* * *
"Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?"
- Your local cockroach when faced with a human
* * *
"Oh wow, they've got a whole goddamn military operation going on here!"
Yuri watched the militaristic scene in front of him unfold before his very eyes. Dozens of magically-powered aircraft descended from the skies, dropping off what seemed to be soldiers equipped with magic assault rifles to his view. In the farther distance, military equipment could be seen being set up hastily by dozens of military personnel disembarking from large cargo trucks that hovered over the ground.
"What the hell is happening--wait, are tho-are those ARTILLERY PIECES?! The fuck?! Are they going to turn this place into Verdun?! Is there a war happening?!"
What seemed to be literal modern magical howitzers were being set up by the dozens after their parts were unpacked from the cargo trucks before. Before he knew it, they've already set up an entire line of them, already aimed somewhere on the other opposite distance.
"Oh my fucking god--I need to see where they're gonna strike."
Sprinting through the treelines at fast speeds, he then activated "Hunt," allowing him to easily scan his surroundings. So far, he's seen nothing interesting apart from the occasional military aircraft flying above him and their occupants.
"They're aimed at a somewhat fifty or seventy degree angle so I guess they're pretty far? I don't know ballistics well enough, and it's gonna be boring to consume someone who actually does."
'This is why I don't consume every living being I come across when I have the chance. Either I just want a challenge because effort doesn't apply to my current self, or I just don't want their memories. I feel awful thinking about them. I don't want to inherit their goddamn trauma or their thoughts when they happily commit a crime against humanity. It really makes me want to destroy the entire world because of it.'
'I also don't want to lose my original self when I've consumed like hundreds or thousands of people. I don't want to literally end up like that unironic edgelord Mercer who's decided to become evil because he "was" or something--no. I just want to go around and do stupid things to entertain myself, or just follow that made-up goal of mine where I become a god-praising nutjob for shits and giggles.'
'It's better to be fully myself than myself being... fullied? Wait, that sounded wrong.'
For a few more moments, he continued on searching for their targets, until he detected multiple signatures using the "Hunt" ability at the moment when he activated it for the second time. He looked at the strange mysterious group standing in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by grass and an atmosphere that literally screams badass to him. Hiding in the bushes, he then observed them stealthfully with clear eyes.
"Who the hell are those guys? They're just standing there... menacingly."
Taking a closer look at them, he felt butterflies in his stomach when he recognized one of their faces.
"Oh... OH WOW! HIM?! SWORD GUY?! THE VILLAINS?!" 'What was his name again?' "What the fuck are THEY doing here?!"
His thoughts went all over the place about this villain group he previously encountered back at the now destroyed underground market. A powerful group like this, in the middle of a flatgrass area, seemingly waiting for something to arrive. On the other side, an entire army is being set up, their cannons facing at the area where the group was. After connecting the dots, he reached to a conclusion.
His face made an eerie smile while looking at the scenery.
"They're gonna fight---they're gonna fucKING FIGHT HOLY SHIT--"
Biting his lips out of excitement, he then scanned his surroundings for something useful. Conveniently finding what seemed to be an abandoned old shed near him, he sprinted for the building, busted down the door, and searched for anything useful. Fortunately for him, he found the exact thing that he was looking for:
A foldable metal chair. A bit rusty, but he didn't care. All he wanted was a place to sit on. Bringing it back to his starting point, he set up the thing, dusted it off, sat on it, and waited.
"All that's missing here is popcorn."
...
* * *
The surrounding atmosphere was tense. Both sides traded-off hostile glances; their weapons on the ready. On one side, the combatants were either serious, nervous, or both. On the other, some just didn't care, and some just wanted blood to be spilled.
This was supposed to be a negotiation planned by both sides to resolve this problem peacefully, but behind the scenes, obviously it was not going to be.
Camille's thoughts raced through her head, always recalling what her superiors said at the meeting before.
'The crest is bound to Diana until her death. We do not have the techniques to uncast the spell enchanted upon her since it was similar to a powerful curse. Do not let those bastards know about this.'
She took a deep breath, fixed herself up, and waited for the signal to go off. As she did, a team of four people emerged from behind the line of agents, with one carrying a metal package. William, the commander of the elite divisions, presented himself at the front - just behind the negotiation team.
"Where's the girl?" He asked with a serious expression.
Devan smiled. "Bring her out."
At the back, Greta showed herself by activating a spell using her right hand. In an instant, the captured girl appeared in front of them, currently unconscious and at rest.
"You know what to do," she said as her presence retreats back into the group.
The negotiation team slowly made their way towards the girl at the center, surrounding her when they've arrived. Opening up the metal package, they moved it next to the sleeping daughter. Inside was a glowing blue orb "designed" to remove the bindings of the crest for good.
When they activated it though, a small dome appeared over the team and the girl, shielding them from what's to come.
For a brief moment, it seemed like time slowed down to a halt. The planned strategy by the agents went into action, while the combat instincts of the rogues detected their malice and instantly went on the defensive.
Both sides expected this.
Swords were unsheathed, staffs were activated, spells were chanted, and guns were aimed in a split second after the signal went out for the attack to commence. The commanding leaders of the elite divisions rushed forward, positioning themselves as the main frontliners for the battle; their agents following suit.
First Strike - Objective: [Protect the team until they activate the long-range teleportation scroll to the capital.]
Fifteen seconds.
* * *
A few moments before...
Yuri yawned while looking at the scenery, waiting for something to happen. He tried to crack his neck to make a popping sound out of boredom - but after a few tries, he gave up.
Closing his eyes, he then meditated for a bit.
Inhale, Exhale.
Inhale, Exhale.
Inh--
*BOOM!*
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT--HOLY SHIT!"
The sounds of explosions, gunfire, and the shouts of the combatants echoed throughout the once peaceful grassy countryside. In the distance, pillars of light blasted down onto the field, large wooden roots sprung out of the ground, walls made out of earth were made, electricity was used, tornadoes twisted around, flames charred the surroundings, and more.
The scene was basically pure fantasy chaos, and Yuri was now excited about every second of it.
"LOOKED AWAY FOR A SECOND AND NOW--"
*BOOOOM!*
"Oh wow, went from ten to a GODDAMN MILLION IN JUST A MOMENT!"
He was suddenly caught off guard by a huge wall that appeared that's towering over everyone in the distance.
"THEY'RE CREATING SHIT OUT OF NOWHERE!"
Continuing to observe the chaotic scene, he then saw multiple flying aircraft with what seemed to be rockets strapped onto their bottoms and sidewings in the distance heading towards the area.
Meanwhile - explosions, light explosions, earth explosions, more explosions, booms, kabooms, and more booms occurred in the distant battlegrounds in front of him, which makes him remember about Michael Bay.
"That's... too much--think about the landscape!" He jokingly quoted. "You're destroying everything!"
More chains of explosions occurred, causing more damage to the surrounding environment.
"They're not listening!"
*BOOOOOM!*
A strong gush of warm air blasted onto him, making him shield his face.
...
"Wow--okay."
* * *
The teleportation scroll for some reason, failed.
"Why isn't it working?!" The agent said as he held onto the enchanted item. "Get another one!"
Another fifteen seconds were added to the timer, extending the lengths of the rescue effort. They tried to activate the backup scroll, but when it was about to activate, it suddenly failed also.
The agent opened up the mana orb from his coat and activated it.
["Commander! Something's blocking the mana transmission signal from leaving!"]
["What?!"] Camille exclaimed out of confusion. ["What do you mean?! What happened?!"]
["We can't leave the area! The target location for the spell isn't receiving the signal from the scroll! Something's blocking it!"]
["Any ideas on why?!"] She asked.
["Luminous probably has a spell over our entire area that blocks these types of signals! We need to move to a different location!"]
["Too risky! Stay where you are until the clear signal's been given!"]
["Yes commander!"]
The agent shuts the orb off and observes the situation around him. Dozens of agents were throwing whatever they've got at the syndicates, with each attack affecting them in some way. Though it seems like that Luminous was gaining the upper hand, since they were slaughtering the agents one by one, even though they were from the elite divisions.
On the syndicate side, it was just like a field day to them, but obviously much harder. The agents were skilled enough to give them a hard time - but given enough effort, they'll eventually kill them. Some dodged from side to side, some charged straight ahead, some strike from a distance, and some just stayed at the backlines watching.
Some notable members of the organization that were becoming a massive threat to the agency at the fight were Devan, Grand, Wralt, Alanor, and Lithio.
Devan - Gifted with an exceptional ability for magic, he decimates his opponents with just sheer firepower from his elemental ranged attacks.
Grand - With just his strength and his trusty broadsword, he alone charged through the lines of agents with a smile on his face, itching to fight.
Wralt - Similar to Grand, he charged through the enemy lines with metal claws that can bury deep into the ground, shocking everything around him with a force of a hundred thousand volts.
Alanor - He speaks for the trees. Granted with the ability to control the growth of plants, he creates massive roots from under the ground to surprise his enemies. Give him a day to destroy an entire city, and he'll have it covered in lush vegetation that's sipping the blood from its citizens in under a few hours.
Lithio - Creating a strong and powerful shield around him that blocks and absorbs incoming magical attacks, he can also pull out the souls of his enemies he comes into contact with and extracts either their energy or their memories out of them for information.
It seemed like that they were unstoppable at this point, but fortunately the agency was also being backed up by the strongest of individuals.
William and Camille were one of the top few powerful magicians in the country, easily eliminating S-class monsters with just a few spells and attacks. Some agents in the elite divisions can also have some members of Luminous make a run for their money.
Overall, Luminous has a slight advantage since they have more experienced combatants than the agency, even though they were heavily outnumbered...
But that would change when he descended from the skies.
BOOM! In the midst of the chaos, a lone man dropped down onto the ground, blowing dust all around him and creating a small crater in his wake. With a slightly teared-up white shirt, black pants, and a fierce expression, he somewhat surprised the syndicates with his arrival, but this scenario was also expected since killing him was their secondary objective after all.
Devan widened his eyes when he saw his presence.
"He's here."
A man would do anything to protect his own children, even if it will cost his own life.
"FOCUS ON HIM NOW!"
A synchronized attack, with each syndicate releasing their most powerful spells and attacks at the new threat in front of them, completely disregarding their current opponents at the time. Elemental magic, light magic, dark magic, bullets, swords, knives, muscles, whatever.
When all of those attacks were about to hit the man, at that very moment, the world suddenly seemed like it slowed down to a halt. The man opened his mouth slowly, muttering just a few words.
"Red Aura Blast."
A strong force colored in red exploded out in all directions, ripping through all the incoming projectiles and attacks heading towards him - either obliterating or deactivating them on contact. The wind generated from the blast caused all individuals near him to fall down, or be knocked back a few feet away.
Garrett then stared at the group in front of him with burning red eyes.
"Where is your leader?"
They didn't mutter out a single word, even after a few moments had passed. He could see their nervous faces, waiting for him to make a move.
"SHOW YOURSELF YOU BASTARD!"
BOOM! He then punched the ground, shattering the earth below him and sending a powerful shockwave towards the group. They all jumped into the air, barely avoiding the attack. Knowing that he alone could kill or knock-out all of them if he got serious enough, they followed the plan that their leader made.
...
"Let me handle him."
...