This story was supposed to come out a long time ago and for that me and my friend need to apologise for the delay. Still, the next part to the story is here and we hope it is sufficiently responsible. Update will be weekly. Enjoy!

1.1

A less than warm welcome

Eons ago, there was chaos, pain and suffering. Until the Divines came and liberated this land for us. But they couldn't have done it without the help of those who have given their life. The town Saragarhi, resting place of one such hero, invite all those with a fire in their heart, burning with the desire to serve Eden and the Divines. Come join us in this glorious celebration, where we can test our mettle and rise up in this time of turbulence.

Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!

Johann von Brandt crushed the poster in his hand, energy coursing through shredding the piece of paper into pieces.

"Blasphemy, for them to organise this without permission"

"Well, I don't remember there is any rule forbidding them to do so~" Interjected Alva, who cackled at him for being, in her own word, 'overly serious' "I want to see it, this festival. It would be lovely"

"Lovely? I won't allow it to go on!"

"Ah, don't spoil the people fun like that, Jo~ Come on, you tell him, Cas"

Before Johann could object, their final member Cassian, stepped in "She is right, this is tough time and I am sure the people of Saragarhi know it. This would be a good opportunity for them to build confidence alongside neighbouring towns"

"I… guess you are right"

As usual, Johann stepped down in front of his best friend. He could never talk back to Cassian, that curly haired gentlemen.

"That was fast" Said Alva, pouting.

"Shut up, we have business to attend to"

Johann snapped at Alva, who sighed and continued on in silent. Yes, they were here on an important errand, assigned to him by mother directly. The three of them needed to fetch travellers from another dimension, summoned here to aid Eden in her time of need.

Ridiculous.

The nation was at stake and mother decided to seek help from a useless bunch who probably couldn't even wield mana properly. Even though she had her children, Johann and his siblings (maybe not Willow), whom she could rely on. If push came to shove, mother could call back the Remnants, all powerful fighters that once fought for Eden.

Why even went out of her way to call upon these people.

Nevertheless, it wasn't Johann's jobs to challenge her.

The trio proceeded to an oversized tree of dubious origin. Bulges ran along the brown body, making the plant nothing but obnoxious to look at. So here was where they would set camp, waiting for the people which may or may not be summoned here.

Alva, however, had no intention of doing that "This is strange" The girl commented and hurried toward the repulsive tree.

What a strange sight, Alva being serious about something. Despite growing up together, Johann couldn't remember her being this proper. The girl was wearing pants instead of dress for once, even her twin tails were tied together.

As Alva approached the grotesque tree something plunged down at the girl.

Before she could realise what was going on Johann was already by her side. Cassian followed and quickly dragged Alva out as the young man swung his pole arm upward.

Sparks flew as the steels clashed.

The ambusher pushed at Johann's polearm to fling himself back, landing gently on the ground. He donned robe with malas around his neck, but most strikingly was a smooth white mask fitted perfectly around his face.

"A Fallen!" Exclaimed Cassian.

"Be careful, they always come in group of three!" Alva yelled at Johann.

Just when she finished, the ground busted open to reveal two other Fallens, hiding there all along. The young man readied his polearm, a naginata, for battle.

His direct opponent seemed to have no desire to fight though. The Monk spun his spear around jokingly before sitting down with a thump. He motioned his aides to come, 'let's see what the child of the Divine can do'.

"So you are a Captain" Johann commented and the Monk nodded.

The Fallen always came in a squad of three. Their leader better than his aides in every way, he was also the only one who retained a certain amount of identity.

Johann turned around to face the two aides motioning toward him.

He gazed at Cassian, his own aide would know what to do. Alva, meanwhile, could just stay away. Breathing deeply, the young man suddenly did a backflip, striking at the Monk sitting behind him. Johann had no time to deal with the small fries, no he would cut off the head of the snake first.

The Monk simply hopped up over the young man blade, taunting him.

Mana coursing throughout Johann's blood vessels in an instant, his body toughened, the young man threw out a series of lighting fast stabs downward all the while remaining on the air. The Monk, however, weaved through the attacks like an eel.

By the time Johann's foot touched the ground again he had thrown out more a dozen stabs, all with deadly force. His opponent was unharmed, except for his clothe, and still had no intention of retaliating. Behind the young man the aides were approaching fast, Johann was surrounded.

"NO!" Alva reached out but is stopped by Cassian, he could see what his childhood friend was planning.

"Too simple"

Johann muttered, having heard so many stories about these Fallen, he had expected them to be more of a challenge. All of the blows aimed downwards weren't without purpose. No, they served to plant his mana onto the ground.

With just a click, ethereal naginatas sprouted from the seeds, blossoming around Johann.

His opponents fell to the ground. These translucent polearms were very much deadly.

"It's… beautiful" The girl commented, seeing this attack for the first time. Cassian looked on with pride on his face. Now that was the prowess of a von Brandt.

But there was no time to spare, however, as the bulges on the tree started to move and fell off. The layer of balk broke immediately. Inside those were… people, the summoned.

Despite knowing it was rude to set expectation, Cassian couldn't help but feel excited for the arrival of these supposed heroes. But the real thing couldn't really live up to fantasy, no matter how low you set the bar.

In front of the trio were seven individuals. At least the person closest to Johann seemed promising, a mercenary of considerable statue. He immediately jumped onto his feet, holding a zweihander, a giant sword.

What about the others, they didn't seem like the heroes Eden needed. One was a man in ragged and chains, his face covered by a steel helmet. Near him was a young woman holding a small bag, looking around in confusion. Then there was a bald man with sunglasses, wearing a white suit and colourful tie.

The final three was an old lady with one leg. A teen in some sort of blue costume with holes, something was wrong though, he seemed to be in great pain. The final summoned was a boy in rag, impossibly malnourished, his limbs like twigs, ready to snap in the wind.

"wHaT a DIsaPpoInTmENt"

A voice rang out around Johann. The young man looked around, it came from the Fallen, the same voice on all three. That was when he notices something crucial, there was no blood on the ground.

The three Fallen leaped back to their feet, the Monk with an extra step of flair.

"SUrpriSe?"

To made matter worse, from behind the great tree then came another group of Fallen. Their Captain in chainmail and white cloth, holding a kite shield and sword, the Crusader was ready to kill for any cause remotely justifiable.

"Alva, leads them away now!"

Johann beckoned as the Monk aides jumped at him, one holding a curve sword, another a rapier. The two attacked furiously, pushing the young warrior back. He could definitely take them on one on one, but this was too much.

The Crusader and his aides stormed the ground only to face with the man in chains. Not a big deal, he thought to himself. To the Captain surprise, the man leaped forward without hesitation toward the aides. They tried to struck him down to no avail. The man used the chain that bind his arm to wrap around an aide's halberd and spun it, taking the weapon for himself.

'This guy's trouble. I need to cut him down quick'

Taking that halberd back was priority right now, the Crusader charged toward only to be stopped by an invisible wall.

"I haven't been sitting around doing nothing!"

Cassian declared. Like his friend, he could throw out clusters of mana. But his seeds condensed the air around them instead, forming invisible defensive shields. For now, he had isolated the Crusader who, as a Captain, was a dangerous target. As much as he wanted to help Johann, Cassian needed to evacuate the summoned.

The Monk, however, finally decided to do something. The Captain leisurely bounced toward his target with frightening speed. Cassian tried to set up another wall but the Monk wasn't going to have any of that. From the way dusts were blown and condensed he could see where the walls were forming.

He jumped up gleefully on an incomplete wall and bounced up higher with his enhanced strength. Totally unnecessary seeing that he could just squeeze through the gaps before they closed but this way was more enjoyable. Being this high, the Monk could feel the wind blowing past his face.

The Captain plunged his spear down at the nearest target which turned out to be the one-legged lady. What a shame, but a job was still a job.

Cassian sprinted at the old lady but he was simply too far and he already spent most of his mana already. From the edge of his eyes, the young man could see someone. It was the bald man, coming to the rescue. But there wasn't enough time to carry her out.

The Monk found his new target, at least this guy who wanted to play hero would be more tasteful than a disabled elderly. So how would you accept this spear.

The answer was with flashing white rows of teeth!

In a move no one could predict, the bald man bit at the tip of the spear. A… bold move but the force was too much, no matter how many time this person brushed his teeth. Realising that, the bald man immediately parted his feet from the ground to let his head fell down along with the spear.

Interesting reply but this wouldn't last a single second, the Monk knew what would happen next but he still waited for the unexpected and his expectation was soon rewarded.

The bald man extended his legs forward while his right arm swung down to touch the ground. But he hadn't prop himself up just yet, that would mean a spear through the head. Oh no, the man bended his arm and as his elbow soon to approach the ground, he knows it was now or never.

With his right arm on the ground, the bald man spun his head also to the right along with the whole body. Of course, the head must also move to the left at the same time or the spear would just cut through his cheek.

A baffling move but it paid off. The spear was let go safely to plunge at the ground.

But that was not all, with the way his body is already moving, the bald man could deliver a kick straight to the Monk head. As soon as the spearhead touched the ground the Captain used it to swing himself away but couldn't fully avoid the kick. The tip of the bald man shoe was aimed straight at his neck, but the Monk moved his face down to let the mask took the blow in time.

Using the momentum of the spin, the bald man flipped back onto his feet with only some dirt on his sleeve. Meanwhile, his opponent was sent flying away tumbling on the ground.

Of course, all of that happens in less than a second and so Cassian couldn't even fully register what actually happened. Maybe these people weren't too bad after all… The young man noticed that something had fallen on the ground.

The bald man, during his mid-air spin, had dropped a magazine in his suit. The pages flipped open to reveal… poster of a girl cladded in bikinis cupping her chest suggestively.

The old lady next to him picked up the magazine and handed it back to its owner silently.

Cassian was having more doubts than ever.

His mind soon returned to the evacuation. The young man picked up the agonising teen while Alva took the malnourished boy in her arms.

"Go! I will hold these guys back!" Johann yelled at them.

"Please, follow me"

Alva called out in English, she was instructed to use this setting for first contact. It seemed like most of the summoned would understand it.

The bald man looked back with the intention of assisting Johann who was being overwhelmed fast. But the mercenary with zweihander motioned him to stop and pointed at the old lady. Despite being centuries and countless miles apart, the bald man knew what he had to do. He held the old lady up and evacuate as well.

The man in chain remained, however, seeing that the Crusade had finally broken Cassian's walls. But in that time, one of his aide was already slain, the other heavily injured. Despite being bound, that man had somehow managed to defeat two warriors with superior strength and speed. The Crusader couldn't even fathom what that man would be like without chains. But he didn't intend to let that ever happens, this summoned must be cut down.

Meanwhile, Johann was now battered, luckily, the enemies couldn't damage his leather attire. But the young warrior was at his limit. As the aide with rapier jumped in for the kill, he was pushed back by a powerful swing, it was the man with the zweihander.

"Need help! I am willing, with a price of course" The mercenary asked politely.

Judging from the weapon, Johann could guess what language this person speaks "No" He replied "I will buy you time, just run"

"Excuse me but you don't look very well"

"It's my duty, I will manage!"

Johann yelled out and threw out an attack but something was wrong, it was too slow. Oh right, he had expended most of his mana, now his body was severely weaker compared to the Fallen. One of them immediately dashed in before he could retract his naginata.

Before the curve blade could lobe off Johann head, the mercenary swooped in and parry the blow with his massive weapon. It was followed up with a devastating attack parting the aide of both his arms. His friend jumped in, his rapier out for blood.

The mercenary simply grinned and dodged, threw in the occasional deflects with his sword.

Johann couldn't believe what was going on. How could this man possible be… winning! The Fallen was stronger and faster, his weapon well suited for lighting stabs. And yet such a huge man with such cumbersome weapon could keep up so easily.

No, it wasn't about speed, the mercenary could see through the flurry of attacks such a childishly simple pattern. His opponent was skilled no doubt but something was wrong, as if the masked man had no battle sense anymore. He fought like a machine, devoid of improvisation and on the spot strategy. The mercenary could see an opening coming up soon as there it was as predicted.

With one fatal swing the aide stagger back, his head cut off.

"That is going to cost you boy, a Doppelsöldner like me ain't cheap"

"I am not a boy!"

"So you are a girl, pardon me miss"

"NO!"

The mercenary laughed at the frustrated Johann, but out of nowhere, a sword pierced through him from behind. It was the Crusader, with his second sidekick finally bit the dust, he wanted to deny his opponent the aide's sword, which would be much more useful than a cumbersome halberd. And so, he threw his own to injure a distant opponent who also seemed rather formidable while retrieving the aide's weapon for himself.

The mercenary immediately pulled the blade out and threw it onto the ground. He quickly pulled out some bandage to wrap around the wound in second. The man looked at Johann.

"Run"

"That again, I am not going anywhere. I am here to protect you!"

"Run" The mercenary stood up and said one last time. Johann was breathless in front of the towering figure. Such a presence, out of nowhere, was simply overwhelming. The young man bit his teeth and turned away to find his way blocked by the Monk.

"Hey" The mercenary called out "Check this out!"

The man spun his immense weapon around a few times before pointing it at the Monk.

"You are not like those two, I could see it. You can still feel it, no, you want it right, a good fight! WELL HERE I AM!"

Despite not understanding a single word, the Monk could sense what the man was saying. And well, the mercenary wasn't wrong. The Captain raised his spear, completely ignoring Johann. Leaving himself completely opened to the young man attack.

Johann was certainly tempted but eventually rationality caught up to him. If he even tried, then the Divine would no doubt be deprived of one heir.

And so, the young warrior, silently dragged his battered body away, blood dripped as he bit deep into his own lip. But even the pain couldn't overwhelm the shame and frustration within him.

"It's my job to protect you, darn it…"

Beneath this very tree a century ago, the Divines were cornered here. They survived, of course, thanks to one nameless soldier who held back the enemies to the bitter end. Oh, how history tended to repeat itself.

Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!