And so a number of days passed...

The cracked soil clapped with the stomps of a thousand men. The great wooden walls around the Sanctuary stood tall before the army of Jupiter, which had now at long last reached the end of its march. The princess, Lucretia, stepped out to the forefront of her marching forces and then raised her head high to take in the vastness of the wall.

The Sanctuary's height and scale was beyond her expectations, it was a truly vast area of land. She closed her eyes and allowed an invisible force to part from her mortal coil. This was the second of Ash's four powers, available to those at the Silver Class and beyond, the power to call Ash forth from within their bodies and put it to purpose, Ash Manifestation.

This power was a part of them even now and so its range was limited. While it could only assume the form of vapour, it could expand out until but the thinnest connection to its host remained. This power's uses were many, as a weapon it made for a fierce projectile, as a shield, it could clad its host in a hurricane of force, and as a scouting tool it could perceive everything within its range down to the smallest ant crawling on the ground.

This power was also the key reason why the Silver Class soldiers wore less encompassing suits of armour than the heavy plate of their Bronze Class peers. The manifested Ash could pass through uniforms without issue but steel and armour were another story altogether. The heavy plate of the Bronze Class could not completely obstruct Ash's advance, but it did hinder it well enough that no Silver Class soldier could effectively fight in such a suit.

With this power the Princess scoped out the area beyond the wooden wall. She dared not delve too far, however, for if her Ash came into contact with that of another, her target's protective aura perhaps, then that person would find her sure as she found them. She took it all in, the area beyond the wall was a city unto itself, though one filled with beasts in place of men and trees in place of buildings. She found nothing human, not even at the very edge of her Ash's range, the coast was clear for the plan they'd arranged.

The princess turned to face her thousand man force and then gave them the signal to carry on their course. They stepped forward, they advanced upon the solid wooden gates. The Sanctuary was sealed shut, as it well should be for the beasts that dwelled within were in plenty ways deadly. On their princess' orders the men took their steps forward, they advanced upon those gates.

There was a mighty steel chain and lock to obstruct them, but the men took no heed of it, they cut it down with the swing of their axes. Several burly soldiers then marched upon the doors. With all the strength of their bear-like arms they pressed themselves forward. The soil beneath their feet trembled and was displaced, the gates themselves released great echoes of creaking.

The army of a thousand men raised their heads to see as the gates parted slowly and surely. How long had it been since these gigantic doors were opened last? Decades? Centuries? Perhaps it was so. There were other ways in and out, other doors much smaller than this main gate, of course. None of those, however, were fit to allow an entire army access. The gates scarred the soil beneath them, digging it up and piling it behind their moving frames until finally they were pushed apart as far as the strength of twelve superhuman men would permit them to go.

Lucretia stepped forward, her nine elites, her nine Platinum Class followers, stood right by her side. She gazed upon the depths of the woodland with her very own eyes this time. She'd lived a reasonably long life by the standards of this hazardous world, she was very nearly twenty, yet not once had she seen a land like this sanctuary. Birds singing, herbivores prowling, she had seen the forest many times but never once had she beheld one so calm, so peaceful, without monsters prowling every corner. She took a moment to take it all in, then she turned to face the closest of her men.

"Order the men to advance," She said, "Search for the woman named Beatrix who dwells in these woods, arrest her but do not slay her. Be warned that she is accused of carrying the Beacon of a God, so do not permit her any chances to use it, seize it on sight." The man bowed his head and complied with her command, he and his peers turned to face the army at their backs. With one single command that force then advanced, they walked into the forest, crushing mud and soft grass.

The hundred ninety men who stood tallest amongst them, the Gold Class, were the first to enter. Their bodies, clad only in uniform, became bathed in Ash that circled like a mighty storm. They emerged unharmed, unblemished and undamaged, their ranks clad in armour now glowing bright as starlight. This was the power they wielded as Gold Class, the advanced form of Manifestation. The distinctions between it and the basic form were simple as can be, it added shape and form to the formless entity.

Their like never adorned neither weapons or armour, for why would they bother? When a sword can come into being just by willing it to, why would such individuals ever see fit to carry one on their backs? Only youngsters like Alexander, who'd yet to master this power, would do such a thing. The army spread out, squads split up and took different paths through the mighty woodland. The Sanctuary was a sizable place filled with obstacles, a thousand man force like their's could hardly cover every nook and cranny of it. Their only option, therefore, was to split up like so, a Gold Class leading them all as they go. However, hidden away amongst these numerous units of marching men was one that carried a very suspicious air. These five individuals didn't fit in with the rest of them, they were, after all, Metatron and his men.

Lucretia hung back, her arms crossed and her eyes piercing into the depths of the waiting woodland. She was uncertain about a great many things, not least of all the farce that had led her here. She turned her head to face her retainers. The nine Platinum Class with power on par with her own. The majority of her army had set out to search the forest in bulk, before days end they would have accomplished their duty.

Yet more doubt, and even a little suspicion, plagued her mind. When they arrested the woman named Beatrix, what would happen next? The mere confirmation of her existence would likely become a stepping stone to many much more serious developments. Her grandfather could use this chance to place both General Avance and even Venus City itself under a publicly justified scrutiny, it would not be unthinkable that this was all a ploy to achieve this.

She was troubled on the inside, she had a friend in Venus, did this mean that friend had to die? Her thoughts spiralled around that possible future until the heavens sounded with a mighty tremor. She raised her head, a strong wind blew amid the echo of flapping wings. Dust and rock scattered every which way, then a mighty black shadow quickly passed by over her head. Her hair waved in the wind. She dug her heels firmly into the soil and set her gaze upon the forest. The figure they glimpsed there was both large and imposing, its body black like coal yet shining like steel.

"Only one man that could be," The princess said to herself. She saw it more clearly now, she bore witness to the mighty figure of the black dragon, Fafnir, as it descended into the forest beyond. The black dragon being here meant there was no doubt, General Avance Mercury had descended upon them.

That fact changed everything; it confirmed for her that there was indeed something in this forest that that man deemed fit to protect. The worst case was that that woman truly existed here, if that was the truth of it then her grandfather's gambit had succeeded from the moment that the general had exposed himself. Even then, however the princess knew clear as day that she could not risk starting a fight with that man of all men, not even with this army at her back her did she dare claim supremacy over the might of that black dragon.

"Call back our men," She said to her nine retainers. They bowed their heads her way and then stepped forth to approach the Sanctuary's gates. For the men, their noble robes transformed into uniforms fit for battle. For the women, their dresses split at the hem and transformed into ankle length trench coats. This was the fourth and final of Ash's powers, wielded only by the Platinum Class in this world, the Advanced form of Mutation.

The workings of this power could be called both very simple and yet all powerful. Simply put it was the power of shape shifting, and down to the genetic level no less. The power to change one's very being in any way they chose, this was a freely achievable thing to those who had mastered this power. Sadly however it was also thanks to this very power that Metatron and his men had managed to sneak so easily into her unsuspecting ranks.

"Now we'll see if we can't resolve this peacefully," Lucretia muttered to herself and then gave her command readily. The nine men advanced forward into the waiting depths of the forest. Their presence allowed her to put her unease to rest. Perhaps today's matter could indeed be solved without Venus or General Avance facing fault, that would certainly be the best outcome from where she was standing. Though the general's presence here seemed to confirm his association with the woman, Beatrix, it would all work out if he played his cards right.

Sadly she did not know the existence of those five men who had long infiltrated her ranks, she did not realise that it was already impossible for this matter to end well thanks to their involvement. Metatron and his men, their mere existence, ruined everything.