Chapter 101: Prelude

These events occur a few weeks after the appearance of the gigantic vortex above the capital.

In the following days, a public announcement was made and shared throughout the kingdom, an announcement that caused panic among the population: the appearance of a S-Rank Rift, just above the most important city of the Kingdom.

All political sections had come together for the largest historic parliament since the creation of the Code and laid bare the truth about the Twilight of Gods.

One man led the parliament, Agiel Elysium, an elegant blond man with strange ties to the dean and Queen.

He was careful to create a story without mentioning the existence of the Sin Avatars and the true concept of the Twilight of Gods, Midgard was also protected.

His first step was to define the Twilight of Gods as an S-rank Rift with a very high energy level.

The power of the thing far exceeded the capabilities of the royal knights, he moved on to his second stage, which was to unite the power of the three main forces of the kingdom: the Guilds, the Royal Knights, and the Holy Knights, to create the most powerful team of emissaries in history.

The third step, probably the hardest, was to evacuate the people from the capital, nobles, normal citizens, and even weaker emissaries. The formidable team could only have the strongest so the weak among the Guilds and Royal knights would be evacuated too, a big humiliation for some.

Finally, the last step was the introduction of the kingdom's special weapon, a boy with strange powers, an anomaly among the strongest, trained in a secret program for that day.

At that parliament, only Dora and Candace were allowed to attend, but the official presentation of the team was planned for the following day, in the biggest arena of the kingdom where were gathered the greatest families among nobles.

The noble families, the knights, and the parents of some were assembled in the arena for the biggest event.

In the middle of the arena, was a platform on which Agiel stood, making a speech in the honor of the nobles present.

The emissaries from each faction were separated into groups, and so among the group of Royal knights in apprenticeship, Hope stood still.

He carried a large sword on his back, black leather clothes, and styled his hair with gel.

With his hands in his pockets, he had joined the council group, almost late, but didn't seem to care at all.

During the speech, he showed his boredom by yawning for a long time, to the great distress of the council members, and would release his aura to threaten anyone who called out his behavior.

"Oops, I can't really control my energy, don't provoke me please."

It was his excuse most of the time, a pretext to show off his power.

He had been doing raids many times a week for months and his level had greatly improved and was clearly showing off his power to his comrades.

"This is so boring, I hope it won't last long, there might be another Rift for me somewhere."

He said nonchalantly, next to his comrades who looked at him with contempt.

(There hadn't been any Rift for days you idiot...)

(Could you just shut up?)

On the platform, Agiel finished his speech to the cheers of the audience and turned towards the groups of emissaries.

"Now everyone, without further ado, let's proceed to the most awaited part of this event, the presentation of the members of the special force that will lead a raid in the world above us. So a little reminder, the people who will be called have been chosen based on their power, prowess, status, and rank. For example, if someone is S-rank, but due to his nature of Hand, would be weaker than an Avatar, he would have less chance to be selected."

Murmurs rose from the audience, mostly annoyed.

"I understand your concern, but it's a matter for the future, we can't allow everyone to go there because we don't have the certainty that everything will go right. Try to understand us, we may lose the principal forces of the kingdom, we can't afford to sacrifice all of you. So now, please, allow me to introduce our heroes."

A group of people in white armor walked forward, led by a man with long black hair, and tired eyes who sent a chill to Hope.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the strongest faction of the kingdom, the Holy Knights, led by Saint Peters."

The 10 knights lined up straight, next to each other and Peters in front.

The audience gave them thunderous applause, encouraged by Agiel.

"Thank you very much. These persons are the strongest heroes our kingdom can possess and it's a pleasure to see the love their people have for them, and now, the second group, the strongest guild members."

About thirty people climbed onto the stage, of all ages, dressed differently, mostly guild leaders.

They emanated a sensation of superiority difficult to describe. There were the people considered the strongest by the common people, those who were personally involved in A and S-rank Rifts.

Most of them were figures well-known in the kingdom.

They aligned behind the Holy Knights, under the acclamations of the public.

"Finally, the last group of the team, ladies and gentlemen, please applaud our royal knights!"

This time, the public remained silent, because of the strange scene in front of them.

At the announcement of the Royal knights, only Elizabeth mounted the platform.

She stood still, next to her comrades, looking serious.

"My, my apologies, it appears that I forgot to specify, like I said, only the strongest are allowed in this team, and it appears that after Lady Elizabeth, the next strongest person is an A-rank archer, so let's applaud the kingdom heroine to put a name for the Royal knights!"

He started applauding, soon followed by the public embarrassed.

In this scene, Elizabeth didn't seem bothered at all.

She looked proudly in front of her, thus, the acclamation increased.

Hope watched the scenery, lowering his head, but not because he was feeling sad, more to hide himself.

"I won't look up to you again, just wait a little, you'll be surprised."

Agiel finished his applause and turned towards the group of academy knights, the moment many had been waiting for.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, once again, following my explanation, we don't have the pride to show off our Royal knights but we may actually have very talented people to cover this role in the future. The people I'm going to call now have been part of a secret training program for months, in preparation for this special day and their power has been evaluated at least A-rank. They are knights, nobles, and peasants, the perfect alchemy of our demographic, so now, please, allow me to introduce you, to these people."

Hope raised his head and clenched his fists, once again, he released his aura to the displeasure of his comrades.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the dean of our knights' academy and her students."

Candace walked onto the stage, followed by Iris, Freya, Mercy, and Zuri.

The public, firstly in shock burst into cheers when they realized the identity of the girls.

The daughter of the Astaroth, the genius of the Avalon, the sister of the leader of the Holy Knights, and then a perfect nobody.

But this casting already constituted a fabulous spectacle and filled them with great hope for the upcoming raid.

On his side, Hope rolled his eyes.

"So we meet again? Not really surprised, you were above me last time... but now..."

"And now, the followers of these ladies, the future of the academy!"

Hope released another wave of energy, this time, strong enough to be noticed by most people. historical

On the platform, Agiel was wearing a mischievous smile.

(Calm down, dear friend, I've already noticed you.)

"It appears that one of them is a very special case, so we will introduce him separately because this one is a knight who really impressed us, with his determination, his power... His lineage, so don't worry if you don't hear your name right now."

Hope's eyes widened and an uncontrollable smile spread across him.

"... No way... I can't believe it... it's finally happening..."

He started to tremble, unable to control his own body.

Agiel held out his hands towards the knights.

"Come forth, Cid Barron."

Cid walked toward the platform with his traditional smug.

People applauded him greedily, recognizing the student responsible for the best performance in the entrance exam.

He stood a little farther away from Candace's group and put one hand in his pocket.

"Uh... Boastful, but wait for my turn." Hope grumbled.

Agiel, hiding his smile, turned towards the audience.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited moment, the following person is... The hero of this generation, someone with... a wonderful record in the Rifts, coming from the countryside and good acquaintance of Lady Elizabeth, come forth."

He held out his hand exactly in the direction of Hope who took a deep breath of air and walked forward.

"Anesidora Carper."