It was a peaceful, even lazy winter morning, silent and chilly as the sun hadn't risen yet and a fine layer of snow laid on the streets of Trista and Rean had woken up with his limbs tangled with those of the most beautiful person in the world, sharing her warmth under his covers. It was an absolutely idyllic moment tht he knew he'd carry forever.

Laura woke up soon after him with a soft "Hey" while sporting a smile, a small one, reserved, but very content as she snuggled closer to him.

Rean caught her lips with a kiss and it felt different from every other kiss they had shared until then, it felt energizing, lifting the remaining fog of his drowsiness. She loved him. It was a realization that made him happy and terrified both at the same time and all feelings in between and he accepted it wholeheartedly. He accepted that he was loved and cherished by others and even that he deserved it, as the happiness that he felt in that moment was something he couldn't let go of. He wasn't sure what the future held for them but no matter what laid ahead, he would fight to keep it that way, for himself and everybody else.

"Hey, good morning," he replied.

Although the sun wasn't out yet, both knew that it would soon come up as they had gotten used to a morning routine that even the previous night couldn't break, and it served as a reminder of the day that lay ahead. They knew this moment of peace wouldn't last.

"I don't wanna get out of bed," Rean said with a dramatic whiny groan while burying his head under the covers like a little kid who didn't want to go to school.

Laura had a chuckle at his playful petulance. Rean had used such jokes before to throw others off from his real feelings but she was confident that this wasn't the case, not after everything they had shared. She had told him he should carry himself however he wanted, be whoever he wanted to be, because the true essence of who he was, the person she loved, would never fade away. So if this was what he wanted to be, someone who can make silly jokes at times because he enjoyed it and gave him a confidence boost, that was absolutely fine to her.

"I'd tell you to stop trying to be cute but you don't even have to try do you?"

"Don't call me cute."

She could picture the exaggerated pout on his face.

"You're adorable."

"Stop that."

"Why, I believe you would make a most perfect plushy to stand side by side with my Mishy and Mishette dolls."

"Nooooo."

She had a hearty laugh again before joining him under the covers, huddling closer. "I don't want to leave either," she said with a tinge of sadness in her voice because she knew that wasn't possible.

Rean sighed and pulled the covers away, returning himself and Laura to the crispy cold air of his room. Some of the playfulness was gone from him but nothing could take away his positive streak. "It's okay, we will have a lot of time later. Once this is done and things are back to normal we'll have all the time in the world to do whatever we want, like going on dates in Heimdallr on the weekends."

"I want to have a picnic," Laura added with excitement. "How about the two of us go to Lake Travis for our first date? I've been thinking of something along those lines for a while now. We'll prepare food, take the orbal bike and spend all day enjoying a warm spring afternoon and you can teach me how to fish."

The mental image broadened his smile.

"When summer break comes along we should go to Ymir. We'll walk through the woods, train on the mountains, do some snowboarding and have dinner with my family, so I can properly introduce you to my parents and Elise. Mom's pheasant stew is great, you're gonna love it."

"I'm looking forward to it. Speaking of which, we must have a proper meeting with my father as well, you both are close already, but-"

"But we have yet to meet with me as your boyfriend and him as your father instead of swordsmen, I get it. This is going to be awkward," Rean winced.

"Yes but it will ultimately be fine because I know father respects you immensely."

"Yeah, I know, the viscount is a great man and I respect him as well. Still, it's gonna be awkward…" He drawled but then he smiled again, speaking more enthusiastically. "And I can't wait to feel nervous and awkward and happy and a bunch of other things with you, Laura. I want to experience everything life has to offer and I want to do it with you by my side."

Laura's heart swelled at the sheer sincerity of his words. "You can say the most wonderfully cheesy things."

"You don't know half of it. I've been holding back all this time, you know?"

"I think it is really charming, you should do it more often."

"You keep enabling me like that and I might just burst into a speech on the power of friendship."

They shared a good laugh then leaned closer to each other for another kiss, one more intense than the one before that just grew more passionate as their naked bodies pressed against each other, but then then Rean broke it as his head shot up with the look that he had come to some great epiphany in his eyes.

"We should do it somewhere at school."

"Do… it?" Laura tilted her head to the side, not really sure what he meant for a hot minute before feeling scandalized once realization hit her. "What do you… Rean!"

"Where do you think we should try first? The old schoolhouse? The equipment shed? On top of Instructor Sara's desk?" The cheshire grin and wiggling eyebrows made it seem like he was only half joking.

"Who gave you this sort of idea? I bet it was Angelica, she's a terrible influence on you," she attempted to chastise him but it didn't last once she started to have her own ideas. "And you are a terrible influence on me." She punctuated it with another kiss. "Do you think we have time for another one before we leave?"

"Woah, seriously?" Very suave, Rean, you dork. "I uhhh, yeah, just… I only had one condom though."

With no further words, Laura threw the covers off her, jumped out of bed and started to rummage through her clothes, looking for something, and although the room was still dark, Rean could clearly see her naked body.

"Ah, here it is," she enthusiastically declared after grabbing something from her skirt. Turning around back to a very confused Rean, Laura showed off a square plastic package. "I too took sex ed, in case you forgot."

The sight of Laura naked, with bed hair, holding up a condom package and sporting a mischievous look on her face completely fried Rean's brain, and he did not have the capacity to properly react when she pounced on him and made the bed frame creak under them.

By the time Rean and Laura had finished their business, the sun had come up and the second floor of the dorm was empty as everyone had gone down for breakfast and Laura felt a little relieved that it meant that they would avoid any awkward moments or teasing from their friends seeing her leaving Rean's bedroom, with her frazzled hair and frayed clothes.

Rean shrugged at her concern as they stepped out of his room. "Let's just face it head on and not give them any fuel and it'll die out. Honestly, we should be talking it up the fact we had sex before any of them, twice even, and how amazing it was."

"Let's not do that last part," she shot a half-lidded glare at him and Rean laughed. "But you're right in a way, we should be adults about it. Besides, after everything we've been through I trust our friends to be mature about the subject."

Now it was Rean's turn to stare at Laura with unamused eyes. "Seriously?"

"On second thought we should brace for the teasing."

The couple reached the stairs leading down but soon they were joined by two sets of footsteps coming from the third floor, one that was more recognizable than the other, and coming into view they were treated to the sight of both Fie and Vivi leaving the girl's floor together.

A surprised "Oh" came from the four of them as both couples stood looking at each other for a brief moment.

"Good morning, you two," Rean broke the ice.

"'Sup," Fie replied, her usual deadpan tone failing to hide her curiosity. "So, did you guys…" Her eyes danced between her friends.

"Yes," Laura responded sharply and clasped her hand to Rean's, trying to force down her blush. "Did you also-"

"Hell yes, we totally slept together too!" Vivi took a firm hold of Fie's arm and enunciated every word with an exaggerated flair. "We went at it all night long and it was amazi-OUCH!"

"Don't make stuff up," Fie wagged the same finger she used to poke Vivi in the ribs then turned to Rean and Laura. "We cuddled in bed for a bit then went to sleep, that's all. It was pretty comfy."

The pink haired girl huffed and puffed her cheeks. "I'm trying to make you seem super cool and adult but fine. Yes, we just slept and it was very nice. Fie is, of course very cute when she's sleeping."

"But we can do something else after we're back from today's operation. You know, as a celebration and stuff," the former jaeger added, feigning complete indifference, although the slight hint of pink on her cheeks told another story.

Taken aback by Fie's words, Vivi let a very shy smile form on her lips. "O-oh, okay."

Deciding they had had enough of standing there awkwardly looking at each other, Rean directed everyone to get going since the rest of the class was waiting for them and soon they'd have to get back to the Courageous. Laura decided to make a quick stop at her room to quickly brush her hair and put on some fresh clothes and look somewhat presentable, while Vivi said she'd go back to her dorm and spend some time with her sister.

That left Rean and Fie to arrive together at the dinner room where the rest of Class VII was having a delicious breakfast prepared by Sharon, the surprise that the maid had arrived at Trista early in the morning just to make food for them lasting a total grand of five second before the two came to grips with it. Honestly, it would have been weird if Sharon had not shown up out of nowhere.

In any case, Rean simply greeted everyone and took his seat at the table, deciding to not bring up the matter of what he was up to last night, since it was his and Laura's business and nobody else's to begin with. Surprisingly, nobody questioned him about that or why Laura was late and when Elliot asked why Rean and Fie were late, simple responses about really missing their beds were enough to satisfy his inquiry. It was overall pretty relaxing, Instructor Sara didn't even look up from the piece of paper with the day's operations that she was revising while munching on a piece of toast once Laura joined them.

Huh, I guess we were worried about nothing, nobody seems to have noticed anything off about last night.

"Alright, I'm off," said Sara, getting up from her seat with a serious expression on her face. "I gotta check on the final preparations for today so I'm heading off a little bit earlier. You guys finish off here and get ready and we'll meet up in the Courageous. Understood?"

A resounding "Understood, instructor!" came from Class VII and Sara turned around to leave, making her way to the door.

But just as the bracer crossed the threshold, she turned around with her eyes aimed at Rean and Laura. "By the way, you two…" Sara pointed finger guns at them, clicked her tongue and winked. "Congrats on the sex!" She yelled out loud then left the premises with pep on her step.

Laura's face instantly turned a shade of red reminiscent of their school uniforms and Rean slammed his head against the table.

"Did you guys hear us or…?" He asked.

"No, we simply are not idiots. Anyone paying half attention noticed Laura and then you returning alone at night while everyone else stayed at school mingling. So we decided to give you some privacy and returned to our rooms a couple of hours later," Jusis explained, calmly sipping on his tea. "Frankly, I thought 5 minutes would be more than enough for you."

"Hey!" Rean shot his head up with a glare pointed at his friend.

"I suppose we should congratulate you?" Gaius said, feeling very unsure about the social protocol for that particular situation.

"Thanks, I guess," Rean rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled at the formal attempt at guy-talk from Gaius. He couldn't help but think if Crow, the Crow that he knew at least, was there he'd be trying to high-five Rean and egging him and Laura on just to embarrass them, then later he'd pull Rean aside later asking for details.

"Yes," Laura cleared her throat trying to dispel the awkwardness in the air. "Thank you, everyone, for respecting our privacy."

An uneasy lull descended in the conversation and only the clinking of silverware and glass filled the air. So, much for facing it head on, Laura thought. Thankfully, or not so much, Millium broke the silence.

"I don't get it. Hear what? Is sex supposed to be loud? Did you guys yell a lot? Laura, did you-"

"Millium!"

Laura's outburst caused a cacophony of laughter to descend upon the dinner room, with even the swordswoman herself was caught on it, and the chatter never fully subsided, especially when it was revealed that Fie had snuck Vivi into the dorm. It was brief but the students of Class VII enjoyed their time eating, chatting, bickering and laughing together.

"So…" Once they were done, Alisa popped next to Laura, stalling her for a moment while everyone else headed to their rooms to get their gear ready. The blonde's face beamed with curiosity. "How was it? And don't think you can weasel your way out of this one with a nonchalant answer again, this is big stuff, not just a dance and a kiss."

The swordswoman sighed, objection clear in her face. "Alisa, honestly, that's-"

"Laura," Emma suddenly flanked her from the otherside, staring at her with an intense look in her eyes. "Details."

Feeling completely cornered with no means of evading their questioning, Laura reluctantly gave in to their demands. Maybe some girl-talk was warranted, it would be one last shred of normalcy in their lives before all hell breaking loose that day, after all.


It wasn't a peaceful morning anymore and the cold winter air was imperceptible as the flames of war were fanned. It was 12 pm and the final push to take Heimdallr had begun.

Under the command of General's Olaf Craig and Zechs Vander, the 4th and 3rd Divisions would engage the Noble Alliance's forces commanded by General Le Guin and Brigadier Bardias, defending the west side of the capital. At the same moment, the RMP as well as General Matteus Vander's forces would come from the east, where they would meet much more meager resistance at the entrance of the Vermillion Capital, looking to gain control of the city as quickly as possible and avoid the Noble Alliance from barricading themselves and creating a siege situation.

The members of the Crimson Wings were privy of the operation and its details, however they would not take part on either fronts. Instead, while the main enemy forces were occupied by the two pronged assault, they would be entrusted with the utmost important mission of rescuing the Royal Family and Governor Regnitz, in captivity at the Karel Imperial Villa according to information from the Intelligence Division. With His Highness not only safe and sound but able to condemn the actions of Duke Cayenne and Rufus Albarea for the treachery that it truly was, the Imperial forces hoped to be able to quell their forces and put a more swift end to the war.

Matteus Vander objected to the plan when it was first outlined in the previous day, doubting that the still young members of Class VII were up to the task, but then reluctantly conceded to Prince Olivert's words.

"I understand your doubts, uncle Matteus, truly, but Class VII has continuously proved themselves during this war. In the few weeks since our young lions have joined the war efforts they've managed to arrest Duke Albarea, take back control of the Reinford Company and force Marquis Rogner to surrender, completely changing the tide of the war. Class VII was established to test the possibility of creating a special unit under the Emperor's direct orders and not only have they proved that the concept is sound but that they themselves are capable of being such a unit."

Carrying those words, as well as the trust Prince Olivert had put in them to keep his family safe, the Courageous and its crew set course to the Imperial Villa with not only its usual crew as more students from Thors had joined them in the operation. The crimson airship cut past the lines of defense set around the villa before the soldiers even knew what was going on and by the time they started to react, Valimar was on top of them, destroying soldats and armored cars like they were nothing and becoming easy pickings for the Imperial forces arriving for the clean up.

They could've used the spirit path to teleport inside the villa itself however the Courageous' presence was necessary to send a message to the forces of the Noble Alliance, not just showing the Crimson Wings and Imperial Army's strength but to validate their actions with the backing of the Imperial family as well.

"Soldiers of the Noble Alliance, this is Princess Alfin Reise Arnor speaking," the princess' voices boomed through the Courageous speakers as the ship hovered above the Imperial Villa. "I come to you on this day to ask for your surrender. Our country has been embroiled in this conflict for long enough and it is about time we put a stop to this madness, this abhorrent conflict where fellow countrymen turn their weapons against each other.

"I am sure some of you genuinely believe you are doing the right thing, that you are guarding the Imperial family for their own protection as you were fed stories about the growing power of the Imperial government but I assure you that is not the case. In truth, your loyalty to Erebonia has been used by your leaders to orchestrate a coup and subvert the power of His Highness the Emperor himself. I understand it might be difficult to accept you have been led astray but I ask that you think of all the treacherous acts committed by your superiors, think of all suffering that has transpired all over our Empire, think of Celdic and the lives lost there and tell me if you truly believe this is what is best for our Empire.

"Please, I beg of you to lay down your weapons and allow the Imperial family, my family, to walk freely so we can bring peace back to Erebonia once again."

Silence hung in the air for a tense minute in the Courageous' bridge, as Princess Alfin and the rest awaited for the response from the forces guarding the villa. Unfortunately, they didn't get what they wanted.

"How dare you, despicable Imperial dogs, to force our fair princess to try to sway us from our cause!" A voice said over the radio. "I will have you know there is nothing you can do that will make us stray away from our righteous path against the tyranny of the Blood and Iron Chancellor and-"

Towa cut the call and palmed her face with everyone else a similar kind of exasperation.

"I guess we tried, at least," Alfin let out a despondent sigh, she really wished this could have been solved without further fighting. Straightening herself, she turned to her allies. "Members of the Crimson Wings, as the Imperial Princess of Erebonia I give the following operation to rescue the Imperial family my blessings. Fight bravely but please, come back safe."

Without further ado, Rean cleared the landing area for the Courageous, smashing the feeble defense the alliance's forces tried to establish with a few armored cars they had in hand and allowing Class VII along with other students from Thors to pour out of the airship. Besides that, the main defense forces were composed of soldiers, military monsters and archaisms, the former which hesitated at the sight of Valimar and set out the latter to confront the invading forces.

The soldier's hesitation was unwarranted as Rean, of course, wouldn't use Valimar against human adversaries. Instead, he jumped out of the Divine Knight's cockpit and promptly joined the rest of Class VII to intercept the incoming attack while the rest of their friends picked up any strays that managed to get past them. The inhuman attackers weren't match for them and as the Thors students fought, they advanced through the ramp leading to the villa, leaving a trail of destroyed automatons and dead monsters behind. Three quarters of the way and with no more fodder to throw at them, the enemy soldiers decided to mount a resistance at the building's entrance, firing off a barrage of bullets and Arts from the front door and the windows but a combination of protective Arts, Emma's magic and Valimar flying to shield them with his massive tachi served as perfect protection against them.

"We can break through this but we can't leave our escape route and the Courageous unprotected," said Sara. "Rean, care to do the honors?"

He didn't have to think twice, not in his abilities or the trust everyone was putting into him.

"Class VII will push through and enter the villa to look for the hostages. Patrick, Friedel, thanks for helping get us here but I'll have to ask you to return to the Courageous and keep it secured in case we need to rush out of here."

It was a sound course of action with no real space for objections. However, Patrick attempted to suggest that he too should take part in searching the building for the Imperial family (and Elise), but before he could finish his sentence, Friedel's elbow forcefully met with his ribs.

"Don't worry, Class VII, we'll handle things on this side," she spoke up before whispering in Patrick's ear: "Know when to back down, idiot."

With their plan set, Class VII fired back at the soldiers inside the building and forced them to take cover, using the opportunity to rush the main entrance while Fie and Millium climbed up on top of Airgetlam and took flight, entering one of the windows on the second floor. Once inside, the rest of Class VII divided in two groups to search the villa and although the Noble Alliance forces weren't slouches, their numbers weren't great and they hadn't expected an assault on this scale or rather, this well coordinated. Class VII cut through the archaisms and monsters sent their way with ease and incapacitated their human adversaries as they looked for the hostages.

The villa was incredibly lavish and it was a shame to fight inside it, potentially damaging or destroying the expensive decor. Not that it could be avoided but Gaius' heart sank to his stomach all the same when he realized he had thrown his spear and accidentally impaled an archaism on a very expensive looking painting.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Gaius," Emma tried to calm him down. "It might be expensive but the Imperial family can surely replace it."

"It says here this painting is supposed to be Heimdallr and it's dated to the year 259 of the Septian Calendar," Rean read from a plaque under the framing. "Oh wow, this is from before the capital moved to Saint Arkh! It might be one of the only remaining visual records of Heimdallr before…" He turned to see Gaius grow even more dismayed. "I-I mean, I'm sure there's nothing that can't be fixed."

Behind them, another archaism exploded in a ball of fire and both Rean and Gaius hastily dislodged the spear and the archaism stuck to it from the painting before the historical artifact was completely destroyed.

"Everyone, something has come up," Laura called out to them, putting down her ARCUS. "Instructor Sara's group has come across provincial soldiers that were already incapacitated on their side when they arrived there."

"And it wasn't Fie and Millium who took care of them, was it?" Rean asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, they are on their way to their position as well. There's the possibility a third party is here, we must hurry."

With no further resistance met between their current location and their destination, Rean's group rushed to meet with the rest of Class VII, who stood behind a heavy set of double doors along two unconscious provincial soldiers.

"By what Prince Olivert told us, this should be the ballroom," said Sara.

"And considering we haven't found any of the hostages yet, this must be where they are being kept. Along with whoever had attacked these soldiers," Rean completed her line of thought.

It was disconcerting that someone they didn't know was acting on their own and had hold of the Imperial family and the other hostages for some unknown reason.

Fie planted a small plastic explosive on the door's lock and Class VII took their position behind the door, mentally preparing themselves for whatever would be thrown at them next. Once the explosive went off, they threw the doors open and jumped in, ready to overwhelm their possible adversaries but instead they didn't get any of that.

Instead, Class VII burst into the villa's ballroom and were met with His Highness and his wife the Empress as well as Governor Regnitz and Elise waiting for them.

"What the? What's-"

"Rean!"

Before the swordsman could finish his thought, his sister had all but tackled him into a tight embrace. For a moment he didn't dare lower his guard and continued to scan the premises for any threats, but as he watched his friends lowering their weapons and noticed the other hostages calmly approaching them, Rean allowed himself to relax and return his sister's embrace.

He had finally done it, he had managed to get to Elise and he'd bring her back home safely to their parents.

"Oh thank Aidios you're safe, Elise. You are okay, right? Did anybody hurt you?" He pulled away to take a better look at her.

"I'm fine, Rean. I was treated very well here, you don't have to worry about that. You're the one who's been fighting in this war, I'm the one who should be asking you that."

He hugged her again. "I've been through some rough spots but I'm okay. Better than ever, actually. I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you back home, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"It's okay. You were going through a lot, I forgive you."

While that demonstration of sibling love was happening, Machias ran towards his father but caught himself midway through raising his arms to hug the man, feeling awkward and self-conscious with everyone else around.

"It's good to see you're well, father."

The governor shook his head and chuckled. "Didn't I tell you to loosen up once in a while, son?" He said, pulling him into his arms. "I'm glad to see you're well."

It took a second but Machias eventually returned the hug. "Thank you, dad."

"A most heartwarming occasion," said Emperor Eugent, approaching Class VII along with his wife. "Instructor Valestein, students of Thors, you have my most sincere gratitude for what you've done, not just today but throughout all the ordeals this conflict has put our country to. Olivert chose well when creating your class."

"Just doing our duty as good citizens of the Empire, Your Highness," said Sara, whose eyes turned to a corner where a girl dressed in black was standing, finally making her presence known. "Besides, we didn't work alone, did we?"

"You were the one who knocked out those provincial soldiers, weren't you?" Laura eyed up the girl, cautiously raising her weapon, with Rean and the others joining her. But then Elise rushed up to stand between them, waving her arms for them to stop.

"Please, everyone, calm down, Altina means us no harm. On the contrary, once they saw that they couldn't hold you guys from entering, the provincial soldiers were trying to take us away but she stopped them."

"That is true, Class VII. That girl brought us here to stop the Noble Alliance's forces from absconding with His Highness and the rest of us somewhere else," Governor Regnitz added.

"Not that I'm not grateful but why did you decide to help us now, Altina?" Rean asked, sheathing his sword. He had introduced her to some pretty good pancakes but he doubted they caused her to change her mind days later.

"I haven't, I simply acted in accord with the orders given to me by Chief of Staff Rufus Albarea. Namely: in case the Crimson Wings were to attempt to rescue the hostages, I was ordered to assist you in case the provincial army attempted to flee with them."

It seemed this was all part of Rufus' ongoing machinations, likely an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Imperial government after the war was over. The idea that he would spin a narrative that his plans all along were to infiltrate the Noble Alliance and cripple it from within didn't seem that far-fetched. But that speculation was put to a stop once Alisa pointed out that one member of the royal family was missing.

"Wait, where's Prince Cedric?"

Everyone suddenly looked around but in an empty ballroom, there was no place where the Crown Prince could be hidden. The Emperor and Empress both had a downcast look on their faces.

"Yesterday, Duke Cayenne and Vita Clotilde took Cedric away, saying something about a ritual. They promised he wouldn't be harmed but…" The Empress said, clutching to her husband's arm for some measure of comfort.

"This is related to the Vermillion Apocalypse, isn't it? Ever since the appearance of the Azure Knight then the Ashen, I imagined this has been their objective all along," Emperor Eugent said. Although he kept a strong façade, it was clear that the man was worried about his son.

The mention of a ritual and the Vermillion Apocalypse made eyes turn towards Emma and Celine but the two members of the Hexen Clan seemed just as lost as their friends. As fate would have it, however, as Emma was about to express her thoughts, she stopped and shivered in place as goosebumps crept up her skin with Celine reacting similarly, her fur standing up.

"Emma, what's wro-" Then Rean felt it as well, like a rumbling traveling through his body followed by the sound of glass shattering.

A flash of crimson came from the south, tinting the skies towards Heimdallr red and they all rushed to the back of ballroom, where its its windows that reached the ceiling gave them a clear view of the sky above the city. The space above Heimdallr shifted, as if reality itself was being twisted and broken. Scarlet lightning flashed across the skies and black clouds swirled like hurricanes and spires surged from the center of Heimdallr's skyline and soon, Valflame Palace gave place to a black and crimson castle that surpassed the former in size.

Sara's ARCUS started to ring as Towa called looking for an explanation to what was happening, as she in turn was getting calls from Prince Olivert and the Imperial Army.

"Oh, Vita. What have you done?" Feeling overwhelmed, Emma fell to her knees and Gaius and Alisa quickly went to her side to support her.

"Emma, what's going on?" Asked Rean, his eyes wide and still frozen in the direction of Heimdallr. Laura stood next to him and instinctually, both had reached for each other's hands at that moment.

"That was…" Emma took a deep breath as her friends helped her get up. "That was Lucifen Lied, one of our most powerful spells. It can drag a Reverie Corridor from the extraplanar space it habitually resides on to our world."

"And let me guess, it's forbidden," Sara said sarcastically.

"It's beyond forbidden!" Celine added in outrage. "One misstep in its casting could cause permanent damage to the fabric of our reality. It's not supposed to be here, its very presence will start to cause anomalies everywhere around it. You thought the cryptids were bad? This will be worse."

Suddenly, as they were processing all that was happening, a window burst into pieces as Altina's combat shell smashed its fist through it.

"It seems the next stage of my mission draws near but before I go…" The emotionless girl turned to Rean and Elise, though only the latter looked at her while the swordsman continued looking intensely at the castle. "Rean and Elise Schwarzer, I thank you for your words and promise I will think on what you've told me."

"I hope we get to see each other again, Altina," Elise responded with a kind smile and the silver haired girl nodded back, before jumping on top of Claiomh Solais and flying away. Nobody bothered stopping her since they had more important worries at the moment.

"Didn't your grandmother say the Vermillion Knight was locked in there?" Elliot asked and Emma nodded.

So it seemed that Vita and Ouroboros really were after the Vermillion Apocalypse and likely planning to awaken it and they were going to use Prince Cedric to do it.

"And Crow is there too. Waiting."

Rean's eyes locked at the highest spire of the castle in the distance. That was it, what their entire journey that had started that day in the outskirts of Trista had been leading to. The war, the Rivalries and the Divine Knights. It all had come to a head as the skies parted and revealed their final destination.

"I can sense the Vermillion and Azure Knights up there like this is some sort of grand stage for the final spectacle of a play. Beyond the war, beyond the conflicts between the Noble Alliance and the Reformists, this is what this whole thing has been leading up to. Fate itself, as Celine once said to me.

"So it's time to end this, once and for all… Time for me to end it. There was never really no other way this could go, as Awakeners this fight is between me and Crow, Valimar and Ordine, and us alone. I'm sorry guys but I'm not going back to the Courageous with you."

There was a moment of silence as the members of Class VII looked at Rean with disbelief, shocked that he would say he'd go to the castle to fight Crow by himself, but before anyone could voice their disagreement his expression softened and he turned to them with a reassuring grin on his face.

"That's what I would say, if I hadn't learned anything after all this time. Here's what we're going to do…"


Author's notes: As I was writing this I realized it was another bait and switch where Class VII doesn't fight at the end of the "level" but pitting them against Altina is just so beyond ridiculous unless you give her like 50 archaisms but it's still pointless because at the end of the day, there's no reason for her to stop the Imperial family's rescue.

As you've noticed it, I've made some changes to the lore of the Infernal Castle and the spell Vita uses to summon it for the sake of a little more consistency between its connection between it and Testarossa since the games never expand on the Infernal Castle's role in regards to the Rivalries and the rest of the Divine Knights and it's never relevant again.