Legacy of the Betelgeuse

Chelsa and Francesca are running toward Ivonna and Grisell. They both are catching their breath as they both look at the time on their screen. Francesca then looks at Ivonna while shaking her head and raising her eyebrows.

"Ivonna, how long until he's back from the Holy Temple? We need him over here as soon as possible. We can't handle all of them at once like Trevor is usually do."

Ivonna is shaking her head.

"He hasn't replied to my messages..."

Ivonna looks at Chelsea.

"He replied to your messages, Chessi?"

Chelsea shakes her head.

"No."

Ivonna sighs.

"I don't know what is going on over there, but it seems that he's currently occupied with something else. Even if he's trying to get over here as fast as he can, it will still take hours since all the teleportation devices in the Alliance Kingdoms are destroyed. He's also bringing the Saintess with him, so I don't think he can make it here in time. We must do what we have to do and for as long as we can."

Chelsea is looking at the map.

"It's thanks to him that we got the map of the tunnels, but at the same time, why did he have to be the one who retrieved it when we need him the most in this kind of situation. Also, how the hell did they made this tunnel! We have been walking deeper into the tunnel for 4 hours, and we haven't even reached a third of this... long-ass tunnel!"

Ivonna is looking at the map and tilts her head.

"Yeah, this seems impossible. I think we should just hold the line here and prevent the monsters from passing us through. It's better than have to waste our energy by walking deeper into the tunnel."

The ceiling of the tunnel is shaking and a huge thumping sound is coming from above them. The three of them are gulping and staring at the ceiling nervously while praying that the ground is strong enough to handle Shazjae's weight and not crumbling and burying them alive.

Grisell is covering her head with her hands.

"What do you guys think is happening up there right now? Do you guys think that Kingstar and the Aarus Empire's faction can handle Shazjae on their own?"

Ivonna is sighing and then looks at the players near her. She leans toward the three of them and raises her eyebrows.

"They can't. Kingstar knows that, Queenstar knows that. They're just giving us time for whatever we are going or planning to do. The Eluna Empire's faction will be the next one to take the aggro. After that, it's our turn. We are going to do that over, and over, for the next 6 days."

Francesca is raising her eyebrow while staring at Ivonna.

"Are you f*cking serious?"

Ivonna looks at Francesca with her serious expression while nodding. Chelsea is swinging her daggers around while whining about it.

Ivonna looks at the ceiling.

"Trevor, we really need your help..."

(At the surface.)

Kingstar is fighting the monsters while monitoring the players that are luring Shazjae.

"Bring that thing away from us! I said, do a circle pattern and keep doing that for as long as you can! We are not trying to kill it, we are just luring him away for as long as possible!"

Boschwell is shaking his head.

"We have been doing this for hours, Schneider. Don't be too harsh with them. But yeah, our formation is getting sloppy and everyone is exhausted. We can't do this any longer. Half of them already have exhausted debuff on them and they can't keep up with the formation."

Kingstar swinging his swords at the monsters.

"It doesn't matter. They can hate me for whatever reason they have. This is not just about them, this is about everyone in this game. If they're whining, at least keep doing their job until they can no longer do it. Everyone is bearing the same responsibility, and they all should know about that."

Boschwell is panting and tilts his head.

"Well, you're right. But we need to switch with Diamond and Lothair soon. We need to rest."

Queenstar is stabbing the monster on the ground and then pulls her sword. She exhales deeply and then looks at Kingstar.

"He's right. We need to switch."

Kingstar stabs his sword on the ground.

"Fine, I'm going to tell Diamond to get ready in 30 minutes. We will rest and just rest. No funny business like staying awake and watching other players."

They both nod and then Queenstar and Boschwell are informing all the players that they have 30 minutes left before they all can get some rest. As soon as they all hear that, their morale is rising a bit and then it give them a small boost to do their job properly.

Kingstar tightens his gloves while staring at Shazjae.

"Can we really do this? We need a miracle to survive this invasion."

Queenstar is looking down at the ground while catching her breath.

"The only person who can make a miracle is him, and yet he went missing."

Kingstar is looking at the north while sighing.

"Where are you, Trevor?"

(At the Acuria Kingdom.)

"Saintess Aria! Are you alright? That was close!"

Aria gets up and her hand and arm are covered with bruises.

"I'm okay, Mister Trevor. Please, focus on helping those people. Their lives are more important than my condition."

I nod.

"Please stay near Azrael. He will protect you."

Aria nods and continues healing the wounded people behind her.

To think that this place is already surrounded by monsters is irritating me so much. The only way for these monsters to reach this place is by coming from the secret tunnel. I'm planning to go down there and clean up the tunnel while going to the Maryoca Kingdom by using the tunnel, but knowing that Aria is here with me, I can't do that since I don't want to risk her life. The only answer to this problem is by blowing up and blocking the tunnel so these monsters can get in here.

A knight is running towards me.

"Sir, we already covered the tunnel's entrance with barrels filled with oils."

I sigh and nod.

"Finally. Let's blow it up and then cover all the gaps with boulders so those monsters have no way out."

The knight nods and then lifts his hand.

A massive explosion coming from behind us, and everyone is startled by it. Then we can hear growls and screeches sound coming from there. I'm so sick of hearing those sounds and I wish I can just tear their necks until they can't make any sound anymore.

I help Aria and give all those heavily injured NPCs a [Max Health Potion]. I help them drink until everyone is fully recovered. They're looking at us and they notice that Aria is wearing a necklace that can be recognized by the people of the Alliance Kingdoms that she's from the Holy Temple, and the bracelet that she's wearing is the sign of the candidate of the next Saintess. They're all immediately on their knees and pressing their hands together.

"Saintess!"

Aria is hesitant to answer their prayers, but at the same time, she wants to make everyone feel at ease. She looks at me and hoping for me to help her out. I just shake my head because I want her to handle this matter on her own.

Aria shakes her head.

"I'm not the Saintess... I'm still one of the candidates."

They all shake their heads.

"No, the candidates are not allowed to leave the Holy Temple. The only one who can leave the Holy Temple is the Saintess. We know that you are here to help us all from this nightmare! Please, Saintess. Let us pray to Betelgeuse with you, the Saintess by our side, and hope our prayers will be answered."

Aria can't say anything because no matter what she's going to say, they won't listen to her, and they will believe what they believe. In the end, Aria is praying with all the people. I check my inbox since I muted it because I have to focus on saving these people. I'm surprised that I see dozens of messages from Ivonna, Francesca, Grisell, Emma, Michael, Leo, Hans, Kingstar, Diamond, Lothair, and Aspen. Everyone wrote the same message. They're asking where I'm at and they all need my help.

I'm replying to all their messages, but then Aria's body is glowing and everyone is shocked by it. Suddenly Aria collapses and falls to the ground, and then a notification appears.

[Exclusive Quest: Protect the Saintess Aria Skardine]

[Betelgeuse has chosen Aria Skardine as the next Saintess. All the heroes of Orion also chose her as the next Saintess. Aria Skardine is currently getting a blessing and will gain the power to protect the people of Orion]

[6hrs 00mins 00secs until Aria Skardine absorbed the blessings]

[Reward: Exclusive Bond with Aria Skardine, Exclusive Title [Holiness], Exclusive Passive Skill [Second-Chance]]

[Failed: Aria Skardine's death will be permanent]