Angel Monarch

A new morning's sun illuminated the land of Europe. All seemed relatively peaceful as the warm early May air breezed through the large continent.

The sunny day felt pleasant as the warm wind danced around grassy plains, flowery forests, stoic mountains, and dangerous seas.

The warm wind reached every part of Europe, like an unstoppable wave. A harbinger of the approaching violence, pain and destruction.

It didn't stop upon reaching the cities of Europe. It moved around buildings, entered open doors and windows, bringing its pleasant warmth inside every household.

But these cities' dwellers felt none of it. The houses stood empty, with doors ajar, leaving most belongings untouched.

A few individuals made their way towards the nearest bunker, while most left their homes during the prior night.

Large, sprawling cities full of millions of citizens stood empty. Their homes, their lives, their future danced along a tightrope, with eternal suffering and endless destruction waiting below.

Bunkers, built by the survivors of the Apocalypse, used as safe havens against monster attacks, now hid the citizens from their own kind.

The wind continued, unperturbed by the lack of humans. It reached the walls of cities, where soldiers stood ready to take on any threat. It found the military encampments, prepared to lay siege to cities and test the soldiers upon their walls.

Everyone felt terrified. Both attackers and defenders appeared conflicted about this war. They all heard their own leaders' propaganda and understood the reason they fought for, but in the face of imminent war, their fears became louder.

They knew the fighting was pointless. In a world already destroyed what reason they had for more bloodshed.

But there was a deeper power affecting everybody. Humans are creatures of emotions and rational thought. Combatants on both sides recognized surrender offered a straightforward path to the avoidance of conflict. But surrender meant defeat, and nobody wanted to lose.

Both the Federal Alliance and Napoleon spun their stories about a better future, a united Europe. Most citizens didn't believe their words of peace through war, but the soldiers, especially the Evolved, ate up the propaganda.

The Angelic Order tried to convince as many as they could, but their plates were already full of helping citizens. Throughout the past month, they rescued millions of citizens from New Paris, Madrid, and other city-states.

But their job didn't stop there. They also spread the word of Lady Seraphine, collecting people for their cause. These new agents helped dissuade regular military officials from following orders, but the Evolved, as always, stayed prideful.

They would rather follow orders they didn't agree with, then turn their back towards their duty. Several developed inflated egos, resulting in the deaths of numerous agents. Other Brothers and Sisters hunted these individuals down the next day.

The Angelic Order accepted if they refused their help, but they couldn't turn away from the merciless massacring of their fellow Brothers and Sisters. Their judgment was quick, and their blades true. Each day, the number of bodies grew.

As the last night ended, the Angelic Order within enemy territories prepared for the war. They made sure all the citizens hid safely in the bunkers, then when the sun rose, they waited for their Goddess's signal!

Sera stood alone atop a lone stone outcropping within the sea. Behind her, New Athens stretched far and wide, but the Deathless Phoenix's gaze turned away from her famous city.

Her eyes scanned the farthest point of the western horizon. There, close to a thousand kilometers away, a lone island awaited her. She couldn't see it, of course, but she knew it was there, waiting, calling for her return.

As the sun continued crawling upward, Sera sighed deeply, and eventually turned away from the endless Mediterranean Ocean.

On the shore, her friends and family waited. Each wore their armor and held their weapons. They all stood prepared for war. Above, a small army of hippogryphs circled above, with the two largest: their king and queen—Kastral and Alyrine—leading them.

A small, sad smile appeared on Sera's face. Unsure of their fate or their chances of survival, she took solace in the collective determination of the people present to fight for justice, peace, and revenge.

Sera spent a few seconds observing everyone.

Her eyes landed on the fifteen men and women in dark armor, with a snake biting its tail on their breastplate. The Ouroboros Cohort, now their number increased by both Percy and Kathy, stood strong and ready.

In front of them, their leader's, David's dark skin glistened under the warm rays of the sun. Cass stood by his side, wearing a rainbow colored armor seemingly made of glass.

She worked hard on her Heritage and with the Professor's help; she was now ready to take the next step towards becoming a Stellar.

Close to them stood Damien and Agnes, hand-in-hand. The white-haired man shook from excitement and vengeance.

Other than Sera herself, Damien had the most reason to hate Harold. Sera wasn't certain about the details, but what Bea told her ignited an even deeper hatred in Sera's heart.

About fifteen years ago, Damien lived happily as a low-level Evolved with his family. He had a beautiful pregnant wife, a nine-year-old son, and a calm life.

Damien avoided talking about specifics, but after a bit of prying, Bea got the full story from him.

One day, he came home to an empty house with signs of fighting. He knew his family was in trouble, so he did his best to find the culprit.

After about a year of searching, he found Harold and his family. Both his pregnant wife and son got turned into horrible monsters who tried killing him.

In self defense, Damien killed both, then tried ending Harold, but he was too strong. For reasons unknown, Harold left Damien alive, and enjoyed as he scoured Europe for his trail, only to be defeated again and again.

This vicious cycle only ended when he ran into Otto, and he gave Damien a job in another Realm. He found tranquility, briefly, until a coincidence brought Harold back into his life.

Now the call for revenge echoing louder in his mind than ever. There was no going back for him. Damien would rather die than failing again, and Sera felt similar.

Close to Damien and a bit farther from the rest stood Jill, with all her wives and husbands. They stood in their black armor, ready for a crusade through fire and blood.

Sera never imagined they would be such great friends and allies for her cause. Same with Frank and his mad explosive making team. They weren't present on the shore, since they were hard at work, making more explosives for the front lines.

In the middle of the formation stood a few strange individuals.

Four women, one towering and powerfully built, wore an intricate golden armor and carried a long golden spear.

Next to her, a much smaller girl, similar in height to a child. Dark green, snake-like scale armor covered her body, and she held two green blades in each hand.

To their side, two women with normal height and build wore the exact same electric blue armor. They each had a longsword, which resembled their armor in both style and color.

The four stood at attention, same as the young pair in front of them. It was strange to see Adam without his robe, but today he wasn't the High Priest of the Angelic Order, but the commander of an army.

Covering his tanned skin, an armor of sand and glass reflected the bright sunlight. His towershield and greatsword rested nearby, but made with the same materials as his armor.

Lilith continued wearing her robe, since when the fighting will start, she won't stay in her human form. Her Heritage didn't provide her with any armor or weapons, but it greatly empowered her transformation.

A bit further away from Lilith and Adam stood the rest of Sera's friends.

Leslie, in his hellish armor and wicked halberd. Sarah, with her dark gray armor resembling stormy skies, and her light blue trident.

Will wore his dark blue armor seemingly made of fish scales, and to his side, his spear and shield rested. Next to him stood Lucy, with a truly terrifying outlook.

She stood in a void black armor, but it had no helmet, only a hood, which revealed even more darkness within. Her hand held a dark scythe, ready to claim the lives of those who defied her. A dark green smoky aura filled the air around her body and weapon, giving everyone chills.

James stood a few steps away, with Mary at his side. He wore a bionic metal suit of armor. On his hands, weapon barrel like protrusions glowed with deadly energy. He had many other tricks up his sleeve, but they stayed hidden away.

Mary wore a similar armor, albeit hers wasn't an actual Item she could summon or dismiss.

Sera was against her coming along, but they might need her scientific expertise, so James and Mary easily convinced her.

Two individuals, a man and a woman, stood before everyone else, their eyes resting upon Sera, full of devotion and love.

The woman, her best friends through most of her life, Melinda. She wore an armor which was a mix of blood-red and greenish bits. Her weapon, an overly long odachi, stabbed into the ground. They both gave off a disgusting atmosphere, making everyone nauseous if they stood too close.

Only Bran could ignore the smell, since his mind was too focused on his lover. He wore his usual golden armor and longsword, nothing special like everyone else's.

Sera watched everyone, taking in all their expressions, ranging from boredom to excitement, anger, sadness, happiness, and emptiness.

Her eyes stayed glued on Bran for a few moments, before she took a deep breath and whispered into the wind, seemingly to nobody.

"Come out… I have a gift for you before the day starts!"

Behind Sera, her shadow moved unnaturally, taking shape. Dark tendrils moved out of the dark ground until a black armored woman knelt in front of her. Behind her back, a long black cape danced on the sea's refreshing breeze.

Faith didn't say a word. She just dismissed her helmet, letting her black hair dance to the wind's music too.

Sera said nothing else either. In her hand, a lone Item appeared, and she gently placed the circular object atop Faith's head. As she touched her dark hair, she also transferred the Item to Faith.

The moment it touched her head, she glanced up at Sera with confusion. On Faith's head, the Midnight Crown rested, one of the few Items Sera actually kept to herself.

It wasn't anything special. It gave all her devoted followers more power in a general area. The crown's strength scaled with her Ascended status, but its range wasn't the best, so Sera didn't use it much.

"Since you are my Shadow, my followers are your followers too! Now rise Faith, and spread the word! The Deathless Phoenix marches to war!… Let chaos spread!"

Faith's eyes turned teary, then she nodded and dissolved back into the shadows, but she didn't stay near Sera. Her Shadow disappeared and began her journey around Europe.

In the next minute, she would deliver Sera's message to every city-state within Europe, and the war will officially begin!