As Phoebe admired the scenery in front of her, she noticed an elf nearby trembling in disbelief. He stared at the sky, his fallen comrade split in half, and behind them, the enormous cracked slash stretched across the sky. Soon, it seemed he had thought of something; he gulped heavily and said:
"Blonde hair, magenta eyes, and a jet-black claymore… there is only one ranker known to be able to crack the sky with his claymore" the elf said through gritted teeth.
"D-D-Don't tell me… WHY ARE YOU HERE? Why, JULIUS VON TRINITY?" the elf shouted.
At the mention of that name, Phoebe instantly turned her head and stared at the man holding the jet-black claymore, thinking:
What!? He is THE Julius Von Trinity? The captain of all the rankers, the symbol of the Adventurer Association, and the only human permitted to enter the Inner Continent directly by the three gods themselves? That's really him! Her blue eyes widened in disbelief.
How could such an important person be here in the Outer Continent? Shouldn't he be in his home in the Inner Continent or at the Adventurer Main Branch in the Middle Continent? Phoebe thought, her eyes filled with admiration for the man's identity.
As Phoebe's mind raced with questions, Julius replied coldly to the elf:
"Hayz, guys like you always say the same words over and over. I'm getting tired of it. Why should you decide where I should be, huh? It doesn't matter where I am—as long as notorious criminals who wreak havoc exist, I will be there to hunt them down, even to the ends of the world."
A moment of silence fell over the surroundings. The elf's eyelids twitched as he realized he needed to act.
If I stand here, I'll be next. I need to run—but I can't outrun him; he's way faster than me. Wait… maybe I can… he thought, scanning the area before focusing on Phoebe, attempting to make her his hostage.
The elf charged at Phoebe swiftly. Julius, who was far from them, saw it immediately. He couldn't strike with a slash without risking Phoebe, so he chose to engage in melee, charging toward them instead.
Phoebe saw Julius' serious expression and where he was looking. In an instant, she noticed the elf's hand reaching desperately for her. Blue flames burst from her body, as if trying to protect her.
Blue flames? Did she recover a bit of mana in that moment? the elf thought. No matter, Julius is more of a threat. I still need to get her.
As the elf reached her, he was instantly cut in half. His eyes widened in delayed realization:
What? He arrived here in a blink of an eye?
The elf's split body fell. Phoebe looked up and saw Julius, who had been far away moments ago, now standing right before her. Her blue flames began to fade.
"So, you can use mana, little girl? Your future looks promising" Julius said with a confident smile, showing his teeth.
"Oh, it's our first time meeting, right? I am Julius Von Trinity, the captain of the Rankers. Nice to meet you," he added proudly.
Phoebe opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly her body felt heavy, and her consciousness began to fade. She fell, but Julius caught her instantly.
"I knew you'd be tired, little girl, after all you've gone through," he said to the unconscious Phoebe."I can see potential in you. I wonder how things will unfold" he added, smiling.
A girl's voice shouted from afar:
"Captain Julius! I'm here to report that the mission you assigned us is accomplished!"
The speaker looks like a nineteen-year-old girl with white hair and blue eyes. She wore a crisp sleeveless white military coat-dress with black trim, a short pleated skirt over black underskirt layers, tall white boots, and a high collar. Her arms shimmered with metallic iridescent patterns resembling dragonfly wings, and she wore a gold necklace with two wings, encircling a symbol marked with "A" above and "2" below.
She was a pixy, a race capable of using their metallic-coated arms to sense and gather mana from the environment, allowing them to recharge mana endlessly.
"Oh, there you are. How were things on your side, Kiara?" Julius said, smiling.
She was Kiara Cosmi, an A-rank Ranker, second among all A-rankers. Famous for her extreme agility and speed, she was known as the Light Speed Knight across the three continents.
"We successfully hunted down all 26 hidden members of the Dusk Lost Society. Based on our interrogations, they had 30 members assigned by their leader to obtain the ancient artifacts. Now only four remain, and they will be completely wiped out. I assume they are somewhere near this area" Kiara reported.
"Among them, did you perhaps encounter any commanders?" Julius asked coldly.
"No sir, only four captains. The rest are normal members," she replied.
"I see. Those commanders really love hiding while their men do the dirty work," Julius said irritably.
"By the way, sir, we encountered something strange while dealing with the Dusk Lost Society" Kiara said.
"Hm, what is that?" Julius asked.
"When we arrived, most of the Dusk Lost Society members were already casualties" Kiara said, puzzled.
"Casualties? Do you know why?" Julius pressed.
"After interrogating them, all said the same thing: after obtaining two artifacts, they were attacked by an anonymous group wearing pitch-black visors over their eyes, attached to circular white masks and cloaks with two wings pierced by spears on their backs. That's why the Dusk Lost Society units were scattered everywhere," Kiara explained.
"So another group or organization was involved," Julius concluded, puzzled.
"Oh, did you recover the artifacts?" he asked.
"No. When asked, they said the artifacts were with a human called Captain Jude, with a marked with a red cross on his forehead. I assume he's someone you've crossed paths with," Kiara said.
"Oh, the dead guy on the cliff was a captain. But when I arrived, he was already dead, and the artifacts weren't with him or the other three members" Julius said.
For a moment, he paused as he remembered the crystal-blue rapier with Phoebe.
"Oh, I know where one of the artifacts is — it's the rapier this little girl is holding," Julius said, looking at the unconscious Phoebe.
Kiara closed her eyes and concentrated, sensing the rapier's mana.
"Captain, this rapier is now bonded with her mana. It has formed a soul bond," Kiara said.
"Now that can't be good! HAHAHA!" Julius laughed.
"Captain, this isn't funny. We don't know the artifact's threat or its name," Kiara said worriedly.
"What can I do? If an ancient artifact forms a soul bond, there's nothing I—or even the three gods—can do to fix it," Julius replied, smiling.
"There is a solution, Captain. If we kill her, the soul bond ends and we can retrieve and seal it" Kiara said, with determination in her eyes.
As she unsheathed her silver sword, Julius blocked her path.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there, Kiara. You can't kill her. She's the child of my trusted friend. If we do that, he'll hold a grudge towards me until I die. Besides, this girl has the potential to become a ranker one day," Julius said seriously.
Kiara paused, astonished. This human girl has potential? And not only that, Julius himself acknowledged it? she thought, a hint of jealousy in her expression.
She sheathed her sword and composed herself.
"Understood, Captain. But what if the artifact becomes dangerous?" Kiara asked.
"Do you really need to ask? I will handle it myself," Julius said confidently.
"Understood" Kiara replied.
"Anyway, it's time to take this girl to her orphanage. Also, tell our men to collect the bodies of the four dead people—one on the cliff, three in the forest," Julius instructed.
"Understood, sir" Kiara said.
Julius carried Phoebe in his back walking toward the orphanage while Kiara went another way. As he walked, he looked at the horizon. The sun was rising. He smiled and said:
"Sunrise in the Outer Continent really is the best" he murmured, then continuing toward the orphanage.