Julius. Most famous for his nickname, "The greatest knight", also the world ender of Europe.

  He had gone even more viral for his battle against the man named Wrath. Atop the Big Ben, he fought to defend the monuments of the past from that man. Against his twisted ideal of justice and change.

  But he had failed back then. Wrath had managed to escape, as well as damage the big ben. Julius had failed to wrap up the battle in time, and thus the video of his defeat had gone public.

  Despite the fact that it wouldn't be seen that way in the eye of the public, for those higher up, it could only be seen as a disgrace.

  Yes, Julius had been holding back significantly in order to not draw the attention of anybody else, as well as not damage the Big Ben, however that didn't matter.

  It didn't change the fact that he had still failed.

  In the present, Julius shifted from where he was standing, stretching his limbs. Unbelievably, despite everything that was currently going on, Julius had been pulled from the front lines of the battle to babysit the imperial family.

  He had been battling fiercely on the frontlines against a member of Prometheus's army that called themselves, Theseus. They were a strong opponent, who led their own army of non-magician forces against the students of Europe's Magic academy.

  Despite that, evacuations had gone well, and the reinforcements from the mage's association arrived.

  However, when they did, Julius was forcibly pulled away from the battle. According to the messenger, the imperial family had received a note from Prometheus directly, threatening to attack them.

  When Julius argued that this was a task that should have been handled by the mage's association as well as the royal guard, and that he should be out there against that insanely strong opponent and his army, his request was shot down completely by the headmaster of the magic academy.

  Mira. A girl with brunette hair who always wore a cross around her neck. As much as Julius wanted to argue further, she was not only the headmaster, but also the leader of the church.

  As such, Julius did not argue against the leader of the two organizations with the most power in the entirety of the continent, even more than the imperial family themselves.

  Internally however, Julius was still pissed. He began to ruminate too himself from his position on the roof of Buckingham palace.

  The view wasn't the best, however he could still see the many plumes of smoke and hear the distant explosions.

  Wide scale terrorist attacks.

  They're battle strategy has already shown us they know where the true power of the continents lie. This is obviously just a feint to divert forces, and it's working!

  Julius frustratedly mused to himself.

  According to what Mira had told him; they took the threat so seriously only because it seemed to have come directly from Prometheus. The 7 grand magic academies and their headmasters stayed in close contact during this time, and from what she's heard from them, he's been at the head of many devastating attacks.

  Such as wiping the city of New York off the map.

  As much as Julius would have liked to believe that those were just gross exaggerations, his experience didn't let him.

  To underestimate you enemy is to admit defeat before the battle even begins. His years of training and battle refined that lesson into his mind.

  It was those same years of battle experienced that alerted him to the presence rapidly approaching.

  He could feel a disturbance in the air, as mana spiked in the distance. The tell-tale sign that something powerful was approaching

  The next thing that Julius noticed where the sounds.

  The sound of buildings crumbling and debris begin thrown around could be heard.

  Julius perked up, unsheathing his blade. In a second, he'd made an analysis of the creature that was currently approaching.

  It was the height of a semi-truck, and it weighed at least double that. It had a large supply of mana, and judging from the way rubble was diced up and launched into the air, the creature had claws.

  Using his mana sense, Julius could pinpoint the creatures' movements, noting that it also must have run on four legs.

  It was a magic beast.

  "This far into the city?" Julius muttered to himself, allowing himself to relax a bit now that he had identified the threat.

  "Still, they also have magic beasts on their side?" Julius began to charge up a flame spell, as the red stone on his swords handle guard began to glow.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Bending his legs, he prepared himself to jump as soon as this creature bounded through the corner.

  He could hear the things footsteps and labored breathing get louder and louder and louder until-

  When it turned the corner, Julius was meet with a sight that could only be described as a monster.

  A grotesque creature that bore a faint resemblance to a bear of some sort. With no skin or hair, it was just a ball of flesh and blood and organs.

  Heads, teeth, legs, and flesh mixed together in an indescribable manner. It was impossible to truly tell where one thing ended an another began. The creature hobbled, limped, or whatever term could be used to describe its gimped movement-at an alarming speed.

  Each step left a dent filled with blood and skin grafts.

  For a second, Julius paused, shocked by the horror of what he was seeing.

  However, his experience only let him pause for that single second.

  In the next, he had launched himself high into the air and effortlessly cut this creature 5 times. Not knowing where to aim, he trusted his instincts.

  "GHAHGHAHHGAHGHH!"

  Letting out a guttural and wet roar, the creature collapsed onto the ground, spewing gallons of blood from all orifices of its body.

  Julius landed a few feet away and looked at the creature in disgust. "Just what the hell is that thing?"

  As he began to approach it, he heard a voice from behind him.

  "It's a new species that I recently discovered. Fascinating, don't you think?"

  Julius snapped his head around, loading up another flame sequence on his blade. His eye's landed on a figure with blonde hair, dressed in a red cape. He was smiling, and by his side, he held a knife to the princess's neck.

  Julius froze. Hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind, but the main one was,

  How the hell did this guy get past me. In order for him to have captured the imperial princess, knock her out, and bring her to the balcony where Julius had just stood, in the time that it took Julius to slay this beast, he most have been moving insanely fast.

  All the while Julius didn't sense him. That fact made Julius's blood run cold.

  Even right now. He could clearly sense the mana this man possessed. So how the hell hadn't he noticed?

  "So, your Prometheus." Despite the mental conflict he was in, he remained calm as he spoke.

  Prometheus smiled. "Smart man. That's good."

  "Leader of the fangless python. A rebel group. And yet, I can clearly sense the mana coming off of your body. You're a magician."

  Prometheus sneered. "Is that really all you can, see?" His voice carried a hint of disappointment. He began to walk along the length of the roof, and Julius watched his movements closely, waiting for the moment that his grip on the princess loosened even slightly.

  That was when he would go for it.

  "From what you can see on the surface, what you're saying is true. However, someone as experienced as you should know that things are almost never what they seemed."

  Realizing that Prometheus was going to try and play mind games with him, Julius shifted the topic of the conversation.

  "Why attack the imperial family?"

  "It's not the Imperial family that I wanted. They just happened to be the medium through which I got what I wanted." Prometheus said, coming to a stop against the railings along the roof. The knife in his hand's never left the neck of the princess. Currently she was unconscious. Julius hoped that it would remain like that until he could save her.

  "And what is that?"

  "And Audience with the greatest knight." Prometheus flashed a proud smile.

  Julius was not impressed. "Stop beating around the bush and get to the point." He was becoming more and more frustrated with every second this back and forth went on, however he didn't let it show in his voice.

  "As much as you try to keep up that act, I can see right through it, Baldr."

  Julius eye's widened as Prometheus mentioned that name. "You! How the hell do you know of that name!" For the first time in a long time, Julius began to shake. He stared at Prometheus with his mouth slightly open.

  "I know much more about the Axiom Church than you think." Prometheus began to laugh, and Julius could only watch, in wide-eyed shock.

  The name Baldr was a code name that Julius used in his past, when he operated directly under the Axiom Church. It was a dark time of his life, one that shaped the very person he was now.

  It was that time spent under the code name, Baldr, that lead him to developing the sense of justice and the strength that he has today.

  It was a name that only the very top members of the church should have known. And yet here was someone who knew of it.

  "I'm sure the church wouldn't want their deepest secret's laid bare before the entire world. If that were to happen, not even the world of magicians would be able to recover." Every word that Prometheus spoke was slow and drawn out.

  He was enjoying every moment of the agony and shock on Julius face.

  "The things that you and all of the other 'knights' of the church did. The true purpose behind the church. I'll leak all of it if you don't cooperate. And if that happens, it will be impossible for magicians to explain themselves."

  Julius finally managed to regain his composure, taking deep heavy breaths. "If you really had such incriminating evidence, then why haven't you leaked it already. All of your actions suggest that destabilizing magicians and painting them as the ultimate bad guys fit within your goal anyways." He tried to call his bluff.

  "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Prometheus wagged his finger. "There must be a method to madness. Cohesion in Chaos. Principle in pandemonium." He paused for a moment, staring Julius in the eyes.

  "Leaking it all at once would be too messy. It wouldn't be befitting of my goal. But trust me, this isn't a bluff." He snapped his fingers.

  Julius turned around when he heard footsteps approaching. When he saw who it was, he literally fell to one knee. For a long moment, he tried to form words, however his mouth wouldn't open. His brain was spinning with hundreds of thoughts and memories.

  She was dressed in a nun's outfit and had blonde hair. Even though she differed from the person that sat in Julius's memory, without a doubt, they were the same.

  The facial features. The eyes. The knowing smile.

  "Heimdall." Julius finally managed to get out.

  "I left that name in the past. I left my life serving under the church in the past. Buried it deep. I go by Mia now"

  Julius could not speak. He only stared at the figure who shouldn't have been standing right in front of him. She should be dead.

  "A world ender. Reduced to his knees. And without me using any mana whatsoever. Just words. Just my own intellect. That is how the rest of mage society will fall."

  Prometheus walked closer to the ledge, holding the unconscious body of the princess over the railing.

  Julius finally managed to tear his eyes away from the living ghost in front of him and stare back at Prometheus.

  "My request is simple. Find 'Hel'. Tell her to meet me at Eden. Within the hour preferably. If she's not there by then, everything is leaked."

  "Who are you?" Was all Julius could ask.

  Prometheus let the princess fall.

  Julius rushed out and caught her before she hit the ground.

  When he looked around however, both Prometheus and Mia were gone. Only the echoes of his voice remained.

  "The king of this kingless world."