The two men fought with everything they had. The sword moved at incredible speed, cutting the air from four different directions. Despite the fact that there was no hesitation to kill, the blade missed.

Three of the attacks ended up hitting empty air, and the last one bounced off the fist as it moved below. The fists dance around the sword in a deadly dance. They had become familiar with each other after so many fights. Adel and Eric were having another sparring match.

Unlike before, they didn’t stop when one of them suffered a heavy wound. Adel had a broken foot, and Eric had a dislocated shoulder. They were going to keep fighting until one of them was down, unconscious or on the edge of death. This was the fastest way to improve in combat.

They didn’t use their special abilities; they trained them on their own. Only their combat skills can push their bodies beyond each day to a new level. Adel moved forward and slashed his leg, but Eric knocked a tooth out of his mouth. It had been only a couple of months since Thanatos went on a journey to the east with Neo and their recruit, Kit.

The first few weeks were spent setting up a base for Underworld in the forest. After that, they could begin to look for new partners in the future, but the defeat was still very fresh in everyone’s mind. The surviving members were tired and depressed, but thanks to Thanatos's resurrection, they regained some faith. There was a chance to be reborn.

With those hopes and the envelopes that Lia had made to communicate, they could send letters back and forth. She was keeping an eye on the army from the outside as best she could. The only thing they could do was gather their strength and train until their leader came back with a new plan.

"Aahhh..." Eric’s hand was cut. He felt the metal piercing his flesh and the warm blood spilling. He was working until his fist were so tough that not even iron could scratch them. He hit Adel's sword to block the attacks and punched stones during the morning until his knuckles were bloody.

He moved to the right and, with a kick, he made Adel lose balance. Another blow to the liver made him vomit drool. There was nothing else to vomit after two hours of fighting. "Come on, I know you've got more!"

Adel grabbed his side in pain and used the sword to stand back up. He spit out the last bit of vomit hanging from his mouth and took a battle stance. He was working on improving his swordsmanship. The art of the sword was one of the many paths to power. Many tried, but only a few could be considered the top swordsmen in the land. He never had any intention of becoming a top swordsman, but if it could help his master and Underworld. He was more than willing to do anything to achieve his dream of destroying the Republic.

"Stop talking and give me all you got, Eric." He dashed and slashed at his feet. He managed to cut a couple of toes. Instead of retreating, Eric used the wounded foot to hit him in the face and then punched again against the ground.

Adel moved his arms and, only following instinct, he cut Eric’s ear. That was too close, meaning the battle should end soon before one of them actually ends up dying. The sword against the fist, the first one to strike would win.

Eric was faster for half a second and punched Adel in the head, knocking him down. The fight was over. The grunts watching went into a roar and then took healing potions for both of them. Thanks to the demi human tribes, they still had a supply of ingredients and a couple of apprentices. To heal so much damage, they had to drink something between eight and ten minor healing potions.

After a while, Adel regained consciousness and saw Eric sitting at his side. They were under a tent, recovering from the battle. He sat on the quilt and talked to him. "Did I lose?"

"Of course, you lost. I’m still stronger than you."

"What is the current record?"

"I have won three times and you one. You still need more training, mister second in command."

"Yes, how about you, Eric? You were there with the assassin of The Hand. Could you defeat him alone if you fought now?"

"Hahahahaha, not in a hundred years." He laughed at himself and walked outside the tent.

Adel followed behind and watched the bright moon over their heads. Somewhere in this world, Thanatos was watching the same moon as they were, becoming stronger and learning new powers for his ascension.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Tell me, Adel, are we still weak when compared to your old bosses in the Red Dragon?"

"Yes, we’re insignificant to people like them. They weren’t even present, and we lost our base. We’re still too weak." Silence came between them, but Adel was the one to break it. "But there is someone who’s just as strong as them. Right now, Thanatos is training to be even stronger and challenge the leaders himself. When that day comes, we need to be at least strong enough to take some of his burden."

"Hahahaha, I can’t wait to see him again. How powerful is going to be the next time we meet?" Eric said with a silly smile. He clearly misses Thanatos and Neo.

"Hehe, I don’t know, but I know one thing for certain. When he comes back, we’ll have to fight more fearlessly than ever before." After that, they went back to their individual training. The promise they made was going to become real.

***

In the Capital of the Republic, the streets were filled with people. It was a normal day. Business went as usual as the young woman bought a bunch of products.

"The cloth from the Draconic Empire is pretty good during this season. Maybe I should buy some to take home. What do you think, Helena?"

"I think it's a fantastic idea, Miss Lia, and your mother would be delighted to see you making more clothes."

Lia was talking with her new maid, Helena. She was assigned after her mother found a noble girl around her age. She was from a small family; this was her opportunity to gain more recognition and prestige for the future. Behind the ladies, there were three bodyguards that were carrying all the items that Lia had bought. They were hired by her father after the raid at Underworld.

No matter what, Lia could never leave the house alone without these four people. Under no circumstances could she hide from their eyes. Her parents were very worried about her. There wasn’t much she could do after she made up the lie that she was blackmailed by the syndicate to keep her connection and favorable opinion hidden.

It was a good plan. In the worst case, my parents might think I was under the effect of some super powerful spell and have me secluded for... I can’t know how long. Lia had made the decision to play the role of a clueless girl. She pretended to only be interested in shopping and doing fun things.

It worked on the bodyguards; they thought of her as just another superficial, rich, noble girl. But Helena was more cunning. It was a noble woman that could see behind the obvious lies and attempts at deception. The first month was hard. Lia could feel Helena's eyes watching her moves, trying to find her secrets.

"Ah, how cute. Look, Helena is one of those tiny dogs. They are getting pretty popular." She got close without a care and petted the dog. The owner was too enthralled by Lia's beauty to say anything to her.

Lia interacted with people in her usual way, not to create a false image but to lower Helena guard. It took a lot of time, but today it seemed that Helena finally accepted Lia's intentions and stopped trying to push further into her heart.

"Let’s rest for a moment in the park. I’m getting tired."

"Sure, our friends here could use the rest before we go back shopping." She looked at the bodyguards, who were more annoyed by playing babysitter than tired.

Lia took a seat and asked for some sweets. One of the bodyguards went to buy some sweet apples. During that moment, Lia and Helena started talking about trivial things until a hand stopped around the bench and almost touched Lia's shoulder before Helena grabbed it.

"Who are you?" She raised her voice, and the bodyguards moved between them in less than a second. "State your name please." One of the guards looked at the woman in the eyes with a murderous stare.

"Ah, be careful. I was just passing by to give Lia this."

"Oh, lady Anna. What are you doing here? Please let her arm go!" The bodyguard obeyed and bowed in a sign of apology.

"Helena, this is Lady Anna Roche. We know each other from some business. She’s an enchanted cloth tailor."

"I see my humble apologies, Lady Anna Roche."

"Don’t worry, I was the one who came unannounced. Lia, I finished preparing the cloth you’re asking for. Here it is." She took out a bag full of enchanted cloth ready to use.

"Thank you. I’ll make sure to make some nice dresses."

"That makes sense since you don’t know how to enchant cloth yourself." Helena asked paying attention to their reactions. She could see the response in Anna’s face, but Lia turned around and made it obvious.

"Oh, I actually learned the basics from Lady Anna. She was nice enough to teach me." Lia didn’t make any attempt to hide it.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you, but I have to get back to work. You know, my old man of a father can’t function with me. Goodbye."

Helena sensed some nervousness as Anna walked away, but Lia was perfectly calm. Perhaps it was her imagination that did the trick.

After returning from shopping around in the city, Lia went to her room and began to organize all the things she bought. After making sure no one was listening from behind the door, she smiled. Her plan worked; the cloth that Anna had given her was imbued with a spell that made it compact and light.

It wasn’t just cloth for a few dresses. She could work for many months with this. It was all the supplies she needed. Hehe, I knew neither Helena nor the bodyguards could tell what spell was inside the cloth. The best part is that it wasn’t only raw material. I can make more on my own, but these! She revealed the hidden scrolls inside the cloth, over twenty spells. She was going to use them to make armor for her friends in Underworld.

She sat in front of her work desk, ready to start brewing ideas. Adel needs something to help him with the grip on his sword, and Eric is training to make his fist harder. He’ll probably need more defense in his arms or the rest of his body.

She sketched some ideas for the future. She thought about the days when they could all sit together and celebrate anything. She walked to the window and watched the stars in the sky.

"Someday all of us will get together again."