"Lera..." Wu said, his thoughts spiraling in all directions as he sought the right thing to say, "I don't think this is on you." Lera appeared taken aback by Wu's response initially, though she waited for him to finish. "I need to get stronger too." "I thought I had to use you for my plans, but I was too selfish and indulged in my own plan that I didn't think about what you are going to go through..." Wu continued, his heart racing a mile a minute, "Honestly, I am more than fortunate to have you by my side even after all this. I...just want you to know that." "Of course I won't leave you." Lera said with a serious tone, "Not after that first day!" "True..." Wu laughed, "It's always been me after that." "You are actually pretty horrible...you know that?" Lera giggled as Wu nodded awkwardly. She cracked into a larger smile and pinched onto his cheeks playfully, "But I suppose that's what a guardian has to deal with. I am sure the legendary stories often skip out these parts." "No doubt." Wu nodded before his mind travelled back in time briefly, "Um...I also think we are the first savior guardian combo that...you know...did the thing..." "I actually...don't know." Lera replied honestly before shaking her hands and sweating profusely, "Skip that part in the stories too!" "We can just chalk it up to...stress-relief." Wu chuckled, "We are a stressful bunch, you know? We went through way too much already." "That's...true." Lera rested her head on his shoulders and followed his gaze towards the Sunshine Valley, "It was nice though. I now feel...very relieved." "Me too, Lera." Wu said, hugging her close, "From now on, I will confront my problems head-on with you beside me. I will become strong enough that...that I will fight to become the greatest Savior of them all. Then, that automatically makes you the greatest Guardian, right?" Lera blinked a few times before grinning ear to ear, "You'd better not lie this time. I will be watching you~" After they returned from the waterfall, Wu and Lera were the Savior and his Guardian once again. Their footsteps were steady and strong, and Wu asked her if she would like a field of sweet buns instead of flowers when she slapped him away. Lita's just heading off when she saw the two of them walked back together, chatting and joking like friends on a day out. She smiled lightly before turning and getting on with her daily business. After temporarily sorting out their complex relationship, Wu and Lera then focused on the matter at hand. Though they said that they will become stronger and face whatever obstacles that will come their way, neither of them actually knows what exactly to do. "Should we just...keep fighting each other?" Lera asked conjuring up her Rapid Layering out in front of her house when Wu parkoured over the fence and hid on the other side. "Like childhood anime rivals? No thanks!" Wu said as a blast of Wave flew by overhead, "I am not exactly the hot-blooded type!" "Oh?" A magnetic feminine voice came from right behind him, and Wu looked up to see a pair of beautiful individuals wearing golden armor stopping right behind him, "Then what type are you?" Wu stilled himself, and he looked at the visitors that do not remotely fit into the general vibes of the Sunshine Valley. If anything, they looked like angels that were dropped from the sky, or- "The twin generals coming straight from Sonne..." Lera murmured, her eyes widened before she immediately moved. However, as she channeled her own Strengthening Cast from the Rapid Layering she has already done around her home, the sister of the Twin Generals, Jolyne Atlas, raised her right hand casually. The dark stickman patterns over her right eye pulsating once as the air around Wu and Lera started to become heavier and heavier. The tendrils of the Wave followed the local fields and latched onto Lera's body, holding her in a place like a statue as Wu rose up. "What are you doing to her?!" Wu asked, looking towards the pair of redheads. "I have a few questions for you, and I want them answered." Jolyne Atlas said, tilting her head and flicking one of her fingers towards Wu. A string made of Wave was thrown towards Wu, and it bounced off his chest before flopping onto the ground. Wu may be impervious to the Wave, but he could still see the semi-transparent blue strand coming out of Jolyne's glowing nails. However, due to the way Jolyne's powers worked, she couldn't actually manipulate Wu's body by controlling the Wave within him. "Don't see you miss too often, Sis." Joseph Atlas, the big brother of the Twin Generals, chuckled and put both of his hands on his wasit. Wu looked casual on the outside, though his hands reached towards the One-Shotter pistol. "Wu, stop!" Lera shouted, "They are the Twin Generals and the strongest beings in the kingdom?" "If they are truly the strongest..." Wu said slowly as Joseph picked him up with the arms and held him up in midair, "Where were you when the Inverted Questions attacked?!" The words clearly stung, as Joseph's eyebrows twitched at the question. He sighed and slowly dropped Wu onto the ground as Jolyne also let go of Lera as she hurried to Wu's side. Despite Joseph Atlas being over a foot taller than Wu, he has faced plenty of tall opposition in his basketball career to know not to back down from a staring contest. "That's...one of our questions too." Jolyne said, pulling her hands back with the glow in her nails slowly dying down, "I am Jolyne Atlas, and that's Joseph." "I know." Lera said, cutting her off, "Everything in Varous knows what you are." "But not him." Jolyne said with interest as Lera instinctively stepped in front of Wu again, "Right?" Wu shook his head, and Jolyne smiled at his honesty. "What do you want?!" Lera asked her Book of Casts at the ready. "I wanted to test you, but now...I want to talk." Jolyne Atlas said, brushing aside her flowing red hair and smiling towards Wu with a seductive grin that makes Lera slightly mad. She gestured towards the open door behind the two, "If you don't mind, we can avoid drawing more eyes than necessary." No kidding! They really are twins! Once inside, Wu has finally gotten the time to look more closely at the two. Their skin tones were just a shade darker than their suits of armor, and their bright red-colored hair absolutely pops in terms of color. Their eyes were big and nose tall, looking like the faces of fashion models were inserted onto the bodies of athletes. Lera begrudgingly let those two sit around the dinner table before she took the usual seat that her mother sits in. "First, I would like to personally thank you for your effort in exterminating the Inverted Question members." Jolyne said, taking out a single piece of paper which serves as the official payment strip from the Sonne city government, "Ver Fulgen Vaughan, a bounty hunter from the Ethereal realm was the one that stood for your actions, hence, you are the sole recipient of this reward." "I swore to kill them by my own hands, but you took that opportunity away from me." Joseph grunted, "No hard feelings though. Those bastards deserved to die." Lera looked down at the piece of paper sat on the table before turning to face Wu. To her, the reward money is nothing more than a reminder of the pain she and Wu had gone through. "Lera." Wu said, "You earned this." "Like the fellow said," Jolyne said, resting her face lightly over her hand as she turned her attention to Wu, "You have earned this. Now, I presume you are the so-called Summoned One?" "The Summoned One is dead, haven't you heard?" Wu leaned back with a smile as Jolyne nodded knowingly. "Very well." Jolyne said, sitting back and bringing her hands together, "Then, how may I refer to you?" "My name is Wu Hui." Wu replied, glancing towards Lera as she looked back at him with surprise. "My previous name, Wu Li, was constructed to say that a son of Wu has power, yet my family name also pronounced like 'no'." Wu explained, "Therefore, my name actually sounded like 'no power'. Now, my name means that I will live instead with 'no regrets'." Joseph let out a low chuckle as Jolyne whirled her red hair playfully around her fingers. "But it's still Wu!" Lera exclaimed, "That's...such a bad disguise!" "I mean...they already know. And the others...don't really know." Wu shrugged, and Jolyne and Joseph both looked rather amused by the exchange. Lera sighed and shook her head. Then, she looked back at Joseph and Jolyne, "Ok now. For the third god damn time, why are you here?" "Cause we would like your help." Jolyne continued, "The Kingdom of Varous needs your help." "I am pretty sure we already have helped." Lera continued, and Jolyne agreed. "We looked into the support behind the Inverted Questions' actions, and it all lead back to an organization named the PORA." Jolyne said, her expressions shifting to the more serious, "My brother and I were occupied with the PORA forces just before our return too, and there had been rumors of their activities in kingdoms all around the world." "PORA..." Wu murmured as he traced out the letters in that phrase, "What does it stand for?" "We don't know anything about them." Jolyne said with a sigh, "Worse yet, we know they have eyes everywhere in the kingdom, particularly within the palace." "Evidently, from how easily it was taken over," Wu said, the words making Joseph's face tense up slightly, though he restrained himself from speaking as Jolyne typically acts as the mouth of the two. "You got a sharp tongue for someone without a hint of power." Jolyne looked at Wu with interest, and he shrugged back, "We cannot move against the PORA out of the Kingdom, but after coordinating with the Generals of other kingdoms, we have a suspicion that the PORA originated from the walls of the Infinite Academy. "That's where you two come in." Jolyne continued, "We will personally train you to the point that you will become strong enough to enter into the Infinite Academy, and you will investigate the true origins and motives of PORA from the inside." Like a vortex for the fates of this world, the Infinite Academy is where everything started. A place reserved only for the strongest Wave users, where they will continue to get stronger and push the limits of Wave usage. "So, what do you say?" Jolyne asked, "You will have the backing of Varous in all of your expenses and fees, and your mother will receive our protection and financial support. Plus, we'd like to think that we are good enough teachers that we should be able to whip you into shape no problem." Lera and Wu shared a glance before they both nodded. "Deal." "Oh hey~ Do we have guests here?" Lita's voice came through the door before she slipped back into the living room holding onto a bucket of washing, and when she saw the Twin Generals sitting opposite Wu and Lera on the dining table, she dropped the bucket on the ground, "The T-t-t-t-twin?!" "Honored to meet you." Jolyne said gracefully before Joseph and her rose from their seats, "Return to Sonne when you are ready, and the training shall commence." Then, as Lita shuffled aside to let the gigantic Joseph and the elegant Jolyne walk out, her heart is screaming inside. Lita, being far more connected to the Kingdom's rumors, had been massive fans of the Twin Generals since their slow rise to power and popularity. "Big brother, what do you make of the two?" Jolyne asked as she took out the chariot Cast from her pocket. "Lera has potential." Joseph said, "Her floor is currently low, but with training, she should be able to push the ceiling quite a bit higher." "What about Wu?" Jolyne smiled as she slid into the chariot followed by Joseph, "Bit of an enigma, isn't it?" "Perhaps..." Joseph admitted, "But aren't all the Saviors complete enigmas to the societies they arrived in?" "That's true..." Jolyne said, piloting the Chariot as it surged into the sky, "I wonder how our roles will be in his story..." In the meanwhile, Lita sat down with Wu and Lera and has the talk. That's when Wu realized he's actually talking to the mother of the girl he's been with ever since coming to this world. "So...what are you two really?" Lita asked, a mix of excitement and curiosity hidden within her question, "Have you talked..." "We have." Lera said, taking the lead and looking at Wu warmly, "He's brought to this world as the Savior, and I...I am his Guardian. That's it." Lita seemed a little disappointed by the response, but that expression came and went quickly as she bowed towards Wu. "Please take good care of my daughter then, Wu." "Of course." Wu returned the gesture, "Though so far...she's been the one taking care of me. I am beyond grateful that she's the one with me here, at this moment." Lera glanced towards Wu, and she grinned brightly. Wu felt his heart skip a beat, and he looked back towards Lita before getting carried away. "Well then, sounds like you two are going to head off soon, so...how about a potato stew for tonight?"