A handsome young man with golden hair was sitting alone in a room. He sat facing a window. At night, barely anything could be seen other than darkness. His face was that of melancholy. There was an image globe placed on the table next to him, showing two people smiling.

One was himself, Stratos Gaelos. The other, the now deceased Theus Mercea.

In the slightly moving image, the two were a few years younger and with smiles. Sunny skies in the background, southern fruit drink in hand. Stratos still remembered what they talked about that day.

Stratos, the world belongs to the young! Now Is our time!

And now, Theus had died young.

In the aftermath of the battle, Stratos was unable to find his body. There was no shadow of him either. The only thing that indicated Theus' death was his life candle that had been snuffed out.

While such items were not infallible, all signs indicated Theus' demise.

Stratos was lost in thoughts until he heard a knock. Who entered was the most beautiful girl in the world. Her black hair was down and she was wearing nightwear. When her purple eyes which looked like a pair of amethysts looked straight at him, Stratos felt yet another cupid's arrow piercing his heart. He was surprised there was still space for the arrow after so many times.

"My lady."

"I bring some toast and tea," Celestine said in a voice that sounded like an angel choir to Stratos' ears. "You didn't show up for dinner again."

He had been running around finding out what happened to Theus. "I'm a failure as your knight, my lady. To think you lost some sleep because of me... It won't happen again. Pray, forgive this one."

Celestine put the tray on the table, caught a glimpse of the picture orb, and sat beside Stratos.

"Theus Mercea. I've heard you two are close."

"We've known each other for a long time thanks to our fathers. He's got a temper, but he's a good friend... or I suppose, was, now."

"The battle was a fierce one. Our side lost many lives. Considering there is someone like Red Eyes lurking around, it's not outlandish for even a duke's scion to lose his life," Celestine said softly. "But that is not what you believed. Have you found any new information?"

"This man killed Theus. Not Red Eyes, no Empire Level 4, him."

Stratos conjured the image projection of a man.

"Prince Croix's vassal. Avel of Javia is his name, I believe. Do you have proof?"

"No. He's too crafty for that. But make no mistake, this man is a monster wearing human skin."

"...There was an altercation between the two in the Emerith Grand Ball. You think this is the cause?"

"Among other things. Avel is also Miss Valentine's lover, according to the person herself. It didn't sit well with Theus."

"...Do you want to confront him?"

"I don't have proof and we're at war. Unfortunately, justice will have to wait. But he will answer for his crimes one day. I have a friend. He's a great investigator who comes from a line of great investigators. I'll ask him for a favor. If anyone can find proof Avel is dirty, it's him"

Even with all these, Celestine saw Stratos kept a cool head and didn't do anything rash. In every aspect, Celestine found the man in front of her excelled.

"Truth be told, this isn't the first time he might be tied to an incident. A few years ago, Prince Croix and Prince Marvin, our 40th half-brother, fought. Afterward, Marvin disappeared. Solany, who was Marvin's fiance at the time, told me. Croix's vassal, Avel, was also there. I did some digging but there's no evidence either and Croix was cleared by Duke Lucan himself."

"Intriguing. Please tell me more."

Stratos listened to Celestine's story without making a sound. At the end of the story, his suspicion towards Avel was razor-sharp.

"Solany said Avel's mind is made of the stuff of nightmares," Celestine added.

"Where is Miss Lucan, by the way?"

"She's going back home temporarily to organize the Lucan forces for the next step. The nobles are gathering their forces to counterattack under the leadership of the four dukes."

"...The Grand Prix is suspended indefinitely. What are your plans, my lady?"

"I..." Celestine hesitated answering.

Stratos suddenly knelt on one knee and gently took Celestine's palm on top of his own.

"Whether to war or Hell, I swear on my honor as a knight and a man, I'll follow. No harm will come on you while there's breath in my body."

***

A military air enveloped the city of Gryphon's Reach. Rows and rows of knights in shining armor ready for war. Their march was accompanied by thrown flower petals and cheers from the civilians, wishing good fortune and safe return.

The knights of House Valentine were joined by other allies, other nobles, local lords, independent Pathseeker Schools, and even people from other nations. Currently, the Pathseeker army was around seven thousand strong.

Their objective was to capture or liberate Grandia Castle, a crucial stronghold on the border of Harkelan-Latias. It was the mighty bulwark that prevented the Empire from violating the Kingdom's lands. Although the Empire bypassed the gate by traveling by air, Grandia Castle must remain in the Kingdom's hands or the invasion would worsen.

The unknown situation at Grandia Castle was concerning but it was crucial enough that Duke Valentine chose to mobilize his forces even though many allies were still en route.

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The seven thousand army marched orderly, flying many different flags. Of course, the most numerous and the strongest among them belonged to House Valentine. Around four thousand Level 2s, three thousand Level 3s, thirty to fifty Level 4s, and one Level 5, the Duke himself.

Viers was among them.

The reason he was here was because his liege was here too. Unlike him and Boram who were on foot, Croix was riding a horse. He had been assigned the one hundred men under his command.

He was currently talking to another one hundred-man commander, Prince Lutz the 11th prince. As a personal retinue of Prince Croix, Viers walked close enough to hear what they were saying.

"I thought there would be more of us..." Croix said.

"One of Cassian's main monsters was killed in the last battle. His wariness is natural. Vadym refused to comment. As for Celestine, you think it is normal for a princess to stroll into a battlefield?" Lutz said like he was answering a funny question.

"It's just..." Croix didn't finish. He wasn't sure what to say.

"No one ordered us to be here. We royals, even if it is sometimes just an empty title, are too valuable to risk. Especially we five who made a splash at the Grand Prix. Why are you here, brother? You haven't finished your school term at Sinclair Academy, have you not?"

"The Big Five people begin calling us..." Croix muttered. "I just want to help. Make a difference, even if it's small. Isn't that your reason too, brother?" Croix asked back.

The princes were quite a headache for the duke or whoever was commanding the army, Viers thought. They were princes, great titles, but had no place in the original chain of command. Command couldn't treat them like foot soldiers either. Besides, they and their retinue were too good of a fighting force to let go. That must be why Latias HQ gave each prince one hundred men to use as special divisions.

Not unlike the Hi Shin Unit at the start... Khukhukhu.

Viers chuckled at the similarities. Croix's retinue had Avel, Boram, and Sakuya that Viers brought. The last was not marching with them though. Lutz had a few of his own people too but the most stand out was a woman who was also Lutz's right hand in the Gran Prix, Pulamela was her name.

Falmerion flew overhead, close enough for his movement to create some wind. The knights had become used to the dragon at this point. Some believed it was good luck.

"Lady Valentine is not with you?" Lutz asked.

"No. Miss Ciel is riding with her father. The duke understandably wants her to be as safe as possible. Miss Ciel didn't like it but that is the condition for her to participate in this campaign."

"Well, Grandia Castle is still far and there are a lot of places that need help. Loosen up a little, brother. You look as taut as a bowstring. Good luck, for both of us."

"Thank you, brother Lutz. Good luck to you too."

After Lutz went back to his unit, Croix also felt that he was being too tense but it couldn't be helped, right? He was going to war. Then again, he looked at Boram, someone three years younger than him, and he walked as if this was just another day at the Academy.

Was he a coward? Croix wondered. Or was it Boram that was weird?

"Highness," Viers' words scattered Croix's thoughts.

"Yes, Avel?"

"I know you are eager to act, to fight, to help, in this war. But remember, you haven't fully healed from your injury in the sky battle. Using your Victa for simple things and minor fights is fine but if you go too far again, there will be serious repercussions," Viers warned.

"...I know. I'll take care and be careful."

"Good. Boram and I will make sure to achieve results. Don't you worry."

"...Fuh," Croix had a self-deprecating smile towards himself. "Only relying on my friends. Some hero I am."

"Dreams must be grounded in reality, otherwise it will remain a fantasy."

"I know. I'll take your caution to heart. No use in rushing things blindly."

"Rather than thinking about that, how about focusing on training? Your Arte molding process could do some refining."

Even when they looked idle, Viers and Boram were often practicing in subtle ways. Even now Boram was wearing gravity rings to improve his body and Viers was training his soul method with half of his mind.

Now that his water affinity was sealed and entering a war. Viers would undoubtedly use his soul Arte. He would be using it in a way that would be difficult to identify. He was practicing to improve that area.

Worse come to worst, he would use his Imaginary Domain. What allies and foes saw when the Domain came down would be the corpse of his enemy.

The list of things he could do to improve himself was never-ending, especially with all the Fables in Viers' head.

Oh, the things he could try to do with the Naruto series alone... Change chakra with Victa, add a pinch and Unreality Field, and voila. Artes galore.

"...You look a bit tired, Avel. Not enough sleep?" Croix noticed.

"Ah, just a busy night."

Last night, Viers soul-searched Theus Mercea. The man, or the soul of the man, was stubborn, even though he was dead.

As a pretty talented kid of the duchy of Latias, naturally Theus knew a great many things. Good stuff, important stuff, blackmail stuff, and so on.

The rub was, now that Viers began to touch the top faction of the world, old clans or families that had been headed by Level 5 throughout the ages, things got a tad difficult.

The big organizations naturally had ways to protect their sensitive information. Viers wasn't the only soul or mind reader in the world. If a core member was assassinated or fell in battle and all their secrets were laid bare, they wouldn't last long, wouldn't they?

There were too many ways. A Geass to never tell the secret was one example. In Theus' case, the secret of the duchy was protected. Even if Viers tried to get inside his memories or soul, it was locked, blurred, or some other things.

It was like encrypted data. To know it, Viers must decrypt it. The more important the information, the stronger the encryption. Unlocking those data took time and effort. Success couldn't be guaranteed either.

Theus certainly wasn't the first case that had protection in his mind. Viers honed his ability to breach soul defenses by doing this. One of his pastimes.

Yesterday, in his soul prison Tartarus, he was facing Theus' soul nailed to a crucifix. Theus, bitter and full of spite towards Viers, didn't make it easy. His soul was quite robust even after his death. He resisted Viers' attempt at soul search very vigorously.

So before Viers even got the encrypted data, Theus made him work for it.

Viers gutted him. Violently. Opening his stomach like Theus was a hog for slaughter and ripped the inner parts that he wanted.

It would have been easier if Theus didn't resist, painless too on the subject, but since that was how Theus wanted to play it, Viers obliged.

Theus' soul consciousness and ego were still intact and since Viers had not finished squeezing all the data that Theus had, encrypted or not, he would repeat the process again another day.

The other souls that saw what Viers did to Theus became much more obedient. Most of them were the new additions from the Harkelan Empire that Viers looted in the battle. Most couldn't resist Viers anyway but willing participants always made things smoother.

Viers lost a bit of sleep because of that but que sera sera. It was all an improvement for Viers.

"Prince Croix, I bring you a sortie order from the Duke," a messenger on a horse extended Croix a scroll.

"Roger that," Croix accepted. He opened it and read it. "Tell the Duke I have received his directive."

The messenger made a salute and then rode back.

"We're going then?" Boram asked.

"Men!" Croix said out loud to all of his hundred men. "We have our first order. We will split from the main column and liberate the besieged town of Taris from the Empire's hands to the northwest. Red Dragon Unit, move out!"

The men roared a response and began marching in a new direction. The unit's first battle in this war.

"And so it begins," Viers muttered. In his eyes, a twinkle of adventurous excitement.

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