Parallel Memory

Months passed since Seraphine started teaching about Dual Art. During that time, the world shifted its focus to the war between humans and devils.

The war had officially started. There had been a large number of soldiers sent between two domains on the border between humans and demons.

It was only at the initial stage that most of the Ranks of humans and devils were just at C and B. They had yet to send their main force and were just testing the water. However, it was the start of a war that would slowly engulf everyone.

Because of that Rank-SS heroes were also called to be on standby in case the devils started sending their powerful devils. For that reason, Seraphine immediately went back to the headquarters of The Authority where decisions were being made.

Hiro and others had also graduated from the Ace Academy. They had already completed their studies before going to learn Dual Art. Though the graduation ceremony took place a few weeks after they started taking lessons from Seraphine.

Many of their classmates had officially joined some guilds and were getting trained. Strength-wise, they don't have much problem, however, they need to teach them about cooperation and the ability of their new teammates.

Also, they appear to have been drafted into the army for the battle against the Devils. So, they were also trained on survival tactics and how to work well with others.

On the other hand, Hiro and others had different agendas to handle. They still had to properly know how to use Dual Art. Many of them were able to have Dual Art appear on their status which meant that they had achieved a certain level of proficiency.

Even though Seraphine had left, they were still practicing this Art. However, they were also keeping their ears open to any news about the war. They already knew that they were given time to practice Dual Art because they had to participate in war and create some kind of impact.

Given they were young, The Authority would not really try to deploy them in the war. However, if the situation calls for it, they have to go. The last war that was between humans and devils caused millions of casualties and even kids at the age of 16 were recruited into the army.

Similarly, young devils also appeared on the battlefield. While young, they were already of old age. Devils take more time to become adults and their lifespan is also greater. However, their mentality and strength were similar to that of a human of age 16.

The war only stopped when the human Rank-SSS killed the demon king of that time. The reason why humans didn't take advantage of that victory is that the Rank-SSS legendary hero was also seriously injured.

Moreover, casualties were already high on both sides. With other species also waiting for their chance, they had made a truce with each other. It seems that the truce of the hundred years was finally broken.

However, it was not only the Devils that were causing trouble for humans. Humans themselves find that their enemies are not only others but also themselves.

******

Somewhere in the back alley.

"Did team A reach their destination?"

Rank-S executive member of the Dark Guild asked.

With many Rank-S and Rank-SS heroes busy, Dark Guild was making use of this opportunity to create trouble everywhere. Because of a lack of personnel in The Authority and many of the guilds, they were not able to stop Dark Guild.

And today, they were going to do something big that would change their status forever. For that many Rank-A Dark Guild members as well as Rank-S executives had been deployed.

"Yes ma'am! Team-A had already reached the location and was waiting for further orders."

The member responsible for communication responded.

"Good! Let's begin the party!"

The executive said with excitement. At the time of these troubled days, no one in the Human Domain was as powerful as them.

They could almost do whatever they wanted to do. However, they also knew their limits. While they did make more trouble than normal, they also had their limits. They didn't want to force The Authority to divert their attention from the war to themselves.

However, today they were going to do something that would certainly make The Authority pay attention to themselves. However, as long as their mission was accomplished, they considered it worthwhile.

All the Dark Guild members were deployed for this mission including all their executives. With such force, even a Platinum-graded guild could not do anything against them.

The Dark Guild members gave a wicked grin as they prepared to launch their attack. The Dark Guild had always been plotting and scheming, waiting for their chance to strike. And with the chaos of the war, they saw an opportunity to make their move.

Meanwhile, Hiro and his friends were still practicing Dual Art, unaware of the impending danger. They were focused on honing their skills and preparing for the war, but little did they know that they would soon be facing a new enemy - one that was closer to home.

That day, Hiro and many others who had learned Dual Art were training in the hall provided by Seraphine. In the absence of Seraphine, Professor Mia was given the authority to maintain order in that place.

"Zion, how was your practice?"

Hiro asked as he breathed heavily. He had just gotten out of the training room when Zion had also come out.

"It is okay!"

Zion answered uninterestedly.

Soon, Lisa, Sylvia, and Misha also came out. They talked about how their training was going or some interesting news that they heard. And then the topic of the Dark Guild came.

"We need to be extra careful nowadays! It looks like the crime committed by the Dark Guild has been increasing."

Sylvia said.

"Yeah, I also..."

-BOOOOM!

Suddenly, a loud explosion interrupted Misha before she could finish her sentence. The ground shook, and the sound of screams and panic could be heard from outside. Hiro and his friends quickly rushed to the entrance of the hall, where they saw smoke rising from their building.

Hiro and his friends quickly assessed the situation and saw that there were several injured people lying on the ground. They immediately went to help them, using their healing abilities to treat their injuries.

The building that they were in was very secure as there are protective barriers protecting it. So if someone wants to sneak into it, they have to break the barrier. And it looks like somebody did.

"SURPRISE!"

A group of Dark Guild members suddenly appeared from the smoke, led by a powerful Rank-S executive member. Hiro and his friends immediately recognized them as they were wearing clothes with the Dark Guild logo on them.

Though they were still wearing masks which made it hard to tell who was who. Despite working for Dark Guild, they have other identities that they don't want people to know about.

Dark Guild had commenced their operation and it included taking over quite a few locations at the same time. One of the locations was this building where Dual Art users are trained.

Hiro and his friends quickly got into their fighting stance, ready to defend themselves and the injured people. However, they were not confident about winning the fight at all.

First of all, they all knew that there was someone who was capable of breaking through the barrier that could block even Rank-A Explorers. And they couldn't tell who that person was.

The lady in the mask was not hiding her strength at all. Her mana aura was unleashed and Hiro and others knew that she was someone who is above Rank-A. Moreover, they could feel the many mana aura of Rank-A as well.

They knew well that they had to escape from that place. However, under the pressure of Rank-S, Hiro, and others were finding it even hard to breathe, much less run.

Hiro quickly assessed the situation and knew that they needed to come up with a plan fast. He turned to his friends and said,

"We can't fight them head-on. We need to create a diversion and escape while we still can."

Hiro planned to create a diversion for them.

However, it didn't seem that the enemies were going to go easy on them.

The Rank-S executive didn't hesitate to attack them. Her goal was to prevent them from doing anything that might cause things to be irksome in the future. She seemed to know them well enough to not underestimate them even though she was Rank-S which was worlds apart from some Rank-B brats.

[ "Raging Flames Assault" ]