Arthur and the others carefully moved through the beast glades with their cores suppressed. Their objective was to capture or kill Seris and all of the Vritra blooded mages they found in response to the attacks carried out on civilian targets. Arthur of course had his own slightly different objective. He was confident that Seris had nothing to do with the attacks, that in fact she may actually be an ally, considering his memories of the previous timeline. His objective was to talk to her in the hopes of finding out her plan for certain, and using her to help him get to Agrona. And if he could find out where the ones responsible were as well, then it would be that much better.

After a bit of walking they finally came up to the clearing Seris had been spotted, and the nine mages, Sylvie, and Regis spread out in a half circle to attack from different angles. The ninth and newest Lance was the one of Arthur's choosing, Jasmine.

It had been a week since Arthur had returned from the relic tomb, of course they would have left sooner, but they also needed to wait for the last of the new white core mage weapons to be completed. During this time waiting he had divided that time between training with Jasmine, and trying to teach Tess and Feyrith how to use aether. For Jasmine was to not only get her used to her new core level, but to also help her get stronger. In the end Jasmine had managed to get to Varay's level before she had started her training.

Arthur did regret the timing of this a bit. In the previous timeline Arthur was able to remove the restrictions of the lance's cores with the help of three Asura artifacts. Unfortunately he no longer had the artifacts, and was never able to gain enough understanding of the spell needed that was attached to the artifact to recreate it himself. He hoped that after the war an opportunity would present itself to learn of or gain access to the spell again to remove the restrictions.

As they closed in Seris was seen in the center of the clearing sitting at a long formal dining table sipping tea. To her left were three female Vrtia blooded mages, identified as such by their horns, dressed as maids.

"Damn, I think I've got a maid kink," Regis commented lewdly.

The plan was simple, since Arthur could completely hide his core while still using mana, he would move in first. The hopes were that he would get close enough to talk with her, but if a battle ensued then the others would stay out of it and keep an eye out for reinforcements. However now with the sight of three mages, despite their appearance, the others knew they would have to engage quickly.

Without a sound Arthur exited the cover of the trees, keeping to Seris's left as to use the maids as cover for his approach. They were several feet away, too far to use burst step, although suddenly appearing like that could interfere with his plans. As he carefully closed in he noticed the remaining seats at the table were all set. A step later and the maids started moving, each taking a pot and filling the cups with tea.

"Please do sit before it gets cold," Seris said without looking at him before picking up a fork and scooping a small bite of cake.

Arthur sighed. "You knew I was here the whole time didn't you?"

"I did. I knew all of you were here." She then spoke louder. "So please all of you come out, otherwise I will drag you all out."

"You think you'd actually be able too?" Arthur asked as he relaxed the control of his core.

"If not me my maids would, and each of them are stronger than Uto," she replied.

Arthur knew they could handle the maids together, but there was no need for the violence.

"Come on out everyone, it appears we're going to talk this one out," Arthur stated as he started walking to the table.

The others exited the forest with their weapons drawn as Arthur took a seat at Seris's left. They moved cautiously as their eyes shifted between the maids.

"You can put your weapons away, I won't bite. If I wanted to fight, my maids would have attacked you all while you were suppressing your cores. I have no doubt I could have held Arthur back for a little while," Seris stated with an amused tone.

Tess sat down beside Arthur, with Sylvie on her other side. Elijah sat to Seris's right, and the other lances filled in the remaining seats, and Regis kept on all four feet as he kept an eye on the maids. Arthur was surprised, with the exception of a brief moment when they first saw the maids, Regis's mind stayed focused and away from inappropriate thoughts in regards to the maids.

"Nico, you seem more at peace than you were before," Seris commented. "I'm happy to see that. Before you would have sooner killed Arthur. You must have finally broken free of Agrona's mental manipulation."

"Actually it's Elijah now."

"The name you went by in Dicathen? Why the change?"

"Long story short, I became schizophrenic. One personality was Nico, the other me. But now with Arthur's help, the Nico portion was removed for good."

"I see," Seris replied, looking troubled.

Arthur took a sip of the tea first. "It's not poison," he stated and too another sip.

"Of course not. Why would I poison my new allies?" She replied, refocusing on the current situation.

"Allies you say? Yet you launch attacks on civilian targets?!" Bairon asks aggressively as he is still clenching his spear.

"That was unfortunate, but also not my doing. Agrona ordered that attack himself, even sending specific individuals to carry it out."

"And those targets were chosen because of me weren't they?"

"Yes. It's rare for things to not go according to Agrona's plans, so he's taking it personally now. Much like a child throwing a tantrum."

"Except I'm willing to bet there is a plan behind this tantrum," Arthur said.

"Most likely," Seris replied. She then noticed Pasta pulling a flask from his dimensional ring and tilting it towards his tea cup. "General Bloom, if you add that to this tea I will personally remove your tongue so you may never know the taste of alcohol ever again," she threatened calmly.

Pasta stared her down as her eyes remained calmly on him. He then cleared his throat as he returned the flask to his ring.

"My apologies, but this is the finest tea in all of Alacrya. Adding anything to it is an insult." She then pulled a white bag from her dimensional ring. "Here," she handed the bag to Arthur. "Congratulations on your marriage, it was a beautiful ceremony."

"Wait!? How would you know? You weren't there," Tess asked in confusion.

"No, but I was still able to see it with the aid of vision enhancing artifacts."

"But the other lances..."

"Were not close enough to perceive me."

Arthur wasn't all that surprised by this information, but was more so surprised by the gift. He pulled the first item out, which was a crystal sphere about the size of a softball. The other was rectangular, and resembled a photographic artifact he saw in Alacrya once. He examined them carefully, trying to determine what they do.

"It's an image recording artifact and the spheres save and allow you to view the recordings. To my understanding they have become quite popular with parents for preserving memories and sharing them with elders of their blood."

"So she essentially gave you a digital camcorder and the spheres are for watching the videos later. Not bad. I would prefer Agrona's head at this point," Regis commented.

"Thank you," Arthur replied, then stored it in his rune for later. "But let's get back to what you said earlier. You called yourself an ally?"

"That's correct, an ally against Agrona," she confirmed.

"Wait, you're trying to start a coup?!" Pasta asked in disbelief.

"That's correct."

"Why? From what we understand Alacrya is very powerful thanks to Agrona," Varay asked.

"While that is true, that power has come at a price. Despite how things look on the surface, the people of Alacrya are only tools to the Vritia. For generations our people have been experimented on, all for the purpose of his war with Kezess."

"You mean the Asura right?" Mica asked.

"No. Despite what either side says, this is a war between those two. The rest of us are nothing more than pawns to be disposed of when fitting."

"So you're trying to become a king?" Elijah guessed.

"If I survive, but that wasn't my initial intent. In the beginning I thought if Agrona were to die, another Vritia would step up and stop this war. However I have come to realize that as long as the Vritia reside in Alacrya, this war will never end."

"Even if all of the Vritia are defeated, the other Asura might not let the war end," Arthur pointed out. "I'm pretty confident that Kezess would want all of the Vritia blooded to be exterminated as well."

"That's why I need you," she said confidently as she looked at Arthur. "You are a force of change, you can be the third party I need to ensure everything ends with the Vritia."

"I may be strong enough to kill Asuras, but I can't fight them all. Not to mention I need to also protect my family."

"Do you think Kezess will just leave you alone after the war? He took steps to ensure lessers would never reach a level where they would be considered a threat to them. Yet you have grown beyond their limitations, you've become a threat. Only together do we stand a chance of survival, alone, both continents will burn."

"I'm sorry, but are the Asura really that petty? You make it sound like they would exterminate all of Alacrya just to kill you all," Bairon questioned.

"Because they will. The only thing that matters to both the Vritia and Asura is Epheotus, both continents can burn for all they care. Just as long as their home land survives," Seris replied.

"And what do we get if we help you?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur?!" Bairon and several others shouted in disbelief as they stood up. Immediately mana fluctuations were felt from the maids as they prepared to fight. Bairon cleared his throat. "You can't seriously be considering helping them? Not after all they've done."

"The problem is Kezess and Agrona. As long as those two are in power none of us are safe. I was already planning to eventually kill them both, but if I have a chance to kill one sooner then I'll take the opportunity," Arthur replied.

"Thank you," Seris said with a bow of her head. "If you help me rise to power, and help ensure the Asura don't attack us, Alacrya will admit defeat and withdraw from Dicathen, sign a peace treaty, as well as pay whatever reasonable reparations you ask of us."

"You'll need to get me to Agrona."

"It may take a little bit of time, but I will make it happen."

"We have our own means to teleport to Alacrya, all I need is the opportunity to kill him."

"You have access to a long range teleportation gate?" She questioned.

"You could say that. It's a little complicated, but I'll have to be the one to choose the location we'll emerge from."

"All teleportation gates are under Agrona's control, you won't be able to arrive undetected."

"Well this one isn't under his control, I don't even think he knows it exists."

"How do you even know about this gate," she asked suspiciously.

"That's irrelevant," Arthur replied. This was in fact a gate he had originally planned on using for his escape from Alacrya, but didn't end up needing. Before anyone could say another word Arthur and Sylvie felt several powerful mana signatures approaching through the forest. "What is relevant, is that we seem to have guests."

Everyone stood up quickly and faced the forest as several figures began to emerge.

"Well, what do we have here," Dragoth said with an amused tone as he rested a large blood red battle ax on his right shoulder. "Looks like I caught a traitor and Dicathen's supposed finest."

Dragoth walked towards them with confidence, as if he had already won the battle. Of course this would be expected, as he wasn't alone. They were completely surrounded by at least a dozen Vritra blooded mages. Most of them were at about the level of a retainer, but among them Arthur saw some familiar faces, the Wraiths. In the previous timeline he would have been right to be confident, but this time as Arthur and the others were now significantly stronger.

"Wow, it's like the horned bastard doesn't even realize he's sending these guys to the slaughter," Regis commented. "Well, I hate to disappoint, let's get to work."

"Hang on, I want to see how this plays out first."

"I prefer the term revolutionary. What I'm doing is to save Alacrya and it's people. Agrona's path will only lead to our demise," Seris replied in a dignified manner while drawing her sword.

"Hmph, you don't even bother to try and convince me otherwise?"

"What's the point, you wouldn't listen anyways."

"Seris tell me," Arthur interrupted. "Is it true what I've heard? That Dragoth is all brawn and no brains?"

A small smile formed on Seris's face from the comment.

"Don't get cocky lesser," Dragoth threatened with clenched teeth. "Just because you defeated Cadell doesn't mean you're strong enough to handle me." He then grunted in frustration. "I don't even understand why lord Agrona is even worried about you. Regardless, you won't escape today." He then pointed towards the wraiths. "Those five are specially trained to take down Asuras. So they're more than enough to capture you."

Arthur glanced over to the wraiths as a smirk formed across his face. "Oh really? Well..." Arthur then used burst step and immediately disappeared from sight. The Vritia blooded searched frantically, as his allies looked beyond the wraiths. A thud was heard, and all looked behind the wraiths to see one of them lying on the ground with her head removed. Behind the corpse stood Arthur with the head in his arms as he snapped off her horns. "Just so you know," he dropped the head and stored the horns in his rune as he released the pressure from his core. "Not a single one of you horned bastards are leaving here alive."

Quickly the battle between the two forces erupted. The remaining wraiths quickly focused on and isolated Arthur from the others, thinking he would need help in the four on one battle. However not only was the gap between their strength far greater than they expected, but from his experience battling them in the previous timeline made it much easier for him to predict and counter their attacks.

Seris and Dragoth clashed, his brute force versus Seris' quick, elegant, and precise movements. They had moved away from the clearing they started, ravaging the surrounding forest with the tremendous force of their Vritia mana arts.

The lances and maids dealt with the remaining forces, as Regis and Sylvie acted as buffers to keep them from getting caught up in the more powerful battles. Following Arthur's recommendation, the lances moved in teams of two in an effort to manage the unfamiliar Vritia magic. Barion and Jasmine teamed up against a mage using soulfire, as Mica and Pasta fought against a horned man that was creating toxic liquids, leaving Varay and Aya going toe to toe with another that wielded a scythe and created black wind blades.

Dragoth swung his battle axe, much faster than one would expect for such a large weapon, sending out a wave of soul fire. Seris coated her blade with black wind, and with an upward swing split the wave. As the wave split she saw Dragoth charging in, and swung his axe downward. Seris gracefully jumped up and back to avoid the attack. As the axe struck the ground a sea of black iron spikes formed in front of him. Seris was coming down quickly, but instead of being impaled, she gracefully landed atop one of the spikes on one foot.

"Do you plan on just dancing, or are going to fight me!" Dragoth yelled.

"Why would I enter your range of attack? When it comes to physical strength you are superior. I would be a fool to fight you head on," she replied matter of factly.

Even though her physical strength was less than Dragoths, she was superior in every other way, with her true strength laying in her sharp intellect. Of all the scythes, she was the most strategically minded, allowing her to size up a situation and develop a plan quickly in the moment. Cadell may have been the most well know and in public opinion consider the strongest, but with her speed and magical prowess, there were none below Vritra that could match her.

Dragoth lunged as he swung his axe again horizontally, slashing through the metal spikes he had created. Seris leaped off the spikes before he could break the first spike, sending a series of black wind blades before she even landed.

In response a black metal wall shot up, protecting Dragoth from the barrage. Many of the blades struck the wall relatively harmlessly as they rang out with every strike to the metal. The rest left gashes in the ground, creating a dust cloud that hid Dragoth and his defensive wall from sight.

As the barrage ended Dragoth began to leave his position, planning to use the dust cloud to give him the opportunity to get to a better position. However before he could get more than a step out he felt a sharp pain going from his back to his chest as the dust cloud was blown away. Before he could even react a stream of back wind shot out from his chest and curved back before shooting through his body. The process repeated multiple times in a period of less than five seconds with the black wind weaving in and out of his body, leaving a black trail behind.

Dragoth desperately tried to move but couldn't, even his mana wouldn't respond to him. As this continued Seris walked in front of him with a neutral expression, a thin stream of back wind still connected to her sword.

"You've sealed your fate," he struggled to say, blood oozing from his mouth. "Agrona will have your head."

"He needs to be alive long enough to take it," she replied, and pulled up on her sword a bit, causing the black wind to tighten.

He flinched and spat up more blood.

"You can't defeat a pure blood Vritra," he stained.

"I don't need to, I just need to support the man who can."

With that she raised her blade over her head, and the black wind cut his torso into over a dozen chunks. Only his limbs and head were left intact.

——————————————————————-

"So do we have an agreement?" Seris asked Arthur after everyone gathered back together.

The area had been completely destroyed by the various magics used. Thanks to Regis and Sylvie, no one died from their side, having come to the lances rescue a few times. They all looked a bit ragged, but everyone lived and for the most part, the lances were all responsible for their own kills. This was all highly do to Arthur sharing his own experiences fighting against the many Virtra blood mages in the previous timeline. With this information everyone was better prepared for what to expect, and like with Bairon, develop some new tactics.

"I would prefer if we could discuss the terms and concessions first, but based off of what just happened, I think killing Agrona will have to take precedence. Just notify me when you can have someone at the Alacryan gate," Arthur replied.

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

Arthur pulled a communication scroll from his rune.

"One time use communication scroll. Send your message, then within seconds of receiving my response both scrolls will disintegrate."

"Hmm, interesting," she replied as she took hers. "In that case, expect my response soon." With that she and her maids took to the air and flew off.

"So we're just going to let them go?" Bairon asked.

"Not like we have much choice, it's not like I can get to Agrona easily on my own. Besides, it's obvious that we already killed the ones responsible for the attacks."

"Then does that mean we can go back now?" Mica asked as she was rotating her right shoulder, which was injured in battle.

"Not quite yet. Gather all of the bodies together."

"You're after the horns aren't you?" Elijah guessed.

"Yes, but I need the whole bodies first."