The next week went on relatively peacefully for Triazils and Horizon's inhabitants.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten the dome covering Eogis, unaware of the events happening inside of it, while only a few people actually focused on keeping a close watch on it.

Those people were the Lords who previously had the titles of Apostles.

Florian, after discussing with Orion and Monolavir, began to monitor the dome's behavior in search for the missing dragon, while also keeping a close watch on whatever would approach its border, be it a faction's member, or a corrupted beast.

On the other side of the continent, Kamala, who resided in Hocride, discreetly listened to rumors and stories told by the traveling merchants and sailors around town. Through her soldiers, she began to gather a lot of information.

South from them, Eric began to instruct his army, which had nothing to work for anymore. With the threat of the Frigoria Plains removed, their purpose vanished with it. But for him, nothing was settled yet, as he prepared his men for the terrible fight destined to happen.

In Horizon, nothing especially different happened. The usual training for those in need, and the constant work on the plane, made the time fly by rapidly.

The ones improving by leaps and bonds were Amelia, Deveralna, and Senia. Everyone else was lacking the magic energy to be equal to them.

If there had been one change, it was Elliott.

"Is that all you can do? Father's not going to give you a chance, you understand that?"

He blocked Orion's punch and clenched it with a force enough to shatter a boulder.

"How many times have you said that already?"

"I'll repeat it as long as you stay like this."

Having recovered completely, Elliott became Orion's training partner during their spare time.

Compared to their first encounter, Orion was fairing slightly worse against him, yet, with the Abyssal Sovereign power, managed to survive against a serious Elliott without taking heavy damage.

Of course, they were training, so the two only exchanged powerful blows with such force a normal person would break in half, literally.

"I have to say, this is better than that uncontrollable mess you were before. Swift movements, precise counters, and careful planning. That's what I see when I'm against the current you."

"Thanks for the compliments, but why so suddenly?"

Orion pulled his hand away and leaped backward.

"Well..."

Elliott bent his left knee and dropped his body downward while keeping his gaze locked on him.

"Hard work needs to be..."

Rapidly, Orion turned around and defended against a sideways kick aimed at his hip. While he grabbed Elliott's ankle, he pushed him away.

"To be?"

"Rewarded. That was my mother's favorite saying."

With a side glance, Orion began to think about it, before nodding.

"I agree."

His black ink wings flapped, before he vanished from the spot. He appeared behind Elliott, and tried to jab his back with his hand.

With a smile, Elliott side-stepped away, and knee-kicked Orion's elbow.

"Kh..."

"You're trying too hard to be predictable?"

A vein bulged on Orion's forehead as he checked if his arm had been broken.

"What do you mean by that? Of course not."

"I'm going to ask this then. What's the point of going behind your opponent if you disappear from his sight? Evidently, the natural reaction would be to watch out for their blind spots."

"That makes sense."

Orion let go of his arm, which was fine, and listened to Elliott.

"You're a hunter. I won't tell you to compare your current self to the previous Hero, as you two are entirely different types. Yet, there are many tactics that would be most useful."

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"While a crossbow is great for long-ranged attacks, what happens at close range? Are you going to defend yourself with your fists every time? Don't expect your opponent to remain at long range once they notice your weakness."

Overall, Elliott was a great teacher. Everything he had learned from his mother in the past was practical, as he instructed Orion on how to remove his weaknesses.

"Then..."

Once again, Orion vanished from the spot, only to appear behind him once again.

'Did he not learn?'

A simple thought crossed Elliott's mind, before he focused on the incoming attack.

But unexpectedly, when he turned his head to look at Orion behind him, no one was there.

A look of surprise painted his face, before he suddenly held his opened right hand in front of his face, catching a fist that aimed for his head.

"How?!"

Orion exclaimed while trying to pull his hand away, unsuccessfully.

"How could I catch your hand even thought I couldn't see you?"

He clenched the fist and pulled on it, forcing Orion to take a few steps forward.

As he lost his balance and fell forward, Elliott crouched under him, before throwing an uppercut into his gut so powerful it created a shockwave that traveled through his body, and far behind him in a diagonal angle.

"Gah!"

The powerful punch forced Orion to kneel on the ground while grabbing his stomach with his free hand. Elliott released him, and took a few steps back.

Orion removed his demon form and assumed his angel form to heal.

"Hmm~ This looks rather inefficient. You should work on making the transformation as seamless as possible."

With his arms crossed, he continued.

"Anyway, to answer your question. I always have an energy barrier erected around me to detect threats. Call it a bad habit from staying too long in a land filled with corrupted beasts trying to bite my throat off and eat my guts."

"I...see."

With pain, Orion stood up. The punch did serious damage to his internal organs, as it took a rather long time to heal, but after a few seconds, his expression eased up.

"We should stop there for today. If I keep you too long, a certain person will be in trouble."

Elliott shook his head and shrugged.

"Having so many women would be a curse to me. I do not envy you."

"Thank you for the comment."

Once again, feeling insulted, Orion glared at him.

'This guy certainly knows how to get on my bad side.'

He closed his eyes, and remembered what he had learned during his sparring.

"I'll think about the blind spot matter, and the transitions between angel and demon forms."

"That should be your priority now. I do not doubt the answer will take long for you to find."

"You trust me a lot. Why is that?"

Confusion showed on Elliott's face.

"Can't I? I simply respect your ambitions. Protecting the people regardless of their origins is something only a handful of people actually bothered to push forward."

"I am all for that, even if I was the one who... eradicated a few of them."

While frowning, he looked surprisingly bothered by the past.

"If it was your fault, you wouldn't be here."

Orion couldn't understand his feelings, as he never took lives while being under control of someone else. Still, he could support him a little.

He turned around, and began to walk away. Moments later, he warped away.

"Unexpected kind words. I'll accept them gratefully."

With nothing else to do for the day, Elliott looked toward the east, and walk in the direction of the arachnea forest.

~

Along the northern coast of Eogis.

Two shadowy figures walked behind a woman.

"..."

Miasma stopped in his track, and looked inside a cave full of crystals.

"Too late, huh? This is where her magic signature led to, but there's nothing of value in sight."

The shadows entered the cave, and carefully examined the walls, in case something would catch their eyes.

"Return. There's nothing in here anymore."

Rage began to fill Miasma's heart, as he was expecting to see a familiar face resting in this place.

"That bitch... I wanted her for myself. Just imagining the face her son would make..."

A twisted smile deformed his face, but it quickly turned into a sour glare.

"I said, return!"

Panicked, the two ran toward their master, and bowed without a word.

"Tsk! Useless trash. You just have to listen to my orders. If I have to repeat myself another time, I'll turn you into dragon feed."

"Do you want to end up like all those wonderful people? Sacrificing a whole city to make a single creature even more powerful."

His twisted smile returned, recalling the terror and agony inflicted on Paraviel's citizens.

Deeply buried in her soul, Layla was also agonizing. Everything her family had built, it all came crashing down in a single night.

Nothing was left of the city besides broken buildings and dried blood on the pavement. Each of the citizens was eaten by the terrifying creature he had created, making the whole matter even more painful for her.

"Walk. We're not done yet."

Miasma continued walking on the sand, followed by his two followers.

As he continued further away from the cave, he suddenly stopped before walking under a massive rock formation.

"An arch... there's a very strange feeling about this place."

"This magic signature, it's Orion."

He created a pillar of corruption under his feet, which began to lift him up into the air.

When he arrived at the top of the arch, he placed a hand on his chin, and observed.

"Strange."

Pointing his palm toward the 'thing' in front of him, a cloud of corruption emerged and traveled to it.

The two energies clashed, before a portal revealed itself in front of Miasma.

"Oh. Oh! Is that it?"

A maniacal laugh loudly echoed through the shoreline and the surrounding forests.

"Orion. Poor Orion."

Miasma stepped on the arch and walked into the portal.

*Bzzt*

Rejection immediately ensued.

"What the-"

The portal blinked wildly at the approach of an unauthorized entity. It began to push him away, while closing on itself.

"Fuck!"

Before it was too late, Miasma jumped out of the portal, and fell on the sand, cursing.

A cracking sound caught his attention, as the portal consumed itself, successfully self-destructing itself.

"..."

An enraged Miasma stood up and wiped the sand off his body. He glared at the rock formation, and attacked it.

"Why is nothing going the way I want?! Why?!"

As he pummeled the base of the arch, it broke from the onslaught of corrupted blast, falling into pieces toward the ground.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fu-"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, his mood changed as he felt an unexpected magic signature.

"Haha... Hahaha~"

"That is splendid. Truly, what a masterpiece!"

"I had no idea you two were still alive."

A dark veil covered his eyes, before his notorious twisted smile returned.

"So much to do, really. I'll make this a priority."

"We return. Follow me."

As the two followers bowed, Miasma turned around and left the coast.