Whose faith was stronger?
Whose loyalty to their god outweighed the other's?
The Ninja or the Wolf?
As the struggle between the two reached its climax, the crescent weapon shattered.
The roar blasted Canary away, sending him into a mountain, cratering it significantly. A flash of light sparked, and an explosion rocked the mountain's bedrock, destroying it.
Canary stood there, bloody and fatigued, but his faith not wavering.
Fenrir knelt, his body and his soul more fatigued as the whiplash caught up to him. "I gotta tell Caesar about this."
Further away, the prince fought against his adversary.
Chalybe and another of the thief stared at each other from a distance, their gaze heavy and strong. Fenri reached for his bow, and the thief reached for his rifle.
The two marksmen dashed through the barren lands, firing relentless waves of bullets and grace arrows.
The thief was a rather humble lady. She wore a white bodysuit decorated with golden accents. Unlike others, her entire face was masked, but her white and black striped hair was free, with a large sniper rifle in her grasp.
Chalybe kicked a boulder into little pieces and kicked the largest piece towards the thief. As the thief aimed to destroy the stone, it stopped mid-air. Chalybe appeared behind the rubble and shot the thief, who narrowly dodged it by a hair's breadth.
"Oh, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah," The thief thought. "He's a very strong and tricky fella. Calm your bones, Warwick, calm down the bones."
The thief aimed at the ground, and the bullet ricocheted and struck Chalybe's armour.
"Oh, nice bullets," Chalybe commented.
The two opponents created space between themselves, firing shots and arrows at impossible angles and range.
"She's good," Chalybe thought. "I feel like she is leading me somewh... oh, I see it now."
Chalybe quickly turned mid-air to stare into the crimson eyes of the large leviathan, and 25 bullets came at him from different angles.
"Perfect, Castle." Warwick commended her beast.
"I'm toast," Chalybe thought. "I don't want to, but..."
The air suddenly felt heavier, the Grace in the vicinity felt more exotic, and a burst of Divinity and heavenly power pierced through the sky.
The bullets bounced off a powerful defence, and the beast of the ocean froze in fear, detecting a magnificent but threatening presence.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT," Warwick stared, dumbfounded
"I can't deny it," Chalybe sighed. "I am a Nephilim, whether I like it or not."
Chalybe's eyes glinted as he flew beside Warwick.
"He is way too fast," Warwick thought. "Why do nobles get power and wealth?"
Chalybe was 3 times larger, with a large, jagged horn protruding from his hair and a semi-circle halo levitating above his head.
Blue tattoos spread across his face, and his voice became more hollow, divine and commanding.
As Warwick tried to aim, Chalybe grabbed the rifle and snapped it. He drew his bow back, and a much larger arrow was knocked into it.
"I am so sorry," Chalybe said as he took the shot.
Warwick stared at the divine arrow pointed at her face, but she merely broke a sweat.
"I don't care if I die," Warwick said, her voice serious and rough. "But I ain't bowing to you."
Chalybe's eyes were sympathetic and warm. "I never asked for that."
Aurelia danced gracefully.
She dodged through the bites of the leviathan and the claws of the thief.
Aurelia equipped her dagger and stabbed the thief in the palm. She jammed her weapon and her enemy's hand into the ground, leapt from the hilt and landed with a powerful axe kick to her skull.
But the kick was blocked by the other thief's arm, which enlarged dramatically.
"A titan, I see." Aurelia thought. She dashed away as the Leviathan attempted to consume her.
The three flashed through the entire battle with unbreakable focus and indomitable will.
The thief had wonderful caramel skin like Zeus and wore the same bodysuit as Warwick, but it was sleeveless and decorated with a short white jacket.
Her entire mouth was masked, and her only weapons appeared to be her muscular arms.
As the Leviathan dived for another attempt, Aurelia disappeared.
"Are you shittting me?" The thief bit her lips. "Stay sharp, Thea."
Aurelia appeared atop the thief and landed for another axe kick, but the leviathan interrupted it. Aurelia and the thief continued to clash, creating shockwaves and sparks.
Abbey and Aurelia both landed a hook, pushing them apart.
"You really are a master of feints." Aurelia commended, which surprised even her.
"Oh, I took notes from the lying nobles who took my future, literally," Abbey inhaled sharply. "Let's fight then, one liar to another."
"I summon the scorched earth of the futile war."
"The eclipse hidden, the stars afar."
"Bless me with the heart to understand."
"Neverland: Ancient ruins of the Charred Motherland."
Aurelia found herself in a peculiar setting. She was trapped in a large throne room, the walls burnt and destroyed, the ceiling scarred and smeared, and the throne burning.
As Aurelia took a step, Abbey appeared beside her and gave her a devastating hook to the chest, blasting her away.
"What's wrong, can't lie now?" Abbey screamed.
Anytime Aurelia moved, Abbey would appear instantly and land a powerful attack almost impossible to dodge.
Aurelia removed the pin from her hair, letting it fall. "I need to get out of this place immediately."
Aurelia sprinted, but Abbey appeared beside her. Swiftly, Aurelia countered with a punch to the gut.
"I knew it," Aurelia smiled. "This Neverland is still far from complete."
Abbey spat out blood, her eyes burning with rage. "So what?"
Aurelia made an evil grin. "It means it is incapable and unsuitable. The rules are simple: if I move, the Neverland displaces you to my destination, allowing you to attack, while weakening me and strengthening you. Isn't that right?"
Abbey was shocked, her mouth left ajar. "Uh, no."
[It represents the fall of the famous Titan city, Gunjabo, when the enemy attacked anytime their soldiers moved]
Aurelia chuckled. "Word of advice. When picking an opponent..." Aurelia raised her hands elegantly. "Make sure it's not me."
"With souls and heart heavy and hardened."
Neverland: Aphrodite's Shadow Garden."
Abbey found herself in a more peculiar setting.
She found herself in a garden, where all flowers, fruits and vegetation were black.
Butterflies and Flutterbies carried the colour of darkness, and a large Oberon statue of Aurelia dominated the epicentre of the domain.
"Why do you fight?"
Aurelia's laughter echoed through the arena, which made Abbey alert.
"Dissapointing," Aurelia's voice blared. "Even though my Neverland is far more incomplete than yours, it disappeared with no trace."
Abbey was annoyed. Her opponent was bratty, egotistical, clever, bewitching, alluring, beautiful...
"What da..." She fell to her knees, her breath becoming laboured and her strength vanishing fast.
Furthermore, she couldn't get Aurelia out of her head.
"You are in love with me, aren't you?"
Abbey's eyes drifted towards the statue, as Aurelia sat elegantly in one of the hands. She didn't know why she wanted to lick her feet.
What was this?
Aurelia appeared in front of Abbey, her form appearing godly and tempting. But her alluring aura was destroyed as Aurelia kicked the thief in the face, sending her flying through the garden.
"You aren't a rebel," Aurelia scoffed. "I am."
The future knight continued to unleash rows of punches, and Abbey didn't know why she was allowing herself to be attacked.
"You aren't fighting for freedom."
Abbey gnashed her teeth. "What have you done to me?"
"You don't even know what you are fighting for."
"Don't test me!!" Abbey shouted. "Who are you to tell me what I fight for?"
Aurelia grabbed the thief by her collar, stepped on her chest and landed with an axe kick.
Aurelia giggled as she continued her onslaught. "I am a child of Deadelus."
As Abbey tried to throw a punch, her hands fell to her legs, cowering before Aurelia like a desperate dog.
Aurelia calmly raised the criminal's head and smiled. "Moral Lesson of the day: Find what you are actually fighting for. You are a disgrace."
Aurelia punched the thief out of the Neverland, colliding with a stone pillar. As Aurelia was about to breathe, the leviathan appeared behind her, its jaws successfully in the perfect range to devour the genius.
But the beast was smacked by the body of another Leviathan, the two monstrous creatures tumbling back into the sea.
Aurelia turned her eyes to see Izobel standing over her opponent victoriously. The two girls stared at each other before rushing towards their goal.
Caesar and the leader of the Silver thieves, who wore a simple white suit and an eye mask, were battling relentlessly, both sides refusing to slow their tempo.
Caesar brought his cleaver down on the thief, but it was easily blocked. As Caesar's head began to spin, he grinned wildly.
With a squeeze of the trigger, the pipes exploded, as two bullets were fired into the thief, blood staining the white attire of the leader.
"Impressive," The thief surprisingly smiled. "What prodigies my team has encountered today."
The thief punched Caesar away, but the prodigy grabbed the edge of a pillar, spun himself around, used his cleaver to slice off a piece, and kicked it in the direction of the thief. As the thief was about to jump over the rubble, Caesar flicked his hands.
"Boom."
The rubble exploded, catching the thief off guard as he received the brunt of the explosion. Caesar walked towards the site of the explosion, and the thief surprisingly walked out, his white attire spotless.
"Why are you attacking us?" Caesar said. "What have we done to deserve this?"
"Nothing really, young man." The thief said. "My name is Gatwick, and my team are on a mission to fight back the nobles."
Caesar tilted his head, beckoning for an elaboration.
"Do you know how many people die every day due to stabbing, hunger, corruption, thirst, and disease? All of them died because of the thing we call the 'devil', ranking living things on a fake scale created out of greed and gluttony."
"So that is why you are creating this conflict?"
"Not conflict, young man, revolution," The leader smiled. "You won't understand the pain of the poor. Your father is nearing the title of the richest man in Zion. You can eat warmly, sleep comfortably, love freely, work happily, even... even... laugh genuinely."
The leader wiped his eyes, removing any incoming tears. "Pardon me, it seems I am getting broody. I am a noble, like yourself, and I won't stand to watch our people oppress the disadvantaged because of what? Money? Power? How big can you throw a party? It's disgusting."
Caesar took a deep breath. "I believe you live in Ebony, correct?"
"Truthfully, young man."
"Well, even though I can't understand the pain of the oppressed, I refuse to believe Zion would build that kind of structure. Zion would never think about..."
Suddenly, the thief began to laugh. His laugh was loud, genuine, and uncontrollable.
"Naivety, young man, so naive." The leader touched his ribs. "ZION IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED."
Caesar's brain short-circuited. "W-what?"
"The corruption, the destruction, the history of an empire once brutal," Gatwick smiled. "I have seen into the history of Zion, history that the king is willing to put a royal bounty on my head. A royal bounty of 2,000,000,000 Freys."
Caesar's legs felt heavy, and he could sense something was wrong.
The eyes of the Silver thieves glowed, and the group quickly held their weapons.
"There are 4 levels of currency," Gatwick started. "Ikol, Thork, Freys and Nairo. The king is aware of what I know, and he immediately placed that bounty on my head, not too high to arouse questions, but not too low to enforce urgency. And do you want to know what's more interesting, young man? Your father is in it, too."
Fenrir stared as Canary stood up from the former mountain.
"Took you long enough, Gat."
Chalybe aimed his weapon at his opponent, who emitted a thick, purple aura of pure destruction.
"My brother is really doing it?"
Gatwick's white attire glowed with brighter intensity, his power seemingly multiplying every second. The thief appeared in front of Caesar, causing the paragon to draw his sword, but it shattered on impact.
"Should I tell you the story of Zion, the most evil empire in existence?"