The conflict errupted into a fierce battle. The angels fired their arrows of holy light, flooding the sky with projectiles that would rain down upon them.

And yet, all the projectiles were repelled as crimson light that acted much like flames encircled Aruu and Cecilia. A vibrant red crimson energy flowed from Cecilia, and radiated outwards, a great and terrifying power.

"As the most recent apprentice taught by Morgan Le Fey, I shall show you the power of this world".

Her words were in no way hollow as they rang out across the battlefield. From her red aura which appeared as if a passionate form of crimson, or perhaps crimson with a bit of shading to make it also bright and slightly towards the direction of pink and/or purple, It was a red that Aruu was not sure how to describe, but it sure was beautiful.

And this red flame like aura burst forward and came at the angelic spirits. They deployed barriers, but many of them switched to dodging as the flame like aura burned through their barriers and came after them.

And yet in the sky was Aruu, with demon like wings. His arm had transformed into a scythe, and he cut through many of them without mercy. Holy Arrows seemed to come at him from all directions though at that moment, having been released in advance by the attack squad. Aruu did not fret though, as barriers appeared around him and blocked the attacks, staying sturdy and strong.

"I guess you didn't plan on your opponent being a Demon Lord, did you?" Aruu questioned, as his arm suddenly transformed again into a large hammer and was swung right at them, smashing through multiple barriers and forcing them to hit the ground. The noise was loud enough that if Aruu had not isolated this region of spacetime from reality, people would have noticed their fight going on.

And Cecilia meanwhile summoned forth more of her red aura, its vibrant color coming after the angelic spirits. These angels, or at least angel like beings, found themselves up against two very strong opponents.

Aruu was a Demon Lord class enemy, something that was a superior and more highly evolved organism then themselves.

And Cecilia, while technically weaker then Aruu, used magic of this world, which they were less familiar with and not able to deal with as easily.

Both of them were experts, who had trained for decades. And Cecilia had a great and mighty master who helped her foster her talent. As such, the Angelic Spirits found themselves quickly getting overwhelmed.

That said, they were an elite and skilled assassination squad for a reason.

"Fine then...Divine Strike!"

Suddenly, a massive divine lightning bolt suddenly came down upon them. Aruu quickly raised all the barriers he could around Cecilia, while also unleashing several magical wind blades against the Angels that had just unleashed such an attack. His own attacks hit, while Cecilia was able to defend herself with help of his barriers. As for him, he got hit with the full divine lightning blast, and fell to the ground. Aruu's clothes crumbled into ash, but his actual body appeared unharmed.

"With him down, qui...ck...ly..."

The angel in charge turned around, only to realize she was the last one left. Cecilia meanwhile, had already prepared her next attack.

"Turn to dust".

Her red flame like aura had already surrounded the angel, and with nowhere to run and no ability to block, the tornado collapsed into her and reduced her to nothingness. With that done, Cecilia quickly ran over to see if Aruu was okay, as he was coughing. That said, she noticed immediately his clothes were vaporized.

"Ahh....that hurt" he said, sitting up. "I didn't think thy had such a high level attack come up. Its been awhile since I fought angels".

"Umm...Aruu..." Cecilia said, trying not to look. That was when Aruu looked down, and saw the issue. He wanted to use spacetime magic to restore his clothes, but they got hit with divine lightning, which exceeded spacetime.

"Ah sorry..."

"That is a rather weak reaction".

"Yeah...after the first fifty years or so, it started to get watered down. By the time I was two hundred, I just didn't mind it that much. And now that I am over a thousand, its really nothing at all. That said, for convienence and your sake, let me switch it up a bit".

Saying that, he resorted to his last trick.

"Okay, you can look now".

Aruu said that, so Cecilia looked at him...and she saw a cute looking purple slime on the ground.

"A slime...is that why you could shapeshift your body?"

"Yes, but I prefer my human form, so lets get me some new clothes please".

"Ah, yes...wait, if you can shapeshift, why cant you just make a form with clothes?"

"One, that basically means I am still naked. But also, more importantly is my second, personal issue with that...if I shapeshift my form into my clothes, it feels essentially like I am wearing my own skin as clothing..."

"Ah, say no more" she said, picking Aruu up. "Lets get you some clothes to wear. Do you prefer that humanoid size?"

"Yes please, I cant make myself any bigger without reducing my overall density, and when I change things like that I feel weird and dizzy, hence my child form. Well, smaller targets are harder to hit, so there is that bonus too. After all, even if there is magic, there is still physics and such as well".

"Ah, makes sense. Ah, wait, even if I carry you, wont people seeing you be an issue?"

In that moment, Aruu's slime body turned invisible.

"Ah, okay. Lets go then!"

Meanwhile, back on Shara...

"Man, to think that none of them knew who hired them...what a pain, I was hoping to get some good evidence. Well, I still have Remarse I suppose, but that might not be enough".

Ciel, the adventurer, pouted as he sat upon a group of unconscious mercenaries he had thoroughly interrogated. Rayheart and Yulari just seemed to watch and nod with it, while Kotori was holding his head from the absurd situation.

"Come on, little bro! Lets party and celebrate the successful rescue of a family!" Rayheart declared. "Ale for everyone!"

"...I am not of age yet...and you two are barely of age!"

In this world, it was geenrally considered that thirteen was the age when one was old enough to drink alcohol, although it was considered limited. One drink, and one refill. When one reached fifteen, it was two refills. And once one was seventeen, then there was no limit. Of course, those limits were not as strictly enforced as they probably should be.

Rayheart was clearly not thinking straight for suggesting it though, but she was just elated that she got to save a family that she was a bit more loose then she should be.

"Still though, you saved a Paladin's family. That will net you some sweet rewards" Ciel mentioned.

"Didn't you play the center role, rushing past all the guards and stopping the one ordered to execute them the moment any trouble happened?"

"Yeah...I dont think I would have been able to save them and stop the guy from executing while also stopping the other guards there from stabbing me to death, so it was quite the pickle".

"Ah, that does sound like it would be difficult, protecting them from such warriors in that situation".

"Yeah right? Even if I am known for my speed, thats still a nasty situation. The guy who set this all up is a real piece of work".

As they were talking, a man suddenly stepped into view. He wore great and noble looking armor, and appeared as if he could be a great and mighty warrior with a sword at his side.

He was likely a great noble. And yet, he bowed his head to them.

"Thank you, for saving my family".

"No problem. It was the right thing to do" Ciel mentioned.

"I will always help a child in distress!"

"I agree with both of them. Plus the fight is fun".

"Ah...thank you".

As that was said, Ciel went over and gave Remarse a friendly elbow.

"Hey, by the way, this trio is really quite interesting. One of them is a Swordmaster, one of them is going to be a sage in the future, and the leader, that girl there? She is going to be a hero".

The moment they heard all of this, all of the knights that had come to secure the scene did a double take. They stared at the boy, and then the trio, and then Paladin Remarse.

"Paladin, who is this boy?"

"This man is the S-Rank Adventurer, Ciel".

The moment they heard that, each and every knight bowed their head and took a knee without fail. Even though Kotori could see some doubted it, they still took this stance to be safe.

"Woah...is Ciel a big deal?" Rayheart asked.

"You...do you ever listen to anything our parents or any of the traders said when we talked with them? Ciel is an S-Rank Adventurer known for having helped save thousands, maybe even millions, of lives from disaster. He killed one of the Demon Kings like thirty years ago that had been running amok. Rumor has it he has eyes which see beyond the normal perception of mortals, the eyes of the gods. Some believe he is the God Ciel's Chosen One, and is his way of influencing this world".

"Ahahaha....all I did was get involved in some incidents..." Ciel mentioned. "Besides, that was someone else. Do I really look like I am that old?"

"Yes" Rayheart mentioned, surprising everyone. Even Ciel was fairly surprised.

"Ho...what makes you say that?"

"I wasn't quite sure how to put it in words, but I could tell you were not a child. After all, I could never let a child take such a dangerous task alone, like charging into a death trap to save people while relying on your allies to keep the guards busy...besides, the atmosphere around you might be childish, but it also feels experienced. If I had to guess, you are at least over one hundred, right?"

Rayheart said such a thing, staring right at Ciel. He shifted his body slightly, and suddenly a pressure could be felt from him. Yulari dropped to her knees, feeling terror for the first time, and Kotori nearly soiled himself as he fell on his rear. However, Rayheart stood strong, surprising Remarse.

"As expected, you are seriously experienced, to be able to express yourself like that and have such an in depth understanding of psychology".

Rayheart spoke clearly in front of such a thing, causing Ciel to cover his mouth as he laughed.

"You are an interesting one. Weird, but interesting! Remarse, as you can see, she can stand in front of me when I seriously want to pressure someone. Since you know how effective that can be, there is no doubt she is the hero right?"

"Indeed. I guess, you want me to bring her and her companions to the party as special guests?"

"Yep! After all, not only are we summoning new heroes, but we have a hero already! Wont this be a great boon?"

Ciel said that with a smile, while Kotori managed to stand up and move to his sister.

"Erm, hold on, how did you stand to that...also, it sounded like you knew what he did".

"Ah, I guess I can explain a little" Ciel said, while Remarse went off to get someone to deliver a message. "Well, I want to hear a bit first what she knows honestly".

"Your technique, its not a skill, its not magic, its not even using raw strength or power. You created such a threatening aura...no, aura is the wrong word. A threatening feeling from simple voice manipulation and by manipulating your body language. You trigger people's instinctive fears and terror, by manipulating your body language in such a way that makes them feel threatened, but without it being obvious. This causes confusion in their brains, which makes them feel more threatened and unable to react as well, and because you make them feel as if you are the predator and they are the prey, their survival instincts roar and you make them feel the pure terror of being about to be killed...or being killed".

Ciel clapped as she finished explaining.

"Very good. However, I will admit there are limitations. It only works against those that have felt the fear of death. In other words, those who felt as if they were about to be killed, those who were in situations where they felt they could be killed at any moment for a good long while, or those who have actually been killed, or at least believe they have. As you and Yulari are Reincarnators, and I suppose since Kotori there nearly died to a Demon Lord, all three of you qualify for that. As a Paladin in the Dragon Knights, naturally Remarse has felt that as well. Rather, the graduation exam for the Dragon Knight Academy involves making one believe they are going to be killed unless they defend themselves, its very harsh I have heard. Well, becoming a Dragon Knight in general is harsh".

"I see...but, tell me. Why did you want us to go to the castle?"

"Because it will be important...and also, a few of your classmates will be there, at that party. Its your chance to finally catch up with them".

Hearing that, Rayheart felt a bit more eager now.

"Hold it, I only know what I have heard about noble customs, and I doubt Yulari knows much either. And my sister? Absolute trainwreck".

"Well, she is the hero, so it will probably be forgiven. Besides, you will want this...you especially will want to be present for the Hero Summoning...anyways, its going to be an exciting time, so you should make sure to be ready. It will be a major turning point, after all".

As he said that, Kotori remembered his vision. His vision of danger approaching the Imperial Capital, and how they had to be there.

Could it be he knows what is going to happen? In that case, is he trying to guide events along the way they need to go? This meeting...just how much of a coincidence was it really?

Kotori thought that, while Rayheart tapped him on the shoulder.

"Lets do it! I am sure everything will be fine!"

"...I have such a bad feeling about this".

"Wow...we really did drop our guard...we need to be more careful" Herra said, having heard the details of what happened at the bath from Rikuo now that everyone was in the private room. They had gone through a bunch of clothes fittings and such, and the maids insisted on changing their clothes for them, especially the small Rikuo.

However, after the bath Rikuo had been far less objective. It was clearly embarassing for him, but he percervered.

In all honestly, Rikuo was still processing the terror he had felt from the crown princess, as well as the full depth of the reality he was in. Had she decided, she probably could have killed him right then and there. He still felt her breath on her neck, and he was rendered totally helpless in that rather embarrassing situation.

"Hey, wait...so are you still wearing that choker?"

"No, as an Olive Branch, she let me choose a new one, and gave me two hundred options" Rikuo mentioned. "I suppose it was her way of being thorough. Something like 'no way I prepared two hundred of these things'. She did at least seem honestly apologetic, although she also said we should do it again sometime".

"...what?" Arila asked, stunned.

"...apparently, she likes cute and small boys like me. She enjoys teasing, embarassing, and acting like a big sis or mother, and other such things. I honestly dont know if she was saying that to mess with me or distract me though. Well, she also said that she enjoyed being with a boy that didn't look at her lustfully or in a political way to promote themselves, especially kissing...seriously, at the end of the negotiations, she made us kiss for a full minute..."

"That Princess is shameless..." Arila mentioned. "Although, from the conversation, it seems like she made some good points, and gave us a ton of good intel. It seems like blending in might be important".

"Well, honestly...I cant blame the princess" Ruuruu mentioned, as he was sitting next to Sora on the bed.

"Because he was the one that turned you into a spear?"

"Yeah...that guy is dangerous. It doesn't surprise me that he might have become one of the Thirteen Demon Lords. And it doesn't surprise me the Princess took such steps to talk with you. If that guy is your opponent, you need to go all out to deal with him. Which means working with her".

Ruuruu had such an opinion, but considering his history, his feelings seemed obvious.

"Well, then I suppose we should just learn from what we can and adapt. Tomorrow we will meet the king, go to a party, all that jazz".

As they said that, it was getting late, so many of them were already changing into sleep clothes. Normally Ruuruu could only turn human for a limited time, but whatever the Maids did seem to have kept him in his human form the whole time.

Now that I think about it, Arila was able to force me into my human form without it taking up time either.

Ruuruu considered that while they got ready for bed.

"Well, that ended up being quite the productive day, right Saphri? If I can really get promoted, I will finally be done with this bullying...and here I thought it would end once I graduated from the Academy".

It was getting late out, but they had finished their discussion with Raevin. After exhanging addresses, they had parted ways and he was headed home. Well, it was actually the barracks, where he and a bunch of other people slept, but he still felt rather good about all this. And the noble district was nice and quiet this late at night too, far less drunks and such living there.

As such, it was just a boy and his dragon.

"Hm...wha?!"

Suddenly though, Aer fell to the ground after he felt like he tripped on something, even though the road in the noble district was kept perfectly smooth and clear. Not only that, but the moment he hit the ground, a force dragged him into a side alley. Saphri chased after him, when suddenly she became trapped in what appeared to be a box made of forcefields.

Saphri attempted to thrash at it, but nothing worked. Aer tried to get up, but roots emerged from the ground and bound his wrists and ankles, and dragged him so he was against the wall of a smaller alley that went off the main one.. A group of two men and two women walked over to him.

It seemed he might just be in a great deal of trouble.