Angel Monarch

Kim was living below the Temple of Eternal Flame for more than a week. It was a bit bland as they were always either training or studying.

Her first impression was quite correct. It really felt like she was attending school again, but also different.

They haven't learned regular subjects like in most schools. Instead, they studied whatever people wanted. No one assigned the subjects everyone could choose by their own interests.

Since Kim did not know, or more like didn't care, what she learned, she took the same subjects as her roommate Astrid.

The taciturn woman was silent most of the time, unless they talked about fighting, or monster hunting, or strangely enough art. The giant woman loved to paint. The only problem was that she didn't use a canvas.

The walls inside their dorm room were already full with a bunch of different paintings. Some were normal, like flowers and animals, but some were a bit more disturbing.

She painted a few of her most gruesome kills on the walls, and she was also kind enough to paint a scary monster right next to Kim's bed... To help her sleep.

There was also a portrait of the Order's Leader, Sera. Then there were a few caricatures of both herself and Kim together. It would've been quite sweet if she didn't constantly portray her as a very small person!

People were already calling her by that stupid nickname Astrid had given her... Tiny!

They weren't mean about it and Kim took it as a joke, but it was still annoying.

The classes she took were art, history and a lot of Evolved related subjects. They were related back to either hunting or killing monsters as well as humans and other creatures.

She had no actual need for those classes, but she had nothing better to do, so she went anyway.

The only thing she cared about was training, which she was improving in quick.

Her previous knowledge was already way above average, but it was still far behind the others. They trained the Evolved in a strange way. They tried not to focus on their abilities too much, and instead get them to develop their fighting style.

This gave them a much better overall fighting chance. It also made them much more powerful than regular Evolved, who only train with their abilities.

They segmented them into hundred people groups. There was no logic behind selection, it was purely random.

Of Kim's group, Astrid was the best fighter by far. Her ability wasn't anything special. It gave an enormous boost to her strength and speed, while her transformation further increased her size.

She didn't even have a title yet, but if we only judged melee fighting, she was much better than everyone else. Usually, she had to fight at least three opponents at the same time, and even then, she only struggled a bit.

Another interesting detail was how everyone evolved further. Only after they unlocked all three of their Heritage were they allowed to move forward.

Kim knew about the race change beforehand, because she had done the same before becoming an Ascended. She still wasn't sure what the race change actually meant, but she was very curious to find it out.

Having all their Heritages unlocked gave the Order another edge in battle. Their armor and weapons weren't even Items, but part of their evolution.

For everyday wear, they still used their specially made armors and weapons, but Kim knew that when these soldiers will march onto a battlefield, there will be no stopping them.

Seeing their training, powers and equipment, she was glad she changed sides. Fighting an army like this would be like fighting thousands of weaker Sera's... It would've been a nightmare.

Other than training and studying, there was one obligatory part of each day... Midday Prayer.

Since this was still a religious organization, there were rules everyone had to follow. The most important being, no blasphemy.

Astrid told her she once knew a guy who was very outspoken. He called Sera a whore one time... They never saw him again.

They made this rule very clear. People could make valid criticisms about their Lady, but speaking ill of her either led to banishment or straight up execution.

This wasn't a problem with most people, since everyone loved Sera as their Leader. They also liked her as just a person, which really confused Kim since none of these people had ever met her.

In these past days, Kim has already let go most of her previous hate. In the beginning, it was hard to listen to the prayers, since they mostly talked about how great Sera was, and what she stands for.

The first few days, she only managed to survive because Astrid helped her escape the Midday Prayer. She saw Kim struggling, and since she didn't enjoy the prayers either, they snuck out.

They got caught after a few minutes, and they had to spend the next few hours helping the maids clean the whole underground facility. They didn't mind; the cleaning was still more enjoyable than the useless ceremony.

Read exclusive adventures at empire

That was when their friendship truly started. Astrid introduced Kim to everyone, and they spent a lot of time talking about different fighting styles.

They spent a lot of extra time training too, since it was both of their passions, and they also spent a few nights getting drunk with their fellow soldiers.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was all going well, when a news began to spread. Something big has happened...

Kim was just done taking a shower, and after getting herself dry, she stepped out into the dorm room in only a towel.

There were three people in the room talking. It was Astrid talking to two of her closer female friends. They were twins called Joan and Eula.

They looked exactly the same. Their eye color was electric blue, while their hair was whitish-blue. The only difference was the hair's length. Joan's only reached her shoulder, while Eula let it grow down to her waist.

They were a weird duo. They were both beautiful, with seductive bodies and large butts, but what really disturbed Kim was their sexual fetishes.

Everyone knew the pair would only date the same person, which many people would love in the regular world. Inside the Angelic Order, monogamy was the norm, leaving the pair dateless for a long time.

They also loved to gossip, and today they brought especially exciting news.

"...They closed down a whole living area, close to a hundred rooms! Even the recreational rooms!" said Joan with her usual excited tone, not noticing Kim standing behind her.

"Yeah. They said it was for maintenance, but my friend works as a janitor in that area, and he wasn't let inside! They also guard it all day long, meaning they really don't want anyone to know what or who is inside!" said the other twin, Eula.

She noticed Kim and watched with great interest as she dropped her towel and began to dress up. Her choice of clothing was a simple long shirt and leggings.

"Hey, Tiny! Have you heard the news?" asked Astrid from her bed.

"What news?"

"They closed down the main hall and a whole living quarter. If someone wants to leave the facility, they have to use one of the secret exits!" answered Joan, while staring at Kim's bare chest as she pulled on a shirt.

"I told you two already. I'm into men, so stop staring." said Kim with little care for what they saw.

On the bed, Astrid laughed, and the twins smiled down at Kim.

"Well Tiny, stop showing what you are packing and we will stop staring!... Anyway, what do you think? Why did they close down the most important place in the entire facility?"

Kim stared at the two with a raised eyebrow... "Most important place? You mean the gigantic statue of the Phoe... of our Lady? Maybe they are renovating it or adding details to it. I don't know..."

Kim's pretended indifference couldn't mask the intense curiosity simmering beneath the surface.

Unlike most members of the Angelic Order, she knew what happened to Sera, so she payed extra attention to anything out of the ordinary.

In her opinion, the Angelic Order should've already tried and rescue their Leader, but it was like they were waiting for something... Or someone!

Seeing Kim's expression change from thoughtful to excited, Astrid had a bad feeling.

"What are you planning, Tiny?"

The small girl with milky white skin grinned down at her friend... "Nothing special. I was just thinking if they guarded the ventilations for those areas, too."

On the bed Astrid rolled her eyes, understanding what her friend wanted to do. The twins just shrugged... "Don't think so, but I doubt even you can fit in there!"

"Guess we'll just have to find out, don't we?" said Kim with a giggle, then began to change her clothes.

She took out her tight fitting leather armor and quickly put it on. Astrid didn't even look at her, while the twins spent the entire time staring at her non-existent curves.

"Hey... Uh, Tiny... You sure you don't want to..."

Before Jane could finish, Kim cut in... "I'm not interested in either polygamy or women, but thanks for the offer!"

She spoke while grinning and giggling, then walked towards the door. Behind her a booming laughter sounded, which was Astrid's.

The three other girls stood up as well and walked after Kim. They were curious to find out what was happening inside the restricted areas too!