Aaron woke up to see two strangers before him. His magic had replenished, and his wounds had also disappeared. Relieved, Isaac helped him get on his feet.

Isaac then introduced the two of them. "I'm Isaac Tremblay, this is Aaron Amon."

Luo looked momentarily startled but quickly regained his usually serious demeanour.

The lieutenant general by his side smiled. "And this is the youngest DA air force general, Luo Ren. I'm his lieutenant, Jenna Angel."

The four stood in silence, each studying the others carefully. Jenna’s light brown hair flowed with the wind, and next to her, Luo’s green hooded eyes settled on Aaron.

"Aaron Amon, are you the young master from the Amon Guild?" Luo asked, his voice laced with wonder.

"I was, but that time is gone now," Aaron Amon’s eyes blazed with determination. "If I ever take back what's mine, I won't be the young master but a guild master."

The sound of war echoed through the thick air as Luo cleared his throat, his voice carrying a sense of urgency. "Let's cut to the chase. You should leave north immediately. These lands are a battlefield."

Isaac pondered the situation. The plane had exploded before it reached Oilos city. "Where are we exactly?" he asked, looking around at the unfamiliar deserted land.

"We are at the edge of the Wandering Lands, about an hour's walk away from an ongoing battle." As Jenna tilted her head towards the sun, she could see that it was past the mid-day mark but still had some way to go before it set in the western sky.

Aaron had regained his senses and looked at Luo with a conspiring glance. "If you don't mind me asking, aren't you a pilot? Where is your plane?"

Luo Ren looked down to hide the ounce of trauma on his face as he spoke.

"My X-54 Jet fell in combat, and we crashed about a week ago. We've been stranded in these lands ever since. The Western Alliance's army doesn't want us because they think we're crazy."

"Crazy, how come?" Isaac asked, keeping his distance.

"Well, they think demons aren't real," Jenna replied briefly, "but we saw one."

Isaac and Aaron took a step back before Jenna changed the subject.

“What are you doing out here?”

“The truth is, we want to get to the Obscure Guild…”

Aaron and Isaac explained their situation as they walked.

…

They marched for an hour, the sound of war growing louder as they made their way through deserted planes and over endless hills. Eventually, they arrived at a hill and climbed the shadowed side to the top, where they could see the battle below them in a network of trenches that formed a crater-like depression in the landscape.

They checked their surroundings to make sure their spot was safe, and Aaron took comfort that they were on the crest closer to the Western Alliance, which was on their side.

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The battle had been ongoing for a long time, as evidenced by the thick coating of ash covering the ground, the product of countless fierce explosions.

Luo stood on the edge, looking at the war machines, listening to the gunfire and frowning at the occasional explosion. “The new ‘Western Alliance’ and the Topaz and Obscure guilds are fighting down there. Let’s not attract any attention.”

After a while, he turned to Jenna and Aaron.

“Jenna, be ready for anything. Aaron, since you have a sniper, if we see that demon, try to kill it.”

Isaac was shocked. “Wait, you’re telling me there’s really a demon?”

“Yes, something like that,” Luo replied. “It’s what killed everyone and everything within tens of kilometres. We alone survived”

“That’s why this barren land still looks so green on the map,” Aaron muttered, only realizing now.

They waited silently, but everyone knew that it’d be unlikely the strange figure would show up.

Time was ticking, and Aaron and Isaac had to get to the Obscure Guild to save their friend, Gabriella Rivampe.

Jenna and Isaac were talking to each other. At one point, Jenna showed him her special daggers.

As she flicked a switch, one of the dagger’s fusor reactors activated, causing pink plasma to emit from the handle. The pink plasma dagger was shaped like a thin, broad blade in a U-shape with two pointed ends.

Isaac didn’t know much about weapons, he preferred to stick with his usual conjured spear, but he could tell that this weapon was unique.

“Wow! Are these made of plasma?”

“Yes, they are deadly and can cut through almost anything.”

“These daggers must have cost a fortune.”

Aaron lay on the hard ground, looking through his sniper. Suddenly, his hands quivered. “Oh.”

Luo was worried. “Aaron, you alright? Let me see!”

As he looked through the rifle’s scope, he saw a group of three walking toward them.

Aaron knew who they were: it was his brother with his two sidekicks, Explo and Crow.

They were on the same crest, farther away, walking from the enemy’s side.

Rico frowned, a GPS in his hands. The attempt on his older brother’s life had failed. “I knew it. That vampire failed his task. Let’s go meet my brother.”

“Aaron! It’s nice to see you!” Rico waved at him.

Luo tilted his head. “Do you know him?”

“He’s my brother.”

"Then, why is he coming from the enemy's side?!"

The four gathered together and readied themselves for a face-off.

"Let's just get on with it. You two, attack!" Rico pointed at Aaron. His two mages followed his order as they ran forward.

Rico buffed them with his magic, making Crow’s dark magic movement quicker while heightening Explo’s strength.

"Don't move!" From the opposite side, Luo threw a red fireball directly at the pink-armoured woman, yet she walked through it without suffering damage.

Luo scowled, "Jenna, you'll have to deal with this one! I'll fight the other!"

Isaac conjured his spear. “Then I’ll take on Rico! Aaron, support me!”

Jenna’s daggers faced their match. Plasma couldn’t penetrate Explo’s armour in one hit, leaving scratches.

Luo’s fireballs couldn’t hit Crow since he was too quick, and his limbs could turn into air currents. He opted for taking him on in close-quarter combat, skillfully evading the assassin’s thin black sword while slowly melting it away.

Backed by Aaron’s wind magic, Isaac approached Rico. However, the younger brother’s eyes started glowing green.

He put his arms forward and shouted, “I’ve gotten better at wind magic!”

On the other side, Aaron grunted as he put his everything into pushing Isaac forward.

As the two magical winds converged and collided from opposite directions, Isaac felt disoriented and crushed by the wind shear, helpless, with no way out.