(October 1st, 2017)

Justin

It was after an hour and a half of lying next to the two girls that I felt bored and got out of bed, leaving Mia and Rox in the same room all alone before strolling around the church building. It felt more of an institute than a church. Some knights walked around the place, holding books and talking about schoolwork, while others were discussing fighting and training. No one seemed to mind my presence as I walked around and stopped me and asked me to leave. The only looks I got were from girls staring at me with smirks on their faces and bitten lips, saying stuff like "He's hot." and "What a stud." among others. I did not have any plan in mind, other than clearing my head and taking in the sights. But my time of relaxation and leisure was put to an abrupt pause when I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder. I turned around, only for my eyes to meet those of the other knight that accompanied Roxanna and her commander. He possessed dark hair and black eyes that displayed resentment and hostility towards me.

"How can someone like you seduce Roxanna of all people?" He asked, not bothering to tell me his name. I grabbed his hand and removed it from my shoulder calmly with a dismissing face before turning my body to face him. He stood at my exact height and looked me dead in the eyes, trying to establish himself as a threat. He possessed charming looks that suggest he is not the type to have girls snatched away from him. He reminded me of the guys who date girls for the sake of it and end up dumping the ones that he gets bored of. There's a term for it that I have forgotten, but it definitely applies to him. I shouldn't be one to judge since I sometimes get called that myself based on my looks, but at least I don't act like a douche. Our confrontation seemed to have gathered a crowd as many knights gathered around us and watched the two of us in the middle of our menacing staredown.

"The hot guy's gonna fight Kaden!" I heard a girl whisper.

"Does blondie even know how to fight?" A guy whispered.

Kaden, which is the name of the knight as I have come to learn, seemed as if he was itching for a fight. I, however, did not want to instigate anything and ruin what little standing I have with the church. But I was not planning on backing down if he decided to throw a punch. As the crowd that formed around us grew, Kaden decided to speak and rile up the masses against me. "You don't even look like the type of guy who knows his way around people. I only needed to see the way you tried to belittle our archpriest to know what type of person you are."

"I bet you're jealous that I, along with my comrade, killed that giant tiger all by ourselves. Did I crush your dreams of proving you're not a wimp to your peers? Do you want me to apologize?" I asked while keeping a neutral tone and an indifferent stare.

"Oh please. You must've hired someone to kill it for you," He stated. "Rich boys like you don't know their way around a sword, let alone be capable of killing such a mighty beast."

He must have assumed me to be rich based on my clothes and watch. I did not expect him to go for that insult so early on in his attempt to roast me. "Wow. Judging me based on my outfit? I didn't assume that a knight like you would go so low. I'm surprised Roxanna even looks in your general direction. You have to try harder to win her over, my guy."

Taken aback by this, he clenched his fist. "Oh, you'll see if she looks in your direction after I return you to her, beaten black and blue." Kaden cracked his knuckles and grinned at me. "Justin, was it? I challenge you to a duel."

The crowd around us started to gasp and whisper once more as Kaden issued the challenge with a grin on his face. The overconfidence and that smugness of his are going to be his downfall. To everyone present, I am nothing but a hunter who happened to stroll inside this place. Even Kaden thinks it is a good idea to underestimate me, despite knowing that if Roxanna doesn't act tough around me, that means I'm not someone to be taken lightly. Mia and Rox were still sleeping in the room, as I had the spell affect them for the duration of two hours. The commander and the archpriest were also absent when Kaden issued me the challenge, but as soon as he pulled his sword and pointed it at me as an act of intimidation, the two arrived and cut a path through the crowd.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The commander dude asked with an enraged tone. He looked at Kaden and then back at me.

"He besmirches the holy church with his presence, sir," Kaden stated while still holding his sword to my face. "We have both seen his insolence and disrespect towards Father Antonius. Not to mention him... indoctrinating Roxanna Lunargento!"

It mattered little to me that he was trying to get his commander on his side. Exploiting the exchange that we had with the archpriest an hour ago was going to lead him so far. But his claim about Rox was getting into my nerves. "Put this thing down. Children shouldn't play with swords." Members of the crowd chuckled at my comment, but Kaden did not respond. He continued gazing at me with a malicious grin despite being in the presence of his commander and the archpriest, who I have come to learn, is called Antonius.

"Sheath your weapon, knight!" The commander ordered. The young knight followed the order and sheathed his blade, all while maintaining his gaze at me. "It seems you take joy in kicking the hornets' nest, hunter. Starting fights in the church is forbidden, with no exceptions. What do you have to say in your defense, Kaden?"

"Oh, I didn't start a fight, sir. I challenged him to a duel." The commander looked at me and back at Kaden. "It's up to him whether he accepts it or not. No pressure, Justin!"

"I can't just back down now, can I? I accept."

With that, we were lead to a large duel arena where I stood in front of my adversary. We were given training swords and asked to use those in order not to injure ourselves. While Kaden was overwhelmed with girls before we met for the duel, hearing pep talks and flirtations from the women, I kept getting asked whether I am sure of this. It was easy for me to hear the other knights laughing at me behind my back, thinking that I am a simple nobody. I paid it no mind and proceeded to the arena where Kaden stood, brandishing his replica sword. He still sported his smug expression while staring at me and thinking that he will come out on top.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Welcome to the duel arena!" The announcer exclaimed. "Today, we shall witness an unconventional duel! On one side, we have the #1 knight Kaden Lockmore! The undisputed winner of the last champion tournament and the record holder for the highest number of kills! On the other side, we have the hunter who has slain the Brobdingnagian Tiger, the Daemonsaur, and the Ice Wolf! The hunter that has enough guts to face off against our champion, Justin Walker!" The crowd cheered as we both approached one another and got ready to duel.

"The person who hits the floor first loses. Are you ready?" He asked. I nodded with a smirk of my own and watched as he spoke. "Have at you, then!"

As soon as he was mere inches away from me, I decelerated time and stepped behind the arrogant knight before smacking the back of his neck. "Time will resume," I said and watched as he tumbled forward, much to the shock of everyone present. Before he touched the ground, he planted his sword on the ground and used it to steady himself.

I watched as he slowly turned around and stared at me, mouth agape and eyebrows raised in utter shock. "What... what did you do?" He asked. "H-H-How fast did you just move?"

"Is this the best you can do? Please don't tell me you cheated your way to the top. I can't believe Roxanna is of lesser rank than you." His face twitched as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Unfortunately for young Kaden, he walked into the lion's den. He knew that there was no chance for him to back down. He could not suffer defeat, either. The embarrassment would be too much for his pride. His only option was to attack again, but I could see it in his eyes. 'Kayden doubts his own ability.' He was running calculations in his mind and realizing that all his efforts would be futile. The sweat started glistening on his head, and his breathing increased slightly in intensity as he stared at me with a dumbfounded face. To add insult to injury, I threw my sword away and watched as his face went pale.

"Would you like that I take off my jacket and shirt, too?" I asked the knight, who slowly got back on his feet while steadying his body with the sword he held with both hands.

"You... who are you?" He asked.

"As I said before, I'm an adventurer. Now, come at me, slowpoke!" I replied.

Kaden readied his sword and jumped backward. He then charged at me with the rage of a warrior willing to give it his all. But before he could touch me, he started evading and approaching once again to try and confuse me, leaving me open for an attack. He did not realize, however, that I was watching his moves and poking his nose every time he approached through decelerated time. It was only when I pinched his nose that he came to an abrupt stop and realized that his attempts at dodging were petty and useless. He pulled out a tiny ball from one of his pockets and threw it on the ground, releasing a vast quantity of smoke that blinded my vision. Kaden started dashing around the room once again in an attempt to touch me. I used my 'Presence' ability and managed to locate him around me and focused on his moves. He did not manage to see through the smoke, either and got confused every time he tried to attack. He pinpointed my position, but I moved away from it every time he tried to land a hit. When he finally lost me, he stopped and started looking around him in hopes of spotting his opponent. Kaden swallowed hard once he realized that I was standing behind him and holding his left shoulder with my left hand, mimicking the way he stopped me before the fight.

"The second you stepped into this arena, it was lights out for you, Kaden," I said before throwing him into the sky and punching the knight in the stomach. When the smoke dissipated, the crowd gasped and exploded into exclamations of surprise and shock at the sight of Kaden on the ground and me standing victoriously next to him. After the fight was over, I went to Rox's room to find Mia trying in one of her skintight outfits and Roxanna examining the demonic entity. The two girls did not realize that I have entered the door, so I decided to observe the outfit hugging Mia's majestic body in complete silence.

"I can't believe it fits me so well. My Sitzfleisch is much more striking," Mia stated.

Roxanna, who held her chin with her thumb and index finger, nodded and said: "Our bodies are pretty much exactly the same, except your sizes are slightly larger than mine. It still fits you perfectly, though. And your butt looks amazing, not gonna lie."

Mia walked to the wolf girl, who wore the same outfit and placed her right hand on Rox's hip while holding her face with the other hand. "You know, I always fancied fooling around with another girl while wearing such an outfit." The demon closed the distance between her and Rox. The latter did not resist Mia's advances and placed her hands on the demon's hips as she inched closer. I cleared my throat and watched as the two girls got startled. They both stood in surprise at the sight of me leaning against a wall with my hands in my pockets.

Smiling at the two, I asked: "Having fun?" Rox cleared her throat and backed away from Mia, closing her closet in the process. Mia did the opposite of the female knight and approached me before wrapping her arms around my body and leaning in for a kiss. Upon seeing this, Rox gathered her courage and interrupted the demon lady, pulling me closer to her. Mia grabbed my face as well, and the tug of war started. But to my surprise, it was not a tog of war at all. The two girls pulled me towards the bed soon after they grabbed me and threw my blessed and prosperous self on it before crawling towards me. Seeing them working together and sharing these moments with me while wearing the same enticing outfit came as a shock, but a rather welcome one. I let my body go and relaxed as much as I could, feeling their warm touches against my clothes as they crawled closer to my face, eyes glimmering with joy and excitement. Mia bit her lower lip while Rox licked hers.

"When we woke up, we realized that you left and were not pleased with it," Rox stated, gently moving her hand through my golden hair.

"But we decided to put our differences aside and discussed our love for you," Mia continued, touching my face with her soft and delicate hand.

"That's when we realized that there's enough of Justin for the two of us," Rox said as she and Mia got to my face, and each girl kissed a cheek, with Rox to my right and Mia to my left.

"And now, we want you to show us your true love!" Said Mia after kissing my neck, making me unable to wait for any second longer to have my face smothered with gargantuan ballistics.

But before any real action could happen, we were interrupted by the banging on Rox's door. "Roxanna!" A female voice shouted. "Father Antonius' room! Now!"

I jumped off the bed and watched as the girls got up and headed for their clothes. Suddenly, the feeling of urgency left me when I watched Mia and Rox change their clothes in front of me. The girls did not take their time changing, so I put the brakes on time. When they finally got back into their respective outfits, the three of us rushed out of there and headed to the archpriest's personal room. Two knights stood in front of the doors and allowed us through with no questions asked. Coming inside the large room that was festooned with the faith's decorations, our ears were bombarded by the screaming and wailing of the old man. Flags, banners, and stars adorned the walls. The bed was a king-sized one with large bedside tables on each side and a giant bookshelf filled with history and religious books. Everything inside the room was expensive, as expected from the room of a religious leader in a church. Father Antonius was crying in horror with intense breathing as he sat on the couch, his left hand held by the commander. Nuns stood at his side, chanting prayers and casting healing magic and runes, but nothing was working. I looked into his eyes and saw that the colors were fading. It looked as if he was suffocating while staring death in the eyes as if his soul was getting forcibly extracted out of his body. The old man trembled and quivered violently, convulsing and shaking as he suffered.

"What happened?!" Rox asked. And the second she asked that my heart dropped when Father Antonius raised his hands in the air and screamed.

"THE DARKNESS! THE EVIL! THE END OF HUMANITY!" I instantly realized that he was speaking of none other than the harbinger of the darkness, the darkness incarnate, evil taken form. The nuns immediately stepped away from the old man as if he was a plague-ridden parasite. Rox's commander could not help but release the priest's hand. "THE SLAYER OF THE GOD!"

"The harbinger..." I trailed off, clenching my fist. Rox rushed to the door and slammed it shut before walking back to me and wrapping her arms around my right arm. Mia did not protest, as she saw the tears of panic and dread that fell from her eyes and stained my jacket.

"By the gods..." Commander Luke stood like a statue, staring at the screaming archpriest and unable to believe his ears. Luke's hands shook. When he realized this, he clenched his fists in the hopes of calming them, but that was to no avail. The shaking then moved to his forearms. With nothing working, the nuns gave up and started praying, hoping that that would do them good. But the only one in the room who benefitted from the prayer was me.

"HE CAME TO ME! HE CAME TO ME! THE HARBINGER STOOD IN THIS ROOM!"

"Rox, kick everybody out. Even Luke." The wolf-girl immediately obliged and pulled the nuns out of the room. Luke was about to process when Rox stared into his eyes. Their silent communication was enough to get him to understand that he was no longer needed. With the three of us being the only people in the room with the archpriest, I instructed Mia to take hold of the priest's right hand and Rox to take his left. I approached the old man and placed my hands on his head before closing my eyes.

"Unwind, o tortured soul. Let the evil out of your mind and listen to my words. Hand over the terrors that haunt your being and trust in the words of your holy savior, for I will keep you safe and show you the peace you long for. Listen to my voice and let me guide you to the light, for my word is unquestionable. Rest in my arms, and I will cast out the darkness and grant your soul repose."

As soon as I spoke, Father Antonius stopped screaming and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Rox could not help but stare in awe along with Mia as I performed a miracle right in front of their eyes and spoke to the soul of this priest. The same thing was what happened to Nova, but this had an instant effect, whereas Nova's sanity started to deteriorate slowly throughout the years. The old man opened his eyes and met mine, realizing who I am and staring at me with a dropped jaw. "My... my lord... It is you..."

"Yes, Father Antonius. It is I, the deity your pray to," I replied. "Now relax and close your eyes, for you must be exhausted."

The commander opened the door and stood in front of it, waiting with bated breath to hear the news. Roxanna nodded to him with a tearful smile, and so he approached us and held the archpriest's hand. "Are you alright, Father?" Luke asked. The archpriest looked at the man under his command and pointed at me.

"Kneel," the old man told the unaware commander, who looked at Father Antonius and back at me. "Kneel in front of your god, Luke."

I sighed and conjured my sword, planting it in the ground while holding it with my two hands. Upon seeing it and taking a closer look at the dragon and universe ornaments, Luke went on his knees in the blink of an eye and held his head against the floor. "Forgive me, your holiness, for I was not aware of your identity. I deserve punishment for this heresy." I did not want either of these men to know who I was, but the harbinger had to come and complicate things. My initial plan was to come, take Rox, and mosey out of here. But I was not going to let this man suffer and tremble in fear as he took his last breath, especially when I could easily help and ease his pain. But when everyone around me was relieved by the archpriest being saved, I was consumed with the feeling of trepidation. I had the gut feeling that the harbinger was still here, watching us from the shadows. I wish it was just my paranoia, but I felt his dark presence. I felt the eyes of chaos on me, staring with evil intent. However, I could not tell where he was watching me from or how close he was. I just... felt him.

"Ah, whatever. You're pious men, so I will accept you two addressing me as such. BUT!" The two men looked at me after I shouted the last word. "Don't tell a single soul. NO ONE!"

"You have our word, O Lord of the dragons."

"My deity name is Juxtynoktrios. J-U-X-T-Y-N-O-K-T-R-I-O-S. But in front of everyone, you will keep calling me 'Adventurer' and 'Justin, the hunter,' got it?"

In unison, the two men responded: "Yes, my Lord."

It was after this revelation that I noticed that the TV in the room was on, and it was displaying nothing but static. Rox reached for the remote and turned it off. But before she could place the remote back on the table, the TV turned itself back on. Rox raised her hand, informing us that she didn't do anything before turning the TV off again. She placed the remote on the table and shifted her focus towards Father Antonius, but I kept mine at the TV screen. To everyone's surprise but mine, the TV turned on once more. It started cycling through channels in random, but I knew that it was to send a message.

"The... D... Moon... ing... is... co..."

The TV screen returned to static, but this time, a figure could be seen through it. It was a humanoid silhouette that had its back turned towards us. What stuck out of it were the edges of that dreaded dark armor that was all too familiar to me. Mia took two slow and careful steps towards the screen, but I stopped her and pulled her back. The silhouette turned towards us and met us with its blinding red eyes that drove enough fear into Luke's heart that he tumbled backward. The priest held a hand over his heart, and his breathing intensified, realizing who the man on the screen is... if he could even be called a man at this point. The two girls promptly hid behind me before I wrapped my arms around them, anticipating an attack. The man on the screen pointed his finger at me.

"JUSTIN! THIS STORY IS NEARING ITS CONCLUSION! THE END IS NIGH! PREPARE YOURSELF... TO PERISH AND DECAY!"

With that, the TV exploded in front of our faces in a blast strong enough to have had everyone in the room engulfed in flames and burnt to smithereens. If it wasn't for my armor that absorbed the impact like it was nothing but a breeze of air, everyone else would have been burnt to ashes. When the smoke settled, I dematerialized my armor and checked on everyone. The doors burst open as knights flooded the room and drew their weapons, followed by the nuns that were kicked out of the room. The threat was no more, however, as the harbinger only intended to send a message. Nevertheless, his evil aura still lurked in the room. The knights and nuns that entered the room were immediately consumed by a sense of dread and fear that derived from the harbinger's presence.

I turned to Rox and Mia, hugging them and pulling them towards me to keep them safe, and the two girls hugged me back, embracing me with their love. The explosion was strong enough to blast the priest's chair away, but Luke managed to keep the elder safe. The nuns approached everyone and cast healing spells that were as effective as potions, but not Alex's golden arm.

"Was that... was that your armor?" Rox asked with a smile on her face, completely disregarding the fact that we just got attacked. I nodded and helped the two girls up before walking to the priest, who sat on his bed, holding a glass of water.

The old man looked at us and said: "I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about. What are you going to do?"

"We have to go and meet the young oracle. Aphroditia Du Ciel Adrasteia. She can help me complete my mission, Father. It's either that, or we have to search the entire planet one dragon at a time." I whispered the word 'dragon.'

"I-I-I can ask other churches to send you help! To aid you in our noble efforts! What can I do?" The priest asked, almost begging for me to tell him.

I crossed my hands and said: "For now, Rox will accompany me. When the time comes, that dude from the TV will send his armies to battle everyone and everything throughout the world. If you can get into contact with every church possible and tell them to be ready, then that should suffice. I am not sure what else you can do."

"Consider it done," The priest replied.

As I was trying to leave, Kaden appeared before us. "Father Antonius, why is this fool talking to you like this?!" It was as if he forgot he lost to me in a fight and got embarrassed in front of a crowd of people. Rox stepped towards the arrogant knight, hoping to punch some respect into him. She stopped before she could do anything when the priest spoke.

"Kaden. Did you not lose a duel to this young man? Show him some respect," The priest answered, much to Kaden, Mia, and Rox's shock.

"Lost a duel?" Mia and Rox asked in unison, looking at me and receiving a wink in return before I walked in front of them with my hands in my pockets. We headed to Roxanna's room, where I asked her to pack anything she feels could be useful. Mia sat on the bed and browsed through her phone to contact the group, and I looked through one of the windows as Rox packed. Mia decided to be of use and helped the knight with her stuff. The voices of the girls were drowned away by my thoughts as I felt a sense of guilt for being the reason that the priest was targeted because of me. Had I not come by to pick up Roxanna, the harbinger might not have had the need to target them to send me a message. That sense of guilt planted the urge in me to get this thing over with as soon as possible.

'The longer I take to ascend, the more people will get hurt...' I thought to myself. This is the true message of the harbinger. He, too, wants me to ascend as soon as possible. His patience must have been wearing thin ever since I received, nay, unlocked my powers. I could only imagine what lengths he'll go through in order to accelerate the process. It is now a race against time, and I don't know how much time we have left. One thing I am sure of, however. And that it's sure as hell not months, maybe not even weeks. The more I think about it, the more intense the urge gets.

"I hope you don't mind flying, Rox. It's gonna be a bit harsh at first, but-" I was cut off by the sound of a phone dropping. I turned around and saw Rox on her knees, holding her hands in front of her mouth and crying rivers. I ran to her as fast as I could and held her. "What's wrong?!"

"Justin..." Mia spoke. I turned to look at her and saw that she was pointing at the dropped phone. The screen was facing the floor when I went to pick it up. I turned it to see the screen and nearly dropped the phone myself when I saw the horrifying image of the harbinger. When I examined the photo, I saw that it was the harbinger staring down at the phone as it took a picture of him. Judging by the location of the ceiling lights that appeared in the background of the dark image, the evil creature stood over Rox's bed. I looked at the time the photo was taken and had my heart nearly stop when I noticed that it was taken at 2:30 AM. The harbinger came into Rox's room and took a picture of him standing over her while she slept. I assumed that the innocent girl was busy with her knight duties and thus did not notice the photo. The frightened wolf-girl buried her face in my chest and cried her eyes out. Mia wrapped her arms around Rox's back to comfort her through this horrifying experience. My blood began to boil as I realized that this was nothing but an attempt to torment me with the thought that he could reach the people that I hold near and dear to my heart and end them in an instant. He knew that I was coming to get Rox and planned to do this out of his sick sadism. I started to regret ever bringing Roxanna with me to hunt that dragon, but when I looked at her and saw how safe she felt in my embrace, the regret vanished in an instant.

"How about I get you to sleep?" I suggested to the crying wolf who nodded, and so I used the Morpheus Magni ability to put her to rest. Mia double-checked Rox's stuff before I put them in my magic satchel and exited the room through the window.

"She feels safe with you. I love how looks up to you and... looks at you with those gorgeous eyes of hers," Mia stated. "I feel the exact same way. I... I don't know what I'd do without you, Justin."

I kissed the devil's lips before carrying the wolf-girl in my arms and jumping out of the window. Not a soul saw us exit the building and spawn the car a few blocks away from the church. I sat on the driver's seat and drove back to the yacht's location with Mia and a sleeping Rox. Rox eventually woke up to find herself lying in the back of my car with her head on my lap as my doppelganger drove us to the destination. Mia sat in the front seat and turned around to greet her new friend. "Rise and shine, gorgeous!" The wolf-girl wiped her eyes and looked at me.

"Where... where are we?" Rox asked.

I stroked her hair and told her that we are on the road to the yacht. Rox sat up and fixed her clothes before leaning on me and resting her head on my shoulder. Mia looked at the wolf with narrowed eyes, showing her disapproval. "I'm watching you, Rox." Mia threatened, only for Roxanna to smile at the devil and tell her to join us, to which Mia replied by removing her seatbelt and jumping in the back. The two girls laughed as they indulged themselves in my deiform body, taking it all in and pleasing themselves simply by the sensation of touch. The laughter of joy soon turned to moans as I began to kiss them and caressed their bodies with my divine touch.

When it was time to kick it up a gear, Mia said: "Put the roof up, Justin. It's going to be a wild ride..."