"Okay," Gabriel began to explain. "We're on Vanaheim. On Vanaheim, there's a lake. In that lake, there's an island. On that island, there's a fortress. A fort. That fort has a subterranean level. And somewhere in that underground whatever-it's-called... is the God Crystal."

"Hmm..." Leonard nodded. "I see, I see."

"Do you, though?"

Leonard kept on nodding. "Okay, but... How are we even getting there? Like why are we on a bus right now? Makes no sense. Would've expected a plane at, least."

Gabriel spat out a sigh.

"From the palace, we went back into town and got onto this bus. This bus is leading us to a port city. That port city borders a lake, but not the lake we need to get to. So basically... We find a boat in that city, and it takes us across the lake. Once we're across the lake, we get another boat that takes us across the river. Because, y'know, the lake feeds into a river. Or the river feeds into the lake. I don't know. Either way... That same riverboat takes us to the island. And from there, it's all on the island. We destroy the God Crystal, and we go home. Understand?"

Again, Leonard nodded. "...So this is just a pointless mission, huh?"

"Yep," Gabriel agreed.

"Not pointless," Liam interjected. "We gotta get the God Crystal. If we fail, and someone gets their hands on it, things could get rough."

The Virtues were on a bus. Along with a dozen and a half others.

Chilly air cascaded down from vents as they trekked across a dirt road. That was all. Nothing more or less for the past three, almost four hours.

Anastasia was asleep beside Alexander. She had used quite a bit of energy against Erling and the best way to recuperate magic energy was through rest. And so, she slept. And Alexander hadn't budged at all in the fear of waking her up.

Lumiel sat in front of them. But she never sat for long and always got up, or at the very least, turned to the other Virtues with something to say.

Alexander was sitting still, keeping his black bag pressed against his chest. "Why are you still carrying it?" Lumiel asked him, pointing at his bag.

"Hm? Oh. Just thought it would be best to carry my own stuff.

Lumiel's eyes glanced down to Anastasia. Between her legs was her own bag. And so, Lumiel smiled. "Well, looks like you two have a lot in common."

"..." Alexander stared at Lumiel. "No. Don't start with that. Please, don't."

"I'm not sorry," Lumiel said amidst her light laughter. "But, yeah, it's more fun when you're both aware of it."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pale cube. Just like the one she had shown him just a few hours ago. "So you're really gonna carry your bag around the whole realm?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Lumiel's gaze shifted from Alexander to the cube in her hand. "I have like three of these, y'know. It's really no problem to carry your stuff."

Alexander still kept his bag close. "No, it's fine. Besides, it's probably for the best. I have like a dozen knives in here. So I'll just keep it with me."

She squinted at him. He didn't want to impose on her, even as she was unrelenting in her pursuit of helping Alexander. His insistence was annoying.

'Oh, well,' she thought. Lumiel already knew the persistence of her kindness was annoying, as well. But that only made her smile. Especially considering the similarities between her and Alexander.

Lumiel paused for a second. "Wait, why... Why'd you take a dozen knives?"

"Gotta be prepared, I guess."

"Against a dozen enemies?"

"..."

The bus halted. Right on time, so Alexander wouldn't have to answer any other questions. With the sudden stop, Anastasia jerked awake.

She silently cursed and mumbled as she rubbed her hands against her face.

"How long was-"

"Four hours."

Again, she cursed to herself.

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Virtues. On me. Now," he called.

Alexander stared at him. "Dude, there are other people here."

"So?"

"So, you're being annoying. Don't you think you shouldn't randomly shout things in the middle of a bus?"

Before Gabriel could answer, the doors opened and fresh air flowed in. With the blowing wind, the smell of a sea quickly filled the bus. And with them, the other dozen and a half passengers left the bus.

Giovanna clapped her hands. "So..." she said, looking out into the horizon. "All we gotta do is find a boat, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Gabriel said, letting out a sigh as he stared into a map.

"What do you need a map for?" Alexander asked him.

"We gotta find a boat."

Alexander pointed to the side. "There's a dock right there. I'm pretty sure one of those boats is the one we're looking for."

Gabriel remained silent and kept looking at the map. Before nearly a minute, he looked up and turned to the side. "Yeah, I think we should check over there," he said, pointing at the dock.

"Smart."

"Be quiet, Alexander."

And from there, the Virtues traversed through the harbor town, where practically every building was constructed purely of wood and stone. The smell of salt was carried with each gust of wind.

Just because the town was of simple stone and wood didn't mean it was undeveloped. Far from it, in fact. Some of those edifices easily reached a hundred meters in height. Others were cathedrals of stone and apartment buildings that spanned and were spread across the town.

A thin smile grew on Alexander's lips as he stared down at the town.

The peaceful atmosphere that embraced the town lasted for just those short seconds. All until the ground trembled.

A cloud of dust and dirt exploded into the air at the town's edge. And faraway screams could be heard in the distance.

They all turned to it.

"Oh, God," Alexander muttered, furrowing his eyebrows at the sight and sounds.

Gabriel clenched his jaw. "Leonard," he said.

"Nine or so attackers over there," Leonard said, staring out onto the eastern limits of the village.

Alexander spat out a sigh. "We'll make it quick. Ten minutes from now, we'll find the boat we have to find, and that'll be that. Understand?"

The attack was at the edge of the town, just right beside the neighboring forest. And so...

"Move out," Gabriel and Alexander said in unison.

For a second, they paused and squinted at each other in confusion. They both left with haste right after that.

"Why does everything go wrong so quickly?" Giovanna complained.

None of the other Virtues stayed behind long enough to answer her. They had already dashed towards the center of the conflict.

Giovanna spat out a sigh and chased after them. "Why are they all so damn fast?" she mumbled to herself.

It took less than a dozen seconds for Alexander to find one of the attackers. A man dressed in a pale cloak for a uniform. Alexander swallowed his saliva.

The Golden Dawn was already on Vanaheim.

"Dammit."

Amidst the chaos, among the shouts, a single boy ran out towards those wrapped in the cloaks of the Golden Dawn.

He was tall and slender, dressed in green and blue. He had pale blond hair that swayed past his face as he ran. The more notable features, however, weren't any of these. But rather, the elongated, pointy tips of his ears.

He was an elf.

And from there... He jumped above the attackers, his fist raised at the sky. The young man shouted at the attackers, "How... How dare you?!"

"Do you know who I am, boy?" a cloaked man coldly muttered. Right as the elf boy's fist crashed down, the man reached out at him.

He grabbed the elf boy by his face and slammed him into the dirt. The ground immediately cracked. "I am a lieutenant of the New Genesis Vanguard. That automatically makes me stronger than you ever will be."

"What you align yourself with is the reason why you're so weak," the elf muttered in response. He grit his teeth and bit down onto the hand that gripped him by the head. The singular action of being grabbed and thrown to the ground had wobbled his head as well as his senses. His vision was already hazy just as blood had begun to drip down his nose. Even so, he built up the courage deep inside him and began to mutter. "I... I will..."

The lieutenant smiled and interrupted, squeezing and gripped his head with more strength. "No one here can match my power. That's indisputable. After all, that's why were we chosen. Sent here with a purpose. And if you... A mere elf, a boy who cannot fight back... If you choose to get in our way-"

Alexander's fist connected with the man's chest. A slight flash of blue light burst out on impact and launched the warrior across the ground.

"Personally, I hate it when people monologue like that," Alexander interrupted.

Even as he spoke, the attacker was still being dragged through the dirt and a cloud of dust.

'Damn, that was too much power, huh?' he asked himself, staring at his fist.

Almost answering his question, Liam sighed. "Way too much power. Broke that guy's ribs," he said.

Alexander turned to Liam. "Wait, really?"

He nodded back, still facing the cloud of dirt that was brought up with the wrangled force of Alexander's impact. "I heard it," he said.

Liam faced forward. He was long-limbed and dark-skinned, and just about four inches taller than Alexander. And with his voice, almost every sentence sounded the same. And so, Alexander tried to make eye contact to know if he was serious. No one could ever tell with that monotonous tone of his.

That was who Liam was, after all. Rigid and still.

Alexander had seemed and felt as if he had grown about an inch over the past six or seventh months. Still, the gap between his and Liam's heights remained the same.

Still, Alexander's thoughts weren't on that. They were on the fact that he just broke a man's ribs. Alexander sucked air through his teeth and winced. "Goddamn," he muttered.

"You think he's okay?" Alexander asked.

"Have you ever gotten your ribs broken?"

"...I've gotten my arms broken. I was kinda fine after that."

Liam stared at him with the same stale brown eyes as always. "Yeah, I don't think you're a valid metric for pain." A slight smile grew on his lips. "You're just strong like that. Either way, I don't think he's okay."

A soldier crashed into their backs.

"Oh, sorry, about that," Lumiel said from afar.

Liam nodded. "Yeah, it's fine," he said, simply lifting the soldier by the side of his collar and tossing him to the ground.

Alexander stared at Lumiel. How the hell did she throw him across that distance?

Either way, he turned to the others. They were already finishing up with the other attackers. Well... Leonard was still going.

With a burst of flames to the sides, a man cloaked in white continued.

Leonard grit his teeth and launched blasts of condensed flames at his opponents. But...

'It's still not powerful enough,' the man thought as he rushed at Leonard, quickly closing the distance, appearing right in front of him.

'Perfect. So, how's this one, then?' Leonard thought, as his hand began to glow with crimson light. He sharply inhaled, unleashing the built-up power in his hand. A thick cloud of smoke followed this massive burst of flames.

The white-clad attacker collapsed to the ground, his face singed with black scorch marks. "Was that overkill?" Leonard asked, turning to the others.

"Well, he was pretty weak, anyway," Gabriel muttered.

"C'mon, Gabriel, don't discredit my victory. All I did was make him underestimate me just to have that blow up in his face. Literally."

"Is that all of them?" Liam asked. His foot was still pressed on the back of the white-cloaked soldier.

Alexander looked around and nodded. It was finally then that he turned to the fallen young man at his side. He was still on the ground, barely supporting himself with his elbows. Alexander sighed, extending his arm at the elf. "You okay?"

He grabbed Alexander by the forearm. Before he could pull himself up, he locked eyes with him. "You were the one who saved me..." he muttered, swallowing his saliva.

Alexander stared into his pale green eyes and nodded. As soon as he did so, the man's eyes lit up. "So you're my savior," the elf said as a soft sigh left his lips.

He quickly shot up, only to kneel before Alexander. "Thank you, my liege. Thank you for saving my life."

"I am henceforth... Your servant and protector. I shall-"

Alexander paused at his words. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute," he interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

The elven boy slowly raised his head, his fist and knees still pressed against the ground. "My name is Hjálmarr, a warrior from Alfheim. And you have saved my life. Per our customs... I am now indebted to you. I offer you... my servitude." Again, he dropped his head.

"If you will, my liege," he said, grabbing hold of Alexander's hand.

Alexander quickly retracted his hand. "Dude, I don't even know you. And all I did was save you, anyway. I think-"

"But, my liege!" he interrupted, bursting upward, once again grabbing hold of Alexander's hand. "It would be dishonorable if I didn't serve under my savior. If you would like I could enter a vow... To prove I do not speak falsehoods."

'I'm not sensing any evil intent. And his energy tells me he's not lying.'

"I think he's telling the truth," Liam said from afar. He finally lifted his foot from the fallen soldier's back. And with that, he exhaled, sitting down onto the dirt. He continued to explain. "Elves do that, y'know. Servitude and dedication. They're unreasonably honorable like that. Take the deal. Nothing to lose, and a whole person to gain."

Again, Alexander pulled his hand away from Hjálmarr's grip. "A whole person? Don't tell me this slavery or something."

Liam chuckled. "It's not. Just honor. Plus, it's willingly. He just helps you out. The same scenario happened to my father, actually."

Alexander silently groaned to himself before letting out a sigh. "Fine. Fine, Hjálmarr. I guess you can help me with my mission."

The elf's eyes lit up with joy. "Thank you, my liege."

Again, he grabbed Alexander and kissed the back of his hand. Again, Alexander pulled back his hand. "Dude-"

"The vow is complete," Hjálmarr said, finally standing. "It's nice to meet you, my liege."

Alexander stared at him, gripping his own hand. "You, too."

"Uh, guys?" Leonard interrupted.

"What?" Gabriel asked.

Leonard simply pointed. Pointed at a white-cloaked man, dashing into the forest. Well, trying to dash. More of a speedy limp.

The soldier was hurrying and struggling to move across the empty field of sand, and simply carried himself closer and closer to the forest.

"....Who let him get away?" Gabriel let out a sigh.

They all turned to Liam. He was sitting on the ground, his head in his hands. With the growing feeling of the others staring at him, he looked up. "...What?"

Gabriel pointed at what was left of steps tracked in the mud.

"...Oh. I see."

"Oh, do you?"

Liam stood up. "I stepped on his back and everything. I just thought he was unconscious, so I decided to sit down."

The Virtues stared at him.

Liam spat out a sigh and lifted his pant leg. With that, he swiped a bronze dagger from a sheath he had wrapped around his ankle. "Guess I'll kill him, then," he muttered, standing up and brandishing the blade.

"Wait, wait, wait," Alexander interjected. "Kill?"

Liam stared at the blade in his hand and then at Alexander. "...Yeah, I guess," he responded.

"Can we just... beat him up? And not kill him? Like, is that an option?"

Again, Liam's gaze shifted from his weapon to Alexander. "I mean... Sure?"

They stared at each other.

"You guys do realize he's getting away right now, right?"

"..."

Leonard audibly cleared his throat. "Alright, guys. Listen up."

"Shut up, Leonard," Gabriel immediately said.

"Listen, all I’m saying is that if he makes it into the forest, he’ll probably get healed up and find a way to get revenge on us. Y’know, for beating the crap out of him."

"Nope," Liam quickly interrupted. "He's too weak for that."

That's not even the point," Leonard said. "Either way... If we leave him alone, something bad is gonna happen. Not saying we gotta kill him. Just... Just capture or something."

Alexander quietly nodded. "So... who's going after him, then?"

Each of the Virtues stared at others. Alexander stared at Liam, Liam stared at Leonard, Leonard at Gabriel, and so on and so forth.

And within almost a minute of staring at one another, Alexander let out an exasperated sigh. "Y'know, what? I'll go," he mumbled. He stepped forward and drew his arm to the side.

With nothing more than that simple motion, the sword on Gabriel's belt flung into his hand. That was all that was needed to summon Excalibur.

Gabriel stared at the blade as the appeared in Alexander's hand. "Hey-"

Alexander shrugged off whatever Gabriel would say with just a wave.

He was annoying to Alexander, so Alexander thought it would be best to annoy him in return.

Just as Alexander moved past them, just as he was no more than a dozen meters away, Anastasia finally said something.

"Oh, goddammit," she muttered.

Alexander turned to her. She was staring at the ground.

A circular shadow had appeared under their feet.

"Don't tell me..." Gabriel mumbled, his gaze now fixated on the ground.

"This... This is the bad thing that I said would happen," Leonard muttered, swallowing his dry saliva.

He looked down at the darkness. It was the same darkness they encountered right before the battle against Belphegor.

So...

That Enclosed World wasn't his. It was someone else's.

Even so, Alexander couldn't deny the gutwrenching feeling of dread that came with the sight and feeling of the darkness. The feeling that became synonymous with demons.

The creator of this Enclosed World... Just like the Connections, as well as the one that transported them to the Golden Dawn. He... Whoever they were... was a Demon-Born.

'Focus!' he urged himself.

Magic energy began to rise from the darkness. And the spell would soon fulfill its purpose.

This is spell is spatial magic. That much is indisputable. And so... there are only a few options as to what this spell can do.

Option One: An Enclosed World, just like last time.

Option Two: It was a transportation spell. To move them some place else. The 'where didn't matter now. What mattered was the other possibility.

Option Three... Well, option three was death. The spell would destroy the space they stood on and the space around them with it.

But if this guy wanted to kill them, they wouldn't have survived past that day in April.

Alexander grit his teeth and sprinted. Towards the shadow.

The magician wanted to separate Alexander from the rest. Just like last time.

Too bad.

As Alexander's feet connected with the darkness, the automatic effect hit him. His legs grew still. couldn't move. And in that short span of time within Alexander's thoughts, the others were still confused among their panic.

Alexander stared at Gabriel. His eyes were wide and focused on the surrounding shadow. His face was stained and contorted with fear as he mumbled to himself in a panic.

"Hey!" Alexander called. "Self-proclaimed leader!"

Gabriel finally looked up.

Alexander smiled at him, just as he tossed Excalibur back at its rightful owner. "Don't worry," he reassured him. "We got this. We're gonna find the crystal together. It's a new scenario. But so what? All we gotta do... is keep at it. Understand?"

Gabriel slowly nodded. "Yeah," he muttered, swiping the silver blade from the air. "Yeah!" he repeated.

Alexander's grin widened as he nodded at Gabriel.

And with that, the shadow engulfed them all.