"So they captured the one winged queen and the heir of the Tiger Clan. These Dark Lords...They keep getting more and more bold by the second. What's the game plan, Your Majesty?" Felix asked.
"We prepare as best as we can and Charlotte can warp us to Aevum. From there it is only a day march to the Reval Empire. We will not show any mercy to these bastards." I said.
"It is to note...Reval has a Horseman in their ranks. The Red Horseman or I should say Horsewoman." Grimm said.
"They do?" Yukari asked.
"Yes." Venus nodded. "Her names is Mars. She's known as the One Man Army boosted by the powers of the Dark Lord. She's one of the four members of a group named The Apocalypse. She's so powerful that she was able to strike down 3 Gods and 3 Goddesses alone."
I summoned a book about the Four Horsemen and flipped to the section talking about War. I read about some of her abilities. "War Embodiment, Combat Embodiment, Power Embodiment, Weapon Arsenal, Divine Combat, One Man Army, Raw Power, Absolute Violence, the list of her abilities goes on."
"It is said that Mars is the strongest Horseman, but there's a rumor about a Fifth missing Horseman. Or should I say, horsewoman again." Grimm said.
"Fifth Horseman?" I asked and looked at Grimm.
"She's known as the Wandering Saint. No one knows where she is, but it is suspected that she reappeared after Aevum was attacked and destroyed. She's said to be slightly stronger than Mars and has two forms, her Saint Form and her Infamous Nightmare Form." Grimm said.
I looked at Raven and she looked at me. Something in me suspected Raven, but I doubted it. If she was the horsewoman, I feel like Felix would've known or she would've told me. I shrugged it off and made the book go back to the library. "Alright, let's go pick up the rest of our forces and head off."
"Right!" My army said.
I warped all of us to Idrisid and we noticed Wolfe talking to Midnight. Midnight was helping Wolfe tap into his inner werewolf as Wolfe had that potential. I walked to the two and they looked at me. Midnight's tail wagged as she saw me.
I placed my hands on their shoulders. "We've got somewhere to be. Another kingdom to conquer. Another Dark Lord to destroy and an old enemy to strike down. People to save. You in or out?"
"You know I'm in." Wolfe smiled.
"I go where you go, Lord Ares." Midnight smiled and nodded.
"Good. Let's head out-"
"Wait!" A voice said and walked up.
I looked back and noticed Theresa and Ignas walking up. Theresa held her head as she still had terrible headaches as side effects from the mind control. She looked alright now and more in control. Ignas obviously helped her calm down and the two grew a lot closer over the days.
"God-Emperor Ares! We are under your command so take us under your wing!" Ignas bowed to me.
"My head is under a lot of pain and I still may go berserk, but I promise to only use it on our enemies and not allies." Theresa bowed.
"Stand straight." I said and they stopped bowing. "You two are official members of the Luceros Royal Knights and the United One Army. I hope you two prove yourselves to be very useful."
Theresa and Ignas smiled. They nodded and I turned around then walked to Charlotte then rubbed her hair. She smiled at me then helped me pinpoint Aevum. Me and my army warped to Aevum.
Sareth walked to Mars, who was resting against her red stallion with a flaming mane and tail with her arms crossed. She stood in front of her. "Mars."
Mars opened her eyes and looked at Sareth. "What is it? Can't you see I'm preparing for battle?"
"Preparing? Hmph whatever. You know what the plan is correct?" Sareth asked.
"Of course I know the plan. Kill the God-Emperor, take his crown, kill his units. Simple." Mars said then closed her eyes. "If you're worried I will fail, I won't. I, along with my friends, took down the Fourth God-Emperor when the Five Guardians failed. I've went toe to toe with Gods and Goddesses before alone and came out on top. You should worry about yourself."
Sareth looked at Mars and crossed her arms. "Why did you join the Reval Empire to begin with?"
"Simple. Because I felt like it. My allies have all joined other Kingdoms but when it comes down to it, we will betray these kingdoms if we have to. Unlike you, we do not have a bone to pick with the God-Emperors and Goddess-Empresses anymore. We are only complying because we simply are that bored so don't think you hold any power over us. All of us are simply only looking for a good fight." Mars said.
"Hmph. Just don't hold anything back." Sareth said then walked away.
My army and I marched to the Reval Empire on foot which would take about a day to get there. Grimm and Felix led the army while I stayed back with the other royals who were with us.
"Raven." Wolfe said and walked beside her.
"Oh hey Wolfe." Raven smiled and had her arms crossed. "Missed me?"
Wolfe blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head. "Hmph. I see the Tiger Clan is working with us. Lord Ares has some massive influence huh. The Tiger Clan never worked with anyone outside of the Five Guardians."
"Yeah, God-Emperor Ares is pretty strong. Almost feels relieving that he isn't evil in the slightest. I mean he saved your ass when most royals wouldn't." Raven smiled.
"I'm still grateful to him for that. Plus the Knight Salary is just amazing. He pays us so considerately and because we have more kingdoms allied with us, the trading has been generating enough money for raises and improvements on weaponry. I could get used to this life." Wolfe smiled and placed his hands behind his head.
"Heh...don't get too comfortable. You may never know when danger strikes." Raven said.
"Yeah yeah." Wolfe smiled.
After a few hours of travel, we stopped to set up camp. I made buildings for us so we could all comfortably rest and cast an invisible barrier over the camp. Charlotte, Midnight, and Venus helped prepare meals for the army and I supplied the ingredients.
Iris walked over to Theresa and Theresa looked at Iris. Iris held out a tray of food to Theresa. "Here!~ Eat up~"
Theresa looked at the food and took it carefully from Iris. She picked up a ball of bread then took a bite and noticed it was jelly filled inside. "It's so good. I haven't had anything this good in a while.."
"Mhm! Big Sis Charlotte and Venus really knows how to cook!~ There's enough for seconds! You should come to me and Yukari's building and share a meal with us." Iris smiled.
"I couldn't. What if I lose control and destroy something? I couldn't deal with that burden after being accepted.." Theresa said and looked down.
"Look at Ignas. Him, Felix, and Grimm are getting along well." Iris pointed.
Theresa looked at Ignas and watched him laugh along with Grimm and Felix. She felt so jealous of Ignas. He wasn't unstable like she was. "I'm too unstable."
"You seem stable enough." Iris smiled at Theresa.
Theresa looked at Iris and gave up and decided to go with Iris to her and Yukari's building to have a meal with them and rest with them.
I stared out the window and had Merla and Ashelia on my mind. Venus set a plate in front of me on the table and caressed my cheek. I looked at her and she stroked my chin then smiled.
"They will be alright. We will save them before anything bad happens to them. Now eat up, my love...we can't have our God crashing in the middle of battle..~" Venus said then pecked my lips and walked off.
I looked at the meal and decided to eat and regain stamina for myself.
After we all had our dinner, we decided to rest for the night and regain our energy. The next day, we all woke up and got ready to continue the march. We made it halfway and I noticed Mars.
Mars was a woman with red hair that stopped at her shoulders. She wore a black corset with gold accent and her midriff exposed. She wore a black thong panty. She wore a black coat with gold accents around her shoulders like a cape and a half skirt around her waist to cover her butt. The shirt was also ripped towards the ends. She wore thigh high stockings and ornate black and gold knee high boots. She wore black gauntlets on her arms and the fingers of her gauntlets were gold and looked like claws. She carried a greatsword with her that was in her scabbard. She opened her and looked at us with her red eyes.
"If it isn't the God-Emperor and his army. I was starting to get bored of waiting, but it seems the Gods and Goddesses decided to be merciful and allowed me to have the patience to keep waiting." Mars said then got off her stallion.
I stepped ahead and Raven stopped me then I watched her walk forward.
"Allow me to take Mars on." Raven said.
"Raven? Are you serious?! Did you hit your head this morning?!" Charlotte said in shock.
Mars looked at Raven and immediately recognized her. "If it isn't...the Nightmare herself. Come to settle the score huh?" Mars smirked.
"Mars Aesir. I have come to settle the score. This time, you aren't beating me so easily.." Raven said. "I travelled the world after leaving Queen Charlotte's stead just to grow stronger so I could have my chance at defeating you."
"Raven. Are you...the Fifth Horseman?" I asked.
Raven looked back at me. She looked ahead at Mars. "Yes. I am the White Horsewoman. I am known as the Conqueror. Instead of conquering kingdoms and nations, conquer those associated with the Dark Lords for what they did to Charlotte. I can not fight a Dark Lord myself but I've trained with Gods and Goddesses to grow as strong as I am. You shall see the real me."
We watched Raven as she transformed into her Saint Form. Her hair turned into a blonde color and her eyes shined a teal color. A battle dress and her armor shined a bright silver color. Gauntlets appeared on her arms and thigh high armored boots appeared on her legs. A blue halo appeared around her head like a crown and her transformation was complete.
"This is me, My name is Joanna Sinclair. Raven Nightmare is an alias to stay hidden from the Dark Lords, but for this moment...I must use all my strength to defeat Mars. You all go on ahead. I will catch up after I'm done here." Joanna said then summoned her sword of light.
"Right...Good luck." I said then led my army ahead.
Charlotte looked at Joanna with shock. Joanna looked at Charlotte then smiled. She nodded at Charlotte then watched her hurry off with the others.
Mars and Venus looked at each other then Venus glared and hurried off. Mars and Joanna were the only two in the area now. The two had a starwdown and stood there. The wind blew and Mars's horse ran off and disappeared. Mars tossed off her black coat and unsheathed her sword then tossed the scabbard aside.
"Raven...or Joanna now. I have been tasked with killing the God-Emperor, but to be honest, we hold no bad blood for the God-Emperor. I just want a good fight so don't disappoint me alright?!" Mars bellowed and got into her battle stance.
Joanna looked at Mars and smirked then got into her battle stance. "I'm gonna blow you away!"
Joanna dashed towards Mars, causing a small crater for form in the ground. Mars dashed to Joanna then the two clashed. The two entered a sword battle that shook the ground upon each clash. Mars parried Joanna's attack then kicked her backwards and slashed horizontally, sending a massive cutting wave her way. Joanna landed on her feet then ducked under the cutting wave. The cutting wave sliced multiple trees in two.
Joanna dashed to Mars again and dragged her sword along the ground and bellowed. She swung her sword, and Mars blocked it but was knocked off guard. Joanna punched Mars's stomach and caused her to groan. Joanna followed it with a roundhouse kick which sent Mars rolling to the side. She recovered and stood up then blocked Joanna's attack. The two pushed each other away and clashed multiple times with each other before entering a blade lock.
"You've gotten a lot stronger! I'm glad this battle won't be a bore!" Mars chuckled.
"Yeah? I've trained for years for this moment! When I heard your name being said, I knew my time had come to finally strike you down!" Joanna bellowed and pushed Mars back then Mars jumped up and landed on her horse. Mars rode off
Joanna ran after them and jumped up then a pure white horse named Conquest appeared underneath Joanna and they rode after Mars and her horse. Joanna made her sword disappear and summoned a bow of light.
Mars looked back and smirked. She snapped her fingers and fireballs surrounded her body. Joanne began to shoot arrows of light at Mars and Mars shot the fireballs at the arrows, causing the two to collide and explode. Joanna charged up an arrow then shot it at the sky and celestial arrows began to rain down at Mars. Mars's horse began to dodge the arrows and gallop ahead.
As the two battled on their horse's backs, Joanna noticed that they were headed to the destroyed kingdom of Aevum. Mars shot ten fireballs at Joanna and she looked surprised. She was hit by the fireballs and her horse neighed loudly then shook her head, throwing a tantrum because of how hot the flames her. Conquest threw Joanna off her back then Joanna grunted as she tucked and rolled to take the least amount of damage possible.
Joanna stood up and grunted softly. She looked ahead and noticed Mars on the top of a ruined roof. She grunted and held her arm.
"Don't tell me that you're done already! We haven't even gotten to the best part yet!" Mars laughed. "You haven't showed me your Godly Powers...and I haven't even gotten to use mine!"
Joanna stared at Mars then smirked. She closed her eyes then stood up straight. She opened her eyes and got into her stance. "You want to see godly powers?! I'll show you what I've got in store!" Joanna bellowed and began to channel her energy and draw out the Apocalypse Goddess within her. She bellowed and her aura surged powerfully around her body and her hair began to glow and shine. Her halo shined brightly.
"Nngh!" Baiko held his head. "This energy..!"
"You felt it too?" Sirius said.
"Raven.." Charlotte said then looked back.
I kept walking ahead. I had a feeling that Joanna was going to win and come back to us safely. I didn't doubt her at all.
Sareth opened her eyes and looked out into the distance while standing on the balcony. "What is this energy..?"
Joanna's bellows turned into full on roars and her angel wings emerged from her back, her halo turned gold and her hair turned pure white. Her eyes shined a brighter blue and her armor shined and the color broke into a pure white color. She finished her transformation and her Royal Crest shined brightly on her chest plate.
Mars watched and smirked. "Wow..~ Now I like this new you..~" Mars licked her lips and transformed into her Apocalyptic Goddess Form with little effort and her wings of fire spread out wide.
Joanna looked at Mars with a serious look in her eyes. Her aura flowed around her body and she flew to Mars and bellowed. Mars flew to Joanna and the two women clashed powerfully causing a repulsive force of energy to destroy whatever was in the area. The two flew into the air and took their combat to the skies. They bellowed as the fought and clashed. They punched each other's face and sent each other flying backwards.
"This gets my blood pumping! This energy you're exerting! You've finally reached the power I hoped you reach!" Mars bellowed and flew to Joanna then punched her face and sent her flying backwards through the clouds.
Mars flew after Joanna and began to strike her quickly before punching her to the ground. Joanna crashed into the forest and groaned as she caused a trench to form in the ground. Mars bellowed and fired a massive beam of inferno flames at Joanna. Joanna dodged the beam and flew up to Mars. She vanished and appeared appeared above her. Her eyes shined brightly as she held her hand to the sky. She summoned thousands of a celestial arrows and sent them crashing to Mars.
Mars summoned her sword and began deflecting the arrows quickly and bellowed. She noticed the waves stopped and more arrows were summoned but this time they shined blue. Joanna sent them at Mars and the arrows curved around Mars and began to strike her blindspots. Mars groaned as she was being struck rapidly by the arrows as she couldn't dodge or block them.
Joanna flew higher in the air and held her arms out. "Divine..!"
Mars groaned loudly in pain and she crashed to the ground after the last wave of arrows hit her. She stood up slowly and panted then looked up and noticed Joanna charging her final attack.
"Celestial!" Joanna bellowed and two orbs of celestial energy appeared in her hands.
"As if I'll let you defeat me so easily! You're strong but I doubt you can overpower my ultimate attack!" Mars bellowed and charged up her final attacks.
"Shine!" Joanna yelled and fired a massive celestial beam at Mars.
"Infernal Hyperdrive!" Mars bellowed and fired a massive beam of apocalyptic fire at Joanna. The ground broke as Mars fired her attack.
The two beams collided and caused a bright light to shine in the sky. Everyone in Reval noticed it and watched in awe. I looked at the sky and noticed the beam struggle.
"Raven please win this!" Charlotte said to herself. "I can't lose my first real friend.."
Joanna grunted as her left wing disappeared. She was growing fatigued as she was still not used to using her Goddess Form. She bellowed and her armor began to crack and shatter slowly. Mars groaned as her right wing disappeared.
"She's...gotten very strong..! Heh...Out of all the people to overpower me...! I expected this reaction from me when fighting the God-Emperor....but not Joanna and Raven..!" Mars grunted. She noticed Joanna's beam starting to beat hers.
"Nightmare Boost!" Joanna bellowed and her left eye shined red and a bit of Raven assisted her into overpowering Mars.
"Well done...Raven and Joanna. I'm impressed." Mars said before the beam hit her body and caused a massive explosion that blew away a large chuck of the forest.
Joanna groaned lightly and reverted back to Raven then crashed to the ground. Both women were in the ground defeated and both of them were exhausted.
Raven slowly sat up and looked at Mars who was still on the ground. She crawled over to Mars and collapsed beside her. Mars noticed it started to rain and she smiled. She closed her eyes and chuckled softly.
"You win." Mars said.
Raven looked at the sky. "Join us."
"Yeah I might after that battle. After all, I know their plan. My sister is also very curious about the God-Emperor so it might be an excuse to bring him to my kingdom..." Mars said and coughed. She coughed up a bit of blood and wiped her lip. "Did a fucking number on me..."
"The Legendary Mars...outmatched by the Legendary Mercenary..." Raven smirked and closed her eyes.
"Yeah whatever." Mars smiled.
Charlotte and Venus hurried over to Mars and Raven to see then on the ground passed out after their final exchange. Venus looked at the destruction from their battle and was in awe. She looked at Mars and closed her eyes. She smiled and decided to help her up and Charlotte picked Raven up then looked at her. She smiled at the fact that she was still alive. The two took them back to Reval Empire to rest in an inn.