Having stayed up late and with no one around to wake them up, Hotaru and Alcyone slept serenely until noon. Instead of their usual sleeping position, this time around Alcyone was lying face down on top of Hotaru, with the blanket placed over them both. The sorceress was sleeping peacefully atop her husband, being slightly lifted up and down as he breathed. Both of them were in deep sleep, until a high-pitched beeping stirred them up.

Recognizing the beeping sound, Hotaru instinctually activated his speed and strength buffing spells, before reaching for his mobile computer. Rolling onto his side in a fraction of a second, Alcyone was thrown off of Hotaru towards the bedroom window. Remembering Alcyone was on top of him at the very last second, Hotaru wrapped an arm around her, pulling her underneath him.

Reaching for his wrist computer while Alcyone was pinned beneath him, Hotaru sighed in relief as he saw the monitor, "Phew… Just a green alarm."

"Good morning to you too…" Alcyone mumbled against Hotaru's pecs.

Getting off of her and reaching for his gauntlets, Hotaru smiled awkwardly, "Sorry for waking you up so speedily. I thought it was an emergency."

"At this point I am used to it," Alcyone groaned, pulling her hair out from underneath her. "Though I'd prefer not to be tossed around like a ragdoll in the morning. I feel like yesterday's dinner is coming up…"

Putting on his clothes, Hotaru chuckled, "Well you always tell me 'Properly chewing your food is a good way to prevent stomach aches'."

Being thrown with a pillow for his smarminess, Hotaru equipped his Double Armor, before teleporting away. Knowing a green alarm could take a while since it required Hotaru to locate and identify the spotted monster, Alcyone had the early afternoon for herself. Getting out of the bed, she opened the window shutters to let in some sunlight and fresh air. Despite Sybil's predictions of a war starting, the region of Subaru was peaceful and the colorful town looked almost inviting in the afternoon sun. But as she looked at the town that bore her family name, she couldn't help but wonder.

I have done a lot of charity work and helped a lot of people around Cephiro since Hotaru woke up from his coma, but I've never done anything for Subaru. I always feared the people here would demand my head on a spike, and they do, but it does me no good to just keep ignoring them.

"Alright! It is time I finally made amends with these people!"

Instead of a disguise, she boldly put on her sorceress-style evolving armor and cape, wanting to show the people she had nothing to hide. So as not to cause a commotion by instantly teleporting into the town, Alcyone decided to walk through the front gate. Walking past the guards, who included the town guard as well as a few Gallant Order members, she heard them gasp and shirk out of the way.

"Good morning boys!" Alcyone greeted them happily, to ease the tension as she walked by.

Walking down the sunny streets of Subaru, she immediately drew the attention of the merchants, their customers, children, and shop owners. The people continued being wary of her presence, stepping out of her way long before she walked past them. Trusting in the old anecdote that a positive mood was contagious, she just continued smiling and nodding at them.

"Good afternoon, everyone! The weather is lovely today," She waved at them happily.

Seeing a merchant and his helpers loading up a horse drawn wagon with heavy barrels, Alcyone summoned her golden, bident-like staff. The people gasped in fear at first, before Alcyone lifted six barrels neatly into the wagon with her levitation spell, and even closed the tailgate's latch. With his wagon loaded up in record time, the shocked merchant tipped his hat to Alcyone.

Smiling pleasantly, Alcyone walked across one of the village's bridges, where she heard the sound of clanking coming from. Looking over the railing, she noticed that a wooden log had gotten loose from one of the sawmills up the river, and was now clogging up the downstream. Figuring the piece of lumber was too far away for her to return it, Alcyone pointed her bident at the log, before splitting it to pieces with a few ice spears.

A crew from one of the mills inside the town had just gathered all the tools they needed to fish out the log, when the blockage floated down the river past them. Seeing Alcyone waving at the workers with a smile, they waved back at her awkwardly, as the raven-haired sorceress turned around and continued her way.

Helping out the villagers in various little ways, Alcyone explored most of the town, finding it quite cozy. Once certain that everyone now knew she was in town, she decided to take a short break, so as not to make it too obvious she was purposefully drawing attention. Entering one of the public gardens, she sat down to admire the flower bushes and arrangements, as well as a small pond. Despite the quiet atmosphere, she wasn't the only one in the garden.

A blonde, blue-eyed mother was teaching her son how to read from a book, helping him spell out words. Seeing the mother and child both be immersed in the exercise; Alcyone couldn't help but stare at them with a longing smile. Unlike Martin, Subaru didn't have a school yet, so the children were being educated at home. Despite being in the more luxurious position, Alcyone wondered if she too would prefer to teach her and Hotaru's children herself? To read for them in the mansion gardens, to let them get plenty of sun and fresh air while she answered their silly questions.

Eventually however, the mother caught Alcyone staring, seemingly startled by the appearance of the darkly dressed sorceress. While at first the mother tried not to make a scene and only wrapped an arm around her son, the boy soon looked at Alcyone with his blue eyes.

"Mom, is that the woman who ruined the world?" The boy asked worriedly.

Though her smile hadn't faltered all day, the corners of Alcyone's eyes and mouth twitched simultaneously. Going so pale that her face turned blue upon seeing this, the mother quickly stood up and told her son to follow her. Holding him by the hand, the two citizens quickly left the garden, with the son trying his best to keep up with her mother's speedwalking.

Left alone in the garden with her thoughts, Alcyone sighed deeply, her shoulders drooping. While she shouldn't have taken what people said about her behind closed doors seriously, she also couldn't blame them for thinking that way. While her crimes had been brought to light yesterday, her true motives and actions preceding the war had not. Though she hadn't been the one responsible for ruining Cephiro, she sure had done a good job getting the ball rolling.

"Maybe it would be for the best that I left these people alone…" Alcyone muttered to herself.

"Before that, could you get a bird's nest off my chimney?" An aged and creaky voice startled her.

Standing only a couple of meters away from her, Mayor Sahara was crouching over her cane. The scarf wearing old granny was looking at her with a weary expression, having walked for a while by herself.

Before Alcyone could greet her, Sahara sat down on the bench as well, "Rumor has it you have been doing good deeds around the town. And apparently it is scaring the folks."

"Yes… I can hardly blame them," Alcyone admitted, sighing tiredly. "People are always assuming I am up to something when I'm being nice, and it doesn't surprise me."

"And why is that?" Sahara looked up at her crookedly, with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"…Because I lied to and used people to my advantage in the past," Alcyone admitted, staring at the flowers ahead of her. "It… used to be so easy, thinking everything was permissible when it was done to win Zagato's favor. I thought that any damage I would cause to Cephiro, would be easily reversed once Emeraude and Cephiro were ours to control."

"And did you think doing that would make you a good person?"

"No," Alcyone answered bluntly. "Being good was never the target. I just saw a clear path to accomplishing all of my dreams and didn't hesitate to take it."

Shifting a bit further away from the potential psychopath, Sahara asked, "And what has changed since then?"

Looking up at the sky, Alcyone smiled openly, "I found someone else to dedicate my life to, and after living together with him for over a year, I have learnt somethings. There is more to life than getting everything you want and proving you are superior to other people. It is also about making sure everyone you care about is happy and safe, and supporting them when they struggle or try something new. And it turns out, I care about surprisingly many people…"

With the sorceress smiling while staring into the distance beyond the garden, Sahara asked, "Do you really care about us then?"

Alcyone nodded slowly without her smile faltering, "Yes, but I don't expect anyone to believe that at this point. Like my father, I should've cared for all of you a long time ago…"

As a moment of silence passed them by, it was Sahara's turn to sigh, as she could no longer keep up a cold profile. Turning towards Alcyone, she propped herself up with her cane, looking her straight in the eye.

"…You are hardly the only Subaru or noble who wronged us," Sahara said with a weary voice, "but you are also the only one of them left. The people in this village yearn for payback; justice for what they suffered through. I understand them, but from serving your family during the war, I also understand you all went through hard times as well. Everyone is hurting still, but we must focus on the future. Otherwise, our past suffering will have been for naught."

Alcyone, her eyes filled with surprise, remarked at the old lady in astonishment, "You know I thought they chose you as the mayor since you were the eldest, but you're actually also the wisest."

"And here I thought you had a heart!"

After talking for a good while, Alcyone and Sahara continued meandering around the town by their twosome. Making their way to the market square Alcyone had been interrogated at yesterday; she found the area slightly less congested. Without the Gallant Order around, the square was much more spacious and many housewives and -husbands were chatting up with the merchants. Of course, many of them fell silent and put their guards up, as they sensed the atmosphere that followed Alcyone. But seeing the mayor with her and seeming like her usual self, the people felt somewhat at ease. With an uneasy truce, Alcyone started perusing the market booths, looking for local spices, ingredients, and any possible souvenirs. Watching the sorceress start collecting more and more stuff into a basket she had bought, Sahara was starting to gawk at Alcyone's arm strength.

"How much do you plan on buying?!" the old lady gasped, watching Alcyone empty the basket into her forehead gem. "Is there a famine in your neck of the woods?"

"Oh, we have a great variety of produce there and Hotaru has introduced me to many new seasonings and ingredients," Alcyone stated, selecting more items to buy. "But I haven't been able to get many of the flavors from around here. Once I get back home, I want to be able to cook some Subaruan dishes for everyone. Maybe even grow some in my gardens~."

Looking at her former mistress going around like a kid at a candy store, Sahara couldn't help but shake her head, "Well, our selection is still quite small. Not many merchants come here; only those who drop by to bring us the bare necessities."

"Speaking of which…" Alcyone looked around the market stalls, before spotting one. "Ah!"

Walking over to the apothecary, Alcyone proudly showed off handfuls of medicine and candy to Sahara, "While your people don't approve of me, you still sell my medicine and candy."

"Not like there are many others left who can make some," the apothecary remarked dryly, causing Alcyone to smile awkwardly.

Before Alcyone could apologize for eliminating the competition, loud voices rang across the village, followed by screams.

"SOUND THE ALARM AND CLOSE THE GATES! MONSTERS ARE COMING!" men on horseback shouted, as they galloped across the village.

Giving Sahara a lift with her levitation spell, Alcyone rushed over to the riders. Instead of Gallant Order members, they seemed to be either foresters or hunters, who would work deep in the woods. After making it to the town hall, the two men jumped off their horses.

"What is going on here?" Alcyone asked from the shocked men. "Why such a hullabaloo over simple monsters?"

Being set down on the ground, Sahara answered, "We do not have anyone looking over us other than ourselves. That's why it is good to be prepared."

Looking at the worried townsfolk and Gallant Order members taking up arms, Alcyone stated firmly, "Well, now you do have. Although… You said there were several monsters coming, right?"

"That's right, and that's not all," the hunter nodded, before taking a drink from a waterskin. "...We've never seen monsters like these before!"

Having managed to calm down an injured magical beast and carry it over to Ascot's neck of the woods, Hotaru was finally free to teleport back to Subaru. Arriving at the remote town, it was already late afternoon, with the sky starting to turn red. Figuring to buy Alcyone some souvenirs from the town and then fetch her from the inn, Hotaru's jaw dropped seeing the town in full alert. Town guards, Gallant Order members, and civilian militia were all gathered around, transferring supplies and doing military practices. Before he could get to the bottom of all this and find out what the order was up to this time, he heard Alcyone call for him.

"Hotaru! Over here!"

Seeing Alcyone, Hikaru, Fuu, Umi, and Primera waving him over, Hotaru rejoined them at the townhall. Though he was surprised to see Alcyone in town already, he figured he could ask how her day had been later.

"What is going on here?" Hotaru asked in a frustrated voice. "Did Darracq and Sybil decide to finally go all the way and declare war on our spare time?"

"I'm afraid it's actually serious this time around," Umi said with a worried tone.

"There are monsters approaching the town!" Hikaru informed him.

"And on the day of the Fay Moon no less!" Primera crossed her arms offendedly.

Just as he was about to roll his eyes, Hotaru's expression stiffened, "Does this have something to do with the prophecy or a calamity related to it?"

"Most likely," Alcyone nodded. "From what we heard, these monsters are incredibly organized."

"Organized how?"

"They travel in groups, carry weapons, and wear armor," A concerned male voice spoke up from behind him.

Turning around, Hotaru spotted Captain Darracq walking towards them at a swift pace. Despite the rather adversarial history between the Captain and the Hero of Cephiro, there was no sarcasm or hostility in his eyes or voice. Though for Hotaru the thought of armored up monsters was not cause for concern, he realized this was unheard of on Cephiro.

Straightening his posture, Hotaru asked the others, "Then why are we still standing here? Let's go already!"

"The ladies wanted to wait for you to come back, as the village was in no immediate danger," Darracq explained to him, raising an eyebrow. "Apparently, they feel safer with you around. Nevertheless, I already ordered a squad of outriders to go ahead and scout out the situation."

While Hotaru was about to snark back at Captain's usual sarcasm, he was interrupted by Hikaru, "What!? Why did you do that? They could be in severe danger!"

"Calm down," Darracq looked at her sternly. "The scouts know what they are doing. They won't engage the enemy."

While the captain seemed confident, Fuu pointed out, "If these monsters truly are smart enough to use weapons and armor, what is to say they are not capable of using strategy?"

As everyone looked at each other worriedly, Alcyone raised her staff, "We'd best check out what is going on. Mass Teleportation!"

Having heard from the foresters that the monsters were coming from the east, Alcyone teleported the group to the eastern side of the valley. As they scanned the colorful scenery, it didn't take long for the group to notice a striking black mass in the distance. Taking a closer look, they saw white figures next to them, either fighting or running away, though they couldn't blame them for cowardice.

Despite being far away, the group of six could tell that the outriders were fighting against foes much larger than themselves. Standing what had to be six meters tall, the identically armored humanoid monsters towered over even the horseback scouts. Their armors were thick and heavy, black plate armor, covered in dents, scratches, and slightly curving spikes. The pauldrons, knee guards, and tassets all had tree spikes in a triangular shape, while the forearm, upper arm, shin, and thigh guards had three in rows. On their heads they wore black, horned helmets with no face guards, and on their backs, tattered black capes. In their hands, they carried a wide selection of different weapons. Spears, axes, swords, maces, war hammers, all ginormous and worn out, and some covered in blood.

"What are those things!?" Primera yelled in shock.

"More bloody monsters!" Darracq yelled annoyedly, rushing towards them.

Following Darracq, the magic Knights and Hotaru ran towards the monsters as well, with Alcyone supporting from the rear. Activating Silver Speed and spreading out his Double Armor, Hotaru rushed ahead, coming in close range with the monsters. Seeing them face to face, Hotaru saw that the monsters inside the armors were almost pitch-black skeletons, with parts of dark flesh bulking them out. Their empty eye sockets glowed with a fiery orange glow, like burning embers.

In total, there seemed to be about eighteen of these giant foes. Despite being huge and bulky, their movements were quick and precise. As soon as the scouts tried to run away or Hotaru tried getting close to the scouts, the skeletons quickly closed any possible paths. With no way around, Hotaru decided to go through.

Pulling out his giant golden blade and activating Tungsten Defense and Steel Strength, Hotaru jumped in the air and brought his sword down. Slashing down the centerline of the skeleton in front of him, Hotaru cleaved through the dark armor with surprising ease. Struck down, the skeleton's remains turned into fine dust. While the remaining skeletons surrounded him, Hotaru felt quite confident about taking on all of the monsters in black.

But before he could attack again, he saw the remains of his kill start to smolder with black flames. In mere moments, the flames split into two pillars of fire, before forming into solid shapes. Hotaru's jaw dropped in horror, as he was left staring at two new armored skeletons, both wielding giant greatswords.

"Now that just ain't fair…"

"Do not try to kill them!" One of the outriders yelled at him. "Just try to get us out of here before it is too late!"

Still running towards the monsters, the others could no longer see Hotaru behind the broad black capes of the enemy. Seeing the monsters knock some of the remaining Gallant Order members off their horses, the Magic Knights raised their hands while dashing.

"Flame Arrow!"

"Water Dragon!"

"Emerald Cyclone!"

"Icicle Spear!" Alcyone joined them.

As the armored skeletons around him were struck by a variety of elemental attacks, Hotaru tried yelling over the spells in vain, "NO! DON'T!"

Striking their foes, Hikaru's and Umi's spells took out two of the armored skeletons, while Fuu's and Alcyone's widespread spells felled two each. Though he would soon be looking at twelve more foes, Hotaru quickly turned towards the outriders, as the path was clear for now.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Hotaru hurried them, grabbing a wounded rider off the ground.

Hurrying through the smoldering remains, Hotaru and the outriders managed to jump over the black flames before they rose up. Just as they thought they were in the clear, two of the fiery pillars reached their flames out to pull a pair of riders off of their horses.

Primera screamed, "What is going on!?"

"They duplicated after dying!" Fuu gasped, cold sweat dripping down her brow.

Stunned by the regeneration and multiplication of the skeletons, the Magic Knights were frozen as they watched the two outriders be dropped on the ground. Before anyone could act, the giant skeletons skewered the Gallant Order members with huge longswords.

"NOOO!" Darracq screamed.

"YAMETE!" Hikaru screamed, reaching her hand out in desperation.

Seeing his comrades getting impaled, the wounded rider carried by Hotaru grunted, "It gets worse…"

Before Hotaru could ask what he meant by this, the bodies of the two outriders started bulging out, before tearing open. The riders' skeletons outgrew their corpses, the white bones and hanging flesh turning black, and the sockets in their eyes setting ablaze. Black flames spewed from the blackened flesh, forming into spiky armor, helmet, and cape, before the riders' weapons, a glaive and a saber, transformed into giant beaten up versions. The Magic Knights, Primera, and Darracq all screamed at the sight of the monstrous transformation.

"Now that REALLY isn't fair!" Hotaru yelled, dragging the wounded outrider over to Alcyone. "Take him and the others to safety!"

"What are you going to do?!" Alcyone asked, receiving the rider, as the now twenty-seven strong army headed their way.

"Stall them! Titanium Power!"

As Hotaru grew to a colossal size that made the skeletons look like baby chicks, Alcyone took this opportunity to rush over to Darracq and his troops. Handing the wounded man over to one of his horse-back riders, she looked at them all sternly.

"Get back to the town! You and the Magic Knights! Hotaru and I will hold them back!"

Hearing this, Darracq stuttered, "B-But he said—!"

"I am not leaving my husband behind!" Alcyone stated firmly, before turning towards the Magic Knights. "GO!"

Not daring to argue with Alcyone, Darracq turned to the Magic Knights, "We must go! Now!"

With Hotaru keeping the darkly armored skeletons busy, Fuu and Umi ran away with the Gallant order to get to a safe distance. However, they quickly noticed that Hikaru wasn't with them, and soon spotted her standing with her sword drawn, refusing to budge as she trembled.

"Hikaru, come already!" Umi yelled to her.

"Ms. Hikaru, we have to leave!" Fuu urged her.

"I… I CAN'T!" Hikaru yelled, gripping her Escudo sword tightly. "I promised to protect these people! And yet… Yet there is nothing we can do!"

Reaching out for her friend's shoulder, Umi grabbed hold of Hikaru and quickly pulled her along, "We can think of a plan when we are safe! Come on! Hotaru and Alcyone are buying us time!"

Dragged along by Umi to a safe distance, Hikaru and others equipped their Magic Knight armors, before summoning their Mashins, "Rayearth! Selece! Windam!"

In three flashes of light, Cephiro's colorful guardian deities appeared before the escapees, before the Magic Knights were absorbed into their chest orbs. Although the Mashins' point of view made the black skeletons look harmless, the Magic Knights knew attacking them would only make things worse. Reaching down and picking up the horses and their riders, the Magic Knights took up to the skies and headed back to the village. Seeing them leaving, Alcyone steeled her nerves to prepare to buy them time, until she spotted a pink dot in the distance.

"Primera!" Alcyone called out. "Why didn't you go with them!?"

"I have my own duties!" Primera yelled. "I cannot let these things get to the fairy grove!"

Knowing the little fairy would stand very little chance against the skeletons if they advanced that far, Alcyone nodded at her regardless.

"Very well! Take care of yourself!" Alcyone wished the little fairy off.

In the meanwhile, Hotaru was doing his best to prevent the skeletal monsters from getting past him. While he was bigger and faster, the skeletons were small and agile enough to make things difficult for him. At times he would put his foot down to prevent their escape, but the monsters would quickly try to climb over his sabaton. In addition to their speed, the skeletons' fragility was also a problem. As he tried to shove them back with the side of his foot, he smashed a couple of them to bits, causing their numbers to increase. Trying to stop a squad of escaping skeletons with another stomp, the skeletons instead rushed underneath his foot, causing five skeletons to become ten.

Forced to fly further back to not let any escape, Hotaru muttered angrily, "These things are an endless source of headaches…"

"You need to be gentler with them!" Alcyone instructed him, flying and teleporting between the skeletons' attacks. "No matter how undeserving of it they are… Black Binding!"

Conjuring black rubbery bands around one of the skeletons, Alcyone managed to seal its movements. The monster quickly lost balance with its ankles tied together, and despite its great strength, it couldn't break free from the bonds. Casting the spell repeatedly, Alcyone targeted the skeletons who were approaching their tied-up comrade.

"Black Binding! Black Binding! Black Binding! Black Binding! Back Blighting— OW!" she flinched.

Having gotten tongue tied and bitten her cheek, the remaining skeletons quickly cut their bound comrades free. Alcyone stared at the skeletons angrily while trying to get over her sore mouth, trying to think of a way to seal them more quickly. She thought about using Frozen Finale, but with targets this large it would take a while for them to be frozen over.

Before she could think of a better plan, Hotaru yelled, "Come to me, Alcyone!"

Noticing Hotaru's shadow on the ground, Alcyone quickly spotted him floating high in the air. Following his command, Alcyone teleported onto her colossal husband's pauldron.

"Did you come up with a plan?" Alcyone asked, looking at the right side of Hotaru's helmet.

"No, but I want to test out their regeneration. I apologize in advance but this is going to leave an ugly mark on a beautiful valley," Hotaru said, extending his arm out. "Uranium Cannon!"

Firing his nuclear spell at full power, the conical megaton explosion enveloped the oversized skeletons from above. There was a bright flash of light and heat, as the surrounding hillocks were blasted into the air. Even all the way from the town of Subaru, the locals were able to hear the explosion and see the mushroom cloud it left behind. As the scorched earth cleared out of the way, Hotaru and Alcyone were left staring at a wide crater without any signs of the skeletons.

"…I guess even they cannot regenerate when there is nothing left of them," Hotaru stated, having not been sure if it would work.

"Yeah… Wait, look!" Alcyone yelled.

From the scorched dust of the crater, black flames started rising up, lighting the crater with unearthly dark-gray glow. Like dead rising from their graves, the giant skeletons emerged from the mangled ground, covered in dirt and soot. Having lost track of how many skeletons they were dealing with, Hotaru and Alcyone could only guess the number to be around sixty at this point.

"Looks like violence will not be our solution this time around," Alcyone stated dryly, trying to stay strong. "Not that we have many other options."

"Nonsense! We just need to find the right way to be violent," Hotaru quipped, before landing back down gently. "Although right now I do not think we can afford to experiment…"

Facing down the approaching black army, Hotaru and Alcyone prepared to stall them for as long as necessary. However, while focusing on the enemies ahead of them, they failed to notice two skeletons, who had been blown away by the blast, slipping past them through the woods.

Having returned to the town of Subaru, Hikaru and Umi had explained what had happened to the people, and the Gallant Order had quickly spread the word. In the meanwhile, Fuu had tended to the wounded outriders with her healing spells, and offered her abilities to workers who had injured themselves during the day. While they all knew Hotaru and Alcyone were fighting to buy them time, thinking of a battle plan was slow going.

Gathered at a plaza near the eastern walls of the town, the Magic Knights, Mayor Sahara, her husband, and Captain Darracq, all sat in a circle on stone benches. Although the enemy wasn't at their gates yet, the tensions were high due to the nature of their enemy.

"So, what we know for sure is that they create new monsters out of people they slay, and duplicate when slain," Riviera revised what they knew of their enemy.

"That's right. Our enemy is a horde of monsters optimized for wide scale warfare, that only gets stronger with each death on both sides," Darracq pointed out wearily. "No matter what we throw at them, they will only get stronger."

"It is downrightstupidthere is an enemy this tough!" Umi griped with her eyes closed and arms crossed. "I'd complain about the game being badly balanced, but that's Cephiro for ya in a nutshell."

"'Violence of only breeds more violence'," Sahara stated, holding onto her cane. "I never thought I would live to see an evenmoreliteral definition of it."

Thinking about it while staring at the darkening sky above, Hikaru thought out loud, "What would be the opposite of violence?"

"Kindness?" Fuu suggested.

"You're not suggesting we should try andhugthem?" Umi glared at Fuu and Hikaru with a deadpan expression.

"That's not it," Hikaru shook her head. "Cephiro is a world where the heart makes all the difference. Perhaps we shouldn't strike them with hatred or anger in our hearts, but rather with calmness and forgiveness?"

Looking at Sahara and Darracq, Riviera shrugged, "It could be worth a shot?"

"Hard to stay calm when facing down one of those abominations," Darracq sighed, before straightening his posture. "But I guess it won't hurt to try. At worst Hotaru will have to deal with one more of those monsters."

"What exactly is it you have against Hotaru?" Umi asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Being called out, Darracq furrowed his brow, "More than you can imagine…"

Before the Magic Knights could press for more questions, an ear-piercing scream echoed across the plaza. Getting up and turning towards the walls, they saw two large axes fly over the battlements before striking the ground. Following the weapons, a large black arm reached over the wall. Pulling itself over the wall with a boost from its comrade, a six-meter-tall skeleton in dark armor scaled over, before pulling its comrade up with it. Quickly jumping down, the skeletons pulled their axes out of the stone ground, before attacking the townsfolk.

Having already been informed of the danger posed by the monsters, the citizens of Subaru quickly ran away from them. Knowing being killed didn't just mean losing life, but also becoming a monster that would hunt their family members, the people didn't drag their feet. Regardless of their best efforts, the tall skeletons were faster than the people, chasing them down with ease. Bringing their axes down on an escaping woman and child, a man seemingly related to them tackled them to the ground. Despite his bravery, the man was struck by the axe, losing one of his legs, while the woman was slashed across her back.

"Mom! Dad!" The child screamed, as one of the skeletons raised its axe again.

"RUN!" The mother screamed, as the axe was brought down.

"Winds of Protection!"

At the very last moment, an emerald green barrier of wind swept past the wounded couple, the heavy axes clanking against their surfaces. Holding the barrier up, Fuu rushed over to the bleeding parents, while Hikaru and Umi got into positions.

"Stay calm you two," Fuu spoke to the couple, dragging them away from the barrier. "It will be alright, try not to move."

"Fuu! We're ready!" Hikaru gave her the signal.

Giving a nod, Fuu dropped the Winds of Protection in order to cast, "Winds of Healing!"

As the barrier of wind faded, the two skeletons didn't waste time to bring their axes down on their smaller foes. Holding their blades steady, Hikaru and Umi intercepted the large blades, despite being pushed back. At the same time, Fuu was doing her best to heal the wounds of the bleeding couple. While the wife's back wound was easy enough to heal, the husband's leg was another story, as it was the first time Fuu was dealing with a fully severed limb. After recovering, the wife helped keep her husband's leg in place for Fuu to heal it, but the process of reattaching it was slow.

Fighting the two skeletons, Hikaru and Umi gritted their teeth, trying to keep the heavy monsters back without harming them. They had no way of getting help from Hotaru or Alcyone, and it was too risky to have the Gallant Order help them. Knowing there was only so much they could do without being able to kill the monsters, Hikaru calmed her heart while blocking the enemy attacks.

"Umi, cover me!"

"Right!" Umi yelled, stepping back before pointing at the ground. "Water Dragon!"

Splashing the powerful dragon geyser at the ground, it splashed in a large wave that blinded the skeletons momentarily. Taking this chance, Hikaru rushed past her foe's axe, before jumping up and swinging her sword. Releasing a flaming wind cutter, Hikaru sliced the black skeleton in half, causing it to crumble into dust. With Umi keeping the other one busy, Hikaru looked at the remains of her foe, feeling her heart beating with anticipation.

"Did it work…?" Hikaru whispered. "…Damn!"

With black sparks turning into flames, two pillars of black fire soon lit up the darkened plaza, before two giants rose up from the flames. Still busy healing the husband, Fuu watched in horror as their enemies now outnumbered her friends. While Hikaru and Umi did their best, the third skeleton managed to break past them, bringing its axe straight down at her.

"AAAAH!" Fuu screamed, closing her eyes and raising her hands.

"FUU!" Hikaru and Umi screamed.

Expecting the blade to strike down on her, Fuu kept her eyes closed, but the strike never came. Rather, an unearthly howl rang in her ears. Opening her eyes carefully, she realized her Winds of Healing spell was still active, and the skeleton wasscreeching in pain. She watched in astonishment as the green light and wind spreading from her hands wrapped around the skeleton, causing its body to fade away in golden dust. As Hikaru and Umi gasped in shock, Fuu stood up quickly and spread her hands wider, spreading her healing spell out. Bathing the two remaining dark skeletons in the healing light, they dropped their weapons, as their bodies trembled in pain and dissolved.

"Healing is… Hurting them?" Hikaru gasped in shock.

"If violence means hurting others, then healing others would be its opposite…" Umi stated, still trying to grasp what had happened.

With his size not helping him in corralling the armored skeletons, Hotaru had shrunken down back to his regular size. Moving swiftly with the teleporting Alcyone, the two of them darted around the battlefield, slowing down the skeletons' advancement. Yet despite their best efforts, they couldn't prevent dozens of skeletons from advancing slowly but surely.

"Have you figured out something yet?" Hotaru yelled at Alcyone, pushing a dozen skeletons back with his strength and flight.

"No, their bodies seem to have no weak spot or magical core that causes the regeneration!" Alcyone yelled out, using Mass Teleportation to move the monsters back, before teleporting back. "What about you?"

"Well, they are skeletons so maybe they are undead?" Hotaru pointed out, blocking a sword swing with his gauntlet. "Perhaps an attack of pure light or holy energy would work? Or positive energy? I don't know…"

"What are you on about?" Alcyone asked, dodging a large blade that almost cut her hair. "You mean we would need a Pillar to deal with these?"

"Maybe? But it's not like that's an option!" Hotaru yelled, before flying to dodge a war hammer.

Flying up, Hotaru was surprised by a blow coming from behind him as well. A skeleton with a battle axe swung in a wide arc, aiming for his back. Boosting up faster, Hotaru managed to avoid it, causing the two skeletons to strike one another; one receiving an axe to its forehead and the other a hammer to its jaw.

"Oh FUCK!" Hotaru swore under his breath, as the skeletons struck each other down.

I never thought of what would happen if these things startled killing each other!

As the skeletons' remains were reduced to dust, Hotaru, Alcyone, and the Skeletons watched the black soot expectantly. But as he held his breath, they soon realized there were no sparks or embers of life within the black dust.

"…So THAT'S why they don't just kill each other!" Hotaru smiled, before his grin turned more vicious.

Flying quickly over to one of the skeletons, he grabbed its war hammer before lifting it up high. Dropping himself on the ground, Hotaru swung the hammer with all his might, smashing one of the skeletons into rubble. Getting to the swing of things, Hotaru quickly struck down a second skeleton, when he heard Alcyone yell.

"Hotaru STOP!"

Turning around, Hotaru saw his previous target stand up double as troublesome, followed by his second one. Dropping the war hammer, Hotaru sighed out of frustration as he gritted his teeth.

"How many freaking clauses do these things have!?" Hotaru griped, before noticing something alarming. "MOVE!"

Realizing Hotaru meant her, Alcyone quickly turned around, seeing a giant skeleton bringing down its greatsword. Before she could teleport, she felt a stabbing pain in her side, as Hotaru pulled her out of the way forcefully. The greatsword struck Hotaru's helmet before shattering from the impact. Holding tightly onto Alcyone, Hotaru flew further towards the town of Subaru, making it to the front of the monsters who had snuck past them.

Holding her in his arms, Hotaru stated, "Go, teleport back to the town! I will hold them off, you try to think of something with the girls!"

Hearing Hotaru's tone of voice, Alcyone knew how severe the situation was, and yet, "No! I will not leave!"

"I will be fine! You don't need to protect me!" Hotaru insisted. "Just keep yourself safe!"

"…I am not staying because I need to protect you," Alcyone stated, getting out of Hotaru's arms and onto the ground. "You are a big boy, and can take care of yourself."

"Then why are you staying?!" Hotaru asked, seeing Alcyone walk towards the enemy.

"Because they're my people!" Alcyone yelled, brandishing her staff. "These lands, that town, the people who live in it! All of them belonged to my family! All of them trusted us to protect them, but I betrayed that trust! I cannot turn my back on them and let them be sacrificed, again! Frozen Finale!"

Spreading her arms and cape, Alcyone blasted a powerful blizzard at the enemy. Knowing that freezing the skeletons would be a fool's errand, she instead aimed her spell at the ground, causing the grassy slope to freeze over. With nothing but bones for feet, it was almost impossible for the skeletons to stay upright when walking forward. Unable to walk, the giants started crawling along the ice, using the spikes of their armor to grip the frozen ground. Despite the enemy outsmarting her once again, Alcyone didn't give up and continued with her blizzard with all her heart.

"I…! I am a terrible person!" Alcyone yelled, pouring her magic out of her body. "I sacrificed every person I should have cared about and protected to be with Zagato! I treated human lives like currency, hoping to impress the man I loved! And yet while I regret my actions, I do not for a moment regret my love! I loved Zagato! Even though I never understood his true feelings and even though he must have despised me, I truly loved him!"

Though Hotaru would usually be jealous of hearing Alcyone speak like this, he only smiled at his wife for being honest. This was the woman he had married; unfiltered, unashamed, and unyielding in her love. Seeing her icy white aura flare out and light up the darkened area, Hotaru for a change, took cover behind Alcyone.

"But now I once more have a life that I am happy with and people I want to protect! And I don't want there to be any more war!" Alcyone declared, letting words pour out her heart. "FLASH FREEZE!"

The night was temporarily lit up, as a blinding flash of icy blue erupted from Alcyone's body, sweeping over the landscape before her. With nary a moment to react to the wave of light, the stumbling and crawling skeletons were frozen in a thick layer of ice. Every square inch of their bodies was covered in ice, leaving only their horned helmet wearing heads exposed. Though the skeletal warriors tried their best to break free of the glass clear ice, their prison didn't budge.

Looking at the glacier she had created glistening in the light of the full moon, Alcyone felt a wave of dizziness take her over. Falling backwards, she was caught by Hotaru, who embraced her from behind.

"Are you alright, dear?" the paladin asked worriedly.

"Yes… It's just been a rough day," Alcyone smiled, resting peacefully in her husband's arms.

Holding her gently but securely, Hotaru looked at the mountain of skeletons, "…Well, they are no longer advancing, but we cannot just leave them like this."

"The ice should hold until the next day," Alcyone estimated, judging her knowledge of the spell, "but I'd rather not come here to recast that spell every day."

"Yeah, if you forgot to do it once, these things would scatter in an instant," Hotaru ruminated frustratedly, while resting his chin over Alcyone's head. "…Try contacting the girls, see if they have any ideas?"

Giving a gentle nod, Alcyone closed her eyes to try to sense Hikaru's and others' location, but she was distracted by the sound of mechanical hum. Recognizing the sound, she opened her eyes and turned towards north, guiding Hotaru also in the direction. Flying towards them, they could see the silhouettes of three Mashins against the light given off by the flames of Rayearth. Their colorful orbs and bodies shone dimly in the dark, lit up by tiny dots of light below them. Although seeing them come back was a sight for her sore eyes, Alcyone was confused as to why they were flying so slowly?

As the giant robots landed next to them, they could hear the Magic Knights gasping at the glacier from within. Surrounded by hundreds of small dots of light, the Mashins seemed to shimmer in the light of the full moon.

"Wow… Did you do this, Alcyone-san?" Hikaru asked amazedly.

Giving a little smile, Alcyone nodded, "That's right."

"This is perfect!" Umi said cheerfully. "Now we can erase these warmongers in one swell swoop!"

"You found a way of doing it?!" Hotaru blinked surprisedly. "Why didn't you tell us earlier!"

"We did not know you had them wrapped up so nicely for us," Fuu giggled inside Windam. "We thought we needed some help in taking care of so many."

"Help?" Alcyone tilted her head, before her eyes widened. "AH!"

With the dots of light surrounding the Mashins coming closer, Alcyone could finally see what they were. Tiny, apple-sized, slightly chubby fairy babies were flying around the Mashins. Each of them had full heads of colorful hair and wide eyes with curious expressions, as they looked at Hotaru and Alcyone.

"Are these small humans?" a girl fairy asked.

"No, those two are big for humans," Primera said confidently, descending next to the baby, before pointing at the giant robots. "Those things are called Mashins. They have smaller humans inside of them."

"…Primera, why are you bringing babies to a battlefield?" Hotaru asked, raising hiseyebrow.

"The girls told me it was a matter of life and death!" Primera shouted, crossing her arms. "Though I guess you have things under control, so you don't need me."

"But auntie Plimela…" One of the babies pleaded. "You plomised to teach us magic!"

Unable to say no to their cute faces, Primera sighed, "Alright… But do not call me auntie! It is big sister Primera to you!"

Watching quietly from the side, Hotaru and Alcyone followed as the swarm of fairies flew up and over the frozen skeletons. Having just fought for their lives, it felt absurd for them to see Primera treating this like a field trip for the newborns.

"Now watch closely and repeat after me," Primera instructed the little ones, before twirling in the air. "Futura!"

From further away, the Magic Knights and their hosts watched as the air above the still struggling skeletons was filled with glowing, golden dust. A shower of sparkling, healing light fell upon the black skeletons, causing them to roar out in pain, before their heads dissolved. Little by little, their armored bodies disappeared, leaving behind only golden dust, of the army that just minutes ago was threatening the world.

Feeling Alcyone lean against him romantically at the sight of the golden glow, Hotaru tried his best not to ruin the mood with his grumblings, "Right… Undead can also be hurt by that which heals the living."

Cuddling him, Alcyone smiled with her eyes closed, "I'm sure you would have figured it out eventually."

Inside the Gallant Order's headquarters, Lieutenant Titan was ordering and directing his troops to battle stations. He had received orders from Prophet Sybil to go to the town of Subaru, where Captain Darracq was located. The town would apparently soon be engaged in a bloody war against monsters, and they needed every able body to protect the people. As the order members were arming themselves and saddling up horses and gryphons, Titan was still running across the mountain fortress.

"Just typical of me to forget my sword in my quarters!" He griped while panting. "Why did I ask for a penthouse?"

Running past the sacrarium of the fortresses inner sanctum to reach the marble stairs leading up, Titan was startled by a loud scream.

"OOOOOAAAAARGGGGGHHHHEEEEEEAAAAAAARGGH!"

Freezing in his tracts, it took a moment for him to realize that the voice belonged to Prophet Sybil. Rushing back to the door of the inner sanctum, Titan yanked it open violently, ready to defend the prophet even without his weapon. However, as he opened it, all he could see inside was Sybil standing up on her altar, in front of a smoking prophet egg.

The orange prophet egg that had been glowing brightly just a couple of hours ago, had turned gray and was disintegrating. Shivering in front of it was Sybil, holding out her hands that were reddened, almost as if they had gotten burnt. With her hood down, Titan could see her blowing into her hands while looking rather peeved.

"…Is everything… okay?" Titan asked awkwardly, not sure how to approach the situation.

"…Ah, Titan, please come inside," Sybil welcomed him, trying to hold back the pain.

Closing the door behind him, Titan approached the altar, "I'm guessing by the looks of the prophet egg that I should cancel the mobilization?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Sybil nodded, "It would appear so, yes…"

"What happened to your hands?" Titan asked, slightly worried at the sight of the burns.

Looking at her burnt fingers and palms, Sybil's smile faltered slightly, "I was just… holding onto the egg when it started smoldering. I never expected them to get so hot."

"Right," Titan nodded awkwardly. "I will go tell the troops the war has been cancelled and send in a healer to help with that."

As the well over two-meter-tall armored lieutenant took his leave, Sybil breathed in once more, waiting to be left alone. With the door closing again, she exhaled a deep, frustrated sigh, fighting the urge to ball her hands into fists.

"How did they do it? How did they put an end to the war so quickly!" Sybil spat through her teeth. "I foresaw that war lasting for weeks on end! At this rate the people of Cephiro will only ever remember my prophecy as a joke! —OUCH!"

Having pressed her fingernails against her burnt hands, she trembled and gritted her teeth even more. Her multicolored eyes narrowed into dots, as she tried holding in her anger and frustration, knowing this wasn't the time or place to lose her cool.

"There are two more… Two of the worst calamities are still left!" Sybil declared.

Turning around quickly enough to cause her long white hair to flutter in the wind, Sybil stared at the two remaining prophet eggs; red and black. Staring at her reflection from the red egg, she could see an ugly expression on her beautiful face.

"For what is about to happen next, no one on Cephiro will be safe!"

With the Mashins having been summoned by the Magic Knights, Quatsar was sitting alone in the dark depths of the pocket dimension. While usually he was all alone with no one to keep him entertained, the little fay was still there with him, helping him keep an eye on what was happening in Cephiro. But as the battle against the skeletons came to a close, Quatsar sighed disappointedly at the outcome.

"Well, that captain guy wasn't much use this time around," Quatsar grumbled, having followed his progress for over a day now. "Then again, neither would I…"

"Puuuuuuuh…" Mokona groaned, its eyes swirling spirals from having kept the projection on constantly.

"But I am sure he will prove himself if I just keep my eyes on him," Quatsar said adamantly.

"Maybe Hotaru could prove himself if you paid attention to him!" a frustrated voice yelled out.

"THERE'S NO WAY THAT MONSTER COULD EVER BE MY PARTNER!" Quatsar roared angrily, before snapping out of it. "…Eh?"

Looking around him and listening to the echo of his voice, Quatsar tried to find the source of the voice. The voice that sounded almost as young as his, seemed to have come from all directions. With no sign of anyone else in the void, Quatsar turned towards the little white blob laying tiredly on the stone pillar.

"Did you hear something?" Quatsar asked Mokona cautiously.

"Pupupu?" Mokona shrugged, before waving at Quatsar. "Pupu-pu-puu!"

Before Quatsar could respond back, the white blob disappeared in a tiny flash of light. Being left alone in the dark, Quatsar folded down his mechanical wings, mulling over his earlier outburst.

"I do not need Hotaru…"

Having spent yet another night at the inn to rest up after battling the enormous skeletons, Cephiro's defenders gathered in the town of Subaru one last time to say their goodbyes. While there were no Gallant Order members around anymore, the entire village had gathered at the town gates, to see them off. While the people were clearly grateful about being saved, there was still a lingering air of unease over the town.

"As the Mayor of Subaru, it is up to me to thank you all for saving our lives," Sahara spoke with a warm, grandmotherly smile. "Thanks to you, no villagers died, and thousands of more lives were spared."

"We were glad to be able to help," Hikaru smiled happily. "Though it is Fuu-chan and Alcyone-san that you should be thanking. They were the ones to figure out how to put a stop to the monsters."

"Hey! What about us?" Primera asked, hovering above them along with a few baby fairies.

"Thank you for your help too," Riviera thanked the fairies with an elegant bow. "People are all happy to have fairies around again."

While the people were happy for Primera and the fairies, and gladly thanked Fuu, they were still uncomfortable with thanking Alcyone. Seeing their hesitation annoyed Hotaru, but he decided not to say a word. Instead, the sorceress herself walked forth, her cape flowing behind her gracefully.

"Thank you for everything you have done," Alcyone bowed deeply, catching the people off guard.

"N-No no!" the merchant she had helped earlier waved his hands. "We should be the ones thanking you…"

Smiling sweetly at the people, Alcyone spoke gently, "As a member of the Subaru family, I have only done what I should have been doing since the beginning. I thank you all for looking after the lands that my family once called their home, and for your efforts to rebuild it. For what little I did yesterday, was the least I could do to repay you."

The people who had known Alcyone or her reputation, were shocked to see her speak so humbly, almost as if the villainess they had feared no longer even existed. While the memories of her atrocities still lingered, the people could tell that she truly felt remorse for her past actions.

"I know you cannot forgive me because of the things I have done in the past," Alcyone admitted, looking into the people's eyes, "and I accept this. I… I cannot redeem my past sins. All I can do is to continue making amends, until the last days of my life."

"We… We are still grateful for what you have done!" The blonde woman who she had met in the park yelled.

"Your candies and medicine have helped make life more bearable when we have been rebuilding," a mill worker admitted.

"And we cannot thank you enough for keeping our world safe," Sahara said with a wide smile. "While the history we share is not pretty, feel free to come and visit us whenever you like."

Nodding at the elderly mayor, Alcyone gathered everyone around her, before teleporting back to the MartinManor. Seeing them, the maids rushed over to greet them, and the Magic Knights started telling them about their journey. After a moment of silence, Alcyone jumped up happily and wrapped her arms around Hotaru's neck, embracing her husband, finally feeling at home.

Author's Afterword: And with that, we wrap the longest chapter I have ever written. Sorry about the delays with this one. It took four weeks to write it and it didn't help that I started going to the gym again, so that has been eating up time. I only hope the next chapter will be shorter, even though the events might be even more volatile.

In this chapter, we saw Alcyone doing her best to make up for her past sins, which is a tall order due to how severe I made them. Overall, her situation reminded me of Megatron from the IDW comics. Even if you have a change of heart, even if you commit great deeds to make up for your past, some misdeeds cannot be redeemed. The only difference being that there is no one left to judge Alcyone, nor would her imprisonment or execution make the world a better place. Yet life goes on, and thus our sorceress has to accept her lot in life.

Now, so far monster designs for season three have all been these larger-than-life colossi, so I figured changing things up was in order. Making these giant skeletons, which I tried coming up with names for until the end, I took inspiration from a couple of sources, to create a foe easy to slay, but hard to keep down.

This chapter also finally shows off the payoff to the long-discussed Fay Moon. I had planned for more of a scene for it, but with the chapter already being almost 40 whole pages, I decided enough was enough. But at the very least we finally got to see what Sybil was hiding under her hood.

As always, reviews, questions, and critiques are welcome! Let me know what you thought of the chapter! I would like to thank Cartoonguy 133 for your review on the last chapter and give SPECIAL thanks to BasiliscoRobotico for his many great comments and feedback on Ao3!

Remember, even if you leave a review on an older chapter, I will always be grateful and make sure to mention you in the next chapter!

The link to my Deviantart page with images on the OCs is available in my profile bio.