Lights of flame came into the horizon, Narnia descending towards it. Landing at a barren ground at the top of a canyon full of tents and soldiers. There were so many injuries being healed by others. Some were grabbing weapons and heading out in groups, flying up and then diving down the sides. The other side was miles away, little lights flickered softly.

Narnia grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side. A cart with a catapult was rolled by. "Carful, they are in War-mood. They wait for no one."

I tilted my head, looking around. "Why are we here, what's going on?"

"We are pushing back on those who are trying to come into the center parts of the netherworld and threaten where we live. They want what we have. Ever since Derkila left, this war has been on and off."

"Why?"

"Because they lose and then retreat."

"Why?"

"Not enough people to fight back, and low resources."

"Why?"

"Vi." He pinched his nose. "They are close to the desert where little food lays."

"Sounds silly when you get the root cause. Quan-Quan is a nice spell, why take when you can create?"

"Quan-Quan only works with the right conditions, like soil and enough rain."

"And mana reserves." I crossed my arms. "You could grow a jungle in a desert if you had enough mana. This world is brimming with magic to be this unsuccessful with procreating food."

Then I remembered the tainting. Most of these demons were half or less demons. The ones like Narnia and Kalego were half or more. He took us to a large tent, demons on the inside were discussing something over a table with a map on top.

A man with half human like up top and goat like legs looked up to us. "Narnia, it is good to see you. When do you think you can go out and help?"

"Maybe later, this is Violetta. She is new to Border Patrol but is an invaluable asset I managed to pick up."

He extended his hand. "Good to meet you, I am General Arbus." I stepped back.

"Not a welcoming person, but if Narnia likes you, then I do to." He had wings tucked in behind him. Long Brown hair passed his waist tied back half up.

"She is not friendly at first, she treated me the same way. Worse if I am honest." Narnia looked over the table. "How are we looking?"

"Not good. They had a sudden increase in power, most if not all are fighting in an extended wicked phase compared to a week ago. We are having trouble keeping up, and we have fallen back twice now."

"Very unusual, are there more of them?"

"That's the thing, there is less but they fight like they are ten or more demons combined in one."

"Vi, what you think?"

"I think war is a waste of time."

Arbus' crossed his arms. "Narnia, you said you had a solution." Narnia handed me the black folder he kept from me a few days ago.

Cracking it open, I looked down at the numerous photos within the file. Demons of all shapes and sizes with one thing in common. Black crystals on the skin. They had just appeared on the opposing side. Where did they get these things and so many of them?

I narrowed my eyes on him. "You brought me here for this?"

"You did it before, you can do it again."

I facepalmed. "Expel mana, recuperate fully and then come here. That's why you did not care we had to stop and rest. Nari, you could have said something sooner."

"Would you have come otherwise." He had me there, I didn't want to do all of that again. Didn't know if I could. "Exactly, we need you here."

Arbus leaned in on the table, making his presence known. "Hate to interrupt this couple dispute, but I am lost in the conversation."

I narrowed my eyes, baring my teeth. "Not a couple."

He leaned back, teeth bared at me. "You brought one of them with you?"

"She is different from those with crystals."

"What do you call this." He pointed at my crown, and a bolt of black lightning shot out. "What the fuck!?" He pulled his hand back, shook it and looked down. There was nothing wrong, but I'm glad it hurt.

Narnia moved between us. "Think of a hive, they are the workers, and then they have the queen who controls the workers."

I grabbed his arm, pushing it down. "This is…" He put his hand up over my mouth.

"Did you prepare a tent for two as I asked?"

His eyes narrowed on me. "I did, it's three tents down next to mine. Barbosa, take them there now. Seems they have much to talk about."

A demon leaned up from the post. A mask covered his face and shielded his eyes. There was not a part of him showing. It's hot, why is he wearing so much. He walked past us, waving us forward. The nap of his neck was the only visible skin, one black line going up.

I had seen that before; the lines were on the dead demons who never had the crystal removed. I narrowed my eyes. "Barbosa, stop." He halted. "Turn around." He listened, he looked behind me, then at me. "Take your mask off."

"You don't have to listen to her, take them to the tent."

Barbosa eyes did not leave me as he pulled his mask off. Thick black lines ran up his neck, and to his eyes.

"You failed to mention you were using the crystals as well." His eyes narrowed. "Don't look at me like that." His face stiffened.

"Were not, I touched one. If I expend myself one last time, I'm done for."

"Do you want it removed?"

"They only way to remove it is to either kill me or chop the body part off. It's over my heart." He pulled his shirt down for me to see, then covered it again.

"I did not ask how to remove it; I asked if you wanted it gone."

"You don't think I don't want this gone?"

I sighed. "So testy. I can remove that for you. Lean down and expose it." He did as I said, I touched the crystal. The blackness absorbed inside my skin and an empty crystal feel to the floor. "Your welcome." He blinked as he pulled his gloves off.

"I know your dazed but take us to the tent."

"Right." He looked at the mask, then shoved it in his hack pocket. "This way."

He guided us to the tent, Narnia grabbing my arm as he took us inside. He shut the curtains and turned on me.

"How did you know?"

"I saw the black vein in his skin. The little sliver I had seen."

He peeked out the tent flap, then walked past me. "We need you to do this and put an end to these crystals."

"Nari, that's mass scale manipulation. I don't know if I can do that."

He took the folder from me, displaying it on a small table. "You can."

I tugged at his sleeve. "What if I can't, then I failed everyone."

He turned, cupping my face to look at him, eyes furrowing. My hands came up to his wrists, holding them has he spoke. "I would not have brought you, if I did not believe you could do something."

"There is still so much we don't know about my powers."

"You doubt yourself, think of the nights you walk around. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Your tiara is almost a crown, twelve diamonds. The more you grow in power, the bigger it gets."

"I would need an ocean of mana for what your asking."

"And you have that ocean; do you realize how much power it takes to run just the building where you are stationed? Let alone all the others you dumped into, and you still had some left? Vi, I know you can do this. People are dying, they are using children to help them fight."

He forced me to look at the pictures. He was really pulling the child card on me. I looked at the faces, they were indeed young, maybe Iruma's age. There were so many of them.

"Do it for them, help them the way you helped Barbosa or more will suffer the same fate. Pull these suppressants out and listen to them."

I already knew what I would hear, it would be the same thing I heard when we flew to his castle. It would tug and pull at me until I did something.

"Vi, no tears."

They had already escaped; how could he pull me into this and not expect me to be sad and upset at all I was seeing. If I left and did nothing it would weigh on me for the rest of my life.

"Okay."

"I knew you would make the right decision. Let's go back." He opened the tent for me, and on the other side was a line of demons much like Barbosa. "Looks like you start now. When you touch them dose anything happen to you?"

"No, if anything, there like tiny batteries."

"Well, princess. Show them the amazing demoness I know you are."

One by one, the crystals were absorbed, and the demons were cured. Seeing this many, with children included. These kids should not be here fighting on either side. It was sad, but it filled me with rage.

"That was the last one for now, how do you feel?"

I looked to Narnia, seeing Arbus behind him. "I feel fine, but it seems someone is waiting on us."

He smirked. "If you speak of the one watching from the sidelines he has been there since you started."

Arbus told me everything from where they were, to where they thought they might move next. I absorbed it all like a sponge. The entire valley width was used, and it stretched miles.

They had not been here long, falling back here as a last resort to keep them at bay before the breach. If a breach occurred, then the safe lands we lived in would not be so safe anymore. The whole reason behind this war was for fertile land and food.

What they did not realize was he were short us. The village I had been at, was an example of what could be everywhere. Those demons had originated from the desert. The south was the worst, followed by the west.

I could see the sun coming up through the tent crack. "I see." I took the hearing suppressants out, putting then in their case.

"So, you can help?" Arbus eyes widened.

"I think I know what to do to end it all."

"Vi, what are you thinking?"

I held up a melon seed, then placed it on the table. "Quan-Quan." The seed grew into a full plant growing more melons than a standard crop. "They are hungry, we should feed them. It is a basic demon right to food, if we can make it available; all would end. First things first, we must stop the fighting."

Barbosa took one of the melons and cut it open. Eating it in front of everyone, juice dribbled down his chin. "It's sweet, like it was planted in fertile soil."

Arbus took a slice, doing the same. "You mana is on another level."

I nodded. "Nari, if I do this. I will need you. Not for your mana, but to take care of me afterwards. I might expend myself to much. When I went to your castle, I expended myself. I should have stopped, but I didn't because it all reveled around one person. Now there is another threat to them." I looked down.

"I understand. You won't stop until you know all is well. I know what mana deficit looks like. Why do you think you woke up after a few hours and not a day?" He really has been there for me all this time. He rubbed my head.

"Have your warriors start collecting any seeds rather than eating them. Here is a start." I motioned over the melons.

"What about the fighting?"

I stood up, taking a seed and putting it in my pocket. "That's what I will do now, you do as I asked. You needed me, not the other way around."

I left the tent, bombarded with the noises of war happening around us. Arbus and Barbosa following behind me. I teleported up and dove down, heading towards the battle field. I would need a lot of noise to keep this up.

The screams of there fighting would end once I shoved them to the ground. I centered myself summoning my violin and playing so I could stand as I summoned more instruments. I formed a dome, the sounds reverberating all around me in bellowing echoes.

I pressed down hard, all who stood were shoved to the ground. It did not matter what side they were on, they were all in the wrong in my eyes. My vision darkened around the edges, the anger inside from the images cycling through my mind.

Not a sword was swung, nor manifestation of power. Using the sound, I let go of my violin to let it join the orchestra. Expanded the dome over the other side of the ledge, I flew to the desert dwellers side. They struggled to get up as I walked up to them.

"I need to talk to the one in charge, direct me there."

Blackened hands pointed in a single direction. They had all been infected with these crystals. I followed the hands to a tent, flicking it open. A demon was laying across a table, trying to force himself up. Another laying on the floor.

"Are you the one directing the army?"

"I might be, are you the one doing this to me?

"I am. I have the whole battle field in the same state. I came here on peaceful terms." I released him.

"There will be no peace."

"Really." I took a hold of his lungs and watching him choke for a moment. He gripped his chest coughing as I spoke. "I am the solution you need, or I will do that to everyone's hearts and eliminate the problem all together. Tell me, why are you fighting so hard?"

"Why anyone fights, land and resources like food."

"I can grow said food, I am currently having the general on the other side picking though melons for seeds." I pulled the seed out and cast the spell. The melon grew just like before, I sliced it open, handing him a piece.

"But…" He narrowed his eyes on it.

"Eat it." He took a bite, and he nodded.

"How?"

"Deep mana pockets. Now I can do this all day, or we can stop this now and I help you cultivate."

"You would do that for those out side the center of the borders."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I would not be here if I was not willing to do so."

"I will signal my men back here." I followed him to huge horns, he summoned wind and they reverberated through the dome.

I called Narnia. "I heard the sound, they are retreating?"

"Sorta, they pick through the seeds yet?"

"We have a few small bags. Sound the fall back horn."

I heard a horn come from the other side. I released the whole area, summoning my instruments back to my bracelet.

"You are an interesting person."

"I get that a lot." Demons flew up and out of the cannon landing all around the camp. I shouted at the top of my lungs. "If you have a black crystal on your body, you will form a line now!"

The general was the first to line up, he blinked. "How?"

"I can control demons in evil cycles as well. The crystals cause a continual cycle if you want it to stop or not."

I grabbed his face, the crystal popping off. I propped a bag open and summoned it to the bag. The line had grown full of demons trying to make since of what was controlling them. I took the crystals off them all, putting them in the bag. When the last one came through, I pulled the dark mana all at once and turned the crystals clear.

"Don't do this again. Children don't deserve to die a death like this. I will be back, don't go anywhere." I teleported to Narnia.

"I was about to come over there. What took so long to come back?"

I waved a hand over the bag of empty crystals. Then held my hand out. "Seeds." He gave me a satchel bag with a bunch of little bags inside. "I will need you, you got me right?" He nodded, and held his arm, teleporting back to the other side.

"I did not introduce myself earlier. I am General Lokas." He held a hand out.

"She doesn't like being touch."

He pulled back. "I see."

"I need to know where we can plant or cultivate these."

"We will have to head south and to the underground city."

I shook my head. "You have a picture of this place or of one close?"

He pulled out a photo. "This is close, but it is in my home." He had three children, all smiling as they played in a cave. I nodded, I held on to them both teleporting to a spot within the area of the picture.