Way of the Knights

---

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

Loud explosion of colorful lights covered the skies of Ancient Elysium Sect, causing the disciples to feel alarmed and curious as to what was going on. 

The explosives were followed by deep echoes of large bell tolls, raising the level of the commotion by a notch. Now almost everyone on the sect went out their abodes and raised their heads-up high to see what this noise were all about. 

"Everyone, let us all welcome the glorious return of the Heroes who surmounted the arduous challenges of the True Olympian Climb!" The loud and crisp voice of the Sect Master jolted the attention of everyone, causing them to gasp in surprise. 

To those who heard and knew about the True Olympian Climb, their surprise was understandable. Still, even with this announcement, some people find it difficult to believe this news. 

However, when the scattered lights on the skies formed five faces with their names, their disbelief was flushed and replaced by utter excitement. The sect wouldn't bother showing the faces of the people who surmounted the climb if the news were fake, would they? 

The faces of Henry, Logan, Theo, Charles and Raven were shown in the skies, allowing everyone to take a look at them closely. 

"It's the War Gods! Of course! Only they have the ability to surmount Mount Olympus!"

"Hail the War Gods! Everlasting Victory!"

"Awesome! As expected of my Idols! I too will someday make it to the peak of Mount Olympus!"

"War Gods! Champions of Mount Olympus! Haha, this is great!"

"Hey, who do you think that last person is?"

"Beats me. Never heard of him."

"He's hot. I wonder what his name is?"

"He looks young too! I wonder how old is he?"

"Well, he did reach the peak of Mount Olympus along with the War Gods so he must be an old fossil too. He probably had a technique that allows him to retain his youthful looks!"

"Pfft!" The War Gods who were trying to stay low profiled couldn't help but to spew a peal of laughter when they heard the remarks about Raven. 

"That hurts actually." Raven's mouth twitched as he heard the whispers around him. "Damn, people can be mean sometimes huh?" 

The group who's faces were currently projected at the skies of the sect, we now under a disguise as they walked towards the Storm Dweller's peak to report back to the Sect Master and Grand Elder. 

"Don't mind it too much...old man - Pfft!" Logan said while covering his mouth. Raven glared at the guy and the rest as well to prevent them from even trying to follow Logan's lead. 

"He's right about one thing..." Theo said seriously, which somehow convinced Raven, but: "...old man - Pfft! No! Wait! Hahaha! Okay, all kidding aside...don't mind it too much. Just remember their faces for now and punish them once you inherit the sect master's position."

"Hey! Don't give him any bad ideas!" Henry rebuked Theo, slapping his shoulder while he's at it. 

"Calm down, Raven. Don't stoop that low." Charles tried to convince Raven but seeing the feral grin on the latter's face, he knew that it won't work. 

"Too late...I've already memorized their faces." Raven said, "The moment I become the sect master, I'll immediately enlist them to a Crusade. Let's see if these people dares to call me Old Man again." 

The War Gods involuntarily shivered as they heard the venom on Raven's words. Logan and Theo looked at each other with wry smiles. Now, Raven would most likely send them too since they too called him and Old Man. 

Raven sighed and said: "Well, all kidding aside. Let's hurry. I want to return to my bed. Additionally, I feel something weird happened while we were gone. The atmosphere in the sect feel extremely strange." 

The War Gods perked up once they heard Raven said that. Of course they knew that Raven was kidding about the whole 'Old Man' thing, in fact he couldn't care less about what others think of him and he surely wouldn't stoop down to their level. That's just how Raven is. 

Right now, what truly concern them was the thing that Raven pointed out. They too felt that the atmosphere within the sect feel somewhat weird. 

They got thus impression as soon as they entered the gates. It was intuition that tells them that, they couldn't see any concrete proof but as experienced people, they knew when to trust their intuitions, and this time is considered one of those times. 

They decided to disguise themselves in order to not raise unnecessary commotion. Thankfully they did so since this way, they could observe the situation more closely. 

Raven had his eyes open and scanned every disciples they encountered. There seem to be nothing wrong with them in the surface but he had this sneaking suspicion that they were hiding something. He doesn't know what it is but he's sure about his conjectures. 

This feeling just became even stronger the more people he came across with. He opened his ocular technique to try analyzing their states but to his surprise, he could barely get a read on them. Everything was blurry and that almost stunned him to place. 

It was as if there's something or someone who deliberately hid the information from his eyes. 

Raven furrowed his brows as the unrest on his chest felt heavier. Without him even noticing, he picked up his pace, somewhat surprising the War Gods. However, even though they were surprised, they didn't ask any questions since Raven would most likely not going to be able to answer them, they just returned with him after all. If they don't know anything, how could he? 

They just thought that Raven was truly worried about the well-being of the sect, which is why he's in a hurry, and the War Gods respect that. In reality, their assumptions were correct, Raven indeed feeling a little bit uneasy right now. The feeling of being left in the dark never felt comfortable, so he wanted to learn what happened while they were gone. 

Due to them quickening their pace, they got to the Storm Dweller's Peak - the mountain where the Sect Master and the Grand Elder resided. The moment they cam close to the gates, it opened by itself and allowed them to enter. 

Raven didn't even stop on his tracks, he didn't even consider the fact that they might be granted entry. Thankfully, his assumptions were correct. Well, even though it wasn't, this gates wouldn't stop him anyway. 

As they climbed the mountain, a grumble escaped Raven's mouth, followed by: "Ugh, I'm having some unpleasant flashbacks."

The War Gods could only smile wryly at that. Raven probably developed a slight loathing in mountains from now due to what he previous experienced. Well, it's not like he could change anything right now. 

The team got to the peak rather swiftly, and just like before, as soon as they approached the gates of the abode, it opened on it's own and granted them entry. 

Raven went straight towards the backyard since he already felt their presence in there. Right now, his face shown a somber looks as the unrest he felt earlier became stronger as soon as he entered this place. 

As soon as the team arrived at the backyard, they immediately found four people resting in there, smiling at them. They were of course the Sect Master, Grand Elder and their wives. 

Out of habit, the War Gods was about to kneel down in front of them but their actions froze due to the sight of the Sect Master. 

"S-Sect Master!" Henry's voice trembled as he hurriedly slid in front of the Sect Master in horror. He was followed by the rest as well. 

All of them, were looking at the empty sleeve of their dear Sect Master. 

The Sect Master was seemingly unaware of their horrified faces as he looked at them fondly and with gratitude: "It's good to have you all back. It seems that you've gained a lot from you trip, I can feel that your way stronger compared to the last time I see you."

"Never mind that Sect Master!!" Logan raised his voice in panic and alarm. "Y-you...what happened while we were gone!? Why is your left arm missing!?"action

"Ah this...well, it's quite unfortunate actually - " The Sect Master's eyes landed at his heir and his smile became brighter as if he just saw something that made him feel gratified. "Welcome back, Junior Brother."

Raven fought the urge to click his tongue upon seeing how the Sect Master just tried to divert the attention. He walked up to him and unceremoniously lifted his sleeve to reveal something that caused the stomachs of the War Gods to lurch. 

A horrible wound, black, veiny and pulsing as if alive, could be seen from the severed stump of where the left arm of the Sect Master were supposed to be. The smile on the Sect Master's face disappeared and was replaced by helplessness instead. However, he was quite surprised to see Raven's impassive expression. 

Raven turned to Alwina - the Sect Master's arm and asked: "You have the severed arm with you right? Give it here, let me see it." 

His words shocked the daylights of the listeners.