"What an interesting technique, Abraxas. Your mastery over your Transcendental blessing is unmatched," Rei spoke with a smile, putting away his blade.

Meanwhile, Abraxas was injured, unable to walk and barely standing. His regenerative factor was keeping him alive and there was a shroud of darkness covering him. He broke another barrier by pushing himself even closer to death, and it wouldn't have been possible without Rei pushing him to death in every exchange for ten days straight.

"This marks the end of your training. Let's go back." Rei said, smiling before he picked up Abraxas's weak body on his shoulder before returning to Alice's mansion.

__________

A few hours later at the Preparation Grounds,

Lady 4th was sitting in the Central meeting tent with the present Numbered kneeling in front of her. She was dressed in a standardized Iron Wolves Military outfit customised especially for her with a hat. "Today is the 12th of September, 2027.." Alice spoke, before a smile crept on her lips.

"Today, we shall crown the second Grand Marshall of the Iron Wolves." Alice chuckled before looking at 13.

"13." Alice spoke.

"Yes ma'am." 13 replied at the top of her lungs, another habit that Abraxas fed the Numbered. A formal and clear way to address Lady 4th's call.

"You are relieved of your duty as the Acting Matriarch of the Iron Wolves. You will join the Numbered as a wandering member, once again." Alice said with a smile before she stood up. She walked up to 13 and patted her shoulder before praising her. "Good job. You may ask for anything you wish as long as it is reasonable."

"Thank you, ma'am! But I have no such thing to wish for, at this moment. Might I ask to save this opportunity for later." 13 replied, already on high clouds by the appraisal.

"Fair enough. It shall be remembered." Lady 4th said calmly before she walked out of the tent with the Numbered following after her.

Alice made her way to the stage that was set in the preparation ground. The entirety of Iron Wolves were present as an audience. Most of them were excited about the declaration of the Grand Marshall, a position that had been empty for centuries but was a promise by Lady 4th. A promise to choose a qualified person who won't sully the title again.

"GLORY TO LADY FOURTH!" All of the soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs as they stood up in attention, with their heads down in respect, their left hand on their heart and their right hand behind them.

"At ease soldiers. You may sit down now." Alice ordered and the soldiers followed, taking their seats on the chairs.

"Today is an auspicious day. I shall crown the second Grand Marshall of the Iron Wolves.. A position that should have been filled a long time ago." Alice said calmly as she raised her hands in front of her. Her hat vanished as she smiled and the crowd started clapping.

After the last of the claps stopped, Alice cleared her throat before continuing.

"As everyone present here is a witness to, Iron Wolves is a covenant found not only in relations of blood but also ideals. Not all of you were born as one of the Iron Wolves but your ideals make you different from your brothers and sisters present alongside you today. The same also goes for the Grand Marshall."

"It is not just a title. It is the duty, honour and dignity of the Iron Wolves on one person's head.. Someone who is capable enough to lead all of us into battle.. And today, we will not only welcome the second Grand Marshall into our family but also celebrate the crowning of the first Matriarch of the Iron Wolves. Any guesses who will it be?" Alice's words echoed through the crowd and everyone started guessing what they had in mind.

Half of the guesses everyone had in mind were already eliminated as Lady 4th said Matriarch.

"It must be Lady Elaira!" Someone shouted, to which someone else followed up.

"No, it must be Lady 8th!" Someone else spoke loudly.

Even the Numbered, who were standing behind Lady 4th, were unaware of who was chosen.

"Well, let's not keep the suspense and call the person on stage. She has been working tirelessly alongside all of you ever since we found the trace of 10th." Alice added, which confused the soldiers even more.

"Please welcome your second Grand Marshall, Elfana Rouma Gaziêr from the Silver Nebula." Alice smiled as she declared the name.

Hearing her name, a lot of the soldiers of the Iron Wolves smiled, expressing contentment at the choice. Elfana had been serving the Numbered while participating in the training program. A lot of them believed that she was working the hardest among them.

Though a small part of them also believed that she wasn't fit for wars, considering she is a perfect spy and this view was also shared by Elfana, who quickly got on the stage but the shock that she was the one selected was visible to the naked eye.

Alice chuckled, looking at Elfana. "This is not a dream, child."

Elfana was nervous as she looked at Alice, still not believing her own eyes and ears, she turned to look at Elaira.

"Go ahead, Elfana. Lady 4th's words have never been wrong." Elaira said calmly, with 8th and 13th nodding their heads.

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"Elfana.. Accept the title of Grand Marshall and Matriarch of the Iron Wolves. The rest of the procedures will be handled." Alice spoke calmly, extending her left hand.

For a moment, Elfana's world was changing. It was a moment for others but for Elfana, it felt like an eternity passed and she made a decision.

Elfana got down on her knees before she took Lady 4th's hand in her hand, as she looked down. "I, Elfana Rouma Gaziêr, will work for the betterment of the Iron Wolves Covenant and I will take it upon my life that your name and honour be upheld, Lady 4th."

"Mother.. Call me, Mother. You are in that position." Alice spoke with a wide smile. It had been ages since the position of the head of the Iron Wolves had been filled, the bearer of which is no different than Alice's child.

Elfana hesitated for a second, gathering the courage to speak. Then she took a deep breath before she looked up at Alice and spoke. "I swear on my name, Mother... I will not let disgrace fall upon your name ever again."

Hearing the oath, the soldiers of Iron Wolves started celebrating. The celebration of the coronation of the Matriarch of the Iron Wolves, which started the next chapter in their history.

"This calls for a celebration." Elaira spoke calmly with Alice nodding.

"Yes, a celebration it shall be."

Then suddenly the celebration stopped, the soldiers sat back in their seats when Abraxas walked up on the stage. Something was different about him, and none of the present soldiers or Numbered could put a finger on it.

Abraxas walked up to Elfana and sighed before speaking. "I need to pass something down to you," His tone was reverent as he spoke.

Alice smiled when she heard and took a step back, allowing Elfana to stand and face Abraxas.

"What is it, Lord 5th?" Elfana spoke.

"It is Abraxas. You don't need to address me by the number anymore." Abraxas said with a sigh before he took out a dagger from the shadows. "Here, take this."

Elfana was taken aback by how formal yet casual Abraxas was, but she accepted the dagger gracefully.

"That dagger.. It's Reza's, isn't it?" Alice said calmly, as the dagger reminded her of her first disciple. Abraxas kept the dagger after Reza tried to kill him, to pass it down to the future Grand Marshalls and now was the time.

"Yes, Master. This is the beloved dagger of Reza. And now it is Elfana's." Abraxas said calmly, before he turned to look at the soldiers. "Why did the celebration stop when I entered? Are you planning to celebrate without me?"

Upon hearing Abraxas, the smile and happiness returned on the faces of the soldiers and they began to celebrate once again. This time, with even more enthusiasm.

There were clappings, screams of joy, and whistling as loud as they could get.

"Should we stop them?" 9th asked but Elaira shook her head.

"No, let them be. We have someone else for that." Elaira smiled, waiting for something to happen.

"Listen everyone!" Elfana shouted at the groups of men and women celebrating her coronation like madmen.

Her shout was enough to silence the groups, as they looked at her, waiting for further instruction.

"I know everyone is happy but you shouldn't ruin your image to celebrate. Celebrate without acting like hooligans." Elfana spoke but just as she smiled, a group of them ran up to her and threw her up in the air, while shouting.

"All Hail Grand Marshall Elfana! All Hail Lady Fourth!"

They shouted in unison before passing Elfana around like a celebrity while she looked at Alice and the Numbered, dumbfounded by what was happening.

"You have no idea how they celebrate." Abraxas said with a smile before he declared. "Bring out the booze, soldiers!"

"Sir! Yes Sir!" They shouted while passing Elfana over their heads while she was asking them to put her down.

"They don't listen to anyone when celebrating." Elaira mumbled to herself.

___________

A few hours had passed since the coronation of Elfana, and the soldiers were now calmly drinking outside. Today was the day that marked the end of their training for the war.

Meanwhile, the Numbered, Alice and Elfana were in the central tent, enjoying the peace. Rei, Iliana and Ellen had joined them.

"It feels so surreal." Elfana commented as she looked at everyone in the tent.

"Does it?" Abraxas spoke calmly with Ellen perched on his head like a crown, purring non-stop. She wouldn't even come down when Elaira asked her to, making everyone in the room barely holding their laughter at the sight of little cute Ellen.

"8... Please punch me." 9th spoke, barely holding his laughter. His face was red from holding back the laughter.

"Gladly." 8th spoke with a smile before landing a fast jab on 9th knocking him out in one hit. But she didn't let him fall on the ground, quickly catching him and resting his head on her shoulder. "Excuse us. He was feeling unwell." She lied as naturally as she breathed.

"You do know everyone saw that, right?" 11th and 12th spoke in unison, before they looked at each other and chuckled.

"Love birds.." Everyone else in the room had the same thought when they looked at 11th and 12th. They were two lovebirds who cannot stay away from each other for too long, and their affection with each other was enough to make people jealous.

"Anyways, with today, the training has been completed. We will depart in five days. Enjoy and prepare.. That's all." Abraxas said with a smile before he stood up and began walking away.

"You aren't drinking? It's your favourite Rice Wine?" Elaira asked as Abraxas was walking out.

"I am not in the mood today. I'll be walking around the area if you need me." Abraxas replied before walking out.

Elaira sighed before she picked up her glass of wine and lifted it up in the air. "For the young Matriarch!"

"For the young Matriarch!" The Numbered raised their glasses in honor of Elfana, who clinked her glass with the Numbered present.

Meanwhile Alice and Rei raised their glass before clinking it with Elfana's then each other's.

"Iliana, if you aren't drinking, can you please check up on Abel?" Elaira whispered in Iliana's ear before engaging in conversation with the Numbered and Elfana while Iliana walked out of the tent to find Abraxas.

After a while of walking, she found him sitting under a tree. Ellen had already fallen asleep in his lap and he was staring at the night sky without a hint of emotion.

"Hey.. I hope you don't mind me sitting beside you." Iliana spoke calmly as she sat down beside Abel.

"I don't mind.. and I'm sorry." Abel said calmly as he turned to look at Iliana. "I know, master must have told you the reason we brought you here.. This might be the last time we talk. Though I'll try my hardest to not die," Abel smiled before Iliana leaned closer and touched his forehead with hers.

"You aren't dying.. I am fairly certain you won't. So don't even think about it." Iliana said before she caressed his face. "And what did I tell you about lying? You have been training for the last ten days.. If you are hurt, you can just tell me or Eluya.. Even Lady Fourth.. You don't need to suffer alone."

"It seems that Lord Rei told you about the training too." Abel said with a smile, his body shaking as he stopped hiding his pain.

"He didn't.. You aren't moving as nimbly as you usually do. Even Elaira pointed it out.. And Lady 4th also didn't stop me in when I stood up to leave. Everyone cares about you." Iliana said calmly before she shifted closer to Abel, resting his shaking head on her shoulder.

"You can relax.. None of us will think any less of you if you act weak." Iliana spoke but just as she turned to look at Abel, she noticed that he fell asleep while still in pain. He most likely didn't hear her last words either.

'I will repeat that later.' Iliana thought to herself before she sat there until Elaira came looking for them and they took Abel back to his bed alongside Ellen.