This chapter has been upgraded. Great, right? No?

"The audacity of that fiend!"

Count Vance was seated in the war room of his castle, surrounded by his most trusted advisers. His eldest daughter was absent from the meeting because she was busy treating her many wounds from the battle that had ensued earlier. Elina had taken it upon herself to ruthlessly interrogate the guards regarding the appalling security breach that had led to this entire fiasco. The Count himself sat silently at a large round table with a map of the Continent strewn across it, far too much of it colored red to denote the Queen's territory. Currently he was listening to the ranting of Geb, a short, wide, and balding man who was one of his less reserved advisers.

"Who does she think she is, to dare suggest such a ridiculous alliance?!"

Kellian, an older silver haired gentleman whose wisdom Count Vance trusted far more than Geb's, replied to the pudgy adviser's angry words. "That 'fiend' is the Swamp Witch. Do not forget that she is the third power vying for control of this land; she has her own armies, her own vassals, and her own land. And her audacity in this matter may be exactly what we need."

Geb shook his fist at the man, clearly not seeing any point that was trying to be made. "Are you insane? How can we trust that creature?! She would turn on us before we ever managed to reach Gainos! Besides, our soldiers would never be able to trust undead creatures as allies. They would be too busy watching their backs to fight properly, and against Queen Aldra, such incompetence would result in certain failure!"

The Count interceded at this point, rehashing the words of his daughter from an earlier strategic conversation. "According to General Claudette, we have no hope of defeating the Queen's armies in battle regardless. We do not have the sheer numbers to compensate for our enemy's skills in warfare. Our territory could likely be invaded and conquered at any time, should the Queen choose to do so. We need allies if we are ever to succeed against our foe. Alone we are helpless, whether we attack or defend."

Geb eyed his lord incredulously, unwilling to believe what he was suggesting. "Allies in the form of monsters?! What is there to keep the Witch from betraying us after we win, if we win, against the Queen?"

Kellian stroked his chin in intense thought. "An alliance requires terms, and we could no doubt control a few of them. The Witch's armies are not mortal: we could allow them to face the bulk of Queen Aldra's forces, while our armies bring up the rear. By the time we reach Gainos, the Witch's forces would be significantly diminished, and even if she did turn against us after our theoretical victory over the Queen, the common people would join us against them. I'd say our odds in this alliance are actually better than they are right now. As General Claudette has said, we could be wiped out on Queen Aldra's whim. We can either act now, or sit back and wait for our enemies to come and conquer us."

Geb turned to face the Count. "My Lord, surely you aren't considering this madness?! Kellian is making our situation seem far more helpless than it is. It's not as if Aldra could take us down in a mere day!"

Count Vance made no answer. His thoughts were wrapped around the unbelievable happenings of the past few hours. After the intruders had been evicted from the castle grounds and the guard had been doubled, the Count had returned to his private quarters, tired but content that things were under control for the moment. Before actually retiring for the night, he had stopped in front of his mirror, and had instantly been gripped by an unseen force. He had been unable to move as he received a message from the Swamp Witch, transmitted to him through the reflective surface of his mirror.

The gist of her message was that she wanted an alliance with the Count in order to take down Queen Aldra and her armies. After her lands were conquered, they would be divided between the two victors. Count Vance had no illusions about his ability to trust the Witch: after all, she had long possessed the ambition to rule the entire continent for herself. However, so long as the Queen in power was strong enough to hold back the dark forces, such ambition could not be realized.

The last time the Continent had been in serious danger of being overrun by darkness was roughly a decade ago, when Queen Veronica was still in power. The Demented Queen's incompetence as a leader had nearly doomed them all. Under her rule, the entire continent had suffered greatly, from the borderlands all the way to the capital. Veronica had not allowed any advisers or secondary officials during her rule, and the Queen herself had neglected almost all care for her subjects. If the Witch had invaded the continent at that time, it was almost guaranteed that she would be in full control today.

Of course, a lot of warriors realized the danger to their own country as long as Veronica ruled. So when Queen's Blade rolled around eight years ago, many warriors entered with the sole purpose of removing Veronica from power and restoring the country. One of those warriors had been the Count's wife, Maria. Another contestant had been Aldra, though the Count seriously doubted her motive had been to save the country at that time.

He could still remember watching the battle from the sidelines. The Count had come to the semi-final rounds personally, to watch Maria battle against some white haired, twelve-year old girl. He hadn't approved of his wife's participation in the tournament in the first place, but after she had come so far... what could he do but watch her perform? Her last opponent before Veronica was some girl, not even in her teens. Count Vance had been so sure of her victory... so sure that his beloved spouse would defeat her opponent who was no more than a child. It had not occurred to him that the young girl facing his wife had reached the semi-final round by defeating every opponent before then. If only he had known her power: he could've saved Maria before it was too late.

Everything had happened in a flash before his eyes, in a time when he had still been free of the gray hairs of stress and age. The fight, if one could call it that, lasted only a matter of minutes. It was completely one-sided: his dear wife, a skilled warrior whom he thought would win with no effort, was outclassed beyond imagination. The girl she fought was a whirlwind of inhuman speed, power, and ruthlessness. It came as no surprise to anyone when Maria's head was cleaved from her shoulders. Even the Count had known her defeat was coming, but did not know that Maria would be killed.

That match marked the moment the Count's entire world had been shattered. His wife had been slain before his eyes, by this monstrous girl named Aldra, who had downright murdered Maria on the field of battle. Killing was usually not allowed in the Queen's Blade, but the people were eager to let someone, anyone, replace Veronica on the throne. And even if anyone had wanted to object, nobody would dare oppose the girl who had indeed killed Veronica and took her throne that year. With the conclusion of that tournament eight years ago, The Queen of Dementia was defeated, and the Twilight Queen took her place. The youngest woman to ever rule the Continent came to power, and in the process, had killed Count Vance's beloved wife and deprived his children of their mother.

Dragging himself out of the dark memories of his past, the Count clenched his fists in rage. He would never forget or forgive Aldra's murderous actions. It didn't matter that she had restored the continent to sanity and security. It didn't matter that she had defended the people from the North Realm's barbarians. None of the good deeds she had performed in her reign made any difference to him. True, the first two years of Aldra's rule were much like Veronica's, where she neglected the people and the continent as a whole. But in the last six years, the young Queen had rebuilt the continent, and returned its status as a land of prosperity. These were good things, but it didn't matter to him. All that mattered was the brutality, the remorselessness, the cruel murder of his wife: from that day onward, Count Vance had vowed to destroy the Queen, destroy the tournament, and destroy anything related to the evil ways that stole Maria away from him. He now remembered that vow.

He raised his gaze, burning with hatred, to meet Geb and Kellian's. "Find me a messenger to send to the Witch. I will destroy Aldra, and all of her kingdom. If it takes the aid of monsters to do so... so be it."

"Oh dear... sleeping again, are we?"

Church could hear a distant voice in his head, a male one that sounded strangely familiar. It had been so long since he had spoken to a man, considering his usual female company, that Church could not imagine who this voice belonged to.

His eyes were closed, and Church's body had a certain weightless feeling about it. It felt like he was floating, but that probably meant he had either temporarily regained consciousness in the depths of the lake, or that he was in whatever void constituted the afterlife. He imagined that he was probably in hell though. Heaven seemed like a bit of a stretch for him.

"Actually, you are in neither heaven nor hell. You're kind of in-between dead and alive: not quite one or the other. And since you're not fully dead, you're not yet in the afterlife."

Had Church thought those things out loud? More importantly, who the hell was answering him?

"It's me, Daedalus. You know... the big god-like voice in the strange dimension of floating pillars? And no, you didn't think those thoughts out loud."

Church kept his eyes shut, convinced that he was crazy. Nevertheless, he spoke back to the voice. After all, it could hardly make his situation any worse. "So you're reading my mind? Stay out of the restricted section."

"Believe me when I say I have no interest in whatever goes on in that particular section. Still, I feel as though you should save your humor until I have saved you from your current predicament.

Church squirmed around in the absolute darkness, trying to gain his bearings in regards to literally anything. "So you said I'm not fully dead: does that mean I'm still alive?"

"More or less."

"How can I be more or less alive? There is no halfway with alive."

Daedalus chuckled, always finding the antics of mortals entertaining. "Under normal circumstances, that would be correct. However, while your soul has been disconnected from your physical body, I am currently keeping you from passing into the afterlife. You are quite a handful, for a hero."

"Oh yeah, the great hero who had to more or less beg angels to save his friends. That would make a great movie right there."

"I would watch it."

"Right. More importantly, is everyone OK? They all made it out right?"

Daedalus' voice exhibited temporary strain as some part of the healing process grew in intensity. "Fear not... they're fine. Hachiel rescued Airi and Melona from their imminent demise, and Nanael escaped unscathed. The only one who has been truly harmed is you. Quite seriously, in fact."

Church had plenty of time at the moment, so he spent some of it thinking on this. "So how exactly are you going to save me? Even if you put my soul back in my body, or whatever the hell it is you're doing, I'm still at the bottom of a lake, pinned under a boulder. I'm not looking forward to drowning all over again."

"A little manipulation of nature will be enough to free your physical form from underneath the debris. I can also stir the water a bit, in order to get you closer to the surface."

Church was confounded by all of the abilities this being possessed. "What exactly are you, to have all of these powers?"

Daedalus chuckled once more, as usual finding some amount of amusement in the words of his charge. "Well, seeing as we have some free time, I might as well enlighten you. After all, we'll be working together far more in the future."

"I don't even want to know what that entails."

The response that came was cheerful. "I thought not. Don't worry: besides saving the world and conquering hearts, you have little else to worry about."

Needless to say, Church did not feel at all enlightened. If anything, he was more confused than before. "Conquering hearts? What the hell does that mean?"

"That I shall not explain. However, I will tell you that you are doing a marvelous job so far. You've made a great deal of progress with many wonderful people of great strength. That said you still have a lot or work ahead of you, and it will no doubt it will be most entertaining. But let's save that for later."

Church decided to not press the matter. He was pretty sure that he was imagining all of this anyway. "Whatever you say, suspicious voice in the sky."

"Anyway, let's talk about me, shall we? I am an angel, of sorts. Similar to your acquaintances Nanael and Hachiel, but not quite the same. Firstly, I am much, much older than they: it has been many eons since my creation."

"I didn't know angels even had ages."

Daedalus' voice echoed through the darkness. "A common misconception. Even angels have to be created at some point, right? Nanael and Hachiel are very young angels. Especially compared to the old breed like Delmore and myself."

"You say these things like I should know them. I don't even know who Delmore is, although I guess he's another angel."

Daedalus sighed, though he was by now beyond real frustration over the past. "Yes. Well, he used to be, at any rate. I wouldn't worry about your ignorance though: you'll know far more about him than you would like in the future."

"If you say so."

"Anyway, I myself am quite old. It is impossible to measure the exact length of time, so suffice to say that I was around long before the elves, and that even their long lives are but a sliver compared to my own. I was one of the first angels to be created, along with Delmore and the Seraph. Together, the three of us were his Archangels: we were more powerful and more advanced than all of the angels that followed us, and God trusted us as his most loyal vassals."

Church, having no escape from the surrounding darkness, merely made observations. "So then why aren't you in heaven? Or are you talking to me from there?"

Daedalus gave a short bark of laughter, if only because this question was much more complex than the asker made it seem. "By the time I finished explaining my exact situation, you would have aged enough to die twice over. To give you the very, very condensed version: I am not in heaven, but in a limbo dimension of exile. I've been here for exactly eight thousand one hundred and two years, three months, seventeen days, nine hours, and twenty-six minutes. I could go into nanoseconds, but that would be pointless."

Church couldn't feel his extremities, but felt that he would have raised his eyebrows as Daedalus revealed this information. According to him, he had been in exile for nearly eight times longer than Alleyne had even been alive. Furthermore, this length of time was apparently nothing to Daedalus, who had supposedly been alive for uncountable centuries.

"So, why is an Archangel in exile?"

"Delmore and I were the lesser angels, compared to the Seraph. I had accepted that fate for what it was, but over the vast centuries, Delmore grew jealous. About eight millenia ago, his festering emotions got the better of him, and he attempted to overthrow the heavenly hierarchy. Long story short, it didn't go over well. He was expelled to the Underworld, and I, being his equal, was accused of being his accomplice in his ambitious treachery. But since I wasn't accused of being the actual leader of the coup, I was exiled to this limbo place, instead of hell. Tragic, is it not?"

"I suppose. What happened to your buddy?"

"Oh, he spent his eight thousand years in the Underworld plotting his revenge against the Seraph for thwarting his plans. He eventually gained enough power to exit the Underworld of his own accord, and he now resides in a young girl named Aldra, though what he plans on doing with the poor child is beyond me. I don't see any reason for him to do so. Perhaps he is feeding off of her? As a half-demon, she has quite a large sum of power of her own..."

"What about you? Why can't you exit this dimension like he did? And what about your plans? You were friends with this Seraph chick for thousands of years, yet she wrongly accused you. Don't you want revenge?"

The invisible ex-archangel's familiar chuckle was heard once again. "I'm afraid there isn't enough time to explain all of that right now: in fact, I just finished arranging the necessary components of returning you back to the land of the living. And one last thing; this took another 25 years of the energy I have stored while in exile, so try not to get into these kinds of messes again, alright? You are literally killing me, man. Oh wait! Say hello to Nyx for me, alright? It took a lot of work to arrange your meeting, so don't let it go to waste! But beware of Funik-"

Before Church could hear the final words of his unseen speaker and savior, he was swallowed by cold water. His feeling of weightlessness was gone, replaced by the weight of an entire lake of water and the burning agony of lungs devoid of air. He could feel himself being pushed upwards, as if by some invisible force, but he already felt like he was going to pass out again.

Some salvation! I'm going to drown all over again!

Despite Church's pessimistic view of the current situation, he could see that he was rapidly nearing the surface of the lake. But he would have to make it to shore soon, because he was going to pass out any second. Fortunately, when he was thrust above the calm lake waters, he was only a few meters from the shore. He more or less floated/paddled his way over to the grassy bank. Once on the shore, he couldn't even bring himself to his knees.

He tried to breathe, but his lungs had yet to expunge the stifling water that filled them. Church practically puked out the water, even though its source was his lungs and not his stomach. He spewed the clear liquid out of him as fast as possible, in an effort to get any amount of oxygen he could into his flaming lungs. The excruciating pain in his chest was similar to what he felt when Echidna had planted her knee in his sternum.

After several moments, Church finally managed to expel the fatal fluid from his lungs, and he got some small amount of air in them instead. Unfortunately, it still burned like all hell, even more so now that he was breathing. Despite his success in restoring functionality to his lungs, Church's vision was still darkening around the edges, and slowly covering all of his sight.

Shit... I'm going to pass out again...

And so it was. The inevitable loss of consciousness planted Church's body in the tall grass around the lake: a strange sight, especially to a certain young girl who passed by an hour later.

Mostly just dialogue changes here. There was a good bit of info change too. Daedalus is much older, and I made it more clear why the situation between Vance and Aldra is so tense. I also clarified the situation before Aldra's reign, and how Maria died. What will the Vance trio do if/when they figure out Aldra killed their mom?