The power Cloudhawk displayed was less than a tenth of what he could do . Still it was greater than an average veteran demonhunter . Together with the family connections it was what had brought him to this point . Idonea was markedly weaker, but her talent was unique . She had also earned the right to join the inner circle as Cloudhawk’s partner .

Her heart was still filled with questions . How strong was Lance? How deep did his mysteries go? He’d popped out of obscurity just a few days ago and already he was tearing down the Mighty Ten’s leader . Judging by that display, he was a fair bit stronger than Apollo, which would make him the strongest member of Stormford’s young generation .

So if he was that strong, why keep it quiet all these years? None of Fulmulta’s upper crust were aware of Lance before he arrived . Even after great effort, all that Idonea had dug up was a story about a lazy n.o.ble dunce .

Cloudhawk figured Idonea was suspicious by now, but he didn’t care . “Don’t look at me like that,” he said flippantly, “otherwise I might think you’re in to me . I’m pretty awesome and full of surprises, so I understand . ”

“You shameless womanizer!” Something was still bugging her . “But you are full of secrets . What else are you hiding? How strong are you, really?”

“It’s not very polite to invade someone’s privacy . ”

“We’re married, idiot . Yet I still don’t know anything about you . ”

Cloudhawk looked around conspiratorially before then leaned close . “I think I can probably take on their Master Demonhunters . ”

Idonea barely bit back on her anger . She desperately wanted to break his pretty-boy face in and show this stuck-up p.r.i.c.k what for . But she just ground her teeth in frustration .

“The structure in front of us is our temporary lodgings,” Mercury explained as he lead them down the hall . His face was dark with frustration . In their brief exchange he was forced to recognize this villain’s power . No wonder his cousin got trounced . “Stay here . Don’t go wandering . ”

“Why isn’t the camp closer to the Temple?”

“Who told you it would be? The Temple is for the Supremes and their Seraphs . Only a very few hand-picked by the G.o.ds themselves are allowed to get close . So let that be a warning – if you get too close to the Temple they’re going to treat you like an intruder . ”

Cloudhawk had a.s.sumed being part of the Inner Circle would get him access to the Temple . He wouldn’t have bothered to try and join otherwise . He looked out at the enormous black ma.s.s hanging in s.p.a.ce nearby . This might not be the Temple, but he was sure he was getting closer .  

Only, that curtain of black was hiding it from him . Even with only one eye Cloudhawk’s vision was keener than x-rays . Typical darkness didn’t conceal things, so there was some other force at play to keep him from looking in .  

“I feel like my relic is useless . ” Idonea had felt off since they got here . She realized after a moment that she could no longer hear the familiar resonance of her necklace . Cloudhawk had guessed this might be the case before they arrived . As they’d moved through the inner tunnels he’d noted small orbs of light on stone stands . They were arranged at set intervals and taking a closer look, he saw them gently bounce and rotate like they were suspended by magnets .

Each one contained a strange, invisible power . With every rotation that power was cast out through the area in waves . It was strong enough to cause subtle distortions in s.p.a.ce . Needless to say, it was a mysterious technology provided by the G.o.ds . It didn’t even need a demonhunter to operate .

They weren’t the only strange contraptions he’d noted, either . As they walked he also saw odd pylons with unfamiliar functions . Elsewhere there were hovering discs whose purpose he couldn’t guess at .

Mercury continued to explain . “Our armies are well defended to prevent any spying . Spatial relics are useless here, blocked by power pylons . These light beacons reveal anything trying to remain hidden .

The hovering b.a.l.l.s of light where all over the place . Cloudhawk couldn’t rely on his unique gifts so long as he was in their zone . The disturbance was so great all he could manage was simple phasing and short-range teleportation .

In other words, he suddenly found himself heavily handicapped .

His target had to be hidden somewhere on the other side of that black curtain . One thing was certain, the closer he got the more defenses he’d encounter . Between him and the four Supremes were traps and protections he’d never seen before .

Here he was, but Cloudhawk didn’t feel much closer to his goal .  

Idonea pointed out an odd, disc-shaped building further into the camp . “What’s that?”

“Actually, I don’t know,” Mercury replied . He’d only been here a few days so there was still much he hadn’t learned . “I heard it was some sort of divine weapon . The Supremes had it erected specifically to fight Skycloud . ”

More strange G.o.dly technology .  As Cloudhawk looked it up and down he was filled with a sense of disquiet .  

“Alright, up ahead is the Guardian’s Palace . That’s where we’re all stationed . ” Mercury was growing impatient . He wanted to get this over with then leave these two to their business .

The Guardian Palace was the proper name of the inner circle camp . This whole area was a new addition, recently built by Seraphs .

“As of today the Palace has eight Master Demonhunters, and six others without the t.i.tle but the equivalent strength . ”

Eight Masters and six more just as strong . There was also the four Supremes leading them . Further down the tiers were others like Mercury and Apollo . Despite their abilities, here they were barely qualified to serve .

It was one h.e.l.l of a group . In only a month they’d gathered the strongest humans on the planet .

With every word Cloudhawk felt his heart grow heavier . His enemies had already mustered a terrifying force . If they attacked Skycloud today he gave them an eighty percent chance of victory .

Luckily for him, the Supremes were still playing it safe . They waited, and waited – G.o.ds were known for their infinite patience . It was a quality you earned when you’d lived for centuries . To them, the least precious resource was time .

Sky Fortress was still in the process of siphoning all the strongest people of the Elysian lands . Seraphs worked day and night to build those strange G.o.d weapons . The gulf between Skycloud and this holy coalition continued to grow . He was wrong, they had a ninety percent chance . Once they were sure they’d win, the Supremes would act . Such blasphemy would never be allowed to happen again, so they bid their time and strengthened their forces .

But this was exactly the right place for Cloudhawk to be . If he was careful, he could learn all sorts of things that could turn the tide . Maybe he could build some inroads with the members to take advantage of later .

Cloudhawk was convinced that to fight Sumeru, he needed to capture the Elysian lands not destroy them . For a thousand years they’d been stable, acc.u.mulating development . All around him were the pinnacle of human achievement . With luck, one day they would stand with him against their captors .

“New blood comin’!”

“Oh, young ones . Dropping the average age . ”

As they walked through they were greeted by other members of the Palace . They were welcoming for even though these two looked young, they had earned the right to be here . A bright future was in store and who knew where it would lead them .

“h.e.l.lo you two, my name is Icarus Swallow[1] from Praelius . ”

A gentle-looking man with fair complexion introduced himself . He was also one of the younger members of the inner circle . Cloudhawk and Idonea greeted him politely .

“I have a pretty good idea of how things run here . If there’s something you’d like to know, feel free to ask . ”

Definitely a welcoming guy! Cloudhawk was going to take him up on the offer when suddenly he heard shouting .

“No…! It can’t be true, my sister can’t be dead! No one is strong enough to do it!” The voice was filled with anger and despair . A stubbled, handsome man in his thirties was shouting at the top of his lungs . “You idiots didn’t search carefully enough! How could you even let this happen – don’t you give a s.h.i.+t?!”

Those within earshot gave one another nervous glances . Idonea, brows knit close, whispered a question . “What’s going on?”

This man was acting like he’d lost his mind . Not just anyone could get here . Only those the G.o.ds considered the most outstanding were allowed in . Despite that the stranger was howling at them like they were a bunch of grunts . Like a kitten yowling at a mastiff .

“That’s Kirin Igna[2], from Dragenmere . He’s a lot stronger than he looks . One of the first to be accepted into the Palace . His sister, Phoenix, disappeared a few months back in Skycloud . . . ”

His story gripped Idonea’s heart like a vice . It sounded exactly like what happened to her father . “Why is he so upset?”

“The G.o.ds have been working on constructing a superweapon . You probably saw it when you were brought inside – that buildings that looks like a floating disc . Word is it’ll be done in a few days . ” Icarus was keeping his voice low . “They call it the ‘Sword of Sumeru . ’ It absorbs energy from the Temple to attack from all the way up here . One shot can travel a thousand of kilometers and still have enough power to destroy a city .

For a second Cloudhawk wasn’t sure he heard correctly . “What? You said a thousand kilometers?”

“Yup, and one shot will erase a whole city . With these weapons the rebel realm won’t last more than a couple volleys . ” Icarus looked back toward Kirin . “As for him, his sister vanished and he refuses to believe she might be dead . That’s why he’s acting that way . ”

He didn’t see how pale Idonea’s face had gotten . This weapon was a horrifying thing, capable of firing from above the atmosphere . If it destroyed whole cities that meant it didn’t care about all the normal folk living there . They planned to see it all go up in flames .

What if her father wasn’t dead . Maybe he was locked up in some prison . Won’t their superweapon destroy him, too?

Cloudhawk didn’t look much better . While he always knew his foe would be strong, this went far beyond his darkest expectations .

“Enough!” A bearded man with his hair all white stomped into view . Whispers of ‘Master Anan’ [3] followed him . This was one of the Master Demonhunters garrisoned in the Palace and one of the leaders . “This order comes straight from the Supremes . The G.o.ds are telling you they’re dead so let it go . If you keep it up you’ll face court martial!”

1 . 燕羽, ‘Swallow Feather’ . Swallow works fine as a surname and Icarus was the dip that plastered feathers to himself and flew too close to the sun . Will the story repeat itself? Cloudhawk has an unhealthy habit of getting the people around him killed .

2 . Kirin, like the beer, is sometimes used as a name and is the equivalent of his name, 炎麒麟, Qinlin, which is a Chinese-style dragon . Igna should be familiar, as it’s the family name of Phoenix .

3 . Anan is an old-testament name meaning ‘cloud’ .

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