Sage from the East, Beast King of the West, Northern Shaman, The Great Gilgamesh, and lastly his friend The Warrior Enkidu.
These five people were known as the first generation of Earth acolytes.
Emery honestly thought that everyone of the five had died except for Gilgamesh as what the latter stipulated before.
But then, he did learn from the Abbot that the one known as the Eastern Sage, Emperor of Xia Dynasty was the person who gathered and trained the Abbot and the other second generation Earth acolytes.
"But Lord Izta, I heard from the Abbot that the Eastern Sage went missing mysteriously during the huge war that occurred 1,000 years ago."
Emery could see the surprise on the man's face when the latter heard his words.
The man let out a deep sigh before saying, "So, you've even heard of that huh..? Then, you should know that it is the work of the Nephilim, again."
Lord Izta then took an item from his storage ring and gave it to Emery. It was a small folded paper.
"This is the last information I have heard about him. That's the location he was last seen, and I believe he should still be there. If you could somehow find and subsequently convince him, then we might still really have hope."
Knowing the story that the Easter Sage had gone ahead, gathered, and taught all the second generation of Earth acolytes, Emery was quite optimistic that if the person was still alive, he would be willing to help their cause.
Emery swiftly took the note and kept it safely. This person is a grand magus figure who came from his own planet of Earth, he certainly needed to see him with his own eyes.
Meanwhile, Lord Izta seemed lost in thought. This continued for a while before he turned to Emery and spoke again.
"Emery, thanks to the fact that the war has escalated, I was deployed here. And being on the frontline battlefield for a number of years has really opened my eyes to a truth I never really thought about."
Upon hearing that, Emery's eyes shone in curiosity. After all, any news regarding the frontline battlefield, for some reason, was only known to a certain few and kept secret from the general public.
"When I was in the front line, I came to realize that everyone to my left and right is my comrade, our comrade; there was no such thing as clans or factions on a ruthless battlefield, even though everyone was fighting their best for various reasons known to themselves."
Lord Izta heaved another sigh before continuing. "As much as I hate the Nephilim for what they've done to me, my friends, and our planet, I think we might need to think about the bigger picture." The man looked into Emery's eyes. "So I have to remind you again, Emery. Without the Magus Alliance's support, you should not fight with the Nephilim in any way."
"I would hate and resent myself if I saw you become like me, being forced to serve them…" Lord Izta's voice was hoarse. "But… if you really have to… cooperate with them… then I understand.."
For a second, Emery could see guilt, remorse, and worst of all, helplessness on the face of the one known as The Great Gilgamesh. The man, after all, was forced and had to serve the Nephilim for two thousand years.
Emery watched as Lord Izta calmed himself down and tried to cheer himself up.
"Now that the serious matter is over, tell me more about you Emery. What do you plan to do after you graduate from the academy?"
Emery didn't answer right away because he didn't expect Lord Izta to ask him such a question. Now that he was asked about it, he had never really thought about this matter. The only thing he got was to return back to Earth.
What caught Emery off guard once again was the response Lord Izta gave.
"That's good, return to Earth. I know you will make the right decision."
Lord Izta seemed to be hinting at something with how he phrased his words, but Emery was unable to catch it. However, just as Emery was about to ask what the man meant, the combat fighter had already stood up and brandished his axe.
"Get up, I still have more moves to show you!" Lord Izta beamed a wide smile. "Let's see if you can handle them!"
Seeing this, Emery just swallowed what he was about to say and quickly stood up. The two of them sparred for a few hours afterwards, before Lord Izta ended it in the end. Apparently, it was because they had almost reached their destination.
With a smile on his face, Lord Izta looked at Emery who was covered in his own sweat.
"Let's end our spar right here and clean ourselves. After all, you should not look like that when you arrive at the outpost"
Lord Izta then brought Emery to where the washing room was. They both showered and cleaned their bodies well, ridding themselves of the smell and sweat. The two of them came out of the washing room in proper appearance, and Lord Izta even helped Emery fix his privileged class uniform when he noticed that it was a bit messy.
Patting the yoke of Emery's uniform, Lord Izta spoke in a sincere tone.
"You are definitely one of a kind, Emery. I am really proud of you… say my best regards to the others as well"
Emery could feel the warmth inside when he heard those words. In Emery's eyes, the man currently standing in front of him was someone who was closest to a father figure for him.
Before they departed, Lord Izta said to Emery that he would try to come and visit him and the others before they graduated.
"Who knows, if I make enough contribution to this war, I might be able to speed up my contract with the Nephilim. If that really happens, then I can then finally help all of you with everything I have."
…
The warships finally arrived at its destination and docked at the large dock at the Magus Alliance's outpost.
When Emery arrived at the place where they would disembark from the battleship accompanied by Lord Izta, he could see that Annara was waiting for him.
"There she is. Go then," said Lord Izta as he pushed Emery's body forward. "It's not good to keep your girlfriend waiting."
Emery simply rolled his eyes in response to the combat magus' teasing. Even so, he didn't forget to say his farewell and hoped that the man would remain safe during his service.
With him already disembarking at the post, the door was closed and the battleship continued and returned to the frontline.
Right after, a group of people in gray uniforms approached the two of them. These people proceeded to confirm their identity. Both Emery and Annara then had to go through hours of debriefing before they were allowed to use the portal gate to return to the Magus Academy.
"We're finally going back!" Ananra said with a wide smile. It was clear that she was excited.
The two of them were escorted by the same group of people, and it didn't take long for them to arrive at the Magus Academy main portal. Upon entering the portal, Emery was very excited as he couldn't wait to see his friends one more time.
However, what greeted him on the other side was the sight of a group of magus in gray uniform waiting for him.
"Emery Ambrose? The headmaster has been waiting for you, follow me"
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