R-A - Volume 4 - Prologue

Volume 4 - Prologue (to-be-edited)

“Focus… fire!” A loud command echoed out into the air, quickly followed by a series of rippling explosions. 

The speaker, an Asian man dressed in black pants and a dark grey vest, crossed his arms as he watched. He tapped his right foot impatiently, black socks melding with the thin, black sandals he wore. 

In front of him were a series of smoking craters five meters abreast. The man studied each crater, his face expressionless. The air gradually began to clear after a few seconds, revealing the surroundings. 

This all was taking place in the midst of a Magic Forest, in a large clearing hidden inside its depths.

There were ten other figures in the area, spread out in an even line about 10 meters opposite the speaker. These ten warriors were dressed in masks and armor, keeping their identities secret even as they trained. 

If Micheal had been present, he would've instantly recognized these warriors as members of the Beasts of Providence. Their gear setup was identical to the warriors of the Division he had fought against.

The only real difference was the fact that, instead of bearing an animal’s visage, each warrior had the image of yellow rippling flames stained on their masks. 

Red and yellow balls of fire began to flutter into the air, rising above the hands of the ten masked warriors. This fire pulsated in small globes, burning quietly as they spawned. 

The Asian speaker looked up as he finished studying each crater, his face still impassive. He had short black hair and grey eyes, his calm attitude matching his rather unexciting features. 

The non-masked warrior began to speak again. 

“Remember.” He began, gesturing to the ten warriors, 

“Condense your power. Three meters wide is your goal for this month. Five meters is too weak.” The speaker went on to explain this concept in detail. 

When fighting supernaturally powerful enemies, certain facts had to be recognized. In particular: an explosion that would kill a normal human on Earth might only startle a Mid-Tier Magic Beast on the Second Layer. 

The speaker's words urged them to focus their attacks into a smaller area. This would increase the intensity and deadliness of each explosion, trading off range for immediate power. 

The ten masked warriors all quietly nodded after the man finished his explanation. Several of them began to sit down as they meditated, focusing on the red fireballs that hovered above them. Others remained standing or walked out into the forest, also meditating, but in their own way. 

The speaker smiled slightly when he saw this. He was just about to add something else when he came to an abrupt pause.

“Oh?” For a few split seconds, he stood still. His eyes flickered as he looked into the distance, focusing on something that wasn’t visible.

Right after that… 

He tapped on a Mid-Tier Spatial Ring that adorned his right hand. 

A mask appeared in that same hand. Like the masks of the other warriors, this one was stained with the image of fire. What set it apart, however, was the fact that its flames were a deep blue instead of yellow. 

In one smooth motion, the speaker put the mask on, hiding his features as he stood straight. A long, black robe appeared around his body, covering the rest of him. 

A heartbeat later…

Dark blue fire exploded out from his body, enshrouding him in just seconds. These flames cindered the earth itself, turning nearby grass to ash and cracking the ground beneath. They burned with horrific strength, so brutally hot the air itself seemed to writhe against them. 

As soon as the fire formed, the speaker shot up towards the sky. He left a fading trail of blue flames behind him, rocketing out of the clearing in just seconds. 

The meditating warriors all looked up in surprise as they watched their instructor vanish. 

Gradually, as the speaker soared up, the large clearing his trainees were standing in seemed to shrink down in size. The figures of the ten warriors inside grew small alongside it. 

As the instructor flew, the surrounding area became more clear. Thousands of trees dotted his sight, spread between several other large clearings. 

Within each of those new clearings stood similar-sized groups, one large group of trainees and one instructor, all masked. The decoration of each mask varied from person to person, group to group. Some bore the image of various animals, from wild boars to mountain lions, while others held images of flames, clouds, or other non-living things.  

Tens of new humans had come into view, across five clearings. 

The speaker flew higher. 

Tens turned into hundreds, five clearings turned into fifty.

He flew even higher. 

Hundreds turned into thousands, fifty clearings turned into more than 300. 

By the time the speaker had reached the highest point of his flight, more than 6,000 men and women could be seen, a hidden army of warriors training in the depths of a large Magic Forest, spread across hundreds of man-made clearings. 

Finally, the blue flame-masked warrior rapidly began to fall down. His body shifted to hurtle towards the ground, shooting like an arrow. He fell directly towards one clearing in particular, the largest one in sight. 

Despite the size of the clearing, the only thing within it was a large stone table and several chairs. 

Even while falling from several hundred meters in the air, crashing down at breakneck speed, the original speaker could tell that most of those chairs were occupied. 12 distinct figures were seated around the table currently, leaving only three spots free.

In the blink of an eye, the falling warrior fell until he was only a dozen meters above the ground. He was a mere split second away from finding himself smashed into bits, about ten meters from the stone table, when the man finally acted. 

The blue flames that surrounded his body grew a little darker. The flames under his feet grew slightly more intense. 

Then…

A small explosion quietly rang out, just below the man's feet.  

Boiling blue fire cascaded in the air, transmitting the full force of the man’s fall into a powerful attack. This explosive strike did not spread out far, however. 

It didn't expand to five meters, or four, or even three. 

Instead, it spread to about half the size of a clenched fist, a deadly explosion that appeared and then vanished almost instantly, as if it had never been.

“Slow as always, Blue Flame.” One of the seated warriors spoke out loud as Blue Flame landed softly on the ground, grumbling at the late arrival. 

Like Blue Flame, and the rest of the warriors at the table, this man wore a long black robe and a mask that hid his features. On his particular mask, an image of fractured earth and jutting stone could be seen. When this man spoke, the table itself seemed to... rumble. 

“My apologies, Rupture. I moved as soon as I was informed.” The commanding tone that had colored Blue Flame’s voice when he was teaching had vanished, replaced with placid calm. 

“It’s fine.” A new voice interjected itself into the conversation, cutting everyone off. This voice wasn’t a particularly imposing one, yet nevertheless drew everyone’s attention down to one end of the stone table. 

On it, a warrior sat by himself, his mask adorned with the visage of a Praying Mantis.

“Lord Mantis.” Blue Flame bowed his head respectfully as he took a seat. His eyes flicked to the right and left, noting the two empty spots that were left. He spotted several familiar masks, from one holding a picture of a large storm cloud, to one painted with a silver sword, to one that held an image of an albino tree.  

Every single person around this table had a unique mask. More than that, however…

They all gave off incredibly keen sensations of danger. Even the weakest person here was a strong First Rate Warrior, still in the midst of growing stronger. 

These were the strongest hidden elites of humanity on the Second Layer, warriors that the Vile King had personally paid close attention to. 

The King Division. 

“Everyone’s here, we will begin immediately.” Mantis replied, waving at Blue Flame casually. 

“This meeting of the King Division has been called because of some... difficulties… that I have encountered.” Mantis’ voice carried a hint of begrudging irritation. 

“Difficulties?” A female warrior, wearing a mask that bore an image of a golden snake, broke in with a question. Her words carried a ferocious force of presence, impossible to ignore. 

“Yes, Sun Snake.” Mantis returned, his voice cool as he ignored the rather imposing pressure the woman gave off,

“Sansa is dead.” 

“Hah! She certainly had that coming. A jack-of-all will always be a master-of-none.” Sun Snake’s voice held a hint of mirth, showing no compassion at the loss of one of her allies.  

The rest of the table stiffened up as they heard the news, intense stares drilling into Mantis. 

“She died…? How?” Storm, a man bearing a mask covered in storm clouds, broke in, his tone questioning. As he spoke, the air around him seemed to stir, his words alone seeming to summon the wind.

“Yes, she is dead. I’ll explain it all in detail later.” Mantis sighed,

“For now, though, she must be replaced. Rex is strong and my role as Lux is centralizing, but it's not enough.” Mantis began, waving at one of the two empty seats, 

“We’ll need to take full control of the Syndicates. Not only must Sansa be replaced, but it's also time we removed and replaced Fortuna as well.” His voice took on a harsh edge as he looked around the table. 

“You all know the rules. Everyone here is mighty, but that is only by the grace of him, the King Above.” Mantis sternly studied each warrior present, his gaze roaming to them, one by one,

“Only those that have accepted a Mind Root can appear in public.” 

The Beast King paused for a few seconds before folding his hands together.

“So, now, we must decide…”

“Who among us will become humanity’s next Barons?”

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