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Ulvala, Outskirt of Yoshos Empire, Time: 8:00 AM
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Everyone was out of Nourtuck as they walked down the path. Ace and Ezra trailed behind, Mianne and James were in the middle between them, with Koras leading the way, holding a map in his hands. James was happily chatting with Mianne.
"You are such a stubborn boy, you know James." Mianne scolded him, noticing his attempt to peel off a bandage.
"Don't take that off; you'll bleed!" She forced his hand away from the bandage.
Ace and Ezra observed them. "At least someone is the parent in their relationship..." Ezra remarked while Ace chuckled.
"Oh, but when it comes to festivals and holidays, they act like children," Ace stated, gaining a chuckle from Ezra.
"Mianne, can I go talk with Koras about something?" James asked, he needed to ask something.
"You can, but don't remove your bandages." James went ahead to have a small talk with Koras.
'Someone needs to break the ice...' He wanted to build trust with him. Sure, Koras might have almost killed him and his friend before, but since Ace changed his soul completely, he might give it a shot.
"Hey, Corand? Can I talk with you about something?" James approached Koras with a curious expression.
"Sure, kids! Anything you want to ask, I can answer! Also, it's Koras, by the way." Koras said, giving him a thumbs up, slightly annoyed that his name was completely wrong.
"So, like, Gray Phoenix is a part of 'Messengers of The Beyond,' right? So, that would make 'Messengers of The Beyond' a bigger organization, right?" James asked, curious about the 'Twilight' he heard of, 'The COU and Fervoor Solace' since they're the yin-yang of this world.
"To answer your question, 'Messengers of The Beyond' is a title. 'Twilight' has these legendary people called 'Leviathan.'" Koras explained before continuing.
"They're mostly pure blood or half-blood. Not only that, these people are neutral to other organizations, except the 'Assembly of the Warlord' and some organization, 'Hell's Express.'" Koras finished, overwhelming James, who held his head with a dazzled face.
Ezra listened, thinking, 'The more time we get roped into this, the more Leviathan will come after us.'
"But, I'm getting off-topic here. The holder of 'Messengers of The Beyond' is one of the Leviathans, so all the other Leviathans could continue to give him massive support in many ways – money, power, army, you name it.
Since 'Gray Phoenix' is pretty medium-sized in this organization, we don't know a lot about them." Koras finished, still breathing after the information overload. "Phew, holy, I spoke that much, huh?"
"Well, that answers some things. Thank you, Cona!" James said, starting to gain trust.
"Either we survive or all of us get stabbed in the back by him." Ace watched from afar, still not trusting Koras yet.
"We're halfway there! Just keep an eye out since we're about to enter enemy territory," Koras informed everyone, prompting them to be vigilant.
"Gah! There's no way we could rank up to D-Rank anytime soon!"
An irritated voice exclaimed as everyone readied their weapons.
"Maybe, it shouldn't be like that. Perhaps we could take a little break from adventuring," suggested a calming feminine voice, and the nearby forest bush started to ruffle.
Two people emerged from the forest, catching the skeptical gaze of The Lucky Inquisitors.
"Alright, who did your hair?" Ace snickered.
One of them, a man with hair styled in a croissant bun, donned a pure metallic knight armor, and a purple cape, and wielded a standard knight sword. "Oh god, I tripped," he confessed.
The other, a woman with blonde-tipped hair, wore a white robe adorned with snowflake ornaments. "Nolan, be more careful!"
Both mysterious individuals looked up to see The Lucky Inquisitors drawing their weapons.
"I'm so sorry! We didn't know we were on your property!" the girl quickly apologized, fearing repercussions.
"Hey, it's not our..." The man observed them, noticing a medal on one of The Lucky Inquisitors.
"YOU SIR! ARE YOU A GUARDIAN? WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A DUEL TO RANK UP?!" The man got uncomfortably close to James, almost an inch away from his face.
"Leave them alone, Nolan! I think they don't want to have a duel!" The woman tried to pull him away by his cape.
"Hush, Rose! This could be our rank up right here!" Nolan turned around and seemingly defied the laws of physics as he leaned close to Rose's face with an impossible posture.
"Wow, he's a lanky lad," Koras stated, amazed by Nolan's incredible flexibility.
"So, what's the duel to rank up exactly?" Mianne inquired, not being a huge fan of being a guardian like James.
"To explain! People can request a duel to rank up using a Duel Seekers device. It resembles a metallic bird with a sigil for an eye, allowing the duel watchers to observe the match through magic! The winner gains half the progress for a rank up, while the loser's progress is reduced by half if their rank is equal or higher!" James shared his knowledge with delight.
"Oh wow, I was about to explain it to her, but you beat me to it. Well done, James," Ace remarked, surprised that James got it all right.
"Will you duel with us, fellow guardians?" Nolan asked as he stretched out his hands.
"We accept!" James responded, shaking Nolan's hand at lightning speed, prompting a sigh from Ace.
"Very well! It'll be a two-on-two match, so I suggest you bring one partner with you!" Nolan stated as he prepared the duel seeker.
James pondered who should fight alongside him. "Ace?" James suggested, but Ace disagreed.
"Still pretty wounded from the last battle, can't do much," Ace explained, his shoulder felt stiff.
"Me too, because a certain someone tried to blow my entire stomach open with fire," Ezra added, giving Koras an icy gaze. Koras whistled, attempting to ignore Ezra's gaze.
"Well, it's just me and you, Mianne," James said, looking at Mianne, who smiled happily.
"Well then, we are kind of like a duo, eh?" Mianne elbowed James a bit, who nodded.
"Remember our synergy when we were 15?" James asked, and Mianne put her hand on her chin.
"It's been 5 years, James. I feel like I forgot about it," Mianne realized her memory wasn't in her favor.
"Well, we are going to remember it together!" James offered his right arm for Mianne to bump.
"Alright then, lead the way, Jamie~" She took it and bumped it with her left arm.
"Well, are you both prepared?" Nolan inquired as both he and Rose got into their battle formation.
"Yup, ready when you are," James replied, preparing his halberd. Mianne observed the metallic bird casually flying in the air without a care.
"Match of Nolan Oudin, Rose Sergeyevna vs James Woodheart, Mianne Softblight," the bird announced as it hovered in place.
"Battle Engage in 3," James and Nolan showed faces of determination.
"2" Mianne and Rose displayed a mix of concern and readiness to fight.
"1" Ace, Ezra, and Koras seemed to have sunglasses, drinks, and a bucket of corn.
"Begin." The bird finished, signaling the start of the rank-up battle.
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