The Geminis snarled, their patience snapping. As if sensing a new threat, the lesser Geminis charged, a wave of claws and teeth surging toward the man. The Scarbone, Reaper, and Giga Titan lingered behind, their eyes locked on him, assessing.
He didn't stop walking. His fingers toyed with the rosary beads, rolling them casually between his thumb and forefinger. As the Geminis closed in, he spoke, his voice steady, like a preacher reciting scripture.
"Isaiah 45:23: All knees shall bow before the Most High God."
The air thickened, heavy as if gravity had multiplied tenfold. With a bone-rattling THUD, every Gemini's knees slammed into the pavement. No exceptions. The Scarbone's massive frame buckled, its bone armor cracking the asphalt. The Reaper's scythes trembled, its void-like eyes wide with shock. The Giga Titan groaned, its towering form sinking to the ground, shaking the ruins.
Celine stared, her breath caught. The man strolled between the kneeling Geminis, their claws scraping uselessly at the ground as they struggled to rise. Her mind raced, and a memory clicked—his face had flashed on the news a day ago, one of the five awakened Primordials, Valmer Valgrace van Ruvoch. The adopted son of the late Pope van Ruvoch.
"Who knew the verses the old geezer had me memorize would come in so handy?" Valmer said, a grin tugging at his lips. He stopped in front of Celine, his gaze softening as he looked at Ariel's broken form. The bleeding had stopped, thanks to Celine's quick treatment, but Ariel's chest barely rose.
"What's your name, beautiful young lady?" he asked, his cheeks flushing slightly. Celine blushed, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Celine, sir," she replied, her voice trembling but steady, her eyes locked on him.
Valmer glanced at Ariel, his expression serious. "I can say this with certainty: without you, she'd be dead. You're a good friend, Celine. I hope we can be friends too."
A notice flickered before him, glowing in the dim light:
[System Notice]
FP (Fate Points) Used: 1,500
FP (Fate Points) Remaining: 35,500
Skill Used: Divine Command
Effect: Immobilizes enemies of lower rank for 1 minute.
Valmer knelt beside Ariel, his rosary beads clicking softly. He placed a hand over her chest and spoke, his voice calm but resonant. "In the name of the Almighty God, all wounds shall be undone, all vitality restored."
A radiant white light poured from his hand, enveloping Ariel. Her severed arm shimmered, flesh and bone knitting back together in seconds. Her breathing steadied, color returning to her cheeks. Celine's eyes widened—she was a healer, but regenerating a limb would've drained her entire MP pool. Valmer did it effortlessly.
[System Notice]
FP Used: 3,000
FP Remaining: 32,500
Skill Used: Divine Healing
Effect: Heals all physical wounds.
The Geminis stirred, their immobilization fading. The Reaper, its patience gone, lunged with a guttural snarl, its twin scythes blazing crimson. The Scarbone followed, its bone-plated fists raised to crush. Celine opened her mouth to warn Valmer, but no words came—fear choked her voice.
Valmer didn't turn. "Persistent little bastards," he said, a sly smile spreading across his face. He raised his rosary, the beads glowing faintly. "Isaiah 54:17: No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
The Reaper's scythes struck with brutal precision, aiming to cleave Valmer in two. But an invisible force repelled the blades, a shimmering barrier sparking at the point of impact. The Reaper staggered, its own attack rebounding with double the force. It flew backward, crashing into the Scarbone with a bone-shattering CRUNCH. The two monsters tumbled into a pile of rubble, the Scarbone's armor cracking further, the Reaper's robes shredded.
Celine gasped, her hands trembling. Valmer stood unshaken, his coat billowing in the ashy wind. The remaining Geminis hesitated, their growls faltering.
[System Notice]
FP used: 2,000
FP remaining: 30,500
The Giga Titan's steel fist hurtled toward Valmer with earth-shattering force. The stench of scorched metal and monster ichor hung heavy, stinging Celine's nose as she crouched beside Ariel's unconscious form, her hands trembling from exhaustion.
A blur of motion flashed between Valmer and the Giga Titan, swift as a shadow. A man appeared, his raven-black hair tied in a tight ponytail, the sides of his head shaved clean. A grinning skull tattoo adorned one temple, while strange, swirling symbols pulsed with faint light on the other, glowing brighter with each lightning flash. He wore a sleek black leather jacket, and gripped a katana in his right hand, its blade gleaming like molten silver. This was Kenshi Aokawa, Japan's Primordial awakener, a figure radiating deadly precision.
With a single, fluid slash, Kenshi's katana carved through the Giga Titan's steel-plated fist as if it were soft clay. The severed metal clanged to the ground, sparking against the cracked asphalt, and the beast roared, its towering frame stumbling back, shaking the ruins like an earthquake. The blade's hum lingered in the air, a whisper of lethal power.
Kenshi spun his katana with a flourish, tiny raindrops scattering from the blade, and fixed his sharp amber eyes on Valmer. His voice cut through the storm's howl, sharp and teasing, spoken in crisp Japanese.
"Valmer, kimae de joshi kousei to ichatsuku no? Seijin rashiku nai ne."
("You show up and start flirting with a schoolgirl, Valmer? Some holy man you are.")
Celine watched with wide eyes, unable to understand a word they were saying. But one thing was certain, all the Primordials were gathering.
Then a screen popped up in front of them.
[System Notice]
Translating all foreign language to native language.
Suddenly, they could all understand each other.
Valmer, standing tall in his billowing black coat, smirked, his sable-rose eyes glinting under the dim streetlights. His rosary beads clicked in his hand, undeterred by the rain beginning to drizzle. He glanced at Celine, who flinched under Kenshi's gaze, her hands still pressed against Ariel's healed but motionless arm. "She's a friend, not a fling," Valmer replied, his tone light but firm. "Focus on the damn monsters, not my charm, Kenshi."
Kenshi snorted, his ponytail lashing like a whip as he turned to Celine with a razor-edged grin.
"Charm?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "That's what you're calling it?"
Valmer's gaze sharpened, the playful glint in his sable-rose eyes hardening to steel. "What of the others? I thought you'd all arrive together." The emphasis on "thought" carried the weight of a demand.
Kenshi threw his hands up, the motion sending his coat flaring. "How the hell should I know? I'm not their damn babysitter!"
With theatrical grace, Valmer pressed a hand to his chest and sighed, eyelids fluttering shut. "Oh, ye who have lost your way… Forsake profanity, and peace shall embrace you." The rosary beads in his other hand clicked like a ticking clock.
"Shut your mouth, you degenerate priest," Kenshi spat, rolling his eyes so hard it looked painful. "You've got the foulest tongue of any 'holy man' I've ever met."
His fingers twitched toward the hilt of his blade as he glared at the Geminis. The creatures writhed against the unseen force pinning them, their limbs screeching against the pavement.
"Enough preaching. Let's gut these things before the others show up," Kenshi growled. "Then we hunt the real prey—the Elites."
His eyes flicked to Ariel, pale and stirring weakly on the muddy ground, then back to the battlefield. The Giga Titan's roar shook the air, joined by the guttural snarls of the Scarbone and Reaper, who were rising from their earlier crash, their eyes locked on the two Primordials.
Celine's heart pounded, her breath shallow. The rain plastered her hair to her face, mixing with the ash on her cheeks. She stared, wide-eyed, as the Geminis—beasts that had pushed Ariel to the brink of death—fell so easily to Valmer and Kenshi. The difference was staggering, like a candle against a wildfire. Ariel's Primordial power let her copy skills, but the ones she mimicked were weak, only shining when upgraded—a step she hadn't reached. Valmer, though, turned biblical verses into weapons, summoning divine barriers and healing wounds with ease, his fists deadly in close combat. Kenshi was a weapon master, able to transform any object into a lethal tool, his speedster nature making him an assassin who struck before enemies could react.
The storm intensified, rain pelting the ruins like bullets. The Giga Titan lumbered forward, its remaining fist crackling with dark energy. The Scarbone's bone armor gleamed, its jagged plates splintering the pavement with each step. The Reaper's scythes glowed crimson, slicing through the drizzle as it prepared to strike. The battlefield felt like a graveyard, the air thick with dread and the promise of death.
[System Notice]
Kenshi Aokawa has activated [Blade Sovereign]
Effect: All weapons wielded gain 200% cutting power and precision for 5 minutes.
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Kenshi moved like a phantom, his boots splashing through muddy puddles as he darted toward the Giga Titan. His katana flashed, a silver arc slicing through the beast's leg. Chunks of flesh sprayed, sizzling as they hit the wet ground. The Titan staggered, its roar shaking the shattered windows of nearby buildings, the ground trembling like a living thing.
Valmer didn't stand still. He raised his rosary, the beads glowing with a fierce, golden light that cut through the storm's gloom. "Psalm 91:4: His feathers shall shield you from all dangers," he declared, his voice booming like thunder. A shimmering barrier enveloped Celine and Ariel, its warmth chasing away the rain's chill, wrapping them in a cocoon of divine protection.
[System Notice]
FP used: 5,000
FP remaining: 25,500
Skill Used: Divine Shelter
Effect: Grants allies a protective barrier absorbing all damage for 5 minutes.
Celine's jaw dropped, her hands trembling as she clutched Ariel's shoulder. Ariel's eyes fluttered open, her gaze hazy but fixed on the two Primordials. "They're… so strong," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain's roar. The battlefield was a maelstrom—lightning flashing, monsters bellowing, and the two men moving like gods among the ruins.
Kenshi darted toward the Scarbone, his speed a blur. He ducked under its swinging bone-plated fist, his ponytail whipping in the wind, and slashed upward with his katana. The blade carved a deep gash across the beast's chest, black ichor spraying like ink, hissing as it met the rain-soaked ground. The Scarbone roared, stumbling back, its armor cracking under the assault.
The Reaper lunged, its scythes a crimson blur slicing through the drizzle. Valmer stepped forward, his coat flapping, and raised his hand. "Proverbs 18:10: The name of the Lord is a strong tower," he intoned. A pulse of radiant light erupted, knocking the Reaper back. Its scythes clattered uselessly against the divine barrier, sparks flying as it skidded across the muddy pavement.
Celine's heart raced, her fingers slick with rain and traces of Ariel's blood. The gap between Ariel's copied skills and the raw power of Valmer and Kenshi was overwhelming. Valmer's divine verses turned the battlefield into his sanctuary, while Kenshi's blade danced like a living storm, cutting through monsters with effortless precision. The rain-soaked ruins, lit by lightning and neon, felt like a stage for their power, and Celine could only watch, a mix of awe and fear churning in her chest. For the first time, survival seemed possible—but the Geminis weren't done yet.
**Note from Devine_Hand1**: This novel is a work of fiction and not intended to disrespect Christianity or any faith. All biblical verses have been rephrased for narrative purposes to fit the story's world. Readers interested in the original quotations are encouraged to refer to the Bible for their accurate wording. Thank you for your understanding and support!