"Are you sure you wanted to accept those terms?" asked Amelia as we walked out of the main hall, making our way outside.

"I didn't have a choice. King Roy's support was a necessity," I responded calmly, already beginning to focus on the next step of the plan.

"I know. So you'll be trying to kill Jay?"

"Hm?" I mumbled, turning to face the S-rank, "Oh, at least to some extent. My honor as a royal was on the line, so I couldn't outright lie, but I just interpreted the King's words in a way that worked for me. All I have to do is kill the part of Jay that is currently dominating his mind and body, so to a certain degree, yes, I'll be killing him."

"And you also agree to the contract. Not bad, Asthia," said Amelia, smiling.

"Either way, we need to focus on the Fei now. I was thinking of just walking into their camp. What do you think?"

"You want to walk straight in?!"

"Well, I don't see the danger," I admitted, trying to understand why the plan wouldn't work.

"She's right," echoed Jean as she caught up with us, "The long-range attacks from the normal soldiers and adventurers won't affect her, meaning she'll be able to get close enough to ask for negotiations directly. The Vye twins are also extremely bound by honor."

"Exactly. I'll ask to see the King, and hopefully, agree to some kind of deal like I did with King Roy," I continued, jumping off the explanation Jean had just given. "I doubt the Vye twins will refuse my request to see their leader, especially if I mask it as some kind of surrender negotiation."

"Wouldn't that be lying?" teased Amelia. I laughed, nodding in agreement.

"To some extent. Well then, should we go see them now?"

----

RENA VYE'S POV:

"They've been holding out for longer than I expected," I muttered. Lio pushed off from the wall he was leaning on, standing straight and approaching me.

"We should just launch a final strike. Blow a hole right in their stupid wall," grumbled Lio.

"Don't be ridiculous. You know full well we can't win against them if they have such a strategic advantage.""I'm tired of waiting."

I ignored Lio's final comment, briefly returning to my thoughts before a captain stormed into the room.

"The enemy is approaching!" he cried desperately. I shot up, baffled that the Imanian armies would give up their position in an attempt to forcefully drive us out.

"The human army?!" I asked, already preparing my stuff as I tried to understand the situation.

"No, ma'am. It's... just three individuals. Two of them have been identified as Amelia Lala and Jean Lymine!"

I finalized gathering my equipment and rushed out the room alongside Lio. The Fei army was in complete disarray as volleys of arrows and projectiles were being launched toward the oncoming targets. My eyes identified the three figures casually walked towards us, one of them seemingly blocking all of the attacks singlehandedly while the two S-ranks followed them.

I sprinted across the camp, making my way towards the frontlines. The banging of metal and thuds of footsteps echoed around me, the cries of soldiers as they attempted to communicate with each other amidst the chaos only creating more disarray.

"Reinforcements have arrived!" announced the Fei captain that was in charge of the frontlines, his face already drenched with sweat from the panic.

"Have you managed to identify the third individual?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the figure that continued to lead the small trio.

"No, ma'am. All we've managed to pick up is that they're extremely proficient with infernal bind and that they could potentially be on the same level as an S-rank."

The same level as an S-rank?!

Wait a second... if that was true, then the Imanian army possessed the means to annihilate us if they attacked in full force. Why were they only sending the S-ranks without any support?

I locked eyes with the figure as the gusts of wind from the fires around her unveiled her hood, revealing her face.

"!!"

My eyes widened as I recognized the face. That was the same face as Selena Darck, the Empress of the Dragonkin. That meant that the figure currently approaching us... was Asthia Darck. Her red eyes that sparkled like rubies alongside her spotless white hair proved my assumption, and her mastery over the terrifying element was similar to her mother.

Had she slipped into Eloria undetected?

That girl was supposedly almost on the same level as an S-rank adventurer, meaning that she was more than capable of taking both Lio and me down if she worked alongside Amelia and Jean.

Was this a trap?No... it would be a pointless trap. Why try and trick us if there was no need to in the first place?

Asthia raised her hands as if she was surrendering, signaling her true intentions. Was this a diplomatic envoy or something? The only way to understand what they truly wanted would be to listen to what they had to say, but even that could prove to be a trap if their army appeared while I was distracted.

Either way, it wasn't like I had much of a choice anyway.

"Stop your attacks," I ordered, "they're here to talk."

I walked past the first line of defense, entering open ground as the three figures stopped advancing. I glanced back, making sure Lio was by my side before proceeding.magic

"What do you want?" I asked, reinforcing my voice slightly with bind.

"We want to talk with your King," responded Asthia, her eyes swirling with rage. I understood her overwhelming hatred; I was the one who had killed her father, and it seemed like she would be unable to get revenge.

If we weren't being killed, then it meant we were needed for something. Was there something more important to the Dragon Princess and King Roy than defeating the Feis?

"Very well. You will be sent to Nethnore as ambassadors of your respective nations. Lio and I will accompany you," I said, feeling Lio's eyes stare at me cautiously upon hearing my words. I turned to head back to camp, but Asthia's words pulled me back.

"How long will it take us to get there?"

I turned my head to meet her gaze. Was she pressed on time for something?

"Four days. The capital isn't too deep into our lands."

"Can we get there in three?"

"Possibly. We'll leave right away, then."

The bystanders to the conversation had remained silent during our exchange, but I could feel Lio's unease oozing out into his aura. It was true that everything was very sudden, but something told me this urgency was required.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" he whispered as we led the envoy into our camp, allowing them to pass through our defenses.

"There's nothing else we can do, Lio. Let's see what they want to say to His Majesty first, then we'll decide our next move."

"I'm still uneasy about all of this."

"As am I, but I believe there is a reasoning behind all of this. Something that we still have yet to see."

Something was coming. All of this... was all preparing for the inevitable. What it was, I couldn't know, but the urgency behind the Princess's voice signaled an oncoming catastrophe. This was more than just wanting to end the war...

This felt as if a calamity was on its way.