A crystalline crackle chimed through the air around the flying airship carrier's runway. Zalroth did interchanging leg cossack stretches to pass the time, his bones creaking as he almost completed the splits. Zalroth yawned as he fell back onto his tails while Chronia sat above his head and looked down at him.

"Come on now, Hubby. Don't fall asleep now; the heathens are about to appear," Chronia remarked as she tapped Zalroth's face, his eyes a glossy golden shade from blankly staring at the growing crack in existence. Zalroth closed his eyes and sighed, making Chronia repeatedly tap Zalroth's face to keep him awake.

"One... no," Zalroth uttered as he opened his non-glossy eyes. Zalroth forced himself to a sitting position on his tails and itched the inside of his kitsune ear, "Good grief.". Zalroth brushed his face and glanced back at Chronia.

"Something on your mind?" Chronia asked. Zalroth glanced his eyes to the left before mentally sighing and facing forward.

"I dunno... was it really a good idea to make Lola my successor at such a young age instead of Nola or Minia?". Zalroth pressed his chin against his clasped hands. Chronia bit the inside of her mouth before she leaned forward and pressed her head against Zalroth's back.

"You shouldn't beat yourself over it; it was a joint decision," Chronia uttered.

"It doesn't make me feel any less guilty though, at least she won't have to go through aether corrosion if she passes the mantle in the future.".

"Yeah... but isn't it odd how only the gang has such adverse responses to removing their Keither Cores? Nolazir losing her sanity... Lily losing touch with reality... Malfaroth's complete one-eighty in personality, and Lurioku...," Chronia said before stopping herself. Zalroth silently lowered his head before swiftly hopping to his feet, catching Chronia by surprise.

"Alright, enough moping around, we've got some bugs to crush," Zalroth remarked as a ghostly glass-shattering sound reverbed through the air accompanied by crystalline scuttling. The crack in existence ripped and tore as the chrois of scuttling roared from within. The scuttling seized with a faint chinking noise following it.

With one final chink, the crack in existence bursted open, and a swarm of different coloured unidentifiable-insect heathens of the human child-sized variety spewed out. The heathens sprawled out across the space around the opened crack in existence and circled around it. Zalroth and Chronia eyed all the heathens as the last one exited the crack in existence.

"Doesn't seem to be any ice or fire types," Zalroth remarked before getting into a fighting stance, "Let's get this party started.". Chronia fluttered her eyes at Zalroth before she smirked giddily.

"Just be mindful and careful, especially the latter part," Chronia pleaded as she snuggled Zalroth before floating off his kitsune tails.

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"Don't worry, I won't use any of my Sage States until the stronger heathen shows up," Zalroth remarked as he slammed his fists together and activated his cyan Surging Mana State. Chronia playfully punched Zalroth in the shoulder.

"Just to be clear, I can't say if the thing is a heathen, given it's blurry in my future vision," Chronia stated.

"Like that Kukorama guy and his allies?". Chronia nodded. Zalroth stared at the swarming heathens before leaping into the air in an instant, making it appear he had teleported away.

The swirling heathen insects fluttered around the crack in existence, with one of the heathens breaking from the swarm. A vertical-orientated magic barrier formed in front of the heathen before it crashed into it. Zalroth landed on the top of the slim edge of the magic barrier. Zalroth grabbed the deserter heathen before he formed a Creation Crest crest on the heathen. The heathen frantically shook as the CC crest enveloped its body before the crest bursted into particles revealing a non-crystal version of the heathen.

"Good thing you broke from the pack; otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed you hadn't fully turned," Zalroth remarked as he placed the insect monster into his kitsune tail pocket dimension. Zalroth clicked his neck before he hopped off the magic barrier. He placed his feet on the magic barrier before kicking off it and rocketing himself straight for the heathens.

The heathens chattered and darted their heads at Zalroth as he rapidly approached. The heathens screeched at Zalroth before a collection of them broke out from the swarm and raced to confront Zalroth.

Zalroth reeled his fist back and hurled it at the incoming heathens. But when his fist was inches from the first heathen, Zalroth swiftly opened his palm and created a magic barrier in front of his hand, along with one beneath his feet. The heathens slammed into the magic barrier and each other.

Zalroth spun around, and Roundhouse kicked the magic barrier, sending the heathens flying with the magic barrier. The heathen scattered as the barrier pushed past them before a cyan blur pierced through a heathen, making it explode into shards. Zalroth landed on the kicked-magic barrier and flexed his legs before unleashing a Lightning Serpent (a curved yellow lightning blade with a snake scale pattern) infused leg sweep.

The Lightning Serpent blade slashed through the heathens and sliced them in half, followed by yellow lightning veins covering the heathens and paralysing them. Zalroth landed back on the magic barrier before he unleashed a flurry of cyan mana-infused punches and kicks. Covered in dents and cracks, the battered heathens slowly crumbled to pieces before Zalroth aimed a hand at them and shot a wind mana blast to obliterate them. Zalroth clicked his shoulder as he turned towards the swarm of insect heathens before he lunged at them.

Meanwhile, in the Malfarothian Stadium, Kurai Melody (wearing a rock-themed Egyptian outfit) paced around her makeup room as she giddily grinned.

"Ah~ this overwhelming butterfly feeling, I can't believe Nola and Minia wanted to attend my concert~.". Melody giddily bounced on the spot and twirled around the room.

"Maybe Minia will even make a new skin for the Candy Cat she based on me," Kurai said excitedly before a sudden knock on the door destroyed her daydream.

"Lady Melody, the custom-made accessory has arrived," a guy behind the door stated. Kurai swiftly received the accessory box her assistant brought her. Kurai gleefully opened the box and stared at the angorthite necklace.

"Oooh, what an ominous glow~ perfect for my style," Kurai said playfully as she put the necklace on.