Eternal Elysium

The next day arrived, but surely it was far earlier than one might imagine.

I gazed at the grey sky and then at Summer and Chris walking toward me.

"Morning… You two woke up early."

"Early? Captain… All I know is that it's morning." Chris muttered and rubbed his hair, letting it slide away from his eyes.

"It's around 6 in the morning." I said, and leaned back on the stone pillar.

"Why do we always get early jobs?!" Summer grumbled, her brown hair neatly tied in a ponytail. She wore a uniform similar to Chris, consisting of black and white. It seems to be the standard one provided by the Temple.

Mine was a little different even compared to other captains, only because of the white star embedded at the center of my uniform. This was the symbol showing my connection to the Temple.

The people working in dead zones belong to different factions; some were from noble families belonging to the kingdom, while others were part of the guild and the Temple.

But at the end of the day, all of them were busy saving their lives.

"Where is Enzo? I don't see him here." I asked, looking around, but no traces of him could be found.

Just as I had asked my question, I saw a silhouette come out of the storage area.

Enzo, wearing a military uniform, came running, his hair now shorter than before, reaching till his neck. His face was a little pale as he finally reached us, his breathing short and ragged.

"You are late."

I said, eyeing him.

Chris and Summer gave him a curious look as well, as if seeing this for the first time.

"Sorry… Huff—"

Enzo took a deep breath and finally stood up straight.

"I was getting a new weapon… My old one broke and went missing."

"Alright, make sure it doesn't happen again." I said and took a step forward.

The trio stared at me for some time, and then Chris raised his hand, asking for permission to speak.

I nodded.

"Captain Asher, are we going to begin the mission today only?" Chris said, with a contemplative look on his face.

"Yes, our mission today is to scout the hills and create a map for it. After the reported avalanche, the surroundings have changed a lot." I answered calmly and raised my brow at seeing Summer's lips starting to twitch all of a sudden.

"Is there any problem, Summer?"

Chris chuckled, seeing his sister's face almost turning red in anger.

"She is the reason behind it, and she is regretting it now. I think so."

"Ah."

Summer didn't answer back like I had expected her to; rather, all she did was give a tired nod. Her face, blank, totally devoid of emotions.

'Wow, she actually looks dead inside. Was it that bad? No, but blasting a hill, really? That sounds great!'

Just as my thoughts started to move towards the hills' destruction, Chris' words suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts.

"All of that is good, Captain, but don't we also need to—"

"Let's leave; we should not wait any longer." I interrupted him in mid-sentence and turned away.

I had deliberately kept my words as vague as possible, but it looks like last night's briefing was not enough.

But it was okay; nobody was perfect in this world. Even gods, from my view, were not perfect; the eater of despair, the creator of white flames, was living proof of this.

If those outer gods were like that, then humanity was far better without them.

"Ugh!"

Walking straight, I held my head tightly, groaning at the sudden pain that hit me.

"Sir?" Enzo, behind me, asked with a worried look. I glanced at him, squinting my eyes to clear my blurry vision.

Finally my mind went hazy; a clicking sound spread through me, as if someone had closed a door.

But—

"Hmm?"

'What was I thinking about?'

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I looked around in confusion; Enzo, Chris, and even Summer were staring at me with a weird look on their faces. My brows furrowed together as I asked, confusion evident in my voice.

"Did something happen? You all are making weird faces."

"No, nothing." Chris said, shaking his head, at the same time he took two steps back.

Enzo sighed, shaking his head as well.

I frowned and ignored them, feeling my head throb in pain.

'Maybe the sky really gives headaches.'

I shook my head as we came out of the walls.

Outside the world was barren and desolate, as if cursed and forsaken by Goddess Celestia. It did have plenty of greenery and flora, but it was scarce and pretty much looked dead. Otherwise, all I could see were mountains and small and large hills along with rocky plains. Certainly not a place for humans to live.

To the west, smoke made the grey sky appear even darker due to the volcano, and to the east was a dark forest;calling it a swamp will be better due to the musky lands.

Therefore,

'The central base is biggest due to the need to tackle all the sides.'

This was the conclusion I had reached after all the observation, and it was very logical as well, knowing that they will probably end up fighting everything at once one day.

Hopefully that never happens; otherwise, no one in the world will survive to see the next day.

***

Asher and his team moved slowly through the empty lands, their steps steady and cautious.

"Hey Enzo, is this guy really trustworthy?" Chris whispered as he watched Asher move at the front line.

Their group was made of experienced members who had gone through all kinds of things in their lives, plus nothing has really changed in the group battle format. Chris was ahead of everyone along with Asher, and Summer was behind them to deliver long-range attacks. Enzo, being the most versatile in a way, was everywhere he needed to be.

But currently they were pretty relaxed, as the land was empty with no creatures from beyond in their view. Obviously they had not let their guard down, but due to the landslide everything was chaotic; even the monsters themselves were in disarray.

"I don't know."

Enzo shook his head.

"This guy might actually be worse than the 2nd division captain."

"I agree… Does he also have dementia? He was holding his head and in the next second talking as if nothing happened."

Chris answered back, not hiding his worry.

"Let's just hope he is strong." Enzo muttered in a small voice.

Summer, seemingly done with them, ignored their talk, her eyes etched on Asher's back. To her he was, as they had said, a man with a weird personality.

The first impression matters, and all he had done was scare them.

Giving a cold look and then acting as if nothing had happened on the wall was anything but sane.

"Captain Asher, I detect some monsters ahead."

Enzo warned, his voice stopping everyone in their tracks.

"How far?"

Asher asked, eyeing them back with a somber expression.

"Something around fifty meters… though I can't tell how many correctly."

"Still, do you have an estimate?"

"Twenty, give or take."

Asher nodded.

"Let's clear them out."

They nodded as Chris stepped forward, taking his spot as the vanguard. "Just as he thought Asher would step back," he suddenly said.

"Let me be ahead."

"Huh?"

Asher smiled, seeing Chris's face stiffen in place.

"Don't worry. Just don't slow me down."

Chris' lips twitched; he craned his neck back, glancing at his sister as Enzo had already stepped inside the shadows.

'What should I do?'

His face seems to be asking.

Summer looked at him, her bronze skin glistening under the grey sky, as she shrugged, not sure what to say.

They started to move through the hilly land, as behind the pile of fallen debris finally something came into view.

And then—

A roar, an unbounded scream, echoed as a creature jumped in their direction.

It was sudden and very quick. Something Asher has never experienced before, but it didn't mean he couldn't react.

The world was slow in his eyes, and then the monster froze in the middle of its jump.

It's time frozen.

Before Chris could have moved his spear forward, Asher summoned his crystal-like black sword and appeared near the newborn in split seconds.

Then the creature's head dropped with a wet thud, its body collapsing before it even registered death. A single slash, a gentle and swift move, was all it took—it never stood a chance.

"Isn't that?" Summer whispered upon seeing the crystal sword, her finger moved to point at Asher as Chris nodded.

"Yes, it's that sword. The one that guy took."

They didn't seem to care that the beasts had noticed their presence in the open. The more important matter seems to be finding if their suspicion was true or not.

"Are you all just going to stare?"

They turned their head from the sword to look at Asher, who was smiling for some reason.

"Ah."

Boom!

Not wishing to be left behind, Summer fired an explosion right at the middle of the monster's group, scattering them away like birds flying away.

"We will find out later anyway… Let's get this over with first." Chris muttered and stepped forward. His spear came down, slicing the air as a creature with its large arms and legs came forward. The beast drummed its chest and then crushed the ground beneath him.

Chris stared at it for a few seconds before moving his spear forward, as invisible slashes came cutting through the air, hitting the beast.

The group of beyond monsters were led by several beasts; if a team of awakeners were to face them, they would certainly be wiped out.

However, it was not the case for this team.

After all, they were made of only awakened warriors.

Something no other division had.

Following the initial attack, no one stood still; even the monster scattered away smelling the human scent, feeling their origin flickering under the grey sky, and came back.

They finally lunged forward, filling the desolate and ashen land with their howls as they moved forward.

Asher didn't give them time either.

He moved with a speed that was hard to be followed by eyes. Whenever he came near a monster, they seemed to slow down. His sword would strike them with a clean slash, each giving wounds that were deeper than the last.

Then his steps carried him to the sky, as if walking on the land and the sky were similar in nature. Asher placed his foot on the air and again stepped on it. His boots seem to be still and unmoved for split seconds before moving and taking another step forward.

With an effortless set of moves, he reached the monster's top.

Tiiiisp!!

Its fur was thick like concrete, but even then his blade plunged inside, making the creature roar and move in pain.

The blade turned darker, its enchantment activating as the next strike became even deadlier.

The stab went deeper and twisted inside as blood pooled on the monster's back.

And then—

Thud!

The creature fell.

On top of the fallen beast Asher remained still for a few seconds; the monster's blood suddenly spread, webbing on the slim sword.

Asher, seeing this, smiled darkly, and then took the sword out with a small swing in the air.

Not waiting for the monsters to come, he moved forward. His steps again carried him to his next target.

Enzo, while supporting them with his onyx arms, noticed a particular style Asher sword seemed to follow. While deadly and precise in moves, it was rough around the corners; obviously, Enzo was no expert in swords, but he could tell Asher was not experienced in using swords.

But he was still more skilled than most.

'And it seems to be suited to fight humans rather than creatures from beyond.'