While he is sinking, Gran starts to reminisce his past. He starts to remember how his little sister smiles as he tries to reach for the image with his hands. He can only remember her name while his breath is slowly losing. But before he truly goes to the bottom of the lake floor, he feels something is burning up.
"Don't give up Brother... You are our only hope."
With these words Gran's head reset, and while he is in the water Soli is soaking his hands and heating the whole lake up. Gran then struggles as his pendant and dagger glow. "I need to get out of here!!" His mind is being addled by his struggling. He then put both of his hands on his back, burning up as the water continues boil.
"Repel!!" Gran uses his Repel to launch himself out of the water and eject himself through the cool air. Soli deviously grins as he have created earlier four earthen turret like while he is circulating and heating up air inside, formulating a multiple plasma beam shot as he waits for the Exorcist to get our of the water.
"Sweet!" Soli exclaims as he points at Gran that is now in the air. The Exorcist notice that the Monster prepares some fast moving projectile to him. He maximize his Repel Skin in order to block the attack. As soon as the plasma beam shot hits Gran, it redirects as it pierce through his clothes put it go pass his skin.
"Tch! How tough! This Monster really is something! Why the heck the higher ups thought it is good to make this monstrosity?!" The Exorcist ask himself as he uses Repel again to move out of the plasma beam and fly over it. He then lands directly to the turret and crush it with his feet. He also destroy the others with a fast Compression and space render smash combo.
As Gran turns his eyes to the Monster, he is looking up in awe and with a little of a dreadful anticipation as Soli is raising his hands while he is vacuuming the water of the lake as he uses his speed to lunge at the Monster in order to stop what the Monster will do that sheer volume of water he lift up above them.
"Ah ah ah..." Before Gran chambers and unleash his kick he installs several ice spires in order to block and help him create a distance against the Exorcist. Gran falls to the ground as he looks up and Soli lifts the whole lakewater in one hand and he freezes it in an instant. He then lenses up the frozen water and he uses it like a magnifying glass to beam up the heat of the sun against Gran.
The Exorcist moves out and evades the stream of light that is like a laser razing through the ground and Gran looks up to see something that Soli wasn't able to notice a while ago. While he is doing a handstand and jumping out to evade the light lensing in a circling manner, he closes his eyes and focus. He then recognize the coordinates of the frozen ball of water and Soli looks up to see Gran's dagger stuck and buried into the ice.
"Dimensional Boom..." Gran quietly says as Compression starts and a sudden Repel blast the entire area in an instant. This fling Soli through the frozen ball of lakewater as he pierce through above, cracking the massive ice in two.
This whole attack shakes the surrounding as the others are arriving to help Gran, but Soli doesn't want to have them interfering for long. As Soli is falling through, he uses the crack and pieced ice shards and pieces to hop through and he starts to scatter quasi antimatter to hit Gran. The Exorcist hits the hand gesture of putting his right hand's index and middle finger above while putting his left hand's index and middle finger below.
"Stillness of the World."
He engages the time stop as he wades through the darkness and proceed to give the Monster a straight left knee to the face and he do a roundhouse kick to send Soli sideways. He then follows up with a left hook to the side as the time continues as Gran doesn't notice that his ability have finished.
*GUUUACK
Gran doesn't want to let up though, he proceed to give Soli a corkscrew right punch, but before he is able to connect it, Soli pack a small quantity of quasi antimatter at his right hand and he unleash it. The Exorcist's fist sends the Monster rocketing into a fold, but as he carefully lands into the lake's floor, he notices something.
"What the... Did he aim at my pendant?" Gran notices his pendant falling through like a sand. His dagger is what left to his Flow attuned items, and it seems that Soli figured him out. Soli lands in the grassy ground, making a crater that he easily shrugs off and he stands back up, only to notice that his mind is starting to wobble as he is having a hard time to concentrate and calculate.
"Oh, this is not beautiful. Am I hitting my limits? I am just starting to figure out that man's strength." Soli says out to himself as he dust himself off while he is gazing at Gran while the others are now in the lake's shore, where the gigantic ball of ice freezes and touch the whole place with a cold breeze. Van and Sylvia notes how this could be made, while Veronica and Mayuri are looking at what is going on.
"Hey, stay back a little. You can feast on beating the ever living crap out of Soli once I have remove his capability to do his calculations." Gran shouts at his companions as they aren't reacting to it, making Gran believe that he is so far away for them to be heard. "Right now I am betting that his mind isn't gonna be doing what he wants to do, but the situation is actually dire for the both of us." Gran adds.
The reason why he says that is because his nose starts to bleed. The Exorcist notice the blood dripping out, and he sneeze it out and wipe with his torn up sleeve.
"Where in the endgame now Soli, do your worst." Gran says as he starts walking through the sandy lake floor while Soli is above in the other side of the lake, making a hand gesture on his own.
The Monster starts to form a gesture. He put his left hand's small and ring finger below, covered by his right hand's ring and small finger. He then curl up both of his index finger, leaving his middle finger standing while his thumbs curling as well. He starts to clear up his mind and grasp the coordinate within his surrounding, and he feels that Gran enters the coordinates.
"Overlaying the Dimensional Flow, changing realituly fabric. Oh hear me, prayer for beauty and design. Grant me bliss that so kind." Soli utters as Gran starts to run towards him. He also start his hand gesture, and there they bring out there best technique and grasp of the Dimensional Flow.
"Stillness of the World!"
As soon as Gran calls this out, his nose bleeds further as he feels his mind being a mush. He throws his dagger and he uses Repel to further speed it up as he can feel that he can only maintain this time stop for only a moment now. He then notice the darkness of his time stop ability fades as the white, serene call of the Monster's ability overtakes it.
"Ideal World..."
The whole place slightly rumbles as Gran is now in a field of grass, gently swaying trees, flowers that are blooming and their scent filling the air as birds are chirping and for some reason, Soli is now elevated with the running Gran. Soli's closed eyes are now open. As soon as he sees what's in front of him, he tries to tilt his head at the right.
"This is the true bliss that will put anybody's soul at ease, removing the will to fight and later, to exist as I will erase their existence physically, mentally, spiritually and dimensionally." Soli thinks as he sees Gran running to him. The Exorcist then goes leftward and he holds Soli in the back while his dagger is still in the air.
"I am willing to end all of this right here and now." He whispers as he soon grab Soli from behind, stopping him from doing anything as he is now feeling the effect of the Ideal World to him. The serene pocket dimension is giving Gran's soul and mind an ease that he didn't felt before, but his will is burning up as he calculates and running the last attack that he can formulate on his mind.
"Oh no you don't! You'll also be killed if you're not..." Soli screams out as Gran interrupts.
"I don't care! This is for Aisha!!"
Then the dagger hits Soli's neck, burying it there and Gran follows up.
"Dimensional Boom!"
*BOOOOM!!
This attack sends the whole pocket dimension crashing down. The serene place crumbles like a glass as both of them are sent backwards. The impact is so powerful that it tears through Gran's flesh as this directly hit Soli. Both of them are careening to the end of the dimension as they returns to the base world.
Gran is fling into a tree, hitting his back and falling with his mushy mind while Soli got far worse. While the others are now rushing in to see what happens, a silhouette of a little boy is looming over where Soli have gone up to.
"You... You destroy my beautiful body!! I'll make you pay and end this Exorcist..." Soli angrily exclaims as his head remains. His body is completely disintegrated as he grinds his mind into making 8 small legs from his destroyed neck. Once he sprout it in he crawls into where Gran have gone to, and he is able to find him lying face first into the dirt.
"Haha! You really think you will win in such a situation when you're not even half a man Master was. I'll take claim of your body as my new one." Head Soli says as he attempts to jump into Gran, but he is stop by a small but surprisingly strong grip of a child.
"Master... We need to go... Home."
The kid who grab Soli is Louis. Soli tries to use his manipulation to control the boy, only for to fail due to the damage Gran concur onto him, and he is also losing his concentration throughout his existence. Since the smoke is still clearing, Louis is able to grab and take Soli out before the smoke and everything fies down.
"Let me go!! I am delivering the final blow!! You piece of!!" - Soli.
As the two are escaping, Gina is the first one to rush into the spot where Gran is currently lying and unconscious. She put his head on her lap as she check if her man is still breathing, which he is. She tries to call for Gran's name, but he isn't responding as Mayuri and Van tries to calm her down.
"Hey, take it easy! He's just tired that's all." Van says as she is trying to cast a healing spell for Gran. Veronica volunteers to help, but something seems to loom over them. Faffy is not the one that shadowing them above, but a familiar voice calls out to them.
"Cease!! You are all under my jurisdiction now!" The booming yet regal voice commands. The Sword Saint recognizes the said voice, but he is not familiar about the kind of transportation she uses to catch on to them. "How she is able to procure a wyvern? Is she employing a mixed race with dragon's blood?" Van ask as the grayish wyvern descends upon them. Rinko stands guard in front of her leader and Gran while Van ask her to stand down.
"Good morning your highness. I am glad you are able to catch up to us." Van greets his fiance as he forgotten to kneel, which she gesture for him to take in an instant. "I am becoming too lenient on you. Sit." Princess Lucy says as she is standing in front of them after she gets off of the wyvern. Van doesn't like this tone of hers. He then looks at Rinko and Veronica and, using his expression, he ask them to follow his lead to kneel.
"Gran, you are standing accusee by several crimes against the kingdom and its people. You are part of several destruction, murder, and the frustrated murdering of our Sacred Beast." Princess Lucy says as Gina stands to oppose this. "What are you saying?! He help us get rid of the monsters that threaten the people! The destruction wasn't his fault! It is their fault!" Gina defends her man, pointing at the slain monsters and Heralds that they've slew together.
However the princess aren't persuading mood. She then looks at Gina and doubles down to the matter with her. "And you Gina. You are also complicit to what this man have done. I remember that he is under your Mentorship Program right?" Lucy ask as Van stands up and he can't stand what is going on.
"No! Since he becomes a C rank Adventurer he is off from the program itself... But it doesn't mean that you have the right to accuse him of his crimes that he didn't commit!" Gina says as Lucy looks at Van to mean something.
"Emotional charge defense isn't gonna fly off on my presence. Van, apprehend them." Lucy request of the Sword Saint. He is now in a between a rock and a hard place as he needs to decide if he will obey his lover's command or he will oppose her. Before he can act, Sylvia shouts out.
"No your highness! If you want to accuse or try anyone, it should be me!" Sylvia shouts as she approach them in an awkward walk since she's recovering from her injuries. The princess is getting tired of having to deal with this people covering each other while Van can't make up his mind. She waits for her lover to act, but she knows deep down that he wouldn't do it as he is with them through the whole journey, she knows that Van is a good man and have a sense of camaraderie with them.
"If that's the case then Van, I am relieving you of your work as my bodyguard." Lucy commands as she starts casting a spell to summon something, a unique spell for her bloodline. "Hey what are you doing?" Van ask as he finally draws his blade while the princess doesn't shed any mercy on them. As the circle goes to the ground, a powerful azure armored knight appears.
"Our guardian diety, Culann, smite all that will go against my will." Lucy commands as the out of power group huddles to try and resist her summon. Culann is a extremely skilled warrior that Lucy can summon since she's adept at summoning magic, and casting Culann is a feat that King Roan and Queen Victa couldn't match. The summon follows her command, as Van stand between his team and his lover.
"Why are you doing this Lucy? Are you out of your mind?! They struggle, bleed and fight to eliminate the threats that looms over the kingdom! Why is this your answer to them?" Van ask as he staunchly takes a stance as he doesn't want to let Culann go to where the Valkyries, Gran and Sylvia are. He wants to take a stand against this injustice that is happening in front of him.
"In time you'll understand why I am doing this. For now I want them under my custody. Culann, apprehend them." She points with her fan as she wants to cover her face as the azure clad warrior raise his blade to fave Van in a fight.
The Sword Saint tries his best to defeat this summon. He loads his mana into his evony blade and swing it against the gaps in order to eliminate the summon, yet Cullan just endure it and he delivers a gut punch to the Sword Saint and it grabs his sword away. The knight follows up with a sword slash that hits Van's torso. That attack sends Van reeling in pain.
"Why? I thought you are a good person Lucy... I can't comprehend as to why you are doing this." Van struggles to stand up as he sees that Sylvia is preparing to fight, only for her to slip her sword as she's extremely weak due to losing almost all of her Mana.
None of them can actually resist Lucy's power now. All they can do is to obey and it leads Gran finding himself in a cell.
Gran wakes up in a cell while he is tuck in a bed while he is hearing too many rattling noises outside his cell. He wakes up while his whole body is stiff, and he can't move that pretty well. He tries to call out and use his voice, but his throat is dry and he needs some water.
He notice that his head is finally normal. He can think and grasp the Dimensional Flow properly. He tries to use his Repel, which he set to make himself stand up. After doing that he falls into the ground again, all of his limbs are tickling with weakness and he is writhing and struggling on the ground. The cell is dark, with only a candle lighting up outside, Gran struggles to pivot his body around and he thinks.
"Why the heck I am in a damp place like this? What's going on? Did I... Finish Soli? I need to know! Gina? Where is she?" Gran thinks as he crawls in the ground. He hears somebody opens the door from the left side of the cell. He then hears some voice and hears an incoming footstep approaching his cell. He looks up and he is happy to see who comes for him.
"Gi-Gina... Is that you?" Gran ask as Gina ask the warden to open the cell as she reports that Gran is finally awake. The gate is hastily opened as Gina helps Gran up and props him back to sit on his bed. She hugs him tightly as she check for any injuries. "Can you talk? Why are you trying to move first thing you wake up?" Gina ask but she's glad he's already awake.
"There is only one thing that I remember... I want to see you again." Gran weakly whisper on her ears as he is struggling to even lift his finger. She is trying to help him move his hands and arms, and then she later share some information for him.
"You wonder why you are currently on this cell right? Well, Princess Lucy detained you in order to remove all of the public's prying curiosity about the man of calamity. All of the destruction from Vulcana and Aluteria are pointed to you." Gina tells as Gran as he just staring below, trying to exercise his muscles while contemplating what happen.
"Man of calamity huh... Tell me, how long was I out? This stiffness through my whole body means I am in coma for a while." Gran ask as he is gasping for air to speak. Gina then embraces him, feeling that he will be lost if she's not there for him.
"I... You are out for a month. Arturo and Martha are worried sick about you. Nato ask about what happened to you. All of us are worried sick that you might have been lost to us." Gina says as her tears falls down her cheeks as her voice cracks. Gran just realize one thing.
"I... I am very sorry. I didn't know you love me this much..." Gran thinks as he uses every last bit of willpower and his energy to embrace Gina back. The Valkyrie leader feels the hand of the man she loves trying to reach out to her, and they bury their feelings for each other through this embrace.
While all of this are happening.
Soli is standing in front of a mirror, hiding inside a cabin that Louis have found while he is hiding from the time he is witnessing the fight between Gran and Soli. The Monster is able to regenerate his body through sheer patience and willpower. He spent a month molding his body back with his Reconstruction and the kid just sustain himself having to scavenge food or ask the owner from stall to stall.
"I think I need to change something. I need to improve. I realize that I am not perfect enough. I need to be beautiful." Soli states as he is opening and closing his hands as he is trying to getting use to his body. The Monster comes out of the cabin and a chilly breeze in the air make him look eastward.
"Sacred Beasts..."
Meanwhile...
Apolonis is actually in a roar right now. The King announce Gran as a Calamity type of being and need to be treated as a threat. Sylvia is stripped of her rank and Van is now removed of any affilation to the royal court or the royal family. Lucy isn't agreeing with her father's decision to dismiss the engagement with Van, but it is the last thing she wants to disappear as she is hiding her trump card, Gran himself.
Sylvia visits Arturo and Martha's inn, where the old couple are worried sick about their tenant as somehow they've become close with him from the past days that he lives with them.
"You think they will let us visit him?" Martha ask as she serves Sylvia a cup of coffee, something she thank her for. "Hope so. The whole sudden shift isn't out of ordinary, but what the King and his daughter is doing. Something's going on. Something's not apparenr on the surface." Sylvia answers as she doesn't have a permission to visit Gran herself.
"Is it hard not having your rank anymore Captain? What about your sword then?" Arturo ask as he takes a leave so he'll not open his stall for a while.
"Sword are fine. I am not defined by it. What defines me is that I am able to made my revenge. I think we will be starting anew." Sylvia days as she looks at the window, outside as she looks through the sky.
End of Volume 1