While walking up the stairs, a certain man was thinking.


    ''In reality, I could''ve easily overwhelmed Karteira if I wanted to.''


    His imagination played rapidly, and before he placed his foot on the next step, he had played a recreation of the fight.


    ''There. I could''ve easily grabbed her leg and thrown her down instead of letting her go.''


    The moment where Karteira flew over him. If he hadn''t let her leg go, he could''ve slammed her against the ground, and won the fight.


    ''That leg swipe too, I could''ve easily grabbed her arm and made her fall.''


    When he tried to make her trip, she dodged his attack by jumping forward and rolling on the ground.


    ''I''m sure it would have been different if I had single-handedly crushed her, but the efforts she put in to come to this point is astonishing.''


    ''Crushing her efforts without letting her show her strength is not what training is for me. That''s why those handicaps were placed on me.''


    ''It''s easy to forget that everyone around me is barely keeping on with my growth, and that I am largely unrivaled at this point.''


    He stopped near the middle of the staircase, and looked down.


    ''I truly became powerful... but I probably still can''t fight Elliott without suffering greatly as a result. Even Miasma...''


    A quick sight escaped his mouth, before his thoughts turned to his abilities.


    ''The light magic that heals my wounds, improves my physique, and plays a major part in dealing damage to my enemy.''


    ''Dark magic that binds my enemy and inflicts them the most horrible ailments, yet I still don''t know its full potential.''


    ''And void magic, a brand-new element I have created by fusing light and dark magic together. The best way to cover a large amount of ground in little time. It is the anchor of my strength, acting as a way to dodge incoming attacks with ease.''


    Looking at his hands, he kept his gaze on them for a minute.


    ''I managed to awaken my angel blood, but I haven''t had any luck with my demon blood. Why is that? Why am I unable to bring a slither of its potential out?''


    ''Fighting Karteira made me realize, without the Fourth Gear, the Arm Overdrive, and any kind of range attacks, I am still fairly weak.''


    ''There are probably no other beings besides Dramia and Drania who can attain the same level of speed, but this is something I can''t guarantee.''


    Orion remembered the Apostles he killed on his path to revenge.


    Kiel was the first Apostle to fall. A sneak attack and a well-placed bolt ripped his neck from his torso, killing him on the spot.


    The second one was Ivan, a man who used his lightning magic as spears. He was an incredible fighter at the time, and without Kamala''s help, he would have struggled to win.


    Third in the list, Julian. After Florian killed Leonis, the Apostle came with his army of corrupted to conquer Albriar, ultimately failing and dying. It was during this battle that Orion went through his first near-death experience.


    Fourth and last, Orion killed Neon in a dead and abandoned city, where the man had lost any legitimacy in being an Apostle. Killing the weak old man wasn''t his best accomplishment, but removing a threat that could endanger him and his loved ones was necessary.


    With Amelia fighting Kelvin, the man who destroyed Bandir, and Horace getting killed by his outraged citizens, the number of Apostles dropped to three.


    Kamala, Florian, Eric, and Olivia all threw away their title of Apostles, leaving only their leader, Layla, followed by Pierre and Dony, the only threats in his path.


    ''Miasma probably has these three in the palm of his hand. Which means... I won''t be able to fight all the pawns he''s going to throw at me.''


    There was also a dragon to be worried about. Orion knew that Miasma wasn''t patiently waiting, he was working on building an army, away from prying eyes. An army that would trample over Triazils and kill everyone in its path for the sake of killing.


    ''My existence... is it to fight those absurdities? Or is there more to it? An anomaly that has in him the blood of angel and demon. What is my purpose at this point?''


    He remembered what Henrietta said.


    ''The path to arrive to this point was steep. Dying and dying again, I can comprehend how someone can endure this pain as long as this woman did.''


    A bleak memory of Orion holding Amelia''s dead body flashed for an instant in his head. He shook it and looked up the stairs.


    ''I made up my mind long ago. I will protect this continent, not because of a sense of duty, or because it is my fate, but because I want this world to be free. For children like Stella to live without the fear of losing their family.''


    Taking a step forward, he rapidly walked up the stairs. Turning right after exiting the stairs, he walked a bit and stopped in front of the first door on his left, and knocked on the door.


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    "Stella, let''s go to the beach."


    ~


    "Time to leave."


    With a frown on her face, Layla spoke to an army of corrupted soldiers.


    "All of you, pull this cage out of the... no, wait, I have a better idea."


    A dark mass formed in the palm of her right hand, before it was thrown toward the ceiling.


    *BLAST*


    The mass turned into a column of eroding corruption that ate the stones in its way. Before long, everything above the army turned to nothing.


    It was dark outside. The stars couldn''t be seen through the dome of corruption, turning the sky above Eogis into a starless, dark expanse.


    "There. Now you can drag it out easily."


    Miasma erased the whole ''church'' building, and began to turned around. He looked above his shoulder and glared at three shadowy beings behind him, standing perfectly still. Their dark eyes glowed through the darkness, a deep crimson different from the usual red hues corrupted soldiers displayed.


    "You three, be careful. One wrong step and I won''t hesitate to kill you."


    Two of the shadows dropped on one knee and bent forward. The last one stayed still, not moving an inch.


    Ignoring them, Miasma looked forward and walked up the stairs leading to nowhere now, and began to walk west, alone.


    The army began to follow, pulling a large cart with a massive cage on it. Inside, a creature with dark violet eyes stared at the scenery outside.


    While the corrupted had trouble dragging the cage out of what was the building''s cellar, they managed to after a long while.


    Two of the three figures kept moving around, seemingly giving orders, before all of them departed toward the same place their master went to.


    Their destination, Paraviel. Layla''s city. Before sunrise, the army arrived.


    What happened to the citizens living in Paraviel once Miasma set foot in it, is a story no one will be able to tell.


    ~


    "How many times have you went to the sea?"


    Orion was walking on the beach with his daughter. He had his left hand on his pocket, while his right hand was holding Stella''s left hand.


    "Many times. I went with Amelia, Karteira, Dramia and Drania, May, and Senia."


    The little girl smiled, seemingly recalling the memories of her time with them.


    "You haven''t asked Deveralna, or Olivia? I''m sure they wouldn''t mind."


    "Hmm..."


    She nodded, looking a bit apologetic.


    "I don''t want to be a bother. They are always working, so..."


    "You can''t bring yourself to ask because you think they are too busy, or you think you will bother them in their work?"


    "Yes..."


    Just talking to her made Orion smile. The differences between her current state and the one she was at when he met her were obvious to anyone.


    ''She''s become more cheerful, she talks more and stutters less, and smiles more often.''


    ''Her constitution stabilized, and now looks like a normal ten-year-old. She eats well too, and isn''t as weak anymore. Those roughed hairs of hers finally became silky smooth, and her eyes recovered their glow.''


    In his heart, he was relieved. Never once did he thought taking her in was a mistake. Stella was a treasured member of the family, bringing a sense of unity among the women of the house.


    She needed to be protected and loved. So, unanimously, they all decided to consider her like their daughter. She was the daughter of many. Even Tetra saw her as her lovely daughter, even if she wasn''t part of Orion''s lovers.


    "Well, give it more time. I''m sure they will come with you when the situation will calm down."


    "I will. I want to go out with everyone."


    An idea came to Orion while hearing Stella.


    "What do you say about asking everyone to go on a picnic? There are many places around the house you could do that, like those small forests, right?"


    Little stars floated in her eyes the moment she heard this idea.


    "You could even ask them to do a picnic on the bea-"


    "Yes! I would very much like that!"


    Orion was slightly astonished, but quickly looked at his little girl and laughed.


    "Sure, then why don''t you ask after returning home? You can ask them during dinner."


    Stella''s head dropped right after, a worried expression painted on her face.


    "But... I don''t want to force them. Even today, I was scared you wouldn''t come with me to the beach."


    "Everyone is always doing something, so is it alright if I ask?"


    She felt a hand touch her head. When she looked up, she saw her father looking in the distance, toward the crashing waves of the Siren Sea.


    "Well, it''s true that we have many things to do. Being busy is part of our life."


    "But there is no harm in asking. If they can''t, then you just have to ask another time. No one here will say no just to make you sad, you know that?"


    "Hmm."


    The girl nodded.


    "Be strong, Stella. Only you can make your wishes come true."


    His words echoed inside her head, before she began to smile.


    "Yes!"


    They continued to walk a little longer on the beach, looking at the sea. Stella saw a few dolphins jump around in the water, and managed to see the few sirens living in the sea.


    As the light began to dim in Horizon, it was time to return home.


    ...


    During dinner, everyone looked at Orion.


    "You''ve said you wanted to ask us something?"


    May asked, arms crossed.


    "It''s not me who wants to ask something."


    His gaze fell on Stella, before everyone followed suit. Tetra and Henrietta, who quietly listened to the conversation, became curious.


    This was the first time Stella wanted to ask something.


    "Stella?"


    Tilting her head, Olivia asked.


    "Umm... Uuuh..."


    While bashful, the girl began to tremble, fearful of their reactions.


    "It''s alright, take your time."


    Amelia''s calming tone made her relax, before she took a deep breath.


    "I-I would like to..."


    They all perked their ears, waiting for her to finish her sentence.


    "To... have a picnic at the beach with everyone."


    Her face red from the embarrassment, she began to fidget around, her eyes moving her and down.


    "Huh?"


    All the women around the table looked at each other while blinking, while Orion picked up his fork and ate.


    It took everyone a moment to process the request, but rapidly many ideas surged from the silence.


    "That''s a good idea! We''ve never been to the beach as a group!"


    Said Drania, excited.


    "Well, I''ve never been to the beach. I was curious for a while, but I had no opportunities to go until now. This might be the best time to go."


    Deveralna nodded with a smile on her face.


    "We need swimsuits! There''s no way I''ll accept a picnic at the beach without a swimsuit."


    For Olivia, it was a change to show her body to Orion. In the process, she also decided to help everyone.


    "Yes, that''s a good idea. I''ll prepare our meal for that day then."


    "I''ll help too."


    Amelia and Dramia were already beginning to think of the best meal to bring during that event. They then continued to discuss together during dinner.


    "I hope you all have fun."


    Henrietta said with a satisfied smile.


    "What are you saying? You''re coming too."


    With a serious expression, Tetra stared at her.


    "Why would I do that?"


    "Would you ignore the girl''s request? Just shut up and make her happy."


    "You..."


    *Sigh*


    "Fine."


    Accepting defeat, Tetra and Henrietta joined the group in discussing what to prepare for the picnic.


    Orion looked at his daughter, and smiled warmly.


    "See? Isn''t it great you''ve asked?"


    Tears rolled down her cheeks, as she smiled with relief and excitement.


    "Yes!"


    Their reactions surprised her greatly, but in the end, Stella became the happiest little girl in the world.


    With the picnic decided to happen three days later, many things had to be prepared. Especially swimsuits.


    And who better than a certain ''friend'' to help them. The next day, ten women and a little girl stepped foot in Hocride.