Way of the Knights

“Alright, Kids. Wrap it up, we’re done here.”

The captain of the Squad 6 commanded through voice transmission. In front of them, decaying bodies of the Abyssals laid lifeless. Even in their death, it is visible how much they suffered due to the methods of Humans that attacked them.

The battle went on for a week in total, not because it was intense but because it really takes time to drain as much flesh as they could.

Even with that though, they are not expecting to make a noticeable dent on the stockpile of the Abyssals just yet. But if we round up how many Abyssals were suffering through continuous flesh rending, humanity should be making a visible progress.

Too bad there isn’t really a way for them to confirm how much they’ve drained so far. They’d only know that they’ve done enough once the Abyssals no longer regenerated their flesh when they’re injured. For now, they could only do their best.

The members of the Squad finished up their own battles and converged at the location of the Captain.

It’s already confirmed that every hostile is dead and they’ve also checked their ship to see if they missed anything. Turns out they didn’t so they just confiscated the ship. Sealing it before going to their own.

Once inside their ship, the squad members still looked energetic. It is obvious that the mission was quite easy even though they have to face three squads at once. Well, considering what method they used to defeat them, this should be understandable.

“Squad 6 Captain here, connecting to HQ. Please respond.”

“Squad 6 this is HQ. We hear you loud and clear. How can we help?”

“We’re done with the mission HQ, no casualties and all hostiles confirmed dead. We’ve also confiscated some cargo. We’re heading back there.”

“Copy. Good work Squad 6. We’ll be expecting you soon. Stay safe out there.”

“Roger that. Squad 6, out.” The captain terminated the link. He then opened the ship’s internal communications device and said: “Kids, put on your seatbelts. We’re going home.”

“Aye, aye Captain.” He heard a reply from them.

Well, the squad members didn’t really need to sit still as they ship flew back home. What the captain said was just an expression.

Currently, the members are relaxing. De-compressing from the battle that they just went through. Although this was a relatively easy mission, being out there in the vast and seemingly boundless space with nothing but silence and floating rocks filled them with gloom.

Being exposed to an inhabitable environment was bound to stress them whether they like it or not. So it is beneficial for them to rest and find something to do that can help them relax and wash the gloominess in them.

For Vanessa, the best way to do it is by sleeping.

Well, she calls it sleeping but it’s more than that to be honest.

Inside her room in the ship, there’s no noticeable furniture around, not even a bed, pillow or blanket. Just an empty but clean room. Still Vanessa still claimed it as hers and had been using it regularly.

She didn’t really need furniture, she has no use for them anyway. It’s not like she’ll be living in the ship’s room for a long time so she saw no merit in placing them.

Even a bed is not required even though she often slumbered. There’s really no need for it when she’s just floating in the middle of the room, curled up and wrapped by a warm violet cloud as she slumbered deeply to get rid of her fatigue.

Cloudy isn’t just useful in battle, it is also the softest and most delicate bed anybody can has. Why sleep on a bed when you have a literal cloud following you around?

Vanessa and Cloudy are protected by a golden sphere which encased them both. The golden sphere just makes it so that they wouldn’t be disturbed while sleeping. Vanessa is sensitive to sounds due to her naturally sharp senses, even the faintest noise can wake her up.

Even though Vanessa is asleep, her mind is very active.

As someone who mastered the Mirage Laws to its acme, Vanessa’s illusions can effect reality itself. And inside her mind, where her imaginations are unshackled and completely free, there is a space where she can play around and do everything she wants.

If she wants the world to be bigger, it will be bigger. If she wants it smaller, then it will be smaller. She can decide what colors should appear, what shapes clouds should have, how malleable the Earth is, how deep the ocean are and how cool the air is.

She can add or pluck heavenly bodies should she desire it. She could sprinkle stars on her yard if she wants too.

Anything she can think of, could be possible inside this world.

She calls this: The Glamour World.

And in the Glamour World, Vanessa is a God.

Of course, the Glamour World isn’t just restrained on her mindscape. Vanessa could overlap this with reality and therefore show vivid images she can think of and, in some ways, make it very real.

This is the secret behind Vanessa’s strength.

The moment she lays down her Glamour World and overlap it with the real world, she can practically do anything she wants. Her will can overwrite reality itself and that’s what makes her terrifying.

Most people doesn’t what she can truly do since she doesn’t really go around and brag about it. Those who knew are the same people who knew what her identity is, and the amount of people who knew aren’t much to begin with.

Even if they knew what she can do, what were they supposed to do about it? Much like her father, Vanessa becomes invincible the moment she lays down her domain, what’s the point?

So, those who knew what she can truly do, could only rejoice that Vanessa was an ally, not an enemy.

The amount of the Abyssals that suffered due to her Glamour World passed hundreds at this point. It’s not much but considering how she was practically untouched in all of her battles, this proves how ridiculous it gets the moments she gets a chance.

Take the recent group of the Abyssals that she faced for example;

Even as they died, they never realized that they were under a horrifying illusion all along.

The moment they arrived in front of Vanessa, they were already caught in an illusion. Even if they realized it in the middle of the battle, they wouldn’t be able to get out of it since the Vanessa’s Mirage Laws had the essence of Order, something that completely eludes the Abyssals.

In truth, what occurred wasn’t much of a battle. She stood still as the Abyssals suffered tremendously while inside her illusions. She rended their flesh so many times and quite swiftly too.

The Abyssals couldn’t even realize that they’re inside an illusion while they’re still unharmed, how can they even think about it when they’re in pain?

As a result, they could only die while remaining ignorant about the truth, such is the horrifying power held by Vanessa.

Vanessa is truly powerful. Knowing her lineage, it would be weird if she wasn’t born with so much potential. Raven and Luna didn’t skimp on anything that would be beneficial for her growth and only provided her with the best.

In exchange, they just want her to live her life according to how she please. They don’t want anything in return but…how can that be?

Of course Vanessa knew that her parents were telling the truth. But her conscience wouldn’t let her be at peace she didn’t anything to make them proud.

But knowing how her parents are, she just needs to be breathe in and out and they’d praise for it. Honestly…

At this point though, this is no longer about making them proud. She participated in this war not to prove something but to save the world.

And since she held power to contribute to something meaningful, it is obvious that she’d do it in a heartbeat.

This is the mentality that she inherited from her parents. They are her inspiration and reason why could go this far and harness this incredible power.

She might be a blessed child by birthright but that alone isn’t enough to finalize what or who she’s going to be.

But since she grew up in a loving family and inspired to do good rather than harm, it is already established that she will never aim her sword at her people.

Instead she would use it to ensure that they are protected, safe and secured. It is only that way that she could say that she did something meaningful.

If it makes her parents proud, well that’s just a bonus. Vanessa already realized a long time ago that she needs to follow her own path, not the footsteps of her own parents.

They are their own person while she’s her own. She’d do things in her way to make sure that everything she held dear will remain intact after this war.