Author's Notes:

What's up guys! I was finally able to get a chapter out pretty early. I had to wake up at 6 in the morning to do it, but it's completely worth it! Hopefully, you guys like it too. Enjoy chapter 33!

(Also, shout out to ExExUnderscore, who has helped me a lot with story development and new ideas)

Chapter 33: Making Ground

It was a cold, rainy evening in April of the next year. The war had been going on for several months. Neither side seemed to be making any ground in Gallia. Even the addition of Romalian forces was not enough to break the stalemate.

Saito remained perched on the balcony of the Gallian royal palace. At this point, although not given the official rank, he was treated like a general, so it was no surprise to him when a messenger came in with reports of the war.

"Sir." The messenger said, saluting. "Despite our recent victories thanks to you in the east, we remain in a bloody stalemate."

Saito had given military strategies to Charlotte and Josette. Admittedly, he may have stolen them from some video games he played. They involved having earth mages dig underneath the 'no man's land' between trenches. Once they dug underneath the enemy trench, fire and air mages would set explosives underneath the enemy, resulting in massive casualties and injuries.

He had also taught them about how to make different explosives, as well as gas masks to counter the gas filled canisters that the Germanians would occasionally launch at enemy trenches. All in all, his contribution to the war had halted the Germanian advance.

"Send replacement soldiers and mages east to relieve those already stationed." Saito said. "What is happening to Albion?"

"They have made several passes over the continent since the war began, but reports say that there are two generals there who push back enemy attacks. Some go as far as saying they're not human." The messenger said.

"It's good to know their okay." Saito thought to himself.

"Is there anything else, sir?" The messenger asked.

"How many enemies are stationed in Tristain?" He asked.

"From our reconissance dragons, approximately 100,000 were stationed there one month ago. However, recent defeats in other parts of the world have caused some soldiers stationed their to be transferred to other regions to fight." The messenger replied.

"I see." Saito said. He thought silently for a few moments. "I'd like to see Tiffania Westwood and The Pope of Romalia. Please ask them to see me."

The messenger bowed and left the room. After a few moments, he returned with Tiffa and Vittorio.

"Hi, Tiffa. Hello, Vittorio. It's good to see you." Saito said with a smile.

"Likewise." Vittorio said.

He had arrived in Gallia several months earlier. It was the first time he met Saito. It didn't take long for him to buy into Saito's explanation about Void mage. He had already summoned Julio as his familiar, but was incapable of using normal magic. With all of this in mind, he figured that it must be because something special was happening to him.

When he found out about what the situation was with Germania, he immediately chose to side with Albion, Gallia, and Tristain. Although he contributed several soldiers and combat mages to the war, his main contribution came with the thousands of medics he had sent to the battlefield.

After witnessing Saito's dedication and hearing about his reasons for fighting, they became quite good friends. Something which surprised Julio, who always saw how difficult it was for Vittorio to make friends considering his social status.

"Why did you need to see us?" Tiffa asked.

"First off, I need you to summon your familiar now, Tiffa." Saito said.

"Why now?" She asked him.

"I always told you to wait for the right moment." Saito replied. "Now is that moment. The three of us are going to liberate Tristain."

In Sasha's cabin

Sasha and Mariel sat inside Sasha's home. Outside, in the sunshine, the ground was no longer white. It was wet and there was moisture in the air, indicating the arrival of spring. Jumping around several obstacles outside with her wand in hand, Louise continued her training.

By this point, Sasha had decided that she was strong enough to begin training her void magic. For the past few months, she had her sit in a dark, silent room so that she could 'see' and 'feel' her magic. They did it several times until one day, Louise felt the large reserve of magic contained within her. Of course, it felt very unwieldy and violent, so they had spent those months slowly but surely teaching her to refine it and control it.

As she dived through and between obstacles, she shot smaller versions of her 'explosion' at targets. However, she had gained more control over her power, so they seemed to be extremely thin beams of light rather than explosions.

"I didn't think she'd make this much progress so quickly." Mariel said.

Sasha nodded. "It's quite remarkable for a human to accomplish this much."

"She's kind of like how you used to be." Mariel said. "You know, before you started trying to act like the older sister."

"God made a mistake. I was clearly meant to be born first." Sasha said, growing extremely irritated.

Soon, Louise came back inside, exhausted. She had learned to control her void magic very well. If need be, she could make massive explosions, or she could choose to make smaller ones. She was capable of doing all of this without losing much stamina. To cast the same sized explosions as she did before, she no longer needed to recite the spell's incantation.

"How did I do?" She asked the sisters, who were watching her from inside.

"Very good." Sasha said. "You have near perfect control of your void magic. Soon, I'll teach you to use Elf Magic."

"But to use Elf magic, you have to form a contract with a spirit." Louise said. "That's what you taught me, so how will I be able to do that?"

"You won't have to." Mariel said. "When Elves use Elf Magic, we are drawing power from the world around us. However, when I was 'working on you', I infused your body with Elf magic. I suppose you could say that you're 'made of magic'. If everything went as it should have, you should be able to use it without forming a contract, just like little sister and myself."

"So when will you teach me how to use it?" Louise asked.

"You seem to be used to controlling your void magic, so I suppose I could start now." Sasha said, sipping her tea.

"How long will it take before I master it?!" Louise asked, excitedly.

"No one ever masters magic." Mariel said. "There is always room for improvement. However, the process of learning to control each element of Elf magic will be a long one. It may take more than a year."

Louise suddenly looked grim. The thought of training with the two sisters for a year or two didn't bother her. It was the thought of Saito fighting for that whole time. She had completely forgotten that as she frolicked, played, and trained with Sasha and Mairel, Saito was actively fighting in a war. She then realized that she hadn't heard anything about him in months, which made a great sense of worry fall over her.

"How is Saito?" She asked.

"He is alive and well. He along with the Gallian and Romalian forces have managed to halt Germanian advances." Sasha said.

"Thank goodness." Louise sighed, as she sat on a chair.

"You need to rest." Mariel said. "You've worked hard enough today."

"But I want to learn to use Elf magic!" Louise argued.

"There is a reason I tell you to rest." Mariel said. "You're pushing too hard. For now, take it easy for some time."

Just as Louise was about to argue, she suddenly felt very weak. It was as if all of the energy in her body, magical or not, was suddenly drained out of her. Her face turned pale and she became extremely tired. Within a few seconds, she drifted into unconsciousness, with Sasha catching her before she fell onto the ground.

"She's pushing too hard." Sasha said calmly, as she laid Louise down in bed.

"I never thought I'd see you with a heart again." Mariel said.

"Perhaps humans have a strange effect on me." Sasha said, watching Louise peacefully sleeping.

"She's going to try and go to the human world soon." Mariel said. "My eyes have told me this."

"If it cannot be stopped, then I will not try to stop her." Sasha replied.

"And here I thought your heart came back to you." Mariel sighed.

There was silence for a few minutes before Sasha spoke again.

"I do not want her to go." She finally said. "I don't want her to risk herself. However, your eyes have never been wrong, so I know there is nothing I can do."

"Then why do you not help her, like you helped that human village?" Mariel asked.

"It is not my place to meddle with human affairs." Sasha replied. "Each time either of us got involved with humanity, we were met with heartbreak. I refuse to go through that again."

"Don't remind me, little sister." Mariel said, rubbing her belly with a sad expression on her face.

"The humans will sort out this war by themselves." Sasha said. "As long as the boy stays strong, they will win in time."

Mariel watched as Sasha watched over the sleeping Louise, gently stroking her hair and forehead.

"I sometimes forget that you're the younger one of us sisters." Mariel said quietly to herself.

In Northern Gallia

In the darkness of the night, Saito patrolled the northern part of Gallia that bordered Tristain. He was searching for any signs of soldiers he had missed, as well as a way for he, Vittorio, and Tiffa to sneak into the country. As he slowly made his way along the border, the smell of smoke made its way into his nose.

He could tell that the source of the fire was several miles away, which would end up dragging him away from the border. However, his curiosity and worry drove him to run in the smoke's direction as fast as possible.

When he arrived, he found a few large piles of wood lit ablaze. Confused, he remained in the shadows of the trees that surrounded the small clearing. After a short while of nothing happening, he drew Derf from his scabbard and slowly walked towards the flames.

"A trap?" He thought to himself.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a twig snapped behind him. In an instant, he turned around, ready to swing his sword at whoever was there. There was, indeed, a person standing over the twig with their hands raised in the air. To show that they meant know harm, they even got on their knees. Saito couldn't tell who they were because they wore a scarf around most of their face. Because of their heavy clothing, he couldn't even make out their gender.

"Let me see your face." He said, keeping his guard up.

The person slowly unraveled their scarf from their face. When it was gone, the face he saw was one he recognized. Illuminated in the light from the fire, was Kirche. As soon as the scarf was off, she threw her wand on the ground and put her hands back in the air.

Saito's face was completely blank. Whether it was from anger or shock, Kirche did not know. She did, however, expect the worst.

"What are you doing here?" He said, very clearly holding back a great amount of anger.

"I wanted to find you. So I lit those fires, hoping someone around could see them." She said. "I don't know exactly where I am, so I thought maybe someone could help me get to the capital."

"Why did you want to find me?" He asked.

At this point, the heat radiating from his body eclipsed that of the flames that burned behind him. His tail, which now glowed with anger, violently wagged from side to side. The runes on his arm as well as his deceivingly calm eyes began to glow brighter and brighter.

"I-I want to help you." She said, shivering from fear.

"Why? So that I forgive you?" He asked.

"So that I could forgive myself." Kirche said, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. To my friends. I can't take the guilt. So please, if you can't let me help you, end my life now."

Saito's eyes widened as the thought of killing her crossed his mind. It would be easy for him to do, even if she fought back. He had every reason to do it too. Not only was she a Germanian military official, but she attempted to kill both him and Louise.

However, as much as he had the justification to do it, his menacing aura dissipated. He fell on his back, looking up at the stars in the sky.

"I can't kill you." He said. "You were my friend."

Kirche collapsed onto the ground as the fear of being killed left her body. For several minutes, both of them lay on the ground in total silence. Eventually, after much thought, Saito brought himself to ask Kirche the most important question at that moment.

"Why did you do it?" He asked.

"It was an order from Albrecht." She said.

She went on to explain how Albrecht seduced and intimidated her into following his orders. How if she didn't do it, not only her, but her entire family would be in danger from Albrecht's wrath. To protect them, she decided that it was a necessary evil.

"I see." Was all Saito said.

"I lost everything." Kirche said, starting to tear up. "My pride, my friends, my honor. How can I face Tabitha if this is all my doing?"

Saito looked at her, starting to feel a large amount of pity for her. If what she said was true, then she probably had no choice but to give them that bottle. As Saito thought about it, he probably would have done the same thing if it were to protect Louise.

"Just this once, let me help you." Kirche said, losing her composure. "I know you hate me, but let me do this one thing for myself."

As she started to cry, Saito was silent for several seconds. Up until this point, he had told himself that when the war was over, he would kill everyone who put Louise in danger. But here he was with the person that could have single handedly killed her, and yet he couldn't bring himself to honor his word.

"I don't hate you." He finally said, much to her surprise. "Now that I know everything I…can't hate you. I…forgive you."

Her eyes widened as he spoke. She was overjoyed that she had been forgiven, but greatly saddened that she had betrayed someone as nice as him. All she could do was bury her face into his chest and start to cry. A little taken back by this, Saito softly wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug.

For several minutes, she wept onto him, until his shirt was soaked with tears. Soon, she fell asleep, having been exhausted from trying to find him, as well as her short outburst.

Saito sighed and looked up at the sky, thinking about how weirdly life works its way out. He carried her on his back and began moving towards Gallia's capital.

"You're such a nice guy, Partner." Derf said.

"Shut up, Derf." Saito said, thinking that he was being mocked.

"I'm serious." Derf replied. "That was a very nice thing you did. You saved her."

Saito didn't say anything. He looked at her sleeping face, resting on his shoulder. As he went back to Lutéce, he couldn't help but smile and feel lighthearted. When he arrived back at the palace, he made his way to one of Charlotte's spare rooms, where he left Kirche to sleep.

In Vindobona

Albrecht paced around his room, thinking about the war. He was in a massive dilemma. Yes, Germania was militarily capable of fighting the war for a very long time, but much of its economics relied on foreign commerce. With food no longer coming from other nations, the Germanian people were made to grow food for the army, which made them unhappy.

Unfortunately, much of Germania's land was only suitable for growing wheat. This would not normally be a problem, but the war was not going as expected. Because of Saito, Romalia, and the Queens of Gallia, Germanian forces had been halted in their push into Gallia. In some places, they were even being driven back by Gallia and Romalia's combined militaries, as well as militia armies made up of Gallians and Tristainians. As if that were not enough, Albions forces, under the command of Wales, Alex, and Shon, had begun sending military forces to the north-west coast of Tristain on the land where Saito and Louise were supposed to rule.

Albion's forces established a foothold in that area, where they would continue to land reinforcements whenever necessary. In just a few days, Albion's forces were marching towards Tristania, taking any towns they found along the way.

The Germanian factories were shifted into high gear to keep up with demand for weaponry, clothes and medical supplies. However, the Germanian government was not financially capable of sustaining the war much longer. To make matters worse, the majority of Germanian people, who were not well off to begin with, soon began to withdraw their support for the war. Those who remained loyal to the war effort demanded a higher pay for the more dangerous factory jobs they were forced to work. A higher pay that the government couldn't afford to give.

Albrecht knew that Germania could only last a few years in a state like this, so he would need some kind of way to motivate the people. Besides that, he thought about how this wouldn't be happening if Saito was dead, like he ordered. Anger began to fill his head and soon, he decided that Zerbst would have to be punished for his daughter's failure. He called a messenger into his room to fetch Zerbst.

"I want you to find him and bring him here." Albrecht said.

"We have been unable to find him. He has not sent in a report in over three months." The messenger said.

"What?! Then go to the Tristain Magic Academy and bring me his daughter!" Albrecht exclaimed.

"She is no where to be found either sir!" The messenger said. "It seems that the entire Zerbst family vanished into thin air."

Albrecht went into a furious rampage, throwing glasses and bottles of wine across his room in anger. His war was not going as planned and now, it seemed like victory was not assured.

In Saito's room

Saito laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Although he didn't know why, he felt overjoyed to have Kirche as his friend again. Perhaps the constant stress of war had weighed him down so much, that he didn't realize just how much he missed everyone, including her.

As he thought, he hear a knock on his door.

"Come in." He said.

It was a messenger sent by Charlotte. "Lord Hiraga, you have visitors to see you. Shall I allow them to come here."

"Visitors?" Saito said. "Well, if they're visitors, that must mean they're not hostile. Sure, I can see them."

The messenger bowed and left. Saito waited for a few minutes before hearing another knock on the door.

"Enter." He said.

In through the door walked two people he hadn't seen in months. Standing before him were Shion and Alex. Saito didn't seem to fully grasp what was happening. He simply stared at them for a few seconds. After a short while, he jumped up from his bed and hugged them tightly.

"It's good to see you too." Alex said, slightly suffocating from Saito's hug.

After a little while, Saito let them go. His face was beaming with happiness, as were theirs to see that he was okay. Even Shion, who normally seemed bored, had a wide grin on her face.

"How did you get here?!" Saito asked.

"We used a small ship to fly over Tristain. Wales said he could handle the situation in Tristain, so he told us to take a break." Shion said.

"Thank god you're okay." Saito said.

Soon, however, Shion looked very serious. "Where is Louise? She's always with you. Don't tell me…"

Saito could very clearly see the emotion welling up inside Shion.

"No! No!" He said. "I left her somewhere safe! She's okay."

"Where is she?" Alex asked.

Before Saito told them, he closed the door as well as the curtains that covered the windows.

"She's in the Elven Kingdom." He said.

Alex looked at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. For several minutes, he laughed in the annoying, young, childish voice that befitted someone with his personality.

"Come on, I'm serious." Alex said.

"So am I." Saito said, making both Alex and Shion start taking him seriously. "It's a really beautiful place. There's mountains in the distance. Each town is built on a lake. In the winter, the lake freezes and you can skate on it."

As Saito described the place, Shion began to look somewhat distressed, something which both Saito and Alex noticed. She began to hyperventilate and hold her head as if she was in pain. Soon, she fell unconscious.

"What the hell?!" Saito and Alex exclaimed.

He put his hand on her forehead. He could feel everything about her just from touching her. Her body temperature was normal, she was not sick, and nothing was broken. Both men were extremely confused as to why this possibly could have happened. Both were worried, but chose to question her when she woke up.

Luckily for them, she woke up only a few minutes later. Her face was blank, as if her soul was not inhabiting her body. They made several attempts to get her to snap out of it, but to know avail. As a last resort, Alex decided to kiss her cheek, hoping her feelings for him would wake her up. At first, the result was disappointing, but soon, her eyes brightened and her face returned to the normal, bored expression it always had.

"What happened?" Saito asked.

"If you feel bad, we can take you to get treated." Alex said.

"I feel fine." Shion said, blandly.

"Then what's wrong?" Saito asked.

She looked directly at them, with her purple eyes shimmering in the candle light.

"I…I remember that place."

Author's Notes:

I got a chapter out during the day! Are you proud of me guys?! Anyway, thanks for reading! I had fun writing this chapter. I got the 3500 minimum word count that I generally like having, but I think I also made the chapter interesting. Tell me what you think! Thanks again for reading! Catch you next time!