In a completely undisclosed location, we can see four individuals. And these are no four ordinary individuals... for they themselves have a story of their own to tell.
Clara and Egoister, the lovebirds who broke stories before.
And then there's the Notorious Smiling Blade.
Allastor, the reason why Wellester protects.
And
Wellester is the reason why Allastor smiles.
Being the Avatar of Bael, he can completely conceal himself, masking his entire identity and taking on a new role that suits the task. The powers of Avatar are far more different, and at times more versatile compared to those of Servants.
To attain a God's power, you must sacrifice something to withstand its power. There is a common fallacy amongst the gods that the higher the potency of the sacrifice, the better the reward, but that is not the case. It is merely a test of who is more compatible with which god, and who is more adept with that god's powers.
Avatars, on the other hand, must obtain something that tarnishes their living in order to attain this power.
It is not as simple as something that can be physically present, like a parasite, but sometimes it can be a phobia, or just something simple, like test1-trauma.
"Make sure that you hold the position properly, else you won't be able to channel the god's energy to its full potential.", Wellester instructed the two of them.
Grunting and panting, both Egoister and Clara were put through some of the most torturous training. They did not want to take any chances with anything. Especially because they were all wanted criminals by the school right now.
"Learn the ability to deal with the pain, because on the battlefield, you will not know what you are going to be hit with. Your ability to stand up even after getting hit multiple times will be of the utmost importance. With the skill, you also need to train your physical strains and mental stamina to keep going at it. There is no workaround for that.", Allastor was explaining. "Even though we took you both in because we saw promise in you does not mean that you both are special. We simply saw how much you two were suffering and wanted to provide you with some fighting chance to oppose and stand with the world."
"Can I ask you something, Avatar of Bael?", Egoister questioned.
"Tell me?"
"You and the Servant of Veritia are both part of the second generation of beings. Then why didn't you want to team up with Nanami and stick with him? What made you guys split off and take on your oath."
"If I am being completely honest with you, that story takes back a very long time, to when the war's unrest first began. We were initially on the same side as Nanami.", Allastor explained to them. "But throughout the various battles that we underwent, I sensed that there was something off with how Nanami fought. He always spent his time at the back of the field, almost as if he was the commander trying to battle from the last file of the battlefield. It felt... wrong..."
"Wrong is the emotion. It was not something that anybody expected. Especially considering that when fighting from the opposite side, he was never in my field of view." Wellester added.
"Opposite side? Wait what?", Clara joined in the conversation.
"The reason why there was so much unrest between the servants and the avatars of the second generation was because it was when a lot of new powers started emerging, which people had not yet witnessed. Everything was still very new to them. And as usual, when the other side saw that God's terrain was covered with Avatars of Demons, and vice versa, you can see why the battle took place. Merely a showcase of power." Wellester continued.
"B-but wait. Does that mean that the first power that Nanami sensei inherited was the power of Paimonia?", Egoister was more shocked at the realization that might be true, and Allastor's nodding confirmed that hypothesis. "Which means that he attained Benzaiten's powers only after the war had quelled."
"Then how did you two meet?", Clara asked.
"Simple, we just formed a mutual pact with one another after some of us realized that there was no point in fighting, and it was merely useless to keep fighting over power. Nanami kept fighting, but our goal was something different.", Allastor explained. "We wanted to locate the lost city."
"Seems very cliché but we were drawn to the power present in this hidden city present on this planet, where the first of the Servants and Avatars were forced to be born. The place where the curse of this planet originates from, and the place where the first truth of this world was explained to those who wanted to attain the world's power.", Wellester added.
"But then what's the point of even finding the lost city for you guys? I guess that would make it a cool expedition journey, but at the end of it, I don't expect you guys to be goofing around to look for something this strange.", Clara added. "Not to mention the fact that this lost city of yours might be a legend, and its tale must have been spread as gossip, to lure adventurers into traps and to find locations wthatmakes it easier for everyone to explore and map out safe areas."
"That might be the case, but seeing that girl Sakurai, the boy Gil and then the hunter as well... that just confirmed our hypothesis about the flower existing.", Allastor pointed out.
"What? I am retired right now." Egoister sprawled his legs and sat on the grassy terrain. It was not ideal, but it was just barely comfortable.
"You remember when you returned to the battlefield to take us away, you saw Gil and Sakurai trying to be restrained by your beloved sensei? Well, that is because the hunter seemed to have force-fed the two of them to have the petals of a very special flower. This flower makes it so that you can easily communicate with your master if you are a servant." Wellester explained. "There are no known side effects for it, and studying this would be so much better. We also have no idea of the effect that this would have on Avatars. That is why our team is made. We had another reason to choose the two of you, and that was to train you to become our test subjects in this matter. We wanted to test and see what would happen if we gave sections of this omni-flower to you guys as well. We also would become test subjects. Thus, we will need your help in documenting us as well."
"The training that you are undergoing right now, it is so that if there is something that happens unfortunately, that makes us lose control of our body, then I want the rest of you guys to have the power and the capabilities to kill the last person, be it a loved one or not," Allastor added to it.
Clara and Egoister looked at each other, and they started to realize killing the other, after everything that they went through, relearning the truth of the world. Now, all that was left for them to work on, was the fact that there was a possibility that they would have to kill the other person if the plan failed for some reason.
"But fear not, it will take us a while before we even reach that location. Before that, we need to train both of you guys so that you are ready for a fight whenever it is there. I do not want to lose the two of you, after all the effort that we have already put into you." Allastor stated calmly. "That would truly be a shame."
"Do you think that Nanami Sensei will be sending everyone behind us, even though all we did was escape?", Clara questioned.
"You do not know the gravity of the current situation, do you? He most definitely will... and mark my words, he will come with a force you will not expect at all. Underestimating him is the worst mistake that you will ever make." Wellester answered.
"Then we must prepare ourselves, don't we?" Allastor added.
Clara and Egoister turned to each other, finally with a fire of motivation that could overthrow stars.
"Time to get started!"