." Rhea who was sweating bullets and breathing heavily said as she plopped to the floor.

Ace exhibited a level of killer instinct that made her feel as if she had died ten times over in the past few seconds.

She had been in countless battles and life-threatening situations but what she experienced today was something inhuman.

A monster, a beast, a fiend. She couldn't even begin to imagine the type of childhood that the man in front of her had.

True to what he said to her.

"Your darkness is greater than mine." She bowed her head as she admits. Compared to what Ace had experienced in his life, her current condition was a luxury.

Ace's shadow returned to its natural position as the ex-assassin had his usual smile on his face once again.

"As I said, I don't care about your revenge as long as I get what I want. I hold no enmity with any of you."

That was the case. Ace had fun during his encounter with the enders clan. He fought someone who could move faster than light and another who could attack the very soul of her opponents.

'I can sense that Reginald and the rest are safe and okay in the ark.'

That was another reason he wasn't worried.

He had used seismic sense to grab a hold on the current condition of their battles.

He could sense the pulse of the others in the ark. They were also currently out of danger and awake as Reginald had administered the special medicine they had received from Shuntal prior to their arrival to Lily town.

"It seems Rohan had found his brother."

He looked on to Rhea as he offers her a hand.

"Take me to where Radakar is."

She pauses for a moment as she stares blankly at the radiant smile on his face as he offers her a hand. She could feel her heart skip a beat as she grabbed hold of his hand.

'Was he the same person that was exhibiting so much killer intent just now?'

She obliged following the sacred codes of war. The loser has to give the winning side what they want.

She smiled as he stood up.

She had completely forgotten about her revenge and was lost in the ex-assassin's blue as sea eyes.

Her heart throbbed more and more.

She had nothing but admiration towards her opponent.

If a regular person had experienced half the things Ace had gone through in his life, they'd be locked up in an asylum by now.

But this man had the mental strength to push forward and seek out an adventure instead of living in the past as she did.

She might not know exactly what he's been through but it was evident from the way he acted earlier that he was no ordinary man.

She respected him more as he hadn't lost his smile provided the kind of life that he lived.

Rhea didn't know when her hunger for vengeance vanished and the void was filled with another emotion.

At one, she gazes upon his eyes which were as blue as the seven seas and the clear sky above. Her cheeks turned red as she stutters in her speech.

"F-follow m-me."

She looked innocent as Ace couldn't help but admire her natural beauty.

She was tall, confident, and had the person figure in the right proportions. No man could look at her and not admit that she's not divine.

In the hidden dungeon of the mansion.

"Hello, brother."

Rada Khan raised his head to be met with the gaze of his younger brother on the other side of the steel bars made with Fellium metal. He had his arms spread apart with chains.

Jake unlocks the cage with a key and steps ahead gesturing for Rohan to enter and keep with his words.

What better way to take revenge on Rada Khan than to have him die at the hands of his beloved brother?

Rada Khan seemed to have grasped the current situation as he closes his eyes and spoke.

"Just get it over with."

Jake had a devious smile on his face as he eagerly awaits for their revenge to finally be achieved.

Rohan draws his sword and grabs the right shoulder of his brother. He looks at him in an apologetic way.

He feels sad that there was no other way now, he had to end this cycle of hate and the injustice that befell his childhood friends.

He closes in on his brother's ear and whispers 'I'm sorry, brother. Thank you for raising me.'

He pulls his sword back ready to thrust it through the General's heart and finally put an end to things.

Rohan paused and chuckles a bit.

He was laughing at his strange fate.

He attacked Ace whom he deemed as an enemy only to suffer a crushing defeat.

He later learns that his brother was very much alive and devised a plan to save him.

He ended up making a deal with Ace, a relic user. The very kind of people that were declared sworn enemies to his home Region.

He would join the clan of this stranger who had offered him help to save his brother.

After all the struggle and the battles that raged on in the mansion, his heart gave in to the accumulated guilt that he had buried deep inside of him.

He gave up on his life and saving his brother to repent for the injustice that befell his friends which he had indirectly played a part in.

And now, he was told that the only way for him to repent is to take his brother's life with his own hands.

Rohan shook his head and cleared out these thoughts as a look of determination spread across his face.

He tightened the grip on his sword and thrust it forward as blood splatters all over his face.e here."

As the four braves take their final steps towards the top of the mountain, they prepped themselves physically and mentally for the next chapter in their adventure together.

"Let's do this thing!"