Chapitre 30: Winged Associate's Vanguard Force
"Err… hi?"
A young girl stood where the space crack had just disappeared. She was someone Mays and his spirits already acquaintance with, Minerva, one of Ria's Four Great General.
"At least she did use her head. Let's get going then."
Mays let out a sigh after confirming the situation. Since one of Ria's spirit was here, there wouldn't be any problem for her to come back. Not like there would be any difference if Ria was there during the raid or not. Their opponent this time were just small fries and several intermediate bosses after all.
"Urm. I'll be in everyone's care for now."
Smiling awkwardly, Minerva greeted everyone.
"Meh, it's just that weakling who lost to Damia after one exchange."
"Manner, Mira. Manner."
Right after Mira let out her thoughtless remarks, she got smacked by Syaitona right at the back of her head.
"Bad manner, Mira! Don't just diss others like that!"
"Yeah Mira. That's just bad."
Even Damia and Golia rebuked her.
"Sss… sorry for that. She didn't mean that. I think."
Aloha on the other hand apologized for her sister inconsiderate comment. She really was too timid, apologizing for something she didn't do.
"Nah it's okay. I don't mind anyways."
Minerva brushed it off as if it was nothing but Mays who heard what Mira had said felt bad about it. That very same feeling might had been what Aloha always felt whenever Mira did something bad. Something guardians always felt when someone in their care caused trouble.
"Mira. Apologize."
Mays shook his head and asked Mira to apologize for her remarks. Left with no other choice, Mira walked toward Minerva while fidgeting. She was obviously not used to this.
"S… sorry, Mira is bad with her word."
"It's okay. I forgive you."
Unexpectedly, this Minerva girl easily forgave Mira. Even Mays himself was shocked. He had lived in the Spirit Society headquarter for days. Since Mays spent most of the time with Ria, there were lots of occasion where he met Minerva there.
He knew that this Minerva was a stuck-up, conceited type of person. Even during their first meeting, he remembered how this girl acted high and mighty in front of her subordinates. For this kind of person to give in that easy, there might be something at work behind the scene for sure.
What Mays didn't know was that this girl actually had been threaten by her own master not to show any disrespect nor whatever kind of bad behavior which would worsen Mays's impression of her. If not because of that, she would have jumped at Mira that very moment she was insulted and attacked her right away.
"Good girl. You should learn from her, Mira."
Mays who approached Minerva patted her head casually. Since Minerva was shorter than him, it was easy for him to do so. He actually acted without thinking. Maybe because he always patted Miur's head during his previous journey, he habitually patted Minerva the same way since their height and body stature was about the same.
At first, he thought that Minerva would surely brush off his hand right away. Never would he had imagined that Minerva enjoyed being patted at her head and let it continued for almost one minutes.
"Stop that master! It's not fair!"
"Urm… Master never patted our head that long."
"Yeah, yeah! It's my turn now. You guys just pretend that nothing happens and continue whatever you guys are doing previously."
"Why is it your turn? I should be next."
"You? If not because of you, master would never patted someone who was not even his spirits!"
"Ugh… ugh… but…"
In front of this generic yet warm drama, even the grieving Mays let out a heartfelt laugh. That very moment, he truly felt that these spirits of his was no less than his close family. They might even be better than his real family. Since Mays never felt the warm atmosphere of a real family, he longed for that deep inside his heart. His only close family was literally just San alone.
That very moment, deep in his heart, he felt that it might not be a bad idea to stay in this world and enjoy living with these lovely spirits instead of going back to the shallow home called earth.
"Hahhahahaha… seriously. Can't be helped then, come here Aloha."
"Err… yes."
Leaving Minerva with her disheveled hair, Mays placed his hand on top of Aloha's head and started patting her. As if she was trapped in a trance, she smiled happily while giggling nonstop. The other spirits was on the verge of exploding, watching the whole thing while gritting their teeth. They wanted to be spoiled themselves, not watching others being spoiled by their beloved master.
"Master! Next one is Mira! Mira is ready!"
"Says who? It should be me, your leader to be next isn't it?"
"No! Rank don't matter! Mira should be next since Mira is Aloha's twin."
Mira who was unable to contain herself any longer approached Mays. She was blocked midway by Syaitona though. The two of them who struggled against each other stopped in motion when they saw Mays who had finished patting Aloha walked passed them and continued moving forward.
"Master?"
Both Mira and Syaitona asked in a dumbfounded tone.
Currently Mays already summoned his archive cube and he brought out Flamence's tablet with him. He planned on going to the enemy's headquarter as soon as possible.
"What are you guys dallying over there for? Let's get going."
Mays who had no clue as of why all his spirits still stood at the very same place where he patted both Minerva and Aloha previously asked for the reason of their action. Only Aloha and Golia stood beside him while the other spirits was still adamantly standing at their previous location.
"Master…"
"We… we too…"
Truth be told, it was not that Mays didn't know what they wanted. But more like, he didn't know what to do about it himself. As for Mira, it was his intention to leave her like that as punishment since she was the cause for all this.
"Okay I understand."
Trace of smiles were visible on their faces when Mays started talking.
"But, it is weird for me to pat the rest of you on the head when you're almost the same height as me."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Syaitona screamed as she kneeled at the same time. She realized that her tall figure was actually a downside for once. As for both Damia and Silvia, they were just fidgeting while comparing their height to each other.
"To think that… my prided figure… my tall, slim, charming figure would actually have this kind of drawback instead…"
"Hehehe Mira for the win. Then master would pat Mira right?"
"No! All this happened because of you so this is your punishment."
"NOOOOOOOOO!!"
Yet another spirit kneeled on the ground, muttering gibberish which were barely audible to the others.
"Well, since it is awkward for me to pat you girls on the head, I can still do something else which I am comfortable with, I guess."
"Really master?"
Syaitona, Silvia and Damia shouted in unison. The kneeling Syaitona immediately stood leaving Mira alone in her depressed state. As the three of them walked toward Mays, Minerva followed behind them while her right hand was still on top of her head, twisting her own hair. Nobody knew what she was thinking that very moment.
"Hey Mira, if you keep sulking like that, we will leave you here you know. Even master already inside the carriage, ready to go anytime."
"Fineeee."
Unwillingly, Mira stood up after getting rebuked by Syaitona. Flamence shot up to the sky soon after Mira and Syaitona entered the carriage on top of its back. Their destination was the capital of Durahel Kingdom, the current base for those Winged Associate's vanguard force.
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"Is it true? Godkins already caught wind of our activities here?"
"Duh, I gained nothing from telling lies. Even Arkenta might as well already killed by them. Or worse, he might even lead them all to our base."
"Nah, it can't be. Arkenta might be twisted but he never gonna sell out his comrades like that."
Several demonic beings were discussing a grave issue inside a secured room within Tinkering Clock Tower. There were a total of eight of them in the room. This clock tower was one of the most distinguished building in the capital of Durahel Kingdom. It was currently occupied by these demonic beings though.
"But for you to leave him alone in that situation was quite irresponsible yourself don't you think so?"
A middle aged vampire asked in a stern manner. There were traces of anger in his voice. With a closer look, his facial feature resembled that of Arkenta and their body stature was also about the same. He was Arkenta's older brother, Kamara.
"What should I do then? Join him in his suicide? Don't be a fool Kamara. You know how strong those godkins are."
Dimes tried to defend himself. From a logical point of view, his action was the correct one. If he didn't came back and report this matter, they would be clueless about the danger approaching them.
"He was right. It was better to report about this first. Our mission was the first priority after all."
This time, a handsome looking middle aged man with a horn on his forehead commented. He was Babila, a horned Pegasus. Even among those inside the BiliardPegasus Dukedom, a horned Pegasus was an entity worthy of worship.
"Ugh, fine."
Unable to retort back, Kamara clicked his tongue. In this circle, Babila was without a doubt the one with the most authority. He was the only one who was given the privilege to report their progress directly to the higher up. Even Alakan, a humanoid Pegasus whose strength was on par with Babila himself listened to Babila's every order.
"Enough with that. What we need to do right now is to prepare countermeasure in case those godkins come attacking."
"Yeah. We need to at least increase our scout and defensive measure."
"We might even need to request more combat personnel from the higher up. I don't think our current force could overpower a guild of godkins."
"Traps. We also need to set up traps."
A female winged monkey finally started talking about their real topic and everyone else immediately followed up by their own suggestion. The gravity of the matter really was no joke either. If the godkins really decided to attack them, it would be hard for them to fight back.
"Calm down."
Seeing how chaotic the meeting turned into, Babila started talking again.
"Even if the detached vanguard force had been destroyed, those godkins would still need more time to organize their force before attacking us."
Most of the demonic beings inside the room let out a relieved sigh after they heard that. It was actually a really logical explanation if one gave it a real thought. Considering how far the location of the clash, it would take them days to even come to a conclusion after they reported the event to the godkins in charge at the empire.
"That's right. We can still take our time on making a good plan."
"Erm, that's true. Even godkins need to hold a meeting and discuss among themselves. They are not everywhere."
"Why the hell would we even panic about this…"
"KLOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!"
"Hieeeeeeeeeee! What was that sound?"
"Some experimental error perhaps? That happened quite a few time when they accidentally enhanced a cursed item."
Their conversation got disrupted and one of the people inside the room screamed after they heard a loud crashing sound nearby. The atmosphere inside the room tensed up right away. They were all cautiously staring at each other without making any noise.
"KLAAAAAAAANG! KEHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! KELOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!"
One crashing sound after another. This was by no means a simple experimental error. It was as if the capital itself was under a heavy bombardment attack from the sky. This was without a doubt, a real enemy attack.
"Babibu! Come out here right now and present your head to me!"
The loud shout echoed several times inside the capital. Mays used warrior's skills [Taunting Roar] for that shout after all.
"They… they come!!"
"They really come. We are sooooo dead!"
"The godkins! The godkins comes for real!!"
Almost everyone inside the room panicked right away. If there really was a squad of godkins out there gunning for them, they would surely be dead meat. After all, the number of gold ranked intermediate bosses in this place were less than ten. A single squad of godkins together with their spirits were more than enough to obliterate them.
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Inside one of the forest in Demon Continent, a young girl walked leisurely followed by two strong looking young man. The young girl had a cute looking oval shaped face with a ponytail styled hair. Her clothing was that of light armor befitting her class as a [Blade Dancer].
The two young man behind her however, was the silent yet good looking type of man. One of them was a short haired blonde with a big stature while the other one was a red head whose hair reached his shoulder. This guy had smaller body compared to the other guy but he was still bigger than the girl nonetheless.
"Ugh… This sucks. I've been stranded here for months."
Misaka, the young girl in the party of three sighed.
"Don't worry master, we will surely be able to get away from this forest."
"That's true. It's just a matter of time now."
These two young man were actually spirits summoned by Misaka. The short haired blonde was Bleu while the red head was called Reid.
Even though Misaka was a max level player, she was actually a newbie in HeavensTale. This account was actually owned by her elder sister who quitted the game months ago. She literally only played the game for less than one month before she got dragged into this world accidentally.
"Let's just hope those higher up from the guild already gave up on looking for us. It would be hell if they managed to capture us."
Apparently Misaka had just ran away from her guild. She already had enough of their wrongdoings and decided to stop all interaction with them. She was a former member of DarkMonarch, the leading guild which had been chased away from Human Continent four years ago.
Forest of Never Return.
The forest Misaka and her spirits got lost into was actually the dwelling of fairies. These so called fairies were the expert at illusions and nature magic. They were also the main reason as of why Misaka got stranded here for months.
"Hehehe… these humans were dumb."
Guhe tried hard not to laugh out loud.
"Yeah, they couldn't even figure out the basic trick for this forest hehehehe."
The other fairy, Yehe, laughed as hard as she could. She knew that those people wouldn't heard her voice anyways.
There were currently only two fairies who were observing this party of three. All these time, these two fairy sticks with this party as they played their trick one after another, pranking these people who got lost inside this forest.
"Kaciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!"
A piercing sound echoed as both Yehe and Guhe immediately covered their ears using both their hand.
"Guhe?!! The barrier?"
"It can't be broken right?"
Both Yehe and Guhe panicked. The piercing sound from before was the alarm system which notified them about the condition of their barrier. Apparently, the party of three they were busy observing were unaffected by the piercing sound.
Misaka and her two spirits were actually stranded at the outskirt of the forest. They never managed to get into the inner part of the forest due to the meddling of those fairies. It never was their intention to venture further in anyways. They just wanted to evade the eye of those DarkMonarch's people and travel back to human continent safely.
"What is that?"
"Sorry master, even I couldn't explain what this was."
"I also have no word for it master."
Misaka who couldn't comprehend the situation asked her spirits but their answer were disappointing. The both of them were clueless about the event in front of them.
There was a space cracks with the size of one meter radius which appeared in front of them out of nowhere. There were no signals or indications beforehand either. It just happened.
From the depth of the space cracks, two people ran out of it hastily before the crack shrunk in size and diminished.
"Whoa! Who are you people?"
Misaka shouted as she was shocked by the sudden appearance of the space cracks followed by peoples rushing out from it. Both her spirits already readied their fighting stance, in case a fight suddenly broke out.
The two who ran out from the space cracks wore a black cloak covering even their head. Because of that, it was impossible to determine what race they were.
"Stop! Don't come any further!"
One of the two black cloaked people immediately stepped in between Misaka and his companion. He even unsheathed his sword to show his determination.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Just chill!"
Misaka stepped back after she saw how serious the man in front of her was.
The standoff continued for several minutes before the black cloaked guy fell on his knee. Only then did Misaka noticed that there was a blood puddle under his feet. That black cloaked guy was heavily injured.
"Astaga! You okay?"
The other black cloaked person shouted in a panic. From the voice, it was obvious that this one was a girl.
"This much is nothing… uh… I need to bring princess to safety as soon as possible."
Astaga replied with a pained voice. He was hurt real bad from his previous battle. He was a real knight indeed. Even when he was fatally injured, his worry for the princess was genuine. He would sacrifice his life to keep the princess safe.
"Here, take this."
Out of nowhere, Misaka handed the injured man a red potion.
"What? It's a potion, no need to be so wary."
Misaka added as the two of them stared at her with a confused look.
Albeit hesitated, the injured guy gulped down the potion after he grabbed it from Misaka. He knew his body condition well. His injury was not something easily healed off even after a long time of recuperation. He might as well gamble on the red potion he never saw before in his life rather than awaited the imminent death.
"Bleu, Reid. Let's get going."
"Yes master."
As the three of them walked away from the two black cloaked people, they halted midway when they saw two small figure floating over a tree nearby.
"Guheok!! Our invisibility was nullified."
"How… how could this be? This is trouble Yehe!"
Those two were none other than the fairy who had been following Misaka and her spirits, Guhe and Yehe.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone