Mihr and I appeared with the others and I grunted as I felt multiple spiritual presences. We were in a forest and I looked around. Daisy and Vesta looked at me and felt my energy had gotten stronger. Daisy walked over to me and held my shoulders. I looked at her and noticed her smile.
"You're awakened, Cloudy..~ Now you're a true Agent, but your work is not yet finished..~" Daisy said.
I smiled at her then looked around for the others. "Where is Arabella, Everleigh, and Yuki?"
"They are on the other side of the forest. The Sacred Verse is inside a church and it's being heavily guarded by Nexus Members. There is also a Darling there that needs to be saved. Unlike the Rogue Agents, a Hypnotized Darling can be saved." Mihr answered.
"Right. Our job is to save this Darling that belongs to the Woodcrest Branch, and get you that Sacred Verse." Daisy said then let me go. She sighed a bit and placed her hand on her hip. "Also we are keeping watch for that Mysterious Figure you encountered the other day because it seems that person also works for The Nexus."
"I see. Well let's get to it." I said.
The four of us made our way down the forest and looked around. Mihr led us since she could sense the church, that way we weren't wandering around aimlessly. As we grew closer, The Nexus ambushed us.
"Of course we'd get ambushed. Well, we should deal with these idiots quickly before they find the Sacred Verse." Vesta said then pulled out her two rifles from her spatial rifts.
The Nexus Members rushed toward us and engaged battle. The four of us went into battle with them and dealt with them in a timely manner. I noticed that I had a much easier time with them than my last encounter with them.
After the quick battle against a few fodder members, I looked at my hands and smiled a bit. The power I felt with my normal strikes was amazing to say the least. We pushed forward and noticed a few more Nexus Members scouting around.
"Alert: Wide number of Nexus Members in the area. Proposal: Sneak your way around them." Dearie said.
Daisy used her Astral Projection to lure the Nexus Members away from the area and Vesta constructed clones of herself then used her spatial rifts to lure the other Nexus Members away. We made for a clear path to the church and I noticed white lilies on the ground around the church and the lawn.
[Alert: New Darling Nearby]
[Name: Aria North]
[Age: 21]
[Birthday: January 22nd]
[Occupation: Medic Entry Level]
[Hobbies: Taking long walks at night, Working on White Magic, Bonding with Woodcrest Residents]
[Price: $2,000]
Mihr opened the doors and noticed no one inside. "Daisy, Vesta, scout the area and call if you find anything. Claudio and I will scout the inside."
"On it." Vesta said then hurried out the church.
"I'll get right to it." Daisy nodded and warped away.
I walked ahead and looked at the broken cross. I walked closer to it and stood in front of the broken cross. Mihr walked toward me and stood beside me, holding her arms.
"They broke the cross..." I said.
"Nexus aren't known for being an angel but rather the middle ground between Angel, Human, and Demon. Nexus...as a God isn't fully evil, but his actions is what caused his banishment from Heaven. He is the connector between Good and Evil. Neutral." Mihr explained.
"What did he do?" I asked.
"Committed a Deadly Act, he freed Lilith from her imprisonment...He allowed himself to fall victim to her corruption and disobeyed Yascha. As a punishment, he was banned from the Garden of Beginnings and banished to the Mortal Realm with Lilith where they would then populate our Mortal Realm. Nexus and Lilith were worshipped here on Earth as the Makers of Life and soon a cult was made in his glory." Mihr explained.
"If Nexus is Neutral, that makes Omega evil correct?" I asked.
"Yes. All who follow Alpha are branded Good Souls, all who follow Nexus are branded Neutral Souls, and all who follow Omega are branded Evil Souls. However what The Nexus Cult is doing is fully evil. They want to restart the entire universe which is not in Yascha's Will...nor in Omega's. This act is beyond Omega's Lawfully Evilness. This is the work of the Alternate of Yascha." Mihr said.
We heard a ringtone and quickly turned around. I glared as I noticed Vance sitting on one of the benches. Beside him was Aria and her eyes were lifeless as she was hypnotized.
Aria was a beautiful woman with pale skin, straight black hair with bangs that covered her left eye, blank lime green eyes, and a curvaceous body with large breasts. She wore a black dress with red outlines, silver decorations around her waist, steel black armored boots, and a hair accessory that had a red gem on it.
"Unfortunately for you two, the Sacred Verse isn't even here. While it is also a major inconvenience to us, we've also been tasked to slow you all down. That's why I'm here and that's why my Darling Aria is here." Vance chuckled and stood up.
"You all won't be getting away with this! You keep using our Darlings for your evil and twisted ways, but we won't allow it any more!" I said then Dearie summoned my Sacred Lotus. I grabbed it and got into my stance.
"I'll handle Aria, you take Vance." Mihr said.
"Right." I nodded.
Vance commanded Aria to battle against Mihr. He watched Mihr warp Aria and herself away from the area. "Things won't be ending in the same way as it did last time, Claudio.."
"That's what you think, but in reality...I'm not letting you escape so easily. This time...I'm killing you.." I said and my eyes shined.
Vance laughed then used his dark energy to construct a sword. "Let us dance then.."
"Proposal: Kill Vance." Dearie said.
I ran toward Vance and he ran toward me. We clashed then he pushed me back and thrusted his sword at me. I dodged him and noticed him step forward, but I caught his bluff then kneed his stomach. He grunted then blocked my next slash. He jumped backwards then pointed his sword at me.
"Dreamy! Do it!" Vance said.
Dreamy began to summon blades of energy then fired them at me one by one, but Dearie blocked then and began to hack into Dreamy. Dreamy grunted then groaned as she was successfully hacked into. She began to malfunction then Dearie caused her to self destruct.
[Unit: Dreamy has become inactive]
"That was quick." I said.
"After fighting against two other Systems, hacking into them become progressively easier as they are all made the same but with different Programs." Dearie said then acquired Dreamy's halo.
[Obtained Program: Bladework.]
Vance looked as if he didn't care that he lost Dreamy. He just smirked and chuckled. "Losing Dreamy isn't even that big of a deal as those dumb bitches are still under my control. Even with Dreamy's program, you still can not defeat me!"
Vance laughed then propelled himself toward me. I grunted and blocked his slash, but he knocked my sword out of my hand. I tried to catch it, but was forced to dodge his next slash and decided to go hand to hand combat. I went for a strike, but he blocked it and pushed me back then slashed at me, but Dearie blasted him away with a Laser Blast.
Vance slid backwards and looked up seeing me rush toward him with a Light Blast in hand. I tried to strike him with it, but he dodged me and slashed at me. He noticed it was just a Live Decoy then groaned as he was struck on his back with a Light Blast. The sphere of light exploded and he flew forward. He recovered then noticed me firing multiple orbs of light at him.
"Now this is my kind of battle!" Vance laughed then deflected the orbs of light then noticed they exploded and created a smoke screen.
He looked around then groaned as a Live Decoy struck him then another and another. He began to get rushed with attacks from my Live Decoys then grew angry and yelled, blowing away the smoke with his dark aura. He noticed I was gone and looked around. He noticed a Light Blast flying toward him and braced himself then noticed it fly upwards and hit the roof, blowing a massive hole in the roof as it exploded.
Vance noticed me walking forward then noticed a smirk on my face. 'What does he have in store..?'
"Let's go Dearie!" I said then dashed toward Vance.
Vance immediately braced himself then noticed a Live Decoy appear in front of him with a spinning kick. He grunted as he blocked it last second and lost his balance. He noticed me above him with an axe kick and and blocked my kick. He grunted as his guard was broken then I landed on the ground and kicked him away. Vance slid backwards and grunted.
'He is much faster...? Is it the sunlight?' Vance thought to himself.
Vance looked up and held his hand out toward the hole in the roof then covered it with darkness. He looked at me and noticed multiple Live Decoys rushing toward him. He blocked and dodged their attacks then slashed on a circle, defeating them all at once. He dodged my Light Blast and watched it destroy the stage and saw a golden light.
"The Verse!" He said.
Dearie rushed toward the verse and grabbed it. Vance grunted and rushed toward Dearie, trying to strike her down. Dearie dodged each attack then tossed the stone tablet toward me. I caught it and time stopped for everyone except me and Dearie.
I noticed time had stopped and looked back to see Arabella. "Arabella.."
Arabella smiled at me. "I am just her spirit...When I disappear, time will resume. Hurry and read the verse before I disappear."
I nodded and looked at the stone tablet.
"Verse Two: Pillars of Life..."
"Alpha and Omega are the Original Bringers of Life as they created first signs of life in the Garden of Beginnings. After giving life, Nexus blesses them with Willpower, thus giving the first humans of the Garden the Will to follow one of the three Deities of Heaven and Yascha. These Three Deities protect their creations from the God of Hell using the Lances of Divinity."
"These Lances come in one of three forms, The Holy Lance of Magic, The Holy Lance of Balance, and The Holy Lance of Power. Only when these three Holy Lances are fused will they make the Heavenly Lance of Origins."
The stone tablet shined and turned into magic particles then entered my body. My second marking appeared on my arm and I felt my power growing.
[Obtained Sacred Spell: Holy Lances.]
Arabella smiled and nodded at me then disappeared just in the nick of time. Vance grunted and looked at me, noticing golden energy spiralling around my body. He grunted as he noticed a second marking on my arm.
Vance grit his teeth then his eyes shined brightly. "That Verse was supposed to be mine! Mine!. You just took it away from me..! How dare you how DA—"
I noticed a blade being shoved through Vance's back and braced myself. Vance grunted and looked back slowly seeing the Mysterious Figure behind him. The figure took their blade out of Vance's back then Vance fell to his knees. The figure dealt the killing blow and kicked Vance to the side.
"Alert: A powerful being has appeared. Proposal: Retreat." Dearie said.
I tried to run, but the figure blocked off my only exit. I looked back at the figure and glared at them.
"Tch...Who are you?" I asked.
The figure adjusted their mask and looked at me. "My name...is Suxen."
I rose an eyebrow and stayed on edge. "Suxen..? That's Nexus spelled backwards. Whoever you are...I didn't forget what you did to me at the museum. Since you won't let me escape, I'll just beat the hell out of you!"
Suxen stared at me and taunted me. "Come."
"Proposal: Defeat Suxen." Dearie said.
I dashed toward Suxen and went for the first strike. Suxen blocked my attack and went for a counter strike, but I blocked it then kneed his stomach. He grunted softly as he was hit then I knocked him back with a palm strike to his chest. He stumbled backwards then noticed a Live Decoy going for a aerial spinning kick. He ducked under the kick and rushed toward me.
I blocked his strike and pushed him back. He dodged my next punch then struck my neck with an open hand strike then hit me with a right hook. I grunted as I was hit then groaned when he knocked me through a row of benches. I recovered then launched two Light Blasts at him.
"Weak." He said as he knocked my Light Blasts away then noticed they exploded, forming a smoke screen. "That trick doesn't work on me, boy."
I groaned as a dark energy projectile struck my stomach. Suxen appeared in front of me and struck my stomach, blowing me through the wall of the church with a dark pulse. I slowly stood up and noticed he appeared in front of me. He was about to strike me, but Daisy appeared next to him and punched his cheek. She noticed it did nothing to him and her eyes widened.
Suxen turned his eyes to look at Daisy then knocked her away with the back of his fist then held his hand out at her, trapping her in his dark energy. He began to slowly crush her and she screamed in pain.
My eyes widened as I listened to her pained cried. "Daisy!"
"I can tell how much you care about her. Let's see how much you really care about Daisy.." Suxen said and began to crush Daisy even more.
Daisy screamed and cried out in pain.
"Let her go!" I yelled then my angelic symbol shined brightly on my back. My angelic aura surged powerfully around my body.
Suxen looked down at me in awe and watched me stand. He groaned as I struck him and knocked him away. I formed six Holy Lances behind me and aimed them at Suxen then launched them at him one by one. Suxen noticed the lances and dodged them and dashed toward me.
"Dearie.." I said in a completely calm voice and pointed.
Dearie summoned multiple blades from the ground and Suxen dodged each one then grunted when I appeared in front of him with a kick then followed it with a Light Blast, knocking him in the air. A Live Decoy appeared above Suxen and knocked him to the ground.
I walked forward and formed a large sphere of light energy in my hand then made it in the shape of a lance. "Checkmate.."
I stomped my foot down then launched the lance of light energy at Suxen. The lance struck him then shined brightly and exploded. The light explosion was large enough for everyone to see in the distance.
Daisy looked at me in awe then slowly stood up. "This power...this Presence..."
I reverted back to normal and passed out on the ground. Daisy looked surprised then hurried toward me. She got on the ground and held me in her arms. She stared at me then moved my hair from my face.
"My...hero..." Daisy said softly and smiled at me, holding me close.