Glenn coldly stared down at Lina's...friend, struggling to contain his wrath. 'Does that wimp think he can put his eyes on MY sister?'

Ary's knees gave in, his back drenched in cold sweat. Instinctively, he glued his eyes to the floor, unable to raise his eyes to meet Glenn's.

"Glenn!" Lina suddenly exclaimed angrily as she punched her brother in the arm. The pressure crushing Ary suddenly disappeared as Glenn was forced to defend against his sister's wrathful advance.

"You didn't give me any news for an entire month, and now you just come and scare my friend to death?" She angrily jabbed her finger in his chest. Glenn cleared his throat, whistling as he looked away.

"Sorry, I couldn't catch a signal where I was." He glanced at Ary and his expression hardened once more, the pressure returning slightly. "Do you mind making the presentations?"

Ary gulped heavily, his Second Circle Mana drowning under the Devil's Hand's power. It was like trying to push against a tsunami with a bucket. Lina rubbed her forehead, her eyebrows creased.

"This is Ary Rosenborn, a comrade in my class. I met him today, and he simply had the gentlemanliness to accompany me back to my home, something you never tried doing, right Glenn?" accused Lina while lifting Ary's spirits.

Glenn frowned. "Sorry, I was busy getting stronger to maybe face off against some sort of old, ancient monster from the Epoch of the Gods. Had I been able to, I would have certainly included babysitting in my schedule."

Lina puffed her cheeks and opened the mansion's gate with a kick. "Whatever! You refused to contact me for a whole month, now you'll pay the price. Ary, follow me!" she ordered. Ary blinked, his eyes darting between Glenn and Lina before eventually following behind the latter. Glenn pinched his nose, grimacing.

"...Damn it, I know she's at the age of being interested in others, but I didn't expect it to be so unnerving."

Diamanes cackled, "Back in my days, I already had a harem once I reached my sixteenth birthday!"

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "You? You were sixteen once?"

"Duh? Did you think I was born as an ancient entity with some sort of omniscient knowledge? No, I did have a life before being shattered into pieces."

"Why don't you tell me about that, hmm?" replied Glenn as he entered his house, trying to ignore the invisible changes. His perception grew during his training, and he couldn't help but notice some sort of camera-like devices in every corner, as well as strange contraptions hidden in the walls. He was almost certain they weren't here before his outside venture. He'll have to ask Janica and Liam about it. Those things felt like they bore their trademarks.

Lina and Ary were walking up the entry hall's double staircase when a thundering red light crossed past them and collided with Glenn. The shockwave threw the two students on their backs. A cute, crimson fox went and rubbed his head against Lina's leg. A little late for an actual defense, Ary and Lina conjured basic magic barriers, squinting through the dust cloud that had invaded the mansion.

"Seems like you got stronger?" Glenn's voice echoed beyond the smoke. The dust settled, revealing Glenn holding his sword with both hands, pushing back against Sahro's. The Black Heir was grinning widely, his eyes crackling with red electricity. The crimson fox jumped on his shoulder, glaring silently at Glenn.

"And I'm not the only one, am I?" Sahro sheathed his sword and pulled his Aura and Mana back. The fox barked in a high-pitched sound before licking Sahro's face. The Black Heir absent-mindedly rubbed the fox's head as he looked Glenn up and down.

"Your sword was heavy. Did you train your swordsmanship during your outing?" He asked curiously.

Glenn shrugged as he pulled Nelg back into his soul space. The weapon had still not woken up, but all the signs pointed that it could happen at any time.

"Somewhat. I just realized I could use my magic in a much more efficient manner to strengthen my melee." He activated his Mana Sight and grinned widely. "It should be more than enough to overpower you, considering you're only at the fourth level."

Sahro frowned. "What do you mean only? I'm at the same level as you, bastard, but I have both Mana and Aura—"

"Fifth Circle!" A female voice exclaimed behind them. Milena stepped inside the mansion, her eyes shining brightly. "You became an Expert Magi already?"

"Milena!" Glenn opened his arms widely and hugged her, "You're back? How is your spine? Are you okay? Do you still feel hurt? I'm sorry I couldn't defend you from—"

Milena extricated herself from his hug, her cheeks tinted with a slight hint of red. "Grandpa' E- you know who fixed me up, and now..." She flexed her arms proudly, "I'm a Magi too! I broke through on the operation table!" Liara suddenly surged out of nowhere, capturing Milena and hugging her tightly.

Glenn laughed widely. "Good! It feels great to see that nobody is lagging behind." His expression softened and he clenched her shoulder, "...More seriously, I'm glad to see that you're okay. Welcome back."

"Thanks," smiled Milena. She gently pushed Liara away and stretched, "You don't know how happy I am to be back too. This was so boring, and I had to hide myself from my family and the servants. Thankfully, Grandpa' was here from time to time, so that was nice."

"Talking about that..." Glenn leaned in and whispered, "I don't remember you telling us you were...you know, his granddaughter?"

Milena looked at the ceiling, ignoring Glenn's inquisitive eyes. "A lady always has a few secrets. That's just how it is."

Liara chuckled in her angelic voice. She glanced at Ary and Lina who were watching the whole interaction with wide eyes, and nodded back in the direction of the relaxation room.

"We all have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Glenn's eyes drifted to the fox sprawled on Sahro's shoulder. "Who's up for a drink with me?"

His team grinned back at him. Glenn shook his head with a satisfied smile.

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'It's good to be back.'

***

"...You combined your Aura Core and Mana Heart?" Glenn repeated in awe, "Aren't you supposed to explode if you do that?"

Sahro nodded. "Yeah, I almost did. But instead, it combined perfectly, and..." he patted his small fox sitting on his lap, "I ended up with that."

The fox glared at Sahro and bit his hand as if he understood his words.

"I think he wants a name," Milena laughed. Liara extended her hand to pet the fox, only for the latter to jump on her lap, running away from Sahro. The Black Heiress made a surprise smile before happily petting the creature. The fox purred as it tucked itself into her clothes. Sahro glared at the creature before sighing.

"A fox name...Uhh, Fox?"

Milena and Liara stared at him like he was insane while Glenn laughed.

"Rusty? Sandy? Fennec? Blaze?" Milena counted on her fingers as she proposed one name after the other. The fox looked at her and shook its head, unsatisfied.

"He's connected that thunder of yours, isn't he, Sahro?" asked Glenn as he rubbed his chin. Sahro nodded absent-mindedly, struggling to find a fitting name.

"I know! What about Raijin?" Diamanes suddenly exclaimed with a grin. Glenn glanced at the fox, who looked up curiously. "Back on Earth, it was the name of a god of thunder. Or something like that. I just remember the name because it sounds cool."

The fox jumped on Glenn's head, sitting proudly in his black hair. Milena and Liara looked at him with a little jealousy while Sahro grinned.

"Raijin it is, then! That's a name for a true warrior! A thunder god, how fitting!"

The fox jumped off Glenn's head, transforming into a small bolt of lightning before returning to Sahro's shoulder. Raijin licked its paws, his whiskers fluttering with crackling electricity. Sahro petted the fox with his mechanical arm, satisfied. Milena cleared her throat, turning the attention to her.

"I also have something to show you," she admitted. She turned her back to them and suddenly lifted her shirt. Glenn was about to avert his eyes when he caught the cold glint of steel in her bare back.

"That's very, very badass," Diamanes commented casually. In Milena's back, in place of her spine, was now a steel construct that started from below the belt to the nape of her neck.

"That was the only solution to replace the missing bone that Grandpa' could offer me," explained Milena as she pulled her shirt back down, at Diamanes' greatest disappointment.

"Does it do anything?" Liara asked curiously. "Besides replacing your spine, I mean?"

Milena shrugged, uncertain. "Grandpa' told me he hid a few surprises in it, but I still haven't figured out what it was."

Glenn crossed his arms and leaned back in his armchair. "Whatever it is, it's probably only positive. But you know..." The corner of his lips curved upward and he pressed a bracelet at his wrist. "I also have a small surprise."

A holographic screen appeared in front of him, Gundam's faceless image streamed through it.

//Descendant?

Liara, Milena, and Sahro were all staring at the floating screen, shocked. Glenn cleared his throat.

"Do you mind preparing the package I ordered you to keep for me?"

//The teleportation process is ready whenever you are, Descendant.

Glenn grinned. "Let's go to somewhere with a little more space."

A minute later, the whole team was standing outside. Lina and Ary were sitting on a balcony, watching them curiously. Glenn glanced at the boy.

'Isn't that a good opportunity to scare off the kid?' he thought.

"Alright, alright, everyone, please depart from the landing zone, thank you~" Diamanes jeered.

"Gundam, send it," Glenn ordered. A gate suddenly appeared above the group, a huge shadow falling from it. Liara and Milena gasped while Sahro reached for his sword, a hungry smile on his face. It took only a glance for Lina to recognize what the shadow was. Ary gripped the balcony's ledge tightly, unable to believe his eyes.

The ground shook with the corpse landing, the black scales rustling under the sun. Glenn opened his arms widely, embracing the body's sight.

"A dead dragon! Haha!" He laughed, enjoying the look of shock on his friends' faces.

//This is NOT A DRAGON. Gundam's voice thundered from his wrist, but Glenn couldn't care less for him. A small stone suddenly rolled out of his breast pocket, stealthily rolling to the dragon's corpse. Once, it pierced a hole through the creature's head. It returned to that same hole, burrowing in the flesh and dry blood. Nobody managed to catch the strange sight.

"You brought back a dragon," Milena muttered, "Where did you even find it?"

Glenn shrugged. "In the Dark Wall. Nothing too crazy. Ah, and Sahro, I also met our friend, Doyle Malory."

"He's still alive?" Sahro exclaimed in awe, "I thought that Laboratory would have killed him or something!"

"Actually, the Core—or Laboratory, whatever suits you, chose to use him as a source of energy. I...talked with him, and he had a hell of a grudge against the Gods." Glenn recounted, his arms crossed as he looked at the dragon's corpse.

"He was the Seven Gods' Apostle and is immortal. If I understood everything correctly," said Glenn casually. Liara and Milena turned to him with horrified eyes, wondering what sort of ancient secret their friend had accidentally stumbled upon.

"Anyway," Glenn changed the subject, "Anyone knows who Sevirox is? He's the one who built Gundam and the Laboratory."

"Sevirox?” Milena and Lina shouted at the same time. Unbeknownst to them, the young girl had slipped in among them at some point, eavesdropping on the conversation. Lina ran up to Glenn, shocked.

"Bro, Sevirox is a dragon!" she exclaimed, "And a super old one at that!"

Milena nodded as she grabbed at her hair. "Sevirox is the one who created the Draconic School of magic and taught it to the First King, his sole human friend. He's one of the most important figures in history and the sole reason so many powerhouses were born in Munirp throughout the ages. He- He's a legend, a myth!"

Glenn blinked, his mouth opening slightly.

Oh. Oh.

Ohhh.

Sevirox was a dragon. Suddenly, a lot of things were making a lot more sense. Gundam's insistence in refusing to call the overgrown lizard a dragon, the drawing Sevirox's friend made for a new "shape", and the absurd size of the Blumar cube containing the Core.

"Wait, is D. the First King's name?" Glenn suddenly pieced together. Sevirox had one sole human friend, and there was only one letter bearing the mark of someone.

D.

"Shit, shit..." Glenn crouched on the ground, his mind racing. He drew out the Project: Sword of Damocles' notebook from his dimensional pouch and hurriedly flipped through the page. There was one thing he was certain of, and it was that Sevirox came from Earth. But he was a dragon. Did that mean Sevirox reincarnated in a dragon's body? How insane was that?

Sevirox, the Dragon Earthling, and D., the First King, were looking into ways of killing gods. Sevirox created the Blumar, a material that countered every mystical power, be they Aura, Mana, or Divinity. Sevirox died of old age after transforming his entire body into Blumar in an attempt to lengthen his life, as he explained in the Project: Sword of Damocles' notebook.

Glenn shivered as he suddenly came to the realization.

Could there be a Blumar dragon slumbering somewhere, waiting to wake up?

"Holy shit, this is so nonsensical, and yet makes so much sense. Fuck." Diamanes blurted out.

'What exactly did we stumble on, Diamanes?'