Author's Notes:

Hello everyone! I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far, but I'm sorry to tell you that I will no longer be updating it.

Just kidding! Of course I'll still be updating it! Thanks for all the positive feedback! Enjoy chapter 45! (so close to chapter 50!)

Chapter 45: Prelude to Destruction

Mariel rushed through Louise's temporary palace towards her room. She burst through the doors without knocking, where she saw Louise wrapping her children in warm blankets. Louise already knew what Mariel was there for, so she hastily packed a few materials and ran towards Mariel with her children in her arms.

"You felt it already, correct?" Mariel said.

"Yes. Please take care of them." Louise said, putting the sleeping babies into Mariel's arms.

"You can count on me, little sister. Take care of yourself too." Mariel replied.

"Are you sure you don't want me to open a world door to Sasha's house?" Louise asked.

"I'm sure. I'm pretty fast, you know." Mariel said.

Louise smiled and gave her a hug. Mariel quickly departed from the palace, making her south into Gallia, where the gate to the Elves' Kingdom was. When she left, Louise immediately opened a world door to Henrietta's palace in Tristania, which was still under reconstruction.

Henrietta was sitting behind a mountain of paperwork, sorting out Tristain's newly acquired assets. She didn't immediately notice Louise's presence. She only became aware of her arrival when she heard the guards in her room bowing towards someone.

When she looked up and saw Louise, she was initially quite happy to see her, but she quickly saw how serious Louise looked. She knew immediately that something was wrong.

"What's wrong Louise?" She asked.

"What did Saito tell you about his first time coming here?" Louise asked, sitting on a chair that a guard had pulled out for her.

Henrietta explained everything that Saito had informed her about, which was nearly everything that had occurred during his time there except for Wardes's involvement with Reconquista. His reason for withholding this information was that he wanted to kill Wardes himself. He even refrained from telling Louise about his involvement. Since he arrived, she clearly loved him, so she wasn't afraid of the threat of her arranged marriage. He knew, however, that as soon as things calmed down, Wardes would try to claim her. Especially since she was now a Queen.

"I see." Louise said when Henrietta finished her explanation. "The ancient dragon will soon awaken."

"What? How do you know?" Henrietta asked.

"I can sense it." Louise said.

"Sense it? But humans can't sense magic without some kind of tool." Henrietta replied.

"I can't explain that to you right now." Louise said. "The point is, we need to gather every weapon we have to strike it down at once."

"The strongest weapons we have are those recovered from the war." Henrietta replied.

"That will be enough. I am powerful enough on my own to support an assault." Louise said. "Just make sure to warn everyone. Have them come to this palace as quickly as possible."

"I understand. Thank you for informing me." Henrietta said.

Louise nodded and opened a world door back to her palace, where Hayai was waiting for her. The dragon was clearly agitated by the ancient dragon's awakening. Saito had told Louise about the ancient dragon's ability to control dragons, so she was slightly worried about Hayai's ability to resist being controlled.

Regardless of this, she removed her royal clothes, which consisted of a long white dress with matching long, white gloves which reached halfway between her elbow and shoulder. She also wore white, heeled shoes and, of course, her crown.

She removed them all except for her crown in favor of a black skin tight, stretchy shirt and short pants, which reached slightly below her knees. She wore long, segmented, metal boots which reached up to her knees, as well as matching metal gloves, which reached her elbows. Over her shirt, she wore a dark silver, segmented piece of armor which wrapped around her upper body. It fit tightly on her body, making it easier to move in.

She tied her hair back to stop it from flailing about when she moved. She then strapped a sheath to the side of her waist, in which she put a Derf, who she had kept with her when Saito was sent to rest with Sasha. He had spent the entire time asleep, either out of depression or exhaustion. When she was done, she looked at herself in a mirror.

She chuckled slightly as she compared herself now to before she met Saito. She thought of how weak and immature she was back then. How she always had to rely on someone else to protect her. But she felt a sense of pride when she saw how much she changed. Not only did she feel that her body was stronger, but her mind and soul were stronger than before. She attributed all of these changes to Saito, which gave her the motivation to fight for his sake. She even had children now, which motivated her even further.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her dragon, who poke her on her head to break her out of her trance. She smiled and rubbed his chin, much to the beast's enjoyment. She hopped on his back, then they began to walk out of the palace. Everyone they passed on their way bowed towards her as she rode past them, which made her feel rather uncomfortable.

She quickly rode away from her palace and towards Tristania. She chose to ride there instead of teleporting because she wanted to put off the grave meeting she was going to have very soon. Despite this, Hayai, being extremely fast on his own, quickly ran to Tristania without using his powers as well. In a matter of hours, they were within sight of the capital. Overhead, Louise could see several airships, indicating that some of the other leaders had arrived.

She took a deep breath, then began to make her way to the city walls, full of anxiousness.

In Sasha's house

Saito stared up at the ceiling, still unable to move anything other than his eyes and, with great difficulty, his head. He knew that the ancient dragon would soon awaken, but there was nothing he could do about it. His heart ached with worry, as he wasn't sure if Louise was capable of handling it alone.

As he thought, Sasha walked into the room holding a plate of food. The smell of fish, rice, and vegetables distracted him from his morbid thoughts. Sasha sat him up and helped him eat. It was, for Saito, extremely humiliating.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"For what, may I ask?" Sasha replied, beckoning for him to open his mouth.

"I'm sorry that you have to take care of me like this." He replied. "It's so humiliating."

"Even I have been taken care of like this before." Sasha replied. "There is nothing wrong with receiving assistance when necessary."

"Still, you're such a dignified and noble person. Isn't this kind of thing below you?" Saito asked.

"Perhaps it is, although I don't see it that way." Sasha replied. "I may be noble or dignified, but it is my duty as a conscious being to help another person who cannot help themselves."

"I can't thank you enough." Saito said. "I'll find a way to repay you."

"You repay me by caring for Louise. I need no other payment." Sasha said.

"You two got awfully close while I was away." Saito replied. "I didn't know she meant that much to you."

"She is as close as family to me." Sasha replied. "I'll kill you if you break her heart."

Saito face drained of color when he heard her words. Throughout this whole time, he had completely forgotten that she was one of the most powerful people to ever exist. Her strength dwarfed his own, something quite remarkable considering how strong he was. Somehow, when she spoke those words, the reality of who she was hit him like a train.

"How can you say that so casually?" He asked timidly, feeling immense fear.

"Why would I not speak the truth in a casual manner?" She asked, genuinely confused by his question, which only served to scare Saito even more.

"There's a thing called subtlety." He thought to himself.

"Perhaps there is such a thing as subtlety, but being subtle has never been a virtue of mine." Sasha said, almost like she hard his thoughts.

"Did you just read my mind?" He asked.

"Of course not." Sasha replied. "What a preposterous assumption."

"How can someone be so scary?" He thought to himself.

"I may be frightening on the outside, but I'm not out to hurt anyone." She said. Again, as if she heard his thoughts.

"How are you doing that?!" Saito exclaimed.

"What ever do you mean?" Sasha replied, sipping tea.

"You keep replying to things I'm thinking in my head!" He said in fear.

"Hm? I believe such a fantasy is simply a figment of your imagination." Sasha replied. "Perhaps you need more rest."

As he was about to scold her for thinking he was insane, he felt three powerful sources of magic arrive in the vicinity of the house, one of which was even stronger than anything he ever felt from Sasha. He was extremely alarmed as his mind raced with images of the various threats that could be waiting for him. After all, the only people he knew with anywhere near that much power were himself, Louise, and Sasha, although he had never felt all of Sasha's strength.

"Relax." Sasha said. "It's just Mariel."

"Who?" Saito said, struggling to remember that name.

"My eldest sister." Sasha said, closing her eyes with agitation as she uttered those words.

"Do you...not like her?" He asked.

"I like her. I dislike her place as my eldest sister." Sasha replied.

"Eldest? You mean you have others?" Saito asked.

He saw Sasha's face contort with anger and sadness when he mentioned this, although the anger didn't seem to be directed at him, so much as herself. He desperately wanted to ask her about it, but soon, her face returned to normal as she heard footsteps coming to her door.

She got up and opened the door, where Saito saw a beautiful, tall, elvish woman with bright eyes and black hair. She looked quite a bit like Sasha, making it obvious that they were sisters. He noticed that she was carrying two objects in each of her arms, which were clearly the other sources of the magical power he was feeling.

"It's good to see you, elder sister." Sasha said. "I see that in your promiscuity, you have had more children."

In a motion too fast for Saito to see, Mariel hit Sasha over her head, making her whimper slightly

"They aren't mine, little sister." Mariel said, setting them down on a one of Sasha's chairs.

"Saito is awake." Sasha said, still rubbing her head with a tear coming from one of her eyes.

"He is?" Mariel said, looking at Saito, who was now laying down. "Hello there. I'm Mariel, Sasha's older sister."

"Hello. I'm Saito, Louise's fiancé. I'd sit up to talk to you, but I can't move at all." He replied.

Mariel helped him sit up, letting his back lean on the wall.

"Your wife treasures you. She even refused to name your kids without you." She told him.

"My kids? You mean there's more than one?!" Saito said with shock.

"Yes. Louise had twins." Mariel replied.

"Twins. And I wasn't there to support her..." Saito said, sadly. Mariel could see how heavily he desired to be there when they were born, which made her feel that he was worthy to be Louise's husband.

"You couldn't be there, but it wasn't your fault. It was out of your control." She said. "Regardless, I have brought them here."

"Here? Why?" He asked.

"The dragon which you once fought is awakening. Little sister wanted me to bring your children here for safety." Mariel replied.

"I see." Saito replied. "Where are they?"

"Did you not see them in my arms?" Mariel said, slightly laughing.

She picked each of them up from their blankets and laid them onto Saito. They seemed to recognize him as a father or, at the very least, some kind of relative. Tears of happiness began to roll down Saito's face as they played with his tail, pulled on his now extremely long hair, and pinched his cheeks.

He was also quite interested in the features they inherited from him. He seemed to become mesmerized by their bright eyes and colorfully glowing tails. They were also incredibly strong. Not enough to hurt Saito, but several times stronger than any human child from his own world. When he managed to stop his tears, he began thinking about how much magical strength they possessed.

"Sasha, do you know of any races whose children are this powerful?" He asked.

"No. These children are unusual because of you and Louise's...lack of humanity so to speak." She replied. "Because of your fusion with Gandalfr and Louise's mixed blood, the amount of magic they possess surpasses your triangle class mages, and is on par, if not more than your square class mages."

"They may be in danger." Saito said.

"No one in your world knows of their existence other than the doctors who delivered them and the guards who kept watch while Louise was in labor." Mariel said. "They should be safe, but be careful regardless of this."

"Thank you for letting me see them." Saito said. "I don't know how I'll show this to my parents."

"There's nothing they can do. You love your kids and you love Louise. That's all that matters." Mariel replied.

"Thanks for the support." Saito replied. "How did things go after I passed out at the peace conference?"

"Well, as soon as Louise saw how hurt you were, she destroyed the Germanian army which attacked you, then captured Albrecht." Mariel said. "The magic she used was...uncharacteristically sinister."

"I must have caused her a lot of pain." He said to himself sadly.

"Perhaps, but in her anger, she destroyed quite a large part of the Germanian army and captured Albrecht." Mariel replied. "Don't feel bad."

"If you say so. And what happened after that?" He asked.

"It turns out that the Germanian citizens and soldiers were tired of the war, so you allies took the country without opposition. Albrecht's wife has been made Empress of Germania." She replied.

"How much does Germania have to pay for the war?" Saito asked.

Mariel thought it was a rather strange question, but Saito had very valid reasons for asking. In his history classes in high school, he learned about how the Germans were unhappy with the harsh treatment they were shown after world war one and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Because of their harsh living conditions, failing economy, and lack of national pride, they were willing to elect an extremist dictator, which led to world war two.

"Much of Germania has been split between the winning nations, but they have all done their best to ensure that the Germanians are treated fairly." Mariel replied. "They have, however, acquired quite a few weapons and bases throughout Germania."

"As long as the Germanians are treated fairly, it should be okay." Saito replied.

"Why are you so concerned with the enemy's well being?" Sasha asked.

"In my world, there was a war similar to this one, although it started differently." He replied. "We call it the first world war."

"First?" Mariel asked.

"Yes. A country in my world called Germany was blamed for the war and was harshly punished. The people became upset, which made them elect an evil man as their leader. He caused the second world war." Saito explained. "Nowadays, world wars don't happen because we have weapons that could destroy the world if the countries who possess them were to fight. We just have terrorism instead."

"I see. I'm sure the Germanians will be happy with their new leaders. There's no need to worry." Mariel said.

"Hopefully..." Saito said, slowly drifting to sleep.

The two children that played on top of him had already begun to sleep, so perhaps seeing them rest caused him to feel tired. Either way, he was happy that the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was the peaceful sight of his children sleeping.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Halkeginia, a sleeping beast's eyes opened as it hungered for the lives of the Void Mage.

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading the chapter, guys! I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted it to come out a bit sooner, but I had other preoccupations. Send me a PM or review with your thoughts and ideas. I'm glad to hear anything you have to say. Thanks again for reading! See you next time!