District 20.

Inside the dome on top of the tallest tower two brothers stood face to face with each other.

These brothers were Edward and Tommy Akabe.

“Long time no see, Eddy.”

The one who spoke first was Gear.

“Yeah. The last time we've met in person was when you beat me for the position of Head of the Akabe Clan.”

Edward said with a smile.

“Yeah. Good times.”

Tommy also smiled.

“So what brought my criminal of a brother here today?”

He leaned on his desk and asked.

“Andre Bernard. I would like to meet with our cousin. He's here isn't he?”

“He is.”

“So you won't deny it.”

“Why would I deny it? If you want to see him I can bring you to him.”

Edward nodded.

“Then follow me.”

Gear got off his desk and started walking towards a door that was located at the back of the room.

He opened the door and walked in.

“Wha?!”

When Edward entered the room he couldn't help but to exclaim.

He saw Andre Bernard alright, but he wasn't like what he expected.

“He got too carried away during his battle with Jin Makoto and ended up like this.”

Andre was inside a capsule filled with medical liquids.

He was missing an arm and a leg, and had machines messing with the amputated areas.

The left side of his face was wrapped and a helmet connected to a hose was on his head.

Hoses were also inserted in his mouth as if to help him breathe.

“….Is he alive?”

Edward couldn't help but to ask after seeing Andre like this.

“Of course he is. He's just unable to stay alive without assistance of these machines.”

Tommy placed his hand on the capsule.

“But this is only temporary. Andre will be good as new in no time.”

“Tommy, why would you go to such lengthens to keep him alive? What is Andre Bernard to you?”

“What? He's family of course.”

“Tch!”

Gear’s answered pissed off Edward and gave him the urge to punch him in the face.

“Fine! Fine! Don't get so angry. I thought that hanging out with the Heavenly Demon King would make you develop a sense of humor, but I guess not.”

Gear hurriedly said.

“Stop messing around and tell me.”

“Hey, hey. I thought you were my brother not my mother. What right do you have to order me your elder brother around.”

“After constantly suppressing me for years, I deserve a truthful answer.”

“Hmmm…I guess you're right.”

Gear said after thinking about it for a bit.

“Fine. Andre is my secret weapon to counter Jin Makoto. Or he was. It seems that not even him could contend against that monster.”

He said with a sigh, but he quickly started smiling.

“But hope isn't lost. Andre still has lots of room to grow.”

“He does?”

“Of course. Did you know? Andre has never trained a day in his life and was still able to destroy a district. Just imagine if he starts training earnestly. I'm sure he'll be able to crush Jin Makoto.”

From the way he talked it was obvious that Gear was putting all of his hopes on Andre defeating Jin. It also showed how much he feared for his life.

“Well, we’ll have to wait until Andre recovers as well as Jin Makoto to come out of hiding.”

“Hiding?”

“Ah, I shouldn't have said that. Well, with your skills you would've found out eventually.”

He said with a shrug.

“For reasons unknown to us, Jin Makoto disappeared after his battle with Andre. His only form of contact to us was a message saying ‘Gonna sleep for a bit’.”

“You’re telling me that you who control all of the surveillance cameras and satellites in city can't find him?”

“Hey, the guy knows the city like the back of his hand. He knows where to go to avoid even the Pillars detection.”

Gear quickly defended himself.

“But it's not like he'll stay hidden forever. We’ll find him eventually, and even if we don't he’ll show himself eventually. After all, we still have his weakness.”

“Ah, I should tell you that I know all about that when I hacked the 16th District. I also know that you guys are just bluffing at the moment and no longer has the means to control Jin Makoto.”

Edward said casually.

“……..”

Gear quietly cursed Sebas for incompetence, but also had to admit that he and Edward were really brothers. They both hacked and took control of an entire district and stole valuable information.

“Hey, you wouldn't tell that information to anyone would you? We may have our differences but we're still brothers you know.”

“Calm down. I offered Miko this information but he wasn't interested. Beside him there's no one else I would tell.”

“Oh, thank you my benevolent brother!”

Gear started to affectionately hug his brother.

“Stop that! You’re creeping me out!”

Edward forcibly pushed Gear off him.

“Seriously, you haven't changed since we were kids. Always so cowardly.”

“Don't act so heroic. You're a big as a coward as I am.”

Gear stood proudly and pointed to himself.

“We're weak! People like us aren't made for fighting, so what's wrong with us being a little cautious?! I can't fight so I'll use strong guys to protect me!”

“Have a little shame, dammit!”

Edward was starting to have a headache.

This was the main reason why he could handle his brother. He had not one ounce of shame and was proud of his shamelessly.

“It's hard to believe that you're a S Class.”

“My Will Power, Magical Prowess, and Intellect are all S Class, but my Physical Ability and Martial Prowess are all less than the average person.”

“Again, don't look so proud!”

Edward shouted.

“I'm leaving before I start seeing gray hairs.”

Saying so Edward turned his back on his brother and left.

“See ya! Come to visit again soon!”

When Edward left Gear turned and faced the unconscious Andre.

“Don't worry, cousin. I'll make sure you’re in tip top shape in no time.”

He then showed a mischievous smile.

“I'm sure you'll make things fun during the final battle.”

The days blew past after Jin disappeared from the world, and the event that Miko was patiently waiting for was now only a few days away.

“So both Jin and Andre Bernard are out of commission?”

Miko who was sitting in cafeteria asked Sola who was reporting to him.

“Yes. Lord Code Breaker said that he apologizes for taking so long to report, it's just that he wanted to see if he could find where Jin Makoto was hiding himself.”

“And?”

“He failed.”

“Well, I guessed as much.”

He lend back in his chair and looked at the person he “invited” to eat with him.

“Are you enjoying your meal, Princess Mayumi.”

The one who sat in front of him was the 3rd Princess of the Aloe Kingdom and the one coded named The Prophetess, 8th ranked Throne Mayumi Shidou.

“I would enjoy it better if the atmosphere wasn't so stifling.”

She looked around at those sitting at the table.

Other than her and Miko, there were nearly a dozen other persons who were Miko's lackeys.

If they had just been there she wouldn't have felt nervous. The reason for her to feel uncomfortable was the fact that they were all armed with all kinds of weapons as if they were ready to go to war at any moment.

Of course everyone was armed by their free will. Miko didn't order them to armed themselves or to protect him.

He told them not to but they insisted so he let them do as they wished.

“Don't mind them. They won't harm you. You're my guest after all.”

Miko said with a gentle smile, but that gentle smile sent chills down Mayumi’s spine.

“S-So what can I do for you, Your Highness?”

Miko sat there smiling for a while before answering.

“Princess would you be interested in an alliance between me and you?”

Mayumi was visibly surprised to hear that.

“Do you mean an alliance between the Dragna Kingdom and the Aloe Kingdom?”

Miko shook his head and then pointed at her.

“No, just an alliance between me and you. I have no interest in allying myself with the Aloe Kingdom.”

He bent his arms behind his head.

“In my opinion you're worth more than your whole kingdom.”

“You must be joking. How can I out weigh the entire kingdom?”

“That's how much you're worth to me.”

Mayumi looks at him with a confused expression.

“I don't think you're coming on to me, so please tell me how am I important to you?”

“I'll be honest with you, it's your ability. It's too dangerous to have such an ability outside of my control, and it would be a waste to eliminate you as a precaution.”

“So you want my power to be under your rule?”

Miko nodded.

“What if I refuse?”

“You're free to do so if you want.”

Miko smiled.

“But keep in mind that I could’ve used [Rule] to force you into a slave contract, but I didn't do so because I'm a civilized person with morals.”

“Pfft!”

Ishma who was eating next Miko suddenly started choking on her food as she laughed.

Miko silenced her with a slap to the head. He then ignored the frowning Ishma and faced Mayumi again.

“Another reason why I didn't resort to such brutish methods was because I wanted us to treat each other like equals. That's why I proposed an alliance.”

“Equals, huh?”

“What do you say?”

Mayumi put on a pondering expression for a while before answering.

“I want to ask you a question first.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do plan to do with my kingdom in the future?”

“Destroy and conquer.”

“….You answered pretty quickly, and you didn't even try to hide your malicious intentions.”

“I said it before didn't I? I want us to treat each other like equals. That means that we won't try to deceive each other.”

“Is that so?”

Miko nodded.

“Just so you know, whether you join me or not your kingdom will fall into my hands, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. Whether you fall with it is entirely up to you.”

“I have no intention to fall with that cursed place. If you want to burn it to the ground then be my guess.”

While Miko was expecting Mayumi to have some ill feelings towards her country because they sent her away from a young age, he didn't expect for her to hate it to such an extent.

“I see that you dislike your kingdom.”

“Of course, I do. I barely have any good memories there.”

“Despite being royalty?”

“Especially because I was royalty.”

Mayumi looked like just recalling her childhood made her angry.

“In that country I was considered nothing more than a cursed existence.”

“I'm taking a guess here but could it be that you foresaw several serious incidents and tried to warn your people about them, but instead of being praised you were blamed for those incidents.”

“That's right!”

Mayumi clenched her teeth as she remembered the past.

“It all started when I saw grandfather’s, the former king’s death. I warned him and my parents about it, but they all disregarded it as a child’s nightmare. Couple months later my grandfather died the exact same way I saw it, because of this my family started saying that I cursed my grandfather and distanced themselves from me. I was only 3 at the time.”

She continued.

“I was a child so I didn't know what exactly I did wrong so I was confused. I actually thought that they were mad at me because I didn't tell them fast enough or wasn't persuasive enough.”

She spoke with self-ridicule.

“From then on I tried my best to convince my family about all of the bad things that would happen in the future. When I saw that wasn't working I started preaching to the people. Before I knew it I became known as a witch who cursed people to death and caused disasters. My family became a shame of the monster they created and locked me away for two years without any form of human contact. Even when locked away I was constantly blamed for all of the countries misfortunes. It was like it became a custom to blame me for everything.”

She took a deep breath.

“On my 9th birthday I was finally released believing that my family had finally forgiven me, but I was wrong. My father looked me in the eye and told me that as long as I was there the people would live in fear, so it was my duty as a princess to leave the country and never return. That was how I was sent here, exiled.”

“…..That's a sad tale.”

Miko said after listening to Mayumi rant. It went pretty much how he expected it to go.

‘Humans fear the unknown, huh? Looks like this is true even in a world like this.’

He thought to himself.

“So what is your decision?”

Mayumi smiled.

“If you can make that cursed place fall before my eyes and bring the royal family at my feet then I have no problem becoming your partner, slave or whatever.”

Miko smiled back at her.

“Consider it done.”

He stretched his hand out towards her.

Mayumi looked at it for a while before taking it.

“Welcome to the Dragna Kingdom, Princess Mayumi.”

He shook his head.

“General Mayumi Shidou.”

Mayumi widen her eyes at the word “General” but soon smiled after.

“Thanks for having me.”