“That’s why they didn’t let me come for so long towards the Northern Plains? They knew there was something going on here and they did the utmost to hide it!” Sile’s face and voice were filled with anger, but it wasn’t an ordinary anger, it was an anger filled with pain and sorrow, pain of being betrayed, and an indescribable sorrow of a bitter truth that was forming in her heart, but she was reluctant to believe it.

“Who are they? What kind of demons are capable of treating human life so poorly?” Sile turned once more towards Lengsat and asked urgently.

“Heh,” Lengsat smiled as he had heard a good joke, “You just said it, they are demons, or more exactly, demonkins.”

Sile’s mouth was agape for a moment, her eyes filled with disbelieve, “Half-demons? How is it possible for they to appear so suddenly and at this scale?”

“No idea,” Lengsat shrugged his shoulders, “If I have to guess, it should be that they were hiding their presence since long ago. They desire the domination of the human race, but since they were few in numbers they could only remain silent… Until they met a leader who rallied them.” Lengsat looked directly at Sile’s eyes once again, an enigmatic smile appearing in his face.

Being watched by the smiling Lengsat, Sile felt the urge to give him a good beating. She inhaled a big mouthful of air and then exhaled it slowly, then turned to look at the pond of clear water. The pupil of her hazel eyes dilated slightly, as if she wasn’t looking directly at the pond, but reminiscing her past, “I’m not that naive, I know to read the clues.”

“Do you have what it takes if you have to deal the final blow?” Lengsat said while walking until he stood at Sile’s side.

Sile remained silent for a long time, looking at the pond, yet not looking at it.

The spot in which Sile stood was completely tranquil an undisturbed. Suddenly, a gentle breeze formed from inside the forest, shaking a weak leaf from a tree, then it drifted slowly towards the pond. The moment the leaf touched the surface of the pond, a small ripple spread in all directions, and at the same time that Sile’s eyes were filled with determination, “A forbidden ritual that may need a powerful artifact as medium, a race full of hate towards humanity, and countless innocent souls. No matter how you see this, nothing good can come from it.”

Sile looked at Lengsat with a complicated expression, and then she said, “If you asked me the same question three months ago, I would have treated you like a crazy, and I would have told you that it was impossible that he, out of all people in the world, could be implicated in something like that. I would have defended his honor even if I had to bet my life!”

“However, every piece of information fits perfectly… It can only be one person, of that I’m sure.” Sile closed her eyes and her tone of voice turned more solemn, “I am a paladin, even if I have a title such as the True Paladin of the Holy Empire of Ivalice, even if I swore loyalty towards the empire, my first benefactor is God, and my first priority is humanity! Whoever is a threat to humanity, even if it’s him… even if it’s him…” Sile seemed as if the following words were the most difficult task in the worlds for her in order to let them out of her rosy lips.

Sile clenched his teeth and her fist trembled slightly near her heart, which was beating furiously. A look of extreme resolve appeared on her delicate face, “Even if it’s him, he must be stopped!” Her voice was full of conviction and resoluteness.

“Well said, Sile.” Lengsat said, his mouth curving upwards, forming a beaming smile, “This will be by a long shot the hardest mission you have faced.” Lengsat walked towards the pond and bended his body in order to pick a handful of dirt from the ground, then he straightened his posture, turned towards Sile and continued, “Not only that, whatever they were doing, they are now doing it in a rush.” Lengsat paused and then the dirt in his hand started flowing little by little towards the ground. “Time is scarce, you must hurry and rally your troops.”

Sile nodded immediately, every moment she wasted, countless lives were lost. However, a moment later she discovered a hidden meaning behind Lengsat’s words. She looked at her, a glint of anger appearing in her eyes, “Wait a minute, I must hurry and rally my troops? Don’t you mean we must hurry?”

“Haha, of course not, I meant what I meant.” Lengsat said laughing.

“You lowly dragon! You are leaving me alone again? Get out of my way and don’t dare to return!” Sile had an expression full of indignation.

“Hahahahaha.” Lengsat laughed uproariously, annoying Sile even more, “I left you at Salzem because you were tempering your sword, training yourself, I knew you would be safe behind the doors of that castle. However, this time is different.” Lengsat approached Sile and patted her head, “What we are facing is not a threat against the humanity, but for all the living things, or do you think that the demonkins will be happy after conquering the human kingdoms?”

Sile looked at Lengsat and her heart started to relax. He has always been the pillar of her existence, she knew it was impossible for him to abandon her in such a critical moment, “You mean…?” Sile said looking at Lengsat, trying once again to comprehend his words.

“An enemy capable of abducting almost ten million persons is a formidable foe. I don’t think you are capable of assembling an army strong enough to successfully siege them, and even if you are capable, it will take too much time, which of course, there isn’t.” Lengsat explained to Sile and she, hearing his words, could only smile bitterly.

“But you must rally enough troops and lay a siege on Blade’s Edge pass no matter what,” continued Lengsat, “Even if you are not enough to completely dominate them, you must be enough to slow them down and buy some time for me to bring reinforcements!” Lengsat said with confidence, playing with Sile’s hair.

“Do you mean…?” Sile said, looking at Lengsat with eyes full of zeal and hope.

“Just trust me on this one, he won’t know what was what hit him.” Lengsat said full of confidence, a confidence of his own power.