Angel Monarch

The next day, by the time the sun had risen, everyone was ready.

They gathered in the large gym behind Sera's mansion. It was enormous and had more than enough space for everyone to fit.

Everybody was there already. There were 40 people in their full gear. Looking at the large crowd, even the bravest soldier would be scared shitless.

In one corner, Jill was chatting with her family of 6. A few other people were with them, some of the Ouroboros Cohort, Lucy and Will. They actually seemed excited about this rescue.

After these past few weeks, Helena wasn't the only one with the seven-pointed star on her armor. Each of the Black Crusaders and Ouroboros Cohort members had one.

As the Angelic Order's presence became more prominent in New Constantinople, they joined their ranks, too.

Even Percy and Kathy had these as well. They were both intimately speaking with their partners.

Much has changed in the past few weeks, and the biggest surprise was Percy. Each day, his character became more tolerable in Kathy's opinion.

At night, he officially ended his relationships with his wives. He gave them enough money for life, and said his goodbyes. They weren't heartbroken at all, since they were only in it for the money.

He knew that as well, but didn't care. After ending everything, he went straight to Morren's place, and after courting her for more than a month, they were officially together.

Kathy was happy with Conrad, too. Everyone still keeps joking about their intimate lives, but they just ignore them and enjoy each other's presence.

At another place, Cass, David, Damien and Agnes were talking. Their atmosphere was much less joyful. Other than Cass, all three of them were very serious people. She tried to make jokes, but the air was full of tension.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the past week, Cass spent a lot of time with Damien, and occasionally brought along Agnes too. To be honest, he like the older man a lot, and kind of looked up to him.

They trained together, not just using her powers, but with actual weapons. It took them a while to find the best weapon for Cass, since she was awful with every single one they tried.

Eventually, they gave up on weapons, and she learnt hand-to-hand combat. She was pretty good at it, and her Transcended strength would bridge most gaps in experience.

Cass also secretly took her adopted mother, Agnes there, just so she could get to know Damien better. They weren't talking much, at least not when Cass was looking.

David's arrival brought another complication in the status quo, and Damien seemed very judgmental about him at first. He quickly warmed up, though, since both had the same cold mentality and rational thinking.

Adam, Lilith, and Faith were on standby. They were trembling with excitement. Each moment caused them to become more annoyed with everyone else. If it were up to them, they wouldn't have waited for the night.

Melinda was in another corner, telling a story about Sera, when she was young. Vicky and the rest of the group listened to it with great interest.

It quickly spread between the group that Melinda was Sera's best friend before their home city's destruction. Vicky was especially interested in every story about her mother's past, and Melinda happily obliged to tell her as much as possible.

Only Astrid and Kim weren't listening. They were chatting away with Sam.

Astrid tried her hardest to start and keep the conversation going with him, but it wasn't easy. Kim and Sam were nice enough not to push her, which she was thankful for.

Her relationship with Kim improved a lot, too. After apologizing thousands of times and a few somewhat emotional conversations, they actually felt closer to each other.

Astrid was still adamant about not showing much emotions, but at least she became more open about her feelings towards the situation.

After a few more minutes, Sam said his goodbyes, gave a large hug to Kim, and left the gym. He wouldn't be much help in the rescue, but wanted to say goodbye to Kim before she left.

He was adapting well to his new life, and at this point, he could walk around the Angelic Order's base without being bothered. People still gave wary and even hostile looks, but they didn't act upon their feelings.

A few times, Vicky went with him to the familial section of the base. There was a giant playroom there, which most kids frequented.

Most kids were a bit scared of him at first, but when they saw him have fun with Vicky, they became curious. Now he amassed a following of little kids who loved to play with him.

Sometimes Kim went down there too, just to watch him have fun and laugh. She didn't know why, but it made her happy.

She really felt her life was much better now, and she had a reason to return. Before meeting Sam, or getting closer to Astrid, she was just hanging around, waiting.

She had no plans for the future, and she just accepted to not live a happy and fulfilling life. Now, she had friends and, in a weird way, family. In the past weeks, she had found reasons to live for.

Strangely enough, she feels grateful for Sera. Without her, she would've ended everything long ago.

Yes, she was the one to start all her problems, but in the past two years, she only lived for hatred. If she wasn't feeling so much anger, she would've killed herself much sooner.

What was even funnier is that when she felt lost, and yet again wanted to end her suffering, Sera had saved her by showing a better way.

Now, she felt most grateful for the person she hated for so long. It was very strange, but it felt right, and now she was ready to repay for Sera's sacrifice.

All around the place, the conversations began to die down, and an ominous, anticipatory silence took hold of the air. Everyone turned to the main doorway and waited for the order to move out.

Bran and Bea stood there. They watched them all silently, not saying a word to each other.

He was still deathly pale and sickly looking, but he wanted to see them all before the main event.

Out of nowhere, surprising everyone, even Bea, Bran turned towards his lover's ex and gave her a tight hug. Bea's eyes widened in bewilderment, but then a small, awkward smile grew on her face, and she hugged him back.

"I know we don't like each other, but we both love Sera... Bring her back, no matter the cost, and kill Harold if you can... But she is more important than revenge. We can always go back to kill him, but if we fail in this operation, there are no second chances!" he said in a whisper, so only Bea could hear him.

Her smile grew a bit, and thinking about Harold, she became angry. She released Bran and put him at arm's length so they could see eye-to-eye.

"She is the priority. She was always my priority. Don't worry about the operation, everything will be fine. Just go and rest. Sera will probably freak out that her boyfriend looks like a zombie."

After Bea said that, the atmosphere started to turn uncomfortable, but they didn't let it. Both Bran and Bea burst out in laughter, which stunned even more people.

From their point of view, the two of them acted like good friends. It was the exact opposite of the previously observed cold behavior everyone witnessed.

They only laughed for a few seconds, then Bran said goodbye and left the gym.

The place was silent once again, and as the smile faded from Bea's face, the atmosphere turned solemn.

Without saying a word, she walked to Vicky, whispered some words to her, which turned both of their eyes teary, and then the operation began.

The forty people went into six groups, four held 7 people, while the last two held six each.

Each group was led by a single person, which were: Bea, Damien, David, Melinda, Jill and Adam. They mutually decided that they were the best at leading, since most were experienced war veterans.

Vicky stood a step away from everybody and knelt down on the floor. She focused all her powers and soon six separate portals opened, each leading to different parts of the same island.

This approach was the most secretive, and also the fastest. They hoped it didn't alert Harold, and whatever security system he had, but even if it did, they had plenty of time to make their way into the facility, then rescue Sera.

The portals widened until they became human sized. They saw through each. On the other side, a jungle-like terrain stretched.

Everyone's expression was serious, and each unit moved with confidence and fear. Today, their leader will be rescued!

Each of these people would give their lives for the success of this mission. If they failed, there were no second chances, no do overs. Failure was not an option!

Each unit went through their own portals, and after everyone left, they closed...