(A/N 1: Chapter notes... sexuality views might clash with you supporters and readers here in this chapter so please execute open-mindedness and calm thinking. Do take note of my worries in this part of the chapter. Some of you might get irritated at me or might curse me for overly reacting or describing Amanda's view regarding a woman's "purity" but please understand that I am writing and describing Scion's, Amanda's, emotional, mental, and psychological view as a "classic woman" who views her purity in a rather exaggerated but normal way during a time of when this kind of mental image of an ideal woman was still famous amongst society's women. You might ridicule or get angry at me for this in regards to some points, but please understand how I had built Scion so far and how she sees herself as a classic woman. There are women out there who are classically extreme when it comes to these topics and I am just trying to depict her view as one of those "unique" women that deserves respect.)
(A/N 2: if you're thinking how and why I wrote it this way or why I had to explain this... it's because during the time when I was drafting this chapter, it was the National Women's Day in my country and I just so happens to see a TV program who discussed women's views in their 'purity' in classical and contemporary times, and their eras and changes through the passing of generations... when comparing them to the current generation's overly expressive women as viewed from the internet and current society.)
A/N 3: Why did I write all these things in this particular chapter? Well, it's because I want to promote awareness of these differing views and plant a seed of responsiveness to the hearts of my readers (regardless if you're a guy or a girl) in regards to the delicateness of the topic of [virginity] and how different women react to this topic. Girls, rest assured, I am not biased and am actually neutral but in this particular context, I am focusing on the classical women's view of their purity back in the old times... in a rather modern and magical setting.
Am I too wordy?
Sorry.
Just... in short, just be open minded guys... or better yet, don't look at the deeper stuff and just enjoy the read.
Although I did portray these points in this chapter, you can be rest assured that this chapter is a main pivotal point in the progress of this story.
Hope you enjoy the read and forget what you've read above.
Ciao.
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Chapter 61: Hello Party
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Kladis' voice rung through the garden and from the darkness of the buildings, the indifferently watching Kira also frowned.
"What did you say?!" a shocked tone could be heard on his voice. "Tell me that again!"
On the video call, the informer was from the comms division residing inside the castle. The NPC woman was startled by Kladis' anger and so she repeated her line once again but with caution.
"M-My Liege, it's as you've head. There were news coming from our scouts stationed in the east that a golden giant figure had been detected to be rushing towards our direction."
"A golden giant figure?" Kladis' brows creased. "Does it have a staff in it?" he asked and anxiously asked, "Is it making everything below its feet shrouded in a thick darkness?"
The NPC was shaken, "Yes My Liege. It is."
After hearing this, Kladis balled his fist and punched the floor beside Scion.
"Damn it!"
Scion who had no idea what he was talking about could only process the words she just heard. A staff? A giant golden figure that puts everything below its feet into an eternal darkness...?
Her heart began to beat wildly, the tears of fear that's been trying to burn her heart in agony of what might happen to her erupted into a steady flow of tears of joy.
In her heart, she was crying for him...
In her heart, she was thankful that Rex had come.
In her heart... she was screaming for apology that she had been taken advantage of.
Right now, even though nothing happened to her, she was still fondled and she felt dirty as a whole that she felt guilty towards Rex. Because she almost trusted Kladis, she almost lost 'it' to him and that's what she can't forgive about the current situation. She felt like she betrayed Rex that she can't offer herself to him as whole princess.
But at the moment, having averted her impending catastrophe, she was already happy. Although there were still tears in her eyes, seeing the frown and the frantic expression on Kladis was already enough for an initial revenge.
Her full blown revenge will follow later...
After all, a woman's revenge is the most poisonous venom in a man's life. With that, a smile of vengeful satisfaction beamed out of her rosy pink lips.
Seeing her crying figure and the smile, Kladis' mood not only darkened, it began to worsen and his lust over her was enshrouded with a deep grey cloud.
"What are you smiling at?!" Kladis roared at her. His sexual mood... was broken. He wasn't in the mood to rape her anymore and on top of that, he actually did indeed begin to feel frantic.
Kladis looked at the panel in front of him and stood up, grabbing the rope behind Scion and pulled her by force.
In his mind, he tried to think of the reasons and the circumstances as to how and why Elder God Donar was going towards their direction.
"Why is that God heading here? Is it because of this battle and his identity as a War God that he is attracted to the scent of warfare? Fuck! This isn't even funny at all. He's going to ruin our plans!"
Even though she was still bound and being pulled, Scion still felt that this is better in many levels than being raped.
In her heart, she could only secretly thank and cry for Rex Kingsley... her yearning wish to be saved was granted. Now all that's left is to be escorted out of this place... violently.
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*****
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Kladis' eyes were grimly staring at the glaring Scion who he chained in the underground dungeon in the lowest depths of the Apus Epirus.
"Do not think we are finished." Although they both knew what he was talking about, Kladis had no smile of excitement on his face and Scion had not the look of fear in her expression.
Seeing her bravery and mysterious ridiculing smile added even more fuel to his raging anger.
"Damn it. Of all the perfect moments and places that abomination had to appear... just great!"
Elder God Donar's impending arrival's news alone was just so timed perfectly to ruin his delight that it was infuriating. Not only he stopped Kladis from having to rape Scion, this piece of news alone was enough to cause the entire echelon in Apus Epirus to grit their teeth and clench their fists.
Kladis closed the cellar door and Scion was then engulfed in a dimly lit darkness. The only source of light in her surroundings was the small moonstone that hanged from above.
The smell on the cellar was damped with the scent of moss and aged tarmac. The saturated walls and ceiling were signs that this place had been untouched and abandoned for a very long time.
Not the best of accommodations but Scion was still grateful from the bottom of her heart.
And now that she was all alone with only a few NPC guards outside her door, all of her pent up emotions started to surge violently as her body trembled and tears welled.
"Huuuu... Rex... please help me..."
Scion hugged her knees and cried like a baby.
Rex's arrival saved her from her calamity and now, there was nothing she'd ever want than being free from here and being reunited with him again.
Her heart was in a mess, conflicting feelings and turbulent emotions caused waves upon waves of inconsistent thoughts form inside her head.
One side, she was eager to meet him, on the other, she was ashamed because of what Kladis had done.
As such, she could only tightly hug her knees.
The sound of the chained metal on both her arms clanked as her body continuously shook. If the world would see her now, they wouldn't even believe it. The Fairy of The Lake, reduced to such a state... was a devastating sight.
With these sounds and last thoughts on this world, she use her left hand to swipe the air and log out.
She will tell this news to Alice.
And...
She will cry to herself all day.
Even the thought of not logging in again crossed her mind just now.
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*****
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The door banged open with a kick and an angry Kladis with a frowning handsome face entered the command center of the castle.
"Tell me this is just a joke of news." he yelled at the et of NPCs that loitered the office busily, monitoring and presiding over their operations on the mission to capture and secure Jack Stone.
"My Liege..." the woman officer reported with a frightened expression, "Scouts had indeed reported the sight."
After the woman spoke, a video played in the main monitor in the command center.
It was still morning and the daylight shines bright when suddenly, it turned dark. The ones shooting the video never looked away from the eastern side of the horizon but the commander of the scout team continued to give orders to never close their eyes.
The camera shifted and showed the readings of the scanners and the proximity sensors blinked widely as the sound and the display of the equipment's panel showed the incoming sight.
In the horizon, cutting the wind barrier with a monstrous momentum was a humanoid figure that held a large hammer on one hand.
Behind the figure were nine landmasses that measured a kilometer in size and this grand display, from a distance, is like a calamitous omen that bored a threat on Kladis' chest.
The figure passed by and along with it was thunder and strong winds that almost toppled the trees that surrounded the scout team.
"Its altitude is 6km and its speed is 330kph. At this speed, it will reach Alexandrian Territory in less than two hours!"
"Hurry, make the report and send the video to HQ!"
The video ended and Kladis' face only turned uglier and his handsome face was distorted into a sinister look of hate.
Kladis hates it when something doesn't go his way.
Call it ego, call it pride, but as capable and as godly lucky with women as he is, Kladis' personality revolve around his consistent success and lesser failures. In fact, when had he ever failed?
Even in the face of a fledgling Elemental Dragon, he still managed to control their situation and defeat it to obtain the 12th of the 13th sword and throne.
Calculating plans was his forte and even the small possibility that Volga would die was still within his scope of possible worst situations.
Heck... even if Jack Stone still managed to escape from their encirclement in Alexandria, it was still part of his plans and he had a few ways to get back to him if that happens.
"Shit!"
BANG!
Kladis sent a punch on the panel equipment on his right and this act caused the equipment to crackle with electricity as the displayed information also twitched in turn before burning into a wreck.
"Damn it! Two hours?! He's coming in less than two hours? The plan... if he comes now, the plan will burn into ruins! And of all the times he's offline, the commander just had to choose today."
In the corner of the Command Center, a lounge area with sofas and tables, were Olaf, Hagrid, Genevieve, and the rest of the Core Members of The Legion that is yet to be dispatched.
When they saw Kladis' outburst and heard him murmuring, they knew exactly what they were going through.
Olaf, especially, was looking with an attentive gaze towards the display in the main panel in the center that showed the battle at Alexandria.
In his lap, was a small dagger wrapped in cloth. He held the dagger in his hand, trying to feel for even the smallest of changes on it but all these time, it's always been in a docile state.
Olaf glanced down at the dagger and then closed his eyes to think, "As soon as we arrive, there was a small reaction to the dagger. Even I myself is surprised. But as soon as it reacted on a resonance, it also died almost immediately. But I can't be wrong... one of the rogue programs is here."
As he thought of it, Olaf opened his eyes and held the dagger tighter and then looked at the main panel board, watching the war, waiting for the order to of dispatch to be given out.
Kladis also looked at the battle video and then to a panel on his vision before gritting his teeth and swiping the air to make a call.
After a while, he spoke, "Hilda, enter the third phase of the infiltration. We have an incoming party that we have to bat both eyes on. We cannot afford to single this problem out."
On his vision, the surprised expression of his female knight retainer froze for a moment before it changed into determination and nodded before giving out a snappy salute.
"Hai."
The call ended and Kladis entered the core part of the command center, into a tactical disposition table showing the holographic rendering of the entire territory of Alexandria.
He leaned his weight on the edge of the panel display before hissing in irritation and speaking out a command to the NPC who stood beside him.
"Deputy, order the 2nd and 3rd War divisions for an immediate dispatch. Meet the Elder God and try to bid time for negotiation. Do all you can to buy us as much time as you possibly can. Offer anything you are authorized to offer and if nothing works, request for him to wait and lead him to a far location for a negotiation."
The Deputy almost hesitated. Two divisions' worth of excellently-trained men to meet a possible threat to their goal...? Even if it was an Elder God with a wise disposition, a welcome force comprised of two divisions doesn't spell good intentions in any kind of language.
Especially because it was a welcoming party from the force that attacked Alexandria, the impression of a good will is nay close to even 20%.
"What are you hesitating there for?!" Kladis yelled when the Deputy stood there for two seconds. "We got no time to waste. You have to meet that Elder God as soon as possible while we are forcing our way to the base of the tower!"
Having heard this statement, the Deputy gave him a salute and then left to a console to give out orders while Olaf in the distance had wide eyes, thinking about the incredible planning on The Legion's hierarchy.
Such bold yet multi-layered plan...
They mask their true intention under the cloak of a real-goal, the mind behind Gats wasn't as simple as being titled as the strongest player in Terroa.
Naturally, the reason for Olaf's surprise was the fact that as a planning director in the Tech Department of Panorama Corporation, he was aware of a few secrets that can be sold to adventurers for millions of millions of Zentra —if he was ever infected by the greed virus.
But for him, it wasn't that exciting to be part of the chase of these adventurers and is already satisfied on being an observer on what things to come. He knew his own limits.
Olaf looked on to the attack in Alexandria.
Who knows how deep the infiltrators in Alexandria had come? That thing that this spire is trying to suppress is definitely something that will give Terroa a new shape if it ever was revived.
Olaf... was aware of what these [Large Guilds] are after. Although he wasn't aware of the specifics of their quests and missions, he was still aware where they are generally headed. He was, after all, part of the post-development team of RPG: Terroa's gameplay mechanics.
If the strongest Guild, the Alcides Guild, had their team focus on Black Element, then this Blue Card Legion is the group with a grand ambition of wanting to control a Cursing God as a weapon.
"Contact the excavation team. Tell them to stop looting the lower zones and just focus their efforts on finding the seal on the spire. We have to get that record and know the exact location of the prison!"
After Kladis gave the order, a slight bitter laugh escapes Olaf silently.
Of course, if the Blue Card Legion really does succeed in the task and controls that prisoner, then they'd become unstoppable and they can even rule over Terroa without worries.
"Sigh... if that happens, I'm going to get a lot of work in my desk again..." Olaf could only grip the cloth in his hand and say to himself.
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*****
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Inside the all-seeing sphere, a swing of his arm drew an arc, the Godhammer projection of the once golden staff held by the Akhenaton swung as well.
BOOM!
With a loud explosion, another mountain peak was destroyed and the thundering detonation created by the impact of the «Mjolnir» and the Hammer Blast ability of the weapon had disturbed all life within the nearest 30km radius.
The eternal darkness within the 60km radius had more than doubled the effect of this explosion and any hidden Hunter Villages and towns had their populace panic, with some even praying to their respective Gods asking for protection.
"Hm?"
"Did you hear that?"
"What was that sound?"
"Ah! Is there an invasion?"
"That roar sounds familiar..."
Within the nearest 4km, hunters on a mission heard a loud metallic roar that shook the trees and alerted birds and monsters.
The experienced ones thought that it was the sound of a Colossus roaring after a transformation but to those who were inexperienced, they began to panic.
Because it's been a few minutes now since the day had suddenly turned into night without them knowing the reason why, they could only think of this kind of happening to be the doing of an event.
Finally, for those who were smart enough, they all thought of that incident back in Warjillis who had suddenly been the hottest topic on the net lately.
"Is it another event?"
"Neh... don't you think high-ranked events have been happening lately one after another?"
"You noticed too?"
"It's been bugging me but I think it all started since that fight in Dragona..."
"Right. I think so too."
"Maybe Terroa is going to change?"
"Hey, can you hear that?"
"What?"
In a distant high hill, a group of hunters atop their spyder cargo truck with a tied up large monster haul looked up to the dark sky towards a direction of a thundering sound.
Like a roar of many predators crying in a single frequency, the loud noise was akin to the sound of a something big and fast trying to pierce through the wall of wind.
And then... SWOOSH!
BOOM!
"Whoa!"
"...the heck?!"
"What was that?!"
The stormy wind passed through the hunter's hill and even with the weight of the cargo truck adding the large S-Ranked monster haul they caught, their vehicle was still almost toppled and the men was thrown off their feet and flew to a distance away.
Followed by the explosion of wind battering their location, a silhouette of a humanoid figure passed over their heads just a few hundred meters above.
"Is that..."
"Could that be..."
"By the gods!"
"Is that him?!"
While they wildly spoke their guesses, the blackness of the eternal night curse on the far horizon returned the day to the land while eyes turned towards the western horizon, seeing a distant massive object that resembled a golden skinned human surrounded by island-like dots.
"That direction..."
"Yeah, don't tell me..."
"Alexandria!"
"Damn! This is big news!"
"Quickly! After him!"
"Forget the haul, this is an event!"
"Go. GO. GO!"
Following their instincts, they naturally reported this incident to their friends in Alexandria and with some of them who possessed a Cyclone or had flight wings and armors, swarms of players and NPCs from every direction turned their sights to the city to follow the scent of an Elder God's event.
(A/N: Some of you might get confused here. Event is a common gamer's term that generally depicts something like a major happening in a game that will ultimately have an overall effect to the game as a whole. Since the early 2000, most MMORPGs use these so called [events] to either announce patch releases, additional game contents or changes, or even just to advertise what the game is all about)
FLASH!
When Thorn logged in, he was horrified with what he saw in the middle of the Akhenaton's sphere...
"Rex! You're still online?! My god! Take a rest man! Your mind wouldn't be able to take the stress. If you collapse, then everything we've rushed here for would have been in vain!"
Floating in the middle, wielding a golden hammer, Siva looked like he was skating through the air, his feet moving like it was running but actually skating through the clouds.
"Must save... I must save Baron... I must..." He was repeatedly murmuring these lines.
Hearing it, Thorn couldn't even look at his pitiful sight because he could clearly feel the intense emotion building up on his heart.
DNI Therapy... it was such a very cruel thing to do for a child who was yet to enter his preschool age.
And yet, there are claims that some patients had actually successfully been cured of their coma after undergoing this extensive exclusive therapy.
It was a medical procedure that heavily relied on a controlled Virtual Reality setting. Since a comatose patient cannot process information inputs, they will try to interact with the person from within the VR-Environment and force brain activity directly to the neural network of the patient, triggering a nerve reaction, forcing the repair of the damaged brain cells in a faster pace.
Theoretically, this is a promising breakthrough but the only downfall is, if the patient so much as to receive even the slightest of damage in their Avatar, that damage will permanently stay on the patient and may even lead to the patient permanently not waking up or even if they wake up, they'd be either an invalid or their minds would degrade.
Global Doctors and scientists' consensus dictated, the risk is too high for an expensive and volatile, non-standard and unproven safe medical treatment.
"Rex..."
Thorn wasn't even uttering his in-game name because as he and Volt had felt it... Siva is his in-game name while Rex is the brother that they are looking at right now. The person they're trying to reach to right now is Rex Kingsley.
"We are almost in Alexandria but the battle is still going on. If you go there and fight them to stop the invasion with your current condition... there is no saying what would happen to you during or after the fight. You've been online for a very long time now... the mental stress will corrode your mind, Rex..."
Panting and obviously tired, Siva who was wielding the Mjolnir in his right hand turned his gaze at Thorn.
A tired and exhausted look on his eyes could be seen as a slight nod happened and, without warning, he fell from his floating position.
Outside, Akhenaton's giant Warhammer vanished with a golden puff and the countless golden particles that once made up the hammer floated around its right arm before forming back into a golden staff that Akhenaton held again.
The warship stood still in midair, 6km high above a high-ranked Monster-infested forest, unmoving, the nine landmasses floating around it while the automatic defensive mechanism that's been turned off by Siva kicked in when he lost control.
On the islands, the hundreds or perhaps a thousand passengers' face looked at the now docile raging giant humanoid figure and couldn't help but gasp to this sudden change.
"Has it finally stopped?"
Inside, the sphere, Siva was panting as Thorn used his shoulder to support him and lean him on a side.
"You're too reckless."
"I can't rest yet. I need to stop that fight. I'm just going to eat and drink some energy drink outside so I'll be back in a sec."
Thorn looked around them, "It's not a safe place."
Siva had a look of pleading in his face as he grabbed Thorn's sleeve and said, "I will leave the defense to you."
Helplessly nodding Thorn could only say, "Don't worry about it."
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