Chapter 101: Prelude

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. n--0velb1n

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

(Could you just shut up?)

"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.

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."