Natsuo gingerly made his way towards the group, holding Daphne in his arms. She was beaming with happiness at the return of her significant other. The other heroes also seemed to be relieved at his appearance.
"I'm in pretty rough shape, so I'll need to visit a healer before we transfer out again, apologies if this comes as an inconvenience to anybody," said Natsuo.
"Nah! Don't worry about it, I'll hook you up with the best nurse I know, Yui Misako!" I said.
"I appreciate your swift gesture, Yukio. Thank you. But, it seems that someone of importance has suddenly shown up, meaning something serious went down...what happened?" asked Natsuo, looking at Hero.
Hero looked back at Natsuo, smirking. Despite Natsuo being able to communicate with God, you could immediately sense the difference in ability between the two. Hero was miles higher than anyone else, but he appeared so...regular.
"Well, how much did you witness before your death, Natsuo?" asked Hero.
"Apparently not a lot, considering the massive amount of monster remains in the area. What the hell happened that would prompt you to show up after a 5-month absence?"
"Well, allow me to explain..."
Hero went on to explain the entire ordeal to Natsuo. He explained his 5-month mission, the zodiac's true motives, their newfound leaders, the monster Marius turned into, and their current circumstance. Natsuo took in all the information, confused, but also understanding.
"I see... this changes everything. What do you think Marius and Henka are up to now? Where did they go?" asked Natsuo. I answered.
"Henka took the form of a bird and flew away, and Marius turned into this giant monster, split bodies, and took off. God knows where they ran off to..."
"He does? Well, let me ask him then," said Natsuo.
"Wait... WAIT HUH?" I asked. Was Natsuo being serious? If he could talk to God, then perhaps he really was being serious.
"Yeah, I can just ask him! Give me a second here, I need to focus to be able to speak with him."
Natsuo closed his eyes and put his hands together. Then, he began to recite a prayer. As he did so, beams of light began to emit from his head, and a halo formed above him.
"Lord, I ask for your advice... giveth me thine divine knowledge..."
He began to levitate in the air, slowly, and remained there. He looked like an angel.
"Okay, I'm there... let me focus now."
Natsuo seemed to be transitioning from Earth to Heaven, somehow. His body was becoming transparent, and he remained where he was, in the same position, for a good 3 minutes, before returning to normal.
"I see... God knows where they are, and he offered me his help. Would you like to know where they are?" asked Natsuo.
"Of course! What's the deal?" I asked.
"They're separated from each other. Henka appears to be making his way towards Camp Mu, and Marius is in some weird place far away. God said he doesn't know the exact location, but it appears to be a void instance of some sort."
"A void instance? Where the hell are you, Marius?" I thought to myself.
"I think it's best not to search for him, considering how not even God knows where he's really at. But, we should have no trouble chasing down Henka if he's near Camp Mu, it's just a train ride away after all," said Hero.
"Perhaps you're right. We should go soon. I think it would be best to start our counter-attack now, rather than later. They've had 30 years to prepare for us, who knows what tricks they have up their sleeve." replied Saburo, approaching Natsuo from behind.
While we were strategizing, and coming up with plans on how to go about apprehending the Patriarchs, Marius was strategizing plans of his own... this "void instance" was a place hidden so well, no man could ever find it.
It was, quite literally, in the void. It was the Zodiac's HQ, where its patriarchs and members gathered for debriefings and training. How to access it? Nobody knew except for the Zodiac members themselves.
Marius had successfully returned to the void after narrowly escaping death at the hands of the top ten. He is now reunited with the other members of The Zodiac, and is speaking with a very important person about their future plans...
This "very important person", was The Shade himself. He and Marius were having a private meeting, so that Marius could relay all of the information he collected, back to him. They sat alone, in his office...
"Welcome back, Gemini... I am pleased to see that you're alive, but, you've sustained quite a lot of injuries. Care to explain what happened?"
"Ah, these injuries? Don't mind them. I simply-" Marius was cut off.
"You were on the verge of death, weren't you? You must be more careful, it would be a shame if something were to happen to you...how did you sustain these injuries?"
"Well, I got into a bit of trouble at Camp Alpha, and was attacked by the top ten heroes. Though, I escaped."
"I see. You should know how dangerous those heroes are. If you would have waited for another second, you could have died...for good..."
"I understand, apologies, my liege. Although, I do return bearing good news. Capricorn has been found. He is currently in Camp Alpha..."
"Oh, is that right? Did you try talking to him?"
"I did, but I couldn't break him... his mind appears to be very calm, though I couldn't sense the calm mind ability anywhere inside him. When I encountered him, I could tell he was Capricorn, and his powers were later confirmed after he took control of a monster."
"Wonderful... though, considering you failed to apprehend him, how powerful was he? You should have had little trouble with him."
"I probably wouldn't have had any issues, if it weren't for that damn little girl he was with. Turns out, she was with the 2nd highest ranked hero, and she's pretty damn strong. I wouldn't be able to kill her, at least not in my current state."
After splitting bodies, Marius had seemingly no injuries, though, after a good 15 minutes of being in his new body, his injuries became apparent. Turns out, he was in a more severe condition than he originally thought himself to be in.
In his current state, there would be no way for him to succeed in a battle against any of the top ten heroes, considering he couldn't defeat Daphne.
"I see, well, you should be wary of her, and anyone else in the top ten. To be extra safe, be wary of any level 7 hero. Some may appear weak, but trust me, they're legit. It takes an insane amount of effort to get into the 7th level..."
"How would you know?" asked Marius.
"I've been studying the Hero Camp for quite some time. Some things, I just know..."
"I see. Well, if they're so powerful, aren't you afraid that they'll come for you, and kill you? I was easily overwhelmed by them, what makes you confident that your plans will work?" asked Marius.
The Shade's eyes began to glow red, and he gave Marius a stern look. Suddenly, Marius felt a searing pain come from his left arm. His arm had disappeared, being torn off instantly. Marius was shocked, as he watched his arm hover in front of him.
The Shade, he was controlling Marius's arm with his mind. Was he also an esper? It didn't seem like it, considering he wasn't glowing, and neither was the arm... this was an entirely different ability.
"WHA-HEY, WHY DID YOU-?" Marius was cut off once more.
"Sometimes, you fail to realize who I am. I fear nobody, and am feared by all. You can fix yourself, but let this serve as a reminder, that I have things under control..."
Marius split bodies, appearing behind The Shade. He walked back to his seat, and removed his body from it, before taking a seat.
"I apologize for speaking out like that, my liege. But I must ask this question. Even though you fear nobody, are you sure you'll be able to take out "him"?"
"When you say "him", are you referring to the man in silver, the one whom the others call "Hero"?" asked The Shade, closing his eyes, and resting his chin on his hands.
"Precisely. Remember what I said about him? I sensed no limit to his power. He terrified me, and I cowered in fear trying to escape from him. When he punched me, it felt like my very soul was being destroyed. I split bodies successfully but could find no trace of my old shell. He disintegrated it."
"Hm... I do recall you explaining that to me once before. I remember seeing him myself once, and his abilities to seem to match up with what you said. I never mentioned this to you, but I once engaged in a duel with him," said The Shade, taking a sip from a drink he had next to him.
"You did? How did it end? You're both alive... was it a draw?" asked Marius.
"More or less, it was a draw. He landed one hit on me, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was in danger. I had just enough time to escape by phasing through the ground, but that one punch... it carried the weight of a black hole...my arm flew off of my body."
"I take back what I said. I fear one man, and that is all. I hope to never have to deal with him again, because if I did, it could be problematic. If anything, he should be our top priority. If we can eliminate him, we can win our battle."
"Agreed. Where are the others? Have you sent any other Patriarchs after Yukio?"
"Ah, is Yukio Capricorn? You never mentioned his name."
"Yes, he is. His name is Yukio Sazuke. He represents Capricorn, and can control monsters. Is that how you intended it to be?"
"I see. So my blessing affected him. I chose him to be blessed as Capricorn, and he's finally been found. Well, now that I know his location, I'll send some others after him. I already sent Henka to Alpha for survey work, he should be returning soon."
"Oh, Henka was there? I didn't see him!"
"Yeah, he was there too. It's probably good you two weren't close to one another. If you interfered with each other's plans, things could have gone much slower."
"Well, who are you going to send after Yukio next? I heard he was planning to go to Camp Omega next. Do you have a patriarch stationed there for recruiting?"
Marius figured out where Yukio and friends were going next, back when Ambrosia and Yukio were having an energy infusion before his attack. When he vanished from underneath the light post, he made his way to the hotel...
From there, he entered the room next to Yukio's and listened in on their conversation through the wall... he had planned everything out, and knew where they were going next.
"Ah, Camp Omega? That's convenient, as I'm sending a patriarch there tomorrow. I'm sending Cynthia, I feel like she has the highest chance of survival when it comes to dealing with someone like Hero, as she's had to deal with him before."
"Ah, is that right? Man, nobody tells me anything that goes on in this place. How many people have fought Hero at this point?"
"As far as I know, you and Henka have both seen him, Cynthia and Yurei fought him, and I fought him. Nobody else has encountered him, and it's probably for the best."
"I see... well, I wish Cynthia the best of luck. What should I do now?" asked Marius.
"Heal up, before going back out there. Camp Alpha is a dangerous place. If you're seen there again, you could be killed. For now, I'm ordering all patriarchs to stay away from major city camps except Cynthia for now. She's the most qualified for the job."
The Shade made Cynthia out to be the most dangerous patriarch. From what Hero said about her, she can foresee the future, something not even Ambrosia can do at the moment. This allows her to dodge all attacks, 100% of the time. Who knew what combat abilities she had.
"Alright, my liege, I trust you. Our plans will prevail, and Etheria will flourish. Humans and Monsters will eventually coexist in peace." said Marius.
"Indeed they will. It will be a glorious day when we eliminate the Hero Camp. You are dismissed. When Henka gets back, please direct him to my office. I need to speak with him as well."
"Yes, my liege. Thank you," said Marius, standing up, and saluting The Shade. Then, he turned around and exited his office. The Shade spoke to himself when Marius left.
"Yukio Sazuke...wherever you are, I'll be keeping my eyes on you..."