Eloise stood right in the center of the group of five who had been suddenly teleported to the battlefield without any preamble.
They had known that the war was going on, and that even though all of the Exalted Warriors had been conscripted, they had been told that they were exempt so that they could act as a sudden trump card when needed.
They had been tense the whole while - ever since they had found out that an invasion from the Church was happening with their king at the lead, they had known that this was what they had been waiting for all this while, but they had had no way to expect in which way things would play out.
They had discussed between themselves, and the one thing that always came to the fore was that it was enough to trust him. They trusted him to save them and break their shackles, and when he did, their only goal was that they would be ready to fight by his side and make a difference with their strength instead of just being those that he could only protect and not rely on, which had been how it was until now, at least in the memories that they retained.
They had been born as normal people in the Central Continent, but their fates had been irrevocably changed by ing into contact with this man. Even now, they knew that most of their life was hidden to them, but emotions were funny things - it seemed as if they could surpass the need to have logic, and if they had been evoked once by someone, then they would do so again even if one had forgotten the reasons and circumstances due to which it had happened in the first place.
In fact, they had even been talking about their strides in these past few months when they had suddenly disappeared from their room in the Order.
As soon as Eloise came onto the battlefield, she directly zone out all of the noise - the fighting Heroes were above her, which was the group that anyone would pay the most attention to first because it was making such a large din that would probably be heard over a quarter of the continent if a formation hadn't been set up to isolate this place, but in her case, and even in the case of all the five, their eyes lurched onto the man in front of them.
As soon as they had done so, they saw the emotion in his eyes, and suddenly, it was as if the world felt… Right.
In them, they had seen the longing that one would have for panions that they had known all their lives, but had had to abandon for reasons that they couldn't control, and the emotion was so earnest that they could tell that it must even have manifested as a physical pang, just like how it felt when they lay their eyes on the man they had been waiting for all this while.
Eloise had only been told about her history with the king, but right now, for some reason, her eyes flitted between him, and another whom she searched for, even though she didn't know why she was doing so.
Even if she didn't find him with her eyes, for some reason, she could feel that he was close by, and this finally allowed her heart to pletely calm down, for it had been continuously agitated for days and weeks and months on end, pushing her to acplish more than anyone else in the Order, and astonish all those who had thought that they had her figured out.
After that, each of them heard the words of the one they had been calling the Overseer, and they weren't really surprised, because they had expected that if they were called here, then it would be to fight the man whom the Overseer seemed to hate so much.
In fact, they had known it even when they were given all the resources - and there had been a choice to not use them and give an easy fight to the king.
However… This plan had been scrapped right away, again, because he…was King Daneel Anivron, and not some random person who might have to do things in the way that others wanted them to act.
Rather than not trusting him and wasting the opportunity that they had gotten, they decided to use it to its fullest extent, and when the time came for him to break them free, they would be ready to take their revenge in full force.
Still… It hurt.
It hurt that the one man they had been thinking about would be the one they had to face in battle right now, but as they heard his words… They looked up with pride in their eyes, as a single word that he had said continued to reverberate in their ears.
"Sovereigns."
Yes!
They were the Sovereigns of Angaria, and when the king gave them a mand… They would obey.
Instantly, the five of them got into the battle formation that they had bee famous for this past month. Eloise was in the back, with Aran and Cassandra right in front of her, acting as vanguards, as if she was the most precious cargo that had to be protected at all costs.
Eloise took one last look at the king, before closing her eyes and clasping her hands together.
As for the last two, Luther disappeared from the battlefield, blending into the shadows that were falling from above, and Kellor strode out to stand right in front of the king.
Cracking his knuckles, he even managed to smile and say, "Watch out, my King. I must say that if you don't keep your guard up, you will be quite surprised…"
True, they had been pelled to fight by the oath that they had given, but that didn't mean that they couldn't do it in their own way.
As for the part about them dying if they didn't beat the man in front of them… They knew that it would be resolved in due time, so they just prepared to give it their all.
The first thing that Daneel did as he saw this was return the smile, because it truly felt good to see these people that he loved so much after so long.
He had been able to see all of their growth, which was the reason behind them feeling unfamiliar, but he was proud of it, and he could also see that one thing hadn't changed - they believed in him, even though they did not know clearly just why they did so, so much.
He looked forward to giving them back the memories. He looked forward to having another meeting of the Sovereigns among the clouds. He looked forward to laughing with them, dining with them, and spending time with these people who were a part of his life. He looked forward to it all… But first, he would have to fight.
Looking up, Daneel estimated the battle between the Heroes, and saw that it was still even, with his side gaining. Alas, the negative of this was that he needed to continuously empower the 100 Heroes, as otherwise, they would instantly fall behind and be defeated.
True, the playing field had been leveled out by making even the Mages monstrosities that could only use their physical strength, but the strength of numbers was still something that would only be overe with his miraculous Champion Path.
And when that form was active… He couldn't use the other one which would have allowed him to end this battle in a couple of seconds.
And that meant… That he would have to depend on something else.
Broadening his smile, Daneel said to the system, "Activate Fighter Domination Protocol B."
[Activating. Checking for consciousnesses. Consciousnesses found on host's body. Activating Shapeshifter Bloodline, Ultimate Form. Activating protocol.]
In the primary vault of Elysium, resources that had allowed him to make subsequent breakthroughs and bee powerful enough to empower a hundred Heroes were not the only things that Daneel had found.
In the age of the Empire, the body parts of especially strong Godbeasts were used to make powerful weapons, and hence, they were regarded as treasures.
And of course, a vault as unique as the one he had found would definitely have only the most…'special' objects placed within.
As soon as the system replied, Daneel felt his blood boiling, as if it had been agitated at once, and he vanished into a transparent mist, which was a precursor to Shapeshifting.
However…the form he took after that was unlike any that had graced this continent in a long, long time.
The moment it came into being, a bright flash of light blinded everyone who had been gazing at the spot where Daneel had been standing until now, and as the sovereigns quickly made their eyes adjust, they dropped their jaws and stared, agape, at the majestic being that was now in front of them.
It was in the shape of a bird, with its wings folded to its sides, and it was massive- its head was at least 23 feet(7 m) in the air, and it looked down at them, like an eagle trying to pick which of the mice on the ground it would swoop down to swallow.
However, the main thing that stood out…was that the entire body of the bird was made out of lightning.
'ZZZZZZ!!!'
A constant sound could be heard from it, and if one focused, they would find out that it was what one would hear before they were zapped by the gods above.
It was even inconceivable to think about, but reality stood in front of them- it was as if a massive lightning bolt had taken shape to form this bird, and it still had all the sharp edges and dangerous might that would cut anyone in half if they dared to go near.
"Fight, you fools!
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