Gess raised his Lance to stab Yna, but she kicked his knee in an attempt to topple him.

This wasn’t enough to fell the Hawk and so he thrust his Lance forward.

Yna swung her now fully charged sword upwards and sensing that he’d lose his life if the sword even touched him, Gess quickly let go of Yna before dashing away and at this point, his Lance was also so charged the grass and air around him burnt.

“Come on! Let’s finish this!” He yelled prompting Yna to teleport.

Gess turned around, thinking that she was going to reappear behind him, but she didn’t and so, after reappearing where she originally was, Yna swung her sword to decapitate the Hawk, but the air suddenly began boiling and Gess moved with such great a speed, it sent out ripples across space.

He swung his Lance and cut off Yna’s sword wielding arm before readying his next attack all while a high pitched whistle filled the air.

“AAHHHH!” Yna cried as her arm fell, but just as Gess sent the tip of his Lance towards Yna’s head, his body was suddenly blasted with a torrent of heat that sent him flying to the side. His armor and the land to the east of the Kommátia planes was then exposed to such incredibly high temperatures, metals boiled and sand turned to glass.

Yna then picked up her sword with her left hand before rushing towards a disoriented Gess and just as he regained his balance, she swung her sword to decapitate him again.

He blocked the attack with his Lance, but at this point, Yna’s sword had so much magical energy, it shattered the Lance and nearly tore the Hawk in half.

Gess promptly separated the sword part of his Lance from the staff before dashing backwards.

“What is the meaning of his? What happened to Luna?” Gess asked as Yna and Thneia stood side by side. His once Regal armor had been reduced to a thick golden sludge that rolled off his body.

“The Hawk has fallen.” Thneia said while taking deep and heavy breaths. Her armor was a little bit dirty, but other than that, she was fine.

Gess’s eyes trembled as he looked to the far east.

His arms then fell upon seeing the charred corpse of a knight far in the distance.

“Luna?” He whimpered before stumbling towards the body.

Yna and Thneia cautiously walked alongside him with their weapons raised.

Gess eventually arrived the burnt corpse and he promptly dropped his sword before gently cradling the corpse in his arms.

“No… please… please don’t leave me here.” He said with a shaking voice.

A moment then passed and as the Kommáti planes burnt.

“In the end… even we demigods are bound to one day fall… as it seems.” Gess sighed.

He then looked at Yna and although his expression was one of unimaginable sorrow, his eyes burnt with rage.

A rage that continued to burn the Kommátia planes.

“I wish… I wish we knights could still cry.” Gess said as he stood up.

“But tears are the way humans express themselves and we stopped being human a long time ago. Right, Yna?” He asked.

Yna didn’t respond as her fully charged sword burnt brightly.

Gess nodded to himself before dropping his sword and before the sword could even hit the ground, he sent out a punch towards Yna’s head.

Yna dodged it by ducking downward while dropping her sword as well and in the fraction of a second, she threw her fist upwards all while Thneia stood ready for Gess to react.

Gess dashed backwards only to be grabbed by Thneia.

He tried breaking free from her grasp, but Yna’s punch connected with his jaw, sending the bone flying off along with chunks of flesh.

It’s at this moment that the aftermath of their interaction took effect.

Massive waves of force and heat flew across the Kommátia planes and the soldiers in the distance had to flee out of fear of being boiled alive but they ran into the Spears and swords of the Rendaro on the front.

Gess tumbled to the side and eventually landed in a pit of boiling dirt, but Thneia and Yna weren’t done.

He tried getting up, but Thneia grabbed his right arm and punched his face, sending what was left of his head violently jerking to the left allowing Yna to punch it with so much force that she tore off the top part of his skull.

Thneia punched it again, breaking the right part of his head into multiple pieces, some of which hung loosely to his neck.

Thneia dropped the dead Hawk before facing Yna who stood by her side.

The two locked eyes while taking deep heavy breaths.

They then turned to face the sky above forest Niki and there they saw that the Kommáti had the situation mostly under control and so they turned to Gess’s army.

“Shall we?” The Dragon knight asked with eyes that burnt a bright orange.

Yna nodded before picking up her sword and dashing towards the army of thirty thousand.

With a single swing, she sent forth a wave of force and light that culled at least five hundred men.

Countless Liland silver knights surrounded her and they all desperately sent waves of distorted space towards her but she too was a space magician and so she kicked the air in front of her creating a wave of distorted space that nullified all smaller ones.

The wave then chewed apart anyone in its way and since it was a wave of compressed space, flesh and metal were turned to mush all around Yna.

A loud whistle filled the air and Yna noticed that a large portion of the army was desperately trying to run away from an enormous pillar of flame that moved across the land, melting everything in its path.

A golden knight threw a ball of light at Yna and the thing struck her to almost no effect.

She turned her eyes towards him and the knight tried his best to run away.

Yna stuck her sword into the ground before creating a ball of light all while the enemy soldiers fled north where they were met with the cold steel of the Rendaro.

Yna then tossed the ball at a large group of soldiers and just as the ball touched one of them, it ballooned in size incredibly before reaching the size of a large house.

Any soldiers caught with the orb were vaporized and the ground beneath them as turned liquid by the heat.

“Let’s go get your arm treated.” Thneia suggested to which Yna nodded while grabbing her sword.

The two then made their way across the now desecrated Kommátia planes before reentering the forest where Yna’s wound was quickly healed.

She then looked up.

“Check what the situation is like in Eimval.” She said prompting me to head southward.

My very soul trembled as I say a massive pillar of smoke rising in the distance and so I rushed southward even faster.

My vision then darkened upon seeing that Eimval, in its entirety, was gone.

The once bustling city… reduced to a never ending hole from which plumes of smoke rose.

I looked around and saw countless knights and soldiers fighting against the Kommáti and what was left of the Custodians on the city’s outskirts.

I then saw a bright flash further west and I floated towards it to find Nel and a Stormhawk facing each other.

Both of their armors were badly damaged and the land around them was torn and scorched.

Nel removed his helmet prompting his opponent to do the same.

This revealed the face of a man with shorty fuzzy white hair.

He held in his hands a Lance which he pointed at Nel.

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“Haha! To think that it would end like this. Comrade pitted against comrade. Life truly is a comedy.” Nel said but the Hawk simply shook his head.

“No, old friend. Life is more like a tragedy. One where each actor, each prop is intertwined and connected in a beautiful chronicle. One which ends when the time eventually comes for us to ultimately stop moving.” The Hawk said.

“Then I guess our time is up, right, Heurikhan?” Nel asked with a gentle smile.

“Indeed.” Heurikhan said as the sky darkened.

“Why side with the mud crawlers?” The Hawk asked as he lowered his Lance.

“Many reasons-“

“Like your little crush on Yna?” Heurikhan asked with a smile.

Nel lowered his Lance as well before chuckling.

“Perhaps. What about you? You stood by and did nothing as the kingdom fell. By all accounts, you’re far guiltier than I.”

“Ah… let’s just say I didn’t have it in me to come between a father and his son.” Heurikhan said with a distant gaze.

“Hoh? So you’re totally fine with slaughtering thousands in the name of the Sun and Moon?”

“Yes and so were you not to long ago.” Heurikhan said with narrowed eyes.

His eyes narrowed even further as the air grew so hot that the sand around the Hawk melted.

“And besides… we both know how I feel about carnage. How all Hawks feel about it.” Heurikhan said while pressing his thighs together.

Nel simply shook his head before raising his Lance once more.

“Pervert.” He muttered.

“Voyeur!” Heurikhan spat teasingly while raising his weapon.

Nel clicked his tongue and dashed towards Heurikhan, who’s skin was littered with small cuts.

The skin around those cuts looked dry and ashy, almost as though a strong enough breeze could blow it away, but even with all these wounds, Heurikhan dashed towards Nel while raising his spear and their weapons clashed resulting in an explosion that shook even the dark realm where I hid.

I watched in horror as the land around them shattered. Great dunes were flattened and valleys were filled with sand as they fought.

Nel pushed his Lance forward to stab Heurikhan in the face but the Hawk deflected the attack by using his own lance to send Nel’s weapon upwards.

The two then punched each other in the face, sending out even more shockwaves.

Nel’s fist, imbued with death, caused the flesh on the left side of Heurikhan’s face to disintegrate while the Hawk’s fist froze half of Nel’s face but he countered the cold with his light.

The two then dashed away from each other before raising their lances once again.

At this point, they were both releasing so much light, even the world of darkness was set ablaze.

“We finish this!” Heurikhan yelled.

Nel nodded and at a speed that was hard for me to keep up with the two sped towards each other.

Their movements sent out ripples across space, but unlike the time before, their weapons didn’t clash.

Instead, the two stood about five meters apart with their backs facing each other.

Heurikhan then fell to his knees and his head rolled off his body shortly after.

Nel sighed and spat out a bit of blood before turning around allowing me to see that there was a large hole in his chest.

He walked towards Heurikhan’s corpse where he picked up something that was in the corpse’s hand.

It was a heart.

Nel gave Heurikhan a quick nod before walking eastward.

I floated ahead towards Eimval and saw that the many battles on the outskirts were still raging on.

The Kommáti were strong but their numbers were limited. Same for the Custodians.

Hundreds of them died in the face of overwhelming numbers.

I returned to Nel who was promptly ambushed by a Legion of silver knights.

Although judging by their mostly leather armor, they were probably Liland knights. Knights.

They all charged towards him simultaneously but Nel simply swung his Lance horizontally, cleaving all of them in half in an instant. Although I noticed that his eyes were no longer glowing.

Several distant legions of knights noticed the deaths of their comrades and so they rushed in to finish Nel off in the dozens.

Nel slaughtered them all with a precision that left no man wounded.

With his Lance, he tore apart countless bodies and soaked the desert sand with the blood of his enemies.

Several magicians sent out waves of distorted space to rip Nel’s body apart, but he easily avoided each wave.

The magicians tried running, but Nel dashed towards them before promptly killing them.

He walked towards Eimval’s western wall where Anhai and Llana were.

They stood over the beaten body of a Hawk.

“Is he… is he still alive?” Nel asked with a cough.

Anhai turned her glowing eyes towards Nel before letting out a horrified gasp.

“Captain!” She cried as she ran to his side.

She reached out to touch Nel but stopped upon seeing the heart in his hands.

The two Raven’s stared at each other for a moment as they stood in the darkness of the night.

The drums of War were muffled and the winds stood still.

“I… I’m sorry.” Nel wheezed with a pained expression.

Anhai’s eyes trembled as he offered her his heart.

“I’m sorry I could never see you as you saw me, but I want you to know that in all these years of living you were that which I held most dear.”

Anhai remained still as Nel stood before her.

Her head then slowly shook from side to side.

“No. No, no, no, NO! Put that thing back inside and let’s go get you healed! Llana-!” Anhai tried calling out to the Draconic Knight, but she was already gone.

“Anhai…” Nel called out but the Blood Raven slapped his hand away as her eyes continued to shake.

“WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT? TELL ME! What am I supposed to do without you-“

Nel dropped his Lance and wrapped his arm around Anhai as she slowly fell to her knees.

“You can’t leave me here! Not now!” She cried as Nel held her ever tighter.

“No! Let me go! I don’t want you stupid heart!” She yelled as she tried breaking free from Nel’s grasp, but he didn’t let go.

“LET GO!” She screamed as flares of light flew out into the sky from body.

She continued trying to break free from Nel’s embrace until she finally succeeded, but her face twisted even more upon seeing that he wasn’t moving.

“Captain!” Anhai called out to a Nel who wasn’t moving.

He simply held out his heart, like before and wore on his scarred face a gentle smile.

“Nel!” Anhai screamed before rushing back into his arms but at this point, they could embrace her no longer.

“Please… don’t…” She cried. Her voice a pained choke.

The two Ravens sat together in the sand as the sun slowly rose and this prompted me to return to my body.

I opened my eyes and saw that my face was covered in tears.

I also noticed that I was seated on Yna’s lap.

I looked up and peered into her golden eyes before looking at the spot where he right arm once was.

She then wrapped her arm around me and I did the same to her.

A moment passed as we sat in the silence of the war room.

Yna gently ruffled my hair as I clung tightly to her.

The war wasn’t over but, in this moment, I didn’t care.

I was just happy my Yna was still alive.

.

..

Yna and I eventually let each other go and I turned around to find Han, Thneia, Dama and Volta all standing around the table.

“Eimval… has fallen.” I reported.

No one spoke as my words echoed loudly, not in the room, but my own mind.

“Ower, did Anda and-“

“Anda and his family among a several others were evacuated and taken south, but-“ Ower stopped.

I nodded before looking at the map of the Expanse.

I then glanced at the marker that represented Eimval.

“Are the Hawks dead?” Han asked.

“All but one of them. The last one is badly wounded.” Ower reported making the frown on my face twist even more.

“What of the enemy troops?” I asked.

“They are being handled by the Kommáti and what’s left of the Custodians. The Oasis has sent several troops to aid the survivors but under your orders, no Oasis bound Kommáti have moved.” Ower explained.

“And what of Iana?” I asked.

“It is mostly buried, although we managed to evacuate a large portion of it denizens.”

I nodded before dropping my head on the table.

“And the Helma?”

“They have yet to make a move. We know for certain that all seven of them are still in the camp to the north with Caligo.”

I nodded before attempting, once again, to wrap my mind around everything.

The Hawks may have all died, but the battles in Eimval were still going on.

Not to mention the countless who needed to be rescued from the rubble.

Fortunately, space magicians were handy in these situations as they could safely teleport people to safety.

The situation in southern Coh was also still being handled meaning all we could do was sift through the rubble while helping anyone we could.

I looked at Thneia and we locked eyes for a moment.

“Thank you.” I said while a lowered head, but the Draconic Knight shook her head.

“It was either us or them. I simply did what was necessary in our endless fight against those monsters.” She said as I raised my head.

“Alright, but if there is anyway I can repay you, please let me know.”

Thneia nodded before pointing at the spot on the map where Caligo’s tent was.

“The only ones left who pose a serious threat to us right now are the Helma and Grandmaster Ferrum, although I don’t think he’ll be participating in the war.”

I nodded but before I could speak, Llana and Anhai suddenly appeared in the war room, their armors dirty and damaged.

A wide eyed Anhai walked up to Yna before suddenly slapping her in the face.

“His death was your fault!” She hissed with glowing eyes.

No one spoke as the two golden knights glared at each other.

A moment passed but just as Yna’s hair began glowing, Anhai made a pained expression before falling to her knees.

“He was all I had left and he gave his life… for you.” She said with trembling lips.

“You, who never once gave him a second glance. You who betrayed Lanceberg, you who killed off your entire legion and you, who’s continued existence lead to the execution of our brothers!” Anhai said and although no tears fell, her eyes quaked with emotion.

“DAMN IT All! Damn this place and damn you, Yna!” Anhai yelled before grabbing her Lance and lifting herself up.

Her eyes then fell to me.

“I will leave this place and bury him far away where I will await my eventual death.” Anhai said before turning to leave.

All I could do was watch as she walked away.

“Sir. Nel instructed that I give you this letter should he die in battle.” Ower suddenly said, stopping Anhai in her tracks.

He then handed me a plain letter which had Nel’s name at the bottom.

I accepted it before glancing at Anhai who hadn’t turned around.

I then looked down to read the letter, but Anhai glanced back at me.

I assumed she wanted me to read it aloud and so I did.

“Lord Katsíki, I know for certain that the final battle is close at hand and so I write this letter to ask of you one last favor. Keep my dear Anhai safe. The poor girl deserves more than to die on some muddy battlefield. Did you know that she is the only Raven who never participated in the Great War? Her hands are much cleaner than mine, so please protect her. I know that she will resist and she might complain, but do it anyway. I always knew she saw me as more than Nel, captain of the Blood Ravens, but to me, she was much like a daughter and so I beg again, keep her safe. Oh and don’t let her find this letter. Yours gratefully, Nel.“ I said. My voice clear in the silent room.

Anhai glared at me before walking up and grabbing the letter.

She then stormed out of the room, returning it to a state of silence.

I sighed while turning to face the map once more.

“As it stands, what are our chances of winning against the Helma?” I asked through gnashed teeth.

“Close to zero.” Thneia said with crossed arms.

“So there’s a chance. I don’t know what’s going through Caligo’s head right now, but five bucks says he’s looking for an opportunity to send the Helma out. We know that they never attack alone, so we can count on at least half the legion coming here and the other either heading to the Oasis or going to finish off Eimval or Mount Jivu.” I said while tapping the table.

“Yna is wounded… we suffered countless casualties in attack of the Hawks and Anhai is leaving… the Kommáti are a probably stretched extremely thin and Rix has yet to return.” I muttered.

“The ballista are probably useless in the face of a Helma, so that’s a no-go. There’s also… there’s also… we have…” I said with an aching throat.

“We have each other.” Han suddenly said, prompting Volta and everyone else to step up to the table.

“That we do.” I said with a faint smile.

“Alright! Han, I want you to take everyone who can’t fight to Mount Jivu. Thneia and Llana, you’ll stay here, but be ready to head over to either the Oasis or Eimval and Yna…” I turned to look at Yna, who’s eyes burnt brightly.

“You and the Kommáti will give it all you’ve got until the end.” I said

“You have your orders, now go!”