Arthur Leywin POV
The six of us flew toward the wall as fast as possible. I knew Seris said not to worry, but I couldn't help it. Images of holding the dead bodies of my sister and father flooded my mind. The mere thought of losing just one of them was a feeling I could hardly bear.
As we neared the wall, my eyes widened as they scanned the area. One side of the horde looked like they had been blown apart. Blood and limbs from Alacryans and beasts alike were scattered on the battlefield. The other side of the horde was a different story. The bodies of the beasts and Alacryans were burnt husks. The smell of burnt flesh drifted into the air, and I nearly gagged.
I noticed the Dicathen troops were all moving around, talking to one another. They all looked up as we flew overhead, and a look of relief washed over their faces as their eyes fell on Elion, Mom, Sylvie, and me. However, when their eyes flicked to Seris and Cylrit, their expressions changed to fear and uncertainty.
"Papa!" Sylvie yelled, getting my attention.
Everyone looked toward Sylvie to see her pointing toward the ground. I looked to where she was pointing, and a feeling of happiness and relief fell over me. Standing together, we're the Twin Horns. I noticed some of them looked injured, but nothing life-threatening. Standing in the middle of the group was Dad, with Angela standing next to him.
My eyes shifted beside him, and I grew confused seeing two unfamiliar figures. A male with white hair and a female with hair the color of fire stood next to the Twin Horns. However, another thing I found curious was that Caera was hugging the white-haired male.
'Oi! Who the fuck does that white-haired bastard think he is touching my horned goddess!!!' Regis yelled mentally as he was inside my core absorbing aether.
'Not sure, but Caera seems to know him.' I replied mentally.
I could hear Regis mentally grumble. Sylvie and I mentally chuckled, feeling Regis sulking through our bond.
Angela looked in our direction, and she smiled brightly. She pointed toward us, and everyone looked our way. Caera stopped hugging the male and looked toward us. I could see a bright smile on her face and a few tears in her eyes.
The six of us flew down, and we landed next to everyone. Everyone looked happy to see us until they noticed Seris and Cylrit standing behind us.
"Shit! Vritra!" Adam yelled as he prepared his spear.
"Stay your weapon!" Elion commanded, and Adam looked at Elion, surprised and confused.
"Do you honestly think we would be with them if they were our enemies?" Mom asked with a raised brow like the answer was obvious.
Adam looked down like a child being scolded. "No, I guess not."
Several of us chuckled, seeing his reaction. My eyes flicked to Dad, who quickly walked up to Mom. Mom and Dad shared a warm smile before Dad brought her into a tight, warm embrace. Dad pressed his lips to Mom's, sharing a deep kiss. I awkwardly looked away and noticed everyone else was looking at them warmly.
Mom and Dad broke the kiss, and Dad pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm glad you're safe. I was worried," Dad said.
Mom chuckled, "I was worried about you too. When our plans fell apart, I was afraid I would never see you again."
"Well, luckily, these two showed up when they did," Dad said, looking at the white-haired male and fire-hair-colored female.
"What do you mean?" Elion asked.
"Look around you," Aaron said, gesturing to the remnants of the horde.
"They did this?" I asked, genuinely surprised by the power and devastation displayed around me.
"They sure did. Anihilated all of them. I thought we were a goner there for a second," Adam chuckled.
"He also healed my injuries. If he didn't, I'd surely be dead right now," Dad said, looking at the male.
Mom looked at the male and female and genuinely smiled, "Thank you."
The male and female nodded like they were saying thank you nonverbally.
"What happened to you guys exactly?" Durden asked curiously, gesturing to us.
"We went to handle the beast horde as planned," I began as everyone looked at me. "When we arrived at the horde, we noticed they had split into two groups. Regis was able to handle the first group. The other four of us were going to handle the second. However, we came into contact with two Scythes before we could."
The Twin Horns all looked at Cylrit and Seris.
"No, not them," I said, seeing their gazes. "Two others. Sylvie and I fought one, while Elion and Mom fought the other. In the end, Seris killed the Scythe Mom and Elion were fighting. Cylrit helped Sylvie and I kill the Scythe we were fighting."
The Twin Horns nodded in understanding, and Dad looked at Cylrit and Seris.
"Thank you both for protecting my family," Dad said gratefully.
Series and Cylrit nodded. "Of course, we are allies in this war after all," Seris said nonchalantly.
"We are?" Adam said, confused, looking at Seris skeptically.
"We are," Seris nodded with a sly smile. "We have similar goals—freedom and the end of this war."
"What freedom are you fighting for? The war is on our continent, not yours," Adam scoffed.
"Adam," Angela snapped at his rudeness.
Seris waved away Angela's concern, "It's fine. He's correct, after all. The war is indeed taking place only in Dicathen for now. However, Alacrya is far from free. We wish to earn our freedom from our suppressors."
"Your suppressors?" Angela said, confused.
"The High Sovereign and his Sovereigns," Caera said with disdain.
I looked to Caera to see her standing close to the white-haired man. The male held Caera close with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. I chuckled, seeing the warm smile and slight blush on Caera's face as she leaned against him.
"The very same," Seris said. "I wish to see Alacrya free and end this war." Seris looked toward me, "Arthur Leywin. I hope by now I have earned some of your trust. I believe the time has come for us to work together."
My eyes narrowed on her, with emotions and thoughts rampaging through me. I contemplated what had just transpired and how Seris helped us.
'Papa, Seris hasn't given us a reason not to trust her,' Sylvie said mentally.
'She's a Vritra,' Regis retorted mentally.
'So is Caera. And you don't have a problem with her,' Sylvie responded mentally.
'True... Whatever, Seris is hot anyway. Go for it!' Regis replied mentally.
Sylvie and I both mentally rolled our eyes. I sighed, looking at Seris in her eyes.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked inquisitively.
"A meeting between leaders," Seris said as she took out a paper from her dimensional ring.
Seris walked up to me and held the paper out. I grabbed and opened the paper, seeing it was a map of the beast glades. On the map was an "X" near a heavy forest area.
"A map of the Beast Glades?" I said, confused.
Seris chuckled and nodded, "Precisely. Tell your leaders I wish to meet with them in three days when the sun sets, that it's time for us to form an alliance. I've marked a spot on the map for us to meet. I believe it is time for us to start working together."
I looked at her curiously, "And what if they refuse to meet?"
Seris chuckled and smirked, "Then let's hope you can persuade them for the sake of both our continents."
I eyed Seris curiously and cautiously before I gave her a nod, "Very well. I will pass along the message."
"I thank you. Now then, we will take our leave," Seris said as she turned toward Cylrit. "Activate it."
Cylrit nodded. He took a black mechanical device from his dimensional ring and placed it on the ground. I felt him imbue the object with mana and went wide-eyed as a bright light appeared.
"What the hell is that?" Adam said, flinching slightly in surprise.
"A tempus warp, or teleportation device," Cylrit responded matter of factly.
Seris looked at the male and female, "Callum, Lyra, let's go."
Lyra nodded and walked toward the tempus warp. Callum looked at Caera and smiled before he brought her into a warm hug. I could see Seris' eyes soften a little as she looked at them, and the corners of her lips raised slightly.
"You have to go?" Caera asked, her voice a little shaky, and looking at Callum sadly.
Callum chuckled and smiled, "I do. But we will see each other again."
"I-I can come with you," Caera stuttered.
"No," Seris said, gaining their attention. "Not yet, at least. Not until we have everything set."
Caera sighed dejectedly toward Seris, "Fine." Caera looked back at Callum and mustered a smile. "Until next time, then."
Callum nodded before he broke the hug. Callum's hands traced down Caera's arms until they reached her hands. He gently grabbed her hands before slowly backing away from her, like he was holding her until the last second. Callum let go of her hands, giving Caera one last smile before he turned and walked up to the tempus warp. Caera's lips quivered, and she brought her hands to her chest, watching Callum through watery eyes.
"Until we meet again, Arthur Leywin," Seris said as the four of them entered the light, taking the tempus warp with them.
The light flickered before it vanished in thin air, and a silence fell over us.
"What now?" Adam asked, breaking the silence.
"Now, we need to take a damage assessment. We need to get back to the wall," Mom said, looking around the area.
Dad physically paled, "The wall! Ellie!"
"Don't worry, she's fine," Mom said reassuringly.
"You're sure?" Dad asked, concern thick in his voice.
Mom chuckled and smiled, "I have a tracking rune on her. She's fine." Mom raised her arm and began to twirl her finger. A moment later, an amethyst portal appeared in front of us. "This will take us to the wall."
Mom walked forward, and we all followed her. One by one, we all entered the portal and appeared on top of the wall. I looked around, seeing the soldiers sitting down, looking relieved that the battle was finally over. Catapults and ballistae were destroyed, with their parts scattered across the top of the wall.
My eyes flicked to the opposite side of the wall that we appeared on, and my heart dropped a bit. The bodies of deceased soldiers were laid next to each other, with privacy blankets covering them. Other soldiers knelt next to them, grieving over the bodies of their dead comrades.
"Where's Ellie?" Dad said, looking around, slightly paled, seeing all the death and destruction.
"There," Claire said, pointing to an area.
We all looked to where she was pointing and saw Ellie standing next to Helen, who was talking to several soldiers. The soldiers nodded before they turned and walked off.
We all approached Helen and Ellie, and Ellie looked toward us as we got close. Ellie smiled brightly in relief and nudged Helen with her elbow. Helen looked at Ellie curiously before she followed Ellie's gaze. Helen's eyes fell on us, and she smiled happily with relief.
"You're all ok!" Helen said gleefully.
"Mom! Dad! Brother!" Ellie yelled, running up to us.
Ellie ran into Mom's arms, and I smiled jovially. Dad joined the hug and reached his arm out to me. I smiled as I walked up and joined them in a group hug. I felt overjoyed feeling the warm embrace of my family, knowing we were all ok. I could feel Sylvie and Regis smiling through our bond.
We all broke the hug, and I noticed the Twin Horns walk up to Helen and hug her as well.
"So, the attack is finally over," Helen said, looking past the wall into the Beast Glades.
Mom followed Helen's gaze, "Yes, it is. Let's be thankful we all made it out."
"Helen," Elion said, getting her attention. "Has Virion been contacted yet on what happened?"
Helen shook her head, "Not yet."
Elion nodded, "Then we must brief him. He needs to know."
"Arthur, why don't you go to the castle and tell Virion in person? This way, you can discuss the other thing. It'd be best to discuss it with him in person," Mom pointed out.
"Other thing?" Helen asked, confused.
Mom looked at Helen and smiled, "I'll fill you in later."
"Sure. Want me to help with the cleanup first?" I asked.
Elion shook his head, "We can handle that. Virion needs to know about the wall."
I nodded, knowing he was right, "Alright."
I hugged my family, feeling incredibly grateful, knowing they were okay. We broke the hug, and I activated my spacium rune. I raised my hand and twirled my finger, picturing the council room, and a portal appeared in front of me.
I smiled, "I'll see you all later."
Dad nodded happily, "See you later, Kiddo."
Mom smiled jovially, "Later, sweetheart."
Ellie waved and smiled gleefully, "Later, brother."
I looked over to Sylvie, "Let's go, Sylv." Sylvie nodded happily as she walked over to the portal.
I gave everyone one last nod before Sylvie and I walked through the portal, heading to the floating castle.