“Are you sure about this?” Holt asked coldly.

He was sitting in his office and a hooded figure was standing before him.

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes,” the figure replied.

“I see…” Holt whispered. “So, they are really in love then…” his voice trailed off, but the hooded figure still replied.

“It would appear so…”

Holt paused and the whole room became silent. Nothing could be heard apart from the crackling of wax in the candles, and Holt’s slow, deep breaths.

After a long time, Holt spoke to the hooded figure.

“Thank you, I will take care of it.”

…

To the northeast of Jain village was the Elven village.

Inside the Beast Woods, in a section that was relatively close to the elven village, there was a rectangular clearing. At the edge of the clearing was a cliff, on top of which a small cave. Standing outside the cave, at the very tip of the cliff, was another hooded figure.

In front of the figure, in the clearing, hundreds of demons and dozens of onis were kneeling. They formed groups of ten to fifteen, each having one oni that looked like the leader. There were dozens and dozens of such groups, all kneeling in formation to the hooded figure as if they were a trained and disciplined army.

The hooded figure smiled proudly, and a gentle breeze flew across the area. The breeze slightly lifted its hood and the moonlight shone through to reveal the aging face of a woman.

It was Myra Wan!

…

Back in the Jain village, Hazezel’s room.

Hazezel was standing in front of the mirror. His eyes were pitch black, just like how Astoria’s had been when he confronted her two years ago. But unlike that time, Hazezel wasn’t frozen. In fact, his mouth was moving and he seemed to be talking to himself.

“It is difficult to set the plan in motion with him here, you need to find a way to send him back,” he spoke to thin air. There was no response, but Hazezel paused and listened intently as if someone was responding.

After some time, Hazezel spoke again.

“I see, okay that should work. We will do that.”

As he finished that sentence, his eyes returned to normal, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He was clearly exhausted. However, his eyes were cold, and he had an edgy look.

The next morning, in the main hall, two people were facing each other.

“Father please…!”

“No means no!”

The two were Astoria and Holt.

“You are my daughter, a member of the Reynard family! It is absolutely unthinkable for you to marry a commoner, especially one from another village.”

“But dad, I love him! Isn’t that what matters?” Astoria asked helplessly, tears in her eyes.

“Maybe for others, but unfortunately for us, marrying for love is a luxury we can’t always afford,” Holt replied.

“But why not?” Astoria asked again.

Holt stared blankly.

“You are not stupid Astoria. You are more than mature and old enough to understand. It is not easy to run a large village like ours with many elders, soldiers, and more. Marriage is the best tool to strengthen political relationships. It is a necessity… no a responsibility that we have to ensure the stability of our family, and our people.”

“But…” Astoria protested.

“NO BUTS!” Holt snapped. “Enough of you talking back to your father. You will stop talking to that boy from this day forth and that is the end of it!”

Astoria broke out crying. Holt could normally never bear to see his precious daughter cry. In fact, seeing her now, his heart was beginning to waver a little. However, he resolved himself immediately.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve always been very soft on her that it’s come to this…’ he thought to himself.

Astoria was mad, angry, heartbroken, and felt a million other things. She loved Sam so much and would give anything to be with him. She loved her family too and would do anything for them, however she didn’t want to marry anyone else. For her, her responsibilities were towards her father and siblings and that was all, not the village.

But Holt didn’t see it that way and so she didn’t have much of a choice. Seeing his unyielding eyes, Astoria cried even more, unable to decide what to do.

After everything she’d been through, after becoming a mage, and even fighting on the front lines, she thought she had become a strong woman. And in many ways, she was much, much stronger than the weak little girl from before. However, before her father, she still felt like a child. She was torn between her feelings for her family and her feelings for Sam and was completely breaking down.

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As they were conversing, the doors to the hall were suddenly opened. Astoria quickly turned around so whoever was coming through wouldn’t be able to see her crying.

Annoyed at the interruption, Holt turned around, ready to give a piece of his mind to whoever had blasted through the door. To his surprise however, it was Hazezel.

“Father bad news. Hordes and hordes of demons are swarming towards the elven village. They will be overwhelmed soon if they don’t receive reinforcements!”

Holt frowned. It was similar to the demon tide that had taken Elwin and Drake by surprise a few years ago. Whilst at that time, the demon tide did not cross any villages, this time the elven village was in its path. No wonder Hazezel had rushed to him, this was too big for him to try to resolve on his own.

Consistently fighting with the demons over these past years had withered down their forces. Even now, most of their fighters were scattered around, fighting all sorts of battle. Even Elwin and Drake had been sent to the front lines a few days ago. Drake had only returned yesterday and Elwin would be out for a while. There was not a lot they could do at this moment.

As if reading his thoughts, Hazezel suggested, “Father there is one person we could send.”

For a moment Holt was confused but then realisation quickly dawned on his face.

“I see… you’re right. That is the best option we have.”

There was only one person left in their village who would be able to reinforce the elves and were strong enough on their own to make a significant difference. That person was naturally Ray.

All these years, he had been working to tutor Drake and, after she became a mage, Astoria too. He had been feeling restless for not being able to fight, however his master had reassured him that everything was okay. Not one to go against his master’s wishes, Ray continued staying in the village mansion, teaching and helping Drake and Astoria with their cultivation.

However, Drake was already very strong now and there wasn’t much else left for Ray to teach them. Cultivation was largely a solo journey, and everyone had to do most of the work themselves.

Beyond that, Ray was an incredibly strong fighter. He had cultivated the perfect stage steel body, and perfect-stage warrior mage realm. His strength was almost on par with Holt himself and could potentially fight against commander class demons and onis on his own. Even if he couldn’t win, he could hold them back.

As a one-man army, Ray could turn the tide of battles with his presence. Given how tight their manpower was stretched out, it was a shame to continue to not put his skills to use.

Hence, Holt made a decision and walked out with Hazezel. Astoria wiped her tears and followed after them.

In the garden, Drake and Ray were sitting next to each other, cultivating with closed eyes as usual.

Upon hearing their footsteps, both opened their eyes.

Hazezel and Astoria stopped a little before Holt, who continued walking straight towards Ray. Puzzled, Ray looked at Holt questioningly.

“Master Ray Dragmoor, we just received news that a large number of demons and onis are approaching the elven village.”

Ray’s eyes widened in disbelief and he stood up, clenching his fists. He was about to ask for more information when Holt continued.

“They asked us for reinforcements however, our forces are already stretched thin so there isn’t much we can send over now…”

“I’ll go!” Ray said firmly.

Holt smiled, “I was hoping you would say that. You have done a lot for my kids and my village already, and I am extremely grateful for everything. But it is time for you to join this war as well.”

The expressionless Ray slightly smirked, as if to say ‘finally!’

He took a deep breath and turned towards Drake who was now standing next to him.

“Drake, I have already –” before he could finish his sentence, Drake interrupted him.

“I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t!” Holt yelled. “You just came back from a battle yesterday - you need time to recover!”

“Your father’s right Drake. While I appreciate your intentions, you won’t help anyone by running to your death.”

“I know master, but don’t worry! The battle from before didn’t expend too much of my energy. And after a night’s rest, I have mostly recovered now, so I’m ready to fight.”

Everyone looked at Drake and couldn’t detect a trace of hesitation in his voice. They were convinced that he was telling the truth.

However, the previous battle he was in involved a small army of hundreds of demons and over a dozen onis. Sure, he had his own army to support him, but that was a large battle which would have surely tired out a tempered body martial artist true mage.

Or so they thought. However, Drake’s strength was already almost on par with the likes of Elwin now with all of his martial techniques and artifacts. But they didn’t know that, so they thought Drake was just pushing himself to help his master and were hesitant.

“Trust me, I can do this. I am sure I can help fight against the first few waves at least. And once I become tired, I will retreat into the village, rest, and return once the waves have passed. Please, let me go father,” Drake asked Holt pleadingly.

Holt sighed.

His son had grown a lot as well over these years, the war making the eleven-year-old boy mature much faster than normal. Having seen what Drake was capable of all over this time, Holt decided that he should trust his judgement. His instinct as a father was yelling at him to keep him safe, however he decided to put his faith in his son’s capabilities.

“Okay,” Holt finally replied. “If you are very sure then go. But be safe, and don’t push yourself too much.”

“Of course, thank you!” Drake beamed, hugging his father.

Ray looked at Drake with a complicated expression, but everyone could tell that he was happy at Drake’s interest and enthusiasm to help his village.

Eventually, the two said their goodbyes and started making their way out of the village, and towards the elves.

The elven village was about half a day’s ride out from theirs, assuming they didn’t encounter any demons on the way. Of course, with both Ray and Drake’s strength, pretty much any demon would meet its end pretty quickly. So, if all went well, Drake should return within a week or so.

Thinking so, Holt sighed and turned to face his daughter. Astoria had been quiet this whole time apart from saying goodbye to Drake. She was slightly worried about him but was more than aware of his skills, and since he was with Ray who was almost as strong as Holt, she didn’t have any issues with it.

Holt and Astoria silently looked at each other. After a few minutes, Holt turned around and left. They didn’t speak at all, but plenty was conveyed through the silence.

‘Break up with Sam’ was Holt’s simple and unbreakable command.

As Holt walked away, Astoria began crying again. Hazezel, who had partially heard their conversation and was also aware of their relationship, figured out what this father-daughter dispute was all about.

“What are you planning to do, Astoria?”

“What can I do?” she asked helplessly, her voice croaking as she wiped her tears away. “I will meet Sam today and brea-”

“Really!?” Hazezel yelled.

Astoria looked at him in surprise but he calmed himself quickly. With a sigh, he turned around. Looking over the back yard, Hazezel spoke.

“If that is your final decision, so be it. It is not my place to tell you how to life your life. However…” his voice trailed off and he was looking at the ground, struggling to find the right words. Then, he slowly raised his head and continued.

“Anything worth having in life is not easy to get. If you truly want something… then you must fight for it and take it for yourself. As long as you are doing the best you can, and are not hurting anyone, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Saying so, Hazezel began walking away. Astoria watched her twin brother’s back disappear into the mansion - a new light, shining in her eyes.

A light of hope and determination.

The resolve she thought she lost, came back renewed once again.

That’s right… my life, is my own to live.