Way of the Knights

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It was only now that Raven truly understood the severity of the situation and what his purpose was here. 

Out of all the things he'd expect to see, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were the last thing he was expecting. 

Currently from what he could see, all four of them and their steeds were bound with a seal, at the same time though, Raven could accurately judge that the seal would hold them for long. It was evident by their thick villainous aura leaking from the seal itself. 

"Right. This is where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are sealed." The Sect Master said, "This is also the reason why I brought you here. Try to inspect the seals and see if you could repair them."

Raven nodded solemnly as they flew closer to the areas where the seals are placed.

He had no way of seeing what the Four Horsemen looked since they were concealed by the seal itself. Raven also didn't careless dared to look through his ocular technique lest anything unexpected happens. 

Compared to the devils on the Devil Emperor's Pagoda, the Four Horsemen are far more dangerous. According to the tales left behind by the Ancestors of the sect, the Four Horsemen are the loyal servants of the Devil Emperor itself, which means that their power is unlike that of the abominations that were born from the Devil Emperor. 

It was said that just by merely looking at the Four Horsemen, one's mind will instantly be corroded by the Principle that they Represent. And as their titles suggests, they are the ushers of Apocalypse itself. 

Now, the details of how they were sealed were mostly unknown since the one who sealed them weren't really a part of the sect. According to the records, it was a person who were dubbed as the Ancestor Sealer who dealt with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. 

However, just like the Devil Emperor itself, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse proved to be too strong for Ancestor Sealer so in the end, they weren't killed but sealed instead. 

Not many details are known about the Ancestor Sealer but he was definitely there, and since he wasn't truly a part of the Sect, no one inherited his mantle.

Raven inspected the seals and analyzed them carefully. Unfortunately, it was challenging to concentrate since the voices of the Horsemen were too loud and distracting. 

Annoyed, Raven snorted and took out the Brush of Wisdom. He then drew a rune while saying: "Silence!"

A giant rune appeared in the air, forming the word 'Silence' while releasing pulses of foreign energy. Thanks to the rune, the voices of the Four Horsemen died out, allowing Raven to focus on his work. 

The Sect Master, his wife and Elder Fallon looked at each other. 

"I guess they were being noisy." Alwina shrugged, the rune didn't have any effects on them since they were recognized as friendly forces by the rune that Raven created. 

"That's interesting..." Elder Fallon said, "This rune is created out thousands of basic runes. It should be able to have any effects on the Four Horsemen but the intent behind it was so strong that it completely nullified the fluctuations being released from the seals."

"I'm more impressed by the fact that he could hear them better than we do. Just like I thought, bringing him here was a good idea." The Sect Master added. 

The three remained silent and allowed Raven to focus on his work. After an hour, Raven took a deep breath and faced them, his face looked a bit spent but the clarity on his eyes remained.

"I'm done Sect Master." He said. 

"How's it?" The Sect Master asked. 

"I can indeed repair the seals. It shouldn't be difficult, only I don't have enough energy to seal all four of them simultaneously. Repairing one seal would drain all of my energy and it'll take time for me to recover. I'm afraid that these four share a connection against each other, and if they feel the seals being repaired, they'll start retaliating." Raven reported honestly. 

"That's not a problem. I have a way for you to make a complete recovery. You don't need to worry about their retaliation either we can handle their tantrums long enough for you to seal them back." The Sect Master was jubilant. 

At first he wasn't confident about Raven's chances. Don't forget that Raven was merely a Saint Knight, forget about dealing with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, just clearing the 30th floor of the Devil Emperor's Pagoda should be an insurmountable task for him. The Sect Master just want to have his options available. 

But now, it turns out that there's more to Raven than what he lead on. With this, they could buy more time for themselves.

"That's great only..." Raven was a bit hesitant. "I have another suggestion. Would the Sect Master consider listening to it?"

The Sect Master raised a brow and asked: "What is it?"

"What if, instead of sealing them back, we turn them into resources instead?" 

The trio were stunned speechless at Raven's suggestion. 

"Hey kid, I know you're a cut above compared to your peers but don't you think that you're biting more than you can chew?" Alwina snorted in displeasure. "Turning them into resources? Kid, remember who you're dealing with. It's the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You want to turn these foreign abominations into resources? Are you kidding me?"

"Madam's words makes sense, 9th." Elder Fallon looked at Raven solemnly. "Don't try anything funny with these things, they are incredibly dangerous. These Four Horsemen followed the Devil Emperor back when it was still free and laying waste to the Divine Realm."

Raven didn't say anything, to him it didn't really matter whatever their decision was, he just wanted to make a suggestion. If they want him to repair the seal as is, then it shall be done. No problems with that. Still, he waited for the Sect Master's response before doing something. 

The Sect Master was studying Raven's expression. He then asked: "How do you plan on doing that?"

"Husband/Sect Master!" Alwina and Elder Fallon exclaimed at the same time. 

"Let's here him first. If his plan sounds risky, then it's not really too late to refuse him. Besides, he doesn't look like the reckless type. I believe he wouldn't suggest something that he's not confident on doing." The Sect Master told them, causing the two to become silent. He then looked at Raven and nodded. 

"Turning them into resources doesn't mean that I'm freeing them, I want to say this first so that there will be no misunderstanding." Raven stated as he glanced at Alwina and Elder Fallon, causing the Sect Master to snicker softly. 

"The plan will go like this." Raven started, "I'll form a link between the existing seals that's imprisoning them, the link itself is a seal that will not only fortify the seals of the Horsemen but also connect them as a unit."

"Once they are linked, I will then invoke a powerful spell that will constantly erode the very existence of the Horsemen and their Steeds and covert them into all kinds of energies that we can use. With this, not only will they remain imprisoned on their seal, they will also get weaker day by day which will in turn make them unable to break free of the seal, while we use their essences to strengthen ourselves."

"That's basically it." Raven finished his explanation and waited for their response. 

The three people stared at Raven intently, seemingly wanting to know if he was lying or not. On paper, his plan looked simple and casual but if one analyzed it carefully, they'd found out that any of the steps he will do was basically impossible for a Saint Knight to achieve. 

"How do you plan on making the link and what is this spell that you plan on invoking?" The Sect Master asked. 

"I'll use the 'Chains of Order' to form the link. As for the spell, I'll use the 'Sacred Heavenly Doctrine', they shouldn't be able to stop that." Raven stated. 

Hearing this, Alwina's eyes couldn't help but to bulge from their sockets: "Boy you are one crazy individual. Really? Chains of Order and the Sacred Heavenly Doctrine? Are you trying to piss of the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm? What if you get exiled?"

"Uh...Master said that he did something to me which hid me from the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm. I should be fine, plus it's not like I'm using it for my selfish gain. It would even benefit greatly from what I'm about to do." Raven scratched his head. 

Alwina gaped when she heard his reply, she then had this defeated expression as she murmured: "Right, you are hidden from the Heavenly Laws, how can I forget about that? I should've known, that's Geezer for you I guess." 

"Will he be safe?" The Sect Master asked Alwina.  action

"Yeah he will." She replied, "Just like he said, Geezer erased hid this little guy's Soul Mark to the Heavenly Laws. Which means he could mess with it as long as he wouldn't upset the balance. And just like he said, the Heavenly Laws wouldn't really mind, in fact it might even help him in the end." 

"Since that's the case...." The Sect Master looked at Raven and said: "Then we'll do as you suggest 9th."