Way of the Knights

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While the war against the beast horde was in full throttle in the southern gate. Somewhere inside the majestic Royal Palace, a group of six individuals who radiated with a suffocating aura stepped outside of a tall transmission gate.

The six individuals were composed of three males and three females.

The first one to arrive was a brown haired man with a healthy wheat colored skin. His face looked youthful but was also showing a profound matureness. His face was toned and his muscular, bare upper body was in full display for everyone to see. He wore a set of tight fitting pants that had several pieces of worn out armor attached to it, as well as a battle skirt which looked like it had seen better days. His left arm was holding onto a large oval shaped, azure shield that had several spikes attached to it and radiated with marine sheen. His right hand grasped a 9 foot long, black spear that had a carving of a snake coiling around it. 

"Ah! Back at last! I missed you home!" Of course, this person is none other than Paul, who almost teared up upon seeing the familiar yard of the Royal Palace.

Another guy stepped out behind him. He had a head full of shiny black hair, a sharp looking eyes, a face that radiated with strictness and youthful vigor. He was wearing a maroon, one piece suit but the sleeves where his arms go through was no longer there, what's left is just some tattered threads, which gives off an image that he had just came back from a difficult mission. He was holding a pair of short swords that had a snake patterned ornament in them. Both swords radiated with sparks of what looks like some black lightning residue. 

Mark placed a hand on Paul's shoulder and the strictness on his face was gone. "Yeah, it's been a while."

The next who stepped out was a girl that has a crimson flowing hair and dress. Her womanly endowments screamed for attention as she walked graciously, her petite hourglass body swayed with every movements. Pieces of crimson colored armor could be seen attached to her body. A breast plate, battle skirt, knee pads and shoulder guards. There's also a 7 foot long sword attached to the right side of her battle skirt. The sword was hidden by a gorgeous red sheath which followed the theme of her appearance. Jut by staying beside her, one could certainly feel a gentle warmth that will explode in ferocious blaze once provoked.

This lady was none other than Ellen. She stood beside the two boys while she waited for the rest to come out.

Then another lady came out of the transmission gate. 

The lady stepped out and carried an ethereal air with her every movement. Her vibrant, jade green hair was neatly kept in a braid. Her face was beautiful, similar to a carved jewel. She wore a tight suit that hugged the curves of her body and a knee high boots. Her suit was sleeveless, thus her lustrous and slender arms were exposed. If one looked closely on her right arm, there was a strange looking, bow-shaped tattoo on her wrist.

"Anne!" Ellen greeted as she jumped and hugged the girl. 

Anne laughed and reciprocated the hug, she then looked at the boys and said: "It's been a while guys."

The boys nodded back and greeted her as well.

The transmission gate swirled once more and this time, two people stepped out at the same time. 

A girl, who might very well be mistaken as a Saintess at this point. Her waist length, golden hair and eyes made her stood out from the crowd. She wore a thin piece of pure white dress and similar to Ellen, she was also adorned with pieces of armor on her body. There was a faint, golden light surrounding her body. Her youthful face is filled with maturity and sharpness. This golden haired lady was holding a 9.9 foot long spear on her right hand. The spear was thin, in a glance some might even mistake it for a javelin instead. It looked like she was holding a beam of sharp-tipped light.

And finally a boy, who wore a tight fitting black suit. He has a waist-length black hair that changes into a turquoise color halfway-through and were gathered with a rubber band in a high ponytail. His sword-like brows, golden pupils, pointed nose, thin lips, and well defined jawline made him a definite head turner. He was wearing a carefree expression and was smiling as he walked out. He wasn't holding any weapon and it looked like he came out from a year-long vacation instead of a year-long training. 

"Well, well. The Royal Couple is here everyone, make way please." Ellen jeered as she watched the pair came out of the portal together.

Yes, these people were none other than Luna and Raven.

The rest only laughed when they heard Ellen's voice. There was a brief silence that ensued as they inspected each other inwardly. 

"What the hell…" Paul exasperatedly sighed, "Why does it look like I'm the one who suffered the most?"

"Tch. You wouldn't want to experience what I had. I literally had to jump inside a boiling water that's hotter than lava." Ellen commented on the side, but her gaze was fixed on Paul's bare chest.

"Dude! I have to face the wrath of the Sea God! This is so unfair." Paul whined.

"Yours is the Sea God, mine's the Lightning God then." Mark sighed as well.

"Ah, how envious." Anne sighed, "I literally had to shoot hundreds upon hundreds of monsters each day. You guys had it easy."

"I would rather have that to be honest." Mark commented. 

All of them turned their gazes on the Luna and Raven. They wanted to know their experiences but they were being silent and didn't even noticed their gazes. They only saw them looking at the horizon with somber expressions on their faces.

"You feel it?" Raven asked after a moment of silence. Luna bit her lips and nodded, she grasped her spear and her sharp aura was soaring ever so slightly.

The rest was confused with their behaviors so they tried following their gazes, they also spread out their senses to check what the two was referring to.

While their sense couldn't reach beyond the Royal Palace, they were able to pick up some intense fluctuation happening a the southern part of the kingdom. It took them a moment to realize what was happening and when they did, their expressions changed as well. 

Mark's body instantly erupted with sparkles of orange thunder. He gave his friends a look and said: "Meet you guys there." Then his body turned into a flash of orange lightning that flew with an astonishing speed.

"Someone's eager." Anne whispered in a chuckle. She took a step forward and wind suddenly whistled around her. Astonishingly, a falcon made out of pure air condensed beneath her feet and carried her slightly off the ground, she then asked the rest; "Want to hop on?"

Ellen unhesitatingly jumped on as well as Paul. Anne then looked at Luna but she saw her shook her head. Instead she whistled and from her shadow, a creature suddenly emerged.

The creature was a horse. It had a pristine white fur and a muscular body, on it's back there are two large golden wings that flapped with stunning vigor. The horse let out a pitched neigh as it inched towards Luna, who gave it a loving pat on the face. 

Seeing this Anne smiled and soared through the skies with Ellen and Paul. Meanwhile, Luna looked back at Raven and saw him smiling at her. She tilted her head in confusion as she asked him; "You're not coming?"

"I'll check the other sides. I'll make sure that there would be no breaches." Raven smiled and answered her question.

"I'll come with you." Luna said determined.

Raven chuckled and shook his head, he took a step forward and pulled Luna into a tight hug. Luna was of course startled, but she didn't struggle from his hug, in fact she could feel herself melting on his embrace. 

"I missed you." Raven whispered in her ears. Luna shivered and blushed fiercely, inwardly she was thinking; 

'This guy! Taking some liberties with me! I don't remember giving him any consent!'

'But this feels good. I feel safe.'

"I-I missed you too…" Luna whispered. 

Out of nowhere, she felt something on her forehead. It didn't take her long to realize what happened and it caused her heart to beat furiously inside her chest. Raven kissed her there. 

Before she could even say anything, she heard him say: "Go with them. I, alone would be enough as a reinforcement. Have faith in me will you?"

Luna couldn't say anything, she could only nod in agreement. Raven broke the hug, much to Luna's disappointment. He then said: "Go. Remember to pay attention to your safety."

"Mn." Luna nodded as she jumped on the back of the Pegasus. "You should do the same." 

Raven nodded and watched as the Pegasus soared through the skies. Once he was left all alone, Raven's expression changed. His smile disappeared and was replaced by a chilling expression.

"Now then…" A black and suffocating aura enveloped his body, his chilling gaze turned towards the western gate as he whispered: "Let's deal with some worms, shall we?"

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