Orion turned his gaze towards Deveralna.

With anxiety, she began to frown.

'Can he really trust me while I can barely control my power?'

Thinking that she wasn't worth giving such responsibility, Orion nodded.

"Deveralna, if you could defend Lahro, it would be in your best interest."

"What do you mean?"

She blankly stared at him.

"I know exactly what you are thinking. Anybody around this table can."

"You don't trust yourself, do you? You've been trying to control your power during the past few days, with very little success. We won't blame you for thinking like this, but you can't be sitting out either when your followers are in danger."

Orion explained very clearly what it meant for her.

"If you fail to protect them, you're authority will be challenged. There is no doubt about it. Even if you possess the strength of the Remnant of Strength, some wounds are unable to heal."

Deveralna looked at the table and nodded.

'We've been forsaken for so long through various circumstances. If it happens again...'

Just thinking about leaving her people to die horribly made her insides twist in anguish.

Seeing her expression, Orion nodded and continued.

"My opinion on this is that it will help you control that strength. If not, you'll blow up the whole city and everyone in it. Putting something on the line is one way to force you into succeeding."

All around the table looked her, and thought that this was a lot of responsibility thrown on her shoulder all of the sudden.

"You want me to struggle? Isn't that kind of unfair?"

"I wouldn't ask you if I thought you'd blow up half of the continent. My trust in you is unwavering, and I believe everything will turn out to be fine."

His smile remove the stress building in her, and boosted her confidence in herself ever so slightly.

"If you believe in me... I have to work hard, then."

Having made up her mind, Deveralna nodded.

"I'll protect my people, and show them the power of their Queen."

'This is a lot of responsibilities, but the moment I became their Queen, I already had a lot to work on. There is no way I can ignore them now.'

With this matter settled, he turned to Senia.

"Can I be of help too?"

Anxiously, she asked. Orion kept his gaze on her for a moment, before letting his thoughts out.

"Of course. No one around this table is so weak that they need protection."

"Senia, you will stay in Horizon too and defend the Sea alongside the other sirens. Is that alright with you?"

Thinking about what she could do, and what her friends could, she still felt incredibly anxious.

"From the sirens, only me is able to use magic. I have no idea how you can expect much from us, as we aren't fighters to begin with? The little water spouts we can perform aren't useful enough to stop anything."

"If so, we wouldn't have been caught to begin with..."

The fact that the sirens were peaceful by nature made it hard to believe someone like Senia managed to obtain the powers to defend them. Yet, she was the only one of her peers to have obtained it.

When she required it, the world answered her call and gave her the magic she needed, to protect Orion.

But the same haven't happened to the other sirens. They remained powerless.

"I leave the planning to you. Finding ideas to defend the sea as a group is your duty."

"You're leaving it to me?!"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He nodded at her exclamation.

"If I were to be absent, you would look blankly as everyone gets hurt? I don't think so."

"We need as many leaders as possible. Think, and create your own plans, I trust your wits."

Senia couldn't believe his words.

'Me? A leader?'

Leaving her to her thoughts, Orion looked at the next person.

Only May and Olivia remained from the group, and they pretty much already knew what he was about to say.

So, the moment he looked at May, she nodded and spoke instead.

"You want me to take orders from Lord Eric again, don't you?"

But to her surprise, Orion shook his head.

"It is only partially right. I don't want you to join his army, I want you to ravage the battlefield alongside them."

"You are not a part of it anymore, and I won't have you rejoin the army again. As much as you would want, you are a member of our family."

"If you were to leave, it would leave a massive hole in our ranks."

May blanked out. Her expression was a mixture of happiness and confusion.

"If- If you say so..."

"That's why, I want you to forget your old rank, and simply act according to your own feelings. Amelia trained you for a long time, I believe you are ready to display your potential."

While thinking about the hardship she went through improving during the past months, she looked at Amelia, who nodded with a warm smile on her face.

"You can do it. As he said, believe in yourself, and only focus on doing what you want."

She looked at her hands, which were still showing her strange constitution.

'Can I really face Lord Eric and ignore his orders? Am I strong enough to act independently now compared to before?'

'Would it be truly alright?'

With questions on her mind, she suddenly remembered the conversation she held with Eric when she met him near the border to the Frigoria Plains.

'I suppose... it wouldn't be fine. Our paths may be different, but our goals are the same. I will support his army as much as possible while carefully dispatching our enemies.'

Her expression lightened, as she closed her hands strongly.

"Alright. I'll do as you asked. I'll get rid of the threats trying to destroy Triazils, and return victorious."

"Good."

Olivia, who was fidgeting impatiently, finally felt like it was her turn.

"Why me last?"

"No reason. I simply followed my thoughts."

"Oh."

With a quick nod, she continued.

"I'm going to defend Noctelagia, right?"

Orion smiled.

"Yes?"

"I had a feeling you wanted more from me..."

Expelling a long sigh from her mouth, Olivia nodded.

"I'll try to contact Saffira to get the help of the kelpies. If we want to be completely prepared to defend the continent, it would be best to also cover the ocean."

"Right?"

The others looked at her with amazement.

"There aren't many people capable of fighting in Noctelagia, so I'll need to be careful."

She suddenly felt a piercing gaze on her. Her eyes met Orion, who was silently smiling, as if he already know everything.

"Aaah~ Sure, alright. I should have known you'd found out."

"I'll get my maids on duty too. I won't leave them out of it."

Amelia looked at her with confusion.

"What does your maids have anything to do with defending Noctelagia?"

Orion looked at her and answered.

"Those maids, they are incredibly strong. I believe they are stronger than the Apostles we fought on our journey."

"What?!"

All gazes fell on Olivia.

"Is that true?!"

"..."

After looking down, embarrassed, she explained.

"It's as Orion said. I personally trained these girls. They are all women I grew up with, and helped me change the city."

"I've taught them from the very beginning everything I could, and trust them with my life. That's why I wasn't afraid of leaving Noctelagia in their hands."

Orion crossed his arms.

"So, in terms of strength, on which scale are we putting them?"

"The strongest non-magi humans..."

A long silence took over the room.

"This is a joke, right?"

May said while pressing her temple.

"They can overwhelm and kill an Apostle with ease, but if possible, I would like to keep their strength hidden from the world."

"We've all suffered in our youth, so..."

She looked down, recalling the struggles she and her friends went through.

'I won't betray them.'

"Don't worry. None of us will blatantly reveal your secret. I would even thank them for supporting you until now."

Karteira's voice suddenly caught everyone's attention, though, she didn't realized she was talking to herself.

"I get it now. It was strange to think only Olivia managed to overthrow the whole reign of a previous Apostle. That makes more sense to think she had other people aid her in her plans to take over Noctelagia."

"..."

Olivia looked away. Her past conquest got revealed in an instant, as she felt even more embarrassed.

"How many of them are under your orders?"

"27 maids..."

"No wonder."

They all agreed. If their capabilities were truly as great as she said, then they would understand.

"I would love to see their potential next time I have the opportunity. Is that possible?"

"I'll ask Marie. I don't know if she'll agree, but I'll try to smooth the process however I can."

"Thanks."

Then, she looked straight in Orion's eyes.

"Was that all you wanted from me?"

"That was exactly what I was going to say. Noctelagia is in your hands."

"Alright. I'll be sure nothing happens to it."

With that, the conversation came to an end.

"We can expect the invasion to happen in a few days at most. I'll move around to transport everyone to their relative position, before returning to Horizon."

"All of you..."

They all stared at him with a severe expression.

"Do not hold back. Show Miasma that his goals will never realistically happen unless we are here."

"But most of all, protect yourself. I won't be able to protect you like usual, as you will be on your own."

"Get ready, because the moment everything goes to shit, we won't have time for anything else."

It was very rare for Orion to curse. They knew this time was serious business.

'This is war. You asked for it, Miasma, and you will get it.'

~

Later that day, Orion traveled through his portals to meet with Florian, Kamala, and Eric.

The three of them had ordered their armies to ready themselves to leave, and were waiting to be deployed.

Orion traveled to Lahro, and hurriedly traveled north-west. In the middle of a plain, far away from the lamia city, he opened three massive portals.

Out of them, the three armies emerged. They hurriedly prepared their tents, while the three Lords grouped up to form their center of command.

The first joint forces of the humans, composed of humans and beastmen, took place this very day.

It was only a matter of time before Miasma made his move. Until then, Triazils' inhabitants began to fear the end.

A terrifying war that would cost the lives of many was on the Horizon.