"Weren't you saying he would find it difficult to win today's battle? Why are you suddenly saying he can fight the Anomaly on my behalf?"
"Well, because I misjudged his strength. Severely."
"Let me tell you what happened while you were fighting the Anomaly #79."
Vila Real de Santo António, Portuga, Memory Shadow World.
Emma's clone tried to maintain the barrier.
But it turned out to be futile.
The sea of bones swallowed the clone and shattered the barrier.
The clone, moments away from being crushed under the weight of the bone sea, self-destructed.
A brilliant surge of crimson light erupted beneath the grotesque sea of bones.
The creaking silence was shattered with a deafening roar.
Shockwaves rippled outwards.
Bones rattled and shifted, some melting while others turned to dust.
Nevertheless, only a small portion of the bone sea was destroyed.
The endless sea moved and filled the gap created by the explosion.
Cities away, a towering mass of bones and flesh stood motionless.
The towering mass looked like the silhouette of a grim reaper beneath the dark clouds.
It suddenly moved, digesting the memories of Emma's clone.
"Stronger… Enemies… Food… Coming…"
The voice echoing in the air was a mix of jarring cacophony, sounding like the mix of thousands of voices.
The towering mass moved.
It raised its foot and stepped towards the Strait of Gibraltar where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea met.
Portugal had a lot of 'food.'
But something much better was coming its way.
Ksar, Morocco, Memory Shadow World.
"Guys, I have news. Bad news and good news."
The group turned towards her.
Neo was drinking the Divine Energy Elixir after defeating the Anomaly #79. Today was the fifth day in the ninth month, and the Anomaly had gotten multiple times stronger.
Apollo was away, scouting the city.
Athena was writing on her laptop while Kane was meditating, running hundreds of simulations to create the perfect sword technique for Neo.
He opened his eyes and turned to Emma.
"Apollo, come back," Emma said into her device.
The pale gold-haired awakener returned.
"What happened?" he asked.
"My clone was defeated."
"Isn't this earlier than you predicted?" Apollo asked with a terrifying calm. "It should've taken a few more days."
"The Necromancer's growth rate was too explosive."
Even Emma was surprised.
The Necromancer was devouring everything on its path.
It was wonder how he hadn't self destructed. Though, becoming a monster - which the Necromancer had become - was certainly worse.
Apollo bit his lips when he heard her.
'If he didn't become a monster, we could've gained a powerful ally,' he thought with clenched fists.
"The good news is, we don't need to cross the Atlantic and enter Portugal anymore.
"The Necromancer is coming towards us.
"If we wait two days, he will reach the strait."
Emma looked each of them in the eye before adding,
"We can set up an ambush and take him out in one full sweep."
Apollo's thoughts churned.
He had been thinking of a method to defeat the Necromancer for weeks.
"Isn't defeating a Necromancer impossible?" Kane interjected. "They can store their souls within phylacteries and revive themselves endlessly.
"Since the Necromancer is covering the entire Spain, there is no way we can find out every phylactery he had prepared and hidden."
"There is a limit to how much one can divide their soul," Emma answered. "There are exceptions to this rule. But I doubt the Necromancer is one of the exceptions."
"Five phylacteries. Seven at best. That's the limit."
"She is right," Apollo said and thought, 'The only exception to the soul-splitting rule is Emma. It is her trait's ability. The Necromancer shouldn't be able to do anything similar.'
He reassured himself.
Nevertheless, a nagging feeling remained in his heart.
What if the Necromancer had a similar trait to Emma?
'No, that's impossible. Why am I having these thoughts?'
For a moment, Apollo wondered if these were warnings coming from his Trait about the future.
'No, that's impossible. Every Trait is unique.'
He forcefully ignored the thoughts and focused on the issue at hand.
"So, what's the plan?" Emma asked. "I can fight, but I doubt you want me to."
"That's right. You are our last choice."
Kane frowned, unable to understand Apollo's choice of words. Apollo noticed his confusion.
"Emma and the Necromancer are both Dark element users. If they clash, their residual energies will corrupt the land.
"Spain will become barren for years—decades—if the Necromancer is strong enough to force Emma to use her full strength."
He took a breath and continued,
"I'll summon Sunshine. Sunshine's holy light will weaken the Necromancer and the monsters greatly."
"What after that?" Emma questioned. "Don't tell me you are planning to attack with Sunshine. We aren't here to pulverize the place."
"I'll weaken the Necromancer as much as possible and hold him down with Sunshine. It will buy enough time for Athena.
"She can prepare her strongest attack and defeat the Necromancer with one shot," Apollo explained.
"What about the phylactery?"
"Sunshine can use Holy Wave to take care of it."
"Hmmm…. Not a bad plan. It's simple and direct," Emma held her chin, deep in thought.
Apollo turned to the group.
"The plan is good. However, the fact remains that if I summon Sunshine above Spain, the place will be permanently affected by the Spirit."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Kane asked. "If the Spirit can radiate holy light passively, it will purify the dark energies that have corrupted Spain."
"Not everyone will think the same. People wouldn't like to live underneath a living sun.
"It's like having a nuclear warhead dangling above you at all times."
"Yeah, I would also be worried if I had to live in those conditions," Kane nodded.
After explaining his plan, Apollo drew the battle strategy on the ground with a stick.
"Aren't we and Neo going to help?"
"You won't participate in this battle.
"This is the job of the Association; we can't ask for your help.
"Besides, you two are already busy with Anomaly #79."
Kane nodded with a downcast expression.
He had been doing nothing.
Even the technique was yet to be completed since he wanted to create something that would become Neo's trump card.
"Let's do a vote. Should we fight with Sunshine or not?" Apollo said.
"I'm in," Emma pitched.
"No," Athena said and didn't elaborate any further.
Apollo didn't ask why she said so.
If she wanted to explain, she would've done it already.
It was no use hounding Athena for an answer.
"What about you two?" he stared at Neo and Kane.
Kane turned to Neo, his face saying he would choose whatever Neo said.
"I have a different proposal."
Apollo wasn't surprised.
Neo had been silent since the start. It was clear he had a different plan.
"Let me take care of the Necromancer."
"You aren't strong enough."
Apollo looked at Neo with a firm gaze.
It was clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Emma's gaze became cold.
'Is he planning to help the Necromancer?' she thought.
She tightened her fist, making the bones pop.
'Neo, I've warned you already. I will kill you if you make the wrong choice.'