(It hurt...)

  "You think you can just eat that cake like it was all for yourself?!" Vinia shouted at young Elinira, who was sitting in her chair as she getting ready to eat her birthday cake. She then slapped half of the cake away, ruining the birthday treat and leaving Elinira feeling completely devastated by her actions. "We have lots of training to do and you sit there thinking it was your break time?!"

  "But... it was my birthday... Aunt Vinia... I-i just want-"

  "Stand up from that chair and come with me!" Vinia demanded in a harsh tone, not bothering to let Elinira finish her sentence as she forced her up by grabbing her arm. "I wouldn't let you enjoy your whining, useless life of happiness, you got it?!"

  (It hurt so much...)

  "Please pay attention properly, my sweet Elinira," Ven said, casually drawing reddish magic circles against a human corpse, right over their dying organs. "This is how you make a proper 'art'."

  "I-I'm scared to look towards it, Uncle Ven. T-They look like they're in pain..." Elinira responded, her tears slowly flowing from her eyes.

  "Oh, of course not, sweetie. Remember, the art will surely became much better when it comes to dying person. This person is just doing a good contribution for my performance," Ven stated calmly.

  "E-even so, is there really a reason why you brought me to this..?"

  "I want you witnessing all my teachings, Elinira," Ven explained briefly. "You're my only students, and I really want to pass all my teachings to you. After all, it will be quite an exceptional if you taking up my torch."

  (Why... do they always take everything from me..?)

  "I-is this for me?" Elinira, now in her mid-teens as she wearing a thick reddish coat with her reddish sword sheathed at her waist, asked excitedly to Kent, who offered a smile as he handed her a small box.

  "Of course, sweetie. It's your birthday today and i really want to give you some gift."

  Hearing his statement, Elinira took the gift without hesitation and opened it, revealing a name tag that read 'Little Brother'. "Uhm, what's this for..?"

  With his smile intact, Kent slid Elinira's door open, revealing a small dog that casually and excitedly rushed toward her. The dog pushed her to the ground, licking her face as it played with its new master. Elinira chuckled in pure happiness.

  "Do you like it?" Kent asked, seeking confirmation of Elinira's feelings.

  In response to his question, Elinira nodded happily. "I really like it, papa!"

  Upon hearing her answer, Kent widened his eyes in surprise and fell into deep thought, though not for long. "I'm... glad you like it, Elinira," he then turned toward the door, ready to leave her alone. "For now, enjoy your gift while it last."

  When he closed the door to her room, it was already too late. The dog, once healthy and energetic, suddenly became weaker and weaker as the seconds ticked by. The dog began whining in pain, leaving Elinira a little confused.

  "H-hey, are you okay, little brother? Hey!" Elinira shouted, panicking as she turned the dog around. To her surprise, she saw a small device impaled in the dog's stomach, displaying a row of numbers as if it required a password.

  "This is..?" Elinira widened her eyes in realization. Desperate, she typed passwords over and over again, trying to brute-force the device as she began to sob wildly. Yet, it was all for naught. The dog's breathing slowly depleted, its life fading by the second. Noticing this, Elinira's eyes darkened. She looked directly at the dying figure of her dog with a cold gaze of regret.

  "Why... why all of you do this to me..? What... did I do to receive this..?" Elinira mumbled to herself, letting the fresh blood of her dog taint her hands as she sobbed quietly in her room.

  With that, the scene was consumed by light, a sign that the past memories had finally come to an end.

  Arriving above the evacuation field near Calle Forest, Carol slowly descended while Aria gripped her arms tightly. When her boots finally touched the grassy field, Carol felt confused for a moment. She looked around, only to be greeted by an empty field; the remaining Verlyn citizens were gone. At the same time, her pair of dark wings dissolved into mid-air.

  "Hmm. Where's everyone?" Carol mumbled to herself, falling into her own thoughts. However, in the middle of her thinking, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as she instinctively noticed a strong, murderous intent lingering around her.

  (Carol? Are you okay?) Irene's voice echoed within Carol's mind, worried as she felt the strong, negative emotion of fear.

  (I-I'm fine. It's just...) Carol thought, answering Irene's question. Afterward, she let out a sigh. (... No, nevermind. Maybe It's just my feeling.)

  Behind her, Aria's gaze was fixed on the ground, her expression darkened by a silent fury. Her left hand moved to the hilt of her sword, gripping it tightly in anticipation of a kill.

  Then, footsteps could be heard from the other side of the forest, drawing closer to Aria and Carol by the second.

  "Took you long enough." the voice of a man said. He revealed himself as Grey, now wearing a dark, reddish shirt and dark, long pants instead of his usual lecturer's clothes. He also draped a dark, reddish coat over his shoulders, smoking a cigarette before releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.

  "Is it really necessary to wear like that?" Carol asked out of curiosity, brushing the smoke away from her face. "Also, why the hell do you smoking at the time like this? Didn't you say that you're going to stop?"

  "True. But when it comes to battle, I can finally loosen this stiff shoulder without thinking about burden," Grey responded with a smirk, slightly showing off the sword sealed within the scabbard hanging at his waist.

  "That weapon... is that an artifact?" Carol asked once more, curious about the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar weapon.

  "Correct. It's an artifact of mine, a weapon from an old time when I'm still regarded as the infamous, thugs like chosen one," Grey explained briefly. "Either way, it's just a past. Right now, with the threat become much stronger, i suppose a wand and a vergus spell isn't going to be enough."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  (W-wait the minute, what does he meant that he's a chosen one in the past?) Carol thought, bewildered by his statement.

  Noticing the confusion lingering around his niece, Grey snorted in amusement. "Anyway, Aria," he called out to Aria, though it was useless as Aria was still lost in her murderous thoughts.

  Noticing the sudden change in Aria's behavior, Grey casually walked toward her.

  "Wait, uncle-"

  Instinctively and swiftly, Aria pulled out her reddish sword, pointing the edge of the blade directly at Grey's neck.

  (Fight or flight response, huh,) Grey thought, his eyes focused directly on Aria's deadly gaze. (Whatever's going on in that Ignis territory, seems like it was so devastated that her body is in auto battle.)

  For that, Grey let out a deep sigh, calmly touching the flat of the blade. The surface of his fingers slowly began to burn, yet the pain didn't bother him whatsoever. "Laevateinn. That's the name of your artifact, isn't it Aria?"

  "What about it?" Aria asked back in a harsh tone, trying her best to suppress her agonizing anger.

  "Oh, nothing. Just want to implied that you better properly swung that sword when the times is right," Grey stated, making Aria widen her eyes in surprise. "Remember, a blind rage is going to be a hindrance if you want to save your love one."

  Hearing those words from Grey, Aria fell into her own thoughts. After a moment of reflection, she let out a sigh to release her tension and finally pulled her sword, now called as Laevateinn, back inside its scabbard.

  "Good calls. Now, if you managed to get the information, can you tell me the location where the Inferno's manor reside?" Grey asked, which Aria answered with a nod.

  Moments later, the three of them walked together to the front gate of the ruined Verlyn campus, where Grey fell into deep thought as he considered the exact location Aria had given him.

  "Hmm. That coordinates you gave me is quite... weird if i say so myself," Grey stated, slightly brushing his thick beard. "I don't even remember if that coordinates is already been written off in the world's map or not."

  "Well, that's what old man Vake said to me," Aria responded, now feeling much calmer than before. "Still, it's better than nothing."

  "Uhm, Aria? Are you okay right now?" Carol asked, her eyes shifting slightly toward Aria in worry. "I mean, after what you've been witnessing back there and such."

  "A little. But thanks to Sir grey, I think I know what should i do for now," Aria answered. Her expression saddened momentarily, but she shook her head to clear out the negative thoughts.

  "I see," Carol drew a small grin of relief onto her face. "Speaking of, where's the other Verlyn's citizen, uncle?" she asked, shifting her focus toward Grey.

  "I ask Ordeus to let the Verlyn's citizen to live in his territory. Until we've finish our business and rebuilding this territory, we let them roaming around Qtiryn for a while," Grey explained briefly.

  "Sir Ordeus, huh. Its been a long while since the last time i meet him," Carol said, feeling grateful for what he had done for her in the past. "I should properly visit him soon after this."

  "If you can handle their critize, that is," Grey replied. "Apparently, most of the citizen, especially his guard and his family already know that you're a Leviathan. So when you managed to meet up with him, prepare for lots of backlash."

  "Eh, I can managed. Not that I mind about it," Carol replied with a shrug.

  Hearing such stubbornness from his niece, Grey snorted in disbelief. "Anyway, we're here."

  As the sunlight consumed their perspective, followed by the light disappearing by itself, they were greeted by the group consisting of Rein, Revir, Saria, Noire, Mary, Mira, and Erika. Even Yuno and his group were there; Erick and Dulcinia had grown taller, and Yuno had grown more of a beard over the recent years.

  "Yo, buddy!" Yuno exclaimed, one of his hands already opening up his Sealers Book. "Got that coordinates for me?"

  Grey nodded in response and walked toward Yuno.

  Carol and Aria followed from behind, but instead moved toward their own group.

  In that moment, as Revir, Rein, Noire, Dulcinia, and Erick looked directly at Carol with curious and wary expressions, Carol felt a heavy guilt stomp against her heart. Yet, she bravely pushed forward, facing them with her signature nonchalant smile as a greeting.

  "I guess our reunion is sooner than I thought, isn't it?" Carol asked, trying to hide her deep sense of guilt behind her usual attitude.

  Hearing the words straight from her mouth, Rein sighed heavily out of tiredness. He then walked toward her and immediately flicked his fingers against Carol's forehead.

  "Ou-Ouch, what's that for..?" Carol asked, surprised by the sudden action from Rein as she brushed the red spot on her forehead for a moments.

  Saria, watching from behind, only chuckled in amusement.

  "A reminder," Rein answered in his usual, cold tone. "Whatever you're going to do, this time, please think about it throughoutly. Even if it was a bad or good decision, please think about it before you act solely about your pain in the past."

  Carol, upon hearing his reasoning, fall into her own silent. But out of nowhere, she snorted and then burst into laughter. "I... I guess you're right about that. Sorry for what I've done to you guys," she said, feeling much better, as if the burden on her heart had slightly lightened. She then brushed the tears from her eyes, signaling that her laughter had finished. "And... thank you. Thank you for still accepting me."

  Hearing this answer from Carol, Revir and Noire snorted in satisfaction. Dulcinia also drew a smile of relief toward her. As for Erick, although he didn't want to accept Carol's presence, he eventually gave up and sighed.

  Rein gave a small, proud grin toward Carol, while Aria, who only watched and listen beside Carol, widened her eyes in surprise.

  "Alas! thou hast returned to thy true self!" a female voice exclaimed out loud. It revealed itself to be Erika, who walked up and stopped in front of Carol. "Knowing thy pilgrimage begins after month of idle slumber, I can finally see thy hidden brilliance come to light!"

  "Heh, thanks for that, Big sis. Either way, i'm not going to sparing and exhange my life for the sake of your 'battle'," Carol said with a flat expression.

  Unfortunately, their moment of reunion had to come to an end. Grey caught their attention by clearing his throat. "Okay, listen up!"

  Thanks to his booming voice, their attention immediately shifted to Grey.

  "As everyone else see or know here, an unknown group of attacker already put a direct chaos against this territory," Grey announce loudly. "We don't know who, what, and why they attacking. But as far as our information go, they're regarded themselves as the 'Witchers', which working directly inside the Inferno's Manor and somehow, related to Aria."

  His statement caused the tension around them to escalate further. Some were even eager to have a direct rematch.

  "With the help of Aria's information and Yuno's capabilities of teleportation, we've finally got their location."

  As soon as Aria heard that, she clenched both of her hands tightly, her expression hardening.

  "Knowing that, let us proceed towards our plan!"

  With that, Grey discussed the formation and the plan he had been thinking over. Afterward, everyone nodded in agreement.

  "Alright, are you guys ready?"

  Carol, Revir, Rein, Noire, Saria, and Aria pulled out their wands, morphing them into their respective weapons using their Vergus Spells. Meanwhile, Erick and Dulcinia morphed their books into their respective weapons—a sickle and a mace using their Soltra spell. Erika readied her katana by gripping its hilt, while Mary and Mira created a staff and knives from their own dark ender.

  "Now, let the Operation: Fiery Raid, begin!" Grey declared with strong resolve.

  With that, Yuno cast a huge, blue magical circle below them, a direct sign that the teleportation was taking effect.

  (Wait for me, Illya. I'm going to save you there. So please, be strong until I arrive.) Aria thought with strong determination, right as all of them disappeared alongside the magic circle.