— Why are you getting upset? It's not my fault if you're so easy to manipulate.
Atela crosses her arms, visibly annoyed.
— And the fact that you asked me where I planned to go after the mission, was that also a tactic to lower my guard?
— That was just because I was curious to know where you were going next.
Atela was about to return to her own question, to ask him where he planned to go after the mission, but Noa's answer is more than surprising.
— I plan to follow you wherever you go.
Atela thinks she didn't quite understand.
— Wait… I don't understand. Why would you follow me wherever I go? You can very well stay in the capital.
But for Noa, following Atela is just a pretext to leave the capital.
— I want to leave the Eastern Empire.
— You are a member of the Hyperion family, you can leave the Empire whenever you want.
— Don't you think that if I could leave the Empire, I would have already done it?
These words intrigue the young girl, and she thinks she has understood the situation.
— Ah okay, I see… it's because you're a former member of the Order, right? They can't let you leave the Empire in case you reveal secret or confidential information to other nations.
— With one detail. If I leave without informing anyone, it will create tensions between the main branch and the secondary one. The secondary branch, completely independent from the main one, will want at all costs to go after me… and find me to eliminate me if possible. And knowing my father, he will never accept that. It could trigger a war between the two family branches, which would only weaken the Empire's defenses. And in this specific situation, it's the worst thing that could happen.
Atela understands. She doesn't intend to insist further, but one question remains.
— From what I understand, you plan to fake your death so that no one looks for you, which would keep both family branches in good terms. But why do you want to follow me then? You could simply fake your death and go your own way.
— Because leaving the Empire is not my final goal.
Atela begins to grow tired of the conversation. She asks him what goal could push him to follow her, her specifically. She clearly did not expect the completely insane answer she was about to hear.
— I plan to find and kill the top-ranked general.
he says in a deep voice, with an almost threatening tone.
— You're joking, I hope…
She stops going down the stairs.
— What you're saying is completely insane. You intend to kill Hades? Do you realize for a second how stupid what you're saying is?
She turns toward him as if looking at a madman, with a mix of dread and fear.
— Hades is more powerful than the Father General. Even all the others together cannot claim victory. And you, even if you're a former assassin, you have absolutely no chance against him.
Noa remains icy calm, but his gaze had changed. He displayed a cold, restrained anger, almost invisible to the naked eye, his eyes shining in the darkness.
— I am well aware that I am not strong enough to even get close to him. I intend to become much stronger and to develop my true potential to its maximum to achieve it. That's why I'm going to leave with you. Since you are a general, not only will it bring me closer to him, but I also have a feeling it will make me even stronger than I already am.
Atela quickly turns away, covering her ears. She no longer wants to hear a single word Noa has to say. And she has no desire to know why he wants to kill Hades.
— This situation is already way too absurd!
But while walking, she bumps into Fou's back, who had stopped moving. In front of them stands a massive closed door.
Noa says they have arrived. Atela removes her hands from her ears and, ignoring everything Noa just said:
— Here we are at the entrance to the undergrounds.
She is still surprised by the enormity of the door. Noa thanks Fou for leading them here. He remains motionless, his wide smile intact. His pupils contract.
At the other end of the slum, a resident had just stepped on a wooden branch while trying not to make noise. He was clearly stressed. And despite the distance, Fou had heard him. He turns toward the staircase, but is stopped by Noa.
— Fou.
He turns around. For a moment, Noa looks at him before he leaves.
— Take care of yourself.
Fou doesn't leave right away, then dashes off like lightning, so fast they don't even have time to see him go, leaving behind only a cloud of dust.
— If you ask me, I think we've done pretty well so far.
says Noa, while Atela looks at him from the corner of her eye, frowning.
The gigantic door opens, revealing the dark undergrounds beneath the slums. Several bridges rise, all leading to the same place. In the center of the room, a gigantic tube glowing with a white light faintly illuminates the surroundings.
Below the bridges, as far as the eye can see, one can barely make out districts plunged into darkness: domes of abandoned houses, broken statues, remnants of another era worn down by time.
The two move forward on the main bridge. The echo of their boots on the metal resonates throughout the space.
— So this is what the Empire's undergrounds look like… honestly, I expected worse.
Noa's voice bounces through the place, its echo extending far beyond what his ears can perceive.
Atela points to the glowing tube in the center.
— That's where I have to go. If you want to go back—
But Noa walks past her before she finishes. She sighs and continues on.
A heavy silence settles between them.
— Atela, is it true that you're really part of the Angel clan?
Atela thinks he should be a bit more discreet with his questions, but answers anyway. After all, it doesn't really matter anymore.
— Yes, I am indeed an Angel… and the princess of the kingdom of Reiva.
— Reiva… that's a celestial kingdom, right? And if I'm not mistaken, it's located between the kingdom of Kaamelott and the Western Empire, is that correct?
Atela relaxes slightly.
— You really can't hide anything from you, can you? And I bet you also know that I'm the guardian of the ancient tears, Ava.
— Absolutely. You mentioned it several times during your conversation with father.
Atela touches her face, annoyed.
— This is really irritating.
— I'm sorry about that.
Atela removes her hands from her face, surprised.
— Well… since we met, I think this is the first time I've heard you apologize. Honestly, I didn't even think it was possible.
— It happens… but very rarely.
Atela smiles.
— I think it's the first time in a long while that I feel this open with someone… it feels really strange.
Noa shares the same opinion.
— Yeah… it feels good to open up to someone from time to time. But sometimes…
He looks straight ahead, still with his neutral gaze.
— It hurts more than anything else.
He whispers those words inwardly.
Maelle's voice speaks to Atela. She suddenly stops. Noa notices and turns around.
— What's wrong—
She quickly places her hand over his mouth, looking straight into his eyes while slowly shaking her head.
Both remain silent.
There is no more sound in the undergrounds. Everything seems frozen in time.
Noa first looks at the princess with understanding, then more closely observes behind her. His eyes widen in surprise.
Atela turns around… and shows the same expression.
In the darkness, near the closed entrance, a person stands. Cracks run across his body, his greenish eyes glowing. His stitched mouth maintains a permanent smile.
He looks like a scarecrow.
He stares at them without moving, in total silence.
Atela and Noa remain frozen as well.
Both slowly step back, but suddenly—
BOOM!
Noa is thrown against a distant pillar of the underground by a punch made of muscle fibers.
Atela doesn't even have time to turn around to see if he's okay before the stranger is already above her, ready to grab her. But, thanks to her reflexes, she launches a powerful kick that pushes the man farther away.
— Noa!
In the next second, dozens of hands made of flesh and sharpened soul try to grab her, before being pulverized by a beam of blue energy.
But the impact is so violent that it destroys the bridge and all the others around.
Atela falls, before Noa, injured in the head, catches her. The two crash brutally into the abandoned districts.
Atela quickly emerges from the debris, out of breath.
— Who was that?!
— No idea… but it doesn't feel good at all. I'd even say there's a smell of death in the air.
Where Damnation crashed, a mass of shapeless flesh slowly begins to reform.
— How strange… this energy vaguely reminds me of something, but I can't remember… that's a shame.
Damnation regains his usual form, his smile reforming.
Noa gets up with difficulty.
— I think he's a member of Celestia.
Atela realizes the situation.
— What do we do now?
But no time to think. The ground begins to tremble. Noa grabs Atela in his arms and propels himself into the air by reinforcing his legs with his energy.
The area is swept by a mass of flesh, blood, and bones.
They land on a piece of bridge that remained intact, eyes wide open.
— Atela, go. I'll handle this.
She thinks it's madness, but Noa is sure of himself. He knows exactly what he's doing.
Atela, though hesitant, finally runs toward the tube in the center without looking back.
The door of the tube opens. She enters a completely white room.
In front of her stands a white cube, covered with artistic patterns, revealing a crystalline structure inside.
— The Ava corrector…
She takes a red crystal out of her pocket, shining like a heart. Exactly like the Ava.
Outside, the abomination concentrates into a single point, taking the shape of Damnation's arm, who chuckles.
— This is really exciting…
A water attack heads toward him, but he destroys it with a single punch.
— Is that really all you've got?
A blue light sparkles above him.
Noa prepares an attack, lightning amplifying his right arm. Damnation realizes it too late.
Noa launches the attack, using the metal debris as conductors for electricity.
At the same moment, an intense light emanates from the tube.
A gigantic explosion, followed by blinding flashes, lights up the entire underground… then the slums… then the entire Empire.
In the capital, the light passes through the ice of the room where the Psaimon family meeting is taking place. Everyone is surprised.
The light covers the entire Eastern Empire. The vessel of light is so large and intense that it is visible in literally all the other kingdoms.
Psaimon, Zoe and Damnation are blown away… then, in an instant, the three find themselves in the throne room of the metal tower without understanding what just happened.
— What?!
Damnation strikes the metal floor, furious.
— Damn it
Zoe looks at her arm.
— Even the activation of my familiar has been deactivated…
Psaimon observes in silence.
The light surrounding the Empire slowly fades. The ice that blocked the entrances and exits also disappears.
The people present open their eyes.
The patriarch looks out the window, toward the origin point of the light, which has still not disappeared.
— Noa ?
Next chapter: Destination