Orion and Noah looked at each other until one of them sighed while lifting his shoulders in a defeated way.

"Go for your question."

The fourth wave wasn't in sight, so as a way to waste time, he spoke to Noah about the bet he had lost, which was a personal question from the loser.

"Is it fine?"

"I lost. I won't go back on my words."

With a nod, Noah placed his hand on his chin and pondered.

"Well, I would love to have more stories to tell my wife and son if I were to return, so please bear with my curiosity."

Orion felt a little tinge of sadness, knowing that Noah never made it back home in his time.

"Sure."

If satisfying his curiosity was enough to help, even just a bit, Orion would answer anything.

After a few seconds, Noah nodded to himself.

"Right, I know what I want to ask. It's about those people you haven't spoken about in your story."

"My story... that I came from your future and everything?"

"Yes."

Orion appeared to think.

"You've said multiple times that you have important people waiting for you, but you haven't said anything about who they are or how important they are to you."

Astonished, Orion opened his mouth slightly.

"I definitely did not... Is that what you want to hear about?"

"Most certainly. You know about my family, and I know about Stella, your adopted daughter. If that isn't too much prying into your life, I would love to hear more about those close to you."

Noah smiled as Orion looked very apprehensive. He wasn't planning on holding his thoughts in front of Noah, but he was scared his memories of them had been altered from the long time he had passed on the border of insanity.

At one point, he resolved himself and looked at him.

"Well, if that's what you want to know, I can indulge you. I don't know how long we have until the next wave comes, but I'll continue later if we're interrupted."

"Please do."

Then, Orion began to explain his relationship with everyone. They were both standing in the middle of nowhere, their backs turned to the mountains and the giant tree.

—

Amelia was his childhood friend and first love. They became a couple a few months after departing, once Orion had realized what was truly important.

She was a strong woman, albeit a little weak-willed. The world of constant fighting wasn't for her, and Orion feared for her reaction after his disappearance.

He feared for everyone unconditionally, but Amelia was the most worrisome person in the group, as Orion was her world and nothing else.

Without him, she would probably sink into the depths of despair, unless the others supported her.

#

Karteira. The most powerful fairy in the entire faction became his lover after a terrible accident during a battle that caused Orion's heart to stop for a brief moment.

She was a stunning woman whose charm lay in her unusual hair color and cool demeanor.

This battle addict was worse than Orion every so often, but she was a very kind and amicable character.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It took very little time for him to enjoy her company.

#

The little devil, Olivia. She was the youngest of the group and the most proactive in breaking the barriers between factions, going as far as to kill without a single remorse toward those committing those atrocious acts.

As the last demon alive on the continent, she had a powerful attraction toward Orion. It was so powerful, she had a very difficult time containing her love occasionally.

Even though she was powerful, she was far too young to realize the true implications behind Orion's fights. Only time would help her get around those weaknesses.

—

*Rumble*

As Orion was about to continue with the twins' importance in his life, the ground shook as a massive portal opened in the distance.

"What in the hell!"

Noah looked in the direction of the flash of light and noticed an army of 'Corrupted Lords' emerge from the portal.

"There's more than a hundred right there."

Orion frowned at the sight of such a large gathering of elemental creatures.

Yet, this army appeared to be the same beasts, as if one beast had been copied a hundred times over, with only its element changing.

"What... is this beast?"

Confusion appeared on Orion's face. This was the first time he had ever seen such an animal.

Even after reading countless books and knowing almost everything this continent had to offer in terms of flora and fauna, these beasts were an unknown discovery.

But not to Noah.

"That's an insect known as a Thistledown Velvet Ant."

Noah placed one hand in the back of his jeans and pulled a small, battered notebook from his pocket.

He opened it and used the small pen attached to it to write inside it.

"Interesting. I had no idea such insects could appear in this place. Usually, those wasps are found in arid areas."

Closing the notebook and putting it back into his pocket, Noah crossed his arms.

"A wasp? Didn't you say it was called an ant?"

Confused, Orion asked. If he could learn more about this newly discovered insect, his thirst for knowledge would be satisfied.

"You can call these subspecies, evolutionary traits, or simple resemblances."

Noah glanced toward Orion, answering his question without annoyance showing on his face or in his tone.

"How do you know so much? I took a quick glance at that notebook, and it seems like you have written numerous interesting things in it."

If he had the chance, Orion would love to read his notes.

"Before joining the force, I studied wildlife and their habitats. In fact, I studied almost anything and everything."

Impressed, Orion focused in front of him.

"I would love to discuss more with you."

"Haha~ We need to deal with this invading force before, and then you need to finish introducing the people close to you."

"Sure."

Orion nodded and, with a faint smile, prepared to rush toward the incoming 'Corrupted Lords'.

But as both were about to attack, a massive tentacle ripped through the portal, crashing into the center of the army.

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had happened. Countless wasps went flying in the air, crushed and mangled into horrible shapes.

Then, a sight that neither Noah nor Orion were expecting walked out of the portal.

"Noah..."

"My god... this is fucked."

Both looked with pure shock as a giant lizard emerged from the portal.

In its mouth, the giant caterpillar's head was dangling lifelessly, while the octopus was being squashed under its claws.

Trying to free itself from the lizard, the octopus' tentacles thrashed around but ineffectively harmed the aggressor.

"That's a sphenodon. Isn't that a truly rare species in my world?"

Noah felt something strange looking at this truly rare monster.

"I had found it strange before. There are plenty of beasts that are not endemic to this continent. Tigers, lions, elephants— the list is endless."

As Noah explained what was on his mind, the giant squamate spat the caterpillar's head to the side and chomped the octopus' head from above.

Blue blood exploded from the octopus as its thrashing began to subside.

"Miasma... since when have you been able to drag the knowledge out of me?"

His suggestion was that Miasma, at some point, managed to learn about the world Noah came from.

Either this knowledge came from him, or those animals and insects came from another part of this planet, which Miasma somehow knew about.

But even then, he wasn't sure about that idea. How could Miasma even pull Noah's knowledge when they hadn't met yet.

And this happened even before Orion appeared in front of him. Which meant that Miasma knew about these animals before Noah even came to this world.

"Are they simply residing somewhere, on another continent? That could be a possibility."

As the sphenodon devoured the octopus, Noah placed this worry in the corner of his mind.

"I'll ponder later. We have to do something about it."

But again, they weren't ready for what happened next.

Fire, water, and earth. Those three elements began to explode out of the sphenodon.

A collar of fire traveled alongside the squamate's neck and nape, while its eyes shone a bright blue. As it opened its mouth, a massive beam of pressurized water traveled into the sky, cutting a cloud in half.

Its claws and feet were slowly being covered in a thick layer of brittle stone, adding more weight with every step.

Orion opened his mouth in utter shock.

"I..."

"This is the first time I have witnessed a corrupt beast with more than one element."

Noah nodded.

"The same goes for me."

*SCREECH*

The giant sphenodon opened its mouth and screeched at the Heroes, prepared to fight them as it trampled the corpse of the octopus.

"We have our work spelled out for us."

With the remaining forces of the 'Corrupted Lords', which amounted to one fourth of their original strength, coming toward them, Noah slammed his right fist into his left open hand.

Orion nodded, pushing his shock away.

'Be careful, Orion.'

Hearing Tetra's concerned voice, he internally nodded.

'I will.'

Both Heroes rushed forward, ready to intercept the threat weighting over the beastman village behind them.