Jason glanced up at the man, noting his relaxed posture. He weakly shrugged. “I don’t have death magic. It’s related to ghosts, and memories. The bones are just manipulation.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “We came here originally to find a Phantom Swordsman, due to the danger they would have represented.”

“That’s interesting.”

The other man blinked, and Jason smiled tiredly. For some reason, he was at ease. Is it his level? The fact that it’s so much lower than mine? He mentally shrugged it off when he saw the man start again. “We can sense death magic, you know, if we put our minds to it. I can clearly feel it radiating off of you.”

He sighed. Well, Streni was able to do that too, so I guess the jig is up. “Yeah, I’m the one. What do you want?”

The Aspirant rubbed his head in confusion. “Should you not be more afraid? I may not be able to bring you down, but the rest of my team surely can.”

“Well they’re not here now are they? What do you want?”

They stared at each other for a moment, before the man Aspirant grunted. “Well, this is somewhat refreshing if I’m honest. We are here to execute you in order to make sure the Grasping Hand never learns how to acquire your Class.”

“Too late, they already know, but don’t worry, it’s incredibly impractical for them.”

Silence.

“Are you…are you joking?”

“No.”

“How do you know that they won’t be able to make it?”

“They probably can, but it requires magic that’s super rare. So, yeah it’ll be fine.”

The Aspirant rubbed his eyes. “Fantastic. Well, for the people’s sake I hope you’re correct.”

Jason bobbed his head, and started rising to his feet. “So, how is Streni anyway?”

The man’s relaxed air instantly turned dangerous. Whoa. He raised his brow. The Aspirant eyed him. “Why do you wish to know?”

Jason manipulated his helmet away, and scratched his head. He left his brain in the [Phantom State] though, no need for him to take chances. “We had a chat, before she left, I’m just wondering if…what she decided to do.”

The Aspirant frown deepened. “She stopped believing in the Will of our saviour.”

He blinked, and then his mouth opened slightly. “Wait, she stopped? Like she-”

“Yes you fool, she lost her Class!”

“Ah.”

The man regarded him incredulously, before shaking his head.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

The Aspirant snorted. “What am I going to do? Well, as far as I’m concerned, I have repaid my debt to you, but I’m still going to go back and report you to the others.”

He eyed him, his thoughts flashing to the night he’d let Streni go. “Hmm, no.” He raised his sword just as the man’s eyes widened, and tried to fly back, but the [Spacial Strike] was already travelling towards him. He summoned a shield made of light, which held just long enough for him to stop the attack from being fatal. It cut into him, toppling him over. Jason struggled to his feet, and paced over to him. The swordsman looked into his shocked gaze, before gritting his teeth and slashing once more.

‘Ding’ You have defeated [Aspirant of The Saviour Lv 95]

The wings abruptly disappeared, and the head lolled back, glassy blue eyes staring into the cloudy sky.

Jason stood there, feeling a tumut of emotions inside him, before a snowflake flicked onto his nose. Startled, he looked up, and saw more of the white powder falling. It thickened, but still struggled to stick to the salty ground. “I miss my friends.” He whispered, shuddering, and brought his attention back to the situation. I need to get out of here.

—---

Ilis and the whole team, apart from Jason, stood in the office for the council representative of Grenion. They had explained the situation, and now they were all staring at the sapphire which sat on the oak desk. Finally, the woman behind it raised her hazel eyes and asked. “So he really said all that?”

She and Brand mutely nodded.

“And that we could potentially hold the Holy Will back until we’ve settled this war?”

Ilis saw Brand frown, but they both still nodded.

The woman leaned back, her dishevelled brown hair dropped in front of her eyes, before being pushed back. “This…is it! We can… take things back with this!” She was whispering, her mouth curled upwards.

“Hmm, if what the manipulator said was true, yes. We need to be careful though, set up plans in case they attack us,” Falan spoke.

The Council woman, Ilis thought her name was Yena? Waved her hand. “Of course, you’re right. We can’t afford to mess this up, we can finally…”

Falan sighed. “I think you're forgetting how far away we are from finding a way of dealing with the parasites. As long as they are present, no one can live here. The farms won’t be able to grow anything.”

Falisty twitched with the sentence, her hand unconsciously going to her pocket. Yena slumped. “Yes…yes, but if we have the time to deal with the ones in control? Then…?”

Falan shrugged. “Undoubtedly, it would be of great benefit to us. But, they have the details on the Class, they could quite simply make another controller.”

Yena somehow sagged even further. “Yes…but…?”

Brand broke into the conversation. “But what? At the end of the day, no one is going to put themselves in danger without a good enough reason. We need to wrap this up as quickly as possible.”

“Alright…what do you suggest?”

Brand and Falan glanced at each other. “I suggest we arrange a deal. You are correct, this might just be what we need.”

They started to talk about what they should negotiate for. Even though it was super important, Ilis quickly became incredibly bored, and she wasn’t the only one; Falisty's eyes looked dead as she stared out of the window, completely lost in thought.

Some time passed, and she jumped when a voice spoke from the gem. “Ah, I see you decided to listen afterall, very good. What do you propose?”

Falan leaned forward. “Greetings, I am Falan, a member of the Archivists Response – what are your plans to deal with the Holy Will?”

"Well, Falan, our plan is quite simple. With the combination of our resources, I say we create a ritual of mass amounts of death magic – It will form as a fog, which will summon undead. It is a ritual that has been used many times before by the Grasping Hand.”

Falan visibly swallowed. “Ah…yes, I see. I’m afraid…” His voice trembled a bit. “That won’t work for us, as I know that you are aware of.”

A sigh crackled through the stone. “Ah, yes. You are correct, forgive me for hoping that you would be open minded. I have another ritual that would require your help. This one would simply be mind magic, illusions and misdirection. Again, I’m sure you are wary of such magic, but fret not, this is partly why I suggested we do this together.”

Ilis raised her eyebrows. What is his game here?

Falan seemed to be pondering something too. After some silence, he spoke again. “I see, that would work, yes. However, most people will not accept that, we will need people who can be discreet, and of course for both sides to sign an agreement of non-aggression.”

“Marvellous…” the voice from the gem breathed. “It seems you are more open minded than I expected. Perhaps, if this goes well… we can find a path forward, cooperating. I shall send my people to the border of the territory. Meet us there at midnight in three days.” and with that, the jewel stopped glowing.

They stared at it for a moment, before a collective sigh of relief was let out. “Well, it seems that we have an arrangement.” Falan cracked his neck.

Brand seemed to shake himself. “Wait, why did we agree to a non-aggression pact?! We can’t do anything to them then!”

Falisty murmured from her chair. “They wouldn’t have come if we hadn’t…”

They all glanced at her, and Falan nodded. “Exactly so, I know it is grating to do so, Brand, but this is an opportunity.”

Yena nodded vigorously, while Brand tensed. “I’m not okay with this. How do we know he won’t do anything? Why is he doing this in the first place?”

Falan hesitated. “It…may be possible that he sees this as a chance to ‘break down walls between us’ as humans say.”

“What humans say that…?” Ilis whispered.

Brand did a full body twitch. “That…monster wants us to forget everything he’s done?!”

Falan shook his head. “We’re not going to do that. We will take the opportunity to come out ahead.”

That seemed to mollify him, and they stood for a moment, waiting for someone else to speak. Yena eventually broke the awkward silence. “Well, I’ll need to inform the other council members of this decision, tell them to ready their forces to strike when the bargain is fulfilled… and look around for ritualists who can be quiet. Miss Yernester and Brand, would you mind escorting the ritualists to the location and making sure nothing untoward happens?”

They both nodded readily, and with that, the meeting was closed. They all walked away, stepping out through the front door and, to their visible surprise, into falling snow. Falisty immediately started walking back to the Inn, and Ilis caught Falans meaningful look. She rolled her eyes, and hurried after her.

She caught up and fell into step, the woman was so focused on her thoughts that she didn’t notice. She eventually cleared her throat, making her jump. “Ilis? What is it? I’m busy…”

Falisty’s voice lacked the snappiness she’d come to associate with it. She frowned. “Hell, Falisty what’s going on? I’ve never seen you like this.”

The woman stared blankly, until she finally shook her head. “Nothing, I’m just busy trying to figure this parasite thing out…”

“When was the last time you took a break?”

The woman paused, and scrunched her brow.

“Okay, we’re going back, and you are going to bed straight away. How are you even awake?”

That seemed to spark some life in her. “Ilis no! You don’t understand, I’m close! But we don’t have enough time…”

She sighed. “Falisty, that was literally the point of the meeting we just had. We do have time now.”

“Uh…?” The woman continued to stare at her in confusion, and Ilis huffed, before continuing to guide her back.

Once they made it back and she had wrestled her into her bed – which was only done by threatening to knock her out, she headed down the main room, and sat by the bar, where Julie was cleaning glasses.

“Did you succeed?”

“At getting her to bed? Yeah, wherever or not she’ll stay is up to her.”

The blonde snorted. “Well, that’s nice of you”

“I’ve known her since I was a kid, kinda hard not to care.”

The innkeeper hummed in agreement, and slid her a glass of water. “So, you want to tell me what's happened?”

Ilis paused, before slowly lowering her drink. She exhaled, and then proceeded to describe the events. She told her about the initial attack, and how they’d dealt with it. But then she moved to how it escalated, how they beat one enemy just so they could be replaced by an even worse one. The fiery enhancer, then excitedly told her about Brand’s Class evolution, which got a gasp of amazement. Julie’s face did become a little worried when she told her how they dived into the wave of silver, but quickly went astonished as she described her new ability. She then tied it up, by explaining very quietly the deal they had made with them, in order to bring more time to the researchers.

The Innkeeper was silent, until, “That…sounds like…gah, sounds suspicious, but I suppose understand.”

Ilis bobbed her head. “Yeah, well, it’s our best idea so far, and once they sign the non-aggression agreement, we’ll be safe from them.”

The lady frowned. “It…just seems so fishy. I don’t get a good feeling from this at all.”

“You and me both, Julie…”

Three days passed in a flash. The only thing of note was that the Aspirants had been cut down to half their original size. She had only seen them briefly, and they had looked haggard, by stress and grief. On the third day, they all suddenly flew up into the sky and then out of the town, away from the Freelands. That had left her with a pit in her stomach, but there was nothing they could do now, the plan was happening tonight.

They had agreed to escort the chosen ritualists to the edge of the territory, which she noticed did a lot to relieve Brand’s anxiety. Thankfully, the trip was quiet, and they arrived at the location without any trouble. The place was refreshing in the full moon. The snow glimmered in the light, which came down as beams from between the branches. Each puff from her caused a ridiculous amount of condensation, due to [Body of Flame]. The others were dressed in warm clothing, had to keep their hands close.

The Grasping Hand’s ritualists were late, by roughly half an hour. The whole time, Ilis had stood there, feeling the tension rise with her team. When they emerged from the trees, Brand had immediately barked at them. “What took you so long?!”

The approaching group stopped, and the leading black haired woman bowed. “Apologies, it was difficult to make it past your forces.”

The explanation didn’t do much to help. But, her team held back as they came closer. Once they were within a couple of steps from them, they pulled out a scroll. “Shall we?” The leading woman asked.

Yena’s representative stepped up, giving them a strained smile. “Let’s.”After checking that everything was in order, the man pulled out a quill and signed the indicated space on the scroll. The Grasping Hand woman then pulled out her own writing implement, and did the same. The parchment flashed a dull gold, before going back to its original colour. The woman handed the scroll to the representative. “You may keep it for yourself. We must hurry.”

The ritualists came together, now that it was safe, to peer over a blueprint that the Hand produced. She heard some appreciative murmurs, which caused her and Brand to glance at each other. After some discussion, one of them raised a hand, and with a rumble, a large stone platform rose out of the ground. They swept the snow away, shaking their hands for warmth once finished. The others came in, engraving lines with a stylus, and placing materials at certain points. They were all so huddled over it, that she couldn’t tell who anyone was anymore.

Finally, they were finished, and they stood around the prepared formation, and then started chanting. Their words were like the whisper of steel being drawn, before fading into the wind. She didn’t know what language it was, but it left goosebumps all over her skin. The words started to ring in the air, and she felt they were nearly finished, when…a flash of light flooded over them.

She whipped around and stared in horror at the five floating ang- no, Arch-Angels.

‘Ding’ [The Saviour’s Wrath Lv ???]

‘Ding’ [The Saviour’s Pity Lv ???]

‘Ding’ [The Saviour’s Compassion Lv ???]

‘Ding’ [The Saviour’s Judgement Lv ???]

‘Ding’ [The Saviour’s Voice Lv ???]

“HALT!” The word came from all five of them, rattling her senses, however, the echoing words of the ritual carried on, before slamming one final word out as a proclamation. Immediately fog bursted from the now blue engraving, shooting towards the five Arch-Angels. They flashed with a blistering heat, but the fog remained unchanged and snaked around them. Their faces showed utter bafflement, before suddenly seizing. She stared at their floating forms, which were slowly being enshrouded by fog. A voice suddenly rang out.

“You shall pay for this, Council of the Freelands.”

And that was it, she could no longer see them, as the fog continued to spread out along the border. She turned to the black-haired leader, who was grinning victoriously. “Well, that makes things much simpler, doesn’t it?”

—---

Falisty stood trembling in the moonlight by the beginnings of the bracken land. In her hand, she held the Gem Dryads heart, which she had cut out in the dungeon. It’s time. She swallowed, and reached with both of her manipulation Abilities into it. The crystal veins started to glow a soft green, and she pressed it to the ground. Nothing happened at first, until roots of stone abruptly slid out of the soil, matching in appearance to the heart. She let out a cry of delight. It fucking working! She watched as they moved, spreading through the soil, and leaving compact, healthy dirt in their wake. Stone trees started to sprout rapidly from the ground, which she grimaced about. She hadn’t found a way to stop that, but it would still do its job. The plants rapidly spread, and the glow seemed to pulse. She frowned. That wasn’t supposed to happen. The pulsing started to quicken and she tried to stop the process by removing the heart from the ground. Something jerked her, and she looked down. Her eyes widened as she saw crystal roots snaking into her flesh, flowing into green veins. She started panicking, and used her manipulation to attempt to push it out. A connection snapped into place, the root and veins surged in, and she felt more pierce her body. She gasped, but quickly became strangled as stone slid in her throat. She heard a notification toll like a bell.

‘Ding’ Your Classes will be consolidated into [Lystal Dryad, Heart of the Stone Grove]

The crystal surged, and changed her.