Heto placed his free hand behind his bald head and bent his head slightly downward with a bashful smile.


    "It''s good to see you, everyone."


    He looked at Keleanos, then at Chelsea and Kelsea.


    "We weren''t sure bringing you back to the continent forcefully was a good idea, but from the looks of it, Henrietta managed somehow."


    While the three Remnants walked toward him with large smiles, Titania stood further away as Henrietta walked next to her.


    Turning to look at the voice, Heto opened his eyes wide.


    "Wait. Tiohr-nam? How is that possible?"


    With a relieved smile, Titania shrugged.


    "Thank Henrietta for that. Also, call me Titania."


    "Titania... Is that your true name?"


    She slowly nodded at his question.


    "So you finally remembered your past. That is good news to hear from you."


    He gently dropped his hammer on the ground, crushing the rocks under it into dust.


    The group ignored the hammer entirely, knowing that this was the artifact left by his mother before she died, akin to Avalon.


    Heto bent his right knee, dropping it to the ground. Then, he placed his hands on the twin''s heads.


    "Chelsea, Kelsea, I am glad to see you are well."


    Accepting his gentle head pats, they smiled. Even though they were adults, in front of a giant like Heto, they were like children.


    Nonetheless, he rapidly stood back up after showing his tenderness. Then, he turned to Keleanos.


    "Keleanos."


    Extending his hand to the man, he smiled.


    "..."


    With a faint smile, Keleanos hesitantly grabbed his hand.


    "Don''t crush my hand, please."


    "I wouldn''t do that, but I''ll be careful."


    They shook hands amicably before parting ways.


    After everyone greeted Heto, Henrietta asked her question again.


    "Titania, what happened in here? Why is everything destroyed?"


    Keleanos stepped forward.


    "I''ll explain. I''m the best person for that."


    With a nod, Titania and the twins accepted the proposition, leaving Keleanos to tell the story of the event that took place a few moments ago.


    ...


    "..."


    The perplexed look on Henrietta''s face showed that the news of corrupt worms attacking while she was away wasn''t pleasing her.


    "This... isn''t my fault, isn''t it?"


    Heto asked this question with frustration, but Henrietta rapidly shook her head.


    "No, this has nothing to do with you. Your concept doesn''t single out an incident; rather, it is on a larger scale."


    "Oh, right."


    Relief replaced his previous expression.


    "This is Miasma''s doing, or more likely, a new type of corrupt beast. That monster probably released those corpse-moving worms through the rift that opened near Turric."


    "They traveled all this way and found a body in Ryghs capable of being manipulated."


    Thinking about it, she knew exactly who the corpse''s owner was, but she kept quiet as it wasn''t relevant to the matter at hand.


    "Should I consider this bad luck or good luck that we were here?"


    Titania asked with a faint smile.


    "Consider it good luck. Thank you for protecting everyone."


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Feeling honest gratitude coming from Henrietta, Titania nodded.


    "It was good practice, so you won''t hear me complain."


    Fighting this creature brought back her senses as a warrior she hadn''t used for thousands of years. She also confirmed that she possessed the sword Avalon and that it had stayed the same even after changing hands.


    They shared a brief moment of silence before focusing on the task at hand.


    "Alright, now that we are all together, it''s time to return. Heto, follow us."


    "To that other realm you''ve spoken about earlier?"


    She nodded.


    "I''m not asking any one of you here to fight."


    "What I''m requesting is..."


    The grim expression on her face showed that she was more than serious about this matter.


    "That you teach the strongest warriors of this generation."


    She looked at each of them one by one. Hearing her words loud and clear, they all nodded.


    "If that is all you ask of me, I can do that."


    Heto, who was against violence, was still the son of a Valkyrie. If the necessity were to call for him, he would join in the fight, albeit reluctantly.


    Because the duties given to these Remnants came directly from their mothers and because protecting this world was a task so important that it couldn''t be ignored, the descendants of the Valkyries followed in the footsteps of the Valkyries.


    The ones to fight would be someone else, but they could teach their knowledge to others.


    With non-fighters like Chelsea, Kelsea, and Keleanos, this was the only solution.


    The time came for Orion''s companions and members of the Agathion faction to meet the oldest protectors of this world and learn from them.


    ''Now, all we need is...''


    With a neutral expression, Henrietta turned around and walked toward the way they came from.


    They followed behind her, ultimately returning to Horizon.


    ...


    "You wait here."


    Henrietta explained to the others right after walking through the portal.


    "There is someone else I need to pick up. Since this place is our meeting point, wait for me to return."


    She was actually in a hurry. It was almost noon, and she wasn''t entirely prepared.


    "Sure, I will entertain them while you are gone."


    Titania gave her a slight nod, which Henrietta answered with a smile.


    "I leave this to you."


    Hurriedly, Henrietta ran out of the portal hub, leaving her friends behind.


    ...


    *Knock* *Knock*


    After running toward a house, Henrietta finally arrived and knocked on the door.


    Waiting for an answer, she crossed her arms.


    Hearing footsteps come toward the door, she took a step back.


    "..."


    *Clack*


    The door handle turned before the door opened, revealing a woman behind it.


    "Yes?"


    "Just the person I was looking for."


    Henrietta spoke with a smile.


    "Oh, hello. Can I do something for you? Henrietta, right?"


    With a nod, she continued.


    "I have something important to discuss with you; would you mind letting me in?"


    Politely and calmly, she asked Layla if she could enter.


    "Of course. Please come in. I mean, this isn''t my house anyway."


    A helpless smile appeared as she led Henrietta inside.


    "..."


    Henrietta observed the woman''s back with a neutral expression, thinking to herself.


    After entering the house, she was led to the table placed in the center of the room.


    Then, as she picked the nearest chair to sit on, a door opened behind her.


    "Elliott."


    With a glance, she recognized the man. There was no trace of irritation on her face, which surprised him slightly.


    "Henrietta."


    He greeted her back.


    "Could you join us? This matter concerns you also."


    Following a simple nod, Elliott joined them at the table, sitting next to Layla.


    After a minute of silence, Henrietta opened her mouth.


    "So you''ve succeeded."


    This simple sentence was enough for them to understand why she was here.


    "This is about Layla becoming the Remnant of Peace, isn''t it?"


    "More or less."


    Henrietta entwined her fingers together and looked straight at Layla.


    "First, I will remove any presumptions from your mind. I have no qualms about you becoming a Remnant."


    Layla showed surprise, while Elliott nodded.


    "This role had to be fulfilled anyway, so this is a problem I won''t have to focus on. For acting quickly, you have my thanks."


    She looked at Elliott, dropping her head slightly. Then, she straightened.


    "What I came to do was see for myself her current state and ask for help."


    Tilting her head slightly, Layla asked with a confused look in her eyes.


    "You came to ask for help from me? I''m not sure if I''ll be useful in my current state."


    But Henrietta shook her head.


    "Allow me to explain before assuming anything."


    Layla nodded, focusing on the conversation.


    "Now that you''ve merged with the core of the Remnant of Peace, there are some things you will need to know and learn."


    Elliott crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deciding not to enter the conversation.


    "Yes. I was told the same before Elliott asked me to become a Remnant. This matter is still very blurry to me. I still don''t really understand what those sensations I am feeling are."


    Henrietta looked directly into her eyes.


    "Those are most likely the concepts you are bound to, slowly etching themselves into you. It is an automatic process, as far as I know."


    Since Layla became a Remnant, she was, technically and effectively, one of their own. Refraining from helping her figure out the status she had obtained would only create more trouble down the line.


    "But we can make that process go faster. Obviously, it will depend on you and on how fast you will assimilate the entirety of the source."


    Layla nodded. But Henrietta wasn''t done.


    "I came to ask you to join in instructing Orion''s companions on how to fight."


    "Eh?"


    Elliott suddenly opened his eyes. He glanced at Henrietta with a confused face, while Layla looked lost.


    "What I''m going to tell you is to be strictly kept inside you. I would like your word that you won''t speak of it to anyone."


    "..."


    Pondering for a moment, Layla frowned. Nonetheless, it took her very little time to agree.


    "Alright. You have my words."


    She was serious about it. Henrietta noticed that and smiled in return.


    "Good."


    "In that case, I will go ahead and tell you our secret."


    Standing from her seat, she took a few steps back, spreading her arms on both sides.


    "Dyrnwyn."


    A blazing sword appeared, floating vertically in front of her chest.


    Vanitas shook slightly in its scabbard, surprising Elliott in the process.


    "This sword..."


    With a single glance, it was very similar to Vanitas. It was a weapon used by a Valkyrie, one of the guardians of humanity.


    His eyes opened wide as the implications rampaged inside his mind.


    "Wait..."


    He stood up with his hands pressed on the table, his gaze cast downward.


    "What am I?"


    Unable to repress the raging emotions in his heart, he looked at Henrietta in disbelief.


    "..."


    As Henrietta grabbed the hilt of Dyrnwyn, she stared into his eyes.


    "You should know it by now, Elliott."


    The only sound echoing inside the room was the crackling of the flaming sword in Henrietta''s hand.