Chapter 95: Desire's Invasion and the Ghost Saber
The joy of the bill's approval hadn't even faded when the invasion began. Metis let out a groan.
"Central suffering such humiliation..."
To suppress Desire, they'd borrowed Dennis's power and had the council intervene, but it was all for naught. Up until now, Desire had been sharpening their blades in the shadows.
What they'd shown in the previous terrorist attack was just a fraction of their strength. But this operation had thrown in every member of Desire except Number 6.
"Three known 6th rankers uncovered so far. Where the hell are they even getting these...?"
Teton. Illusion. Sisella.
Just three of them had shaken the Gate Management Bureau to its core. Thanks to that, every report from his secretary was a tale of defeat.
"Minister Metis! D-Team has been breached!"
"...It was too much to expect two students to hold them off. Any casualties?"
"No additional reports."
"Good."
Despite his words, Metis's expression remained grim.
Where did it all go wrong? Security was supposed to be airtight...
Desire was armed with artifacts stolen from AIA. They shouldn't have been able to breach even the heavily guarded entrances. But Metis and the bureau's Sabers were unaware. They didn't know that Desire's Number 7, Cloa, possessed a Magic Art that allowed transformation.
Thanks to Aria disguised as a guard, the bureau's entrance had been breached all too easily.
"What about that monster?"
"She held off twenty Sabers for nearly ten minutes."
"Captured? No, taken down?"
"...She escaped with an artifact."
The secretary spoke with a devastated look.
Teton was Desire's Number 2. His entire body was a Magic Tool Saber. No extra effects like Chris's eyes, but his whole form was a weapon. Teton's martial arts were near perfection.
"What about the new core we developed?"
"The demo core in the portal zone is safe, but..."
The secretary trailed off.
The culprit was Desire's Number 4, Sisella.
She traversed space using cards like a trick magician. No security, no matter how tight, meant anything to her. Even Number 3, Illusion, had already crushed D-Team and escaped.
"A total rout."
Metis muttered.
This was the first time Central had suffered such a complete defeat at the hands of villains since the central agency was established. To save face, they desperately needed even a single victory.
"No remaining... I mean, no villains we can capture alive?"
Metis asked.
Pak!
Just then, power surged back into the CCTV that had gone dark from the artifact's aftereffects.
"Whoa! One here! There's still one left!"
The secretary pointed at the dramatically lit monitor. The camera had captured a woman. An unusually black dress code, a gloomy expression. And ash-gray hair. Metis gasped in shock.
"Th-this person!"
He almost hadn't recognized her due to the expression and hair color, but Metis somehow identified the woman in the footage. Even amid Desire's invasion, this shook him more. His face was pale, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Where's this camera located?"
"Number 42, number 42... Ah! It's definitely with D-Team!"
"D-Team..."
Metis murmured, his face ashen. If the woman in the video was who he thought, no 5th rank Saber or students could stop her.
"Send backup to D-Team now—yes! To Sir Dennis..."
The secretary swallowed her confusion at Metis's uncharacteristically frantic tone.
Who the hell is that woman...?
In truth, she was someone even the secretary knew. Her name and life were in every Savior textbook.
The tragic Saber who met her end conquering a 7th rank Gate. It hadn't even been three years.
The area guarded by D-Team, now joined by Zien, was one of the Gate Management Bureau's many corridors. And waiting there first was...
"Huh? Zien?"
It was Marceline, whom he'd seen on the train.
For some fateful reason, ever since she'd caught Hyperus, she kept popping up whenever he thought he'd forgotten her.
"No way, you...?"
"Yeah, Marceline. I'm your backup."
"Whoa, throwing in kids fresh off a Gate clear? That's too much!"
"The situation's urgent."
"Fair, but still..."
Marceline looked dissatisfied with the bureau's handling. But at the same time, she trusted Zien's skills more than anyone.
"Tch, well, with you joining, we're better off. I watched your whole clear from start to finish."
"It took nearly two days."
"Doze off a bit in the middle... But it's a 5th rank Gate I'll challenge soon anyway."
Marceline remembered every detail of the broadcasted clear.
"You really know how to handle people. Even if he's just a side character, that little punk. I'd have smacked him."
"I'm used to it."
Zien responded calmly to Marceline's backhanded praise. But she still looked like she had more to say.
"Oh right! That Rebellion spy chick! When you sniffed her out and nabbed her early, I was floored."
But instead of answering, Zien narrowed his eyes.
Someone's coming.
It was the figure at the end of the corridor.
Marceline, absorbed in the story, turned her head late.
"Huh? Th-that's... no way?"
A ghostly woman with ash-gray hair.
Like the other Desire members, she wore black mourning garb, exuding an overwhelming presence just by existing. And for good reason—she was Desire's Number 1, the strongest villain group's leader. The world called Dennis the only 7th rank Saber, but that was wrong.
No way. 7th rank? Maybe even beyond...
Zien sharpened his senses, gauging her power. Marceline, faced with actual Desire, trembled as she gripped her spear.
"Here... Marceline. Desire has reached D-Team. Requesting fast backup, p-please."
But the tension didn't faze the woman. Her voice was languid.
"...Just two."
A simple mana reinforcement of her legs. But a 7th rank Saber was on another level. She kicked off, fragments flying from the floor as she charged at Marceline like a flash.
Tat!
To Marceline's dynamic vision, the foe just blurred. By the time she spotted the attack...
"Ah?"
The enemy's palm reached her jaw.
Marceline collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Though she'd been hit, Zien asked calmly,
"A 7th rank. Maybe beyond. Why is a master like you doing this?"
The woman lunged at Zien without answering.
Taak!
A short wind-up. Explosive speed.
Her pure mana was leagues apart. Even a handful rivaled a normal Saber's Magic Tool output.
Chin again!
But Zien had maximized his senses. In the fragmented time, her attack was crystal clear.
He tilted his head, and her palm struck empty air.
The woman stared alternately at her hand and Zien in disbelief. Even at point-blank, neither struck. As if her question answered, she muttered,
"...A skill. Or maybe a Magic Tool."
No mana emanated from her now. She kept mumbling to herself.
"Whatever. A student dodging my attack."
Then she smiled, satisfied.
"No wonder Number 3 has her eye on you."
With those words, her Stigma glowed. The Magic Tool in her hands was dual swords. Zien didn't know, but only one 7th rank Saber wielded twin blades as her signature.
Isis River.
Dennis's rival, the modern legend who'd become the youngest 7th rank Saber alongside him. But Central had announced she'd died conquering a 7th rank Gate.
She hadn't. She'd honed her blade for the truth. Now, Isis's power was upper-tier even among 7th ranks.
"Try blocking this too."
Having monopolized every experience and opportunity through Gates, Isis was a monster among monsters nurtured by Central. She unleashed sword qi at Zien.
Chwaaaak!
Walls and floors shattered without even touching the qi. Zien poured max power to deflect it.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!!
The mana clash birthed a gale. Normally, Zien would've vanished without a trace. But Black Fragrance's Magic Tool severed mana. Centered on Zien, Isis's qi was sliced apart.
"Kuh!"
Dodging would've saved mana, but with Marceline down, he couldn't.
As expected of 7th rank...
A league apart in strength.
The floor cratered, Zien tumbling back. Though he'd cut it, Isis's pure mana battered him ragged.
I can't win yet.
Zien's mana hadn't reached 5th rank. Beating Ferma and Jeokhyeol came from experience and swordsmanship.
But it didn't work on Isis, a 7th rank Saber. Exchanging blows would turn him to dust.
There has to be a way...
The mana storm subsided.
Zien's swept body bore minor wounds, blood trickling.
"You really blocked it. Sorry, but you end here..."
Isis gripped her swords again.
She didn't kill needlessly, but Zien was different. At first-year age, he'd blocked a 7th rank Saber's attack. He'd surely stand against Desire one day.
"I have to kill you."
Isis's voice held no anger or mercy—just chilling calm. The hero who'd guarded the world was gone. For her goal, she'd become a villain. Any sacrifices meant nothing now.
Serenity.
Isis crossed her twin blades in air. The X clashed with a resounding metallic ring. Her body vanished. Now she pierced even supersonic speeds with skill and mana.
Can't block that!
Even maxed senses couldn't track her. Zien's best was predicting the strike.
Where's she aiming? But too late.
Pang.
Isis appeared with a sonic boom.
Her twins drew a straight line for Zien's heart.
Chaeng!
But Isis's blades were stopped.
Not by Zien's sword—a giant shield.
"Still alive, Isis."
The shield's owner was Dennis.
The same 7th rank Saber as her, revered as the strongest. They knew each other's power well. Full-force clash between 7th ranks would wreck corridor and building alike.
Isis glanced at Zien, then withdrew her Magic Tool.
"I figured you'd show."
She turned away.
Sisella waited upstairs. With space-jumping Sisella and Isis together, capture was impossible.
"You're the only one who'd pull this off."
But Dennis chose talk over fight. Isis sneered gloomily at him.
"...Still chasing the truth, huh."
"Foolish as ever."
"But thanks all the same."
Killing intent settled calmly in Isis's eyes. Her mana was assassin-like, restrained silence.
"We won't borrow Central's hands anymore. We'll handle the truth our way."
With that, Isis left the corridor.
"Surviving Isis with your head intact. Impressive. Zien Russell, was it?"
Zien nodded instead of answering. Whatever truth she sought, Dennis hid something. But even Zien probing didn't faze him.
"Remember you."
Mage Tower feats.
Battle Survival tournament win.
Historic student 5th rank Gate clear. And blocking Desire's Number 1, Isis.
Even aloof Dennis couldn't forget Zien now.
"So get stronger through Gates."
Or Desire would devour him. Isis had seen his value early. To her, a villain, he was a threat. If not an ally, prune him young.
Of course, Dennis's advice meant little to Zien. Growing stronger was his core goal. With the bill passed, he could clear Gates as a student, monopolizing all power.
Reclaiming sealed 4th and 5th skills was possible too. No more obstacles.
"I'll keep it in mind."
Defeat now, but Desire and Isis were mere steps for Zien.
My Previous Life was the Strongest Sword God