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Chapter 75: Back To Leafre I began packing my bags that night in preparation for a trip to the Horntail's icy dungeon. "Are you sure about this?" Alexis asked. I nodded. "If I can get the boys to come along, I'm confident we'll beat that sucker." I smiled, casually tossing a shirt into the bag. I would only carry one bag. Of course, it was extended on the inside. My other personality's clothes were already inside, as was my battle set, and the rest of my equipment, including a potioneer's kit, and a map of Leafre. Alexis took one look into my eyes, then pulled a rucksack out from under her closet. "I'm coming along too." She declared, then began packing. I smiled. "Knew it." When I got downstairs, Roy, Jakito and Jullian had already finished packing. "Your extension spell's handy." Jullian smiled, showing me the contents of his bag. I noticed that he had used the same spell as me to extend the capacity of his bag. It contained a few books and some clothes. "My agency's kinda burned that I'm taking a few days off, but whatever. Family's more important." Roy chuckled. Jakito stayed silent. He was still using the Blade Staff from 3 years ago. "Leaving so soon?" Lacus, Mei Ling and Kagome walked out of the kitchen. The four of us nodded. "Even Artemis won't stand a chance against the Horntail alone. She'll need help." Alexis explained. I noticed that her new sword wasn't anywhere on her. She caught my stare. "Its way too heavy for me to be lugging around Leafre." She winked at me. "How should we get there?" Alexis asked. I smiled and pointed at the sky. She gasped, then turned to look at me just as I started focusing energy on my back and my arms. I felt new bones growing out of my back and I grew two extra arms. Ten angelic wings shot out of my back. Alexis and Jakito gaped. Jullian strapped his rucksack on tighter and grabbed hold of one of my right hands, motioning for the other two to do the same. He had to reach down and slap Alexis to wake her up. I hovered slowly over to her and grabbed her hand with the other right hand. Jakito grabbed hold of one of my left hands while I carried my own bag in the one remaining hand. "Hold on tight!" I shouted, then gently flapped my wings. A second later, we were high in the sky, hovering on minute flaps of my wings while I got my bearings. "Another flight like that...... and I'm gonna puke..." Alexis's face was green. The two boys were relatively okay. We had touched down in a clearing near the entrance to the Dragon Nest's mountain area, and I relaxed my wings and extra arms. They shot back into my body and I wrung my arms. "That's better." I smiled. I started changing into my battle set as the boys turned away. Alexis was checking the sling on her sword's scabbard. I finished changing and took the big throwing star and my Buster Sword from my pocket, breaking the seal on both and placing them on the magnetic clip on my shirt's back. In addition, I retrieved two gun holsters from my bag and slung them around my hips, placing my revolvers in them and replacing the bullets with my elemental pellets. "Right, all set." I chuckled and looked around. I spotted the entrance to the Dragon Nest's mountain and walked towards it. The others followed. I wondered if any of my old friends were around. It would be nice to ask them to join in. As I walked through the gate, I bumped my head on the frame. I groaned and ducked through the gate to the portal. I was instantly transported to an icy land. The boys and Alexis appeared behind me. Alexis was rubbing her head. Looked like she had bumped her head on the frame too. I chuckled quietly and continued walking, leading the party higher up the mountain. Massive skeletal dinosaurs were everywhere, and I saw the occasional Dark Knight stabbing away at the monsters with the help of a Bishop. AN: I don't know the layout of the Dragon Nest. A bit higher up, and the temperature was close to 0 degrees. Alexis and Roy were soon shivering. Jullian and I had done a lot of training here, so we were used to the cold. Jakito was unnerved. "C'mon!" I shouted down. We were now climbing the side of the mountain. I was the lead climber, as I was the strongest. The climbing rope was tied to my belt. I climbed by stabbing daggers into the rock and pulling myself up. With the weight on the rope, it wasn't surprising that I almost slipped a few times. "Can't you just fly us up!?" Alexis shouted up over the sound of the wind. "You think I can fly in a snowstorm?" I yelled. Alexis didn't reply. Finally, we reached a little ledge. I climbed onto the ledge, then pulled my friends up. They came slowly. Alexis was right behind me, while Roy was behind her followed by Jakito with Jullian being the rear guard. "We'll be camping out here for the night." I said, walking over to the rock's face and placing a hand on it. Alexis arced her eyebrows. Jullian simply smiled. A voice echoed out of nowhere, "Artemis, member of Heaven's Elite. Acknowledged." The rock slid aside to reveal an expansive cave. Alexis's jaw fell open. "The Heaven's Elite is a guild I joined just a year ago. They have hideouts in multiple places that are convenient for their members to stay in while travelling." I explained, leading the way into the cave. A few sofas sat on the floor, while a stream of fresh water flowed in a corner of the cave. There were 8 single beds lined up along the side. Surprisingly, there were one other person in here. "Yo." A young Dark Knight raised a black hand and waved. "Kyrios, what're you doing here?" I asked. "Thought I'd try fighting the Horntail. I know your rank, but you DO know that this cave is for our members only, right?" He raised an eyebrow, having noticed the others behind me. I turned around, facing the others. "I forgot to do this earlier." I sighed, then drew my Buster Sword. Alexis didn't flinch. "Kneel down." I commanded. Roy and Alexis kneeled down without hesitation. Jakito hesitated for a few seconds, then kneeled. I touched their heads with my sword individually. "From now on, you three are members of Heaven's Elite." I declared. A golden flame blossomed across their waists, then disappeared. Jullian was already a member, so I didn't need to do the ceremony on him. Also, I was the guild's second-in-command. Jullian was merely a normal member, and couldn't recruit. "Kyrios, any objections now?" I turned around, facing the Dark Knight. He shrugged. "Forget about it. Why're you here anyway? It's not often we get one of the higher ranks in here." Kyrios asked. "The Horntail has an item I need, and I'm here to get it." I replied, laying down on one of the beds. Alexis kept eyeing Kyrios's blackened right hand. He caught her gaze. "I can tell that you're a Heroine. The black hand is basically an indication of power beyond a normal Dark Knight's, mainly due to overusage of the Dragon Buster skill." Kyrios smiled. I glanced at him. "She's my sister." I quipped. |
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