Warren twirled his conical flask as he remarked excitedly, "Finally, the last batch of the cure is complete. This is great news! However, why are you guys looking so downtrodden?" Before him, the group was looking downcast, as everybody, even Jonathan, mourned the passing of their leader, Keane. None was more distraught than Rachel, whose life was reclaimed by Keane's noble sacrifice.

Warren muttered, "Right, in my excitement, I forgot all about the recent passing of a fellow Nirvanian. It's my fault for not being strong enough to beat that Chaos General…" Redmond stepped into the room, exuding an air of authority and calmness as he said, "All of you should stop moping, including you, Warren. Firstly, the past is irreversible.

Next, you, the girl whose life was protected by the death of your captain, if you are going to continue being depressed like this instead of getting your act together and completing the mission you all had started, I think that is a bigger insult to the life he had sacrificed for your sake.

This is the reality of war, where friends and loved ones die. The only way to put their souls at ease is to accomplish whatever we have been tasked with, so that we may do them proud and keep their families safe on their behalf. Do you all understand?"

The team and Warren looked up, their negative emotions slowly dissipating as they unanimously agreed with Redmond and his arousing speech. Redmond continued, "Now that we're all back on the right track, I would like to turn your attention to the mission at hand; to deliver the completed cure to the Sylphs so that we may prevent further bloodshed from war.

Time is scarce now, so we don't have much time left to idle around. While you guys had been recuperating and assisting Warren with the production of the cure, I've been working on our transport to get us to the Sylph Kingdom as fast as possible."

Warren enquired, "And what may that be, Redmond? The most common form of transport, horses, are too large and inflexible to navigate through the dense forest, thus, even by horseback, we would take at least 4 days to reach the Sylph Kingdom from here. Do you have any other better alternatives?"

Redmond replied proudly, "Of course, most conventional transport would take too long to reach our destination. That's why I have tasked my men to bring a section of 10 Hell Lizards here, they are the fastest and most agile animals out there, yet tameable at the same time."

Shen asked confusedly, "Hell Lizards? I've never heard of such creatures before, what exactly are they?" Warren, whose face turned visibly nervous, replied solemnly, "Hell Lizards are not native to the Central Continent. They originate from the Dark Continent, where they are reared and used by the Demon race. I see that your diplomatic mission has been a success, Redmond."

Redmond replied excitedly, "Well, it wasn't that hard for us half-demons of Clan Vizard to gain the trust of our distant relatives. In fact, negotiating with them to establish peaceful relations wasn't hard, at least not as hard as compared to the journey to find their city, hahaha!

Truth be told, the Demons have piped down quite a bit, limiting their savagery to their occasional matches where they decide the chieftains of their respective villages by a contest to the death. Of course, none dared to incur the wrath of the Demon Queen, and her Right Hand, Balthazar.

Balthazar's epithet is the Right Hand of Death, for reasons unknown to myself, but I can sense amazing power from him, much more than even the Queen who's supposedly blessed with the strength of her royal bloodline."

Suddenly, Kai snapped angrily, "You say the Demons are nice now? That's ridiculous! Demons had never and never will be, peace-loving creatures who respect the sanctity of life! Say those words to someone whose mother had been killed by a Demon in front of his very own eyes, me!"

Redmond's face turned grim as he spoke calmly, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, boy, if that was really the case. I must agree that it is in our blood to innately desire the wanton destruction of everything, our Demonic Energy the greatest testament to that point.

However, Kai, correct me if I got your name wrong, the irony of your predicament is that you have the blood of the Demon race flowing through your veins as well, and you tell me you resent them with all your life? If that's truly the case, will you question your existence as well?"

Kai was stumped and left speechless as the others did not know what to say about the current situation which was becoming increasingly frigid. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Adeline spoke gently, "No matter who or what Kai is, I would love him for the person I know he is."

Kai blushed slightly at Adeline's response, only managing to mumble quietly, "Thanks, Adeline." Redmond, who appeared reluctant to aggravate the situation any further, turned around as he looked far into the forest. He muttered, "They're finally here. Pack up your stuff, we're leaving."

Everyone present nodded as Rachel used her Enigma Ability, [Dimension Storage], to store all the batches of the cure, to which Warren quipped, "Your ability is really handy. Maybe you should be my personal assistant when things calm down, what do you think?"

Rachel could only nod slightly as the team gathered outside the Green King's Abode. There, they were impressed by the section assembled before them. The Hell Lizards were huge, monstrous reptiles surprisingly larger than even horses, as their bodies resembled Komodo Dragons, with the exception of the frill around its necks.

Not any less impressive were their riders, all whom wore white masks with bloodshot eyes. The leader of the section, a girl who appeared only slightly older than Kai, dismounted from her mount before placing her right fist on her left chest as she bowed respectfully to Redmond. She said stoically, "Chief, we've brought the Hell Lizards as requested. Let me confirm again, destination, Sylph Kingdom, right?"

Redmond replied with a gentle smile, "Yes, Akame. Let's set out now, with Godspeed. All of you, get onto one Hell Lizard each, we're moving out." Once everybody was seating comfortably on their respective mounts, the riders tapped their mounts on the frill, signalling them to begin moving as the reptiles accelerated quickly, navigating through the forest like a fish in water as they headed to their next destination.

Even though news of victory over Miran had spread to the ears of soldiers stationed at the border with the Sylph Kingdom, none dared to be complacent and negligent in their respective tasks, for the order for them to stand down had not been given. On the contrary, these soldiers were expected to be extra vigilant, since the Sylph Kingdom's forces had yet to retreat despite being inactive at the border for such a long time, as though they were waiting for some sort of cue.

The commander of the 5th Division, who was stationed there, the Child Saint Sariel, was having a meeting with her fellow officers and tacticians as they were discussing on their conduct of defence as well as speculation over their enemies' actions.

Sariel shared, "With our close shave victory over Miran that has yielded several casualties back in Nirvana, all the more we have to ensure that we do not capitulate under any form of pressure from the Sylphs! If we fall here, our country is basically ripe for the taking for the Sylphs! Hence, I want you all to constantly motivate the troops on the ground, to keep their morale and vigilance up at all times. Remember, we're the final line of defence!

Now, let's go back to the intelligence report by the Crimson Sentinels. From our spies, we know that the Sylph Army is split into 5 main divisions, where each Division specialises in a certain skill. First of all, the Huntsmen. These Sylphs specialise in ranged weapons and are hence the main damage dealers of their Army, to achieve victory, it's imperative that we prioritise their destruction first.

Next, the Coventry. which are mainly the healers and protectors. They would be a key stumbling block in our attempt to eradicate the Huntsmen, so we must either eliminate them swiftly or find a way to bypass their defences."

Sariel took a sip of water before continuing, "Thirdly, the Guardian Mages. These guys may be few in numbers, but they are all elite magicians whose combat magic are very potent. Like the Huntsmen, we have to prioritise their destruction to ensure victory, however, they are more tricky to deal with as they are self-sufficient in defence as well. It would be a key battle between magicians from both sides, where we would be counting on our numerical advantage to win.

Fourthly, the Rangers, an elite reconnaissance team of equal status to our Black Ops. They are apparently missing as of now, seemingly occupied with another mission like our Black Ops. Hopefully we don't see them, for I heard these guys are way more trouble than any of the 3 groups mentioned earlier.

Finally, we have the Shieldbearers, the bulk of their forces. Though these guys are not anything special themselves, their armour and shields crafted with Saintwood from the World Trees in their forest home make them surprisingly resilient as compared to our average foot soldier. It will not be easy to breach their defences and reach their backline. Any further questions on what to expect from our opponents and how to deal with them?"

Her fellow commanders studied the map and their individual notes before shaking their heads, signalling their understanding of the immediate actions to be taken in the event the war alarm goes off.

By a twist of fate, the war alarm went off minutes later much to the surprise and dismay of the Nirvanians, as they immediately fell into their battle formations planned long beforehand, designed to counter the expected formation of their enemies. As expected, at the border, the Shieldbearers were in front, leaving their more vulnerable yet essential counterparts in the backline.

Sariel quickly rushed to the front of her army and she was joined by her fellow commanders as well as her aides, namely Giselle, Marissa, Shaw and Keith. If the Shieldbearers were already dressed in impressive golden armour, the commanders seating on horses before them were even more well adorned.

There were 4 of them in total, one was Tirius, Leader of the Guardian Mages and Royal Counsellor to the Sylph King. Next to him was Crown Prince Aeris, whose spiky blue hair was well matched by the crimson armour he'd worn.

The next 2 individuals were twins, though they were distinguishable by their hairstyles and behaviour. One had her hair tied in a single long braid, as she was dressed in simple yet beautiful yellow robes. She was Ilya, the older of the Elfen twins and head of the Coventry.

The other twin had her hair tied in a single long ponytail reaching to her back, as she was dressed in brown leather armour decorated with several insignia that bore tales of her accomplishments. She was armed with a crossbow, unlike her sister who simply held a simple staff with a crescent moon shard at its tip. This was Irelia, the younger of the Elfen twins and Chief of the Huntsmen.

Both sides looked tensely at each other, as they were sizing each other up. Finally, Aeris spoke first, "Listen, Nirvanians. We've heard of your victory against Miran, albeit at a large cost. We've delayed our attack for so long only because my poor sister remains trapped in your country.

However, we can wait no longer, for my father is currently close to death thanks to your abuse of the biological weapon in your hands, [Catastrophe]! Today, we shall eliminate your forces, and march into Nirvana to reclaim our lost land, as well as the cure for my father's ailment! Who's with me!"

The Sylph soldiers behind Aeris pumped their spears excitedly as they cheered in unison. Aeris continued, "You think you guys have a lot of information about our capabilities. Wrong! I'll show you how scary we Sylphs really are!" Aeris dismounted from his horse and stepped forward, raising his arms as though in reverence to a god.

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Suddenly, the colour of his pupils changed as he activated his Luminos, sending an invisible shockwave out towards the entire Nirvanian Army. To Sariel's horror, her countrymen began to collapse one by one, unconscious. Even some who were conscious could barely stand, citing extreme weakness and nausea as they shivered uncontrollably.

Sariel herself didn't feel much, but she could sense something was trying to intimidate her. One of her commanders, who was barely conscious, wheezed, "W-What the hell was that attack? In an instant, he effectively wiped out 60% of our troops in just a blink of an eye! How're we going to fight now?"

Sariel replied calmly, "Prioritise the recovery of our fallen. It seems that he can only make them lose consciousness at most with his ability, right?" as she stared fiercely at Aeris. Irelia retorted, "Watch your tone, kid! Crown Prince Aeris is not the Chief General of our Army and leader of us 5 Sentinels for no reason! Even with just his Luminos Ability, [Dominance], he had already knocked out 60% of your troops! Only goes to show how weak your army is, hahaha!"

Ignoring Irelia's taunt, Sariel looked around, as she realised quickly that the Nirvanian army had lost their most important asset in one attack; their numerical superiority. Now, even though she could sense that her remaining troops are the so-called cream of the crop, against a full strength Sylph Army, their chance of victory was slim and near impossible.

However, given that her soldiers were merely unconscious and not dead, Sariel's priority would be defeating the so-called Crown Prince to prevent him from using his ability once more, so that they may have a chance of retaliation when her soldiers had regained their consciousness.

Sariel declared, "Crown Prince Aeris, I know the Sylphs are not warmongering beasts. How about we settle this in one duel, just me, Child Saint Sariel, against you. What do you think?" Irelia and Ilya immediately shot concerned gazes but they were dismissed by Aeris, who appeared extremely confident in his abilities. He turned to Tirius and the old mage whispered, "This may be for best. I'll make the necessary preparations."

After Aeris and Sariel had stepped forward, Tirius immediately created a dome surrounding them, his eyes glowing with the power of his Luminos. Marissa went forward and banged against the dome, cursing, "Darn, this is a trap! We got to free Lady Sariel!"

Ilya tried to calm her down, explaining softly, "Don't worry, this dome is Lord Tirius' Luminos Ability, [Isolation], the indestructible dome can only be deactivated by his will or if he has fallen unconscious. The purpose of this dome is to allow my Prince and your Lady to have an uninterrupted duel, so that they may fight to their hearts' content without pesky interference. If you have the slightest confidence in your Lady, you should not worry about the current situation."

Marissa quietened down after some advice from Keith as the commanders from both sides watched intently at the battle about to unfold. Aeris drew his sabre from his scabbard on his left waist as he started circling around Sariel, remarking, "My Luminos Ability would be useless against someone of your stature. However, let's see how you fare in direct combat!"

Aeris took off in a flash towards Sariel, swiping his sabre dangerously as Sariel simply danced through his attacks, using her smaller frame to its full advantage. When the time was ripe, Sariel snapped her fingers, conjuring multiple spheres of light that shot forth towards Aeris from all directions. To the surprise of the Nirvanians, Aeris easily dodged every single light beam headed for him, as his eyes glowed with the light of his Luminos.

Shaw exclaimed, "Wow, that's some acrobatics over there! How did he avoid all those beams, given that they shot from all over? Surely even he must have a blind spot?" Irelia snickered as she glowered, "Humph! That attack is nothing in the face of our Luminos! Any decent Sylph with intermediate mastery over their Luminos can see these attacks coming from a mile away, hahaha!"

Shaw clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth in exasperation while Keith merely commented, "The visual prowess of the Luminos is truly astounding, however, I wonder what tricks Mistress Sariel has up her sleeve given her conundrum? Seeing that rapid attacks don't work, how would she change her approach?"

To the surprise of the Sylphs present, Sariel remained unfazed and even flashed a childish grin as she praised, "I guess the best fighter of the Sylph Kingdom has to be really tough, huh! Let's see how you handle this then, [Heaven Buster]!" Sariel shot a humongous beam of light from her staff as the beam threatened to engulf Aeris who had no place to run.

Aeris scoffed, "Trying to overpower me with such an attack, don’t make me laugh! I'll strike you down in one blow, you lass! [Heaven Blade]!" Aeris channelled his immense Light magic through his sabre which extended to form a gigantic blade of light that severed through Sariel's spell.

However, to Aeris' surprise, Sariel was missing after he'd dispelled her attack. Suddenly, he felt a strong force underneath him that pushed him high into the air, causing him to smash into the barrier created by Tirius. Aeris then began flying uncontrollably in all directions, ricocheting all over the place like a pinball before being flung down head first into the ground, where he remained immobilised as he was pinned under Sariel's extreme telekinesis.

Sariel remarked, "Looks like not all magic are visible to the Luminos, huh? Unfortunately for you, I'm not a one-trick pony and have many tricks under my sleeve!" As Aeris remained pinned to the ground, Sariel started charging a huge amount of Light magic above him, far larger than her [Heaven Buster] earlier.

Sariel cried, "Let's finish this! [Heaven Judgement]!" as an enormous pillar of light descended upon Aeris who remained vulnerable. The Sylph Army watched on in shock as the attack clearly connected with their commander, the resultant deafening explosion blinding them all.

Once the light had subsided, and the smokescreen began to disperse, Giselle cheered, "Surely it must be over now? That was Mistress Sariel's [Heaven Judgement], one of her strongest Sage-tier spells! Not to mention that he was caught right in the middle of it defenceless!" The Nirvanian Army started murmuring excitedly as they thought victory was at hand.

However, to their disappointment, in the middle of the huge crater created by Sariel's spell stood a figure cloaked in a blue, wispy armour from head to toe, covering his entire body like ninja robes with the exception of his eyes, which shone ever brighter. Sariel squinted her eyes as she scrutinised the figure before her.

It definitely has to be Prince Aeris, but his eyes held a different pattern than the first time he had used his Luminos to knock out the majority of her troops. The pattern on his irises now look more…convoluted.

Before Sariel could even raise her guard, she felt a punch in her gut as she was sent crashing into the barrier, vomiting blood. Sariel was stumped; she hadn't even seen him disappear. Furthermore, that punch felt harder than the strongest mana armed punch she had received so far, as the concentration of magic within it was incredible.

Sariel instinctively raised an invisible telekinetic barrier around herself, but to her horror, in a few rapid strikes too fast for her to follow, her relatively strong telekinetic barrier which could withstand Grandmaster tier attacks shattered easily. Sariel then had to bear the brunt of Aeris' fierce consecutive attacks, each mercilessly shattering bone as she was walloped relentlessly.

When Aeris was finally satisfied with his onslaught, he simply aimed a kick at her chest, sending her smashing into the barrier. Marissa screamed in horror, "Mistress Sariel! You monster! I'll kill you all!" Irelia taunted, "You're but a dog whose bark is worse than their bite. This is the ultimate power of us Sylphs, and only 0.1% of us can achieve it. The [Eclipse Luminos], which grants us either additional or augmented Enigma Abilities.

The Crown Prince is not the sole user of this power, in fact, all of us leaders of our respective divisions can use this ability as well! That's how we rose to our respective positions and why we are known as the strongest five, the 5 Sentinels!

Fancy only sending a single Sage-tier individual to combat our entire Army, you guys have sorely underestimated us! Now that your champion is probably dead, we should do you guys a favour and grant you swift deaths, hahaha!"

In the confines of the barrier, Aeris muttered, "I'd wanted to end this without using my [Starforce Cloak], but you were really too strong for me not to use it. You're truly a member of the 10 Saints, but yet a girl at the same time, Child Saint Sariel."

Just before Aeris deactivated his Eclipse Luminos, a sudden power surge nearby sent a shiver down his spine. Aeris' eyes widened in horror as he witnessed Sariel transforming before him, the midget, flat-chested girl had suddenly morphed into a tall, well-endowed beauty who got men from both sides drooling in lust."

Aeris was lost for words and Sariel explained, her voice losing the childishness it had earlier, "This is my Enigma Ability, [Age Conversion], where I can sacrifice mana in exchange for youth. However, when the need arises, I can reverse the process, regaining the lost mana used to maintain my childlike appearance. I've unlocked about 15 years worth of mana, so hopefully that's enough to defeat you!"

Aeris smiled under the cover of his [Starforce Cloak] as he replied, "No wonder you had enough mana to treat those life threatening injuries I've given you, your ability is certainly interesting, which means that your current ranking of #10 is essentially inaccurate if you were to go all out. One question from me, why pick the appearance of a 10 year old child? It seems like your young adult form is rather…attractive."

The Elfen twins behind him blushed in jealousy of Sariel's current voluptuous figure as Sariel sighed, "I hate those lecherous gazes you men give me if I were to stay in this form. Moreover, I love the innocence of children, so why not become a child myself to bridge the gap between us?"

Aeris' expression softened for a while before becoming grim again, "As much as I appreciate your character and antics, you're my enemy first and foremost. My country and my father's needs are more important than my own personal feelings. Let's finish this."

The two duellists started gathering their mana as they prepared to play the final note of their performance. Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Stop this at once, Big Brother! There's no need to fight anymore!"

Both Aeris and Sariel turned around to see the source of the voice, which turned out to be Adeline, accompanied by the rest of her team and their Clan Vizard escorts. Tirius remarked, "What are those beasts they're riding on, they reek of death and destruction…"

Aeris stopped gathering mana as he smiled brightly, "My dear Adeline! It's been such a long time, I was afraid you were being held prisoner due to the long period of time we'd not received any correspondence from you. What do you mean by 'There's no need to fight'?"

Adeline quickly dismounted and rushed towards the barrier, speaking happily, "We've managed to create the cure for [Catastrophe] and mass produce it thanks to the Green King's help! So long as Father and the rest are treated, there's no need to fight, right?"

Aeris glanced at Tirius, who nodded his head and deactivated his dome, allowing Aeris to walk forward and stroke his sister's cheek, replying solemnly, "As much as I'm glad that you're safe and that a cure for Father is available, however, have you forgotten who the perpetrators of our near extinction are?

Yes, it was these cursed humans and their machinations, especially that weapon, [Catastrophe]! That, I swear, I cannot forgive so long as I live! Until I wipe out every human on this continent and restore our race's former glory, I would not stop!"

Adeline was terrified as she could sense the increasing enmity oozing from all her brethren as they stared at her with hate-filled eyes. Red King Redmond said casually, "Darn, these Sylphs sure are angst! If only they could be more like her…guess we better be prepared to fight, Warren."

Green King Warren nodded as the two Kings started gathering their mana, refusing to be intimidated by the Sylph Army before them. Just as Adeline was about to break down in tears at the hopelessness of the situation, suddenly, Kai shouted, "That's not true! There needn't be hatred between our 2 races! There can be love too! I'm a product of this love, a half-Sylph, they call me!"

Kai revealed his Luminos on his left eye, much to the surprise of all the Sylphs present, who started gossiping among themselves. Aeris was stunned, but he swiftly regained his composure and said, "Hmph! Whoever was the Sylph that was your parent must be filthy to fall in love with a filthy race like yours! Enough said, my brethren, it's time we unleashed decades of hatred, all in one go! Charge!"

Before the Sylph Army could make a move, suddenly, a commanding yet feminine voice rang, "Stop right there! I order a ceasefire right now!" Aeris turned around angrily to face the source of such audacity, mumbling, "Who are you to command me, the Crown Prince and Chief General…ah, Aunt Charissa, you're back from your mission already? Please accept my humblest apologies!"

The Nirvanians were shocked to see the entire Sylph Army suddenly kneeling down on one knee before the newcomer, who had her own division behind her. Sariel remarked, "These guys are the Rangers! I presume that woman over there is the leader of the Rangers, but shouldn't she be of lower status to the Chief General of the Sylph Army?"

Adeline replied with a smile of relief, "That's my aunt, Princess Charissa. She's the leader of the Rangers, member of the 5 Sentinels and younger sister of my father, King Azir." Charissa scanned the Nirvanian Army before her before locking her eyes with Red King Redmond, snapping, "I thought I said before that you were no longer welcome to the Sylph Kingdom, Redmond?"

Redmond rolled his eyes and replied nonchalantly, "Tch. I'm on an official diplomatic mission here, to deliver the cure to your brother and your people in order to mend the relations between our 2 Kingdoms. Even if you hate me for what I've done, you do know that I'm a man of my word, right?"

Charissa sighed and replied, "Very well, I shall trust you on the account of our old relationship on top of the urgency of our current situation. Aeris, the reason why I'm calling for a ceasefire is because we cannot afford to weaken the humans any further in the face of a far greater threat that looms all over us.

Against this threat, we must stand in unity, and not be divided and warring amongst ourselves! This war, including the one with Miran, was truly masterminded by the organisation I've been keeping tabs on, the Chaos Legion!"

Aeris could only sigh as he nodded his head in resignation. Adeline was overjoyed that the war was finally over, and they had succeeded in helping its resolution, but she was confused when she saw Kai's expression. Adeline realised that Kai was staring intently at her aunt, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Once Charissa had finished disseminating her instructions, she looked towards the Nirvanians and a teenage boy caught her eye. Charissa said gently, "You're…You're Kai right? My dear boy, how much you've grown."

Kai could only utter as he slumped to his knees, "Mother, how could you still be…alive?"