ASHERIA 13TH, 2200 MC

Later that evening….The Knight Hood Games were over, and now the results were to be reviewed among everyone. But One thing was clear: Bruno del Medichi became champion of the Mana Group and Sully Aurik became Champion of the Prana Group, both becoming stars of the event that day.

Then… ASHERIA 16TH, 2200 MC came.

Sully was walking around the city, thinking.

“Mmmm, Although They announced the Winners already, I wonder what’s the announcement the Crown Prince has to make…. They said everybody must attend the Castle today at this time...That was about an hour ago and we’re still waiting out here...Which is why I decided to talk a short walk around here. Sully was shivering a bit since it was quite chilly early in the morning. He then walked back to the park, where the meeting was to be held until he saw Alonso, who was sitting beside a large tree. 

“Hey Sull!”

“Oh, Good Evening, Sir Alonso.”

He chuckled. “No need for the formalities, you know. I’m not like my brother…”

Sully smiled and sat down next to him. “The Crown Prince sure is taking a while, huh?”

The Buff Man, still recovering from his injuries gazed at the lively town in front of him.

 “Well whatever this big announcement is, It must be quite important for him to be taking this long, honestly. But Most importantly, I wonder Where’s My brother...I haven’t seen your friend either by the way.”

“Now that you mention it….They could probably still be at the cleric’s place. I did hear that Oliver’s injuries were quite bad...Should I go check upon them?”

“.....Nah, That’s alright then….Let’s just wait a little longer here. I think I’ll take... a little nap….wake me up when Prince Aeneas Arrives….”

Alonso then fell asleep, as Sully sighed and then decided to sleep for a bit as well.

Meanwhile, near the coliseum, Bruno was escorting Oliver out of the medical clinic. The 2 walked together towards the Royal Castle in the middle of the capital, to where everyone was waiting for the Crown Prince.

“Umm...Thanks for helping me out.” Oliver felt a bit awkward around Bruno.

Bruno was a bit puzzled. “Why that expression? If anything...I sincerely apologize for my rude behavior when I first met you and your friend. I….grew too accustomed to the formalities and rules of a noble. I was...pathetic. But I acknowledge your strength, Oliver. You fought really well back there. ”

Filled with regret about his previous actions, he sighed. “I still have much to learn….Oh, I haven’t forgotten our promise by the way.”

“Right….Actually, It’s alright if you don’t tell me. I did seriously injure you after all, so it’s fair. Besides, If it’s really personal to you, I will not pressure you. I’m not that kind of person.”

Oliver then had a serious expression. “No...You have the right to know….Especially since you’re the wielder of one of Odgard’s sacred treasures. Do you have any idea for how many years people have been searching for that thing?”

“How...Did you know about this weapon? Now that you mentioned it.”

Oliver reacted sharply and looked away from him for a moment before replying...

"Your brother told me a bit about it."

Bruno then replied, "Emile...told you?"

Oliver replied. “I'll get straight to the point. To confirm your suspicions...Yes. I am...The only survivor of THAT Incident.”

Bruno took a deep breath. “So the rumors were true….Emilio del Medichi.

Oliver then realized.

“So you are his…”

“....Yes. I…am his Older Brother. He was the youngest of the Medichi Trio.”

Oliver then got on his knees. “….I’m so sorry. I couldn’t do anything to save him….I remember that day….I was supposed to die. Those scars He-I had...It hurts so much...But….I still don’t understand…..”

Oliver then put his hands over his head. “Why did he do that to me?”

Bruno was then puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I was not supposed to live that day. I was a failure for that blood test. I was thrown out to the Mana Chamber where they would suck all of our life force and slowly kill us. But Unexpectedly…. On that same day, Emile then decided to rebel and killed his captives. It was chaos ….he let every prisoner and test subject escape….and then…

12 Years ago...Asheria 16th 2188 MC

Emile was running faster and faster towards the basement, where Oliver was being stored. After countless turns, he found him.

“Oliver!! Oh gods, No!”

Oliver barely looked alive, for he was very thin and was nearly nothing but just bones.

Emilio then looked around the room and searched for anything that could possibly help him. But then, an explosion was heard, and suddenly, The floor near the entrance of the chamber collapsed. He and Oliver were now trapped within the collapsing building.

“Damn it...Now We can’t escape…My Magic is not fit to remove this rubble...If only…”

He searched everywhere for answers until he found what the institution was very much trying to develop. The “Vessel...” Some of the words were cut off, for He had no idea what it meant but he was sure that it was a syringe filled with extraordinary amounts of Mana.

Weakly, Emilio replied, “This is it...I found it! With this...You can save yourself, and be free!”

Oliver then saw what he had on his hand and weakly replied, “W-what are you…”

“...Unfortunately, If I give this to you now….You will die instantly out of shock. However….”

He then looked at the mana storage machines and looked at Oliver.

Oliver then knew what he was planning to do and grew scared.

“N-No! You’ll die…Please...don't do it.”

Emile then shook his head and weakly held up his fist with confidence. “I can’t save both of us...not with my magic. But With this sample, and basically, with my own lifeforce... At the very least, you can have enough strength and mana to escape.”

“B-But...You…”

“No. My brothers always taught me not to be selfish. If I returned now...No. Plus...I don't want to let my own friend die...alone here. This is no place for someone like you."

"THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR YOU!!" Oliver weakly yelled, only to cough blood afterward, falling to the floor. With everything happening so quickly, he could do nothing else but tremble.

Emilio then hugged him in comfort, and softly whispered, "I know that you are different...Unlike those demons without a heart...You have a good heart...If only I knew sooner...this pains me greatly."

Oliver was so weak, that he couldn't even shed a tear, and could only whimper.

" This power...is something that now you will protect. It will not fall in the wrong hands anymore.” He then pulled out his tome and put it in the machine.

“Also...I will offer you a little present as well. Your Viento and  My Moloch. Since today’s your birthday...Promise me…Protect Moloch. No...Protect Vienloch. And...Protect those who you hold dear.”

“…..Then He gave me his own mana...he gave me his “will-fire.”

Bruno replied. “So the one rampaging on that day….was you?”

“... Yes. I could only remember anger that day. Nothing but....pure anger.”

“Emile….Who is behind this Mana Laboratory incident...Damn it all!” Bruno thought to himself and bit his lips so hard that they began to bleed. He then cleaned it away with his tongue. 

"I'll have to inform this to Lord Aeneas. I'm sorry, Oliver. If we don't act now..."

“Thank you very much for telling me all this. That’s about everything I wanted to know. I apologize for reminding you of such an incident. But Promise me this. Please….Take good care of that Tome. Please.”

Oliver then had a long silence, remembering Emile. He then replied, “I will. I promise. I will avenge him, I swear it.”

The two shook hands.

The 2 then finally arrived at the capital's national park. But Oliver then asked sheepishly: “Ah, About Meisterschwart…How did you obtain that blade?”

"Oh...It was given to me by Lord Aeneas. An Incident happened some time ago...Long story short, A killer did some really horrible things, and his lordship simply just gave back what was actually ours."

As if Oliver frowned for a moment, he gave Bruno a look that suggested he knew something else about the sword.

"R-really? But...I think that sword belonged to Lord...Wait...Who is this person I am thinking of?"

Suddenly the atmosphere changed, and there came someone charging at them.

“HEY!!! OVER HERE!”

It was Sully. It seems like the meeting was about to start soon.

Bruno chuckled. “My apologies...But it seems like that will have to wait till another day….”

Oliver sighed. “Oh well. Let’s Go.”

Aeneas then started to speak to the large crowd, which consisted of all the participants from nearly every region.

 “Welcome, Everyone! Sorry, I took forever! I...uhh...overslept a bit. Damn it...Sorry. But Uh that’s Not What I’m here to talk about...Right. I’m talking about the Tournament. Congratulations to all of you guys, You all did wonderful, especially to our future new recruits, wink wink.”

Dylan was excited, Alonso was smiling, Bruno was quiet, and Oliver was faintly smiling.

“But….Oh, what the hell. I suck at speeches. I’ll just get straight to the point. The truth is...Y’all got Punk’d!”

The crowd got confused.

“Oh. Well to speak clearly, What I’m saying is that you all have been tricked. Sort of. The Truth is….Everyone here is invited! And Yes, I mean every single person who participated in the tournament….is joining a completely different army!!!

“EHHH????????”

Everyone was shocked.

Sully had his eyes wide. “SERIOUSLY? SO WHAT WAS THE TOURNAMENT FOR?”

But There’s a catch...You guys aren’t joining the Knights of Calydon….You guys are joining something even better. I call it….THE UNITED LEGION OF ODGARD! And that's not all...”

"Under this Legion, This Special Army will be commanded by yours truly....We are the Aenida Order!!"

The crowd was even more confused, and then some got upset. Few People then started leaving...but then...

“HEAR ME OUT FIRST!”

Everyone was now looking at Aeneas now.

“There’s a reason for this. Although I tricked you in the worst way possible….Right now...We are desperate...and in deep trouble. Right now, I’m lacking enough Men to join this new allied army. Sure, This may not be a high-paying job. But I can guarantee you this. Should an incident or attack occur anywhere in Odgard….you are there to protect the people of this wonderful continent...You will be rewarded handsomely. The Government will make sure of that...and your families will be protected. And...Let’s be honest. Soon...War could break out at any minute, with you know who, trying to harass us... It is precisely why We need more men!!! To Unite and Fight Back!”

The Prince then got on his knees.

“ I beg you, People of Calydon! Don’t do this for me...not for just Calydon...Fight in what you believe is right. Right now, There could be people suffering out there, and they need our help. These same people could be getting killed….These people have families. Just like most of us. We should once again become a beacon of hope that the world can depend on us whenever trouble occurs! What the hell happened to us?! THIS IS OUR CHANCE, DON’T YOU THINK? DON’T YOU THINK SO, MEN? SHINE, RISE, AND FIGHT WITH ME, MY CALYDON! FOR THE FUTURE!

The crowd was quiet and tense until one of them spoke up.

“...I have a family. A beautiful wife and 3 children….If families out there are suffering and are in a situation worse than ours, and need our help, I’m more than willing to help them! What if the empire is secretly colonizing Odgard?! We must liberate Odgard from their grasp!! This does not matter if We get paid or not anymore. This is a serious thing now! You all should know this, The prince shouldn’t have to repeat this over and over again!”

The Middle-Aged man then ran straight to the front, next to Aeneas, and began to speak loudly to get everyone’s attention. “The Empire has been threatening the world for hundreds of years now. Now is our chance! Don’t you wanna save some lasses?! I say I fight with the Prince!”

The participants laughed, then they all rallied up and got inspired.

“The man is right! I’ll fight too! We must restore our glory!

“ME TOO!”

“ME THREE!”

Then the Whole crowd yelled in approval of Aeneas's proposal.

Aeneas smiled, closed his eyes, and thought to himself.

“Thank you….Children of Calydon.”

Suddenly, A Soldier quickly approached him and whispered a message that just arrived in the country from afar.  "Sir, The Empire of Thabes...They have responded to your proposal...You might want to see this now."

Aeneas, Reinhardt, A Messenger to the King, and Senator Medichi meet up together in Castle Argo's Meeting Room. The Senator, feeling the tense environment, assures the Prince and says, "No matter what, keep your wits about you, as I will." 

Aeneas nods and opens the letter. "Okay...Here goes nothing," He then begins to read:

"To Prince Regent Aeneas Ludo Arcadia...Regarding the Tempting Deal from your Statement, It is unfortunate that we must decline the offer. That said, As of 2 days ago, Our Markets have left Calydon, and We will no longer commit to trading with said party. We have no intentions of stopping what we do, As we are not breaking any law, per your ancestor's tradition. To stop what we do is going against our interests, and will be considered an act of war. 

 ...Grand Magistrate Tethra."

The Senator then gets up from his chair and shouts, "What the hell?!"

"And the first to lose their wits is the one who said it himself...Oh dear," so Reinhardt thought to himself as he had an expression of worry. It was clear to everyone that the Empire has no intention of bowing down to us, despite everything they said they would do. Now the tables have been turned, and the Prince wouldn't dare commit to war.

"Shit...We're going to call everyone here. Gather Mineva, Mabel, and Representatives from every alliance member, as soon as possible!" Aeneas got up from his chair and signaled Reinhardt to follow him.

The Senator asked, "What are you going to do? You wouldn't dare...?"

"Of course not...That's why I need everyone here now...I'm going to my quarters to send the letters...Since this is an emergency...I will need the mages for this one...Call 'em over, We need everyone to arrive here in a few days."

Reinhardt swiftly obeys, "Got it, I'm on my way." 

Aeneas was now running on borrowed time.