Lumia felt a cold wind announce the blow, the gush of air caused by the hand submerged her as if to slap her for her naiveté. It was too late now, though.

Any movement she made would not help her dodging the blow, and there was no way of escape. Having focused on the attack, the Mana within her Meridians was not ready to use Authority of the Tyrant and walk away.

It was too late.

How foolish she had been. What a fool she had been!

The Follies, Vetal and Vetalia, had analysed the situation in a split second. Authority of the Tyrant was too fast even for them, while Lunar Sickle could have ripped them apart without a problem. The weak link in that series of Skills and lethal weapons was Lumia, her inexperience, her recklessness and the anger that filled her body.

The twins were two war machines, appointed to accompany one of the largest monsters ever seen on the planet into battle. They had much more experience and cold blood than that little girl. And they had just proved it.

Lumia inhaled and saw the blow come to touch her skin. At that moment it seemed to her that time had stopped. That was probably how it felt before you died.

Now she was waiting for her life to pass in front of her eyes, hoping to be able to see and greet her brother for the last time, at least among the memories of her very short life. Lumia imagined that the Follies would surely pulverize her body instantly, to destabilize Helial. Once she died and her body was destroyed, it would be impossible to come back to life.

What a fool she had been. Although Iblis had given her a weapon whose potential she could not possibly comprehend, she had still failed.

Now, a march through her memories, then light at the end of the tunnel and voilà, her life would be over. This was the way thing went, wasn't it?

At one point, however, waiting for one's death may even become boring.

Everything was paralysed, as if… as if time had stopped.

Lumia sighed and looked around for the last ti-

"Um," Lumia took a step back. "Has time really stopped?" she whispered.

The girl's eyes lit up with determination. In an instant, she raised Lunar Sickle and tore Vetalia to shreds and then ran towards Vetal.

Maybe she had been stupid a few seconds before, but certainly not now. Whatever happened, she probably would have a few moments to get rid of the two Follies. She had to take advantage of them.

What an ungrateful end for Vetalia, who had acted with such genius and cunning.

"I like those stories where there are gods who give three wishes to mere mortals, to see what they choose," a voice appeared behind Lumia's shoulders.

The little girl spun around, and saw a man with golden hair, tall, terribly handsome. She seemed to be standing in front of an ancient statue. The golden reflections of his armor were shone in his eyes of different colours, capturing all of Lumia's attention in a kind of trance.

"In almost in all these stories, alas, the choices of mere mortals lead to their own destruction. Ironic, isn't it? Three wishes fulfilled that then ruin their lives. I think their intent is to teach a lesson. Of course, more than I think, I should say I'm sure. However, it is so stupid and childish, that I want to grant the benefit of the doubt to this part of the literature. My old master would probably have whipped anyone who wrote something so superficial and stupid."

The man in golden armour slowly approached Lumia, while she stood motionless, casting glances at Vetal.

"Eh, at leas leave one of them alive. You're going to need it as an experience. You're perfectly capable of defeating her in a duel. Be careful when using the scythe. It's a terribly powerful weapon for the moment of strength it possesses, but it leaves a lot of openings when you use it like you just did...

"If you had covered your surroundings with the Divine Gravitational Field, indeed, with its Upgrade, the enemy probably wouldn't have even touched you."

Alexander took the scythe, still in Lumia's hands, and placed it in front of her like a stick.

"Lunar Sickle is an indestructible weapon. You can use the blade, but it can also be used as you would use a stick. You can block blows and also..." he turned the weapon on the bladeless side, "even use it as a blunt weapon on this side. The movement required in this way is significantly less than that of your first blow."

Alexander had one hand near the blunt part and one near the blade at the end of the handle.

Lumia felt the man's breath on her skin, getting closer and closer as he showed her all the basic moves to use the scythe. Probably, any woman would have already been gripped by an epileptic fit, but Lumia was simply shocked by the simplicity with which the man was showing the right movements she should have made in battle.

The hand farthest from the blade was immediately pulled back and the other pushed forward, thus showing a blow from below. The handle remained in front of Lumia, so it could have blocked a possible frontal blow. The balance of the blow remained relatively close to her. She had to move slightly to the side, as the Sickle was very long.

Lumia, focused on memorizing every single movement, thought: A perfect move to use, and if I had activated...

"That's right. If you had used Divine Gravitational Field against Vetalia here, she wouldn't have had time to get close and you would have split her body in two from the groin to the head. The clash between you two would have lasted only a moment."

The scene was surreal: a beautiful man in gold armour was giving combat lessons to a little girl holding a scythe much bigger than her. Around them, a messy crowd of Goblins and Undead and Trolls, motionless, and the stands packed with spectators, including the Goblin King and the two Immortals, Troll and Un-Dead. They had not escaped the power of the young man with heterochromatic eyes.

"She might be in the Sixth Phase," Alexander pointed to Vetal, standing in an unnatural position, the arm a cleanly cut stump, "but you had a teacher that not even an Immortal could have asked for. The latent talent within your body is not that much, from a universe perspective. Not even from the point of view of this planet you could be considered crème de la crème, to be honest. But I've been watching your training with the Devil. Surely you're more stubborn than your brother. I've seen him collapse even before you, sometimes, while training with me."

"With you?" were the first words Lumia uttered. The first words since Alexander had appeared.

"This story is for another time," Alexander said, smiling. “Keep the scythe shaft close to you, don't push it too far, unless you're perfectly sure you're untouchable. Your talent is not enough for you to be considered alongside your brother. His talent is also not as great as you might imagine. But the brat gave him enough material to work on and change his fate.

“And, returning to the question of wishes: two of them are already destined for your brother. The third is yours. It's not necessarily going to ruin your life, but I'm not sure it's good for you either. There will, of course, not be the terrifying conditions that were given to Helial, but living will be just as hard. "

Lumia seemed confused.

"What are you referring to?"

"Your brother is not using his sword nor Flame of the Qilin. I know you're all caught up in the battle, but no one seems to have really noticed, except that Goblin who put on these Formations. Do you want to know why?" laughed the King.

The silver-haired little girl nodded slightly.

"Eheh. The Devil has already taken you under his wing, but you know there may only be a favorite disciple, right? The Devil and his beloved Amaterasu will fight again, this time through their disciples. Although the Devil is training you and starting to like you, Helial is his true heir. The weapon he gave you, Lunar Sickle, belongs to the most powerful member of Destruction still living. The most powerful, yes, but one who decided to live in the shadow of the one who was dearest to her.

"You want to protect Helial, but that doesn't mean you have to stay forever in his shadow. Besides, I realized that that damn Devil is having a lot of fun. I would like to participate again in the events of the universe, and I have never had a true disciple. Your brother, besides, is more of a future friend than a disciple."

Lumia frowned, having more or less guessed what the man wanted to say. Did he want her to become his disciple? But the Devil, from what Helial had told her, was probably one of the most powerful teachers she could ever wish for...

As if he had just read her mind, Alexander said: "That Devil is definitely a very good teacher and probably no one is as qualified as he is. Well, no one but me, I suppose."

A towering red-eyed black horse appeared next to Alexander. Looking at him, she was a little scared. Then he spoke in a dry but gentle tone: "You're taking too long."

Alexander suddenly seemed struck by lightning. He struck his forehead with one hand and laughed from the bottom of his heart: "Right, right! Your brother has received a huge gift, but I can give you the same gift. You'll be catapulted immediately to the Late stage of the Third Phase and you'll be stuck there for a while, but your foundation and basic talent will outweigh any other person in the universe. However, Mana's experience and knowledge will still be far from you. The famous Perfect Foundations. Yes, it's an invention of that hateful Devil, but let's just say I can replicate them with the same results and with fewer side effects. In addition, the exponential increase in your abilities will also give you a deeper connection with Mana.

"While the Devil is more focused on training the body to become a weapon, with me you'll find out what it's like to control everything around you. You showed a surprising aptitude for control of the battlefield. That doesn't mean you have to become Support, as the Devil pointed out to me. You can, on the contrary, become a warrior capable of influencing an entire war, just standing still. You have an affinity with the Mana of Earth and Moon. But I can grant you, through study and meditation, an Affinity on a par with Life and Pure Destruction. A type of Mana long forgotten within the universe." Alexander's eyes shone. "The Mana of Time."

"Then, Lumia, do you want to become my disciple and show the Devil that you can protect Helial even without being his second? Do you want to become the greatest warrior ever seen in this universe, a real Queen?"