"Geez, Lady Hecate could quite literally be in any graveyard and cemetery possible! Plus she only shows up at night based off what information Rue gave me. Do we really need her for training?" Chloe sighed as she looked at her magic map with the possible locations Hecate could be at.
"Remember, we are training for a war that could take years to fight. We are talking about invading other planets and fighting against Gods stronger than our Master. Since Hecate us bound to Earth, she can help us by taking us to her Combat God." Floe said.
"I know, I know...it's just this is such a drag!" Chloe yelled. A flock of birds flew away after hearing Chloe yell.
Floe sensed a strong energy then stood up. She looked around and noticed a pillar of light appear in front of them. "On your feet, Chloe. We've got company."
Chloe immediately stood up and looked at the pillar of light. "I'm sensing strong Angelic Aura..."
"I'm surprised you were able to sense me. Maybe this won't be as boring as I initially thought it would be." A man said as he stepped out of the pillar of light.
"Who are you?" Floe asked.
"My name is Suriel. I am one of many retainers of Lord Aeon. Our Goddess, Hecate, has informed us that you were looking for her. She had decided to test you. If you manage to impress, she will make herself known to you." Suriel said and summoned his sword. His golden eyes shined and he let a smirk stretch across his face. An angel wing emerged from his back then his Angelic Aura became stronger. "This is the Trial of Destruction!"
Floe summoned her sword and got into a stance. "Trial of Destruction...so Hecate is testing us huh. Well this will make for great training!"
Chloe summoned her Sword of Wrathus and her eyes shined. Her demon wings emerged from her back then her eyes shined. "We won't lose to you."
"Let us begin." Suriel said and got into his stance.
Alice and Sophia wandered around a small town then was stopped by Roy. They looked at him and he smiled at the two.
"Well well...I suppose you're Shida's retainers am I right? Well my name is Roy Elward, retainer of my Combat God, Aeon." Roy said and bowed then summoned his Excalifret. He looked at the two once again then pointed his blade at them. "If you wish to see Lady Hecate in the flesh, you must prove yourself in a battle against me."
"A trial given by Hecate herself...to test us..? What is she testing us for exactly?" Alice asked.
"Yeah! We didn't know about any trials!" Sophia said, puffing her cheeks.
Roy chuckled softly and lowered his blade. "Lady Hecate wants to see if you are worthy enough for her and Lord Aeon's presence. Shida has also has his own trial given to him by Lady Hecate. You're all undergoing the Trial of Destruction. If you make a good performance, Lady Hecate will show herself to you all."
"Trial of Destruction...I guess we will take this trial! We won't disappoint!" Sophia said then summoned her grimoire and a light aura surrounded it.
Alice summoned her polearm and a dark aura surrounded it. "Yeah...We won't disappoint Master by losing."
Hilda and Ophelia wandered around a graveyard then noticed a few undead rising from the graves. They summoned their weapons and prepared themselves for an attack.
"Ophelia and Hilda. Fancy seeing you here. It's almost like as if it were...fate that allowed us to reunite once again. Shida finally decided to take things seriously?" A woman asked as she stood up.
"Hmph. It was only a matter of time before we ran into you again, Priestess of Death or shall I say, Achlys." Ophelia said and looked at the woman.
"Achlys...it's been so long since we last met. You're still as tricky to understand as ever. I won't lose to you this time." Hilda said then pointed her pistol at Achlys.
Achlys surrounded herself with Death Aura and smirked. "We will see about that."
I tried to contact my retainers to see if any of them had any luck, but none of them answered. I sighed and put my phone away. I was planning to warp to the next graveyard until something stopped me.
"Halt." A voice said from behind me.
I looked back and noticed a man in black armor standing behind me. I turned around and looked at the person. They wore silver armor, wore a white cloak with a Godly Symbol on the back and carried a silver sword.
"You're probably wondering who I am. I am General Nicholas. I am the strongest retainer Lord Aeon has aside from the Priestess of Death." He started then pointed his sword at me. "Lady Hecate wants me to test you to see how worthy you truly are of her Divine Presence. Take your stance and prepare for battle!"
I smirked and my eyes shined. "For once...I'm in a fighting mood. Let's see...how well you can keep up with my base!"
I lunged myself toward Nicholas at invisible speeds and caught him off guard. I struck his stomach, sending him flying backwards. He landed on the ground and noticed me appear in front of him. I went for a roundhouse kick, but he dodged it then blocked my next kick. I bellowed and went for a punch. He parried my attack with a small disk of light then struck my gut then slashed in a circle, knocking me back.
"He's fast and strong...seems like he did gain a noticable boost in strength. Heh...this will be fun." Nicholas said then dashed toward me.
I ran toward Nicholas and dodged his slash then palmed his chest. He grunted and stumbled backwards. I struck his body with rapid blows then blasted him away with an energy blast. I flew after him and appeared above him with another energy blast. He noticed it and flashed my eyes with a blast of light. I groaned as I was blinded. He landed on his feet and slashed three times, sending cutting waves at me. My vision returned to me and I noticed the cutting waves coming directly toward me. The first one struck me then the other two followed behind.
I chuckled softly as my wounds healed completely. I looked at Nicholas and disappeared at high speeds. He braced himself and looked around. He noticed me appear in front of him and slashed, but hit an afterimage. He was surprised then groaned as I kicked him from behind then appeared in front of him and unleashed a massive energy beam at him, blowing him away.
He landed on the ground and I landed in front of him. A few cars stopped after spotting us. Nicholas stood up and looked back then flew off. I propelled myself after him and we took for the skies.
"Shida..?" Elaina asked as she looked out her window.
Nicholas and I clashed then punched each other's faces. We both flew backwards and stopped ourselves. I looked at Nicholas and smirked.
"You're strong. Even as a retainer...you can match my unrivalled base strength. No wonder you're the strongest huh." I said and rolled my shoulders.
"I trained night and day to reach even a percentage of Lord Aeon's true strength and be able to keep up with him during our sparring matches. I trained to become stronger than Lady Hecate's Personal Retainer, Achlys...someone you personally know." Nicholas said.
"Yeah I know her well. To say you're stronger than a Goddess's Assistant is a bold claim. You'll have to show me." I said and my eyes shined.
Nicholas looked at me and twirled his sword in a circle then made it vanish. He bellowed and his aura surged around his body. His hair flashed from brown to yellow. His power level began to increase rapidly.
"A Godlike Aura..?" I asked myself.
"This...is what I've been training for..! A chance to show off my God Mode!" He grunted and lightning crackled around his body. Powerful winds began to blow and his cloak flew off his body. He bellowed and symbols appeared on his armor then he let out a yell and a bright light shined from his body.
I grunted as I covered my face from the light. I slowly uncovered my face and my eyes widened.
Nicholas had transformed into his God Mode. His hair turned yellow and his eyes shined a bright gold. A halo appeared over his head and wings of light energy formed on his back. "Only beings with Strong Hearts and Souls can obtain a form similar to actual Gods and Goddesses such as yourself. A mere human like me...is able to possess a form of a god. Now you'll be the first to understand how small the gap between us has become. They don't call us Gods however...but they call us an Apotheosis. We are a tier higher than full powered Guardians and Retainers."
"Apotheosis. I've never heard of you all before...after all I am still a human become God and it was only five years ago when I first got used to this. I'm actually curious on how powerful you've truly become now." I said.
"Allow me to show you then!" Nicholas said then vanished at high speeds.
I was caught off guard by his speed then sensed him behind me and turned around to block an attack I thought was coming. Nicholas appeared behind me and kicked me away. I groaned as I was blown away. He flew after me and fired energy blasts at me from his hands. I recovered and blocked the energy blasts, which exploded upon contact with my body.
I flew out of the smoke away from the city and looked back to see Nicholas flying after me at high speeds. I looked ahead and cloaked myself with my aura then propelled myself forward at higher speeds. "The gap is smaller now...his power level is up there in high millions. He's caught up to my true base power level. How strong is the old generation..?"
"He's...running. How fitting is that for a God..?" A woman said as she watched.
"It's not running. This is a tactical retreat. Shida has a high integrity and an accelerated thought process. He knows when he's been overpowered." Aphrodite said as she watched as well.
"I see you could make it to the Trial of Destruction. Your Combat God could never amount to Aeon. He does get stronger in a very peculiar way, but that overconfidence bit him in the ass." The woman said and crossed her arms.
"Hecate...we both know this battle has yet to truly begin. After all...he still is in base." Aphrodite smiled and watched.
I landed in the forest and tried to transform into my God Form, but Nicholas appeared in front of me and punched my face, causing me to fail my transformation. I groaned as I was sent crashing through multiple trees.
He flew after me and smirked. "You thought I was gonna let you transform like you allowed me to? I'm not that generous!"
He appeared in front of me and struck my body, sending me crashing to the ground then he conjured a large ball of light energy then threw it at me. I opened my eyes and dodged the ball of energy then grunted as it began to track me. I caught the ball of energy with my hands then began to slide backwards. He held his hand out then the ball of light exploded, sending me flying backwards.
I crashed through multiple rock pillars as I was now in the dry mountain areas then I recovered and landed on my feet and fell onto one knee. I panted and looked up, seeing Nicholas had appeared in front of me by teleporting.
"The newer generation is supposed to surpass us right? What happened, Combat God of Earth? We know your track record...you've beaten Gods and Goddesses that were capable of destroying solar systems. Don't tell me you've grown weaker." Nicholas said and crossed his arms.
I slowly stood up then was struck by a light force I couldn't even see. My eyes widened then I coughed blood. 'I still...haven't fully recovered from that fight against Urias. After my awakening...I only recovered a portion of my stamina. He's not even moving from his spot and he can still hit me...'
"Is this all you can do..? Pathetic. Maybe Aphrodite gave you too much credit. You're not prepared for War against an entire Solar System. You're in way over your head!" Nicholas bellowed.
I kept getting struck by light forces then Nicholas bellowed and propelled himself toward me.
"Maybe after the end of the year, when you're stronger you'll be able to win against us! You weren't even strong enough to save your parents!" Nicholas bellowed.
After hearing that, something clicked in me. My aura surged powerfully around my body and pushed Nicholas back. He grunted and shielded himself from the powerful winds my aura generated.
"Don't...you ever bring up...my PARENTS!" I bellowed and transformed into my Stage 3 God Form.
Nicholas grunted and sensed a rage within me I've kept within for a long time. He chuckled and lowered his arms. "There's that hidden power...that power you kept hidden.."
A black star halo formed over my head and golden symbols floated around my body. I glared at Nicholas and lightning crackled around my body.
"His power level spiked to the double digit millions. What Stage is this?" Hecate asked.
"Stage 3. He hasn't reached his true power yet as he can only go up to Semi-Full Power God Form, but Nicholas has messed up mentioning his parents." Aphrodite said.
"Let's see how this plays out. If it becomes too much, we shall simply stop them." Hecate said.
To be continued...