"...Aren't you guys going to say something? You've been quiet this whole time." I say over my shoulder as I walk through the forest, heading towards the old shrine deep within it.
Since I told them that I'm an Astral, none of them have spoken a word.
They've just been silent, with expressions that, not gonna lie, look pretty funny.
"It's your fault for casually dropping that bombshell!" Vyrn yells at me in frustration.
"Their expressions are really funny, huh, Orchid?" Lyria whispers to Orchid, who's beside her.
"...Yeah, they're really funny right now." Orchid smiles, recalling their earlier reactions.
"An Astral huh... The only Astral we've met is Loki, and his personality is really annoying since he keeps asking for a fight... So this is the first time we've met one like you." Gran says while shaking his head remembering how Loki always causes trouble for them.
"But what about your wings? I didn't know Astrals have wings." Lyria² asks me.
"Oh, no, that's not from Astral power... It's a different power that I have." I explain.
"Different power? Wings? Wait wait. Gran, we were separated for like, what, a few hours at most? And suddenly you meet someone like this?" Rackam says to his captain.
"Wait, everyone, we're almost at the shrine!" Lyria suddenly says while pointing ahead of us.
"Yeah, I can feel it too we're close to the shrine." Lyria² adds.
They all agree to postpone their conversation and refocus on their main objective.
Once we arrive, they start following Lyria² toward the source of the weak Primarch energy they both sense.
Lyria and I stay behind the group because I'm not sure how Raphael will react if he sees me...
I can't remember if the four Primarchs know Lucilius or not, but they definitely recognize Lucifer's face.
Since Lucilius and Lucifer share the same face, they'll surely recognize me the moment they see me.
So I stay at the back while assessing the situation first. Lyria stays with me because she wants to keep me company back here.
Before long, I hear Sierokarte pointing towards a direction where she spots an unconscious man.
They quickly approach the unconscious man, while Lyria and I remain in the back.
"We can't see the wings, but there's no doubt about it. This is the wind primarch we've been searching for." Lyria² says as she examines the unconscious man.
But as soon as the man hears Lyria²'s voice, he suddenly opens his eyes and stands up quickly, looking around warily.
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It seems like he's searching for someone, and I start thinking he might be looking for Sandalphon, who attacked him earlier and stole his wings.
However, after not being able to find Sandalphon, he turns his attention to Lyria² and the others.
"The wind primarch. According to Arusha's notes, that would make you Raphael, correct?" Sierokarte asks the man named Raphael.
"...." Raphael remains silent, not answering Sierokarte's question, as he continues to observe them.
"Uh... so it looks like you're in a lot of pain, Raphael. What exactly happened to you?" Rackam tries to ask him, as they can all see that the Primarch in front of them is badly injured.
"Why bother asking? The efforts of mortals amount to nothing..." Raphael finally replies, his tone full of arrogance.
"Hey! The whole world's in trouble thanks to the imbalance between you and your pals!" Vyrn shouts at the Primarch, frustrated by his tone.
"Can you at least tell us something? Does it have to do with your condition?" Gran quickly adds, eager to learn what's really happening with the tetra-element Primarchs.
"...." But Raphael remains silent, his gaze fixed on Lyria² and Vyrn flying beside her.
"The Red Dragon and the Girl in Blue..." Raphael mutters to himself, seemingly contemplating his next move. After a brief moment, he nods as if he has made a decision.
"The matter is not urgent." Raphael says, but the others can still hear his words.
Without further explanation, Raphael's body starts to glow with a verdant green light.
"Hey, he's trying to run away!" Vyrn shouts as he notices Raphael's body gradually fading.
"Wait, at least tell us what happened!" Lyria² yells, trying to stop Raphael.
But Raphael ignores their pleas, his body becoming more and more transparent.
But they suddenly hear a voice, "Why are you in such a hurry, Raphael the Wind Primarch? Do you really think you can stop Sandalphon without your wings?"
Raphael's body immediately stops fading and reappears, his eyes widening in shock as he recognizes the voice. "This voice—!?"
Soon after, they all hear footsteps approaching, causing Lyria² and the others to turn around.
"Rei? Who is this Sandalphon you mentioned?" Gran asks me.
"Supreme Primarch!? No, it's you!!" Raphael exclaims in panic, his expression full of shock as he looks at Rei.
"Heh... Did you forget who created you?" Rei smirks at him while releasing his aura and pressing down on Raphael.
"Ughhh!!! This feeling—!! Lucilius!?" Raphael is immediately forced to the ground under the pressure he was feeling.
Even though Rei isn't using his wings, Raphael who had already lost his wings to Sandalphon is easily overpowered by him.
"Again!? Orchid!" Lyria shouts to Orchid.
"I understand!" The two of them start to approach Rei, intending to absorb the power that is spiraling out of control.
But suddenly, Rei grabs his head in pain. "Ughh!! Damn it, stop trying to control me!" he mutters, struggling with the raging energy inside his body.
As Rei focuses on controlling this power, the pressure on Raphael eases, allowing him to move again. Raphael quickly rushes at Rei, his fist surrounded by a swirling green wind.
Despite the pounding headache, Rei sees Raphael's attack and catches it with his left hand.
A powerful gust of wind erupts as Rei blocks Raphael's strike, sending the others flying. "Uwaaaahhh!"
"You! How are you still alive!?" Raphael yells at Rei, his voice filled with hatred.
Rei barely registers his words, his head throbbing too much to care. "Shut up!" he snaps.
At that moment, Raphael suddenly senses something pulling at his energy. He glances at his hand which is enveloped in green wind, and realizes with horror that his wind is being absorbed by the man holding him.
"You're absorbing my power!?" Raphael tries desperately to pull his hand free, but his strength isn't enough to break Rei's grip.
As Raphael struggles, he can feel more and more of his power being drained. Panic sets in as he realizes that if this continues, he could vanish entirely as his energy depletes.
But before that can happen, Gran suddenly charges into Rei, forcefully knocking him away and causing him to release his grip on Raphael.
As soon as he was freed, Raphael quickly retreats, distancing himself from Rei who is still clutching his head in pain.
This time, Rei is holding his head with both hands. "So dizzy—! Why does my head hurt so much!?"
"Rei!!" Lyria, who has just arrived after being thrown back by the earlier wind, can see that Rei is in pain.
She quickly rushes toward him, but Rackam suddenly stops her. "Wait, Lyria! Don't just approach him! He's unstable right now!"
"Let me go! I need to help Rei!!" Lyria struggles to break free from Rackam's grip.
"You can't!! Don't you see? His body is currently surrounded by that strong green wind!"
Just as Rackam says, Rei's body is currently being enveloped by the same wind that had previously surrounded Raphael.
"Ughhh! Make it stop!!" Rei, unable to bear the pain collapses to his knees, still holding his head while shrouded in the green vortex.
"Rei!!" Orchid, who has just arrived with her clothes slightly torn, is extremely worried about Rei's condition.
She doesn't even have the doll she usually holds, her concern entirely focused on Rei.
"What happened!? What did you do!?" Gran asking Raphael, knowing that he was the one that attacked Rei first.
"Singularity? How can you be traveling with him?" Raphael asks Gran, still staring at Rei.
"What are you talking about? Why does it matter if I'm traveling with him?"
But just as Raphael is about to reveal the identity of the man before them, the wind surrounding Rei suddenly surges into his body.
"Aghhhhh!!!" Rei screams in pain, causing Lyria and Orchid to shed tears feeling really sad for him.
"Rei!!" Lyria then uses the power of the Primal Beast Tiamat, to push Rackam away and free herself from his grip.
Without hesitation, Orchid also moves closer to help Rei.
Suddenly, twelve pure white wings emerge from Rei's back, leaving everyone staring in shock.
"No way... This feeling... Supreme Primarch—!?" Raphael, with wide eyes, can feel an all-too-familiar energy emanating from Rei.
The wind that has been entering Rei's body shifts, moving toward one of his white wings.
The green gale approaching Rei's white wings begins to change color, turning into bright red before also starting to merge into the white wing.
The wing flickers, alternating between pure white and red, then back to white again, repeating the cycle for a few moments.
But because the energy Rei absorbs isn't enough, the wing returns to its pure white state and then disappears entirely from his back.
"Rei, are you okay?" Lyria and Orchid rush to Rei's side, kneeling beside him as they check his condition.
Raphael, observing this, turns to look at the second Lyria and notices that there are now two girls in blue in the same place.
"What's going on...?"
Raphael is completely bewildered as he takes in the situation. There are two girls in blue, and the person he was certain is Lucilius seems to possess energy like that of the Supreme Primarch.
And then, the twelve pure white wings that appeared earlier... He had never seen a Primarch with that many wings.