Legacy of Darkness
The Knights of Crystalliam

Amanda kicked an office door open, making several researchers scream.

"Where's the way out of this place?!" She yelled.

"Down that hallway, it goes to the fire exit!" One researcher screamed. Amanda nodded at the researcher and run through the door toward the fire exit, with Seb and Harry following close behind.

The soon reached the stairwell that spiralled down to the ground floor.

"There must be hundreds of floors here..." Seb sighed.

"Come on, we don't have a choice" Harry said as he ran ahead.

Amanda and Seb nodded and followed Harry downward.

"We should call on the Crystalliam Knights, if there was ever a calling for them, it would be this" Seb said as he ran down the stairs as fast as his legs would go.

"Lumina said to go replace Roisin, I think we should stick to that plan..." Harry shook his head as he ran.

"We don't know if the Crystalliam Knights have been compromised, I agree with Summers" Amanda agreed.

"The Crystalliam Knights compromised?!" Seb gasped. "If they fall we don't stand a chance" He added.

"None of that talk, we'll manage" Amanda shouted. "We've got Lumina in our corner after all, and probably Abyssia too" She added.

"Not to mention, Roisin" Harry added.

The three of them eventually reached the ground floor and ran out into the lobby, only to be greeted by several Crystalliam Knights.

"You, stop right there..." One of the knights said.

"We've gotta get out of here, there's something going on here, something dangerous" Seb tried to explain as he approached the Knight, but the Knight kicked him in the chest and sent him flying across the floor.

"I think you were right, Amanda..." Harry gulped.

The Knight approached Harry and put his sword to his throat.

"Why have you betrayed out Benevolent Benefactors?" The Knight asked.

"Benevolent... who?" Harry asked.

"I think he means the Senior Partners" Amanda said, trying to remain calm. Seb was out cold on the floor beside her, but she didn't want to make any sudden moves. Harry gulped.

At that moment people flooded the lobby and began casting weapons at the Knights. Harry recognised a few of them.

"They're Academy students!" He gasped, the Knight turned away from Harry, at that moment Harry summoned a dagger of ice and stabbed the Knight through the back with it. Amanda noticed a few different faces, before noticing they were the Androids.

"Who has organized this?!" She asked.

"Grab Seb and let's sneak out of here..." Harry said, Amanda nodded and picked Seb up. The two of them slipped out of one of the side entrances. There was an airship waiting nearby, on the side the words 'Silver Dartwing' were written in black paint, the two ran aboard and the hold door closed behind them.

Amanda placed Harry down and the pair caught their breath as the ship lifted off, the hold door opened, and into the hold walked Chrys Iryn, the former CEO of Crystech, before Rychard had returned, he appeared different somehow.

"Chrys?!" Harry said, with a stunned expression on his face.

"Bet you never thought you'd see the day when an Iryn saved your ass" Chrys chuckled.

"Did Lumina tell you we were coming?" Amanda asked.

"In a manner of speaking, with the Senior Partners watching her every move, she had to do it without tipping them off, was quite the ordeal" Chrys shrugged.

"Wait... you were the CEO of Crystech, they must have a hold over you too..." Harry shouted as he summoned his Celestial Weapon.

"Calm down General, there is a way of breaking the blood bond..." Chrys sighed. "I'm synthetic, an Android, with Chrys' memories implanted" Chrys said as he tapped his head.

Harry knelt down to Seb, who was struggling to breathe.

"Can we get him some medical attention?" Harry asked.

"Bring him this way, I have a medical bay" Chrys nodded as he walked back through the hold doors. Harry picked Seb up and followed Chrys, Amanda followed behind him.

When they reached the medical bay, Harry placed him on the medical bed and Chrys began to assess his injuries.

"Hmm, so, Androids..." Amanda began.

"What about them, or... us?" Chrys asked, as he concentrated on Seb's injuries.

"You can't get turned by these Demonic Masters, right?" Amanda asked.

"As far as we know, no. That being said, we don't really know anything about them, or how they managed to pierce the veil" Chrys explained. "All we know is, to repair the tear in the veil will require Lumina, Abyssia and Roisin's powers combined" He added.

"So, we can't defeat them?" Harry asked.

"Honestly, we have no idea about what they are. Abyssia explained that they seem to predate not only mankind, but possibly even the gods too" Chrys sighed as he began to operate on Seb.

"How is that possible? The Gods created everything, life as we know it" Amanda asked.

"Hey, I was just a pencil pusher until a few weeks ago, I only know what Abyssia mentioned to me" Chrys shrugged. "I do know that so far, the Senior Partner's influence only extends as far as Disceath island. So Abyssia has organized an evacuation with the help of the students and Androids" He explained. Harry sighed.

"We throw these Academy kids to their deaths, time and time again..." Harry shook his head. Amanda frowned, during her time in power, in Aranei, she had never thought as the students as anything but pawns. Now, they were throwing their lives away to save her.

Amanda walked over to the window and watched the island of Disceath fade away as the airship passed through a blockade of Araneian ships.