Arthur Leywin's POV:

The remains of the once-proud city wretched my heart, yet I am glad that I was able to limit this to just a city. The soldiers rushed to their commander, who then got their injuries treated by Sylvie and Caera.

The mood looks pleasant, which completely contradicts the tension from the contact with the unknown Devas. Although, Virion looked for an explanation. I assured him that for later. We had more important matters to tend to for now.

Such as helping the now homeless citizens. Uniting the forces and regions of the continent and prepare for the future. Whatever it has in store for us.

Preparations for our departure were completed before my dimension pocket reacted strangely. I carefully tend to it as to not let the mana stored inside burst out and cause any trouble. Everyone stared dumbfounded as they sensed the mana leak out of thin space before my arm.

"Brat, was the mana draining your doing?" Virion blurted out losing his calm composure.

"ah, yeah. I had to use it to drain the mana from the Asuras a while ago. Is anything the problem?" I asked while scratching my cheek.

No response came as they looked at each other in awe.

'I wonder what kind of face they would make if I show myself to them' Regis said.

Please don't, you will just end up startling them and eventually annoying the people around. I am worried about the part where I have to explain about you when we reach home. Damn, this is going to be tough.

'aye, aye princess. Wake me up when we reach, I will rest and recover my reserves, all thanks to milady deciding to get the Asuras into absolute dominance.' he hissed before blurting into laughter.

Sigh, well I am sure that you are excited to meet my family and people. We can finally be at peace.

'and then they lived happily ever after, blah blah. Don't make it sound like this is the end of the story. We still got hella long way before we can rest in peace.' he said before he fell fast asleep.

Yeah, we sure do.

"Anyways, you are coming with us to the refugee camp right?" he asked after he sighed in relief.

Before I could answer him, a familiar artifact or more like a tool, came out of the storage. It shined brightly which meant the active transmission line. The person on the other end was obvious. Since she was the one who provided it. I didn't expect it to sustain that mana aggregation.

"Arthur, good work on stopping the war. It looks like they finally decided to take action," she spoke.

"Wait, do you know who they are?" I questioned with surprise.

"Yes, let's leave that for later. But now I have an important request to make" she said sternly.

"Well, what would it be?" I asked while sighing.

"I would like to take the responsibility of returning Tessia Eralith to her normal state," she stated firmly.

I fell into my thought at her sudden request. Virion's interest rose in our conversation at the mention of Tessia's name. He then realized that this is the master of Caera who helped in rescuing Tess.

"This is not a request to you alone, Arthur. I also want to ask this of your commander Virion. She is his grandchild right?" she said.

"Commander Virion is right beside me. Continue if you wish to request him directly." I said after exchanging a nod with Virion.

"I see, greetings, Commander Virion. I am Seris, well known as Scythe Seris Vritra," she spoke in a well-versed manner.

Virion prompted her to continue while focusing on her words.

"Let me start by apologizing to you, commander. I am the reason that Tessia has to go through this suffering. Though I won't go into detail as for the reason, I leave it to Arthur for when he decides to speak about it. But I ask of you this to please let me help Tessia and seek her forgiveness for when she recovers to her fine health." she said with traces of regret.

Traces of confusion appeared on Virion's face. Did he not know that Tessia suffered from extensive experimentation on her. That she lost her soul.

'We could not bring ourselves to tell him, Arthur, forgive us' Sylvie said.

He glanced at us with longing eyes and growing anxiety. Regret succumbed over me, as my mind started searching for easy solutions to deal with this. Should I lie about it being a minimal injury? I shook my head at the thought of it. I cannot lie to him, not to his desperate eyes. I am sure I will regret much more later in case of something unexpected happens.

"Gramps, the thing is, Tessia's soul suffered damage and her body is currently in a pseudo and lifeless state. She was experimented constantly for achieving reincarnation." I said gloomily.

His face sunk in sorrow. He gritted his teeth as he firmly placed his palm around his forehead. Seris paused after understanding the situation. Virion regained his posture as he began to converse albeit a bit weak.

"You belong to a continent who I am at war against, why would you take such measures to save an enemy?" Virion doubted even though he knew that she played an important role in Tess's rescue.

"I do not seek the war, I would never want such a thing which cost me my parent's lives in my childhood. Even though, I do not want you to permit me based on my allegiance to Arthur. I would like to redeem myself, the honor and righteousness that I live by. I will assure Tessia's safety and am willing to go to any extent in the case if she is endangered." she spoke with her determination.

After giving it considerable thought, Virion stated his will.

"Alright, I agree to your request. Please see to it that she returns to us. Thank you Scythe Seris. It seems Arthur is hiding many important things from us. I Hope, he reveals them soon"

I gave an apologetic bow while rubbing the back of my head to which Virion responded with a pleasant smile. Nevertheless, I am glad we were able to assure him about Tessia's safety.

"This is the least that I could do for her. What about you Arthur?" she asked.

"Do you have any leads in achieving this?" I asked.

"I do, but I would like to discuss it in person," she said with concern.

"Well, do not hesitate to ask for my assistance. She is important to me." I said reassuring her while Virion and Sylvie gave a teasing glance at me.

"Master, would it be fine If I assist you in this?" Caera spoke directing towards her master Seris.

"Do you not want to go to the refugee camp and meet the people with Arthur?" Seris enquired.

"Yes, I do. But I want to do so with Tessia beside me. So, please let me come to your side." Caera said while clenching her fist.

"Alright, if you say so. Arthur, would you like to escort her to me? You can meet Tessia after a long while, that is if you can bear to look at her in this state. Commander Virion is also welcomed." she struck a fair proposal.

Although I have heard regarding Tessia's current state from Caera, I am sure I might not be able to bear it. But, I have to go see her. It has been far too long. I can do as much as go face her. At least even for some time. I was able to hold my end of the promise and now let us all make sure she does.

"Yeah, I will do so," I assured as I gestured to Virion for his decision.

"I will leave it to your hands, Arthur, Seris, and Caera. I lack the courage to see her in that pitiful state." Virion said with a grimacing look.

The transmission ended with Seris's farewell disappeared into the surroundings. The atmosphere grew gloomy where everyone was expressing their sorrow for the Elven Princess.

"Well, I am confident that you guys will be able to save her. Let us not grieve over it. Even Tessia would want us to stay strong and we need to have a home for her when she returns to us. We won the battle and took back our land. Arthur and Tessia returned to us. We got new allies. More than anything, we got a continent to reconstruct. Glory to Dicathen!" Virion cheered while brimming with motivation and courage.

I sighed in relief, as the atmosphere brightened around us with lively cheers and praises from the soldiers. And here I am worrying whether he might not be able to handle the truth. I cursed at myself.

The communication line was set up for the Lances. They were reported about the current situation. Virion ordered everyone to help the people of this city to take refugees in a nearby town and then head back to the underground refugee below the desert of Darv.

"Brother, tell me you are on your way home right now!" Ellie interjected from the transmission line while Virion laughed.

"Um, Ellie, an Important matter came up and I need to head there immediately," I said gently.

"What could be more important than meeting mother?" she retorted.

"It is regarding Tessia." she fell silent at my words.

"She is in a bad state right now. I am going to meet her. She is in the care of my companion for now. They are working to treat her. I will return to you guys after I meet them" I continued.

"Brother, let me come with you. I want to see her." she requested weakly.

"Ellie, not now. I will promise to bring her back home when she is fully healed. Take care of mother and everyone till I return." I was able to convince her.

The communication line ended as everyone finished their preparations for the departure. I bid my farewell to Virion and his troops before starting on my way to meet Seris.

"Arthur, enter the underground chamber below the Xyrus city on your way back. Be sure to return this time, brat." Virion bid me.

The rest of us, Caera, Sylvie, and Regis after several hours of travel reached Ashbern town. Although we were not informed about the rendezvous location, Caera was able to track her using an artifact.

The town was almost deserted. With only the traces of few animals and some weak mana beasts. We reached an inn, where we could sense people. I pushed at the door after knocking on it. A blade swung swiftly, aimed at my eye. I evaded its trajectory while Regis plunged forward at the enemy, bursting through the half-open door.

It revealed a familiar silhouette, that I witnessed amid war. She is Seris. The scythe who helped me against Uto and is allied to me now. Regis cut his advancement as he recognized her. Sylvie transformed into her human appearance.

Seris, albeit a bit, startled then gained her composure and inspected us. She then guided us inside. The corridors and rooms were dimly lit from the candles. My eyes constantly searched for her sight. Every room we passed by, every table, and every corner until we reached the second floor.

A girl in her pajamas with her grey hair tied in a loose braid sat at the table at the far end of the corridor. She glanced at us with little to no surprise while leaning stiffly against the chair. Seris led the way to her as everyone including Regis followed her.

But, my feet were stuck to the ground. It was not any trap/shackle magic. It was just my inability. My inability to approach her. Was this due to my regret for not being able to be there for her? then letting her fall into the enemy's hands. She got up from the chair as she did so with no wasted movements or whatsoever. Regis watched over the reunion from a distant seating.

Observing my hesitation, Sylvie held out my arm and guided me forward. I was now directly facing her. She stared straight into my face with her cold blue eyes. The former elegant green color of her eyes was no more.

Memories of the times we spent together flashed in my brain. I can live inside this reverie of the good times I had before. I wanted to embrace her and assure her of the promise that she no longer knew of, but I couldn't, not with her questioning and foreign look piercing my existence.

It felt as if they were resenting me. My chest throbbed as my heart started to feel heavy. I desperately held back my tears from leaking while I could feel the burning in my eyes.

"Arthur,..." Seris expressed her concern before she cast her sight to the ground.

"Arthur, do not hesitate. We won't know how long she would take to return to normal. If you hesitate now, there may come a time when you will regret it deeply." Regis said out loud as his words reverberated across the corridor.

Gathering all the courage, I gently rubbed her hair with my palm. She continued to stare at me with the same expressionless face that might haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Tessia, I promise that we will return you to normal. Please believe in us and hold out for a little longer. When you come back, it would be your turn to uphold the promise that we made" I said with a gentle smile that completely contradicted my inner self.