Will of Nature

Addis, Aria, and I made it to a village and decided to take a break at the village that was in the outskirts of Woodcrest. I noticed we were reaching a more prairie area as the scent of fresh waters were more clear and how less the number of trees became. We sat in a restaurant and I decided to ask our waitress a few questions about the village and the next incoming city ahead.

"This village is called Forest Springs. It's one of the more peaceful and neutral villages of Royal Greens. Our village is tied to Woodcrest and East Spring. We don't have any Branch connected to us but our village is more connected to East Spring than Woodcrest, so you'll often find more Darlings from East Spring here than Woodcrest." Our waitress said.

"I can confirm that information to be true." Dearie said.

"Do you know why exactly East Spring and their rival are fighting for land and why their Queens aren't standing on business?" I asked.

"Standing on business?" Our waitress asked and tilted her head.

Aria sighed softly and crossed her arms. "He means why East Spring and West Spring are fighting? What's the conflict?"

"Oh well you see the two kingdoms recieved news that their late father has finally passed away so now a battle for the lands has emerged. Over the course of this battle many outlaws have taken this chance to kill our people..." The waitress explained.

I looked at Dearie and she nodded. I slouched a bit in my seat and stared out the window. Outlaws to me sounds like hidden parties and after being attacked by Lotus and Xali, I knew there were more Fallen Angels and Nexus Members within the forest.

"You have that look on your face." Addis said as he stared at me.

I kept looking out the window and sat up. "When we were attacked by Lotus and Xali...It had me thinking, there could be more Nexus Members hidden within the area and that could be the true underlying conflict."

"That makes sense, but I am not one to jump to easy conclusions. I'd much rather go to the East Spring City first before making any rash decisions." Addis said.

"I guess." I said and kept staring out the window.

Aria stared at me and knew something was wrong. She knew I worried for Esther and her safety while she was making her way toward Yuki in Woodcrest. She just sat back in her seat and stayed quiet.

_________________________

After we left the restaurant, I decided to backtrack in the forest area to see if I could track any Fallen Angels or Nexus Members. As I explored the forest, I heard rustling in the trees and bushes. I stood still and listened to the rustling and the nature's ambiance. I knew someone was watching me, and the person who watched me knew I was alert.

They stood as still as they could and kept a close eye in me. I stood up and formed a Light Blast in my hand then hurled it. The Light Blast flew upwards, barely missing the assassin's face. They stood still and let the Light Blast fly past them and disperse in the air.

"See I told you you were being paranoid, Light Blasts only explode when they come into contact with something." Dearie said.

"I guess..." I said in a skeptical way.

The assassin watched me then their black cloak flowed in the wind. I listened closely to the sounds of nature then heard a sudden silence.

"Tch...no use in hiding anymore...!" The assassin said then propelled themselves toward me.

I looked back then blocked their slash and dodged their spinning kick. I blocked their next attack then parried the next slash. The assassin spun around and swiftly kicked me back, causing me to slide backwards.

I looked at the assassin and heard Dearie beeping.

[Alert: New Darling Nearby]

[Name: Madris Shafiel]

[Age: 21]

[Birthday: January 30th]

[Occupation: East Spring Assassin]

[Hobbies: Spending time with Detre, Training Rigorously, Seeking companionship]

[Price: $6000]

Madris was a beautiful elven woman with perfect skin, emerald green eyes, and long light green hair styled in a single braid and a beautiful hourglass figure with a medium bust. She wore a black and green leaf designed leotard with a black belt holstering green jewels on the belt, a black tattered cloak, and black thigh high toeless socks.

"I see you admiring my figure, and I expect nothing less from a System Wielder. I know your plan is to come here and buy East Princess Springstone! You men are all just alike!" Madris said and pointed her sword at me.

"While yes I was admiring your beautiful features, I am actually here on behalf of Rapunzel to save East Spring and West Spring." I said and crossed my arms.

Madris looked me then laughed a bit. She shook her head and her eyes shined a bit. "No Agent like Rapunzel would ever send s VIP 5 Wannabe Agent to handle our problems."

The wind blew as I stared at Madris. The tension between us was clear as day. Even the critters of nature weren't making a sound. Madris watched me hop up and down then stretch. She grunted as she felt my energy.

"This VIP 5 Agent isn't like any other System Wielder...allow me to show you who I am." I said then got into my stance.

Madris got into her stance as well then braced herself as I dashed toward her. I went for the first attack, but she blocked it and swiped my arm to the side. I used the momentum from the swipe to land my signature roundhouse kick. Madris groaned, spinning around then grunted loudly as I kicked her away.

Madris rolled backwards then recovered onto her feet then noticed Live Decoys of myself around her. They all began to rush her with attacks one by one. Madris dodged each attack then made her shadow disappear. This made her body intangible and immune to damage. The decoys disappeared after their time was up.

"Alert: Madris is using Shadow Step. She's moving so fast that I can't track her. It's up to you." Dearie warned.

I closed my eyes and began listening. I heard swift rustling but before I could track her, Madris struck me with a powerful kick. The pain I felt as soon as I was launched away was unlike anything I've felt before. I landed on the ground and noticed Madris was gone once again.

I stood up then groaned as I began taking damage from Madrid's near invisible strikes from all around me. I grunted and groaned as I kept taking damage. My heart began racing and I knew I couldn't take it anymore.

"Get off me!" I bellowed and my silver aura surged powerfully, blowing Madris away.

Madris groaned and rolled backwards then recovered onto one knee. She stood up and grunted softly as she witnessed my Angel Mode. "Hmph...you're Spiritually Awakened. This should be fun.."

I took off my jacket and my markings shined. I got into my stance. "Come on, I'm only getting started."

Madris walked forward then her shadow disappeared. I sensed her and blocked her punch. Madris was surprised then went for a Shadow Step kick, but I dodged her kick then struck her side with a powerful blow. Madris stumbled to the left then was met with a left hook followed by a palm strike to her stomach.

Madris rolled backwards then laid on her back panting. She slowly stood up and wiped her mouth. "It's not over yet...I am only getting started also!"

Her emerald green aura surged around her body and her green jewels shined brightly only to be revealed to being Wonder Shards. Her power increased tenhold and I grunted, unsure if I could keep up with someone wielding a belt full of Wonder Shards.

"Proposal: Retreat for now." Dearie said.

I nodded and hurled two Light Blasts at the ground and created a massive smoke cloud, blocking Madris's vision. She grunted and waited for the smoke cloud to clear to be safe that no attack followed. She noticed that we were gone, but stayed on edge and went into the woods to pursue me.

I sat in a small cave and began to meditate just as Addis taught me. Dearie worked on increasing my attributes to their current maximum level. As I meditated, I prayed to the Angel and Goddess of Nature.

'Angel of Nature...Goddess of Nature, listen to my prayers. I seek your power, your guidance to win this fight and get closer to actually saving Madris. She's too strong for me right now and I want to prove to her that I'm more than what she makes of me. Praying for petty feuds can seem ridiculous, but grant be your blessings..'

I felt vines grow around my arms and legs, making their way up to my neck.

"Complete." Dearie said then noticed a green halo over my head. "The Halo of Geo."

Madris walked around the forest then detected a massive increase of energy. She grunted as she noticed my silver aura blended in with divine green energy. "What the hell..? This power makes no sense...how is a VIP 5 Agent so strong?"

I flew toward her and bellowed as I went for a strike. She blocked my attack and grunted loudly. She stumbled back then dodged my next strike. I pressed a Holy Geo Blast against her stomach and it blew up, knocking her backwards. I raised my hand then roots shot out the ground and grabbed Madris's ankles then slammed her down.

Her wood clone shattered, surprising me a bit. I groaned as Madris appeared in front of me, knocking me away then thrusted her hand toward me. A group of roots struck my body and sent me crashing into a tree. Madris noticed the Live Decoy disappear and grunted.

"Never let your guard down." I said as I tapped then back of her knees with my foot, making her bend backwards.

I grabbed the collar of her cloak then spun her around, throwing her toward a Live Decoy that had his Light Blast ready. He was about to slam the Light Blast on her but she warped the area of the forest. I was now in her position, but Dearie saved me by using Abjuration, blocking the Light Blast and healing me completely.

I stood up and looked at Madris in awe. "What the hell was that..?"

"The power of the Wonder Shard. In my case the power of the Emerald of Nature. Our Branch works well with Wonder Shards, being able to great powerful relics likes these that can warp Nature itself." Madris said and her eyes shined.

"Is that so?" I asked and chuckled.

"One minute of this Angel Form left." Dearie warned.

I summoned a large Light Blast and shaped it into a Holy Lance. I grabbed the handle then began to generate Earth Energy. "One minute is all I need..!"

Madris grunted as she watched me generate such energy with little time left. "You're a foolish being.."

I dashed toward Madris and swing my lance at her, releasing a wave of energy. She dodged the wave of energy then her sword shined brightly. She dashed toward me and clashed with me.

"Checkmate...Holy Blast." I said with a smirk.

Madris's eyes widened once she noticed my weapon shining brightly. She couldn't move out of range fast enough normal, so she tried to use Shadow Step. Dearie caught her and made a root grab her ankle. Madris grunted loudly then groaned as a massive light explosion happened.

Addis and Aria noticed the explosion and looked at each other. The villagers wondered what the explosion was as well and heard Madris's cry.

I groaned softly and fell to my knees. Madris coughed and panted heavily. I stood up slowly and walked over to Madris. She quickly reached for her sword, but I kicked it away and got down then pinned Madris against the tree.

Madris looked at me panting softly and blushed a bit. "Your moves looked just like Leo's...who the hell are you..?"

"My name is Claudio Angels..." I said and let her go.

Madris grunted softly and looked at me. She stood up slowly. "Claudio...your name sounds familiar..."

"It probably is familiar to you, but who knows." I said then heard footsteps. I looked back and noticed Addis and Aria. I turned back and saw Madris was gone.

"Target location unknown.." Dearie said.

[Madris's Trust Increased.]