The wind raged in a barren valley. Most of Muspelheim was hot, split into a lifeless and arid desert or wasteland, the former of which no man dared to cross. This area was one of the safer paths, it still had its hazards, of course, but when compared to the wastelands, never mind the deserts, it began to look outright welcoming.

Lucretia's army would not be taking this path, it was the most direct route to Venus, this was true, but it was also too small and too treacherous to get a thousand man strong army reliably across its length. Here in this place sat a group of thirty men laying hidden, ready to spring an ambush. Their armour was silver and marked by the emblem of a crimson sickle upon their right breast. They were Metatron's comrades, Uriel's underlings, and they lay in wait for the only man who would logically think to take this route in his haste to reach the land of Venus beyond, Avance Mercury.

After the passage of countless nights, their prey finally appeared before them. First they sighted a black speck in the distance, then that speck grew larger until the outline of a black dragon could be clearly defined by their superhuman eyes. Thus the group of thirty men drew their weapons and prepared themselves to spring their trap. They aimed towards the pitch black dragon flying through the skies above without hesitation. This was their mission, their sacred obligation.

The general, Avance Mercury, set his gaze firmly upon the lands below as the black dragon upon whose back he rode crossed through the valley. They still had quite a journey ahead of them. The Muspelheim Continent might be small amongst the nine but that did not mean its size was to be underestimated. He was not hungry, though it had been days since last he fed, nor was he thirsty despite it being longer still since last he drank. His body was superhuman, enough so that he dared to brave this journey with only the scarcest of supplies.

Even so he heard Fafnir moan, days on days on days on end of flight had wore the beast down to the point where it was now mildly uncomfortable. There was an outpost set up at the other end of the valley where they could take a brief rest if need be, though he wondered if such a thing would be coddling the beast, given its sturdy bulk and body.

Suddenly Fenrir howled, it let loose a low sounding bellow and stopped in mid air. The general was roused from his thoughts, his gaze came to rest upon the source of the dragon's hostility. He grasped the beast's intent and tightened his grip upon the spikes of its back. This action told the dragon that its master was prepared and so it immediately acted as it bid and rolled its body to the side. This action allowed it to avoid a grand cascade of white blazing smoke that came rushing towards its body from below. With evasive maneuvers that would put all but a modern age fighter jet to shame the beast avoided several attacks before spreading its wings out wide and locking its position in the sky.

"We've waltzed into an ambush, have we?" General Avance said in a low tone of voice. He scoffed in disinterest as the dragon snorted in disdain. Both of them had the same thought at that moment and that thought was: "Who would dare?" Thus the general turned his gaze down towards the ground below. He spotted thirty men clad in suits of silver armour.

The skies let loose a low rumble, shadows moved across the earth. The general turned his gaze skyward as white clouds formed overhead, the earlier attacks had been used to construct this sheet of white cloud. "What's this for?" The general wondered, a bad premonition came upon him. He faced the ground again as the clouds above expanded. The silver clad knights had parted their feet from the rocky valley and their bodies now stood suspended as ghosts in the air.

When he saw that, everything finally clicked in the general's head, his expression turned cold to a whole new degree. He who had been in a relationship with Beatrix had naturally heard the story from her own lips. These men were the reason why she fled her homeland to begin with, these knights fit her description perfectly.

That truth was as unnerving as it was enlightening, what troubled Avance the most however was what their presence here ultimately meant to him on a personal level. These people were not only Beatrix' sworn enemies, they were likely the people who had told Mourn about the Beacon she possessed in the first place. This would also mean that his own son had set him up to fall into this very ambush.

The black dragon, Fafnir let out a low growl filled with bloodlust, it was smarter than most men, smarter even than its master himself maybe, of course it had noticed his mood. Avance heard that growl and recovered from his stupor. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, he exhaled heavily and let loose all the frustration wrought forth by this unwelcome revelation.

When he opened his eyes once again the knights were now charging boldly towards him and the black dragon upon whose back he now stood tall. "They're being rather arrogant don't you think, Fafnir?" He said, and in response the dragon snorted loudly to show its disdain for those men. Flames blue in colour puffed from its nostrils, that alone could burn weaker men to ash. "Ah, so you agree," Avance said as he set his sights upon the knights, the corpses that just hadn't stopped moving yet, that stood before him and the black dragon. "Well then shall we teach them who the master of these skies is?" The signal was given, the black dragon let loose one mighty sky shattering roar and then opened wide its heavy maw. The knights shielded their ears and tumbled back, that beast's lungs alone had the power to shake the atmosphere and shatter their eardrums. Blue light then rushed towards them, the knights sought to cover their eyes as the sky before the dragon's maw was transformed into a bright blue wall of fire.

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Beatrix woke with a start in the dead of night. The nightmares that haunted her frequently were to blame. Even now after so many years had gone by she still feared that those knights would find her once again. She looked across the room towards the other bed where her son, Rapture, lay in peaceful slumber. She calmed down her beating heart at the sight of him sleeping so sound, his existence eased her mind.

She breathed calmly and then smiled. Before she went back to sleep however a sound, so faint and distant that, nevermind a normal human, none but the highest level superhumans would be likely to even notice it, reached her ears. The woman turned her body, she parted her legs from the blankets and sat at the edge of her bed. Her hand reached out towards a pitch black trident, her weapon since the old days, and then she stood up and advanced towards the wooden wall before her.

She raised her hand forward and pushed on the wall, with but that lightest of taps it clicked free and began to move. The outline of a window took form and the wall revealed the darkness of the world outside. Beatrix set her sights upon that darkness, her gaze reached deep into the woods.

During the eclipse most would find themselves blinded by the unrelenting darkness, they would not even see their own hands held out before their faces. Beatrix however could see from her house to the very borders of the forest that lay beyond, provided she found a route unbarred by the trees. Thanks to this fact she clearly saw an abnormality moving through the woods, it was invisible, nearly silent and getting closer by the second. She realised the identity of this entity in an instant and released a sigh of relief, then however frustration and irritation overcame her and she stepped outside with her weapon held firm in hand.