Sapphire sat next to the hospital bed where Mary was resting. The nurses said that Marry was in stable condition and that her vitals and everything were normal. The only thing left to do was to wait for Marry to regain consciousness. So, Sapphire sat and continued to watch over her.
With her stats being majorly reduced, apprehending the dark mages would be difficult as they could easily defeat her if they decided to. So, she had requested some help from a certain person.
'It's like I've been sent back to level 1 again.'
Knock Knock.
A knock came at the door to the room, to which Sapphire replied "Come in."
Entering was a familiar face, Ace Skyman.
"I came as soon as I could when you said it was urgent. What's going on."
That's when Sapphire spoke on her encounter at the church.
"Do you know of a group that calls themselves the council of light?"
"I'm afraid so. Did you encounter them?" Ace asked while looking at the girl on the hospital bed.
"I think I did. That girl on the bed is named Mary. She was almost killed by a priest named Ammiel. I also believe he sealed a majority of my stats away."
Hearing the name Ammiel triggered a shocked reaction on Ace's face.
"Ammiel?! If that's the case, you're lucky to have survived. He's a unique opponent. Once he seals away your stats, you won't get them back until he's dead."
Not to mention that Ammiel had knowledge on how to use 3 of the forbidden spells of history. The Council of light just so happened to be one of the many problems in the kingdom of Ashetira. It was indeed an urgent matter.
"So, you do know about the council of light?" Sapphire asked.
Ace gave a sure nodd with the look of cautiousness.
"I do. Sapphire, I ask that you take me to where you encountered him. Right away."
"It's really that big of a deal?" Sapphire asked.
"You saw how he seals away stats. What he did to you, he had also done it to many others. Ammiel has been a target of this kingdom for many years and has caused many deaths, just like all the other members of the council of light."
Sadly, even if they went to search for him now, Ammiel was most likely long gone.
"Okay. I'll take you there." said Sapphire's firm voice.
"Thank you, bet let's hold on a minute. This is serious enough that I do have to report this to the ruler of the kingdom. He'll most likely send a large gathering of knights with us."
The situation had been much more serious than Sapphire had ever imagined that it would be. To even need the attention of the ruler, this was no doubt a deadly threat.
"I'm going to step out for a second. I'll be back." said Ace as he left the room. On his ear, he held a magic communicator that made a call to the ruler of the kingdom.
"Oh, it's you again.What do you want this time? Ace."
"The council of light. I have a lead on where one of the leaders was spotted. I am getting prepared to go check it out."
"Hmm. It seems you actually do get things done. Tell me a meeting location, I'd like to send a small force along with you. "
"Thank you, Ruler Leo."
_________
Just outside of town, Ace and Sapphire waited for the backup coming from the distance. Knights with black armor who rode horses. There was even a wagon too. But as Sapphire counted, she meant that there were only 22 knights.
"Don't you think that's a small number for backup?" she asked.
"This is as much help we're going to get without proof of enemies. Once we see any threats, we'll get more help. For now, this will have to do."
"Oh. I see."
Tmp Tmp.Tmp.Tmp.
As the leading knight came close enough, his horse stopped a couple feet from Ace and Sapphire. From a distance, it would seem that this was a weak force but being close, Sapphire examined the leader knight's stats.
{HP:18,789 | Mp: 1,678 | Atk: 2,123 | Speed: 667 | Endurance: 891 | Armor- Durability: 87 | Def: 567}
Sapphire could tell with certainty, that the knight was more capable than she was at the moment. Stepping off the horse, the knight removed their helmet, revealing their face. It was a girl with long, smooth black hair and purple eyes that shined.
The female knight then bowed in the presence of Ace and spoke.
"I am Jean Gallagher, the knight in charge of this force of knights to assist you. I also hold the title of a 'War Knight' "
Taking a moment to look at her, Ace nodded and replied "I knew you looked familiar. We've met before haven't we?"
On a mission once, Ace had saved the life of Jean. But that was times ago.
"You actually remember me. I'm very much flattered."
"I remember lots of faces." Ace stated.
Jean shifted her attention over in Sapphire's direction.
"Who is she?"
"Her name is Sapphire, she's the witness who's going to lead us to the location." Ace stated.
"Ah, in that case, let us get going. That horse in the back is for you two."
Jean signaled at the back. Behind all the other knights was a single horse with no passengers.
Ace stepped to the back and hopped onto the horses back.
"Sapphire, just get behind me and hold on to me." said Ace.
Following his lead, Sapphire sat on the horses back and wrapped her arms around Ace. Jean looked back, and once she saw that they were ready, she kicked her horse's side, letting it know it was time to go.
"Shouldn't we be in the front to tell them where to go?" Sapphire asked.
"It's fine. You're probably safer back here anyway. Just give the directions and Jean will follow them."
"Okay."
Now, all Sapphire could do was hope that Ammiel hadn't left from that spot. Though, he most likely did. But on the off chance he didn't, their force was more than enough to eliminate him without too much of an issue. Still, Sapphire found it unfortunate that she wouldn't be able to help much if it came down to fighting.
"Where is this place exactly?" Jean asked from the front.
"Uhm. I'm not sure but I have it circled on a map if that's okay."
"That's fine. Just hand it to me."
Ace brought the horse to the forward, just close enough for Sapphire to hand the map off to Jean.
Examining the paper for a couple of seconds, Jean knew where the area was.
"Hm. We can get there in about two to three hours. Once, we're there, I advise you, Sapphire, to stay behind all the knights. It wouldn't be safe for you in the front if anything were to happen."
"Understood. I'll be sure to stay safe." Sapphire replied.
Jean then put her attention back on the path ahead and spoke to all the knights as a whole.
"Remember, this has to do with the council of light! Be prepared for anything and stay ready to fight at any given moment!"
_________
(Kingdom: Therngo | Town: )
Katsu stood inside the room at the Inn. He was speechless after reading the letter Amaya had left for him.
{I'm sorry for leaving without letting you know. I headed overseas to the kingdom of Ashetira. I think I know where I can find the dark mages and where they are holding Emi. I had to take this opportunity to leave. I hope you see this letter.}
Katsu grabbed his bag and left the Inn. He was going to find a way overseas and find Amaya. Before, he had felt weak, but now, he was confident in his knowledge and combat ability.
'I'm not even close to the level of a platinum-ranker. But I know I can handle any dark mage if they're alone.'
Everything aside, Katsu had to leave the town fast as he was going to be hunted lots of dark mages because of something he did. The time he had been away, Katsu infiltrated a hideout of the dark mages and slaughtered a good number of the weak ones. But killing wasn't his goal. Katsu had gone to receive a special item and succeeded in getting it.
A crystal with the power to deactivate any skill within the area and stop other skills from being activated. However, the user will still be able to use skills of their own.
With it, Katsu was a big threat to the dark mages.
'They should've protected it better. Did they think it wasn't possible to find. I guess even dark mages are possible to outplay.'
He ran as fast as he could through the forest but stopped as he was surrounded by many figures wearing masks.
"You guys sure are fast. You tracked me pretty quick." siad Katsu.
One of the figures stepped forward and pulled out a sword.
"We won't let you waste our time by chatting. We're going to end you here and now!" The figure rushed forward but was quickly cut down by Katsu.
Slash!
Seeing their ally get cut down, six of the other dark mages also rushed at their opponent and started attacking.
One slash, two slashes, Katsu dodged by stepping to the side. Quickly, he swung his sword across the air while shouting "Spreading Blade!"
Four of the dark mages splintered into bloody pieces.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Then all at once, each of the dark mages ran towards him. Katsu was going to be easily killed if he didn't do something fast. Still, he didn't worry as he practiced for this certain situation.
A grin of confidence raveled across Katsu's face.
[You have used 'Time Slow']
[You have used 'Double Speed']
A cold breeze shot across the air.
Swoosh.
Every moving thing along with time moved very slowly. Except for Katsu, he was the only thing still able to move normally. He tightly gripped his sword and gracefully dashed from side to side, slashing his opponent as he passed.
Slash. Slice. Slash. Slash. Slash.
['Time Slow' has worn off]
The time all around started to move normally as many of the dark mages fell to the floor, lifelessly.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
There were only two left alive. And they showed no intention of backing off.
Katsu wiped the blood from his blade and gave the dark mages a cold stare. It was a stare that immediately let them know that he wasn't going to be stopped.
The two dark mages both sprinted forward. They were going to fight till the end, even if they died.
Seeing that they've made their choices, Katsu lifted his sword. With one leap forward, he swung his blade and sliced apart the first mage's head. Then with almost no downtime, Katsu turned and thrusted his sword through the second mage's heart.
Slash. Slash. Slash. Stab.
His eyes only watched with a cold stare as his enemies fell.
Thump! Thump.
Letting out a sigh, Katsu placed his sword away with ease and continued his original path of running.