"If we put the mages from Etherstorm here, it'll hold off the Knights well. While they are defending from the attacks of the Knights, those from Nihlahim and Oceania can work together. However, we have to engage them in this specific part." Houvdon tapped the map displaying a valley.
Zylaorfier and Asfr frowned, the friend's face showing hesitation and the butler's face showing signs of disagreement.
"Verilius can simply appear and disappear at will, he has no need to march. However, despite his contempt for me, if I openly challenge him like this, then he would appear before us."
Zuxara shook his head. "No, this is playing with our lives. Etherstorm mages will only be defending. What about those from Oceania and Nihlahim that have to directly face the Knights?"
Despite the dirty looks given to him by the duo in charge, he did not back down, showing off the reason why despite the rumors and deeds he has done, he still held a strong reputation.
Even if he lusted over women, the lives of his people came first.
"What are you talking about?" The mage from Etherstorm continued to eye Zuxara with a dirty look. "It's us that is having to face the Knights directly. We are the ones gaining their attention."
"But why those from Oceania specifically? Why not those from Achen or Kolorta?"
"Flame magic directly conflicts with Frost. Water and Frost are the only two that'll coincide with each other. The magic from earth will be detrimental with my own mage's defensive shields. The ability to shake the earth will disrupt our concentration."
"Wait." Asfr raised his hand.
Despite Asfr being only a servant to the Archelio main branch due to his birth as a side branch member, his power was still something to be feared.
In the Archelio house, everyone had the potential to exceed all expectations. The reason why the bloodline of the Archelio was so sacred and honored is simply due to their extraordinary abilities and potential.
Even Serene, who had but drops of Archelio blood in her, due to her status as a member of the Archelio side branch: Yi'Ung, still had the potential to break through and become a prominent figure.
And in this world, power is what rules.
"How many Rank 4 mages do we possess currently?"
Houvdon frowned, reaching inside his robes. He held out the folded parchment towards his life-long friend and servant. "This is the list of the Rank 4 mages we have currently here."
Asfr scanned the paper, a frown forming on his face. "This may be a problem. We have a lack of sufficient firepower that is needed to draw out a war this battle will progress into."
"What's wrong?" Zylaorfier grabbed the paper out of Asfr's hand, reading the listed names. "Oh."
"What's the problem now?" Zuxara reached for it last. The rest of the assembled nobles at the table did not attempt to intake the information. As the Water mage's eyes scanned the names, his face fell as a grim look finally formed on his face. "Oh, shi-"
"Precisely." Houvdon cut in before Zuxara can finish his curse. "Houvdon Archelio, Light magic. Zylaorfier Pentajis, Frost magic. Lady Pellemeur, recently ascended Rank 4 Flame magic. Asfr Archelio, Blade magic. We only have four mages at the fourth rank. We don't have that much power on our side. Verilius was not afraid of me even though I am the strongest of us four."
"We have no hope of even getting a fifth rank. I am nowhere near close to ascending in the span of...less than a few hours." He tapped the map again, where he had marked the position of his own Etherstorm mages. "This is our only way to fight them. By surrounding them on all sides will we be able to be able to match them."
"Weren't you able to fight them before by themselves?" Another noble at the meeting table spoke up, his face scrutinized with confusion. The Prince of Etherstorm didn't care about his name, deeming him as unimportant.
"That was but a small squad, perhaps a dozen. Had it been a full army, I wouldn't have been given time to ready any technique of mine."
Houvdon sighed as he pressed his palm against his face. "That is all for now. Meet me back here in an hour, then we'll set off for the valley. Verilius will certainly not let this challenge go unanswered."
They muttered among themselves before standing and bowing to him, taking their leave.
Only Zylaorfier and Asfr remained.
"Will you take Princess Pellemeur with you to the battlefield? The only safe place for her is beside you. No where else can it be guaranteed that she is safe." Asfr asked a valid question, the Frost mage nodding with him.
"No. Kryva stays here. Asfr, you will remain here as well and guard this place with Lady Pellemeur. I have both Zylaorfier and Zuxara by my side. No harm will come to me."
"I'm not sure about the Zuxara part. Aside from his inferior power compared to our own, he also holds a grudge against you."
"He won't do anything against me." Houvdon gave a small smirk, his dark amber eyes turning from emptiness to coldness. "He wouldn't dare harm his reputation with betraying the Prince of Etherstorm. The entire Delusional Lands knows about me declaring this war, with more soon to rally under our banner."
"One last thing Your Highness." Asfr pointed at the Archelio's long blue hair. "Is there any significance as to why you have changed your appearance?"
"There is." He only answered the direct question asked, not bothering with the indirect question of why. He turned, his pitch-black robes flowing behind him smoothly as he left the planning room.
-----
Houvdon knelt next to the sleeping Kryva. He gave her forehead an affectionate stroke, moving her loose hair out of her face.
It was a surprise for her to not wake up despite the commotion of a large gathering, much less one that made as much noise as the one he had just hosted.
He bowed his head slightly, his eyes full of an unknown emotion, remembering the words that reverberated in the forefront of his mind.
"𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳."
He looked back up, hearing her movement as her hands shifted against the mattress and blanket, creating a quiet shuffling sound.
Her eyes blinked open, the red and purple gazing deeply into his own amber.
Only a few seconds passed before her droopy eyes grew wide as saucers, her face flushing into a rich shade of red. He knew that the memories of the previous night were currently replaying in her mind.
"H-Houvdon." She stuttered, almost making his heart swoon at how innocent she looked at the moment. "Why are you in my room this early?"
"This is my room."
"A-ah." She sneaked a quick peek under the covers.
He felt amused. Did she really believe that he would take advantage of her comatose state and have his way with her? He felt almost insulted that she believed he held such desires after their heartfelt moment the previous night.
When she had assured herself that she was in fact, fully dressed aside from the rather fancy, almost transparent outer garments that dragged on the floor as she walked or the outer robes from her elegant blue dress, she met Houvdon's deep gaze.
She pulled the covers up to her face covering herself so he could only see her eyes.
"This wasn't the way you were acting before." He attempted to joke but he only seemed to embarrass her further, his inexperience with interacting with the opposite sex showing.
"That wasn't me!"
"They say a drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts."
"But I'm not a man." The way she had said it was so bland, it was comparable to the experience of eating the same meal for the third year in a row, three times a day. "Why didn't you do anything to resist my actions?! You were sober despite all your drinking!"
This time it was Houvdon's time to look shy. He gave her an awkward smile as he turned his head away, rubbing the back of his neck in uncertainty.
"I..." Just like before, Kryva had somehow managed to make him speechless.
He decided to change the topic to save face for both of them. "We are leaving in a little over an hour."
"Leaving?" She tilted her head as she lowered the covers from her face. "Where are we going?"
"I'm going to fight against Verilius. You are staying here under the protection of your mother and Asfr."
"What? Why am I not going?"
He sighed. "I will only be going with Etherstorm, Nihlahim, and Oceania. Kolorta and Achen will remain here to defend you. Other territories should come to my assistance soon to earn favor from me."
"But I can fight. Didn't you say the safest place for me to be is right beside you?" As she spoke, she lay a hand on his shoulder.
He closed his eyes, calming his breathing as he felt something within him stir with hunger. But it wasn't hunger from her touch. "Asfr and your mother will be able to protect you in my place. I highly doubt that even I can fight against both of them at once."
She gave him a concerned look. He had truly changed in these past few days. The rumors of Houvdon Archelio said that he was a cold, almost emotionless person. He had never shown any type of feelings towards anyone, not even Zylaorfier or this Luna she had never met before.
So why was his mask starting to slip now?
He seemed more 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦.
She remembered that he had mentioned something to her before, about her personality shifting in a short period of time. It seemed significant enough for him to notice and point it out.
He had put emphasis on how quickly it had happened, almost as if it were supposed to happen, just not this early.
"Houvdon, in the forest before we were attacked, you mentioned how my personality changed faster than what was normal. What did you mean?"
He tilted his head down as he pursed his lips. He didn't think of the matter long, bringing his head back upwards so he could look at her. "As one gets stronger, their personality changes as well. They slowly get overtaken by their core, their actions mirroring what their magic itself wills. You eventually become what your magic desires you to become."
She froze, literally. Her eyes were full of disbelief as she tried to find any traces of deception in Houvdon's.
"It does not mean you turn evil or become incapable of thinking for yourself." The Prince clarified, her tense muscles relaxing at his reassurance. "It simply influences you to act differently."
"So you mean, if someone like Zylaorfier gets even stronger, he will turn as cold as ice?"
He shook his head. "Zylaorfier is almost at the peak of his power. He has already changed dramatically. The way he is now? That is the complete opposite of what his Frost should make him be. Zylaorfier wields Frost, yet he is the most merry of us. Your mother wields Flame, yet she is cold and brooding ever since she has ascended to that her current rank after the late Lord Pellemeur's death."
"Everyone acts the opposite of what their element should symbolize?"
Houvdon shook his head. "It is unknown as to what exactly you change into. Your affinity speaks for itself. It chooses for itself. You cannot determine what it wants until it has already manifested."
"Is that what happened to you?"
He gave a small sound, yet it didn't seem like a confirmation or rejection. He got up from his kneeling, and sat on the bed. He looked towards the windows, where the sun easily pierced through the shades. A longing look filled his eyes, but when he turned back to her, the look had already faded.
He cupped her cheek, causing her face to heat up just slightly.
"This power of mine has already been tamed by me. No need to worry about me changing into someone you won't recognize."
She gave him a small smile that he hesitantly returned. He pulled his hand back, but kept his palm open as he raised it. "𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧."
The ember lit up on the inside of his palm. "Truthfully, this is not something anyone can learn. It is something only I can do."
"Why can you use something from the fire element?"
His smile dropped, but he did not frown or look somber. He only gave a small sigh. "This is one of the two gifts that was passed down to me. This isn't an ordinary flame. By injecting certain emotions, can it 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦."
"Evolve?"
"Not evolve per se, but rather, change?" He looked uncertain as he struggled to find words to describe the phenomenon that was this certain magic. He shook his head, and closed his palm, the ember fading just before it touched with his fingers. "I will be able to show you when I have more time."
"You are leaving now?"
He nodded. "Yes, I must make preparations. You should stay here and meditate. Maybe you can ascend to Rank 3 by the time I come back. After all, you are already close to that level."
She gave another smile at him, nodding at his words. "That's good. Growing stronger, it'll let me have the authority to revive your long-forgotten dream."
Houvdon stood and crossed his arms. "It wasn't forgotten, merely put aside until my task is finished. Don't worry, I'll come back soon."
They were quiet for a bit longer, before Houvdon extended his arm once again. He held it towards her as he whispered again. The flame in his palm appeared and he offered it to her. "I originally thought that this flame will be worth nothing of value to you...but I will offer you half of it now. I will give you the second half once I have taught you to master this lesser flame."
When she closed her fist over the flame, it vanished, and she felt a warm feeling rush through her body. She practically felt sparks as the tips of her fingers brushed his palm.
Houvdon bowed his head as he retracted his hand, offering no other words, just as she looked at him speechlessly
As he took a single step away, Kryva suddenly moved, the blankets practically flying off of her as she gave him a small hug from behind.
"Be careful." She pressed her face against his back, almost shivering from the coldness that his body radiated. "You are my promised. The stars said so."
He patted her hand, letting her bask in his closeness for just a few moments, before gently prying her arms off of her.
He didn't look back as he left the room.
-----
They stood at the mouth of the valley.
It was larger than he had expected, but he didn't show any signs of hesitation. The cliffs hanging over the valley were just as daunting as the thought of having to face Verilius in a straight fight.
Luckily for himself, he didn't plan on fighting Verilius in a straight fight.
He touched one of the many scattered boulders, rubbing the stone gently. He looked upwards, memorizing every detail of the walls and overhanging cliffs. The vines swayed as the wind that was rushing through the ravine was practically enhanced by the rather closed off area.
The wind that blew through was almost strong enough to knock them off of their feet.
"Go now. I'm depending on both of you, Zylaorfier, Zuxara."
There was no speech.
There was no need to encourage honor and pride when they were fighting for something as minuscule as a single girl.
The water and ice mages quickly disappeared from his sides, trudging upwards the rather steep sides of the valley to have an aerial view of the valley.
The only ones left were those from his own territory.
He raised his hand upwards, bringing his closed fist to his chest. He tapped his chest gently, every mage assembled in the valley copying him in their salute.
Unlike before, where Verilius simply appeared and reappeared without warning, lightning struck down the middle of the valley, bolts of nature phenomenon spreading outwards. Despite the violent appearance, it did not harm any of them. The lightning that spread outwards passed through his body harmlessly.
What did affect them, was the rushing wind that spread outwards from the Second Sun that had descended upon them from a storm of lightning.
Houvdon raised his arms to cover his face, bracing his legs against the ground to prevent himself from being pushed back.
After a few moments, the lightning disappeared, as did the Sun that had descended upon the plane of existence. The wind slowly dissipated, Houvdon lowering his arms before it disappeared completely. His black robes settled at the exact time he had taken a rough estimate as to how many Knights were currently in the valley.
Just a little over a thousand.
He himself only had a force of mere dozens. Combined with Zuxara and Zylaorfier, he would only have at most, two hundred mages against a thousand fully-trained Knights that worked for the highest of existences, the Greater Beings themselves.
Some mages within his counterattack plan weren't even formally trained, only at a pitiful barely ascended Rank 2.
Yet, every mage he had was an extra hand. Maybe if they were lucky to survive, they would grow stronger from this experience.
He stepped forward alone, as did a single figure.
"I came." The voice should have been muffled behind the faceless mask, but the lack of a hole where the mouth should have been did not stop his voice from being perfectly clear. "Just as promised."
"I'm surprised you actually decided to come right in front of me."
"You don't seem very surprised." Verilius's fingers tapped rhythmically against an invisible sword that was sheathed at his hip.
"That's because I'm really not."
Verilius gave a small chuckle. He took a step backwards, crossing his arms over his chest in an "X" shape. He lowered his back to give Houvdon a bow, tradition related to his Knight background.
Not even moments after he straightened from his bow did Houvdon sense a surge of magical power.
He rose his arm quickly, opening up his palm as a translucent barrier formed in front of him. The world turned silent, not even the wind making a sound.
But this silence lasted for less than a split second, almost as if every inch of the world prepared to create the earth-shattering boom that occurred after the projectiles struck Houvdon's shield.
If a second Sun had descended from Verilius's arrival, then multiple Suns were formed in the explosions given life from the collision between the multiple arrows from the Knight and Houvdon's impenetrable wall.
The rest of the Etherstorm mages took a long period of time simply staring in awe as their young lord held off the repeated attacks by himself, his own shield not having a single crack despite the power behind each strike.
The ground practically incinerated under the intense heat of the flames, the rock slowly turning into magma as it melted under the force of the explosions.
Yet Houvdon did not bulge. He remained unmoving as his barrier continued to hold against the rather large magnitude of strikes.
His eyes glowed with power as the winds from the aftershock pushed everyone back but him. His heels dug into the ground as he gritted his teeth in concentration. His brow furrowed as his eye glowed even brighter.
The barrier glowed a brilliance that caused even the Sun itself to seem inferior.
He released a short breath of air as he finally felt the first struggles of maintaining a barrier against the repeated attacks.
His right arm spasmed as he felt his magic begin to reach its limit.
Only after his body's obvious display of distress did it bring the rest of the mages to their senses. They snapped out of their rather long-winded awe and finally realized that they could help him.
Multiple layers of barriers formed in front of his own. He closed his eyes shut as he lowered his arm, calming his breathing as he clutched his arm, glaring down at his arm.
The dozen-layered wall held up just as well as his own, absorbing every attack that was thrown at them.
𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩.
For the first time, his core was stressed at the amount of magic he was forced to output.
An emotion he embraced so dearly was slowly rising. His eyes glowed with rage as his aura pushed outwards, both wrapping around him in a sort of armor as well as drifting around his body as a sort of mist.
Never before had he felt his body rejecting what he forced onto it. It made him feel something that he thought he had discarded nine years ago.
This feeling he was so familiar with...
𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
"Commence counterattack!" He roared, breaking out of the thoughts that threatened to shake his mind, his raged-fueled voice even louder than the earth-shattering booms that sounded every second. His eyes practically turned into crystallized gold as he swept his arm to the side. "Leave none alive."
At the tops of the cliff did multiple flashes occur at once, as the first of offense magic was thrown at the Knights that were dozens of meters below.
The counterattack had begun.
-----
𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉