"What's the status on the Knight of Courage?" Xavier asked.
"He's awakened, but it's gonna take some time for him to be battle ready." A soldier said.
"How long?" Xavier asked.
"A few days at least, but with the Trio to stall Ashen and Pandora...it should be enough time." The soldier answered.
"Good. I will kill that dragon and that Mythic. Without them, their kingdoms are soon to crumble with." Xavier said.
....
Cipi struck down a wave of ninja then threw her lance at Leonidas. He deflected her lance then she warped to it and threw it at him again. Leonidas dodged the lance, but the lance unleashed an electrical blast, shocking Leonidas and a few of his allies in the radius. He roared in pain then stumbled backwards.
"Cipi!" Ishia yelled as she dashed toward Leonidas.
"Lady Ishia." Cipi said. She nodded then ran toward him as well.
Ishia slashed in a circle, but her attack was parried by Leonidas. He knocked her off guard then slashed at her, but Cipi palmed his sword to the side and kicked him away. He grunted as he slid backwards.
"Above you, big guy!" Sora said as she leaped over Leonidas then fired an energy blast at Cipi.
Cipi dodged the energy blast then groaned as she was blown away by one of Sora's Burst Strikes. She rolled backwards then recovered on her feet. "Hmph. You think you're the only one who's mastered such a common Strike move?"
"Master is in my name, Guardian." Sora said then got into her stance.
Cipi glared at Sora then got into her stance. "Let's see what you've got."
Sora bellowed and ran toward Cipi. Cipi ran toward Sora and the two clash, knocking each other back. They ran toward each other again, clashing rapidly. Cipi blocked Sora's next attack then struck her with a powerful elbow strike. Sora groaned then held her stomach. Cipi spun around then struck Sora with a kick. Sora went flying then stopped herself in the air. She looked down at Cipi and smirked.
She flew toward her again then came down with an axe kick. Cipi blocked it then grunted as her feet caved into the ground. Sora smirked as she noticed her feet cave into the ground.
"Gotcha." Sora chuckled then flipped off her. She clapped her hands together and caused the ground to close on Cipi's legs.
Cipi groaned then looked at her legs. "Terra Arts..?!"
"You're looking at a user of the Anima!" Sora boasted. "Now take this!"
Sora punched the air with a lot of force behind it, unleashing a powerful Burst Strike toward her. Soca appeared in front of Cipi and slashed down with his sword, blocking the Burst Strike. He groaned as it broke through his defenses and struck him, blowing him away.
"Like I told Ashen, my Burst Strike can not be blocked no matter how strong your defense is!" Sora bellowed and unleashed a barrage of Burst Strikes.
Ishia ran to Cipi's aid then transformed into her dragon form and blew a powerful flame at the Burst Strikes, clashing with them. Sora noticed and looked impressed.
"Heh, for being the little sister, you're no slouch!" Sora said then dashed toward Ishia.
Ishia reverted back to her human form then dashed toward Sora. She slashed with her sword, but Sora avoided the attack and punched Ishia's stomach. Ishia groaned loudly and coughed.
Ashen heard her groan and his heart thumped hard. He dodged Mitsune's slash and his eyes went soulless. He turned toward Sora then noticed her striking Ishia with a barrage of Burst Strikes.
"Now disappear!" Sora laughed and palmed Ishia, blowing her away.
"Ishia..." Ashen said then his dark aura surged powerfully around his body.
Mitsune grunted and slid backwards from the aura. "W-What the hell is this energy?!"
Leonidas looked surprised and stared at Ashen. "His power just increased to new heights."
Sora looked back and her eyes widened then she groaned as she was struck with a lariat from Ashen. Ashen roared and sent Sora flying. Sora landed on the ground coughing then stood up and gasped then was hit with a massive sphere of dark energy then an explosion happened.
"L-Lord Ashen..?" Cipi said in shock. "This rage.."
"Nobody...hurts my little sister!" Ashen roared then transformed into his dragon form and his draconic energy surged powerfully.
Cecilia and Silas watched Ashen in shock. They couldn't even sense his energy as he was tiers above them. They ran to Ishia's aid then stopped as Leonidas intercepted their path.
Pandora noticed then ran toward them. Her mystic aura surged around her body then she propelled herself toward Leonidas. She kneed his stomach then kicked him away.
"Go!" Pandora said.
Cecilia and Silas ran to Ishia quickly. They made it to her and checked up on Ishia. She was still breathing but the damage she sustained was enough to put her out of the battle.
"I'm sorry...for being so weak.." Ishia said sadly. "I-I tried my hardest.."
"It's okay, we're here now.." Cecilia said then summoned her staff to heal Ishia.
"I want to be stronger, just like my brother...and Pandora. I...want to help them fight this war..." Ishia said and looked at Cecilia and Silas.
"Us too...and we will grow stronger. The three of us together." Silas smiled and held Ishia's hand.
Ishia smiled then closed her eyes so she could rest.
Harold watched Ashen then looked at Mitsune who was walking toward Ashen. He stomped on the ground then a rock wall intercepted his path. "Lord Ashen isn't your opponent right now. Your focus should be on me."
Mitsune looked back at Harold then he fixed his scarf. He turned around then threw a dagger at Harold. He tilted his head, causing the dagger to speed right past him. Harold looked serious then got into his battle stance.
Mitsune dashed toward Harold then groaned as he was hit with multiple slashes. He skidded backwards and panted, looking at Harold. "What the hell..? He didn't even move. What was that you just did?"
Harold stared at Mitsune and his eyes shined. Mitsune noticed it then dodged the first slash then dashed toward Harold, only to be struck with a barrage of hidden slashes. Mitsune flew backwards and crashed through the rock wall then rolled backwards. Harold exhaled then stood up straight.
"What was that..?" One of the ninja asked.
"He's moving too fast for the naked eye to see!" Another ninja said.
"No...this isn't movement. Well it is, but this is called...Movement Paradox! He's moving without moving!" Another ninja said with fear. "Just what are these people?!"
"I'm outta here!"
"Me too!"
Mitsune's men had retreated but, Ashen wasn't going to let that happen. He flew toward them and began to kill them one by one, taking their remaining aura and adding it to his Corrupt Ember. He grabbed one of them by their head and raised them off the ground. He began to slowly corrupt them and a wide smirk grew on his face. Their skin turned gray and their eyes shined red.
He set them down and pointed at the other ninja. "Slaughter them all. Leave no remains."
The corrupted ninja bellowed and dashed toward the other ninja and began to kill them one by one. Ragnarok watched the slaughter and laughed. Ashen watched the bodies drop on the ground then laughed.
"I told you...there will be carnage. You all should've ran while you had the fucking chance!" Ashen said then a bit of his flame began to show.
Soca noticed it and felt a powerful dark presence within Ashen. He stood up and stared at Ashen. "The flame...The Corrupt Ember!"
Ashen raised his hand then snapped his fingers and a giant sphere of infernal energy formed in the sky. Sora, Leonidas, and Mitsune looked at the sphere. Ragnarok looked at Soca then smirked. Ashen looked at Soca then smirked.
"King Ericus...is right about me y'know. I am a monster, but you know you can't leave our side because if you do...Aestrea will be destroyed. So just sit back...and watch the destruction take place." Ashen said then lowered his hand. "Ruin Storm."
A fusillade of dark red fireballs began to rain down onto the battlefield. The remaining ninja and pride members tried to flee the area but were caught by the fireballs. Sora watched in terror then covered her mouth. Leonidas lowered his weapon and looked defeated. Mitsune lowered his scarf and stared at the raining fireballs.
Cecilia and Silas watched then looked at Ashen. They saw first hand...the monster Ashen had within, but they weren't scared. They were glad they were on his side.
Ashen ended the barrage then smirked. He looked at the destruction and exhaled. "Trio of Revelation! I have given you your Revelation! This is the destruction that will happen to Xovia and the rest of the Holy Empire! No...I will wreak havoc against the entire world! If you wish to avoid such a catastrophe, join my army and you will be spared of my wrath."
Sora looked at Ashen then fell to her knees. "A monster...who would've guessed." She chuckled softly then lowered her head.
"We can't...defeat a monster..." Leonidas said.
"We've failed..." Mitsune sighed and closed his eyes.
"This wasn't even a quarter of my true power. Plus I didn't even need to use the power of the Dragon Stream. Consider yourselves lucky that I didn't direct any attack against you three." Ashen said.
Soca balled his fists as he looked at Ashen. "Once we take down Xovia...I will strike you down. Monsters are the Ultimate Evil. This world has no room for monsters such as yourself."
"If you strike him down, you will also have to strike me down. We are a unit." Pandora said and walked toward Ashen then stood beside him.
"Lady Pandora, you're married to a man who couldn't care less about you! He will kill you!" Soca said.
"No, I won't. Anyone who is allied with me will be spared of my wrath. Pandora is my wife and I wouldn't dare to turn my blade against her, nor will I turn my blade against you as long as you don't try to attack me." Ashen said.
Soca looked at Ashen then lowered his blade.
Leonidas summoned Hrund and Ionara was summoned. "She is yours to command. She is known as War on the battlefield. This battle is not over. Things will end differently next time. I will be stronger the next time we meet."
Leonidas warped away, retreating from the battlefield.
Mitsune closed his eyes then crossed his arms. "Hmph. Same with me. Next time we meet, things won't end the same." He threw down a smoke ball then vanished.
Sora was left alone. She looked at Ashen then stood up slowly. She looked down then balled her hands into fists. She grunted and closed her eyes. "I will...join you." Sora said.
Ashen smirked and walked toward Sora. "Well you'll need to change from those hideous clothes." He said then held his hand out and turned her white gi into a black gi with his kingdom's symbol on the back.
Sora looked at her clothes then grunted and tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry, King Xavier.." She whispered.
"We take this victory and continue our march to Xovia. We leave none of their forces alive to tell the tale. Strike them all down with no mercy." Ashen said.
Ionara looked at Ashen then picked up Hrund. "Yes sir."
....
"Sir...we have terrible news." A general said to Xavier.
"What is it?" Xavier asked and looked at the general.
"The Trio have failed their mission. Two retreated and one has joined Ashen's army." He said.
Xavier crossed his arms then looked at his troops training. "How? What happened?"
"It appears from Leonidas's report...Ashen is a Monster. He wields the Corrupt Ember." The general said.
"Hm? Corrupt Ember..?" Xavier said and looked at the general. "The Corrupt Ember shouldn't exist, how is this possible. This is shocking news to say the least."
"How should we prepare for this..?" The general asked.
"We must make sure we are at our best no matter what. There is nothing more we can do by the time they arrive. Monsters are unbeatable, but as long as they don't have 100% of their Ember awakened. Even a small percentage is enough to wipe out an entire army, but we still have a chance if we wear them down." Xavier said.
"Right." The general said then walked off.
Xavier got into a thinking pose then walked off. "A monster...They haven't been heard of for generations and here he is...Our only hope is the Knighthood at this point."
To Be Continued....