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Bordering the lands of the Eastern and Southern continents, in a forest stretching across the outskirts was a weary Athena- the one who was hailed as the Guardian of wisdom.
Inundated was the only way she could describe herself at the moment. From the hours of fighting, exhaustion was quickly coursing through her entire body. In every instance that she moved her wing, a stinging pain from the soreness would come with it.
As she breathed heavily, even her underlying worries had begun striking her thoughts. One of which was the excruciating thought that her friend, the Guardian of will's sacrifice will all be in vain.
Nonetheless, it was her friend's decision to fend off their pursuers by herself, yet Athena and even the Guardian of speed wanted no more than to decline her offer.
The gravity of the truth they needed to relay to the other guardians was far more important. Hence, after seeing her smile one last time, they heeded her words and made haste
And now, hours had gone by and their pursuers were on their tail yet again.
'If they're already here it means, she has... HOOT!' She tried her best to erase those thoughts. Now, hoping that she was alive was the only thing she could do.
As she stared at the calming night that betrayed the heavy burdens on her shoulders, she smiled weakly and thought, 'At least, I can ask the perpetrators myself.'
There was no doubt Athena's mana was almost depleted from all the running and clashes, and frankly, she questioned if she still had the stamina to fight back.
Had it not been for her immense rage due to a certain discovery, and the hope that the fastest of them could escape, Athena knew she'd have long fainted.
As she sighed, and silently HOOTed on the forest grounds, she began to remember it all too well; the moments long before she realized that they had been betrayed.
Athena, among some of the Guardians of celestials, banded together once more as the lurking darkness, the demon king and right-hand man of Lucile was beginning to show signs of resurrection.
At first, the theory was so catastrophic that no one wanted to believe it, yet upon receiving multiple reports from the Guardian of speed, that was when they all decided to hold a meeting at the Dragons' Lair.
It had been a long time since they all gathered, and from once being called the 12 Guardians of old, their numbers were now too pitiful. Perhaps that was also the reason why they didn't want to gather, as they would often remember their friends, predecessors— masters who'd passed away.
And yet there they were, discussing the possibilities of another demon king rising. Upon their gathering, they connected all the abnormalities; the erratic dungeon spawnings, bandits having unheard powers (and connections), and the Taglagas incident. They all realized how close the evil was to resurfacing around Mundo.
Immediately, they investigated with the Guardian of strength, charm, and luck each moving individually, while the guardian of vitality would move on his own.
As for the remaining ones, Athena, alongside the Guardian of will and speed, was tasked to prevent any more dungeons from further developing. Which was why, in her head, she was the reason for their current predicament.
'I've disgraced my title...' She, the one hailed as wisdom, had foolishly overlooked the possibility that a trap set up for them could ever be orchestrated by a fellow guardian.
Truthfully, the trust she had garnered for all the guardians was shared among all of them. Regardless of how it had been eons since some of them last spoke, she had no ounce of the doubt for the ones she called her family. Likewise, she knew that they also considered her as such.
All those feelings only made the betrayal hurt her heart even more.
'Hoot... I merely hope the others will connect the dots as to who the traitor is.' She thought regretting how this information would not be relayed if she fails to escape.
At that point, Athena would just be grateful if the Guardian of speed could make it. Yet even then, if they were both to fail, she trusted that the rest of the guardians would find some abnormality in their disappearances.
In the first place, no one could have thought that the pieces of Lucille could face them directly. Even if the Guardian of strength and luck were on different missions, and the Guardian of charm and vitality were missing in action, under normal circumstances they should have the ability to escape.
'No, it's because of—' Yet before she could even finalize her thoughts, a blistering dark magic shot in the direction where she was hiding.
Instantly she flew, managing to evade it and at the same time deflect the following attacks of flaming arrows. The adrenaline was effectively numbing her from the soreness of moving.
"If you think you're leaving this forest in one piece, think again!" Said the woman with stark red hair, her aggression not failing to show in the slight growl of her voice.
"Now, now, we are here to capture her." Added the man who was the one who fired off the dark spell called [ Imprisonment ].
"But why don't you comply, lady Wisdom? Your wit must understand that it's much easier."
From what Athena could remember, the girl was called Awthra, a pawn, and candidate for the position of bishop. Beside her feigning negotiation was her master, the bishop himself.
A man capable of clashing against Athena's very own dark magic. Alongside their other pawns, the knight, the rook, and even the queen herself, the Guardians of celestials were not only outnumbered but unprepared.
It could have been easy for Athena to just fly off and escape yet upon the queen's power, (and her dwindling mana) the sky that should have been her safe haven was filled with traps.
She knew that magic was made specifically for her, and without a doubt took months of preparation. Therefore, it became the Guardian of speed's responsibility to escape while the remaining guardian fought off the pursuers.
And yet, they could only do so much from the preparedness of the enemy, and the circumstance of betrayal.
"Truly, it is best for you to surrender. I personally don't want any more bloodshed." Added the man.
Athena in return only asked, "Where's the Guardian of will, and where are the other pieces of Lucille?"
Yet what she got were powerful spells she quickly made useless, all by sealing it with some of her remaining magic. Tired as she was, she would not go down easily, not without trying to make the one who betrayed them fall.
She then used what was left of her magic to track the traitor, allowing a few of her feathers to fly and leave a trail of mana as they went.
Alas, a streak of light quickly pierced every single feather, signifying the arrival of Reyna, Queen of the pieces of Lucile.
"I'm afraid we can't let you do that."
What then followed were the sharp flashes of darkness and light, causing that one section of the forest to seem lively even to the most distant of onlookers. Yet after a while, the powerful dark magic could no longer be seen, and a serene yet chilling brightness overtook the forest.
By then, Athena now laid on the cold forest ground, weakly gazing up at the blinding mana cage hovering above her. Her gaze blurred as she saw the faint image of a young owlet she deeply missed.
With the dwindling of her mana, one last plea lingered in her mind, 'My little one... please take care of him Naell...'
And with that, the Guardian of wisdom lost the battle, along with her consciousness.