A Tale of Bound Burden

[Acaract]

~Chapter 9- Deep in the Malice (Part 1)~

Spoiler:

In the dead of the night, the group of four crept out of the inn into the streets.

The City of Aggressus at night was nothing like what it was like in the day. The streets were almost barren besides a few sleeping Serpent guards; and unlike the hot and dry weather of the day, it was very chilly at night. The girls were prepared for such a temperature however the two guys were not and had to brave the cold.

They hid behind the wall at the side of the huge grand steps leading up to the Coliseum. Xavier quietly climbed up the stairs by the side wall to survey the area. He came down not long after. "Seems like the coast is clear." Xavier whispered to the rest as he signaled them to follow.

The reached the top of the stairs, cautiously looking around.

"They are kind of careless in terms of security aren't they" Xavier softly commented as they noticed the lack of guards at the entrance.

However, he said it too soon as just then two Serpent guards were slithering from the distance towards the entrance. Xavier heard them first and immediately pulled the nearest person to him, which was incidentally Alicia, down the stairs. Nisus and Lisanna however had less time to react and they quickly hid behind the Statue at the top middle part of the stairs, keeping as still as possible hoping not to get spotted.

"The tournament was such a mess today wasn't it?" One of the Serpent guards started to talk.

The other Serpent guard nodded. "It was so chaotic. At least we managed to round them up and capture them. They aren't going to create anymore trouble I hope." The other Serpent guard said.

Xavier who was hiding behind the wall at the side of the grand steps heard them and let out a gasp. Alicia quickly tugged his hood and put her finger to her lips, gesturing to him to stay silent.

"Though I heard, the Ferrets who were already in captivity somehow got away. Strange isn't it?" The first Serpent guard added.

"It must have been coordinated somehow, though the guards who were on duty at that time had no clue what went on as they were all knocked out." The second one explained.

The Serpents continued to talk as they slithered across the entrance way. Nisus suddenly gasped as he started to have another one of his dizzy spells. Lisanna quickly covered his mouth as he started to have a dazed look.

Nisus started to have another one of his visions, this time he saw himself right in the middle of the coliseum, there was a huge towering black mass right in front of him and next to him was a gigantic person. It was Alexander. Just as Alexander was drawing his Trident, the scene quickly changed. This time Nisus was seeing himself in a prison like cell and sitting right across him was a man with armor and golden hair, no doubt it was Augustine he saw earlier that day.

"Snap out of it Nisus." Lisanna frantically whispered as she shook him.

Nisus finally came to and shook his head.

"What did you see?" Lisanna immediately asked.

"I'm not so sure, but it seems that something dangerous is going to happen in that Coliseum, as well as possibly some other trouble." Nisus tried to interpret what he saw.

"Then when it happens, at least we're not going to be surprised." Lisanna said as she lifted her pole and tightened her grip a little, giving off a little sense of confidence to Nisus.

As the two Serpent guards walked further away, Alicia and Xavier quickly got back up the stairs and the group was reunited. Alicia gave a little dirty look as she saw the two kneeling together below the statue. Xavier noticed and gave a little giggle. As the two below the statue got up, they looked at each other and silently nodded, heading through the Coliseum entrance without delay.

~~~

The Coliseum arena and grandstands were completely empty; they could barely see a thing clearly beyond their outstretched arms as there was no lighting other than the soft glow of the moonlight.

"I think I can see a little farther than you guys but that's not going to be of much help." Xavier commented.

"Goddess of Mercy please light our path, Dia." Alicia softly prayed as she conjured a ball of light in her hands.

"That's much better." Lisanna said as she squinted her eyes and looked forward.

"Even with more light, how are we going to get to that raised grandstand? I don't remember it seeing a distinct entry point when I looked it in the day." Nisus pondered.

"Maybe we could help with that." A low and rough voice could be heard.

"Since when was it 'we'?" Another low but smooth voice spoke.

The group heard the voices and felt that they were familiar, they quickly turned around to confirm their suspicion, true enough, and there stood the two warriors from earlier in the day.

"Wow... We didn't hear you guys coming." Lisanna commented in surprise.

"I heard them!" Xavier tried to make it seems as if his ability wasn't lacking. "I just... Didn't bother to see who it was." His voice trailed away.

"I've got to thank this guy!" Alexander laughed, sounding quite hoarse. "Master of quick movement and stealth!"

"Quiet you..." Augustine sounded annoyed, nudging his sparring partner to keep it down.

"It makes sense they know how to get up there, they kind of work here after all." Alicia pondered aloud.

"Indeed you're right missy! I know this place in and out." Alexander exclaimed with a smile. "In fact. I'll take you to wherever you want to go!"

"There's no shutting this loud mouth..." Augustine sighed as he shrugged. "I however will stay here. Not going to get myself into any shenanigans."

"Suit yourself!" Alexander laughed. "Well off we go kids!"

"Who is he calling a kid...?" Xavier gave a little grumble.

~~~

With the guidance of the hallowed light and the giant warrior, the party made their way around the Coliseum.

"How long have you been here Alexander?" Lisanna curiously asked.

"About ten years." Alexander replied casually.

Xavier raised his eyebrows in shock as it was close to his age, just a few years less.

"So what was your time here like?" Nisus pressed on a little further.

Alexander gave a low chuckle. "Since you kids are so interested. It was rough at first when I was a rookie, training was tough, battles were brutal..."

Alicia was listening so attentively that she trailed of her straight line of walking and bumped into Alexander beside her. "Sorry!" Alicia quickly apologized. But the orb of light in hand got close to Alexander's arm, revealing clearly a huge diagonal scar across his upper arm. She instinctively let out a gasp.

"It's fine." Alexander chuckled again as he continued. "But after years, I soon became a Veteran and started to win championships. My time has been better since."

"I heard you won five championships, that's amazing!" Xavier praised the giant.

Alexander laughed and replied. "It is expected of a Veteran here I supposed, especially when I'm the oldest here now, all those before me have either retired or died in the arena..."

"Well there's still more to come!" Xavier enthusiastically said, it was as if he already gained a new hero figure.

"Maybe, however there is something else. Augustine has proven to be quite the contender for a new fighter." Alexander cheerfully said. "Even though his age almost matches mine and despite his smaller size, his speed and stamina is tremendous! Only four years in this Coliseum and he has already made a name for himself!"

"Three Championship wins in four years?!" Xavier was even more shocked as he recalled the announcer's introduction for Augustine.

"Keep it down!" Lisanna tried to shush Xavier this time.

Alexander smiled and nod.

[Acaract]

~Chapter 9- Deep in the Malice (Part 2)~

Spoiler:

"Well there's one more thing I'd like to know about. It's about the attack by the Ferrets earlier on today." Nisus spoke softly as he steered the conversation in a different direction.

"What about it?" Alexander dropped his cheerful tone; he sounded worlds apart from his previously bright side.

"Why did they attack? Was it something about this torturing of their kind? Being a person who works here I suppose you'll know what's going on." Nisus asked in a very casual manner, intentionally leaving out the bit of what they saw outside the Coliseum after they escaped the chaos, carefully observing how Alexander would react.

It was as if Nisus stuck something critical as Alexander fell into a groaning silence. The giant looked down on the ground and looked back up moments later heaving a huge sigh. "I think I know what this will lead to, and I will probably be putting myself on the line right now. But even so, I don't have any regrets. To clear your suspicions, indeed I was involved in the incident today."

The rest of the group immediately understood what was going on. Nisus himself was surprised that Alexander immediately took accountability for the matter.

Lisanna quickly tried to avert anything that might go wrong. "Well if you rather not explain, we're not forcing you to..."

"Yea, she's right, I'm sorry for asking." Nisus apologized with slight regret.

"No, it's fine." The giant kindly replied to Lisanna's and Nisus' concern. "In fact, I would like you outsiders to know the truth as well."

They all moved closer and listened to what the giant had to say.

"As we all know the Ferret race has always been the one which has been looked down upon by the others, this city is definitely no exception. In fact, they took discrimination to a whole new level. Four years ago, they raided every single home to look for those of the said race, capturing all they could find and threw them into the Coliseum chambers which people who are to be punished to death sentence are locked up until they decide to execute them by putting them in the arena to fight to their deaths. Even women and children were not spared." Alexander said in a very solemn tone. "Thankfully the bulk of the Ferret inhabitants here managed to flee from the city, but some still hid in places like the sewers which the Serpents raid from time to time and captured more of them."

"How... cruel!" Xavier stuttered as he clenched his fist, his heart filled with anger.

"I had many friends from the Ferret race, unlike what people believe, Humans and Serpents aren't much better than the Ferrets at all." Alexander spoke his mind about the situation. "Those friends of mine luckily escaped the city and I managed to come in contact with them from time to time. Since the incident we have been plotting this for years. And although my friends are now caught, they are still content at the fact they managed to save many more Ferrets in the process from cruel and unjust deaths."

"You mean to say that you helped in the attack today and freed those innocent Ferrets who were still alive?" Xavier asked to clarify.

"Yes, while they attacked, Augustine and I released all the prisoners in the nick of time and led them safely out of the city to where my friends told me they have settled." Alexander further explained.

"That's really wonderful!" Lisanna said with a smile of relief.

"But what about your friends and those who were part of the attack?" Xavier showed concern for his fellow people.

"Don't worry about them. They are strong and will be able to make it through." Alexander assured Xavier.

"But we can't just leave them in the chambers..." Xavier was evidently still concerned.

"Well think of some way." Lisanna said as she patted Xavier on the back.

"My my, what a confident young lady we've got here." Alexander said, wanting to continue, but realized they were almost at their destination.

They have reached the side of the raised grandstand. The group glanced around but simply could not find a way which they could enter. Alexander softly chuckled. He took in a deep breath and pushed himself against the wall they were standing right next to and a doorway opened up.

"They rulers and nobles felt the need for heavy protection, thus it requires a lot of strength to get this open." Alexander explained as he gestured at the group to enter.

They entered the doorway which Alexander then proceeded to close from the inside. They headed up a winding staircase all the up to the area which the rulers and nobles sat during the arena matches. The seats naturally looked much more comfortable than those of the common area, and in the middle was a throne where King Python was seated that day.

As Alicia closed on the throne, she immediately gasped as the orb of light shone over the throne. Malice was pouring out of the base of the throne like a dense fog; the light she shone only made the fog-like Malice slightly less thick.

"This is definitely it." Lisanna said, slightly fearful.

"This looks really serious..." Nisus commented, slightly horrified.

"How was this chosen as a Holy Point...?" Xavier curiously asked, but he tried to keep his distance from the darkened throne despite wanting to have a better look.

"Holy Point... Sounds familiar to me." Alexander thought out loud. "Has this got to do with the 'Pure' one's journey? Though I do not know anything about it."

"Yes you are right." Alicia answered to the giant's queries. "As I said before, Holy Points are those which contain the power of the gods, chosen to absorb the Malice so that it doesn't endanger people."

"So there's a god's power within this throne?" Xavier asked again.

Alicia nodded. "In fact, I believe I have learnt about this before. From what I recall, the god of war's power fills this very throne. This Coliseum has stood here for ages since men started to use aggression against each other. They fought to see who was the mightiest, which was how they decide who could rule the nations at that time. "She took a breath and continued on. "The God of War was interested in the ideals of these people and decided to give power to the one who ruled by means of the throne. Whoever earned the right to sit on it has his power increased by many fold."

"Although that's not how rulers are chosen these days." Alexander cut into Alicia's explanation. "The Serpents have gained the control over most parts of the land and they themselves choose their leader by whom they favor. Now, the fights in the Coliseum are just merely entertainment for them and nothing more."

The rest took a while to think about the explanation. But they did not have much time to ponder.

"Enough about that, we've got cleansing to do." Lisanna said as she knelt before the throne.

The rest of them nodded and stood back as they watched.

"Oh merciful goddess I call upon you. Give us the power over sin. Set us free from its crippling wrath. And enable us to live in peace once again."

Lisanna executed her prayer well again which made Alicia proud. The Malice started to gather and form a rather large orb as a colossal amount swirled around the throne. Lisanna gasped as she was overwhelmed by the amount of Malice which gathered.

Just then the orb started to shake violently; it was just like the time in the Temple. Lisanna quickly got up and grabbed her pole in fear.

"I can't control it..." Lisanna said in a very fearful voice.

There was a huge burst of Malice as more started to pour out of the throne and gather.

"The power in the throne was tremendously large. But it seems the amount of Malice still has managed to overwhelm it!" Alicia was very shocked at the sight.

The Malice flew in many directions out of the raised grandstand, encircling the whole Coliseum this time. Moments later the Malice gathered in the center of the Arena and seemed to be forming something.

"This is... The power of the Malice... It's so great that it starts to take a physical form! When it takes form, it has the ability to cause physical destruction as well. We must stop this!" Alicia was more afraid than shocked this time.

Without a moment too soon, Alexander was already heading down the stairs to open the doorway. They quickly followed after him as he led them to the arena.

"We can't let it destroy the city!" Alexander was very uptight as he said that.

"We still have time before it takes full form." Nisus exclaimed. "But still we have to hurry!"

[Acaract]

~Chapter 9- Deep in the Malice (Part 3)~

Spoiler:

As they got into the center of the arena, the Malice was continuing to gather. They stood at the foot of the towering mass and stared up.

"Goddess of Mercy, give me the power of the light to pierce through the darkness! Dia!" Alicia prayed as she conjured a bright light which shone throughout the arena.

The Malice seemed to cower from the light as it reduced in size due to the light. But it continued to gather and formed into a huge beast, it looked like a lion, with its head surrounded by a mane, walking on four legs, it had spikes on its back and multiple long tails.

Alexander walked in front of the rest of them, drawing his Trident and stared intently at the beast. "Shouldn't be too tough." He said.

Nisus immediately recognized this scene from his vision. But he quickly shook off the thought and directed his concentration back on the beast.

The beast roared and breathed out a cloud of Malice which enveloped the heroes. They quickly covered their faces to prevent themselves from breathing in the supposedly harmful substance. As the cloud cleared up, the beast lifted up one of its front limbs and began to strike the party which immediately split up and dodged the hit.

"It's making too much noise!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Then we have to defeated it and make a run for it quick." Nisus said with confidence despite still being weaponless, clenching his fists in preparation.

"No time to waste then." Alexander said as he lifted up his Trident and pierced it into the beast's limb which it previously used to attack them.

The beast let out another huge roar as its multiple tails stood up and began to extend, darting towards them. As they quickly tried to dodge again, one of the tails made of Malice had a sharp edge which grazed Lisanna's leg which she promptly groaned to the pain.

"Lisanna!" Alicia exclaimed as she saw blood flow out of Lisanna's right leg, quickly running over to heal her.

"Watch out!" Lisanna shouted back at Alicia as one of the sharp tails was heading towards her.

As Alicia turned to look, she screamed at the sight, but just as she thought she was doomed, the giant appeared before her eyes.

"Better be more cautious." Alexander said, his shield blocking the sharp tails, deflecting them away upon touch.

Xavier attempted to use his paralysis powder, running close to the beast's face and scattering it. The beast let out a roar, seeming to be affected slightly by the powder as its movements looked hindered momentarily. The beast immediately retaliated and attempted to hit Xavier with its other front limb, but Nisus quickly ran towards the Ferret and stopped the beast's paw, pushing it away. The beast stumbled backwards a little.

"Nisus! You had such strength?!" Xavier was awed by the sight.

Nisus shrugged as he was clueless about his abilities as well, patting the Ferret on the head, gesturing to him to be less vocal about it.

The beast was evidently displeased as it roared again, lifting up both its front legs and stomping them on the ground forcefully, causing the party to shield their faces once more from the Malice and dust.

It started to charge towards Alicia who was in the process of healing Lisanna. The two girls froze in shock as the beast ran towards them, its tails poised to strike. Lisanna quickly tried to stand up and took a stance in attempt to try and defend them, but just as the beast closed in, Alexander ran right in front of them once more, pushing the face of the beast back as it straight charged into him.

The beast struggled to move forward but Alexander stood firm with all his might. Fed up, the beast used its tails again to strike the two girls, Alicia scrambled to cast a Force Field on them as the tails converged and aimed towards them, but it seemed that there wasn't enough time. Lisanna held up her pole in attempt to block the imminent attack. There was a huge clash as they shut their eyes tight.

Just then, Lisanna noticed the lack of impact and slowly opened her eyes, she saw a Great Sword, positioned in between the beast's tails and her pole.

"You're late, Augustine." Alexander said has he pushed the beast back.

"Better late than never." The man with the Great Sword said.

Now both warriors were present in the arena and things seemed to be looking up. Augustine quickly pushed the tails off and started slashing his Great Sword relentlessly at the tails. Alexander mustered enough of his strength to push the beast backwards. Upon successfully knocking the beast back, they ran forward and continued to pulverize it. The party joined in the fray together with the two warriors, assisting them when they could.

However, they began to notice something about the beast.

"We're able to weaken it, but it keeps gathering more Malice from around and using that to restore itself!" Alexander pointed out.

"This is like the previous time we got attacked by Malice. It can only be defeated by light." Lisanna said as she looked at Alicia.

Alicia nodded, understanding what she had to do. She immediately attempted to defeat the beast by casting another Dia spell, but unfortunately like before, the temporary shine only caused it to retreat for a while, losing its effect shortly after.

"I need a stronger attack..." Alicia muttered as she slowly turned to the raised grand stand. "God of War if you can hear my prayer, please give me the power." Alicia said under her breath.

The throne began to glow as Alicia pleaded the god. A radiant beam of light shot out from the throne and hit Alicia, the priestess nodded and turned towards the beast as if she already knew what to do.

"God of War I thank you. Now aid me, smite this beast made from the darkness of sin. Espadas de Luz!" Alicia said with conviction.

A fan of Shining Swords appeared before Alicia as she glared at the beast. She pointed at the beast immediately, guiding the swords to her target. The swords pierced into the beast on at a time which caused it to be evidently weaker every time it was struck. The beast stumbled to the ground as it started to dissipate.

Lisanna was stunned for a moment, but quickly got to her senses as she knew what she had to do. She knelt down once more, facing towards the throne in attempt to do her cleansing again. This time the throne glowed again as the Malice started to gather into an orb before Lisanna. Lisanna's faced looked even more determined than before as she tried her best to keep the Malice in control.

As the last bit of Malice flowed into the dark orb, Lisanna let out a sigh of relief, so did the rest.

Lisanna walked towards the orb and took hold of it. It was definitely larger than the two she previously had. The glow of the throne stopped as a second beam of light shot towards Lisanna this time. Lisanna saw a pair of hands appear on the orb as if they were clutching on to it tightly, the image then slowly started to fade away.

"Does this mean that my powers to control it has been strengthened? I wonder." Lisanna thought to herself. She then looked up to the Holy Point, looking out for the sign which will guide her to her next destination.

"Look!" The Ferret exclaimed and pointed at the Holy Point.

A sphere appeared which enveloped the whole raised grand stand and a pair of glowing hands wrapped around the sphere.

"I know exactly where the next destination is." Alicia said in a slightly tranced voice. "The Dome of Worship." She spoke more softly this time.

"Then it seems like we're done here." Nisus said as he unfolded his arms and prepared himself to leave.

"Not quite." A deep and somewhat arrogant voice could be heard.

The group suddenly felt a presence behind them as the turned around to look.

"King Python!" Alexander exclaimed as the said Serpent ruler stood behind them with many guards behind him.

"Alexander and Augustine, I am putting the two of you under arrest." The Serpent ruler spoke with authority. "The same fate awaits for the rest of you."

[Acaract]

~Chapter 10 – Power of the Demons (Part 1)~

Spoiler:

King Python glared at the group as the Serpent guards closed in on them under his orders. The group instinctively backed away from their hostiles.

"It's naive to think that you two could get away with such a deed. To be frank it is quite impossible to hide with how much I have under my control to get the information I need." King Python said with much pride. "But I must say, those Ferrets were stubborn indeed, took quite a good beating before we could get a peep out of them."

"You fiend!" Alexander snarled.

The Serpent guards in the front line drew their weapons as King Python pointed at his soon to be captives; they were carrying staves with an orb and wings at the tip.

"Those are weapons of the demons!" Augustine exclaimed with horror.

"There is evidently no escape for all of you either; your only option now is to just give in." King Python said in a pressing manner. "Don't worry we will take good care of all of you." he said with a cunning smile.

The orbs on the Serpent guards' staves began to gather magical energy. Dark blasts shot out of the orbs few seconds later, flying towards the group.

"Run!" Augustine shouted as he pulled the nearby Priestess and Ferret away from the blasts' direction. Lisanna, Nisus and Alexander heeded Augustine's warning and did the same, dodging away from the blasts in the opposite direction. The dark blasts missed and hit the ground, dissipating into the air; however, dark trails were left behind where the blasts touched earth.

"Are those?!" Nisus was shocked at the sight.

"They look exactly like Malice!" Lisanna exclaimed. "What on earth were those blasts?!"

"Like Augustine said, these powers are of some demons that he saw when he was young." Alexander briefly explained to the two as he tried to catch his breath.

King Python continued to smile, giving a low, sinister chuckle. "I think they finally know what they are up against. Now seize them!" King Python demanded.

The Serpent guards turned and divided their attention amongst the now split up group, beginning to charge their weapons and fire at them again.

As Augustine saw their weapons being readied, he erupted in insurmountable rage, ferociously shouting, baring his teeth as he yanked his Great Sword and ran towards the Serpent guards. The closest guards stepped back, aghast by Augustine's abrupt uncensored display of fury, and immediately pulled back. Not all of them, however, were daunted and these reckless minions managed to fully charge their weapons, directed them at him, hands shaking, and fired.

"Augustine what are you doing?!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Goddess of Rescue! Shield him from impending attacks! Force Field!" Alicia quickly tried to help Augustine, casting a Force Field in front of him.

The blasts hit the Force Field, which formed in the nick of time, and dissipated, leaving the dark trail once more. Out of the dark trail, Augustine emerged as he pierced his Great Sword into one of the Serpent guards, who immediately wailed in pain as he fell to the ground. Witnessing this, the other Serpent guards quickly distanced themselves from Augustine and attempted to blast him once more. As Augustine withdrew his Sword, he suddenly had a look of hysteria on his face.

"Augustine! Snap out of it! We should run!" Xavier hollered at Augustine.

"Yea! Stop all your violent tendencies this instant!" Alicia shouted as him.

Augustine stumbled back from his victim's body for a moment, quickly scrambling to get away afterward as the dark blasts began to fire at him again, barely missing him, leaving a dark trail behind his escape path as he headed to the nearest Arena exit with the other two.

On the other side, Lisanna, Nisus and Alexander didn't confront the guards like Augustine did, immediately opting to flee from the onslaught of blasts towards the nearest exit they could find.

"What's gotten into Augustine?" Nisus asked.

"I don't know myself! I've never seen him so furious before!" Alexander said, concern etched on his rough face.

As Alexander led them to the exit, a cleverly aimed blast careened towards them. Alexander quickly pushed the other two behind him and raised the shield on his left arm to meet the blast.

"Thanks Alexander!" Lisanna showed her gratitude to the giant, awed by his protective instincts at the same time.

Alexander smiled at Lisanna. "I do all I can to protect people, that goes especially for you Lisanna. Now let's get out of here." Alexander said as he hurried them to the exit.

"So they think they could escape so easily." King Python muttered to himself, chuckling once more. "After them!" More guards mobilized upon his call.

Alexander's group ran down the hallway, the one he used to walk before an arena fight. They could hear the hisses of the Serpent guards who were in hot pursuit behind them. A dark blast flew past them, causing them to pick up speed.

"We should head for a turn!" Nisus quickly suggested.

"Up ahead." Alexander said as he ran to the front and guided them round a bend and up a flight of stairs, which soon led them into the grandstands after passing through a gate, which Alexander bashed open effortlessly. "No time to find a key." He shrugged.

To their dismay, there were several Serpent guards already awaiting their appearance at the grandstands, poised to fire any moment.

"Get back!" Alexander said, ushering his companions to crouch behind him as he blocked the blasts with his shield once more. "I knew this special shield would come in handy one day."

"What does it do?" Lisanna asked in amazement, seeing that it successfully protected them once again.

"It's blessed by the light of the sacrificial goddess, able to repel the Malice." Alexander said as he slowly lowered it. "Augustine got this for me, he thought it might be useful for some reason, I guess he thought right."

As the guards prepared their weapons once more, the group sought this chance to stop them before getting blasted again. Nisus knocked out some guards with his bare hands while Lisanna swept her pole across, hitting them. Alexander was evidently the main force of the team, knocking out a few guards in one swoop of his Trident. They quickly resumed towards the Coliseum exit.

They hurried across the grand stand towards the exit. However they failed to notice some guards hiding behind the seats, blasting at them from afar.

"Keep close to me!" Alexander said as he held on to Lisanna's hand and lifted up his shield to penetrate their offense.

"We're almost there!" Lisanna exclaimed as she tried to motivate them as well as herself.

Unfortunately, Nisus trailed a little too far behind. A blast shot straight towards his face, which he saw just in time to react by blocking it with his arms. This sent him flying off his feet, however, and down a few steps from where they were.

"Nisus!" Lisanna cried out as she stretched out her hand in vain.

They stopped for a moment and tried to turn back for Nisus, but the guards continued to bombard them with a barrage of dark blasts.

Nisus quickly hid behind the lower seats and shouted to them. "Run! Don't worry about me, I'll be right behind soon!"

Lisanna hesitated. "But...!"

"Have some faith in him." Alexander assured her, convincing her to follow him to the exit first.

As they got to the Coliseum entrance way, they faced an ambush of guards as expected, weapons charged and ready to fire. Alexander shielded Lisanna and himself from the blasts as much as he could with his shield as well as his own body. As the barrage of blasts came to a sudden halt, Alexander quickly took the chance to strike while the guards were charging again, sweeping the guards off their feet and smashing them into the walls with his large Trident. Lisanna didn't hesitate to assist him as well, knocking away Serpent guards attempted to charge at them. Soon, they managed to clear the entrance.

"That will help the rest escape a lot easier!" Lisanna cheerfully said.

Alexander nodded. "Now let's hide somewhere and wait for the rest to appear."

They went down the grand flight of steps and hid below the wall, making sure there were no more Serpent guards around.

Lisanna heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much for constantly protecting us back there."

Alexander nodded his head. "It is in my natural instinct to protect those who I care for. Like I said before it especially applies to you, Lisanna."

"Especially me...? But why?" Lisanna did not understand why she was so special and had to ask.

Alexander smiled. "May I know your full name Lisanna?"

"That would be Lisanna Lavare." Lisanna replied.

Alexander gave a low chuckle. "Indeed I see the resemblance. Seems like I wasn't wrong at all. He…"

"Wait, you mean to say you met my father?!" Lisanna quickly interrupted, shocked at what the man before her had just said.

[Acaract]

~Chapter 10 – Power of the Demons (Part 2)~

Spoiler:

Alexander laughed as he continued. "You are sharp indeed. He was a funny lad who came in and immediately got himself caught up in the Coliseum matches and fought for an entire season. Such a headstrong person, and a good heart on top of that, just like you, Lisanna." Alexander told Lisanna as he continued to smile. "When I saw you, I was immediately reminded of him, which made me want to protect you even more."

"I can't believe it! My father! He left my mother and me years ago!" Lisanna said, still in shock.

"Seems about right, he was here around five years back at the very least." Alexander tried to recall. "But he didn't stay for long, he escaped the Coliseum right after he watched me fight in the finals. That was possibly the very first time I won too. Thanks to his kind encouragement and support. Aside from that I don't know much else about him, not even the fact that he had a family."

Lisanna suddenly went into deep thoughts about her father, shaking the thoughts off after a while as she changed the subject. "Well let's be on the look out for the rest. I hope they will appear soon."

Alexander nodded as he looked up the stairs and around, making sure they were safe.

~~~

Nisus tired to move stealthily from behind the bottom row seats to avoid being seen and consequently blasted at all costs. Soon, the Coliseum entrance way was just above him, the only thing standing in between was a flight of stairs. He hurriedly dashed up the stairs hoping he would not get caught.

Suddenly, a Serpent guard rose out from behind one of the seats on his way up. The guard's stave looked a little different, but it was all a blur the next second. Nisus, caught by surprise, flailed his arms to block the strike. Just as the stave struck Nisus' arm, a wave of shock run his body. He fell to the ground unconscious…

~~~

Nisus woke up with a gasp. He looked around frantically only to find him in a stone cell. Sitting opposite him was Augustine just like he saw from before.

"Where are we now...?" Nisus held his head and sighed. "I'm assuming we both got caught."

"I got careless..." Augustine mumbled in his low and smooth voice. "That Priestess girl and Ferret boy... I don't know what happened to them after I was knocked out by some shock."

"You too..." Nisus softly said.

"I was just so angry at those Serpent guards, and I foolishly continued to attack them even after we ran out of the Arena. Needless to say I neglected protecting those two and got myself overwhelmed by a hoard of Serpents." Augustine said with much regret. "How could I have been so careless?!" He shouted as he punched the wall in a moment of fury.

"Hey!" A voice came from outside. "You better shut up!"

Augustine showed an annoyed expression and Nisus sighed again.

"So what are they going to do with us?" Nisus asked.

Augustine looked towards the cell door. "Ask him."

"You two are going to fight to the death whether you like it or not. And if we are not satisfied, we will put that girl and Ferret in the arena too and release a beast on them." The voice outside the door said.

"No! You can't! If it's just me, it will be fine! But don't let them be tortured too!" Nisus fearfully exclaimed.

"Hey I don't make the rules here buddy." The voice replied.

Nisus looked down in dismay.

"They'll be fine. I'll make sure of it." Augustine said, then he lowered his voice into a whisper. "To top it up, Alexander and that blonde girl of yours managed to escape, I'm sure they can help us out soon enough."

"Well, I hope so too." Nisus whispered back, quickly reverting back to normal speech and asked. "But what exactly happened to you back there?"

Augustine knew what Nisus was trying to do and quickly replied. "I guess I'm not hiding anything, so I'll tell you about myself. I used live in a town far from here across the sea. I was living a peaceful childhood life until one day, an army of... demons came and attacked." Augustine paused for a while. "The weapons they used were the similar to the ones the Serpent guards held. My town was destroyed and the people were either killed or captured. My parents however managed to help me escape, fending off those demons as I ran."

"So those weapons reminded you of that attack, which..." Nisus tried to avert from his gaze.

Augustine shook his head and continued. "That's only half the story. As I escaped to a place near the coast, a group of Ferrets who were about to travel across the sea saw me and decided to take care of me seeing my state at the time. Soon I found myself being brought to Aggressus and raised by them." Augustine continued, shifting uneasily. "But then three years back the Serpents came this time to raid my new home, they captured me along with the other Ferrets who failed to escape. Soon I saw a few of my family members being tortured... A horrible sight that was. The Serpents however decided to train me to fight for their entertainment. And here I am now."

"That's a lot that you have been through. And fighting in the Coliseum against your will is terrible as well." Nisus said with sympathy.

"I don't see it as terrible. Rather I use it to train myself to become stronger. One day I will leave this place and search for those demons, to avenge my parents and my town." Augustine said in a very serious tone. "That's why when we fight later I'm not going to hold back." Augustine looked up at Nisus just as he spoke, giving Nisus a stern look.

Nisus was a little intimidated by the warriors fierce expression, but he understood and nodded with a sigh.

"I'm sorry." Augustine said with a stern voice, but then closed in to whisper. "But if we can help it, I will try to keep you alive if they are going to save us."

Nisus sighed yet again and nodded, but this time giving a hopeful smile.

~~~

[Acaract]

~Chapter 10 – Power of the Demons (Part 3)~

Spoiler:

The roar of the crowd in the Coliseum could be heard as Nisus was led down the hallway towards the arena. His heart was racing with every step he took. In his hands were a simple Spear and a Net given to him. The Serpents simply did not want him to fight barehanded or Augustine would completely slaughter him in no time.

He was brought to an iron gate which slowly rose. As soon as the gates rose high enough, the guards who escorted him pushed him into the Arena, immediately shutting the gate behind him.

The heat was sweltering like the day before. Nisus walked to the center of the Arena where Augustine, now his opponent, already stood.

"I hope you can keep up. For their sake." Augustine said as he tilted his head towards the raised grandstand, gesturing Nisus to look.

Nisus looked up and gasped. It was Alicia and Xavier sitting in the raised grandstand! He turned back to Augustine and nodded.

"And let the fight begin!" The announcer's voice boomed, now familiar to Nisus.

Augustine shifted into a stance as he drew his Great Sword, keeping a stern expression. Nisus hurriedly raised up the spear in his right hand in retaliation.

In the blink of an eye, Augustine charged towards Nisus, aiming a tall slash for his head with his bulky Great Sword. Nisus quickly lifted up the spear with both his hands, blocking the Sword's strike with the center portion of the staff. To his surprise the Spear was sturdier than he thought, as he managed to push Augustine's sword away after it hit.

"That was fast!" Nisus said with a huff.

"Which is why you have to give it all you got to keep up, or else those two up there will suffer." Augustine said as he swung back his Great Sword at Nisus.

This time Nisus used the sharp end of the Spear to block the incoming slash of Augustine's sword, hopping a step backwards to keep a safe distance. Augustine stepped forward to get closer this time; however Nisus didn't give him a chance to be close enough this time, moving backwards while using the Spear as a warning for Augustine should he dare come close.

~~~

Alicia and Xavier were on the raised grand stand watching the fight.

"How can you do this?" Alicia implored to King Python.

"Quiet now little girl, you wouldn't want to get thrown in there with a beast, would you?" A guard who was standing next to her said.

"But this is so cruel! You mean that even if one of them survives, you're going to release the beast anyway?" Xavier was somewhat furious and concerned at the same time.

"It depends on my mood. But why let any one of them live?" King Python casually replied. "In fact, why am I still keeping you alive?"

"Why you!" Xavier was more furious than before.

King Python sighed as he snapped his fingers. "Do something to shut him up if you please." He ordered his servants.

A female Serpent came from the entrance not long after with a tray of exotic fruits, serving it in front of the two captives.

"This looks delicious!" Xavier exclaimed as he quickly grabbed a few fruits, biting off more than he could chew.

"Why are you always like that around food?" Alicia said with exasperation.

"I can't help it! I'm a growing boy who loves food!" Xavier said with a muffled voice due to his mouth being stuff with fruit.

Alicia was visibly cross with Xavier as she angrily whispered. "But this is not the time for enjoying food! We need a distraction!"

Xavier gulped down whatever that was in his mouth and whispered back. "I know I know, I've been trying to come up with a plan since we got up here!"

"Well then have you got anything in mind yet?" Alicia was slightly desperate as she wanted out of this mess as soon as she could.

"Yes, in fact..." Xavier said as he glanced over to the loud speaking device close to King Python. "We're going to need some protection." Xavier said as he took out one of his bags filled with paralysis powder, the biggest he could find.

Alicia was slightly puzzled at first, but she knew what Xavier wanted her to do, getting ready to pray for help.

"Now!" Xavier softly exclaimed as he lifted the bag up high and threw it onto the ground near King Python with all his strength.

"Goddess of Rescue!" Alicia started to pray at the same time. "Force Field!"

As the bag of powder hit the ground, much to their luck the wind blew in their direction as the powder scattered through the air and was blown throughout the whole raised grand stand and the Force Field successfully shielded Alicia and Xavier from the potent particles.

"What's going on?!" King Python shouted as he suddenly felt his body all stiff, unable to barge from his position.

Xavier waited for the powder to settle, and when the time was right, he rushed forward to the loud speaking device right next to the throne hurriedly shouting into it. "Nisus! Augustine! Hang in there! The Peacemakers are coming!"

[Acaract]

Good day! Sorry for the lack of updates the past weeks. I took a short break and am now back in business. I will update this soon and also there will a few changes in the Prologue and Chapter 1 for better quality. And by soon I mean tomorrow I promise.

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 AM ----------

~Chapter 11 - Some things just never change (Part 1)~

Spoiler:

The night before, Lisanna and Alexander were waiting for the safe arrival of the rest at the bottom of the grand stairs.

"They sure are taking long..." Lisanna anxiously walked up a few steps to get a view of the entrance.

"I wonder too..." Alexander folded his arms and sighed.

"By the way, I was wondering. What were you and Augustine doing at the Coliseum at night?" Lisanna looked curiously at Alexander.

"We were trying to find a way to free our friends of course! Then the rest of you came. We wanted to ask for help, but not before giving some first." Alexander explained.

"I see..." Lisanna started to look a little upset. "So we kind of ruined your plan."

"No! Not at all!" Alexander shook his hands and grinned. "In fact, we can still try..."

"Lisanna! Alexander!" A soft voice could be heard heading towards them.

"Alicia!" Lisanna immediately identified the voice.

"Not good! Augustine went all berserk again, and there were too many guards for us to handle. He was captured before we could do anything..." Xavier frantically waved his arms.

"That fool still can't defend himself for nuts I see." Alexander gave a low chuckle.

"This is no laughing matter!" Lisanna was appalled by Alexander's reaction.

"Now now, this means all the more we need to take action and free our friends and the Ferrets as well!" Alexander put his hands on his hips and grinned confidently.

"Wait you mean we're going to free the Ferrets as well?" Xavier was amazed by Alexander's bravery. "Because if that's the case I'm in!"

"Now we're talking!" Alexander laughed, this time a little too loud. Alicia and Lisanna shushed him, stern looks on both of their faces.

"That's a really rash thing to do!" Alicia told him off while trying to keep it down.

"Come on now, what can we do besides getting caught in the end? That place is crawling with guards!" said Lisanna, doubtful.

"And that's the plan!" Alexander grinned. "But not all of us of course! You two can go!" He pointed at the Priestess and Ferret.

"What?" Alicia clenched her fist as she raised her voice.

"It's a risk, I don't know what they would do to you two, but I know for juvenile captives, they usually do the same thing." Alexander rubbed his chin for a while.

"Who are you calling juvenile?" Alicia's face was all cringed up.

"And when Lisanna and I free the Ferrets, we will come to your rescue. But we need the two of you up there!" Alexander put his hands on his hips. "Now what do you say?" He seemed to have completely ignored Alicia's reactions of disagreement.

"Sounds like a plan to me! But there's one thing I'd like to do, it's a message to all the Ferrets." Xavier said as he closed in on Alexander.

"I can make them listen; they're like comrades to me after all. I'm all ears." Alexander smiled.

"Okay, this is what I want..." Xavier started to explain his little plan.

~~~

There was commotion throughout the audience after the Ferret spoke. King Python and the rest of the Serpents in the raised grandstand were struggling to free themselves from their state of immobility but to no avail. The two who were in the middle of the arena brought their fighting to a halt as they looked to the raised grandstand where Xavier was, confounded by what he said.

"You little rat!" King Python wanted to shake his clenched fist but was unable to do so. "Guards!"

"Your Highness, we can't contact the rest in our state right now." One of the guards said as he trembled ever so slightly.

"Another surprise attack? The King is going to throw fit later." Another guard whispered to his colleague.

"I heard that!" King Python was rankled.

"An attack? Heck no!" Xavier seemed to have heard what the guard whispered as well, turning around with a smile. "Didn't you hear me say 'Peacemakers'?"

King Python narrowed his eyes in skepticism.

"Any time now." Xavier turned back and watched the arena with hopeful eyes.

Down in the center of the arena, the two were still lost in the current situation.

"Are we supposed to continue or what?" Augustine cringed his pale golden eyebrows.

"But it seems like we're not in danger somehow." Nisus sensed something was about to happen in their favor.

"What are you...?" Augustine turned to stare at Nisus but was suddenly interrupted by the banging of the iron gates around the arena.

Just then a few of the gates busted open as a hoard of armed Ferrets came running in.

"Who let them out?!" King Python raised his voice.

The guards were at a state of shock, unable to give an answer.

"Great job guys." Xavier bowed his head down in relief.

The hoard of Ferrets swarmed around the arena and started to form a large circle with the two in the middle who were flabbergasted by what just happened. As the last Ferret entered from one of the entrances, Lisanna and Alexander ran into the arena after him.

"You're both safe!" Lisanna beamed as she ran towards the middle of the arena.

"I told you to have faith." Alexander ended with a deep chuckle. "See! They're all good!"

"Aside from being captured..." Lisanna rolled her eyes as she rebutted Alexander.

"Well..." Alexander shifted his eyes away momentarily as he was at a loss for words.

"It's good to see you two are safe too. But what's happening?" Nisus looked all about.

"You set them free?" Augustine was in slight disbelief.

"Yes, just now in fact! A little brute force goes a long way. Plus I knew where they held their captives in this place after being here for so long." Alexander grinned and chuckled once more.

"But just what are you planning? If you wanted them to attack why come here instead of up there?" Augustine questioned again.

"You'll see." Alexander continued to grin.

"People of Aggressus we mean no harm this time. No longer do we want aggression, conflict and hurt between our races. Instead we have come here as we now believe we only want one thing and we want to be made known." Xavier's voice throughout the whole coliseum. "We want peace."

Just as Xavier said those words, the Ferrets who were standing in a circle began to drop their weapons simultaneously and looked up to the audience of Serpents and Humans.

There was much more commotion throughout the coliseum, some of the audiences were jeering while others were sounding out their refusals.

"Am I hearing this right? How naive can you be little boy?" King Python scoffed at Xavier. "You actually believe such an insignificant display would change the relationship between three nations which has been fixed for centuries?"

"I know I'm just a kid who can't do much to influence a change, but it's a start." Xavier remained unaffected by the ruler's demeaning words.

"Unfortunately for you, some things just never change." King Python deepened his voice as he began to rise up from his throne.

Xavier gasped as he did not expect the effects to wear off so quickly. King Python stretched his arms out to the stunned little Ferret and grabbed his neck, beginning to laugh sinisterly as his victim gasped for breath.

"Xavier!" Alicia reached out her right arm. "Goddess of Mercy, hear my call! Save my friend with your blinding light. Dia!"

As Alicia was casting her light spell, the Serpent guards who were also freed from paralysis began to slither towards her, but the light she conjured caused them to halt immediately as they shielded their eyes. The light shone brightly right before the ruler's eyes, causing him to release his grip from Xavier as he quickly covered his eyes and backed off. Xavier shielded his own eyes as he scrambled his way towards Alicia. They both had their backs facing towards the light now as they pushed and shoved their way to the exit while the Serpents were still visually impeded.

"G...Guards!" King Python expected that he needed to say no more as he shouted at his men.

The guards began to scramble in their blindness and felt around for the exit.

"And while you are at it! Release all the beasts we have! This calls for extreme extermination!" The outraged ruler shouted as his face cringed tighter not just from the light.

~~~

In the arena, all who were present managed to get a glimpse of what happened.

"That light, it has to be Alicia!" Lisanna anxiously pointed up.

"And that little Ferret kid was being strangled before that from what I saw! That damned king!" Alexander clenched his fists tightly.

"Looks like they made their escape, and now, so must we!" Nisus looked back down and turned to the rest.

"That was a little short for a message for peace though, how would you expect any of these serpents to actually buy that?" Augustine was skeptical.

"That little Ferret touched our hearts for one." One of the Ferrets nearby spoke up.

"Yes, that story about the Hero who fought for the freedom of all Ferrets moved us all. He told it to one of us and it started to spread throughout the chamber last night." Another Ferret added on.

"Since there are such of our kind who believes in the unity of nations and bravely fought for it then I think so should we." One more Ferret said his piece.

Lisanna looked down in deep thought, thinking to herself. Xavier changed the facts in order to fulfill his ambition. That was definitely not how Sir Mongoose felt, he wanted the Ferrets to be independent and thrive on its own...

"If that's what all of you believe, then I won't object. We fall back for now. Victory is ours!" Alexander raised his Trident.

[Acaract]

~Chapter 11 - Some things just never change (Part 2)~

Spoiler:

The Ferrets all cheered and prepared to leave when they suddenly heard a rumbling sound. The iron gates were slowly being raised up.

From three parts of the arena emerged the Coliseum beasts, one was the beast which was responsible for the slaughter of the Ferret from the previous day. Another was a Basilisk which was a towering Serpent like the one the group encountered in Trepidus but with multiple horns on its back. The last was a fat and ugly Orc which towered over even Alexander, holding a Spiked Club and wearing only a loin cloth.

"Just as expected, looks like peace isn't an option this time either." Augustine swished his Great Sword across the air and got ready to attack.

Alexander could only sigh along with Lisanna and Nisus.

As the three beasts rushed towards the Army of Ferrets in the center, they hastened their movements and picked up their weapons, getting ready to defend themselves. The Serpent dominated audience resumed their cheering once again.

"Things just never change..." Augustine shook his head as he began to step forward. He gradually began to pick up the pace and started running towards the Basilisk while shouting his lungs out in aggression.

The Ferrets began to fire their Guns and Crossbows at the beasts which they managed to overwhelm. Alexander went straight for the Orc, avoiding its blind swing of the club due to the bombardment of ammunition and managed to cut one of its legs with his Trident. The Orc roared as it stumble back while frantically swinging its club. Lisanna and Nisus wanted to take revenge on the rabid dog beast, Lisanna stuck the beast at its limbs while Nisus finally made good used of his net, throwing it over the beast's head to impede its actions, proceeding to use the Spear in his hands to thrust at its limbs

"Don't think it's going to be that easy. I'm going all out to kill all of you, and that includes you two traitors." King Python's voice was heard loud and clear. It seemed his vision has returned to him.

Serpent guards trailed in through the gates as they began to charge at the Ferrets.

"That's strange, why aren't they using those staves they used last night?" Lisanna noticed it right away.

On the other side Augustine was viciously fighting the Basilisk. Seeing them without those Demon weapons, seems like we still won't have such a hard time. He had the little thought running through his mind.

The addition of the guards however divided the firing power of the Ferrets greatly as they rushed up to attack. The Ferrets however still had the upper hand as the Serpent guards were merely using melee weapons this time. Some of them attempted to distract the heroes from their beastly targets however they managed to cope well. With Lisanna's and Nisus' effort along with the fire power of the Ferrets, they managed to exact the revenge for the innocent Ferret who died under the beast as Nisus did the final blow by throwing his Spear into the beast's head.

"Seems like you found a weapon you can work well with." Lisanna praised Nisus a little.

"It's a strange feeling, like I've been using it all this time..." Nisus was puzzled at his natural ability to make use of the Spear as a throwing weapon, which he also happened to successfully wield before in Trepidus.

~~~

Alicia and Xavier were running through the crowd in the grandstands, trying to get away from the guards who were chasing them. They shoved their way through the audience who recognized them and some attempted to block their path of escape.

"This might help us!" Xavier took out one of his bags as he began to scatter the powder. "Hold your breath Alicia!" Xavier said as he used one of his paws to cover his nose while the other hand shakes the bag to scatter the powder.

The audience became distracted enough by the smell, giving the two an opportunity to escape.

"Heavens help you if this stench doesn't come off." Alicia said in a nasal voice as her hands covered her nose and mouth.

"I'm suffering here too! My good sense of smell makes it all the worse!" Xavier tried to stop her complaints.

They headed towards the entrance of the Coliseum where they hope to meet with the rest who were in the Arena.

~~~

The Serpent guards were swarming the smaller sized Army of Ferret which still managed to stay strong. With Augustines crazed attacking and the Ferret's bombardments, the injured Basilisk decided to flee. On the other side, most of the Serpent guards were ordered by the King to kill Alexander as a priority, and the Orc was momentarily left without a nearby opponent. It looked around anxiously, finally spotting Lisanna, dubbing her a weak enough target. It charged towards her direction.

Alexander, overwhelmed by the guards, saw where the Orc was headed and was alarmed. With a forceful swipe of his Trident he managed to clear out a path for him to run over to Lisanna, bashing any Serpent out of the way. The Orc swung its Spiked Club high up in the air, preparing to send Lisanna to her demise. She was shocked at the sight of the Orc stomping her way, but it was all she could do to hold out against the Serpent guards she was fighting against. She quickly tried to knock the guards out of her way so she could defend herself, but the Orc was already within striking distance. It was over, she thought. The Spiked Club descended upon her quickly there was a fierce sound as a shadow grew ever larger upon Lisanna's frame.

But it wasn't over. Lisanna looked up.

"Alexander!" Lisanna was shocked as the one who swore to protect her at all cost came to her rescue indeed. Somewhere to her side, Alexander's shield landed to the ground. Now she knew what that loud sound was all about. "Alexander, your shield!"

"I'll go get it!" Nisus exclaimed as he punched a Serpent guard out of his way and grabbed back his thrown Spear from the beast's head lying on the ground, violently jostling his way through the hoard of guards.

"Ferrets! Direct all fire on the Orc!" One of the Ferrets shouted out loud upon seeing Alexander in grave danger.

"Foul beast!" Alexander groaned as he slashed his Trident across the faces of a few guards and across the stomach of the Orc which was more heavily bombarded with shots than before, evidently starting to weaken. In a last attempt, the Orc swung its bat frantically, Alexander quickly used his body to cover Lisanna as the Spiked Club struck against his back. He let out a loud groan.

"No!" Lisanna cried out.

"I will... protect you... till the end." Alexander weakly spoke as he coughed in pain and exhaustion.

With a loud thud, the Orc fell to the ground. A few guards began to aim their attacks at Alexander who hugged Lisanna tightly in attempt to protect her like he promised. The Ferrets quickly shot the guards who surrounded Alexander, some started to run for his aid.

"We have to get out of here fast!" Nisus said as he ran back to Lisanna and Alexander with the shield, attempting to return it to its owner.

"Hold on to it... for now..." Alexander was short on breath.

Augustine ran over them. "We have to get away like you said. Now let's not waste time on this and move!" He exclaimed while pointing to one of the exits which was safest to use.

The Ferrets helped to clear the path while the four of them make their quick escape. At the same time, the number of Serpent guards began to dwindle as some have fled in cowardice upon seeing the three beasts being defeated. It seemed the victory was the Ferrets' this time.

"What are you all doing!? They're getting away!" King Python's voice rang throughout the arena again, but this time almost no guard heeded to his call.

~~~

With the escort of some Ferrets, the four managed to reach the entrance where Alicia and Xavier were already there tackling a few of the guards. The Ferrets with arms immediately aided them, shooting their ammunition at the last few guards standing.

"Alexander...?" Xavier was shocked to see the giant stumbling towards them, his armor heavily stained with blood.

"I say we make our run from this city right now!" Alicia was adamant about it.

"All of you go... I don't think I'll go on anymore." Alexander slowly spoke as he leaned against a wall.

"I'll stay with him. All of you run now!" Augustine sounded furious.

"But Alexander! Augustine! What about you two?" Lisanna was very concerned for them.

"Augustine! We will take care of Alexander! You go with them!" One of the Ferrets exclaimed.

"No! I will stay!" He rejected the Ferrets suggestion strongly and turned to the group. "Don't waste your time, or risk every guard in this city going after you, because there's plenty more where they came from!" Augustine fiercely threatened them, urging them to leave at the same time.

They all quickly did what Augustine demanded and made a run for it out of the Coliseum, but hesitation was predominant in their feelings as they looked back to the Coliseum while climbing down the grand stairs. They jostled their way through the busy streets as they tried to trace back their way to where they entered the city, as they ran they couldn't help but glance at the Coliseum a few times.

Much to their luck they managed to make it out of the city without much trouble, only needing to tackle a couple of guards along the way as they grabbed their stuff from the inn and climbed out of the city through the wall which they came from.

[Acaract]

~Chapter 12 – We need to believe (Part 1)~

Spoiler:

The group fled across the dry and sandy plains as fast as they could, away from the city of Aggressus, though it was not long that they had to slow down due to fatigue from the events that occurred earlier.

"That was... So messed up..." Xavier said as he gasped for air.

"I can't believe we just left them there like that." Lisanna looked back at the city with concerned eyes.

"We had no choice... Augustine told us to leave at once. We could have been caught again if we didn't hurry." Alicia looked down and sighed.

"They'll make it out safely for sure. You can count on it." Nisus comforted Lisanna as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Right now we have to just hope for the—"

Lisanna brushed Nisus' hand off of her "How can you just dismiss it so fast!? Alexander... He... Protected me with his life! And we just ran while they're still in danger..." She clenched her fists very tightly. "We should go back!" She shouted, making a motion of heading back towards the city.

"Lisanna! No!" Alicia exclaimed as she grabbed Lisanna's white jacket. "Haven't you forgotten your duty?! We have to move on!"

"Is saving lives not part of my duty? If not, then what's the point of this journey??" Lisanna turn and shouted back at Alicia.

"Fulfilling this duty will save plenty of lives! Just not be means of physical force! It is very important and I will see to that you accomplish it!" Alicia rebuked Lisanna.

Lisanna stopped in her tracks and fell to her knees. "I...I can't do this anymore. No...I don't want to...” she stuttered, her voice cracking.

Alicia took a step toward her. “Lisanna—”

“What difference will it make? What's...the point..." the priestess said in barely more than a whisper, both her hands now on her face. “This is pathetic. And after everything we've said and done...how selfish you must all think—”

Xavier quickly interrupted Lisanna. "You're not selfish at all! You've helped a bunch people on your journey so far! Don't ever doubt the way you perform your duty for one second!"

Nisus nodded in agreement. "Don't break on us now, Lisanna." He held out a bottle of water to Lisanna, prompting her to cool herself down. "You need to calm yourself." He said with a friendly, familiar smile.

Lisanna took the bottle and took a large sip, sighing and hiccuping at the end. "I'm sorry. I know I need to see this through. At least, I'll try to..."

"Take your time to reflect and think. You must be on this journey for other good reasons." Alicia advised Lisanna.

"There's all the people you'll be able to help along the way." Nisus further encouraged Lisanna. “No way that's bad, right?”

"Alright I get it." Lisanna said as she stood up. "Let's just move on." She smiled as she wiped away the single tear on her cheek.

As the group started to walk, Lisanna stayed a little behind as she clenched her chest with an indifferent disposition.

"So now we're heading to the Dome of Worship, am I right?" Nisus recalled the sign that was given to them back at the Coliseum.

"Yes, of course." Alicia said, her expression stiff.

"What's the matter?" Nisus asked.

"No it's nothing." She still kept her stern expression.

"Have you been there before? What is the Dome of Worship anyway?" Xavier asked as he closed in on Alicia.

"I've been there once when I was a little younger. That's about it. It's the place where people pay their respects to the Gods and Goddesses who govern over our land. Despite them abandoning our world, a lot of people are still followers of them. My father the High Priest runs that place." Alicia explained a little.

Lisanna's mood suddenly lightened up and caught up after them. "Oh! No wonder I haven't seen him before!" She looked at Alicia in the eye as if questioning why she was never told this before.

"Yes, I've always been living in Portus with just my mother. Don't give me that look Lisanna, you never asked!" Alicia sounded a little more spirited now.

"Oh sure..." Lisanna rolled her eyes. "At least I get to meet him now!"

"I wouldn't be exactly as thrilled as you..." Alicia's voice trailed off as she started to avoid eye contact with Lisanna.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lisanna was getting suspicious.

"Yea! I thought you said your father was supportive of you even though he's strict! That sounds like a good father to me!" Xavier pointed out.

"He is. At least I think so. All he said was 'Good Luck' though. My mum was definitely more accommodating. I'm not exactly the favorite child you know. As I said they didn't expect me to be the guiding Priestess..." Alicia started to sound a little exasperated. "Well enough about that."

The terrain started to become grassier as they found themselves walking through a valley, they began to see tall metal structures in the distance. Unfamiliar to the lot of them, they walked closer to take a better look at them.

"What are these things?" Xavier said as he continued to stare at the rusty towers.

"I've never seen anything like them either. The only time when I went to the Dome of Worship, I traveled directly from Portus so I guess I didn't need to pass through these." Alicia commented.

They closed in to the structures and inspected the place filled with rusty metal pipes, walls and tall cylinders which felt out of place like eyesores in the grassy fields.

"I…Is someone there? Stay where you are!" A voice shouted from above.

The group looked up to see a Ferret standing upon a ledge of the structure just above them, he had his crossbow poised as he was about to load in a bolt. Xavier quickly lowered his hood in hope he would stop.

"Oh! I'm sorry fellow brother." The ferret said as he lowered his weapon. "Are these humans your friends? And where might you be from? Not from Aggressus I presume." He spoke in a more friendly tone.

"Yes! They are my friends, and you're right, I'm from Trepidus." Xavier promptly replied.

"Trepidus? I heard it was attacked not too long ago. A relative of mine there told me on a phone just yesterday. It's a relief that everything is fine." The ferret seemed more glad.

"Yes, my name is Xavier, and these are my friends, Lisanna, Alicia and Nisus, we're on the journey of the 'Pure' one." He said, gesturing towards Lisanna.

"Ah I see, well my name is Lance… Hold on, I think it's better if we talked at the same height." Lance smiled as he began to descend a ladder which was at the side of the structure. "As you were saying, this journey of the 'Pure' one, I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with it."

"Basically we travel the world to rid of the Malice which taints the lands through the Merciful Goddesses' power." Alicia quickly summarized their objective.

"I see..." Lance rubbed his chin.

"We've been meaning to ask though, what is this place? These structures I mean." Nisus asked as he continued to look around.

"These? These were sort of like mines for extraction of metallic ores which are quite abundant in this land and in fact in the whole continent of Nescio Quid." Lance started to explain.

"Continent?" Xavier was a little unaware of what Lance spoke of.

"Yes continents, the world of Immunda is filled with many land masses separated by the seas, the continents are the three largest land masses that exist, namely Regnum, Praefidens and Nescio Quid which is the one we are on now." Lance patiently taught the young one.

[Acaract]

~Chapter 12 – We need to believe (Part 2)~

Spoiler:

"This place seems abandoned though, has the resources been used up or something?" Alicia asked.

"I was getting to that. You see, these mines have actually never dug up a single ore due to the failure of making the extraction process work." Lance continued to explain. "This is because of the incompatible technology here to that other continent, Praefidens."

"I heard of this before, but how do they come into the picture again?" Lisanna was starting to regret not listening in class attentively. "I think I heard of this before." She whispered to herself.

"It was because of that secret trade between the continents, and it turned out to be unfair. The agreement was to allow Praefidens to extract the metallic ore that they need in exchange for some of technology they had, and communication devices were chosen since it was most useful to us." Lance shifted his position and stopped to catch his breath.

"Oh I remember this part! Apparently this trade was done under the nose of Regnum which has control over Nescio Quid and is somewhat at loggerheads with Praefidens." Lisanna anxiously spoke as she recalled her lessons in school.

"Indeed, and when Praefidens discovered extraction was not possible, they could not take back their technology as the communication devices were already massed produced. Forcing the production was no option either Nescio Quid would report this trade to Regnum and that would mean trouble for Praefidens." Lance elaborated from Lisanna's point.

"Such is the greed of this world." Alicia shrugged.

"Seeing how the world is now, and it sounds worse than I imagined. Not just between races, but between continents as well…" Xavier bowed his head, down cast.

"I guess that's the way it is. If we could, we can try to change it." Nisus folded his arms and pondered, he seemed uncertain of his statement.

"I doubt about change." Lance shook his head and shrugged. "Especially when it comes to conflicts between the races."

"Not this again! Come on now! You have to believe and be willing to change it!" Xavier suddenly spoke his mind when the subject was brought up.

"Hey! You know what happened in Trepidus! And about the mistreatment on our kind in Aggressus! What makes you think so?" Lance vehemently denied Xavier's words.

"You have to believe it! Just like Sir Mongoose who worked and fought for harmony!" Xavier tried his best to convince him.

Lance shook his head in disagreement. "I knew Sir Mongoose personally, you can't fool me! He believed in the independence of our nation and strived to rid of that wretched sly race." Lance hit Xavier directly at his weak spot.

Xavier was at a loss of words as he knew he could no longer argue his way out of it.

"You think you can just change all this on your own kid? You're biting off more than you can chew for sure." Lance crossed his arms and looked down at Xavier.

"Give him a break will you?" Lisanna went up to Lance and glared at him.

Lance took a step back. "Hey just speaking my mind like him." He raised his arms to his chest level, his palms facing the air.

"That came off a little too harsh in my opinion." Nisus scoffed at Lance. "You mean to say this is a hopeless situation?"

"We need more people like him in this world if we want to see improvement." Alicia added on. "Unfortunately it seems no one thinks we should change from the world's current wretched state."

"Wretched? Aren't you over exaggerating? It has been like this all this while, and we live just fine." Lance said with a dismissal tone.

"I don't think she's exaggerating at all." Lisanna interjected. "But seems like we can never see eye to eye. Arguing on is futile."

"Quite right. I was trying to drop the subject soon too. Now that that's out of the way, would you all like to have a meal or such? It would be rude for one of the Ferret race not to offer hospitality to a fellow brethren and his friends." Lance quickly changed his mood and tried to dispel the heavy atmosphere.

"Wait you live here?" Xavier was quite surprised.

"Yes a group of us now inhabit these abandoned parts since we ran out as fugitives from the city of Aggressus, there are more of us but the rest have gone down to the city to teach the Serpents as lesson." Lance explained "You guys wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?"

"Actually yes, we were involved in that bout. It didn't go very well..." Lisanna's voiced lowered.

"What do you mean?" Lance's eyes widened.

"It's quite a long story, but it ended up with some unfortunate casualties... You wouldn't happen to know Alexander and Augustine would you?" Nisus replied to Lance.

"Yes, they do come to visit time to time when the fighting season wasn't on. What happened to them?" Lance looked at the group anxiously.

"Let's just say they took the hardest hit..." Nisus said as he looked towards Lisanna whose facial expression changed to that of deep concern again.

"This is quite unfortunate... Wish I could be there to help... But I guess it's too late…" Lance said. "Come now, you all must be hungry from such an ordeal." Lance invited them in to his home which they were standing before.

~~~

Under the hospitality of Lance and his family, the group managed to get a good rest as well as a filling meal.

"You seem like you can't stop eating can you?" Alicia narrowed her eyes as she slumped on the chair watching the little Ferret gobble down everything that was left on the table.

"He's enjoying himself, and that's all that matters." Lance smiled as he watched.

"I'll take that as a compliment for my cooking too." Lance's wife laughed.

"Thanks a bunch from your hospitality!" Lisanna showed her gratitude, bowing her head to Lance and his wife.

"This could possibly be the best meal I had. Thank you." Nisus politely thanked them as well.

"But you have to admit! My mum's cooking is still number one!" Xavier said with a muffled voice, his mouth stuffed with food.

"How rude..." Alicia folded her arms and lowered her eyelids.

"You're one to talk." Lisanna sneered at Alicia as she pointed out to Alicia's sitting posture, making Alicia quickly sit up in embarrassment.

"I overheard the conversation earlier on by the way. And for me I must say I have to agree with the young Xavier, and I wish you all the best in your strive to harmonize our races together." Lance's wife spoke kindly to Xavier.

Xavier heard it and smiled, quickly swallowing his food before speaking. "I'll do my best." He nodded.

Soon it was almost nightfall and the area outside was already dark. Lance kindly offered his living area to them to spend the night in.

Lisanna realized she hasn't been contacting her mother and asked if she could use Lance's phone who gladly allowed it as well. She went to a secluded corner to talk while the rest were getting ready to sleep, Xavier's could not help be overhear her conversation due to his good hearing.

"I don't know mum, I just..." Lisanna seemed to be discussing something serious. "Okay... I'll do my best..."

Knowing that it was not right, Xavier decided to stop eavesdropping and decided to drift off to sleep instead.

~~~

The next morning, it was time they departed for the next Holy Point. They thanked the couple for their kindness and hospitality and were back on the road. As they left the area sprawled with the metal structures, they could sense that other inhabitants were watching them from inside the towers as they walked by.

They found themselves traveling much faster after a good rest, which they soon found themselves walking out of the valley into a flowery field. They realized that they were soon about to reach their destination as they started to see a round shaped building, like a white sphere jutting out from the ground.

Alicia got up in front of them and pointed to the building. "There it is, the Dome of Worship."