Fulish was thinking about the offer Maria had made when he received a call from someone he had not seen nor heard from for centuries: Ignitus.

" She's with Samundo." That was the first words he said after years of seperation. No hello, no how are you, no long time no see.

Ignitus' voice made Fulish remember the past, back to the time where Ignitus and he, along with other familiars still resided in Soas, the realm of familiars, the place many called true home. It was his grand playground, where he played pranks on every one he knew. He missed Soas, and he missed other familiars. Ignitus was certainly one of those he wanted to meet the most. He wondered since when the old geezer had adopted the habit of bringing bad news.

" Liar! She's not. You're just jealous she brought me gifts!" Fulish shouted at the screen.

" I don't even know she did that, brat." Ignitus emphasized the last word." Now shut your mouth and listen: she's with Samundo. Neutralize her, immediately!"

Fulish pouted."Why don't you come here and do it yourself?"

"I am thousands of miles away from you and I do not have the luxury of flying from Africa to Hawaii. She's in your domain and you have all those followers, do it while you can."

" What about the boy?"

" I believe he's being manipulated. He got nothing to do with Samundo. The blood in him, though green, did not react to type-3 thermal. Protect him from her."

Fulish frowned. He hated how the old man always told him what to do. He had not called for years and when he did it must be a you-must-do-it talk " Are you sure she's with Samundo? Do you have proof? I believe you're just jealous."

" Fulish." Ignitus emphasized the name." Do you want to take the risk of handing her the Doom Artifact that may be lying in the Vault? Do you?"

" No! She won't have it! Okay? Satisfied now? " Fulish raised his voice.

" Good. Damn, talking with you always tires me out."

Ignitus severed the connection before Fulish had the chance to talk back. Fulish clenched his fists, swinging his arms and legs. " Rai!" He shouted.

" My King?"

" Contact Elecaimant. We need to talk!"

______________________________________________________________________________

Familiars on the level of Fulish's power and status were worshipped not only by summoners but also their own kins. The familiars that served Fulish, as well as other level seven familiars, came to be known as household familiars, Kingslings.

Elecaimant was a Kingsling, a loyal subject of Fulish since his early days. For such a reason, she was the one most tolerant of his temperament.

Elecaimant sighed as she saw her king pouting in his chair. " My king, may I ask what is wrong?"

"Prepare the trap. I take the girl, you take the boy."

Elecaimant glanced at Rai. He shrugged.

"She's with Samundo." Fulish said." The nerve!"

Elecaimant frowned. "Samundo returned after 16 years? How can it be so soon?" She thought.

" Sire, I will monitor everything from here." Rai said.

Fulish nodded." Inform Carl and Callus."

" Yes, sire." Rai said, walking towards the door.

" My king, I think I should leave to make preparation.." Elecaimant said.

" Be quick, you two. Love you!" Fulish said, waving.

Elecaimant followed Rai, shaking her head as she smiled. She closed the door behind her.

" I wonder when he will grow up." She said, catching up to Rai.

" Not anytime soon." Rai answered." How tiring."

" Brother, our patience will pay off. I'm sure."

Elecaimant understood Rai's frustration Both of them had been by Fulish's side for a very long time. They help him defeat Chthonic in the last war. They were there for him too when all level 7 fought against the revolution of Acrturus shortly before. And they were there too when he ate too much pizza and had an upset stomach for the next 2 days.

" Good time." Elecaimant said.

" What?" Rai asked.

" Ah, no. See you later, brother."

Elecaimant tranformed out of her humanoid form and flew through the nearest window.

______________________________________________________________________________

Wander could not leave the room. The staffs attached to the statues was emitting a strange light, and together they formed a barrier that trapped him within.

" Stop messing around and just get out of here, Wander."

Wander ignored Doom Mark. He inspected his surroundings. The little girl was staring at him; the smoke in her eyes lazily floated. Callus and Carl was nowhere to be seen. Wander guessed they must be outside guarding the entrance. " This is for your own good." Wander recalled what Callus said. He wondered if they had discovered that he was a turn.

Wander stood up. It was time like this he wished he had a weapon. A spear most preferably.

" What happened to Maria?" He asked the first question, his back against the girl.

She shook her head and smiled.

" Good. So this barrier is not sound-proof." Wander thought.

He stared at the girl. "She could control electricity, just like Fulish. Her eyes resembled Rai. Must be another household familiar. It'll be ill-advised to take her life. Well, it's not like familiar can die."

Wander knew he shoudl talk first before taking actions.

" Whatever you think about Maria, you are wrong. Please let me out of here, and let me prove it to you that she and I hold no ill intention towards you."

The girl tilted her head, the smoke in her eyes condensed. " I know there is a possibility that we are wrong, but we cannot take risk. Worry not, we will not harm you. The only one we want to strike down is that being claiming to be Maria Gwendolyn. She is working for demon lord Samundo."

Wander's eyes widened. He could feel a chill sent down his spine. " You are gravely mistaken. There's no way such a person can work for Samundo."

" Such a person? What kind of person?"

" The person that was trying to stop the massacre back at New York."

The girl frowned. " I don't know what you are talking about."

" What? How could you-?"

Wander did know the massacre was only yesterday, but with the power of modern media yesterday would be considered old news. He found it hard to believe they knew nothing about the event in New York.

" Please, she is a good person."

The girl frowned. She seemed to have felt the truth in Wander's words." I'm sorry. But I don't think she's still alive. King Fulish most certainly have put her down." She stared at the floor.

Wander felt a hole open up inside him, absorbing all of his emotions, then letting all of them out at once, staggering him. He took a deep breath, clenching his fists. He told himself Maria could not die. He wanted to see her alive.

" Let me out of here. I need to see her."

" I can't. You will be kept here. I promise no harm will come your way."

" I think I have enough."

Without warning, Wander let all of his power flow out of his body. A black flame engulfed him. The girl took a step back, surprised by his outburst.

" It's futile."

" Is it?" Wander stepped towards the girl. He point his finger at her." Boom."

The moment he pronounced the word, the runes on the statue near the gate flared up; the explosion destroy a corner of the room, along with it 2 statues. A hole manifested on the surface of the barrier, and Wander exited his prison. As he broke through a window and escaped from the tower, he could hear the sound of missed spells destroying the walls he left behind.

______________________________________________________________________________

Callus and Carl rushed in after the explosion, only to find Wander had escaped.

" What just happened here, Elecaimant?"

" He escaped. He put runes on the statue. And I was wondering why someone would bother with those hideous creations. I will chase after him, you-"

An huge shockwave blasted through where Carl, Callus and Elecaimant were standing, blowing off the top of the tower. They could see from afar, a colossal being slowly rose up, exuding a crazy wave of Demex. The trees around it collapsed as a army of demon quickly spread across the domain.

" What the hell?" Carl held his head. " This is impossible!"

Elecaimant's body trembled. " I must find Fulish. He has not returned. And Rai too."

Handi ran into the room, panting, horror in her eyes. " The demons, they are heading for us."

Elecaimant climbed on a window." Callus, prepare for battle, activate the machines. Carl, move everyone to the highest floors, seal the rest. Handi, contact Vivien. Ask for her help."

The three summoners nodded. They watched as the familiar turned into an eagle and flew towards the vault.

" How the heck can this even happen? How can those demons infiltrate this domain at that speed?" Carl bit his lips." They can only come... from within.

" I don't know. But It's no coincidence this happened after those two arrived." Callus frowned.

______________________________________________________________________________

It was never supposed to be like this. Wander recalled all that happened from the very beginning. He felt something had gone horribly wrong, despite the fact that all events leading up to this naturally flowed. " Maria is working for Samundo?" Wander could not stand how absurd that idea sounded.

" You know what else is absurd? Look at that thing in front of us."

Wander could only see the gigantic legs of the demon. It was twice the diameter of the average trunks he saw in Mirilad, three times even. It crushed everything under its weight, even its own kin. Wander winced as he saw a dozens of fox-head demons flattened by the giant's feet, their scream abruptly ended. The other demons steered clear of the giant's path, some foolish enough to try attacking it, only to be crushed by its hands. Wander stopped his advance as he noticed a pack of demons charge at him. He was ready to fight them, but they ran past him, not throwing him even a glance.

" They did not attack me. Doom Mark?"

" It's obvious, isn't it? They recognize you as one of them."

" Do you know how many implications that fact gives?"

" I know. I can read your mind. Above you, Wander."

Wander jumped away from where he stood just as the familiar's attack landed on the ground, making dusts blow off the ground.

The familiar, now in the form of an eagle, flapped its wings and electricity rays charged at Wander. He evade them with ease.

" I know we got off on the wrong foot but can you let me talk to you once more?" Wander shouted.

The familiar's attack became more vicious. She increased her speed, charging like an arrow at Wander.

" Okay, then. If that's what you want."

Wander ran into the army of demon, knowing they would cover him. Their body, no matter the size, acted as perfect shields: they never stopped moving, one struck down, two rose up. Before long, they noticed the familiar's presence and started to attack her. Some of them threw one another into the air, trying to reach her. The others shot out parts of their bodies, screamed fire at her. To limit her movement, the demons stepped on each other, forming a wall ready to fall on her anytime, forcing her to fly higher, and consequently Wander became harder to track for her.

"They actually have excellent teamwork." Wander frowned.

"You haven't seen their best yet. You won't like it once you have."

______________________________________________________________________________

Callus patted on his fellow summoners' backs, assuring them everything would be fine. He was always intrigued by how such a blatant lie could always calm people down. After ensuring that each of them had managed to put all of their strength and mind into securing the tower, he prepared to leave for tower 4- the tower of war. Fulish had decided to isolate it from others, putting it under heavy guard. " Let's place war far from everything." Callus smiled, unable to believe his king once said that.

Handi and Carl was at floor 50, waiting for him. Next to them was an Aircutter, his favorite's means of transport, a machinery limbless winged horse.

" Return alive." Handi said.

" In one piece." Carl smiled.

Callus nodded. He mounted the Aircutter, bidding his best friends good bye, then heading for Tower 4.

After the Aircutter had maintained a stable stance in the air, Callus looked back at the scenery behind him. The colossal demon was marching towards tower 1 at a constant speed. His friends had not deployed their spell formation. His king was nowhere to be found. Two mysterious strangers were on the loose. The only good news were that Vivian's people would be here soon.

A deafening roar perverted the air, followed by the sound of the earth shaking. Callus did not have to look to know that another giant had entered the domain.

" There are two gates. One under the water, deep within a cave. One above it. The latter will never be used. And yes, you guess it right, I don't want anyone to visit this domain. This is my world, and I will only let those who follow me in."

His king once said that. One of the gate would never be used. The demons must have penetrated the domain with that gate. But how was it activated? How was it even connected to the other side, where the demons came from?

" Why bother building it you ask? I did not build it. It was a gift. Among the other gifts from other familiars, gifts for my freedom. The gate, the cakes, the pendant, the crown, the mask and the golden bar."

That girl, Mara Gwendolyn, Callus recalled her saying she was looking for something stolen from her a long time ago, and that something lied among the gifts given to King Fulish. He felt curious about it. " It does not matter now. At least King Fulish gave her a quick end."

He already reached Tower 4 before he noticed it. He patted the Aircutter. It approached a window on floor 30 to allow Callus to enter the tower .

Tower 4 underwent maintenance every week. Yet when Callus walked in, he noticed that dust had piled up everywhere. It seem this place had been left unchecked for more than a month. Rai really needed to do his job better.

Callus walked towards the door with the sign " Main Control Room" above. He blasted it with his spell. The dust made him cover his mouth, squinting. He entered the room, pulling the trigger near the door. The room was soon filled with light. The monitors began to display images. Callus checked to make sure everything still ran smoothly.

" Thanks god it's still operating. Now, to release all the Aircutters first. Storage 1 I believe. Head to tower 1, all of you."

He could hear the sound of activating machinations from below.

" Good, next, the droids, protect... "

Callus could feel something in his stomach. He looked down, and blood was dripping. Instinctively, he released his familiar. He looked back, to see his assailant. His eyes widened.

" No, you, you are supposed to...

He could not utter another word, for the spells hurling towards him let him know that words were useless.

______________________________________________________________________________

Wander could see tower 3. He could also smell the acrid odor of burning meat. He charged at the tower as fast as he could, with the hope he could see Maria there, fighting, like she did many times before.

The demons already surrounded the tower. They crawled their way into it, now that the metal gate was reduced to mere pieces of junks. Amidst the army of demons, a child was kneeling, glaring at the demon, constantly disintegrating them with his electricity. His eyes were fierce, lightning filling his irises. Wander knew immediately that was Fulish.

Wander terminated most of his demon form, leaving only his arms demonized. He sank his claws in a trunk nearby, lifting the whole tree up and slammed it on the demons. He swung it backwards like a base bat, then slammed it down again on another pack of demons. The demons turned on him, finally deciding to stop acknowledging him as one of them. They jumped at him, their mouths wide open, showing their pointy, decayed teeth.

" I apologize." He said, with all honesty, as he hit them with the trunk using all of his strength.

Wander screamed at Fulish. " Get over here, quick!"

The familiar was startled by his voice, but he immediately picked himself up and ran to Wander's side. Wander smashed any demon trying to obstruct Fulish. He wondered why he was trying to save this familiar, considering he possibly could have taken the life of someone he held dear.

" What happened to you? I know you can get rid of these things in seconds."

Fulish grimaced in pain, tears flowing out of his eyes.

The household familiar caught up. She blasted the demons away with her arrow attack. She proceeded to emit electrical threads that attached themselves to the surrounding demons, shocking them to the point of unconsciousness.

She turned back into her humanoid form, landed next to Fulish and hugged him. " It's okay, it's okay." She said.

Fulish burst into tears. " I lost. She is going to take away everything. This is unfair." He said in a brittle voice.

" Maria is still alive?' Wander asked, smiling.

The household familiar glared at him.

" Tell us what happened." She told Fulish.

______________________________________________________________________________

The lightning bolt hit Maria's body. The electricity spread all over her body, just as how it had spread over the bodies of Fulish's other enemies. Fulish shook his head. " To think Samundo dare send his underling to my domain." He turned away from her body, thinking about how he should get rid of it.

A rustling sound made Fulish all tense. He discharged his strongest attack as he looked back to check Maria's body. She was standing, looking at him with her half-closed eyes. Red blood left a fine thread running from her mouth to her chin. She raised her hand, blocking Fulish's attack. The collision between her skin and his spell conceived a sphere of electricity that quickly grew in side, enveloping the air with a buzzing sound.

" Of course you would not give up that easily." Fulish shouted, grinning.

" I do not appreciate being crossed, Fulish." Maria said, her stare turning glacial." What did you do to him?"

" The boy is safe. You? I can't say the same. Sorry, but I hate Samundo and his minions!"

" At least he's safe." Maria frowned. " I guess we do this the hard way then."

" See if you can win. I am a King!"

Fulish unleashed electrical rays towards Maria, and she guarded herself with an energy shield. The familiar smirked, believing that his opponent would soon run out of power and succumb to his attack.

Fulish soon found his confidence sapped of him as he realized he was being pulled into the sphere. Not only his body, but the energy within him was sucked into the attack. He felt his arm pulled towards Maria, despite his attempt to drag it back. He tried to disrupt his spell, only to realize Maria had found a way to drain his power.

Maria clenched her fist." Electricity, lightning spell, is extremely easy to manipulate and channel, you know right? " She effortlessly pulled Fulish to her as if she was pulling a rope with a doll bound to the other end. With no hesitation, she swung him back and forth, and finally slammed him against the metal gate, causing it to absorb his electricity and open.

Maria release her grip on Fulish. He rose up, a little dazed but overall unscathed.

" You hit me! How dare you?" His eyes exploded like a mini super nova; his body burned everything around it with electricity. He lifted himself off the ground, his hands charged with lightning " Let me show you the power of a king!"

Fulish plunged himself towards Maria like an arrow of lightning. He had been called " The Bolt" by his peers due to his unmatched speed. He could trap his opponent simply by moving so fast that he left a series of visible trails of electricity behind him, resembling a web of a spider. Every beings with the intention of escape invariably ended up being fried, and just a moment of distraction was enough for them to be pierced by his body. " I will end you."

" This attack of yours is seriously overrated." Maria said, not even trying to trace his movement.

" I had enough of this insolent girl." Fulish glared at Maria, charging at her at full speed. " You will not be in one piece."

Fulish's body clashed with Maria's shield, creating a shockwave that blasted their surroundings.

" Your shield will not hold up." Fulish shouted at Maria.

" That's what other kinds of kings told me too."

Fulish could feel his victory, He could feel her shield being pushed back.

" Say, foolish king." Maria smiled." You must have heard of the term electrical overload, right?"

Fulish shivered against his will. He did not know it was because of his opponent's smile, or her remark.

" Too much electricity and the circuits go boom!" Maria said. Fulish noticed her hands were behind her back again. " Your body has no circuits. But I reckon it must have something similar."

Fulish felt his heart sink. He instantly withdrew himself from Maria. Again, he could not.

" And here I had thought you would have learned something from your previous attack." Maria shook her head.

Fulish realized her shield was not pushed back, but he was being pulled in. His eyes widened, his breathing grew shorted. " No, no, no!" He mumbled to himself; his throat went dry.

" Strawberry jam incoming." Maria smiled.

Fulish felt his innards heating up, his blood boiling. He gasp for breath as he sensed a fire eating him inside out. He cried, his arms and legs swing frantically midair.

Just when he thought he would see himself blown to pieces, Fulish was back to the ground as the heat slowly vanished. He hold his neck, gasping for breath. He stared at Maria with eyes wide open, tears ready to come out.

" You will have trouble using your power for a while. But considering this is your island, I don't think it will inconvenience you much." Maria looked down at him.

" You..You will pay for this. To dare insult a Familiar King." Fulish glared at her, still catching breath.

Maria shook her head at him." I have always thought the king is the most useless piece in a game of chess. Unable to protect itself, a burden to others. Yet when it falls, the game is lost. How absurd."

Fulish clenched his fists.

" I wondered what they had in mind when they created the king like that. It made me struggle to complete my model. But seeing you, I think I understand what they wanted to convey back then."

Maria turned away from Fulish, heading for the Vault.

Fulish shouted at her. " You think you've won? This is my domain, remember?"

" On the contrary, Fulish king. You've already lost the moment I set foot on this island."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Wander slammed another pack of demons, his head overflowed with excitement and confusion. " Maria is still alive." He relished the news. He wondered how he could ever think she would be defeated by Fulish. She had won against Ignitus with ease; another king would not bother her.

" Rai told us he saw you defeating her." Elecaimant said.

" He must have left the moment he saw me strike that witch down. He must have thought that was the end." Fulish snorted.

Wander frowned. " Maria could not have unleashed the demon."

" You still defend her? Oh I forgot you carry demonic blood!"

" My king, please calm down."

" I will repeat once more: Maria could not have unleashed the demons. She has always been with someone ever since she arrived. Or, even if she did, she could not have done that alone. Not without someone that knows this domain very well."

" You stop talking!" Fulish shouted, covering his ears.

" That is a very dangerous thing you are implying, Wander." Elecaimant glared at him.

" Say, which trap is triggered here?" Wander smiled.

______________________________________________________________________________

Callus held his stomach, his hand glowing. He had never been more regretful for ignoring medical spell class of Mr. Manion. Still, what was hurting him the most was not the bleeding wound, but the fact that Rai was standing in front of him.

" Since when?" He grudgingly asked.

" I don't know." Rai looked down at him. " A few decades back, I guess. But I must admit, I have grown tired of looking after that brat for more than a century. It amazes me how something can remain obnoxious for so long."

Rai created a sword in his hand. He pointed it at Callus. " Well, this is nothing personal. Just consider it bad luck, okay? You chose the wrong king, Malton."

" Push him back, Coses!" Callus shouted.

Callus's stone-covered familiar slammed its feet on the floor. Spikes burst from under Coses's feet, but Rai did not halt his advance. He slid across the wall, throwing his sword at Callus. Coses plunged his arm to block the sword. A loud " crack" sound made Callus wince.

Callus reached for the control panel. " The droids, the droids." His wound began to bleed again, this time even worse. He glanced at Coses. The familiar was struggling against Rai. The room was too small, and Rai's speed and body was a perfect match for its size. Coses, on the other hand, could not bring out his full power, his movements limited by the room.

Rai laughed. " Okay, fun time is over." He jumped back, impaling his sword into the floor. In a moment, the whole room became electrical. The control panel exploded.

" Go to hell!"Callus's visions went hazy due to blood loss." Coses, merge with me!"

The familiar's body expanded. It engulfed Callus, becoming his armor. Callus charged at Rai, throwing his fist at him. The traitorous familiar lowered his body; his hand pierced Coses. Callus instantly jumped back, and still he felt a stinging pain spread throughout his body.

" Let's end this" Rai created another sword.

" Yeah, let's end this, with you under rubbles!" Callus slammed on the floor with all of his strength.

The whole room collapsed. Coses curled up into a ball, an one ton ball that broke through every ceiling and every floor of every room under. Slabs of concrete fell on Rai, but he managed to evade most of them. One slab crashed his shoulder, dislocating it. He screamed in pain, glaring at Callus and Coses.

" I can fly, you know!" Rai shouted as he smashed the concretes with his body, now in the form of an arrow just like Elecaimant's.

Callus collided with the ground floor. Even with Coses, his back seemed like it was about to break. He desummoned his familiar. He did not want to make it undergo unnecessary pain. He clenched his fist, watching Rai slowly descend towards him.

" How desperate, Callus Malton." Rai raised his arm, a bolt in his hand." Don't worry, I will not attend your funeral."

" The king trust you." Callus glared at him.

" Oh, the king does trust me. The brat, I don't need his trust." Rai threw his sword.

Callus closed his eyes. Blood splashed on his face. He could hear the sound of weapon piercing body. He realized there was no pain.

" Wow, that was quicker than I expected." He opened his eyes. In front of him was Rai with an arrow through his chest, his eyes widened. The familiar turned back to see his assailant. Callus also looked up. Handi and Carl was flying above the two of them.

Callus smiled. " Coses." He whispered. The familiar instantly appeared, standing between him and Rai. " The head."

The familiar executed the order with no hesitation. It clapped its wheel-size hands, with Rai's head in between. Callus closed his eyes. This time, he felt pain.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Wander carried Fulish on his back, heading for tower 6. Elecaimant flew above them, electrocuting any approaching demons. The path to tower 6 did not cross with the demons' march, enabling them to move forward with little to no obstacle.

" I did not see Tower 6 when I first got here." Wander said.

" Of course you didn't. It's never meant to be seen. It's a hiding place, after all." Fulish said, snorting.

" I see. A hidden tower. You will rest there until you regain your power. That's the plan?"

" Yes, then I will fry these creeps."

" Such enthusiasm." Wander laughed.

The walkie-talkie in Fulish's hand caught a signal, emitting Handi's voice. " King Fulish? Are you there?"

" I'm here." Fulish answered, nodding at Elecaimant. She flew lower.

" Rai betrayed us." Handi rushed through those words as fast as possible.

Wander shook his head. He could feel Fulish's arm tighten on his neck.

" Liar!" Fulish shouted. " Rai would never—"

Fulish's voice was blocked by his hiccup.

" My King, he almost killed Callus. Had it not been for Wander's warning, he would have died."

Fulish sniveled." How's Callus? Is..is he okay?"

" Carl is treating his wound. He will recover." Handi softened her voice. " Rai destroyed the control room, so now I'm activating the droids manually. My King, are you doing well?"

Fulish nodded, forgetting that Handi could not see him. The summoner, apparently knowing that he nodded, ignored his err." My King, please stay safe. We will get through this. And please tell Wander that Callus says thanks."

Handi ended the conversation. The walkie-talkie went back to emitting white noise sound. Fulish's tears dropped on Wander's neck . The hunter glanced at Elecaimant, wondering if her tears had been evaporated by her lightning.

______________________________________________________________________________

Wander could not see tower 6 as a tower. It was nothing more than an empty warehouse buried under piles of bricks and stones, ready to collapse any time.

Fulish would not let go of Wander. He buried his face in his back, crying non-stop. Elecaimant went back to her humanoid form, sitting on the floor with her knees bended, staring at emptiness. She closed her eyes, her head leaned on the wall. Wander was sure now that she was older than she looks. Though he was not that sure about the king on his back.

" How did you know? About Rai? About his attacking Callus?" Elecaimant asked.

" I did not. I only assumed the worst scenario possible. If indeed there was a betrayer among Fulish's followers, then after unleashing the demons, it was most likely he would try to prevent any defensive measure. After you told me you sent Callus, alone, to activate the machines, I could not help feeling unease. Not only because I was worried he would be attacked, but also I wanted to make sure he was not the betrayer."

Elecaimant frowned, pursing her lips.

" The demons come from the outside. If they did not traverse the underwater Halcyonline, then there must be another entrance. Only someone really close to Fulish could have known the way this island worked. How to get in without alerting anyone. Which means, basically, everyone on this island except for Maria and me could be the betrayer, or the betrayers."

" I should have let you know that only Rai and I knew that much about the domain. You could have pinpointed him sooner." Elecaimant held her head." This is my fault."

" Nonsense. Why would you spout facts to someone you've just met? You did nothing wrong."

Wander smiled, recalling Maria's favorite sentence.

" What really sealed the deal for me was how Rai instantly told you the mission was a success, despite the fact that Maria stood up only seconds later. Of course, it might be true that he had turned away right after Fulish struck Maria down, but that sounded too convenient. That was why he became my prime suspect."

A silence occurred. Wander noticed Fulish had stopped crying and had let go of his neck. The child king had stood up and walked towards Elecaimant. He sat down next to her.

" Will you leave me too, El?"

The household familiar turned to face him. " Of course not. I will stay with you till the day you grow bored of me."

Fulish shook his head. He hugged his household familiar." Never."

Elecaimant patted on his head and hugged him back. Wander left the tower, deciding to leave the two alone so that they could be completely comfortable.

______________________________________________________________________________

No demon waited for outside the tower. However, fire had spread throughout the jungle, and several new colossal demons had emerged. Wander could see glowing dots surrounding them, shooting spells at them. " The summoners are fighting back." He could see Tower 1, or rather its shadow, behind dense smoke. He could not see the others. The demons must have destroyed all.

Wander could not get a full view of the domain from where he stood, but he knew it must not be much different from hell. Fire, an army of demons, huge monstrosities, smoky sky, if Samundo was here, it would be perfect.

Samundo made him think of Maria. He was glad that she lived. " She's with Samundo." Wander shook his head, trying to throw those words out of his mind. He told himself Maria was a good person. She helped him, she tried to prevent the massacre.

" And she lied to Ignitus. She broke into the vault. And you actually knew nothing about her, aside from the fact that she's powerful, she has an ex and his name is Arthur." Doom Mark's voice echoed in his head.

" Not the time, Doom Mark."

" Wander, how can you trust someone you've barely known for a month?:

" She's done nothing to make me distrust her. "

Doom Mark chuckled.

" Wander, I can read your thought. And your brain, oh how it works! Should I tell you a conclusion you've been trying to repress, a conclusion that I've claimed from the abyss that is your mind?"

Wander did not reply.

" Everything, from the beginning, shall we? Let's see, from that day, the day you diverged from a Hunter's path, you met Nito. Then he told you you were the same as him. The next day, you turned. The day after that, you met Maria. Few weeks later, Mirilad happened. That beast started hunting you down. Then Hiatus and Aria found out, they helped you escape, only to fail. Then, you were almost captured, Maria rescued you, you left New York. You met Ignitus, you got on that ship, and now you are here. Let's not forget many years ago before all of this, you did something unbelievable to that child Jonathan and your sister. Tell me, Wander, you do realize something is not right with this story, right?"

" Nothing is wrong." Wander cast his eyes down.

" Boy, you yourself know this, the universe is rarely lazy, and when things are too convenient, the chances are the truth is hidden. Wander, how convenient is your story? You met a random guy in the forest, who revealed to you that you were the same as him, a being with the power to defeat the demon lord. What are the odds?"

" Infinitesimal."

" You knew already right? That you are not an Exsomnis and Nito had lied to you. You are something else. He must have expected something when he convinced you to turn. That is the most reasonable conclusion. The decision you made on that day set you down a path of serial disasters. Or, if you want, you can choose to believe that you are indeed an Exsomnis, and the random stranger you met turned out to be just your kin, and all of this is believable. How's that?"

Wander focused on the roars of the demons.

" And Maria, a girl so willing to save you and keep you alive. A girl you meet in a forest, what a fateful encounter, isn't it? The encounter with the beast must be fateful, too. It attacked you right after Nito disappeared. Hmm, what do we have here?"

" The beast must be trying to hunt down those that can kill Samundo. It works for Samundo."

" Then who does Maria work for, then? It attacked her."

" Not Samundo."

" What if she does, Wander? She's protecting you. What if, the beast is the good guy here? It's hunting you. What does that make you?"

Wander could feel his heart race. What Doom Mark was about to say, he had already deduced, and the being knew that.

" It seems the core question of your story, my boy , as well as to anyone's story, is too obvious: Who are you,,Wander?"

We are very close to the end!