The end of the invasion came with a loud cheering from the lamias and bone-chilling roars from the dragons.


    Avenging their dead brothers and sisters, the dragons felt at peace, their anger relieved.


    No casualties happened from the lamias'' side, thanks to the maids Olivia brought to help.


    Most were exhausted beyond their limits and suffered a form of sickness induced by the depletion of their magic. Even though they appeared tired, they still screamed at the top of their lungs.


    As Deveralna returned to the ground with Ophion attached to her arm, she felt the exhaustion settle.


    ''And we even had some grass grow again after I burned down everything...''


    With a defeated smile, she turned around and looked at the deep crater in the southern area of her city.


    ''Such a pain.''


    Even though she felt that, she internally felt relieved to have managed to contain the damage to just this crater.


    This time, she managed to contain her power. She did not put her people in danger.


    She felt proud at the sight of her growth, feeling that all of her effort had come to fruition.


    While returning to Lahro, she scratched Ophion''s head gently.


    "Thanks. You''ve been a huge help."


    Ophion bit her finger, draining the magic that was accumulating in her body after this battle.


    Without her realizing it, Deveralna''s white eyes returned to their dark orange color, showing the stabilized state of her tremendous Remnant power.


    After a while, she met with Olivia, who was supervising her maids to provide assistance to the sick lamias.


    "Hey."


    She waved at her friend with a laid-back smile. Olivia turned to her and nodded.


    "Glad it went well."


    "All thanks to you. Even with all that power, it''s impossible to support every corner of the battlefield."


    Olivia smiled. She was back to looking like a human, and the illusion was set up once again.


    "..."


    Strangely, something felt off about Olivia. Deveralna squinted at her for a moment, causing her to feel relatively flustered.


    "W-What? Is there something you want to say?"


    Then, Deveralna realized.


    "You''re taller than before..."


    It wasn''t much, but Olivia was certainly taller now than she was an hour ago. It was roughly under ten centimeters, but for Deveralna, who was attentive to details, this was impossible to mistake.


    "M-Maybe?"


    "Stop that. What happened? Are you creating an illusion of your dream height or what?"


    "No!"


    Shaking her head and hands frantically, Olivia looked adorable and very different from her true form, which was more devil-like.


    "I just let my traits... take over for too long."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Deveralna asked while being genuinely concerned.


    "You''ve aged?"


    "Again, no!"


    Olivia couldn''t continue this conversation. The embarrassment was too much for her.


    "If I could revert to my previous height, all would be well... but I can''t. My demon blood ended up boosting my growth suddenly."


    "Can you let it go, now?"


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Giggling slightly, Deveralna enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere while teasing Olivia for a bit.


    ...


    When the maids returned to Olivia, they went to meet with the dragons, waiting on the ground not far away from the entrance.


    The only group that had suffered casualties during this battle was surrounding their fallen comrade with grave looks on their faces.


    "Monolavir, Ruminona."


    Deveralna and Olivia walked in front of the resting dragons, catching their attention.


    "W-Wow!"


    The entire maid squad looked at the dragons with wide-open eyes. They had already seen Monolavir and Ruminona in the past, but they stayed inside the castle in Noctelagia.


    They were terrified of them previously, but their feelings changed to admiration at one point.


    Monolavir stretched his neck upward and looked down on the group.


    "Have you come to check on us?"


    Deveralna nodded. Her gaze turned to the dragons behind him, and a grave stare replaced her neutral one.


    "How bad is it? Did no one survive?"


    Closing his eyes, the Azure Dragon inhaled heavily, as if preparing a sigh.


    "Not a single one. At the very least, they did not suffer."


    "I see."


    The dragons turned to their progenitor, feeling the torrent of guilt in her through their link.


    "You do not have to feel sorry for us. When another dragon dies, we show respect to their valiant soul. Avenging them was the greatest accomplishment you could have brought to help their soul cross over."


    Ruminona approached her massive head in front of her.


    "I asked you to come and help. It wasn''t my intention to sacrifice you."


    Deveralna couldn''t help but feel grief.


    "It was my idea to begin with. If there is someone to blame, it is me."


    Olivia placed a hand on her chest, her gaze determined to receive the blame.


    "Both of you are mistaken."


    The great Azure Dragon growled, a rare display of discontent.


    His eyes fell to the sky.


    "It was our choice to defend our allies. That is your first mistake."


    "The second one is..."


    Dropping his head, he stared at Deveralna.


    "Have you not notified us before the worst happened? All of us present are currently indebted to you for quickly understanding the situation that we so blindly went into."


    "Even I wouldn''t have come out of this unscathed if not for your quick judgment."


    Deveralna felt like adding something, but she let it go. Her clenched hands opened, and her shoulders dropped.


    "I understand. It would be insulting to you if I continued to feel depressed, isn''t it?"


    The dragons growled behind Monolavir, but not in an angry tone. They felt relieved that their new progenitor understood them.


    "That is how we dragons are. We are eternally proud, but we will never forget those who have helped us."


    Satisfied, Monolavir turned around.


    "Now that the battle is over, we will return to our nest."


    "What about the deceased dragons?"


    Ruminona answered.


    "We will take them with us. Two dragons can carry one with their claws."


    Just as she finished speaking, the dragons began to lift off the ground, pushing dust everywhere.


    Then, the last two followed.


    "If another battlefield calls for us, I will be the only one to come."


    "The next one will be when Amelia calls for me. I cannot have Ruminona stay too long away from the nest."


    His growling tone scared the maids slightly, but they remained still at all times, their sweat trickling from their cheeks.


    "We''ll tell that to Amelia. We should be fine for quite some time, thanks to Deveralna''s powerful attack earlier."


    Olivia crossed her arms and nodded.


    "Hmm."


    Giving one last glance down, Monolavir acknowledged her words.


    "Olivia and Deveralna."


    "We''ll keep those names engraved in our minds. As Amelia spoke so highly of you, I had my hopes up."


    "You did not betray them. Orion did find trustworthy and powerful allies. We should be proud to be part of that group."


    With those parting words, the dragons, alongside Monolavir and Ruminona, left Lahro and flew toward Ormrdivin.


    "Oh..."


    Both women were looking at the sky, unable to look away.


    "Being acknowledged by dragons..."


    "Feels good, doesn''t it?"


    They stared at each other before a genuine smile appeared on their faces.


    "Let''s clean everything else and return home."


    "Fine by me."


    The two went toward Lahro feeling happy.


    "W-Wait! Tell us what the dragons said!"


    Eden ran after her master, frustrated by not being able to understand the language of the dragons.


    "I want to know, too!"


    Alice rapidly followed. Then, the whole squad ran after their master, except Marie.


    "I swear..."


    Shrugging lightly, Marie, who was more concerned about Olivia''s current state, smiled while following everyone.


    ~


    Inside Horizon.


    Amelia was lying on the couch, the tablet in front of her face.


    Tapping frantically on it, she diverted her attention to what had to be done to restore the plane from the damage caused by Miasma and his armies.


    Out of the corner of her eyes, she failed to notice the crimson-haired woman sitting on the opposite couch.


    "How are you feeling? Trying to think of something else?"


    "Hmm?"


    Hearing a familiar voice call out to her, she straightened and looked to the side.


    "Orianne?"


    "That''s definitely me. So?"


    With a warm smile, she waited for an answer.


    "Am I that obvious?"


    "I am a woman, too. If I couldn''t understand your feelings, I would have never married Reon."


    She looked at her fourth finger, where her ring sat again after she ''accidentally'' rummaged through Orion''s room.


    "It''s painful not to be able to see him. I had no idea it would hurt so much, but I''m hoping it''s the same for him, even though it makes me think like a petty person."


    "The only thing I can do to lessen the solitude is to occupy my mind. Since I can''t train yet, all I can do is repair his home."


    Orianne leaned back and sighed.


    "That reminds me of the times I had to leave Reon''s side before we became the leaders of our respective factions."


    "Being separated from your loved one is a pain I can relate to."


    Amelia smiled. She wasn''t so full of herself as to disagree with her mother-in-law over something so small.


    In fact, she was happy that someone understood her.


    "All I can say is that you should use this opportunity to grow even stronger. Use the time you''ve been separated as a catalyst to fuel your ambitions. That''s how I grew more powerful."


    "Because you don''t know when you will meet again and if he will be different."


    Tilting her head, Amelia placed the tablet on the coffee table between them.


    "What do you mean?"


    Orianne crossed her legs and frowned.


    "Men are like that. They want to improve and impress us, even if they have to surpass us and leave us behind. Reon and Orion are the same."


    "They only think about protecting everyone else themselves and struggle to depend on others. That''s why we have to work hard, too, and catch up to them."


    "Otherwise, we''ll never be able to support them. I''m certain that Orion is working himself to the bone wherever he is."


    She rubbed between her eyes, exhausted by the thought itself.


    "It wouldn''t be fair if he returned entirely changed while you were still stuck without being able to use your power, right?"


    Amelia instinctively nodded, her eyes turning to the ground.


    "I don''t want that either. That''s why..."


    Orianne stood up from the couch and walked in front of Amelia. She bent over and whispered in her ear.


    (I know a lot about Orion''s training regiment on void magic.)


    Only shared training and matches showed how he trained. Apart from those, he trained alone most of the time.


    His parents were the few ones privy to this information.


    "!"


    A cold shiver ran through her entire body. She looked into her eyes.


    ''Are you asking me to train behind my mother''s back?''


    Pondering, Amelia seriously considered her options.


    "I have just one condition."


    With a frown that left no room for refusal, she looked at Orianne, who was still smiling.


    "If you''re talking about Henrietta, I already obtained her consent. It''s not like Orion''s void magic training was heavy on action anyway."


    "She left me in charge of this part. All she asked me was that you obtain your last mastery when possible."


    Shocked, Amelia leaned on her pillow.


    "Oh. Everything is proceeding without me."


    "Leave adult stuff to adults. You''re still too young to throw your weight around, so wait at least ten years before that."


    Giggling, Orianne returned to her seat.


    "So, what''s your base knowledge of this magic? I''ll tell you what Reon analyzed right after."


    "Then, when you''ll have a clear picture of everything, we''ll proceed to train."


    Amelia nodded and immediately explained what she had gathered by herself.


    How she could feel the flow of unfamiliar magic in her core and how she could only manage to open portals.


    This day, she followed the same path as the man she loved, opening her horizons to new possibilities.


    If Orion became the master of breaching the distances between spaces, Amelia would turn into a master of shifting.


    But, that wasn''t for today.