KINETIC

The underground bunker that the Duke had been using was just one large room with several different areas.

There was a section for beds, a section that could be considered a kitchen, there was even a small collection of books and a sitting area. The only area that required a door to enter was the bathroom.

When looking over to the sitting area, Leo noticed a woman seated at one of the couches reading a book.

"I assumed you were alone here." Leo said.

"I should have said something sooner. Jessamine, could you come over here for a moment!?" The Duke called out from across the room in a friendly manner.

Jessamine dropped her book in a panic and jumped to her feet while turning to face the Duke. She appeared frightened and raised her hands like she was getting ready for a fight.

" Oh... It's you." She said, lowering her hands and taking a deep breathe "You startled me!"

"I apologize but it's the only way to pull you out of a book." Duke Wesley replied with a chuckle.

Jessamine was an average looking woman with shoulder length, curly black hair. Her skin was very tanned, giving it an olive tone.

"Still, you could just... Arggh!" Jessamine suddenly knelt to the ground while clutching her side and wincing.

"Jess!" Duke Wesley rushed forward and helped her get back to the single couch was previously seated in.

"When you jumped out of your seat you must have agitated your wound." Duke Wesley said. He then lifted Jessamine's shirt a bit and pulled away some blood soaked bandages, revealing a large cut that went right across her entire stomach.

While Duke Wesley went to grab some mecinal supplies and some new bandages, Leo took notice of something.

'There's an Infernum Jacket on the bed over there and she's got the rest of the uniform on right now.' Leo thought as he walked over and picked up the jacket.

'Her rank is Officer. So she's more capable than most...but how did she get that injury?'

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, don't touch my stuff." Jessamine shouted at Leo from her seat.

Leo released the jacket and turned to face Jessamine, she had an irritated expression on her face.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be anyway..." She said. It seemed she was planning on saying more but stopped herself. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"I... Sorry, General...i didn't notice your uniform at first." She awkwardly apologized.

"It's fine. How did you get hurt?" Leo asked.

"It happened when she saved my life." Duke Wesley said as he returned with the medical supplies.

He knelt beside Jessamine and started cleaning her wound and preparing new bandages to replace the bloodied ones.

"You should take a seat, I'll take this time to explain everything that's happened."

Leo walked over to the couch opposite Jessamine and sat down without saying a word. The Duke began telling his story once Leo was settled.

"We had been defending the city for quite a while already, having small battles each day as the cult tried to infiltrate the city through various means.

We stopped them each time but as our numbers lessened, theirs grew. We had requested backup but it had not yet arrived, meanwhile more cultists would arrive each day.

I'm not sure how they did it but they managed to get into the city somehow. They infiltrated using a small group of powerful Imperiums.

The first thing they did was take over the the area surrounding the main gates by launching a surprise attack from within. Nobody would expect something like that to happen and as such we lost everyone that was stationed there.

Not long after, they opened the gate and the rest of their army marched into the city without resistance. There was no way of pushing them back at this point.

I rushed towards the main gates when I saw what was happening but I was too late. I knew they would do the same to the capital if I didnt do something so I rushed towards the Gate here in Zoren and removed its crystal.

I was suddenly ambushed by a large group of cultists, with several Imperiums among them. I didn't stand a chance of defeating them or escaping with the crystal but luckily, that's when Jess showed up.

She had come across my situation by accident and was instantly spotted by the cultists surrounding me. They didn't hesitate to attack her but she used her ability to teleport both of us away.

Unfortunately, one of their attacks was too fast and managed to partially hit her before she dissappeared completely. If she was a moment slower, she would have been cut in half.

None of them tried to attack me, I assumed it was because of my position or the crystal I was holding but since they're still trying to capture me instead of kill, I assume it's the former.

Since we escaped, Jess has been recovering while I've been trying to gather information. They only left behind a small portion of their army to guard this city while the rest have moved elsewhere.

There's only one Imperium here and she's in charge of the cultists that are within the city. I overheard all of this by eavesdropping so I can't confirm it's accuracy."

Duke Wesley finished telling his story just as he had finished cleaning Jessamine's wounds and replacing her bandages.

"You didn't mention anything about Snythe, what happened to him?" Leo asked.

"My son? What do you mean, how could I know?" Duke Wesley replied with a confused expression on his face.

"He was sent here by the Supreme Commander to assist you. He should have arrived by Gate the same day the city fell." Leo said.

"I had no idea he was coming and I never got the chance to learn of his arrival either... You don't think he..." Duke Wesley had a very concerned expression on his face.

Leo studied his expression for a moment before speaking "I don't think he would have died. He's one of the strongest ability users in the kingdom."

'Besides, he's probably the one who helped them get into the city in the first place. It can't be a coincidence that the city fell the same day he arrived.' Leo thought to himself.

"You're right... Perhaps he managed to escape..." Duke Wesley nervously said. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Do you still have the crystal?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Duke Wesley walked to one of the beds and pulled out a box from beneath it. He brought the box back to Leo and Jess and opened it, revealing a fist sized crystal.

"Good. We should use this to our advantage. If we can get back up from the capital by using the Gate, we can take back the city." Leo said.

"If we put the crystal back in the Gate then what's stopping the cult from using it?" Jess asked.

"Only you two will go through the Gate. Speak with the Supreme Commander and explain the situation. I'll stay behind and wait until two days have passed, then at midnight I'll place the crystal in the Gate again and we can attack as the cultists are asleep." Leo explained his plan.

"What about my son?" Duke Wesley asked.

"I'll look for him while you're away." Leo said. 'I'll also kill him if I find out he's helping the cult.' He thought to himself simultaneously.

"Alright then, I'll trust you with finding his whereabouts."

"Wait, are we really going through with this plan? The Gate is bound to be guarded." Jess said.

"And? We'll just have to kill them." Leo said bluntly.

"You can't honestly think that there would be anything less that twenty cultists waiting for us to try something just like this. It's suicide." Jess said in a skeptical tone.

"There could be a hundred of them and It wouldn't be a problem. As long as there isn't an Imperium, it won't be a problem for me." Leo confidentially said.

"I know you're supposed to be the strongest ability user but are you really that strong? I've stores about you and I have to say I don't believe any of them..." Jess said, still skeptical.

"I don't know what you've heard so I won't say it's all true. You'll see for yourself how strong I am." Leo replied.

"Then it's settled. We should do it tonight while they aren't expecting it." Duke Wesley said.

~Sigh~ "Fine. If the Duke trusts you then I'll go along with this plan too. I hope you aren't exaggerating about your power." Jess said.

"Who knows, the things you've heard might not even scratch the surface. I'll do my best to surprise you." Leo said with a smile.

"The only way to do that would be to surpass the stories I've heard and I doubt that would be possible." Jess said.

Leo shrugged "We'll just have to see, won't we?"