When the lead group reached the open field before the wall of the Pride, I saw a familiar face among them, wearing his crimson armor, his helmet retracted back into his shoulders and body. Of course, it was Ur'Tokh. But this time around, he wasn't coming alone or acting as the head Emissary, because he wasn't the leading figure anymore. Instead, others were walking ahead of him, while he acted nothing more than as a bodyguard. Well, at least, now they weren't driving their monsters, emerging from their throats, and instead they came on foot.

"It seems they aren't flaunting their powers this time around," Pion muttered, standing next to me. True, because the group didn't perform the same feat as Ur'Tokh did, walking up the air, or anything fancy... They were just standing at the gate of the Pride, waiting.

"They are doing it probably to show some respect. Let's go down and hear them out," I began walking while also speaking into my communicator, "Open the gate. Slowly, though, to give me time to arrive."

Inside the wall, I could hear and feel the rumble as the mechanisms began groaning, and the small formations came to life, eliminating the weight of the thick steel gates, allowing them to be lifted with minimal effort. By the time we got down, Ur'Tokh and five others had already walked through the first set, now standing within the Pride itself. Looking at them from up close, they weren't soldiers exactly, at least their clothing said otherwise... but their eyes burned with the same light. No... It was even stronger than in the gaze of Ur'Tokh... So I couldn't underestimate them at all. If not physical, magically speaking, they had to be monsters in their own right. Plus, I didn't need a proper introduction to guess these were the Sect Elders, probably the council below Zah'Ratil, solidifying their position as individual powerhouses.

When they saw me, they stopped ten paces away exactly and bowed slightly, greeting me, only taking one glance at my red hair before doing so.

"Sovereign Leon." Ur'Tokh straightened up, speaking as he met my eyes. "These are the esteemed elders of our people."

"Welcome," I kept my tone neutral, "to the Pride of Avalon."

"Sovereign Leon," one of the elders, a woman, stepped forward, and I had to acknowledge that she looked... beautiful, with all those scales going up her neck and face. It made her exotic, and an ethereal feeling surrounded her. "My name is Sa'Ith, and these are my fellow Elders. As the leaders of the bloodline and the Everflame Sect... I'd like to ask for sanctuary for our people." She said, and although it visibly hurt her pride to do so, she bowed her head.

"You'll have it, under conditions."

"Of course." She nodded at once after hearing my straightforward answer, and I could see that she had a brief relief wash over her eyes.

"Civilians and the young may enter behind the wall." I pointed behind me, "They'll be fed, and I have ordered my people to start creating temporary shelters. But they will be kept under watch until we sort things out. As for your warriors and the beasts... they stay outside, in front of the Pride. No exceptions."

"Mhm..." She nodded once, after thinking it over, "Agreed. They will not cross over, I promise you that."

"You'll also disarm them before entering the inner camp." I continued, "My men will assign your people to separate quadrants. Your warriors can come and visit if they want to, but to do so, they must also be unarmed," I looked at Ur'Tokh, "and unarmored. If anyone begins to cast spells inside or behind the Pride, and believe me, we would know, they will be thrown out, and all of you can go wherever you want to go."

"Reasonable," She replied after exchanging a few glances with the others, turning back towards me, "We thank you for sheltering us."

"Don't thank me yet," I sighed, "Avalon isn't doing this because of charity. We're at war, same as you... You follow our rules, and we keep you safe until the danger passes. That's all. Don't misunderstand me... I don't trust you yet." The Elders traded uneasy glances at my words, but they didn't argue. My guess was that they'd expected this, maybe something even worse, or me sending them away without hearing them out. "It seems we are done with the introductions," I continued, gesturing toward the inner gates. "My officers and soldiers will escort your civilians through. The rest of you can watch from here. One of your Elders may accompany them to explain the situation. Will that be enough?"

"It will be," Sa'Ith nodded, "We are and were always orderly."

"I will trust you on that." I nodded and then stepped away to oversee their entry of the Vasas, into our base.

As the first wave of their refugees began passing by us, I saw their expressions change one by one. They may have been used to seeing monsters, fighting them, and living in a volcano of all places, but there were still human expressions on their faces. Which, right now, mostly contained confusion, awe, and fear.

"Interesting place," One elder spoke up, and I didn't catch his name, not that it mattered, "This wall… lives." He muttered, and I watched him survey the walls around and above us.

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"More or less," I nodded, standing close by him. "The inside of this fortress has multiple mechanisms installed, not to mention it houses a lot of our forces. What you may feel is the magic we incorporated into its structure, as there is more than one spell working in tandem to not only reinforce the structure but also to give us protection."

"I can sense it, not to mention... You house monsters inside?"

"Hm?" I looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and noticed that most of the elders were now looking at me, too. "No."

"We can feel them," Sa'Ith said to me, probably trying to be diplomatic, telling me I should not refuse the truth, as they can sense it, "We also saw the tamed beast standing before the... Pride. We can perceive that it has been perfectly controlled. The Savior has mastered his skill even faster than we had ever expected. I just hope we can meet him soon enough."

"We will see," I answered without pursuing it any further.

Oh... Now that's an interesting misunderstanding... Not that I will tell them they are wrong. Let them believe what they want. As for the beasts, they think they feel... Those signals have to be our mechs. No wonder... They are operating with monster cores, so yeah. I can understand why it feels familiar to them.

"Sovereign," From my communicator, Seltana's voice carried through, reporting me, surprising the Elders once again that I have such a device at hand. "Sovereign, the refugees are being processed. The estimated count that we ran through them put their numbers at two thousand, give or take a dozen."

"Copy that." I replied, "Keep them monitored."

"Yes, Sovereign."

"..." Sa'Ith turned slightly toward the voice, blinking her eyes, probably trying to read into the device and how it was working. "You speak through metal, using magic in a way you shouldn't be able to..." she murmured. "You don't have the full bloodline, yet you can use it... That... should not be possible."

"I am known to make the impossible possible," I spoke dryly, holding back my laughter, "Come on. I can tell you are curious. Let me, as a show of goodwill, take you on a small tour."

Soon, I brought them up to the top of the wall as we walked the ramparts together. Below us, we could see as the refugee camp was taking shape: already, rows of canvas tents were being pitched, while supply crates were being unloaded by cranes that appeared from inside the wall, as my soldiers marked perimeters for the refugees. The elders didn't lie; the Vasas moved quietly, organizing themselves with actual military precision to help our people work around them, and when all was done, they occupied their tents and positions without complaint, following the rules they were told about. Efficient people, every one of them, I had to give them that. Then, as if on cue, the air trembled with a low rumble.

"...?" Sa'Ikh flinched, sensing the resonance, but it wasn't magical, so she couldn't actually pinpoint it. But it was noticeable enough, so she kept searching for its source... It took her about a minute to finally find it with her eyes, "What is that?"

"That, my dear guests," I smiled, "is our own creation."

"That...? You made it?" another elder muttered, looking at me questioningly. "I can't sense any magic inside it... Only... a minuscule amount, no, that's not possible. That wouldn't be enough to move a thing like that... big. How?"

"What you sense is just the cleansing magic." I explained, "I am not going to ruin the world, so... without going into details, that thing could be spewing some nasty exhaust fumes into the air, so we installed a cleaning spell onto it. It turns the fumes into simple water vapor, keeping it clean."

"What...?" They looked at me, but I explained no more.

As we stood there, the sound grew louder, becoming a rhythmic beat, until a beam of white light cut through the snow from the front-facing lamps. The train whistled loudly as it began slowing down, its wheels throwing some sparks here and there while the plow at its front end kept sending a good amount of fresh snow to the sides, cleaning the track ahead as it rolled into the station behind the Pride. Seeing the number of cars attached to it, almost being a kilometer long, the Vasas froze, realizing that one such machine was able to carry all of their people and tools... and still have empty space left on it. I couldn't see the shock and awe on the faces of the people below as the 'monster' rolled in from the south, but I didn't need to. I was already enjoying the feeling by just imagining it... Ah... I am addicted to this. I am dreading the day when I can no longer do this anymore, when I have shown everything I had to the world. Or when they get used to my antics... What a sad day it will be.

"Unbelievable," Ur'Tokh stared, being speechless. "It moves… without beasts? No magic? Without spells or blood?"

"It works mostly on physics and a bit of chemistry," I chuckled, "And a few miracles of engineering. But nothing that good old human ingenuity couldn't handle!"

"You..." Sa'Ith turned to me slowly, "You forged this with your mortal hands?"

"Excuse me?" I laughed, while Pion almost moved beside me but held back as I signaled him with a subtle wave of my hands, "Didn't Zah'Ratil tell you about me? I know you all are obsessed with my son... But don't be blind to what I can offer. I told him the same thing, too... We can address the issues this world faces in more ways than you can imagine. Okay, I did not tell him this way, but the gist of it is the same."

"..."

"Maybe if I were born at your age, I could have told you that zoophilia is not a good option."

"Zoo what?" the elders asked, making me shrug.

"Playing with beasts." I answered simply, "Anyway, that's not here or there, as we–"

But I couldn't finish it. In the distance, we saw a massive, flaming column reach towards the skies, while almost every Vasa around me and down below began clutching their heads, some even collapsing. There was utter, undeniable horror written on the elders' faces, all turning towards the fire raging in the far distance.

"Incredible energy spike detected!" It was Merlin who spoke through my communicator. "I have never seen anything like this... This... thing could eat the Guardian for breakfast."

"Copy that," I answered, feeling my own blood run cold.

"That can't be..." Sa'Ith moaned, and I saw tears appear in her eyes, rushing to the edge of the wall, watching the column slowly fade and disappear, "It... It has awoken... way before time!"

"So it seems." I said, crossing my arms, knowing that she was shocked at why I was so calm, "I think," I looked at her, "We need to have a talk. I need to know everything about this Ignis. And I mean everything."

"I don't dare to hold back anything..." She whispered, wiping her eyes, "I swear on anything you want me to..."

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