Storyteller Of Zero

by Kremant

For the Isekai lovers who love seeing someone else being summoned than the other guy! Louise will perform the ritual to summon her Familiar. Only this time, the one she will summon will be someone who will cause quite the shock and surprise all around him. And the only thing he brings along... Is a Tome? Just what kind of stories are about to be unleashed upon Halkeginia?

13. SOZ-Ep 12-A Storyteller's Presentation

"Now... Tell me whatever that comes to the mind." Aristidis says while looking around him, before the scene as soon zooms out enough to show him seated at his personal open carriage along with Louise, Charlotte, Kirche, and Professor Colbert, with Alfred Pennyworth in control of the two black horses' reins, and the Tome upon his thighs and with a hand on it ready, as the said carriage moves forward upon the dirt road on the way to the aircraft's location.

Louise sits to Aristidis's left, Kirche at his right, Charlotte next to the latter, and Colbert across them.

As the girls begin contemplating about in response to what Aristidis told them, Colbert sweat drops confused. "Umm, what-"

"It's a special little game of ours." The pitch-black Storyteller interrupts. "You see, some time ago, I told them that there is nothing bizarre they can think of, that is not already existing within my Tome, and Louise was just not believing it, so I challenged her to do as much, resulting in me proving her wrong." Says as he eyes her cheekily, with the pink-haired girl blushing a bit from embarrassment at that as she keeps on thinking about.

He turns back at the bald man and continues. "And then I thought that it can be a nice game for us to pass the time at times. You can join in as well, but I suggest you to think real well about whatever. Just remember. One chance each person." Say the last part while lifting a finger.

"How interesting." The Professor says with some excitement, before proceeding to think carefully about his own choice.

Aristidis feels quite joyous with him agreeing on partaking in the game, and then turns to the rest and claps his hands three times. "Alright, girls, any minute now, let us hear your thoughts."

First to speak is Louise, who still appears to be thinking about it for a moment longer. "A talking... Rock."

That causes the Storyteller to put a hand on his chin with interest. "Hm. Interesting choice. I will go in this with Roxy from Regular Show."

After saying that, he opens the Tome to show upon the page a miniature, white truck, with big pink lettering upon the top side of it writing: ROXY'S FAMOUS FRIES, and from within the large opening at the said side everyone looks at, a grayish/brown, floating rock with eyes and eyelashes, who wears a pink bow at the top, is seen using a deep fryer, through telekinetic means.

Roxy notices that moment the five to her giants watching her, as the girls and the Professor, with the latter moving that moment next to them to look as well, are all surprised with the literal living rock before their eyes, and stops what she was doing while approaching the counter and showing a happy expression toward Aristidis. "Oh. Hey there, Storyteller fella. Here for the usual butt-salted fries?"

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" The pink-haired girl yells incredible bewildered by the absurdity she just heard.

Aristidis moves his head close to her. "Despite how it sounds, the said salt is actually one of the best ingredients you can put onto anything meant to be salty."

He then straightens himself upon his seat normally as he turns with a kind face toward the floating rock inside the truck, and lifts a finger. "I will have one small package of your exceptional fries, friend."

"Coming right up!" Roxy says as the scene shows her going back, doing a few checking motions with the deep fryer, uses a metal file to shred some salt from her rocky bottom surface upon the readied fries within their small box, with Aristidis being rather casual about it, unlike everyone else who is unsure how to feel with this butt-salt thing, and puts them in upon the counter. "Here you go."

The mouthless Storyteller moves happily his hand close to the miniature, and once at a certain range, part of the arm seemingly vanishes just as soon, while also showing the other half disembodied, shrinked, and floating now right in front of the truck's counter, moving normally close to the small amount of fries, before grabbing the package, and him pulling it back as the arm now fully reappears back where it belonged, along with a normal-sized package of fries at hand, much to the girls' and the Professor's amazement. "Much obliged as always. See you again at another time!"

"Enjoy!" The floating rock says with a happy expression of her own, right before Aristidis closes the Tome.

He then looks with a bit of enthusiasm at the rest. "Come on, try one. Quality guarantee!"

While all the others proceed to be sceptical about it, Charlotte almost immediately snatches one of the fries from the box, drawing their surprised attention, and takes a small bite.

After a moment of chewing it, she looks at the rest while lifting a hand as she forms the ok gesture with her fingers, reassuring them it is indeed of quality.

Seeing that, Kirche intrigued takes one from the box herself to chew, and her face turns both pleased and a bit amazed. "Oh, this is very good indeed!"

Louise takes one to eat as well and sweat drops in some disbelief, with Colbert taking one too, only to share the said disbelief. "And that by a floating, talking rock, who uses salt coming from its backside..."

The pitch-black Storyteller shrugs. "What can I say, the great unknown beyond the sky can be rather odd at times." Says the last bit as he takes one of the fries with two of his fingers, before it is engulfed in fire for two seconds, burning it as a result, and then puts it through his mouthless area to eat it, causing everyone to look at him, befuddled as to who in their right mind would even eat it burned like that.

He gulps what he ate, and hands the rest of the fries to the pink-haired girl's hands, with her proceeding to eat each bit by bit, and looks at the other three overly confident. "Come on, the next one! The game continues, and I want to see if you can do better."

Everyone else proceeds to think about, and then an idea seems to come into Charlotte's mind as she looks at the Storyteller for a moment longer, before deciding to voice her thought. "Snack which you have not introduced us to yet."

"Ho-ho~! Nice try." Aristidis says as he cheekily lifts a green bag of Lays Potato Chips with oregano, making obvious that he liked where she was going with that, despite her obvious defeat.

He then brings it in front of her, opens it from the top simply with both hands as he hands it to her, revealing the chips inside that reach till the said top, and her eyes as soon somewhat sparkle with interest at the newest taste she is receiving, which she immediately begins eating, and enjoying, not minding the fact she just lost, mostly because she didn't really mind whether she was going to win in this or not.

The mouthless Storyteller looks at Kirche. "What about you? Got any idea what I don't have to show?"

The redhead thinks for a bit more, and then her expression turns mischievous as she looks at him with a soft blush in her face. "You, but with great muscles."

"Already it, sly you." He tells her with a wink as the scene shows him now with great muscles and a more relaxed pose upon the seat, his body having changed while off screen.

She instantly latches onto him greatly pleased the moment he said that, while he passes an arm around her shoulders. "Well, I'm beat!"

Louise gives her a slightly annoyed look, as Colbert simply sweat drops while looking at the hugging duo. "I can't believe you wasted your only try for an excuse to snuggle with him. I mean, you know you could do as much anyway without having to waste it, right?" Says the last part with a raised eyebrow.

Kirche turns her head to her friend, giving her a smile. "Oh come on now, Louise, you know there is literally nothing imaginable our love Aristidis doesn't have already. Might as well enjoy it the way I want while at it."

After that, the redhead proceeds to give a kiss to most parts of his body, with the pink-haired girl feeling frustrated, not because she is jealous at her for having a moment with Aristidis, much, not because she is most likely right, but because she is being much more lazy about it than she should be.

Wouldn't hurt her to at least try and think of something in an attempt to win!

"I know!" Colbert suddenly speaks up, drawing everyone's attention, smiling with enthusiasm as an idea has apparently come to his mind as he turns with confidence to Aristidis. "Twenty different types of safe fuel for the different important-to-the-society machinery."

The pitch-black Storyteller just looks at him for a moment longer, his face showing a bored expression, which kind of troubles Colbert. "Ok, I know what my precious Kirche did there, but you are not getting off the hook the same way. Because you are obviously doing it on purpose, I will leave you with the annoying feeling of the unanswered question as penalty."

"I... Suppose I deserve that." The Professor ends up saying while lowering his head in defeat.

Can't really protest about it, since he tried to be all sneaky with this.

Something then appears to have settled in Louise's mind, causing her quite the bother, and then turns to the Storyteller. "I just thought of something." Tells him, with him deflating like a balloon, doing the same sound while at it, instantly his full of muscles body in response as he looks at her, bringing his body back to his normal thinness.

She continues. "That aircraft we are to find is a heirloom to Siesta's family. Will they be alright with the Professor taking their precious heirloom like that?"

Colbert flinches with surprise at that fact, making obvious he didn't consider it at all.

Aristidis on the other hand was unconcerned. "It is fine. I will simply give it a good, proper look, and summon an exact copy of it once we are back in the academy. So, no real need to take that one, and no harm to be caused."

That reassures the Professor, along with the rest, but that leaves a question. "Pardon me, but why didn't you say you will do that from the beginning?"

The mouthless Storyteller puts both hands behind his head as he leans back onto his seat, while Kirche unhands him. "I wanted to surprise you with my totally unexpected and misleading action. But someone simply had to ask about it." Says the last part while looking at the pink-haired girl.

She leans a bit back on her seat while sweat dropping. "H-How could I know?!"

He raises a finger and wags it unbothered. "I don't blame you for it, simply pointing it out, my dear strawberry pie. There are plenty of opportunities to amaze whoever at any time, after all."

Louise highly embarrassed moves close and puts both her hands upon his mouthless area, as if trying to cover his non-existent mouth. "D-Don't use embarrassing names in front of the Professor!"

"You realize you can't really shush me with that, do you?" Aristidis asks her with a raised eyebrow, before immediately grabbing his Tome with some enthusiasm. "Also, you want to hear embarrassing names?"

He opens it without waiting for anyone's answer, as Louise unhands his mouthless area a bit confused, and shows upon a page a very specific character from Captain Underpants. "See this one? His full name is, technically was, Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire."

Everyone's eyes widen at that, unable to comprehend that such name exists.

Then a few seconds after, Kirche begins laughing out loud, Louise tries her best not to, only to fail miserably as she ends up joining her redhead friend, too amused to hold themselves back, with Charlotte and Colbert still trying to understand why someone has an outrageously silly name like that to begin with.

"Wh-ha-Wh-ha- Why? Ha-How?!" The pink-haired girl questions between her laugher as she really slowly comes to a stop along with Kirche.

"Makes you wonder what his parents were thinking when picking that up." The pitch-black Storyteller tells them, and then turns the next page with glee. "And wait till you hear the next ones!"

"B-Before that-" The sweat dropping Professor stops him, drawing attention on himself. "How long it's going to take us exactly till we reach the location?"

Aristidis looks ahead. "Well, unless I am mistaken, and trust me I am never, we will be there in-"

~Said Time Later~

After traveling for long enough, the group is seen, without Alfred and the carriage, in front of the location they are to search.

A relatively medium-sized mountain.

"Here we are, everyone." The pitch-black Storyteller says as he folds his arms. "The location."

Colbert was enthusiastic and barely holding his composure. "This is so exciting! I can hardly believe I'm finally going to witness one of the legends that used to soar the great sky above."

"Then better begin becoming the kind that doesn't worship, because you will see it with your very own two eyes soon enough." Aristidis tells him while keeping the eyes at the mountain's side.

Louise puts both hands on her hips while appearing confident about. "Alright, time to find that aircraft."

Everyone stays paused for a moment after that, and then all turn their heads at Aristidis, who does nothing but looking forward.

The pink-haired girl sweat drops, along the rest obviously, being confused with him. "Um, so like, isn't this the part where you usually offer an idea or way to pretty much-"

Before she can complete, she and the rest suddenly notice, much to their startled surprise, coming fast out of nowhere a shiny, cyan-colored orb with seemingly four, transparent bug-like wings coming out of it and flapping about, flying in a circle around them, till she stops next to the Storyteller. [Navi from Legend Of Zelda Series, here to help with what she does best.]

"Hey, listen!" The fairy-looking sphere of light begins.

"Listening." The Storyteller replies simply, still without taking his eyes off the mountain's side.

Navi continues. "There is a cave upon the mountain that leads straight to a forest's clearing, where a single building is. Take the path to your right obvious along the mountain wall, and you will reach it in a matter of minutes."

"Anything looking or feeling like a possible threat that you noticed while scouting the area?" He asks.

"No, the entire area is as calm as it can be." The fairy-looking sphere of light answers.

Aristidis turns his head pleased to her. "Good. Your help much appreciated as always, friend."

"Just doing my job." Navi replies happily. "I'll be seeing you!"

After saying that, the said fairy flies away through the woods, and out of view.

Louise folds her arms as she smiles at her Familiar. "And here I was wondering."

For a moment there she really thought he would use no special, convenient means for their current mission.

Kirche turns with an enthusiastic smile to Charlotte. "Is our darling great or what? He handles every bothersome situation with such an unexpecting ease, that it's amazing!"

The blue-haired girl simply nods in response. "Agree."

Colbert that moment approaches Aristidis a bit surprised. "You sent someone to search the area as we were approaching?"

The pitch-black Storyteller puts both hands upon his hips and raises his head upward with pride. "Yes. Specifically I did so when you were busy handing your gasoline to my team, and just before I began telling the rest about a specific subject. I simply summoned Navi here by using a map of the area around Tarbes, and till we reach the place, the aircraft's location was already discovered for our convenience."

The professor's eyes widen in complete surprise now. "You can summon that far-"

"I can, yes." Aristidis interrupts, and then turns at him, showing him a neutral expression while lifting a finger. "As long as I have magic to spare, that is. The farther the targeted area in the map, the more the magical amount needed for that summon. But no worries! I still have more than enough to feel confident about in case of emergency. Your one and only precious Storyteller has everything under utter control as always, and without a doupt. Not that there was any to begin with." Says the last parts with a hand upon his chest and a heavily proud face as he turns to the rest.

Everyone is kind of amazed with the fact he can summon whatever at great distances as well, and by using a map too, but still can't help but sweat drops at his usual show of overwhelming arrogance.

There is something Louise doesn't understand, though. "Wait. You said you can see through the eyes of the ones you summon. If you can do that, then why bother coming all the way here at all?"

"For the enthusiastic walk through the woods, of course!" He answers happily, while appearing to wear a sand-colored jungle-hat upon his head now, before turning around with a flip of his luxurious, stary cape as he begins to move forward while looking cheekily with the corner of his eye back at them all. "I mean come on, you all know how much I love those, don't you now?"

The pink-haired girl sighs as she smiles before deciding to follow. "Of course."

The rest follow as well, with Kirche giggling at the interaction, and with Charlotte simply smiling for it.

They followed the path leading upward at the mountain, and found the cave, with the Storyteller changing his hat with a miner's helmet that had a light at its middle which emits a strong beam of light forward, making seeing through the darkness of the cave more than a simple task, and grabbing mostly the Professor's interest due to its effectiveness.

While all of them were walking within, and right behind Aristidis, Kirche for a moment appears to contemplate about something. "First the Stuff Of Destruction, now this aircraft-thing we are to see... You believe someone did an experiment with summoning magic, much like with my old heirloom, and called it along with the man who was riding it at the time?" Asks Aristidis with interest and a smile.

"That is the more likely case." He replies, before he puts a hand on his chin as he begins his own contemplation. "Or it could be the cause of a completely different, and even unrelated force. You can never really exclude the unknown factor in any peculiar situation. I have a few theories in mind, but I can't voice them due to lack of proper, basic information."

That puts Colbert in deep thought as well. "A different manner of summoning. What an interesting thought."

The mouthless Storyteller's face that moment slides sidewardly at the back of his head, startling everyone, and looks at Colbert as they keep on walking. "By the way, have you finally figured out Louise's element, Professor Jean Colbert?"

As everyone else looks back and forth at each other confused, the Professor remains paused for a few seconds, right before he remembers what he is talking about, and smiles. "I actually did. Just this morning to be more precise. Among the five elements, only the Void could really be the one powerful enough to bring a being like you here."

He then sweat drops. "I still can't believe how it took me that long to realize. It makes so much more sense now why she was never doing a spell properly before. She was working on the wrong elements!"

As everyone looks stunned at the bald man, Aristidis raises his hands and claps them in a close and fast manner. "About time, but good job."

Louise looks really confused at her Familiar. "I-Isn't it a problem that more know about this now?"

Aristidis rolls his eyes. "Louise, if you consider that the people of Reconquista already know, there is literally no point hiding it anymore. Might as well tell the princess the first chance we get at this point. Not that we need extra protection or anything. We will do that simply to let her understand the entirety of the situation. She deserves as much, no?"

After saying that, his face slides back at its original position at the front, while the pink-haired girl begins thinking about it, and then smiles.

The secret might not be a secret anymore, but at least her childhood friend will get to know about it finally, which is a burden off Louise's shoulders.

As they keep on walking, they see a light at the end of the cave, and when reaching it, they see before them the clearing they were promised, with trees surrounding the said clearing from farther away.

What got more their attention though, was the big hangar not far from there, with its gate closed shut.

The pitch-black Storyteller was a little surprised. "Huh. They actually went in the trouble to build a hangar for the said aircraft. Neat."

After commenting about it, they begin approaching the hangar's gate, but then something draws Charlotte's attention to the side. "Hm?"

Aristidis stops, along with the rest, and looks to where she is looking at, noticing not far from the hangar a big stone plaque stuck to the ground, most of it covered in green moss, with a carved writing of some kind being obvious upon the uncovered parts.

"Ho~?" He utters curiously with much of interest, before walking fast toward it, followed by the blue-haired girl, and afterward by the rest, who were confused, yet as curious since it was important enough to draw Aristidis's attention.

When in front of it, the Storyteller snaps his fingers as Charlotte reaches his side, and fast from behind the plague comes out a short, smiling, girlish creature, startling the rest to a stop as they were approaching themselves, with Charlotte taken a bit aback herself for a moment for the same reason, which begins immediately with fast movements to expertly remove the moss off the stone, and even give it a good wiping with a cloth to make it shine from cleaningness.

The said creature has white skin, small, pointed limbs with her arms being black and her legs colored dark red, one large, singular eye that has a hot pink and yellow sclera with a light yellow iris, and a black pupil, short pink hair with a yellow highlight, sharp, light-yellow teeth, and small pink dots at each corners of her mouth, evocative of dimples, who is wearing a red maid dress that has a white apron over it with three dripping splotches, and a dark red neckerchief around her neck. [Niffty from Hazbin Hotel, on urgent cleaning duty.]

Once finished, Niffty moves in front of Aristidis, who raises a thumb up for good-job-well-done with appreciation, with her grinning happily in response, before something catches her curious attention as she leans her head to the side past him, with the one drawing her said attention being Colbert, who wonders why she is looking at him all of a sudden.

The demon girl's eyes turn to beating hearts for a moment as she grins about, and proceeds to run straight at him, which alarmed the rest, only to be stopped by the Storyteller who grabs her by the back of her uniform as soon as she moves past him, much to her confusion, and moves her back in front of him, but keeping her off the ground, while showing her a serious expression.

He then wags a reprimanding finger in front of her, which makes her chuckle as she rubs her hands together out of awkwardness while grinning at her storytelling boss, before letting her free to hop away till ouy of sight through the woods.

The rest decide to not question this for now as they move next to the two, due to wanting to focus at the, currently, more important matter at hand.

Upon the now clean stone plaque, they see a type of language they don't recognize.

Well, all but one that is.

"Sasaki Takeo... Pfft, of course the whole situation is of Japanese origin." Aristidis says to himself as he moves his sight toward the sky from mild amusement.

The Professor, and the rest, looks surprised at him. "You can read it?"

The pitch-black Storyteller turns to them. "Yes I can, and apparently this is not just a plaque, but a tombstone. Specifically of the very person the aircraft we are looking for once belonged to."

"Siesta's great-grandfather?" Louise questions, not really expecting the place of burial to be here as well.

He nods and then turns to face the tombstone again. "And straight from the Earth's Second World War at that. Late enough too." Says the last part with a hand upon his chin.

Everyone looked at one another, having no idea what he is talking about, which is not the first time.

Colbert decides to raise a hand and ask the Storyteller. "Um, for starters, Japanese, Earth, Second World War. Can you please explain?"

Aristidis turns toward the group with a palm raised. "It will take time to explain the details. For now know that the said world he came from has many different stories within my Tome, and that I will happily tell you about them once we are officially done here."

"How fascinating..." The Professor trails off, excited with the thought of not only knowing that a world from one of the Storyteller's stories is somehow connected with theirs from who knows how long ago, but for also learning about its many unique histories, with the rest feeling the same way but at a lesser extent.

After that was over with, they walk right in front of the hangar's gate, and notice it is locked with a big, old lock that holds the handles properly together to keep it from sliding opening even by a tiny bit, with a simple-looking keyhole at its middle.

Colbert looks closely at it with a hand on his chin as he thinks about it for a moment. "If it's a key of this nature, it looks like it can be unlocked with ma-"

While in the middle of that, the dark/green goblin in black leather that is Styx, from Styx: Master Of Shadows and Of Orcs And Men, swiftly walks past the group, lockpicks the door open in two seconds, with everyone but Aristidis realizing his presence as soon, before walking again past them and away soon after to where he came from.

"-o-or you can do that, I suppose." The sweat dropping Professor ends up finishing upon seeing he was not needed for this in the end.

The pitch-black Storyteller puts a hand at the side of his mouthless area while facing the leaving Styx. "Thanks, friend! You are the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, just keep on bringing my usual payment at the end of this like always, alright?" The somewhat grumpy goblin tells him as he leaves, till out of sight through the woods, like the last one.

Louise with a sweat drop turns at her Familiar. "I probably said that once already, but you bringing whoever out of the Tome when you need to for whatever reason, is SO overly convenient."

Aristidis looks at her. "Oh, I actually had Styx follow us from the moment we left. He along with Hulk, and some others that I will not name, are simply conveniently hidden behind the many trees around the clearing." Says as he makes a slow spin with both hands extended upward to indicate the said woods around, which makes the rest to look all around them for even the slightest trace of his Tome Subjects, only to be unable to because of the cover the trees offer them.

"You know, for when their services are needed." He tells the group after turning to face them properly, and then with a proud expression lifts an upside down hand upward. "Every existing and possible assistance is always a must, when we want to keep our magic for an actually important task."

Charlotte raises an eyebrow. "Why simply not with us?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't that make it more simple for them to help and guard us, darling?" Kirche asks him confused, unsure about his decision to keep them out of sight.

"Normally that would be the case, my gorgeous love, and endearing cuteness." The pitch-black Storyteller says as he brings an arm around the redheads shoulders and caressing with a finger her cheek, much to her blushing joy, before soon after spinning gracefully off her to crouch down enough to pinch with both hands the blue-haired girl's cheeks, which makes her blush and pout at being treated like a child by him again, despite still liking the attention, while addressing them in that order, and then unhands her while straightening himself up with a slightly amused face. "But you see, I like bringing them out as a surprise. I personally find it greatly entertaining when I look at the surprised expressions of both friends and foes who get to suddenly meet them in any and all situations."

Everyone sweat drops at his relatively odd sense of humor, but the more knowledgeable members can't deny the effectiveness that is the element of surprise.

Other than that, the pink-haired girl was feeling jealous, due to him giving that kind of attention to the two, but not her yet!

Aristidis turns toward the hangar's gate. "Alright, let us proceed inside, shall we?"

He prepares that moment to lift a hand and snap his fingers, ready to supposedly call someone to most likely open the gate for them, but is immediately stopped by Louise who puts a hand against his to keep it there, as he curiously turns his head to look at her. "How about letting Me do it for once? You will have many chances to show off everything you have and can do in the next days anyway, if not hours." She tells him at the end with a roll of her eyes as she pushes him lightly with a hand aside to stand in the middle.

As much as she likes having others do stuff for her, she wants to do something herself once in a while.

Plus, she really wants to try out a spell she recently learned.

The Storyteller happily lets her do as she wants, and the pink-haired attempts to pick the wand from her side, only to stop as she remembers something, and instead moves her hand away, letting the said wand remain where it is.

She then moves both hands in front of her, and after a few seconds of focus, brings each outward to the side at different direction, with the seemingly heavy gate being forced open wide instantly the very moment she did so, as if an invisible force did it for her.

Louise smiles as she looks back at the group, and how all of them are clapping their hands for her out of amazement, which makes her feel even more proud and happy with herself.

Immediately after, Aristidis closes in fast and wraps his arms around her waist while lifting her off the ground, and proceeds to happily and lovingly rub his cheek against hers, much to her blushing surprise. "My small, charming lady is like always as amazing as she is cuteness incarnate!"

"H-Hey, what did I say about not doing such things in front of people like the Professor?" The pink-haired girl rhetorically questions highly embarrassed, with the bald Professor simply smiling and sweat dropping awkwardly at the scene before him.

"What is the point of me loving you, if I cannot express the moment I feel the need to?" The Storyteller asks as he continues what he is doing.

As Kirche and Charlotte smile at each other, for how heartwarming they have found his words and action, Louise can't help but be moved emotionally by him, before looking the other way with a small and awkward smile. "Geez, you're so incorrigible."

"Yes I am, Louise. Yes, I, am." He responds completely unashamed.

"Umm..." Colbert trails off as he notices something unexpected within the now open hangar. "Everyone?"

Aristidis stops with the cheek rubbing, without letting her off his hug, as he and the rest look inside as well, seeing that unexpected something as well, with the scene not showing what is it yet, which catches their surprised attention, with the former having a milder version of the said feeling.

He lets her down normally on her feet, and everyone enter as they approach what they keep their eyes on.

And when they reach close enough, the scene shows a small, and very well known to fans, aircraft, as big as a normal-sized human head, upon a small, round and bronze altar.

The pitch-black Storyteller picks it up while raising an eyebrow as he examines it. "Well, this is smaller than expected. Also of course it is a Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter, not really surprised knowing its popularity of the time."

After that, a bright light is suddenly being emitted by the the object, startling most of the group, before it turns into a ball of light, and flies with great speed straight at the Storyteller's Tome below his arm, entering within, with the Tome itself soon after blinking once with the same type of light.

"A~nd that's one of my theories being revealed as valid." Aristidis says with two nods of the head at the end, having kind of expected this to happen.

Everyone else realized what that means and smile with enthusiasm in response, with Charlotte simply being wide eyed.

Everyone except the Professor, who was really confused, since he had no idea about the whole situation. "Wh-What was-"

"That, dear Professor..." Aristidis interrupts as he turns to him with some glee. "Was me taking back another part of my missing magic. And quite the big one at that, let me tell you."

"Eh?" Colbert utters, even more confused than before.

"Right, you don't know the details." The Storyteller says as he rubs his chin with a hand, remembering how Colbert was told nothing about it, and then shrugs. "Might as well tell you. The entire Reconquista should know by now, so the least I can do is explain so you can too understand the situation I am in like a proper friend."

He lifts a hand and points upward while turning toward the bronze altar. "After you answer me this. Tell me, when those two dragon-supposed aircrafts it is said were sighted exactly?"

"W-Well... At the day of the Solar Eclipse according-" The Professor begins, as he still tries to grasp what is it about the previous thing he doesn't know about, but then is struck with realization upon thinking better the question he was asked, along with the story of the two aircrafts. "You think it has to do-"

"Precisely, my good Professor!" Aristidis interrupts while turning to point at him with a finger, liking the fact that he understands what he too understood. "It can both be the reason they are here, while also the reason the other one vanished from sight soon after. There is just no way for this to simply be a coincidence."

As the Professor smiles from the new discovery that was realized, the girls are unsure as to what the two talk about, with Charlotte appearing deep in thought as she connects the dots together.

The pitch-black Storyteller begins walking slowly around the bronze altar. "During that eclipse, the magical portal opened for them while flying, and as the story is known, one left, and the other didn't, and that is because the said portal closed, most likely when the said eclipse was already at its end, and the man was forced to stay, made a family in this world, and that choice having as a result Siesta's eventual existence, along with the rest of the family of course, with the fact also making her part Japanese, which is quite the interesting concept thinking about it."

The girls finally understand what was all that about, and couldn't help but feel amazed with it as well.

"Exciting it is learning about unexpected historical facts, isn't it?!" Aristidis rhetorically questions with enthusiasm everyone, and then turns with a hand extended toward the altar, while with the other holds his now open Tome to look at, his expression neutral, while also taking a few steps back as he signs at the rest to back off as well, which they do so. "Now, let me just put a harmless replica of the aircraft as replacement..."

A moment after saying that, a dust from the place around surrounds the altar like a violent, mini-tornado, much to everyone's interest at what he is doing, before dissipating almost as soon back to where it was picked from, to reveal in the place of the altar a normal-sized copy of the Zero aircraft.

"Don't want her family to think someone stole it, or anyone suddenly deciding to use it and hurt themselves and others." The pitch-black Storyteller tells while looking at the rest, who are still amazed with the appearance of the aircraft, and then turns fully to them, his expression kind. "And now let us move back to the academy to leave the Professor there along with the aircraft that was promised, and then head straight for Tristania."

Before anyone says anything, he looks with a serious face at Colbert while pointing his finger at him. "You are expected to use it responsibly, and not for reverse engineering purposes. Or on drugs."

"Reverse engineering?" The Professor repeats confused the foreign to him words, only to show a more confused face at the seemingly nonsensical absurdity the Storyteller said at the end. "Also, how would I even use it for such thing?!"

"The black market and trade in general is a thing, last time I checked." Aristidis replies sarcastically, which makes the Professor see actual sense to it. Not that he was planning to do as much, of course.

Louise, and the rest, is still confused about the out-of-nowhere schedule. "Why go to the capital afterward all of a sudden?"

His expression turns gleeful as he walks past them and toward the exit. "Let's say that the princess Henrietta will be more than happy to see us the next few hours."

~A Few Hours Later~At The Royal Palace~

At the capital city Tristania, the entire royal palace was in unrest.

And rightfully so.

Word has been spread of how Albion was taken by its rebellious Nobles, who then renamed it to New State Of Reconquista, and then as soon declaring war on Tristain.

But what makes this worse, is the fact Germania called off the wedding scheduled for Princess Henrietta, canceling as a result the alliance the kingdom would get out of it!

It was clear around the War Room that most of the Nobles of the palace believed there is little to no hope for their small kingdom and army to be able to fend this enemy off as things are.

The best choice was considered to be what their new enemy asked them to.

The complete surrender of the kingdom.

But the Princess would have none of it.

Every Noble's pride was on the line, and the peace of the citizens and the kingdom as a whole at risk!

To calm the spirits, she decided to take control of the army herself, which no one objected to.

One suggested though to use the help of that Storyteller and his powerful warriors they witnessed at the academy of magic back then, only to be met with full refusal by her, stating that the Familiar Noble Aristidis made clear himself that he wishes no part in this.

With that, the meeting was eventually concluded, and everyone was dismissed.

The scene cuts to Henrietta, who slowly moves through one of the many hallways of the palace, together with her trustworthy Captain of the Musketeers Agnes by her side, as she escorts them along with a group of her Musketeers, on the way to check on a few more necessary things before she can retreat to her quarters and call it officially a day.

Her head was facing downward, and her expression saddened, with somewhat obvious signs of tiredness around her eyes.

She watched the last night Wales's last moments on that camera-thing again.

His pain, his confession, and his wish.

But even after everything he said, she just can't bring herself to love someone else like that.

He was the world to her.

Henrietta cried herself to sleep every night from the moment she received those, in a literal sense, stored moments of his.

She is still unable to believe that he is gone.

She wishes it was not true.

Once she told her mother and ex-queen about everything that happened due to her bad decisions, instead of punishment, she received comfort.

For she knew the pain her daughter was going through.

No matter how much that was enough to alleviate some of her pain though, she still had a lot to go through.

As if losing the one she loved was not enough as it is, her kingdom now has to face the war alone in this, since Germania called off the marriage because of her letter being made public.

Henrietta lifts her head forward determined, bringing in her mind fully the situation her kingdom is in.

She has to stay strong and forget her own pain for now.

Her kingdom needs her to deal with this new crisis.

She will have time for sorrow later.

"Princess Henrietta!" Someone yells urgently from behind them, and when the Princess and her Musketeers turn around to see, they notice at the distance one of the guards running quickly toward them.

Agnes lifts a palm toward the man, signing him to stop where he was.

The guard stops and kneels there. "Your Highness, I-"

"I said there will be no kneeling in this kingdom, and I ordered so days ago." Henrietta interrupts with a semi-demanding tone, catching the man off guard. "Now stand up, guard."

"You heard her Majesty!" The Musketeer Captain adds in a more demanding tone to make it clear.

The guard gets up instantly and in attention rather troubled. "Y-Yes!"

Agnes continues. "Now what is this about, guard?"

The man begins. "There is a large number of soldiers lead by some Nobles outside of the city who ask for entry."

That immediately causes their surprise and worries.

"What did you say?!" The Captain of the Musketeers exclaims, her mind going straight to the negative scenario.

The Princess was in disbelief. "The Reconquista's army is already here?"

The guard sweat drops as he proceeds to explain with what little he processed when ordered to bring the report after seeing/hearing the said people outside. "Um, they didn't appear to-"

Before he completes, Henrietta and the rest of the Musketeers hear heavy footsteps behind them, and when they turn they see coming from around the close by corner an unknown to them knight, who now stands before their group, with a big poleaxe in one hand, and armor which makes obvious the fact he doesn't belong to their kingdom's army.

The man is large, easily surpassing everyone in front of him, wears full-body plate armor, with mail underneath, and a close helmet with a large, plate-like visor covering his face completely, with said visor having multiple holes that resemble tiny crosses.

There are also emblems embroidered on the front and back, and a medallion hanging from a chain that can be seen on the front.

[Lawbringer from For Honor, here to deliver.]

The Captain and her Musketeers alarmed move quickly to surround the Princess, and ready their muskets and flintlocks to defend her, with the simple guard behind them backing off startled at the knight's unexpected appearance.

They have no idea how the enemy got inside the palace, with their army already outside and waiting to invade the city, but that matters not.

Agnes and the entirety of her Musketeer Corps will not allow harm to come to her Majesty for as long as they stand!

The large knight simply looks at them for a moment, before letting out a deep sigh, as if a certain fact annoys him.

After that, he simply places his poleaxe upon the wall next to him, causing everyone's confusion since they expected immediate hostility, and then carefully reaches with a hand for something behind him, before pulling out what appears to be a slim, rectangle object of black color, with glass-looking surface from one side, which he extends toward the princess, making obvious the intention of him wanting to hand it to her.

Both Henrietta and Agnes look at one another unsure as to what this out of nowhere gesture is supposed to mean, till the Princess realizes something, while also remembering something similar from when she last visited Louise and Aristidis at the academy, signs the Musketeer Captain to be at ease, and steps forward to take the object from the knight's hand.

After she did that, and as she was examining it for a moment carefully to understand it, the device all of a sudden begins vibrating in her hands, which almost made her drop it, with one side of it glowing while also emitting a unique to her, and everyone present of course, music. [The ringtone is Land Of Confusion by the band Disturbed]

Her Musketeers and guard got tense for a moment there, but relax a bit upon seeing nothing actually harmful happened to her Majesty.

At the glowing part she notices a selfie of Aristidis winking straight at her, with his name at the upper part, and toward the bottom there is a green circle with a sign of some kind, which indicates itself unceasingly.

Henrietta looks at the large knight, who just stands there in silence with his arms folded and waiting, and then back at the object, not sure whether she was supposed to touch its indicating sign or not, but eventually decides to do so anyway out of curiosity.

Once she does so, the vibration and music immediately stops, but then some quitened words begin sounding from it, which she can't understand due to the low volume, so she brings it closer to her ear. "H-Hello?"

(=Ah, see now, Louise? I told you she will get it.=) The voice of Aristidis can be heard from the object saying, obviously speaking to the pink-haired girl from wherever he is, before deciding to speak to the one he called. (=Good afternoon to you, your Majesty! Hope I am not interrupting anything important.=)

The Princess was both surprised and amazed with what she can interpret as new product of communication by him. "G-Greetings, Aristidis! I should have known this knight over here was one of yours."

Agnes and her Musketeers, along with the random guard, look at each other with raised eyebrows, confused as to why is the Princess talking to herself all of a sudden, till the former decides to move and bring her ear close to the device she holds, wanting to make sure something.

"So, is this object I was given some sort of magic... Communication-thingy?" Henrietta ends up saying, practically giving the attempt to name it since she knows it will more or else be wrong, with the Musketeer Captain finally understanding how this works as her eyes widen in response.

(=Not exactly, but close enough.=) The Storyteller tells her. (=Also his name/title is Lawbringer, by the way. Although, since he brought you that device, you could say he now also technically is... The Phonebringer!=) Says the last part with great amusement obvious in his voice.

The Lawbringer somehow heard that, and sighs real deep in response to the terrible pun, before grabbing with both hands his poleaxe, and immediately hits his helmet hard with it out of frustration, much to everyone's startled reaction to that.

(=But enough of that.=) Aristidis continues. (=If you look out of the window next to you, you should be able to barely see our silhouettes far at the distance, many meters past the city's wall.=)

The Princess moves close to the said window, and when she looks where she was told, she sees a great number of people past the city's wall indeed.

She can't quite make out the silhouettes, but she can understand they are a lot.

(=Not sure if you can see it, but I am waving a hand at your direction.=) The Storyteller tells her as one of the silhouettes can be barely seen making a movement that can be considered as such, making obvious the fact to her that it's him.

A small chuckle escapes Henrietta as she somewhat covers her mouth, amused with his usual, easygoing behavior, but her expression gets confused as she fails to understand something while looking at the large number of people behind him. "Not that I want to sound impolite, but why are you here, just outside of the city, with what I can understand it is a small army?"

Aristidis begins. (=Well you see, we just finished with our little sightseeing on a mountain, and then I hear from someone how Albion decided to declare war against Tristain, while also that it was renamed to New State Of Reconquista, and then said to myself that is quite the issue, in which everyone else agreed to as well, so we decided to come visit you along with a few of my Oblivion Guards, the Roman Legionaries from that one time, and some others. Speaking of the floating island, the one who named it as such was rather lazy and uncreative if you ask me, but whatever they prefer, who really cares? ANYWAY, we are here to offer our certainly-most-wanted assistance! Great, isn't it?=) Says the last few parts with enthusiasm.

The Princess stays silent for a moment, and then sighs from slight disappointment. "Listen, I am always glad to see you two, along with your willingness to help in whatever way possible, but I thought it was made clear when I told you to not involve yourself in such matters while at your current state, so you can focus on protecting Louise."

(=And I respectfully decided to ignore the first part, and come help you anyway like you deserve by taking a big part of the burden off your shoulders.=) He simply tells her.

She would call him audacious for it, but can't help but smile while feeling somewhat moved by his overly kindhearted attitude.

The pitch-black Storyteller continues. (=You may see this as a one-battle-alliance, because I plan on making it just that. Both to help your kingdom, and to teach the Nobles of Reconquista that you NEVER mess with the Storyteller's exceptional mission completion and get away with it. Also to not mess with my loved ones, but that part is already obvious and expected, no? I know from a fact about the day the enemy plans to attack, so we can plan properly against them, and make them in the end of this look like an utter joke. And after that is over with, I will simply call it a day and go back at the academy along with everyone else to enjoy our days peacefully. Other than that, there are some other things we need to discuss with her Majesty, regarding Louise's element, along with a specific detail about my magic, and not to mention that it is about time for me to finally fulfill that chocolate-production deal I've made with you not long ago as promised. It is going to be SO amazing!=) Says at the end enthusiastically.

Henrietta is for a moment quite bewildered with everything he just told her.

Other than the parts that pique her curiosity, she sees how there stands someone with great power next to her childhood friend, who has come to offer his hand in these trying times, promising both safety and an assurance, even if only for a little while.

Someone who despite his status of the highest importance, she can freely, and without a doubt, call friend.

As she smiles while trying to hold back a tear, she thinks of how she could not ask for anything more.

(=So, will you allow us entry?=) Aristidis asks.

The Princess wipes one of her eyes, and smiles more brightly than ever. "I will gladly accept you all with open arms. My friends."

~Two Days Later~Midday~

At the capital city Tristania of Tristain, things appeared to be brighter than usual.

The areas around a lot more cleaner than they usually were, people on the streets walking about with happy faces, Oblivion Guards and Roman Legionaries along with Tristanian Guards performing their patrols and duties as expected, with some shadowy agents spying on people in secret for potential troublemakers and other enemy spies [Which will be left to your fantasy as to who those agents can be, since the number and exceptionality is so high that I don't want to specify anyone from the different stories in this.], and a large number of both commoners and Nobles, children and adults are seen eating a piece of delicious chocolate bar each, with some others drinking from cups and glasses similar versions, enjoying its sweet and unique flavor, and aroma.

The scene then moves to the royal palace, through the many hallways, and through the obviously more relaxed now Nobles, till it goes through a private room, where around a table are seen seated Princess Henrietta, with Storyteller Aristidis next to her, next to him being Louise, with Charlotte and Kirche right next to her as they all have cups of tea before them, while standing behind and between the former two is Agnes, who along with some other of the Musketeers, who stand around the room, stay on guard to ensure both their protection, and that no one will disturb them.

As they sit there, they are shown with faces filled with sympathy, feeling bad for the person sitting across them, except Aristidis who appears neutral about it, as the old man tells them his story, with the scene not showing just yet who he is.

"After my son's death, that is when I understood what an awful thing war truly was. From that moment, I gave up my attempts to take the city, along with the war itself, not wanting to force the very pain I felt that day onto others again." When he said all that, the scene finally moves to show a somewhat fat old man, with gray hair that reach just below the shoulders in length, thick sideburns which connect with his semi-long beard, a top knot properly tied with a yellowish fabric, and green/yellow traditional clothing. [Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, ATLA for short, here to talk about the past.]

Iroh looks down at his tea and closes his eyes while remembering the saddening past. "I traveled the world, searching for a way to enter the Spirit World, so I can find him. My journey was long, and I learned a lot of things, both for the four nations, and life itself. But once I was finally able to find my way into the Spirit World, no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find my son anywhere. Even after reaching the eventual end of my story, existing now fully into the Spirit World, I was still never able to find him."

Henrietta leans slightly forward. "I am so sorry for your son."

After saying that, with the rest sharing her compassion for the father who lost his son like that, the scene moves enough to reveal sitting next to Iroh a young man with short, black hair, with a similar top knot, thinner sideburns, and a dark-red military-type uniform. [Lu Ten also from ATLA, and Iroh's son]

The old man raises his head and looks at him with a smile full of happiness as he brings an arm above his son's shoulders, with him smiling as well in response. "But thanks to the Storyteller, I was able to reunite with my son, by pulling him from the point of time he was still alive and well. And for that, I couldn't be more thankful." Says the last part while placing his head fondly against his.

All the girls smile at that emotionally moved, more than pleased to see both father and son once more together, even Agnes who is usually more composed.

Aristidis moves his hands in front of him in a dismissive manner for a moment as he appears proud with himself while looking around at everyone, drawing their attention. "Yes, I know, I know, I am the greatest example to ever exist, no need to make it more apparent than it already is. It is highly suggested, though."

Everyone looks at him with a sweat drop and an awkward smile for his usual show of arrogance, except the Captain of the Musketeers who frowns at him annoyed for that reason, Iroh who laughs heartily, and Kirche who immediately proceeds to compliment her lover.

"You're the true pinnacle of the word example itself, our love!" The redhead lovingly yells at him as she moves about upon her seat like the fan-girl she is.

The old man decides to speak his mind as well. "In all honesty, it takes a great and truthfully kind man to do what he did for me, my son, and many others within that Tome of his."

He then turns to the Princess. "One example is him choosing to help your kingdom, when he could just ignore it outright, since he earns nothing out of it that he doesn't already have. You're truly fortunate to have the full support of a benevolent figure like that, your Highness." Says at the end with a kind smile.

Agnes steps forward with quite the serious expression. "Are you suggesting that her Majesty and her kingdom would be incapable of defending themselves on their own if it came down to that?"

"W-Well, I mean..." Iroh trails off, being caught off guard by the woman's sudden accusation.

"I am sure you are more than capable of defending yourselves when push comes to shove." The pitch-black Storyteller decides to say as he calmly lifts his cup close to his mouthless area, drawing attention on him. "But if you paid even the most minimum attention during that one war meeting you most likely attended to after the declaration of war, then you must know how outmatched Tristain on its own is in both power and numerical advantage when compared to the current threat that is the Reconquista. To say you do not need every help possible, is like saying you do not care about your assured survival. You are not that foolish to deny yourself as much, are you now, Captain of the Musketeers?" Says the last part while looking at her grimly serious, and in a sense offended.

The Musketeer Captain is caught off guard by both what he said and by his surprisingly serious expression at the end, much to everyone's else surprise as well, unsure of how to respond to that, due to him being correct about everything.

Henrietta with a serious expression of her own turns to Agnes. "Agnes, this is not how you speak to a respected ally. I command you to stand down and not interrupt us like that again."

Agnes shocked turns to her, and immediately stands in attention and salutes her, understanding very well how out of line she was. "Y-Yes, your Majesty."

Aristidis drinks some of his tea after that, and after Agnes stands back like before as everyone relaxes again, and then shows a delighted face toward the Princess. "And I mean, who am I to just leave a lady in need such as her to face an arising problem she never even deserved by herself?"

The Princess blushes softly as she smiles at his kindness. "And I am grateful for the help you so graciously offered to us when most needed. Even if it is for just one battle, every assistance to turn the tide of war is more than acceptable."

As most of the people drink from some of their tea, Louise in the meantime is eyeing her Noble of a Familiar carefully, wanting to make sure whenever he talks to the Princess if he is seductive toward her or not.

Taking into consideration both his flirtatious nature, and the fact that she is officially free now that prince Wales is dead, it is not hard to imagine Aristidis being absurd enough to think this as his chance and try to make his move.

She respects the guy and all, but she will not allow an insult like that to go unpunished if she believes he does as much when her childhood friend is still mourning for her lost love!

Henrietta lets down her cup and turns with a sweat drop and eyes widen toward the Storyteller. "I should also thank you for everything you did for the city while here. Honestly, I could never expect any of the things you have given us."

A flashback that moment shows from two days ago when the Storyteller entered the city of Tristania, and shook hands with the Princess. "At the very day you arrived, you called your... Um..."

"Tome Cleaning Crew." Aristidis completes her thought as the flashback shows the city roads being cleaned by not only people with brooms and every cleaning product imaginable, but also a few Street Sweeper Vehicles, which the locals were especially surprised of while trying to name the supposed-to-them beasts.

"Those yes, thank you- to clean the city itself and actually make it shine with cleanliness!" Henrietta completes, and then continues to another subject as the flashback cuts to the place far away from the city, where they planted the Cocoa Seeds that one time. "And then when we went to the place of the future Cocoa Trees-"

The scene shows the Storyteller raising his hands dramatically up to the air while facing a spacious and empty place, right before his Alpha rune reveals itself with a strong glow, and then a large and expanding building appearing there out of nowhere, shocking everyone present, even his girls due to never really seeing him summoning an actual building before, even if he once told them he can do as much, which writes right above its entrance Chocolate Factory [Not Willy Wonka's, silly you].

"You summoned an entire building out of thin air!" The princess somewhat exclaims, still shocked from that fact.

"Don't forget about the little tour I gave you all within as the building's personnel were at work, showing you just how complex the chocolate-making art truly is." The Storyteller says while the flashback shows him happily guiding the utterly flabbergasted group through the factory, and showing them the production procedure along with the tons of needed machinery.

"So many machines for one sweet bar!" Louise adds with a yell upon remembering the shocking to her sight.

The next flashback shows a cheeky Aristidis handing chocolate bars and recipes to the different establishment owners in Tristania. "And the people of the necessary establishments were more than happy to adopt the new chocolate product, and everything else that can be made through it. And once we established the appropriate cost, even the average commoner was able to purchase it from then on. A unique taste of joy for all!"

With that, the flashback ends, and the scene cuts to a smiling Kirche who now holds a partially eaten chocolate bar. "Couldn't be more true, darling!" Says before taking another bite.

The pitch-black Storyteller points at her with a finger and winks. "You said it, my chocolate-eating chocolate."

The now overly delighted redhead brings a hand at her cheek while turning to her close friend. "He says I'm as sweet as a chocolate. Isn't he the sweetest?"

Henrietta decides to add one more thing, which makes her appear even more wide eyed than before. "And at the day after that one, which it was just yesterday to make it clear, the one you called was the most shocking and extraordinary of them all!"

A new flashback cuts once more at the place where the numerous, planted Cocoa Seeds are, and shows flying before them and up to the sky, as a pink energy is being emitted by her four limbs to keep her in place up there, a girl in her teens, with long orange hair, a uniform of two shades of pink with a short cape and boots, with the whole getup exposing her thighs and knees, with the said uniform upon the chest area having the symbol for Venus/Woman, with the round portion serving as the nucleus of an atom. [Atom Eve, also known as Samantha Eve Wilkins, from Invincible Series, here to help like the hero she is.]

Atom Eve smiles boldly, and then as she flies over the area, all of the planted Cocoa Beans are enveloped in pink energy at once for a few seconds and grow fast into the trees meant to be, full of such seeds, and shocking everyone witnessing what they could consider as miracle.

After she was done, she flew away, proceeding to do the same with every farm she could find.

"If I didn't witness it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it." The princess says as the flashback ends, and showing her to still be trying to come to terms with the previous fact. "Not even Founder Brimir was said to possess such magic."

The rest around the table nod in agreement, as Aristidis joyfully proceeds to speak his mind. "Quite something, isn't she? Your kingdom would already benefit much from just the chocolate trade, especially if you consider how you are literally the only faction producing it, but now with her appearance, the rest of your crops as well will be produced continuously, earning you EVEN more than you could imagine. And she will ensure your constant production every day, so your kingdom never lacks in food ever again. Now tell me if that is not great."

"Great?!" Henrietta yells his choice of a word at him out of bewilderment, startling everyone else with her unexpected outburst, and then begins counting her fingers. "You have given us protection."

"Just one battle, though." The Storyteller reminds.

"Had your cleaning crew help in making the city and its roads cleaner." She continues.

"Tome Cleaning Crew, but continue." He prompts after correcting her.

The princess keeps on counting fingers. "Summoned for us an entire building which introduces a new product and more, that easily on its own makes the biggest breakthrough in culinary history. And finally, someone who can produce instant and infinite food supplies, not only erasing any future food shortage the kingdom could ever face completely, but also literally turning the kingdom into the best place for trade in the entirety of Halkeginia, which as time goes by, will also turn into the richest! And you did all that as if it was nothing special! Without wanting to offend you, Aristidis, calling it simply great is rather demeaning if you ask me." She finishes with a sweat drop.

Everyone understands her highness's outburst, seeing what an overwhelming advantage he has given them.

Some still try to come to terms with the crazy fact.

Aristidis's expression turns kind. "You say that because you don't know the full extent of my power yet."

That gets everyone's surprising attention on him as he continues now with a gleeful yet sad face while looking at his cup of tea upon the table. "Simply you wait for the moment my magic reaches its originality once more, and I will evolve your civilization in such a way, that you, your Majesty, will look back into the past, how things were just today, and feel sad. Sad for the people who were gone before they were able to be part of the future I promise."

Eyes wide open all around the table, taking in what he just said, and hardly able to image such future.

Henrietta's sight moves downward, having now a clear understanding that no matter what she does, she will never truly be able to repay his generosity toward her and her people.

One question remains in her mind as she looks at him, though. "Why you want to offer my kingdom so much?"

"I could say that it is because Louise is your childhood friend and that I simply want to properly respect that bond of yours, along with the happiness you have given her." The mouthless Storyteller says, and then raises his head to looks at her with a heartwarmingly kind expression. "But really, I do it mostly because you have left that much of an impression to me. You don't witness every day a ruler who is the most beautiful shade of kindheartedness. It is hard not wanting to reward that."

The Princess blushes, utterly stunned and moved by his words.

To be recognized by one who holds so much power, importance, and goodness, means to her a lot.

She is not the only one moved by those words of his, though.

Louise, Kirche, Charlotte, even Agnes, were especially moved, just before the latter shakes the head fast to bring back her previous composure, with Iroh and Lu Ten smiling in great appreciation at the whole scene.

Aristidis sits back in a more relaxing manner upon his seat as he moves with a circling movement of his hand the tea cup, stirring the content within that way. "That goes for every existing faction that shows me they both deserve and want as much, of course. It is always about the wants of the most though, whether there is a need for a major change or not. I will not force a population to follow a way of life they see as unsuitable for them, but I will still not prevent them from having the same benefits the more accepting ones will get out of it, so they do not feel neglected." Says at the end before taking a sip from his tea.

Iroh nods satisfied with his sensible thinking, while most of the group appear confused as to who in their right mind would even hate the idea he is presenting to begin with. "A sound decision to allow the freedom of choice. When the common citizens are allowed to choose for themselves about any changes in their society, not only they see it with a more positive mind, but also earns you their respect for the decision you have taken to ask them about it."

Everyone else nods among themselves while they utter in astonishment as they understand now the importance of that decision of his.

"Truly thoughtful of you, Aristidis, darling!" Kirche tells him pleased with a smile.

Louise appears just as pleased with him. "I should have expected nothing less from you of all people. Leave it to Aristidis to show a greater understanding about anything."

"Keep stroking my ego like that, and I might even melt on the spot." He says with a few chuckles at the end while appearing extremely delighted with being flattered like that, much to almost everyone's awkwardness about his usual show of excessive arrogance, and then with a kind expression turns to look at the princess. "But quite enough of that. Now that the appropriate time has passed, I have the need to ask you, your Majesty. How have things been for your lovely capital after my little help with the uncovering of the indecent fools who were ruining your society?"

Henrietta immediately understands about what he is talking about, and smiles. "After the good work your agents did to find and gather the ones repressing the commoners, things have been better than ever. Speaking of, when I had the Nobles in question before me, I made clear to them how unhappy I was with their actions, and then they almost instantly started begging for mercy, along with another chance to be better. I decided to let the less severe ones to keep their positions, as long as they promised to behave like the Nobles they are supposed to be, and the rest were imprisoned, so there will be no imbalance in the order of things in the city. I don't think anyone will try anything inappropriate again after the experience they went through thanks to your people."

"Kind, but not any less of a proper thinker." The pitch-black Storyteller tells her both impressed and satisfied. "Well thought and done, princess Hen-"

He suddenly stops as something catches his attention, and then puts a two fingers at the side of his head, making everyone but Agnes, who raises a confused eyebrow at the gesture, to understand that someone is talking to him telepathically.

Aristidis nods with a serious expression, before lowering his hand and standing up while opening his Tome to look at. "It appears that your enemy is making preparations to mobilize earlier than expected. Planning on taking for now the village of Tarbes mostly for its supplies, and pretty much provoke you into bringing your own army, which they expect the next day."

That immediately alarms the people in the room, with ones sitting getting up in response.

He continues as he turns to Henrietta, his sight still upon the open Tome in his hands. "Move your standby troops like we discussed the last few days, and you should be able to reach Tarbes right at the moment their flagship and flying units are obvious far at the horizon. Suggesting on making haste."

"Right, let's move, Agnes. Inform everyone. We mustn't let Reconquista take that village." The Princess commands the Captain and her Musketeers as she turns and walks with determination toward the door.

Agnes, and the rest of her team, salutes in response with a "Yes, your Majesty!" before moving after her while the former assigns some of the Musketeers to fulfill the command immediately.

After they exit from the room, Lu Ten turns to his father. "Father, let's help them too."

Iroh did not quite approve of that choice. "No, son! This is their war, not ours. We are not supposed to involve ourselves with another nation's fights."

The old man then with a softer expression looks at the Storyteller. "Unless the Storyteller wants us to, of course. Although, I would prefer it better if you could resolve this without bloodshed. You have the power to do as much, after all. Don't you?"

"Iroh, I understand and respect your dislike toward anything war-related." The pitch-black Storyteller tells him, his eyes still focused upon the Tome's page, and the next one once he flips the current one. "But when a transgression happens, I cannot let the one at fault to simply walk away without a lesson to be taught. And if that has as a result for many people to lose their lives, then they shouldn't have sided with the one leading them in this war to begin with. Not to mention they think of me as weak after that little revelation happened."

He lifts his eyes and looks at them with a glee so sinister that sends chills to everyone who has their eyes on him. "And I am going to teach them proper, about what a grave mistake that thought of theirs is, just to see whether they get any funny ideas after that in the near future or not."

Right after that, a smoke cloud explodes and envelopes the Storyteller, much to everyone's startled surprise, before it dissipates almost instantly to show he is nowhere to be found, but with his disembodied voice still present. "Iroh, you and your son will stay as extra defence for the palace and its people. Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, you three will go along with the Princess, make sure she is well protected. As for me, I will move on my own to where I need to be, and get ready for my little presentation. See you all there!"

Upon saying finishing, a mischievous chuckle echoes around the room for a few seconds, unsettling the group for a moment.

Iroh takes out a handkerchief of his, and wipes some of the sweat from his forehead. "Sheesh. I like the guy, but there are times he can be so unnecessarily extreme."

Louise looks down concerned. "I knew he was excessive about, well, everything, but to see him taking such a joy in the thought of inflicting pain to others is..."

"Oh no, that is not actually the reason for his... Enthusiasm." He ends up saying while drawing everyone's attention on him. "The Storyteller has told me before that spending time with his favorite people is the one thing he loves the most. But he also admitted there is one more thing that excites him almost as much."

"What's that?" The pink-haired girl asks.

The old man sweat drops while not saying anything for a few seconds. "Proving people wrong."

As he was saying that, the scene shows Aristidis outside and faraway flying in the sky onto the back of Rev Runner, from Loonatics Unleashed, with the mouthless Storyteller's face keeping in having the sinister gleeful expression from earlier.

~Meanwhile~At Tarbes~

Currently at village of Tarbes, everything was peaceful as the villagers were performing their duties, or simply strolling around visiting and spending time with family, friends, and minding their own business in general.

Inside a specific house, the scene shows Siesta along with Lucky Luke seated at a table along with her family, which includes the former's many and mostly small siblings who are currently playing with Jerry the brown mouse.

Her father sweat drops. "It's still so hard to believe everything you've said, Siesta. From start to end. All that just sound so..."

"Like a fairytale out of a book, isn't it?" The smiling black-haired girl guesses her father's thought in the subject. "Which is funny since he has a Tome filled with them. In a sense, at least. I know how it sounds, but it's the truth. OH, I can't wait for you to meet him one of these day!"

As that talk was happening, some of the children were focused on the cowboy, who was taking a sip from his cup at the moment.

"Are you really faster than your shadow like our sister said, mister?" One of the boys asks.

"Yep." Lucky Luke simply answers with a smile.

All the kids gasp and get immediately excited at that. "Will you show us, will you show us?!"

"Don't see why not-" The cowboy begins but stops as soon as something draws his attention, before putting two fingers at the side of his head.

"Hmhm... Hmhm... Hm." He utters with three different nods as if understanding something, much to everyone's confusion.

Lucky Luke then gets up while picking his hat and wearing it. "Sorry, kids, maybe another time. For now I will need everyone in the village to grab nothing but the most important possessions of theirs that they can carry, and move toward the closest woods for cover. The Storyteller just told me about an invasion force arriving here in an hour or so."

The family gets up alarmed at the sound of that.

He moves for a moment his hands up and down before him in a reassuring manner to calm them. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Now let's go inform the rest. I will need you all if they are to take the evacuation seriously."

Some time passes, with the villagers being convinced as they all walk orderly out of the city and away.

As they are on their way, the scene shows the multiple shadows of the men who the villagers notice walking past them, drawing their surprised attention, with mostly the children being scared by the look of the unknown men.

"G-Germanians?" Siesta's father questions in disbelief as he stops with his family to look at them more carefully, reminding him of what they have heard about the people of Germania.

Lucky Luke upon his trusty steed approaches the man calmly. "Nope. Those are actually-"

~Enough Time Later~Upon The Flagship Lexington Of Reconquista~

The time is now for the Reconquista to advance, as their grand flagship that carries the invading army flies up to the sky along with a great deal of red-dragon knights all around it.

Their leader Cromwell walks up to a higher position upon the ship together with Wardes, for everyone to properly see him as he is about to give his inspirational speech to them.

"The Kingdom of Tristain has declined our kind request to surrender!" He tells them, and then lifts the fist, with the Ring Of Andvari emitting a strong purple glow from its gem. "Our proud warriors! Under this holy light, use your grand powers to overwhelm Tristain!"

The soldiers are shouting determined in response, both thanks to the inspirational speech, and the extra willpower that they just received from the ring itself.

While the flagship was on its way, five red-dragon knights were flying ahead, planning in advance to inform the inhabitants of the defenseless village of Tarbes about the new order of things they will soon be under, through Reconquista's rule, which should be simple enough with pretty much no soldiers protecting the place. Right?

As they approach the village, they notice how no people are anywhere to be seen.

One of them finds it odd. "Where are all the villagers?"

"They must be hiding inside their houses." Another says, smiling a bit amused as he seemingly understands the reason. "Most likely got scared the moment they saw us coming."

Once the five land, three of them get off their dragons, and look around, till the sound of a door closing shut draws their attention toward the house it was heard from.

The three move close, smiling determined while feeling quite high and mighty at the thought of the fear they must be inspiring.

One of them takes the initiative to approach and knocks with the back of his hand the door. "Open the door, no need to be afraid, we are just-"

Before he completes that line, the door opens, and stops as he is caught off guard by the sight of a shirtless, tanned man, with a serious, and quite the malicious expression upon his face.

The tanned man is slender yet muscular, small yellow eyes, eyebrows that intersect at a pronounced nose, earlobes that are stretched and pierced with an earring, his face being tattooed, with his torso bare, bearing war paint and Indian moccasins, his head shaven with a tuft of dark hair forming a Mohawk, and under the nape of his neck are three falcon skins. [Magwa from The Last Of The Mohicans, preferably of the Mondo World's inspiration, present and with a tomahawk axe in one hand]

"Is... This how a villager from Tarbes supposed to look like?" The confused Reconquista knight asks his fellows as he looks back at them, with them being just as confused with this.

"No." Magwa simply answers, right before he slits the knight's throat with his Tomahawk axe, making the man grab the said throat as both blood and life escapes him while falling at the ground before his feet, shocking the men behind him as a result.

The savage-looking man smiles sinisterly at them. "Huron? Yes." He answers as he raises the now bloody edge of his weapon before them.

"Bast*rd!" One of the two men exclaims upset as they both proceed to draw their weapons, but are suddenly shot from above with four musket-bullets, killing the two immediately, as four men like the tanned man appear from the building's rooftop, who most likely climbed there once the dragon riders landed and waited for their chance to ambush them.

Magwa then points at the last two who are still upon their dragons, and who are wide eyed from surprise at everything that occurred before them, with his weapon and yells with a commanding voice something in an unknown to the soldiers language, before soon after, and with weapons at the ready, more of his Huron men make their appearance, some through the other houses around via kicking the doors open as they exit, and others coming out from behind of the said buildings, and from other places they could hide, with many of them riding horses, as all of them charge while exclaiming their unique, and very stereotypical, Native American battle cry. [I know it is considered offensive, but they use it in the cartoon so...]

The remaining two extremely alarmed and scared with the ambush force, command their dragons, along with the ones who lost their riders, to take flight, retreating as fast as possible up to the sky and away.

Many of the Hurons take aim with their muskets at the targets above, and take their shot, resulting in the bullets hitting one of the knights, along with two of the dragons multiple times, causing their death and eventual fall upon the ground.

The last knight and the three red-dragons manage to fly out of the Hurons' reach unharmed, but as he grasps with a hand the part of the chest his heart is, it makes obvious how that encounter was the worst experience of his life.

Not long after, the knight reaches the flagship Lexington and lands at its deck, with soldiers and the few higher-ups appearing very confused with the obviously missing riders and dragons.

Cromwell, along with Wardes, approaches the man. "Where are the rest of your group- What happened?"

"We were attacked... By Germanian-looking savages, sir!" The knight eventually answers after finding his composure enough, but with fear still apparent on his face as he remembers the scene. "Their non-stopping cries were like that of laughing animals straight from hell..."

That report troubles the leader and many of the ship's soldiers, with some making comments like "I thought Germania was not going be involved with Tristain in this" and more of similar subject.

"Those were not soldiers from Germania." Wardes decides to speak up, drawing the attention of those around him as he walks close to the side to look down at the village at the far distance. "It appears that being, the Storyteller, decided to meddle with our affairs in the end as expected. He must have anticipated Tarbes will be our first target somehow. The Tristain's army too must not be far."

Cromwell is tensed at the sound of the Storyteller's involvement mostly, and then turns to his soldiers determined. "Men! To your positions! Our enemies await for us at Tarbes! Let us show them both the power of Lexington and yours, and punish them for their transgressions!"

The army shouts with the same determination it showed not long ago, with both the flagship and their many red-dragon knights flying with greater speed for the village, ready to attack with everything they have.

As they approach, they notice at a point between them and the village upon the grassy field a force of over seventy horsemen of tanned coloration in a greatly loose formation running straight for the area far below the ship.

The ship's soldiers from the side that sees them, aim their cannons downward at the advancing horsemen, and begin firing.

The first volley of cannonballs strike their position, ending up blowing up only two of the Huron horsemen due to their current formation making them too hard of a target to properly hit.

Upon seeing his losses, Magwa gives another command to his raiders, with the group splitting into four smaller ones that run in different directions.

Because of that move, the soldiers get confused for a moment as to which group to target, and even when they started firing again, the small groups adopted an even more loose formation, now making the cannons' work utterly ineffective.

As that is taking place, the scene then shows Princess Henrietta, wearing now a white armor with a purple cape for her own protection, and her army along with Louise, Charlotte and Kirche, all of them on horses, just now coming into view upon a hill at a safe distance from the village of Tarbes, witnessing now more clearly the fight happening ahead of it, also a very worried Guiche is present among the rest of the Tristain's cavalry, who was more or less forced to join due to his father being a general and all.

The captain of the cavalry approach the Princess. "Your Highness, what are your orders?"

She turns her head to him. "We are to hold this position for the time being. Tell our soldiers to keep their eyes open for any possible ambush parties as we wait."

"As you command!" He says with a salute, before turning his horse to go inform the rest.

After that, she along with Agnes and the rest of the girls take out army-styled binoculars, which were apparently given to them by Aristidis at an earlier time, to look at the fight better.

The Princess appears a bit concerned. "I know that he told us to simply stand here and watch, but honestly I don't feel well, not helping our allies and leaving them handle such an attack on their own."

"I'm sure Aristidis knows what he is doing, else he would ask us to do something more than this." Louise tell her childhood friend, but then seems to be confused as she watches at the Huron horsemen groups simply running around without doing any actual advance against the enemy flagship to actually prevent it from firing at them. "Although, I can't quite understand what he is trying to achieve by having them maneuver around like that."

"Isn't it obvious?" Charlotte questions, drawing the girls' curious attention for a moment on her for understanding what they don't.

The scene then moves up to the flagship, which continues on shooting volley after volley of cannonballs against the Huron horsemen parties below, still with little to no effect at inflicting casualties to them, with the dragon knights remaining in their positions around the said ship, and Wardes with Cromwell watching from the helm above as they try to assess the horsemens' running-around-tactic.

"That almost seems like-" The gray-haired man begins but stops himself as soon as he realizes to his surprise what this most definitely means, drawing his leader's attention. "A distraction."

He turns alarmed to the soldiers around. "Men! Keep your eyes open all around! The actual force might be-"

"From lands far, far away they come, riding upon an enormous creature's back, flying out of forbidden ones." A very well known voice suddenly speaks, which could be heard loud and clear from everywhere, but obviously still from far away.

The enemies and simple allies who didn't quite know, where confused while looking all around them.

The ones who knew had their eyes wide open from the slight surprise and realization.

And the allies who knew him well, were elated upon understanding it's his time for him to make his appearance.

Back at the flagship Lexington, Wardes even more alarmed than before points at a soldier close to him. "Check where that voice came from! Now!"

The soldier immediately begins looking around, and doesn't take him long to notice an odd figure flying at a somewhat higher altitude behind of the ship at the far distance.

He quickly takes out a spyglass he was issued, and puts it close to the eye as he attempts to identify the said figure.

Cromwell moves close to the man, looks at the direction he does, and then appears a bit unsure as he barely makes out the figure at the distance without a spyglass of his own. "Is... Is that a bird?"

"It IS a bird." The soldier with a sweat drop, and then lowers his spyglass to look with a shocked expression at him and Wardes. "A really, really big bird!"

After that, the scene moves to where the said bird is, and shows an enormous, bird-like creature flying their way indeed.

The giant bird of prey has two eyes with orange, glowing, pulsating iris each, surrounded by black with a deep pupil in the middle that swirl with some kind of energy, and the creature appears to be mostly made out of stone, and has nine thick, sharp stone-spikes coming out of its head till the back.

Where one would expect fur, there is silver-colored metal, shaped in the same fashion like the stone parts of its body, and all of it together giving it an architectural feeling, like one would get by looking at an ancient civilization's building. [The Fifth Colossus, also known as Avion, from Shadow Of The Colossus, present and fully armored.]

Excluding its long tail, it should be close to half the size of the flagship, with a wingspan easily surpassing the width of the ship itself.

And on top of the longest stone-spike at the middle of its back, the pitch-black Storyteller can seen balancing with both feet upon the tip, and having no trouble doing so at all, and wearing now on his shoulders wicked-looking round pauldrons that extend upward to the sides as a short spike each, as he looks at the open Tome he holds in his hands.

"And as they come, right behind them, a large murder of black feathers follows." Aristidis says as if telling a story, and indeed a murder of innumerable ravens with glowing red eyes is now more apparent right behind of the flying Colossus, making it appear as if a tremendously gigantic black curtain floats there, covering partially the area at the back.

He continues. "An omen of imminent death that is to be unleashed against those before them, who have more than brought this upon their very, own, selves." Says the last few parts with quite the menacing air, sending chils to everyone listening.

Almost as soon, multiple giant speakers make their appearance through swirling portals at certain spots around the sky, drawing both confused and frightened attention alike.

[The music playing is The Game Changer by Antti Martikainen]

"The founder may have mercy. For THEY. HAVE NONE!" The pitch-black Storyteller finishes with an even louder and full of emotion voice, and as if in response, the ravens move quickly in a way that forms the shape of Aristidis's face, eyes and all too, before soon after move again at the mouthless part to form a sinister smile full of hypothetical sharp teeth, similar to those Kremant has.

He then points forward with the most extreme case of glee ever to be seen written all over his face. "PECK THEIR EYES OUT, MY FEATHERY CHILDREN!" He commands right before a filled golden goblet decorated with gems of different colors appears in his hand to hold through his fingers in a classy manner as he drinks some of the red liquid within.

Upon receiving the order, the entire murder of ravens begin flying at an abnormally fast pace forward, heading for the flagship.

Most of the men aboard were more or less beginning to panick, either because of the speech they listened to, the terrifying number and type of foe they are to face, the out of nowhere music that is the most outrageous case of dynamic design they ever listened to so far, which acts as quite the demoralizing factor due to the current situation they are in, or all of the above together, with the more composed commander at the deck trying to bring order at the ship once more.

Even Cromwell was barely holding it together as to not immediately run under proper cover out of complete fright, while Wardes was just standing there looking wide eyed and open mouthed at the incoming murder.

The Reconquista leader quickly turns to the gray-haired man and grabs with both hands one of his, snapping him out of the previous surprise. "Wardes, do what needs to be done! Fast!"

After telling him that, Cromwell begins running downstairs, before closing himself inside his great cabin, wanting to avoid as much as possible the oncoming, swarming danger.

Wardes's expression turns determined, and heads to the side to mount his white, wind dragon that was issued to him.

There was also something else about that scene between them, as Cromwell was retreating for the inside of the ship.

The leader's ring was missing.

In the meantime, the men upon the flagship finally find their composure enough to get in positions as the ship slowly turns, with the plan of aiming that side's cannons at the colossal bird flying their way, as the dragon knights tactically spread out, attempting to avoid direct conflict for now.

Unfortunately for the crew, as soon as the flagship positions itself like wanted, the millions of ravens were already upon them.

The many mages of water, fire, and wind are able to inflict casualties with their spells, but the black-feathered birds were just too many to keep them back even a bit, resulting in the deck, the helm, the slightly larger holes the cannons use, and every exposed location around the ship to be swarmed by them in but a moment, the ravens attacking everyone at once, forcing most of the crew to either run around trying to unsuccessfully avoid them, or defend themselves hopelessly, as screams of horror, pain, and the constant cries of the ravens fill the air, causing utter chaos and disorganization all around the flagship, as the crew is unable to perform their duties as needed, and with Cromwell trembling while hearing and seeing through a window the madness happening outside.

While that is taking place, the Colossus Avion was now flying at a higher point above and closer to the flagship now, and as it moves a bit closer, the creature begins diving.

Some of the men who are currently protecting their eyes from the murder of ravens, notice the colossal bird coming from above dangerously close as they freeze out of further horror, but when it looks as if it will fall on them, the Colossus actually dives right in front of the flagship's side, but not before the scene begins slowing down to show mounting the colossal bird's neck a blond, slender man, with pointy ears, long hair, and green tunic, with bow and arrow at hand, which he uses to shoot one of the men witnessing to the head as the Colossus dives, and a filled quiver upon his back. [Legolas from Lord Of The Rings, present and already snipping the opposition like a boss!]

As the scene still moves slow with the dive, it also shows Aristidis still casually balancing upon the longest stone-spike, now horizontally became of the angle, while playing in a dynamic manner an electric guitar for this specific scene, before the said scene begins moving in real time again.

"One!" A voice from above exclaims after the colossal bird's dive makes its pass, with ravens from that location retreating to make space, and the moment one of the soldiers looks up, a short figure falls at him while a double-axe is embedded at the latter's skull by him as he forces him down with him, the person below his feet already dead.

When some of the rest look at the said figure better, as he removes the double-axe from the fallen's head, what they see is a bearded, stocky man of a rather short stature, with reddish hair, wearing a helmet with engravings, the said helmet covering everything but the face, and red/brown tunic with chainmail, and a brass, wicked, and filled with spikes and sigil engravings collar around his neck. [Gimli from Lord Of The Rings as well, present and counting!]

With a battle-cry he moves forward and with a strike of his double-axe kills the next unprepared soldier while exclaiming "Two!" before immediately after doing the same to the one who was standing next to him while exclaiming "Three!"

The soldiers around who were free from the ravens, due to the birds making appropriate and wide space for him whenever he was moving for his convenience, decide to fight back and not just let a short beardo humiliate them like that.

Which just ended up with them becoming the next kills he counted, as he shows how incredibly skilled he is with the double-axe.

While killing the last one, Gimli notices how one of the mages points a staff at him, and is already spelling the last word of his spell, right before powerful flames are unleashed from the tip and straight at him, engulfing the dwarf completely for the few seconds the spell is casted.

Once the mage finishes and moves his staff back with a cocky smile, it immediately turns into a shocked gasp, as he witnesses the said dwarf being utterly unharmed.

Then he points at his collar, which is not a mere collar.

No. He wears the Collar Of Khorne from Warhammer 40k.

Now Gimli is the one who smiles cockily. "I've come prepared for your kind!"

He then picks from the side one of his smaller axes and lifts it. "Have my throwing axe! Thirteen!"

Upon saying that, he throws it and hits the mage square at the chest, the strike pushing the man down, and more than likely dead after that, with the dwarf then going straight for his next numbers.

While that is going on, the dragon knights don't have any better luck in their side, for those who are not forced to deal with groups of ravens of their owns, they are attempting to approach and attack the flying Colossus, who is currently flying in a wide circle around the flagship, only for them to be shot down by Legolas's incredibly accurate arrows, with most of the dragons simply flying away once their rider was dead, which results in them becoming unfortunate targets as well.

By taking a closer look at his quiver, the arrows he uses are magically replaced within, making him unable to run out of arrows, which makes it safe to assume the quiver itself has been given the, let's say, enchantment called Quiver Of Endless Arrows from Dungeons And Dragons.

"I'm surprised you were able to convince something as sinister-sounding as a Chaos God, one which you said you decided to not have full control over, to agree on letting him make use of that collar for our just cause." The blond elf says to the Storyteller, before shooting down another dragon knight.

"It was easy enough." Aristidis begins as he recalls the moment slightly amused. "All I had to do after I brought Gimli along with me to meet him inside the Tome, was to let him know that we will face mages, which he hates with a passion, higher-ups who used subterfuge to reach their today's position, which he hates just as much, and that much of blood will be spilled by the one who will use his collar, and the god of chaos literally shoved it through our dwarven friend's head without a second thought. Doesn't take much to convince him."

The scene then moves to where Henrietta, her army, and the rest of the girls are, as they all witness the battle taking place.

All the soldiers, knights, mages and higher-ups watching are more or less unnerved by the sight of it, the thought of being in the enemy's place dealing with the millions of ravens, mostly, while also being in awe with his power to command such a force.

The Princess, and the girls, keeps on looking with the binoculars at the Lexington, and sweat drops while feeling a little bad. "I can only imagine how chaotic things up there must be. I am glad he is with us and not against us."

"Y-Yes..." Agnes agrees hesitantly as she watches the same scene with her Majesty, not quite liking admitting a Noble's power, but also unable to deny it.

Louise then suddenly notices something that causes her great surprise as she points her finger at it. "Ah- At where Aristidis is, look!"

Everyone instantly moves their sight to where the Storyteller currently is with his Colossus of a bird, and sees flying at a fast pace behind them Wardes atop his wind dragon, having been able to avoid the innumerable ravens, which has no problem catching up with.

Once he is close enough right above the middle of Colossus Avion, the gray-haired man jumps from his dragon and lands at its armored surface, while hiding one of his arms with the cape, which he adjusts appropriately toward the front to do as much, making slightly obvious that he hides something, before raising his sight determined upon the pitch-black Storyteller, who is still facing the other way and balancing onto the stone-spike while taking another sip from his golden goblet. "Storyteller Aristidis!"

"Traitorous Noble Wardes!" Aristidis yells with wide open eyes of glee while turning around to face him, seemingly just now noticing him, with some of the goblet's content being thrown at the Noble, with him stepping a bit alarmed to the side to avoid it, which results in only the lowest part of his cape being touched.

But once that happens, that part of the cape melts, along with some more of the area around it, shocking the man for a moment.

"Careful, it is quite acidic." The mouthless Storyteller tells him as he proceeds to take a sip from the golden goblet again, while also signing with the hand that holds the Tome at Legolas, who was currently aiming his bow and arrow at the gray-haired upon noticing him, to not shoot him, prompting him to focus at the dragon knights.

Wardes is surprised how that Storyteller being can drink something so dangerous as if it was normal, but then remembers with what madness he is dealing with here.

Aristidis satisfied enough with his drink, makes the goblet vanish into nothingness, and then steps to the lower spike in front of him, next to the surface before it, and begins walking toward Wardes, as his shadow slowly but surely covers the man the more he approaches, with the obviously taller man's approach starting to unnerve the gray-haired Noble of Reconquista, as a cold sweat is produced at the side of his head, the greater height and wicked pauldrons making his pitch-black enemy look rather intimidating to the eye, till he stops right in front of him.

"You are a bold one." The somewhat amused mouthless Storyteller tells him, before putting both hands, and Tome, behind his back. "To stand before me after your little show back at Albion, especially. Have you come to ask for forgiveness after the latest, most likely reports you received from your people's spies currently in Tristania. Because if that is the reason, know that there are no backsies for you at this point. You reap what you sow."

Wardes smiles boldly. "Right back at you I should say. For a man who didn't want to be involved in other nations' affairs, you show to be rather involved the last days, giving to Tristain something as maddening as infinite resources, and even fighting their own battles."

"You seem to be forgetting about the fact of how all this being a personal issue is entirely your fault, without mentioning the Louise part." Aristidis mentions while bringing a hand forward to point his finger at Wardes, and then leans a bit forward toward him with a slightly gleeful expression. "And as for my generous donation, they have more than earned it after showing me how worthy of my respect their Princess has proven to be, unlike a filthy, narrow-minded dolt that I know of. But that is as much as one can expect from the likes of you, isn't it? A typical corrupted human who knows not of the consequences his actions are bound to bring upon his very self most of all. You didn't even know of my condition at the beginning, yet you were so absurdly full of yourself, that you couldn't see how the one thing you were trying to do would obviously bring your undesirable end. Seriously, you make Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy And Mandy appear like a smart and wise boy in comparison to that day's self of yours. And knowing him, that says a lot."

The gray-haired man angrily grits his teeth at the insults Aristidis is throwing at him, while trying to not show it, and even though he has no idea of what the last one is about, it doesn't take much to understand the severity of the said insult.

But nonetheless, he still smiles rather boldly in the end anyway as he reminds himself of the plan. "Then I suppose bringing this little rivalry of ours to an end is the least I can do for you, isn't it?"

The moment he says that, Wardes brings out of his cape's cover and in front of him the Ring Of Andvari, its purple light bathing the pitch-black Storyteller, who straightens himself up with wide open eyes seemingly in surprise.

The gray-haired man's smile gets a bit more sinister, having in his mind how the ring will give him full control of the Storytelling being before him.

With him under his control, not only victory is assured, the entire world will be his- That's right, HIS! That much power in his hands, and he will just give it to someone like Cromwell, Sheffield, or that madman of hers? Nobody is that foolish to do that!

Everybody will bow to Wardes, for he believes greatness is and always was his from the beginning. And whether that Aristidis likes it or not, he will help him have as much.

He talked so much against him once, and now look at him just standing there and looking at the one who controls him. That's what he gets for all the times he made Wardes look like a joke.

The gray-haired man chuckles to himself. "I win, you insufferable fiend. Now bow before your new mas-"

"Yoink!" Aristidis suddenly interrupts while in the blink of an eye snatches the ring off Wardes's finger with a hand.

The man looks quickly at his now empty finger, and then back at Aristidis as he gasps shocked upon realizing what just happened.

"To think they would risk it by allowing you to have the Ring Of Andvari itself is honestly something else." The pitch-black Storyteller says as he checks out the said ring slightly raised above and close to one of his eyes, as if determining its value, and then looks back at him with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't really expect this to work on me though, did you?"

Wardes just stands there stunned and in great disbelief.

"Oh-ho my, this is so amusingly sad!" Aristidis responds with a hand to his mouthless area and small, amused chuckle upon understanding that to be the case, before with another fast movement of the hand places the ring back into Wardes's finger, which makes the latter look back and forth at it and him out of extreme confusion. "You may keep it for now. I will have plenty of time collecting it from your deceased body later." Says the last part with a sinisterly gleeful expression.

The gray-haired man takes a step back while trembling because of the shock he feels, as he tries to form the next words. "H-How... Why...?!"

The pitch-black Storyteller brings his hands, and Tome, behind his back, and his sight turns upward as he reminisces about. "Years ago when I was still learning about the power I was given, let's just say that reading was not the only thing I did. I also received many, many blessings, proper infusions, and different energies from everywhere within my Tome that I could get my hands on. Each protecting me in their many, different ways. Which unlike most of my power, I was allowed to keep after my little Familiar Initiation."

Wardes's eyes widen, understanding well enough what that means.

Aristidis's expression turns to that of immeasurable pride as he raises his hands and Tome up to the air gloriously. "That's right. I am not just an one time foe you can simply defeat, or who is all talk and nothing more than that. I am exceptionality personified. The greatest lifeform existing upon your world. Full power or not!"

The gray-haired man's shock vanishes, and is now replaced by sheer frustration, hating the extreme unfairness of the situation, along with the being's insufferable arrogance.

"Yet, despite that, you are still capable on surprising me with your unreasonable antics." The mouthless Storyteller tells him while softening his face and folding the arms as he turns around to take a few steps the other way, facing away from the still frustrated one. "Even at my weakened state, I have more power than your imagination can even fathom. Yet you don't seem to understand. Or maybe you simply lie to yourself. Lie into believing there is a chance for you to come out of this as the winner. The hero of Reconquista's world. Possibly something more."

He then turns to face him with a mocking expression. "What a complete joke! Winning is not even an option."

Wardes is upset beyond measure at being mocked like this, especially since the Storyteller obviously takes joy from it, but after a few seconds decides to calm himself enough to the point of now looking at his adversary with a really serious, but still offended face.

Aristidis slowly approaches him. "From the moment I appeared in this world of yours, it was never really a matter of whether I will be able to beat the opposition that I am bound to face or not. But in what ridiculously overwhelming way I will do so."

He stops right in front of the gray-haired man, and brings his face close to the latter's. "People like you are like the villains in any generic story. Always in the eventual losing side by the end of it. And as the Storyteller, I am the one who knows and tells how they go."

The serious-looking Wardes remains silent, but a small tremble is somewhat apparent around his body.

The pitch-black Storyteller slightly narrows his eyes with an expression of sinister glee. "In other words, this is where your chapter ends. No continuation. History will remember you as just another foolish, disgraceful traitor who has been put down like the rat he was. Unnamed and forgotten. In both name, and face."

The gray-haired man face breaks into rage. "You're not the one to decide that!" As he yells the last half, he leaps backward while unsheathing his rapier, and whispering fast a spell, right before lighting is unleashed forth, straight for the Storyteller.

Aristidis in response lifts a finger next to him, which results in the lightning changing direction at it, and gathering itself right above it as an electrical ball there, greatly shocking the man who threw it at him.

"Who decided that?" The pitch-black Storyteller asks rhetorically while showing him a cocky expression, and then brings the ball of lightning in front of his mouthless area to slurp it whole in like spaghetti, and appearing to like the taste quite a bit.

Wardes's expression goes back to being the worst case of upset, seeing his strongest spell being treated like nothing.

Aristidis then unties his luxurious cape, before tossing it along with both the pauldrons to the side and letting them fall to the side and the void below as they are carried by the wind, before with a wave of his hand makes the golden goblet from before appears in his hand, and drinks from it while casually approaching Wardes, who decides to rush forward with his weapon at the ready.

The gray-haired man tries to stab him with the rapier at the chest, but the Storyteller dodges the right moment to the side with a graceful spin of the body, while still drinking about, ending up right behind the former as the latter, with the former turning to look surprised at him, who just finishes drinking and lets out a small gasp of enjoyment.

Wardes face goes back to upset as he attempts the exact same move on him again, with Aristidis dodging in the same manner, only this time the former expecting that tries to trip him with a kick, but the latter sees it coming and dodges by cartwheeling as he continues the spin, and spilling vertically some of the goblet's content in the process, which the former barely dodges to the side alarmed, as it burns a small part of the low, right side of his gray hair it touched.

The gray-haired man out of shock brings a hand close to the part of the hair he lost, with the pitch-black Storyteller chuckling before drinking some more from his golden goblet, resulting in the former being absolutely livid as he growls there for a moment, and then with a quick movement spins with his rapier extended, striking that way the goblet off the latter's hand, as he was drinking from it, and into the void below, with him staying paused as he looks at the fallen object and into his now empty hand seemingly out of confusion.

Wardes then attempts another one of his stabs, with Aristidis dodging by moving quickly and slightly to the side while stepping back, and with the former moving after him while trying a nonstop series of stabs with his rapier, only for the latter to dodge in the same fashion as he continues on backing away.

As the gray-haired man tries one last stab, the pitch-black Storyteller falls down with his back while crossing the arms, and Tome, upon his chest, and vanishes through the Colossus Avion's armored surface, causing quite the surprise to the former, with the latter raising in a similar fashion behind him, and feeling rather giddy about it.

Wardes sees him, and attempts to stab him again, only for Aristidis to do his vanishing dodge once more, but as he raises behind him, this time he moves his hands, and Tome, in front of him in an expecting, thrusting motion one after the other toward him cheekily, in a dancing fashion similar to that one ghost from Swing You Sinners.

The gray-haired man tries the same attack one more time, just for the Storyteller to vanish through the ground like before, but once he raises behind him again, his legs and feet are merged together into a tube-like manner as he swings his body and arms around in a random, crazy manner, in a dancing fashion similar to that of an Air Dancer Wind Man.

Wardes's frustration only increases as he attempts another rapier stab, and Aristidis dodges through the ground again, before raising himself from behind, his lower half back to normal like before, but now moving his hips from side to side while making animal ear gestures upon the head with his hands, in a dancing fashion similar to that of Caramel Dance.

The gray-haired man backs off a bit as he looks at him, being in upsetting disbelief at the way he dodges his attacks and mocks in such a way. "You monster..."

Aristidis that moment comes from the ground below right behind him with a neutral expression and the hands behind his back, startling the man who realizes he is behind him again. "Says the pedophile."

Wardes swings his rapier around, which the Storyteller avoids by leaping back, while turning to points his weapon at his opponent. "At least I don't dodge without doing anything more than being an annoying man child."

"And dirty these exceptionally washed hands?" The pitch-black Storyteller questions as he lifts both hands before him to show their smooth entirety twinkling in multiple places from said cleanliness, and then folds them while slightly raising his head pridefully out of offense. "You are simply asking for too much, sir."

The gray-haired man growls angrily in response, hating the pitch-black being's arrogance, and the fact he is not taking this seriously.

Aristidis looks at him with a gleeful expression as he opens the Tome. "You still don't understand, do you? It is not just I you are facing, you shameless fool! You face everything my Tome holds within its pages! Not just outmatched, but outnumbered as well! Tell me how that feels!"

After saying that, he points upward, and a swirling, black, interdimensional hole opens right above him, with a big, mostly black with red like fire, four clawed, demonic-looking arm appears through as it seems already swinging something forth, right before it shows that something to be a big, long and fiery whip, which is directed toward the now actually alarmed man.

Wardes quickly leaps backward, causing the whip to miss, but the impact of the attack upon the armored surface creates a small shockwave that forces him off his feet and launches him back, till he reaches the end of the colossal bird's tail where he grabs with his free hand the very corner before he falls off.

He tries his best to not be thrown away by the strong wind and the slight movements the humongous tail makes during the flight, but his will to not be beaten like this comes back to him, aims the rapier downward, and with a yelling of the right words activates a spell that shoots from the tip powerful wind that launches him up and forward, with him landing upon the middle the farther part of the tail's end safely, while the scene shows the demonic arm and fiery whip retreating back into the hole as it closes.

Wardes begins gasping from the stress of the experience. Not necessarily from the fall he was gonna take, but because of the whip from before.

It was for a brief moment, but he felt the intensity of the fire it was made of. He could understand that if it touched him even once, he would be nothing but a charred corpse the very second it did so.

And that thought scares him.

"Ready for more?" The pitch-black Storyteller asks, making the gray-haired man look at him, with the scene much to the latter's shock showing at the space around the former nine more interdimensional holes, with knights in silver armor and helmets with horns that resemble wings at the top, wielding greatbows almost twice their size, and aiming their long, slightly thick silver arrows with arrowheads that are almost half their shaft straight at the latter. [Silver Knights from Dark Souls Series, with their umbrella-sized arrows at the ready.]

A small chuckle escapes Aristidis that moment. "Oh, my deepest apologies. Your opinion is not important enough to tickle my interest."

After saying that, with much of sarcasm, he waves his free hand forward, and one by one the silver knights let loose of their big arrows, with the highly alarmed Wardes doing his best to dodge them, and even being able to parry two of them while doing so, with most of the projectiles narrowly missing him, as they travel forward and off the Colossus's tail, resulting by the end of the barrage to have his uniform partially torn apart at the sides of the shoulders, chest, belly, and legs, with a few holes in his cape, due to it being exposed while he was dodging about.

The gray-haired man gasps some more from mild overexcertion, and then his expression contorts with great frustration as he looks at the cheeky-looking Storyteller, while the Silver Knights are currently vanishing along with the holes they arrived with.

"Your new look sure suits both your life choices and overall worth quite a bit now." Tells him somewhat mockingly, right before sliding fast backward till he stops instantly in front of the first long, stone-spike to casually lean his back upon.

Wardes rushes forward, readying his rapier to strike him down with the desire to remove that cheekiness off his pitch-black face.

But as soon as he is just a few steps away to reach Aristidis, the Reconquista Noble is suddenly kicked by a yellowish or golden, gigantic, muscular leg from the side, that comes out of an interdimensional hole, causing him to tumble down across the entire colossal wing, much to his displeasure, till he is able to stop himself with a hand upon the armored surface just before the end of the said wing, and staying on all three for now there while grabbing his side with the rapier-holding hand out of pain. [What kicked him was the Right Leg Of The Forbidden One from Yu-Gi-Oh Franchise.]

When that happens, the pitch-black Storyteller moves around the stone-spike in a coiling manner like snake would, and uses his feet on it to push himself forward, landing right at the top of Colossus Avion's head, and right in front of Legolas who got startled for a moment before he proceeds to shoot down another dragon knight past the former.

Then, as he sees them about to pass over the still filled with ravens and overall chaos flagship by the side, he bends down to look the colossal bird straight in one of its big eyes, in an upside down kind of way. "Do a barrel roll!"

In response to that, Avion performs a slow, sideward spin of its body, with the blond elf using now more onto his legs to keep himself from falling as it turns and while keeping up with the arrow shooting nevertheless, with the extended wing that carries Wardes being the part that moves down first, and while the Noble tries to hold his balance upon it as he notices it moving, but then looks to where they are headed, and immediately understands by the way the wing is moving how this will go for him if he keeps on being where he is in the next few seconds.

The gray-haired man aims his rapier in accordance to the movement of the said wing, and at the right moment uses a spell to shoot powerful wind from the tip while letting go of the colossal wing, causing him to move upward and stick himself upon the creatures upside-down back, and for as long he keeps the spell up, with the wing that moment striking part of the flagship's deck, wreaking in a line part of the wooden floor, along with four soldiers that were upon it, who are launched off deck, which Gimli was about to face, only for him to be met with surprise as he looks up to see the currently upside down Colossus, Legolas, and Aristidis who is waving his hand at him as he says in slow motion, according to that scene's moment, "Hey, friend!" before passing from above completely, and yes he saw the struggling Wardes too, just for the detail.

"What the- Those were mine, you-!" The quite annoyed dwarf begins, but stops upon noticing a random soldier charging at him from the side, while yelling about as he does so. "Eighty-six!" Says right before he decapitates the said soldier with his double-axe.

The scene goes back to the colossal bird of stone as it straightens itself to fly normally like before, with Wardes ceasing his spell after seeing he is safe from falling, before getting up with slight difficulty as he somewhat touches his back out of pain, due to the pressure he received from the said spell pushing him upon the beast like that.

He then focuses his frustrated attention forward as he notices the Storyteller stepping upon the longest stone spike there with his pitch-black arms folded. "You will not get rid of me that easily, you arrogant-"

"You still don't fully comprehend what you are dealing with here, do you?" Aristidis asks him, his face now devoid of emotion.

In just a moment after that, the sky appears to begins on raining rugby balls of different colors, which makes the gray-haired man look all around him greatly surprised.

He then attempts to block the balls about to fall onto him, only to see them pass through his weapon and even him, as if the balls are not even there, right before one of the said balls strikes the rapier off his hands, much to his shock as he watches it fall into the void below.

And when Wardes takes another look forward, his expression turns to that of utter disbelief, seeing the sky above having turned red, filed with giant mouths, tongues, and eyes all around, along with a railway that stretches to odd places, to which a big, metal carriage, train, uses them as its personal road, as the rugby ball rain continues unceasingly.

It was nothing but complete madness for the Noble of Reconquista. "No... None of this can be real. You're playing with my mind! There is no way a fiend like you are that powerful as to change reality in such a way!" He yells at him upset, not willing to believe that he is capable of such thing, or as he is.

"Well yes, but actually no." The pitch-black Storyteller answers somewhat enigmatically with a shrug.

As soon as he says that, a giant, white, transparent pylon of angry-screaming faces rushes through Wardes in unimaginable speed, with it vanishing just as soon, scaring him at such level that he turns pale while his whole being trembles where he stands.

Aristidis's expression then turns heavily gleeful. "But that is the fun of it, isn't it? For you can have no clue as to WHAT is real and what not. Can you now?"

Upon giving his question, two lookalikes of the mouthless Storyteller appear next to him, asking together the exact same question, at the very end. Then six more who do the same. Twenty more who question as much, till the gray-haired man is surrounded by the pitch-black clones, who unceasingly ask him that question in the very same gleeful manner.

As the man continues trembling in place out of the horror due to everything he witnesses that is happening around him at the same time, one thing eventually comes to his mind. (What the hell am I even doing...)

Wardes turns around and begins shoving out of his way the continuously asking clones while moving as fast as he can toward the end of the tail, with them then beginning to laugh at him greatly and ominously amused, and then he whistles with one hand to the mouth, which calls his wind dragon at the very end, before the man mounts it a bit clumsily and using its reins to make it fly away at the highest possible speed the dragon could move, with the scenery reverting back to normal.

What was he thinking! That was madness! Complete and utter madness! He should have left the moment the ring proved to be useless against that fiend!

For now he has to get as far away as he can from him.

Forget about this nonsensical war! With the power of Andvari's Ring, he can have his own kingdom! He will go to Romalia, lay low for a while, and then become their secret ruler when everyone has forgotten about him. He will not die this day!

The scene then cuts to the Princess and the girls who witness Wardes's retreat.

"He is running away!" Kirche exclaims in disbelief.

As the girls watch at that with mixed feelings, some upset at the man's cowardness after everything he did, and others a bit surprised it took him so long to do so, Louise's expression is serious, and not long after lowers her binoculars while using the reins of her horse to make it run forward, catching the rest's unsure attention as to what she is doing.

She then stops her horse after moving just a few meters away, and pulls out her wand which she points up to where the flying Wardes is, before a big, energy circle with an X in its middle is formed above it, with her looking through it, a purple energy begins to be emitted by the wand's point.

The scene then cuts to the Colossus Avion, where Aristidis shrugs. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

After saying that, he crouches and pulls from below, and off screen, a big rocket launcher with much of enthusiasm. "Hey, Legolas, stop for a moment what you are doing and check out this shot of mine."

The blond elf does as he is told by turning his head at him and the fleeing Noble at the distance he aims at, but as the Storyteller aims and is about to shoot, a thin, purple beam of energy from below hits Wardes diagonally through the head, shocking the man upon connecting, and surprising Aristidis quite a bit as he lowers the rocket launcher's end, while much of blood already escaping from both ends of the wound, before he loses his grip onto the reins, and falls off the wind dragon and below at the void, with the dragon paying no mind as it continues on flying away on its own.

The traitor of a Noble, of both Tristain and Reconquista, was dead.

The scene moves back to Louise as she keeps on aiming her wand to where she shot her Death Beam, her expression unceasingly serious, and while Henrietta along with the rest approach her. "That's for betraying the trust I had in you all those years. You will never again do it to anybody else."

The Princess puts a hand upon her childhood friend's shoulder, drawing her attention on her as she lowers the wand, smiling at her, both out of understanding for the pain she went through, and gratefulness for giving a fitting end to the one who took her love Wales away.

If not for this, the traitor would simply be executed after captured, so either way, he was not going to escape that fate of his.

Kirche sweat drops while moving close to Charlotte to whisper. "Remind me to never get on her bad side again."

The scene then moves up to Aristidis who with wide open eyes is looking at the pink-haired girl from high above upon the colossal bird, understanding it was her who killed the traitor, and still being quite surprised about it.

Legolas himself was impressed with her. "Nice shot."

"No kidding." The pitch-black Storyteller agrees, and after a small pause, with a neutral face turns to him. "Gimli is currently surpassing you by three."

The blond elf's eyes widen at that, before immediately turning forward normally with bow and arrow at the ready as he proceeds to shoot down more of the dragon knights in response.

Aristidis moves his sight once more at her, his expression now happy and proud. "No kidding indeed..."

The mouthless Storyteller then moves right behind of Legolas, drawing partially his attention as he continues his sniping duty, the determination obvious in his face. "Alright, I do believe it is time we officially wrap this up. Hold on tight, and prepare to do this as planned!"

"As planned?" The blond elf asks a bit confused, making obvious he was not informed of anything more than what they are doing, while the Colossus Avion in the meantime turns and heads for the flagship. "What you speak about?"

As the fight upon the Lexington's deck continues, with the still fighting Gimli having made short work of the soldiers who came face to face with his double-axe, the chaos that is the ravens suddenly disperses, flying off the flagship, with the soldiers they were harassing free but greatly confused as to the reason they suddenly did so, except the ones who were still cowering with their arms covering their heads.

That is when Cromwell looks around from within his cabin's window, and then notices the colossal stone and armored bird of prey coming fast and dangerously close to the ship's side, making obvious the fact that it's going for a ram, which immediately causes his incredible shock, with the Reconquista soldiers noticing the enormous creature as well and panicking like madmen about it, with Aristidis appearing to wear a blue, train driver's hat, as the characteristic noise of a train's horn being sounded that moment.

"What in the-!" Gimli begins just as shocked, but stops as he immediately begins running toward the opposite side highly alarmed.

The scene then slows down, as Aristidis and Legolas jump forward right before Avion rams the flagship with enough force to begin crashing through its wooden craft, with the former two catching up with their dwarven friend, as the dwarf runs as if his life depends on it, which is very likely, the blond elf running while unconcerned and simply focusing forward, and the Storyteller doing his cartwheeling and leaping acrobatics with much of excitement written all over his face, and all that while being followed by the catastrophe that occurs upon the wooden floor behind them, and interior of the ship.

And once they reach the other side of the flagship, they jump off and as high as normally possible, with the colossal bird passing almost as soon through the said side of the ship as wrecked wood, pieces of windstone, metal and cannons are launched all around and about while doing so, with the good timing allowing the trio to fall straight onto the creature's armored back safely, with the scene returning back to normal speed as Avion carries them away.

The giant hole left through the Lexington flagship, along with the the absence of windstones, causes it to begin falling down as it slowly breaks into two from the middle of it while on air due to the severity of the damage, with the men still aboard either falling to the void or holding for dear life around the still intact parts of the ship, which fall too, and causing quite the scary spectacle to the Tristain's army watching it from a distance, till the destroyed ship forcefully crashes upon the ground below, wrecking itself with its own weight even more, with the speakers vanishing from the sky as the music stops.

Upon seeing that, the remaining dragon knights retreat back to Albion, understanding that the battle is officially lost.

The Princess snaps out of it while noticing the Storyteller's army to the side moving at a fast pace toward the crash location, and with a serious expression turns to everyone behind her. "All soldiers! Move forward and apprehend the remaining enemies!"

At that, everyone exclaims loudly in response as they all move forward at a fast pace too, both in agreement to fulfill her Highness's command, but mostly out of their enthusiastic realization of having won the fight they once believed lost.

The scene moves at the flagship's remains, as the Reconquista soldiers who survived the fall either try to crawl or push themselves out of the broken parts that cover them, or get up on their feet with difficulty due to injuries.

While one of the downed ones just now was able to raise his head, he sees much to his further shock a modern pistol being pulled in front of his face as he takes a good look at the man holding it.

The man with the gun is mostly made out of metal of silver/gray and black, which looks like smooth plate armor on him, and a round helmet which cover everything but his cheeks and mouth, that are the only obvious parts being of skin expected from a human, with a black, thin visor being at the part of the said helmet his eyes should be. [RoboCop from RoboCop Franchise, reporting for duty.]

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" He demands from the Reconquista soldier, and from the rest of his fellow, with his monotonous, semi-robotic voice, and after a moment, he looks back at someone. "Like that?"

After asking that, the scene shows that he was looking at a Captain of the Oblivion Guards, who has a large number of guards behind him, along with the Hurons and the Legionaries that just arrived, before the said captain pulls his thumb up, obviously satisfied with the robotic cop, while the Storyteller's and the Princess's armies proceeds to capture the now prisoners of war for Tristain.

While the beaten soldiers are getting apprehended and taken away, many of them were showing obvious signs of PTSD, with some saying stuff like "The ravens, the ravens..." or "Don't let them take my eyes!" also "I beg of you, make the awful cries stop, I can't take it anymore..." and of course "Make the axe-crazy dwarf of a man stop counting! No more! Please no more!" which was more than enough to make the soldiers of Tristain feel more than bad for them.

Not long after, from the broken ship-parts farther away comes slowly out Cromwell, who's uniform was torn partially in places, and lightly injured from the crash landing, but overall was fine enough.

He looks around him, seeing much to his shock and frustration the once proud vessel in ruins, along with his soldiers being apprehend by their enemies.

The blond leader notices one of them coming toward his location at a slow pace, which is Guiche who is mostly taking in the destruction of the ship and still not over his own little shock from it, and makes a run for it toward the nearby woods, while hoping he will not be spotted.

As he runs, he stops right outside of the said woods suddenly, upon noticing to the side not far from him the deceased body of Wardes none other than Wardes, who has a great deal of ravens around him and above him, with some of the pinching carefully with their beaks at the so far half-eaten finger that has the Ring Of Andvari on it, trying to cut it off so they can take the ring to the Storyteller most likely.

Cromwell alarmed moves fast close to them, drawing their attention as he moves a hand in front and to the side in an attempt to scare them away. "Shoo! Get your vile beaks away from my ring, you filthy-"

The ravens with loud cries immediately fly straight at him, interrupting and forcing him down as they attack him with claws and beaks, with him beginning as soon screaming about while covering with his arms eyes and ears out of utter fear, as some others along with Guiche approach fast to see what is that noise about, with the latter being mildly terrified at the aggressive nature of the ravens as he imagines the chaos the greater number caused upon the flagship during the fight.

While most of the soldiers of Reconquista are being taken away so far, the Colossus Avion's loud cry can be heard at the sky as everyone takes notice of the large, stone/armored bird that carries Aristidis, who wears no hat now, Legolas and Gimli on its back as it flies toward them, just before it makes its slow and careful landing to an open area of grass next to the ship's remains, which cause quite the horror to the prisoners of war upon witnessing the ones responsible for the awful experience they went through, with the soldiers of Tristain trying to keep them from running away because of that.

The pitch-black Storyteller jumps off the creature, with an impressive forward roll of the body while on air before landing expertly with his feet onto the ground, with some ravens bringing his equally pitch-black, luxurious, twinkling cape on its rightful place upon his back, without the pauldron, and leave as soon while proceeding to tie it properly around his neck, feeling rather pompous while doing so.

In the meantime, Gimli rolls downwardly upon the Colossus's wing out of clumsiness as he yells about in the displeasure of it, indicating he stumbled while trying to walk down, till the point he reaches the ground face-down, and then getting himself up as quickly as possible while undusting himself with his hands and hoping no one saw that, before moving next to the Storyteller.

Henrietta, Agnes, Louise, Charlotte and Kirche, along with the appropriate number of guards, and some of Aristidis's ones which include Magwa and the Hurons, approach them, with the said guards being really intimidated by the giant bird of stone and armor looking at them from above with those big, special eyes of its, which are now greenish to indicate its more passive mood.

The princess stops in front of him while smiling with much appreciation and some amazement. "Aristidis, that was-"

Before she finishes that sentence, Legolas lands right next to the Aristidis, startling most people...

But then outright alarming them, with Agnes pulling quickly with a hand to the shoulder the Princess behind her while pulling and aiming the flintlock with the other at the elf. "Princess, watch out!"

In response to that, the rest of the guards equip and bring forth their weapons to protect their Highness, much to the three girls' and dwarf's complete confusion.

The blond elf was eyeing them just as confused. "Why are they looking at me with such fear and aggression in their eyes?"

The mouthless Storyteller turns his head to him. "It's not your fault. The humans and the elves of this world are at war."

"Men and Elves at war with each other?" Gimli repeats in disbelief. "How did that even happen?"

While Aristidis is about to begin his explanation, Henrietta signs her guards to lower their weapons upon realizing it's not one of the elves they know about, which they do so. "According to the many books of this world that I have laid my eyes upon, thousand of years ago, one of theirs who was, let's say, an esteemed assistant to the human's Founder, which they revere in the same manner you would the most important of the existing gods, murdered him, resulting in a war that holds to this day, even if the focus on elves is not as apparent as it was in older times. Still, there are key details that are missing. Like, the reason the said elf did that. The overall relations between elves and humans of the time, and more. We can't be sure of how exactly all that began. But there is one thing a highly intelligent man like me knows when it comes to missing historical facts in an incredible amount of books."

The three girls of his move next to him as he proceeds to speak the final bit of his mind. "Every known and unknown individual, being, and power can be the reason it went like that. All this time they could even be blaming someone who doesn't deserves it at all. Or someone who does, nothing is a sure case when important bits of information are missing."

That explanation of his has given much to everyone to think about, especially since it is indeed true that no one today knows the details of that day.

Could their war with the elves truly be unjustified?

"And I can also imagine the elves here not being the most talkative type, preferring to keep information to themselves, while also having the tendency of looking down on everyone else due to believing themselves as THAT much more superior?" He then asks while looking around, to which everyone who has heard about elves nods in response, making him roll his eyes. "Typical, prideful elves."

Aristidis then turns to Legolas with a reassuring hand. "No offense toward you of course, Legolas."

"None taken, I understand." The blond elf replies with understanding, since he knows some of his own kind enough and all, and then looks at Gimli. "So, how many was it this time, friend?"

The dwarf chuckles for a short moment. "Well-"

The pitch-black Storyteller decides to put a hand between them to interrupt, drawing their attention as the others around them try to understand what are they talking about. "To avoid possible cheating, not that I don't trust any of you in this, I want you both to state your number together in three, two, one-"

Both of them speak up at the same time after that. "One hundred and sixty-nine-"

"All of the above." Aristidis cheekily says while pointing a thumb at himself.

"Argh, you've got to be- Wait a moment, what now?" Gimli begins a bit frustrated before getting confused at Aristidis's bit.

"I am the one who brought you here to do the deed, so technically your kills are my kills. Plus the handful Avion took care of, along with the ones who didn't survive the ship's crash landing." The mouthless Storyteller explains.

That makes everyone else understand now what was that about, and can't help but be amazed at the prowess of the two for being able to beat so many on their own, with the ravens help, yes, but still!

The dwarf points a finger at the Storyteller aggressively. "That doesn't count!"

Aristidis laughs amused for a moment in response, but then something draws his surprised attention as he gazes upon Henrietta, which makes everyone understandably confused about why he looks at her suddenly like that.

"Aristidis?" Louise questions as to understand, but instead Aristidis moves closer to the Princess, and stops in front of her.

He appears to be looking for quite a bit at the upper parts of her chest, which is not covered by the armor she wears, before bending down to look at her exposed thighs, with the action not only troubling Henrietta, but also making everyone see him as the worst kind of pervert, with his three girls incapable of understanding why he would disrespect the Princess of all people in such a way.

But before anyone speaks out loud about his offence, most likely Agnes, he straightens himself up with a serious expression as he begins proceeds to speak the first word in a loud manner. "ALRIGHT, who in Halkeginia was the one to suggest THAT as an appropriate idea of an armor for you, your Majesty?"

The Princess can only utter confused at that, along with the rest, due to the unexpected nature of the question.

He continues as he points with a finger at the obviously uncovered part right above the chestplate. "It doesn't take much thought to understand that a weapon or projectile strike in this location will result in heavy injury that can cost your life. It is called a chestplate for a reason- where is the protective plate supposed to be there to protect the important organs like the heart?"

Henrietta sweat drops as she is unsure on how to properly answer that. "Umm-"

"And bare thighs instead of proper chainmail to cover them?" The mouthless Storyteller interrupts while pointing now down at her thighs. "Think an arrow can't cause enough damage to incapacitate your ability to run or walk if it hits you there? Seriously now, it is as if the one responsible for its construction was either a pervert who wanted to turn you into a literal eyecandy for himself and people of his kind whenever you wore the armor, or a traitor who wanted to make sure you will certainly die or captured easily the moment you went into a serious battle."

That makes her eyes open wide as she proceeds to check herself up in her armor, having no idea it was making her THAT vulnerable, with the rest taking better consideration of the fact now upon being properly mentioned.

Louise sighs relieved that her Noble of a Familiar was not trying to ogle her Highness, but instead be helpful to her.

Aristidis continues. "I suggest to either fire the one responsible, or offer the appropriate punishment for his disrespectful action."

"Aristidi~s!" A voice yells at the distance which draws his and everybody else's attention to the side, and showing to be Siesta that waves a hand at him while running and smiling happily, followed by her family, and Lucky Luke on top of his trusty steed, and with a smiling Jerry mouse being currently in the hold of one of the siblings.

"AAH, my good girl Siesta!" The Storyteller yells happily as he takes a few steps toward her, before grabbing her by the side with both hands as soon as she reaches him, and lifting her off the ground to keep her above him with ease while looking at her. "You have no idea how much I missed you in the many days you were absent!"

"It has barely been two days!" The pink-haired girl points out in a frustrated manner, due to the hyperbolic nature that is he, with Charlotte and Kirche smiling awkwardly at the scene as all the others are confused with the interaction.

The black-haired girl simply chuckles at his mannerism. "I missed you too, dear. By the way, these are my parents, and siblings."

Aristidis looks at them as he lets Siesta down again, with them being surprised not only because Siesta was telling the truth in the end about the one he is with, but also because of the pitch-black and mouthless facts the humanoid before them shows to be, with the smaller siblings looking at him with much of child-like interest.

The pitch-black Storyteller shows them a kind face and bows respectfully like a gentleman. "Very pleased to meet you all."

He then lifts a finger while at it, preventing the father who was about to offer his thanks for saving the village. "Just a moment, though."

After saying that, Aristidis moves in the blink of an eye in front of Henrietta again, startling her. "So, how did you like my little performance up there, your Majesty?"

"O-Oh." The princess utters as she understands he talks about the decisive battle, and smiles with appreciation as she grasps both hands before her. "Aristidis, what you did for us today, among the other miracles you have done for us the previous days, will never be forgotten. I wish I could do something in return to show you just how thankful I am for the miraculous help you have given to me and my kingdom."

"I am sure you do, and I appreciate the thought as much as you are thankful to my greatness." The pitch-black Storyteller arrogantly states, with everyone sweat dropping at the fact, but then his eyes widen for a moment as he sees a guard carrying the Ring Of Andvari next to the Princess, and extends an expecting hand toward it. "Apologies, but I will need to take the ring off your possession. It belongs to the Spirit Of Water residing in the Lake of Lagdorian, and I promised its return."

While the guard is unsure about what to do in this situation, an idea comes to Henrietta as she then places with a smile a hand before the hand that has the ring and pushes it a bit away from the Storyteller. "If that is the case, then I will take responsibility by sending it at a later time with my people to the spirit for you, as my way to show you my gratitude. I am sure after all that someone as important as you are, will prefer spending his precious time in more important matters than that of errand, no?"

Aristidis stays silent for a moment, before lifting his head upward with a short-lived pridefully chuckle. "I see your point, esteemed Majesty of Tristain, and I wholeheartedly agree with your kind offer. You have the freedom to do as much."

Henrietta jumps with joy on the inside, being given the chance to do at least this little gesture of gratitude for the one who helped her people so much.

"Need to add something before officially leaving your company though, regarding my today's work." The mouthless Storyteller says and then moves his face close to her curious ear, ready to whisper with much of glee. "That may be a lesson for you, to never underestimate my power. Henrietta."

Her eyes widen at the Storyteller's unexpected words as she turns her head to him, with the rest wondering what he told her to surprise her like that.

Aristidis pleased pulls himself back while turning to walk toward and past the rest. "Alright, now that we are finished here, let us all move straight to the village of Tarbes, and prepare it for an amazing, proper celebration! You know, for preventing it from falling to Reconquista and all."

Siesta clasps her hands together happily as she follows after him, together with the rest of the girls, her family, and Lucky Luke along with Magwa together with the Hurons and Oblivion Guards. "Yes of course, that would be great!"

Kirche decides to speak up as well in the same manner. "A grand celebration after a big fight. Our darling has once more showed us how to properly enjoy life!"

Louise looks at Aristidis curious. "What did you tell the Princess exactly back there?"

"Later, my good girl, now I am dancing." The Storyteller tells her, just before he snaps his fingers for a band to appear behind, who follow as they begin playing the Keycard Theme 1# from Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, with him tap dancing with the rhythm, much to most's confusion and the rest's enjoyment.

"Is strange music necessary?" Magwa of the Hurons asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, chief, but you were not given permission to voice your opinion, so it will be politely ignored for the duration." Aristidis says while keeping on dancing as they move forward, much to the Huron Chief's frustration. "Now come on, Louise, Tabitha, Kirche, Siesta, Luke, Magwa, Legolas, Gimli, and everyone else, with me together!"

At that, the redhead, Lucky Luke, the blond elf, the Colossal bird that is Avion, and even Charlotte herself decide to follow his example and dance in the same or similar manner like he does while following.

"I forgot what a great dancer he is too." Kirche tells delighted to her close friend, but then appears rather thoughtful about something. "Gimli? Now what that name reminds me of?"

"One of the boys you used to date." Charlotte reminds her as she keeps on dancing.

The redhead smiles again while snapping her fingers once in realization. "Ah right, that one! What a coincidence, isn't it?"

As Aristidis's group makes its way toward the now safe village, Henrietta and the rest just keep on looking at them go for the duration.

The Princess remembers all of the moments she spent with him.

His audacity today, though understandable, the pleasant company he offered during his stay in the palace, his kindness, his free spirited and honest nature, even the time he tried to make his bold move on their first ever meeting.

She blushes softly while putting a hand on her chest, but after a short moment shakes her head troubled and in disbelief.

(No, what are you thinking?! You are a woman who still grieves over the love she lost, you can't think of such things! Not to mention you're a princess and soon to be queen, and that man is not the marrying type. For one of my status to be in anyone's harem, even his, is unheard of, and more than unacceptable by law only.) Henrietta thinks. (Such a thing could never work between us.)

She stays as she is for a bit longer, and then somewhat puts a hand thoughtfully but still uneasy close to her mouth. (Could it?)

In the meantime, somewhere in the opposite woods, a hooded, female figure with pale skin standing behind a tree while watching at the aftermath of the battle from afar, with a hand at the side of her head, making obvious the fact she speak to someone telepathically. "That is the full report of how it went. What are we to do from here on, my king Joseph?"

The scene immediately cuts straight to a dark war-room at an unknown location, where a single person with regal, white/blue coat, which has white fur behind of the neck area, is looking over a strategic map upon the table, with the scene blackening him enough to not show his face.

The man smiles ominously. "Continue normally as instructed. I have a feeling this is going to lead to what I am looking for, for sure."

~At A Truly Unknown Location, Filled With Complete Blackness~

"Woo~, that fight was sure something!" Derflinger yells enthusiastically with his hands high while appearing suddenly from below and out of screen, with his new black cloak and white, expressive mask on as remembered.

The black-cloaked Kremant then is shown nearby, looking at him with folded arms and a somewhat pleased expression. "That was what is called the first season's end for you. And just you wait till we reach the next one, Derf. Wait. Till. Then." Says the last bits with the ominous appearance of his wicked grin of sharp-teeth, and staying like that for the duration.

"That's not ominous in the slightest." The white masked man says sarcastically as he points his thumb at him while looking at the camera, and pretty much breaking the forth wall.

{To Be Continued}