Gate Guardian - Tale of the Blazing Heart

Phase 59: Infiltrating the Black Cross

Phase 59: Infiltrating the Black Cross

[Myrrh City – Black Cross Haven Entrance]

[9:48 AM]

This is the day of our operation.

Three days have passed, and now Erylle retrieved her power as a Gate Guardian. The Reginleif has now fully accepted her as a wielder. She is our trump card against the Cursed Guardians, if ever we got attacked by them in this place.

The Black Cross Haven.

We have our doubts, but there is no guarantee that they are the ones helping the Dark Legion. If ever our theory is right about the mother legion is with the Cursed Guardians, we are all in trouble. If ever the Black Cross Legion is not our enemy, then there should be a traitor somewhere else in this haven. And we are here to figure it all out and finish the jigsaw puzzle.

But we didn't come here unprepared. Felix planned this for a couple of days together with the back-up plan and back-ups of back-up plan. There seems no hole in his script.

No, there's a hole.

He didn't know about Asumi being a Heavenly Blade wielder. This information that I'm possessing must be kept a secret that I shall take on my grave. Asumi trusted me and Erylle on this matter. I do not doubt Asumi or anything, but the voice of Erylle echoed on my head.

"The Heavenly Blade of Death shall be kept a secret to all our allies and enemies. The information leak about this blade can be fatal not only to the Gate Guardians, but for the whole universe."

That is the reason that Asumi is our real trump card in this battle...no, war. She can't use it freely like Neo or Erylle since she's holding the lives of infinite number of beings in the endless realms of multi-dimensions.

<>

The plan involves all of our Guardians available.

The first team consists of Erylle, Felix, and me. We are the ones who will face the Black Cross Legion and hold a conversation in front. The two legion masters will talk their way to the legion master of the Black Cross and extract all information as harmless as possible. We are counting on Erylle's <Heartsong> Ability here. If we're lucky, we could spot a traitor or two.

The only reason why I'm here in the first team is because I can revive any of the legion masters who will be targeted by the Cursed Guardians, if any. Those <Heartstopper Curse> are really powerful.

The second team consists of Caroline and Skye, who will be relaying us information from a nearby rooftop of a building. They are the ones who will report any activity to Felix via Skye's <Direct Whisper> in case that our radio communications via earpieces were jammed. On the other hand, Caroline has the ability to see what others are seeing, which is called <Forepath> ability. Together with my <Timelock> ability, we can survey the inside of the Haven.

The third team consists of Heushac, Mianette, and Asumi who will be waiting at the front gate. They serve two main purposes. One is that they are an obvious decoy. Those three idiots are really powerful in terms of combat and they can hold their selves long enough for the backup to come by. The second reason is that they will be the ones rescuing us if ever Benedict or other powerful Cursed Guardians appear in the vicinity.

The last team consists of the one and only Zion, who will survey the nearby streets on a disguise. If he notices a suspicious guy or comes in a trouble, he can turn himself invisible at will so he's not really in danger.

<>

We entered the gate of the haven normally like all people do. There are two Guardians escorting us three to the main hall via the flowery garden. It seems that the Black Cross Mansion has recovered from the attack of the Cursed Guardians.

I stepped back and silently inspected the guardians escorting us. They are wearing Weapon Gems as a necklace, but their black jacket makes it hard to examine more without using my ability. My <Timelock> Ability only lasts for fifteen minutes, so I can't waste it unless we're already inside.

"Is something wrong?" The gray-haired guardian asked me.

"N-Nothing, don't mind me." I nervously answered with a smile.

His eyes are glowing with a gold cross-like symbol. This means that he is a legit Guardian. But I don't know how to figure out contact lenses so I surely don't know. We proceeded to the main hall without perceiving anything fishy. If they plan to kill us inside, these two Black Cross Guardians are great actors.

"So, what brings you here?"

We were immediately escorted to the office of their Legion Master, Sister Amanda Cryst. She is still wearing the same black nun clothes just like we last saw her. There are two Guardians standing beside her. No, two Holy Knights. Those two have the rank of S+, which means they are the most powerful Guardians in history.

Holy Knights are the best Guardians of the Black Cross in terms of effectively and efficiency. They also serve as the senators in the Gate Guardian Council, and the Legion Master of the Black Cross serves as a president. Once stepping up into a Class A Guardian, they will have an option to join the Holy Knights. But the Gate Guardian Council only accepts 24 Holy Knights at a time, and is also decided by ovation of the other Holy Knights.

One of them is wearing a cap above his white hair, green cold eyes and steady composure. The other one is a blonde with blue eyes and a stiff body. None of them looks like a Cursed Guardian, according to my inspection in their eyes.

We got a background check about this nun. She's a middle aged religious woman who was appointed by the High Guardians as the overseer of all the Gate Guardian operations. She is the supreme leader of us Guardians, and we are in great trouble if she's with the Dark Legion.

High Guardians are people who advanced above Class A+. Some of them registered themselves as a Holy Knight of the Black Cross Legion to gain more fame and honor. But some, such as Neo, chose to be a Rogue Guardian in order to protect their own cities.

"She's clear." Erylle whispered to me. She just used her <Heartsong> ability.

"Our Legion has taken massive damage five days ago. All of my Guardians got abducted." Felix answered the nun.

The nun's eyes widened in shock. She stood up and lightly slammed her wooden table with her palms, making an echo that ran around the room.

"T-That's horrible!"

"Yeah, and also the Blazing Heart got an ambush letter a week ago." Felix handed the envelope together with the letter. "There is a seal of approval from the Holy Knights on the envelope."

"This is meant to be given to Skye Goldcliffe, the traitor of our legion."

Erylle snapped...a little. She started defending Skye as calm and as respectful as possible.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but my claim here is...Skye is innocent."

"How can you tell that much?" the nun glared at Erylle.

"I have the ability to read the hearts of the people."

"And how can you prove that you're not with the Dark Legion, anyway?" the nun replied with sarcasm. "You're defending a fugitive that escaped from justice."

"We're asking the same question to you, mademoiselle~" Felix interrupted their argument with poise. This is turning to be a battleground of words.