"Even I haven't seen him use a proper sword. It's really strange. But I did hear that he was one of the best swordsmen at one time. That's why I joined the Variant Uprising actually. Otherwise, I have no interest in all this," Tristan laughed.

"But it gives me the opportunity to fight strong opponents, so it isn't bad," he added.

​​

"You joined because you heard he was a swordsman? That's odd," Cassius commented.

"Not really. I actually went there to challenge him since I heard that rumor about him being a Swordsman. But he refused the battle," Tristan said. "Instead, he offered me to join Variant Uprising."

"That's it?" Cassius asked, smiling wryly.

"Not at all. Actually there was much more to it than just that. I had actually refused. Instead, I offered him a condition. He needed to fight me, and if he won, I would join his organization," Tristan said.

"I guess I can understand what happened next. You lost?" Cassius asked.

"I did. And it wasn't even a close battle. He's pretty strong. The Warlock Kings aren't called Warlock Kings for no reason at all. All the titles are earned by them because of their immense strength, most of which isn't known by the world," Tristan responded.

"Since that day, I've been asking him for another battle, but he keeps saying no. I think he'll only say yes after he wins this war. Hopefully, I'll get to fight him again. In the meantime, it was refreshing to have another battle here," he commented.

Cassius nodded, not saying anything. Even Lucifer was slightly surprised. He wondered how many such hidden abilities Varant had that wasn't known by the world? Was he similar to Raia in that department?

He now had more faith in his plan. He believed it was good instead of blindly rushing in. This way, he could let Varant and Raia kill each other.

'Since they're both Warlock Kings, they'll need to show all their abilities to win the battle against the others. That can be the time for me to judge and understand their strengths and weaknesses,' he thought.

As Lucifer gained more confidence in his plan, he started waiting for the day of War.

The Small Group reached the Welling Estate.

"When is your team coming here?" Lucifer asked Raia, sitting on the couch.

"They should be here by the evening. As for Variant Uprising, they'll be here tomorrow from what I can expect. That should give us enough time to set things up," Raia replied.

...

In the silence of the medical room at the APF headquarters, a man was lying on a white bed.

His eyes were closed as he laid unmoving.

A nurse sat near him, seemingly lost in a book.

The red haired man who was lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes as he looked around.

As his eyes had just opened, his vision was slightly blurry, and he wasn't able to see clearly who it was that sat near him.

It took a few minutes for his vision to return to normal. He was able to see the nurse clearly.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he weakly asked. He could feel as if his body was really weak, and he was hungry as well.

"Huh?" The nurse felt as if she heard something. She slowly opened her eyes, wondering what it was that she heard.

As her eyes opened, she was able to see that it was Xander who had spoken.

As she saw Xander's eyes open, she felt as if she had seen a Ghost. She jumped back like a scared rabbit, unable to believe her eyes.

"You are up?" She asked the man who had woken up after eight years.

"Unless I'm dreaming this, I think I am," Xander muttered, pushing his body up. "So, where am I? Am I at the base? How much time had passed since I was attacked?"

He could notice that his chest wounds had healed, so it was clear that it wasn't a short sleep.

"Yes Sir. You are at the base. You are inside the medical facility at the moment," the nurse answered respectfully.

"How much time has passed?" Xander asked again.

"Eight years had passed since you were brought here," the nurse responded.

"Eight years?" Xander exclaimed, stunned.

"That's right. Eight years have passed since that day," the nurse affirmed.

"What happened to... Whatever, you won't know that. Take this out. I need to meet Varant," Xander told the nurse, pointing towards his left hand, which had a cannula inserted.

"W-wait. I need to call the doctor first. Only after he examines you can I let you leave. Just wait here!" The nurse responded as she hastily left the room.

She didn't want to make a decision without the permission of the doctor, as that could be risky.

Xander watched the nurse leave. He couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.

He decided to do it himself. Using his other hand, he pulled the needle out of his hand. He also detached all the other equipment that was attached from his body.

After freeing himself, he got off the bed, but he couldn't walk even a single step before falling to the ground.

"My legs are still too weak. I guess I should've listened," he muttered as he pushed his body up and walked back to the bed. He knew he couldn't leave. It was better to call Varant here himself.

As he sat on the bed, the door opened. A dark-haired doctor stepped inside the room, followed by the same Nurse.

"Did you remove everything?" The doctor asked the nurse.

"I didn't. I told him not to do it and to wait for you to come," The Nurse answered. "He must have done it himself."

"Xander, why are you in a hurry?" The Doctor asked Xander as he approached him.

"Cail, it's you. I must say, I didn't expect you would last here for eight years. Are you really the best doctor they could find for me?" Xander asked, rolling his eyes.

"Hah, good to see that the sense of humor is still there, no matter how bad," the doctor responded calmly. "So, how are you feeling now?"

"Weak. I can't even walk a single step," Xander answered.

"That's to be expected. Don't worry; you'll soon return to your old self now that you're up," the doctor said as he started the checkup.

"Can you call Ayn and Varant there? I want to ask them a few things. I want to know what happened that day. And how things have progressed in the last eight years," Xander told the Cail, expressing his desire.

Cail didn't say anything and simply continued his checkup.