Along the route leading to the Capital of Cronoa, a carriage was passing through.
"You truly plan on going against your own family, brother?"
"I lost my brother the day you let your hatred for relics turn into an obsession."
Rohan was driving the carriage with his brother tied and seated behind him.
"I plan on conveying the truth to the king, that it was you who shared letters with the enemy and framed Rhea."
He carefully maneuvers through the bumpy road.
"I will bring you to justice, that shall be my repent-"
Just as he was about to finish, an arrow flew in their direction.
'Tsk. Ambush!?'
He avoided most of the arrows that aimed for them.
Eventually, he couldn't dodge an exploding arrow that sent them crashing into a tree.
Rohan burst his head as his vision got blurry. He could see the silhouette of a woman standing in front of them with a dozen archers behind her.
He sneered at the sight of the woman untying his brother as they all looked down at him.
"What do we do with him, commander?"
The woman was none other than Kira.
After their defeat at the hands of Ace. Kira and some of the soldiers managed to escape while the others were captured and imprisoned in Kondo.
She had been keeping tabs on Khan's whereabouts including where he was kept hostage.
"Let him bleed out." Rohan was steadily losing consciousness as he could barely move.
"Forgive me for speaking out, but commander, he's you-"
"He said it himself." Rada Khan hanged the cape that was handed to him by one of the soldiers around his back and turned around.
"He's not my brother."
The vision of the swordsman faded as he watches his brother get on a carriage and rode off with his 'followers'.
"Since all parties are ready, the challenge may commence."
Ciel, the guardian of the Aquarius crypt struck the ground with his rod vanishing in the process leaving the participants to themselves.
One by one, the groups all jump into the portal.
"Let's go, guys!"
Ace leaps into the portal followed by Vorus and Conroy.
"Don't slow us down, four-eyes." Reginald sneers at their new teammate as he jumps as well.
"Tsk. It's official, I'm murdering that bastard." Maggie followed from behind.
There were currently eight different groups participating in the challenge including Aegis.
They had all passed through the portal and were now in what seemed like an aquarium with infinite space.
The other groups were already familiar with this part of the challenge.
On the other hand...
"Woah!" Ace's eyes shone brightly as he touches the glass container which seemed to go on forever.
"So many sea creatures."
"They would make a mean seafood salad," Vorus says as he wipes off the drool in his mouth.
"Seriously do you only ever think of food and fighting?"
"Hahaha. What can I say? A man needs to eat well to fight well."
Reginald couldn't help but facepalm after hearing that.
"Of course, that'll be your comeback."
Maggie, on the other hand, pulled out a book and began to write in it.
"Watchu doing?"
Ace stood right behind her trying to get a closer look at what she was writing.
She slams the book and puts it away.
"Oh, that was my journal. I use it to record my experiences."
'Although everyone finds it weird.'
"Cool! that means you'll be recording our adventures from now on." Ace looked on to her with beaming eyes.
"Y-you don't find this stupid?"
She recalled being made fun of and ridiculed by the other participants whenever she would bring out her journal.
"Nah. Isn't that something that makes you happy?"
She pauses and then smiles.
"Yes, I'd love to write about our adventures together."
Her meeting with Ace was but a coincidence. She only wanted to use them to reach her goal, but she's getting fond of each member of the clan.
"Oi! Four eyes!"
"Tsk! A vein popped on her forehead."
'What's this bastard going to say now?'
"Given that you're useless in combat, why don't hide behind any of these monsters?" He sheepishly pointed at Ace and Vorus.
"For the hundredth time since I joined you guys, it's Maggie! Not four-eyes."
Everyone in the clan was nice to her, except Reginald.
'What's his problem?'
Just then, Ciel appears once again.
"Let the first trial begin!" As soon as he finished, he struck his staff against the ground once again and rebeasts began to appear from out of thin air.
"There's so many of them!" Conroy was shaking as he hid behind Vorus.
The rebeasts that appeared included selkies, scyllas, and several other mythical creatures that duel in waters.
The majority of the rebeasts included humanoid forms of Lotan, a legendary sea serpent.
They were numbered in the hundreds.
"There are two trials to this crypt. The first is the test of might, each participant is to defeat a hundred of these relic beasts in five minutes order to proceed to the next challenge."
"What!" Reginald and Conroy exclaimed in unison as they all jaw dropped with the latter shaking even more excessively.
Ace and Vorus on the other hand looked excited to finally get some action.
Ciel disappeared. "I wish you good luck."
As soon as he leaves, the other groups scrambled and began to attack the monsters. There was no struggle in finding targets since the monsters will respawn over a short period so there was an unlimited amount of time.
Maggie looked on as rebeast fell one by one. Some were burnt and sliced while others were being crushed and beheaded.
'How am I supposed to kill a hundred of these things?' She had a dreaded look on her face as she turned to the others.
"Uhm, hurry up you guy!" She looked on at her new teammates as they all surrounded her.
"I'm weak, there's no way I can kill a hundred of these things, I'll only slow you down."
But neither of them moved an inch.
"Tsk, didn't I tell you to hide behind these two and shut up?"
"We came here as a team. We're not abandoning you."
"Yeah, there has to be something that we're not getting, Lady Maggie."
Reginald seemed to be pondering as he watches the slaughter of the rebeasts continue.
"Taking out a hundred of these guys is possible for us, but it's the time limit that's the problem."
"And Ciel says we each have to get a hundred."
"Or did he?" Maggie interjected looking as if an invincible light bulb was over her head.
"Why would he make sure we're all grouped before sending us here only to separate us again?"
That was the case.
Ciel emphasized that solo raiders are not allowed and everyone had to belong to a group of at least four members to participate in the challenge.
Then why would he demand they each kill a hundred of the rebeasts the minute they got through the portal?
"The answer was... He didn't!" Reginald snapped his finger upon catching what Maggie was trying to say.
"What if by participants he meant the parties in the raid?" Maggie concluded.
"That will mean we only have to kill a hundred of them together."
"That does make more sense. I'm guessing the reason nobody was able to pass the challenge thus far was that the moment the first trial began, the parties separated to take out a hundred on their own."
"It wasn't just a trail of might. It was to test the bonds of the groups."
"Only true clans could pass this trial and not just any group or party formed at the last minute."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Vorus, you head first and tank, take out anyone that crosses your range of attack."
"Yes!" He summons the Warhammer, Mjolnir.
"Conroy, you stay behind with Maggie. Shoot any rebeast that passes through."
"Rodger that!" He also summons his relic and takes his position.
"Regi, you're with me. We'll launch a relentless attack and cover for Vorus."
"Ay, ay captain." He quickly draws his sword and the three of them charged into the midst of rebeasts.
"Wait isn't that Mjolnir?"
"As in, the A-rank relic belonging to Nature's hunter Vorus?"
"He's here!?"
"And with that strange kid from earlier."
"No way. I knew he looked familiar."
One of them pulled out his phone depicting the image of Ace striking Rada Khan.
"H-he's the guy who beat Rada Khan!?"
"What! Someone like him is here? That will only mean one thing."
"They're the Aegis clan."
"Thunder mash!"
"Sun purge!"
"Kill switch!"
"Pierce!"
Bodies scattered all over the place as the rebeasts didn't stand a chance against the assault of the team.
Maggie was awed at the sight of seeing them move like a well-oiled machine.
'They really know how to work as a team.'
She couldn't help but admire her teammates as they crushed and decimated their targets.
It wasn't long until the timer sounded and Ciel appeared once again.
"Congratulations Aegis for clearing the first trial. You may proceed for the second trial."
The team was excited over successfully passing their first trial.
"Brint it on!" Ace exclaims as the five were teleported leaving behind the other participants.
"This was their first time in here and they've already cleared the first trial."
"I am so posting about this when I get home! I met Aegis."
"Tsk, those bastards!" Rex was covered in flames and overtaken by the feeling of rage and embarrassment as he recalls the words of Reginald before they entered the crypt.
"We're completing this challenge in a single run, unlike some of you posers here."
The flames around him got hotter as he walked towards the exit of the crypt. It wasn't just bad enough that he failed to pass the trail once again.
But he got upstaged by the very people he mocked before taking the challenge.
"This is not over!"