Relic-Verse: Champions of Hope

Chapter 33

-- Part 1 --

Leo sat in the grass of a training field, the wind blowing through his hair as his blade sat across his legs. Nearby stood Faron, Cardinal, Nightstalk, and Anchor, the four heroes patiently waiting for their students, while Leo's patience progressively thinned. The field was enclosed by high walls of metal, with dormant lights mounted every few yards. On the south side of the area was a large building with the acronym NGI plastered on top of the emblem of a golden shield.

"They aren't very punctual." The foreigner glanced at Faron, who simply shrugged and pulled out his phone.

"Usually some of them are. Something might have come up to delay them."

Cardinal glanced worriedly at the building, "You don't think they got involved in another villain attack, do you?"

The detective seized up, now staring at the building while Nightstalk shook his head. "That would be ridiculous. Any attacker with any form of sense would realize attacking the Next Gen Institute wouldn't end well again."

Cardinal flared her wings and began pacing back and forth. "But the break-in at District 3's prison last night... You know the villains unaccounted for right? Banshee and Calorfur. Avery's brother and one of the attackers of the NGI."

Anchor grimaced before shaking his head, "Those kids can cover themselves if that were to happen. And would have contacted us by now. They are probably just running late."

Nightstalk crossed his arms and glared at the doors of the building, "But they have proven to us that they have a tendency to do the stupidest of things. Such as handling dangerous situations on their own."

Faron slipped his phone into his coat before beginning to walk to the building. "Alright, let's check it ourselves- Nevermind." His ears perked up as he heard familiar voices arguing, so he promptly stepped back to the heroes as the students burst from the door.

"Micheal this is stupid!"

"The creature of the deep is right! Stop moving!"

Faron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose while the students approached. Micheal was currently marching directly towards Anchor, with Coral's tentacles wrapped around his biceps, desperately trying- and failing- to hold him back, and Lillith futility pushing against his chest.

"Anchor! I've come to bargain!" Micheal finally stopped a few yards away from the hero.

"I thought you were joking about his headstrong attitude..." Vivian stared worriedly at her classmate as the rest of the students gathered slightly behind the muscular boy, all of them decked out in their hero gear.

Avery huffed and flared her wings, "Nope."

Micheal gently pushed Lillith aside and slammed his fists together. "We challenge you heroes to a battle! Ten vs four!"

"Five, actually." The students jumped in alarm as Leo stood up from the grass and sheathed his sword. "You all need to work on your passive perception, I wasn't even trying to hide."

Catherine tilted her head and looked at Evan, who simply shrugged at her before addressing the newcomer. "So who are you?"

"As I said, your fifth opponent. My name is Leo, I am the Legendary Hero of Talon, and I have come to train my fellow Champions of Hope." Micheal, Coral, Lilith, Vivian, and Juliet shared a collective look of confusion at the statement.

Arica squinted her eyes, confusion on her face as she noticed the blue glow around the blade itself rather than Leo. "So... When were you chosen exactly?"