It was a common knowledge for Adventurers that the Palace beasts would not leave their domain. The Phantoms would continuously roam the barren grounds, their despair matching the dry soil and the lifeless fields.

The Guards would march around the courtyard of the Palace. They would be in groups and squads, making them hard to deal with even when they have low defenses.

The Knights would walk around the halls endlessly. Each Knight would have a hall to walk in, there was a Knight in each hall of the Palace. There were eight to ten towers in the Palaces. The Palaces with eight towers are the Azure and Crimson and the rest have ten towers.

These towers are heavily guarded by the Archers. They have a range around each tower that they determine when to attack an intruder. As time passed by, the Archers' tower range are painted on the ground so that the new Adventurers would see where the danger zone is.

The Mages are inside the chambers of the Palace. They are the Summoners of new beasts and they would sustain magic from the already summoned. How they harness their own magic is still unkown. The Azure Palace Mages had nothing special in them in the previous investigation.

Finally, the Palace Kings. The Palace Kings would not leave their throne room. Some said that the Mages would summon but the Kings would control the other beasts. Some even speculated that the Kings are the source of powers for their beasts. And that they would draw out their magic from the Abyss itself.

For the few who knew what actually happened at the Azure Palace Conquest, the Azure King left its throne room, making it the first Palace Beast to do so.

Yet here they are, fighting a Grass Palace Knight in the courtyard. The Knight had a swift movement in it, and its strength was almost doubled the other Knights.

They were already having a hard time with the Knight when four Guards were summoned.

"They're spawned already?" Lance gasped. "This is ridiculous!"

Lance slashed his swords twice, creating crescent-shaped attacks that hit the Knight, only scratching its armor.

"As expected, it's tough," Lance sighed. "Black and White Annihilation!"

Lance leaped above the Knight and crossed his swords. He conjured two coiling beams that hit the Knight with a powerful blast. There was a shock wave that came along with the attack that blew the Guards a few meters back.

"Take care of the Guards," Lance said as he landed on the ground. "The fight is not over."

In the dust that clouded over the Knight, a figure emerged. The Knight brandished its sword and raised it, slashing it forward and sent a beam of green light towards them.

"Black and White Fortress!" Lance erected his impregnable shield in front of them. The green beam could not even dent the protective shield, vanishing into thin air as the Knight who casted it lowered its sword.

"Humans…" the Knight screeched. "Why are… you… strong?"

"Lance, don't tell me that's nothing!" Elliot yelled. "He clearly spoke to us."

"I… am Erebus…" the Knight screeched again. "My King… needs to be… protected."

"From what?" Elliot yelled, he still was raising his sword up for the Guards who were standing in front of them. The Guards weren't moving, they were only watching them.

"The… darkness…" the Knight answered Elliot. "Protect the King… from the darkness…"

"Holy cow," Ed sighed. "He legit answered Elliot with a full sentence. Now tell us that that's just some anatomy shizzle."

"No…" Lance said, filled with dread. "That's… it can actually talk."

"Can you please stop attacking?" Lance yelled. "We need to talk."

The Knight was still for a moment. They waited for any responses but they failed to have it when the beasts dashed forward, running in full speed with its body leaned forward and its sword beside its face.

Lance couldn't react on time, he was still stunned by the events that he didn't had time to move.

The moment was close and his chances were slim. The Knight's sword was approaching his chest and it was in a split second's time that a figure emerged in front of him.

His friends could swear their lives they saw the sword reached Elliot's chest, but the sword was flicked back along with the Knight. The armored beast had to drag its metal boots with it as it recovers from the sudden burst of shock.

"I guess he's not answering anymore," Elliot chuckled. "Let's just finish this."

Elliot ran towards the beast, copying its movements. He leaned forward and raised his sword beside his head, preparing for the one thrust he would make.

"Hasty Aspire!" Elliot yelled and covered himself with his white mist. The Knight saw him vanish before its very own eyes, shocked about the boy's disappearance.

Confused, the heavily armored beast took a step forward, only to stop in its tracks when a hole was pierced in its chest.

"Hasty Thrust."

Elliot was stranded midair, his hand was extended in front of him, gripping his sword tightly as he bore the hole in the beast's body. Only when the Knight fell on its knees that Elliot landed on the ground. He stood and waited for the notification, sighing when it came not long after.

'Grass Palace Knight killed. +40,000XP'

'Quest [ Azure Palace Guards ] completed.'

'You now have the Azure Palace Guard Emblem.'

'Activate Emblem?'

[ Yes ] [ No ]

"Yes," Elliot selected. He took the body of the Knight with him, letting his friends annihilate the Guards before he collected their carcasses too.

"So, what now?" Ed asked.

"I'll spend the next few days pulling," Elliot replied. "You guys should go train. I'll be in touch with you in three days, and until then I won't leave my room."

"What about Dustin though?" Connor found himself asking. "Weren't you supposed to guard him yourself?"

"He seemed to have completely forgotten about me after Aquarius came," Elliot chuckled. "That guy has the same affinity as him and they seem to be getting closer."

"We should let him train the boy," Ed suggested to Lance. "With his training now, the kid is probably stronger than me before I met you guys. Imagine if someone like Aquarius trains him. That dude's the God of the Sea."

"The God of the Sea?" Elliot asked. "Is that like a title?"

Ed nodded, "Yes. Given to Adventurers who had completed the Solo Campaign of the Sea God. Only four had completed it ever since. Aquarius is the third."

"And who is the last one?" Elliot narrowed his eyes.

Lance placed his hand on Ed's shoulder before the latter could reply. "Well, the fourth person is… well, dead. She was killed about two weeks ago, right after she completed the Campaign."

"A-And what killed her?" Elliot gulped, feeling the intense atmosphere thickening.

"The Deep Sea Wanderer," Lance said, his voice filled with dread. "A beast that devoured an entire group of island. The fourth God wasn't so lucky and got eaten along with it."