"Supreme Commander, what's happening now?" 4 asked, his voice trembling with worry.
"My nightmares are joining the war," Helios replied, his gaze distant as his vision shifted back to the Nether Principality.
In the midst of the chaos, a Seeker in red robes was locked in combat with one of Helios's nightmares. The Seeker summoned a shimmering barrier around himself, but the Knight Lord—surging with spiral energy—appearing instantly in front of him. The Knight Lord brought his sword down in a heavy arc, the impact causing the barrier to spiderweb with cracks.
The Seeker quickly manifested two barrier
on each side of the nightmare and tried to smash them together but the Knight Lord leaped backward.
"It seems you're stronger than I expected," the Seeker remarked, a smirk on his face under the shadow of his hood. "I wonder how much stronger your summoner is." The nightmare remained deathly silent.
Suddenly, a group of Aethelgard soldiers appeared behind the Seeker while his guard was down and opened fire. The Seeker spun, dodging a hail of bullets and raising a new barrier, but he was too slow for the Knight Lord. The nightmare blurred forward, his blade cleaving through the Seeker's torso. Blood sprayed across the cobbles as the Seeker's body fell in two.
"Let's keep moving!" a soldier barked. The squad turned and pressed on toward the center of the Principality.
Inside the command tent, Helios turned to the four Commanders. "It seems the situation has stabilized," he said, his expression unreadable and cold.
"How many soldiers have we lost?" 2 asked.
"I don't know; I can't count them all," Helios admitted.
"Then how many do you think are left?" 2 pressed.
Helios paused, a grim shadow crossing his face. "Three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine."
"Did you just randomly guess that?" 3 asked, an annoyed scowl deepening on their face.
"Three thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight," Helios says.
As the sun began to set, the fighting grew desperate. "We can't hold them for long! Call for help!" a Nether Principality soldier screamed frantically.
"We're surrounded! The others are in trouble too!" another shouted, firing from behind a crumbling building at the advancing Aethelgard forces.
In the castle Twelfth Apostle let out a weary, bored sigh. "It seems I put too much hope in this Principality." He rose from his throne and walked toward the door, his red robe—emblazoned with a rose on the back—fluttering. "I suppose I'll have to do this myself."
Stepping outside, the Twelfth Apostle began to whistle a haunting melody. He floated into the air, hovering over the castle. He took a deep breath, and dark clouds began to swirl violently above the city, thunder rumbling.
Below, an Aethelgard tank fired, obliterating a group of Nether soldiers and their cover in a bloody explosion.
"Is it about to rain?" a soldier asked, looking up in confusion.
"No... rain clouds don't form that fast. It's a Seeker's ability!" another shouted. Before he could finish his sentence, a bolt of green lightning hissed down, striking him. His body was instantly charred into charcoal.
Panic surged through the ranks. "Stop panicking! Keep moving!" a commanding soldier ordered.
"Still moving, are they?" the Twelfth Apostle mused, looking down with mocking curiosity. He raised his hand, green electricity dancing between his fingers. He pointed at a tank, mimicking a gun. "Bang."
A bolt of lightning vaporized the tank, the shockwave tossing bodies through the air. He turned around to another squad and pointed again. "Bang." Another strike, another group gone.
"This is taking too long," he muttered, his voice eerily calm. He raised both hands, raining down a storm of green bolts that shredded tanks and infantry alike in a series of violent explosions.
Seeing the enemy in disarray, the Nether soldiers found their second wind. "The enemy is panicking! This is our chance!" they shouted, launching a counter-offensive.
Back in the tent, 3 looked at Helios. "Supreme Commander, did they make it to the castle?"
"I can't see anything; clouds have appeared out of nowhere," Helios said.
High above the battlefield, Tina and Robin dived through the storm. They dodged the arcing lightning, breaking through the cloud cover. The Twelfth Apostle spotted them immediately. He lashed out with a bolt; Tina spiraled out of the way, but Robin was struck. He plummeted toward the ground, his raven form dissolving.
"Interesting... I found him. Those ravens have the same energy," the Twelfth Apostle said. He looked toward Tina, then made a mocking "come here" gesture, looking directly at the vision as if he could see Helios himself. He pulled back his hood, revealing black hair and piercing brown eyes, his face twisted into a challenging grin.
"Challenge accepted," Helios whispered. He connected his mind to the Knight Lord on the ground. 'Draw this rune,' he commanded.
"What's happening at the Principality?" 4 asked, his voice thick with intrigue.
"I hope the royal family has enough money to rebuild the principality and house their citizens," Helios said, his mind filled with the images of burning streets and the dead. He summoned his artefact, Circlet, and began tracing a complex rune in the air with spiral energy.
"What are you doing, Supreme Commander?" 1 demanded.
"Going to the Nether Principality to see a friend," Helios replied, his voice dangerously level.
"I'm sorry, but you cannot go to the front lines," 1 insisted.
"I can do as I wish. No one is stopping me." Helios said, his fingers never stopping their work on the rune.
"Forgive us, but we can't allow that—even if we have to use force," 2 said. The four Commanders moved in unison, surrounding Helios.
Helios began to laugh, a dark, mocking sound. "You guys? You're going to stop me?" He covered his mouth, trying to stifle his amusement.
"Yes," 3 snapped.
"Kneel."
Helios unleashed his ability, Tyrant's Pressure. His eyes flared with a terrifying light. The four Commanders were slammed into the floor, their bodies pinned by an invisible, crushing weight.
"If any of you can even stand up, I won't go," Helios challenged, looking down at them with cold disdain as they struggled to breathe. He finished the rune, and it tore open into a red shimmering gate. "See you later."
As Helios stepped through, the pressure vanished. The Commanders collapsed, gasping for air.
"Why didn't you stop him?" 2 wheezed.
Suddenly, 003 appeared before them. "My job is to evaluate him as a commander, not to protect him," 003 said, his voice dropping to a menacing hiss. "That was your job. It seems you failed."
"You should follow him if you're supposed to be evaluating him!" 2 snarled, struggling to his feet.
"I don't recall you having royal blood in your veins," 003 countered before vanishing into thin air.
"That guy... who does he think he is?" 3 growled. "If the King hadn't forbidden us from questioning him, I would have killed him myself!"
At the Nether Principality, Helios stepped through the gate. The Knight Lord who had drawn the rune knelt in silence.
"It's the Supreme Commander!" a soldier yelled.
"Zyla," Helios called out. Zyla emerged from his shadow, kneeling instantly. "It seems we have to team up today."
"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied, rising with a sharp, focused gaze.
Soldiers nearby cowered behind a wall. "Supreme Commander, take cover! They're going to attack!" one warned.
Across the way, a Nether soldier pointed his weapon. "Kill him!" The enemy opened fire. Helios didn't flinch; he kept walking as the bullets bounced harmlessly off his skin, met by thin flickers of a spiral energy barrier.
Helios manifested a sword of pure spiral energy. "This is annoying," he muttered. He swung the blade in a wide arc. A massive wave of energy sliced through the air, leveling buildings and cutting through the enemy ranks. Bodies fell in pieces, blood soaking the ground.
The Twelfth Apostle looked toward the source of the destruction, his smile widening. "It seems he's finally here. I'm waiting," he said, casually ending three more lives with a flick of green lightning.