Memorial Park, like the name itself, is an abandoned place located far away in the seventh continent. It used to be a beautiful garden filled with colorful flowers and crowded with adventurers. Ever since Fiora came and invade the seventh continent, the park becomes rotten and plagued. Her pollen mists spread throughout a large part of the continent, damaging everything in contact, even human skin. Fiora is currently resting at the center of the park. Now is the perfect chance to strike her down and retrieve the first shard.
"What a deserted place. All the plants here are ...wilted..." Knight Sigrun examines their surroundings right after they entered the main entrance. Everyone else feels an unusual breeze, different from the winds outside, but it is not Fiora's pollen mist. They are probably not used with the plagued air inside the park.
"We should be careful with our steps." Hilia warns the party. The grounds are not so comfortable to walk on, especially when it is covered with poisonous mosses. Luckily, they are under Brilliant Resistance buff. A normal human would probably rot in here.
They travel slowly on a path that leads to the center area, expecting to find Fiora there. Unfortunately, a group of floral minions are summoned from beneath the grounds while they are on their way. Everyone takes out their weapons and prepare to face the creatures.
"Frozn blades, strike them down, Ice Bolt!" Samael fires a single ice bolt at one of the floral minions. It crashes and shatters at them, dealing easy damage. It seems easy to exterminate them, however, after a few seconds, they quickly regenerate. Knight Sigrun calls Samael and tries to mention something to him.
"Hey, Samael. Floral creatures are not supposed to be attacked by water element spells, or else they will regenerate and grow stronger." His words are true. Water is essential for floral creatures, therefore water element spells would do no harm to them. On the contrary, fire element spells will deal amplified damage to floral creatures, since they are very weak against burning flames. Samael understands and focus on his fire spells.
Suddenly, an horde of floral creatures are summoned from beneath the ground and swarm at them. Knight Sigrun widens his eyes, feeling shocked and insecure.
"Watch out, guys! Don't get separated!" Knight Sigrun calls out to them. He then charges at one monster with his shield, stunning it for a few seconds. He then taunts a large group of nearby enemies to attack him, leaving his party members alone so they can exterminate them.
"Bullets of destruction shall pierce you all, Heavy Shots!" Marksman Johnson rapidly fires a few strong bullets. The bullets pierce the enemies and explodes afterwards, dealing area damage. He successfully reduce the number of enemies, but there are more of them coming from beneath the ground.
"Hyaaah, move outta the way!" Warrior Pijanes swings his greatsword, slashing nearby enemies. He then slashes the ground in front of him, quaking the earth and creates a small pit. The unfortunate enemies fall into the pit, hurting themselves. Seconds after that, a few more creatures are summoned to swarm them.
"There is no end to this! We will be exhausted if this keeps up!" Siren Hilia throws her trident at one of the enemies. The trident magically jumps and hits the nearest enemy, up to five times. She then cast a spell.
"Tidal force, guard ourselves from incoming assaults, Wave Field!" Circular waves are formed right after Siren Hilia finished her incantation. The waves generate strong force that they knock back all enemies who come too close to them. Some of them let out a sigh of relief after Siren Hilia saved them.
"This is getting really annoying, ugh..." Paladin Von Sozou thrusts his rapier into his enemies. He finds them easy to kill, but their repetitive appearance and revival annoy him. He refuses to use any spell, since there is no need for him to waste his energy on weak enemies.
"New plan, new plan!" Cyril shouts out aloud. Knight Sigrun got an idea after he sees a deserted area not too far in front of them. That place must be the center area of Memorial Park.
"Fiora must be at there, resting herself. We elite forces members will clear the spawning forces and open a path for the Rose Garden members. I can count on you guys, right?" Knight Sigrun seems confident about it. The Rose Garden members follow his order, though they seem slightly scared.
"Deadly light, thrust and pierce them, Grand Beam!" Knight Sigrun channels an illuminating light orb in front of him. A few seconds later, the light orb fires bright laser beam, annihilating all enemies that got caught in it. A clear path is formed!
Marksman Johnson fires a few bullets at nearby enemies, reducing the amount of current floral creatures wave.
"Go, now! Best of luck!" Warrior Pijanes shouts at the Rose Garden members. Samael, Rein, Cyril, and Melisa quickly runs on the formed path. They manage to reach the deserted area, the center of Memorial Park.
"I'm glad we are able to aid them. We can catch them up after this!" Knight Sigrun is relieved. Suddenly, large vines rise from beneath the outer center area, blocking their vision of the Rose Garden members. Then, a few more floral creatures are summoned around the elite forces members, but this time, huge monsters are spawned!
Something weird is going on. Their vision is limited, and their body feels slightly paralyzed. The huge floral minions are surrounded by Fiora's pollen mist!
"Darn, I did not expect to end up fighting her minions..." Warrior Pijanes is angered. Paladin Von Sozou struggles to find his sight, but the pollen mists surround them and cover the entire Memorial Park with poison.
One of the floral minion attacks Knight Sigrun, successfully knocking him down. He screams as he received slight injuries in his body. The minion's attack hurts badly this time, unlike the small creatures before.
"I guess we'll just have to clear these annoying huge fellas first, but this miasma is annoying..." Marksman Johnson is not really affected by the pollen mist, since he is not a magical fighter. Only Knight Sigrun, Paladin Von Sozou, and Siren Hilia are affected by it. The only problem is the vague vision they have due to the extreme mists covering the entire place.
"Even if we try to go and catch up with the Rose Garden members, the hard vines will prevent us from entering, so we don't really have a choice but to defeat these minions." Siren Hilia casts a spell, enduring the painful strains on her body.
"Trident of Deep Seas, lend me your strength, Aqua Serena!" A blue magic circle is formed below her. She then transforms into her Siren form, but the duration is not permanent, so she has to rush things up.
"Kill them, Great Durga!" Warrior Pijanes shouts his greatsword's name as he charges at one of the giant minions. He then leaps to the air and slashes it, dealing heavy damage. He then hurls his greatsword with all his might after he landed on the ground, successfully killing it.
He is panting due to the pollen mist effect. This should be hard for him. Even if he has brute strength, his energy is limited, so he is vulnerable to long fights.
The elite forces members struggle to fight the minions with all their might.
Meanwhile, at the center area, cloistered from the outer skirts due to the vines, Melisa and Samael are also enduring the pollen mist effect. Rein and Cyril worry about their condition. Melisa takes out something from her bag.
"Ah, here it is...the Antidote Pill." She takes one of the pills and hands another one to Samael. The Antidote Pill cleanses their negative status and provides extra resistance towards it for a certain amount of time.
"Welcome to my home, adventurers. You're the first group who manage to reach the center area. I'm resting right now, but I guess I can have fun with you all first." an unknown female voice pierces their ears. There is no one around them, so it is strange. They should be aware of their surroundings, since something dangerous might happen.
"Are you Fiora, the seventh invader? If so, come out and face us." Rein calls out on Fiora, expecting her to show up.
The ground trembles for a while. Then, thorny vines are summoned from beneath them. The Rose Garden members notice and quickly avoid the incoming assault. A few seconds later, a strange woman with disfigured arms comes out from the earth. Everyone stares at her with a surprised look on their face.
"Woah, you're Fiora? What's wrong with your arms?" Samael questions about her strange arms. Fiora smiles cynically and cast a quick spell at Samael.
"Vines, entrap him for me please!" Her left arm transfigures into large vines. She then stretches it to Samael. The vines travels and coils around him, preventing quick movements. Rein and Cyril try to save him, but the vines are too hard.
"Aren't my arms beautiful? Hehe, I'm strong, right?" Fiora laughs out aloud. Melisa casts a spell on Samael, trying to see if she can release him.
"Holy powers, cleanse my ally with spiritual mists, Cure Essence!" A white magic circle is formed below Samael. Radiant mists come out from it and remove the coiling vines, cleansing Samael from his negative status. Fiora stares at her, feeling slightly angry.
"Thanks, Melisa. Now, that trick won't be effective anymore, Fiora!" Samael is confident. Cyril charges at her with quick speed, ready to deliver quick punches.
"Stand still and be a punching bag!" Cyril delivers a powerful jab on her face, followed by a strong kick on her chest. Fiora is slightly knocked back, panting herself after receiving the combo attack.
"My, my...you're not a gentleman, aren't you?" She smiles cynically again. An arrow suddenly stabs her in the right shoulder, dealing painful damage. Rein took the chance to fire an arrow after Cyril finished his attacks. Fiora widens her eyes, enraged all of a sudden.
"That's it, no more playing around! This is the first time I got hit by lousy fighters, and you guys aren't gentlemen at all!" Fiora takes out the arrow from her right shoulder. She does not bleed at all, which is very strange.
"It can't be helped if you're a sworn enemy. Plus, you're ugly and creepy as hell, so I have to shove you away." Cyril stated the truth. Fiora gazes at Melisa and plans to do a stealthy attack. Samael casts a spell from afar.
"Burn her away, Fireball!" He fires a single fireball at Fiora, expecting to deal massive damage since she is considered plant type creatures. Fiora lets out a sigh as she sees the incoming fireball.
"Do you really think I can be burned by that weak flaming meatball?" Fiora summons large vines from the ground, deflecting the fireball. She nullifies the spell attack, but the vines are destroyed, probably not a good resistance towards fire spells.
"Even if I'm frail towards heat, I can still summon numerous vines to shelter me from harm. Now, I hope you will protect that girl." Fiora laughs cynically as she stares at Melisa. The male members are completely shocked to see large and unusual flowers sprouting around Melisa. The flowers release stronger pollen mists, successfully drowning her consciousness. The antidote fails to restrain the negative effects applied onto her. She falls unconscious to the ground.
"Hahahaha! Am I too irresistible? Is my scent too nice for her? Ah, I feel so beautiful!" Fiora praises herself. Lord Weigner is right, she is quite the narcissist.
"You, what have you done to her?" Cyril runs to Melisa. Fiora summons a stealthy tree root that entangles Cyril's feet. He falls down, slightly hurting himself. Rein and Samael are also rushing to Melisa.
"My, my. What is so special about that weak girl? Aren't I'm more interesting? I'm envious of her, you know." Fiora summons elastic vines from below Melisa. The vines rise from the ground, coils around Melisa, and takes her to Fiora before Rein and Samael could reach her.
"She's cute alright, but I'm more beautiful than her. It's a waste to harm her soft skin, so I'll treasure her." Fiora gives off an envious look at Melisa's face. She even lied by saying she is more beautiful than her. She puts her down behind her and creates a floral shield that acts like a cocoon around her. The males are angered by her actions.
"Let her go, damn it!" Rein shoots a few rushed arrows at Fiora. The vines deflect the arrows away as they reach her. Again, she smiles cynically. What will happen to Melisa? Will the males save her, or will she experience tragic death?
"You guys aren't overpowered heroes like the false legends, so better give up if you aren't capable of defeating me, the seventh invader." Fiora raises her right arm to the skies, ready to summon an horde of minions. Samael casts a spell, feeling enraged all of a sudden.
"Chilling thorns come forth from the icy trails, Blizzard Rush!" Cold and slippery trails are formed on the ground in a straight line. Huge ice shards come out from the trails and thrust into Fiora, dealing heavy damage and freezes her for a short duration, interrupting her action. She will regenerate and grow stronger by the effect of water elemental spells, but Rein and Cyril have an idea.
"Power Slam!" Cyril channels the wind around his right arm and delivers a brutal slam to his frozen enemy. The attack is so strong that it shatters the ice and knocks Fiora down, dealing another heavy damage.
Rein shoots a flaming arrow, a perfect final combo. The arrow burns her up and deals continuous damage, interrupting her ability to regenerate and grow stronger. Fiora screams in pain since she is fragile towards flames. Fortunately, the flaming arrow is not a strong spell, so she is able to endure the ignition until the flames fade away.
"Spirit Vines!" She cast a quick spell while being knocked down. Magical vines entangle the Rose Garden members' feet, preventing any movement for a few seconds. Fiora barely stands up and decides to fight with her full strength.
"Minions, aid me in this battle, Floral Desolation!" Fiora screams the incantations with all her might, and then shouting the spell's name out aloud. Sudden winds heavily blow the area where they are standing. The breeze is too strong that it empowers Fiora's pollen mists. A few seconds later, an horde of floral minions are spawned from beneath the ground, ready to swarm the Rose Garden members.
"Another wave of creeps...and ugh...the winds...the mists..." Samael's vision is very limited.
"Not effective for non magical fighters like me, hah!" Cyril boasts about it. Fiora gazes at him and raises her eyebrows.
"You sure, tough guy? Try and punch me like before then." Fiora taunts him to attack her and see if he can land another punch like before. Cyril is threatened, and so he charges at her with full speed. The strong winds slow his movements and push him back a few seconds later. Fiora laughs cynically.
"What does it feel to be thrown away by my winds? Do you think I'm beautiful now?" Fiora's minions attack him, dealing small damage. Cyril struggles to fight the creatures, but the winds really slow him down.
Rein fires an arrow, but it is no use. The arrow got blown away by the winds. Samael cannot do anything due to the pollen mists.
Melisa opens her eyes. It is very dark...
"What happened...?" her voice is trembling.
"You are in the brink of extinction." an unknown male voice pierces her ears. She is terrified. Somehow, the voice seems familiar.
"Don't worry. I'm a friendly enemy. Haze is my name, my dear. You are currently trapped inside a floral cocoon. Your soul will be transfused into Fiora if you fail to escape within minutes. Do you want to get out? Or do you want to die right now?" the male voice echo inside the cocoon. Only Melisa is able to hear it.
"Of course I want to get out from this place, but who are you? What do you mean by friendly enemy? What do you want from me?" she questions about it.
"You'll encounter me every now and then, but rarely. I only appear when you are at the end of hope. I don't want you to be grateful or anything, I just want you to have the best adventure with your friends. I will not grant you an overpowered spell or anything like what usually happens in movies, I just want you to focus on your heart desires." Haze is serious when he said that. Melisa is less confused now. While she is still wondering what Haze's purposes are, she feels slightly calm now.
"Alright, I will not let my self-conscious personality takes over me this time. Tell me, Haze. What do you mean by my heart desires?" Melisa mustered up her courage, not minding any fear that comes in her mind.
"You can escape, Melisa. You just don't have the guts to do it. You think too much about the bad consequences. This is a cliché statement, but believe in yourself. In your current state, this cliché statement will come in handy, you know." Haze tries to motivate her. Melisa is slightly shocked to hear that from him. She then plays with her own thoughts.
"Believe in myself...you say? Yeah, I am terrified...I fear what will happen to me, and yet I wait for it to happen without doing anything. I don't want to be a dense girl forever, you know! You're right, screw this place! I want to get out and meet my friends. I want to be useful too, and I know my friends will be in trouble without me. Yeah...why haven't I realized this...?" Melisa's fear is cleansed from her heart. She then struggles to move her body.
"Move...move...move...!" Melisa is sweating as she tries to move an inch, but it is not good. The cocoon locks her down tight. Haze, who is in the Dreambreaker's Mansion, casts a spell. Queen Valeria stares at him, feeling very shocked that he is helping Melisa.
"Why...?" Queen Valeria questions about it. Haze takes a glimpse at her and winks. She then blushes slightly. Is Haze not a bad guy? Or is he plotting on an evil plan for the future? She is confused.
"Spiritual embodiment, enchant her body with excess energy, Astral Surge..." Haze finished his incantation. Back in the Memorial Park, inside the floral cocoon, violet lights surround Melisa's body. She feels a great sensation and is able to move her body freely.
"What have you done to me?" Melisa asks Haze about it. Haze remains silent for a moment.
"Nothing. It's your great will that grants you the strength to break free. Now, join your friends. They need your support. Until next time we meet, Melisa." his voice vanishes from her mind. Melisa struggles to break the cocoon. After a few kicking attempt, she finally breaks free! Fiora notices and widens her eyes.
"Impossible...how...?" She refuses to believe what she saw. Rein, Samael, and Cyril notice her.
"Melisa! You're okay!" shouted Rein.
"I'm fine, and I'm not scared of you anymore, Fiora. I don't want to resort to violence, but you leave me no choice." Melisa is confident now. She then looks at Cyril and smiles, since he is the one who taught her that violence is acceptable in situations like this. Cyril gives her a thumbs up, feeling proud of her words.
"Holy light of Faith, purify my allies with luminous waves that cleanse their heart and body, Sacred Oath!" Melisa casts a new spell. Everyone else including Fiora is surprised.
Healing waves surround the entire party right after Melisa cast her spell, cleansing all debuffs and regenerate their wounds. Fiora's pollen mists curse is removed, refreshing everyone's condition.
"Well played, Melisa. All right, leave those minions to me. You guys go all out and full focus on Fiora. Go, go, go!" Cyril charges at the minions, fighting them all by himself.
Rein attempts a double strafe at Fiora, followed by a flaming arrow as a finisher. Fiora leaps backwards and summons large vines to deflect the two arrows. The flaming arrow pierces the vines and hits her in the right shoulder. She screams in pain, falls down and endures the painful shot.
Samael casts a spell after seeing Fiora getting pinned down by Rein's flaming arrow.
"Oh clear waters, drown my enem-" Rein pushed him, interrupting the spell incantation. Samael is confused.
"Water is an essential element for plants, you idiot mage! Use your fire spells, dimwit!" Rein yells at silly Samael.
"Okay, okay! Sorry..." Samael apologized and begins casting another spell.
"Scorching flames, come forth towards my call and blast the land with raging fury, Fire Crash!"
A vermilion magic circle is formed in front of Samael. As he raised his right hand to the air, a number of fire bolts are summoned. He then points at Fiora, who is currently immobilized. The fire bolts chase her down at Samael's command, crashing into her and explode in a small radius.
"Did we beat the crap out of her?" asked Rein.
"No idea. I think no one would have survived that many fire bolts, unless she suddenly become overpowered and kicks our sorry butt like what usually happens in movies." Samael lets out a sigh of relief, even though he is not sure yet if Fiora is defeated.
They wait for the explosion smoke to fade away. Melisa is supporting Cyril, who seems to be in good shape. He keeps punching and kicking all the minions with style.
"Somehow, this reminds me about our first meeting." Cyril smiles as he stares at Melisa. He then quickly grabs a minion and hurls it above. With strong palm and motivated spirit, he slams it from below as it falls, completely destroying it to pieces.
"How's that for a showdown?" He successfully clears all of Fiora's minions.
"You did it! You're so awesome, Cyril!" Melisa is overjoyed that they defeated the swarming minions.
"Just like our first meeting eh, how nostalgic..." she lets out a giggle. Cyril blushes as he gazes at her cute giggling face. He then tries to act cool by patting her on the head. Melisa is slightly flustered, but she do not reject the warm pat.
"Done dating?" Samael is annoyed as he stares at the two of them from afar. Both Cyril and Melisa are shocked and quickly turns away, avoiding eye contact. A few seconds later, they rush to meet Samael and Rein, who is still waiting for the destruction smoke.
"Come to think of it. Where the hell is the first shard?" Rein wonders about it. The destruction smoke finally fades away. There is no sign of Fiora. They have won! They defeated Fiora, the seventh invader!
"Yes, I knew we could do it!" Cyril is relieved that it is all over.
The pollen mists are gone, the large vines that surround the center area fall back into the ground, and the minions stopped spawning. Great signs that Fiora is defeated. The elite forces notice and quickly rush to the Rose Garden members, expecting good news.
They are all assembled together a few seconds later.
"Congratulations, all of you..." Knight Sigrun is very proud of their achievement. Paladin Von Sozou smiles at them, feeling proud and relieved that they defeated the seventh invader, one less job for him.
"I guess I was wrong about you guys. You're all strong fighters, so keep it up..." Warrior Pijanes praises them and takes a sit, resting himself.
"We noticed that the floral creatures stopped spawning minutes ago. The pollen mists are somehow removed. Fiora must have been defeated by you guys." Marksman Johnson assures it. Siren Hilia nods her head, showing that she agrees with it. Things look so fine now, but, where is the first shard?
"Guys, look!" Knight Sigrun points at the ground where Fiora is defeated. A sparkling green light can be seen. All of them rush towards the light, expecting to find the desired item. Melisa notices that it is a small green jewel, a lesser jade. Knight Sigrun takes it and wonders if that is the first shard they seek. Suddenly, the lesser jade emits green lights that surround all of their presence.
"Thank you, my heroic saviors. What a pleasant achievement..." a familiar voice pierces their ears. A conjured holographic image of Queen Valeria is talking to them. The Rose Garden members smile happily as they see the beautiful Queen.
"Good day, my Queen. Is this the first shard you seek?" Rein asked her about it. Queen Valeria's image nods and lets out a fortunate smile. The guys are slightly mesmerized by her smile.
"Shards of Passion. You guys have proved that your motivated spirit and your strong will should not be underestimated. Your excitement in new adventures forge a great path ahead to your destined future. For such incredible passion, a hard journey is often a viable choice for you all. It is up to you to decide whether you will continue your ongoing quest or not. I believe you will proceed to some new adventures that may lead to the second shard's location. Travel well, my saviors." Queen Valeria's image vanishes after a sincere smile. The Rose Garden members love to hear her wise words, as they are inspirational and lovely to hear.
Knight Sigrun raises his sword to the air.
"Sun Empire, we did it! Our quest is completed!" He screams out aloud. His voice echo throughout the Memorial Park. Everyone else cheers happily after their victorious battle against Fiora. Melisa jumps with joy. Rein, Samael, and Cyril let out a sigh of relief.
The remaining pollen mists slowly fade away. The plagued air turns into a warm breeze. The wilted flowers bloom once again, decorating the park with their beautiful and colorful petals. Memorial Park is completely recovered a few minutes later.
The seventh continent is finally free from Fiora. Nearby kingdoms and villages are all celebrating their glory against the seventh invader. It is all thanks to the Sun Empire Forces.
Paladin Von Sozou gazes at the sky, feeling serene and refreshed now. It looks like he is reminiscing about someone from his past as he keeps staring at the blooming flowers.
End of Chapter 9