After the night veiled the streets, Sacrosanct lept from the hotel window and landed safely on the road. It was midnight and even the streetlamps were not shining, the moon and the stars being the only form of light.

His first objective was to find the prince. Perhaps he had some information or knew someone who does. For this, he would check the prisons. Gaius being the absolute ruler that he was, it seemed likely to put his political opposition in jail. Clearly, the charm spell had either limited duration or limited range as Poda-Bruss and Orchestra seemed to have naturally woken up from their dazed states. Satie on the other hand... He supposed that Satie's admiration must be natural, still loyal to Gaius all the way in Avangarden and for so long without seeing him.

This night would be a difficult one to go through as the jail the prince was most likely in was directly beneath the castle.

After taking silent steps all the way to the palace, Sacrosanct counted the number of guards at their post. 12. This would be difficult as he was not aware of what these soldiers were capable of. He also did not want to kill any of the soldiers as they were just doing their jobs. Sacrosanct came up with either a brilliant idea or a horrible idea. To put it to action, he first waited until a guard came close enough to the gates for him to ambush. Another guard was alerted and began walking toward the gates, suspicious. Just when he was about to turn around the corner to check the walls, Sacrosanct confronted him, dressed in the guard's uniform.

"Is there any problem?" asked Sacrosanct

"...Don't leave your position"

"But uh... I have to... Go to the bathroom, sir"

"Just do it in the bushes"

"Sir, with all due respect, I believe it would be against the law to disgrace the palace like that. Also, I'm not an animal"

"...Fine. But don't even think about slacking off"

"Yes, sir!"

The guard he stole the uniform from was dangling by on a nearby tree unconscious. It was nerve-wracking for Sacrosanct, but he believed that he put up a convincing enough ploy. With the limited time, he descended beneath the castle, looking for the prison. This specific prison was extremely small, housing only 8 solitary confinements. After a long descent down the stairs, he saw two guards standing by in front of the entrance to the solitary confinement. He quickly went back up the stair before the guards noticed. Sacrosanct pondered his next course of action. Again, killing the guards wouldn't be good so he had to come up with a creative solution. Finally, with a plan in mind, he entered the bathroom.

A few moments later, he returned down the stairs in a hurry.

"Hey, what are you doing down here?" asked one of the guards

"Help! We've got a large fire in the bathrooms" shouted Sacrosanct, faking a cough

"Godamnit what is it now..."

"...It might have to do with one of the escaped inmates" said the other guard

"But why would she come back here?!"

"I don't know, she's crazy so you never know really"

"Fine..." sighed the guard, and then hurried up the stair just in case.

While running up the stairs, one of them bumped into Sacrosanct on their way.

"Oops, sorry!" said Sacrosanct

He had just snatched the keys to the entrance and now all that was left to do was to search the individual cells.

The first 3 cells were empty, perhaps one of the cells once housed the crazy inmate they were talking about. The fourth cell was occupied by a sleeping inmate and according to the chalk marks on the wall, he had been here for a very long time. It was curious since Gaius had only been the king for at max a few months so it meant that the previous king also imprisoned political opponents.

The fifth cell was occupied by a strange dark creature which almost looked like a hybrid of a dog and a monkey. The beast began snarling and barking at the hero intensely, so Sacrosanct moved on.

The sixth cell was occupied by a withering old man. Sacrosanct thought that it was cruel that such a fossil was kept in a jail cell and not a museum, but he had to hurry on.

The seventh cell was occupied by an incubus, clear by its wings and tail. Perhaps this prison under the castle was not only for political opponents but also those of interest to the king. Since Gaius was an incubus, it'd make sense for him to research one to learn more about himself and his kind.

Sacrosanct began to worry that the prince was not here as he checked the last cell...

"Jean-Paul!"

The prince woke up with a jolt, waking up to Sacrosanct's smiling face.

"How are you doing, buddy?"

"...Not very good, as you can see. So, have you come to break me out?"

"Well, that depends on what your answers are to my questions. It seems that Gaius isn't quite right in the head and may have some deeper conspiracies. Do you know anything about that?"

"...I've only been with the rebels for a few hours so my knowledge is limited. All I know is that the current king absolutely despises demons and Sonosis. They believe that a bloody war is coming"

"I see... Anything else?"

"Well, the only other thing is that the king is making something deep beneath the castle. Perhaps a weapon for the war, but that is all I know"

"Hm..."

Sacrosanct thought about whether Championnat attacking Sonosis was a good thing or not. Right now, the heroes did not have a lot of information regarding the demon lords, and while the last time they saw them their roster did not increase, that was not to be trusted. Also, the current plan for victory was an absolute victory. If Avangarden attacked to support its ally, which was inevitable, the kingdom could suffer devastating losses. The best course of action was to stop Gaius from attacking Sonosis right now, then persuade him to strengthen Avangarden's defences and weaponry. Then when the time is right, Avangarden would derive a swift victory with meticulous planning.

"Thanks for the info, prince. Let's get out of here" said Sacrosanct while unlocking the door with one of the keys

"What about the others?"

"The more people we bring, the more difficult it'll be to escape. We'll come back for them AFTER everything is over"

"...That Gaius, stealing my rightful throne..."

"What are you talking about? Isn't this country democratic?"

"...Championnat has changed along with the times. The next election was a surefire victory fo me, until my father kicked me out that is"

"Why would it be a surefire victory?"

"...Why do you keep asking so many questions?"

"Look, I've heard things about your father by Gaius, and I don't think that's something he'd lie about. He may be selfish in beginning a war Championnat has nothing to do with, but you can tell he's passionate for the people. I'm beginning to think that if you weren't the son of the previous king, you wouldn't even compete against Gaius"

"...I-"

"If you want to be a president, you have to earn it. All these corruption and manipulations may last a while, but the heart of the people will always know the truth and a champion will always arise. Now, you can either be the champion of the people or be against the champion of the people. I get that in this current situation with Gaius, you're a victim, but you have to fix your way of thinking if you want to be a good king"

"...You're right. I've been taking my ascension to the throne as a right and not something to fight for. Gaius is still my enemy, but perhaps there are some things I could learn from him..."

"Well now, let's see where this secret weapon is"

Sacrosanct and Jean-Paul dropped down floor after floor, descending far beneath the ground.

...

After hours of searching the maze-like facilities beneath the castle, the two had finally found a large circular metal gate.

"Well, this looks important," said Sacrosanct

He did not want to attract too much attention since they were still undercover. He was still equipped with the soldier's uniform and he had also found the lockerroom, where he stole another for the prince.

"Now what? Is there some kind of key or..."

"Here. This seems to be locked with a password"

"Password?"

"...You don't know what a password is? Whatever. It's a word that unlocks the door. We need to input it on this screen to open it"

"Can't we just try a bunch of combinations?"

"We could, but that would just lock us out of the system. There may be some clues around here, maybe someone wrote it down"

"Alright then, I suppose we should look for it"

Next to the massive metal entrance was an ordinary door which Sacorsanct broke down easily. The building was empty at the moment with the usual few guards wandering around, so the prince was made to keep watch while Sacrosanct investigated.

The room was filled with documents and computers, and the opposing wall was made entirely of glass. It looked regularly used, abandoned cups of cold coffee still waiting. There were also many shelves, some of them locked with a code. The opposing window showed total darkness and it was impossible to make out what was behind it. He tried to light a small ball of fire on his palm, but the light was far too weak to illuminate the objects beyond the window.

"Well, I hope it's not too noisy..."

Sacrosanct tried to destroy the window using one of the chairs, but it was undamaged as it was bulletproof glass, the strongest in the industry. Sacrosanct knew that he had no other choice and he left the room.

"Jean-Paul, you should get away from here"

"Wh-why?"

"Well, let's just say that we'll have to escape quickly after this"

The prince quickly distanced himself from the door and hid behind a wall down the hall. Sacrosanct readied his hands for the spell and fired into the room.

"⌈Starburst⌋!"

The ball of light shot out quickly, slamming against the glass wall. It then began to slowly melt the glass with a hiss and after it made it around halfway through, the spell expanded, evaporating the entire room and the wall with a brilliant flash of light. Jean-Paul and Sacrosanct shielded their eyes for a few moments, and when the light subsided, the two entered the destroyed room.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" asked the prince

"Oh, you mean my spell? Yeah well, it's one of the privileges of being a hero I suppose"

The prince had never seen such power before and was flabbergasted by his casual response. He noticed that the room was moulded into a perfectly spherical shape as if everything had been erased by the blast.

"Anyways, are you coming?"

"I... I think I'll just stay here, thanks"

"I mean it'd actually be safer with me being around, you know. Come on, get down here"

The prince reluctantly crawled down to the centre of the crater, the open air leading to a fall of great height. To his surprise, Sacrosanct swiftly picked him up and carried him around his neck like luggage.

"Woah!"

"I think I see a platform down there. We'd better hurry!"

With a long scream, the two jumped down the hollow pit, the fall feeling like an eternity to the prince. When they finally landed, Jean-Paul felt as if he broke his spine. Sacrosanct lit up another ball of flame on his palm and began walking toward the centre where he found large constructs.

"What is this..."

"It's a bit difficult to make out, but it almost looks like a boot"

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There were two of these constructs on either side spaced far apart and the moment the prince touched one of them, the entire pit lit up, unveiling that they were in a large room the size of a mountain, the walls painted pearly white with measurements written on them with a grid. Now the picture was clear, there existed a giant mechanical soldier beneath the castle, similar in visual to the Patriot's Blade, but thousands of times greater in size. It was much more humanoid as if it was a giant in elven armour. It was pure white with highlights of black and red, similar to the walls as well as the castle.

The room was then filled with the sound of a slow clap, as the rectangular gates behind them opened to reveal Gaius.

"Well done, hero. I never expected it to be you broke into the facility, I was sure you were dead! Well, I suppose it's better than that crazy succubus... But regardless, I see you've met my greatest creation, the Emperor's Blade"

"This is just like that Patriot's Blade thing, isn't it? What's with you and these strange mechanisms?"

"It'd be an insult to compare this masterpiece to a commercial soldier such as Patriot's Blade. I've created this machine for the explicit purpose of destroying Sonosis completely, once and for all"

"You're crazy if you think you can do that on your own! I too wish for Avangarden to emerge victorious, but underestimating your opponent will just get you killed!"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who barely managed to survive a single Patriot's Blade... That being said, I suppose it's time to end the theatrics"

"...We gotta get out of here, ⌈Starburst⌋!"

Gaius immediately created a Patriot's Blade by converting some of the platforms into gold, then back into a mechanical soldier. The robot then swiftly erased Sacrosanct's spell as Sacrosanct and Jean-Paul began to run the other way.

"I'll leave it to you, Patriot. I'll hopefully never see you again, hero" said Gaius, leaving the facility

"⌈Starburst⌋!"

Sacrosanct destroyed the door on the opposite side of Gaius and began running through the maze with Jean-Paul. When he noticed that his companion was getting tired from the day's burdens, Sacrosanct opted to carry him on his shoulder again.

After minutes of running, Sacrosanct thought if there was any way to defeat the machine. If only the machine lacked the ability to erase his spells... Gaius told him that the antimagic capabilities were achieved by studying the heirloom, meaning that they would most likely have the same weaknesses. The heirloom's greatest weakness was that first, it had limited defence capabilities, ⌈Nuclear Starburst⌋ being powerful enough to penetrate it. Patriot's blade however was able to overpower ⌈Nuclear Starburst⌋, meaning that overloading the robot would be difficult. However, he did notice that the robot always swiped his spells away with one of his hands. The second weakness of the heirloom was that an enemy could simply take it off of you forcefully, removing your antimagic defences...

"That's it!" shouted Sacrosanct

"What is it now..."

"If we keep running away from the machine, there will be no end. We need to face it here and now if we ever hope to face against Emperor's Blade"

Sacrosanct vs. Patriot's Blade

Sacrosanct stopped in the middle of his track and lowered Jean-Paul onto the ground.

"Go hide behind that wall over there. I think I know how to beat Patriot's Blade"

As soon as the Patriot's Blade caught sight of the hero, it began firing its arsenal, destroying the hall. From the previous battle, Sacrosanct knew that it had a small window of time where it stopped firing to reload. For now, he would hide behind the wall, and strike when the time is right. It'd only be around 10 seconds, but that'd be enough to finish off the robot.

As the golden period of opportunity approached, Sacrosanct quickly left his hiding spot and charged at the robot. A ranged battle would do him no good and he quickly closed the distance between the two of them. The Patriot's Blade switched to melee combat mode and began trying to attack Sacrosanct with its arms.

To block these attacks would be dangerous as each and every hit could snap his bones like a twig. Sacrosanct instead opted to dodge the attacks. When he saw a small opportunity arise, he took advantage without hesitation and grabbed the arm the robot always swiped his spells away with and pulled it away from the robot.

"Now try to erase this! ⌈Starburst⌋!"

The spell emitted directly in front of the Patriot's Blade's head and exploded on contact, decimating the robot. Sacrosanct knew that the antimagic component must only be in the robot's arm, as it would be incredibly difficult to have such strong defences on its whole body. It was also primarily a ranged fight, opting to shoot first instead of engaging in melee combat. Combining these factors, the Patriot's Blade only had a single hand for the antimagic, the other arm occupied by being a firearm. With the antimagic component away from him, the machine was open to all forms of magic.

Sacrosanct was knocked away by the blast and following the destruction, the rest of the Patriot's Blade also exploded from the pressure.

"It... it actually worked..." said Sacrosanct

He didn't consider himself the brain of any team, mostly being muscle, but he felt that he's gotten better over the years.

"L-let's get out of here quickly!" urged the prince

And so, the two continued their escape from the castle, battling a few guards along the way, but with mostly minimal resistance. Now if they were faced with a Patriot's Blade, Sacrosanct could easily destroy it.

...

The air was filled with cheers and celebrations as the people of Championnat championed Orchestra and Poda-Bruss. It was a kind of celebration neither of them had ever seen before, filled with daylight fireworks, car parades and an outdoor buffet. It was a foreign world they stepped into.

"Poda-Bruss! Orchestra! Over here!"

A familiar voice called out to them, Ace trying to get their attention through the packed crowd. The spy eventually squeezed her way through.

"You guys remember me right?"

"Of course, we do, Ace. It's a pleasure to meet you again. How are you doing?" asked Orchestra

"I'm doing just terrific. My last mission was a perfect success and I think I'm due for a promotion any time soon now!"

"Well, that's great, Ace!"

"...I'm not just here to exchange pleasantries," whispered Ace "I assume you've met the king, yes?"

"Huh? Yeah, we did"

"Then you must know that he has the ability to manipulate your mind. However, it doesn't end there. I just wanted to let you guys know that if you're thinking of confronting him, you'll need some help"

"...How did you know that?"

"I have my sources. Anyways, we didn't account for your arrival in Championnat, it's a bit of a surprise"

"I supposed the king kept it a secret as long as possible..."

"Let's continue elsewhere. There are too many people listening in" said Ace as she looked around

The group moved into a dark alleyway, hidden from the sun.

"I trust that you will tell no one, but I am actually an agent for the rebels"

"Yeah, I figured"

"Huh? Really?"

"I supposed that you wouldn't be the type of person to work for Gaius, especially if you knew what he was really like"

"Then I suppose I do not need to explain anything more. The rebels are planning to assassinate the king today when he shows up for his speech and we need your help"

"What?! Well, putting the sudden announcement aside, how will you guys even kill him? From what we know, he gave Sacrosanct a run for his life, and he's the strongest out of the three of us!"

"...Well..."

"What is it?"

"You heroes aren't going to like this, but we're actually getting a little help from a demon lord"

"WHAT?!"

"I know, I know, but it's necessary for the survival of this kingdom! If you look at history, you would know that Sonosis helped Avangarden's rebels defeat the royals. Sometimes, you need help from your enemies to defeat an even greater enemy!"

"...Alright, I trust your judgement, but then what do you guys need us for?"

"So, do you know the head guard?"

"Head guard? I don't know... Do you mean Satie?"

"Yes, that's her name"

"Wait what? Satie is the head guard?!"

"Surprisingly, but yes. The reason she's the head guard is her strength, and for all we know, she could be even stronger than Gaius himself. We have zero data on her, but all we know is that she's another hero, a hero Gaius needs for his plan. We want you to confront her while we fight Gaius"

"...Alright, so when would that be?"

"It'd be great if you could find Satie as soon as possible," said Ace while handing both Orchestra and Poda-Bruss an earpiece "And we'll give you a signal to attack her. Remember, we just need you to distract her. You don't need to kill her"

"I get it... So, what will you do now?"

"I need to return to the rebels," replied Ace "See you soon. Long live Championnat!"

Ace disappeared into the darkness of the alley, living Poda-Bruss and Orchestra alone.

"...If possible, I would like for us to solve this peacefully, there is no reason to fight Satie" said Poda-Bruss

"I know, but you've seen Satie... She is incredibly loyal to the throne and not only that, she seems to be clouded by what she believes to be love. It'd be difficult to convince her"

"Are we really sure that Satie isn't under a spell? Perhaps Gaius cast a particularly powerful charm on her"

"I don't think so... I've seen her speak and act and everything she did and said seemed genuine... Perhaps there is a bit of magic involved, but I think Satie is mostly loyal on her own accord"

"I see... Perhaps she sees something in Gaius we don't. I mean, we've only met him for a day and even that was erased from our minds"

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

...

Gaius was resting atop a tall building, surrounded by guards. It had been a stressful week for him, preparing for the heroes, confronting the heroes, confronting Sacrosanct a second time as well as the piles of administrative work he had to do regarding the damages and the planning.

He was sitting on a reclining seat, laying back while reading the news, A few headlines caught his eye.

'Return of the Heroes?: Heroes of Avangarden Rumoured to have Returned'

'Reconstruction of Sonosis Continues After Mysterious Attack on Capital'

'Avangarden to Investigate Small Earthquake Beneath the Capital'

While he was enjoying his daily paper, he suddenly caught a disgusting stench of a demon. When he turned around, he saw the succubus he had imprisoned weeks priors, his guards decimated. She was surrounded by a bunch of ill-equipped militias, probably part of the fringe rebels.

"Oh, my Goddess... Why must you continue to torment me?"

"Aww... That hurts my feeling, darling! I'm here to bring you back home!"

The succubus was Luvru, the demon lord Gaius had fought in his era. For whatever reason, she seemed to be obsessed with Gaius ever since they first met, Luvru always trying to kidnap him and add him to the collection of people she found fascinating. Every time Gaius escaped and defeated her, she seemed to grow in appetite, even eventually abandoning her collection to focus solely on pursuing Gaius, a never-ending nightmare for him.

Gaius wondered where Satie could possibly be at the moment. If they were both together, they could've easily destroyed this demon lord as well as the fodder rebels. To be completely honest, just Satie herself could've easily defeated Luvru. However, for Gaius, it'd be a difficult match.

Gaius stood up and turned the chair he was sitting on into a Patriot's Blade.

"How many times do I have to teach you this lesson?"

Luvru summoned her three blades, each covered in unique poisons for the heart. She held two in her hands, and the third one was held by her tail.

"As many times as I want it!"

...

After a few minutes of searching, Poda-Bruss and Orchestra spotted Satie, who was sitting at a table by herself, lunch in hand.

"Satie!" shouted Orchestra

"Oh, hey guys!"

"How are you?"

"I'm doing fine. My lord seems a bit agitated these days though... Do you guys know anything?"

"Uh... I'm sure it has to do with being a new king, I mean, I know from experience that it's a lot of work!"

"Hm... I suppose you're right, I mean, you ARE a king. You probably know more than I do. I think it might have to do something with the strange succubus demon lord too. I suggested I kill her to my lord, but he seemed to want more revenge. Though that led to her escape..."

"Huh? A succubus demon lord?"

"Yeah. My lord fought her before in his era, though for some reason, the demon lord never wanted to kill my lord. Even when we caught her, she turned herself in on her own accord..."

"What a strange demon lord..."

'S-zzz-atie this-zzz-is Gai-zz-us. I am re-zzzz-sting assista-zz-ce' sounded Satie's earpiece

"Huh?! Looks like my lord is in trouble. Sorry guys, but I gotta go"

"Wa-wait!"

"...What?"

"...I'm sorry Satie, but you have to stay here"

"...What are you guys talking about...?"

"Gaius... he isn't who you think he is"

"...If it's about him being an incubus, I know about it. Of course I do, I'm his head guard. But I know from the depths of my heart that my loyalty is real. If... If you guys are against Gaius, I'm afraid we will have to cross blades"

"It's not about that! He's trying to cause a war against Sonosis!"

"I know about that too! I know more about my lord than you guys... I understand his hatred for Sonosis and even if I don't share the same hatred, it's the right thing to do"

"Look, we're heroes. Of course, our end goal is to destroy Sonosis, whether we want it or not. But think about this rationally, if we start a war now, it'll be the bloodiest conflict the world has ever seen! Both Sonosis and Avangarden are filled with extremely powerful people who are willing to spill blood, but the nations are not ready, especially not Championnat. If we start a war now, it'll be a long and terrible war that will destroy the three nations!"

"...Then what do you propose we do?"

"We've got a lot of powerful and intelligent people back in Avangarden, I'm sure we can find a way to quickly and swiftly end the war with minimal casualties, but that'll take time. Underestimating your opponent never ends well and we need to prepare for the end to the eternal war"

'Sa-zzz-ie! Whe-zzzzz-are you?'

"...Even if that's the case, the lord needs me right now, I won't let anything stand in my way!"

A puddle of unknown dark liquid appeared on the ground and out from it emerged two intricate blades, one with a black metal and the other with red.

"I don't want to kill you guys. The Boeikowa and the Baku should suffice"

"...I'm sorry it had to turn out like this"

Satie vs. Orchestra & Poda-Bruss

Satie began the battle swiftly, opting to attack Poda-Bruss first. He tried to block the attack with his shield, but Satie cut through it like warm butter with the Boeikowa. She then managed to create a light cut on his chest with the Baku.

"One!"

Poda-Bruss began to feel drowsy and felt as if he was underwater.

"Is this poison...?" said Poda-Bruss

Seeing what the blades did to Poda-Bruss, Orchestra knew that she would have to attack carefully. The two blades seemed to serve different functions and remembering which was which would be important. The black blade seemed to be the Boeikowa and the red one the Baku. The black blade was the one that destroyed Poda-Bruss's defence and the red made him drowsy. Fighting melee would be dangerous. She took to the sky to avoid her range.

"Poda!" alerted Orchestra " ⌈Royal flame⌋!"

Poda-Bruss quickly created a barrier around himself to resist the heat. Satie however, quickly pulled out another sword from a new puddle, this one with white metal. She let go of the black sword, and it began floating behind her. Satie sliced through the flame in a hundredth of a second, the white blade creating a strong gust of wind to dispel the heat. The gust was so strong, it even affected Orchestra in the air.

Satie turned her attention back to Poda-Bruss. She'd finish him off before taking care of the other hero. Continuing to use the white blade, the Kumochira, she created another gust of wind, sending Poda-Bruss flying through the tall building. She then created a gust of wind against the ground, allowing her to chase after her target. With the red sword, she scratched Poda-Bruss again in the air, causing only a drop of blood. The two then landed atop a building.

"Two!"

Poda-Bruss felt even more drowsy. He knew from intuition that another scratch could mean that he was out of the picture, and thought about how he could be useful to the battle. If only he could utilize his defence spells...

Poda-Bruss quickly created an unusual opaque barrier around Satie, who easily destroyed it with the black blade. However, just the moment of distraction was enough for Poda-Bruss to close in the distance and land a strong right on her stomach, pushing her off of the roof of the building.

After confirming that she was unscathed, Orchestra continued the attack, using another ⌈Royal Flame⌋, which was scattered again by the white blade. Satie seemed to have an answer to every single one of their strengths as well as their weaknesses.

"Let's finish this quickly," said Satie, pulling out yet another blade from a puddle

This time, it was a transparent blade, the Jikuwari. She cut the air with the blade twice, and the resulting cuts split the fabric of spacetime, creating a diamond-shaped wormhole. A similar wormhole appeared behind Poda-Bruss without his knowledge and as Satie pushed her red blade through it, the blade stabbed Poda-Bruss's back.

"Three"

Poda-Bruss fell to his knees, the drowsiness overcoming him. He felt as though he was drowning, falling unconscious a few moments later.

"Don't worry. He's just taking a nap" said Satie

Orchestra knew that there was no chance she could defeat Satie. She just hoped that they bought enough time for Gaius to be defeated. With that in mind, Orchestra tried the final rushdown, diving directly toward Satie, who held two blades, another two floating behind her and a thousand more waiting to be summoned.

...

"My lord!" shouted Satie as she approached the heavily wounded Gaius

He had managed to do the same to his opponent, Luvru, but he was too damaged to defeat her, which allowed her to escape.

"I-I'm sorry my lord! If only I'd been there earlier-"

"It's fine, my dear. I'm sure you had your own share of trouble"

Satie pulled out a green sword from a puddle a healing blade by the name of Itajohatsu. The blade passed through Gaius as if it was ethereal, and healed the surrounding areas.

Suddenly, Gaius and Satie received a report from the general.

'My-zzzz-iege! We've had sight-zz-ngs of a massi-zzzz-zombie army-zzz-pproaching the walls'

"Satie, we'll need the heroes' help for this one, quickly contact them and let them know an unexpected invasion from Sonosis is coming"

"Uh... Well..."

"What?"

"I've kind of... decapacitated them"

"Then you need to quickly tend to them, not me. I need to finally activate the Emperor's Blade. This is a threat of national level"

"Yes, my lord!"

With that, Satie left in a hurry to wake up the heroes as well as find Sacrosanct.

Gaius on the other hand, remotely activated the hundreds of Patriot's Blades underground, as well as the Emperor's Blade. He would pilot the machine personally, as he was yet the only qualified personnel to do so.

It was time for the Emperor's Blade to destroy Sonosis.