Requiem Online: Synergy

Chapter Fifteen: The Mystery of Cain

Johnathan was stationed in the barracks with the rest of the Zodiac Warriors, as Sophie came in to discuss something urgent.

"Johnathan, I have something I need to speak to you and the Warriors about." She said, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Something like that. I received a letter from an old friend. He is a Beta Tester. The last one still alive, or at least he was. He believed that someone was hunting the Beta Testers down to get information on how to save us and return us back to the world, but when the Beta Testers told the hunter that they didn't know if there was a way, the hunter killed them. Out of fear, he hid away in the Mountains of Ash and Fog. The letter said that the hunter was close to finding him, he could feel it."

"Do you think he's still alive?"

"I don't know, but that's what I want you and the others to figure out. I would send the others to investigate, but the Hunter is far too strong for them to handle. If he could wipe out the Beta Testers, then he has to be as strong if not stronger than the Beta Testers themselves."

"The Beta Testers, they're the ones that the lore is written about right? The legendary warriors who fought in legendary wars and defeated the strongest creatures in Nova?"

"Yeah, a lot of players think the lore is just stories the creator put in to expand the world's story, but they took place during the ten year beta trial that a select few was a part of. The legendary heroes are the Beta Testers, which is why this new foe is far too dangerous for the lower class warriors to handle."

"Okay, where do we begin?"

"Go to Oceanside, that's where the first Beta Tester was killed. I have a contact there that says he might have some information on who the Hunter is. Whenever you finish up there, head to the Mountains of Ash and Fog. At the top of the second highest peak, there's a cave system. Follow it downwards, you'll come across a cavern with 5 tunnels leading in different directions. Take the 2nd one on the right. It leads to another chamber. The chamber has no tunnels or exits. It's protected by a powerful mirage spell. Repeat these 3 words: Soma, Kael, Ruze. This will deactivate the spell for a few seconds and will open the entrance to Cain's hideout. Investigate the area and see if Cain is alive or dead. Once you're done, report back to me."

"We'll leave immediately."

The Zodiac Warriors geared up and left for Oceanside, which was a three day trip. Johnathan's Port Disc wouldn't work on a group this large, so walking was the only choice.

The world of Nova was dangerous during the day, but at night is when the truly terrifying creatures came out.

After 4 hours of walking, the group came across one such creature, a Daemon. Daemons was by far the most dangerous creatures in Nova, but due to the rarity of the species there was little known about them.

This particular Daemon stood 11 feet tall. His body was long and skinny, as was his arms and legs. His body was pure black. His face was featureless, except his pure white eyes that gave off a slight glow.

The group tried to sneak around, but it was useless as the Daemon spotted them very easily.

"He spotted us! Get ready to fight! Bear and Zayne with me, the rest of you focus on defending us and each other. We'll focus on attacking attacking the beast."

The three rushed the Daemon and began to attack it. Their blades did very little damage to the powerful creature. Bear was flung into a tree with a slight wave of the Daemon's hand. Zayne went to check on him, but he was flung away too.

"Minerva and Cole, go check on the Bear and Zayne. The rest of you focus on attacking the Daemon. Fight with your lives and you just might live."

Johnathan, who wielded Mars, began to think of a strategy that would allow them to escape. None of the plans he came up with could counter the Daemon's power. It was kill or be killed now. 12 versus one, even with the numbers advantage, this wouldn't be an easy fight.

Johnathan switched to Neptune, hoping to somewhat even out the reach advantage the Daemon had on the whole group.

"Maxwell, listen to me. We're going to take the focus off of the other members. I'm going to share my Flames with you, it'll increase your power and allow you to do a lot more damage than normal."

"Will that even work?"

"I don't know, but we have to try." Johnathan said as he touched Maxwell's spear, successfully spreading his Flames to the weapon.

"Huh, would you look at that."

With Maxwell and Johnathan now powered up by the Flames, the odds were a little more evened out, or so they thought.

As the battle raged on, the warriors grew tired. They're health was low and a few had severe injuries. The Daemon's health barely lowered, and nothing they could do helped.

A few more hours passed, 2 members of the Zodiac Warriors were killed in combat, but there was a silver lining arriving very soon.

"Can you feel it? The Daemon's getting weaker."

"It's also getting brighter out here. Of course, that makes total sense!"

"What does?"

"The Daemon is a nightime monster. With the sun coming up, his power is waning. They usually go back to the Daemon World during the day, but since he's fighting us, he can't."

"Everyone listen to me!" Johnathan yelled out. "The Daemon's power is weakening because of the sun. Once it comes over the horizon, the Daemon will be weak enough to kill. That's when we'll all attack at once. Use your strongest technique and put an end to this!"

Johnathan, now using Mars again, swung at the Daemon's hand, severing it in the process.

"It's vulnerable, now's our chance! Everyone, attack now!"

With a thunderous roar, all of the Zodiac Warriors unleashed there strongest technique. The pure power of the techniques combined managed to kill the Daemon and grant the group victory.