Within Therris's Right Claw, Hyeon Bae and the others practiced with their assigned instruments, each of them trying to find their synchronized rhythms and melodies. Virgil stood at the conductor stand, watching them with Su-Yun guiding each of them with a four count rhythm.
Hyeon Bae wiped the sweat off her forehead with a soft exhale, setting her drumsticks down and looked up at the roof of the tower. "What are we doing wrong? We can't seem to even get one of Mr. Virgil's Angels to sing..."
"You're getting tired too? I don't have the stamina to keep getting low and stomping the ground..." Song Jae-in huffed, collapsing onto her knees and fanning herself with her hand.
Ko Su-Mi stopped playing her keyboard and took her seat, using her hand to flip her hair from her face. "Tch...music isn't even my strong suit. I have no knowledge on music theory, so what's the point?"
Choko exhaled softly through her nose and placed a hand upon her hip. "Seriously? We're all just giving up like that? No drive? No ambition? Hyeon Bae is the only one here who gets a pass for her low Ambition Rank, Class 12-A took all that away from her to begin with!"
"Oh, you're the one to talk, Ms. Empress of the Land! Ha! You were the first one to find her team yesterday and went all out even. A team of C Ranks having to use full strength against two F Ranks and a C+ Rank?" Ko Su-Mi scoffed, looking over at Choko with a smug expression.
"Besides, I wouldn't expect a Japanese to understand how us Koreans feel or understand how our friendship works. If you don't have the skills, you're seen as scum here in this prestigious school," Su-Mi finished with a snarky tone, turning her attention back to her phone.
"Hey...! There's nothing wrong with being Japanese because I know what you're insinuating..! We understand how you think and it's just this class is filled with entitled bullies..!" Reene spoke up, a look of defiance filling her face as her gaze locked upon Ko Su-Mi.
Ko Su-Mi glanced up at Reene, rolling her eyes at her then looked back down at her phone, ignoring her completely. Virgil continued to watch silently, leaning against the stand in front of him with a curious expression. Only four of the girls had good synergy, but one sheep refused to follow the flock.
Su-Yun exhaled softly and set her guitar down then walked over to Ko Su-Mi. "Ko Su-Mi. What's the issue? You were one of the toughest students yesterday, so why the sudden change?"
"Like I said before, music isn't something I like to do. Everyone seems so onboard to follow this idea of listening to a ghost give us instructions, but no one ever doubts why we are here?" Ko Su-Mi scoffed, looking up at Su-Yun with a light glare.
"Teaching us a lesson on Kindness, but what is there to learn here? We have no rhythm, no sound, there's not enough Ambition or Passion here, everyone here sucks!" Ko Su-Mi continued boldly, turning her gaze back to her phone.
Hyeon Bae stared at Ko Su-Mi, her expression changing to a righteous glare before picking up her drumsticks once more. She turned her attention to her drums, beginning to play the drums in a freestyle manner. The bass of the drums began to play on their own, Hyeon Bae's Holy Fire beginning to emit from her chest.
Go...
go...
Go...
go...
Song Jae-in and the others heard the soft voice cheering Hyeon Bae on as she played, the tower suddenly becoming filled with angelic voices and synths. The deep bass began to cause the tower to rumble, the power of the music causing Hyeon Bae to play even harder.
Because of Hyeon Bae's desire and passion to prove Ko Su-Mi wrong, her desire to not be looked down upon by Class 12-A, her Holy Fire began to grow stronger. Her energy began to inspire Song Jae-in to get up onto her feet, her body beginning to move on its own.
Virgil couldn't help but smile as he heard the angels singing behind him, his eyes never leaving the sight of Hyeon Bae playing the drums with all her might and marching in step. Beside her, Reene couldn't help but to move her body to the rhythm as well. Each roll of the drums, each step pattern, each part of the drum only excited Reene and Song Jae-in's Spirits more, their bodies unable to stop moving.
One, two, three, four...
Ask and you'll receive...
I open the door...
All I need is for you to believe...
"All who have heard Her, listen. Genesis is speaking the Word of God to you through your music. All the Lord needs is your faith and your belief and He shall do the rest!" Virgil inspired, standing up straight and chuckling softly as he began directing the angels.
Reene picked up her guitar and stomped her foot down, her right eye flashing a beautiful sardon color and a holy ember igniting at her chest as she began to play, her guitar screaming beautifully with the music. The music filled the tower, a bright light illuminating the darkness of the tower, the first wall panel of the tower turning on and generating power to the tower.
Hyeon Bae let out a slightly exhausted sigh, setting the drumsticks down upon the snares then wiped the sweat off her forehead with a smile. She noticed the power was turned on, but the tower wasn't at its full strength to be activated. "We got some power in here..."
"Yeah, finally a breakthrough... What now? Are we done?" Jae-in asked, her gaze shifting between Reene and Hyeon Bae with curiosity.
Reene adjusted the strap of her guitar around her shoulder, the single hair strand atop of her head twitching as she began to sense something nearby. "Wait...we aren't even close. There's something nearby..."
"Well, well. You have very high Spiritual Awareness, Reene Kagosaki," A mysterious voice spoke, the figure coming out of the shadows of the tower and revealing himself to everyone.
The man had short silver hair that stopped at his neck, his eyes shimmering a divine green color, his pupils very subtly having serpentine properties. He wore a white long coat, black gloves, and white boots to match his attire. In his hands was a screaming guitar of his own, the body of the guitar having angelic wings at the sides.
Su-Yun quickly had the girls come behind her, her Bolt Chaser Battlesuit appearing upon her body instinctively due to the threat. Goosebumps rode along her arms, the hairs on the back of her neck standing as warning. "Who the heck are you?"
The man hummed at Su-Yun's question then held the neck of his guitar in his left hand. "God sent me down here to join you on your lesson about Kindness. Class 12-A, it is full of evil...that we agree upon right?"
Reene glanced between the man and Su-Yun, her heart beginning to race as she sensed something was wrong but her Discernment wasn't high enough to tell. "Ms. Sa Nu Rim?"
Su-Yun's right ear twitched as Reene called upon her, the tension in her body rising as she didn't know what to do. Her mind was telling her the Angel of Light, yet her flesh saw a beautiful angel before her. She couldn't do anything except stare at the angel before her, her hands balling into fists.
The angel smirked and turned to look at Su-Yun, meeting her gaze and facing her fully. "You want to activate this tower? God said you must do your work to get it on, but fear not as I will be here to help you.."
Ko Su-Mi, the once bold and dismissive one, was now the most frightened, her legs quivering before the divinity before her. She couldn't wrap her head around the encounter, her body falling upon her knees in reverence. She couldn't understand what was happening, but knew this was a divine encounter.
Virgil stepped off the conductor stand and slipped his baton into his elegant vest, his gaze never leaving the mysterious angel. "Strange...you appear and only one student falls in reverence. Usually, the first thing an angel does is say 'Be not afraid'."
"So, are you truly an angel of God, or an angel of Fear? You look no stronger than Dominion Angel Level," Virgil questioned, standing in between the six girls and the angel.
The angel stared at Virgil, studying his appearance and noticed a Sigil glowing upon his hand, the Mark of God. Virgil's body instinctively got ready and took his baton out of his pocket, angelic feathers appearing around his body and circling around him.
"Virgil David... You seem to be very attuned to God, but I don't want out fun to end just yet. Now yet...the true fun is only just starting," The angel chuckled, gripping his guitar then strummed a chord, releasing a blast of soundwaves toward Virgil.
Virgil rose his arms, musical sheets forming in front of him as a barrier then whole notes formed upon the sheet. Virgil began firing energy blasts at the angel through the whole notes, but the notes only phased through the angel.
"It's unfortunate...that you can not hit me. After all, a human can not contend against an angel. Jacob may have wrestled, but he left with a broken hip losing the fight. It's either you listen to the message from God, or suffer the consequences," The angel sneered, stepping forward and locked eyes with the students behind Virgil and Su-Yun.
Hyeon Bae stared at the mysterious angel then grabbed her drum sticks once more, holding them out for something beside her to grab them. Suddenly, an angel with divine green wings appeared beside Hyeon Bae and took the drum sticks.
"I don't know if this angel is one of your own, that's why I want you to test him," Hyeon Bae said, looking up at her guardian angel and waited for an answer.
Her guardian angel looked down at Hyeon Bae then looked back at the mysterious angel before tapping the snares twice with the left stick then three times with the right. Suddenly, five arrows appeared around the mysterious angel in a hostile manner, preparing to eliminate him.
The mysterious angel phased through the arrows then became a light silhouette and warped into the air, a single wing manifesting upon his back to keep him afloat. "Now, now there Oriel. No need to be hostile now..~"
Oriel began playing a step, stutter pattern upon the drums, each note played summoning an arrow to fire at the angel. "You are no Angel of God, imposter. You do not have favor with God as revealed as your singular wing..."
The angel dodged each arrow then flew to the ground in a spiral motion before landed on both feet, the strings upon his guitar shining brightly. "Oh? Did God tell you that?"
Suddenly, the angel strummed a screaming chord upon his guitar, the soundwaves generating a powerful wind to blow. The strong winds hit Virgil and the others, blowing them outside of the tower with the angel following fight behind and taking flight to the skies.
Choko recovered first, springing backwards off one hand then landed upon her feet. She held her hand up toward the angel, roots sprouting from the ground and shooting up to try to grab the angel. The angel weaved around the roots in the air then slashed in a circular motion, cutting each root surrounding him in two.
The angel laughed lightly at Choko's attempts to subdue him, toying with Choko as he avoided each of her attempts and allowed her to tire herself out. "It's pointless to try to fight against me. If only you would have listened, you wouldn't be in this situation. I am here to help you mortals."
"Help us? We need to be inside the tower for me to even give the tower power! You've dragged us outside! Who are you?!" Virgil asked, his tone frustratingly demanding answers from the angel above.
The mysterious angel stared at Virgil and the others below, landing atop of the tower and smirking at each of them. "Konton, Luxius, Ayin, I have many names I go by...many names that God has given me. I am an angel that has been there since the beginning of man."
"Who?" Su-Yun asked, raising a brow and her cat ears folding backwards in confusion.
The angel looked down at Su-Yun then stepped off the building, slowly descending to the ground and planted his feet upon the ground. "I am the closest angel to God, and I am here to test you. To see if you're even worthy of fully powering the tower. So far, you've proven to not be good enough.."
Virgil grunted softly at the angel's claim, his expression growing more serious once the revelation hit. "There's no way you're here...Lucifer.."
The angel chuckled softly at Virgil's statement then placed his hand over his heart, feigning a hurt expression. "Now, now...you don't go around calling Noxius 'Yesha' do you? However...you are on the right path."
"I've watched what has been happening here, and I just thought I could spice it up a bit! So, let's turn up the music!" The angel laughed, strumming his guitar powerfully and unleashing a beam of nether energy toward Virgil and the others.
Quickly, Su-Yun rushed forward like a bolt of lightning and struck the beam with her Blitz Strike, grunting heavily with distress as the beam immediately began to overpower her. The beam slowly dissolved, but the angel appeared in front of Su-Yun, catching her off guard with a launching kick to her chest.
The girls gasped as they watched their professor fly past them, the five of them turning their attentions to the angel in front of them. None of them knew who this angel was or what they wanted, only knowing he was extremely dangerous. They all began to back away from him, not knowing what actions to take next.
"Be not afraid, for I will show you the true way. You want to know my name? You can call me... Cetus," The angel chuckled, a dark zodiac symbol flashing upon his chest and a rush of water began surrounding his body. "These towers...must not be activated. If so, you will bring destruction to your school."
"The Lord is my light and salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall," Luciel's voice sounded from above, her angelic presence descending down to the ground.
"Ahh...Psalms 27 from The Biblos, or in your language, Hymn 27 from The Chronicles. You're a professor now, so what do you teach? Do you teach the same Yesha from The Chronicles, or do you teach a different one if even at all?" The angel questioned, preparing to play another chord on his guitar.
"The Old Covenant in the Chronicles is the exact same as the Biblos, just written in our language. The New Covenant was God's promise to save our land from you! It was never about replacing Yesha, but reminding with world filled with wickedness about Yesha's sacrifice!" Luciel pointed at Cetus, her Warden Butterflies manifesting around her body.
"Oh? So you're saying Nox is not the prophesized messiah who will save this Earth? Then who will? Ascea? I thought Nox was Him incarnated? Is that not true? In the Books of Nina, Lily, April, and August, it talks about a man born of lament who will take on the last bit of grief of this world," Cetus questioned, a sly smirk playing on his face as he paced around.
"Mirrors Yesha's story a lot...the Prophet—"
"Let me stop you right there!" Luciel interrupted, taking a step forward with an expression of righteous anger etched upon her face. "You dare to call my Lord a Prophet? The Son of God? No...Yesha IS God, and when you speak about Him you speak about Him with respect!"
Cetus's smirk grew even larger at Luciel's defense of Yesha, raising a brow at Luciel then chuckled lightly. "Oh? Nox also claimed to be Son of God, so is Nox a liar? Who truly is Noxius Ascea Exzodia? If I am Lucifer, he is something far worse...Terminus if you will."
"The Reminder! There's a reason why one of Nox's titles is Spiritual Husband, the Bridegroom. Like me, Nox is also married to God. Married to Yuvah. We choose God even when we don't want to, even when our flesh tells us not to. God is our Rock, our strength, our shield!" Luciel answered, her aura shifting between colors of lavender, white, and light blue.
Suddenly, an arpeggio began playing aloud from Choko's keyboard followed by the voices of the angels singing behind the girls. A second set of angels began chanting as Hyeon Bae's drums began playing by themselves. Song Jae-in couldn't help but to slightly move her head to the beat, her lips moving to the side with confusion on what to do.
Once the chorus hit, Luciel's aura surged around her body and she became a blur as she rushed toward Cetus with a Origin Palm. Cetus clashed with her with his Devouring Fist, his fist absorbing Luciel's holy aura upon clashing with her. The two began rapidly striking and dodging each other's attacks before Cetus kicked Luciel backwards.
"You've changed not one bit, Luciel Winters. Still the weak little girl I once knew at the Fosters House. Too weak to protect your Messiah, Nox. Too weak to protect your family, and now you'll be too weak to teach and save Class 12-A!" Cetus boasted and laughed, but suddenly groaned in pain as a flashing figure strike his stomach.
Su-Yun let out a roar as she Valkyria Shifted into her Attack Mode, powerful red energy surging around her body as tiger strikes appeared around her gauntlets. "Tigris Drive!"
Cetus grunted heavily in shock and pain as Su-Yun began driving him backwards, his mind unable to wrap about Su-Yun's increased prowess until he noticed her Holy Fire surging upon her chest. He quickly teleported behind her, but Su-Yun's enhanced senses allowed her to successfully block his attack.
"Girls! You must keep playing! Keep Worshipping and activate the tower! This guy is distracting you!" Su-Yun called out before leaping backwards to dodge Cetus's attacks.
"This tower is the Tower of Worship! This is not just any tower, but a Temple! A temple that is being desecrated by the enemy! We aren't strong enough to beat him alone, but through your obedience, you can call upon the One who can!" Luciel guided, spreading her wings and taking flight to the skies.
Cetus laughed at the two, spreading his wings as well and taking flight. "Calling upon Nox? He can barely even send his spirit to Woo-Chi, so how can he manage to appear here? Incarnation of Ascea, Yesha's Spirit on this planet, yet can not be there when it counts! Just like for his brother Zachary!"
Luciel's eyes began to glow like fire as Cetus mocked Zachary's death, her breathing growing slightly heavier as subtle black lightning crackled around her body. She shook her head, putting her focus back upon Yuvah and exhaled softly, only focusing upon protecting Hyeon Bae and the others.
"Come on, girls! Let's give Yuvah the worship He deserves so He can empower Ms. Winters and Ms. Sa Nu Rim!" Hyeon Bae encouraged, turning to look at her classmates with a determined gaze.
Hesitant, yet willing, each girl took their position and prepared themselves to play a song. First, heavenly synths with effects of dripping water began to sound in the air followed by a heavy bass from the heavens that caused the ground to rumble. Next, the divine voices of the angels began to sing, their presences becoming visible.
Hyeon Bae nodded her head in time with the music, twirling her drumsticks and began to play and March in place while Oriel played the bass of the drums behind her. Song Jae-in, Ko Su-Mi, and Choko danced in the background while their instruments played on their own, Reene walking up beside Hyeon Bae to begin her part.
"Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!" Reene yelled out, strumming her guitar to the melody, her Holy Ember slowly growing into Holy Fire.
Cetus listened to the music coming from below as he dodged Luciel and Su-Yun's attack, warping to the ground then shifted his guitar into drumsticks and began walking toward Hyeon Bae. "I will not allow you to activate that tower.."
Suddenly, drums made from nether energy formed in front of Cetus and he began playing a cadence, arrows of darkness and fiery tips forming at his sides. Choko stomped her foot down, releasing a deep, rumbling bass note that caused a rock wall to form in front of Hyeon Bae. Hyeon Bae glanced behind her with shock, noticing Choko and the others supporting her.
"Hyeon Bae, don't worry! We've got you!" Choko called out with a smile on her face, giving her a nod.
"It's you he wants! It's something about you he's targeting!" Reene called out, grunting softly from each chipping stone from the rock wall flying past her.
Hyeon Bae looked ahead, through the opening of the rock wall to see Cetus still playing his cadence then stomped her foot down to summon Hoon. Hoon let out his howl and hurried in front of Hyeon Bae, casting a spirit shield in front of his owner and her allies.
Now, Hyeon Bae began playing her solo in a freestyle manner while marching in place, Song Jae-in and the others behind her dancing in step. As Hyeon Bae played, arrows of light began to form and fire toward Cetus, the arrows slowly piercing through his shield and holy facade.
"Go! Go! Go, Hyeon Bae! Go, Hyeon Bae!" Song Jae-in cheered as she danced, her body now moving on its own as she entered a flow state.
"Go! Go! Go! Go! Gooo!" Reene cheered as she hopped up and down in place, spinning in a circle with pure joy etched onto her face.
"C'mon! Let's go, Hyeon Bae!" Choko cheered as she danced, her body unable to stop moving as she felt God's presence in full.
Hyeon Bae bobbed her head with energy, her hair whipping around as she played the drums with all her might. Her Holy Fire began to grow as she began to let out yells for the Lord, the Angels in the sky chanting for Hyeon Bae as she continued to let her Spirit speak for her.
Cetus began to sweat as he was getting pushed onto the back foot, the onslaught of holy arrows shattering through his shield, one arrow piercing through his core. He groaned heavily in pain, staggering backward then fell onto one knee.
'What..? What is this..? Since the beginning of time...Humans haven't been able to damage me other than Henosis, Michael, Squad V, and Nox. What happened..?' Cetus questioned, glancing up slowly to see Hyeon Bae and the girls worshipping Yuvah with all their might.
Hyeon Bae stomped on the ground as she played the drums, each beat of the drums causing light quakes upon the ground. Soon, the drumsticks moved on their own, Hyeon Bae stepping away from the drums to dance with the girls, all five of them cheering and moving around with tears of joy rushing down their cheeks.
Luciel and Su-Yun watched the heavenly scene from above, Luciel unable to stop smiling as she watched each student get along with one another. Su-Yun glanced around at the skies around them, seeing the angels watching over the girls and protecting them from Cetus.
Cetus slowly rose to his feet, the holiness of his presence slowly dimming away, black clouds faintly becoming visible around his body. He softly chuckled, balling one of his hands into a fist, black lightning crackling around his arm.
"Alright, you can worship God with your lips and your Spirit, but...can you bodies hold to the challenge?" The angel in front of the students asked, his appearance changing to a man with short silver hair with a black long coat and an odachi in hand.
Luciel immediately recognized the man and gasped, covering her mouth. "Merin?!"
Without giving anyone a chance to react, Merin charged toward Hyeon Bae and the others for a swift killing blow, but Choko immediately rushed forward and raised another stone wall. Merin's sword easily sliced the wall in two like a hot knife against butter, all five of the girls freezing in fear at Merin's strength.
"Now, let's start the true lesson, shall we?" Merin chuckled mischievously, flipping his sword to the non lethal side of the blade.
Merin swung his sword at Hyeon Bae's neck, aiming to critically injure her but one of her Stigmata upon her neck began to shine brightly. An angel appeared at her side, blocking Merin's sword with his shield and grunted lightly at Merin's strength. Merin became more interested in Hyeon Bae's Delirium, his grin widening.
As he went to slice once again, an invisible force parried his attack and knocked his sword out of his hand. Merin rose an eyebrow then glanced around, groaning heavily as another invisible force struck his body with heavenly force. He stumbled backwards and fell upon one knee, clutching his stomach and glancing up with blurred vision.
"Truly, you are smarter than this, Merin. To have followed me to St. Goken, and appear this early in my mission. The Black Waves must be that important to you, yet you forget it is I who quells even the harshest of storms," My voice sounded in front of Merin, standing in guard of Hyeon Bae and her friends.
Merin slowly glanced up, his eyes slightly widening as he noticed me then his lips formed into a frustrated grin. "Noxius... Nox, our last battle was not a true victory! Having Yascea's help, you truly are weak! And they call you this generation's Messiah?"
I glanced back at Hyeon Bae and the other girls, giving them a warm smile and turning around to look at my lambs. Guiding them gently, I began to usher them to a safe area of the arena we stood in. "You five continue to do your good works, continue to give praise and worship to the Father...and I will keep you safe."
Hyeon Bae stared up at me in awe, her gaze falling upon the glowing marking upon my chest. The words of her mother began to play in her mind, an important conversation that stuck with her for years.
'There is a Stigmata so powerful...that obtaining it would free you from all your pains and stress. It is even more powerful than Oriel, but she is empowered through it. Through Him...that Stigmata is called, Ruach Hakodesh...'
'Find Him...find Him for us...'
I looked at Hyeon Bae and gave her a warm smile before turning around to face Merin, white lightning crackling around my body. "Seek God with all your heart and you will find Him... You will find what you're looking for."
"W-who are you?" Hyeon Bae asked timidly, her heart stopping as she noticed me glancing back at her.
"I Am," I answered with a warm grin before warping forward to cast Merin away from Grushia High School.
The girls, Luciel and Su-Yun, and Virgil began to watch as I clashed with Merin, a timeless showdown ensuing before their eyes as the music of battle worship began to beat in the background. From the entire Battle Zone 1, everyone could see a glimpse of the Spirit Realm, the angels and Merin's angels all gathered at Therris's Right Claw to watch the showdown.
Merin dashed toward me at top speed, grabbing his sword from the ground and launching a swift circular slash but I phased through his attack then struck his chest with a Heavenly Impact. Tanking through my attack, Merin grabbed my face with a wide grin then teleported to the skies.
"Our first true bout shall commence now!" Merin declared with a malicious laugh, throwing me forward and flying after me with a slash imbued with nether energy.
Suddenly, a light flashed in front of me, a fiery sword from heaven flying down to block Merin's slash before it could reach me. My Holy Fire formed upon my chest, exponentially growing into a Holy Blaze, my Spirit roaring with great power and sounding like thunderous booms.
Merin flew backwards in the air and began guarding himself from the bright light, his heart racing with exhilaration as he watched me awaken my power. "Now, this is what I call the power of God! Allow me to see that glory so I can take it away from you once and for all!"
I opened my eyes, my eyes glowing pure amber flames and my hair becoming white as wool, my butterflies becoming silver one by one. The fiery sword in front of me began to materialize into Anduril, Exzodia's Legendary Sword, Zachary's sword.
"You want a battle? I shall give you one...but for your time has not come yet, you shall be granted as much mercy as my Father is allowing me to show. Now, come forth and face Judgement!" I challenged, my body becoming a silver silhouette before warping toward Merin.
Merin's eyes slightly widened in surprise at my new speed, grunting heavily as I struck him with a powerful knee that sent him flying backwards. Warping after him once more, I began landing slashes in rapid succession, each slash becoming faster than the last and leaving him no room for recovery.
Upon my next attack, Merin's body became black smoke to avoid my attack then he reappeared above me with a devious slice to cut me in two. I swiftly parried his attack then entered a heated dance between blades with him. The two of us soared across the air, each clash of our swords ringing throughout the clouds.
"Is that really him? The Nox you spoke of yesterday?" Su-Yun asked as she watched the battle, her gaze up to the skies where Merin and I were.
Luciel nodded with righteous pride, a smile forming on her face as she watched me battle against Merin. "Yes, that is the Nox Winters or Nox Ascea Exzodia..~ He's what all the other Heroes of Origin were alluding and prophesizing about. The Nexus.."
Merin roared as he launched rapid slices toward me, but I parried each of them perfectly then became a silver silhouette. Merin glanced around for me, noticing I hadn't reappeared. "Where are you?! Stop hiding like a coward and face me!"
"A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me? It is you who show contempt for my name. But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'"
My voice echoed like another booming thunder, two blades of silver light forming and flying toward Merin, piercing his shoulders. Merin groaned in pain as my Sword of Spirits began to burn his body, the glowing silver blades purifying the impurities within him.
"Hypocrite! You manipulated 200 of my angels to believe in your own prideful lie, you tainted the eyes of others because your own eyes can never be cleaned! Woe on to you!" I called from above, holding my sword in the sky and looked down at Merin.
A light flashed in the sky, a barrage of Sword of Spirits raining down upon Merin to pierce his body. "Woe onto you, you sly serpent who whisper lies in the ears of the innocent to lead them astray because you yourself were led astray by your own selfish mind!"
Merin manifested his black wings to shield himself from my barrage of Sword of Spirits, each sword piercing through his wings causing him to grunt in sharp pain. Everyone below watched in fear and awe as they witnessed the rainstorm of true might crashing down upon Merin.
"I refuse...I refuse to fall to you!" Merin roared, spreading his wings before surrounding himself in aura and boosted toward me at incredulous speeds.
I lowered my sword and watched Merin approach me at critical levels then dodged his initial attack effortlessly, following it with an elbow to his back to send him upon the roof of the tower. I warped after him, landing a spinning kick upon his back and crashed upon the tower's roof with him.
Emerging from the smoke, I leaped backwards and stuck Anduril into the ground and manifested two golden chains from my lower back. Merin stood up from one knee, his dark aura flowing around his body with his evil smirk growing even wider with frustration.
"Those chains...they used to be black and filled with grief. How about I bring you back to that moment of grief!" Merin laughed, dashing toward me and leaped toward me with a flying strike.
I blocked his strike and countered with a low kick, but he blocked my attack and countered with a clean straight to my face. He followed up with a powerful gut blow then a Demon Fist, the demonic strike knocking me backwards against the roof walls. I glanced up to see blades of darkness flying toward me, a flash of silver energy pulsing around me and causing the blades to phase through my body as I dashed toward Merin.
The two of us clashed and evaded each other's attacks, both of us evenly matched at the moment with one another. As Merin launched his next strike, I wrapped one of my chains around his arm and yanked him to the ground, using the other to try to pierce his core. Merin quickly became black clouds, maneuvering around my body to evade the bladed chain.
"That seal you gave to your mother ran out a long time ago...I just wonder if she's still within L'Tenma's grips! Oh, how badly your Father must hate your mother to have betrayed her so! And how bad a son you are to leave her alone!" Merin laughed, reappearing in front of me and held his arms out.
"The last of your family, not even your earthly father survived the Great Lamenting! Mother Myra, she has been cursed by the very God this Earth, my domain claims to praise! Noxius, face it! You are not the Light nor the best Salt of this Earth! You are a curse! The real villain here is you!" Merin laughed, his black clouds raising above the two of us and formed a large thundercloud above us.
I stared at Merin, my left eye twitching with annoyance as he talked down upon my family. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath then exhaled slowly, relaxing my stance and began to manifest white clouds around my body.
Suddenly, a whirlpool of iridescent energy began to form around the roof of Therris's Right Claw, spiralling around the tower like a galaxy. Merin's body immediately grew goosebumps, his flesh not knowing how to react to this new setting around him.
"You talk greatly for someone who was a son of God, you seem to have my family in your mouth a lot yet you talk so little about your own. You can't even defeat Michael, let alone Henosis...yet you stand against me, Ascea?" I asked, looking up at Merin with iridescent eyes, my Yaoke forming within my gaze.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes through the Father except through me! Yesha said that, and I'm here to remind you of that and why it is written! No more...no longer will I sit idly by and let you keep corrupting my lambs, God's children! Merin! You will now witness a drop of the Father's anger!" I roared, my iridescent energy bursting around my body.
Merin's skin began to crawl at my declaration, high winds picking up as I made my first stride toward Merin, my speeds invisible to the naked eye. Merin's body quickly went on guard, his eyes darting around quickly to try to find me but could not trace my figure due to my speed.
"Ascea!! I'll destroy you!" Merin roared, swinging his hand down and caused his black clouds to rain lightning down upon the roof of the tower.
As I rushed around Merin, I swiftly evaded every bolt of nether energy then began to fire bolts of aether energy at the black clouds above. Each of my blasts of energy began to purify his Senyata Clouds into Pleroma Clouds, the corruptive drops of water now becoming living water.
With a mighty roar, I warped in front of Merin and launched him backwards with a tornado kick, sending him flying backwards through the walls of the roof. I warped above him, sending crashing to the ground with a Heavenly Impact to his stomach, Merin coughing blood upon impact and sliding across the ground.
Hyeon Bae and the girls paused in their playing, each of their gazes fixated upon Merin and watching as he rose back up onto his feet. Merin's black clouds began storming around his body, black lightning surging around his body in tantrum. Each of them froze as he let out a roar, a loud roar from the Main Tower echoing through the skies.
"From Adam to Yesha, to Adamiel to you! Old and New, it's like everything is against me and I hate it! Noxius, I hate you! I've always hated you since the day you showed up in Morgan with Zachary! You should've died with the Fosters!" Merin roared, a dark draconic energy rushing around the area.
I stared down at Merin then turned my gaze to the tower behind me, noticing all the energy panels were lit up. I turned to look at So-Yi and Jiahn's towers, noticing they managed to get their power on as well. 'None of them are activated...they have to be activated at the same time. Mul Ir-Wol, her tower is next..'
"Nox!" Luciel screamed out in terror, gasping and falling back as Merin charged after her and Su-Yun.
"Ms. Winters! Sa Nu Rim!" Hyeon Bae cried out, dropping everything to rush after her teachers and friends.
"Hyeon Bae, wait!" Reene gasped, covering her mouth with both hands, watching in terror as Hyeon Bae rushed to their Professors' aid.
Without hesitation, I warped toward Luciel and scooped her up into a bridal carry, using my aura to block Merin's attack. I stared into Merin's eyes with a glare, red lightning crackling around my body with fury only known by the most righteous. Merin glared back at me with a low growl, groaning lightly as my aura repelled him backwards.
Merin regained his footing and manifested dragon wings and took flight, looking down at us with furious red eyes. "My army is still in preparation, but I will make sure yours can never be prepared again!"
I set Luciel down gently and walked forward, looking up at Merin then warped toward him, launching a furious Lion Fist, but he blocked my attack and swiped his sharp claws at me. His attack phased through my body, leaving him open for a Lion Fist to land upon his chest. Merin grunted heavily as he flew across the skies, his body rushing through multiple branches and leaves.
I warped in above him with a double axe hammer, but his body became black smoke and maneuvered above me, his hand crashing down upon my neck with a powerful chop. I grunted as I crashed upon the ground, rolling backwards then my body dispersed into Sovereign Butterflies, revealing it to be a decoy.
"What..? Enough with the tricks and games! Just show yourself at once and allow me to strike you down!" Merin roared, glancing around his surroundings to find me, his eyes glowing with indignation.
"Zodiac Arts..." My voice echoed through the tree filled area of Battle Zone 1, catching Merin by surprise. "Astral Chain!"
Suddenly, time paused for a split second, Merin unable to move as an unseen strike critically struck him upon his midsection. As time resumed, Merin groaned as he went flying, but he had no time to recover as a barrage of invisible strikes began knocking him every direction.
I began to surge through the area, striking Merin each time I crossed his path, my body a streak of light as I rushed every direction. Using the trees around us, my momentum only became faster, my attacks more fierce to the point my body had literally become flames due to my Holy Fire.
I let out a battle cry that could be heart across the entire campus, striking Merin with enough force to generate a shockwave to clear away the forested area. "Yaoresh Arts: Kairos Driver!"
Time paused for a split second, thirteen strikes hitting Merin upon the same spot at once before resuming time and sending him flying backwards, a burst of pressure winds carrying him toward the last tower. I panted heavily, reverting to my normal form and falling upon one knee, closing my eyes to catch my breath.
Don't push too hard...
You'll enter Spiritual Stasis again if you do...
'I know, Mother...but I have to drive him away from Grushia and Bulan. No matter what I have to sacrifice to do it, I will protect our children!' I vowed mentally to Genesis, standing up right onto my two feet then awakened the Yaonun to restore my Holy Fire.
With a confident step, I began marching forward to the last tower where Mul Ir-Wol was. I knew what I had to do, despite the warning from Genesis, I had to make sure Luciel had an easy time completing her part of our mission. I decided to take my time getting there, knowing there was no way of Merin recovering before I regained my full strength again.