>VWUUUUSSSHHH<


    As I braced myself, expecting Legris''s first strike, he suddenly halted mid attack.


    He had barely moved from his location when a somewhat dazed expression manifested on his face.


    He seemed downright surprised.


    "Hm? What''s this?" Legris murmured.


    I was still apprehensive, wondering if this was simply a trick he was using.


    ''Doesn''t seem like his style, though.''


    "Hahaha, well isn''t this interesting." Heughed, removing drops of tears from his eyes at this point.


    ''What''s going on?'' I wondered, and I was certain my expression disyed the exact reaction.


    "Looks like we''ll have to postpone this little fight of ours." Legris suddenly began shrouding himself in darkness.


    I was a bit puzzled by the suddenness of the situation that I had to say something… and fast!


    "What''s going on? Where are you going?!"


    Legris chuckled even more in response to my question, causing my heart to race in anxiety.


    ''What is more important than obtaining a bunch of Arcanas?!'' I began to get extremely worried.


    "Don''t look so anxious, Jared. It''s just word from the higher-ups. Apparently, two of our members have been killed. You probably know one—Vaizer."


    His words struck me, and I remembered the Dragon Beast folk that was consumed by Nether.


    ''How can they say he was killed when they were the ones who dealt the finishing blow?''


    "The second one probably went after Neron. Such bad luck. Haha. Needless to say, your team won this round. Neron probablypleted his mission too. Isn''t that wonderful."


    If everything Legris said was true, shouldn''t he have been upset? Or at least, a bit dissatisfied? Yet, he seemed rather thrilled.


    "I''m returning to the headquarters. I doubt we''ll meet again, Jared… which makes this somewhat regrettable." Legris, almostpletely enveloped in his ck pool, waved at me.


    I was all the more confused, but I couldn''t say or do anything but gawk in response.


    "The showdown is close at hand. Bye!"


    >VWUUUP<


    His negative energy finally consumed him, and it vanished as soon as its job wasplete.


    I was left in a daze, staring at an empty space as I mulled over everything Legris had just told me.


    ''We won''t be meeting again? What does that mean? I don''t understand…''


    It seemed they were gathering all their members to the headquarters now that all the Arcanas had been found—well, almost all of them.


    I still had no idea where [The World] was.


    "What now, Jared?" Edward asked from behind me.


    My otherrades had been discussing for some time now but he finally raised the question to me.


    "I… am not entirely sure. Let''s return to the base first."


    Hopefully when Neron and Serah returned, we would be able to establish something more concrete.


    At the moment, most of the things I would end uping up with could end up being nothing more than spection.


    To move forward, I needed to be thorough.


    "One thing is for sure, though." I smiled at my allies while nodding.


    "Wepleted this mission. That''s what matters now."


    I was greeted with their excited smiles and relieved sighs.


    Jerry was still unconscious, but I knew he would be fine. As for Ciara, she gave me a re for some reason.<novelnext></novelnext>


    I wasn''t looking forward to an appreciation, but still…


    ''I guess she''s alright too, as far as that goes.''


    I felt like a heavy burden had dropped from my chest with thepletion of our mission, though something heavier remained there.


    ''The Nether Cult.''


    Whatever was going on with them had yet to be concluded. Rather, it was the opposite. We were probably just getting started.


    ''Now that we have the Arcanas that they don''t possess, we''re going to be their next targets.''


    That meant we had to prepare for the inevitable move of the Nether Cult. Or better yet…


    "Let''s return."


    … We had to strike first.


    >VWUUUUSSSHHH<


    ********************


    [Moments Earlier]


    "Well, we got what we came for. That was surprisingly not as difficult as I thought." A woman with crimson hair grinned as she spoke to her partner.


    The dark haired man returned her smile with a distant gaze.


    His attention was on the object trapped between his fingers. It was a card that warbled in a somewhat grey color—distorting the space around it.


    "Indeed. But, to think we got [The Fool]." He muttered.


    The woman drew closer to him and joined him to once again observe the name written on the card, as well as the illustration embedded on it.


    It had the image of a ragged vagabond holding a stick, with a cloth tied around it. Somehow, for some odd reason, the image resonated with the two.


    "Well, since wepleted our mission, we should head back." Serah stretched her hands and yawned slightly.


    A quick nce at thendscape showed that it was devastated beyond recognition. Whatever Dungeon or structure that had existed prior to their arrival was now nothing more than ash and smoke.


    All that was left were debris and evidence of utter destruction. And standing at the center of the chaos were the two culprits—


    Neron Kaelid and Serah Crimson.


    The couple seemed to casually stand at the center of the damage they had wrought, acting as though such a thing was only natural.


    "Jared gave the wrong coordinates, though. The scope was toorge too…" Neron sighed, staring at the woman beside him.


    "Yeah. But it wasn''t a problem for you, anyway. That new ability of yours is really handy."


    "Tell me about it." He grinned.


    Both of them stared at one other passionately. Their instincts connected—and despite the very terrible choice of location—they both decided to give into their carnal desires.


    "Let''s kiss." Serah smiled, drawing closer to Neron, who did not resist whatsoever.


    It was a wonder how they could both indulge in such pleasures, but… who was around to judge?


    "I would rather not witness such a sight. Cease your actions instantly!"


    Well, someone was present, after all. And it wasn''t an ally.


    "I''ve been observing you two, and you''ve gotten even more careless than you were in the past. How disappointing." The intruder growled as he revealed his presence.


    He wore a Grand Mage''s outfit—consisting of a well embroidered purple cloak, and royal blue wear.


    His exquisite garb was only fit for someone of his caliber, and his aged appearance gave him a more prestigious look.


    "Neron. Serah. It''s been a while, hasn''t it?" The older man smiled as he watched the two lovers gaze at him, speechlessly.


    They both clearly knew who he was—a fact that caused his grin to widen even more.


    "Won''t you greet your old friend?"