"Those Zerrians might be conducting an experiment to reverse time. Therefore, they generated that singularity when we encountered them. If we assume that they arrived here before us and established the Ziene civilization, we could address the question of how many things exist here."
Sonata conversed with Alto while Vanay and Genevieve left them alone.
"Zerrians have knowledge of Human and Dragonian civilizations. Your hypothesis is plausible," Alto agreed.
"Even if their true intentions are unpredictable, only they could accomplish something like this. It's highly probable that it's them," Sonata added.
"Perhaps your idea can be connected to the undestroyed gate in the middle of the forest. That gate should be related to the Zerrians," Alto suggested.
"Maybe," Sonata pondered, scratching his chin. "If it's true, we may discover something that could aid us in returning to our era. However, we can't hastily jump to one conclusion. Our theory is merely a possibility until we can substantiate the truth."
Unfriendly voices could be heard from outside the house.
Sonata had to alter his plans from departing with Vanay to quickly managing the mission to hiding from a group of soldiers who had arrived to speak with Genevieve. He peered out from inside Genevieve's house with intrigue. Those soldiers were all clad in white attire with chain armors on top, each bearing a sword and a large shield.
"Knights," Vanay, who was hiding in the house with Sonata, whispered. "These people never seem to learn their lesson. The last time I encountered them, I had my fairies chase them away."
It was no wonder that Genevieve was being followed by these young soldiers. She was a rare beauty, and just an ordinary village girl who had nothing to fight them with.
"Excuse me, young men, do you have any business with my granddaughter?" The elderly woman spotted her granddaughter surrounded by knights and emerged to assist Genevieve. Genevieve's actual grandmother was her sole surviving family member.
***--------------------------------------------------------------------***
"Don't be obstinate, old hag," one of the soldiers shoved Genevieve's grandmother to the ground.
Sonata touched Alto's shoulder. He shook his head since he knew what his friend was thinking. Alto pursed his lips and nodded, but his gaze was fixated on Genevieve and the knights.
One of the young knights stepped forward to confront the girl. His armor appeared more impressive than that of the others. Sonata presumed that this knight held a different rank from the rest of the group.
"Kivric Parakos, Prince Briden's companion, and a skilled knight," Vanay introduced the knight.
Kivric frequently employed his status to intimidate those who were inferior to him. Vanay had heard that he had even abducted a woman in broad daylight, but no one dared to accuse him due to his nobility and association with the crown prince. Genevieve had told Vanay that she was being harassed by a nobleman, but Vanay did not think that the nobleman in question was Kivric.
"You know that my patience is limited, right?" the young knight said in a menacing tone.
"I-I'm sorry," Genevieve quivered. The image of Kivric in her eyes blended with that of Prince Briden.
"I don't want an apology!" His voice nearly bellowed. "I gave you a chance. No one has ever made me wait this long."
Genevieve's grandmother attempted to intervene. She promised to persuade her granddaughter to consider Kivric's proposal and requested that he wait a bit longer.
However, it was futile since Kivric had arrived with the idea that he would not depart empty-handed if he did not receive a satisfactory answer that day.
"You know what this is, right?" Kivric withdrew a piece of paper. It was a loan agreement that her grandmother had made with a lender. Kivric had just paid to acquire the lender's rights.
"You have no right to do this," Genevieve exclaimed upon seeing the agreement. She was so enraged that she completely forgot about her fear. "We don't owe you anything. The contract specifies that the creditor's rights cannot be transferred."
"Do you think I'm interested in such trivialities? Henceforth, you owe me. If you don't pay today, prepare to go to jail." After uttering the last word, the other knights apprehended Genevieve and her grandmother.
"Please," the elderly woman implored.
She turned to seek the aid of the villagers who had gathered, but they all withdrew into their houses reluctantly. They did not dare to argue with the knights either.
"But I'm not a cruel person," Kivric remarked, seeing the woman he desired and her grandmother in a desperate state, and he smiled. "If you agree to become my concubine, I can immediately discard this contract."
Sonata sensed intense anger flowing like a strong current beneath the placid surface, but it did not emanate from Genevieve, her grandmother, or Vanay. The fury came from his friend, Alto.
A general Silencer was trained to be a merciless killer, but Alto was an exception. He was compassionate and considerate of others, especially when the other party was a child, a woman, or an elderly person.
Vanay realized that the situation was worsening, so she decided to rush out to assist her friend, but Alto was quicker than her.
Pewww…
Sonata was too late to stop the bullet from the pistol that had already been fired. The bullet's target was the loan paper in Kivric's hand. The bullet pierced straight through the paper, splitting it in half with the precision of an elite sniper, the kind praised by everyone in the Empire.
"Why can't you control your temper?" Sonata sighed. "We have to eliminate these guys to keep them from talking."
Alto and Sonata did not wait for Kivric and his followers to find them in the house. They stepped out and launched their attacks. Alto was wielding a rifle and he handed Sonata a pistol because he didn't want the city to be ravaged by the high-powered anti-matter gun.
Their weapons were not modern. They were old-fashioned guns from Alto's collection. Though they may not have been as powerful as Sonata's anti-matter gun, they performed perfectly well. The effectiveness of a gun depended on the skill of the shooter.
Alto fired, dodged, and fired again, the bullets hitting their intended targets with deadly precision, not even a fraction of a nanometer off. Each shot pierced the skull of the knights, even those wearing helmets, the bullet passing through a tiny peephole without Alto wasting a moment aiming.
In contrast to Sonata, he aimed for both of Kivric's knees. His third shot was aimed at Kivric's head, but Kivric raised his sword just in time to defend himself.
Sonata smiled, excited to see Kivric survive his shot.
"Who are you?" Kivric shouted angrily, using his sword to keep himself from collapsing.
"This guy is quick. He's still standing, even managed to raise his sword to deflect a bullet."
"Do you know who I am?" Kivric flicked his sword towards Sonata.
Sonata raised his head slightly and managed to dodge the blade just in time.
"Interesting. You might be even better than the psychic soldiers in my army," he said.
"If you're going to kill, do it quickly. Look, there are more coming!" urged Alto, noticing a large number of soldiers approaching them. The new faction had dozens of knights and archers among their ranks.
Vanay had been in shock, doing nothing while Sonata and Alto attacked the knights. She had joined the fray when Alto started the fight, but had not expected things to escalate so quickly.
Sonata and Alto were reckless to fight the knights in this city, even daring to attack a noble like Kivric. Vanay took a moment to regain her senses before deciding to run over and warn Genevieve and her grandmother to prepare to flee.
"We can't stay here any longer. We have to escape!" Vanay shook Genevieve, her friend standing helplessly beside her.
"Where are we going?" Genevieve turned to look at her grandmother. They had no remaining relatives, and her grandmother's poor health made fleeing into the forest seem impossible.
Arrows flew through the air, landing all around them. Vanay did her best to fend off both herself and her friend, while Alto fired back with his unique ability to penetrate through anything. Gravity Spell and Air Resistance Spell had little effect on his bullets, enabling him to take out two archers with ease, one by one.
Using five fingers, Sonata pierced through Kivric's armor and lifted the nobleman's body to shield himself from the incoming arrows. With only one hand, he raised Kivric with ease, as if the armored man was weightless. But the human shield did little to decrease the number of arrows raining down on them. The archers seemed unafraid to shoot at their comrade from the same side.
Moments later, Sonata and Alto discovered that these archers were not only skilled marksmen but also magic users. Their arrows were imbued with elemental magic, creating fire arrows, ice arrows, and more.
As the fight dragged on, Sonata found himself at a disadvantage. New groups of soldiers were gradually gathering, including priests and mages. Some attacked Sonata and Alto with direct magic, while others used healing spells to mend their wounded companions.
"I'm running out of ammo," Alto said, throwing the last pistol magazine at Sonata. "Let's get out of here."
"You take the girls and go first. I'll follow you later," Sonata replied.
Genevieve knew she was a liability and could not help, but she did not want to leave Sonata behind. Despite her refusal, Alto had no choice but to pull her along, leading Vanay, Genevieve, and her grandmother to safety with his unique ability to pass through walls.
Meanwhile, Sonata kicked Kivric's body away and used flying arrows as his base to jump high into the air. His gaze was fixed on a group of mages who were gathering to cast a spell.
Sometimes, mages needed to work together to cast a spell that a single person could not achieve alone. The fact that five mages were working together indicated that the magic they were about to use was extraordinary.
Sonata closed in on the mages, now well within range.
...Steal Mind…
The mages' emotions flooded into Sonata's mind. It was not just anger, fear, and other emotions but also the sense of the immense power these people wielded. Before they could cast their spell, Sonata understood it clearly, even knowing the name of the spell before the mages spoke it.
"Giga Wind!" Sonata shouted with satisfaction, unleashing the first magic he had copied from his opponents in the form of a hurricane that targeted the five mages.
In the blink of an eye, a powerful storm ripped through the surroundings, destroying everything in its path. Buildings were torn apart, and many soldiers and civilians were blown away. Sonata tried to minimize the damage to the soldiers, but it was difficult to control.
The storm's power dissipated instantly after it blew its targets away to a great distance.
Meanwhile, Alto and the others had taken cover in a nearby building. They took a break while Vanay tended to Genevieve's grandmother.
During their escape, Genevieve's grandmother sustained a serious injury.
"Damn it, I made a mistake," Alto gritted his teeth. It had only taken a split second of carelessness for the soldiers to change their target, realizing that Alto was impervious to their arrows.
Vanay wanted to condemn him, but there was no time for that. She was using healing magic with the fairies, desperately trying to mend the terrible wound in Grandma's lungs.
The arrow had been enchanted with a magic that resisted healing spells.
"Vanay's magic and fairy wing powder will heal the wound. Grandma, please stay awake," Genevieve said, holding her grandmother in her arms. She did her best to hold back her tears, but they streamed down her face nonetheless.
"I'm sorry. I should have taken better care of you," Grandma said, patting Genevieve's head affectionately. She showed no signs of pain, but her condition was still critical.
Boom…
One of the walls had been destroyed, and three heavily armored soldiers rushed in. The first soldier was swiftly countered by Alto, who sent him flying back in the same direction he came.
As the new reinforcements arrived, more and more soldiers were heavily attacked. Generals even stronger than Kivric began to appear. Alto refused to force the girls to leave until Grandma's last breath had left her body.
The fairies carried Grandma's corpse to the crystal at the top of the magic staff, where Genevieve would have the chance to pay her last respects.
Alto led Vanay and Genevieve away from their hiding spot, trying to escape the soldiers who were now hunting them.
While Sonata ran to join Alto, a horde of knights chased after him. Sonata waved his hand, signaling to Alto to prepare for a breakthrough to escape the pursuing knights.
An unexpected event occurred. A third party launched an attack, with many warriors hidden among the common people turning on the soldiers, opening a path for Sonata and his allies.
"Quickly, this way!" a big man shouted, waving his hand to signal them over.
Without time to think, Sonata and his friends decided to follow the path opened by these unknown warriors, running as quickly as they could.
***-------------------------------------------------------------------***
Everything happened so fast that it was almost impossible to recount the details through someone else's eyes. The unknown warrior led Sonata through the complex alleys and into a secret underground passage. Though they seemed unreliable, Sonata chose to trust these people and take his chances with them.
The secret passage eventually led them through the forest outside the city, which both Genevieve and Vanay were unfamiliar with, as it was beyond the watchtower of the capital city.
"We'll be climbing this mountain soon. Stay close and watch out for traps," the big man warned. He did not bother to introduce himself or provide any information about his group. As they walked, he explained that if Sonata spoke to his boss, he would understand their reasons for helping.
"It must be the Chaos," Vanay whispered to Genevieve. Her friend nodded grimly but didn't reply.
With her grandmother's passing, Genevieve's mind was preoccupied with grief and the realization that she now had no surviving relatives.
"Chaos?" Sonata raised an eyebrow, curious about what the acronym could mean.
...Ah, he thought to himself, feeling a familiar thrill of excitement building inside him.
It seemed like there was going to be something interesting to look forward to after all.