A/N Alright, way to kick it off on an ominous note. High-five me. But yes, moving on, I have done all of you the pleasure of putting up the page for Selena's Teigu, Gungnir, as well as the page for Wave and Akame's daughter Hikari. Speaking of that, due to how well the previous same-sex relationship held between good ole Jacqy and Kahfka in the previous part, I decided to go on and do the same for this one with Lucena and Hikari. Hope you guys are okay with that. Gotta have some flair when it comes to this stuff, y'know. Leave a fav and review.


Chapter 50 - Sparring Session

- Imperial Capital -

- Five Days Later -

Lucena, Selena and Hikari hopped off the ice horses the former had constructed for them when they arrived at the Imperial Training Grounds, the two Generals taking a few minutes to bid farewell to to their armies and dismiss them for the time being. Once they were taken care of, the three began the journey to the Imperial Palace so that they could inform Arthur of what had occurred back in the Northern Territory with the unique Danger Beast.

"I'm always put at ease when I see everyone smiling and enjoying their lives here in the capital." said Hikari with a smile as they strolled through the streets, Lucena nodding her head.

"Definitely. Our parents told us stories of how the people he were always afraid and solemn when Prime Minister Honest was in power."

"Don't forget the public executions." added Selena with a slight shiver. "I can't begin to imagine how horrifying it must've been to have those be a daily occurrence."

Hikari agreed and they dropped the mortifying topic when they came to the Imperial Palace, but no sooner did they arrive there did they hear the revving of an engine and they turned around to see a keep driving towards them.

"Well I'll be damned." said Lucena with a grin as she crossed her arms when the keep came to a halt, the young man in the passenger seat hopping out onto the concrete road.

The man was just slightly taller then Lucena and had messy, neck-length white hair with streaks of pinkish red in it, a prominent stubble along his jaw line, and red eyes with slit pupils. He wore an outfit consisting of a black beanie with a single purple stripe on it, a zip-up purple, grey and black shirt with four entrails and a short sleeve on the right arm and a long sleeve for the left, baggy black pants held up with a dark grey sash tied around his waist, and sandals. Sticking out from between his lips was an already lit cigarette, and when he smiled at them they could see all off his teeth had been filed down to a razor-sharp point like a shark's.

"Nice to see you guys again." he said with a chuckle before giving them a salute and a wink. "Hikari, Selena, Bomb Tits."

Lucena's left eye twitched at the unwanted nickname she received from him and raised a hand up, the man gulping as an icicle sharpened to a tip manifested underneath his jaw mere inches from his throat.

"What did I say about calling me that? Morgan?" she asked lightly with malicious intent lacing every syllable, the man nervously laughing while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hehe, sorry Lucena. Couldn't resist myself."

"Bomb Tits…that's great…" said Selena under her breath as she kept herself from laughing, Lucena glaring at her with the same look she gave Morgan.

"Why'd you come all the way here from Straelka? And are Solomon and Camilla here?" asked Hikari while looking around for any sign of Morgan's parents.

"Mom and Dad were a little busy, and they couldn't waste time with sending a message the old fashioned way, so I volunteered to come here in half the time.

"And you managed that how?"

Morgan smirked as he reached into the keep next to him and pulled out a familiar looking shield from next to his seat, Lucena's eyes brightening up when a pair of pure white wings sprouted out from the Prince's back upon slipping the shield's straps over his right arm.

"With this, of course."

"You got it?!" stammered Lucena in awe of the Teigu wielded only by members of the Royal Family of Straelka.

"Of course."

"And we can assume you were taught how to use it?" asked Selena with a slight grin after Morgan deactivated Claíomh Solais and set the shield down on the ground next to him when the jeep drove away.

He only looked at her with a frown and she laughed, the Prince rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to Lucena while crossing his arms. "So why are you guys here? Didn't you guys just stop that Civil War in the North?"

"Yeah, but something...pretty unusual happened."

"How unusual?"

"We were attacked by a large horde of Danger Beasts upon returning to our camp, and after losing some of their numbers they suddenly began to organize themselves and actually use strategy like that used in professional armies." explained Selena with a frown on her face, Morgan's eyes widening a fraction of an inch. "But that wasn't even the weirdest part. This entirely new and different Danger Beast appeared soon after that and attacked us by breathing out ice like fire, but almost a quickly as it appeared it vanished by flying away."

Morgan's own frown got more defined as he lowered his gaze and began to rub his chin, deep in thought, over what she had just told him. His demeanor only served to make her as well as Selena and Hikari worry and become concerned, the statement Lucena had said about it not being a freak occurrence five days earlier coming back to them.

"Well...that certainly is unusual. But not as unusual as the fact that pretty much the same exact thing happened at Cinigraed back home."

The two sisters and Hikari gasped, Morgan shoving one hand into his pants pockets and fixing his gaze back on them while he removed his cigarette in order to blow out a cloud of smoke. He told them of how the capital of Straelka was attacked in a similar manner, which was unlike any other attack they had encountered before since their lands were especially populated by the creatures, and just like what had happened in the north, a highly unique looking Danger Beast then appeared soon afterwards and commenced its own attack.

Unlike the three headed dragon that had attacked Lucena, Selena and Hikari, however, the one he met was reminiscent of a large bird-like creature that could willlingly produce lightning from thin air itself. And when it seemed like he was going to finally turn the tide to his favor, it suddenly retreated from the area without any second thoughts and left him alone.

"Okay, something is seriously wrong with that. Come on." said Lucena before turning around, leading the small group up to the Imperial. Palace so that they could tell Arthur.

They were all treated to a surprise when, as soon as they opened the doors to the throne room, they saw two people already speaking with the Emperor that they almost instantly recognized. One was an older man wearing a heavy trench coat and a red scarf tied around his throat, was dressed in a black soldier's uniform complete with the pants, belt and boots. What stood out the most was the fiery red hair he sported, which immediately told them who he was without them even having t ask.

"Rafe?" asked Lucena, the former soldier of the Empire turned General of the Western Nations turning around and winking at them.

"Hello Lucena, Selena, Hikari." he said at first before he noticed Morgan and gave him a little salute. "Ah, and I can't forget to the Prince of Straelka of course."

The greetings commenced after that and when everything was all said and done, Lucena, Selena and Hikari were introduced to the second man with Rafe who had teal hair and learned that he was his son, Leonard.

He looked like his father in that he had the strong build, only it was a little leaner, and he also matched his wardrobe style as well to the point they were almost twins. Leonard's hair color came from Fiona, his mother, and also from her did she received the red eyes she had which gave him an appearance not unlike that of a demon. Underneath his arm he held the helmet he wore, and with his other hand he shook everyone's hands while grinning.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Great General. I've heard a lot about your exploits."

"Thanks, same goes to you." replied Lucena before she looked at Arthur and shifted her weight onto one foot while placing a hand on her hip. "So what were you guys talking about?"

In a few minutes time, she learned even the Western Nations had experienced the same strange event that she had in the North and Morgan had back in Straelka, which would totally blow out of the water any doubts in their minds that this was no isolated event. There was something at play in the background considering the same thing had occurred at three different places across the entire world, and they needed to figure out what the source of it all as quickly as possible.

Since Selena had seen the entirety of the battle from its beginning, she stayed behind with Arthur to talk with him alongside Leonard, Rafe and Morgan over the Danger Beast attacks while Lucena and Hikari were allowed to leave.

And when Hikari asked of Lucena what she planned on doing now that she was back in the Imperial Capital, she said back to her, "Well, I was thinking of going to see Mom and Dad, but I have another idea."

All of a sudden she drew Tyrannus' key from its sheath and whirled around, pointing the tip of the rapier at Hikari's chin and motioning with her head back towards the Imperial Training Grounds.

"What do you say about having a little sparring session? I can give you a normal katana to use instead of Murasame, and I won't use Tyrannus or Demon's Extract."

"So, this is purely just to see who's better with a sword?" asked Hikari, Lucena shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm not saying that, I'm just offering a chance for you to get some work in."

Hikari immediately identified the underlying challenge she posed to her and she took a step forward, bringing her face within inches of Lucena's so that she could look her dead in the eyes. "Oh, you are so on."

Lucena laughed with the same grin on her face as her mother's and she wrapped an arm around Hikari's waist, her ice wings manifesting behind her so that she could quickly fly them back to their previous location in no time at all. Once their feet touched solid ground Lucena went to fetch Hikari a regular katana from the armory there, he assassin removing Murasame and it sheath from her side and setting onto the ground.

When Lucena returned she tested the blade's weight in her hand, swinging it through the air a few times to get used to the feel of it before she stared down Lucena and set herself up into a stance.

"I'm so going to beat you." she said when Lucena staggered her feet somewhat and pointed her rapier at her, the grin still present on her face.

"I'll believe it when I see it!"

Hikari hesitated a little in surprise at how quick on her feet the Great General was, and she barely had time to bring up her sword to block Lucena's slash and push aside the blade. She countered with a lunge at Lucena's gut, but she easily sidestepped the stab and twirled around, the back of her heel striking Hikari's raised up arm and knocking her back a few feet.

"What, is that all you got?" she asked in a playful tone, her question making Lucena roll her eyes.

"I was just about to ask the same question of you. Bring it on!"

- Imperial Palace -

- Five Minutes Later -

"It seems our only course of action for here on is to wait and see if these unique Danger Beasts make an appearance again, and when that time comes we'll have to act quickly and discover more about them." said Arthur to end the meeting, Rafe and Leonard nodding their heads in unison with Selena and Morgan.

"We'll be taking our leave then." Rafe said with a wave as Leonard put on his helmet and bowed to Arthur, the Emperor returning the gesture so that he and his father could depart from the palace through the use of Rafe's Teigu.

"Are you planning on staying longer, or are you going to return to your home as well? Morgan?"

The Prince shrugged his shoulders and put both hands into their respective pockets, a sigh escaping his lips. "I don't really have to return home yet, I can stick around for a few."

"Well, it's a pleasure to have you here. I hope you enjoy your stay, and I'm sure that Tatsumi, Esdeath and Maya wouldn't mind about accommodating you at their home in the meantime?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine." said Selena before she tapped Morgan on the shoulder to tell him to follow. "Come on, I'll go ahead and take you there now."

Arthur stood in front of the throne with his arms behind his back and waited for the throne room doors to close behind them before he swiftly turned around and walked around the elevated chair to leave the room through a separate exit. He was going to do his usual check up on Devil's Heart, and before he left he was sure to stop by the Prime Minister's office in order to tell Juno that he was going to be leaving for a few before actually doing so.

The walk there wasn't long, like always, and he was greeted yet again by the Imperial Guards watching over the Teigu Vault before he descended the same steps down through the earth to reach the actual vault itself. He opened the door and walked up to the sealed chamber the vile heart was sealed in and produced his key, unlocking it and opening it up to cast the light within the circular chamber into the secondary vault to illuminate the cage Devil's Heart was trapped behind.

"Good. Nothing's changed." he thought to himself, his body turning to leave and close the door a per custom.

All of a sudden he was paralyzed when a noxious cloud of vile and malicious intent washed over his body, the Emperor turning to glare intensely at the heart. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that the Teigu was beating, which he had discovered it would sometimes do from time to time, but this time it was different. Instead of the usual lazy. And slow beats it would give off, Devil's Heart acted livelier then ever and actually seemed to be excited about something that Arthur had no idea about.

"What are you so ecstatic about…?" he said aloud ass he walked up to the heart, its steady beat making no change in its rhythm despite his presence.

- Imperial Training Grounds -

Lucena dropped her rapier as soon as she saw Hikari suddenly lose balance and fall over, just barely catching her in time before she could hit the ground.

"Hikari, are you okay? What just happened?" she asked out of concern, Hikari blinking a couple of times.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Whew...that was weird." she said as Lucena helped her back to her feet and dusted her off. "I was fine and then I felt this...weird sensation that made me lose all feeling in my legs for some reason."

Lucena looked into her eyes and saw that she was telling the truth, which made them both get a chill up their spines when they tried to think of what exactly could have caused her to do such a thing. They stood there for a few more seconds in silence before Lucena picked up the katana she had dropped and then grabbed Murasame for her, Hikari thanking her and walking along next to her on her way up into the building overlooking the training grounds.

"What kind of sensation was it, exactly?" asked Lucena once they had left the armory and returned back out into the hallway.

"I can't really explain it, but I had to compare it to something it would be sort of like an adrenaline rush." explained Hikari, her gaze dropping to her hands as she opened and closed them. "I just felt really excited all of a sudden, and then I just blacked out. What scares me the most though was that in that split second between blacking out and you catching me...all I could feel was just unbridled anger."

Lucena gave her that concerned look from earlier and Hikari smiled, silently telling her that she was fine and that worrying wouldn't do her any good.

"Anyways, you look a little tired, so you should head home and get some sleep. I'm going to do the same." said Lucena as she held the door of the exit open for Hikari, the two walking out into the light of the setting sun.

"Yeah...that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you tomorrow."

They departed separately from the Imperial Training Grounds, the two somewhat exhausted women wanting to get home and get some rest for the next day. When she returned home Lucena found Selena and Juno waiting for her, and without a word she followed them out of the entrance hall into an adjoining room so that they could talk.

"So, what happened? What did you guys agree on?" asked Lucena while Selena leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms.

"The only thing we can do is wait. We've never heard nor seen of these Danger Beasts, so we have no information on just what they are and what their habits are like." she said with a sigh, her gaze rising from her feet to her sister. "I hate it, but it's the best course of action right now."

"We of course can't put the people into a state of panic too, so we'll have the handle this situation with extreme caution." added Juno.

Lucena growled under her breath at how helpless they all were against some random Danger Beasts despite their undeniable strength and abilities. But at the same time she had an unnerving sense of anxiety for some reason, especially since why of all times would three unknown, undocumented and pretty powerful Danger Beasts make themselves known? And how could lower tier Danger Beasts suddenly organize themselves in such a way that it would make them seem like an actual army?

It was all mind boggling and a lot to take in, and considering how she was already starting to get a headache from trying to think about it, she was silently thanking God when Tatsumi and Esdeath entered the room and broke up the conversation.

"Why don't you all get some sleep before talking of important matters such as this. I can already tell that you're getting a headache Lucena." said Tatsumi with a chuckle, their first daughter nodding her head and smirking.

"Oh you have no idea…"

"Go on you three." urged on Esdeath to her daughters and Juno, the three each leaving the room one by one after saying goodnight to the two of them.

However, before Lucena could fully leave she noticed the disgruntled look on her face and stopped her with a hand on the shoulder. "Lucena, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing Mom. Just thinking of some things is all." replied Lucena with a smile, her response causing both Esdeath and Tatsumi to look at her for a few moments suspiciously.

"Are you sure?" asked Tatsumi.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I promise. Goodnight Mom, Dad." she said to reiterate her point before leaving, Tatsumi and Esdeath watching her go in silence.

As soon as she was locked away within the comfort of her own bedroom, Lucena lost the fake smile she had put on to deter her parents from worrying and didn't even bother changing out of her clothes, instead just sitting down on the side of her bed and staring at the single window situated across from it.

"I'll wait until everyone is asleep and then go to Arthur about what happened with Hikari. He's got to know something about it."