Chapter 130: Special Order

The deeper the group traveled into the Old Garden, the more aggressive the Bloodkin became.

The ruined paths had long since disappeared beneath twisted roots and broken stone, forcing the Ashcroft family and the Nephilim to move through the remains of what had once been a beautiful settlement.

Crimson veins of Blood Mana ran beneath the ground like roots of a gigantic tree, occasionally pulsing beneath their feet.

They had barely crossed another stretch of ruined houses when the ground suddenly exploded. Several Bloodkin burst upward at once, their bodies covered in blood and their mouths open in feral snarls.

Others descended from the trees, while more rushed toward them from between the ruins.

"Incoming!" Mara shouted.

Blood claws tore through the air.

Emily moved first. Her Aeon flashed through the nearest Bloodkin before it could finish forming its weapon, cutting through its torso and sending its body crashing into the ruins behind it.

Rika immediately stepped into the opening Emily created, driving her weapon through another Bloodkin’s chest before kicking it away.

Lily and Rhea covered the left side while Maki and Seraphine handled the right, their movements already far more coordinated than they had been when they first entered the Garden.

"Three on your right!" Seraphine called.

"I see them," Maki replied.

Maki raised her hand, and Mana surged through the ground. The moment the Bloodkin tried to change direction, Seraphine’s attack struck from the opposite side and crushed it into the earth.

Yuna and Mara maintained the center of the formation, preventing the Bloodkin from splitting them apart.

Reinhard moved through the gaps. He didn’t need to unleash any overwhelming ability. Whenever a Bloodkin slipped past the others, he was already there, casually intercepting it before it could reach anyone.

One tried to attack from behind. Reinhard turned without looking and caught its wrist.

"Wrong person."

He twisted.

The Bloodkin’s arm snapped before a short strike sent it flying through a wall.

Another rushed toward Lily, and Reinhard used Spatial Push without even bothering to fully turn around. The Bloodkin was thrown sideways and slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.

Lily glanced over. "Thanks!"

"You’re welcome." He said it like a man accepting a compliment he’d already expected.

She immediately returned to the fight without another word.

The battle was brutal, but it was no longer chaotic. The Ashcroft family and the Nephilim had fought together long enough that their movements were beginning to become natural.

They no longer needed to constantly explain what they were doing.

A change in position from one person created an opening for another, and everyone had started recognizing those openings instinctively.

Emily cut through another Bloodkin and glanced toward Rika.

Rika nodded, and they moved at the same time, Emily forcing one Bloodkin backward while Rika intercepted another trying to flank her.

Lily and Rhea closed the remaining gap, while Yuna ordered the others to tighten the formation.

Within minutes, the last Bloodkin fell. The Garden became quiet again. Blood pooled between the broken stones.

Rhea lowered her weapon and looked around. "That was a lot of them."

Reinhard looked at the bodies scattered across the road. "It was."

Rhea glanced at him. "You say that like you’re disappointed."

Reinhard shrugged. "I was starting to enjoy myself."

Rhea stared at him for a moment before laughing. Even Archon, who had been standing quietly at the back of the group, closed her eyes with the faintest movement at the corner of her lips. Emily smiled as well.

Then the Blood Mana around them changed.

Mara’s expression hardened.

"Everyone."

The relaxed atmosphere disappeared immediately. The crimson veins beneath the ground pulsed once, then twice, and several figures slowly emerged from the surrounding ruins. Their bodies were larger than the Third Orders they had just fought, and the Blood Mana surrounding them was considerably denser.

"Second Orders," Maki said.

There were several of them. One raised its hand, and a mass of blood condensed into a spear before shooting toward the formation. Emily stepped forward and swung Aeon, shattering it on contact.

Another Bloodkin appeared beside her almost instantly, its claws already reaching for her throat. Rika intercepted it, their weapons colliding with enough force to shake the nearby ruins.

"Go!" Rika shouted.

Emily understood immediately. She slipped past the Bloodkin and drove Aeon through its chest.

At the same time, Reinhard disappeared with Spatial Step. He appeared behind another Second Order and struck it across the back, sending it crashing through three ruined walls. The Bloodkin rose again.

Reinhard sighed. "You’re persistent."

It roared and launched dozens of blood spikes. Reinhard raised his hand, and Spatial Push spread outward, bending the spikes away from him and into the surrounding trees instead. He stepped forward and struck the Bloodkin directly, shattering its body on impact.

Across the battlefield, Lily and Rhea were fighting another Second Order together.

"Left!" Lily shouted.

"I know!"

Rhea ducked beneath a blood blade while Lily attacked from above. The Bloodkin tried to regenerate, but Lily didn’t give it the chance, driving her weapon through its head.

"Got it!"

Mara and Yuna finished another one while Maki and Seraphine worked together to trap the final Bloodkin. A moment later, silence returned.

Reinhard looked around the battlefield. The Garden had become quiet once again, but there was an uncomfortable stillness spreading around.

Emily lowered Aeon. "Something’s wrong."

Reinhard turned toward her. "Yeah." He could feel it too.

The Blood Mana had stopped moving while every remaining Bloodkin in the distance had gone completely still.

And then even the wind disappeared.

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed. "Everyone, stay alert-"

A woman appeared between the trees, shocking all of them.

She had long white hair fell over her shoulders, almost glowing against the darkness of the Garden. Her face was hidden beneath a crimson veil, and only the faint crimson light of her eyes could be seen through the fabric. She wore a long crimson robe that moved gently despite the absence of wind.

A sword rested in one hand and a mirror-like relic rested in the other.

The sight was so strange that even Rhea stopped talking.

The woman did not move but simply stared at them. Her crimson eyes passed over Emily, then Lily, then Maki, then Reinhard and finally stopped on Archon.

For the first time, her posture changed. The woman tilted her head slightly, her crimson eyes still fixed on Archon, then glanced at the mirror in her hand. Almost as if she had just confirmed something.

Archon stared back at her. "She knows what I am."

Reinhard glanced toward her. "That’s usually not a good sign."

Archon didn’t answer.

The Special Order slowly raised the mirror. Crimson light spread across its surface. Reinhard immediately felt the space around them becoming unstable.

"Everyone, move!"

The mirror flashed. and then the Garden bent. Trees stretched sideways as if the world itself had become soft. The ground folded upward, ruins twisted apart, and the distance between everyone suddenly became impossible to understand.

Reinhard reached toward Emily while Emily reached for him. Their hands were only a few steps apart.

Then the space between them stretched.

Five meters. Ten. Twenty.

"Emily!"

Her figure was suddenly pulled away. Rhea disappeared. Maki vanished behind a wall that hadn’t existed a moment earlier. Lily reached for Rhea before the two were separated by a twisting fold of space and even Archon disappeared as well.

Reinhard immediately activated Spatial Step but nothing happened. His expression changed before he tried to force open a Space Tear. A thin tear appeared beside him before collapsing instantly.

"What the..."

The Special Order raised her sword and swung the blade through the air. The cut tore through the distorted space itself and the area around split apart.

Reinhard felt his body being dragged sideways and everything around turned into streaks of color before then stopping instantly. He groaned before realizing he was not only alone but the area around was different.

The trees were larger, their branches twisting high above him. The Mana in the air was much thicker, almost heavy enough to breathe. Ancient ruins surrounded him, their stone walls covered in crimson growth.

Reinhard slowly turned in place.

No Emily. No Lily. No Maki. No Yuna. No Nephilim. No Archon.

"Did she teleport all of us away?" He stared toward the distant ruins. "Well... Judging from the surroundings, it seemed to have moved me deeper into the Garden."

Reinhard hadn’t even finished that thought when the ground exploded. Blood erupted from beneath his feet, and several Third Order Bloodkin charged from different directions.

Reinhard sighed. "Seriously? Couldn’t you teleport to a place without annoyances?"

One lunged toward him but Spatial Push sent it flying.

Another came from behind, and Spatial Pull dragged it directly toward Reinhard, where he met it with a punch that crushed its chest. A third formed a blood blade, but Reinhard stepped around the attack and used Space Tear, splitting the Bloodkin’s attack apart before the Bloodkin itself followed a moment later.

The remaining Third Orders rushed him together. Reinhard barely moved. A short Spatial Step placed him behind one, and a second later, another collapsed from a blow to the back. The last Bloodkin jumped from above.

Reinhard looked up. "You really need better timing."

He caught it by the throat and slammed it into the ground. The Bloodkin shattered into a puddle of blood and soon the battlefield became silent.

Reinhard looked over the bodies. "Much better."

Then the Blood Mana began gathering again.

His expression changed as more figures emerged from the ruins. He could feel the mana rolling off them was vastly stronger and knew it was Second Orders. He noted alot more as they surrounded him from every direction.

Reinhard looked at them. "You’re kidding."

The first Bloodkin attacked.

Reinhard vanished, Spatial Step carrying him behind it, and his strike sent it crashing through a stone building. Another Bloodkin attacked from behind, and without turning, Reinhard used Spatial Push to throw it into the air.

A third launched dozens of blood spears. Reinhard raised one hand, and space twisted, bending the spears around him before redirecting them into the Bloodkin that had launched them. The creature barely had time to react before Reinhard appeared in front of it, his fist striking with enough force to send it through the ground.

Another Second Order charged. Reinhard stepped aside and let it pass, then caught its arm and pulled, Spatial Pull dragging the Bloodkin backward with enough force to throw off its balance. Reinhard struck it before it could recover.

One by one, the Second Orders fell. The last one tried to regenerate.

Reinhard stared at it. "You’ve had enough."

A short Space Tear ended the fight.

Reinhard looked over the battlefield. This place is getting ridiculous.

Before he could think any further, the phone at his waist began to vibrate. Reinhard pulled it out and the Association organizer’s voice immediately came through. "Everyone, we just received some important information."

Reinhard glanced around the ruined Garden. "Please tell me you know where my family is."

There was a brief silence.

"We’re still locating everyone. But we were able to contact them."

Reinhard’s smile disappeared but inwardly sigh in relief that they hadn’t lost contact.

The organizer continued. "Two groups have now made contact with Special Orders. Another team has established contact with the Origin."

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed. "Already?"

"Yes. The situation has changed faster than we expected."

A second voice suddenly entered the phone call: Archon.

"We encountered another Special Order."

Reinhard relaxed slightly. At least one familiar voice was here.

Archon continued calmly. "She used a relic to teleport us across the Garden."

The organizer was silent for a moment and then his voice became more serious. "They must have sensed The Void."

"Me?"

"Yes. The Special Orders are reacting to your presence specifically. Whatever they are doing, they clearly understand that you’re here."

Archon sighed quietly. "Then do you want me to head toward the Origin?"

The organizer answered immediately. "Please do."

"I can sense the clash... But it feels odd like there in another dimension..."

The organizer quickly explained the situation. "We have the Origin locked inside a Singularity. The Spears are surrounding the area and slaughtering the Bloodkin that try to escape. They’re also preventing them from breaking through the containment line." His voice became strained. "But this can’t continue forever."

Reinhard listened silently.

"The Spears can keep them contained for a while, and the Singularity can hold the Origin, but neither is permanent. If the containment fails, everything we’ve done so far will be meaningless." There was a short pause. "Only when the Origin dies will this entire situation end."

Archon nodded. "Then I’ll kill it."

The organizer seemed relieved. "Thank you."

Archon was silent for a moment before asking another question. "Did you also contain the Special Orders you found?"

The organizer sighed. "We’re trying. The other groups are clashing with them and making slow progress."

Reinhard almost smiled in amusement at how even the Association sounded exhausted.

Archon simply acknowledged the information. "Understood. Then I’m going." Then she added, "Make them aware to open a doorway for me."

"We will."

The communication with Archon ended and Reinhard lowered the phone thinking things were done.

But then the organizer’s voice echoed out again. "The rest of you... We have a very important mission for you all."