Chapter 57 | Vora One

The Valkerie landed on the ground of Gravemire. Leon stepped out with a cavora of Obsidians behind him.

His boots crunched on loose gravel and dust picked up by the strong winds hit his visor. A vast canyon stretched out before him, twisting and broken like a maze. Jagged cliffs cut deep into the earth, and glowing MRM veins ran along the rock, pulsing with raw energy. The ground trembled now and then. Mana filled the air, making it shimmer in his eyes.

A regular soldier in grey and gold armor jogged towards him from a camp in front of a cave opening.

"Sir." The soldier saluted.

"Status?"

The soldier dropped his salute and motioned towards the camp. His cavora unloaded from the Valkerie and headed towards the entrance of the cave being led by Nyra.

"We can't get past the first level. The mana beasts inside are more dangerous than we had thought. We lost half of a cavora already."

Leon scanned the tent-filled camp as he walked toward the cave. Most of the soldiers were Ordaris, with a few Nullaris mixed in. There weren't any Fulgaris at all.

The stares made him uneasy. Soldiers paused whatever they were doing just to get a look at him, their eyes filled with something between awe and curiosity.

"How many cavoras are here?" He asked.

"Four were assigned, Sir."

He reached the cave and peered inside. It was dark but with his enhanced vision it only took a moment to adjust and he could see outlines of Shade Stalkers roaming on the first level.

"Not bad for the first mission." Jeffrey appeared beside Leon, looking into the cave. "Should be easy for you and your cavora, right Captain Ezra?"

"It shouldn't be a problem," Leon answered, then looked at the soldier. "Blade Nell, have a cavora ready to accompany us in fifteen minutes. They will just act as support from the back. My cavora will clear the way, but we can't waste time collecting the cores."

"Right away, Sir." Nell saluted and left.

As Leon turned to meet up with his cavora, Jeffrey stepped in front of him and put his hand on his chest to stop him.

"Before I forget, I received orders. I will only be supervising this mission. They are accelerating all the newly appointed Obsidians and are being stretched thin. Looks like we will be busy for a while."

"Why would the Order be stretched thin?"

Jeffrey shrugged.

"Who knows? I haven't been updated yet and just following orders." Jeffrey left it at that and headed back to the cavora.

Leon followed right behind.

"We are ready to go," Nyra said when he arrived in front.

"Thanks, where is my vora?"

"They are over there." Nyra pointed to nine members huddled together in the center of the cavora.

He pulled up the cavora info and pinned his members' biometric status to his display.

Beth Briggs- Normal

Owen Marsh- Normal

Tess Quinn- Normal

Miles Kent- Normal

Ruby Holt- Normal

Caleb Fox- Normal

Dove Pierce- Normal

Matt Bell- Normal

Sage Grove- Normal

Leon walked over to the group. A standard team. Five shield bearers and five agile offensive members including him.

The group stood at attention.

"At ease," he said, he looked over his vora and decided on a shield bearer. "Owen, you will be my shield bearer."

"Yes, Sir," Owen, the man with broad shoulders answered. He was the biggest out of all of them, but not quite as big as Mason.

He was used to Mason being his shield bearer during training, he wouldn't feel comfortable not having someone closer to his size.

"Let's head to the front. We are moving out as soon as the regular cavora finishes prepping." Leon ordered, tilting his head to the cave.

"The front, Sir?" Miles, the tallest in the vora asked.

"Yes. Is something wrong?" Leon asked, wondering if they were not ready yet.

"Ah… no… Sir its just standard for One to be in the center and…" Miles looked around and stepped closer for only Leon to hear. "The Ruinari command ordered our cavora to protect you."

Am I really just a golden goose? He shook his head to get rid of the distracting thought.

"If I stay in the center, I can't see the front very well with the shields in the way." Leon paused before continuing in a joking tone. "You guys are supposed to be the best after the leads, right?"

"HEY! What's that supposed to mean? Are you questioning my ability?" Ruby, a petite woman, said stepping forward, standing inches from Leon's chest, staring up at him.

Miles pulled her back a second later. "Sorry, Sir. She has bad manners."

"Only to asses," Ruby muttered, crossed her arms, and stared at Leon. "SIR"

Leon was at a loss. He didn't think his joke would be taken so serious. At the corner of his eye, he saw Nyra pacing around their group.

He glanced at her and she shrugged.

She probably stuck this girl in my vora on purpose.

He looked back at Ruby and raised his hand.

"I was just kidding. And you can drop the sir. Just call me Leon."

"Hmmph."

"As I was saying, I trust your abilities and want to be at the front. I really can't see what happens if I am behind a bunch of shield bearers." Leon said.

"Leon, the support is here," Nyra called to him.

"Come on, let's get started." Vora One made their way to the front.

A few Obsidian glanced their way and looked at the person beside them, only to receive a shrug.

Jeffrey chuckled as Leon passed him.

"Interesting choice. I'll stay in the center if you need me."

Is it that bad to be at the front? But how can others see without being at the front?

His vora descended into the first level of the cave—a vast chamber wide enough to march twenty armored soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder.

At the front, his five shield bearers formed a solid wall, while Nyra's and Mason's voras flanked him.

A pack of six Shade Stalkers came running toward them. The four-legged mana beasts were around five feet at the shoulder and nine feet long. As they hit his vora's shields, Nyra and Mason commanded their voras to fan to the sides, forming a semi-circle that prevented the Shade Stalkers from hitting their sides.

Without needing commands, the offensive fighters moved in as soon as Shade Stalkers came within striking distance of their spears.

There was no need for Leon to intervene. He made his way toward Nyra, who stood calmly, monitoring her vora on the formation's left flank as they finished off the Shade Stalkers.

BANG!

He glanced back toward the front line just in time to see a Shade Stalker vault forward, using one of the shields as a foothold. Instinctively, he reached for the spear strapped to his back and stepped forward, then paused, returning the weapon to its place.

His vora had already handled it. The Shade Stalker was cut down the moment it landed.

Leon turned to continue toward Nyra, but then he caught a sudden movement—his eyes locking on the jawline of a seventh Shade Stalker just a few feet from her left side. Its mouth split into four serrated sections, each lined with rows of needle-like teeth. His heart raced, breathing stopped.

The image of Malco being torn apart by Dire Hounds flashed through his mind. He froze, watching as the Shade Stalker advanced in what felt like slow motion. Fear and guilt crashed over him, locking his body in place and overwhelming his thoughts.

CRUNCH!

The creature's jaws shattered as a shield slammed into its face. Nyra stepped around the shield bearer, drew her sword in one fluid motion, and cleaved through the Shade Stalker's neck.

"Nyra, are you okay?" Leon asked her when he got to her side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My shield bearer got me covered." She nodded at the shield bearer who went back to his spot on the shield wall.

Leon released the breath he was holding. He looked at his hands and clenched them.

"I—I'm sorry," he said. "I froze…I don't know what happened."

Nyra placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm fine. You probably just need time to get over what happened."

Time? Would time fix this?

"I think I know what to do," Leon said.

Nyra tilted her head, the motion alone hinting at her confusion over Leon's words.