Part Five

As they already had a full party, Sharon reluctantly put Sharon in the support party with the dragons so that Rafe could join the main party. She wasn't too happy about it, but Daunte felt better about having Futch and Bright in the main party. Daunte remembered how dangerous the abandoned mine was when he was last there rescuing Princess Farrin. And he knew that though he was at a higher level than he was previously, that the monsters were probably far more dangerous than they had been back then.

He wasn't disappointed. Creepers, Banshees, Devil Armor, and even a few human Bandits charged at them at high intervals even in the leading corridor of the mine. They dropped a few bits (which Rafe quickly swooped up) and some urns

Futch had a unite attack with Bright (appropriately titled Dragon Knight Attack) that dealt considerable damage to one enemy. Oisin and Dahlia also had a unite attack called Couple Attack, that also dealt a lot of damage to a single foe, but the attack also left Dahlia in an Unbalanced state for a short period. And despite having just reunited with Rafe the trio of Wingers had their own unite attack, strangely called Volatile Velocity, that attacked all enemies at once. It was a strong attack but it always left both Dahlia and Rafe Unbalanced and so the trio couldn't do the attack very often. Daunte sort of felt out of place as he had no allies to have a unite attack with, but he was glad that nobody brought attention to it.

No, his party members were too busy bringing attention to each other's shortcomings.

"You don't fly as high as you used to in battle," Rafe pointed out to Oisin. "Are you all right?"

"My wing was injured in the attack on Peak's Edge!" Oisin shot back. "You know, the attack YOU missed?!"

"Yes, you've reminded me of this attack 13 times—"

"How could you be so dismissive of it?!"

"How am I dismissive of it?!"

"Guys, please," Daunte interjected. "Rafe, where does your treasure map say we'll find the treasure?"

"Oh, right!" Rafe pulled out the tattered map as they entered the main work area of the abandoned mine. Daunte recognized the rail to his right. The steep cliff side that hung over a drop into darkness. The lengths of rope every two meters tied to the rail. He even recognized the length of rope he had gripped when he had saved Surya and Farrin from falling to their deaths.

It feels like forever ago.

"AHA!" Rafe shouted. He pointed out towards the cliff. "The treasure is that way!"

"That way?" Futch echoed. He leaned against the rail and squinted. "I will fly over there and see if there's a ledge. Come, Bright." he hopped onto his dragon's back and they took off.

Sharon moved closer to Daunte. "Maybe you should put Oisin or Rafe in the support party," she whispered discreetly to him. "They look ready to fight each other."

"This "map" is falling apart!" Oisin barked.

"Oisin, please stop yelling!" Dahlia pleaded with him.

"I'm not giving you any treasure then," Rafe said, sticking his tongue out at Oisin.

"There isn't any damned treasure, you idiot!"

"…I'm considering it," Daunte said grimly.

Futch abruptly returned with Bright, frowning deeply. "There's nothing on the other side of the cliff."

"What?!" Rafe exclaimed.

"Nothing," Futch repeated himself. "No doors, no ledges. The scaffolds and walkways don't even go out that far."

"I told you so," Oisin said obnoxiously.

"No, this map isn't wrong!" Rafe said defensively. "If it says the treasure is that way, then—"

Rafe's voice broke off, and his face suddenly brightened. He hurried to the rail and gripped it with both hands. "Of course! OF COURSE!"

"Of course what?!" Oisin snapped.

"The treasure isn't across! The treasure is DOWN!"

Rafe launched himself over the rail and took off flying. He circled the air briefly before dipping and flying straight downwards, into the dark abyss past the cliff's edge.

"RAFE!" Dahlia shrieked.

"That idiot, let's go!" Oisin shouted, jumping onto the rail and taking off flying. Dahlia quickly followed him.

"Right," Daunte said gravely as Futch motioned for Sharon and him to climb onto Bright with Suna and the baby dragon. "Sharon, I'm putting you back into the active party. Suna however will have to remain in the support party."

"That's okay," Sharon said. "I can do a unite attack with Futch and Bright."

"Everyone, hang on," Futch said gravely as Bright lifted off from the ground. "We don't know how deep this chasm is so stay alert."

"Will it be too much of a strain on Bright the deeper the chasm is?" Daunte asked as the dragon carefully descended the chasm.

"No," Futch said proudly. "Bright has flown under more harrowing situations than this."

But the chasm was still deep and dark, and the air was musty. The further they descended the darker their surroundings out. Daunte couldn't see in front of himself. "Oisin? Dahlia? Rafe?" Daunte called out.

"We're okay!" Dahlia shouted from below them. "But be careful, there's no light down here! And we can hear monsters ahead of us!"

After lowering two hundred meters, Bright finally settled onto the ground. "Where are you?" Oisin called out. "We can hear you but not see you!"

"Hold on," Futch said. Daunte heard him dismount Bright. After a few moments Bright shifted, and orange flame lit up the whole area. Futch was holding a torch in his hand, and he handed a bag to Sharon. "Everyone take a torch. We can light them with mine."

Daunte took one and used his to look around. They were surrounded by debris, rocks, and what sadly looked like human remains. …They must have been victims of mining accidents from above. That was almost Surya and Princess Farrin. That was almost me.

The ground beneath his feet was sandy brown as were the walls, but the ground looked like stone and not dirt ground, and north of their position he saw a massive open doorframe leading into darkness. He turned to face his comrades, but paused when he quickly did a headcount. "Where's Rafe?"

"H-He must have gone ahead of us," Dahlia said fearfully. "We couldn't see, so Oisin and I remained behind to wait for the rest of you."

"How could he see in the dark?!" Sharon demanded.

"You both made the right decision," Daunte said, looking at his surroundings again. "…I wonder what they were mining here?" he wondered out loud. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. They didn't turn this place into a prison camp at least…"

"Like those humans kids everyone keeps talking about at HQ?" Oisin asked.

"…I was one of those human kids," Daunte responded.

"Oh." Oisin retreated slightly.

"I'll take the lead with Bright," Futch said. "Hopefully we'll find your friend before he runs into any trouble—"

"He's not my friend," Oisin shot back.

"Well he's my friend," Dahlia said defensively. Daunte could've sworn he saw Oisin visibly deflate.

The group headed down the corridor, facing an onslaught of even tougher monsters. To Daunte's shock he saw plenty of aerial monsters down there, including Harpies, and all of them were aggressive to the point of almost being rabid. They did not run into any human Bandits though, but Daunte wasn't really surprised.

"This is the sixth dead end we've run into down here," Sharon complained softly.

"I'm honestly shocked Rafe has managed to travel so far in the darkness with this place swarming with monsters," Futch said.

"Well this dead end has a treasure chest as least," Daunte said, opening the box.

"If the treasure he's seeking is in that box, I'm gonna laugh," Oisin said.

"'Sound set 01'," Daunte said, holding up the box in question. "Liron will love this."

"What's a sound set?" Dahlia asked.

"People who wear the Sound Rune can use sound sets to change other people's voices," Futch said. "At least that's what I recall from seeing sound sets previously…"

"…If that is the treasure he's seeking them I'm really gonna laugh the next time I see him," Oisin said.

Dahlia pulled him aside and they got into a whispering argument for a few moments. By the end of it Oisin was apologizing repeatedly and Dahlia looked at Daunte. "Let's get going before something bad happens to Rafe."

"I hope we find the dragon's egg before it hatches," Futch said. "The behavior of the monsters down here worries me. If the baby hatches before we find it, the baby will either surely be eaten or will become rabid very quickly."

"We'll find the baby," Sharon said confidently. "I'll make sure nothing happens to it."

It was still difficult navigating the area because of how many monsters they ran into. Daunte was glad they had brought a lot of healing items with them as he didn't want to use Howl unless absolutely necessary. "Ah, an escape scroll!" Daunte was relieved to find one in a chest in a small room. The other chest had 10,000 bits in it. "This'll get us right out of here once we settle our business here!"

"I'll give this to Rafe and tell him that this is the treasure," Oisin huffed, holding up the 10,000 bits. "Maybe that will stop the idiot from perusing this nonsense."

"I don't like the way you worded that, b-but it might be safer if he just accepts that money and leaves," Dahlia said softly.

"We still have to look for the dragon's egg though," Daunte said. "It—"

"Come on, you stupid wall!" came the shout from outside the room.

"That was Rafe!" Dahlia cried out. The group hurried from the room and raced down the corridor. At the very end was a dead-end, where they found Rafe stabbing the wall repeatedly with his spear. "You—stupid—wall! Get out of my way!"

"What in the name of spirits are you doing?!" Oisin shouted, grabbing Rafe's arm to stop him. "We're inside a cavern! If you destroy the wall then you risk a cave-in, stupid!"

"Oh, there you guys are," Rafe said nonchalantly. "What took you guys so long to get here?"

"How did you get this far in total darkness in a monster-infested cave?!" Sharon snapped.

Rafe shrugged. "I've studied the map repeatedly and knew the general direction. Plus without a light it would be difficult for the monsters to find me."

"So you just left the monsters to us," Oisin pointed out. "Here's your stupid treasure—10,000 bits." He shoved the bag into Rafe's hand. "Mystery solved, now let's get out of here!"

"The treasure I'm seeking is worth more than 10,000 bits!" Rafe said, shoving the bag back into Oisin's hand. "Do you know what the humans mined down here, Oisin?! Platinum! This is a platinum mine, Oisin! Platinum is worth 100 times more than 10,000 bits!"

"This is not a platinum mine," Futch said bluntly.

"Yes, it is!" Rafe insisted.

"No, it is not," Futch said firmly. "Kahn Marley showed me a picture of what a platinum mine looks like back during the Dunan Unification War. This looks nothing like that. This looks more like a…" he floundered for a moment. "What was it? Ah—salt. This looks like a salt mine."

Rafe's face fell. "…What?" He asked quietly. He fumbled for his map. "B-But the map, it—" he jabbed his finger at the wall. "The map says the treasure is on the other side of this wall!"

"Well the map lied, end of story," Oisin said unsympathetically.

"Is it really a salt mine?" Sharon asked, sniffing the air. "It doesn't smell like salt down here."

"Well it's not a platinum mine," Futch said.

"Are you sure? I didn't know you read books!"

Futch's brow furrowed. "What exactly does that imply, Sharon?"

"Regardless," Dahlia said softly. "I-It doesn't appear that the treasure you seek is down here, Rafe."

Daunte looked between his party members silently before looking at Rafe. "I-I'm really sorry," he offered.

"No!" Rafe shouted in desperation. "I refuse to give up! The map said the treasure is on the other side of this wall, and by golly I'm going to get that treasure!" He hoisted his spear up and began stabbing the wall again.

"Oh for the love of—stop it!" Oisin snapped. "You heard—uh—what's his name—"

"Futch," the man in question said darkly.

"Yeah, whatever! He just told you that this isn't a stupid platinum mine!"

"There's treasure here! I know there is!" Rafe shouted.

"Lord Daunte, can't you do something about this?!" Oisin demanded. "He's not listening to me, and I don't want to die in a tunnel collapse because of him!"

Daunte looked between the two Wingers again. He knew that either Oisin or Rafe could be right. There could be a treasure down there or it there could be nothing for Rafe to find. He also knew that collapsing the wall could be very dangerous for them, but…

After thinking about it for a moment he shook his head. "I-I…want to see what's on the other side of the wall."

"Yeah!" Rafe cheered triumphantly. He stabbed into the wall again, and the spear buried in deep.

"If we die down here, I'm blaming you," Oisin said to Daunte sternly as Rafe struggled to pull the spear out.

"I'll take responsibility," Daunte said. He looked at Rafe and then at Futch. "Futch, could Bright—"

"Sure," Futch said. He turned and whispered to his dragon, who roared cheerfully and surged forward. Rafe jumped out of the way as Bright turned his body and swung his tail with full force at the wall. The blow created a massive hole, and with the hole the entire wall collapse. The corridor shook violently for a few seconds and everyone held their breath as they waited to see if there would be a cave-in. After a few moments though, the tremors ceased and the corridor went silent. As Bright returned to Futch's side they couldn't even hear monsters behind them.

"ALL RIGHT!" Rafe cheered, reaching down to pick up his spear.

Daunte saw a sliver of movement in the room before them and he launched himself forward. "LOOK OUT!"

He knocked Rafe aside as two gray arms materialized from the darkness and grabbed Daunte collar. Before he could react, a humanoid creature with a gray face, blue hair, and eyes that had no pupils or irises lunged forward and came nose-to-nose with Daunte. The creature opened its mouth, and a shrilling, horrible shriek filled Daunte's ears.

"A Banshee!" Futch shouted, and it was the last thing Daunte heard before loud ringing filled his ears. He couldn't hear anything, even his own breathing, over the loud rings. His vision rattled as he drew his arm back and punched the Banshee in the party. The monster flew backwards into the room and Daunte rubbed at one of his ears. When he withdrew his hand he saw blood on his fingertips.

The party spilled into the now revealed room, and to Daunte's horror he saw five more Banshees in there. He couldn't shout orders to his party as he couldn't even form a thought due to the ringing. The group fought the Banshees frantically, though the monsters proved to be fast and difficult to kill. The battle though finished when Daunte mustered the mental fortitude to ignore the ringing and call forth the Berate spell, which killed the remaining Banshees.

"Howl" Daunte couldn't hear the healing spell, but the ringing abruptly ceased and he could hear again. "Lord Daunte!" though he still winced when Sharon shouted close to him. "Are you all right?!"

"I-I can hear now, so it's better," Daunte said shakily. He looked at his party. "Were you all affected by the Banshee's scream?"

"Not as badly as you," Dahlia said. "Y-You received a full blast from the monster."

"You saved me," Rafe pointed out, his full of awe and shock. "T-That could have been me! Why did you do that?"

Daunte shrugged. "Because I wanted to protect you."

"I—thank you." Rafe shook his head. "I knew all along that humans were not as bad as my people believe them to be, but you're something completely different Lord Daunte."

"It wasn't a problem, really. And it was just a monster attack I could heal myself easily from." Daunte looked around the room. "Ah, okay. Where is that treasure?"

"Maybe in that box?" Sharon said, pointing to a treasure chest at the back of the room.

Rafe immediately raced over to it and kneeled before it. "Finally," he breathed softly. "The treasure I have sought. The treasure I have sacrifice much of my life for. It's here. It's finally—"

"Just open the damn box!" Oisin snapped.

Rafe closed his eyes and placed his hands on the lid. Then he exhaled sharply and pushed the lid back. He looked inside—and his face immediately fell. "W—What?!"

The group hurried over and Daunte looked over his shoulder. Inside the box he saw an immaculate breastplate resting inside. It looked freshly polished and it glistened in the torchlights.

"This—Is this it?" Oisin asked incredulously, gesturing to the armor. "The great treasure you've always wanted? This shiny armor?"

"Wait!" Futch shouted. He reached into the box and pulled the armor out. It was beautiful to look at. He looked at Daunte with wide eyes. "This—This is platinum!"

"What?!" Rafe exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"…What?" Oisin asked bluntly.

"This armor is made of platinum," Futch repeated himself. "It's a full set of armor made of platinum! Gusoku should be able to make an assessment of its quality, but it looks like every piece of this armor is made of platinum!"

"Wow, so there was platinum down here?" Sharon said in awe.

"I-I'm so happy for you, Rafe," Dahlia said.

Rafe hugged the armor to his chest. He looked to be on the verge of tears. "I-I knew it. I knew I was right…" He looked at Daunte. "I found this armor because of you. If you hadn't helped me knock down this wall, then this treasure wouldn't have ever been discovered."

"There's a door right over there," Oisin pointed out obnoxiously.

"Thank you, Lord Daune," Rafe said, ignoring Oisin.

"Bright did more than me," Daunte said. "But I'm glad you found the treasure."

Rafe smiled. "I made a promise to you that I would join your Army if I found treasure. But even if I hadn't found the treasure I owe you my life. If you deem me worthy, I would gladly lend you my strength."

Daunte gave him a handshake. "Welcome to the Liberation Army."

"But our work is not through yet," Futch said. "We have to find the dragon's egg—"

Suna, Azul, and Zǐsè suddenly rose up into the air. Before Sharon could stop them the three dragons flew out of the room. "WAIT!" She shouted after them.

"Let's go!" Daunte shouted.

The group raced after the younger dragons and thankfully did not run into any enemies as they hurried down the long hallway. As they ran Bright suddenly took to the air and flew after them. Suna, Azul, and Zǐsè flew through a doorway at the end of the hall and Bright was right on their trail. Sharon ran ahead of them and they entered the room. It was large and full of debris, but in the center of the room Daunte saw a familiar egg. It was charcoal back in color with light casted over it from a broken ceiling. The dragons gathered around the egg as Sharon fell to her knees before it. She stroked the egg with trembling hands and looked over her shoulder at Futch. "It's warm."

"It's ready to hatch," Futch said. "Everyone please keep your guard out for monsters. We don't want the baby to imprint on any of them or be influenced by mad behavior."

"Got it," Daunte said. The rest of the party was on their guard but Daunte looked over his shoulder at the Dragon Knights. The black egg began to tremble violently, and after a few short seconds the shell broke apart and a tiny black dragon spilled out and into Sharon's lap. "Easy, easy!" Futch said.

The black dragon lifted its head and opened its eyes to reveal milky white eyes. It held gazes with Sharon with a long moment before it crowed loudly.

"He's all right!" Sharon announced, hugging the baby dragon to her. Suna, Azul, and Zǐsè huddled around her and Bright huddled close to Futch. "I will call him Kuro!"

"Lady Millia will be pleased by all the dragon we have found and saved," Futch said.

Sharon scoffed. "These are my dragons and Mom can't say anything about it!"

"…We'll leave that for another time," Futch said grimly. He looked at Daunte. "I think we took care of everything here."

"Yeah," Daunte said, pulling out his escape scroll. "It was a fun trip."

"Fun is not the word I would use," Futch muttered.

Sharon settled in with her new dragon baby almost immediately. Bright, Suna, Azul, and Zǐsè took to Kuro very quickly and accepted him, and Army members were impressed with the numbers of dragons they had recruited.

Daunte had to stop Kibbeh from chasing them, though.

Rafe took the Platinum Armor to Gusoku, who confirmed that the armor was made of 100% pure platinum. Unfortunately he also warned that platinum was a very poor choice in material for armor, as he said that steel, iron, and even cooper were stronger than platinum.

"This armor should be for show only," Gusoku said. "If you ride into battle wearing this, you'll be lucky if it deflects an arrow."

But he also said that the monetary value of the armor was 1 million bits, so Rafe was quick to sell it and become an instant millionaire, which he immediately gloated to Oisin about but Oisin didn't care.

Ah well, Daunte decided. It was a nice distraction from the mission to come anyways.

One week out from Blood Fest and the Army was ready. There were daily drills and exercises, and the battle ahead was to be carefully choreographed. As Sloan Faakhir was very unpredictable in battle, the Liberation Army was prepared for anything.

Daunte was ready, but he still liked the breaks he got.

"Here she is," Mooney said, carefully handing over the figurine. "Lady Odessa Silverberg."

"Wow," Caesar said in awe. "That's what my cousin looked like?"

Daunte stared at the hardened face of the woman with a stiff posture. "She looks brave," he said.

"She was very brave," Mooney said. "Brave and dedicated. She inspired so many people, including Master Tir McDohl. She was truly one of a kind."

"I'll put her with the figurines of the Gate Rune War," Daunte said. "And I—"

"You have Flik from the Dunan Unification War, but I just put out Flik from the Gate Rune War," Mooney said cheerfully. "Would you like to buy him too?"

"Oh can we Big Brother?" Arin asked, hugging Kibbeh to his chest.

Daunte stared at his brother for a long moment, briefly wondering how he became such a pushover for him. "I…all right."

"Why stop there?" Caesar asked cheerfully. "There's other figurines here you haven't bought yet!"

Daunte glared at him but sighed in resignation. "I…won't buy the whole shop out again."

"I swear I spend more money on figurines than on my equipment," Daunte fumed softly as he stormed across the courtyard.

"The people appreciate it at least," Caesar said. "And your brother appreciates it, Lord Daunte. I'm sure completing the sets must have some reward at the end…"

"Mooney has made a significant fortune off me. I can't imagine what he could reward me with that could measure up to the money I've spent."

Caesar chuckled, but his voice broke off when they saw Chinmaya running towards them. "Oh great," he muttered.

"Lord Daunte!" Chinmaya paused to catch her breath before continuing. "Lord Daunte, Quasim is here!"

"…Quasim?" Daunte asked.

"He's a preeminent news reporter! He's the primary writer for all of the propaganda the Holy Army has written over the years! He just arrived and he wants to speak to you!"

Daunte glanced at Caesar warily before looking at Chinmaya. "…The person who made a career promoting propaganda for the Holy Army came here?"

"Yes! He says that this is an emergency but he won't speak to anyone else but you!" Chinmaya grabbed Daunte's hand. "He's in the war room! Let's hurry!"

Caesar shrugged. "Either he's defecting or he's laid a trap. Either way we may as well listen to what he has to say."

They hurried for the main building and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. Daunte heard shouting the moment the elevators opened. "You lying, conniving bastard!" they heard Tamara shout.

"I told you I was just doing my job," an unfamiliar voice responded to her. "I said that I was sorry!"

"You peddled lies about me!"

"And I said that everything I wrote was information given to me directly from the High Clerics! As Nagarists we have to believe that what the High Clerics say is nothing but truths! How was I to know that they were lying?"

"Well you didn't interview ME, not did you?!"

Daunte, Caesar, and Chinmaya hurried into the war room. The room was full and Tamara stood in the center holding the collar of a man in his late twenties. He wore a brown burnous over a teal colored dishdasha. His hair was cobalt blue and stylized in a short pompadour style and his brown eyes were a little wide. He looked towards Daunte and his face brightened. "Ah, there you are!" he pulled away from Tamara and bowed to Daunte. "Lord Daunte of the Liberation Army. My name is Quasim. I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies for the unflattering things I have written about you previously."

"I—okay," Daunte said. "I-I haven't really read anything you've written to be honest…"

Quasim's face fell. "R-Really?"

"Other than that horrible article he wrote about me," Tamara said hotly. "Lord Daunte is here, now tell us what you want!"

"Oh, right." Quasim straightened his posture. "You need to save the elves, Lord Daunte."

"Save them?"

"I'm a firm believer in Nagar," Quasim said. "And I've written propaganda in the promotion of my beliefs. But after Sheikh Faakhir attacked the Wingers I started questioning everything—"

"Gee, thanks," Oisin said sarcastically.

"Nagar tolerated you when He walked the earth," Quasim said. "He did not smite you and He didn't smite the elves. So why is the Holy Army attacking you now? If Nagar found you unworthy of existing, then He would have taken care of you. He would have commanded your downfall in our Scriptures but he didn't! So why now?

"I got a letter," Quasim said, turning back to Daunte. "A tip from the High Clerics to publish a story explaining how the Elves of Nagarea have been sneaking into Farna killing citizens there. Well first of all, I didn't know that there were any elves left after the Plague. Secondly, this "tip" is soundly false because I was just in Farna last week and there were no reports of attacks there! So, being the intrepid reporter that I am, I decided to do some digging to find out what was going on and why I had received a patently false tip from people whose words are supposed to be absolute truths. And what I found was…startling."

"So you found out the truth about the Plague of Farna?" Daunte asked.

"That our Theocracy created the Plague to kill off the elves and it accidentally spread to a human town?" Quasim confirmed. "Yeah. That was—shocking to say the least. It caused me to have a crisis of faith."

"Good for you, now please get to the point," Varnaz said.

"Right," Quasim said. "So the Theocracy found out where the elves have settled in the East Forest, and they deployed Sheikh Imbuka Liger to kill them all off."

"WHAT?!" Daunte shouted.

"How did they find them?" Caesar asked.

"I heard that they used an aerial monster to find them but I don't know," Quasim said. "The important thing is that Sheikh Liger has already left for the march and should be arriving at the East Forest shortly, if they haven't already arrived there. I came here to tell you so that you could go and help them."

"So that's why they wanted you to write that article," Chinmaya said. "They're going to wipe out the elves once and for all, and this article was the excuse to do it."

"I have to go now," Daunte said. "I'll assemble a party and have Viki teleport me to Estel! With any luck I'll get there and get River and his people out of there before Imbuka Liger shows up!"

"You're going there personally?" Quasim said. He whistled softly. "Wow. No wonder veteran soldiers lay down their lives for you, despite your youth…"

"I'll have you in my support party," Daunte said. "Along with Oboro. For the main party I want Felicity, Roen, Silvano, Shou, and Barō!"

"Will do," Caesar said, looking around the room. "This will be an extraction mission only but we'll need to be on standby if Lord Daunte needs backup!"

The party quickly assembled, though Barō looked less than pleased. "Why must I go?"

"Because I think your gun will help with long distance attacks," Daunte said.

"Rotkappchen can reach farther than any arrows," Barō confirmed.

"L-Let's hurry before anything happens," Felicity said.

"Hopefully River will listen to us this time," Silvano said.

"I'll cut that bitch's throat if it's the last thing I do!" Shou hissed.

"Please don't be so bloodthirsty," Oboro said softly.

"Don't tell me to not be angry at her!"

Oboro looked at Daunte. "My Lord?"

Daunte nodded and grabbed Shou's shoulder. "We'll get Imbuka Liger, but right now our priority is saving the elves."

"How can you be so nonchalant about her?!" Shou snapped. "She's hurt your family too!"

"I know," Daunte said quickly, glancing around the room as his comrades murmured in confusion. "But not today. We cannot allow the Elves of Nagarea to be wiped out. Saving them is more important right now."

"Right," Roen chimed in.

Shou slowly relaxed but he snapped his teeth in anger. "I'll make her pay for what she did to my mother," he grumbled.

"I know," Daunte said. He looked around the room. "I have my party. We'll be right back."

"Please protect me," Quasim spoke up. "I'm terrible in combat."

"You're a firm believer in a God of War but don't know how to fight?!" Gunther pointed out.

Quasim shrugged. "I never said I was perfect."

Daunte smelled smoke when they were teleported to Estel, but he only saw a few of the elves's homes burning. A quick headcount confirmed all eight of the surviving Nagarean Elves were accounted for, and Daunte nearly collapsed in relief. "River!" He shouted.

River ran around a house towards them, armed with his valeri. Clover followed closely behind him. "Why are you here, human?! Did you join your comrades in the trees?!"

"We're not with the Holy Army," Daunte reminded him sharply. "We're here to get you all out of here!"

"Forgive me if I don't be—THERE!" River shouted, pointing to the nearby tree before throwing his valeri.

"…Really?" Shou said dully. "Lord Daunte brings you food and provisions and you still don't trust him?"

"We are here to save you," Silvano said sharply. "Get your people and come with us! We can—"

"Damn it all!" River shouted as his valeri came back to him. He glared at Silvano. "I'm not going to be lectured by a traitor like you!"

Rage flooded Silvano's face. "I will not accept your disrespect towards my marr—"

"RIVER!" One of the elves shouted.

Daunte saw the movement in the trees and violently shoved both River and Clover and out of the way. Seconds later heat engulfed him and he screamed as he was consumed by a Rage Rune spell.

"Daunte!" Felicity screamed, dropping to her knees beside him.

"There they are," Barō said bluntly. He hoisted up Rotkappchen and fired a shot. The blast of the gun stirred the brush and a horrible shriek of pain echoed in the darkness. "Now they're dead," he said just as bluntly.

River looked stunned to see Daunte injured. "W-Wh…Why did you do that?"

"He has a bad habit of doing this," Oboro said softly.

"Ooh, how inspiring!" Quasim said, scribbling down into a notepad. "The fearless leader who cares more for the helpless than his own life!"

"Who are you calling helpless?!" River snapped, jumping to his feet.

"Can you stop acting like an idiot and come with us now?!" Roen snapped. "I think we just proved that we have your best interests at heart!"

"AH!" One of the elves screamed in pain as an arrow pierced his shoulder.

"…They are not committing all out slaughter," Barō observed. "They are prolonging the battle with minimal attacks, with the intention of inflicting maximum trauma and pain. Whoever is leading this massacre must be a sadist."

"That's because she is," Oboro said grimly. "She enjoys hurting people so much that she brainwashed children into hurting people. She's a deplorable person."

"My, my. What a terrible thing to say about an old friend…Shinatsu."

Oboro's head snapped up and Daunte lifted his head as he drank a potion. From the trees a figure wearing Sheikh whites appeared, her dark eyes narrowed. It was surreal for Daunte to see her, after everything he had learned about her.

This is the person who trained Shou's mother. She taught Sagiri how to kill, and her training led Sagiri to kill my grandfather.

"Long time no see," Imbuka Liger greeted them casually. "We didn't know that you were still alive, Shinatsu. Takefute will be very pleased to hear about this."

"You bitch!" Shou hollered. He lunged towards Imbuka but Oboro held him back. "I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

"And who are you exactly?" Imbuka asked in genuine confusion.

"You hurt my mother! I'll NEVER forgive you for what you've done!"

Imbuka appeared to still look confused. "You'll have to forgive me," she said. "I have hurt a lot of people. The wonderful memories have sort of blended in together. Who was your mother exactly?"

"Use present tense, Azamuku!" Oboro said sharply, struggling to keep hold of Shou.

"Oh, is this boy the child of one of the wretches you decided to foster Shinatsu?" Imbuka asked. "Oh yes, we know about that," she continued when Oboro shifted in shock. "We know that you adopted a couple of kids in some pathetic attempt at redemption to clean the blood off your hands. How cute."

"Shut up!" Daunte shouted, feeling a surge of anger rush through him.

Imbuka looked towards him. "Ah, the Liberation Army leader. With your proficiently in leading and killing at such a young age, you would have flourished under the tutelage of Nether Gate. Alas, I must kill you now." she raised a hand.

The trees around them shook but Daunte squeezed the Blinking Mirror in his hand. "RETURN TO HQ!" He shouted.

There was a sudden flash of familiar light, and in the blink of an eye he was back at HQ with his party, and the eight wounded elves. "Ah—welcome back!" Viki greeted them.

"The injuries are superficial," Dr. Yulin said reassuringly to River, Clover, and the other elves. "Just rest overnight and you should be fully recovered by tomorrow morning."

"It's a good thing then that Imbuka Liger decided to play with the lot of you," Caesar said. "Had she decided to act more seriously, then we would've arrived to find most of you dead."

"Damn…humans," River gruffed. He looked Clover over. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She looked at Daunte. "T-This—You have saved our lives several times now. You saved us from a monster, you saved us from starvation, and now you saved us from other humans. Why?"

"Because I didn't want you to die," Daunte said. He motioned to Quasim. "You can thank Quasim, though. He's the one who found out about the plot."

"W-Why did they try to kill us?" another elf asked.

"The Holy Army seems to be in a genocidal mood lately," Chinmaya muttered. "Lord Daunte just thwarted an attack on the Wingers not too long ago."

"You saved the Wingers and us," River said, shaking his head. "You are a strange human."

"The Theocracy wants you dead," Daunte said. "I-I don't know if they're just looking to get rid of non-humans in Nagarea, but whatever their reasons it's not safe for you to return to Estel right now. You can stay here if you like. We'll give you protection, and…" he let his voice trail off slowly before continuing. "And if you would like to join the Liberation Army, we'll be glad to have you."

River nodded and suddenly stood from the bed. "I don't like humans. Humans have done nothing but bring suffering to my people. But you are the most selfless human I've ever met. You have helped us multiple times without any expectation of getting anything in return. But I MUST repay you.

"Clover is right; you saved us multiple times. By the spirits I must repay your kindness with kindness in return. It is clear that you do not seek our destruction, so I—" he bowed stiffly. "I offer myself to you to help you achieve victory."

"As do I," Clover said, bowing. The other six elves bowed from their positions in bed, showing Daunte that they all wanted to join him.

"Congratulations, Lord Daunte," Caesar said. "You won over the Elves of Nagarea."

"I only ask two things in return," River added, looking up.

"Yes, what is it?" Daunte asked.

"When the war is over, we will rebuild our home. We do not want to be bothered by anyone. We do not want participation in whatever government you established. We just want to be left alone. Can you guarantee that we will be left alone?"

"Yes," Daunte answered, nodding. "You deserve to be left alone after everything that's happened to you."

"Thank you. The second condition is this." River gestured to the other elves. "Eight elves present themselves to you in your service. I want your promise that you will not let us die."

Daunte's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed hard.

"We are all that's left of our race," River said. "We are needed to repopulate our numbers. But most of all were are a family. I must have your word that you will not let my family die."

Daunte looked at Caesar, who gave him a slight shrug. He knew that it could be easy to promise to keep them all alive, but he also knew that if he made such a promise and even one elf died then the consequences would be heavy.

I want to help them, and I want their help. But I—can't lie to them for the sake of getting new recruits.

"I will do everything I can to keep you all alive," he said softly. "But I cannot give you a solid promise that nothing will happen to you. I can only promise you as a Commander that you will be treated fairly and that I will take care of you."

River was silent for a long moment, and he looked at his comrades. Then he looked at Clover, and his wife gave him an encouraging nod. After another long moment he turned back to Daunte. "So be it."

Daunte almost laughed in relief as he shook River's hand. "Welcome to the Liberation Army."

"So the attack was a failure, as we expected," Takefute said, folding Imbuka's note to him. "And a familiar face has shown himself."

"How familiar?" the Matron asked him.

"Someone we will need to worry about. There's no one greater at collecting information than him…"

"But they took the bait," the Matron pointed out. "We sent that story to Quasim anticipating that he would defect and reach out to the rebels. Then Imbuka gave a minimal attack on the elves to draw the rebels out and rescue the elves. Everything that we had laid out has come to pass…and they have fallen into our trap."

"Indeed they have," Takefute said confidently. "Shinatsu is skilled, but he is an old man who doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. Now we know that the Liberation Army has no idea the chaos that is coming to them…"