Monarchs of Above and Below (On Hiatus)

Chapter XXI: False Beauty (1)

"Cannon ball!" Sanri shouted as he took a running leap into the waves, using Blitz to propel himself a bit further, before curling into a ball and landing into the water.

Ceriana covered her head as water crashed down upon her from the splash. "Could you have done that deeper into the ocean?" Ceriana, who stood on the shoreline stood barefoot, letting the tide collide with her legs.

Sanri rose from the water with a smile on his face. He'd stripped nearly completely except for his leather pants, which had turned a dark brown from the water soaking into them. "Then don't stand too close to the water if you don't want to get wet." He replied with a smug face.

"He's got a point Ceri." Tyler said as he walked passed the summoner, also devoid of the majority of his equipment. "Go brood with Berret if you don't wanna enjoy the waves." He said as he stepped into the waves, stooped a hand down into the water and made a splash in Ceriana's direction.

Ceriana let out a squeal as water splashed in her face. "Tyler! Alright come here." She shouted, hardly containing a menacing smile on her face.

Tyler held down as laugh as he began to turn away and do his best to trudge through the waves. "Sanri run, she's after- ahh." He screamed as Ceriana suddenly tackled him into the water.

Sanri, in fact, did not run. He laughed as Tyler and Ceriana struggled against eachother.

Onto the sandy beach, Valine lay on the beach, doffed of most of her clothes, with just enough on as to not expose herself. Her eyes were closed, Matthew had tried to check a few times that she hadn't fallen asleep.

Audri had taken a seat near the waves, now watching as Tyler, Sanri, and Ceriana tackled eachother in and out of the water.

"Enjoying the time off?" A voice said from behind her. Matthew stood before her, still clad in his new white and gold armor.

"Yeah, it's nice." She noted. "It's good having you back." She said after a moment of silence.

"Learned any new tricks since last we saw eachother?" Matthew asked.

"I should be asking you that." She chuckled. "But no. How have you got accustomed to your new skills?"

Matthew shrugged. "Well." He sighed lightly. "It'll take some getting used to. How are you liking your 'day off'?" Matthew gestured to the ocean.

Audri smiled. "I like it. I really wish more gates were like this. Maybe then work would be more enjoyable."

Matthew nudged Audri with an elbow. "You don't find this job enjoyable? I'm hurt."

"That's not what I meant." Audri laughed, a light blush crossing her cheeks. "I just meant..." she trailed off for a moment as she looked into the waves crashing onto the sands. "Do you think these gates will ever stop appearing?"

Matthew shrugged. "Not anytime soon, that's for sure. From what I've heard the gate density nearly everywhere has doubled since the start of them appearing."

"It's strange that we are the only generation who has had gates throughout their entire lives." Audri noted.

"Eh, my dad was pretty young when gates started popping up." Matthew said. "Didn't stop him from throwing himself head first into gates when he awakened, like a maniac."

Audri chuckled. "Reminds me of someone."

Matthew faked a gasp of surprise. "Me? I may fly into gates headfirst, but I'm no maniac." He chuckled.

After a laugh, Matthew looked into the waves as the rest of his squadron wrestled eachother into the water.

"I'm gonna go chat with Berret, I'll be back soon." The spearman said as he stood up. "Feel free to dip your toes in the water. I'm sure it feels fine."

***

Berret stood at the edge of the sands; looking off into the forest. His large shield was dug a sew inches deep into the shore, making it stable enough for him to lean against comfortably.

"There's nothing out there." Matthew noted as he walked to stand alongside Berret.

The squad leader didn't take his eyes off of the forest as he spoke. "There might be."

Matthew hung his head and sighed. "If you want someone to keep watch, I can. You go have fun." He suggested as he stepped towards the forest.

Berret raised a brow. "Where are you going?"

Matthew pointed forward. "I'm gonna search around a bit. Because apparently you can't believe there aren't any magic beasts here. If I find any I'll notify you, don't worry. Just go have fun." He said as he walked into the dense foliage of the forest, leaving his squad behind to take their long awaited vacation.

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A/N: Contrary to popular belief I am alive. The book is still on hiatus for the foreseeable future, I just thought I might as well finish up this first half of the chapter and post it, just to give you readers a bit more to gloss over as you wait for the next chapter.