亚洲综合中美

“And is that the last message?”

“Yes sir,” replied the bowing messenger of the support unit. A large circular tent stretched on forth from the middle. The night was young and news of the failed assault reached in due haste.

“You may leave,” said a gentleman dressed in uniform. The coat was very much decorated with badges, a shimmering piece of metal showed, *Commander Zu Lo*. Jet-black short hair gathered before the brows, neither was it parted nor combed. It stood straight and still before the wind and forces of nature. A sharp short mustache curled upwards gently. Each time he spoke or took a breath, the larger round nose would move subtly.

“What is the meaning of this?” he wondered with a large-scale map up in the center. “How can 2000 men up and disappear on a siege. Have the castle sent forth part of their troupes to take the fight to us?” As if a chessboard, he used little figurines to mark where the men were. “Peculiar,” arms crossed with one hand stroking the less than visible goatee, the feet unwilling turned to face a painting. An older man who with whom he bore a striking resemblance. ‘Tell me, grandfather,’ he paused.

“Message from the General,” ran a messenger.

“Enter,” he voiced loudly.

.....

“Commander Zu Lo, General Jei Lo has ordered for thy force to separate into three units and lay in wait for two days.”

“Understood,” he returned as the other bowed out the camp.

‘Splitting into three units. 13,000 per Captain and 1000 as a reserve. I wonder what sort of strategy the general has in mind.’ Zu remained in the dark of the plan the General formulated. Thus, the decorated military man could but think and ponder upon the map.

Later that night, three Captains from the main-army arrived to provide support. They were assigned 13,000 men each and tasked to guard the left, right, and center of sloped flat-land.

“Commander,” voiced one of the captains, “-are we only to guard or can we go on the offensive?”

“Depends on the situation,” returned he with narrowed eyes. ‘The strange aura coming off these men, how troublesome.’ Present and not, the darkened mist emanating from their imaginary silhouette was tantamount to a battle-hardened beast.

Meanwhile, further up towards the main-camp, a strange figure stood outside the general’s quarters. Long grey hair illuminated against the moonlit sky. “Holiness, please, do come inside,” said a rough voice.

“Do give a moment,” returned it with an angelic voice. The words rolled off the tongue as if one stealing a spoonful of honey. ‘This is the place where my lord foresaw the disturbance.’ The coat swam across as he returned; a blade caught the man’s reflection. A disfigured and blurry crest flashed across said weapon.

The 7th arrived in stride. The scorching heat of the nine o’clock sun wasn’t something to laugh at. The journey across the forest was long and harsh. Seemingly tiny on the map, the actuality of the range was far beyond the mind’s imagination. Each step was met by a branch breaking or worst. Uneven ground meant slow pace, and so, he kept on walking despite the harshness.

‘The defeat of their forces must have made it back. I haven’t heard anything from éclair, meaning, they might be using an analog way of communication.’ The never-ending path stretched without end.

“Hey, brother, are you ok?”

“What’s this all of a sudden?” returned he with neither hate nor concern.

“You’ve made new allies. I saw the power of the Goddesses earlier, can’t believe the Goddess of Destruction, Goddess of Flame, and the Guardian of the Dominion of Time. It’s a strong-line up, I’m worried about Queen Cleopatra.”

“Why do you say so?”

“It’s a feeling. Don’t forget, I’m the sword of Lord Death. Her alliance with God Lixbin isn’t one that shallow. There most certainly something else in the making.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he grinned, “-she’s acted more or less normal with inconsistencies. Her allegiance lays someplace else, I know it all too well. However, her power is truly great – I’ll use her as long as she allows so.”

“It’s not just that,” her pace slowed, “-it’s you,” said she, “-I feel thy power dwindling with each day.”

“Oh...” he paused, “-tis the Shadow Realm. Most of my powers are redirected to aid in support of that world. Since my power keeps on increasing there was no other option to prevent the destruction. Suppose the realm is more of a task to handle.”

“Do the rest know of it?”

“No, obviously not. I kept it a secret – if the mana runs out, the place will break, and tis something I can’t afford.”

“Brother,” said she halting, “-I need you to hear something.”

“What is it?”

“I had the vision of the Curse of the Death Reapers. It’s coming, I can feel it, the curse will strike home soon.”

“So, it happened to you too.”

“Yeah, a white-haired girl stood beside another god. The message is clear and cut, something big is to happen and we’ll be at the receiving end, that much is assured.”

“I know,” he sighed, “-I’ve had the bad feeling for quite a while now.”

“What then?” she asked holding his shoulders, “-going to give up?”

“Might as well,” he smiled, “-the curse will forever haunt us. I don’t know what to do, the only thing there I see is moving forward.”

“Moving forward you say,” she smiled, “-I, Daemonum Gladio, am forever grateful for the life thee have granted. I vow to answer thy call if ever the time arises.”

“What happened to the sister who always teases me?” he chuckled; “-I know you will. Thank you, Courtney, but I don’t see thee as a sword any longer. You’re a part of my family – I rather have you in flesh and blood than metal. If the day comes where I have to relinquish the mantle Lord Death so graciously bestowed; then promise me to grant thy strength to the next heir as a guide.”

“Stop,” her fist ended beside the face, “-why are you talking as if thee are to die?”

“Time stops for none,” he smiled, “-had to tell you what I felt and what I wish for the future to bring.” Thus, they continued towards the coming battlefield.

‘The premonition of my defeat is here,’ he thought whilst cutting across the branching paths, ‘-access to the Stairway of power is ruptured. I can barely open the Terror Gate. I guess that’s the price of hosting so many souls. The power required to maintain and safeguard Intherna and Gophy had me vomiting blood. Add Miira to the mix, it feels as if I’m to break. The damned dream of a god holding a book taking away my power, the crest of the thunder insignia, Zeus – the godly realm will make their move.’

“Master, we’re closing into the hill,” said éclair.

“Understood,” quick to jump onto a tree, *Blood-Arts: All-Seeing Eyes.*

‘Around ten-thousand men on each side. They’ve blocked off access to the gorge. Look at them patrolling. That’s a machine gun, no wonder they didn’t’ follow with the attack or bother to send a search party. Around three kilometers between each outpost. Storming the front is the only way. We can make the trip in 4 minutes while back-up will take around 10-15 minutes. Unless we pierce the front, numbers will exhaust the goddesses’ mana. The set-up isn’t so simple, whoever came up with such a plan is witty. They know of our weakness and have played on it very well.

“Brother, how’s it looking?”

“Pretty bad,” back on the ground, “-they’ve set up for a long-ended battle. A war of attrition.”

“We have to push the front-lines,” materialized Cleopatra, “-have the puppet army attack the Eastern Outpost. Lady Intherna, Gophy, and Miira will take the Western outpost.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Gophy stretching her arms, “-do we have permission to unleash our powers?”

“No,” he returned sharply, “-you’re plenty strong. Courtney and I will take the center force.”

“I guess it’s that time again,” armed and ready, they dashed forth towards the Western outpost.

*Souls of the dead, thee who’ve sworn to serve me in life and death, come to my side. Blood-Arts: Ghouls Requiem.* Arms rose from the ground with the fighters climbing as if crawling from hell itself. Devoid of emotions, those of the 2000 army yesterday paired with the 200 from the AN-U and a few more, charged the Eastern front.

“Gophy, Intherna, wait,” the charge stopped short of the Western outpost. They stood surrounded and hidden by trees.

“Cleopatra, what’s the matter?”

“I have an offer,” she smirked, “-don’t you want to break free from his prison?”

“Whatever do you mean?” inquired Gophy with a frown.

“My time here is short. I’ll ask this of thee both – I can grant thee the passage into the Godly Realm.”

“I knew something was wrong with you,” whispered Miira holding a knife against the Queen’s neck, “-what does Lixbin want?”

“To save himself,” she laughed, “-I came to see if he would inherit the symbol of Kronos, and that I was right. The God of Death holds the power of the dominion of time, tis something we mustn’t allow.”

“Why so,” the blade pushed forth.

“Else catastrophe shall befall the heavens!” the words echoed deep in their soul.

“What do you mean?” asked Gophy with a feeling of old coming to light.

“Today’s the day we kill the God of Death,” she laughed, “-Qhildir has found the librarian of Nexsolium and with that, she has read and conjured forth the spells to bound and remove a being from godhood. We’ll be taking the Symbols of power by force. That is why I asked before it comes to that, here’s a chance to be on the winning side.”

“You plan on stealing Kronos’s Sickle?”

“Not just the Sickle, why just stop there,” she laughed maniacally, “-we won’t stop. Supreme God Zeus is very much offended by Staxius. Gophy, thee know the extent he’ll go to crush what displeases him.”

“Do you mean today is nothing more than a trap?” wondered Intherna with doubt in her words. The firmness in her lashes disappeared.

“Calling it a trap is so unforgiving. Tis beside the point. Today is the last day of Staxius Haggard. He made enemies of the heavens and another being as strong as Death himself. The God of Kreston, else known as one of the four princes of hell, Lucifer. He by name alone is the rightful inheritor of the throne many have sought after. It’s been a long time coming – the defeat of the man who made a mockery of two powerful gods.”

The name echoed deep into their hearts, the name many gods were afraid of. Dubbed light-bringer by the cult of Kreton – the fallen arch-angel, his name went from mythology to mythology.

“The Supreme dared to ask help from his enemy. How far are they willing to go for power?” implored Gophy.

“An unnamed boy inheriting both Death and Time mustn’t’ be left alive. The power is rightfully for true-born gods. Lucifer shall rule death and Zeus shall take over time. So, you see, there’s nothing he can do; I have been waiting for this day.

“Don’t tell me...” Intherna fell to her knees, “-is the Wracia empire...”

“Astute,” she laughed, “-The Emperor made his move per orders from the envoy of Lucifer. I won’t be surprised he shows up to personally end the fight. King Juvey purposefully launched the attack, the Federation would intervene, and thus, all the small incidents led to this very moment.”

“I see...”

“What will it be, art thou going to fight a losing battle or regain godhood?”

“That’s simple,” the goddesses stared at one another, “-we’ll stay and fight the losing battle.”

“What?” Miira’s bafflement spoke for itself.

“We might call him master,” said one.

“Staxius is more of a little brother to us,” added the other.

“In no way are we going to abandon him. If the time comes where we must fight the gods to live, we shall do so,” they spoke as if knowing what the other thought.

“FOOLS!”

.....