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Skyress8619: Greetings, readers, and welcome to the second chapter. A message from Yuki now.

Yuki: Well I was originally going to write the second chapter, since I was on school holidays, but life threw a curveball at me and shit came up so… *scratches head sheepishly* I handed over the task to Skyress here. It looks like the order will be: every first chapter by Girge, every second by Skyress and every third by me. Ah well, you'll have the great pleasure of reading my godly writing next chapter 'roud! *Sarcasm*

Jetstream Girge: Sorry for the wait everyone. Between work and getting ready for school, and these two's case going to school, getting out this update was difficult. But hey, better late than never, right? So enjoy!

Skyress8619: I deeply apologise for the lateness of this chapter, which was caused by my writer's block. I also do not remember whether the first chapter contained a disclaimer, so I will put one here.

Disclaimer: Girge, Yuki and I do not own Elsword. Elsword is owned by KOG Studios and its publisher such as Nexon and Kill3rCombo.

Chung found himself seated on a bench in an isolated place on higher ground, overlooking the capital city of Hamel. Up here, he could hear nothing, but it was most likely as busy as it usually was, with not only its usual citizens but perhaps tourists attracted by the beauty of it. These peaceful times had been going on for quite some time now since the defeat of the demons, but the Tactical Trooper was somewhat… unsettled.

It felt too peaceful… as if this was the calm before the storm. But Chung could never be sure. All he could do was train to keep his fighting skills in check. Even though the atmosphere was a bit uneasy for him, he still returned to that same bench that he was sitting on right now, to enjoy the view. Maybe it was in fear that he would not be able to come back here for a long time.

And that would be when something happened. That was what made him bring his Destroyer with him whenever he visited this place.

The Tactical Trooper had already trained himself to exhaustion this morning. His father had matters to attend to, so he couldn't spar with Chung then, promising the younger Seiker a sparring session after he had rested. He suddenly found himself nervous to face his father in a one-on-one fight. Taking back the White Colossus from demon control had almost costed the lives of the ElGang.

That was eight against one. Chung and some others had passed out mainly from sheer exhaustion after the battle was over. That was eight fighters to deal damage against his father. The Tactical Trooper bet that even if his father stood still and sustained damage, Chung would be the one to fall first.

Now that I think of it, I think I was being stupid when I asked Dad for sparring. At least it was training. The young Seiker could never tell whether something would threaten Elrios again. He hoped that the rest of the ElGang was training as well.

Chung's mind drifted to his friends that he had parted ways with. Elsword had taken in the power of the Dark El, a huge risk to his mental self, but he managed. His personality had changed as a result, but he was more powerful than ever. Now that he thought about it, the Infinity Sword didn't seem to be the kind of person to be training, unless he was being forced to, of course. And the only one who could do that…

Elesis, Grand Master and Elsword's older sister. She was the whole reason why the Red Knights were named so. She was still a commander of the Red Knights. Chung assumed that Elesis still held that position, and were still training the knights. The Grand Master was probably training the knights and herself to keep their fighting skills in check. Maybe she senses this calm before the storm, too.

Then there was Aisha. She had discovered her teacher's necklace, and now she wore an outfit that screamed magical girl. Elsword had laughed and teased, at first, but her powers were nothing to be messed with. She had gone off and joined a group of elite mages called the Trinity Circle, and was probably training there with them. The Dimension Witch had lost her powers due to some stupid ring years ago, and Chung wondered whether she had fully regained her powers yet.

Rena. The elf who joined the guild known as the Night Savers, eventually rising up the ranks towards the Night Watcher. She had cast aside her emotions, becoming colder, more serious and less friendly towards them. That had contrasted greatly from the Rena that the ElGang had first met. But she was still a somewhat motherly figure nonetheless. Chung remembered that the Night Watcher had detached herself from her friends to "fulfil her duty."

Raven had been the one who seemed to suffer the most when Rena left. The Veteran Commander was an older brother to the younger ones, Chung included. He always protected his friends, even if it meant getting himself injured, and the overheating capabilities of his Nasod arm granted him more power to protect. He had now gone and rebuilt the Crow Mercenaries, the group that he had been a captain of in the past.

Eve was also rebuilding something of the past, and in her case, it was the Nasods. The Code Battle Seraph was feared in the battlefield for her constant assault of lasers, and she was very capable at mechanics as well. She also maintained Raven's Nasod arm. Chung would often watch her do so, being interested in the technology, but it was secretly to be with her. The Tactical Trooper enjoyed her company; he had stopped denying it long ago.

But now Chung couldn't even visit her, mainly because his father had given him more tasks, and it was almost impossible to leave Hamel. Eve would also be too busy to come over to the Fluorine capital; and she needed a good reason to do so. What if she likes… nah. Some part inside the Tactical Trooper hoped that the Nasod had emotions, but there was another part reminding him that she had already terminated her emotions circuit.

A memory of Ara spilling water over Eve entered Chung's mind, and he began to chuckle to himself. She wasn't overly clumsy, but clumsier than everyone else. Usually it was her personality that kept the ElGang in high spirits whenever things looked grim; Rena used to do that long ago, the Tactical Trooper thought sadly. Even though the Sakra Devanam was like that outside battle, she was a valuable ally to have, possessing the speed that no one else in the ElGang had.

Her brother had turned him into a demon, and Chung understood when seeing Ara unwillingly fight against Ran. Just like Dad when he was under demon control.

Suddenly, he felt a chill creep up his spine, a feeling he became familiar with after the many perilous encounters he had alongside the ElGang. Wait… there's something in the distance. And it's not good; I can feel it. The Tactical Trooper picked up his Destroyer, going into a fighting stance and scanning the horizon for anything that seemed out of place.

His instincts were right. There was some sort of shadowy, snake-like creature approaching the city. It looked small from this distance, but Chung had already learnt long ago that sizes can be deceiving. He rushed down the hill, going back towards his own residence to get his Freiturnier.

"Guards! There's some sort of snake creature approaching Hamel!" He yelled towards the surrounding Guardian Knights at attention on the way.

"What? Where is it coming from?"

"Um…" It didn't take Chung long. "East! And it looks like it can swim and fly!"

"Right!" They quickly rushed off, probably to check out the situation. The Tactical Trooper soon arrived at that room that he kept his Guardian Stone in. He needed the Freiturnier.

The armour appeared around Chung and he grabbed a few Disfrozen capsules sitting on a nearby shelf, and ran back out again. Other Guardian Knights were also rushing to the scene; it was obvious that they had either been alerted or seen the massive creature approaching Hamel.

Finally, the Tactical Trooper arrived by the scene. However, there was no time to think, as a massive head with two fangs slammed where Chung was standing. That thing is fast! Recovering from diving to the side, he began to reload his Destroyer; the beast was distracted by the Guardian Knights there. Yells of both pain and commands filled the area; it had been a while since the young Seiker was in this situation.

The cannon was loaded completely with its blue and red cannonballs, but the creature, which Chung realised looked like some massive centipede, had already taken out more soldiers while he had wasted time. Damn it! I can't afford to stall while others are being hurt! The Tactical Trooper charged forward, his path changing into a winding one when the centipede fired a dark blast of energy upwards, raining lasers down on its attackers.

"Wonder Wall!" Shoulder guards appeared as he slammed down the Destroyer and a shield formed around Chung. That would make sure that if he got hit while attacking, he would not take much damage. Several other Guardian Knights in vicinity gained the shield too. It won't last as long as mine, but at least they're getting protected. We should be preventing as many casualties as possible and we need numbers to stop this beast from advancing.

The Tactical Trooper leaped up towards the head, swinging his Destroyer at the giant centipede. From the force, its head swayed to the side, but it quickly retaliated, rearing back and attempted to crush Chung in its fangs. The shield took most of the damage, and the young Seiker went flying backwards, quickly regaining his focus after he could have been killed. Luckily I set up that shield; otherwise I would have died right there.

Judging by how much damage the shield took, Chung knew that the Freiturnier would not be able to withstand the pressure. I have to be careful and dodge all of its attacks; all of them look deadly. A dark blast landed on the ground, and several Guardian Knights within the radius of impact went flying into the air, obviously half dazed. Damn it, Chung, hurry up and get your act together!

"Artillery Strike!" A reticule only Chung could see appeared, and the Tactical Trooper directed it to the creature's head, before firing a flare upwards with the Destroyer. Its head is probably its weak spot; doing damage to its body most likely won't do very much. Exploding missiles rained down, and the beast roared, possibly in pain. After the attack was done, it seemed to shake off all of the damage and lunged forward, knocking away soldiers that were in its path.

That was no use! This time, it opened its mouth, charging dark energy. The Guardian Knights ran out of its forward path, hoping to dodge whatever deadly attack came next. But no one, including Chung, knew that it had charged this quickly. The beast spewed purple flames from its mouth, sweeping them across the battlefield, effectively covering it until there was barely any safe place to stand.

Wait… Raven has used this strategy before, except with napalm fire. How did we get around that…? The Tactical Trooper desperately tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. The place where he was standing was still safe, but not only was he a long distance away from the beast, Chung had almost nowhere to run if the centipede used an attack. Alright, let's try to keep it flinching to wait for the fire to fade.

"Dread Chase!" He shot out several missiles from his Destroyer. They all split into three in mid-air and homed on the massive beast that seemed to be readying another physical attack. The rockets did enough damage to stop it, but Chung couldn't help but notice that he was enraging it even more. Don't let it attack!

The Tactical Trooper now realised that he ran out of cannonballs, and he frantically tried to reload all of them. The centipede reared its head and fired a dark blast upwards again. The darkness split into several parts, one of them aimed right at Chung. He wouldn't be able to dodge. He used up all the cannonballs he had currently reloaded to try and negate the attack, but it was useless. I have to hope that the shield holds.

Now he felt so relieved that he had put up the Wonder Wall at the beginning of the battle. Just as the thoughts passed through his mind, the shield's duration ran out and the protective bubble surrounding him was gone. I'm screwed. I think I'll be lucky if I survive. He braced himself, waiting for the blast to hit him. If he did survive, he would take serious damage and be unable to fight for a while. And that wouldn't be good, especially if this centipede decides to rampage through Hamel.

"Chung!" A familiar voice rang out. A huge shape jumped in between the Tactical Trooper and the dark blast, which then landed with a thud in front of him. The purple flames on the ground began to disappear, and the Guardian Knights came back up from wherever they were hiding, ready to continue fighting.

"Dad! Are you okay?" Chung rushed over to the white lying on the ground.

"I'm fine, you and your friends hit harder than that." The White Colossus stood up, looking unharmed.

"Do you know what that thing is?" The beast lunged with its fangs open again. The two Seikers leapt out of the way; their attacker almost crashed into a building.

"Ask questions later. For now, we just have to take this thing down." Helputt shot a flare into the sky, and Chung did the same.

"Whatever you do, dodge all of its attacks. You'll take serious damage if you're lucky." Four waves of bombs rained down, hitting not only the creature's head but also its body. It roared again, letting loose more blasts into the air. Dark lasers now rained down and tore through the entire battlefield, forcing Chung and Helputt dodge wildly. The Tactical Trooper tried his best not to think about the unfortunate soldiers hit by that attack.

"Wonder Wall!" The younger Seiker slammed his Destroyer on the ground again and bubble shields formed around Chung and his father. Just for safety measures. It's better being too cautious than not enough. The White Colossus thanked his son quickly before jumping up towards the head and swinging his Destroyer as hard as he could. The force nearly sent the head of the creature into the water.

The Tactical Trooper began to set up mortars, and he had already planted two in the time his father had bought. The beast retaliated by slamming its head down on the battlefield, crushing with not only its head but also its body. Chung jumped into the air to dodge the attack, and watched as the mortars he had just put down were destroyed.

He used all the weight that he could muster and attempted to crush the centipede's head with the Destroyer. The younger Seiker landed the attack, keeping the head on the ground for a split second longer before it reared back up again, with Chung still on its head. He clung on desperately with only one hand; the other was holding on to the cannon

"Don't fall!" Helputt yelled upwards. The Tactical Trooper honestly couldn't hold on for much longer, and trying to fire the Destroyer with one arm was extremely risky. Judging by the distance between the land and the sea, he wouldn't be able to make it if he used his a shot from his Destroyer to propel him in the air. Damn it, this isn't looking good. Chung would only be able to be safe if someone else came to his aid.

The White Colossus let loose a stunning war cry in attempt to help his son, but the beast only recoiled slightly backwards from damage. Something formulated in the Tactical Trooper's mind. I could try and swing myself to a standing position. I have nothing to lose, anyway. I have to hope that this works. He slowly swung himself from side to side; he was going to use a shot from the Destroyer to propel himself upwards and onto the creature's head.

When the right moment came, however, his glove gave away, and Chung ended up flying a little too high than he wanted to. As he landed, he staggered, threatening to fall backwards. Another shot from the Destroyer stabilised him, and his hope dropped as the creature began to shake its head, trying to get the Tactical Trooper off.

"I'm coming!" Chung noticed Helputt jumping up towards him, Destroyer raised, most likely to make a downwards blow.

The beast was too distracted. The cannon smashed into the centipede's head, and the younger Seiker swore he heard a cracking sound. He was suddenly falling very quickly, and felt thankful that he still had some ammunition left. Chung fired one shot, propelling him towards the land. Just as per his calculations earlier, he didn't make it, and he landed in the water.

It was then the Tactical Trooper realised that not only was he not able to swim, but his Destroyer and Freiturnier were weighing him down. He ran out of energy to stay afloat quickly. Am I going to die now? The thought was instantly dismissed as he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him and drag him back to land. Several waiting Guardian Knights pulled him out of the water, and Chung lay on the ground, not wanting to get up anytime soon. It was obvious that the beast was gone.

"Chung? You okay?" It was his father talking to him.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Just a bit exhausted. Swimming takes a lot of energy. And that fight, too." The Tactical Trooper replied while trying to regain his breath. He realised that Helputt was still in armour. How in El can he still swim with his armour on?

"If you want to know how I got to shore still in armour, I have something in my Destroyer to help me with that." Helputt seemed to read his son's quizzical gaze.

"I think that's something I need, Dad."

"I'll get it for you sometime, then. Didn't you want to ask questions? You sounded like you wanted to when I came in."

"Yeah. What is that thing?" Chung remembered.

"Its name is Drabaki, the Watcher of Darkness. It usually resides in Fahrmann Peak, and does not go out of there unless something enrages it or lures it out."

"Fahrmann?" The Tactical Trooper knew that Fahrmann was Ara's home.

"Yes, Fahrmann Peak. Someone must have lured Drabaki or made it angry for it to come al the way to Hamel. And it had to be pretty angry as well, because it is never seen in daylight." There was a silence as Chung processed the information."Especially if Drabaki would come to Hamel, which is a bit of a distance from Fahrmann, this has to have been deliberate. This is no coincidence."

Deliberate? Wait, does Dad mean-

"We have to be careful. Hamel is now in danger, and we need to get our defences ready. We can expect hostile Fahrmann troops to be coming here."

But… that doesn't make any sense! Why would they attack us, and what about Ara?

"I'll be talking to the other authorities about this." Helputt turned to leave

"But are you sure you're okay, Dad?" The White Colossus faced the Tactical Trooper.

"That wasn't much of a strenuous fight, anyway. I'll just dry off." Chung finally got up.

"I'll get dry as well and continue training for the day."

"Get some rest, Chung. Don't overdo yourself."

"Alright. Thanks, Dad. Let's go home for now."

"Good thing it's a bit of a distance to walk. I need to talk to you about something, son."

There was no way that the Red Knights were going to explain themselves any further. Aisha had no idea what was going on, but she knew that it wasn't good. Her instincts were right.

The squad of warriors charged towards her master. Has… has Master done anything wrong? I don't think so. By the fierce expressions on their faces, it was clear that the Red Knights were not willing to talk at all. We can only force them to talk, then. I hate to do this the way Elsword does things, but I have to act before I ask questions, otherwise it'll be too late. The Dimension Witch teleported beside the elder, but she realised there was no need.

The Elemental Master let loose a small electrical pulse. Aisha's reflexes were fast enough to put up a shield and protect herself, but the warriors were unable to dodge, all of them toppling to the ground. They were clearly unable to move, and the metal in their armour was conducting the electricity. Several of the Red Knights cursed under their breath as they tried to get up. None of them succeeded.

"I believe that this is a mistake." The elder spoke to the helpless warriors lying on the ground. "Who has sent you?"

"You don't need to know." The apparent leader of the squad spoke.

"I do need to know. This is so I can talk to the appropriate person to solve this issue without the need of violence. I do my best to avoid fighting."

"I refuse to talk. We won't reveal that information to you." Even though Aisha was only a short distance away, it still felt like she was not part of it. What in El is going on?! What did we do? Why are the Red Knights trying to kill us?

"I can always keep all of you here until you talk." And why is the person ordering them so important?

"… Fine. As long as you let us go afterwards. All alive." The squad leader realised that he didn't bring enough men with him; the leader of the Trinity Circle had just put up resistance, and if it continued, then unnecessary lives would be lost. The chance of victory was nothing, anyway.

"I promise." Aisha listened attentively, making sure she got every single word that came out of the mouth of that Red Knight. Just in case it involved any of her friends.

"All decisions to attack always have to pass through a system of ministers, who discuss the matter before action is taken. And this one was passed. We were given orders to take down this place." He spoke through gritted teeth.

There was a pause as the Elemental Master thought for a short moment.

"… Go on."

"The one who issued the order to attack, and also the one who wanted us to attack the Trinity Circle…" The Red Knight abruptly stopped, as if thinking to do something impulsive.

"I will keep my promise, and I expect you to keep yours."

Another silence. The next words that came out of the mouth of the warrior caused Aisha to freeze on the spot.

"Grand Master Elesis."

Skyress8619: Yes, this chapter is considerably shorter than Girge's, and I could have lengthened it, but I realised that another action scene was unnecessary. Yuki will be taking over the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Skyress8619: Again, I apologise for the delay for this chapter, and I will also apologise for Yuki, who is a lot busier than I am. Thank you all for your support with the reviews, favourites and follows, and this is all especially helpful to Yuki, as this is the first Elsword story that is on her FanFiction account. And… that is all I have to say. Please continue to support us.

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