So you've passed my test.

We did. So, are we worthy enough to see Lord Lucius now?

Though you have yet to reach your full potential, you are indeed strong.

Borrowing Lord Karna Masta's power like that...

One could say that your powers are just as good, if not better than those of the Six Heroes.

What did you say?

You don't know the origin of that power you use so freely, do you?

You only became able to use those powers when you came to Grand Gaia, correct?

That is what we call Lord Karna Masta's curse.

Curse...?

Stop saying stupid stuff! There's no way that's true!

I'm sure you may have heard something about it by now...

...but long ago, Lord Lucius had a confrontation with Lord Karna Masta.

Afterwards, Lord Karna Masta was sealed away by Lord Lucius.

What?!

But Lord Lucius said he was talking things over with Lord Karna Masta...

Was he lying to me?

No, that wasn't a lie.

After all, Lord Lucius has the power to talk to Lord Karna Masta...

...even while he is sealed away.

It all makes sense now.

The moment Lord Karna Masta was sealed away by Lord Lucius, he cast a curse upon this land.

He cursed the humans of this land with the ability to surpass the power of the gods.

The ability to Summon the souls of ancient warriors under your control.

A power meant to be used for defeating the gods.

That is the true nature of the technique you call Summoning.

That's nonsense...

Afterwards, Lord Lucius feared that this power would come into the hands of humans...

...so he tried to stop it from spreading by using his own great abilities.

But he lost considerable power after suffering an injury during the great war, and thus the curse spread throughout the entire region.

B-But that's just crazy!

If all that's true, then why did he open the gate and lead us all the way here?!

Because the Four Fallen Gods were more of a threat than the humans at the time.

And the reason why he didn't allow more humans into this region...

...was because giving too many of them powers to Summon would have put him in a dangerous position.

But we won't get to the rest of the story at this rate. Figure out the rest by yourself!

Grr...

I don't wanna waste any more time asking about that.

Let's get to the point. What does Lucius want with us?

It is best if you ask that to Lord Lucius himself.

Hah! What a cop out!

But fine, whatever.

In that case, I'll ask you a different question.

Mr. Ark, what do YOU want from us?

......

This region was once holy terrain that connected both gods and humans.

In La Veda, the land of the gods, was the Holy Emperor Karna Masta...

...and the sacred lands that the 12 Guardians of the Gods protected were in turn tied to the rest of the Divine Ten respectively.

This Tower of the Oracle was tied to the sealed Lord Lucius.

I was called the Oracle Knight back then, and protected this tower along with a shrine maiden.

The Oracle...Knight...?

Reverence towards the gods in the land of Bariura was severely lacking, and thus this tower began to fall with it.

One of the reasons for this outcome is probably that...

...although Lord Lucius had great power...

...he never really made his presence felt as Lord Karna Masta's right hand.

As a knight, I pledged myself to Lord Lucius a very long time ago.

And even though I was still human, I didn't side with the human race.

Tsch, so to make a long story short, you could care less about testing our abilities.

Well that's fine with me. Should I get serious and start beating you up?

Wait, Lugi!

Ark, I've known for a while.

I've known that beneath that mask of yours lies a hint of sadness painted on your face.

So, why don't you share a little bit of your pain with us?

You can trust these guys.

They can help to quell that sadness you've carried for so many centuries.

How about it, Ark?

......

I must acknowledge that you are all quite powerful.

Even Lord Lucius would...

But are you really prepared?!

Are you prepared to face Lord Lucius in battle?!

We have no intentions of fighting Lord Lucius.

We just want to talk to him.

You're a fool to think this can be settled so easily.

You either bend a knee, or you slay him.

Those are your only two options!

If you truly are ready, then you should head towards the Imperial Capital.

I will tell you everything there.

However, you must have made your choice by the time you arrive.

Lord Lucius sees everything.

Even this conversation we're having now!

And once he knows everything, I'll--!!

Argh...

Forget it.

Although there's only a short time left, you should think about this carefully.

Picture the future of the human race resting on the choice you make...

Ark...

Facing Lord Lucius in battle...

What do you guys think?

I'm ready for whatever comes my way.

If he really intends to close the gate, then I'll have no choice but to fight him.

I'm not so sure...

However, I would like to meet with Lord Lucius and hear his side of the story.

I want to know what he pretended by lending his power to Lord Eriole.

Tsk, you still care about that guy?

What a basket case.

Lugina, stop it.

Anyway, what do you think?

Me?

Well, basically, our Summoning powers were meant as tools for defeating the gods, right?

Then why not put them to good use and test them out?

We can't just let "Lord Karna Masta's" request go unanswered now, can we?

*Sigh* Looks like you're taking this way too seriously...

And you, Hans?

What do you have in mind?

Or maybe we should ask the Goddess first?

I...

I don't wanna fight Lord Lucius...

But, if he really is planning to do something bad, then I wanna stop him...

So if that's what it comes down to, then we'll have no choice but to fight him!

Goddess...

All right, now it's really Hans's turn.

Tell us what you've decided on.

......

Ha ha ha. It looks like after hearing the Goddess...

...you too have made up your mind, huh?

Well, of course. You don't think Hans would try to upset Tilith, do you?

Hans!! Thank youuuu!!!

But I'll try my best to resolve things without having to fight Lord Lucius...

...so make sure none of you fly off the handle before that, okay?!

Yeah, yeah.

Huh? Seria, aren't you the one most worried about all this...?

What? Did you say something, Karl?

N-No. Just forget it.

Okay, let's go see Ark at the Imperial Capital!

Let's show the Oracle Knight our resolve as human beings!