A young man stood beside a winged beauty passing the time with a small floating orb. Her graceful movements seemed to comfort the orb which had been frolicking in circles around them only moments before. As she pet Petri, Lapis kept her gaze locked onto the many screens floating in the air.

Her pupils searched each screen as if searching for something specific and beside her, Hiiro repeated the same behavior. The screens were dense and after analyzing each one, either Hiiro or Lapis would dismiss it away only to push on to the next.

The two had been locked up with Petri for a few hours now investigating the screens. Petri itself was capable of collecting and sorting vast amounts of data, but held little competence in categorizing the overall severity of what it collected. In particular, Petri was unable to understand the finer interactions of the world at large and predict the future actions of each country.

Lapis dismissed screen after screen petting Petri in tandem. Hours later, her face tensed up and with that, she called out.

"Hiiro. I have found it. These should be all related to Gilphriya."

"Yeah, looks like it. They moved faster than expected. Are you planning to move their timeline up?"

Hiiro reexamined the screens of interest before arriving at the same conclusion as Lapis. Upon those screens, Gilphriya had multiple research teams isolating and experimenting on the behemoths left behind.

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, however, Petri was now the main controller of the behemoths while Lapis and Hiiro were out pushing objectives. Without their fine controls, Petri took a default passive posture on the behemoths and focused instead of integrating adventurer combat data into the distributed dungeon bosses and balancing the mana distribution to the dungeons experiencing a spike in invasions.

Though it wasn't expected, Lapis didn't blame the poor artificial intelligence. After all, Petri was designed from the ground up to be an intelligent surveillance and combat management system. The massive behemoths held little combat power outside of slinging their mass and body around.

"Petri, supply an abundance of mana to the Gilphyria nodes. Utilize the stored mana if you need it."

"You're attacking them? Well... I suppose they deserve it. Who told them to protect their territory, after all... Haha...haaaa."

"You have a problem with my plan?"

"No.", Hiiro replied without an ounce of hesitation.

He continued on in nonchalance.

"It was going to happen sooner or later regardless. If I had anything to say, it's more that I'm amazed it took them this long to gather enough courage to even try this. King and Queen Gilphryia aren't qualified to be rulers."

"That is quite the strict out look you have. What do you plan on doing next? Will you join the assault?"

"No. No, I think Petri will be fine against such a group of cowards. I think I'll head over to some of the pressured dungeons and show my face. It's about time to start advertising myself."

Upon hearing his response, Lapis' azure eyes narrowed with subtlety. Her expression appeared hesitant but that hesitation lasted only for an instant. With Petri cradled in her arms, she faced Hiiro and moved to stand directly before him.

Serious eyes locked onto his. She knew the dangers the man before her was leaping into, yet she lacked any desire to prevent it. Rather, she felt the urge to usher him faster, but she knew that desire was born from greed. Such guilty knowledge, how couldn't she be conflicted.

Her hand rose to caress his cheek evoking Hiiro's gentile smile in reply. As if he could read her mind, he moved his hand to caress the soft hand. As the warmth spread from his hand to hers, he broached a wide smile.

"I'll be fine. Between your training and adapting to this 'hero' body, there shouldn't be much competition in this world for me..."

He hesitated a moment before continuing.

"I'm more worried about that Arakis guy. I know I've asked before, but can you beat him?"

Lapis recovered her hand, placing it atop Petri before tilting her head to the side in thought. Hiiro couldn't help but smile wryly at the action.

"I am confident I will not lose to him in combat."

Those words, Hiiro obviously understood. Her answer dodged his question in its entirety. He could only sigh internally before stepping closer to her with his arms open.

"Well, I'm heading out. Give me a going away hug for good luck. Maybe I'll work harder."

"You fool."

Despite the cold words, Lapis didn't stop his approach, nor scold his embrace. To his pleasure, Hiiro couldn't feel the stiffening reaction he felt in the past. He couldn't help but think, 'Ah, this woman is starting to get use to being close to me. Finally, some progress.'

His mood sky rocketed and he tightened his embrace, picking Lapis up and swinging her around once. Stunned by his unexpected action, Lapis' mind froze just long enough for Hiiro to place her back to the ground and escape from her presence. It would appear, someone was successful in taking liberties with her.

Unable to discern if it was anger, embarrassment or some other fledging emotion, she chose to ignore that festering emotion which burned within her. Her eyes took to the screen displaying live feed from the behemoths in Gilphryia.

The situation shown could have been interpreted by anyone. It was too obvious how ill prepared the Elves were for an assault. Though the behemoths remained stationary, there was a clear influx of mana in the region, obviously gifted by Petri to the various nodes spread throughout Gilphryia.

The moment Lapis gave Petri the order, the faithful artificial intelligence kicked off a war. Many of the dungeon nodes had already received the mana boost and started excavating the earth within themselves to build monsters. Those earthen beasts tore through the dungeon exits racing into the surrounding land.

Each individual beast held no particular target, but if one could see their distribution on-mass, they'd soon realize the beasts were surrounding major Elven settlements and appeared to be ignoring much of the wildlife in the area.

On each screen, Lapis saw research team after team withdraw from the area. It was clear the news had already reached King Gilphryia.

"Good boy. Keepit up. We will be expanding the assault front soon. Do not utilize more than half of the remaining mana stored away. The other facilities will soon be able to help you out. I need only a little more time."

An invisible tail wagged furiously as Petri received Lapis' petting. Its body glow intensified as if dedicating further effort to its master's cause.

In fact, Petri was doing just that. Ever since the dungeons came online, Petri had meticulously recorded, analyzed, and simulated combat tactics against each adventurer who invaded. Under the surprise motivation gifted to him by his master, Petri consolidated his findings and distributed that information to each of his minions.

While such a deed would convenience Lapis, it was surely a hell sentence for any adventurer mid fight in the dungeon. Many adventurers who became comfortable with the wood combat style of the dungeon inhabitants fell to the unexpected counterattack.

Such news spread like a tsunami, disappointing many adventurers and worrying each nation's leadership. But such things were of no concern to the little Petri.

During Petri's counterattack, Profectus was also undergoing changes of its own. Countess Sugimoto, in cooperation with the merchant Topazia Shields, enacted her expansion plan.

Empress Fardom had never discussed her plans in depth with Aria, however Aria was smart enough to read between the lines. Nations across the world were under attack and it wasn't clear if those nations would be victorious.

Azmodious had already, at least territorially, been erased from continent. Such a change was once thought impossible, and yet reality delivered.

As she saw the world around Profectus crumbling, Aria knew Profectus wouldn't be immune to the changes. Even if Empress Fardom ignored Profectus, the world at large would eventually move on it. Expecting peace when under the public umbrella of the world's enemy is a foolish dream. Aria knew that at heart.

Queen Dazzlevine was forced to join her isolated forces in Klasika to help negotiate the terms of their immigration, but there was nothing preventing her from returning to Profectus and exacting an indirect attack against Empress Fardom through Profectus' destruction.

At first, Aria planned to keep her thoughts to herself until she had a crisis response plan, but upon one of her scheduled meets with Topazia, she was surprised to hear the beastman's concerns matched her own.

During that meet, she and Topazia exchanged various ideas until Aria felt she had the start of an actionable plan. The two agreed to reengage at a later date and Aria collected the Profectus leadership to iron out any wrinkles in the plan.

Eventually, her plan was enacted. Standing near the once repaired outer bastion, Aria observed as adventurers, mercenaries and formal criminals banded together and excavated fresh terrain.

The once outer wall would become an inner wall and the city line would push into Relictus territory. Ever since Empress Fardom claimed her marble black spire and the surrounding land as her territory, Profectus had yet to fall under attack by the Demons. The implications were clear, the Demons considered Empress Fardom a legitimate threat and acquiesced the territory to her.

Upon her next meet with Topazia, a materials agreement was signed and the construction was expected to begin in earnest. If all went well, Aria expected Profectus to nearly triple in size. Despite such good news, Aria's face which gazed at that new territory held only expressions of anxiety. After all, the growth in territory was in preparation for a predicted growth in population.

Queen Dazzlevine was aware of the business negotiations Aria had with Topazia. Her negotiations with Klasika included resource procurement and personnel to assist with the country's defense. These two interactions drew Queen Dazzlevine to Aria as a mediator with Topazia.

Upon their first official meeting, Topazia kicked off her introductions as she always had.

"Good Morning, Queen Dazzlevine. This lowly merchant goes by Topazia Shields. Feel free to call me Topazia."

"Topazia it is. I am Queen Ella Dazzlevine. Queen or Queen Dazzlevine will suffice."

"I understand."

Topazia flicked her tail to the side and proceeded to settle herself into a seat at the round table. She was currently located at a midpoint between Klasika and Profectus. Perhaps, Countess Sugimoto, knowing Topazia resides primarily within the Demon country, designated the spot to help ease negotiations for Queen Dazzlevine.

Considering the fairy herself didn't mind the location, nor the other Klasika representatives, it'd appear her suggestion bore fruits of good will. Seven trade representatives of Klasika sat surrounding the table with Queen Dazzlevine taking her spot in the middle of them, directly across from Topazia.

"Queen Dazzlevine, let us jump straight into business. How might this lowly merchant assist you?"

"Put bluntly, we want to import a large amount of construction material. Countess Sugimoto was kind enough to refer your services. I'm inclined to agree after seeing Profectus' material storage. I was quite surprised to learn it was all provided by you alone."

Topazia didn't fail to miss out on the suspicious tone, but she just chose to ignore it. Simply put, she had no weakness in this negotiation. She had neither requirements for her plan to succeed by working with them nor the desire to argue conditions.

Under such circumstances, who would care about suspicions directed at them? Put frankly, she didn't need them. They needed her. With that thought in mind, Topazia put for her most graceful smile.

"Yes. I did provide Lady Aria those building materials. As you are being so forthright with your suspicions, allow me the discourtesy of speaking my mind. I do not care about your war with the character Empress Fardom. I also care nothing for your war against the Demons. I deal directly with my clients and hold myself to any agreement regardless of their species."

Her smile faded and a dignified expression crept across it before she continued.

"Your suspicions against me should have been hidden until our arrangement was completed. Do not expect fair terms anymore, Queen. There are plenty others who will take a chance with a merchant who has a solid track record. Gilphriya is under siege and is in dire need of supplies. Naoki has yet to recover from Empress Fardom's initial assault. Profectus may already have a contract with me, but they will require perishables and other supplies in the future. Do you think they will ignore working with a proven merchant in their time of need? Representatives of Klasika. You have insulted me enough with your suspicions. Tell me what you need and I will give you terms. Take them or leave them."

Queen Dazzlevine's expression turned ugly, but what could she do? She hadn't expected such an overreaction to her minor suspicions. Unexpectedly, this merchant sitting across from her was no soft persimmon. From the corner of her eyes, she deciphered the displeasure from each representative as well. She couldn't tell at this time if that was directed at her or the merchant though.

"Raw building materials. Stone, wood, clay and salt. We need 60 tonnes of each. If you can provide preserved food as well, we'll purchase whatever amount your capable of supplying."

The negotiations begin with Queen Dazzlevine dropping her requirements. While Topazia established a contract with them, Petri became busy back at home.

The small timer Lapis left behind finally disarmed itself releasing a bright light. Petri reacted to that signal and pulled up the screens involving Naoki in a well practiced fashion.

After the assault on Isamu, King and Queen Naoki had long setup a city, temporarily dubbed Isamu 2, just South East of their old capitol. Though the behemoths that assaulted Isamu appeared to fall into a deep sleep, scouts investigated the massive pit left behind and found it was an active dungeon.

As part of his Kingly duties, King Juro Naoki entered the dungeon weekly to help clear out the inhabitants, yet their efforts yielded little as they were unable to force the beasts inside to extinction.

Initially, beastmen who worked close to the adventurers guild helped to raid the pit after King Naoki posted multiple requests at the guild, however that soon became unfeasible as the beasts were unending. Rather than lower their numbers, they appeared to spike at irregular intervals and the pit itself showed obvious signs of expansion.

Only a few months had passed since the initial invasion and yet through exploration and mapping, King Naoki found the pit's depths had nearly doubled in size. The beasts inside grew stronger over time as well, as if learning from the adventurers who subjugated them.

Petri watched all this develop live through the inactive behemoths laying around Naoki. Though he had no direct view of Isamu 2 as they King ordered his men to clean the area of behemoths, Petri was able to piece together the data after listening in on adventurers and the King himself every time they visited the pit.

As the inhabitants of Isamu settled into their new city and the mediocrity started settling back into their daily lives, a blaring alarm pulse through the air.

Every citizen knew that sound and its meaning. They experienced it once already in Isamu, after all. The sirens blazed while patrol teams started issuing evacuation orders to whatever section they were in. Trained beastmen established a line to escort the evacuating citizens while those associated with the defense force gathered at a predetermined site.

Standing with his assistant on site, a beastman General was receiving the latest intel live from forward scouts. The pit they were so warried about finally showed signs of large scale movement. Through the communications orb, the General was already well aware of the assault on Gilphryia and the destruction of Azmodius.

He kept his ears open while his slitted eyes flickered across the defense forces arriving on site. The force was well trained and it took only moments for the 3500 members to line up and salute him. Stepping forward, the General outlined their situation.

"The pit we all love became lively! Those beasts exploded in numbers somehow and decided they're a little hungry. As we speak, they're spreading out radially from the pit, fighting anything they come across. We don't have an accurate count for the number of enemies, but it's beyond what we're capable defending against if we're attacked head on."

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He took a moment to adjust his stance before continuing.

"Because of that, King Naoki has ordered Isamu 2 to be evacuated. You wonderful men and I are the chosen ones. We'll be rearguard and protect the evacuees. Remember, we're only defending. The rest of Naoki might be experiencing this surge too, we don't have enough information yet to say otherwise. If there's no questions, break into your squads. Squad leaders meet with me for further planning."

The squads collected themselves and divided their duties before leaping off to their particular district. Each squad leader appeared next to the General only moments later, ready for any detailed orders. Upon arrival, one leader couldn't help but ask.

"Sir, can't we just attack them head on while the citizens evacuate? It's unsettling to be on the defensive..."

The General saw the frustration in the young man's eyes. Those eyes were rather a common sight after the Isamu invasion. Many lives were lost after all. The random timing and unexpected location of the invasion wrecked havoc on the city before order and evacuation were properly carried out.

The General himself lost his wife during the first assault. The worst part though was that her death wasn't from the monsters, but the panicked citizens trampling her as they ran. He understood those eyes at their source, yet he understood why they must be defensive.

"You're underestimating the number of enemies. Because they're spread out, we have a chance to evacuate. What would you do if our assault collects the surrounding beasts and focuses them on Isamu 2? Could you take that responsibility? Remember, our job is to protect and defend the citizens first and foremost. We can talk about counter attacking later."

The young leader accepted the reason with reluctance. Before long, plans were laid and the teams started their defensive operation. Petri was in the middle of controlling the beasts when Lapis arrived beside it.

She reached out to the glowing orb and pulled it into her arms as she watched its control of the battle field. Her goal wasn't to obliterate Naoki, but instead to fold Naoki similar to Azmodius. Seeing as how Petri was properly distributing forces across Naoki and preventing any particular targeted assault, she felt confident leave it in Petri's capable circuits.

She pulled up a different screen, ignoring Naoki, and focused on it. Displayed on screen were two familiar figures. Reaching back in her memories, she eventually recalled where she had met them.

"Oh... These two were next to the Demon Lord that time... They seem to be doing quite well."

Lapis flicked through multiple screens that summarized the progress of the two and their accumulated statistics while engaging beasts in Folkvangr.

"They have done quite well. Petri, did you optimize combat actions of the dolls in Folkvangr just for them?"

Petri pulsed a few times as if to affirm her question. Lapis took a moment deep in thought before she released Petri. The screens around her dimmed and a smile stretched across her face.

"I do recall they caused issues with Maria and Shino. I have spare time, should I play with them? What do you think Petri?"

Two pulses later and Lapis started assuming her Fairy form. Her mana signature warped to fit the Fairy race and she seal sections of her power bringing it back down to a palatable level. A single holographic screen remained in front of her showing the Zannon and Larkis' location in the Folkvangr dungeon.

Mana condensed across the surface of her body, rolling like a pale blue fog over hills. As it reached the ground, Lapis laid her imagination over the remote site fixing her teleportation point. She connected to the site after boring through space with the dense mana and after a subtle, enticing, chuckle, her form flickered from existence.

Moments prior to invoking her magic, a rather abnormal collection of visitors arrived at the South Western entrance of Profectus. The strangers drew the cautious gazes of the locals as they were a truly strange grouping. Leading the initial group was a young woman with long blond hair. Beside her was an even younger man with heavily tanned skin. Most eye catching of the trio though must have been the gentleman with crimson hair riding down past his waist.

Though a strange party for sure, they wouldn't have attracted nearly as much attention without the mob of adventurers trailing immediately behind them.The group appeared worn out. Exhaustion leaked from each of their eyes, their gait broken and wobbly, and their equipment shattered or torn.

Though Profectus locals couldn't even begin to guess what happened, it was obvious enough the mob was dreadfully fearful of the three they followed. Allison, Crim and Sahib entered through the gate, finally having reached their goal Profectus.

Many of the cautious adventurers only entered the city after the initial three were long out of sight. Unable to contain themselves, a few of the local mercenaries questioned the broken adventurers.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

To which every individual questioned reacted the same. Flushed with embarrassment, guilt or regret, they'd look down to the ground and reply before continuing their slow stride into town.

"I picked a fight I couldn't win, was beaten to a pulp, then abandoned. If I didn't keep up, I would have been beast food in Lore Forest..."

"I-I see... I'll leave you at it then..."

Those curious mercenaries replied in a vague stupor while watching those men enter Profectus, unaware that the group contained a hunter targeting a secret ally of their precious city.

Crim himself was in a rather odd mood as well. He wasn't angry, nor anxious, but the mana signature he'd be tracking for the past few days suddenly disappeared the moment he arrived at Profectus. Many thoughts arose on why, but the primary guess he had was the creature attempted to hide its existence from him.

Little did he know, that creature he was hunting abruptly flickered into existence inside the dungeon Folkvangr, a site not even 20 kilometers from his location.

Larkis and Zannon who had finally finished off the last beast from a series of assaults took a moment to sit down. The two were powerful when compared to the rest of the world. They held the position of General after all. It wasn't a position obtainable through gloating, promiscuity, bribery or other means. The primary means of obtaining the position was strength of self and ability to command.

These two powerful individuals were resting back to back within the dim lit dungeon. Attached to their sides were small bags that held crystals from the slaughtered beasts.

Upon initial entrance, the two felt the dungeon would be a piece of cake and a waste of their time. They couldn't imagine any rewards that would entice fighters of their caliber to stay, however that was overturned in a rather quick manner.

The first day passed inside the dungeon with them and yet nothing was powerful enough to even require both of them to act together. The disappointment struck them rather hard as their Lord ordered them into such a weak zone. But then the day passed and they found a stairway that descended to the second floor.

Though still easy, General Zannon was surprised to find that the beasts were able to force him to utilize some of his shadow techniques. Larkis was similarly bewildered at the sudden increase in difficulty. Rather, Larkis engaged one beast only to find it utilized similar combat techniques to him.

Just as General Zannon was forced to start utilizing techniques beyond pure physical combat, as was General Larkis. The two took turns standing watch, but still managed to proceed through the second floor rather smoothly. There were no further surprises, except for the discovery of another stairway hidden in the depths of a branching tunnel.

The two descended once more reaching the third floor. Greeting them upon arrival was a series of beasts with vague humanoid forms. They engaged the two Generals in mortal combat. Utilizing proficient physical martial skills, they forced the two Generals to utilize their magics. The pressure became a real threat for the Generals who had thought the dungeon merely a cake walk up to this point.

Despite their change in attitude though, the two unknowingly underestimated their new found enemies. It took only a moment of carelessness where General Larkis' fist was deflected only for the humanoid beast to knead mana and invoke rudimentary magic. The simple process of exerting condensed mana into reality blasted General Larkis straight into a wall. It was that moment the two Generals started taking the dungeon seriously.

From the third floor on, the beasts would disintegrate whenever they received excessive damage and leave behind various objects. Upon review, the objects were, with few exceptions, rare mana conduction minerals, crystals capable of storing mana, or other scarce refine-able treasures. Needless to say, the discovery left the two Generals excited to push further, their greed blinding them to the difficulty of the dungeon.

Such blindness led to the situation they were in now, back to back, drenched in sweat and covered in scratches. Having pushed through the third floor, they found the stairway to the fourth and from there the fifth. Now in the middle of the fifth floor, hints of fear started creeping its way into their hearts.

Could one blame them? Every fight from the fourth floor on drew a repeating thought from the depths of their mind.

"If the minions are this strong then what about the boss...?"

Currently, the only saving grace was that beasts seemed to appear less frequently as they progressed further into the dungeon. Defeating a wave of them on the fifth floor would buy them an hour or so of rest. After resting against each other for nearly 40 minutes now, the two had recovered near to their peek, yet neither of them showed any signs of wanting to push deeper in.

Zannon pushed the ground with a hand raising to his feet before looking into the unexplored depths of the cavern. A moment of emotion flickered across his gaze before he hid it away. He motioned to General Larkis and helped the man to his feet.

"I think we should back out. We've been in here for God knows how long. If we don't return and resupply soon, I don't think we will be able to push with any safety margin..."

His heart held a mixture of fear and reluctance. After all, only he had fought the self proclaimed Demon Lord Lapis Lazuli Fardom. His Lord boosted his abilities, but it was hard to measure that power he once saw as he never felt the depths of it in their last fight. Looking to the bag dangling at his side, he found a rather satisfying excuse to help ease that creeping fear.

"We should report back our findings to the Lord as well."

In response to his comment a rather snide remark flew at the pair from a semi-familiar voice.

"Leaving so soon? We have yet to talk though."

Zannon's figure flickered off instinct reappearing immediately beside Larkis with his weapon already drawn and emitting the clearest signs of kneading mana. Larkis, only a step later than him, remained calm and faced the source of the voice.

"Who are you?"

"This is rather disappointing. I would have thought your partner's response would have been enough."

Lapis stepped from the shadows revealing her graceful form. She took a final step before invoking a magic. Upon landing her final step and taking an idle stance, her crystalline staff was already erected from the ground. She grabbed its midsection, shattering its base from the floor, and twirled it as if to test the balance.

"E-Empress Lapis Lazuli Fardom... Why have you come?"

"Empress Fardom!? Her?"

Larkis held his breath for a moment as reality hit him. He inspected the woman standing no more than 2 meters from him with a detailed eye. 'So this was their future Queen', was the thought that raced through his mind. The sudden reaction of Zannon made sense now.

Considering the condition the man returned in previously, Larkis couldn't blame him. After all, he was unable to even detect her presence until she called out to them. His desire to engage the woman plummeted after sizing her up. Hoping to avoid what he felt was inevitable, Larkis attempted to reach out.

"Empress Fardom, it's a pleasure to meet you. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Oh? You are quite polite. There is no need for such formalities though. I am here strictly for business."

Her response caused Zannon to relax somewhat, his fear subsiding in the slightest. However Larkis tensed up from the reply. From what he heard about this woman, she wasn't one to do meaningless tasks. The mere fact she crafted a weapon on sight of them was enough to tell him they were in trouble.

Even so, he pushed for a benign solution. The last thing he wanted was to injure the first woman their Lord had ever shown interest in.

"One should always show respect when they can. Would we be able to help settle your business? Perhaps your hunting the beasts here as well?"

"You say the most amusing things, but you are certainly correct. I am here, in fact to hunt. However, my business is with two rude fellows who know no respect. You see, you threatened my poor pets up stairs. How could they respect me if I do not uphold my own rules?"

Before she even finished, Larkis had drawn his weapon and started kneading mana. His actions drew a smile from Lapis, but her gaze moved to the familiar man beside Larkis instead.

"You seem to have recovered quite well. Even surpassed your previous state by quite a bit. I am curious how you managed that, but I suppose we will have time for questions later. Are you ready? You need not be worried. You will not die, probably."

Testing the waters, Lapis flickered from view charging straight at the two. Her staff took a wide arc slamming into Larkis' defensive posture. Between he and Zannon defending against the strike together, the two managed to regain their stances after sliding hardly a meter. Their recovery drew a smile out of Lapis who charged once more.

"Damnit! Split up!"

Larkis issued a frustrated order and Zannon obeyed without hesitation. He knew from prior experience that underestimating Lapis would only end in tragedy. The two split in opposite directions with Lapis' staff crushing the bedrock where they previously stood. Her eyes emitted a deep azure glow signifying a magic invocation.

Extending from her position, an incantation circle expanded enclosing the group within. Another ring pulsed out to follow the first and upon colliding at the outer ring, a repulsive barrier forced the Generals into engaging.

Zannon wasted no time, he knew their situation was bad and had already invoked magic to summon his doppleganger. He used the rim of barrier as a wall to leap into combat with his shadow trailing behind. As if reading his mind, General Larkis returned as well with a molten sword in mid swing.

Her smile still strong, Lapis spun her staff striking Larkis' sword deflecting molten material into the air. At the same time, she reached her other arm out crystallizing a spike from the ground to deflect Zannon's primary body.

Sliding around the crystal, Zannon's shadow dug into the ground and accelerated once more reaching Lapis' inner bosom. With a quick series of slashes, Lapis dodged the first with a minor movement and used the slight delay between the next to accelerate around the erected crystalline spike.

Larkis trailed after her, but was forced to slow his chase in order to avoid the follow on strike of Zannon's shadow. Cursing under he breath, he watched as Lapis pressured Zannon's main body with her twirling staff.

Fighting in such a restricted place would typically be detrimental to a staff, spike or halberd wielder, and yet Lapis' fluid movements would make one reevaluate that rule.

Zannon deflected what he could of the crystal staff swinging at him. Each strike he met with equal force resulted in the staff reversing rotation and striking from the opposite direction. The times he dodged resulted in debris launched from the ground of ceiling towards him forcing him to defend further.

Even after gaining power, he felt powerless against the damnable woman. He deflected another strike of the staff to the side and caught a glimpse of Larkis approaching her from behind. The two worked together in the caverns long enough to build implicit strategies in two on one fights.

He deflected another strike and forced himself to invade Lapis' territory despite his poor form. As if to read their tactics, Lapis invoked another magic tearing the ground around her up. Evading the debris, Larkis managed to bring his molten sword down upon her figure, slicing through a wing.

Despite landing a hit, Larkis appeared terrified rather than overjoyed. The figure he cut through was in fact Zannon's shadow. Zannon who had already pushed himself to catch Lapis off guard slammed into Larkis. The two collided, but managed to keep each other from falling to the ground. They stumbled only a moment before standing back to back hoping to reacquire their enemy.

Their heavy pants echoed off the cavern walls and a deep unease seated itself in their hearts. Despite their fervent glances, they couldn't make out Lapis' figure.

"Damnit! How'd you fight her last time?"

"I lost last time too. We need to get out of here."

"We ain't going anywhere while that barrier's up."

"What about that?"

"Tsk. Might have no choice. Only if we have to. She's good, but we haven't lost yet."

Unlike Larkis who felt a sense of confidence after driving Lapis away in their confrontation, Zannon could only sigh under his breath at how his partner belittled that damn fairy. Knowing their future was looking bleak, Zannon kneaded mana as quick as he could without revealing it. Moments before he reached the critical mana required, there was a sudden emptiness behind him.

His form broke and he stumbled backwards only to look around for Larkis. It took a few seconds, but eventually there was a loud cry of pain pulling Zannon's attention to the edge of the barrier. He didn't even wait to understand the full situation before accelerating in that direction. Invoking his magic, shadows split from his body and fanned out to cover the ground.

It was only after he started moving that he realized Larkis was impaled to the barrier with four crystalline stakes embedded in him. His body, staked through the thighs and shoulders, hung from the wall without his impaler found nearby. The subtle fear Zannon felt grew larger and the existence that was Lapis officially left an indelible mark upon his heart.

The seconds of travel to his companion lasted but a moment, yet felt like an eternity. Upon arrival, Zannon refused to waste any time. He reached for the stakes and torn them with effort from Larkis' body. The hardened General cried in anguish over his rough treatment, yet his eyes flickered with an obvious alertness.

Zannon knew that look, it mirror his eyes exactly. He raced to knead mana, ignoring whatever pretense he previously had to hide his intentions. To their far side, a scream rang out to which Larkis and Zannon turned their heads. Happening so quickly, they could perceive only the final moment of one of Zannon's shadows.

Another scream reached their ears, however it happened right before their faces only meters from their position. A crystalline spike tore through the crowd and barrier itself taking with it parts of the unfortunate shadow and barrier that collided with it. Multiple screams rung out again, this time with far less time between each.

The reflections of the many spikes impaling the shadows around them kept tearing apart what little fortitude the two Generals attempted to retain. The two watched helplessly as the hundreds whittled down to tens and eventually, only them. At this point, neither Zannon nor Larkis could tell which of them was shaking more.

Footsteps from the depths of the cavern near the opposite end of the barrier echoed off the walls. The two Demons watched with despair as the true Demon faded into existence. Her optical illusion tearing itself apart and dissipating into the air. Her covetous smile and slender arms appeared undamaged and within her hands were two crystalline stakes matching those from before.

Her slow pace and relaxed smile drove Zannon to near insanity. The only saving grace was his mana reached the critical point he needed and without the slightest hesitation, he invoked the magic. Their figures blurred, and disappeared, but not before witnessing two crystalline stakes approaching them at absurd speeds.

In the next moment, their bodies dropped to the ground in the middle of a city. Surrounding them, citizens rushed to their side, worried about their injuries. A few adventurers started healing Larkis as soon as they arrived. Zannon, who was still shaking in fear, only looked around in a jerky fashion before laughing through tears.

Watching the two figures on screen, Lapis chuckled to herself while disabling her barrier. She was never out to kill the two to start with, so this result suited her well. She dismissed the screen and repaired the damaged sections of the cavern before teleporting to the surface of Folkvangr, happy to deliver her results to Maria and Shino.

Unknown to Lapis, a particular group of adventurers came across General Larkis and Zannon while she was delivering the good news. Within that set of members, a male with long red hair stepped forward while pushing aside the surrounding adventurers.

General Larkis and General Zannon utilized a safety item given to them by their Lord Arakis Nul Dieth to teleport to the nearest town, in this case Profectus City. With the advent of the Behemoths, alliances and territories changing every day along with the special situation surrounding Profectus, the adventurers of Profectus held little discrimination towards other races.

The two men received medical care as soon as they arrived and to their surprise, even managed to meet an unexpected acquaintance.

"You two look terrible. What happened?"

General Elkune approached the two with surprise written across her face. Before the two men could even answer though, a dense mana pressed down on them and the surrounding adventurers. Ripples of red mana pulsed across the ground and seconds later, a man with crimson hair stood before the three Generals.

Bending over, Crim grabbed Zannon by the neck and lifted him off his feet until he was eye level. He held no emotion, but his impatience was transmitted through his leaking mana.

"Where is it? The creature that hurt you?"

Zannon slapped the man's arm trying to catch his breath to speak, but he couldn't even budge the arm. To his luck, a young woman with golden hair appeared beside the man and hit him across the back of the head.

"Let him down! Are you stupid?! Ask him like a normal person would!"

"Let him go, big brother."

Appearing from around his other side, a young boy with brown skin followed on. Turning his head back and forth from the two, Crim finally released his grip dropping General Zannon to the ground. As he gasped for breath and coughed up a bit of blood, Allison knelt down to talk to the group.

"I'm sorry about that. He's... an idiot. He didn't mean to harm you, he was just a little excited to finally get a clue about the Empress Fardom. You seemed to carry her residual magic around you. Could you please tell us where you encountered her?"

Last thing Zannon wanted was to engage with another over powered individual, especially before they even had a chance at recovering. He observed the man called Crim in detail and yet before he could even speak, Larkis opened up on his own.

"Go to the dungeon Folkvangr. She ambushed us claiming to punish us for breaking the rules. If you plan on fighting her, you best hurry."

"Larkis!"

"Fuck off! That woman just turned me into a pin cushion. If that guy's hunting her, then by all fucking means, go teach that bitch a lesson."

General Elkune who knew the Empress would eventually be their Queen was rather taken back by General Larkis' outburst. Apparently, so was General Zannon as the two shared the same expression however, it wasn't something that could be said in their current surroundings. Elkune clenched her fists to hide her shame to share the same rank as her peer and only moved to rip him off the ground.

Having got the news of her location, Crim ignored the woman as she dragged off the injured man into the distance and instead turned his gaze to the direction of Folkvangr.