Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[Late]

Xavier
​

He really didn’t expect that response. Even Komodo blinked a couple of times as Aisha slowly felt awkward. Xavier stared at the priest with a glare, feeling something strange or was it familiar? Perkisas’ soul was actually a bit peeved from the priest words, it was probably the dragon’s own anger.

“Watch that tongue, priest. I think you’re overreacting a little bit,” Xavier grumbled.

“Im r-really fine, guys, please don’t fight about this..” Aisha said, hoping they would listen but they kept glaring at each other. “Ooor don’t listen to me, that’s fine.” She sighed, nervous what Xavier will do at the room slightly got colder. She kept drinking her apple juice quietly to herself.

“Now if you are going to overreact, just don’t freeze the damn place,” Perkisas huffed in his head.

Xavier kept that in mind and he slowly started to relax. “You know what? You’re right. I can help Aisha to ease her pain or find someone who is willing to keep the soldiers healthy and have a speedy recovery in this war... Hell, I might as well ‘sprain’ my tail,” Xavier scoffed, his tail snaked around to be between them. It was radiating El energy and giving off a blue glow to it. “Though, I doubt I can do it easy. I am not allowed to self harm myself no matter how much I tried. Maybe you want to do it?” The tail moved closer to Phantom and already there was a small clean cut on his robes yet barely touching the priest. “It looks like you don’t want to be a healer anymore, priest. Show me that anger of yours isn’t something to mess with,” Xavier taunted, his tail itched forward to Phantom’s chest, cutting more into the robes and getting dangerously close to his chest. Maybe Xavier was pushing it a bit too much, yet the dragon’s death pains him still to the very core of his soul. Phantom should’ve been there to help Cornelius to heal but no, he was somewhere else. Maybe Komodo knows what happened.

“I know I’ll be fine, but you? Who would heal a man who is a follower of a different goddess?” Xavier questioned, his glare hardening.

“Xavier, stop it,” Aisha said to the man, afraid that he might actually hurt Phantom. Even Komodo was giving uncertain stares.

“Ah there you ar- woah.” Eosfóros finally walked in the tent and noticed the situation. He cleared his throat as he felt the room was rather a bit chilly. When he saw Xavier threatening Phantom with his tail, he slightly raised his voice. “Xavier, it won’t be good for you if you spill blood in here,” Eosfóros said to him.

“Stay out of this,” Xavier growled, the tip of his tail rotated all around just to cut further more of Phantom’s robes. “He should’ve know better to diss me off.”

“Yes, though I thought I taught you better to not let anger get a better control of you. So don’t let your tail do the talking for you,” Eosfóros hissed, slowly taking a step forward.

Xavier blinked a couple of times and he stopped his tail from advancing forward. If anymore, he would be piercing through Phantom’s first layer of skin.

Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom's smile had returned to a sneer as he gave a low hiss while Xavier talked. He looked between the tail and Xavier as the tail grew closer and started to cut his robes. A part of him was a bit upset at the fact that these robes didn't even last a day.

"I know I’ll be fine, but you? Who would heal a man who is a follower of a different goddess?"

The priest clenched his left fist at those words, his tongue flicking like a snake's. His snake eye twitched as his lips twitched before he just gave a scowl. He didn't pay attention to what Aisha said, returning Xavier's hard glare. He only broke eye contact to glance at Eosforos trying to break them up before returning to glaring at Xavier. When he looked down to see that the tail wasn't moving anymore, he gave a small scoff under his breath and his tongue flicked once more.

He clenched his fist tighter as he coated some mana around his knuckles as he gave a small, crooked smile. "Oh I'll be just fine Xavier," The priest assured.

And in one quick movement, Phantom ignited his knuckles with fire and punched Xavier right in the face.

Late

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

With Phantom moving forward, Xavier’s tail didn’t move away. Though he was surprised to get hit by a fist of fire in which his tail reacted first before he did. A sharp cut on his chest was made and the tail reeled back to coil around Phantom’s arm that he used to attack with. The tip of his tail cut away the bracelet as his tail held Phantom’s arm in place.

Xavier shook his head from the attack, feeling his own anger rising inside of him. He felt Phantom trying to pull away when his tail got a hold of his arm in which the tail only tightened its hold by squeezing it down. Aisha was in shock and Komodo immediately jumped in defense as his trainer was first to get hit, giving off dangerous snarls at Phantom. Eosfóros groaned at the priest’s stupidity, knowing that Xavier would at least be the one to pull away.

“You obviously don’t value your life, priest,” Xavier grumbled in anger, the temperature in the room suddenly got colder and the air becoming thick. He kicked over Phantom as his tail still got a death grip on his arm, the priest falling over yet being held up by the arm. “In truth, I should be the one punching you. You left my dragons to die, priest. Aragorn already told me that you left them for a week and came back different. I noticed the difference, though I am rather disappointed.” His tail blades eventually rotate around to cut against Phantom’s arm and causing the priest to bleed in different areas on his arm. The cold was as well a killing factor, his tail already a freezing weapon as it burns on his skin. Phantom made an attempt to pry the tail off his arm yet they quickly switch around the blade to cut Phantom’s hand. “Disappointed that you still don’t know your damn place in this world.”

“Xavier, snap out of it,” Eosfóros warned the man, stepping closer. “It’s getting hard to breathe in here, and you have Phantom down on his knees and slowly cutting through his arm doesn’t help the rest of us here.”

“I figured you of all people would be happy that I have him like this,” Xavier grumbled, his tail slowly sucking the mana that was left in this arm.

“Okay, so maybe you won’t look like a criminal in the end for fucking up a priest’s arm. Though, the army won’t be too happy to know a good healer is suddenly badly injured because he thought your face was a good punching bag. Just, think about this Xavier. They need more people healed, not more people injured. You already got him bleeding, hell even him giving a punch on you probably felt like hitting an iceberg with a warm mitten! Just, stop, Xavier. ...For Aisha’s sake,” Eosfóros hinted.

Xavier looked at Eosfóros with sudden annoyance though he agrees that now he gone far enough. It took him a few seconds to calm down as the air returned to normal and he eventually released Phantom’s bloody arm. Komodo eventually stopped his hissing and noticed something on the floor. He went ahead to pick it up and felt a strange sense of familiarity with it as the bracelet hangs from his jaws. Though he was still on guard as he stared at Phantom to see if the priest would try to hit Xavier again.

“Goood, very good,” Eosfóros sighed loudly, combing back his hair as the tension that Xavier was giving off was going away.

Xavier felt the area where he was hit started to harden over, likely about to be healed or replacing any dead cells. Or his defense mechanism was kicking in. He stared at the priest, frowning still.

“...hit me again, you will lose that arm of yours,” Xavier grumbled as he jabbed his tail in the air towards Phantom. “Good luck healing yourself.”

Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

The priest grit his teeth, passively looking over his bleeding arm and holding his tongue as Xavier insulted him. Phantom may not have the strongest sense of self-preservation but he knows when he has pushed his limits, and he had pushed them far enough this time. He grunted as he wrapped some of his robes tightly over the wounds. Phantom didn't like how numb his arm felt, and he swallowed the blossoming feeling of panic at the aspect that his arm would be out of commission for a while. He looked over to Komodo and with an exaggerated slow movement, he moves his unharmed hand towards the dragon with his palm open. "Can I have that bracelet back Komodo? Please?" Phantom's voice croaked.

Late

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

He was about to leave yet Xavier paused a moment when Phantom talked to Komodo. He looked at his dragon and noticed his friend was holding something in his mouth. Xavier frowned and whistled at Komodo to come to him. Komodo glances between Phantom and Xavier, unsure what to do with the bracelet in his mouth. He never thought he would be stuck in between yet after Xavier gave another whistle of command, he couldn't help but walk up to Xavier with puppy eyes as he held up the bracelet to the man.

Xavier sighed at the innocent dragon and pet his friend before taking the bracelet from his jaws. He curiously inspected it, staring at the accessory carefully as he felt something familiar out of it. It made his heart ache strangely.

"Xavier, that is Phantom's," Eosforos said to him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Where you get this?" Xavier demanded the priest, holding the bracelet out for him to stare.

"Bloody hell, just stop bothering him for today. Come on, poor Aisha is disturbed from all of this," Eosforos groaned, nudging Xavier with his hand.

Aisha did look rather upset, almost done with her apple juice even. Xavier let out a sigh.

"Fine," Xavier grumbled in annoyance. He looked at Eosforos and gave him the bracelet. "Study it."

"I, um, okay," Eosforos sighed yet his annoyance went away when he held the bracelet. He held it up curiously with a strange look in his eyes. "...how peculiar..."

"Aisha, I apologize for making a mess here...is there a way I can make it up to you?" Xavier asked the resting mage, deciding it was best for him to leave Phantom be for today.

Aisha glanced at her apple juice and at the kneeling Phantom. "I...guess another cup of apple juice will be good...for now," Aisha said, hinting that it wasn't the only thing she wanted.

"Apple juice. Right away," Xavier said with a nod of his head and left the tent with Komodo right next to him.

As Xavier left, Eosforos kept on studying the bracelet as he knows there was something strange with it. He glanced over Phantom who was shooting daggers at him with his eyes and only gave him a small smile. He went ahead to stand in front of the priest and kneel down to be at eye level.

"This right here...isn't something you would buy off the market. I am not going to keep it, don't worry about that. This is definitely not mines...but I want to ask you something, priest," Eosforos said to him, holding out the bracelet with a firm grip on it. "Why are you a follower of a 'dead' goddess? I have been very curious about that, especially since I don't know you very well."

Phant0m

Lu and Ciel
​

After a week passed, the humans eventually trusted them to help out. Not to mention that they needed extra hands in order for them to keep pushing the demons back from Velder. Even though they were capable of handling things on their own, they were told to meet up with a group of travelers who have been helping around. It somewhat irked Lu that she will have to be put in a group yet Ciel did a fine job to reassure her that it won't be so bad. Not to mention that they finally got something to do for once.

The two walked over to where the three plus one were resting after having something to eat. They overheard their conversations about the issue they were having, as well the best effective attacks. Ciel will definitely get the most fun out of this.

"Hello there," Lu greeted as they approached them. "I hope you don't mind that we join your group."

"Well, we are told to join your group by the soldiers here," Ciel said and looked to the side as Lu gave a small sigh.

"It's their lucky day, either way. We definitely can be a good use for your mission, and trust me when I say that."

"She is not wrong. Plus, it couldn't hurt to get to know each other to become good allies," Ciel added in.

"Yes and...wait, um.." Lu took a pause to glance at Ciel's direction after realizing what he said. "I mean, of course! We do need to have good allies during a time of war," Lu agreed with a smile on her face. She glanced at Ciel again in which the man only nodded his head with a small smile. "Anyways, may I ask who is the leader here of this group?"

MementoDei Fume

Ivy
​

The nature dragon looked outside of her den to stare up at the sky. Even though she could not see at all, she can tell there was something different and it has been changing for the past days. The pongos here on the island even talked about the gravity being a little off and some mentioning of the strange weather changing in certain areas. It was concerning her.

In the past months, Ivy's appearance has changed and she grew even more. She was full of life and beauty as flowers grow out of her horns and down her back. She has grown to be strong and healthy and was happy with what she has now, helping the pongos around with planation eased her loneliness of being away from her family. Ivy was very capable of leaving any time she wants now that her sickness has passed. And now, the shift of atmosphere was definitely calling for her to leave.

"Ivy, what are you staring at, pong?" Ivy heard one of the villagers talking to her and she shifts her head down.

"I believe I need to leave. There are a lot of strange weathers happening here and I feel like it may be related to what is going on downstairs," Ivy said. "Yes...this is urgent, I can feel the island is out of shape and it is concerning."

"Is there a way to fix it, pong?"

"That is what I want to find out," Ivy said to the villager as she started to prepare to leave.

She said her farewells to the villagers and was pleased to know they were grateful for her to bring life back to the island. It was obvious that they were going to miss her and Ivy knows they would take good care of the crops they have been growing for months. With her gone, it would be like nothing has changed. Once she was set to leave, Ivy opened up her wings and started to take flight off the floating island. She figured to was best to figure out where her family went off first and the pongos did mention of a dragon staying with a group of humans in which they reside close to the El Tree. Ivy first headed in that direction after getting a sense of which way was north. Though she does notice how strangely close Elrios' grounds was after minutes of diving down.

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom​

Phantom grabbed the bracelet, giving a small tug to test how firm Eosforos's grip is before just holding it in a firm grip of his own. His temples were throbbing, and he hissed a bit at how much his arm stung. Losing this much blood wasn't helping, but the priest only felt slightly dizzy. Xiopetec, I really need your help, he mentally prayed as he stared into Eosforos's eyes. He raised an eyebrow at what he said, and Phantom gave a small scoff. "Why do I need to justify who I follow to you?" He asked and when the man's grip wouldn't let up the priest gave a small sigh. "Fine." Phantom readjusted his position, grunting as his arm gave a large wave of pain and he clenched his jaw. He could practically feel a cold sweat on his forehead just from trying to focus through the pain before blinking a bit. "When I needed Ishmael the most," The priest leaned closer to Eosforos and continued in a low voice, "She abandoned me. After following her for years and being so faithful to her, it was complete bullfuckery that she didn't have my back for one thing. I stumbled upon my current goddess, and she offered a better deal and has been there for me in ways that Ishmael never has. Now can I have my bracelet back?"

Xiopetec​

Xiopetec wasn't doing much of anything while she waited for her priest. She was practicing using her mana to manifest her sickles in her hands when Phantom had first left, but as the time stretched on the goddess grew bored of doing the same thing over and over again. She had swung the sickles and sliced through the air before that quickly grew boring, so she settled to braiding her hair as she sat on the grass and humming songs that Phantom used to get stuck in his head when she once resided in his mind.

'Xiopetec, I really need your help.'

The thought made the goddess stand right up, dropping her mindless task immediately. "Child...?" She muttered as she felt the pit of her stomach drop. She turned to where the prayer originated and sprinted towards the infirmary tent as if there was an army of demons at her heels. Xiopetec weaved around people as she arrived at Aisha's tent practically stumbling in as she suddenly halted in her sprint. The goddess was panting until she witnessed the state her priest was in: on his knees in front of the angel that she vowed to kill. His arm was wrapped in his new robes and she could notice that the blood was starting to seep through the fabric and she went on her knees beside her priest. "Phantom!" She called out as she almost got into an animalistic crouch, leaning forward a bit to inch into the space between the two males. Her arm went in front of Phantom's chest in a protective manner, ready to push the priest behind her at a moment's notice. Her eyes narrowed at Eosforos as she bit out the words, "What. Happened."

Late

 

[Fume]

Rena​

"Would you look at that! Eve made a friend!" She happily said to the new nasod.

When Lu and Ciel appeared, Rena was displeased to see them. They who denied of her to know what happened to her brother, were in the low end of her list of buddies, but as she heard Lu say about in times of war, she had to grin and bear it. She didn't want enemies, just allies that she could trust her enough to deal with the current problem.

That demon has the body mass of a muscle builder freak, that and it's attacks are pretty ferocious. Though, they are easy to read, as he's slow to put them into practice. Strong on brawl, slow on speed and brains of a thrall.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the more help the better, even from you two. For now, I'm the active leader of this group. I say leader, but we mostly do our own judgement on our actions. We just trust each other enough to know when we need to give our backs. I'm Rena. I mainly use kicks as my weapon and the power of nature, in rare occasions I use my bow.

We've more or less figured out who we have to deal with, and where this guy might appear. We've met him only once, but we had to leave when things looked dicey, specially when we were fighting a while squadron of demon glitters along the way. From what we could see, physical attacks like kicks don't have much of an effect on him, because of his muscle mass. Bullets and electricity however looked more promising.

My arrows don't pack a lot of punch, so I only use them in emergencies to catch my enemies off guard." She explained to them on what she could do, despite her tone being displeased.

MementoDei Late

*****
Dust​

As Damien continued to dance and playing music for the soldiers to up their spirits, the dark elf commander remained a few feet away, looking at the distance on the balcony of the castle. The town was destroyed, with fires and buildings crumbling by the day. Barricades made out of wood to prevent enemy forces to proceed, regular patrols for their forces to make sure the area is safe for another day.

He was only at the enemy camp to observe and if he could destroy their armory, then that would be a bonus. He did just that, to 'observe' the situation. Training those two were just a little plan that he had, but he kept a sentence on his head when he confronted Lento.

Looking at his hand, he could only clench it a couple of times before noticing the shaking.

"What are you doing over here all by your lonesome? The party of that Incubus is over there." Chloe asked as she joined him. Glass of ale on her hand.

"Just thinking, that's all." He replied as he kept looking at where he thought that Phantom might be. That kid could be a handful sometimes. He hoped nothing bad happened to him after that big fight. Xio? You could say he was a little worried for that goddess, she wasn't instituted back into the living not too long ago, so her ways might be a bit too outlandish.

He wasn't worry for Lento at all. He knew he was a strong person, even in his current state. But still, his reckless behavior could act up when his emotions aren't controlled well enough. Something that Dust might've passed on without him meaning to.

Then came the one person that he hasn't seen in a long time...

"Hey Chloe." He called out to her, to which she looked at him. "Do you think we don't have any choice in the matter? With this war?" He asked her not too sure.

"...Sometimes I ask myself that too." She replied while taking a sip from her drink. "I stay a little longer in bed thinking on how things might've been different, if both sides could help each other out than this violence and bloodshed. But then again, we can't do anything because of our slavery marks. We have to do what our superiors ask, no matter how cruel they may be."

Dust could only hear and accept those words, because it was true. As long as Ran held both of their slavery marks in his left hand, then they couldn't do anything against him. But for Dust it was different, there were two people that claimed him. One was Luciela, the last lord of the demon realm, the pacifist and the other was Karis, but she gave Ran his mark, because his mark wouldn't react to her nightly needs.

He too stood just that little bit longer thinking of this mess, where they couldn't escape their fate. Fate, how he detested that word. To everyone, it was just a word only because they don't know what the future has in store for them. But for him? He knew and that made him hate it.

"You know Chloe, you and I aren't that different." He suddenly blurted out, making her composed figure blink a few times before looking at him.

"Did I drink a little too much?" She asked out loud as she looked at her glass. She was only on her second one.

"In this case? Not enough." He joked around before returning to his state. "I'm serious though. I like that way of thinking. To wish for an alternative way than this mess. But right now... We can only be patient. Just waiting for a better time to come. Maybe it will maybe it won't, so we can only wait and... hope." That word was just foreign for him.

"Who are you and where is the Dust that wouldn't talk these things to me?" She asked bewildered at him.

"...I guess I had a change of scenario. Or maybe I trust you enough to say these things? Or maybe..." He looked at Damien and how happy he was with others. "Maybe it's time for me to try and enjoy what life wants to give. To change myself."

"I've never thought you'd say those words. I'm honestly surprised." She said as this was new.

"Does that mean, you're finally getting a woman, Dust!?" Damien asked excitedly as he could hear their conversation thanks to his incubus abilities, before getting a bucket thrown at him.

"Mind your own business, you brat!" Dust yelled at him.

"But Duuuuuust! No woman has ever caught your attention! I presented to you gorgeous glitters, nothing. I showed you the best of the blue flame demons, nothing. I even went ahead to hire 5! Not 1, not 2 but 5 succubus to use their aphrodisiac effect on you! Not. Even. A. Sign.

You are literally and physically a man of iron will to resist all of that!"

"Damn, commander! I tip my helmet to you!" One of the glitter soldiers said impressed.

"That's what I did to him as well! Except I used my hat."

"That was you!? You little-!" He angrily yelled at him for his attempts.

"Whaaa! So scary! Heeheehee!" He laughed mockingly, making the atmosphere lighter around them.

"Ease up on the little guy, commander! We're just having some fun!" A wounded soldier said laughing, before coughing. "Laughing hurts..."

"What the hell are you doing here!? Get in bed, you fool!" One of the medics berated him, before he walked away with his help.

"So... Are you gonna talk about those attempts or do I need to tell them?" Damien asked hopping around in place.

"You say one word and I'm taking your maracas." As soon as he said that, the Ikus grabbed his instruments with panic.

"Not my precious!" He yelled almost immediately to him. "How about you tell me your age then, mister ageless?" He still dared to prob him, however the soldiers almost in a coordinated motion looked at him very curiously.

Most of them lived their entire lives growing up with the dark elf, many were outlived by him and some still kick around through the medicinal breakthroughs. But the one thing that the young ones didn't know and that gnawed at their curiosity was the commanders age, since nobody knew about it, not even Karis herself.

Dust ajusted himself before grabbing Chloe's glass, this surprised her as he finished er drink and the threw it at the incubus, hearing a loud "Youch!" from him.

"It's rude to ask an elves age idiot, make it male or female, especially for females." He warned them as he felt annoyed by that question, every time Damien was around.

"Come on! At least offer me a bone here! Just tell me if your older than Chloe or not." He pleaded, which made the male dark elf pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, I'm older than her, now shut up about it." He revealed at them to which surprised even the female commander.

"Oh damn! Chloe you have a big chance then! Unless he's interested in men. I mean, I wouldn't mind for Dust, if anything-" Just as he was about to say something a mana ball hit him, sending him a few feet away.

"Miss me with that gay shit!" Dust suddenly yelled uncomfortable with that way of thinking, especially with Damien that acts that way with him.

He looked to the side to see Chloe trying to understand if what she just heard was real.

"I am not towards that side, damn it! If you put me between that and you, I'd choose you in a heartbeat." As soon as he said that ti her, she was frozen on the spot as her face lightly turned pink all the way to the tip of her ears.

The rest of the soldiers started oohing at him while a few of the dark elves started congratulating Chloe.

"I... Eh... Ah.!" Words weren't working for her.

"What the heck are you guys doing! Get back to work already!" Dust just had enough of all of this attention he was getting.

"Ah crap! He's pissed! Run for your pride!" Damien mockingly ordered as the soldiers laughed with him before leaving the two commanders alone.

"That demon just gives me such a headache, every time." He rubbed his right temple to further emphasizing the matter.

"Hey, about what he said..." She fidget a little trying to say the words in her head.

"If your going to ask about the five succubus, then I'm only going to say that it was tough resisting it." He immediately thought that she was going to ask that.

"Not that, you idiot! About me having a chance!" Just as she yelled that, she quickly covered hrr mouth while slowly looking at his surprised expression. "Forget I just said that, dumb question." She wanted to leave as far away as she could.

"Don't know." He answered back to her, making her look at him from the side. "Let's just go with maybe for now."

As he said that, he left to go check with the summoning priests. Not noticing her hopping in place like a school girl.

 

[Late]

Eosforos
​

Eosforos tilted his head curiously at Phantom's response, smiling slightly at the injured priest. He didn't say anything and let go of the bracelet before the nurse suddenly came running in. It finally hit him about this certain nurse after connecting a few dots together. Especially how protective she was for Phantom. He stood up straighter and brush his coat with his only hand.

"Don't assume it was me, nurse. I am missing my sword arm after all," Eosforos said to her with a small shrug. "Though, tell your boy to keep his anger under control. He hit my student, and my student has a knack to uh...put those in their place. So if you want to be angry at someone, be angry at Phantom. We have a witness here," the man said as he gestured to Aisha.

"I....just rest here..." The mage replied, somewhat timidly.

"Anyways..." Eosforos mumbled, trying to ignore the nurse's fierce glare.

Thankfully, Xavier returned back with a cup of apple juice for Aisha. Komodo even was chewing on something, probably got a snack for himself. The man hands the cup over to Aisha in which the mage gave a slight smile at Xavier.

"Anyways, Xavier and I have to do something else. You can have him back when we are done, Aisha. I'm sure you got many things for him to do for you," Eosforos said, putting a hand on the dragon tamer's shoulder.

"Seriously?" Aisha mumbled.

"Yes, I promise you will have him back," Eosforos said. "I just need him for...something quick."

"Alright...I guess I can keep on reading this book then," Aisha sighed before taking a sip of her juice.

"As for you two, better be quick to leave Aisha some peace," Eosforos said to Phantom and the nurse before ushering Xavier out. Komodo lingered behind for a moment to stare at Phantom before following after the two.

"I guess the situation felt awkward for you back there," Xavier said to Eosforos after they left Aisha's tent.

"Now you were being an idiot back there."

"Me? He hit me first."

"Yeah but no reason to fuck up the rest of his arm," Eosforos hissed. "I think I'd have to discipline you. Don't make enemies here, Xavier. That's not what I need right now."

"Tch, fine. You need me for something so what is it?"

They were walking away from Aisha's tent to a different one. It didn't take Xavier long to figure it out what Eosforos need him for.

"Oh, right. You need moral support in case commander decided to use your detached arm to beat you up."

"That not funny and rather disrespectful, Xavier," Eosforos mumbled before pouting. "She was actually worried about you. She said to me that they would get you back from the demons, that it was a promise."

"Yet, I ended up coming back to your sorry ass."

"My El, you are a lot chillier than I thought!"

"I am just figuring that you only want me with you to lessen up her possible anger."

"Okay let's just...see how she is holding up," Eosforos grumbled, staring at Elesis' tent.

They stood there for a couple more seconds until Xavier have to push him forward. Eosforos shot him an annoyed look before he walks through the tent with his heart pounding hard.

Phant0m MementoDei

Lu and Ciel​

Lu realized who the elf was and she bit her tongue from saying anything off. It doesn't help to know that she was the leader of the group so she simply gestured for Ciel to take over for a moment to explain what they can do on the battlefield. The tall man blinked at Lu for suddenly going quiet and he cleared his throat.

"If you say bullets will look more promising against this enemy, then I know I will very useful. I have a rifle and my main weapons are the dual gun blades. Lu here uses her magic gauntlets, and perhaps her spears could be effective. Most of our attacks are magic based," Ciel explained to Rena. "Though, we work together for our attacks to be very effective. Not to mention that I would need to be in a good spot if I were to use my rifle. It is a big weapon and often times its hard to quickly avoid incoming attacks whenever I have it out."

"It is probably best that we take care of the small fries before hitting up with the larger demon, at least those demons who are ranged fighters," Lu added in, trying to not look at Rena in the eye as she speaks. "It can give Ciel some breathing space to take multiple shots on this demon you speak of."

Fume

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She was lying down on her back, her torso covered bandages, and her body immobilized by the medic's warnings. She had insisted too much on being fine and almost got killed because of it. It was in her nature to move and her new quiet and sedentary life had left her the time to reflect on many things. It had been a few days since she saw the daylight directly. She turned her head slightly, bringing some locks of her long, untied and messy hair close to the grass beneath her tent. She had to squint her eyes as the sun bathed her abode with the afternoon sun.

When she got used to the light, she saw a familiar face, someone that she didn't expect to see after the battle. Dust's words came back, blurry and hazy, until they finally became clear. Eosforos had lead a massacre. She was torn between her old love and knowing that his past actions were probably true. Yet, it would be foolish to react now. She had to keep her calm, and perhaps, listen to both sides of the story. Her brother often told her that no one was truly evil, if they could explain the reasons behind their actions.

Although, that wouldn't excuse them to receive punishment if they were ever found guilty of crimes. But Eosforos...she still wanted to believe that the demon commander had lied. At least, her heart wanted to believe that there was no blood on his hands.

"I...didn't think I'd see you again, Eosforos." she began, her voice was fading as her breaths still hurt her a little. "How...have you been?"

Late

****
Eve​

She tilted her head at Rena's remark and looked back at Alec, who was staring at Remy and Moby as curiously as the first time he saw them. "Alec Educ is not a friend, I think. He was a Nasod build to protect me along other Nasod Guardians, but I never got any knowledge that this project had been completed. Alec, are there any other Nasod Guardians?"

Alec looked at her and shook his head. "I don't remember much of the circumstances behind my creation. But I am not a servant for you...ehm... Eve? I serve the Red Knights and Commander Elesis."

The Nasod Queen sighed. The damage to his core seemed to be worse than she expected. "I won't delay this mission any further, the Knights need our help. If you are under their orders, then do you mind coming with us and slay the demons in Residential Area 3, Alec?"

The Nasod nodded and showed his blade. "For the Knights, anything. What's the plan, though?"

"I'll repair your core later, you seem to have memory errors. As long as you can fight, you can join us." Eve responded with a hint of exasperation.

Fume

****
Glave
​

Orders were orders, and he had disobeyed them. Henir, however, relied on him to keep the Void in check, always looking for anomalies and eliminating them. Lara was one of them, but she was an anomaly even among all anomalies. Lost Souls as strong as her, completely fused with the guardian spirit of the Water El, were rarer than a blue moon. His gift to her efforts was permanent, but her shadow would still remain; it had to.

"Out of all places to build another puppet, I have to do it in the most dangerous places of all..." Glave thought as he undid two of the locks around his neck. The space between each dimension was dangerous enough to kill anyone who was too weak. The Void energy the locks liberated was enough to be an armour towards the void monsters hidden within.

There was no path but his own steps, which left a trail of blue amidst the unfathomable darkness, only a few low growls echoed from time to time. It was in this path where Ellia's realm and Henir's sometimes intertwined. It was around this place where some left traces, crystallized as small blue shards. With enough luck, Lara's traces would not have been all eaten up by the monsters.

Time didn't pass in the Breach, as he liked to call it, only the monsters moved. A blue glow ahead of him was the first of his many commissions, all for a greater mission. As he reached for the prize, a Freak Hound hid it as one of its paws passed in front of it. The growls became more intense and Glave felt a mild chill as his clothes covered with a thin layer of frost.

The Hound's muzzle was on top of him, its nose was sniffing the mana around it. Two, four, six. It had found its prey. The beast's teeth, made of blue crystals and sharper than any blade, came down to tear Glave apart in a matter of seconds. The Administrator, however, was barely scared by the behemoth that roamed outside the Void's boundaries. He lifted his arm and charged a bolt of Henir's energy with his fist. A flash of blue transformed into a column of light and died out as a rain of blue flesh, a shower of blue blood and the heavy body of the dead Hound fell at Glave's feet.

"Poor thing. It passed so much time in the wild that it didn't recognize me." He thought as he swept the blood from his clothes. After giving a last glance to the Hound's decapitated corpse, he moved its body to uncover what he had come to find. Although it shared the colours of Henir, its blue shade was lighter. It was closer to a clear afternoon sky than to the ocean blue the Void dressed itself in.

His journey ended after he collected around a hundred shards. In most cases, he didn't have to expand the bloodshed, as most beasts recognized him. It was on his way back where he met someone that he hadn't seen in centuries.

"Elria. How rare to see you here." he said to the small wisp of white light that hovered above him.

The small light moved around, intensifying its glow at times, and decreasing it at others. It was a dance of signs that he had learned to understand as clearly as his native language.

"That is only for my god to know, Elria."

The wisp was in front of him and diminished its brightness until it became almost invisible before slowly taking back its original glow.

"I wonder, Elria. I wonder if it's just as you say. Although, it must be dangerous to stay here for long. The emptiness between our worlds is a wild place, even for one of your manifestations."

The light almost tickled his hair as it vanished above him, leaving a last message. Glave smirked underneath his expressionless mask and formed a breach towards the pocket dimension Lara had created. To his surprise, the desert was growing greener, black and silver plants were growing here and there. A bed of silver petals dried flowers and black vines held to the earth Lara's shell. It was almost done. He locked back one of the two locks and fused the hundred shards into one. It was a bit smaller than the hole in the shell, but not by much.

"It's almost a miracle I found enough of these to almost replace completely her original soul." He mumbled. The shard glowed in its new coffin and its power spread in regular, geometric traits that covered the rest of the empty shell. The skin took the colour of the Void, the hair began to turn to a light blue and took back its silky touch. It was a matter of two days, where Glave kept a close watch on any mutations, before the shell took back its form of flesh.

Its fingers moved slightly and it moved its blue eyes to the sides. It was scared to be tied down.

"A...Aah..." it mumbled as its arms struggled against the vines. Glave took off his mask and put his index in front of his lips. "shh."
The woman looked at him and suddenly stopped her struggle. Glave created a small blade from Henir energy and cut the ropes down. Then, he stepped away, leaving her enough time to sit down and heal the wounds her struggle had left.

"Ah..." she said. She still didn't remember many things, and speech was one of them. It was the only thing he could heal. Her mind was there, her eyes told him that. She was looking around, squinting her eyes and frowning. Her gaze felt that there was something familiar about this place, but her soul told her that it was the first she had seen it.

"Don't worry, you're in a safe place." he said, gaining back her attention immediately. She tilted her head, making some locks of indigo hair fall to her left collarbone. She didn't recognize him, but he wasn't a threat to her. "Your name is Lara Tureen. Can you repeat that?"

She stopped tilting her head and seemed curious as he pronounced her name. "Haa...aah...a." she said and lowered her head in defeat. Glave got closer to her and patted her head. "Don't worry, sometimes speaking is hard when you just wake up."

With his gesture, he let out a gentle stream of Henir's energy into her body. "Let's try again. Tell me your name."

"...Lara Tureen." she murmured with trembling lips. They curled into a smile and she looked at him. "I said it! Lara Tureen! My name!"

he put his hand away from her and let her celebrate her victory.

She got up and jumped, elevating herself three meters above her grave, her laugh filled the desert's night. Before gravity brought her light figure back to the sand, he stepped behind her and, once she landed perfectly on the ground, he reached for her shoulder. Even before he could touch her, she glanced at him and formed a dagger out of mana she swung towards his neck, stopping her strike once she got a better look at him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." She said as her dagger of mana dissolved into the air. He could barely feel the edge of her weapon before the breeze took away the mana dust. "My body acted on its own. How weird. Tell me, you know my name, but what's yours? I never knew there was something beyond the darkness."

Glave blinked in surprise. If she remembered the void, then the shards contained most of her original power. It was the best possible scenario. "There's many more things beyond the darkness, Lara. You can call me Glave. I have other duties to attend, so I'll leave you here."

Lara stared at him curiously as he formed a gate towards Henir's kingdom.

****
Lento
​

He had become familiar to what signs to look after when something happened back in Lara's world. From the vibe he was getting, an increasing anxiety formed inside him. Something serious was happening, and it dug a frown on his front, but he had still duties to fulfill. After a couple of hours, he was finally free from reports and strategies to take back most of the city. Hopefully, the group of adventurers led by Rena, a forest elf, would be able to push back the demons far enough.

He walked, zigzagging across the multiple tents, put in a hurry and packed with people. If the demons didn't kill them, the consequences of overcrowding would. The situation was bad enough as it was to risk any more soldier lives until the adventurers succeeded or failed.

Once he reached the boundaries of the camp, the sun was already setting. He discretely opened a portal towards the White Desert, focusing on the source of the anomaly and the sight that welcomed his entrance froze him in place.

There she was, standing over the sand with her simple black dress. It was a black dot over a blank page, and he felt the anxiety of a writer as he stared at her; the only black dot of ink.

She turned her head, then her body followed her gaze. It was the same blue eyes, but they weren't cold, nor with sadness, not even fear. It was curiosity.

"La...ra?" his voice trembled with doubt as he felt torn between relief, happiness and a good portion of doubt and fear. "Lara...how? Why...did you- no, who, tell me, who? Who brought you back?"

He walked towards her, feeling with each step that something was different about her. She lifted an eyebrow, maybe at his voice, or his arms, who were open enough to tell her that he wanted to hug her, but close enough to his body to know that he knew it wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn't his place to let his emotions overwhelm him.

He was the one who had the right to cry of happiness and hug her as soon as he saw her. It was something he couldn't change, and Lento was respectful enough to let it go.

She took a step towards him and her curious look stayed fixed on his eyes. It didn't take anything more for his arms to drop their intentions along his gaze. She turned around him, as if to see if he was real, but he only saw her shadow and something in his eyes stung him. It was just too good to ever be true. She was gone, she was free and nothing would ever bring her back.

It was how it was, but it hurt as badly as the first time he saw her go. After all, his hatred for her couldn't stay, only a sympathy of a friend.

"What are you? Your mana is weird. Not like Glave's. It's similar to mine, you seem familiar...what's your name?" Her feet were once more in front of him.

He took a deep breath and looked at her, she seemed a bit worried.

"Are you ok?" she asked with the same tone a stranger would if he saw him wounded. She didn't know anything. The little he kept from her was nothing more than memories.

He swallowed the dry, bitter taste of his saliva and he managed to smile weakly at her. "I'm ok, Lara. My name is Lento Asini."

"Do I know you?" she asked, squinting her eyes. "It's really weird, since Glave put me here, I've felt like I've been here before. But I'm sure I've never been here before. Nor seen you. You sure you're ok? Here, Lento Asini, sit down."

She formed a chair in front of him with her mana and also created one for herself.

"You knew how to do that all along?" he mumbled as his smile transformed into a joyless smirk.

"I just know how to do things, Lento Asini. I thought of a chair and there it is. It just happens. How do you know my name? Are you also from the Darkness?" Her questions popped one after the other before she sat down. He reluctantly pushed back, the sand hushed the sound and the small grains of sand piled up to his disillusion.

No matter how many times he repeated that his hopes were unfounded, a mere fantasy, they were still crushed and their corpses left a heavy burden on his mind. His back was bent as if he was bowing. He put his hands over his face, but he couldn't get to look again at her.

"Lento Asini..?" she asked, and she put a hand over his right shoulder. "I don't know what's wrong. In fact, I know nothing beyond my own name. Maybe I look like someone you knew, and it must be hard for you to listen to me ask and ask questions nonstop. I was being insensible towards you, sorry."

"You don't look like someone I knew. You are someone I know. You are Lara Tureen, how would I know your name if I had never met you before?" he said, hoping in vain that his voice sounded calmer.

She remained quiet for a long string of seconds and her touch made itself lighter before going away. Lento looked back at her clasp her hands nervously. She looked down at them and glanced briefly at him before passing her right hand to comb back the hair over her nape. Her eyes plunged back to her fidgeting hands.

"But I really don't know you." she mumbled. "I don't know you. How can you know me if you're not Glave and I don't know you?! It makes no sense! NONE!"

Her hands clenched in fists, her strength rose with her voice and blood tainted her nails. He put his hand over hers and, with tears in her eyes, she looked at him.

"Stop, please, don't hurt yourself." he whispered. "You're right. You just share the same name of someone I knew. I'm sorry, Lara."

 

[Phant0m]

Xiopetec straightened her posture, keeping her expression fierce as she silently glared at Eosforos before moving her glare to Xavier when he entered with the apple juice. She felt a hand on her outstretched arm and she glanced to see Phantom's hand. Once Xavier and Eosforos left the tent, Xiopetec adjusted her position to grab Phantom's ear and give a firm tug.

"What happened?" She demanded again, dropping into her native tongue. "I said have a pleasant conversation with Xavier, not to get yourself in a fight!"

"Well, I've been still in a pissy mood about being used for healing. He asked me to heal Aisha's shoulder and I went off on him," Phantom answered as he fumbled with the broken bracelet.

Xiopetec snatched the bracelet and set it aside before yanking Phantom's hurt arm towards her to inspect the wound. When her priest hissed in pain, she gave a violent serpentine hiss in return. "Child, you learned nothing about how to keep your attitude in check." Despite being rough with her movements merely seconds before, the goddess gently moved the bloodsoaked cloth off of the wounds on her priest's arm to inspect the still bleeding gashes.

"Look, I know I fucked up with my attitude," Phantom snapped in the common language, "My arm's been bleeding for a while but Aisha's shoulder will take two seconds for you to take care of."

The goddess blinked incredulously. "Excuse me? You want me to ignore your condition to heal her shoulder?" She looked to Aisha. "No offense darling."

"I'll be fine."

Xiopetec and Phantom stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the goddess sighed and moved to Aisha's bedside and gently placed a hand on the shoulder closest to her. Her gold eyes followed her fuschia mana flowing from her hand into the mage's shoulder. The hand and mana lingered for a moment or two. "There you go," She said in a pleasant tone, "All better." She looked about the room and gave a low growl. "No bandages...of course." She returned to her priest and grabbed his hurt arm again. The fuschia mana coiled around the arm, latching on to the open wounds that were bleeding as she closed her eyes to concentrate.

Phantom closed his eye and he flinched as the wounds stung when his goddess's mana touched them and he grunted when Xiopetec tightened her grip, digging her fingernails in a bit in warning. The bleeding slowed considerably, but it didn't stop. Xiopetec clicked her tongue. "I'll take what I can get. I need to move you out of this tent so I can fix that wound up the old fashioned way..." She paused. "You ruined the tattoo...its going to have scars all over it. And your robes didn't last long. How are you feeling, child? Can you stand?"

"Not without help," Phantom gritted out as he snatched his bracelet back.

"Alright, don't squirm." Xiopetec proceeded to pick Phantom up bridal style and carried him out of the tent.

The priest could only hide his face in the crook of the goddess's neck as she carried him to a recently vacated tent. He listened as Xiopetec asked to be brought bandages and some disinfecting salves before plopping her priest on the freshly made bed.

"Explain," She ordered as she started to remove Phantom's shirt for him.

"This is what happens when I stay in one place too long," The priest responded in a bitter tone, "Shit hits the fan one way or another and it never ends well."

"So you're going to leave?"

"I don't know. There's just always bad luck when I spend more than a week in one place..."

Xiopetec hummed as she tugged the shirt off and tossed it to the ground. She gently touched the gash on her priest's chest and tred to slow the bleeding with that wound as well with her mana. "If the sentiment hasn't changed from what I last remember...you'll be branded a traitor if you choose to leave. You and I both....and I assume that all ties with Xavier are severed?"

"Beyond that. I don't want to see him around. I'm all set on that front, and I'm not going to worry about the dragons anymore...the only dragon I liked anyway was Ivy and she's not here."

The goddess stared at her priest, trying to make eye contact with him. "What are you going to do?"

Phantom sighed and winced, "Well, fixing up my arm is a priority isn't it?"

Xiopetec hummed again in agreement. A cleric walked in and dropped off supplies to help clean the wounds, promising that the bandages and such would be delivered soon before leaving again. The goddess cleaned the wound in silence, only pausing when Phantom flinched away violently and her anger slowly morphed in a somber expression as her movements became more reluctant as the priest made his pain more known.

"Well, Ishmael give me the strength to endure this encounter," A uniquely accented female's voice said in a cold tone.

The pair looked to who entered the tent, and Phantom tensed.

"Hello Akila," He greeted in an equally icy tone as he locked his gaze with the woman's amber eyes.

"Brayden!" Jesiah's voice piped up behind the woman before she gave a pointed nudge to her son. Her black hair wasn't free flowing like she usually let it instead it was up in a braided bun with a priestess's veil stuck into the bun. The white and turquoise trimmed veil matched the priestess outfit that Akila always wore, the edges of the white skirt only dancing above the dirt, teasing the ground that tries to dirty it. Her expression was emotionless with only her slightly furrowed brows betraying the anger she was feeling.

"I'd never expect to see you here when there are other towns to reside in."

"I can say the same to you. Can the army even afford your services?"

"I'm not charging my services, you despicable heretic," Akila sneered.

"Oh how generous of you," Phantom mocked. He didn't realize he was trying to get up until Xiopetec placed a firm hand on an uninjured part of his chest and pushed him into the bed.

Akila didn't miss the gesture. "Who is she? A lover of yours?"

"I don't owe you anything."

"After all that I have done for you, you owe me everything."

"You disowned him," Xiopetec cut in as she moved to stand in front of Akila, "And you lost your chance to be a mother to him."

Akila regarded Xiopetec for a moment. "You haven't answered my question. Who are you to him?"

"A travel companion."

"Oh really?" Akila gave a smirk and she looked around the goddess to meet Phantom's gaze. "What happened to only needing your 'goddess' to help you? Where is she now? If you had stayed on the true path, Ishmael would see to it that you wouldn't be stuck in thi-"

A fuschia blade at her throat and Akila's words died on her tongue. The sickle blade hooked like a snake's fang as Xiopetec smiled down at the priestess. "I will not say this a third time," She leaned down to get into Akila's face, "You're not his mother anymore, so you get nothing out of him. Do I make myself clear?"

"As clear as the blade to my throat."

"Perfect. Now put the bandages on that side table over there and leave." Xiopetec made her sickle vanish as she stood in place to block Akila from Phantom, asserting her dominance over the priestess.

Akila stiffly obeyed and then with a huff she turned on her heel. "I've breathed enough of the tainted air in this tent anyway. Jesiah, come."

"Don't break the stick up your ass on the way out," Phantom said glaring at Akila's back. He felt some mana flare to his uninjured hand as the priest remembered that he used an imagined Akila as target practice for his mana arrows and spears. "The Ishmael insurance won't cover that."

Akila looked over her shoulder, her nostrils flaring as she bared her teeth at the priest. "Ishmael will damn you." In a rough grasp, Akila dragged Jesiah behind her out of the tent. Phantom stared at a random point on the tent until it was only him and Xiopetec in the tent.

"Child-"

"Xiopetec...please. I just want to be bandaged and sleep the rest of this shitty day away."

The goddess expression softened as she saw how tired Phantom was. She noted that he was clenching the bracelet in his hand and frowned before putting her hand over his, slipping the bracelet into her grasp. "Just like your attitude, you need to keep your attachment in check too. He's the enemy now, child."

The priest's expression hardened as he looked to his goddess. "What if he can be an ally?"

Her eye widened briefly before she placed the bracelet on the side table and quickly grabbed her supplies to patch Phantom up. "You've lost quite a bit of blood, child. Rest will clear your head." She started to treat and wrap his arm in silence.

 

[Fume]

Rena​

"Hmm... That's the ideal situation if we do that, but those 'small fries' that you call are different from the last time we faced them. They've hardened up, became more proficient and deadlier. Maybe it's because of our current equipment or lack of more people, but it seems they've gotten stronger." Rena said as she then started listing the enemies up front.

"First we have the standard demons that the soldiers will tell you about. Spearmen, shield men, archers, riders, commanders and assassins. Then you have the dark elves which are both good with sneak attacks. Then we have the big demon that we're trying to defeat.

We fought against them a few times before, but something changed on them and I'm not saying it's a day and night change, but they've become more persistent in a way."

"It's as Rena said, they've become stronger, not in force but in will. A new fire was kindled in them somehow, making them almost hellbent in defending their current territory for their forces to rest. Luckily, we suspect that if we defeat the boss of them, they'll run away back to the bridge of Hope. I'd do the same in their case, retreat for a more advantageous area. And what better place than a straight line, making both parties have to go in pairs?" Raven said in a tone reminiscent of a commander.

"Eve already mapped out an area for us to sneak in with the least amount of conflict and if we time things right, we can't face the big guy while the rest are making patrols, when they get back by that time, they'll see their leader down and scatter to inform their higher ups."

"That's the current plan at least, though before we put it into practice we would need to upkeep our equipment and to see if everyone agrees, just to be on the safe side if things go down. Safety for one self is just as important in a team!" She warned them, in case they wanted to go headstrong.

Late MementoDei

*****

Dust
​

As Dust walked through the halls of their 'stronghold', Edgar was at the corner waiting for him. With a nod, the glitter understood and followed his commander.

"News." He asked briefly to his friend.

"Good ones." A simple way to get things through. They simply need to say one word or two for them to understand each other, it was a code that only Edgar had and Dust caught on it as well.

"How many?"

"40."

"The others?"

"Thinking still."

"Other races?"

"Declined. Undecided."

"Armaments."

"Enough."

If you are confused about any of this, let me explain to you this conversation. Edgar is informing his commander about how many glitters he was about to recruit for his cause, however when he said 40 he didn't meant 40 glitter soldiers, he meant 40% of the glitter forces agreed to join him. When Dust asked about the rest of the force, he replied with uncertainty.

Asking about the other races there was a mix of opinions. Some were uncertain and others plain fully denied involvement, either for their sake or others. In case of armaments for this revolution, he responded with enough, which meant enough for their hands.

"Need more."

"Which one?"

"Both."

"Understood."

They needed more than enough for their hands, so Dust ordered more armaments just to be on the safe side and more allies to join their cause.

"Anything specific?"

"Alchemists and medics."

"Funds needed."

"My name."

"Reason?"

"Own favor."

Alchemists and medics were the most important ones, but for that to happen they needed funds for their education and practice. Dust said to speak his name, when offered a reason a owned favor is enough to let them stay together.

A presence was felt and Dust raised his hand to his underling. The soldier did stop on his tracks as requested but was confused as to why. The commander signaled him to stop for today, that someone was listening in their conversation.

"I'll see you next time commander! And be careful on what you do to Chloe, she's such a flower still." He faked a weep as he talked.

"Oi!" He was slightly angry to that, to which his underling ran away before getting a hit to his head. The presence remained still, but the commander ignored it as he went towards the summoners to which were panicking.

"This is horrible! How were they able to find them!? Our trump card was robbed!" One summoning dark elf flailed around trying desperately to find a way to solve this problem.

"Commander Chloe and Commander Dust are going to kill us! We have to create sigils just to make sure we can summon at least one!"

"Only one!? We need at least 3 of them out! They'll notice for sure!"

"Notice what?" Dust asked while they were still distracted.

"About the destroyed shrines of Dark Nephilim-!" She said before shutting up while looking at him. "Oh no..."

"I-I-It's not what it seems! We can fix this before the end of the month! Trust us!" She panicked more than before with the others as they tried to convince him.

"Do you take me as an idiot, summoners?" They didn't convince him. "It takes more than a month to rebuild the shrines again to summon three Great Dark Niphilims. No matter what you say, you won't be able to quickly make enough shrines for the great version of itself."

They fidgeted before renouncing defeat. It would be too late for them to rebuild it.

"I'm surprised to know that the enemy got a hold on the shrines locations, I'm guessing it was made by carelessness from one of you summoners." Like stabbing into their pride. "No matter, even if we can't summon the Great version, we can still summon the normal version of it, right?"

"Y-yes, sir! But we would need to create sigils to summon more than 1..."

"Hmm..." He thought to himself as he walked around towards the window. "Tell me, how many sigils would be needed in order to summon one Dark Niphilim?"

"Th-three should do it sir! As long as you give them enough space, it could summon one more for our cause!" They said more sure about themselves than before.

"..." Dust thought to himself as an idea was starting to form on his mind, an idea that he didn't like. "It is better to report to Commander Chloe about this. At least she'll be informed and not be confused later on."

"Y-yes sir!" They replied to him as he left them be. The presence from before had left long, which meant that he could think to himself now.

"Dark Niphilim... Patron god of the dark elves, amalgamation of dark energy and their rage. He that listens and offers his services to however prays for him. Summoning him is impossible for me, so I can only say that this plan is a bad one. Why did I thought that maybe I could put the sigils up? Guess I'm an idiot after all." He thought to himself as he left the area finding Chloe very quickly.

"Chloe, I think we should stay stationed at Hope Bridge." He suggested to her.

"Hope Bridge? That's unusual for a commander to stay in the front lines." She said thinking rationally, since if the commander dies, the group dissipates.

"It's so that the troops can have morale support on them. If you appear around the bridge, then they'll be relieved to see that their superior is there to check on them." He explained to her in a way that could benefit their forces. "Not to mention, you'd be able to have a better perspective in where you could add ambushes to enemies."

"Hmm... Your ideas aren't bad... But still this is a risk, you know?" She said seriously for him.

"That's why I'm joining you." He replied to her before Damien skidded to a halt beside them.

"Me too!" He said cheerfully. "I bet they are feeling preeeeety down, so I'll have my music to shake things up a bit!"

"I don't think that's a good idea Damien..." Chloe said unsure.

"Trust him, Chloe. He knows how to defend himself, not to mention his music does have power with him. He can give our forces a good buff for defense or attack depending on this guys rhythm."

"Please, Dust! You're making me blush!" He said while waving his hand in the air all happy like.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked him confirmation.

"I personally trained him, he's good enough to handle himself."

"What are we waiting for! Let's go!" He shook his maracas with perfect time to that while giving a flash of his teeth.

"I'm not responsible for any mishaps on him."

"Believe me, you are." She said not buying that.

"What if I buy you a drink again?"

"Deal."

 

[Late]

Eosforos and Xavier
​

Eosforos found some difficulty to spit out words to say to Elesis. The damage was a bit worse than he thought and he felt guilt coursing through his veins. It didn't take long for Xavier to enter the tent and he got a good look at Elesis before looking at Eosforos. He noticed the man was quiet so he simply elbowed him to say something quick. The silence from the angel was strange.

"I...well...hello, um.."

Eosforos failed his own words so Xavier let out a light sigh. "Hello, commander. It is nice to know you are alive still," Xavier said to Elesis, taking a step closer to the knight and kneeling down to get a better look at her. "Eosforos already filled me in what happened when I was gone and I appreciated your efforts. I am actually honored to know that you kept a promise with Eosforos that you'll get me back from the demons." He gave Elesis a small smile even though it was covered by his mask. Eosforos continues to stand there awkwardly, still unable to look away from her bandages. "I hope your recovery is going smoothly."

"Y-yes, I hope so too," Eosforos finally said, kneeling down eventually but he did distance himself just to be safe. He cast his eyes away as he awkwardly scratches the back of his head and nearly lost his balance due to the fact he was missing weight on one side. "I have been....okay, so far. I'm sorry if I haven't visited you before," he mumbled.

"Only because he is afraid you still might have the energy to beat him up because of the truth about him," Xavier said, trying to throw some humor in between of the two. Eosforos only frowned at Xavier's attempts in which the ice man only shrugged his shoulders. "It couldn't be hard, he lost his arm after all," Xavier added in which the angel sighed as he absently put a hand over his armless shoulder. "Anyways...I'm sure you got questions..."

"Maybe it's not a good time for this sort of thing," Eosforos said in a slightly nervous tone in which Xavier looked back to stare at him.

"The sooner, the better. She has the right to know after getting this beat up."

"That's just my own fault for not staying by her side in the first place," Eosforos grumbled quietly.

Xavier pondered about this for awhile before looking back at the commander. "Commander, from whatever you heard from the demon commander, I would...disregard it. It is best if you heard it from Eosforos' own words. It is his truth to tell, not anyone else's. No one knows his story better than himself. I am certain he was planning to tell you. I learned the truth in an easier way, his...uh, diary." Xavier took out Eosforos' book in which the man gasp behind him.

"You found my book?"

"Anyways," Xavier continues as he ignores Eosforos. "...if you don't think this is a good time to talk about it, I understand. I just...don't want you to be too upset at Eosforos. He has his reasons."

"I am not even sure where I should begin..." the angel mumbled, staring at his hand as he rubs his fingers together.

MementoDei

Lu and Ciel
​

The two demons listened to the elf and the human man silently and turn to each other to see what they think. So far they are in agreement with what they said, even though Lu hated the fact that she would have to follow along with the plan. Not to mention that she already knows what the demons are good at in certain fields but she did her best to be polite and to not rudely interrupt the elf. It's hard to be at the same playing field with the majority.

"Right, safety...I'm sure we'll manage," Lu huffed as she fixes her bangs around. "We already equipped ourselves to get moving, mana potions and everything else that should be necessary. I guess you could say that we are very eager to do something here," she said with annoyance in her tone.

"We are hoping to establish the fact that not all demons are bad from a human's perspective. It took them long for them to allow us to help, though I wish we have helped sooner. The results from the previous battle were not so pretty to look at," Ciel sighed.

"Hmp..." Lu didn't make a comment about the previous battle. She believes it was probably best for them to not participate in that fight. "Let's try our best in this mission, Ciel."

"Of course, you know I always give my 100% when fighting along with you, Lu" Ciel said with a nod of his head and a small smile.

"We're ready when you are," Lu said to the group.

Fume

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She looked at Xavier and noticed that Eosforos was staring at her bandages.


"I would already be back on my feet if I was less stubborn." she admitted. "Sure, I had a few broken bones, but-" she coughed a little and reached for a glass of water to her right. She slowly took a gulp of it before continuing to speak. "I didn't want to leave Lento as the sole commander of the troops. It's too much work for a single person. In the end, I made it worse for myself. And, surprisingly, he's doing a good job by himself. He's superhuman."

She took a break and told what she had thought about since Eosforos showed up. "My brother often told me to hear to both sides of a story before judging anyone, and that's an a rule I always abide by. This case is no different." she took another pause to catch her breath. "Eosforos, I can't guarantee I'll be a completely impartial judge, but I'll try. Can you tell me your story?"

She looked at him, hoping that he would look once more at her. She was sincere and, naturally, she expected the same in return.

Late

****
Eve​

The plan Raven and Rena had come up with had over a seventy-five percent chance to succeed. With one of the Nasod Guardians by their side, it could increase to over eighty percent.

"Roger that. Moby can transport some of our provisions. I have stored a safety copy of the maps in Moby's and Oberon's database. In case my systems become unreliable, we can count on them."

Alec lifted his right index enthusiastically. "Oh! Maps! I've roamed around quite a bit and I also have some maps of Velder's outskirts. Let me check..." he remained silent for two seconds. "Yes. It seems I have a map of Residential areas three to five in my database."

"When did you make those maps?" Eve asked.

"Hmm....Around thirty-five days and seven hours ago."

"They are not up to date." Eve coldly stated. "Just focus on fighting, I'll handle the intelligence."

She turned back to her team. "All of my systems are fully functional. I'm ready to go."
Fume

****
Lento
​

She stopped tearing her flesh, slowly, and her hands opened. It looked almost like he was holding them. They were delicate, and oddly warm, but he knew that it was only because his own heart didn't beat anymore.

"Your hands are cold." she said as she clasped gently his right hand in between her two hands. Her wounds were already closing, her blood was but a rough dusty trace over her palms.

Almost like a reflex, his fingers began to curl themselves around her hand. How stupid he was, still hanging to a shadow of a person that wouldn't ever come back.


Before he remembered who he was, Lara had been distant towards him, but something about her confidence, or maybe the fact that their minds were always connected, made him want to uncover the femininity behind the blue-haired Diana.

He had touched a glimpse of her scars, smelt the fragrance the sea left on her hair and savoured the mellowness of her lips.

'Lento, this won't lead us anywhere.' she had said one day, gazing to the night sky.

He didn't want to believe it, but the proofs came soon enough. It was only a whisper at first, but it grew stronger; it was he first veil over her mind. She talked once about her past, and she smiled when talking about someone else. He had no name yet, but it was evident that he was still on her mind. Her memories of him were as real as the present was for him.


"Lento Asini, why are you taking my hand?" she asked.

He looked at her and left the warmness that he had no right to take. "...It's just natural, I guess. If someone took my hand like that, I'd like to hold it."

Lara frowned a little at his answer. "I don't think that's the truth, Lento Asini. Was it a gesture you did with the person you confuse me with?"

Lento scoffed, just like she would've done when he tried to lie. "You are almost right. I wish I was less of a gentleman to take her hand like that. But she only wanted to take someone else's hands."


Admitting it still brought the pain of her past words. She had cried for him. Someone that had harmed her was better to shed tears over than someone that stayed by her side to help her recover. She had only talked about the past that day; she talked with a nostalgic smile on her face, some tears and the final words that swayed so easily his heart.

'I wanted to tell myself that I could forget, forget everything and dive into a path of revenge; I wanted to fight for the evil that the demons have done to the present. But I can't stop looking at the past. I fight for the past, Lento. And I'll continue to do so.'

He tried to warn her one last time, to find a solid ground to stand on as what he thought was true turned to be fickle. There had to be a way to make her realize that the past had passed, but it was to no avail. Lento had to leave before he did something he would regret. And so he did. Hatred came knocking at his door like a guard raiding the house of a criminal. It shattered the mirrors towards the past, distorted the paintings of the present. Right until her long agony, he didn't let it leave until everything was in shambles.

It all changed soon as her soul was set out of her suffering. He discovered that, although it was not the same bond he had hoped for, it was not completely superficial either. She had cared, but there was that step beyond where he could never belong to.


"It must have been a gesture with a lot meaning." she sighed with a small smile. "But, even if it is, Lento Asini, I don't want to live in the shadow of anyone, no matter who it was for you. I want you to understand that"


He closed his eyes as he sighed."That's hard, you resemble her a lot."

"...I understand that, but I'm not her. And I'll never be like her. She was not born in the Darkness, and she knew you and that other person you mentioned."

He got up and turned his back to her to make it easier to answer and maintain his composure. "Yes, that's true. This place was hers, she traveled the human world and many more I don't even know. She is not you. She has already died, after all."

His mana field could sense the movement of her lips formulate her replies.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"...It's more his loss than mine. But thank you."

"I...have this intuition, I guess, about grief. I've heard that talking helps people. But I guess I'm not the best person to talk about it, am I?"

"You're right. It's not the best time to talk about grief. If anything, I'd rather keep good memories and show them to the world."

"Which world? The human world you talk about or the other worlds she traveled?"

"All the worlds." he whispered, forming a flow of mana to crawl over his face and clean it from any traces of his emotions.

 

[Late]

Eosforos and Xavier​

Xavier stayed quiet so that Eosforos can speak. It took the man some time to think about what he should say to Elesis, though she should know all of the truth. Eosforos closed his eyes momentarily to take in a deep breath and clear his mind from distracting thoughts. He opens them and stares at Elesis as he was ready to explain himself.

"Well, to start off, my mother was an angel and my father was a demon...a demon king to be exact," Eosforos started to explain. "I never asked to be born in a world full of troubles, yet I was and my life...was a horrible start. I guess you could say that...I have a distaste for humankind back then. My life wasn't served on a silver platter, it started off by living on the streets. Just me and my mother. Ishmael banished my mother out of her kingdom after I was born. The goddess knew who was my father, and she had to punish my mother for it. Truthfully, I don't know how my mother met the demon king, no one has the story to share with me. Yet it happened. I never had the childhood I should be having. Everything was about searching for scraps and avoiding trouble. My mother was a very kind woman, I'm sure you'll like her. Yet...people were cruel back then." He took a pause. "A lot of these horrible events I endure led my madness and my regrets. I try to be good yet whenever I am...something or someone is taken away from me," Eosforos sighed. "It hurts so much that I hated the world and tried to destroy it myself by causing the El to explode. It didn't work, but I faced the fact that I committed a crime which killed a lot of people. So I guess the sprite wasn't wrong about me being a murder to humankind," he scoffed. "...but after that...everything else was about defending myself, others....and following orders. When I learned about my father and what he has done to the demon world, I was...I guess disgusted. I fell into their world after the explosion and I learned a lot about my family from there. Yet I was alone for most of the time. My father's army was still, frozen as statues as they wait for their king's return and I never figured out if my father had more family members. He was probably alone too.

"As I was alone to myself at that time, it gave me a chance to reflect my own actions. The El explosion was probably the worse I have done and I know that for the longest of time. Nothing else could possibly beat that. My anger, my sadness...I shouldn't have let it take control of me. Though, as I ended up in a different world, I saw it as a second chance at life. So...I decided to fix my father's mess. I gained allies from the civil war, I gained their trust and friendship. I realized it was easier for me to bond with demons compare to humans. After I discover about my mother sealing the demon king's powers away, I wanted to go back to Elrios. At that time, I had Stirbargen at my side to help me. At the last minute, Luciela eventually helped me in which gave an edge in the civil war when the two demon lords joined their forces toward against the other two. Of course, I helped them to set aside their differences at first. Both didn't want any more blood to be spilled over the throne, they only wanted to have peace yet the demon king's reign corrupted majority of the demons' minds, which was hard to obtain peace. As I was supposed to be next in line, I knew I couldn't simply take the darn throne because the thing I lacked was the demon king's powers. There were many who didn't want a son, an outsider, to be their next king. Most feared that I would the same as my father but they are wrong. Alas, without their trust, they are hard to convince.

"So...I would have to prove myself that I am the rightful heir to the throne. I saw this as my chance to make my life right, to help the demons escape the madness that my father created. To escape the fear he has forced into everyone. I...as well wanted the demons to be at peace with the humans. Despite them for treating me badly in my younger days...I still had felt what love is and I had a moment of what it truly felt to be alive and happy... Both of the demon lords I allied with helped me to get back to Elrios. Unfortunately, from what I heard from the others in recent days, the two were betrayed by their own kin and stripped away from their rankings and powers, and now, gone from home. Perhaps by those who don't want peace for their kin, greedy for power, still hungry for blood but, from the humans. I have heard they have done a lot of more harm to their kind, forcing the young into battle, threatening soldiers to do their job or their families will die, trying to keep the darkness flowing. The war here...it has to be stopped. I want to stop it, yet what I was doing the meantime? Trying to get back my father's seal. I was working under Ishmael, doing countless prayers and doing good wishes for the followers just to grab her attention. I completed missions, gather supplies for the weak, just anything. Though when I found a strange note one day about a different religion, Ishmael finally spoke to me and...gave me an order to kill the followers of a different goddess, Xiopetec.
"Another crime, another regret. Yet I choose to follow because I couldn't let it get in the way of my goal. It was painful, but I did my best to not let it show at all. It was really a massacre. Sometimes I wonder if I am really doing the right thing. Helping the demons, helping Ishmael, helping myself...I wasn't sure if I was evil or if I was a savior. After doing her dirty work, I finally got a chance to talk to her. That's how I became an angel. I was a step closer to my goal. I struck a deal with her then...and I got what I needed. I still have a deal to complete though, which is to help Xavier and to keep him safe until he can handle his own. I got banished from her kingdom, so now I am just an angel with no god to serve and have no chance of going back to the demon realm now that my closest allies are gone...well, I don't believe they are gone gone, but they aren't there to help me to get back to the other side. I am unable to fight or to defend. Luckily, I already got a hold of a group of demons who are willing to help me but it's not enough at all. So...I feel somewhat stuck."

Eosforos finished as he stares at Elesis with a small sad look. "I...wanted to tell you when the time was...right. Yet, I nearly lost you in the end. If...I haven't been so...gah..." He couldn't find the right words to say to the commander. "I already received my judgment from both sides, angels and demons. I have yet to receive judgment from a human. So...I guess do your worse, commander. I understand if your feelings for the previous angel is now gone. I too would hate a murder to my own kind. I lost my blessings, I lost my arm, I lost many things in my life! So tell me and be done with it, what will I be losing next?" The angel held his gaze at Elesis and Xavier continues to stay quiet between the two. He was actually a bit nervous but Eosforos didn't show any anxiety on his face. He might as well be used to it, or he is really doing a good job for his pounding heart to not take control of his features.

MementoDei

 

[Fume]

Dust​

They decided to walk towards the bridge, it wasn't that long of a walk from their base of operations, however, the occasional talk between the Ikus and Dust made Chloe interested on the demons backstory.

"So, Damien, tell me about yourself. I've never seen you on the army before," She asked curiously.

"What are you talking about, Chloe! Sure you have! I simply wasn't orange last time." He replied joyfully to her.

"Ah you were a regular Ikus before you changed? Then could you tell your story then?" This caught her interest just until they get closer to the bridge.

However, this made the musical Ikus nervous all of a sudden.

"Want me to tell her?" Dust asked him, only slightly concerned for him.

"No, no! I can do it. I mean, people are going to ask me sooner or later, right? Better start now and get used to it!" He replied with a false bravado, mainly for himself.

"I'm right here, okay?" Dust reassured him.

"Thanks, that helps a lot." He thanked him as he remembered his past.

"As you know, Ikus are incubus that couldn't comtinue with their work, let's not go into details about the workings of one, it is quite... Exhilarating." He said as he still remember his first time, boy did that take all night to get it done.

"One night, I couldn't finish what I started and if you fail... the othrr incubus will know sooner or later. For our kind, if you fail it's like you brought dishonor for them. I was insulted ma.y timed, but I was able to tone them out, but one insult still struck me since I was young. The fact that to them, I'm ugly." Chloe was surprised to hear that. "I know, your asking why. Well, it's because of this spot that I had on my face, it's gone now, but the scar I have now covers it.

Being called ugly time and time again made me sad, but that was nothing compared to what they did after. The bullies as I called them went a step forward and beat me up pretty badly, they then left me while stll calling me ugly.

That was my tipping point. Looking at my reflection on a pond made by the rain that day made me do enraged at myself, so I started to scratch my face and then became an Ikus."

"How despicable." She coldly said despite feeling bad for the demon, sure she was once the same as those bullies, but she never took that step with her kind.

"Yeah, it was horrible..." He replied, trembling a but by remembering it. Dust put a hand on top of the demons shoulder, reassuring him that he was there for him,

"After months of being beaten up and called ugly I contemplated on ending my life and started practicing my death spell. One day, the beating was so violent that I barely couldn't move my legs, I thought that my life was so worthless that I looked at my reflection again and I couldn't recognize myself anymore. Angered and depressed, I started scratching myself again, drawing my own blood from my face and beginning my spell.

I thought that nobody cared about my well being so might as well disappeared from this life for good, but just as I was halfway on my spell, Dust stopped my hands from hurting anymore of my face. I thought that he was also a bully so I tried to struggle out of him. He then hugged me out of nowhere, me in my daze instead of realizing what he was doing, stabbed both of my claws on his back.

I yelled out 'Why don't you let me die if I'm such an ugly incubus!' I was angered, I was scared, I was so sad that I didn't bothered to look at him. But then... The unexpected happened, this bully took his arms back, cupped my face to look at him and his next words..." Damien looked at Dust with a smile and he looked away before speaking.

"Because you aren't ugly. You are beautiful." Dust used the same words he said to the demon, which made his smile even bigger.

"When I heard those words, I literally cried on his shoulder as loud and as painful as my heart was. I never thought I'd hear those words, nor I ever dreamed that someone would care about me. After I cried for who knows how long, this big guy guided me to his place. Gave me a room to stay, food and water and even went ahead to tell me to stay as long as I wanted.

And so I did, I stayed with him. At the time I didn't know that this person that helped me, was a high ranking military officer, but I should've noticed this by his training that he gave me, it was mainly for self defense." He explained remembering those days, before frowning at the training part, that was a hard one.

"What happened to those bullies?" She asked to which his smile turned into a grin.

"Oh believe me, it was sweet what happened! You see, I was training with Dust at the time and these three bullies of mine liked to pay me a visit, they even had the gal to trash up Dust's home! So they walked towards us, just ignoring Dust as a whole. They started intimidating and pushing me around, I was still scared of them after around four months staying with Dust.

I kept quiet and taking the verbal beating, one of the reeled back their fist to hit me, but before they even tried, my savior intervened him and bent his arm so badly that you could hear the pop on his bones!

The guy screamed no doubt and asked him why the hell he did that. Dust just stared a him, dead on the eye and said 'You mess with a member of my squad, you mess with me.' On those words, my mind became bewildered, since he just claimed that I belonged to him, belonged with his group, belonged with his life.

I was happy, oh so happy that my heart looked like it was jumping for joy! Dust then looked at me and said 'You'll never be able to move on, if they keep beating you up. This time, YOU beat them up, make them know that you aren't afraid of them, that you'll never be called that name that you hate, You are beautiful, Damien, even if they don't see it.'.

How I loved hearing the name that he gave me and that I was beautiful in his eyes. I beat them up, made them run with their wings between their legs and never felt better in my life. That was the beginning in my new life without fear again and in that same night, I asked Dust if I could sleep with him."

"Excuse me?" Chloe asked surprised of the demon, he caught things quickly.

"Oh no, no, no! Not in that regard, though I wouldn't mind it nowaday-" He was cut off with a slap behind the head.

"Quit with screwing with her." Dust said annoyed at the demon for playing around.

"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! I meant just sleeping of course, once your in the same bed with your commander you have a sense of safety with him, especially when he puts his hand on your head and he starts petting you, you just sleep like your a piece of cotton candy... You should try it one day, Chloe!" He suggested to her while moving his eyebrows.

"That sounds nice..." She muttered under her breath before hiccuping and giving a cough. "So Damien why do like music so much?" She asked trying to change that subject.

"Oh, now THAT I can tell you with a smile on my face! It was when I heard Dust singing!" He exclaimed with a grin to which she slowly turned her head to the brawler, but he was avoiding her gaze from embarrassing him even more. She burst laughing all of a sudden.

"No, no! Please tell me this is true! This- hahahaha!" She asked with difficult finishing her sentences, much less breathing.

"Oh, it IS true, Chloe! You're looking at the first of twenty demons listening to Dust's singing voice! The moment when I heard his voice was the moment where I fell in love with both music and Dust, which is more than it used to be!" He further emphasized with a pose to make her laugh louder.

"Hahahaha! P-please! No more, no more! Hahahaha!" She laughed as hard as she could, feeling refreshed from her serious manner from before.

"Damien... No..."

"Damien yes!" He quickly replied enjoying the female dark elves laugh. He then got his head grabbed and being rubbed quickly.

"Come here, you loud mouth! You just don't say these embarrassing things about me without some sort of punishment!" He said making sure the demon's head was suffering.

"Yes, Dust! Hurt me more! Shower me with your love and affection!" He replied in mockery to him, knowing that it would be enough for the brawler to stop his attack. "Plus, she wants to know! I think I'm allowed to tell my story, aren't I?"

"By the military might of our forces... Fine! Tell her, not like she'll be laughing for hours on end."

"Is that a challenge, sir?" Damien asked him, liking challenges.

"I'm taking your maracas."

"And with that, no challenge!" He nervously replied back "Anyway commander Chloe, one day after training, Dust and me were in a bar just drinking a cold one with the rest of the boys in his squad, just relaxing after that hellish training! This guy over here is the only one that gives that treatment to his men, which we are very grateful for that. We were just relaxing with Dust beating everyone in the who could hold their drink the most, seriously what kind of a liver do you have commander? This woman, never seen her in all my life, she looked like a succubus, but she wasn't, maybe a cosplay I don't know.

She asked Dust for a moment of his time! Now normally, he would decline any other girl, but this one, oh no, he knew who she was, because he watched her grow,go figure with his unknown age right? Anyways, with my good and fabulous ears, I could hear that she wanted Dust to sing on the stage. And I was going 'Whaaaaaaat?' to that! So what did my commander do?

He looked to the left, looked to the right and he nodded to her! I think he was checking the space out if there weren't many people around or if the ones present were already wasted, news flash, I waaaaaasn't~! He just put one condition, to have a disguise around him, probably to not let anyone recognize him, she started squealing like an excited toddler before guiding him to the backstage. Apparently, I was the only one to notice this, if not well good for the wasted glitters on the stools!

After a few minutes pass, the lights shine on the stage, the band got a notification to play a song on the spot, they looked at each other for a moment before getting ready. The woman from before got on stage with Dust, now on disguise, well, his mouth was showing but everything else was pretty much covered up, didn't you sweat like that by the way?" He received a nod. " So yeah, a few glitters were looking at the stage, mainly for the woman you see, when drunk they have very creative ideas with females.

She did a few gestures with her hands to the band and simply waited for this guy to sing. When he did, it was like a new world opened in my eyes. How the dancers played with the rhythm, how the song made the mood in the bar livelier, how even mere words had that much emotion! I loved every moment of it until the end came! He sung the parts that I could understand and she sung with the chorus a few things that I couldn't quite grasp, but it still sounded gorgeously good! I stood up and applauded at the end, even though people laughed at me by my dumb action, it wasn't because I was being mocked, but because they were having a good time with my antics.

And that made me want to learn what she said, so with much pleading, I got to learn her name, the song that they played and a few dance moves! She even taught me how to play with the piano and a pair of maracas! Dust bought me these just so I could have my own instrument and that made me feel oh so happy! A gift, from my savior and from my inspiration, what else could I ask for?" He said with a toothy grin on his face.

"Question, what was the song that he sung? I'm VERY interested." She said with a glint that said everything.

"Don't push your luck-"

"It was called 'Remember me'. I sometimes ask him to sing it to me, just to enjoy his singing voice!"

"God damn it, Damien!" He yelled as they reached the bridge. "Look, we arrived so no getting the idea of spreading any-"

"Yo guys! Wanna hear a story?" The Ikus didn't listen.

"Listen for when your commander is talking, you little brat!"

 

[Phant0m]

Xiopetec​

The goddess cut off the excess bandage to finish off wrapping Phantom's wounds. "There," She said in a quiet voice as she watched as the white bandages were already turning red with a frown, "That should stop the bleeding hopefully." She sighed when her priest refused to look at her face, and she pat his uninjured arm. "How are you feeling, child?"

There was silence for a moment before Phantom slowly leaned forward to rest his forehead on her shoulder. "Not great," He answered.

Xiopetec ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm going to grab some more supplies and a glass of water for you. Will you be good and stay here?"

"It's not like I'll get very far if I tried."

The goddess slowly got up and tucked her priest in. "I'll only be a moment." She took a couple of steps to leave the tent before she stopped and glared over her shoulder, "It will be very beneficial for you to stay put. I suggest taking this time to reflect on what you've done."

Then she strut out of the tent and into the frenzy of clerics that had finished their shifts rushing home while clerics coming in to start their duties rushed in and out of tents with varying medical supplies in their arms. Xiopetec made her way through the infirmary area, her gold eyes searching for any friendly familiar figure. Her frown only deepened when she failed to find Lento as she moved through the camp, but she had found another familiar figure and her expression brightened for a fraction as she ran to catch up to him.

"Yullr!" She called out as she started to walk backwards in front of him, "You're good at talking sense into people, right?"

MementoDei

 

[Late]

Ivy
​

With a few issues of her landing, Ivy made it to where Octavia was staying at, who was watching over the people who lost their home. Her appearance to the camp was a bit of a surprise yet the life that grows out of Ivy was more stunning than fearsome. The villagers figured she was no threat and they curiously asked why she was here.

"I am here to see a friend. I believe something happened during the ongoing war and she was last to know where the other dragons went off to," Ivy responded to them. "Her name is Octavia, the dragon who stayed here."

"Oh, I see! Right now, she is helping a few to fish for food at the nearby lake. Though, I don't think it would take long for her and the others to return back," the villager replied. "How about you rest here? We got some meat to spare if you're feeling hungry for some."

"Ah...I don't eat meat but thank you for the offer. I think I will rest here, the flight was rather long to get here," Ivy replied with a small nod of her head and she carefully sniffs around the area she stands before slowly laying down.

The villagers thus left her alone yet children were a bit bothersome for Ivy. She could already smell them coming closer to inspect her and all she did was to lay still and wait for the blue dragon. It didn't take them long to ask questions, in which Ivy answered a few. Most questions were rather ridiculous to her perspective, some bothered her. Like how they ask where her eyes are, how could she see, how could she tell its day or night. Some kept asking flowers from her in which she mostly ignored them for that part.

Before she could lose all her patience, she finally caught the scent of Octavia and perked her head up.

"Children, leave the poor dragon alone! Can't you tell she is exhausted?" Octavia said to the children.

"She is?"

"How can you tell, Octavia?"

"Maybe her scales changed color to show emotion?"

Ivy huffed at that. "Leave her be now, or the gunslinger will go after you for being noisy!"

Ivy listened to the children sudden shriek in response and them running off where they came from. Once she knows they were gone, she turns her head to Octavia's direction with a slight smile. "You told that story to the children?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, it was a good enough story for Aragorn to shut his mouth whenever he kept pestering everyone when he was young," Octavia responded and moved closer to Ivy to give her an affectionate nuzzle. "But, it's so nice to see you again Ivy! You looked so healthy, it reminds me a lot from our younger days," she chirped happily as Ivy nuzzled back with a small affectionate growl.

"I feel a lot better, too. Though, unfortunately, this isn't a good time to catch up. Octavia, where did the others go?"

"Last I heard, they are at Velder. I am not sure how they are doing so far though, it makes me worry. Have you heard of anything?" Octavia answered.

"No...but I noticed something is changing around here. I don't want to believe it but Octavia," Ivy said and paused to whisper quietly to her. "I think the Earth El is gone."

"Gone?"

"Yes...I can feel the ground around here is getting unstable. Slowly, but surely. Even the floating island felt like it was going lower than usual and I fear that one day it would crash against Elrios."

"Now you mention that...there have been some issues around here. Mini earthquakes, sudden changes of the environment, even the animals are starting to move out from their homes. The scary thing though, the lake is a bit deeper than before. If the El is missing then I fear for the worse..."

"We would have to go to Velder, I believe that is where the Earth El once was. I worry that the demons have something to do with this. It could be possible that the humans are losing the war. I know, it might be hard for you to leave these people. You've been helping them a lot."

"I'm sure they can handle it on their own. The faster we figure out the issue, the faster we can fix it. When should we leave?"

"Today, we have no time to waste."

With that, Octavia nodded her head and gave a small sigh as she walks away to tell the townspeople that she will be leaving. Ivy stayed back and slowly got up. Eventually, she leaned down to the grass below her and gave a gentle blow. Small pores left her mouth and planted themselves on the ground below before sprouting into a variety of flowers. It was something for the children, and she hopes they won't ruin it...too much.

Once Octavia was ready to go, the two dragons head off into the air and started to make their way towards Velder.

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She looked down, taking the time to digest the story Eosforos had told her. She didn't know where to begin. Should she ask him about the El Explosion? She had only heard legends about it, and knowing she had in front of him the villain was unexpected. First, there were Lost Souls, then now more legends were coming to life.

The commander couldn't find the words to express the thoughts that went through her head. She had the heir of the enemy in front of her, but the factions that divided the demons seemed to be very real. He had no real control over them, regardless if he was a prince. She should condemn him, just for being a traitor to mankind.

Yet, that was the hatred of generations before, long forgotten. As her thoughts wondered on past wars, the ones that had been recorded as real events, she found the right words. At least, that's what she hoped.

"...Eosforos. Maybe you're aware of a war that put the Empire of Resiam against the emerging Kingdom of Hamel. Dark Elves against human rebels trying to gain independence. The scribes in Hamel have preserved the records kept by Gilbert Ross, the leader of the revolution. It's an old story, almost three hundred years old."

Elesis hated her weak condition, but she had to stop frequently. Despite this, she continued her story. The whole ordeal had begun when the High elven priests found that one of the human apprentices, Kalista Avalanche, had developed a strong connection to the El, while the elven priests were growing weaker. This brought great pride to the humans, for the priestess and her family was given a lesser nobility title, something reserved for the true blood elves until then. However, that didn't sit well with many true bloods who saw the humans, and the children born between the union of elven peasants and the human minority, as inferior.

"I think you can imagine how this lead up to the rebellion. The human priestess acted as a mediator between the two for a while, but many other humans began to be born with an innate ability to feel and manipulate the power of the El. They accused the priestess to share her knowledge with outsiders, an act of high treason. She was hung soon after she was accused. Her family and some of her mixed blood friends were killed by some thugs, at least officially. Elven nobles, even those who despised the unfair sentence given to Kalista, were killed one by one by their servants. It escalated, even worse to the eye for an eye. Many regretted their actions later, but a sorry can't revive the dead."

Elesis sighed. Continuing the story would be irrelevant. It wasn't like her to ramble on for so long. "I'm...telling you this story because, not even we, the humans have our hands clean. Ishmael chose our side and condemned the elves. But, Eosforos, we humans live so little compared to any demon, angel or elf."

She looked at her half empty cup of water and finished it. "The Explosion of the El… it's a tale so old and so little memories remain from it, that it makes no sense to continue to bear the hatred of yore. Eventually, both sides have to forgive each other. But not forget it."

The Blazing Heart took her head in her hands and thought that she was maybe making a mistake, but it was the only decision that felt right. The commander lifted her head, but kept her eyes closed, a frown visible on her face.

"Eosforos, let's keep what you just told me between us three for now. We're at war with the demons, and I don't think..."

Elesis clicked her tongue and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Nah, who am I kidding? I'm not thinking. I just don't want to be forced to put you as a prisoner of war for an almost imaginary war. We need to fight the enemy in front of us right now, not a legendary villain people don't believe in under normal circumstances."

Her expression softened. A small smile formed on her face. She combed back a few rebel locks of her read hair and looked at Xavier. "Thank you, Xavier. Not only for being here, but also for helping our forces, along other angels and the dragons."

Even if Xavier had been quiet all this time, she got a good vibe from him. Something about him reminded her of her brother, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Physically, they were very different. Maybe it was how earnest he seemed to be.

Then, she looked at Eosforos. Her hands, which were resting on her lap, closed into fists, but her voice and gaze were calm.

"That demon commander might think he's beyond any judgement because of his cause, but no heroes of war have their hands clean. His invasion might be good for the demons, but he's crushing us. And I can't forgive him. Not only because of what his troops have done to humanity in general, but also because they have killed many of my friends, and hurt many others. Compared to you, I see him as more of a punishable villain, Eosforos."

Then, she extended her hand towards his to show her final judgement with a warmer voice and an open smile.

"You're trying to redeem yourself for past mistakes, and that's admirable. The demons are taking the El Shards, and by defeating them, not only we could restore the El, but you could establish a rule where wars between demons and humans are in the past. You can always count on me. No matter what."

Late

****
Lento​

It was odd to be the "teacher" around in the old Lara's world. In fact, it was already hard enough to keep himself from reminding her of anecdotes the new Lara wouldn't know.

They were different people, and she didn't know what she was. The only person that seemed to have any significance to her was Glave. From the little Lara had said to him, he was the one that got her "out of the darkness".

If he compared Lara's description of the "darkness" to the knowledge he had inherited, he was almost certain that the "darkness" was the furthest boundaries of the Void, the region that separated each dimension. Lara didn't seem to have strong memories about it except when Glave came to free her, and he didn't want to explain what the Void was yet.

Even if he only told her that the "darkness" had a name, her current self would overlap with her buried past. The only thing she had to know for now was the basics to survive without killing anyone.

He showed her a mana potion as he finished his explanation about Lost Souls. "...And because of that, it's better to use potions if you ever get hungry. You can still eat human food, but it won't satiate your hunger."

She looked at the flask and raised it above her head. "How can this be better if you're telling me that both of us are predators? Why would we go against our instincts? If humans are fodder, then that's just too bad for them."

Her expression was as calm as always, but seeing her lips question basic morals like that began to form a breach that separated her from the memories of the past. Before, Lara had killed to survive, but it was only during extreme circumstances. She valued life like any other living being would. Yet, this Lara didn't know what life was beyond the law of the jungle that reigned over the Void.

Although he was aware of this fact, it didn't stop him from frowning at her and feel disgusted by what she had said.

"You told me that in the darkness you were one of the weakest, right?"

Lara stopped staring at the flask and looked at him before nodding.

Now that he had her attention, he could continue. "Any small monster could've eaten you for a snack, yet here you are. Someone as strong as Glave took you out from that dangerous place. Why would he do that if the rules are either kill or be killed? He could've used you to gain more power for himself."

She remained quiet for a while before answering that she had no idea.

"Good." Lento thought as he gave a small nod before giving an answer that was more meant to be the foundation of her morals than the truth.

"That just proves that the stronger or the predators can ignore their instincts to give the weaker the chance to be better. To protect them. That is why, even if humans are weaker than Lost Souls, we shouldn't kill them off. They count on us to protect them."

"Protect them from what?"

"The demons. They've been attacking them."

She frowned at the word. "I don't know what they are, but just the name sounds filthy. How many humans have they been attacking?"

"Why would that matter?"

"I think it's quite obvious, Lento Asini. If the demons kill off our source of food, then we need to know how much they are taking so we don't starve. We should only protect enough humans to ensure our survival. I'm assuming the demons must be slaughtering them, if we are forced to inhibit part of our nature."

She opened the flask and looked at the blue liquid inside, "Now, I think it's clearer. It doesn't explain why Glave saved me, but it makes me realize how lucky most monsters in the Darkness are."

She took a gulp of the flavourless mana. "They certainly didn't worry about small things like this."

It was a bit more than he could handle to remain quiet. "It's quite strange, really. You seemed to be at least somewhat empathetic before, but now you don't have any kind of heart. This is not the Darkness you were born in, Lara. The world goes beyond the survival of the fittest."

Lara finished the flask in one shot and replied "Lento Asini, this might not be the Darkness, but humans must know that we're their predators. They'd hate us anyway, so why should I be empathetic with beings that will innately hate me?"

Perhaps the guilt of killing wasn't there, but for a brief moment, Lento could see a glimpse of the past.

"We have a choice in our hands, the choice to make them hate us, or not. If we kill, then they hunt us down, if we don't, then we can live." he explained.

If Lara hadn't decided to fight for the past, he would've found a way to tell her to stop living like a pariah. She was still a hero, and many would have treated her like one. If he managed to convince her now, then it was a meagre solace.

"How can prey be dangerous to us? If that's the case, then there's less reasons to try to befriend them."

He took a deep breath and passed his hands over his face to calm down. "That's not the point, Lara! Humans don't innately hate us, unless we kill them and they find out our nature. Lara...we are not monsters nor animals, we have a conscience, we have a soul and emotions. Just like humans do. It's immoral to even consider a life of slaughter as justifiable because of a need we can satisfy by other means. Would you kill someone that almost exactly like you and has not wronged you?"

She contemplated his words and mumbled his last question before her lips fell silent. Her silence lasted for almost fifteen minutes, and Lento almost thought that she would remain silent. He should go soon, and leave her here until she found an answer for herself. However, Lara had not said her final words.

"Immoral? Is killing to survive immoral if humans also have a conscience, unlike animals or monsters? I don't think it's fair to say that of beings you have not seen as closely as I have. But what you just said is very interesting. In what kind of world are preys unaware of their predator? Humans must be fools, weak fools. Tell me, Lento Asini, were you a human before becoming a Lost Soul?"

Lento sighed. He had hoped to convince her to understand pity, but maybe the Void did not spare a trace of her morals.

"Losts Souls have been humans, elves, mixed bloods, demons. And those I knew all despised a life of murder, regardless who they ended up killing. I killed a demon unconsciously and I felt horrible, instead of being glad like you would if you were me. You want to know why? Because the moment you get to that state, you lose your conscience. You become an animal for long enough to hurt those around you, regardless who they are. The moment you realize what you've done, it's too late. There's only a corpse left."

Lara nodded. "So you were a human, Lento Asini!" she said with a grin. "I understand, a little. Humans take for granted their conscience and their emotions so much that the moment your instincts kick in and put all of that aside, you are scared. But the creatures of the Darkness are more flexible. They do have their conscience, the stronger they get. But once hunger strikes, they know how to put it aside to hunt, sometimes paying the price with their lives. How intriguing...I'm interested in what kind of world such a weak species lives."

The Phantom Knight couldn't refute her words, but the smirk on her face was worrying him. He should keep her here, until she remembered more of her past, if that was even possible.

"Could you take me to the human world, Lento Asini?" she asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

There was no way he could deal with all the army's stuff and constantly keep an eye on Lara so she wouldn't kill anyone. He'd have to wait, and perhaps ask for advice to make her see some sense in his words.

He opened a portal leading to Velder's outskirts. "No. Your way of thinking will get you killed sooner than later. I'll tell you this again. The human world is not the Darkness."

With those last words, he disappeared from Lara's sight. She lifted her hand and did the same gestures Lento had done to open the portal, but her hand was burned.

"Ouch!" she mumbled as the burnt skin revealed her blue shell underneath. Her blood had been carbonized in regular traits and, after fifteen minutes of pain where her skin peeled off, her wounds healed.

She looked at her healed hand and moved it around to make sure it was fine. "It's the first time I don't know how to do something. I'm sure I repeated the same gestures."

****
Yullr​

Two things worried him. One, Lento's aura was becoming weaker. Two, he had sensed once more the same concentration of mana that had allowed Lento to enter the White Desert a couple of weeks ago. He was walking towards the camp's outskirts, in hopes to get there on time, but instead, Xiopetec greeted him and put herself in front of him.


He looked at the old goddess and greeted her. Her request was odd, but considering he was the only person she knew that wasn't away, he understood why she had approached him. The mana trace was gone. He could only hope that Lento would come back soon enough.


"I've been told to be very blunt, Xio." he said. "But I'm assuming that your priest is in need of a wake up call to reality."
Phant0m

 

[Late]

Eosforos and Xavier
​

Eosforos expected the worse yet he was surprised to see that Elesis was forgiving. It surprised him too much that he nearly asked if she was sure about her decision. She was right that it was best to focus on the ongoing war against the demons, but he figured...she would at least have him being watched by guards or something in the mix.

Xavier felt happy when she thanked him for helping them. He didn't mind the decision that was given to Eosforos, they do need all the hands they can get to help around despite the fact that Eosforos will be having his own troubles using his sword again. Not to mention, the angel still has more to teach Xavier. Having the man being held back from doing any tasks won't do well for Xavier in the end.

"I...don't know what to say but..." Eosforos started to say yet he paused himself a moment. He blinked a couple of times before letting out a small laugh. "...but, thank you." He brushed his hair back and realizes his hand was shaking a little. He had to put it down on his lap to calm his nerves. "I'll...try to not keep any secrets from you, commander. I pray you'll trust me on that."

"Now that the commander knows the truth...permission to leave?" Xavier finally spoke.

"...Fine, but I need you back when the sun is down," Eosforos sighed.

"Fine. Commander, I hope you'll be back on your feet soon," Xavier said to Elesis with a small smile before getting up and taking his leave. He left Komodo outside waiting so when Xavier finally stepped out, the dragon chirped in response and looked up at his trainer expectedly as he follows him.

"I guess I should leave you to rest," Eosforos coughed, clearing his throat and slowly steadying himself back on his feet. "Also...mind if I borrow a messenger bird for personal use...if we have any to spare?"

MementoDei

 

[Fume]

Rena​

"Either I'm seeing this or all of you seem eager to start fighting." She said out loud as she made sure her boots are comfortably tight before tapping on the floor two times. "You ready Raven?"

"Of course. I asked Eve to make maintenance check last night, I'm ready." He responded back to her while his arm slightly warmed up. Raven had changed since his time on Altera, new arm, new look and finally new strength.

"We're ready then. Let's move out! I'll take point with Raven, Lu and Ciel you take our back. Eve you stay in the middle, Alec you stay just in between Eve and us. That way we can cover our blind spots. If you see that those two on the back are in trouble, help them." She sounded like a leader before taking the lead. "Lets get that place back to the rebel camp!" She encouraged them as she lead them through the gate.

The soldier was already used to see them and knew to let them pass, he was a little suspicious about the two demons, but decided to keep for himself. No need to cause conflict when they are helping their side.

As planned, they took the route, finding little to no resistance. Coming to this place time after time for a week can make them map out the zone much more and finding flaws in the demons patrols. Of course, that was before they spotted a stray assassination squad that spotted them.

"Raven!" She yelled as they both ran.

"Got it!" He responded as she went ahead and kicked the first demon upwards, to which he jumped up and put his nasod arm back. "Take this!" He shouted as he released a small ball filled with firebombs, upon contact with the demon on the air, it was then brought down on the ground causing heavy damage to their allies, some who were more sharp moved out of the way, before Rena got to the side of them.

"You're finished!" She also yelled, rounding up the rest of the demons with quick attacks before jumping in the air, coating her legs with the power of nature and ending their lives powerfully. "That wasn't expected, hopefully they don't show up that often."

"They might, so keep your guard up. We're getting near to that demon, Uno Hound."

MementoDei Late

 

[Phant0m]

Xiopetec nodded as she wrung her hands together. "Yes, you are very correct in your assumption," She said in an almost defeated tone, "I mean, I could attempt to set my priest on the right path but I was more used to....telling people what to do and they do it. I'm also working on my guiding skills as well...after I haven't had to worry about that for a long time, and I'm quickly learning that how my priest sucks as much as I do when it comes to interacting with other people. At least I don't just explode willy-nilly." The goddess sighed and she moved a bit closer to Yullr in a way to keep the conversation as private as possible from someone potentially listening in, "He's thinking about switching sides and you are significantly better at words than I am. If not switching sides, he's considering abandoning this army. Phantom has always been superstitious about how long he stays in a place, thinks he gets really bad luck if he stays too long for some reason but I...I'd like to ask you to convince him that leaving will be worse than staying." Her expression darkened a bit as worry flooded through her, "I know you two haven't spoken much, but you have the upper hand. He's too familiar with how I think, so he'll know how to turn it around on me."

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

"I told you before and I'll tell you again, Eosforos. I'm on your side, no need to thank me." she said, as she combed back her hair again, entangling her left index on a lost strand of her hair. Seeing him again, once alone, made her chuckle with a small blush on her cheeks. She listened to his request and nodded.

"Very well, Eosforos. Just be sure to tell Lento you have my authorization. I don't know for sure, but we should have some carrier pigeons left."

Late

****
Darhan​

Two weeks of hard work later, the results were only getting more and more complex. The Dark El inside Dust's mana held many unexpected properties. If he could confirm beyond any doubt what his results were suggesting, then everything could change. Not only he could find the weakness of the incredible elemental resistances the elf hybrid had developed, but his discoveries could uncover even more interesting information.

A knock on his door interrupted the regular dance of his quill over the beige pages of his report notebook.

"Come in." he hollered as he cleaned the black quill from any traces of ink. Ever since Ain had broke the locks on his door, he didn't bother to replace them. It would scare him less if the Prince came down to keep him company and it would also keep the blacksmiths from frowning at him over the broken chains, which they allegedly passed weeks to make as resistant as possible.

The door creaked against the floor and Ren appeared behind it, accompanied by other warriors he had not seen before. He bowed politely and the four other angels entered.

As always, Ren spoke first. "How is the research going?"

He let out a sigh as he took a closer look to the stern and foreign faces in front of him. Ren might try to sound casual, but this wasn't a simple inquiry. It was most likely the preface for an interrogation. He had no idea why they interrogated him now, nor why they felt the need to ask him something Ishmael would already know through the reports he had sent to the Court.

"It's going as well as it can. Steadily. I've uncovered pretty interesting things, one of them being that the Dark El in Dust's mana seems to have injected to him while he was alive. Through his blood. I've been able to test a bit the regenerative capacities of such process, but I've run out of materials. I've presented all of my reports to the Scribes at the Court."

Ren glanced at the other guards and they nodded. For a second, she seemed to frown in disgust at them, but it happened too fast for Darhan to be sure.

"Very well." she announced. "The Scribes have transmitted your reports to our goddess Ishmael, and she has become very interested by them. She demands to see you immediately."

He had no choice but to accept and so he did by bowing to Ren and following the group of angels. As they crossed the gardens, he noticed that Ain was staring sadly at him. The child extended his arm hesitantly towards him, but when their gazes met, the Prince lowered his gaze along his arm before crouching in front of El Roses.

****
Yullr
​

He nodded. "I'm not sure if I'll be of any real help, but I do hope I can at least make him twice before he takes a decision. That kid doesn't know that no matter where he goes it'll be the same thing over and over."

Xiopetec lowered her head and agreed with him. The two of them walked through the camp until Phantom was barely noticeable around the crowd. The forgotten goddess asked Yullr once more to convince him and the elf went ahead to talk with the priest. He sat down over a worn out wooden bench, and his bandages covered some recent cuts.

"Good evening, Phantom." he said, nodding slightly to the priest.

Phantom glanced up at him and nodded back. "Hello there, Yullr."

The priest's gaze plunged back into the ground and he only nodded in agreement when Yullr asked him if he could sit to his side.

"Phantom, just by looking at you mop around like that, I can tell that you're dissatisfied with military life. And that's fine. It's not for everyone."

Xiopetec's priest looked at him from the corner of his eye, slightly curious to see what the elf would tell him. Yullr glanced at him and continued his monologue, hoping that, at one point or another, Phantom would interrupt him.

"That commander...he trained you well. And not only did he train you like a soldier, but he was a source of guidance for you, besides your goddess. We didn't have the chance to talk much, back in your training days, but just from looking at you three, I can tell that between Lento and you, you were the one that grew closer to that hybrid."

He let a long silence float in the air and he reached for his tobacco bag, but didn't find it. He must have lost it when he was deactivating the shrines. After all, he couldn't control very well what would be taken during that ritual. The elf clicked his tongue and let a long sigh, imagining he was exhaling the velvety smoke he was used to take when he was either nervous or wanted to talk honestly with someone.

"You're now fighting for the opposite side, with people that have a very biased view of their actions" He turned his head towards a few guards to their right. "See those two? With the green armour? I overheard that they lost their families to the demon raids in the village you guys fought in a week ago.They're not the only ones. If you listen to many people around here, civilians and soldiers alike, you can perfectly understand their hatred towards the demons. Hell, even Commander Elesis and Lento have more than enough reasons to treat demons like dirt."

Now, Phantom was looking at him, with a frown on his face. "I don't think I need to tell you that demons also have families and all that jazz. I think that you know that more than enough. You even learned their language, willingly. And what do you think the demons are going through to invade the human realm for the second time?"

Phantom stopped sulking and looked straight at him. "What?! It has not been the first time?!"

Yullr shook his head and lowered his voice. "They invaded first when I was around twelve, in human years. And I got to see their world for myself to know that what I suffered at their hands, they suffered it from their rulers. And they all need an scapegoat. 'Fight for your liberty! Together, we'll bring the long lost paradise that the other stole from us! We'll bring you justice through arms, because the nobles won't hear your words, but they'll bend to your thirst of justice!'" Yullr took an exaggerated authoritarian voice to parody one of the many leaders he had seen rise within the demon army.

Then, he took back his normal voice. "But they're all the same. Here and there, they all think that a noble goal will justify massacres, torture, reducing entire tribes to slavery. Wherever you look, you'll face the same atrocities being repeated against both sides of this war. And if you roam around the wrong place at the wrong time, you might as well be the unfortunate victim."

The elf glanced once again at Phantom, who seemed lost in thought, absorbing every word like needle through his soul.

"Phantom, in war, there is no such thing as a fair side. No matter how people try to sell it to you, all soldiers are expected to obey and kill when they're needed to do so. Heal those they're told to heal, strengthen the armour and weapons they're told to. Go run towards Dust, and you'll also see the glitters expect you to poison humans, heal their wounded, help them with their experimentations. Stay with the Velder Knights and you'll be told to help the wounded and defend the soldiers when needed while they kill off demons that are not so different from them. Go away from both sides and you'll be caught in the crossfire. Here, you have three allies. There's Xio, Lento and me. On the other side of this war, you'll only have Dust, and who said that he had enough power to protect you from other commanders below or above him? And if you run away, you have no one to take your side, except Xio. But I honestly don't think she'll defend you as well as a squadron of eighty men."

Yullr glanced once again at the human priest. "Of course, what you decide is up to you. I just want to give you some advice before you regret making a rash decision."

Phant0m

 

[Late]

Eosforos
​

"Alright, I'll let Lento know," the angel responded with a slight smile on his face. "Rest easy, commander," he said, gently squeezing her shoulders before stepping out.

Once he was out, he was relieved and let out a happy sigh. He took a moment to pull out the demon king's pendant that hangs around his neck and stare at it for a few seconds.

'Just a little longer before I can finally rest...' He thought to himself before putting it away. Eosforos plans on sending a message to the small group of demons who allied with him, curious to know if they are okay as well on what they are up to. He would visit but for now, he'd rather try to practice his sword with his left arm before walking outside of Velder. He could bring Xavier with him but he was afraid of what that might cause in the end between the demons and the man. Xavier already lost half of his dragons to the demons, it would be no surprise to the angel if the man simply fucked them over with a punch or two.

In which that reminds him, he needs to get Xavier back on track. His emotions once again are loose but not so much that it would cause the man to go to a drinking party. If he doesn't have him ready when the time comes...

No, Eosforos didn't want to think too much about it. He feels guilty even for bringing Xavier to this dimension, having no business of it in the first place. The man doesn't deserve anything negative from this yet if he were to put his fate towards a different direction, the angels will target him. And no one would be able to protect him from that death wish.

'Damn me for always have my thoughts running.'

The blond man shook his head in a way to distract or push away these thoughts and began to search around for Lento. It didn't take him long to find the man and was a bit glad that he didn't look too busy. In fact, it looks like he just came back to Velder as he was close by to the entrance of the outskirts. Eosforos was curious but he felt like it was probably best to not poke around..for now. Only a quick word of the carrier pigeons and he can try to relax up for the rest of the day until the sun is down.

"Lento, good afternoon. I'm going to pull out a carrier pigeon for my own uses if you have any to spare. I already have Elesis' permission to do so," Eosforos greeted him with a small nod.

Yet after saying that, it just occurred to him that he was a righty.

Eosforos doesn't know how to write with his left hand.

With this in mind, Eosforos kept a straight face but really, he felt frustration and dread inside of him.

'As if my life couldn't get shittier.'

MementoDei

Lu and Ciel
​

The two followed along with the group, being at the back as they were told. Lu didn't like the stares she got from the soldiers when they left camp and Ciel was doing a fine job to not show any emotions about it. Though for them two, it felt good to be in a different area for the first time in weeks. It was refreshing, making the duo eager to fight.

As they travel further ahead after Rena and Raven took care of the demons in the front, a couple of assassins appeared from behind with weapons out and Lu was ready for them. She swiftly faced them and held out her hand in which her magic gauntlets were out. The assassins took a doubletake when they saw it was a demon they were attacking yet Lu summoned a portal under them and clutched her hand closed, thus the portal releasing a demonic claw that snaps upward and sent the assassins flying away. For certain she got them good but she noticed there was a few who were quick enough to roll away and yet, her appearance was confusing them. They almost look uncertain about their enemy in front.

"Ciel," Lu said and the butler stepped in with his large firearm out.

That was enough to snap the demons out of their confusion as they noticed the other man who aimed his weapon at them. They tried to flee yet the attack was ranged, allowing Ciel to end them off by absorbing their souls and gaining back a few mana.

"Truthfully, I rather not have anyone know about us helping the humans," Lu quietly confessed to Ciel after he got his job done. "Yet at the same time...I want to let them know that I am still alive," she sighed.

Ciel didn't say anything as he put his firearm away on his back and aimed his gun blades at a demon he caught hiding, pulling the trigger to fire a magic bullet. "That'll be hard. Though, I'll try to help you. That bullet alone should at least take care of anyone else nearby," Ciel said as the bullet pierced through the demon and begun to bounce for the next target. "Let's keep pushing forward, can't let them get too ahead of us."

"Right," Lu agrees and the two continues to stick with the formation plan, making sure to get rid of the demons that tried to get in their way.

Through their teamwork, they were brimming with energy and in hopes, it would be enough to support the others to take down the muscle demon.

Fume

Somewhere else...
​

"...to think we would end up here..."

A woman looked around slowly at the dessert they were in, an area that they were supposedly dropped off. She looked confused, and a bit annoyed. The strange, masked man told her that this was a good place to start yet there wasn't so much to look around at. It was confusing her a lot.

"I mean...at least there is a road here...?" The woman said out loud, looking down at the road in which she stands in front of.

She wasn't sure how far it goes as she sees nothing over the horizon, but maybe she should follow the path. Or wait to see if someone would come by. The woman sighed as she scratched her head, going around the base of her horns and looked at her animal companion who let out a bored yawn.

"Sorry, Blue. I guess we screwed up here..." the four-horned woman said with a sigh, playing with her red strands.

Yet before she could do anything else, she heard something in the distance in which the wolf-like ghoul got up on her paws with her ears perked up. The woman spotted a carriage being pulled by a couple of cockatrigles, traveling down by the road in which she stands in front of. She lit up like a Christmas tree when she finally saw her 'ride' and starts to shake her hands as if she was preparing herself.

"I bet this is what he meant, Blue. Alright, girl. Remember, play nice," the woman said to the wolf in which the animal huffed yet nodded in agreement.

They waited until the woman was able to see who was riding the carriage, in which was a woman as well. A succubus with blond hair. Already, she can tell that this succubus was bored, and no one could blame her for that. There was literally nothing here as far as the eye can see. The succubus noticed the four-horned demon standing by and saw how she was just waiting there. The demon frowned in slight suspicion and after getting a good look at the smiling woman, she pulled the carriage over.

"Hello...what are you doing far out here?" The succubus questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"Ah, thank the demon god Sult! I was hoping someone would come by!" The woman said happily as she immediately stepped forward to greet the succubus. It caught the other demon off guard in which she moved a bit away to give herself some space. "Where do I begin? Well, I have been traveling with a friend through this dreadful dessert but then he suddenly dumped me here and drove off with his carriage! He left me here and my poor puppy to die!"

"Puppy?" Succubus asked in confusion and jumped when the carriage shifted from the other side, causing the demon to look at the right of her. There was the said 'puppy' who had her paws up to get a better view of the succubus from the other side. Staring into the wolf's eyes slightly made the succubus nervous in which she looked back at the other woman for an escape from the intense gaze. "I...see. Sorry, that happened to you."

"Though, I am happy to see a cutie like you to show up out of nowhere!" The woman beamed, causing the succubus to blush in confusion. There was something going on here but she couldn't really distinguish about what was wrong with this woman. Though being called a cutie...she couldn't help but smile a bit. Naturally, she flirted right back.

"You're a cutie yourself, I can't believe someone like you got dropped here," the succubus purred.

"Weeeeell, how about I travel along with you? At least up until we are out of this dessert?" The woman asked with a smirk. The succubus blinks a couple of times, trying to find an excuse to deny. Yet her voice was very...enticing. She wasn't sure how the stranger was doing it, almost thinking that she was a succubus herself but that doesn't feel like the case.

"Well...I'm not sure..." the succubus started to say and yet was caught off guard when the woman got even closer to her with a playful smirk on her face.

"Come on, I saw how bored you were before you reached her. I'm sure I can provide a good entertainment throughout this dessert travel~" the woman purred, causing the succubus to blush even furthermore. It was really her voice that was so tempting.

"A-Alright!" The succubus quickly stuttered, surprised by her own self for being so flustered like that.

Immediately, the woman jumped right in with a cheery smile and her wolf hopped on, going around the succubus to lay on her owner's lap.

"Thank you so much! My name is Ruby by the way," Ruby introduced herself with a wink.

"N-nice to meet you, Ruby," the succubus replied and eventually snapped the reigns to get the birds moving once again.

The poor succubus wasn't sure if the desserts heat was beating her down, or if it was Ruby's smile and voice. Though the strange demon stuck with the succubus throughout the ride, sharing stories, jokes, anything that can help to make the time fly by faster. Blue just kept chilling on Ruby's lap, waiting for the carriage to stop.

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom's frown only deepened as he listened to Yullr's monologue. "The world itself isn't fair," The priest scoffed as he gently scratched at his bandages, "I've seen enough of it to know that for a fact." He winced and stopped scratching at his bandages to stare at a random point of the tent's fabric. "Honestly? I'm only here because I thought it would be nice to finally be useful. To have a purpose instead of popping in place to place, get hired to heal someone, and then drift off before anyone caught on to the fact that I'm not a proper priest."

Xiopetec decided to enter the tent, a glass of juice in hand as she stayed back to give the men some space. Her gold eyes watching Phantom intently as her irises danced to read his expression. The priest raised an eyebrow at his goddess, glancing at Yullr and her before staring Yullr in the eye.

"Training helped me realize that I can do more than I thought. And..you have given me a lot of food for thought so I shall keep this information in mind while I try to figure out what to do now...Thank you, Yullr," He said in a carefully neutral tone.

Xiopetec and Phantom both waited until Yullr left the two alone before the goddess claimed the spot beside Phantom that he had been in moments before.

"Well child?" She demanded as she thrusted the glass of juice in her priest's unbandaged hand, "Drink this it'll help replenish what you lost."

"You orchestrated that conversation? Really?" Phantom demanded before huffing and downing the glass.

"It may not seem like it, but you're going to either keep two wonderful healers around in the army or deprive this side of the war of two wonderful healers. With the rate that these other healers are going-and by that I mean they are literally running around like headless chickens trying to figure out what the hell to do-that's a big deal. You needed a different point of view."

"It won't really affect anyone. We're just two out of many."

The goddess leaned close to her priest, her tongue flicking. "You're going to run because you don't want to deal with your former family and Xavier." It wasn't a question, she knew her priest all too well.

"You saying it like that makes me sound like a coward."

"Phantom, you only have three responses to whatever situation you're in: being nice, reckless anger, or you run to avoid it altogether. You exhausted the first two."

"I'm done being nice. Period. What has that gotten me, Xiopetec?"

The goddess leaned back with a raised brow. "It has gotten you allies and people willing to have you heal them."

"Being nice also has carved an image of me as being the pet to everyone. Coming at their beck and call to do whatever they need because I'll just do it with a smile on my face and not question it, or argue it. Most of those allies are just selfish bastards using me to solve their problems and when they don't want to deal with the consequences, I'm their scapegoat," The priest's tone grew more bitter as he spoke as he tried to glare a hole into the empty cup in his hand.

Xiopetec forced her priest to glare at her. "You have definitely changed, child, I've never never seen you this angry and bitter in all the years that I've known you. Not even when we first met," Her grasp was almost desperate as she gave a concerned grimace as she examined her priest's expression, "Did something else happen in that battle? Is this what war is going to do to you?"

The priest sighed, gently trying to get out of her grasp. "I didn't change. I just don't want a repeat of the past. I've already had all of the nice things I've done spat back in my face without anything to make up for it. I'm not going to take it if this side did the same and go 'and we're gonna give you nothing for putting up with our bullshit.' They all got their second chance...I'm done giving more." He stopped trying to fight against his goddess's hold and his expression looked as if his mind was far away.

Xiopetec grit her teeth. She wished that she could read her priest's thoughts still, and see what was plaguing his thoughts at the moment. However, she took a deep breath and hugged her priest, tucking him underneath her chin as she hummed soothingly. "You have reached you're breaking point it seems," She said in a low tone and then silence fell on them.

Phantom listened to his goddess's heartbeat for a moment before curling into her embrace and clinging to her like a distressed child would with their mother. "You'll....you're on my side, right?"

"Of course, but I'm not as strong as I used to be."

"I don't care...I just want you with me."

The goddess almost smiled at her priest's words, and she did for a very brief moment before her expression grew somber. Why did she feel like she was grieving? Her embrace grew fierce and she kissed the top of her priest's head, rocking him side to side. "I'll always be with you. Always. As long as you have faith in me."

Phantom nodded. "Always."

Silence overtakes them once more as they just embrace each other.

"Tonight. I want to go tonight," The priest announced in his goddess's tongue, "I think it's time for me to be the bad guy for a change."

Xiopetec closed her eyes for a moment before she tucked her priest in and kissed his temple. "Then you will rest and you'll be the one to get all the supplies. I won't make this easy on you just because you have a hurt arm." And she strutted out of the tent, passing by Yullr with an expression that almost seems to be as if she was mourning.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Yullr​

He watched Phantom go away and, thanks to his enhanced hearing, he caught glimpses of the conversation between the priest and his goddess. It was like a déjà-vu. Almost. All those years back, he chose that path by being threatened until he had no choice left. Well, until the only person that was supposed to protect him ran away.

He still couldn't understand that decision. Darhan was the eldest, the strongest and he had protected him the best he could until that day. If that hadn't happened, he would have lived a very different life, or perhaps he would've died of a human sickness. The day they were cornered by the demons, they had been fleeing persecution from Feita's guards, who wanted them both dead for a series of petty thefts. The night before, Darhan had broke into the Underground Gardens, where the fountains were said to heal all sorts of wounds thank to the El. The flask of purified water did its work and less than an hour later, Yullr was back on his feet to run from the arrows and swords the guards pointed at them.

Who would've known that they were running straight into the lion's mouth. As soon as they thought they were free from the guards, gargoyles flew over their heads and the glitter scouts soon followed.

"Must be nice to have a pagan goddess from time to time." Yullr muttered; then, he went back to the barracks his men were in.

****
Lento
​

He was startled to see Eosforos again, with no right arm, approach him. He saw that he was looking for a carrier pigeon, and although he couldn't help to find it suspicious, he couldn't go against commander Elesis's orders.

"We have two left." he stated before looking down at the blond man's empty sleeve. "...You're a leftie, I suppose."

Late

****
Eve and Alec
​

The two Nasods followed the formation the group had agreed on, Alec took the chance to show off by manipulating again the new element he had acquired. His blade covered by creeping shadows, but as he slashed down demons, he felt a difference. It was as if his blade was absorbing the demons' life. The steel was growing colder and a layer of fros began to form around his hands. He changed his blade's enchantment to fire and the ice went away.

His eye colour changed to blue for a brief second, and a system warning appeared in front of him before disappearing less than 0.7 seconds later. Eve was fending off the assassins thank to Oberon's and Adam's attacks. With their hiding places in shambles, they were no longer a great threat.

"According to my calculations, we're 750 meters away from Uno Hound's last known location." she announced.

Fume Late

****
Darhan
​

Seeing Ain so defeated made him reflect on a distant memory he still regretted. Yullr had almost the same look on his face when he left him to the demons. The gargoyles that flew over them were throwing rocks at the forest. He had had the time to push them far from the first of many projectiles. They were safe and hidden from the demon sight until the first glitter arrows flew towards human guards, visible because of their torches.

He had taken Yullr's hand and forced him to move before the swordsmen reached them, but the gargoyles dropped a second wave of rocks. This time, a branch fell over Yullr's head and he fell unconscious. Because of this sudden fall, Darhan lost his balance and his left foot got tangled in the roots of a tree when he tried to get up.

When he finally got free, it was too late. Glitter spearmen and swordsmen had surrounded them and they muttered in their strange language before they let through a humanoid demon. Just by looking at the horns that grew over his head, Darhan knew it was Ran, the same demon that had slaughtered their village.

He had tried to wake up Yullr, but it was to no avail. In vain he put himself in front of the young exiled king, to protect him from hits. Once he couldn't get up from the countless hits, the succubus took Yullr away from him. The glitters searched every pocket until they found the flask, the size of the palm of his hand, where there was still enough blessed water to heal at least three people. For the two nights that followed, he was questioned until he told them the truth. Ran had then forced him to drink the water and all traces of the cuts, hits, broken bones, vanished in less than two hours. Ran took the rest and yelled an order in demonic.

Then, a succubus brought Yullr back, still unconscious. Ran poured the rest of the water over Yullr's wounds and he woke up. It was only then, when he had broken his will to fight back, that Ran asked him to abandon Yullr. He feared torture again, more than knowing what they would do to Yullr, and so he left, running for his life.

He was around eighteen, in human years and despite his fear, something told him to go back and protect Yullr, who was only a child.

The heavy stone gates leading to Ishmael's court opened before him. The goddess sat on her throne, looking sternly at him. The court was empty and, after he bowed, Ishmael told the rest of angels to go away.

"Darhan Irisse, born in the Myrrh Forest tribe. Only son of Ylra Irisse and Delphine Paleria, born to be the king's right hand in times of war. To do so, you were to be trained as an elite soldier by the Resiam's Empirial guard, but the ship to take you to the empire was destroyed in a demon raid. Is that correct?"

He nodded and looked straight to the goddess' eyes, there would no one to judge him for insubordination, and it was not the first time Ishmael had convoked him to talk like this. "Yes. I would be dead if it wasn't for my lateness. Had I been two minutes earlier, I would've died along the other recruits."

The goddess continued her questions. She asked whether he was familiar with weapons before, and he answered that besides playing with wooden swords when he was a child, he had never been properly trained.

"The Myrrh forests were peaceful in those days, but it changed when we got the news that other elven villages were getting raided. My family decided I had to take arms while my younger sisters trained to be mages or alchemists."

"I did not ask for your family, Darhan." the goddess stated.

Darhan shrugged. "By this point, you might as well know the smallest detail. I have nothing to hide."

Ishmael scoffed. "Is that so? Why the change of heart, Darhan? You liked to hide secrets back in the human world, with the king you were supposed to protect."

The angel looked down for a second and gave the goddess the satisfaction to see him seemingly full of regrets. "He has grown as a dangerous man, I know that. But back when I knew him, he was just a kid, not so different from your son. I got too blinded by the past to realize that he could be dangerous, and I wanted at least that he couldn't guess my devotion to your cause, goddess Ishmael. He didn't say anything relevant to the mission, so I let that small nostalgic encounter out of my report. That, I know, was careless and I beg your forgiveness for that error."

Ishmael nodded. "Good, Darhan. You are on the right path for your next mission. You'll need to train again, but I'm sure you'll correct all your past mistakes this time, even the ones you were not aware of."

The elf raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Ishmael got up and walked towards a small wooden door to her right. With a single glance, he told Darhan to follow her. Once the goddess opened the door, an empty room appeared. With the flick of a finger, it turned to a clear recreation of what he had seen back in Henir's world. Those cubes, wondering over nowhere around a blue sphere.

"Elria, my mentor, noticed that Time and Space's Administrator, a fanatic known as Glave, was collecting soul shards in the breach between dimensions."

Darhan grinded his teeth as it became clear what Ishmael was about to him. He didn't know why Henir was so obsessed to keep Lara alive, moving from a world to the other. That was why he had willingly sided with Ishmael. It would help him in his true quest.

"Darhan, you'll train here, and enhance even further your defences against dummies that replicate almost perfectly the Void creatures. And when I think you're ready, you'll go crush Henir's little doll."