After the shout called out against him, the surrounding space began to suppress him, a titanic grip clenching every inch of his body and squeezing with blatant hostility. No doubt a Marshal Exalt had intervened and sought his life. Despite their best efforts, Oscar and Erden struggled and could not free themselves from the soul-crushing grasp, choking for air. Whoever the Marshal Exalt was, they surpassed Maia's inexperienced powers.

Then, a counterforce repelled the oppression, allowing Oscar to breathe, and he took several deep gasps of air into his shrunken lungs. A powerful, clear, and angered voice shouted, "How dare you?!" Gazing upward, he saw a radiant figure clad in a white battle dress charging through the sky, accompanied by a silver dragon. Celestina had arrived on the battlefield, her silver hair fluttering backward as her heroic visage carried on. She flashed across a great distance and swiped her rapier, creating a cross of light in the air. Powerful Ein fired from this cross, landing directly on her foe.

Under attack by Celestina's violent light, the Marshal Exalt of the Earth Core Academy fought back and shouted, "Get Orden out of there, now!"

The forces Orden led earlier sprang into action, diving down to their leader. Oscar looked gratefully to Celestina, who gave him a nod, currently entangled with the enemy. He gathered his Black Aegis Order and chased after Orden's group, flying with all his might. Suddenly, a sharp pain dug into his arm. Looking down, he noticed his arm had been broken. It wasn't from the Marshal Exalt's pressure but from Orden's final blow, and Oscar's sense of danger heightened.

'I can't let him grow stronger. I need to end this now before he can recover.' Determined, Oscar hastened his flight and caught up to the tail-end of Orden's retreating protectors. Some glared with bloodshot eyes and stern faces, a look he recognized all too well. In a last stand, they rushed out against Oscar and his Black Aegis Order, roaring at the top of their lungs.

"Admirable." Oscar effortlessly eviscerated some, using the full might of his Eirin and spells, while Erden pummeled his burning body into others, igniting them into ashes on the wind. The rest of his Black Aegis Order joined in to handle the stragglers, and he continued to chase. Little by little, the enemy separated more of their soldiers, like how a lizard discards its tail to escape. One by one, Oscar slew them, felling them to join the myriad of fallen on the cold, snowy mountains.

For a brief moment, amid the carnage he wreaked upon the resolute defenders, Oscar locked gazes with Orden. It looked to be grief, despair, and a deep anger erupting from those eyes, and Oscar gritted his teeth, pouring more power into his chase. He had an inkling, a premonition that sent shivers of fear down his spine. If Orden survived here, he would surely return as a formidable foe, and Oscar didn't wish to find out how much more dangerous the next battle might be.

"OSCAR TERR!" Orden shouted hoarsely, his one remaining hand extending out as his teeth gnashed and ground together. He writhed around, almost escaping his allies' grip, and shouted in volcanic fury, "OSCAR!"

'Damn it!' Oscar's face darkened. He plunged a Golden Drill into one's head and burned the body before tossing it aside. His heart sank as the three remaining soldiers dragged Orden's struggling, burnt figure into the territory near the enemy's airships. Countless guns aimed directly at him, and Oscar knew he had failed. The last scream from Orden, shouting his name, unnerved him, and sweat beaded down his forehead. It would be his fault if it resulted in more lives being lost because Orden now possessed a vengeful cause, a powerful motivator.

Begrudgingly, he halted and ordered his men to stop, staring down the long guns of the airships. Since Orden was no longer reachable, he needed to contribute in other ways. From a gulf of grade-three healing elixir, his broken arm patched itself together. He moved his arm around to adjust before nodding in satisfaction. Shouting, Oscar rallied his troops, "On me! Don't break formation!"

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With Oscar leading at the helm, the Black Aegis Order laid devastation across the sky, the enemy not at all prepared to deal with his breaking force. He and Erden launched the initial attacks to spread fear and shock throughout the enemy while his backup arrived to take advantage of the chaos. After several hours, the enemy retreated, and everyone cheered, raising their weapons high, and seemed eager to give chase, some already bolting for the retreating airships. But Celestina ordered all forces to stop and collect their dead.

"We're heading back to our cave. Alec, take inventory of everything we have left and used." As the armies cleaned up the battlefield, Oscar hurried everyone back into the cave they slept in yesterday. He sighed and observed the field of corpses and blood, the snow slowly building atop the ones that hadn't been cleared off yet. So many had died. A similar scene occurred long ago in the Burning Valley, but seeing it in his homeland felt very saddening. From the Drakken Port to the Rurin Gaols, he never saw severe losses until now.

"Not a pretty sight. Sometimes, I wish this war would just end already." Celestina flew down and landed in front, blocking his view of the aftermath. She swept her emerald gaze across his body, from head to toe, and sighed with a weary smile. Her hand wiped his bloody cheek with a handkerchief. She scolded him, her smile flattening sternly, "You need to take better care of yourself. Your wife will be sad to see you like this."

"There's so many dead, Celestina. Too many." Oscar walked around her, bringing the awful scene back to the forefront. His feet lifted off the ground, and he witnessed more bodies strung along the base of the mountains, some caught on the slopes, and wreckages of airships, black smoke fuming from the scraps. He knew the war was a horrible affair, but knowing these losses occurred everywhere was unpleasant. "Is our only hope really Gilbert Lockwood? Eight years seems too far to wait for, and that's assuming he wins the Primanomachy."

"I know. It's draining as it is." Celestina floated to his side, shaking her head. "At least he bought us ten years to prepare. The Primaeres do as they please. We're nothing but ants compared to them."

"Have you met one?" Oscar looked away from the battlefield and turned to Celestina.

"Once. The Great Primaere arrived to retrieve Gilbert and offered two others to accompany him. Guess who went with them?" Celestina scoffed, her voice colder than the snow around them.

"Isabella and Aurora? The Pavilion Master never mentioned that." The fact those two decided to leave the Empire was infuriating to hear. Oscar was so enraged he accidentally surged his Ein to the fullest. That was two Grade-Eight Exalts out of the war in which they could have had a major impact. "How could they?"

"He regards it as a shame and dislikes talking about it. At first, Gilbert extended the invitation to me, but I brushed it off coldly. I can understand Gilbert leaving for the benefits it gave us, but not those two. Bunch of fools." Her rant continued as she spilled out more of her grievances, and Oscar listened to each one: the incompetent nobles who cared about their territories and achievements, the Alchemist Guild and Fabricator Guilds that made money off all sides, and the ceaseless amount of people who scrutinized her every move. She stopped at the end and laughed, "It's been a long time since I complained. I remember how uplifting it felt to have someone to complain with."

"You really haven't changed at all," Oscar smiled but soon frowned. "Taking two other Grade-Eights with him, Gilbert better return with a victory and end this war."

"Two Grade-Eights would have been a boon, even more so with a Grade Nine. But–" Celestina elevated higher and caressed Oscar's head, smiling to the fullest, a charming sight. "I believe we have someone here who can more than fill in the gaps they created."

"That's too much pressure. Also, stop." Oscar swiped her hand off. "Avril is one scary person when she's mad."

"Ah, you hen-picked husband. But, it's not bad to see you regard your wife so highly." Celestina backed off, losing her smile and returning to her formal and regal demeanor. She stared at Oscar, hints of pleading within her serious gaze. "Please do everything you can to reduce our losses. I know it's impossible to ask you to be on every battlefield. But wherever you are, protect our own and vanquish the enemy."

"Isn't that a given, my princess?" Oscar bowed his head. He took a side glance at the destruction and death to the side. It became engraved in his mind. Clenching his clasped hands harder, he knew it was a tall and harsh task, but she believed in him to order it.

After Celestina bid him farewell, Oscar joined his Black Aegis Order in the cave and said, "Let's move out. We're continuing our search."