“E 50 Ausf. M.” These words were written at the bottom of the portrait.

“Hiiro,” Satrillo reacted. “Are you curious about that picture?”

“Y-yes.”

He then told me about the previous war.

Decades ago, the Demon Kingdom found a new source of energy, called curse. Unlike magic which uses mana, curse utilized the energy that came from the negative emotions of living beings. Lucie’s usage of lust energy is an example. With this new found power, the Demon King decided to conquer all of Eteria starting from the Human Kingdom. After years of fighting, the Demons almost won the war with their enemy left with only three cities. At their desperate moments, the humans sacrificed a large number of powerful mages, including the prince next to the throne, just to create a spell that would call for heroes from another world; five were summoned. These heroes were blessed with great power which they used to win many battles; the humans gained hoped. However, it was not enough to defeat to Demon Kingdom; it could only buy them time. The humans knew that magic was not enough to defeat the demons, so they developed a new source of power; nuclear energy.

“Sat...rillo-san?” My eyes stared at him as my body trembles. “What… do you mean… by nuclear energy?”

He explained the process of nuclear fission.

This… This can’t be. No... This is impossible.

“Written reports from the Demon Kingdom’s spies said that the idea came from the summoned heroes.”

“Sat… Satrillo-san, you said that this happened 70 years ago, right?”

“Yes,” he replied. “To be exact, the first nuclear power plant was built in 1950. The tanks appeared a few years before that time.”

Did he just said 1950? Wait, a minute. Calendars already existed?

“Satrillo-san?” Instantly, I asked him “What is the date today?”

“Hiiro? You seem a little bit off right now,” he responded. “Anyway, today is August 21, 2017 ”

When I confessed to Lily, the date was November 11, 2016.

Meanwhile, Emily and Aria were still at the party.

“By the way, Aria,” Lucie spoke. “I heard from Dullahan that the scouts already found the new secret lab of Dr. Albrecht.”

“Dr. Albrecht?” Aria asked. “Do you mean?”

“Yes,” Lucie replied. “They found the man who kidnapped you and Robyn 10 years ago.”

“Aria…” My eyes turned to Aria who seemed to be looking down, while touching her chest.

“Oopsie. I’m sorry, Aria,” Lucie bowed as she apologized. “I just realized that this is not the right time to be talking about this thing.”

“It’s... okay... Lucie.” Aria let out a hoarse voice. “Please, continue with the information,” she pleaded.

Lucie stared at Aria. “The king is planning for an attack mission few days or weeks from now,” she spoke. “So far, we are still having a meeting on how many troops we will send,” she added. “Anyway, I already told Robyn about this.” Aria looked at Lucie. “It seems she wants to join the mission.”

“Robyn...” Aria whispered.

“What about you, Aria? Are you also going to join the mission?”

“I… I don’t know.” Aria responded, still looking down.

“Well, it’s still early so you have plenty of time to think about it.”

“Thank you, Lucie.”

“You’re welcome. Well, it seems king Dullahan is calling me. I need to go now, Aria, Emily. Bye. Bye. Enjoy the party.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Aria and I replied.

Time passed, Aria was still sitting near the table. She hadn’t yet spoken anything and kept refusing the food I offered to her. The party that was supposed to be filled with smiles was replaced by the melancholy of a girl wearing a black robe.

“I’m okay Emily.” It was a voice coming from my head.

Aria? Are you using telepathy? [Emily]

I… I’ll just go out for a bit. I want to be alone right now. [Aria]

She then asked for permission from king Dullahan to go out of the hall.

Outside the castle, Aria sat near a tree while looking at the stars.

“It’s already night time.”

Time sure passed quickly.

“Where are you right now, Dr. Agatha?”

Ten years ago...

Waking up, I found myself in an unfamiliar room. “Where am I?” Looking around, I realized I was confined in a tight room with nothing but a bed beside me. In front, there was a number of iron bars tightly engraved preventing my escape. “Mama? Papa? Where are you? Help me? ” I shouted with all of my voice.

“Shut up!!!” A loud shout coming from outside; it was from a man.

“H-help me, please. I’m scared. I don’t know this place. Please, help me.” I kept screaming at him, hoping he would help me. But, his response was not what I wanted.

“Shut up, you stupid kid!!!” He let out a deafening voice.

“Waaaah.” Repeatedly, I cried.

“If you don’t shut up I’ll cut your tongue!” he screamed as he walked towards me carrying a knife..

Scared, I ran towards the corner of the room. “Mama… Papa…” Crying, all I can do is mop while hugging my knees. “Help me. I don’t want this place.”

Suddenly, I heard another voice. “Oi, crybaby.” At first I ignored it, but he spoke again. “Oi, I’m talking to you.”

“A-are you talking about me?”

“Yes. Who else is crying right now? What’s your name?”

“A-Aria. Aria Lange.”

“My name’s Robyn. Robyn Acallia.”

As the two of us discussed, I found out that he was a child on the adjacent cell. He said that he was just playing outside their house when two man approached him, and offered to give him candies. However, as he walked to them, one of the man covered him with a large sack then carried him until they reached this place.

“They probably kidnapped you too,” he spoke.

“That… That's not true… Waaaah… I want my papa and mama.” Tear then fell from my eyes.

“”Ahhh. Will you please shut up?” he shouted. “Crying won’t help you, you know.”

“But… But...”

“Geez. This is why I hate crybabies,” he said in a loud voice.

“W-what are they going to do with us? I… I’m scared. What if the bad guys hurt me? Am I going to see my mama and papa again?”

“I don’t know, ok,” he replied. “They still haven’t touched me ever since I arrived here.”

“I… I’m scared. What if... What if they cut my tongue... like what the guy said earlier? What if they kill me?”

“Ahhh. Alright. Alright. I’ll protect you, ok? So please... please stop crying!!!” he shouted..

“Y-you will protect me?”

“Well, I’m quite strong you know,” he responded.

Robyn and I continued with our conversation. We talked and talked from morning till dawn. It was the only thing we could do in that tight room separated by a wall. Speaking to him eased my loneliness; he was the only friend I had that time. This lasted for days.

One morning, two individuals, a male and a female, wearing a white coat came.

“Good morning to you two.” The man greeted us.

“W-who are you?”

They ordered the guard to free us from the cells. That was the first time I saw Robyn in person. With his boyish nature, short hair and clothes, I assumed he was male.

The man in a coat spoke to us; his name was Albrecht, and the female is named Agatha, his wife. The two of them were surgeons.

After that, they requested us to participate in an experiment. Its objective was to strengthen the human body using the DNA of demons. During that time, I had no idea what they were talking about, but their reason convinced the child mind of me and Robyn. They wanted to do it for their daughter who had a weak constitution, and on the verge of dying. The kingdom’s law, however, forbid the usage of humans for this type of experiment so they had no choice but to kidnap us instead. They also promised they would return us to our parents once the experiment is finished. Robyn and I thought that by helping them, we could save the life of their daughter; we agreed. It was for a heroic deed, we thought. After that conversation, they took us to a mansion.

“It’s so big...”

Me and my family lived in the streets of Hamburg. During those times, we searched the trashes of restaurants in hope for something to eat. At night, we slept in the outskirts of the city. I never had the chance step inside a house, let alone a mansion.

“This will be your new house for the experiment.” Dr. Albrecht smiled.

Robyn and I had a separate room. Doctor Albrecht said it was necessary. It would help them with the observation since there would be lesser factors to consider. Since then, Robyn and I rarely met with each other. Most of the time, I was alone in my room, and would only go out during an experiment.

Routinely, they would inject me with some sort of liquid. They told me that it was a concentration of DNA from demons, though I had no idea what their talking about. However, months passed, but all the experiments failed. My body rejected the liquid. Usually, my stomach pained, followed by vomiting with traces of blood in most cases.

“I miss my mama. I miss my papa. Waaah.”

“I’m sorry, Aria. If only the experiment was a success.” It was Dr. Agatha who was comforting me after a failed experiment.

“I want to go home, doctor” My hand held Dr. Agatha’s palm. “When will the experiment end?”

“I… I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I don’t know.”

“Doctor… Do you think my mama and papa also miss me? I really miss them.”

Talking with the doctor, I told her my life with my family. Even though we were poor, we were happy. We would always smile and didn’t worry about not eating in a day as long as we have each other.

“You really love your parents,” Dr. Agatha spoke.

“Yeah. I really really love them.” I talked to her about my siblings, my parents; all the members of my family.

“Aria, follow me,” Dr. Agatha requested.

She took me in a room. As the doors opened, I saw a child lying on the bed. She got up in a sitting position.

“Good morning, mother,” the girl spoke.

“Aria, this is Ada, my daughter.”

After every experiment, Dr. Agatha would bring me to Ada. Sometimes, Robyn would also be there. The three of us shared stories and laugh with each other’s jokes; we became best friends. Doctor Agatha would also come and play with us if she wasn’t busy; she became like a mother to me and Robyn. However, these blissful moments soon ended.

A year passed, the experiment was far from success. The two doctor’s expressions turned gloomy every time I saw them in the lab. One day, while having our usual conversation with Robyn and Ada, I went to the bathroom since my bladder was at its limit. Going back to our room, I saw Dr. Agatha crying as Dr. Albrecht spoke to her with a sad face. What I heard shook me. It seemed Ada had only a few months left to live. My mind went blank; I didn’t know what to do. I ran towards Ada’s rooms. They asked me if there was something wrong, however, I couldn’t speak.

A week after that incident, it was time for a new experiment. However, Dr. Agatha was not present in the lab.

“D-doctor? Where is Dr. Agatha?”

“Agatha… is busy right now,” Dr. Albrecht replied. Soon, four people entered the room. They were wearing the same coat as Dr. Albrecht. He then asked me to take a pill. “Please, take this. This will be the last stage of the experiment. If it fails we will return you back to your parents.”

After I took the pill, I felt sleepy. “Good night, Aria,” Dr. Albrecht talked to me as I closed my eyes..

After I woke up, the laboratory was destroyed.

“W-what happened.”

“The experiment is a success.” The voice was coming from behind; it was Dr. Albrecht.