Three of the battles were finished on the continent.
Amelia and the dragons, Monolavir and Ruminona, won against the Corrupted Dragon, Argoss.
Lahro, the city populated by lamias, under the rules of their Queen, Deveralna, was successfully protected from Kiel, an Apostle that had returned from the dead.
And Elliott, who fought against an old enemy from the time Miasma controlled him. A Remnant, who created the giant faction that was wiped out during the 'Purging War'.
The battlefield left on Triazils were still on a large scale, with four major issues.
First, the main front was still under pressure. May and the three Lords were against a beast different from what they had usually fought in the past.
Second, Dylan, Nylon, and Eliza were facing a large amount of Corrupted Lords, seemingly waiting for this very moment to attack Logran. In ferocious battle, they were defending their people.
Third, many human cities across the continent showed signs of corruption taking over various people. These corrupted humans attacked indiscriminately, endangering the lives of many. Monolavir and Ruminona were focused on it.
Fourth and last, Olivia, her maid squad, and the kelpies. They were still holding the line at the beach of Noctelagia, stopping the advance of an army of corrupted coming from the sea.
But, other battlefields were about to take place in another place. A plane of existence different from the continent.
Horizon, the Agathion territory. A space created by Orion Feales, where various faction on the brink of extinction were gathered.
Fairies, arachnea, elementals, and a species from another continent, the sirens. All of these beings lived together in harmony, far away from the struggles that were haunting them.
Yet, when a large portal opened in the southern area of the plane, the air became tense, as they were preparing themselves to receive the invaders coming to take their lives.
All sides of the plane were under the careful monitoring of a powerful individual, ordered by the master of this plane, Orion.
Karteira, a fairy born for battles, went east to defend the arachnea.
The twins, Queens of the fairies, return to their village far west, to order their armies.
In the far north, where the wide artificial sea was created, the sirens, led by Senia, the first to have shown prowess in magic, were preparing to defend their home.
And, in the middle of Horizon, a man stood alone, glaring at the large opening that was forced open by an overwhelming entity.
~
'It's time.'
Orion looked around him to check on everyone.
With a tablet in his hand, he looked at the situations his friends and lovers were in.
*Tap*
He tapped on the tablet, before zooming in an area.
"Looks like Dramia and Drania are done with their orders. The fairy army is moving toward the breach."
A large formation of blue dots, followed by two green dots, were approaching rapidly.
Then, he zoomed out and looked at the northern area of the plane.
There, tens of dots appeared to move rapidly in the waters, while the green dots in the middle stayed impassive.
Moving his eyes away from the tablet, he looked behind him, in the direction of the Siren Sea. When he observed it with 'Eagle Eye', a smile formed on his face.
"Seems like Senia found someway to defend the sea alongside the other sirens. I'm glad."
With a warm smile, he turned back to the tablet. As he touched the tablet to look east, a disturbing gust of air flowed around him, before continuing further past him.
*Snap*
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At that instant, he snapped his fingers, sealing the wind itself from moving further.
'You can try, but I won't let you...'
What Orion stopped was a scouting ability Miasma used to sense everything in the plane. Luckily for Orion, the moment he sensed it, he isolated it and destroyed it.
'What you only need to know, is that I'm right here, waiting for you.'
He knew he couldn't isolate everything, which meant that Miasma probably knew everything that was prepared.
Yet, there was one place Orion was unwilling to let the corrupted Remnant know about. The people hiding in his house.
If the existence of Henrietta and Tetra were known, it could spell disaster for them, as they did everything to avoid being controlled for their power.
The essences of 'Destiny', 'Space', and 'Time' needed to be protected from Miasma at all costs.
Finally, Orion observed the place protected by Karteira, a forest in the far east of Horizon.
"She's... perfectly fine, as expected."
A green dot flashed at incredible speed around the forest. She seemed to be exercising, or warming up before the battle.
"Now..."
The smile on his face subsided, and turned into a darker expression. Replaced by a severe frown, Orion looked at the area Miasma invaded on the tablet.
On the device's screen, an absurd amount of red dots, at least four times larger than the fairy army, walked in their direction.
"Seems like Miasma sent the corrupted beasts to meet the fairies. I was also expecting that."
Then, as the army moved out of the screen, all that was left were three purple dots, and one large ink-black dot.
"That black spot is, undoubtedly, Miasma."
"The three others are..."
Orion thought for a second, before glaring at the screen.
"Two of them are the Apostles I missed the chance to kill, most likely. The third one, I have no idea."
As he analyzed the placements of the dots, they suddenly began to move.
One followed the army moving toward the fairies, another traversed the plane east, while the last one seemed to aim at the sea.
"..."
Lastly, the black dot began to walk forward, straight toward him.
Orion released the tablet, which dissipated into glistening particles.
Crossing his arms, he patiently waited, before a portal opened next to him.
Unsurprised, Orion glanced at it with a dark expression.
"I have returned."
"Good work, Elliott."
The two stared at each other with dark expressions, before nodding.
"So, has it started?"
"Can't you feel it?"
Elliott touched Vanitas, before a sigh escaped his mouth.
"He's approaching."
"..."
Orion nodded once again, confirming Elliott's thought.
Then, Orion turned around, his back behind Elliott.
"I'll leave you to deal with your problem."
With a threatening stare, the blonde man nodded.
This was something they had discussed ahead of time.
-
"Orion."
"What is it?"
Training his Abyssal Sovereign form, Orion glanced at Elliott on the side of the training ground, who called out to him out of nowhere.
"Can I have a word with you?"
The dark orbs in his hands returned inside his body, as he stopped his training. Still, he remained in this form, as he intended to return to it after this discussion.
"Sure. Knowing you, it isn't a trivial matter."
Orion stretched his four black wings behind him, before folding them behind him. He approached the man and stopped a few meters away from him.
Having his full attention, he went straight to the subject.
"I want to fight my father alone."
"..."
With a smile, Elliott shrugged.
"I know what you think. It sounds stupid, isn't it?"
"Not necessarily. Is it about that voice you heard while being in the plains?"
Elliott slowly nodded.
"Exactly. If possible, I want to save her from his clutch."
"Why? That woman, Layla, she's an Apostle. Originally, she was supposed to die by my hands."
This sensibility Elliott developed was strange to Orion. He couldn't fathom a reason to save this woman.
"You probably won't believe it, but a long time ago, she was pure. Even thought she practically turned immortal for my sake, I cannot let her suffer the same fate as I did."
"She is still lucky, as it has been only a few months since she became possessed. Any more than that, and I fear her mind will shatter irreversibly."
Elliott appeared very concerned about Layla.
"Now that father has taken control over her, the corruption in her body was absorbed by him. This is the perfect chance to rid her of his presence, and return her to her original self."
"That's why..."
Orion watched as Elliott bent forward with a genuine request.
"Please, let me save her."
-
"If you fail..."
"I won't."
Orion walked away without uttering another word.
Once a few hundred meters away, he observed from a distance, hidden in the shadows of trees.
His back against the trunk of the tree, he watched as a woman wearing a long blue dress approached Elliott.
With the void portal still activated on Elliott, he listened to their conversation.
...
A black-haired woman, wearing a light blue dress in the color of her element, gracefully walked in front of Elliott.
The slit up at the right side of her leg displayed the healthy pink color of her skin, while the lower part of the dress flowed downward like a waterfall, barely grazing the grass.
With blue high heels that seemed far too uncomfortable for a battle, she stopped near the blonde man.
A white top hid her perfectly molded breasts, which were modest in size, being the perfect middle ground. As she stopped, they wiggled slightly, showing that nothing restrained their movements except the dress itself.
Her arms were covered by a long veil attached to a bracelet around her wrists, that freely flowed behind her lower back.
The last detail was the pendant around her neck. A golden chain with a medallion strapped, perfectly sat on her jugular notch.
Overall, she was an elegant and refined woman, appearing in her twenties. To Elliott, who knew the real age of this woman, this sounded like a sick joke.
With his power, Miasma rejuvenated her entire body to make it easier for him to move around.
With a smile unfitting for a woman, her sweet and beautiful voice broke through the silence.
"You're not the one I was hoping to find."
"Then, you will have to deal with it, father."
The confrontation between Miasma, controlling the Apostle Layla's body, and his son, Elliott, was about to begin.
Elsewhere in Horizon, the same was about to happen.
Lead by Dramia and Drania, the fairy army was about to clash with the army of beasts.