“Bright Silver Slash!”

The shout echoed through the forest, followed by the sounds of screeching metal. The cries of a daemon werewolf howled among the trees. The monster turned its head to face the hooded warrior, who was responsible for its grave injuries. The daemon extended its fangs and roared. It glared into the man’s eyes like a rabid animal, inviting him to their last showdown. The warrior began to rotate the staff slowly, moving it from one side to another until it spanned so fast the weapon itself was barely visible. The daemon dashed and lunged towards the warrior. He met its onslaught with a quick dash. The warrior's weapon whistled through the air and clashed with the daemon.

Blood sprayed across the trees, tainting the leaves.

Their movements turned to naught as both of them landed on their paws and feet. After a few seconds of stillness, the werewolf's upper torso began to part from its lower body and fell to the ground with a thump. The warrior slowly turned and stalked at the still alive werewolf and put his pointy metal boot on its neck. Blood and foam were spewing from daemon's half-opened mouth as it was staring at him with eyes full of hatred and grudge. The warrior swiftly moved his foot and broke the creature's neck. The remnants dissolved into a black and dark purple mist.

Avernus removed the hood and sighed, “These ‘Code Red’ daemons are turning into a nuisance, and they've become increasingly difficult to fight alone.”

“Release me, and I can help you with these fights.”, Tia suggested.

“Not a chance, at least not yet. You show your face around here now, and we’re gonna have a frickin’ problem.”

Tia whispered unintelligibly, but he ignored it.

His mind was occupied with another notion. Avernus sheathed his weapon and strode through the forest.

“For now, let's head back to our contact and collect our pay. 1500 gald is not much, but it's better than nothing.”

Avernus reached a group of parked carriages near the gates of Loegres and nodded to a woman standing beside the caravan. She threw a pouch of gald to Avernus.

“The boss needs to see you, stranger.”

Avernus weighed the pouch, and after a short surprising look at the contact, he strode through the city.

“I hope Tabatha has an update for us.”

“Seres is a powerful malak. I think she can handle herself. But the problem isn't freeing that Velvet girl. It's the obvious matter that we need allies to bring the fight to the Abbey.”, Tia suggested.

“You're right. I've been thinking about asking some outlaw groups with connections to the Bloodwings. Tabatha is somehow reluctant to introduce me to them, so we may need to broaden the circle ourselves.” As Avernus finished discussing his plans, he saw a new poster outside the city gate. He moved closer to read the description.

“For your safety, beware of the ‘Dragon’, and stay in your homes after the curfew hour.”

He laughed loudly.

“Haha! These guys are legitimately scared! I can't believe those morons!”

“It seems that you got your signature namesake again.”, said Tiamat.

Avernus' smile began to dry as he remembered the time people back in his homeland called him by the same name.

“‘The Dragon’, huh? He who battles monsters should be careful that he does not become a monster himself…"

“Don't you remember what you said before?”, Tiamat asked, “Sometimes it takes a monster to kill a monster.”

"Yeah… I remember.", Avernus replied in a bitter tone and continued his way to the tavern.

The bar was crowded with regular customers, but Tabatha was nowhere to be found. Avernus moved to the counter and picked up a bottle of whiskey and two glasses with a chunk of ice in each of them. On his way to his room, he saw the head cook standing beside the stairs, rambling about everyday work. She then noticed Avernus.

"Hey, Avernus! I need your help serving the customers."

Avernus pointed to his black circles around his eyes, "Eh… No. At least not now, but maybe later. I'm exhausted and in need of a good bath and some rest."

The head cook folded her arms and twitched her nose, "Oh, really?! I just received your serving outfit from the tailor. It cost a good fortune, you know!"

Avernus raised his brows, "What?! Why did you order a new uniform?!"

The head cook sighed, pointing out to his torso, "Well… your body posture is different than most people… with that chest, those arms, and shoulders… you needed a new shirt."

Avernus rolled his eyes.

"Also, dealing with customers here is harder than any job the Bloodwings will throw at you. But it's all good. Just remember, there will be a mass of customers coming tomorrow for the ceremony, so we need help with the tavern. Do not make me beg for it. Oh, and don't forget about that famous dancer, Majelu. She’s going to be coming here too."

Avernus narrowed his eyes in frustration at the head cook. He mumbled something, then he made his way to his room.

"Just kill me now…"

After he entered his room, he locked the door and placed the whiskey and the glasses on the table. After a few seconds, a shining white orb appeared out of his body and transformed into Tia, his faithful malak.

Avernus poured some whiskey in the shots as Tia sat down. Avernus picked up his glass and moved to the other side of the room.

"So… Let's review what we’ve discovered and what we've accomplished during these last few days."

Avernus then began taking off his armor, piece by piece, revealing his wounds and battle scars underneath.

"The people of Midgand believe that the four elemental Empyreans created the world; water, fire, earth, and wind, same as ours. But it turned out there is another one. It was dug up by Artorius that night and used as a weapon to silence most of the daemon threats during the last three years."

He unstrapped the spaulders and gauntlets and silently moaned as more black spots and injuries were revealed.

"…Which as of now, we know that thing is the only Empyrean currently active, and that the rest have disappeared. The main purpose of this malak is still a mystery to me, even after killing that priest and his two praetor guards."

"Let's not forget that you could have done more damage, but you spared other praetors in the church…"

Avernus turned his head towards the Tia. He was surprised.

"I don't kill without reason. You know me better than that. Those scum used and tortured innocent people and malakhim in the name of the ‘greater good’. The rest of the praetors were just teenagers who believed in stopping the daemons and protecting the common folk. I couldn't just outright murder every exorcist that I see.", Avernus pressed his lips and stared blankly.

"But the things I've done, the lives I took… There’s no coming back from it…", he lowered his head, "However, I must complete this mission, at least.", Avernus clenched his fists, suppressing his anger.

Tia smirked, "Don't get all emotional on me now. War and chaos never change." She poured more whiskey into her glass, "You’re a warrior. Didn't you always tell your apprentices, “Don't feel for your enemies because they don't feel for you”?"

Avernus shook his head violently, trying to clear his head of unwanted thoughts. "Let's get back to the main topic; the fifth Empyrean." He almost took off all his armor except for the boots and trousers.

Avernus curiously shot a glance at Tia, "Back home, we called you a spirit goddess of void and chaos."

Tia raised her brows, shaking the glass of whiskey in her hand, waiting for the rest of the sentence.

"Does that make you an Empyrean?"

She giggled at his question, like she heard an absurd comment, "Do you think I'm an Empyrean?"

Avernus took off his clothes and strode to the wooden bathtub at the end of the room.

"I don't know, you tell me. I'm just trying to figure out what it means to be an Empyrean. That thing at the shrine took the form of an eight-headed golden dragon when it escaped its prison. Your transcendence form is a five-headed dragon. Looked pretty similar to me…"

He slid into the tub and let out a sigh of relief as the warm, enchanted water began to heal his wounds slowly. Avernus closed his eyes, sinking into a calm and exotic feeling. "I need to try one of those hot springs these people keep mentioning."

Tia slowly pinwheeled around him, "An Empyrean… Hmm… A strange term, indeed."

"Still not answering my question…", Avernus said.

"Maybe he's a long lost family member… Who knows?"

"That's great, Tia. Then we can go and have a civilized chat with him."

She chuckled, but he was in no mood for jokes. Her disregard annoyed him. Tia stopped and leaned against the wall.

"Let me ask you something; Why do you care so much about a small peasant family? The likes of them are dying each day.

Avernus picked the glass of whiskey and shook his head, "I felt that I owe them. They were different. They had a simple, yet happy, life. Their souls were untainted by this dark, cruel world. Not frozen. They didn't deserve this fate. She didn't deserve this. All Velvet ever wanted was an uncomplicated, joyful life with her family, and she poured her heart and soul for them every day. But those screams, those cries… I can't get them out of my head…"

Avernus stood up hastily and picked up his towel, "I must find her and fix this."

Tia grinned and sat on her chair again, crossing her arms and tilting her head to one side.

"Beware, Avernus. People change. You might end up disappointed."

He didn't pay attention and tied his hair and got ready to meet Tabatha. Tia moved to his side and placed his equipment, along with the feather earring set that the strange old Seraph gave it to him a week ago, on the table.

"You need a new set of armor. One that doesn’t hinder you like this and also protects you against exorcists' magical artes."

"Like my old Shepherd's outfit? Too fancy for this line of work."

Tia smirked, "Definitely. It’s more fashionable than this crass set you already have. Also, you should try these."

He looked at the earrings and twitched his lips, unsure what to do with them.

"Won't these things look ridiculous on me?"

She held them in mid-air in front of his face.

"These are the symbols of malakhim. Whoever gave you these must know who and what you are."

Avernus suddenly paused. A sorrowful memory passed his mind. He swallowed painfully.

"Rosa used to adore my clothes and hair when I wore these feathery cosmetics as a kid… Now that I think about it, four semi-large feathers hanging from my ears is contradictory to my intimidating looks at this day and age, so, nope."

Tia sighed and forcefully put them in one of his pockets. Avernus gasped at her persistence behavior and finished gearing up. Nodding at Tia, she turned into a white orb and merged with him. He exited the room and made his way downstairs. Tabatha was talking with a customer behind the counter as she noticed him. Avernus waved his hand and went to the bar.

Kamoana also saw him and ran to his side, "You're back!"

Avernus smiled and bent over, "I didn't go anywhere, little princess. I'm always here."

She lowered her head and stared at her toes. "Mommy says that there is a big dragon out there. I was afraid he would’ve found and eaten us!"

Avernus raised his brows, "You don't need to worry that, little one. The dragon will only eat bad people, like those who wanted to hurt your mother. He will never hurt a sweet little princess like you."

Avernus pampered her head, and then she returned to her chair. Tabatha saw the interaction between them and called to him, "Avernus, my boy, I was hoping to see you again. We have an important matter to discuss."

"Madam Baskerville, I got your message. How can I be of service?"

Tabatha glanced at Kamoana, "You have a kind heart, and you’re so good with little children. I’m sure you’ll be a great father someday."

Avernus leaned back, staring blankly into the crowd. "I have a little brother and a little sister back home. They're twins. I used to spend most of my time with them when I came back from my job. I was their second father. I miss them so much…"

Tabatha sighed, "We got word from one of our sources that an unknown group has completely sabotaged the Abbey's operation in the Hellawes. Now they’re making their way towards Loegres. There’s also a pirate ship sailing in the same direction."

Avernus narrowed his eyes, waiting for the rest of the news.

"I think the person you are looking for is among them."

His eyes flashed with hope, "Where can I find them?"

Tabatha crouched and picked up a map from under the bar and put it on the counter, pointing at a place in the northeast of Loegres.

"Here is the Abbey's sea fortress, Vortigern. This is the only path available to them to sail between Northgand and Midgand.

Avernus focused his attention on the map, "Yeah, I heard about this one. People are saying that it's impenetrable and has lots of battleships patrolling around it. Do you want me to take it out?"

Tabatha smirked, "That's a bonus, but I want you to find that crew and bring them to me. We could use their help with our fight against the Abbey."

Avernus folded the map and put it in his satchel. "Consider it done, Miss Baskerville."

“Go to Port Zekson. A merchant captain there is waiting for you. He will take you to the fortress and will drop you at the nearest point to your destination.”, Tabatha explained, and with a nod, Avernus walked to the exit.

"It’s good to have someone to help with the fight.", he said optimistically.

"We can ask some of these people for assistance, such as that girl sitting over there, at the very back.", Tia suggested.

Avernus focused his attention briefly on the customer that his malak mentioned.

"That girl with long dark brown hair and beautiful dark blue eyes? She looks like a malak. A stray one, it seems.", Avernus also noticed a boomerang attached to her belt, "…And she’s armed too. But it looks like she has her own adventure going on. Kind of like us. We’d better leave her be for now."

Confident and eager to see this through, he made his way for Port Zekson.

Once reaching the docks, Avernus found the ship captain waiting for him. After exchanging pleasantries, they embarked on the mission to assist the unknown groups.

Avernus, arms crossing and hopeful, was staring into the horizon. The sun was high up in the sky and they were getting close to their destination. The ship's captain walked up to him.

"The royal navy nearly wiped out every other pirate crew across the Midgand sea. This particular one is the last and strongest group. If there is a gang that can challenge the Abbey, it’s them.", the captain ensured.

Without breaking his stare, Avernus wondered, "What makes this pirate crew so formidable?"

"They're the most famous, or, in this case, the most infamous gang of pirates, led by captain Van Aifread. They also have an advanced ship called the Van Eltia. Even after the pirate purge, they managed to evade and sink many royal navy ships. Of the four pirate kings who terrorized Midgand, only Aifread and his crew remain."

Avernus turned to him, "For a merchant ship captain, you seem to like holding them in high praise."

"I could have made more money by selling them to the authorities, but that's too boring. The fun's in making a killing by breaking the rules." the captain answered.

A small grin formed on his face, "So they're the only group left that can pick a fight with the royal navy and win…"

"Fortress above board!", the scout sailor called out as the enormous gates of Vortigern were coming into view.

Avernus scanned the front area and turned to the ship captain, "I will go alone from here. Take your ship back to Port Zekson, captain. This area will probably turn hot, and it will be too dangerous for you and your ship."

The captain bowed, and Avernus dived into the sea. As he got closer to the shore, he went underwater to avoid any guards watching over the entrance. Avernus slowly crept his head out of the water to check for any movement. To his surprise, there wasn’t a single patrol alongside the walls. He pounced out of the water and landed on one of the platforms outside of the main wall.

"This is strange. There’s no sign of any guards or exorcists.", Avernus observed.

"Watch out. I'm sensing malevolence ahead of us.", Tiamat warned.

"What? Malevolence? Here?", Avernus growled in anger, summoning Dreamshadow from his gauntlet. Cautiously, but quickly, he moved near the heavily armored door and checked the lock, but it was shut tight. He looked up to the walkway above.

"I'm guessing wall-climbing is in order?"

Avernus climbed the wall and leaped from platform to platform until he reached the top. The wind was wild, and his cloak was already flying up in the air.

"Those are some big doors."

The main gates of Vortigern were enormous in scales. He checked the middle of the fortress and noticed a ship trying to maneuver through the waterway.

"That ship… It doesn't look like one of the royal navy’s battleships.", he narrowed his eyes, "It looks familiar to me."

"If that ship is our target, you need to move in to support them.", advised Tia.

"Yeah, but what about the doors?"

Suddenly, a loud, clinking sound resonated, and one of the doors gradually started to move.

"It seems they have an inland team opening the gates already. Good planning."

Avernus checked the lower platforms and saw several groups of daemonized guards getting ready to attack the ship.

"Then, we will move to cover the ship."

Avernus checked the deck of the vessel to identify the crew. To his surprise, there were only a few of them running around. One of them looked like a young girl with a strange pink jester outfit.

"Hmm… They don’t have the means to defend themselves. I'm moving in."

Avernus jumped down to the terrace below, which was swarming with Wall Men: monsters that look like bloated torsos sticking out of a massive stone tablet. They noticed his presence and crawled to position themselves for the attack. Avernus' left arm glowed red. He conjured explosive fireballs and scrubbed Dreamshadow along the ground, getting ready to hurl his artes at the enemy. The daemons rushed to his position. But, they instead met with fireballs and waves of water artes cast by Avernus' staff. His fireballs burned their corrupted flesh, and his cutting magic sliced their weakened armor. Their mutilated body parts littered the platform.

Amidst the battle, a loud bang boomed the area. The second gate opened, and the ship increased its speed.

Avernus raised his left arm into the air, "Blazing Javelin!"

As he shouted, a fiery elemental spear formed in his hand.

"That javelin requires a lot of mana to conjure. Be precise with your throws.", Tia advised.

Avernus narrowed his left eye and calculated the throw distance and travel speed to compensate for the long distance. He targeted the lower and more crowded platforms that were closer to the ship. By that time, his left arm was engulfed in fire, and a red and orange hue could be detected from afar.

He saw that the young girl in pink was pointing at his location, and the rest of the crew turned their heads toward him. He aimed at the nearest terrace to the ship and sent the javelin flying. The fiery spear illuminated the area as it hissed through the air, and forcefully impacted the ground in the middle of the attacking daemons.

The spear exploded in a blazing orb. The daemons that were caught in the blast were instantly disintegrated. Avernus immediately conjured another one and threw at the other platform, denying the daemons the opportunity to overwhelm the ship.

Avernus gasped harder as each conjured spear drained more of his stamina. He looked up and saw a group of four people staring at him from the archway above. Suddenly, they came under attack by an unknown daemon.

"Those people don't look like guards or Abbey exorcists to me.", Tia observed.

"They’re probably the infiltration team responsible for opening the gates. They're in danger!"

Avernus recollected his stamina. Surveying the bottom of the platforms, he spotted more daemons converging on the ship. He decided to cover them with more javelins before heading up to meet the other group.

"Blazing Javelin!"

Avernus jumped and continuously bombarded the horde below into nothingness until he could no longer conjure any more spears. The ship increased its speed to avoid further attacks. He then focused his strength to climb the ladders. At the top, he noticed the group had already taken care of the enormous wall daemon, and two of them jumped down onto the passing ship. He raised his head and glanced at the third member; a girl with a black coat, tattered clothing, and long raven hair. He swallowed as the sensation of her being a familiar struck his chest. The excitement rushed his soul.

"Velvet?", he murmured.

Avernus took off, hoping to reach her before she could make the jump. But another one grabbed his attention; the fourth member was a boy in a white dress that was standing beside the corpse of their attacker, picking something up.

The daemon's eyes glowed red, and it came back to life, "Damn it! The kid!"

He charged towards them instead, but the daemon smashed the ground, resulting in the boy hurling over the edge of the bridge. Velvet also noticed this and rushed to save him.

Suddenly, she shouted a familiar name.

"Laphicet!"

Avernus felt the whistle of a passing cannonball, which hit the back of the daemon, stalling it. Sensing the opportunity, he threw Dreamshadow at its head. The blades of his staff cleaved it in half, and it disappeared into a cloud of dark smoke.

The boy, however, fell from the archway. Velvet intuitively jumped after him. Avernus did the same and followed them.

Velvet managed to grab the boy's hand, but another side caught her bandaged arm.

"Gotcha this time, Velvet!"

Avernus managed to hold onto her. They were all hanging to each other, like a strain of chains. She smiled at the boy.

"Don't scare me like that!"

But when she turned her head, her smile went away. Her amber eyes widened in shock. Avernus moved his arms to the sides like a pendulum and hurled them up towards the top. Velvet and the boy landed safely on their feet. Finally, the man himself managed to get back up.

They stared at each other for a brief moment. She definitely didn't look friendly. Avernus swallowed hard. He barely managed to crack a smile for her. She was neither happy nor angry. Instead, a cold expression covered her face. For him, it felt like a few weeks ago, but she has changed drastically. For her, it was a different story.

"Hello, Velvet."

Avernus didn't prepare anything special to say to her. He swallowed another knot in his throat. The generic greeting blurted randomly. Avernus observed her for a moment: She was all grown up and more mature now. Her hair was a lot longer, almost touching the ground. She was wearing a black coat with red cloths strapped together as a makeshift top, which barely covered her torso. The shorts were ragged and strapped with several belts and chains. It was the remnant of her trousers that she wore last time he saw her.

But most importantly, that shining face full of happiness wasn't there anymore. Instead, it was replaced by deep anger. The smile was also beginning to dry from Avernus' face.

He sensed an insurmountable amount of malevolence.

Velvet suddenly frowned and grabbed the boy's arm. She dashed towards the side without saying a word. Avernus snapped out of his reverie and extended his arm, instinctively towards her shouting her name.

"Wait! Velvet!"

But she and the boy both jumped down onto the ship below. The sails cushioned their hard fall.

"Damn it!", Avernus yelled in frustration.

Suddenly, he was caught off guard by the sounds of several explosions. He checked the horizon and saw six royal navy battleships closing in on their position and bombarding them with long-range artillery.

"Are you kidding me?! Six ships?!"

The Van Eltia severely broke to the right to avoid the barrage of cannon fire. He took a long and slow breath, trying to focus his mind.

"Tia, how many teleportations can I perform in succession?"

"Only two warps at best."

Avernus exhaled, gritting his teeth.

"Damn it! Okay, we only need to reach the one farthest in the back."

Avernus charged up his arte. Wind energy began to flow through his fingers.

"It’s too far! You can't reach it with only two teleportations!"

"I know! I'll glide to the last ship if I'm still in one piece."

As Avernus performed his arte, he jumped and disappeared in a cloud of subtle grey smoke. He appeared a hundred meters further in mid-air. His body began to roll uncontrollably, but he concentrated his attention towards the last ship and performed another warp, advancing another hundred meters. With the lack of ability to achieve more, Avernus stretched his body and moved with the flow towards the last ship.

His body crashed like a meteor on the deck of the last ship. Shockwaves pushed most of the royal navy marines into the sea. The surviving captain of the ship watched in horror as Avernus slowly turned his head towards him.

"Get off my ship!"

The commanding officer walked backward and finally stumbled into the railing and fell to the sea below.

Avernus raced to the helm and took control of the ship.

"Tia, how many cannons does this thing have?"

"Nine on each side. All armed and loaded."

Again, he breathed in long sequences. "Alright, I’ll need your help with targeting those ships."

Avernus raised his right arm and gestured at the right side. His eyes began to glow red, and his pupils became vertical slits. Tia's domain expanded, and he could sense the cannons as a part of his extended senses. A seizure began to engulf his brain. He didn’t have enough time to effectively control the guns.

He aimed for the royal navy ship sailing on the right side.

"I've got one shot at this…"

After a few seconds of concentration, he closed his fist, and all nine starboard cannons fired in a loud and echoing sound of an outburst. The cannonballs hit the port side of the enemy ship, and half of it went out in an explosion. The boat started to tilt on its left side.

"One down!"

Avernus shouted as he switched his attention to the left side. However, a barrage of cannon fire hit his ship hard. The other crew found out about the situation and decided to focus their attack directly on him.

"I need to take them out quickly, or we'll be shark bait."

Amidst the bombardment, Avernus raised his left arm and took control of the remaining port side cannons. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his muscles were cramped. The seizure got worse, and his focus began to wane away. He was trying to map a path for the cannonballs.

He took the shot. Avernus hit the target, but nothing happened.

"Did I miss it?!"

Suddenly, the whole enemy ship turned into a massive fireball. The shots hit the ammo dump beneath the lowered deck, igniting their entire supply of gunpowder. Avernus let out a sigh of relief and checked the Van Eltia and saw that two of the three remaining enemy ships were burning. The last boat started attacking the Van Eltia from behind.

Avernus moved to the helm. He conjured a wind arte to accelerate his ship and set the vessel on a collision course with the attacker.

Avernus snapped his fingers, and the rest of the supply of gunpowder was set ablaze.

"You can't make it out in time! You’ll get caught in the explosion!", Tia warned hopelessly.

As the ship was a few seconds away from ramming the last royal navy battleship, Avernus dashed to the port side.

The two ships collided, and the gunpowder triggered an explosion, causing a significant blast that enveloped both vessels.

The burning debris from the blast rained down on the Van Eltia. The crew stood frozen.

After a few minutes, Avernus climbed onto the other side of the Van Eltia and threw himself onto the deck. Exhausted, burned, bruised, out of breath, and soaking wet, he coughed continuously. As he opened his eyes, Avernus noticed someone towering over him: It was the strange girl wearing a weird pink jester outfit, laughing at him.

"You looked so heroic and awesome until, you know, you were hurled like a burning rag doll into the sea.", she jeered.

Avernus slowly began to stand up and immediately searched for Velvet among that colorful group. She was standing beside the kid that she saved. He barely managed to limp towards her, but she extended her wrist blade and pointed at him.

"Don't come any closer!", she threatened.

Her facial expression was a mixture of anger, fear, and uncertainty, but her voice was the one that worried him the most. A cold, gruesome tone that felt roughed up.

"What are you saying, Velvet? Don't you recognize me?!"

Disappointment, sadness, hopeless… He couldn't tell which one enveloped his feelings more. He just wanted to disprove his rational sense that everything is going to be alright. The wreckage of the burning battleships covered the area in a cloud of thick smoke.

"No… He died that night. You're an imposter! Damn you, Artorius! Using his memory against me like this!"

"What memory?! What imposter?! I'm-"

But before he could finish his sentence, a blond man in a black coat punched him hard in the stomach.

"Damn you… Not in the…"

Avernus was swallowed by darkness. The rumble of explosion and the crew's cries of celebration seemed to come from miles away.