R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 35 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 35 (in editing-v4)

In a large, central room within the Rushing River Sect Headquarters, a hidden meeting was taking place.

Sitting around a large, circular wooden table were a group of diverse figures. The room was well lit, with several glowing crystals on the wall providing plentiful, warm yellow light.

“Thank you all for coming today in a timely fashion. I’ve called this emergency meeting here because a matter of great importance has come to my attention.” The Nirvana Saint’s voice was grave as he looked at the others at the table.

Sitting directly to his right and left were the three remaining Knight Commanders of the Grey Knights: Bevlin Petrov, the Sun Knight, Yun Chen, the Cloud Knight, and Francis Dubois, the Sea Knight. They represented the strongest Ability users in the Church on the Second Layer, each one a fighter that was just a step away from becoming a Supreme Warrior.

All three Knight Commanders were dressed in silver metal plate armor with the insignia of the Purgatory Church emblazoned on it, following the Grey Knight directive of always being prepared for combat.

The Vile King’s infiltration into the Purgatory Church had proven to be deep and infectious. Originally, the Church’s hidden army had possessed 6 Knight Commanders.

3 of those Knight Commanders were Seeded by the Vile King, 2 of which the Nirvana Saint had captured, while the third escaped when Constantine pulled his forces out of the Second Layer.

Beyond the Knight Commanders sat Director Prime and Yvvtal the Destroyer, both dressed in casual attire. In terms of strength, the Nirvana Saint placed each member of that duo as comparable to one of humanity’s Barons, or at least at the level of a Supreme Warrior.

Next to Director Prime was Captain Sprel of the Farian Shadow Guard. The Nirvana Saint didn’t have an exact read on his strength, but felt he wouldn’t be any weaker than one of his Knight Commanders. He wore the customary grey leather armor of the Farian Shadow Guard.

Finally, the last member at the round table was Ambassador Leila Williams from the Human Alliance, the acting representative of Baron Fortuna. She was dressed in a slim white dress that contrasted well with her dark skin tone.

“Just what exactly occurred to rush us all in here, human?” Yvvtal immediately interjected, drumming a few fingers on the table top impatiently.

“I do have things to do besides play with you all.”

The three Knight Commanders bristled at Yvvtal’s disrespectful tone, calming only when the Nirvana Saint waved for them to settle.

“For the sake of brevity, I’ll jump straight into it. After taking into account the information shared by a mutual ally...” The Nirvana Saint gestured with his right hand in the air as he referenced Micheal,

“The Church’s intelligence forces have been hard at work and, recently, have come to some unsettling revelations. The Six Lords have been making very suspicious movements.” His eyes grew dark as he went on,

“Far to the west of us lies one of the Six Great Sects, the White Mountain Sect. In that territory, another invading species like humanity landed in the Second Layer: the Orkal Race.” The Nirvana Saint continued,

“To the south of us lies the Ground Demon Sect, another of the Six Great Sects. In their land, the invading species known as the Rakkonians landed.”

“We know all of that, Saint. Get to the point.” Yvvtal interjected.

The Nirvana Saint glanced at him before nodding slightly.

“Very well, my impatient friend. We have received reports that both the White Mountain Sect and the Ground Demon Sect have begun to enslave and imprison all members of the races that landed within their territory.”

The silence was stark as the Nirvana Saint revealed the startling news. Captain Sprel’s eyes widened as soon as he registered what was said, his face twisting with worry as he comprehended the implications.

Yvvtal simply nodded along at the leader of the Purgatory Church’s words, as if it was nothing surprising. Prime, on the other hand, clenched his fist, a hint of anger appearing in his eyes. If nothing else, the Director abhorred anyone who forced their will upon others.

“Have these reports been confirmed?” Ambassador Leila broke in, her British accent strongly discernible.

“They have… and it gets worse.” The Nirvana Saint waved his hand, spawning into existence a golden book. He opened the book and turned several pages until he landed on a specific spot.

“The Church has managed to confirm that the Six Lords are not actually Byrens, but instead another species impersonating a Byren Martial Artist… and, as of today, we know both their plans and the motive behind them.” As he spoke, the Saint of the Purgatory Church pulled several documents from within the pages of his golden book and tossed them out, floating them into the hands of everyone at the table.

“The Six Lords are planning on enslaving not only humanity, but all species that aren’t Byrens on the Second Layer. Then, after they successfully seize control…” The Nirvana Saint’s voice took on an ominous tone,

“They plan on sacrificing us.”

The stark silence from earlier grew poignant for a few seconds before an explosion of murmurs broke out.

“What?! Why?! What actions are they taking?!” Ambassador Leila sat up sharply, her eyes going wide.

“Have they already moved against humanity?” Director Prime’s voice was somber, but his eyes blazed with an intensity that was difficult to ignore.

“How terribly cruel… is there word on them targeting the Farians?” Captain Sprel queried.

“About what I expect from a Dark Wraith. Maniacal ghosts, the lot of them.” Yvvtal snorted.

The Nirvana Saint held up a hand again as he continued his explanation.

“We don’t know all the specifics. What we do know is that the Six Lords are confirmed to be Dark Wraiths, a species that was driven to extinction long ago.” He gestured down at the documents he had passed out,

“We believe their goal is to sacrifice humanity, the Orkal race, the Farian race, and the Rakkonian race in a complex ritual to attempt to resurrect their own kind.” The Nirvana Saint pointed to several photographs that were in the sheets he passed out.

In those photographs, there were several enormous campsites that were crisscrossed with tens of thousands of glowing glyphs, spread out over several different locations. Some were placed in mountains, while others were in grassy hills or even open fields. All of the pictures had one thing in common: an ominous, black Aura that fluttered around the glyphs, and thousands of Byren Martial Artists standing guard.

“Historical records show that the Dark Wraiths were slaughtered by another ancient race, the Torens, more than a millenia ago.”

Yvvtal’s eyes flared at the mention of his own race. His uncaring, casual demeanor vanished as he grew completely serious and still, focused on every word the Nirvana Saint mentioned.

“Have the Byren Sect Leaders agreed with this? Aren’t most Martial Artist Sects supposed to uphold virtue and bravery as their core tenets?” Captain Sprel broke in, his voice cool and impassive.

The Nirvana Saint shook his head.

“The Byren Sect Masters have pushed back against the Six Lord’s actions, but the Six Lords are the de facto leaders of the Six Great Sects. They are overwhelmingly strong and have the respect of the Byren people. No matter how much they disagree with them, they won’t directly rebel.” The leader of the Purgatory Church rubbed his eyes as he finished, a small frown appearing on his face.

“From their perspective, we all are invading species that have no right to be here in the first place. They understand that we didn’t come here of our own volition, but the appearance and spread of the Darmaton Plague has killed off any potential support we might have gotten." The Nirvana Saint went on,

"Among the Byrens, it's widely believed to be a curse or disease brought from outside worlds...” His voice trailed off. 

That particular belief was, coincidentally, very close to the actual answer. The Plague had been magically engineered by the Vile King, so the guess was not far off from being correct. 

“Surely once they learn the Six Lords are impersonators and not real Byrens, their opinions about them will change.” Yvvtal interjected.

The Nirvana Saint shrugged.

“They might, my friend, but so long as the Six Lords are still alive, they won’t take any action that goes against them. The influence and strength that the Six Lords possess commands too great a sway.”

“I’ll need to inform my people immediately. We have an open line of communications with the Rakkonians. We should be able to confirm their situation within 24 hours.” Captain Sprel spoke out.

“We hold a similar point of view. The Human Alliance needs to be alerted and prepared.” Ambassador Leila immediately agreed.

“We might not even have time for that.” The Nirvana Saint pulled out a new sheet as he silenced the discussion once more, pointing to it as he sent copies floating around the table.

“Two days from now, the Six Lords will target the Human Alliance Headquarters in force. Their goal is to kill Baron Fortuna and take control of humanity.”

Director Prime’s face stiffened as he heard those words. A split second later, his face went impassive, any hint of emotion vanishing. The Nirvana Saint caught that, picking up on one of the very few tells Prime had for when he froze time for a long period to think.

“Once the Six Lords mobilize their armies to target us, there won’t be any going back… and if humanity falls, the Farians’ demise will follow shortly after.” His eyes gleamed with passion, looking into the faces of Director Prime, Ambassador Leila, and Captain Sprel one by one as he spoke.

“If we don’t stop them here and now, there will be a war between races that will wrack the entire world for years to come.”

The Nirvana Saint correctly predicted the onset of the Great War.

“We cannot just sit here and wait for our destruction and demise.” The leader of the Purgatory Church snapped shut the book he held, his words resounding in the air, powerful and full of promise.

“Then, are you suggesting…” Prime led the Nirvana Saint on, gesturing for him to continue.

The Saint put on a smile that failed to reach his eyes.

“The Six Lords are expecting to ambush an unprepared group of easy targets in two days. The Darmaton Plague has started to hit the Martial Sects hard, and, as a result, the Six Lords themselves will personally take part in the attack. They're seeking a painless victory to serve as a distraction for the Byrens." His eyes smoldered as he went on, 

"We don’t have much time to plan, but two days from now is just enough time to coordinate a strike between all of us.” He looked around the table from face to face.

From out of his Spatial Ring, the Nirvana Saint withdrew a small, silver dagger.

“When they swoop in for the kill, that will be the moment we fight back.”

The Nirvana Saint threw down the dagger towards the center of the table.

With a resounding thump, the dagger sank into the wood, piercing through a photograph that he had tossed out earlier:

A picture of humanity’s Spawning Grounds, where the countless evenly-spaced trees that humans teleported to when they arrived on the Second Layer existed. Fortuna’s Human Alliance had moved their headquarters to an open, treeless area within the Spawning Grounds, to better manage new arrivals.

"When they come for us..." The Nirvana Saint's voice dropped to a deep, almost guttural growl.

“We come for them.”

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