Republic of Kaldstein, Kaldstein City: 936, May 14th, Monday, 1:00 PM.

At a temporal outpost inside the walls of the snowy city of Kaldstein, the unharmed officers from Cerberus gathered around the area to keep a watchful eye on the distant Headquarters. The remining staff was dispatched after quick inspection, while the wounded in critical condition were transported to the nearest hospital—with only a few remaining in the medical tents.

“Sovereign?” Yeon answered the call in her phone. She stood outside inspecting the situation in the outpost—the snowy flakes gently falling from the sky.

“It is me, Ki-Joon. How are things?”

A sigh of relief left the woman’s lips, offering her reply right after. “We’ve managed to save as many people as we could. Is there anything you need?”

“Can you come home?”

“Of course, did something happen?”

“I need to take Lionheart to the hospital.”

Yeon flinched slightly, shocked by the news. “What happened?”

“Her gear took her to Paradise. You can figure out the rest from there.”

“I’m on my way, how are you doing?”

“Just hurry.”

With the call finished, Yeon walked inside one of the emergency tents for the wounded. Inside she found Aria, Maulik and Gal—who have been heavily injured after their fight with the daemon. Aria remained unconscious with a broken leg—her ankle and knee immobilized in between a splint of wooden planks. Xun was seated next to her, watching over her friend with furrowed brows. Beside them were Maulik and Gal, sleeping peacefully with calm breaths in their own beds.

“Miss Yeon,” Xun turned her head as she noticed Ki-Joon striding her way inside. “Aria is…”

“I know, I’m sure she’ll recover soon.” She interrupted, making her departure known promptly after. “I’ll be leaving for some important matters. Can I leave things to you here?”

“You can count on me!” the tiny woman replied confidently—to which Yeon nodded with a smile, making her way out of the tent with haste.

Republic of Kaldstein, Sovereign’s Home: 936, May 14th, Monday, 1:00 PM.

It was a bright and peaceful day at the home of Sovereign himself, the rays of the sun leaked through the closed glass windows into the living room. The place was decorated like an indoors garden with a plethora of flowers all around—exhibiting different shapes and colors.

“Can we play?” Lucy asked with a smile. In her right hand, she held the figurine of a black-haired man with a bronze sword—a confident smile painted on his face. In the other, she held one of a black and crimson specter with a mean and angry look—snarling furiously with its claws out. “I will be the champion, and you can be Specter!”

“Haha,” Sovereign chuckled at the girl’s suggestion. “Not now, Lucy. I’m working at the moment, but Ki-Joon will be here to play with you all you want.”

“Miss Ki-Joon is coming?” the girl’s eyes perked up, gleaming with excitement.

“She is, but only if you go to your room and be a good girl, got it?”

“Yes!” Lucy jumped up and down a couple of times, dashing up the wooden stairs towards her room—waving both of her figurines in hands.

As the door of the girl’s room slammed closed, Sovereign dropped on a nearby couch and dropped his shoulders—moving his head to look at the ceiling with a sigh. “Strange… I thought I’d feel more guilty about this.” The man began to talk to himself with a lower voice. “When Lionheart’s village was destroyed, I could barely handle the guilt… when Viktoria was killed, I tried to make it up with a promise to take care of Lucy… but as more and more people died at the hands of my specters, I felt nothing… and now… now it feels good… heh.” A quick chuckle escaped his lips. “I can barely do anything with this weakened body of mine and yet… and yet I have locked King and his knights in Paradise, the Deadlands have expanded once again… my specters keep getting stronger by the day… It’s as if I’ve return to my old self… I want more… It was all mine before anyway… hah… haha… hahahaha… ha—"

A sudden ringing sound from his phone interrupted the man’s mumbling however, prompting him to lead one hand to his pocket and take out the device—reading the name ‘Jacob’ on the screen. He quickly pressed the green answer button, coming in contact with Cerberus’ head scientist.

“Sovereign?”

“I’m here.”

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“You sound uh, rough…” Jacob noticed the CEO’s weak tone. “Did you take your medicine?”

“It won’t help me at this stage, Jacob.”

“I see… so it’s that time again huh…” the scientist said with a hint of concern. “Did you call Yeon?”

“She’s on her way.”

“Right, about why I called you then. We managed to rescue as many people from Paradise as possible, but the lieutenant has gone missing. We all just appeared in the middle of a flaming room and were rescued by lady Eutychia and the others.”

“Lionheart is safe, Jacob. She needs medical attention, but nothing that will put her life at risk.”

“I’m glad to hear that…” Jacob sighed in relief. “I will get out of your hair now then. Things are getting a bit dangerous here in Pelkesk. I will see you soon.”

Jacob ended the call, leaving Sovereign to take a quick breather as he sunk in the couch—taking a deep and long breath. “What if I… just let it happen…” he whispered. “I should probably stop Ninigi’s fight now... it might clear my head a little.”

Northern Region of the Deadlands, Near Cerberus’ Border: 936, May 14th, Monday, 1:00 PM.

In the dark and crimson atmosphere of the Deadlands, with the heating wave of thick red fog traveling across the region. Both Ninigi and the exile took their fight to the desolated zone, the sword of Gladea’s chosen clashed against the daemon’s fist—both parties struggling to gain the upper hand.

With a powerful thrusting punch against Ninigi, the exile managed to fend off the knight as his fist collided with the blade of his opponent—hurling him a great distance away. Planting his feet on the ground, Ninigi managed to stop himself from drifting away further while regaining his balance—huffing through his mouth.

“He’s gotten even stronger… I can’t let my guard down.” the knight said to himself with soft voice.

Sheathing the curved sword back into its wooden scabbard, Ninigi inhaled deeply from his nose while closing his eyes. He bent his knees slightly while twisting his upper body to hide the blade, pressing his fingers tightly on the grip. Pulling the sword partially upwards to reveal its glowing azure steel, Ninigi broke into a rapid sprint towards the exile—leaving a trail of azure light behind.

The daemon reacted to the knight’s rapid approach, intercepting the charge of his opponent with one of his own. Both fighters closed the distance between them in a short second, with Ninigi extending his arm towards the exile—slashing at him with a horizontal attack, while the exile propelled his fist forward into a thrusting punch.

Despite Ninigi’s sword being thin and flexible, the magnitude of its swift motion caused the daemon’s arm to fling back on impact—stumbling backwards as the energy caused by the collision traveled across his body. Making use of the opening, Ninigi twisted his hand to swing back at his opponent—reversing the blade’s motion to slash into another horizontal attack.

Reacting quickly, the exile threw one hand directly at the curved sword to stop its approach—successfully blocking the knight’s attack. Both the daemon and the champion’s hands trembled as they pushed against each other, struggling for control of the sword. Drops of crimson blood began to roll from the exile’s hand, keeping a tight grip on the sharp edges of the blade.

“Away,” Ninigi calmly expressed as he caused his weapon to vanish into azure particles—taking a hold of the daemon’s wrist.

Pulling his opponent in closer, the knight reacted with a powerful headbutt against the exile’s nose—staggering him as blood spew out. Bending his knees into a fighting stance once again, Ninigi materialized the curved sword in his right hand a second time—pressing the fingers of his left hand on the grip while keeping a hold of the scabbard on the right.

“This…” the eyes on the knight glowed with an intense azure light—taking a deep breath before releasing the air from his lungs. “Will finish it,” he claimed while slicing at the daemon once again.

The blade split the air in half across the region, the sheer force of the knight’s motion emitting a loud whooshing sound. Unable to react in time, the daemon found himself defenseless against the assault of the champion’s attack—observing helplessly as the cold azure steel of the weapon approached him rapidly.

Before Ninigi’s blade could split his opponent in half however, the black-haired daemon suddenly turned into a body of crimson particles—spreading like flower petals as the knight’s sword sliced through them. The crimson lights silently faded in mere seconds, and the daemon vanished alongside them—leaving no trail behind.

“What the—” Ninigi was left stunned, moving his head from side to side while looking for his opponent. “Gone…” he whispered, dissolving his curved sword with an azure light. He huffed loudly through his nose, relaxing his shoulders in the process. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, with blood dripping from his open wounds. “I assumed he would be watching... at least there was no need to take someone’s life today…”

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The black-haired daemon lied flat on a vast field of white flowers, gently dancing with the placid breeze. His somewhat short hair followed the flowers motion, and he breathed calmly through his nose—his mouth slightly open with his face looking up at the clear blue sky above. Next to him was a stone tomb, with the name ‘Luna Harumi’ carved into it.

“You cause nothing but trouble,” Sovereign suddenly stepped in front of the exile—looking down with a neutral expression. “But a promise is a promise, and I never back down on my word.”

He kneeled down in front of the man as he led one hand inside his vest, pulling a shattered bronze sword from inside—the blade corroded into a bluish color with time. Sovereign gently placed the weapon on the daemon’s chest, and crossed the man’s arms on top of it—as If preparing him for a burial.

“Now you stay here,” Sovereign whispered—standing back on his feet. “If things don’t work out for me then… it will be up to you... again.”

The exile’s body suddenly vanished into crimson particles of light, joining with the red fog that enveloped the entire region. The earth remained dry and fissured, scorched by the heat of the zone—a glowing crimson light emanating from within its cracks.

Deadlands, 936, May 14th, Monday, 1:00 PM.

“That’s one problem dealt with,” Sovereign said, proceeding to look at the tombstone in front of him—the name of his mother carved on it. He sighed softly while closing his eyes, looking back at the inscribed name with furrowed brows. “Wish I could just stay here forever…”

The white flowers kept dancing merrily with the gentle breeze, showered by the bright and mellow rays of the sun. The tiny blades of grass caressed the black leather of the man’s shoes, as well as the stone of the tomb in front of him.

END OF CHAPTER