Beelzebub directed his attacks solely at Eladriel. Icaures and Feyones continued to assail the enemy titan relentlessly, but he didn't pay them any attention at all. They seemed like mosquitoes to him, not worth his time and energy.

"That was easier than I thought." Malia muttered to herself. "Cover me" she requested from her companions.

Sophie aimed Kindlestrike at the titan. Lok slowly rose, supporting himself with his sword.

"Healing light" the medic cast a bright green beam of healing power while running.

Contrary to appearances, the healing spell had an effect on Belzebub. He ceased his assault on Eladriel. The medic, now with her companion by her side, approached the enemy closer. Spells cast from a distance were not as effective as those used directly on the wounded. Lok, seeing that he was no longer needed, went to swap with Den, who was still fighting against Wind.

"Why aren't you attacking?!" Shauna demanded, looking at the state her titan was in.

A moment of distraction, and Sophie struck her on the side of the jaw. The Casterwill recognized that there wouldn't be a better opportunity to strike.

"How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?!" the woman massaged her cheek.

"I could ask you the same question a few minutes ago" Sophie retorted.

Both stood in battle stance. Sophie headed towards her. Shauna summoned Ash. The Casterwill hesitated with summoning her companion. She had to buy as much time as possible for her comrade, who was still fighting Beelzebub.

"Damn. I feel like at least half an hour has passed." muttered Malia.

The girl kept the healing spell, and Eladriel prepared to strike with its silver dagger. When it was about to happen, someone unexpectedly attacked the owner of the Legendary Titan of Life from behind. Malia fell to her knees, then looked behind her.

No one had noticed this person on the battlefield before. This was because she had been constantly hiding by Camoforge. Woman with straight auburn hair stood before Malia. She was dressed in a black tunic with golden endings, matching her black sneakers with yellow laces. She wore glasses with thin frames on her nose. Next to her stood a titan, which attacked Eladriel with one of its fans shortly after her.

"It's the first time I've seen you. Who are you?" Malia asked.

"Sweetheart, it's none of your business. Don't bother us. You don't look like a Casterwill, but I feel the same hatred towards you" said the Spiral member.

"I'm a Nordwill. I guess that's the reason" the girl smirked.

At that moment, Den stepped into action. He accurately attacked the mysterious woman with Raypulse. She got hit in the arm. She briefly glanced at him, then spoke to Malia.

"Is he your boyfriend? Quite a hunk. But I prefer older ones."

"Only in your dreams" the girl replied in her thoughts.

Fears began to fight the unknown Spiral member.

"Since when does the Spiral care about its enemies?" the boy asked.

"I'm very interested in such things." she replied.

Den slightly pulled the opponent away from her companion.

Unexpectedly, the Legendary Titan of Death cast a dark spell towards Malia. Startled by the scream of one of the Casterwills, the girl tore her gaze away from Den's fight with the Spiral girl. She looked towards the enemy titan. The attack didn't reach her. Eladriel used its shield just in time. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close" she said under her breath. "Let's continue. We need to finish this quickly" she directed her words to the titan.

Again, along with Eladriel, they began to heal the enemy titan. Malia sequentially cast several healing spells. Finally, Eladriel ended this charade by plunging the dagger into Beelzebub. The girl fell to her knees from momentary weakness. At the same time, Shauna knelt. Every time the titan returned to the amulet, its owner was weakened for a moment. Sophie seized the opportunity. Confidently, she struck Shauna's chest with Kindlestrike. The woman hissed.

"Do you think a mosquito bite like that will hurt me? You're so funny!" the enemy leader immediately revived.

She used Newfury. With a swift motion, she rose from her knees and, running, reached for Sophie. She grabbed her by the neck and began to squeeze. The Casterwill tried to utter a spell, but she couldn't force out a single word.

Vivian, who had been fighting Soril with her guards' assistance, rushed alone to help Sophie. She attacked Shauna with Kindlestrike, thereby freeing the Casterwill leader. Sophie coughed a few times. Malia appeared beside her friend and immediately led her inside the Fortress.

"Are you okay?" the concerned medic asked.

Sophie nodded. The Lady of the Lake began to fight Shauna, simultaneously covering the retreat of the two seekers.

"Last time you got lucky. Today, you'll die." the woman said.

"We'll see about that." Vivian retorted sarcastically.

Inside the Fortress, the Rue Guardians were in the midst of performing another ritual. Focauld stood guard. Malia cast a healing spell on Sophie.

"For a moment there, I thought I was a goner. Thanks." said the Casterwill.

"Rest for a moment. I need to go back and help the other Casterwills" Lyssa said, heading for the exit.

"Wait" Focauld called out.

The girl turned towards the older man.

"With all due respect, this is not the right time for a conversation." she replied and quickly disappeared from the room.

In the meantime, Harrison and Cathy continued their relentless battle against small groups of the Spiral. For some time now, they had been standing more towards the rear to protect the wounded seekers.

"Malia is taking a while to return" Lambert remarked.

Fears wanted to reply, but the mentioned girl appeared before them.

"Sorry. I'm here now" she arrived with her titan.

"Took you long enough. What happened?" Cathy asked.

"I'll tell you later. Go help those up front." she replied.

"I'll stay with you" Cherit offered..

The girl nodded in agreement.

Den continued his battle with the Spiral woman. They fought fiercely. At one point, the woman pulled a small object from her pouch. The bespectacled girl began to evade Fears' strikes.

"She's up to something. But what?" the thought crossed the boy's mind.

He looked around. Still, nothing seemed to indicate what his opponent might be planning.

Not far from Fears, Vivian continued her fight with Shauna. Suddenly, the woman broke through the girl's defense. The Lady of the Lake knelt on one knee and coughed several times. She took a hit to her diaphragm. The girl looked at the leader of the Death Spiral. A ball of dark magic emanated in her hand.

"Game over, brat! Death arrow!" the leader of the enemy faction uttered.

She cast the spell towards Vivian. The Lady of the Lake saw of Sophie approaching to her from the fortress.

"I'm sorry, Sophie. I couldn't handle it." Vivian whispered to herself and closed her eyes.

It seemed inevitable that she couldn't dodge the spell. When the spell was just centimeters away from Vivian, the seeker was unexpectedly enveloped by a red glow. The deadly spell was neutralized.

"What's happening? Mythras...?" she asked herself in her thoughts.

The girl reached into her small bag and put a ring on her finger. She stood up straight.

"Roar, Legendary Titan of Valor, Mythras!" she uttered with her hand raised upwards.

The red aura pushed Shauna away from the Lady of the Lake. Mythras appeared between the Casterwills. Titan grew to twice his size. Additionally, he gained a new weapon in the form of a golden elongated sword.

"This is impossible!" the leader of the Death Spiral exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. The tables have turned, Shauna!" the girl furrowed her brows.

"Impressive. You've managed to form a strong bond with Mythras." Sophie observed.

"Mythras, attack!" the young Casterwill commanded.

Unexpectedly, in place of the leader of the Casterwills, appeared the mysterious Spiral girl who had been fighting Den. With a swift movement, she bound the Lady of the Lake's hands behind her back and pressed a knife to her throat.

"You're such a beautiful miss from the Casterwills. Too bad it's your end now" she whispered excitedly into her ear.

"What just happened?" disoriented Sophie asked Den.

"I knew that woman was up to something. She swapped you two" he replied.

Together, they looked towards Vivian. Wind rushed to help his sister when he had noticed Mythras heading towards Shauna. The man attacked the Legendary Titan with Ammoniacy. The spell dissolved a piece of the golden armor. However, it wasn't enough to slow down the titan. Mythras was preparing to split Shauna in half. Wind appeared in front of the woman at the right moment. He caught the blade with his hands from the sides. He used a spell that caused the sword to melt at that spot. The weapon was now useless. Mythras roared before grabbing the man and throwing him directly at Soril.

Vivian couldn't muster a word. She was terrified, though her body didn't show it. Just two years ago, her legs would have been shaking like jelly. This situation was not overlooked by Mallory and White. Thanks to Mythras, they could rush to help their lady.

"Don't come any closer!" Lady of the Lake yelled at her bodyguards.

"The girl is right. One more step and I'll kill her before your eyes" the Spiral addressed.

Vivian's servants stopped.

"Arnetta, stop playing games and finish this!" Shauna ordered.

"Any last words, pretty girl?" the woman asked.

"Yes. Get lost!" Vivian shouted.

The girl stepped on the woman's foot, then struck her with Touchram. The Spiral was slammed into the fortress wall. The Casterwill's opponent lost consciousness. This spell, cast by the Lady of the Lake, was much stronger than usual. She herself was surprised by such a surge of power.

"What was that? Did Mythras strengthen me?" she wondered, glancing at her hand.

The bodyguards rushed to the teenager. The girl looked towards her companions. After a moment, Sophie and Den joined them.

"Is everything alright?" White asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me" she replied.

She moved again towards Shauna.

"Will she be okay?" the Fears asked his friend.

"She showed what she's capable of" she replied.

Suddenly, Mythras was attacked by Thornmir. Two sekeers from Lok's team headed towards Soril and Wind.

"I thought they wouldn't do anything for a while longer" Sophie said to Den.

"Even Lok lost his vigilance" he remarked when he noticed their injured friend nearby the Spiral.

After a long time, another wave of titans emerged from the fortress gates. This time it was six enormous Coralgolems. Behind them came the Casterwills, who had been behind the fortress doors until now. The titans, along with Mythras, surrounded Thornmir. One of them grabbed him by the ankles and toppled him over with a swift motion, then they collectively stomped on him.

Shauna, seeing that Soril's titan had been defeated, bypassed Vivian and shouted: "Retreat!"

Soril realized that Thornmir had been their last hope. Just moments ago, Wind was desperately slapping him across the face to wake him up, and then ordered him to summon the titan. Suddenly, one of the Coralgolems turned towards the Spiral and attempted to grab him. The man dodged it and ran towards his still unconscious companion. He took her under his arm, and together they fled.

The Casterwills and Lok's team watched the Death Spiral's retreat.

"And what was the point of all that? It was certain they wouldn't defeat us" Harrison remarked.

" 'Good triumphs over evil.' Isn't that how it goes?" Cathy chuckled.

***

Cathy was training in the training hall against an artificial dummy under Clease's watchful eye. She didn't have as frequent meetings at the headquarters as she did a few months ago. At that time, most of her training consisted of honing her combat skills and using her powers. Sometimes, she also summoned one of her titans to train with her.

By training with their titan, seekers strengthened their bond, cooperation, and learned their mutual capabilities. After all, every creature residing in the amulet was a precious companion to its seeker, just as every titan was to its seeker.

The Lambert started another skirmish against the Foundation's machine. As the opponent moved towards her, she waited for the right moment to blind it with Boltflare. After a moment, she succeeded. The artificial human grabbed its face, simulating human reflexes. In retaliation, it struck her chest. Cathy winced in pain, realizing she should have backed off to a safer distance to gain more time to react to the opponent's move. The machine rushed towards Lambert. Cathy backed away until she hit the wall with her back.

The artificial human aimed a punch from the right. Cathy blocked it. As it followed up with a strike from the other side, she interrupted the block and evaded the opponent's left fist with a quick crouch. Without hesitation, she grabbed the dummy by the ankles and pulled it hard with the help of Dragonfist. As expected, the opponent fell over.

"It's time for train with titan." announced Clease.

"Today I'll try with Lunar and Solar," Cathy said.

"Have you summoned them before?" he asked.

"During the last encounter with the Spiral."

The girl summoned her titans. Clease summoned Freelancer to assist the training machine. Solar unleashed a radiant attack towards the opponent titan. The enemy seeker countered with Augerfrost towards Cathy. Lunar cast a protective shield around her seeker.

Meanwhile, a group of about fifty people arrived on the island of Sutos. Among them stood a distinguished woman. Two members of the gendarmerie guarded the city gates. The men crossed their spears to prevent the strangers from crossing the entrance.

"Where do you come from, and what are you looking for here?" one of them asked.

"We come from afar. I would like an audience with the king." she smiled and adjusted her glasses.

"In what matter?" the other inquired.

"Do I have to say?" she feigned a sad expression.

"The king doesn't entertain people without a specific reason." he persisted.

"I promise the offer I bring is not meaningless. Your people could benefit greatly." as she spoke these words, the woman's eyes glowed red, and the effect transferred to the men's pupils.

"Alright. If you say so. I'll take you." he offered.

"Hey, what are you doing? Someone who wants an audience with the king must have malicious intentions." his companion interjected.

"Oh no, not at all. We want to help you. I've heard from my lady about a few unpleasant things. Among them, that you're struggling with extreme poverty." the woman denied, twirling a lock of her auburn hair.

The man fell silent and relented.

The enchanted soldier led the stranger to the place where the king resided. Along the way, the woman glanced around. She confirmed her belief that the rumors turned out to be true. In one of the alleyways, she spotted a bandit armed with a machete attacking a woman carrying a basket of apples. The sight didn't faze her. After all the time she had lived in this world, she had seen plenty of different kinds of assaults.

They quickly arrived in front of the building where the island's ruler dwelled.

"Your Majesty, I have brought someone who offers us help." the man knelt before the king.

The woman did the same and rose after a moment.

"I have come here with my people. We want to offer you help. There is no worse sight than people dying on the streets from hunger and scarcity." she began to explain.

When Grier looked into her amber brown eyes, he felt as if they had met before. He didn't know why. Subconsciously, he felt it could be some kind of trick. On one hand, the woman's expression seemed completely sincere. On the other hand, the spiral tattoo on the stranger's arm raised the king's concerns.

"Thank you, Roger. Return to guard the city gates." the man addressed his soldier.

The gendarme rose from his knees, bowed one last time, and, following the order, left the building.

"What do you have to offer, and what do you want in return?" the king of Sutos asked.

"We offer you everything you need. In return, we don't want any money, just your people." she answered.