Chapter 31: War

Zagon and Kelz, the current and former Lords of the Promised Land. The two stood face to face as leaders of their respective factions. 

"You're here faster than expected." 

Kelz spoke with a smirk. 

"Ten minutes is a short time." 

So did Zagon. 

"I bet you moved out the second it reached ten minutes. That's petty." 

"Ten minutes is ten minutes." 

(There it is. Whenever these two are together, their mental age always reverts back to when they were children. Even now, they're treating everything that happened between them like a game.) 

Zyna watched the two with her heart racing. Despite the carefree air around the Lords as they talked to each other, tension continued to build for everyone else. No one moved or dared to breathe, even those who had made it inside the buildings. Everyone felt it on a molecular level. 

They felt the dread and overwhelming power the two possess. 

(It's as if the God Essence inside me is cowering. It's like I couldn't escape them even if I ran to the ends of the earth.) 

Raphael thought while looking at the two from afar. 

"I see. So this is how it feels to be in the presence of gods." 

"Xeroi." 

"Yes, My Lord." 

"Zyna." 

"Yes, Kelz." 

Zagon and Kelz spoke in unison. 

"I'll leave the rest to you." 

They vanished with a boom. Explosions erupted all over the district. Raphael looked around in confusion as the very island itself started to tremble. 

"The fuck?!" 

There was a ring of blue light surrounding them. This ring was like walls erected towards the heavens. 

(That's God Essence, right? They're fighting while running around the district? Is the God Essence oozing out of them creating this ring?) 

Zyna thought while looking around. 

"Should you be looking away, Zyna?" 

Xeroi put on some plated gloves. 

"You're standing in front of the Holy Knights with no competent comrades around you." 

Zyna turned towards him with a smirk 

"Oh, I'm fine in that regard." 

A flash as Xeroi swung his hand and deflected a laser. Meanwhile, Zyna leaped back and landed beside Raphael, Roxanne, and Ryder. 

"Outsiders huh? That's great." 

Xeroi's eyes narrowed. 

"I wanted to see the faces of the people who destroyed the Silver Core." 

"Oh, that?" 

Raphael grinned. 

"They were quite lacking. Perhaps you should've trained them better." 

"…I suppose I should've." 

The holy knights pulled their weapons and stepped forward. 

"Purge them in the name of the Lord." 

The knights charged at them and Zyna stepped forward. 

"You and me have a date." 

Xeroi popped up in front of her. He punched at her face. His punch was blocked by her blade. 

"Sorry, I'm a married woman." 

The two kicked each other simultaneously and was forced apart. They charged at each other again. They clashed blowing the other back before charging again. They then moved through the battlefield clashing at high speed. 

"Run wild, Spawn!" 

Raphael roared as Ryder kicked off the ground. He clashed with a knight's spear. The spear was blown back by Ryder's punch. Another knight attacked his flank. 

"Fuck off!" 

Roxanne hit him with a flying kick. The knight stumbled and two other knights rushed at her. Ryder accelerated and grabbed them by the face. He lifted off the ground. The knights used their legs to lock his arms. They threw themselves back to fling him to the ground. A knight kicked Ryder in the back as he stood up and fired several shots at his body. 

"Oi." 

The knight spun around. His severed hands fell to the ground still holding his gun. Raphael's bloodshot eyes appeared before him. 

"Don't touch him." 

Raphael cut through the knight's armour and into his body. The blade stopped in the middle of his torso. Even so, the knight grabbed Raphael's neck. Several knights attacked Raphael from behind. 

"Ohhh!" 

They were hit by their comrades' bodies that were thrown by Roxanne. Ryder appeared behind the knight choking Raphael. With a swift motion, he twisted the knight's head to face behind him. He released Raphael who forced his sword to finish cutting through his body. The knight's torso hit the ground. 

"?!" 

Ryder grabbed Raphael and threw him overhead. A large knight appeared swinging down a giant club. The club hit the ground. Shots fired at the knight from behind Ryder. The knight spotted Raphael aiming at him. He kicked off the ground. Ryder met his charge. The ground shook as Ryder's fist clashed with the club. The two started attacking each other with quick strikes and swings. 

(Shit, Ryder is preoccupied with that one.) 

"We're still here." 

"!" 

Raphael spun around. He was punched in the face. His body was blown back and bounced off the ground. He looked up and saw scorpions and knights attacking from above. They were kicked away before attacking him. 

"I'm back for round 2, fuckers!" 

Damini shouted. 

She blasted off the ground the moment her feet touched it. Scorpions and knights rushed at her. She grabbed blades lying around and cut a scorpion across the eyes. A knight fired at her head. Her body flickered as she dodged the bullet. She popped up under his chin. Her blades moved and pierced his heart and head. 

She noticed Scorpions and knights surrounding her. An explosion blew them away before she could act. 

"Get away from my sister!" 

Gina appeared with warriors and droids behind her. She threw explosives and swung her whip. The knights and scorpions scattered. 

"Ahhhh!" 

Roxanne roared as she blew away enemies with punches and kicks. She took a scorpion's helmet and slapped a knight. She took punches to the gut but didn't falter. She cracked a knight's skull with a headbutt. She spun around and crushed a scorpion's eyes. She was stabbed in the legs and forced to stop. Knights jumped and kicked her in the chest. She held her ground and grabbed their legs. She slammed them on the ground. More enemies surrounded her. 

"Don't move, Roxanne!" 

A shout caused her to freeze. A light flash before her eyes. Bodies around her exploded into pieces. Fayax appeared holding his blade in his hand. 

"Roxanne, are you okay?" 

Chul appeared next to her firing his rifle. 

"We took longer than we wanted to regroup because of these scorpion guys. Give me an update?" 

"War is in full swing." 

Roxanne pulled out the swords embedded in her legs. 

"If Kelz didn't increase the God Essence in us using her abilities, we would've die already." 

"Die!" 

A roar echoed through the battlefield. Ryder shattered his opponent's club with his bloody fist. He stepped in and slammed his fist in his face. The face caved in and bones crushing could be heard. The knight fell dead without a face. 

"Alright, everyone's here." 

Raphael sprung to his feet. He glared at Julius who was staring at him. 

"So you're the bastard…" 

Raphael gritted his teeth. 

"…So you're his comrades." 

Julius took out a syringe and stabbed it into his neck. 

"Then I won't be taking any chances." 

His muscles tightened and his eyes started glowing once again. 

"Let's gooo!" 

The ground shook as he kicked off the ground. Raphael met his charge. They punched out. Raphael's hand was blown back, busted up. 

"?!" 

"I'm on a different level." 

Julius punched out. Raphael blocked it with both arms. The arms broke and the fist hit his chest. 

"Guh?!" 

His heart stopped for a second before beating again. Raphael was blown back with arms dangling by his side. 

"Raphael!" 

Damini rushed towards Julius. He turned his head and vanished. He popped up in front of her. He thrust at her throat. She bent her back to avoid it before peddling back. Julius chased her with strikes aiming at her vitals. She twisted her body to avoid a strike and kicked him in the head. She grabbed her ankle and crushed it. 

"Ahhh!" 

"Shut up." 

He grabbed her mouth. Raphael popped up above him and kicked him away. 

"You recover quick." 

Julius said while fixing his broken jaw. Raphael swung his arms and cracking sounds were heard. His arms were fixed. 

"As the oldest, it's my job to protect everybody else. Especially, the youngest." 

Raphael's eyes were bloodshot. 

(Listen, Raphael. If I'm gone, you'll need to protect everyone.) 

He recalled a memory with Gustav. 

"You're the strongest but that's only because Ryder is under control. If things get difficult, don't be afraid to make him run wild. However, if you're still having problems, you'll need to return to being the strongest." 

"You make it sound easy." 

"It isn't but you'll need to do it. To be fair, the only reason you're weaker than Spawn is because you're too level-headed. Sometimes in war you need a madman to make the difference." 

Gustav pointed at him. 

"You'll be that mad man when I'm not there." 

"How?" 

Raphael smirked while facing off against Julius. 

"Roxanne!" 

Roxanne looked in his direction. Raphael put his hand in his mouth and yanked out a tooth. Roxanne saw this and her eyes widened. She gritted her teeth. 

"Hell's Militia, listen up!" 

Her voice resounded across the battlefield. 

"As of this moment, I'm taking full command and this is my first order! Stay clear of Raphael!" 

"Huh?" 

Julius wore confused expression. His opponent just ripped out one of his teeth and then his ally took command… 

"Tsk." 

He rushed at Raphael. 

"!" 

He stopped and leaped back. Bullets flew past him. Chul aimed his rifle at him from a distance. Raphael took something out of the tooth and swallowed it. 

"Ugh!" 

He groaned as his body started heating up. His mind became cloudy, yet he could hear Gustav's voice. 

"I'm going to follow the Norse warriors, the Berserkers' example. We're using Hallucinogens." 

"Hahahaha!" 

Raphael burst out laughing. It was a bone-chilling laugh with no compassion. 

"So you're using drugs too?" 

Julius grinned. 

"Alright, let's—" 

Raphael kicked off the ground with enough force to crack it. Julius met his charge with a kick. Fist clashed with leg. Bones poked out of their arm and leg as blood sprayed. The two showed a crazed grin. 

"Let the madness begin!"