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“Who are you?” he asked with a frown.

“Angel Hamael,” came a reply accompanied by a glare at Rull who recoiled.

“Heh,” crackled the supposed dragon, “-we were used and you were framed, the god of death, we were dec-” a bolt of lightning grazed past Staxius’s cheek and left a wound. Behind, the bolt landed with an explosion of which had many fumbled. The ground shook on impact.

‘What...’ side-glanced Intherna. Rull was gone, a charred body of black and smoke.

“What’s the meaning of this?” fired the Lady of ice, “-have you no shame?” she stomped to a stop. The Angel made no efforts in moving, rather, he tracked her movements intently. Only the eyes moved, neither did the face nor body.

“Is that how you treat a companion?” she cried, “-are you insane!”

.....

“Mind thy tongue,” he fired with arms crossed, “-child, does thou insolence know no bounds?”

“HO-,” hands tight around the staff, Eira thought of smacking his face.

“Wait,” before thoughts turned to action, Staxius intervened coldly. His overbearing figure was quick to overshadow her body. A towering mountain standing as the barrier between the harshness of the world.

“Thou know mine name,” he said uninterested by Eira, “-what brings thee here? Surely, thou mustn’t have come for chitchat.”

“No,” he shouted, “-of course not,” the face sparkled, “-I’m here as but a mere messenger.”

“Which means that thou art not here for malice?”

“God forgive,” he gestured hastily as if calling upon who he served, “-I’m here to only relay news and enlighten thee to the ways of Hidros. Before we start, I have to say something,” to everyone’s bafflement, Hamael knelt. “In no way am I thy foe. I’ve known of thy invasion of Kreston so long ago. I was the one who helped behind the scene to maintain a certain level of secrecy,” lifting his gaze, “-Lord Death, hear mine story before judgment is passed.”

‘When Rull spoke of a puppet master, I thought of a grandiose fight,’ the sight of the angel made the mind confused, ‘-what’s the purpose in all of this. Is this a ploy, another effort to buy time or,’ casting gazes upon the team, many were exhausted.

“Thank you,” nodded Hamael for Staxius gave the go-ahead. “The reason why I chose to intervene today is to warn of certain destruction. I’m indebted to Creation for it was he who brought me to life. I was a hopeless soul unbound to reality, wandering the infinite reaches of time, till a light blessed my existence. I know of Lord Death as being the opposite of Creation. Death, the prior who held the title, spent many o’ time explaining the nature of the universe to an unknown like me. It filled my heart plentily to the point of bliss. Tis was then and there that I swore to follow him as my master. Angels and demons, never mind the rank, are required to choose a leader. Sadly, an incident occurred where the God of Kreston forcefully stole many angelic beings. They are referred to as the Revenant – I’m part of said force. Duty-bound, I had to obey his orders. Thus, my arrival in Kreston, I was summoned by the Pope. Here, on the mortal plane, there’s freedom. Freedom unlike any I’ve sensed or seen. It allowed me to speak to many o’ friends and discover that Lord Death had an heir. One of which was rumored and hailed as being overly ominous and unreadable. From blood-thirsty to caring, the tales diverged from person to person. And yes, you’re quite famous in the divine realm. The show against Zeus, managing to control Gophy’s powers, many have their sights set on you. Hence my visit, Lord Staxius,” he paused fearfully. “Dorchester has been laid to waste. I won’t plead for forgiveness or make excuses, tis was I who formulated the plan to take thee away from that province. Kreston, the pope, in particular, has succeeded. The seed of doubt has been sown amidst Arda and Oxshield. The Saints inside Arda have accomplished their task. Nothing can stop the war. Queen Gallienne and her troops are already on the border.”

“Wait a minute,” he interjected, “-are you saying that Eira was just a decoy?”

“No,” returned the Angel, “-she was being manipulated by Rull, or should I say, Lady of Ice.” *SNAP,* “-that should lift the spell of mind control. The Ancient Dragons were a means to an end. There’s nothing that can be done for them. The power resides in Undrar.”

“Let me get this straight,” hands-on the chin, “-take me away from Arda and Dorchester. The crisis on Mont Blanc, Winged Wolves. How long must have this taken to scheme? There’s depth; shrouded by mystery with each step.”

“...”

“...”

‘staxius...Staxius...STAXIUS.’

‘What is it?’ he asked with the neck tingling, a sensation coming from the Bringer of Death.

‘Finally, it’s working. Listen, there’s a lot of shit that happened. I can’t explain everything via the mind link, it’s about to fade away. Just know that Dorchester was massacred. Everyone’s dead, Ayleth’s marriage was ruined. I’m at Claireville Academy’s hospital. Make the trip when you can, the continent is on the verge of collapse,’ the link cut without getting a word in.

“Lord Staxius?”

“Yes?” he snapped out of the dream, “-Dorchester has been laid to ruin...” the vision came true, a prophecy misread as a nightmare. A nightmare turned reality. ‘I’ve completely fallen into the hands of my enemies. I let my guard down thinking that Dorchester was safe. I should have known that coming here would have other repercussions. Why did Eira cloud my judgment? The Lady of Ice swore to not do her harm, why then, why did I go to rescue her regardless.’ The news assimilated slowly, ‘-she said that there was a massacre. Everyone’s dead, Undrar knows the weight of those words. She’d never voice in said manner, especially with the massacre.

“Hamael, when did Kreston attack Dorchester?”

“1st of January, why?”

“Was there any mention of a marriage?”

“The one in Castle Garsley, I got reports from the Archangel of an utter slaughter. She left none breathing, why, is there something the matter?”

“What of the bodies?” a somber feel rose from the towering figure. The blank stare swapped for anger and inquietude, the fist opened and closed slowly.

“I don’t know, Archangel said a dragon took them with her.”

??Took them with her...” the pressure dropped suddenly. The feeling of nausea, the feeling of dread, and a feeling of vertigo came in waves. Intherna, Serene, Oenus, Magra, Rasu, Kearen, and Eira were dropped in an endless cycle of malaise.

“A-are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” he returned with a not so inviting smirk, “-angel Hamael. I have but one thing to say – if I find out that my friends and companions are dead. I swear Kreston will fall by my hands personally. Consider it my declaration of war; a war to the Archangel. Tell her I’m waiting.”

On that afternoon, after a seemingly less than eventful fight, they returned. It would take four days to get back to the village. The Angel was left distraught at what was said. A vow to bring down a powerful province.

The 18th came, the team arrived at the village. There, after a few days, the village Elder pledged himself to the Blood-King’s Faction. They saw that it was his majesty that came to their rescue. The state of the capital and its rule had them in fear. What if the queen forced them to pay, or took away their rations and even gathered soldiers. The fears were endless, and endlessly had they yearned for help.

“Oenus, I want your team to remain here a few weeks more. The Butler will be here to help. There shouldn’t be trouble with monsters. We’ve dealt with the dragons. We can never be too safe. Why you say, heading to the capital would only create a problem,” they huddled around Staxius and listened. The fireplace blazed away warmly, the wood crackled, the ascending smoke made a low-rumbling.

“The capital is in a vile state,” mumbled Magra, “-what will happen?”

“Yeah...” lost and distant, the thoughts travel far and wide in search for a ray of hope.

“I won’t let them win,” refuted Staxius, “-Arda is my home too.”

“What of you, majesty?” asked Kearen.

“I’ll head for Noctis’s Hallow first. I need information before moving forward,” he handed out a scroll, “-have this, it’s instant teleportation for a group of ten. Use in emergencies only.”

“T-thank you.”

‘Since we came here by teleportation,’ the mind focused, ‘-we’ll return by teleportation.’ *Ancient Magic,* on that, the greyish sky, emptied street, and ominous town welcomed its Master. Here, more details on the state of the country were given. The Nox’s clan’s connection came in handy. Many o’ spies watched the country move about. Most prominently was the rumor of a resistance faction coming into play. All but a rumor.

Spending a day and night, off to Oxshield they went. Most specifically, the mansion where the retainers were shocked by his sudden appearance.

“Master,” bowed Rosetta with Lizzie in a cradle, “-welcome home,” she smiled. “I see that her highness is here too,” she glanced towards a rather silent Eira.

“Where’s the rest?”

“Rile insisted on accompanying Seiran into town. As for Laurance and Laura, they’re tending to the back-garden, would you like for me to call them?” she scattered across with a foot-forward.

“No, please don’t you mind,” smiled her master, “-Eira and I shall be leaving soon. I’ll be back soonest in 4 days,” moving close, he leaned and kissed the babe’s forehead.

“Master,” waved Laura from across the yard, she spotted him walking to the garage. He returned the wave with the gates opening. Two cars, Void and Red-fury.

“Eira, are you going to speak or remain as silent as an image?”

“I d-don’t have the right to speak,” she stared the ground, “-I’ve done so much harm. I don’t want to say anything, it’s all my fault. If only I was strong enough to hold the Lady of Ice, none of this would have happened.”

“Please,” he cried, “-there’s no need to be dramatic,” rolling his eyes, “-get in the damned car. We’re going to race to Claireville Academy,” he threw the keys to Red. The door shut, he nodded across the window with a roar of the engine.

“How goes it, Elliot?” pulled the car close to the entrance, the sniper coughed.

“Master, when did you arrive?” he asked almost spitting his lollipop.

“Not so long ago. I’ll be back in four days. Hold the fort till then,” nodding courteously, the gates opened and the cars carved the road. Unnecessarily fast, Void jumped into Overdrive from the influx of mana. The triangle was yet to settle, it had remained glowing since the encounter with Hamael. Intherna slept peacefully inside his shadow. At that speed, they arrived after one day. A stop at night at a local dinner had the belly full and mind empty.

Leaves escaped trees and glided to the ground. The town of Claireville seemed relaxed for what the country was about to go through. The people moved and went about their day without much worry. ‘The hospital,’ thought Staxius who pulled into the lot. ‘I’m back here again,’ the door shut with Eira shadowing his actions. She chose not to speak for her heart raced. Vague snippets of what happened were given. The latter only served to make her sleep harder and stress higher. Each step resounded with heaviness; Viola sat under a street with a listless gaze. Her attention was to the clouds opposed to in front.

“Viola?” came a soothing voice.

“Brother,” her head slowly lowered, the blinks were slower. A gaze at Eira didn’t seem to phase nor spike her interest, “-it’s horrible, I never knew that death could be so cruel.”