Hope in the midst of darkness

As the Beowolves left the labs, each separated and went their separate ways. They were given a lot of information that could cause panic in the six beacons. First, Asgard had its version of the Shattering. The culprit was a demon lord capable of fighting 200 5-Sun Asgardians with minimal injuries. A similar demon lord was in Alfheim, with a third on the loose somewhere in the nine realms. Finally, there were 72 of these abominations, and no one knew where they were.

As if that wasn't enough, Cain's sister and Canni's daughter were in Alfheim, while Aimzay's wife was in someplace called the Zauberer Bridge. The more secrets they heard, the less they knew; as they were trying to process the info, the men went to the bar to drink. A melodious voice resounded from the only woman in the group.

"Guys, I need to head to the ladies' room. It might take a while, so don't bother waiting for me. Just save me a seat."

At the same time, El left and started to scan the base for a little rabbit who tried to steal her man from her. But, as Jin and Abel already knew her intentions, they didn't even try to stop her.

They silently wondered why Cain wasn't saying anything as he would usually be stopping her. They instead looked at their new walking lie detector. As they did, Adriel couldn't stop himself as he chuckled. The armored marksman had an aggrieved expression as he said.

"You know, when my old unit knew of what I could do, they feared me and slowly ostracized me. But, on the other hand, you guys didn't even comment on my shooting and instead used me as a lie detector for everything. I have feelings too, you know! They called me a mythical sniper! Aimzay! The man who never missed! You guys act like being able to one-shot a Rank 5 is a piece of cake!"

At his insistence that they were abnormal, everyone couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing loudly. Adriel felt he needed to be the one to explain as the rest were too busy enjoying themselves; even Cain was chuckling from what he heard. Adriel pointed around the Beowolves one by one as he talked, starting with himself.

"Cannibal, crazy heavy swordsman who challenged an entire beast tide by himself. Insane shielder who does not defend, but charges into demonic tides and smashes monsters with a shield and a nail. A lunatic captain who challenged Rai Seventh, a famous 5-Sun Asgardian, to a Fullrettirsorð. If you expect normal people, you're looking in the wrong place, my friend."

Being dumbfounded by what he heard, Claude could only agree. Then, as he was contemplating, Abel's voice asked him the initial question.

"So, was El telling the truth earlier?"

At his question, Claude could only shake his head. Pretending they didn't see anything, the Beowolves headed to the base's cantina. After a short walk, Cain and the rest of the men arrived at the bar and took their seats. Cain then abruptly dropped a bomb on them.

"I want to marry El before we leave the base; what do I do?"

The surrounding men all stopped. Jin was the first to move. He quickly grabbed Cain by the shoulders. As the one who saw how they came together, Jin felt he needed to make sure this was not done on a whim.

"Arthur, do not make promises you cannot keep. If this is a joke, El would not only kill you, but she would kill herself too."

Arthur looked annoyed as his shoulders were being squeezed. He then proceeded to explain.

"After the battle with Clegane, the standoff with Vasiliás, and today's demonic beast tide. I felt I would lose my mind if anything happened to her. I want her to know how much I cherish her. I want her to remain by my side for the rest of my days. So why would I joke about something like this?"

As they listened to their captain, Adriel, Jin, and Abel looked at Claude as if waiting for confirmation. The marksman could only dumbfounded answer.

"What are you looking at me for? The captain is 100% telling the truth."

Abel then proceeded to share his thoughts.

"As useful as a walking lie detector is. El is crazy about you, Arthur; from what Jin mentioned, you guys have been together for over 100 years. Why only now?"

The men remained quiet as Adriel and Jin quietly signaled the barkeep for some drinks. As they didn't have the Fenrir battle suits on, those not on the fortress walls didn't know what the Beowolves looked like, so they could still enjoy their anonymity.

"Jin did say you were sharp on such details; I know about El's unique tendencies. Initially, I wanted her to stop, so I tried distancing myself from her. I then thought I didn't deserve her because I was the reason why her parents died. Eventually, I couldn't resist her allure and affection, but I felt it wasn't the right time.

But when I thought I lost her after she had a psychotic episode. I just felt that I couldn't deny myself any longer; El was why I wanted to keep living for the last 100 years. She loved me even when I couldn't love myself. Although I do not deserve her, I never plan to let her go. I wish to spend the rest of my days with El by my side."

Getting so absorbed in his monologue, Cain failed to see that the bar turned silent as a ravishing beauty was standing behind him. She held her hands to her mouth as tears fell to the ground. When Cain saw all his men looking behind him with large eyes, he turned around only to see El speechless.

El then looked at Claude as she was trying to wipe her tears. Claude knowing her purpose, lightly chuckled in self-derision as he said.

"This entire squad is insane; yes, Miss El, the captain meant every word of it."

As his words reached El's ears, black force rushed out of her in large quantities as it scared the hell out of everyone in the bar and the nearby areas. She then proceeded to chant a skill between sobs.

"Unique skill [Líng zì], trigger [Teleport]!"

El's figure vanished; confused by the lengths El took to disappear, Cain was flabbergasted. The mage's unique 1-Moon was called [Líng zì], which meant words of zero in Chinese. It essentially eliminated the need to chant at the cost of using three times more Force. Cain proceeded to ask his men.

"What the hell did I do wrong?"

As the team was not answering, Cain reviewed the events in his mind as Abel chuckled and spoke.

"Might be best to ask her, Arthur; you can run faster than light anyways. So go, you'll find her eventually. I suggest looking at the tallest spire."

Nodding, Cain activated his skill [Citius quam lux] and ran after El. Leaving the rest of the Beowolves at the bar with the dumbfounded patrons.

Adriel and Claude stood up in a hurry; they were waiting for some kind of response from Jin and Abel, who were already pouring drinks as if nothing had happened. Then, unable to remain calm, the human lie detector asked.

"Are they going to be alright? Shouldn't we help?"

Jin then proceeded to answer quietly.

"Those two are made for each other; they will run to hell and back for the other, so yes, they are fine. Let's prepare a simple meal for when they get back. Barkeep! How much for a simple spread for six people?"

The new blood looked at Abel as if not believing the words of their comrade; however, they were in for a disappointment, as Abel just said.

"The girl is a yandere whose world revolves around our captain, while the captain is a suicidal white knight who lives only to make said yandere happy. They will be fine. We earned a bit from the Gremling army we hunted a few days ago. This could double as a welcome lunch for you guys."

Not saying anything else, the two promptly seated back at the table and started making small talk with their new teammates. Even though both were anxious to find their loved ones, after searching for 100 years, you develop patience or go crazy.

As everyone was starting to chat, Abel silently drank his beer as he thought.

'They will get married tonight as the clock strikes 12. The way and manner they will do so seem to follow the same path. I wonder if he saw anything about his marriage from a different timeline. Lorelei gave them a ring last time. Would she do so again?

This is one vision I hope comes to pass exactly as I saw it. So let's try calling everybody as we did originally.'

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Proofread By: Pearl_Wang

Edited By: WorthyAdversary