Author's Notes:

Sit rep: Due to technical troubles, I'm having trouble getting these chapters out. I've spoken to the support and we're trying to fix it, so give me some time. I know it's infuriating, but I'm trying my best to fix the problem. Thanks for your patience, guys.

Chapter 41: The Final Stretch

"What do you mean 'destroy' Germania?" Wales asked.

"They wrongfully attacked us. As Queen Henrietta said, we are well within our rights to destroy that country." Louie replied.

"All that would do is spread hatred throughout Germania." Wales argued. "We have their leader now. All we have to do is take over their governments. Without their king, they won't have the moral to fight."

"Even if you don't help, I am more than capable of doing it myself." She replied, looking back down on the injured Saito.

"Listen, I understand that you're sad and angry, but that is not the way to do this. Murdering civilians won't help us at all." Wales said.

"You do not understand…" Louise said, quietly.

"I do. I know how hard it is to see him like this, but-"

"He was supposed to be a father, but now he can't because of what Germania did!" She interrupted.

"A father..? You mean you're…" Wales replied as he finally realized just how little he actually understood.

"We were supposed to end this war together, and then live happily as a family." Louise said. "But then the Germanians just took it all away. How am I supposed to meet his parents like this? They'll hate me for doing this to him. Germania needs to pay for that."

"I don't think that killing innocent people is what he would want though." Wales replied. "Most of all, he hated Albrecht. He's the one who should pay."

"Saito wanted to kill Albrecht on his own, so we'll keep him alive until Saito heals." Louise said. "The country of Germania must be punished. I won't accept anything else."

Wales was silent for a few minutes. He hated to see her in such grief, but what she wanted might be too extreme and could cause another war some day.

"You need to get some rest. We'll interrogate Albrecht once the others wake up." Wales said.

She didn't answer him. She simply nodded and held Saito's hand, never taking her gaze away from him. Wales left the medical building and went to his private quarters to think about what their next move should be. Obviously, the only option at this point was to continue the war, but he thought that perhaps if he showed the Germanian people that they had captured Albrecht, there could be an uprising and the Germanian people would end the war by themselves. As he thought about this, one of the doctors arrived in his room.

"Sir, some of the others are starting to wake up." They said.

Wales got up and followed the doctor back to the hospital, where he saw that they were all starting to wake up. They looked very tired, but were fully awake.

"What happened?" Alex asked.

"Albrecht tried to kill us." Wales replied. "He poisoned us then destroyed the place where we were meeting. Somehow, we came out unscathed. Except for Saito."

"That bastard, Albrecht." Alex said.

"Wait, where is Saito?" Shion asked in an even more toned down voice than normal.

"He's badly injured. It's unlikely he'll wake up for months, let alone heal. Louise is with him right now, so it's best to leave them be." Wales replied.

"He's going to live, isn't he?" Henrietta asked.

"Honestly, we don't know yet. He's extremely frail right now." Wales replied. "His body doesn't have the energy to heal itself like it normally does. Even if it did, it could be months before he healed. Without it, it could be more than a year."

"How come he's so hurt but we're okay?" Henrietta asked with confusion.

"He most likely used all of his power to make sure we stayed alive. If he did that, he would no longer have the strength to protect himself." Wales said. "Either way, just be happy that for the moment, we're all alive."

"How is Louise taking this?" Shion asked.

"She's…not well." Wales said, hesitantly. "She captured Albrecht and wants Germania destroyed. Apparently, Saito was…going to be a father."

All of their eyes widened upon hearing his words, filled with a mixture of sadness, pity, happiness, anger, and most of all, fear of what Louise was going to do. She was normally quite a violent person, even more so if Saito was hurt. Now that they had this information, they could not even begin to comprehend the plethora of destructive actions she would do as revenge.

"Is she calm?" Alex asked with fear.

"For now, yes. I think their pet dragon gives her enough comfort to keep her calm." Wales said.

"We need to act fast." Charlotte said. "With Albrecht in our hands, winning the war will not be hard. We just need to do it before her temper boils over."

"I think we need to show the Germanian people that Albrecht has been captured. I have no doubt that upon seeing this, they will revolt and stop the war. Once they elect a new leader, we can show him our demands again, sign the treaty, and the war will officially be over." Wales said.

"Agreed." They all replied.

"Where is Albrecht?" Alex asked, exuding an air of malice in his voice.

"He is currently being held by our soldiers. We should go and interrogate him. I suggest we leave Louise out of it. Things may get…violent otherwise." Wales said.

They all nodded and followed wales to a stairwell which led deep into the ground. For several minutes, they walked down the staircase until they reached the hallway at its base. They walked for another several minutes before reaching a large door with several guards blocking its entrance.

The guards moved aside when they saw the leaders coming towards them and opened the door. Inside, Albrecht lay on the cold, hard, stone floor. He was awake, but seemed to be in his own world. He took no notice of their presence, either out of refusal, or lack of sanity.

"Albrecht, you have lost this war even with your treacherous attempt to kill us." Wales said.

"Going for my execution am I?" Albrecht replied, chuckling.

"Not quite yet. Saito will be the one to take your life, but because of what you did, he is in critical condition." Wales replied.

"Ah! That's wonderful news!" Albrecht replied clapping his hands.

"Just like his wife who grieves by his side, you're going to know what it feels like to lose your loved ones." Wales said.

Albrecht immediately stopped laughing.

"My family has nothing to do with this. The boy was an enemy to Germania. It was within my rights as the leader of a sovereign nation to attempt to kill him during war." Albrecht replied.

"You see, even if I didn't want to harm your family, do you know who will?" Wales asked. "The girl whose husband you nearly took away and, when the time comes, the man whose wife and child you nearly killed."

With that, they left the room and walked back upstairs.

"Are we really going to kill his family?" Henrietta asked.

"Personally, no, but it's nice to let him think that we will." Wales said. "However, the truth is that his family's safety depends entirely on Louise's anger. With her power, there's no way we could get in her way."

"She deserves revenge." Josette said. "It is only fair. She faces the possibility of being a mother without a husband. She deserves revenge against the people that did this to her."

As much as Wales wanted to argue, he knew that Josette was right.

"Even so, we need to leave now." Wales said. "We're going to march into Vindobona with Albrecht as our hostage. Once the people see him, they will seize control of the country."

With all of them in agreement, they gathered about half of the military forces in Tristania to go with them into Germania, amounting to about twenty thousand soldiers and two thousand mages. They had guards go and restrain Albrecht, who seemed at this point to be completely insane, which would work in the allies' favor.

"Should we inform Louise that we are leaving?" Vittorio asked.

"She probably already knows already." Wales replied. "Besides, she alone is capable of defending this city, so everything will be fine."

With that settled, they began to make their way towards the Germanian border to the north. As Wales had predicted, Louise did know that they were leaving, but at this point, she had resolved herself to stay by Saito's side.

She remained latched onto his hand as if he would disappear from the world forever, which was a real possibility at this point. It was if she believed that by staying next to him, his life may be prolonged somehow. Soon, however, the exhaustion from the day overcame her and she fell asleep, still grasping his hand.

Several hours later, night had fallen as the allied army neared the Germanian border. As they took a break from marching, they could see a line of hundreds of Germanian soldiers on the border.

"It is best that we wait until day break to march so that they don't try and fire on us." Wales said.

"Yes, that would be ideal." Shion said. "But we mustn't wait too long."

"It will only be a few hours." Wales replied.

This was the correct call for him to make, as the Germanian general in charge of that section of the border had given his soldiers the order to kill any non-Germanian person who came near the border. Of course, the allied army outnumbered the Germanians on the border, but it was best to avoid any casualties.

The anxiously waited through the night for the right time to march until eventually, the sun began to rise just enough to where Wales felt confident that marching to the border was somewhat safe.

"Make sure Albrecht is at the front. They won't dare to shoot him." He said.

The army began to march towards the border. When the Germanians saw them, they immediately lifted their weapons and were about to fire, but were stopped by their commanding officer who, using a pair of binoculars, saw that Albrecht was being forced to march with the allied army. Several spears were pointed directly at him, threatening to pierce his heart at any moment.

"Hold your fire!" The officer yelled.

The allied army spread out to intimidate the Germanians into dropping their weapons. When they did eventually drop their weapons on their officer's command, Wales and the other leaders walked towards the border surrounded by soldiers and with Albrecht held in front of them.

"The war is over!" Wales declared. "This psychopath is the one who put your lives in danger! He's the one you're fighting for, and the one your friends died for! Step aside so the people of Germania may have their freedom from this despicable tyrant!"

Upon seeing the seemingly insane Albrecht held before them, many of the soldiers began to move aside. By this point, many of Germanias soldiers had already given up on the war, as they were malnutritioned and were not as properly supplied as they were when the war began. Coupled with the fact that many of their families suffered while supporting the war, many soldiers were contemplating deserting already.

Noticing that his soldiers were already beginning to move aside to let the allied army pass, the commanding officer had no choice but to allow Wales and his allies to enter Germania. After all, after seeing Albrecht while knowing that his family suffered from the war, he was no longer loyal to Albrecht or the Royal Family of Germania. Not only that, but even if his soldiers did fight, they would all be killed because of how vastly they were outnumbered.

"Very well. We surrender." The officer said. "I will have you know that you will most likely meet no resistance in capturing this country. Our people are starved and have no will to fight anymore."

"You made the right decision." Shion said. "Once this country is sorted, we will make sure to help every family that we can."

"Thank you. Please do not hurt anyone. We just can't deal with it right now." The officer said, taking the badges off of his uniform.

"Understood. If you wish, you may help us in taking this country. Your efforts will be rewarded." Henrietta said.

"If your men would accept me, I will do anything I can to help my country. I'm sure the same goes for all of my men." The officer replied.

Wales nodded and began to lead the allied army, which now consisted of a Germanian division, into the heart of Germania towards the capital. Just as the Germanian border officer had told them, they met very little opposition, with only a few small groups opposing their march. With their progress, they would reach Vindobona within three days, thus ending the war.

In Saito's head

Saito's eyes opened in a familiar room. In front of him, the giant beast known as Gandalfr stared down at him. Saito's body was not in pain, but he could somehow tell that his real body was injured and he was on the brink of death.

"So I managed to live, huh?" Saito said.

"It seems that way." Gandalfr replied.

"How long do you think it'll be before I wake up?" Saito asked.

"Months…if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, it could be more than a year." Gandalfr replied.

"Damn it!" Saito said, punching the ground. "I have to be there when my kid is born! You're telling me there's no way to heal myself more quickly?"

"Even Elven magic would struggle to significantly reduce the time you remain unconscious." Gandalfr said. "I believe that with the extent of your wounds, even the medical care in your world would struggle to bring you into consciousness."

"What the hell am I supposed to do in here for a year?!" Saito exclaimed.

"Welcome to my world." Gandalfr said, mocking him.

"Okay, I get it." Saito said. "Maybe you can unlock the rest of my magic?"

"If I tried, you might die. If you were healthy, it would be okay." Gandalfr said.

"Just try it." Saito said.

"That's reckless." Gandalfr said. "For a man with a family to go back to, you seem eager to die."

"Listen, I think that if you unlock the rest of my magic, I might be able to accelerate my healing a little." Saito said. "At least enough to wake up before my kid is born."

"It's too risky." Gandalfr said.

"What's this? The great Gandalfr cares for a pathetic mortal like myself?" Saito said.

"Tch! Whatever!" Gandalfr said.

Without warning, he pierced Saito's chest with his claw. A feeling of intense burning came over Saito's body. He is chest, abdomen, runes, and tail all began to glow brightly. He fell onto his knees in pain and could feel his heartrate increasing.

Luckily, he was more tolerant to pain than he was before, so he managed to breath and keep his wits. After three minutes, he began to wonder if Gandalfr was trying to kill him.

"How much longer?!" He yelled.

"You have a lot more dormant magic than expected. Have some patience." The beast replied.

After another five minutes, the beast pulled its claw from Saito's body. With his entire body glowing a dull red color, he collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

"Please tell me that was all of it." He finally said.

"Good enough." Gandalfr replied.

"Come on. You're killing me." Saito said.

"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have made it this far." He replied. "Your body cannot control this new magic, so anyone outside may notice something strange."

"Something like what?" Saito asked.

"I don't know. I'm just speculating." Gandalfr said.

"Speculation…huh?" Saito said, drowsily.

Although he tried his best to fight it, he soon began to fall unconscious until eventually, he completely fell asleep from the stress of his ordeal.

In Saito's Hospital Room

Louise's eyes lazily drifted open. She yawned and stretched her arms. She looked down at Saito and held his hand. Hayai was still in the room, surrounding Louise with his body. As she looked down at him, she noticed that her stomach had grown slightly bigger. Tears began to form in her eyes, both from happiness and sadness. Happiness at the fact that she'd be a mother soon, but sad at the fact that Saito's fate in her baby's future was unknown.

As she rubbed her belly, a dark red aura seemed to instantly envelop Saito. It looked like dark red fire and, just like fire, was extremely hot, although the heat was bearable for Louise. She was quite afraid as to what it could mean, but it didn't seem to be hurting Saito.

Choosing to trust her gut, she let him be. Hayai also seemed to be calm and strangely elated, so she rested by his side. However, the color of the aura did bother her. She had never seen him use magic with such an ominous and dark color, so she thought it was possible for it to be a bad thing.

"Who can I go to who knows about magic?" She thought to herself.

When she thought this, Hayai 'barked', trying to get her attention as if he knew the answer. His tails wagged, making Louise think that maybe he knew something. Becoming impatient, the playful dragon lifted her onto its back. With one of its tails, it gently lifted Saito into Louise's arms.

Suddenly, it ran out of the room and down the hallways until it got outside.

"Where are you taking us?!" Louise yelled, terrified.

She tried to steer him back to the hospital, but he shook her hands off of him. He kept running, picking up a lot of speed until finally, he jumped. Louise saw a great amount of land bend between herself and wherever the dragon was taking her.

When she came back to her senses, she looked around for clues about where she was. Everything around her simply looked like a normal forest. It somehow looked familiar, but she couldn't make out any landmarks. However, as she looked around, she saw a small wooden cabin far away.

"Go there." Louise said to her dragon.

It jogged towards the cabin at a ginger pace. When they arrived, Louise saw someone outside the cabin chopping wood. She felt like she knew the person, but she couldn't see their face. As Hayai walked closer, he stepped on a twig, causing the person to turn around, revealing their face.

Louise was correct to believe she had seen this person before. Standing in front of her with emerald colored eyes and white hair, her pointed ears twitching at the sound of the forest, and wearing a familiarly bored expression was the person that taught Louise nearly everything she knew about void magic. The elf Sasha.

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys! I actually managed to get a chapter out today. I hope you guys enjoy it. I've been having technical issues recently, so if I post at weird times, you know why. Feel free to share your ideas with me. I really appreciate it. Thanks for reading, guys! See you next time!