THE SUPREME and the Black Serpent, despite their reincarnation, remain geniuses in their field, Forrester pondered to himself while looking outside the window of his room.

Since it was already evening, the sky was as dark as his father's soul. Anyway, he was alone in the room because the duke and duchess were having dinner with Lord Prescott who also asked Sentinel to join them.

Anyway…

They really managed to summon their previous weapons in less than twenty four hours.

"Mastering" a technique for the Supreme and the Black Serpent meant summoning the previous weapons that they had in the past.

To be honest, he was shocked that the Supreme's weapon changed in this era. But maybe it didn't matter as long as Lady Nystrom had a weapon that she could use to utilize her Mana. He had to acknowledge the duchess for accomplishing her task without breaking her heart's barrier.

They really did a good job.

He wanted to celebrate but there was an ominous feeling in the air.

Something big is about to happen.

His thoughts were cut-off when he heard a knock on the door. A few moments later, the door opened and Sentinel entered his room with a tray.

"The duke and the duchess asked me to bring you food, Your Holiness," Sentinel said, then he put the tray down on the night table. Then, he looked at him as if he was trying to read his mind. "Can you feel it, too?"

"Yes," Forrester said, then he let out a deep sigh. "Another Beast God is about to awaken, it seems."

***

"FATHER, is it really okay if I burn down the tree that you cherish?" Tilly asked her father worriedly. They just finished dinner and now, they were having tea in the balcony with Kiho. Sentinel already bid them good night because she and her husband discreetly asked him to bring dinner to the saint. "That Fire Tree has been mother's "shelter" all these years."

"Your mother left a message for you in that tree," Lord Prescott said, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "I don't mind if you burn it down."

"I'm sorry, Father."

"We will plant a new tree after this, Father," Kiho promised. They already talked about that matter a while ago. "We know that it wouldn't be the same but we still want Mother's resting place to have a Fire Tree as its "guardian.""

"That's fine with me," her father said while looking at her and her husband. "Kiho, Tilly, you're now the Duke and Duchess of Oakes. Everything in our dukedom belongs to you and thus, you don't need to ask for my permission."

"That's not true, Father," she said while shaking her head. "Even if we're now the Duke and Duchess of Oakes, you're still the true ruler of this land. You're the one who made our territory as prosperous as it is today, Father."

"I agree with Tilly, Father," her husband said. "We only inherited our titles for our protection. But Tilly and I know that we still have so much to learn. So, Father, we humbly ask you to share your wisdom with us so that we can be good leaders someday."

Lord Prescott didn't smile but his eyes glowed happily. "It's my duty as your father to guide you, silly kids."

Tilly and Kiho turned to each other and smiled.

They probably had the same thoughts right now.

We will always be children in Father's eyes.

***

"TILLY, are you sure you're okay?"

Tilly smiled and nodded at Kiho's question. "I'm fine, Kiho. I want to read Mother's message as soon as possible."

She understood why her husband was worried.

It was already past midnight and yet, they were still outside. After their tea time with Lord Prescott, they just rested for a bit before she decided to burn the Fire Tree down.

And so, she went back to the garden with Kiho, Sentinel, and Saint Forrester.

Her father decided to stay in the mansion to "have a drink" with her mother. Lord Prescott would definitely drink by himself and reminisce his memories with Lady Marianne Prescott.

"Lady Nystrom, are you ready?" Saint Forrester asked. "Just do what I told you to do before: focus your Mana in the iron crab mallet. Think of your weapon as an extension of your body."

She nodded at the instruction. "I understand, Your Holiness. But how am I supposed to summon my weapon?" she asked, then she looked at the red feather tattoo around her wrist.

"If you summon your weapon with sincerity, it will answer your call," Sentinel said. "That was what the Supreme told me before."

"Alright," she said, then she took a deep breath. "I'll try it."

She closed her eyes and from the bottom of her heart, she summoned her new weapon.

My dear iron crab mallet, she said in her mind. Come to Mama.

She almost laughed at her stupid joke.

But it worked!

A few seconds later, she felt the warm iron crab mallet in her hand. When she opened her eyes, she smiled when she saw her tiny weapon again.

Small but terrific.

"Good job, honey," Kiho said proudly, then he kissed her forehead. "Good luck. I'm just behind you, okay?"

"Okay, hon," she said. "Thank you."

After that, Kiho, Sentinel, and Saint Forrester move backwards until they were standing behind her.

I can do this.

Back in her second life, she was a pro at "whack-a-mole" arcade game. Hitting a tree with a mallet was nothing to her.

She gripped the iron crab mallet tight with both hands. Then, just like what the saint said, she focused the flow her Mana from her body to the weapon while thinking that it was an extension of her body.

A few moments later, the iron crab mallet began to heat up until it was engulfed in red flame. As soon as the weapon produced fire, she hit the trunk hard and fast as if she was hitting a mole in the arcade center.

Whew.

The part of the trunk that she hit cracked and caught the fire from her iron crab mallet.

She thought her little flame wouldn't do anything to the huge tree. But much to her shock, the red flame suddenly grew bigger until it swallowed the Fire Tree completely. Not only that. She also noticed that the tree was burning down faster than it was supposed to be.

A Fire Mage's flame is indeed special.

"You're amazing, honey," Kiho said when he stood beside her, then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"Thank you, hon," she said, then she snaked an arm around his waist.

She noticed that Sentinel and Saint Forrester stood on her other side. Just like her and Kiho, the two were also keenly watching the big fire in front of them.

When the Fire Tree was almost reduced to half of its original size, she noticed that the black smoke coming from the flame started to form into letters– words– until they were cohesive enough to be understood.

"I can't read it," Kiho said that shocked her so she turned to him. Her husband turned to her at the same with furrowed brows. "Can you?"

She nodded her head. "I can."

"I can't read it as well," Saint Forrester said, causing them to turn to His Holiness. "I'm fluent in different languages. But this is the first time I've seen that one."

"I can understand it a bit," Sentinel said, then the spirit guardian turned to her. "Lady Nystrom, the message is written in ancient language that only the Fire Mage clan can understand. Unfortunately, I am not that fluent in that language."

"Don't worry, Sentinel. I can read it just fine," she consoled the spirit guardian, then she looked at up the message formed by the black smoke. She read it out loud for everyone. "'My precious ball of sunshine, I'm probably long gone once this message reaches you. I have so many things that I want to say but our time is limited. Allow me to go straight to the point, sweetheart. Go and find the island that worships the sun. You'll find the Great Fire Tree and the allies that you need there. And most specially, they're waiting for you– the Keepers of the Supreme."

Sentinel and Saint Forrester both gasped aloud.

She was bothered by the two men's reaction, but she continued reading what was left of the message.

"I left a piece of my soul to one of your Keepers, my little Tilly," she continued, her voice now cracking as it finally sank in that it was really her mother's message for her. "See you later, my baby girl. I love you so much."

Okay, that got her crying really hard.

She didn't have memories of her mother but that didn't meant she wouldn't yearn for her.

I love you, too, Mommy.

Tilly turned around to bury her face against Kiho's chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Kiho, being the loving and caring husband that he was, held her tight while gently patting her back as he whispered "I love you" to her again and again.

***

TILLY had a wet towel pressed gently against her puffy eyes as she sat on the bed. Kiho sat beside her while Sentinel and Saint Forrester stood in front of them.

After getting her mother's message, they went back to the mansion.

They still had a meeting before their "day" ended.

"Your Holiness, Sentinel, I noticed your strange reaction when you heard the thing about the "Keepers of the Supreme,"" Tilly said, then she removed the wet towel to look at the two men. "What are they?"

"Keepers, just like its name suggested, were the elite Fire Mages that were chosen as the Supreme's personal guards," Sentinel explained. "But they died in the war and their bodies were never recovered."

"I heard that they weren't reincarnated either," Saint Forrester added. "They disappeared in thin air. That's why we were surprised when we heard your mother message."

Now that got her curious.

But she knew that no one among them knew how her mother found out about the "Keepers." There was only one way to know the truth.

"It seems like all that I need to find is in the island that worships the sun," Tilly said, then she turned to her husband. "Kiho, you'll go with me, right?"

"Of course, honey," Kiho said right away, then he touched her face. "I've said this before and I'll say it again: I'll go anywhere with and for you, Tilly."

***

OH, F*CK.

That was the only thing that Mikhail Denver was able to say in his head when he realized that he fell into a trap.

He followed the route that Lord Huxley and the royal knights would take to reach the palace. But when they got to the forest that one had to cross before getting to the Royal Palace, the carriage where the count was supposed to be in stopped.

Sir Gregory and his knights also vanished in the thick forest.

He wanted to run away when he felt the danger that was about to hit him.

But all of a sudden, the ground shook so hard that he was sure it was an earthquake. The strange thing was he didn't fall from the tree branch where he stood despite it. His body couldn't move even if he wanted to.

Damn, what kind of presence is this?!

His question was answered when the door of the carriage opened. And then, a strange man stepped out.

To say that the stranger was huge would be an understatement.

How did he even fit in the carriage in the first place?!

The man had blonde–almost golden– hair tied in a low ponytail. He had tanned skin, bulging muscles, and weird clothes.

He had a white unbuttoned vest for the top, and a pair of white trousers. He was bare-footed, and he had visible scratches all over his body. Heck, he even had a nasty scar from his left eye down to his cheek.

And his eyes…

He took a sharp breath when he met the reddish-brown eyes of the stranger.

His eyes look like a tiger's eyes!

And the man saw him even though he was sure he was completely hidden.

Damn it!

He once again tried to move but to no avail.

Then, it happened.

He heard a loud growl.

When he looked at the man again, he was surprised to see him transform into a golden tiger.

No.

He was the Golden Tiger.

And he just leapt into him.

Damn it!

Mikhail Denver, with all the remaining strength that he could muster, raised his arms to protect himself from the attack. But even before he could summon his flame, the sharp and hard fangs of the Golden Tiger already dug into his skin.

And then, the Golden Tiger ripped his arm off.

He hissed in pain and made his body burn in hopes of roasting the wild beast, but it was too strong for him.

The next thing he knew, he was already being mauled by the Golden Tiger.

"Captain Denver!"

Mikhail Denver gasped, then turned to the owner of the voice. Much to his shock, it was Miss Luna and she was running toward him. Why did she follow him even though he told her not to?! "Go!" he shouted in panic. "Run away, Miss Luna!"

His warning was too late though.

The Golden Tiger left him and leapt onto Miss Luna for an attack.

"No!"

***

TILLY dropped the bread knife that she was holding when she heard what Lord Prescott, her father, informed them while she, Kiho, and Sentinel were having brunch.

She wasn't the only one who had that kind of reaction.

Kiho and Sentinel also looked shocked.

"Father," Tilly said when she found her voice again. "What did you say?"

"I received an urgent message from Morgan Denver," Lord Prescott said in a firm voice. "According to him, Captain Denver and a woman called "Miss Luna" was mauled by the Golden Tiger before sunrise. Apparently, Captain Denver and his company were supposed to stop Sir Gregory and his squad from "abducting" Lord Huxley. But it was a trap. Instead of Lord Huxley, they met the Golden Tiger."

God, hearing it for the second time still gave her shivers down the spine.

"Golden Tiger?" Kiho asked in disbelief. "Father, are you talking about the real Golden Tiger that is one of the Ancient Beasts?"

Their father just nodded in confirmation.

"Our hunch was correct," Sentinel said in a soft voice. When he said "our," he must be referring to himself and the saint. "A god has really awakened."

She didn't care about that.

Miss Luna… Captain Denver… please be safe.

"We need to go back," she said, then she turned to her husband. "Kiho, we need to return to the Royal Capital."

"Calm down, honey," Kiho said, then he held her shaking hand. "We will return to the Royal Capital and go to them as soon as possible."

"Miss Luna and Captain Denver better be safe when we get there," Tilly said, anger starting to rise in her chest. "If one of them dies, I'll burn down the Royal Capital."

***

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