"What in the hell are you doing here?"
Ashen angrily demanded as he stabbed a satyr that approached him.
"Why ever do you ask that, Feiwu?", the young woman named Daiyu asked in obviously feigned bewilderment while she beheaded a minotaur with her halberd and swat away an arrow from a far-away sentry with her fan.
"You know what I mean you damned brat! Why are the top 2 of the Chinese Imperial Guard in England while it's under siege?"
"Hmm...good question. But can you not just consider it a show of good-will by the Emperor? England and the Empire are basically allies are they not?"
"What a load of bullshit! I know how your damned Emperor thinks and I very much prefer the former President over him! Now, tell me, what the hell are two doing here!"
Ashen demanded angrily.
With London under siege from an unknown terror force and the current state of the world, for Ashen, there was no reason for the newly reformed Empire of China to send their 2 best warriors to help England despite them being allies.
'There is no way this is just a show of good-will.'
Ashen then sneaks a momentary glance towards Rosseweisse.
'For now, that armored crybaby is protecting them from the monsters. But there's no telling when he'll do a 180 and stab us in the back after this...'
Scenes of dirty betrayal starts playing in Ashen's stressed mind. As much as he wants more meatshie-rather, 'allies' at his disposal, these two in particular are ones he would rather not have near him. Mostly for reasons he'd rather not recall right now due to their current predicament.
"Feiwu, for now, can you not trust us? I swear upon my life that we do not mean you-or anyone affiliated with you, any harm.", probably sensing his doubting mind, Daiyu stated in a serious tone.
"Do you really expect me to believe the words of a bitch who calls me with such names? Nice try brat. But you are not gonna fool me with that!"
Ashen however paid her statement no mind and outright debunked her.
"Can you at least try to believe in my words? Was the time we spent together back then mean nothing to you?", Daiyu replied wearily as she bisected a minotaur with her halberd.
"Nope. Not a thing!", Ashen blatantly denied her as he plunged his sword into the throat of an empusa, "Do you really think the time where I spent my days running from assassins would be sentimental to me?"
"GUE!", croaked the impaled empusa.
"I think not. So shut up and tell me the reason why you're here!", as soon as he had pulled his sword out of the hapless monster, "Hurry up! Or else I'll just stab you in the back right here and now!", he demanded some answers.
Daiyu stared at him in exasperation as she impaled a couple of satyrs with her halberd, "Ever the unreasonable one...", she sighed wearily. Her black dress, slowly swishing along as she turned to Ashen while mowing down more monsters as she swung her blade.
"Very well...I shall tell you once we get out of this situation.", she answered.
"Hmph! You better keep your word human, or else I'll just impale you with my sword the moment I find even the slightest sign you won't!"
"Then it shall be so. I will leave the planning to you!", not even the slightest bit perturbed by Ashen's blatant threat, Daiyu offered him a quick bow before proceeding to engage the monsters once more.
'Tch! Not even a twitch of the brow. This is why I hate SPs. They're annoying to threaten.'
Ashen thought so in annoyance before returning his attention to his front,
'Now then, with the risk of getting stabbed in the back reduced a little, I can have some leeway...assuming this is indeed somewhere in the tower and how those monsters definitely reacted when we showed up, I surmise that we are somewhere in the-'
"Just for your information Feiwu, we are currently somewhere near the top of the tower. To be precise, at least 3 floors down from the top.", Daiyu suddenly informed him. Apparently having predicted his line of thought.
"Can you not-!", Ashen blocks a frenzied strike from a minotaur, "-interrupt me when I'm thinking!", he complains furiously.
"Ah. I apologize."
'Seriously! Now where was I? Right, a few floors down from the top. One of the monsters said something about a ritual that must never be interrupted. Whatever the hell does that mean?'
Now Ashen remembers what had transpired a little while ago where a satyr cried out something about a ritual.
'If these dumbass monsters are Greek...then it should imply that they recognize such a ritual as an actual 'ritual'. Going by that logic...then the ritual they are talking is one where-'
A sudden thought pops out in his mind.
"No way!"
As soon as he realized, he swung his sword in a wide arc thereby bisecting a large number of satyrs and empusa before stopping inside the body of an unsuspecting minotaur.
His eyes darted about. Searching for the way out of here and not long after, his eyes sees a set of stairs that led upwards.
'There!'
"Oi! Brat duo!", he calls out to Daiyu and Heng with a particularly loud voice, "Secure those unconscious idiots over there and drag them along with you! Shieldgirl! Grab that useless nitwit hiding behind you and do your best to follow me!", he commanded.
"Understood! Brother Heng!"
"Un!"
The Brat duo immediately sprung into action, with Heng not even minding that the unconscious idiots-a.k.a., Maria and Jackie, are women and he simply grabbed them by their clothes, threw them onto his shoulder, then proceeded to carry them like sacks of rice.
'What the heck is that ugly smirk of yours that is practically saying, 'I don't want my sister to be burdened by something so cumbersome.'? Want me to slug you, you ugly brat?'
Ashen shot a tepid glare towards Heng.
"Milady! This way!"
"W-Wait a minute!"
Shieldgirl-a.k.a. Kyrie, was lost for a few moments before finally realizing that she must act and so clumsily, she guided Rosseweisse who was completely lost on what to do. Grabbing Rosseweisse's hand and raising her tower shield with her other hand, Kyrie proceeds to head for Ashen's direction while bulldozing through the horde of monsters.
'Well...at least that works.'
Ashen thought as he looked at all the monsters unfortunate enough to be rammed full-force by Kyrie's shield. Makes him wonder just how much force was Kyrie making to make even a Minotaur spew out blood after being rammed with her shield.
"Now get out of the way!"
With the stragglers(?) finally following after him, Ashen brandishes his sword once more and menacingly charges forward. His sword, bisecting or beheading any monster that dared block his path.
"STOP HI-GACK!"
"EEK! SPARE ME-BLERGH!"
"I SHALL STO_BUFOO?!"
With Ashen's rather surprisingly vigorous charge, the monster horde suffered death after death. Some tried to stop him with their shields, however, Ashen simply leaped over them with Daiyu and Heng cutting them down while they were distracted by Ashen's shocking physical movement, others tried to use their numbers to surround and stop him; however, that too failed, since Ashen either threw a grenade at them before they could form up or outright forced his way through by literally cutting them down with a single swing of his sword.
"Feiwu! Why the sudden rush?", Daiyu who was effortlessly following after him asked. Curious as to why he was suddenly aggressively making his way through the enemy horde despite him being rather roundabout earlier.
"Tsk! These monsters are about to do a ritual! I have to stop it!"
"But if these monsters are any indication, would it not be a ritual that sacrifices animals instead of humans? Why are you worried about?"
"When will you humans ever realize that humans are just another kind of animal?! Get it through your thick skulls already!"
With that angry retort, Ashen liberates a minotaur's head from its body.
"But even then, why would you worry about them sacrificing a human? Do you not hate humanity as a whole?", Daiyu responds while dodging an empusa then bisecting a fawn.
"That's the damned point!", Ashen swats away a lunging empusa and stops before the now looming staircase, "They took my daughter and brought her here!"
"You have a daughter?!"
Was Daiyu's only response to Ashen's grimacing answer.
*****
At the top of the tower...
In one section of the dimly lit room, sat a large metal cage.
"Keep quiet there child. Lest you suffer some pain to make you."
"Oh yeah? Make me!"
*Slap!*
"Ow! You just slapped me with your tail!"
"That I did. Now be silent there!"
Evaline, currently the captive of the enemy, groaned wearily as she massaged her sore cheek.
Quite a few hours has passed since she was taken, and an even shorter time since she was brought into the tower and then thrown into some kind of prison box made of metal. She can barely see more than 20 feet in front of her as the only illumination in the room are a sparse number of candles on lamps hung on different parts of the walls that encircled them, and a rather high-tech holographic table situated in the middle of the room.
Since the time she was thrown in here, she's been intentionally causing her captors; a dragon-whom she realized was a wyvern, and a strangely dressed clergyman; headaches by making noises and throwing fits as the 2 discuss between themselves the situation at hand.
Of course she was warned multiple times but as shown by her earlier exchange with the wyvern, she did not relent and was not even sorry for it.
"Tell me! Why did you take me?! What's the point of taking a young girl like me in the middle of all this chaos?! Tell meeee!"
She screamed incessantly. completely forgetting that she was just slapped for being noisy a short while ago.
"The ritual must not be stopped here Ferrious. If we are to properly erase the Saint, we need enough power to break through even the Sanctum magic of Darius."
"Is it really that much of a threat to you human augur? It is but a trifle for me to simply fly over there and crush that troublesome human."
"No can do! The Brynhildr is there. Her presence alone is more than enough of an alarming one. Though I do believe your unrivalled power as an ancient dragon, who knows if she is capable of defeating you. We cannot risk you falling against their strongest at this point in the conflict. It's better if we just manage to hold her in one place at the moment. If the reports are correct, then the Saint is currently not with her. If so, she is probably with Darius, the Captain of her Guard who is a major eyesore."
"Hmm...I have to admit, I underestimated the Brynhildr. Her strength was not to be trifled with."
"Right? And Darius is known to be the current strongest Holy Man of the Vatican. His magical powers are directly blessed by the Divinity he serves. Meaning, his powers alone can rival a dragon should the situation requires him to."
"Ho? Must be quite a remarkable man for you to say such words then."
So the clergyman and the dragon talked.
Evaline who was blatantly ignored recognized her mother's title,
'Brynhildr...that's Mother's title. The way that bald priest is explaining the situation, it seems like Mother is currently safe and is fighting back. He said that they're 'holding her in place'. Does that mean they have no means of actually defeating Mother? If that is so, then Aunt Kallen and Grandma Olivia are alright. That's a relief...'
Evaline breathe a sigh of relief after realizing that her family is currently safe.
'But then...who is Darius? The bald priest said that that person was the strongest Holy Man? What does that mean?'
Evaline was confused. Like her father, she was quite detached from the concept of religion and has never even been to a church all her life. Even during formal ceremonies or gatherings, she never participated in religious activities.
"Then what was the point of you asking myself to kidnap the young human? I see no harm in her leaving her be. Though armed, she exudes the aura of a fledgling hence not a threat to you."
Suddenly, the wyvern, Ferrious, asked an important question. Prompting Evaline to lean in to listen also.
"She's the daughter of the Brynhildr. She would make a fine bargaining chip.", the bald augur answered.
'Bargaining chip? Such unscrupulous motives. To use the love of my mother against her, that bald man seems like the type who would pretty much piss father off from the get go.'
Evaline thought in disgust.
"Are you certain of that human? From that young human's scent alone, I can tell that she is not the Brynhildr's daughter.", Ferrious remarked.
"Huh? Are you growing senile already Ferrious? Science has already proven that that child is most certainly Brynhildr's daughter. Did the fight with the Einherjar yesterday knock your senses out of whack?", the bald augur replied.
"Hrrmm...maybe so. But to be a bargaining chip is still quite a petty reason for having me disguise myself and kidnap that child.", Ferrious wondered, "The effort seems incommensurate of the non-existent gains."
'I totally agree. Now keep talking lizard and unknowingly help me discern your true intentions!', is what Evaline thought.
The bald augur looked at Ferrious rather questioningly before finally making an exasperated sigh, "Well, you may be right about that. But the fact that we can use her to bargain is the only thing she is valuable for."
"Why?"
The bald augur paced about the rather dim hall.
"Ever heard of 'The Crest of the Black Lotus'?", he asked Ferrious.
"Black Lotus? Never heard of such a thing. What of it?", Ferrious replied after shaking its draconic head.
"Well, the Crest of the Black Lotus is a legendary crest in the recent history of England. It was said that the first person who bore such a crest, was a soldier who fought in the 3rd World War, a war that raged years before the End-of-the-Century War.", the bald augur returned to his place beside the holographic table, "Our leaders once said that that same person was the reason why the 3rd World War ended and that the person was extremely strong for a human of their time. Countless times they said, that the bearer of the Crest was able to stop the leaders of the Order in stopping the Saints single-handedly."
Evaline sees Ferrious lean closer to the holographic table, "If what you say is true, then that human must have lived over a hundred years ago. No human would be still alive now even if they are as strong as you have said.", the curious dragon replied.
"Well, that is true. We all thought the menace was over. Until we saw a bearer of the crest yet again during the Royal Audience this morning."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. Though it seems to be a young Knight. Probably either a descendant or inheritor of the crest. He seemed to be the consort of the Brynhildr and has been reported to be the one who botched up our operations back in Lothargien so his skill is undeniable. I hear he even killed Calvin, a Lord Knight of England with a single attack."
"Hoh~?", Ferrious was impressed.
"That is why we will use that young girl as some sort of hostage to keep him from acting against us since apparently, he seems to cherish her greatly."
At the mention of such words, Evaline almost choked in surprise.
'So they were not planning to use me against Mother but against Father? Are they crazy?', she thought.
"Hmm...a hostage is it?", Ferrious rumbled, "Though I do not understand how you humans always do underhanded plots like that, your explanation was enough to make me understand a inkling of the situation. So I shall forgive you for forcing me to disguise and hide amongst humans.", Ferrious huffed in tacit understanding before returning his attention to the table, "So, how goes your ritual then? If the young human was not for the ritual, then how are you planning of performing it? I do not understand the purpose of it so care to explain?", the curious dragon requested.
Hearing him ask, Evaline did a a fist pump in agreement. She was waiting for the senile dragon(lizard) to ask about it.
"Ah. About that-"
And somehow, the bald augur seems to be willing to explain.
"-the purpose of the ritual is to-"
"WHERE.IS.MY.DAUGHTERRRRRRR?!"
Suddenly the loud and fury-induced voice of a man fills the air just as a part of the wall blew apart, blowing clouds of dust and smoke into the room.
"I did not even sense anything amiss!"
"What-"
Before the bald augur could even fathom what happened, Ferrious breathe a stream of flame towards the cloud of smoke causing a small explosion that further destroyed the wall.
'Eh?! What?! What just happened?!'
Evaline herself was confused. But when she sees a streak of grey soar through the air and hit Ferrious in the eye, causing the dragon to jerk its flaming maw away, she finally understood.
"You guys sure are pieces of work. Kidnapping a child for something as petty as being a bargaining chip!"
A familiar figure walks out of the wreckage with heavy, and imposing steps.
Ferrious, glared at it and even started to growl menacingly. The dragon was obviously being wary of the person that walked out of the dust cloud;
Wearing a very conspicuous ensemble of Knightly armor and a face filled with utter anger and annoyance-
"You better not have hurt my daughter or I swear...I will rip the skin off your shiny egg-shaped head and feed you to the dogs!"
-Ashen, the very angry dad has finally arrived and he is ready to throw down.