"Very interesting". Jörmungandr watched as Willem formed his first soul. "The first soul took the form of a demoness, and I can feel the faint connection to her in the outside world. She is your... Butcher? She reeks of blood."

"She invaded me once, I forced her into the body of a Magical Beast that I had previously killed. It was difficult, but after I removed her I quickly patched up the crack in my soul." Willem focused on finishing his soul-form as the small details of Arania came into focus.

"You clearly did not expunge her completely, considering your first soul has taken her form. Unfortunately, since it is your first soul, I cannot break it for you in order to mold anew. Now you must live with the fact that your soul is entwined with the demoness until your death, or hers. Tell me when you are ready to leave." Jörmungandr's body disappeared into the darkness once more.

Willem focused on refining the magical energy within his own body, siphoning the power from the young red dragon he had previously killed and combining it into his soul-form. The black and blue gown of Arania was granted a red hue from the red dragon's energy. Arania's claw tips turned red as if dipped in blood, and a red shimmer wrapped around the soul.

After all the previous imperfections were removed, the soul had filled out and solidified. The soul-form was very much like a perfect mix of fire and ice, red and blue mixing together while remaining separate entities.

With the creation of his first soul, the criteria for unlocking all new knowledge was achieved, flooding his mind quickly. Jörmungandr peered through the darkness with a toothy grin as Willem clutched his head in agony, a rush of information flowing through his mind while leaving no room for anything else.

"The first step on your journey is complete." Jörmungandr stated.

Swirling within Willem's mind was previously lost knowledge, thought to be scattered throughout time. Sword styles, the secrets to astral projection, manipulating the soul-form, new spells and ancient magic, all of it was now readily available to Willem.

Yet it was not enough.

Willem regained his focus quickly after the pain subsided.

"What is the next step." Willem whispered to the darkness.

"Eat the heart of the Fey Leader." Jörmungandr hissed.

Willem contemplated what he had just been told to do. He had had a dream of this 'Fey Leader' a while ago, so it may very well be the same one. The one with the unique disease that granted the demon king his immortality.

Willem finished dissolving and combining the last of the red dragon's magical energy and potential with his own, giving his previous aura a layer of ferocity it did not have.

Though Willem could not feel his own aura in the same way that a normal human looking at him could, he knew that something had changed and it would be harder to not be intimidating if he let his guard down.

"I am finished." Willem stated to the darkness.

No parting words were spared between the two.

Within a few moments, Willem found himself waking up to Eleanor holding his head to her chest.

"Willem?" Eleanor saw that the previously glazed over look Willem had disappeared and his eyes were darting around the room.

"I am fine, just tired." Willem exhaled sharply and lifted himself from Eleanor's grasp.

"I would be inclined to believe you, except you have been out for hours with your eyes wide open. I shook you and called your name so many times and you did not respond. I could only think it was some malicious magic." Eleanor held out the hands that Willem rose from, her heart filled with concern. "I went to get help but no matter where I ran to, every hall leads to this room."

(That must have been Jörmungandr helping me out.)

Willem took a few moments to compose himself. What only felt like half an hour inside his own body turned out to be much longer.

"It is a type of stasis magic I have been testing, but I did not realize it would begin so late after the spell had been cast." Willem spoke only a half truth to not cause Eleanor undue stress. "In truth, my strength has increased exponentially compared to before, thanks to this magic."

"True, your aura is much sharper than before. It is hard to even look at you without feeling some fear." Eleanor averted her gaze and stood up, her breasts swaying slightly. "I am just glad you are okay. I just got you back, I could not bear to lose you again..."

Willem pulled a sheet of fine silk out of nowhere with spatial magic for Eleanor to cover herself with.

"Thanks." Eleanor covered herself with the beautiful silk, one hand grasping the edges to emphasize her natural curves. "Sorry about getting jealous earlier... Just, I always thought I would be your companion. I dreamed of us going on amazing adventures together, beyond the forest. Now I realize you were already going on those adventures, I was just too weak to keep up."

"Eleanor, every moment, I was increasing my strength in order to protect you, and Craig, and everyone else. That and to get my pendant back from the bastard who took it from me." Willem balled his hand into a fist as he walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Eleanor eased against Willem's desk, the light of a nearby lamp illuminating her worried face.

"I am bringing the war to our enemies, I cannot be late." Willem opened the door, stepped through the threshold and broke the seal Jörmungandr had previously placed on it.

Despite wanting to, Willem did not look back at Eleanor as he disappeared into the Void, heading towards the Army Training Grounds.

In the Army Training Grounds.

Many of the soldiers within the five-thousand strong force whom would march against Blood City were already up before dawn, practicing their swordplay or stretching without armor on. This had become a daily occurrence for those among them who could not get a full night of sleep.

When Willem arrived at the front gates inside the Army Training Grounds, the first of the soldiers to notice his presence snapped to attention no matter what they were doing. Despite being cloaked in a black mist, Willem was unmistakable to the soldiers that had seen him even once before. Willem found the group of fifty soldiers that had been previously trained, and each of them greeted him warmly.

The fifty, now amalgamated into the five-thousand strong soldiers were part of the original force that repelled the invasion of the Red Dragon and his camp. Being the first to encounter Magical Beings and walk away unscathed, they were given an elevated position and made to show the other soldiers the combat methods they had learned from the Grand Mage.

The fifty Mages that were also a part of that original team did not return to school, and instead continued their residence within the Private Sanctum of Willem, learning how to imbue weapons and armor with remarkable efficiency.

The Quarter Moon formation, the Five Pointed star, and many more offensive and defensive formations were trained on thanks to the ample resources the Army was given. Considering this was the Grand Mage's campaign, no expense was spared in order to get the soldiers ready for combat.

Considering it was to be the first time many of them had even seen or fought a Magical Being, the preparations made could be considered a miracle in itself.

"Grand Mage! To see you in good health, my heart is filled with joy!" One of the soldiers whom had previously been on death's door while fighting the Red Dragon's encampment was now lively singing praises to Willem.

"You flatter me, I was only doing what any good Commander would, protecting his men." Willem nodded his head.

"If not for your divine intervention, my wife would be a widow, and my son without a Father. I will sing praises until my tongue is cut from my head." The soldier dropped to his knees and pressed his head to the ground.

"Arise, please. We have work to do." As the Grand Mage, the time for niceties was over.

"Of course, Grand Mage." The soldier lifted his head, dusted off his knees and unholstered his dagger. The magic of the dagger resonated in response to Willem's presence.

Willem took the dagger from the soldier, and with his newfound knowledge, granted it an additional boon without even needing to re-write the runes.

"Speak the word. Vanish." The Grand Mage handed the dagger back to the Soldier.

"As the Grand Mage commands. Vaneesh." The soldier spoke at once while the dagger was firmly in his grasp. Despite mispronouncing the word, and before anyone could react, all traces of the soldier disappeared as if he had never existed.

To the soldier, the outside world appeared as if slightly blurred and grey. The only one that did not react like everyone else was the Grand Mage, who's eyes followed the now hidden soldier no matter where he moved.

The Grand Mage granted this same boon to the other forty-nine soldier's weaponry.

"From this day forward, you are my assassination squad." The Grand Mage pronounced as the forty-nine soldiers spoke the word 'vanish' and disappeared at the same time.

After they exhausted the energy within the weapons by continually casting the spell and dismissing it, the vanish effect wore off and they had all been revealed once more. The effect could not be sustained for more than an hour, the soldiers surmised.

The fifty soldiers stood at attention as Willem readied himself to greet the troops.

Dawn broke and soldiers began flooding the gates of the Army Training Grounds, taking their intended formation in rows of fifty by one-hundred. Each row stood at attention, eyes gleaming with the eagerness of battle and the uneasiness of war.

For the first time in what felt to Willem like a long time, he was feeling inspired enough to make a speech.

"To you, the five-thousand here, I say, welcome to the first battle to determine the fate of human kind. It is no small stretch to imagine that victory or defeat here means victory of defeat for the Bastion of Hope as a whole. Do not fight for yourself, fight for your loved ones at home. Fight for your allies who stand beside you. There is an ancient word for what you are." Willem cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "You. Are. Legion."

The soldiers seemed bolstered by the word spoken by the Grand Mage as a wave of strength washed over them.

"LEGION!" The soldiers cried out in unison.

The more they spoke the word, the more the uneasiness washed away.

"LEGION!" The word itself gave them newfound power that shook to their very core.

"LEGION!" The soldiers were now in a frenzy, a hint of fanaticism in their eyes.

With the soldiers properly prepared, the Grand Mage distributed a magic potion to each soldier and told them to drink.

"Drink, to Victory!" The Grand Mage's yell was cacophonous.

The soldiers downed the magic potions contents and smashed the glass on the ground with fervor. Their strength had reached a fever pitch.

Willem began to cast his mass teleportation spell, a new spell he had learned thanks to Jörmungandr's enlightenment.

The spell was an advanced technique that allowed him to transfer up to ten-thousand others, with little to no side effects, provided the caster was strong enough.

Right now, Willem was stronger than he had ever been.