Finally escaping their poisonous obstacle and getting some rest, the entirety of the team made it to Garard after a treacherous journey. A beautiful city, unlike any other, Gardard had already blessed them with the typical captivating Victorian style, mixed in with the new ages. Numerous wonderful greens, the mixture of concrete and wood, lit by the sun and the neon lights, it was as if someone had painted two pictures into one canvas. Above them, high up in the air floated giant, metallic battleships from the army and bellow were hot air balloons carrying the captivated visitors. Bird chirping accompanied by the songs of the bards' voices and violins, enchanted by the flute's notes of harmony from rooftop musicians, engulfing and replacing the overflowing sounds of a bustling city. Now finding themselves driving inside the plazas full of rich green and flowers, it was about time they stopped derailing from their original task.

"Ah, Gardard once more! You know, I haven't actually been here for a long time since business died out due to...well everything. But I'm sure glad I'm back! You won't believe what miracles Gardardians have performed in the bar, I can't wait to try out whatever new drinks they came up with!" Anya stretched out.

"Whatever, just make sure not to get the driver's seat afterwards. Already had enough of your little accidents, furry." Tiki sighed.

"I will have to agree." Luna backed Tiki up.

"Oh come on, live a little!" Anya giggled.

"I think the main reason they said that, is to live more than a little." Lass scolded Anya.

"Big sis, look! It is so pretty!" Lina hopped on Luna's lap, gazing at the flowers.

"Gardard always found a wonderful balance between old and new. While other cities like Delpha-er, Eterna, have taken on neon lights everywhere or Vardard where they remained concrete-free, Gardard easily found the silver lining between the two.", Terna gazed around from the driver's seat.

"It was to be expected. With the long history Victoria has, it was no surprise Gardard would adopt it like this! Pretty cool, right big guy?!" Anya nudged Lass.

"Yeah...it's amazing looking." Lass stuttered at the sight.

Hikari controlled her anxious, tapping leg. "We're back...and it looks like it changed for the better."

"Hmm? Hey, goddess. Are you all right?" Yuno asked.

"Yes. And please, Yuno, we've known each other for a while now so, cut the formalities."

"I-uh, sure. But Risa, you look a bit...off?" Yuno corrected himself.

"Just that I haven't stepped into Gardel for a while now, but I'm more than happy it looks...amazing. It really reminds me of another place I used to live in before...well all this happened."

"Well, why being anxious then, Risa? Shouldn't you be happy instead?" Lass asked.

"Just let her be, for now, meat bag. Remember that instead of sightseeing, we're supposedly here for some war effort thing with the king.", Tiki said.

"Uh, bet. We've honestly done overwhelming progress, I'd say, since we were given no time limit to do it and have already enlisted the help of 2 of the most powerful forces in Riza.", Anya said.

"What forces, furry? Delpha, Eterna or whatever you wanna call it has been the only one so far. And they're primarily a researching city, with minimalistic military force. Sure, they possess the technology to overwhelm others, but other regions aren't far behind and someone like, I dunno, Gardel with the most feared military force at the moment would swallow them whole."

"Sometimes, it isn't about just numbers, Tiki. And besides, you're comparing some city in the Aleria region with the capital of Victoria. That doesn't seem pretty fair for a comparison. Also, despite what happened in Corosta, you're still here and are plenty strong yourself, right?" Anya said.

"Plenty strong? Ha! If you were to pit me against the entirety of the army in Corosta at its peak or the army of 'Reingard' which you guys call the 'world capital', I'd kick their asses! Hell, why separate? I could take them both on." Tiki flexed her muscles.

"That's the spirit Miss Tiki, you're strong for the fight, just like the Wandering Phoenix! Maybe I could fight you too one day!" Lina excitedly said.

"Huh, dreams of becoming a warrior as well? That's honestly surprising, but yeah, maybe one day, I'll take you on!" Tiki patted Lina's head.

"I'm not going to be just a warrior, I'm going to be the best warrior! Just like my big sis, I'll be able to protect everyone and fend off evildoers!"

"Easy there Lina. You're a big girl, but you have to wait and grow in other ways as well." Luna calmed Lina down.

"Hmm!" Lina nodded. "And when I do, I will challenge big Sis after Miss Tiki, as my ultimate challenge. So big sis, please take me on when the time comes!" Lina pumped her chest full of air.

"Heh. I think you should take on your big sister first then and leave the best for last, kiddo.", Tiki smugged.

"I disagree. My abilities will overwhelm her better." Luna said with what seemed to be signs of jealousy.

"You got OHKO'd when a car rammed up your ass and I used to flip over laser-blasting tanks for a living," Tiki said with a straight face.

"However, you met your match when you also got one hit knocked out by me. By default, that makes me stronger." Luna boldly answered back.

"Heh. You're one tough bitch. I'll rematch you on equal terms any day. Then we'll truly see who's the strongest." Tiki extended her arm.

Luna seemed to smirk. "Agreed. And I will do the same." she made a handshake with Tiki.

"Glad to see you got on equal terms!" Lina happily said.

"Same here, it's nice not to see fighting for once," Hikari said in relief.

"Or you know. Major uprisings due to a ruthless dictator, raids by hoards of monsters sent by gods, presumably but most definitely, prison breaks of an ancient all-powerful Obsulyte wielding race of cute dragon creatures from the aforementioned monsters...really we're just adding more to the list as we go.", Lass said.

"Someone's sounding a little grumpy today. Maybe you should take a breather for a day?" Terna suggested.

"Oh, yeah, I tried that too, back in Reingard with Ikarisa. So we played a few games and then went to the Ferris wheel before fighting off a gang of perverts, realizing that the victim was Magi only to then be invited to a one on one match where she revealed herself to be a Sentinel. What then happened was me having a psychotic episode, destroying the arena, raising eyebrows and then somehow ending up at a royal party where I was subjected to a socially awkward scenario where I was wanted, but couldn't, decline a grand task of the king to help unify armies under a war effort to beat the shit out of some ancient almighty beings we call gods.", Lass took a long breath and heavily exhaled. "I think that's the best summary I can give for now. Remind me again why the king chose some half-assed smith to take on that task?"

"Probably because at that point, you were Ikarisa's luggage," Anya said.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Yeah, that's probably it. I seriously thought it was gonna be a swift redirection escort, but honestly, it'd feel like the worst feeling on the planet if I let Ikarisa all alone in Reingard. If she ever even made it there, considering she was headed in the exact opposite direction of where she was supposed to once I ran across her that day."

"Speaking of Magi, I think she should be right around here..." Terna pulled up to a parking lot. "This building according to her text. I have to also ask her how the paperwork for Eterna City ended up like...it's not that easy, especially when you have a Sentinel with the title of Hate working on It.", Terna sighed.

"You know about her Sentinel origins as well?" Anya asked.

"Well, yeah. Ikarisa briefed me on the subject not too long ago...and I may have also received some interesting messages from Magi herself." Terna showed her phone to Anya.

"'Just thought o' tellin' yea that the process of your paperzz is almost done. Sentinel of Hate pulled a miraclez again! Hope the dmz dont get lost in ur semori messags.' What the hell kinda writing is that?" Anya looked at the messages.

"A drunk one if I were to guess. She just went ahead and did It.", Lass sighed.

"No, that's not just drunk. Magi always was able to do perfect texting when drunk, since we trained on how to do so on one of our nights out...that's flat-out wasted. Something must be seriously wrong..." Anya worryingly said.

"How can you tell?" Hikari said.

"Risa, if I couldn't tell what my years-long drinking buddy felt, I'd be a hypocrite! Guys...please, I want to go in there alone, I have to!" Anya worryingly said.

Everyone took a gaze at each other before turning their eyes onto Lass as if they were eager for him to say the final word. Falling under pressure, he gave his answer.

"Honestly...fine. But please, don't fall for the drinks." Lass looked at Anya.

Anya took a serious look at Lass. "Don't worry, I won't. It ain't funny anymore."

"All right. Your go then, mutt. But uh...you might want to ease in the fact that...you know. All this." Lass reminded Anya of her transformation.

"Yeah, she kind of scolded me to oblivion after I told her about it on text with images." Anya rubbed her head.

"Wait, it's Magi we're talking about, right?" Lass said in surprise.

"Yeap. And frankly speaking, I did take some things to heart but glossed over others. Life lessons aren't exactly what I was after at the moment. It's a wide world anyway, no one is gonna bat an eye...unless they knew me beforehand." Anya anxiously laughed. "Anyway, let me go see what's going on."

With a heavy exhale and a sinking heart, Anya walked inside the bar that Magi had presumably told her she was in. She wasted no time in finding Magi immediately at the far end of the right corner, sitting at a table alone. As their sights caught on each other, Anya then slowly moved and sat by her at the table.

"Hey, Nya...honestly, this looks weirder live than in the pictures." Magi gazed at Anya.

"Yeah, I know...wait, cohesive sentences and the ability to see one instead of multiple? I thought you were wasted for good!" Anya said in surprise.

"Well, I have been here since last night when I think I must've texted you or somebody else to come by."

"Yeah, that was Terna where you said something about paperwork being done."

"Oh yeah. Do you guys know how big a bitch it is to have to suddenly do paperwork because you decided to not only pass leadership but change the name of an entire city? I'll answer for you: It's a really big bitch. Never mind the paperwork after to reestablish the Anti-Arms Pact you were sent out to sign."

"I agree, it was a spur-of-them-at-the-moment thing, but you might wanna scold Terna about it since I had no words on the matter, to begin with." Anya shrugged.

"Speaking of which, why isn't she here? I thought she was your getaway driver?"

"She's waiting outside. And we're not doing a bank robbery, she's simply our driver."

"Not what you did to Kaci girl."

"Oh, not you too," Anya said as she got irritated.

"Relax girl, I'm just kidding. And yeah, I was drunk last night, but not today. Mostly because we had the whole 'conversation about our next move' thing happening here."

"So you've been in Gardard for a day?"

"No, for a night. I think I passed out after some point here...woke up the next morning and turns out, they serve breakfast here too. So here I am. A nice clean omelette and some refreshing water!" Magi presented Anya with her meal.

"That really smells like high-quality Gardardian vodka though." Anya took a sniff at Magi's glass.

"Water, vodka, what's the difference? They look the same so no issues there."

"I could second that. But not today. A promise is a promise." Anya restrained herself.

"You're not gonna drink inside a bar? Huh...last time you did that was at the time when the fighting between you and your dad peaked. Anything wrong?" Magi asked.

"Uh, yeah. You. Likewise, when you're feeling super low, you usually remove all limits and drink even when it starts making you sick. So..." Anya worryingly said.

"That's why you came in alone then? Smart, but you always were, so no surprise there." Magi finished her food.

"So since we're on the same page, let's spill it out. What's up?"

"I suppose that Hikari has already talked to you about it?"

"Most of the things, yeah."

"Good. Finally can stop calling her "Ikarisa" for once. I dunno honestly...ever since I told her about the things that I knew were happening for years, I began feeling like shit. I keep on remembering how Dante was on the day it all happened, how Glady's eyes changed and I saw him first cry that day. Not to mention this weird mix of feelings I've had ever since I saw the kid again. Say what you want about Dante, but he's been trained exceptionally well, not by Glady alone. Naga and that Phoenix must have put some effort into it too. Yet, despite it all and that one single session we had at the arena with the spar at the training grounds, I couldn't shake this overwhelming feeling of pride. Don't know what to call it, but if you refer to me as a motherly figure like Haty, I'm kicking your ass."

"It all seems pretty natural to me. Don't we all have the knowledge of what happened a certain day, only to remember and relive it one day? Though I must admit, Dante's story is not a particularly pretty one, you both tried your best to raise him."

"We're criminals, Nya. We killed both his parents and in a sick twist of fate, one of us decided to become his parental figure and the other to gain control of the area to protect him. Despite my role being minimalistic in both the killing and the raising, it doesn't stop being a shitty thing to do. At times, I wish that both I and Glady would've been killed that day and Naga would've taken the wheel. She would do way better than me and him combined, not to mention her relenting love for the kid and her prowess as an ex-member of the Trail Blazers."

"I can't really say I understand how you feel completely, but I do to an extent. Most of my life, after my mother died, was spent trying to detach myself and my younger sisters, especially Misha, from his capitalistic ass. He was hell bent on making me something I didn't want to be, and I know that he has the nerve to try and pass the role to someone else while I'm gone. But I know he also won't do it instantly, considering how I was brought up. You're kind of the same in a way. You saw what happened to Dante that day and you did everything you could to not let him become the monster he so fears of being."

"I know. And in a way, I could say that I'm partially happy about it too. Seeing the process of him growing up and being himself, was a nice sight, but the background bullshit I did would always prevent me from fully enjoying it. Now more than ever, he is closer and closer to Direon and Drima, and him finding the truth about it is an inevitability. And after it all, how will he react? How will things be? And I will be a selfish one here...I'm afraid as to what he is going to say to me and for Glady more than I am afraid if he snaps the world in half. Mind you, he is one of the most, if not the most powerful being to ever exist across everything that this, and the many other worlds connected to it. And despite it all, I'm more afraid of what's going to come out of his mouth than what swings will come out of his sword." Magi sighed

"We did agree on helping him take it all in. I, Luna and Tiki are all informed on the matter and are ready for it." Anya said

"Emotionally, yes, I'll allow it." Magi said

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Anya asked.

"I will allow you to emotionally stand next to your childhood friend, but not physically. I texted both Drima and Hikari about it. While Drima brakes the news, it's almost absolutely certain that Dante will beam line directly for the Direon remains and I, along with Hikari and her alter ego, will be waiting there for him. I will be the one doing the battling, while Mellistar and that 'Enemy' or whatever she wants us to call her, will be there for backup in case his berserk state causes world-ending problems."

"I doubt Mellistar will do much of anything. Dante hasn't gone berserk ever since Kaci and I haven't at all seen him talk to himself or have nightmares anymore. It's either that he gained full control or that Mellistar has simply been weakened to the point of not being able to clearly communicate with him."

"Has he stopped wearing that funny-looking necklace on him?"

"Yeah, when Tiki tagged along ever since the events in Corosta, she took it away from him. She said something about a...Necker, being stuck in the necklace?"

"Yeah, the son of the demon king, I know. I...I was the one sent to do the threatening against Izuko when he wavered...I was the one who ordered the assassination of Dante."

Anya's face dropped to the ground. "What?! Are you serious?!"

"Why do you think I told you that this shit was on a whole other level of messed up?" Magi almost teared up. "I know, dammit, I know! I just...keep hurting everyone that I love. First was Decanee, then Izuko and in the end, it was the kid himself! Hikari as well...if you think that she was the reason this all happened, the monsters in Reingard and the death of Glady are also my fault. For a long time now I have been wavering from Makaro's and Kikaro's control, till it recently reached the breaking point where they began targeting the general location. All the raids and the monsters I tried to quell the rage on were targeted on me and I tried to play god damn Trail Blazer!"

Magi slammed the table, prompting looking from nearby patrons from the bar as Anya tried to retake control of the situation...