In the palace in Crocus…the situation was not as smooth for the King and Princess as one would believe. Two lacrima screens were present before the pair of royalty, one displaying King Ashnard while the other displayed Count Waltz, neither of them seeming pleased with the situation of Fiore at the moment. "So, tell me…" Count Waltz began. "Did you know that within a matter of 30 minutes, the entire continent of Earthland is notified of such a grave slip up on your end. Being threatened to hand over your country to a mad scientist within the span of an hour? My…that's quite a foolish ploy you've allowed to occur, Toma, Hisui. Rather disgraceful as your title as rulers…"

"Ah…" Hisui began sweating slightly. She didn't know what to say to counter Waltz's words. Things really haven't been good in Fiore and it was only a matter of time before the other countries of Earthland started to comment.

"This is…quite a pickle, yes…" Toma cleared his throat. "However…your intervention will not be needed. I am confident in the mages that have gone to quell this threat. For now, it is my duty as to let the people know they will be safe."

"You've at least got something correct, King of Fiore." Ashnard shook his head slowly. "However…this problem involves more than just Fiore now. Should those you've placed your needless faith in fail…then it will put the other countries at risk. Then we will have to intervene for the safety of OUR people. As a ruler, I can't very well ignore my people's safety, can I?"

This was when Hisui had to bite her tongue. She already had quite enough of Ashnard's attitude during the national meeting…and now it was really beginning to get under her skin. The rumors surrounding King Ashnard were…not good. How he was nothing but a tyrant who didn't care at all for the wellbeing of his people. It was taking all the Jade Princess's restrain to avoid calling him out at this very moment. "…I see your point…" Was all Hisui managed to reply with.

"You've only got half an hour to hope for your country to resolve this problem, dear princess." Count Waltz said with a disapproving shake of his head.

"Otherwise, in worry for other countries and my own…I'll have to unleash Heracles once again." Ashnard said with a slowly widening grin.

"There will be no need for that….!" Hisui replied.

"You better hope so." Waltz waved his hand disapprovingly. "The other countries have already given the seals of the approval, rather quickly at that."

"What!? How!?" Hisui questioned.

Waltz continued without answering her question. "If you don't fix this, it will be fixed for you. Understand, Fiore? It's the will of the people, after all." With that both screens cut out. Soon after, a soldier came barging in the doors.

"Sir…! The people are beginning to panic, we need you out there…!" The solider reported.

"Of course…I'll be there immediately." Toma nodded and went off, leaving Hisui to jet sigh to herself.

"This is too big a mess…" The Jade Princess said while placing a hand on her forehead. "I don't like the way Fiore is looking to these other countries now…things were fine until Ashnard started speaking…how he got everyone on his side so quickly, I don't understand…"

It was then that Aiden's face appeared on a screen before Hisui startling her while Arcadios grabbed the hilt of his sword on instinct. "Hello, hello…I hope I didn't scare the little princess. I was just calling to see if you've come to a decision yet."

"You're made if you honestly think we'd hand over this entire country to you." Hisui kept a brave face while confronting Aiden. Just like with Hosonaga, she wasn't planning to back down to him. However, unlike with Hosonaga, the situation was entirely out of her hands. Rallying the people wasn't going to work this time. All she could do was show Aiden that she wasn't afraid of him. "You've failed twice before, and you shall fail again. I hoped someone as smart as you would figure this out by now."

"Ah…shame…" Aiden shrugged. "I'm not worried for you still have 30 full minutes to make your choice. As a ruler, I'm sure you'll choose well~." With that, Aiden's screen cut out.

Hisui let out a heavy sigh, leaning back in her chair while staring up at the ceiling. "Please, Fairy Tail…"

.

.

"WAAAH!" Both Juvia and Lucy were thrown into the walls due to an explosion caused by Aeon. "Oof…" Lucy rubbed her head and groaned, scratches and bruises appearing on her fair skin. "I almost forgot how tough these guys were…" With a groan she stood right back up, swinging her whip in a horizontal motion, creating several shockwaves that split the ground apart while striking Aeon.

"Gyah…!" Arms crossed, the white haired hunter was blown back by Lucy's might and slid across the floor before coming to a halt.

Juvia was up next, wasting no time while bringing an arm up, swinging it violently several times. This prompted several crescent blades of razor sharp water to shoot forward, cutting through everything that dared to stand in their way while racing towards the Wizard Hunter. "Water Slicer!"

Seeing the danger coming his way, Aeon held both hands forward, a white magic seal forming just before him. "A-Beam!" The seal spun in a clockwise motion for a few seconds before unleashing a massive beam of light towards the incoming Water Slicer. The two attacks collided in the middle for a second before an eventual explosion took place, filling the corridor with smoke.

"He's tough…" Juvia grunted while bringing her arm up to protect her eyes from the smoke.

"No kidding…" Lucy nodded while keeping a watchful eye out on the smoke. She didn't know what kind of attack Aeon was going to perform while hidden from sight.

There was a slight glimmer from the smoke and a giant beam of light rushed from the smoke and crashed into both Lucy and Juvia, sending them soaring backwards across the corridor before they finally came to a halt on their sides. "A-Beam…"

Lucy shakily pushed herself up, clenching one eye shut while staring up at Aeon. "Ugh…just how tough is this guy…? It doesn't seem like we can get any leeway on him…"

"It pains me to damage you lovely ladies…" Aeon said while adjusting his tie, covered in his own share of scrapes and bruises. "However, I consider this payback for when you took an unkind shot at my groin."

Lucy remembered that! Even now she couldn't help but form a cheesy, sheepish grin at the memory. "A-Ah…don't you know it's bad to hold grudges…?" Meanwhile…Juvia took this the wrong way; the expression on her face showing that she was on a completely different page. "DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!"

.

Takeru emerged from the shadows, right in front of the container that held Selene. Having slipped past security easily, the shadow dragon allowed shadows to swirl around his hand as he reared it back. "Don't worry, Serena…I'll make sure to get you out of here so that they can't use you like this again." Takeru then threw his fist forward, unleashing a beam of shadows that struck the capsule…only for it to be rendered ineffective. "Tch…! Should've known it wasn't going to be that easy…" He was going to prepare once again, but halted when a voice began speaking.

"I'm ssssorry, but I can't allow you to do that…" Shade's voice echoed within the room, causing Takeru to go on high alert. The vampire mage was hanging from the ceiling, a blood thirsty grin stretching along his lips. He then leapt from the ceiling while stretching his arms out, emitting an eardrum shattering sound wave that caused Takeru to cover his ears.

"Shit…!" Takeru shouted while covering his ears, pinned to his location due to the harsh sound waves. He was unable to defend himself from the following slash attack from Shade, causing him to tumble back across the floor before coming to a halt. "Ugh…why couldn't I detect you?"

"I am a master of disguise and the shadows are my home. I will not be detected by something as simple as a scent." Shade explained while crossing his arms. "I cannot allow you to try and free your mate. You will have to get past me…and I assure you, you will not be defeating me."

.

Weavel used his speed to outmaneuver Erza. Within the narrow corridor it was difficult for Erza to get a read on Weavel's movements; even with such a small space the Hunter was making optimal use of his movement options. Erza held two swords in her grasp as her eyes attempted to follow the shadow hunter, but to no avail. Within a flash, Weavel sped past her while slashing at her armored side. To her surprise, the blade cut through her armor to inflict a deep wound. "…!?" Erza's eyes widened and her knees buckled before standing firm. "Such speed…"

"You can't hope to catch me…" Weavel's voice was coming from all angles. Once behind Erza he twisted his body around, aiming a cross clash at the back of Titania's head; he was aiming to end her right then and there.

Erza was being underestimated. The second Weavel aimed his follow up slash, Erza turned to block with both of her swords, holding her ground as a brief power struggle ensued. Erza then brought her leg up to kick Weavel in the stomach, forcing him to stagger back across the floor. "I think it's you who doesn't realize who you're up against." A bright light wrapped around Erza's body and she was revealed to be in her Heaven's Wheel armor; one arm was extended forward and dozens upon dozens of swords were pointed in Weavel's direction. "For a mage with exceptional speed, you sure know how to stay in someone's way. Get out of my way; you won't stop me from rescuing my comrades." The swords then began to shoot towards Weavel, leaving little to no room for escape.

"Hah…" Weavel grunted in pain after Erza's kick…but then she presented a challenge to him: swords that covered nearly every inch of the room, all of them racing towards him at a violent velocity. "Now this…this is getting interesting…" Weavel's body vanished in a blur of shadows, slipping through the swords practically unscathed; in the next second he reached Erza while throwing his hand forward. "Shadow Slash."

Erza was caught off guard by Weavel's speed; she truly did underestimate Weavel's speed and it was about to cost her dearly. Weavel's hand reached her face an explosion of darkness followed, sending her skidding back across the corridor. "Ngh…!"

"Come now, Titania…" Weavel said with a slight grin creeping along his visible lips. "Give me a fun time. You don't have long until that cannon fires again…"

.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Arms thrown forward, Gray released a plethora of lances towards the Wizard Hunter he was facing off against: Marta. These lances covered a wide radius and aimed to strike the opposing female while leaving little room to evade.

"I see I see…" The brunette nodded slowly while examining all of Gray's movements up until he finally attacked. The incoming lances of ice posed no threat to the experienced Hunter. "According to my calculations, this will be the most efficient way to deal with your attack…" The female pulled out several magical bombs that were thrown towards the incoming lances, all of them colliding in the middle for an explosion that shook the tower slightly. With a thin layer of smoke as cover, Marta then placed a colorless magic seal on the ground and just waited for Gray to fall into her trap.

"Tch…" Gray took a step back from the smoke and that was his mistake. He stepped on the magic seal he didn't even notice, causing a rope to shoot out and tie around his ankle, leaving him dangling on the corridor ceiling. "W-What the…!?" He couldn't move an inch, he was literally a sitting duck!

"This rope seals all movement and magic. This leaves you a sitting duck!" Marta explained while dusting off her dress. She then got on a knee, pulling out a gigantic rocket launcher, a wide grin stretching on her lips. "Oh…this one is one of my favorites…."

"Shit..." Gray grit his teeth. He couldn't move or use his magic, despite his best efforts to do so! He could only watch as Marta fired the rocket right at him, his eyes widening. An explosion happened, and Gray found himself being thrown into the wall. "Gah...!" The rope was still around him, and he was covered in bruises. He could take an attack like that once, but again? "Damn it..."

"Still kicking?" Marta grinned. "Not bad, but I have plenty of ammo left..." And right as she went to fire another shot, a blade sliced through the barrel, causing her to leap back. She slid across the ground, narrowing her eyes at the sudden interference. "What the..."

"You're a tricky one." Ace was standing in his Acid Armor, looking towards Marta with a grin. "Anti-mage specialist? People like you aren't opponents to take lightly. You alright, Gray?"

"I'll live." Gray replied. "Thanks..."

"No problem! I'll take care of this one in a second!" Ace said confidently.

Marta laughed and placed a hand on her hip. "I know who you are. Acid Ace of Dealer. I know you're pretty strong...but you should know, that I thrive when facing people like you. I singlehandedly captured Laxus Dreyar." Of course, she'd never admit that she overestimated herself in that encounter. The fact of the matter was that she did manage it; it didn't matter how close it was.

"Is that the truth?" Ace quirked a brow and then smirked. "So let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is! Vulcan!" Ace pointed his arm forward, his hand morphing into a turret that fired off high speed bullets towards Marta.

Expecting this, Marta held her hand out, a device on her arm glowing before turning into a blue barrier in front of her. "Magic Shield!"

With a pleased smile, Ace darted forward, and took a high leap into the sky. He spun around, wind swirling around his leg and he dove down towards Marta. "Typhoon Kick!" Ace was coming in fast and above her shield, so Marta leapt backwards. Ace slammed into the ground as Marta slid back, but she wasn't off the hook. He pushed forward, flames igniting around his fist. "Heat Upper...!"

"He's fast...!" Marta thought to herself as she crossed her arms. Ace's fist hit hard and she tumbled backwards, but managed to catch herself. She pressed a foot on the floor and multiple turrets appeared in front of her. "Anti-Magic Missiles, fire!" Multiple missiles shot forward towards Ace to explode against him.

"That all you got!?" Ace smirked and flew ahead, brandishing his blade as he slashed through the missiles with ease. He was drawing close to Marta and aimed a slash at the Hunter. Marta was able to lean to the side, twisting her body around to push her legs out.

"Swallow Dance!" She aimed a few graceful kicks towards Ace. She hit him a few times, displaying her surprising amount of strength for being a non-mage, but it wasn't enough to push Ace back either.

"If you don't pull out all the stops, you're not gonna hunt anything!" Ace taunted, pushing his momentum forward as he spun around. "Typhoon Dance!" This prompted a whirlwind to appear around Ace and he threw it forward. Marta was caught within the fierce wind, grunting as she was tossed about, until she hit the ground.

"Gah..." Marta hit the ground, wincing as Ace started to approach once more. He was about to attack, and that's when wires jutted out from the wall, wrapping around Ace's body. It was the same rope that snagged Gray, effectively sealing his movement and magic all at once.

"W-..?!" Ace was stuck in place.

"Oh shit...!" Gray's eyes widened. "She got Ace, too!?"

"Gotcha!" Marta grinned. She stood up, dusting herself off. "My clothes are in tatters because of you! It was barely even worth it. I had to use the best traps I had in store for you two." She gestured to Gray as well.

"You strong types are all the same. You think you can blast through people that are weaker." Mart wore a prideful grin. "That's where I excel. You can't judge my power just because I don't have any magic. I'm strong in my own way! My talent is hunting down strong wizards like you!"

"Hah..." Ace laughed a bit. "Using the wall and floor for ambush material. Gotta admit...that's pretty clever. I knew better than to underestimate someone like you. That's why I was just the opening act."

"...Huh...?" Marta blinked. Even Gray seemed confused. "Opening act...?"

And then it happened.

Lisanna, in her half rabbit Takeover, leapt from over ace. "HAAAAAAH!" There was no time for Marta to respond to the kick to her chest. Lisanna's momentum and the element of surprise knocked the Hunter right into the ground.

"AAAH!?" Marta cried out in surprise. The weakest Strauss just got the jump on her!? "Where did you-!?"

Lisanna shifted her momentum as she shifted into her bird takeover, a blue aura cloaked around her body. "Wing Blade!" Marta didn't have anything defensive left, due to using her good traps on Gray and Ace. Lisanna was not something she was expecting, so the youngest Strauss slammed into her at full force. An explosion occurred and Lisanna slid back. Marta was on the ground, KOed.

"Whoa!" Gray grinned. "You go, Lisanna!"

"I'm glad that worked." Lisanna used this chance to free Gray and Ace. "It felt risky..."

"I wanted Lisanna to show off a bit." Ace said with a grin. "Plus, someone like that girl was actually troublesome. I had a feeling she'd get me too..."

"You used yourself as a distraction?" Gray wouldn't think of such a tactic, especially with someone as strong as Ace.

"Yeah. It forced her hand." Ace rubbed his wrists. "And when she had nothing left to use, that's when Lisanna struck. This was my plan the whole time. It's why I wanted Lisanna with us. Plus, I know Mirajane and Elfman would kill me if I actually let her get hurt." He knew Lisanna could handle herself, but he preferred to not take the risk.

"She's gotten stronger!" Gray said proudly.

Lisanna scratched her cheek in response. It was a little much to be praised by people as strong as Gray and Ace, but it made her feel good as well. "I'm doing my best for everyone. But we can't sit here and talk about this now! We have Dragon Slayers to save!"

"Right, let's go!" Ace and Gray said in unison. The trio quickly rushed off, while Marta looked up at them running away.

"Using a stronger wizard to distract me from the weaker one...that's a good strategy..." She couldn't even be mad. She was excellent at tackling stronger wizards, but those who weaker? Ironically, that was her weakness...

.

Yuzan wore elemental gloves; one fire, one lightning. With a grin he rushed towards Reve, aiming several punches at the S class gunslinger in rapid succession. "Just when I thought today's payload couldn't get any better, here I am with a reward for taking down Reve Volver of White Eclipse. Why don't you just make this easier on yourself and just quit!?" The leader of Predator's Reign was determined to hunt down this high class prey.

When two cocky mages collided, someone's pride was going to get crushed…and it wasn't going to be Reve's. He already decided this when the fight began. With Yuzan closing the distance between them, Reve's blue eyes shifted to a strong emerald coloration: Precision Eyes. As usual, these eyes allowed him to perceive movement slower than most. Yuzan's assault was swiftly evaded, and for those that believed close combat was a glaring weakness for Reve…they were wrong. A spinning roundhouse was aimed at Yuzan's side, but it was blocked. No matter, for Reve used this momentum and Quick Draw technique to pull out a sawn off shotgun, pointing it at the leader of Predator's Reign and clicked the trigger. "Burst Shot!" From the barrel, a condensed bullet was released and struck Yuzan right in the gut, causing him to stagger backwards before regaining his footing.

"Heh…" Yuzan coughed before grinning towards Reve. This was the thrill of the hunt that he was looking for…and it was going to make becoming the winner that much more fulfilling. "Not bad. But not great, either."

"Oh, is that how you feel?" Reve quirked a brow, his smirk still present. "I can show you a lot more if you like. Just don't feel too bad when it's revealed that you've been outclassed from the outset."

"You're mistaken. I've already seen right through you!" Yuzan punched at the ground with his electric glove. This caused a shockwave to uproot the ground as it traveled towards Reve. Reve ran ahead and jumped over this, pointing his shotgun behind him. He used Burst Shot to propel himself forward to close the distance, but Yuzan was already in front of him, slamming his blazing glove into Reve's chest.

"Tch...!" Reve grit his teeth as he was punched into the wall. His shirt was ruined and there was a burn mark on his chest from the impact. He wouldn't admit it, but Yuzan's single punch kinda hurt.

"Had enough yet?" Yuzan said while shaking his glove.

"That all?" Reve made his way to his feet, dusting himself off. "You don't punch nearly as hard as Gildarts Clive. That felt like a little jab."

Yuzan's brow furrowed in annoyance. "That's how you goad your opponents, huh? Shit talk? Well, I hope your actions can back up your mouth!" Yuzan smirked, for he already sprung his trap on Reve. Reve's Precision Eyes couldn't track things that were out of his field of vision. He couldn't see through objects, and he had no way of seeing the explosion of lightning coming.

Reve was caught directly in the middle, one eye clenched shut as his body seized up from the lightning that struck him. "...! Damn..."

"What's the matter?! Can't keep up!?" Yuzan stepped forward in the blink of an eye, swinging a plethora pf punches at Reve's open body. His gloves changed to steel ones, composed of heavier material to make his incoming punches harder. One punch was delivered to Reve's temple to disorient him, followed up with a punch to his cheek to force his head to the side; next was a punch to Reve's stomach to force him to fold over, and the final few punches landed against his face. The final punch was an uppercut that threw Reve off his feet and into the air, landing a few feet away. "Furious Rush!"

Reve hit the ground hard on his back, grimacing after that furious onslaught. He turned his head to the side and spit out some blood, before turning to Yuzan and whipping out his magnum. "Ba-" Yuzan grabbed the Magnum with his gloved hand and crushed it, giving Reve an evil stare.

"Sorry. But your little peashooters don't work against someone like me. I'm your worst matchup, gunslinger!" With his free hand, Yuzan aimed to punch Reve square in the face to crush him into the ground and knock him out. But to his surprise, Reve caught his fist, with a bit of struggle. "Eh?"

"Close combat types like you are all the same." Reve said, giving Yuzan a stare as his eyes turned from green back to blue. "You all think you can beat me if you get close. Let me tell you something...that weakness was ironed out of me a long time ago." Reve's hand, now freed thanks to the destruction of his Magnum, shot towards Yuzan's face. It was a direct hit. The punch itself wasn't the surprise, but the BANG that followed was. The impact forced Yuzan to slide back, holding a hand over his eye as blood dripped from his cheek.

"W-What was that!?" Yuzan growled.

Reve stood back up, cracking his neck and dusting his hands off. Yuzan's shock made his grin appear on his bloodied lips. "Oh, that? That was a light jab."

"Think you're funny, huh?" Yuzan shook his wrist a bit, before stepping towards Reve once again. He threw a punch at Reve's jaw, only for the gunslinger to evade it, countering with a punch to his sternum. A gunshot rang out from the impact and Yuzan coughed.

"The power of my guns has been imbued into my fists. So I can beat you at your own game now." Reve's eyes turned gray, as he used his Foresight ocular magic to glance into the future. Yuzan was unaware of this ability, so as he aimed punch after punch at Reve, he found that he was unable to even land a hit on Reve.

"What the hell!?" Yuzan's punches got faster and faster. He was throwing some unorthodox attacks in as well, adding some kicks. But with every strike, Reve was just evading them easily.

"I can see your every move! I also see how this fight ends!" Reve ducked another one of Yuzan's punches, hitting him in the chest with another punch. Another gunshot rang out and Yuzan recoiled. Reve's onslaught of punches, attacking Yuzan from various angles. "Devil's Wheel: Fist of Fury!"

"Gaaaaah!" To Yuzan, it felt like he was being shot at from all angles. Every time he tried to strike Reve, the gunslinger wasn't where he thought. A punch collided against every part of his body, making it difficult for him to fight back. "B-But how...!? I'm at the top of the food chain! I can't...lose to someone like you!"

"Someone like me is the only person you can't beat." Reve said while winding up one final punch. "BURST SHOT!" An emerald glow appeared from his fist as he struck Yuzan in the stomach. A loud BANG echoed out through the corridor, the condensed bullet impact throwing Yuzan clear across the corridor. Yuzan cried out in pain before he slammed into the wall, eyes white in KO. Reve's eyes returned to normal and he exhaled, refusing to admit he took far more damage and used more magic than he expected in what he could deem as a random encounter. "The Eclipse always stays at the top. That's why everyone looks up..."

.

"M'lady's got this…!" Lector cheered from the sidelines along with Frosch. Minerva was facing off against one of the higher ranking members of the Wizard Hunters: Cain, the elemental master.

"Fro thinks so too…" Frosch waved, though he was still clearly worried for the wellbeing of Rogue and Sting. There wasn't much time left before their power was used to attack Fiore again, and the last thing Frosch wanted was for his best friend to be blamed for something that he couldn't even control.

"Stay back!" Minerva warned the two exceeds before swiping her arms to the side, using her territory to control the space near Cain to explode in a large chain that covered most of the area. "This man will fall before my might. You never stay between a Tigress and her prey."

"Ngh…!" Cain grunted from the chain of explosions, but even he seemed relatively damaged from the attack. He managed to hold his ground, but he could feel Minerva's power within that attack. "Well…" Cain shook his head with a slight grin. "I didn't expect the Ace of Sabertooth to…be so weak."

Those words ticked Minerva off slightly; he was making light of her and in such a dire situation as well! Teeth clenched and she pointed her arm forward, creating a sphere of spatial magic before her. "Is that so? Then allow me to sink my fangs into what will be your corpse." From the sphere, spikes of territory began to rapidly shoot out, all of them looking to impale and skewer their unfortunate target.

"Don't get so hasty. I want to have a little fun here." Cain said with a widening grin. Arms stretched out, a small ember of flame flickering within his palms. "Fire Spin." A spiral of scorching hot flames expanded from the male's palms, completely incinerating the corridor as it raced towards Minerva, engulfing the incoming spikes in the process.

"Tch…!" Sucking her teeth, Sabertooth's ace used her magic to create a barrier around her person. The spiral of flames did consume her; however the damage was severely cut. She didn't have a moment to breathe as Cain was upon her once again with his fist reared back, lightning surging around his fist.

"Flash Strike.." Cain's lips were curled into an animalistic grin as he threw his fist forward, an explosion of lightning overtaking Minerva and she was forced to slide back, gritting her teeth in pain as sparks danced wildly around her body from such a heavy hitting attack.

"Are you okay?!" Lector shouted in pure worry for Minerva.

"Fine." Minerva responded while shaking off the damage easily. "It appears as though this stubborn man just doesn't know who he's truly up against…" Speaking these words…it sent a rush through Minerva, one she hadn't felt in ages. "Perhaps I should show this man…who the true hunter is here…" If one thought Cain's grin was bad…it didn't match the smirk that slowly formed on Minerva's painted lips. It had been a long time since she was able to cut loose against someone without any repercussions…

.

.

"So that's how you speak to royalty?" Emeraude tilted her head towards Aiden, who wore a content smile. "The wellbeing of this country holds no importance to you, does it?"

"It doesn't need to." Aiden replied with a slight chuckle. "It is what other people care about, that allows me to do as I please. Threatening those things forces people to act when they don't have the power to protect it. The royalty of this country are a joke in that regard."

"So your grand plan involves picking on the weak?" Emeraude smirked at such provocative words.

"You signed up for this, you should know what to expect from such a story!" Hyde came to Aiden's defense.

"It's fine, Hyde. She agreed to see how my methods would work." Aiden said.

"That's right. I haven't agreed to help anyone. I'm here to see how your ploy ends." Emeraude stated. Aiden's performance determined the information she would share. "Although, I wonder if you'd even need my advice if you ended up destroying this country."

"Fiore's ruins would make a great stepping stone." Aiden replied calmly. It was then that the doors to his office were blown apart by an unknown force. Everyone turned around to see who had the audacity to charge in on him directly like this.

It was Alex. She punched the door down, glaring towards Aiden. "There you are...causing trouble for everyone once again."

To this, Aiden simply smiled. "Ah...if it isn't my eldest daughter. How wonderful to see you again."

.

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Next Time: Tick Tock.