Nebulous City, Renacido.

Miko was behind his desk going through the reports of what happened during his absence. In front of him were the king of the dwarves and the head of construction and development for the country, Sirdrek.

“I see that you’ve been busy, Sirdrek. All of the projects I left behind have been completed. Even the ones in Dale and Aloe.”

“The boys wanted to repay you for all that you’ve done so they worked as hard as they could.”

“I’m grateful for that. I intend to reward every worker handsomely when things settle down.”

He stood from his desk.

“Since everything is in order I’m going to handle some business.”

He walked up to Sirdrek and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Pass on my words to Valera, Kai, Bron, and the other beast leaders.”

He grinned.

“It’s almost time for another expansion so think about how you’ll distribute your people across the new countries.”

“What do you mean?”

Miko only smiled and left the room. Sirdrek furrowed his brows.

“….He just came back so he couldn’t be thinking about another war…Right?”

After he left his office, Miko headed to one of the secret rooms in the Hall Of Rebirth. Inside the room was a large science facility with countless machines and gadgets.

“Yo, Miko.”

Alec and Kirika were standing in front of a giant monitor. Alec was smiling at Miko, while Kirika was operating the machine.

“How is she?”

On the monitor, Miko could see a naked Momo with tubes and wires hooked to her.

“Her vitals are functioning a bit below average but her life isn’t in danger.”

Kirika answered with her eyes focused on the monitor.

“I can tell what kind of fight she had from the data we gotten from her body. Torn muscles, damages organs, destroyed nerves, fractured bones….There’s no way she had an easy fight.”

Alec looked at Miko with a rare seriousness.

“To be honest, her being alive is nothing short of a miracle.”

“…..But she’s alive and that’s all that matters.”

Miko walked up the monitor and stared at Momo on the screen.

“Momo won’t die. She would never leave me behind me, ever.”

Kirika and Alec became quiet and looked at each other. Miko broke the silence.

“What are the lingering effects? She wouldn’t have asked for you if they weren’t any.”

“It seems that she damaged her Mana Core. She can still use magic but not at the level she was capable of before.”

“In other words, she’s gotten weaker.”

Alec nodded.

“A lot weaker.”

“Can it be fixed?”

“It can but it will take time. The Mana Core is what allows us to use mana. It’s a delicate organ hidden in the heart so you must avoid damaging it at all costs. If damaged it will take years to heal.”

“I assume that you can decrease the recovery time.”

“I can.”

“By how much?”

“If Kiri and I gave it our all I can reduce the time to one year. However, Momo mustn’t use magic during that time.”

“That’s fine. I’ll protect her during that year.”

“I don’t think she’ll like that.”

“It’s not about what she wants. If Momo isn’t in my life then it’s meaningless. So I’ll keep her safe by any means necessary.”

Miko’s eyes and face were dead serious. So serious that there was no room for a rebuttal from Alec or Kirika.

“Anyway, Alec. There’s someone I want you to meet after this.”

“I don’t know. I’m kinda busy with everything going on.”

Miko dug into his pocket and handed Alec something. It was a picture of Bella.

“Would you look at that? My schedule suddenly cleared up.”

They moved to Miko’s home in Nami. When they arrived Alec and Kirika were surprised to see the house filled with people unknown to them.

“These are the people I brought from Newgate.”

“Alec and Kirika Dragna, it’s an honor to meet you.”

Edward approached them with a smile.

“I’m Edward Akabe aka Code Breaker. I’m the Don’s new technological adviser as well as a member of Renacido’s war counsel.”

“Nice to meet you, Edward.”

Alec turned to Miko.

“So, you’ve already found Gizmo’s replacement…”

“What are you talking about?”

Kirika’s eyes widened.

“Miko, didn’t you know who defected?”

Miko’s eyes slowly widened.

“….We were only told about Krow and Alexis….Everyone must’ve assumed that I knew and didn’t say anything.”

Miko clicked his tongue.

“That geezer purposely left Gizmo’s name out. To be fair, he was raised by Alexis so I should’ve expected it.”

Miko glanced at the siblings.

(They seem to be handling the betrayal alright….At least on the surface. I’m sure that their loyalty is being questioned since their father is was involved…)

“Anyway, Edward has an Inborn Ability that allows him to manipulate machinery as if it was apart of his own body. This and his knowledge of weaponry and warfare make him a great asset.”

“Really? That’s a great catch….I’ll dissect his abilities later.”

“Dissect?”

Alec ignored Edward and locked eyes with Bella who was standing beside Yota in the back.

“Are you the one I’m supposed to meet?”

“I-I am.”

Bella stepped forward with clumsy steps. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture.

“I’m Bella Azalea, Crown Princess of the Azalea Kingdom.”

“A princess, huh?”

Alec ran his gaze all over her and smiled when she started fidgeting.

“Stop that. You’re making her uncomfortable.”

Kirika hit him on the back of his head.

“I’m sorry about that, Princess Bella. My brother is a tactless idiot.”

“N-No, it’s fine. I was just nervous.....I don’t mind him looking.”

“See? She said that it’s okay.”

Alec wore a proud expression to Kirika’s disgust. Miko moved to Bella’s ear.

“I told you to act like yourself. Alec likes strong-willed women. The current you will only grab his interest for a second and nothing more.”

She nodded and took a deep breath.

“Sir Alec, I’m a huge fan. It’s an honor to meet you.”

She stretched out her hand. Alec looked at it and shook it with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Princess Bella.”

“Call me Bella.”

Alec smiled.

“Alright, Bella. Then can I ask why you requested to meet me? No, how do you know Miko?”

“I met Miko in Newgate when I was working with Edward to overthrow the government there. We partnered up and fought an intense battle together. Currently, we’re working together to turn the Azalea Kingdom in an empire that rules the southern region of the continent.”

“Really? Sounds like your life is filled with excitement.”

“Nothing beats meeting you, Sir Alec.”

“Please, call me Alec.”

Alec lifted Bella’s hand to his lips and kissed it.

(Only handsome men can get away with that shit.)

Miko laughed to himself.

“So what do you think, Alec?”

Miko leaned on Alec.

“Isn’t she is a great woman?”

“She is but why are you trying to set us up?”

Alec lifted his hand to stop Miko from talking.

“Considering what she said about you guys teaming up, I take it that you had problems negotiating a deal with the king and used me as a bargaining chip.”

“As expected, I couldn’t hide it from you.”

Miko smiled.

“I know you’ll reject it but hear me out.”

Ace carried out a crate and placed it at Alec’s feet.

“Wine from Dionysus’ personal winery.”

“Really?”

Alec stooped down and opened the crate to see over a dozen gold bottles inside. His jaw dropped and saliva drained from his mouth.

“Ah!”

He stood up and wiped his mouth.

“That’s not enough to convince me.”

“I know.”

Miko threw a book at Alec. He caught it and started reading it.

“Hm?...Hm?...HM?!”

Kirika peeked at the contents. After a few seconds, her eyes widened.

“Is this alchemy?!”

“Primal Alchemy. It’s inferior to nowadays alchemy but as the foundation of modern science it’s priceless to those in the field.”

Miko took out more books.

“I’ve got a lot more information like this that I can give you. For example, a list of extinct species with vivid descriptions about their lifestyles and biological makeup.”

Miko grinned.

“I can give you all this and more if you agree to marry Bella, who is totally your type.”

“……!”

Alec looked at Bella, the crate, and then the books over and over again. He clenched his teeth.

“Dammit! It’s a deal!”

He grabbed the books from Miko, held onto Bella, and placed the crate on his shoulder. He ran off before Miko could say anything else.

“Hahaha! I win!”

Miko burst out laughing.

“Miko, just where did you get these books?”

Kirika approached him.

“I made them.”

“You made them? How did you get your hands on this knowledge?!”

Miko didn’t answer immediately and thought about it for a bit and nodded.

“I guess it’s time I explain somethings to all of you.”

Meanwhile, two figures arrived at Dragna City wrapped in hooded robes.

“It’s been a while since we’ve come back. I heard the place was a mess so I expected a wasteland but isn’t it just fine?”

“Kouta, it’s best you lower your voice when you say things like that….I can feel that the people are already tense as it is without you adding fuel to the fire.”

“So what? They’re gonna rebel? That’s fine by me.”

“I know you’re upset but this isn’t the way to smoke out traitors. It will only create more traitors.”

The two removed their hoods. One had gold hair and the other white hair. Both had ocean blue eyes.

“Besides, a rebellion would be too energy-consuming. I want to relax, not massacre.”

The white-haired one lazily stretched his body.

“Alright. Since you’re so defensive about it I’ll stop.”

The golden-haired one had a cocky smile on his face.

“Besides, it’s better I preserve my energy.”

He clenched his fist.

“I’m gonna need it to destroy those traitorous bastards, especially the ones who attacked Aunty Sasha. I’m gonna smashed their heads in.”

Electric sparks danced around him.

“That’s good to hear.”

Someone appeared in front of them. With androgynous features, purple hair, and dressed in dark clothes with stars on them, Nova approached them.

“It’s great to have you back, Christensen and Kouta.”

The White-haired Christensen slightly bowed his head while the golden-haired Kouta simply nodded.

“It’s good to be back, Father.”