They all made their way inside the grand Common Hall of Gardard swiftly, avoiding making eye contact with other officials along their way to avoid further provocations. The hall was layered with an all-white paint coating with both technologies of the old and the new accompanying the banners and flags of multiple nations and areas. Rows of empty knights' armours holding down their lances and swords paved their way into the main hallway crossroad. With an indoor garden, multiple diving hallways and front desks left and right, one was sure to be lost in either the awe of the sight or the mere confusion of the choices they had. Ignoring all distractions and simply raising his hand in a friendly gesture, Drima passed through the main desk at the centre of the Hall, going upstairs and through an elevator to his right. Everyone cramping up, they slowly descended far below ground.

"Man, all these legalities and stuff yet their soldiers get wrecked by a little girl. Pathetic." Tiki scoffed.

"That 'little girl' you're talking about is a super-soldier with a metallic frame capable of throwing down more monsters than what your eyes could count in an open field," Drima said.

"Wait...so what happened to Lina and Luna?" Hikari asked.

Drima let off a faint sad expression. "It is rather sad to get down to the details and what-ifs. However, that's the least bit of our worries at the moment, wouldn't you agree?" Drima looked at Hikari.

"I suppose you'd be right. But...where are we headed right now?" Hikari asked.

"My lab at the bottom of the Common Hall. I have agreed to work for Gardard as their top R&D developer while also being allowed to both use the things I develop to further my studies and grant them access to it for any leverage they want."

"So another Sentinel was trusted with a high-ranking position based on their talents?" Anya worryingly said.

"Precisely. But it was to be expected, no? Sentinels, where they stand, are exceptional beings with a wide array of talents, regardless of their moronic titles. Magi, for example, has an exceptional combative talent to go along with her years of experience. I, on the other hand, tend to be more...intelligent."

"You seem to be riding that horse of yours a little bit too high, Sentinel." Tiki folded her arms.

"Better to ride the horse than the car to prison. You have caused way more trouble than you're worth by now anyway." Drima boldly answered back.

"Why you..." Tiki menacingly approached Drima.

Anya grabbed Tiki. "Please, don't."

"Yeah. Don't.", Lass glared at Tiki.

"How long till the bottom, before the elevator stops entirely?" Yuno anxiously asked.

"Not long...ah. Here," Drima reacted to the beeping of the elevator but held the door. "Let me brief you really quick. Some of the items inside this lab are either extremely rare or extremely dangerous. I want you to not touch anything and not mess with anything as I have also taken the liberty of making small-scale dark matter-infused weaponry that could bring your adventure to a sudden end if you disregard my warning."

"Wait, small-scale dark matter explosives? That is illegal." Luna said.

"Infused. Not based. Therefore, it is perfectly legal. And having said that, let's go." Drima opened the elevator door.

Lina gazed in awe. "Oh...wow..."

Opening the elevator door, Drima greeted everyone at the massive complex that was his underground laboratory. Holo-screens left and right kept constantly analyzing a multitude of things, an arsenal of weapons to his right and a biometric table to his left, it was filled to the brim with the latest miracles of technology.

"Wow...you've really outdone yourself Drima!" Hikari said.

"Hah. This is merely a demonstration of my actual abilities. I just had to constantly prove my worth and increase the available funding received for my research. Unfortunately, money is the one 'skill' that everyone needs and the ones to possess it are few and far between." Drima scoffed.

"Honestly, I don't think I need to see much more than this. If funding is what you crave, I have some sizable pocket change available." Anya smugged.

Lina ran around the lab left and right, gazing at all the flashy technology and unique experiments.

"Hehe! Sister look! Everyone is so-w-wah!" Lina tripped.

A huge firearm shook around from the shelf and the handle snapped under its weight. It swiftly began its descent, aiming directly for Lina's head.

"Lina, watch out!" Luna yelled.

"I got it.", Tiki calmly said. "Hey kid, you better watch-"

The weapon in Tiki's hand started charging up and reacting as soon as she grabbed it, preparing itself for immediate firing. A blast of light flashed before everyone's eyes, before a pot of a mysterious plant was blown to smithereens next to Drima.

Drima whispered. "I can't say that it was unexpected."

"Tiki, are you serious?!" Lass yelled.

"What, meat bag?! You saw I didn't press anything, I merely grabbed the thing!"

Luna grabbed Lina. "Are you alright?"

Lina sobbed. "I didn't mean to knock it down, I'm sorry!"

Terna approached them both and soothed Lina. "It's okay sweetie but...let's stick close to each other from now on, ok?"

Everyone calmed down as Yuno approached the pot of the now-ruined plant. He felt the soil and smelled the ashes.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. This is one hundred present Obsulyte."

"What? Obsulyte based firearms are prohibited by law-", Luna was stopped by Tiki.

"The law doesn't state that when you're fighting god you're supposed to comply one hundred per cent. And besides, I'm not Obsulyte compatible."

"But the suit you're wearing is.", Anya smugged, "I think that may be the reason why."

"You went ahead and gave a Verxi an Obsulyte-infused battle suit?! What were you thinking?!" Drima said in surprise.

"A...what?" Anya wondered.

"It's the scientific term to describe demons. And yes, I've had this for a while actually. I've been meaning to drag the furry's ass down for this, but honestly, I'm starting to see the merit in it." Tiki felt the armor.

"You forced a non-compatible Obsulyte person to wear an Obsulyte-infused suit of armour." Drima looked at Anya.

"And you made some illegal ass weapons that are Obsulyte based to be used by non-Obsulyte users. Same thing just backwards, so how about we both agree to not say a word and I give you funding for your illegal experiments with legal paperwork?"

"I..." Drima paused. "I will think about it."

From all the noise and the yelling, a figure approached them from the deep end of the lab.

"Great, just what we needed. More illegalities." Magi approached them. "What took you guys so long anyway?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Your half-drunk attention notice." Lass folded his arms. "At least you got a free pass in."

"Of course, I did, now let's get to the point." Magi approached them. "We've got work to do."

Magi gave everyone a worried enough look, gathering them to the hologram table with a giant world map. Lina was left to the side, taking care of the wreckage alongside Terna, as Terna herself was trying to pay attention. Magi quickly brought up a web net spanning over the entire map.

"Well then. This is getting interesting." Tiki looked at the map.

"No. It's getting dangerous." Magi corrected her, "Look at all this. This web is supposedly collective information we've got since the beginning of the entire ordeal up to date. Monsters may have been destroyed in Aleria and around Reingard, but my god, they've surely gathered in Victoria. There are multiple news reports going left and right, especially from the prevalent As Now news company in Gardard and public tension is rising. Almost every single soldier squad that is not within the Gardard Garrison has mobilized to the surrounding towns and villages. Among them is also Visera, which is the leading agricultural town in Victoria, if not Riza as a whole. It's been under seizure for a while now and supplies towards Gardard have been minimized in order to also support the soldiers fighting at the front."

"Seems like another situation like Reingard. Should we go help?" Hikari proposed.

"I wish. It's nothing like Reingard. Look at this. They are weighing war here. It's no more raids or shits n' giggles. I'm one hundred per cent sure about this. The Gods Army is back and Makaro and Kikaro have officially descended."

"What?! There's no way!" Hikari said.

"I mean...relatively speaking, yes." Tiki waved a tablet around, " I took a brief look at the reports handed out to the council in the Common Hall. Proper formations, strategic positioning and everything, these things are no ordinary monsters. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that it's indeed some sort of Gods' Army."

"Damn...we're late." Lass angrily said.

"Not necessarily. I would suggest that a random chance factor is at play." Luna said.

"That's what we're praying for. Obsulyte-related signatures are one thing but I have long been able to suspend it being openly transmitted to avoid detection. Well, not exactly suspend, but more of actively trying to compromise it. I have planted multiple Obsulyte Dischargers throughout the areas you were at, so them being able to actively track you down at a specific pinpoint location is extremely unlikely. What is likely, however, is that Makaro and Kikaro could wait no longer and launched what was inevitable from the beginning."

"Without the Valkyries to protect and serve, it's an extremely dangerous situation to be in.", Hikari worryingly said.

"No matter for now. Their army size is extremely small but the raids are extremely frequent. Nothing out of the ordinary or unmanageable. However, this can easily mean that it's either the enemy scouting out what they can find. Any word of them spilling over to Veryta?" Tiki looked at the map.

"Veryta is fine, Gardardian forces have formed a perimeter around the borders of Victoria and Veryta. Vardard will be fine so long as it holds. But there's no time to rest. These shits can choose to get out at mass numbers at any moment, so long as they wish."

"Then we have to do something about that first.", Lass suggested. "What chances have we got that the soldiers will hear us?"

Tiki chuckled. "A moment ago, we let a small girl beat the shit out of a few dozen of their comrades. Add to the fact you're some random smith from the middle of nowhere with zero military experience and no rank to lead them, I doubt they'll do anything we ask. Even if we know a little something more."

"That same guy who doesn't own a title in the army beat up an entire army back at Corosta."

"Yeah...about that. What you fought in Corosta resembles nothing like this." Drima pulled up an analysis panel, "Look at this."

Drima brought up a photo of an extremely menacing-looking Shadower-like creature, it striking fear to whomever it laid its eyes upon.

"What the hell is that thing?" Yuno worryingly said.

"The true form of what I think Shadowers to be. Their Obsulyte energy levels are off the charts and they are capable of withstanding most of everything. Energy weapons and things like lasers are absolutely out of the question. It has only proven to do one thing and that is to empower them. We have switched to live ammunition instead to combat them effectively." Drima briefed everyone.

"We don't actually know how things may go, but we're sure what we need to fight them. You guys." Magi said.

"Nothing we ain't used to." Tiki scoffed. "Or at least me."

"No...I'm going to go down to the specifics..." Magi trembled.

"Well, what is it?" Lass said.

"You.", Drima pointed at Lass.

"Me? Are you serious?"

Magi turned around and faced Luna, Tiki and Hikari, nodding at them.

"E-Everyone...please..." Hikari said.

Suddenly, a transmission came through the table's systems.

"Drima. I'll need to talk to the little girl along with the idol and the goddess, if possible." Rein said.

"That's a...odd request. What for?" Drima asked.

"Officials request. Can't go deeper since I don't know myself."

Drima dismissed the transmission. "You have any problems with that?" he asked the rest of the group.

"Hmm.", Anya nodded. "His call."

"Time has come now, huh..." Tiki whispered.

"Why do I always get some sort of final say in this? I'm fine. Let's just get back into this first."

Giving the ok, Hikari grabbed both Terna and Lina to drag them back above ground. She took a final glance back at "Lass", realizing that he was about to be gone forever after that moment.

"Mellistar…no. Dante...it's time."

As the elevator started to ascend she could only take a few worried glances through the glass below, soon knowing that whatever the pain he was going to experience, this time, she wouldn't be able to heal it.

All right, let's get back to it then?" Yuno said.

"Yeah...we should," Magi said. "But before we do that, I just have to go ahead and ask. Lass, have you been experiencing any nightmares lately? Or severe headaches?"

"Uh...no. In fact, it's been much better than before. However, I am sometimes having these weird images floating around. But how does this help with the whole war thing we've got in our hands?" Lass answered.

"I guess it's a mental check? You have also stopped being pruned to berserk states. The last time he overused Obsulyte was back at Corosta, which went really well in my opinion. I don't think he will have any issues battling alongside the other soldiers." Yuno said.

"That's not my main concern here. What is our main concern is how fast your control over those powers grew." As Drima made a check-up on Lass.

"Look, can you cut it with the ominous questions and just tell me what it is you're on about?" Lass answered after feeling annoyed.

"You're not who you think you are." Tiki boldly said.

Luna tried to strike Tiki in the back of the head in failure, being blocked off by her hand.

"It's not worth procrastinating any longer. Just let him know." Tiki angrily said.

"What is she talking about?" Lass pointed at Tiki.

“Never mind her. Kid, I need you to do something for me. It’s a special…machine that Drima made." Magi tried to fix the situation.

“A machine?” Lass looked behind him.

Drima stepped aside and revealed another table with nothing but the base of it having a big blacked-out screen.

“It doesn’t look that complex to me.” Yuno checked it out.

“Neither to me. But I would never judge a book by its cover.",Anya approached the table.

“Lass. Whether you do this or not is entirely up to you.” Magi said.

“What is this even mean? Am I going to be injected with something?” Lass worryingly said.

“You wish. It’s not going to be physical pain, but rather it will be mental pain. However, I can assure you two things. When you step off that thing, you will both never be the same as before and you will be able to do things you never did before.” Drima ominously said.

“This sounds…iffy at bes-ghk!” Lass got knocked out.

Tiki hit Lass on the head with the flat side of her giant axe.

“What the hell, Tiki?!” Magi yelled.

“Look, we’ve been trying to get the guy knocked out the entire day. I re-fed him some weird compound of whatever I found in the med cabinet, Anya helped with the chemistry knowledge to ensure success and Luna tried to elevate blood pressure by not locking down Lina for once.” Tiki said with a straight face.

“Holy shit, you tried to kill the guy all day or what?!” Magi yelled.

“Wait, you intentionally beat up the soldiers?” Drima said as he was ignored.

Luna shrugged. “Uh. No.”

“You guys are goddamn insane!” Magi yelled.

“We might be insane. But we did it for the big guy. So it’s worth it.”, Anya turned around and headed to the elevator.

“Yeah. Let’s go. Yuno, are you sure about this?” Tiki asked.

Yuno worryingly looked at Lass. “After you guys told me about that wacky ass scenario of yours…I’m both angry and worried. But if there’s anyone I’ll do it for, it’s Dante. Additionally, I’ll know the full story first. I'll know as soon as he gains back his memories.”

“All right. Let’s move then, we need to hurry and set everything up.”, Luna urged everyone.

The rest of the team also went up the elevator, having a clear goal in mind without a clear plan to execute it. And down below, it was but time for the inevitable.

“Drima…you ready?” Magi asked.

Drima opened up a panel with Dante’s biometrics. “I’m not. I never was and neither were you, despite the time provided to do so. The only thing you and I can both do now is hope and pray.”

“I guess so. So how’s this bringing back Dante?”

“This? No, no, it’s a Virtual Reality Projector. Based on everything inside Dante’s memories, I’ll get a full surrounding projection of his status at that moment. I can release his memories at any time. One button press and the chip in his neural system will be liquefied and will be out of his system in 4 hours.”

“Must’ve been hard for you then.”

“Can you imagine? My best friend and his comrade bring me a child out of nowhere and tell me to both erase his memories and hand him over like a daycare. All these years it was one remote button press away and all the mist in his head would have been a thing of the past. Convincing Naga almost every day that he was doing fine was no joke either, let alone do so when she thought that both Hikari was dead and confirming Cecilia’s death!”

Magi held in her tears. “Just shut it Drima. Don’t act like you’re out of the shit. You know what you also did. And you better admit to it as well. We all did what we didn’t want to…fixing it is the only thing we’ve got left.”

A heavy sigh left Drima. “Bring me the cables here. As soon as I press it, we need to heavily monitor him to ensure safety.”

“Here. Are we ready?”

“No. But we will go ahead anyway. Stand back. I also want to see exactly what happened that day.”

With shaking fingers inches above the button and a breath held deep inside their lungs, Drima and Magi were about to give Dante the one reward he had but earned throughout the years of his misfortune. Clarity. But as to how things would come to be after, that was their concern…