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20

Nidhoggr had returned from the Machine King's test. He had finished a day before but didn't want to try it out during the day. He had waited for the night and, as soon as it fall, and with Oyan's men help, he managed to bring it out from the Guild.

Nidhoggr had made many modifications to his machine. First of all, he had made it amphibian, like Dumas had foreseen, and added more cannons and bombs in the other unused sections. The light bubbles charged up a higher voltage of electricity enough to kill twenty men in a row. The original design had hand and feet to swim properly inside the water when the sections were rectangular and had no mobility. Now, the whole machine was a serpent and could slip like one. The original sections were split and made more sections, completing the whole serpent body, having in each ring one cannon bomb, one of missiles and one of shooting rays. Like this, all over the back. The head wasn't as big and massive as before, but still had the original design. The hands and feet were inside especial compartment that hid it when the machine went under water. But soon Nidhoggr ripped them out seeing no further use in them. Instead, he had created with his alchemy flexible tentacles that were controlled by his will, held inside of each of the machine's sections. If he wanted to move fast the only thing he needed to do, if the King was in a bad shape, was to summon those tentacles and run away.

Once the machine was out the Guild, meaning outside the black barrier, Nidhoggr made a spell to make it camouflage with its surroundings so no one could possibly see it unless he wanted to. He had discussed the locations where he could run a test with it, but Oyan didn't want him to do it far away from the Guild since it was dangerous. Merclar and Recher had taken Oyan to a private place where to talk about the subject. It was Alexander who had suggested, in low voice to Nidhoggr, where he could test it.

"You should go to the coast.", said the wind Terrennial. He had some bandages, like Oyan, covering his still open wounds.

"Why?", said the vampire. Then, he grinned under his mask. "Is there a little town I can terrorize?"

"Yes, there is.", the man returned the smile. "It's pretty small, but no one would ever know that you had passed there since no one remembers it after eleven years."

"Did you know how mean are you?"

"I can be worst than this, trust me."

Nidhoggr laughed softly.

"Well then, the coast it is."

Oyan, after talking with his men, decided it would be safer to do it in Northeast lands, near the desert, which was filled with undead. Nidhoggr agreed and walked inside the machine and started it. The light bubbles lighted up, illuminating everything in a bright light before dimming it. The serpent closed its mouth and started to sneak away from the Guild, moving up rather quick from what everyone expected.

It was a short trip to the coast. Nidhoggr, inside the control room, was watching from a screen everything what was happening outside. He had not only two, but four different cameras recording everything as well as a computer that examinees every creature the machine came across with. Once he found a river he just followed it until he entered to the sea, diving and making one of the explorers go outside and look for him said town that Alexander had told him.

It took him an hour to find it but when he did, he smiled widely. He had forgotten how it was to use his machine and it felt a little awkward, but his machine didn't forget him at all, as it screeched, slowly going to the water's surface. Just meters away, it screeched again and Nidhoggr targeted some of the houses on the beach, seeing how the men were trying to run away from the coast but his missiles were faster than them. He raised the machine's head and fired some of the electricity from the light bubbles to light on fire some of the buildings, watching the people try to run away and other trying to help the ones that were captured by it. What he didn't know was that the Duke and his parent were around the area. Nidhoggr surprised himself when he saw a similar creature like the one that flew over the barrier came from the ground. He smiled. So, that was the full form of the Duke's partner… The computer started to show up the information about the vampire and the boy hummed when reading his element. Ice. It was a rare element within vampires.

Not wasting anymore time, he shot some missiles that the vampire easily dodged, one of them was hit back and exploded on one of the light bubbles. Screeching, the serpent submerged in the water, only leaving its eyes out from it. After Nidhoggr saved up all the information that he needed from this enemy, he left with the machine. Returning on the same path he had took, he returned to the Guild and put the machine once more inside the black barrier where it recuperated its normal appearance.

"Back so soon?", said Oyan when he saw the boy walk in the Guild.

"Well, they were small test for the machine so, yes.", he answered, flopping down on a couch and then crossing his legs. "It was fast since I only had to see if the computers and the main system worked."

The boy looked at the leader, covered with some bandages and aid bands. After the fight he had with Alexander to see if he could stay, they hadn't stopped fighting and training. Oyan had liked the new member quiet a lot since he was a true warrior, as Nidhoggr often heard him when he talked about Alexander. But couldn't figure who he was yet, and that was still trilling him and his magnificent brain. He had looked up everywhere, but there were no records of a man like Alexander existing ever. Nidhoggr was starting to think it was either a spirit or one of the Terrennials but without proofs, he couldn't come to any conclusion.

That week was pretty calm as Oyan decided to not make any move to let the enemy also relax before giving the first hit and start the real fight. Now that the machine was finished, he could start his plan in slowly spreading his men around the cities, especially Acuna, and then break into the homes to start the massacre. He wasn't going to have mercy for anyone. The humans that allied with vampires were as guilty as them. Oyan still remembered the pain he had felt back then, in his childhood, when one of them killed both his grandfather and father in front of his mother and himself. But he was hiding; the vampire didn't know he was there at all. It was revenge, as he said. He dropped the dead bodies on the ground, leaving his mother crying over her husband, while the vampire walked away, cleaning up the blood from his hands with a white tissue and dropping it on the ground after.

He couldn't sleep after that horrifying scene. He had nightmares, he had this wound opened in his heart, in his soul. The North land had vampires living in it, but in a separated part of it, even when both races still talked to each other but, after that day, Oyan couldn't see vampires the same. Their skin, their fangs, their claws, their eyes, their ears, their bloodlust, their strength, their powers… They were monsters! His grandfather often told him that they were going to be the ones ending the human race, to reduce it to rotten meat drying under the hot sun if the didn't take it away first. And after that, he started believing it. At the age of seven, he listed in the local Guild even when his mother didn't approve it, not really knowing why her only son wanted to do something like that when her family was also related to vampires. Just when she found out the real reason behind it, it was late. Oyan was already twenty year old and was the new leader of the Guild. When he had accepted the charge, that same night he hunted vampires in his homeland, killing over seven hundred of them. Plenty of them managed to escape, but found their dead when the gunslingers outside the territory waited for them and killed them right there.

That was the beginning of his plan of liberating the planet from every undead creature that dared to walk on it. But he couldn't have known that Ratatosk was a hard opponent. Half of the men died when he tried to attack the Puppeteer in his own castle. Using Vanargandr's power, Ratatosk killed them all and cursed the North lands with a never-ending wave of undead creatures appearing from the shadows and the ground, that now that he is dead, it's still working. He wanted to kill him, but Dumas did it before he could spread his men a second time. A few years later, Saturday joined them as he was a little boy with no home or parents who would miss him. Oyan let him stay if he worked for him as a spy after seeing how brilliant his brain was. That's how he had known the situation in the East lands. The last war left the local Guild with no members left, and then the last one with the Duke reduced it even more. The Dark Swordsman went training but came as almost a vampire and then the ones that could survive from both wars started to return to the East lands, most of them were vampires. Oyan wasn't going to let that happen. A city where vampires and human lives together? Not a chance. He didn't want to happen what happened in his homeland.

Nidhoggr had told him that Ernest was desperately looking up for Aaron, Trinity's only son, after he had run off with Lucian. Oyan understood Ernest perfectly. He would worry too if the kid that he raised from little run away behind a vampire's trail. But couldn't just wait for him to call him and ask for help so, after some days deliberating about what to do, Oyan finally picked up the phone and talked with Ernest about giving him a hand with the Guild, seeing what happened in the last two wars. Hiding his real intentions of invading the East lands to kill every vampire living there, Oyan and a group of his men traveled from the North to Acuna and then to Old Culiacan, where he had reunited with Ernest, who talked with him and thanked him the help. Oyan could tell the man was nervous and worried about the boy so he offered his help once more, saying they were going to find him. Ernest had soon discovered his main reason for coming here but it was late; Oyan had taken control of the Guild and the ones that resisted to him ended up dying. Only with Bea's infiltration knowledge the remaining ones could escape. She and the others met up in the hideout and obliged them to stay there until they could find Aaron, and hoping the North gunslingers hadn't found him first.

He was slowly succeeding. The man smiled. And now with the new acquisition, referring to Alexis, he was sure he was going to win this fight. He was such a strong warrior, if not the strongest he had ever seen. After the encounter from last week, he and Alexis trained almost everyday. Oyan couldn't get tired of him and his surprises that held inside. Recher and Merclar were terrible jealous of the new guy and Oyan noticed it, but didn't say anything. It was fun to see how those two tried every time to surpass Alexis in any way, but not having nice results. The last time that Recher had a match with him, and not the one from last week, he was close of losing his right arm if it hadn't been for Nidhoggr that helped the poor man from the crazed warrior. Recher wasn't still fully recovered but at last had the other arm to fight with. If not, Oyan had to send him back home, as a useless man like him was no good in his army.

"What did you do with the library?"

Oyan blinked, walking away from his thoughts. He looked up and saw an equally bandaged Alexander standing in front of him with his eyebrows frowned.

"The library?", repeated the man.

"Yes, that place where you put books on the bookshelves…."

"I know what a library is.", said Oyan, angry. Nidhoggr giggled but he was ignored. "We moved it, you could say."

Alexander arched his eyebrows but then frowned again.

"You better had not trashed the books!"

"Of course not!", yelled Oyan. "I'm not that barbarian! They are in the basement from the south part of the Guild."

"Your men better hadn't trashed any of them.", warned before walking off.

Oyan looked at Nidhoggr.

"What's his problem?", but the boy shrugged.

Alexander walked to the entrance of the Guild and then keep going south, finding a closed door that lead to the underground basements. He turned on the lights and closed the door behind him when he had stepped on the stairs. He did wanted to read, but also had found a way to send his messenger spirits without Nidhoggr finding them. Alexander remembered that one of the basements had a small ventilation duct that connected to the exterior. If he finds it, then he was probably going to success on his plan. He had to do it quickly. Oyan was close in starting the war, and Alexander couldn't risk that Lucian and Aaron thought he had betrayed them.

When reached the bottom, he turned on the lights in the room and groaned. All the books he had seen in the library were piled up all over the ground. And they were quiet a lot. Alexander put his hands behind his head, looking around, trying to see how he was going to do to find the ventilation duct without moving the books too much, because if he did, then he was going to suffer a lot when they land on his back and head. Sighing heavily, he started to move carefully between the high piles of books. One or two waved when Alexander lightly touched them and he was praying that the tallest ones didn't want to fall. He couldn't understand how the soldiers made them so high. Was it because a bet to see who managed to make the tallest pile without it falling under it's own weight?

Finally, he could reach the wall but saw, with disillusion, that it wasn't the right one. Grumbling some bad words under his breath, he moved out from there and went to the left one, slipping between the piles. He wasn't that lucky this time. One of his foot kicked the books and the higher ones fall on his head, shoulders and finally, to the ground.

"Ow!", shouted the Terrennial, whimpering. "That really hurt!"

"What book are you looking for?", came the spy's voice from the stairs.

Alexander cursed. Why he had to show up in a time like this? He was about to put his plan in action!

"Entropy.", answered the man.

Nidhoggr arched his eyebrows.

"I didn't see you as a man from Physics.", said as he walked carefully between the piles of books.

"It's not about Physics.", Alexander turned around, smiling. "It's about random stories."

"Oh, I see…"

The Terrennial wondered why the spy would come downstairs, particularly to that basement. Could it be he was trying to find out whom he was? Was he waiting for an opening, finding him unaware, creating some sort of spell that would reveal his identity? Well, most spell casters and vampires could use the power of the Wind at their will, so the spy relating him to a possible Terrennial were low, but still high enough for Alexander to guard each of his own moves. Nidhoggr picked up a book from the shortest piles and left. The Terrennial sighed as he kept looking on the wall's surface, trying to find the duct from where he could work. He couldn't found it. Going through the piles over again, he exanimate the last wall but with the same result; nothing. Apparently, that basement wasn't the one having the duct as he thought, and the visits to the other ones were restricted to him. Oyan had said that the new member couldn't go there, since they stored the weapons, armors, shields and other stuff in one of them. Even when Oyan liked him, he couldn't risk losing half of his men if Alexander decided to return to his old friends.

The Terrennial returned to the surface with the book he had been 'looking' for. He went to the cafeteria and sat on one of the empty tables. Everyone was inside the Guild, but was either sleeping or doing nothing. He hadn't seen Oyan, Recher, Merclar or the spy in his way here. Maybe they were discussing when they were going to attack. He just hoped it wasn't that night or tomorrow. He still needed to tell the boys about his infiltration and how things were going to be from now. And hadn't a plan yet. He looked at the book and sighed. He had already read it five times.

The next day Oyan reunited his men inside the black barrier, where Machine King rested when Nidhoggr didn't use it. The leader told them he had decided to start the war the following day, at noon, where the Sun's light was stronger, bringing every vampire out and letting them die under it. The soldiers screamed in happiness, wanted to fight badly, but Alexander bit his bottom lip. It was a tragedy! He should have kept away the thoughts of Oyan wanting to fight soon! Oh, the disgrace! How he was going to react when Lucian and Aarons sees him in the other band? Would they think he is there to retrieve information about them, or would they think he had betrayed them? The wind Terrennial gripped his teeth. It was the worst decision he had ever done.

The soldiers started to prepare the weapons, testing them and seeing which ones needed to be repaired urgently. Each one took their own shield, putting them over their beds. Alexander helped in preparing the weapons, but with no motivation at all. Fighting against your friends without them knowing you that the enemy didn't know if was the enemy…

That day passed very slowly. When they finished with the weapons and everything, it was already four in the afternoon. He didn't want to talk with anyone and couldn't walk outside the Guild yet so he stayed inside the room he shared with another rookie, Máximo, who was only two years older than Aaron. The boy was nice and a quiet roommate. Alexander was thankful for that as he could lay on the bed he had made with an old mattress, sheets and blankets and a single pillow, to relax and think of problems like how the hell he was going to advice his friends in time. Yes, he was still thinking and his brain was already aching at how much he was thinking and how little answers he was getting.

"What's up?", asked Máximo. It was rare for him to ask, but Alexander understood that since he was young, he was concerned about his comrade. The boy came into the Guild last year and was still getting used to things around there. The Wind Terrennial sighed as he imagines the boy's miserable life.

"Just worried, that's all.", it wasn't a completely lie, but he had to be careful. He was seeing it was hard to put up a mask and be someone he wasn't.

"About tomorrow?", Alexander nodded. "I'm scared.", admitted Máximo. "It's… my first real battle, you know.", he laid on his bed and looked at the ceiling. He was just a bit taller than Aaron, with tanned skin and short, black hair. His cobalt blue eyes were something that the Terrennial found interesting, as they sparkled with life, just like Aaron's. "I don't know if the patrolling missions we did back in home will… well…"

"You will do fine.", comforted the man.

Máximo sighed.

"I don't really accept the fact that Leader just runs away, leaving his men behind… It's like… not appreciating what they have done for him so far.", said the boy. His weapon, consisting in a cannon very similar to Bea's one but that shots bombs instead of missiles, was resting on the wall, hanging from a hook. "What if I fall and no one decides to help me?"

"I will be there, don't worry.", Alexander saw that weird face that Máximo only did when someone wasn't right. "What?"

"Didn't leader tell you? Neither you or the spy are going to tomorrow's fight.", answered the boy.

"WHAT?!", screamed Alexander, panicking. How come he wasn't going?! Máximo jumped on the bed, startled at the scream and quickly replied:

"Y-Yeah, he said that you were going to be his last resort or something about that…"

"When he said that?!", Alexander was now on his feet, prepared to run to Oyan an demand an explanation. "It couldn't be in today's reunion, I was there!"

"Well, he did… Don't say you were, because you weren't!", exclaimed the boy, sitting on the bed. "You were spacing out!!"

Alexander opened his mouth, but didn't reply. Instead, he calmed down.

"Oh…"

"Yes, that's why you haven't heard about that.", Máximo stood up, too. "We were surprised, too, to hear him say it, but he must have a real reason behind it."

"He is going to use me and the spy when, probably, he's out of soldiers to sacrifice.", came his response, angry at the man like Máximo was.

"Don't say that…"

"Why not?"

"I'm going to fight tomorrow!!"

"…..Oh, right."

When night fall and the last group returned from their patrolling, Alexander went straight towards Oyan's office, the one that used to belong to Ernest. Oyan was tired from that night but was still up. Alexander sat in front of him and asked why he wasn't going to fight tomorrow, and the leader said it wasn't his time yet, that he needed him and the spy in the Guild as reinforcements, since he had a lightly sensation that Ernest was going to send some of his allies to the building to see if he could bring him down from the inside out. The Terrennial nodded, asking when he was going to fight for real. Oyan smiled at his enthusiasm and answered that he would when he thought it was the final battle to show his last cards under his sleeves.

Alexander left the office and, seeing it was already eleven in the evening, he decided to call it a day and went to his room, flopped on the bed and slept.

He was waked up by a lot of steps noises echoing in the hallway. The door of his room was closed and when he lifted his head, he found that Máximo was preparing himself for battle. Alexander rose from the bed, rubbing his eyes and putting his now free hair behind his back. The man palmed the boy's back and smiled to him when he turned around.

"Morning, pal.", said Alexander, looking up for the hairbrush that was lying somewhere. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm going to crap up my pants anytime.", admitted, giving the man the hairbrush that was just in front of him. "I'm really scared."

"I told you, you will be fine.", said as he started to comb his hair, the little band around his wrist. "You know how to use your weapon, how to fight."

"I know, but practices and hunting are a different thing to… wars.", Máximo sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Besides, Leader's plan is not exactly the most… good one."

"I know, I know.", Alexander finished doing his usual ponytail. He grabbed the eyeliner and the shadow eye he used to wear. "Follow your instincts, trust your abilities, don't underestimate yourself.", suggested as he sat in front of the mirror to see himself as he started to put the make up.

"Thanks.", mumbled the boy, seeing if his weapon had enough charge. "I know it might be sound silly but, don't you have a lucky trinket?"

"Mm, sometimes.", said the Terrennial. "Why you ask? You have one?", Máximo shook his head. "I see.", Alexander put his hand in the pocket of the uniform and, using his wind magic, took out from it a cord necklace with four feathers; one white, one black, one purple and one yellow. Then there were also little orbs matching the colors of the feathers. He tossed it to Máximo and the boy looked at it.

"What's this?", asked, eyeing the strange feathers.

"White represents pureness. Black is death. Purple is wisdom and yellow it's intelligence.", explained Alexander as he finished putting the make up on. "A pure warrior doesn't fear Death, as his previous experiences makes it strong and smart to each new challenge.", recited as he turned around and smiled to Máximo.

The boy put it around his neck.

"Thanks again.", they heard Oyan calling everyone in the field and the boy stood up, grabbing his weapon. He sighed. Alexander saw him tremble a bit. "I will see you later."

"Later. And you better bring that necklace back or I will personally kill you.", Máximo giggled under his breath as he walked to the door, shaking his head.

Máximo exited the room, closing the door behind him. The Terrennial could feel his doubts and nervousness but then they disappeared. Perhaps it was going to be the last time he saw that boy.

Alexander went to the roof, seeing everyone leaving. The spy was also watching them leave, next to him, feeling the soft breezes blowing up there. It was a strange sight since the Terrennial never felt so nervous. He didn't know what to expect from them man or from Ernest, he didn't know how they were going to react when both of them were face to face. He had been so inside this whole thing but also so left out of it, too. He felt he couldn't do anything.

"You never told me the name you are using here.", said Nidhoggr to Alexander when the soldiers were lost in sight.

"You never told me yours.", replied the man. "How is it?"

"Froggy."

"Alexis."

Nidhoggr took off the mask and sighed.

"Well, we are going to be pretty much alone with Merclar and Recher until Oyan is back."

"You mean we are going to be pretty much bored.", said Alexander. "We don't know if they are going to be outside all day or for two, or three, seeing you must have gave them some drugs.", Nidhoggr laughed. "I'm serious. I bet they will be stay awake for a whole week."

The boy laughed again and left the roof. Alexander stayed there, enjoying the Sun's bright light, thinking what he was going to do the rest of the days seeing that the only ones that were staying were him, Nidhoggr, Merclar, Recher, and a few other soldiers, to which he didn't like to talk at. The Terrennial seemed that, even when it was his enemy, the spy was a nice guy to talk with, having interesting things to say. The rest of the gunslingers were pretty much barbarians, warriors that didn't know anything else but fight. Alexander would love to sit and talk with them, but he expected them to not know the stuff he does. He had lived long enough to know about almost everything, the knowledge flowing like wind each time he talked about something.

Alexander opened his eyes to the sky, the wind softly playing with his hair. He looked around and saw the tree's leaves dancing in the breezes. He smiled. How he hadn't thought of that before? Each time he was thinking how to warn Lucian about his condition, he was always thinking in a physical way. He was the Wind Terrennial, why not use the wind to delivery his message? How silly he was all this time! Alexander just hoped that the spy would not feel his energy while creating the breeze it would deliver said message, but if he didn't say anything when he made that necklace for Máximo, chances were that he couldn't feel this either.

It was a lightly more powerful energy so Alexander looked around and even went down some stairs to see than the spy wasn't hiding somewhere. Knowing that he could see through the dark barrier, the man sat on the floor in order for the spy to not see him what he was doing. Once he felt he was ready, Alexander summoned his energy. His hands turned claws as a weird purple fire appeared on them, covering them completely. The man whispered some words concerning his quotidian life inside the Guild, about Oyan, about the spy. Fearing someone could come, Alexander finished doing this message and the purple fire disappeared but as soon as it did, a winged and razor wind appeared over the building and went straight forwards at high speed, creating a wild whirlwind behind it. The man smiled as the figure faded into the horizon.