Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 507: Black Aegis, Move Out!

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 507: Black Aegis, Move Out!

Oscar trailed a path through the blanket of snow on the terrace, a great tower from where the once brightly-lit and grand busy city was covered in snow, the great roaring fires and countless lanterns all waned away throughout the night. The simple crunches of his feet ignited small flames, melting away the chill that tried to worm its way through the soles of his shoes. As the snow around him melted, Oscar picked up a bundle and rubbed the snowflakes around his palm. The same unnatural feeling lingered on his skin as if the snow was alive and biting into his flesh, leaving blue spots wherever it stayed.

Rousing his Ein, Oscar forced the icy poison of the snow to withdraw and cleared his skin of all blue spots. The effects of the snow here were very similar, if not the same as the snow in the Tundra Realm he entered for his Inner Hall Promotion. Before more blue spots could spread, he skillfully created a thin layer of Ein, efficient enough for him to recover the losses quickly and powerful enough to stave off the frosty poison. Back then, the snow in the Tundra Realm was a natural occurrence from the laws governing the realm, but it defied the laws here.

"Morning. You're up early as always." Someone hollered to him. Fred stretched his arms and yawned, a shroud of Ein coating him.

"I'm surprised you're awake," Oscar responded, wiping his hands and wearing his gloves.

"Now that a certain someone is back, I have to wake up early to accompany him. Pity, I missed sleeping in." Fred summoned his hawk anima, and it flew to the other side in a single beat of its wings, the air kicking off the snow from the terrace, allowing the fine stone underneath to enjoy a respite and a shower of sunlight. It perched on Fred's shoulder, and he rubbed its head tenderly. "Since your wife isn't here, and you and Celestina are no longer in the running, I have to step up."

Fred rummaged in his space pocket and grinned, pulling out a bottle of wine and two cups. "This wine will warm us up nicely." Without waiting for his response, Fred poured and placed a cup before him, raising a cup. "Bottoms up!"

Oscar didn't touch his cup, keeping an eye on Fred, who licked his lips in satisfaction. Snow gathered on the surface of the wine, melting and turning the deep purple slightly blue. His wine was ruined. He felt sorry for ruining Fred's gesture, but he had no wish to drink this early. Oscar returned the cup to Fred and asked, "Why aren't you accompanying Emily?"T/his chapter is updat/ed by nov(ê(l)biin.c/o/m

A jolt accompanied by several coughs came in response to Oscar's inquiry, and Fred grumbled, "Do you think she wants to be with me? I royally screwed up."

"Erden, isn't that going too far?" Oscar knocked Erden's head scoldingly. The downside to sharing his mind with Erden was that at any time, Erden could reveal any secrets or thoughts he had. However, he couldn't deny what was said since they were his thoughts. "He isn't wrong, though. I thought I'd be able to enjoy being called an uncle when I returned."

Among them were Uren and Susan, whom he fought together with in Drakken Port and Garantulem, and Esther, Uren's wife and someone he saved long ago in Ashen Grove. The other four were selected by the Pavilion Master, Draven, Aunt Ward, and Aunt Rosett, fine Exalts that had their trust and skills to back it up. It also helped him to be a hero, garnering their respect and immediate loyalty.

"Good morning, everyone. I have some good news. The princess has seen it fit to name our order personally. From now on, we shall bear the name with pride, for we are the Black Aegis, and like our namesake, it is our duty to be the shield to protect and endure for the sake of our homes and families." Oscar threw several medallions, one for each person, a badge depicting a fine black shield with the emblem of a dragon coiling around a trident. He had crafted these after Celestina gave them a name. He attached one to his chest, flickers of golden radiance shining as it caught the light. "Wear these with pride, my fellow Exalts, and rise to your calling."

"Yes, Captain!" Everyone saluted, even his friends, wearing the badges proudly on their chests, a pleasing sight to behold.

Timidly, Susan raised her hand and asked in a meek voice, "Excuse me, Captain. What is our first mission?" Everyone turned to her, causing her to blush and stare down, and then they pivoted back to Oscar, eagerness blatant on their faces.

Oscar smiled. This was no different from when he first started out in the Burning Valley with Desmond's small ragtag group of marauders. With a snap of his fingers, his lieutenant, Alec, laid out a map of Frostveil City and its surroundings. Oscar crouched and traced his finger along the mountainous regions, explaining, "Nearly all of our forces are concentrated on the borders, primarily along the mountains. The rest are stationed here in Frostveil City or placed back to watch for any enemies attempting to slip through our net."

"The concern right now is this snow. I'm sure everyone has noticed the odd and dangerous effects the snow contains. We suspect it's an enemy tactic to wear us down. Barriers can't be wasting precious Ein for the snow and be caught off-guard by the enemy. It's also draining to use our Ein to warm up everything around us. From the information given, the snow is being carried by the winds coming from the mountains here." Oscar pointed to a long trail of mountains.

"Aren't our forces stationed there?" Emily frowned.

"Not really. It's a no man's land where our ground forces fight and die daily. Common sense would say there's no way the enemy would have any presence there other than dead corpses after a battle, but our job is to go in and find any probable causes. They've canvased the area several times and found nothing. The princess believes we might have better luck." Oscar stood up as Alec rolled the map up. "Pack up and reconvene outside the city in thirty minutes. We set out for the Bellariach Mountains."