The scars on his face burned like fire, but Sunlit remained in his seat, glowering to the south. He knew what that pain signified: Leon Raime was drawing closer, leaving him in enough pain to be unable to relax, no matter what he did.

His heart blazed with fury and his hands twitched; he wanted to head out and meet the Sky Devils. He wanted to go out and find Leon Raime, lay his hands upon the boy’s neck, and then squeeze until his head popped right off.

But whenever he thought about doing just that, his scars twinged and reminded him of his previous failure, causing his legs to weaken and his fists to loosen. It brought him no small amount of shame, but his confidence was boosted since, even though Leon Raime was largely leading his troops from the front as they swept across the center of the Sword, routing his forces and pushing north, Leon had so far not used the weapon that had done such catastrophic damage to Sunlit in their last direct encounter.

It certainly made him think, since he figured if Leon had access to that kind of weapon, he’d be freer with using it. If he wasn’t, then it wasn’t something he could use at will.

“… after Arcaion’s defection, we haven’t many options left!”

“Pull Caius’ troops back here, to this ridge, and have them rain fire down upon the Sky Devils! It will slow them down long enough for us to maneuver reinforcements into position!”

Sunlit rolled his eyes as his generals argued amongst themselves about whatever tactics they thought might win them the war, or at least bring the Sky Devils’ advance to a halt.

Anger boiled within Sunlit at the thought of the betrayal, as it had for days. Arcaion had opened the door for the Sky Devils, and the dogs had charged on through, then proceeded to ransack the kitchen, chew on the furniture, and shit all over the floor—which was to say that they were putting Sunlit’s forces to flight with ease. Entire divisions were being surrounded and forced to surrender or face destruction, and most of his military’s fixed defenses were having to be abandoned with the Sky Devils coming in from the west rather than from south across a river.

What further enraged him was the indecision amongst his general staff. Why was he allowing them to continue to exist if they couldn’t even agree on a proper response?

“… Majesty?”

He sighed and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

“Your Imperial Majesty? Sire?”

The speaker was one of his more sycophantic generals. He liked the man and even considered him competent, but his annoyance skyrocketed as the man dragged him into the debate.

“What?” Sunlit demanded, even as he controlled his killing intent.

“In my humble opinion, hearing your thoughts on the situation would make planning much easier.”

Sunlit scoffed. “I don’t need to, for I have my own plans.”

Some of his generals had been more taken with staring daggers at each other rather than truly paying attention to him, but that statement drew the attention of everyone in the room. Now, every eyeball stared at his privacy screen.

“Have the ancient arks been properly pulled back?” Sunlit asked.

“They have,” one of his generals stated. “They arrived just last night.”

“I will take the scout craft and personally halt the advance of the Sky Devils,” Sunlit announced. “You are all dismissed.”

His announcement drew immediate reactions, though not a single one of his generals dared to directly criticize him.

“What a wonderful plan, Your Imperial Majesty!” his sycophantic general exclaimed. “With the loss of their tenth-tier mage, the Sky Devils will surely fall to your might like wheat before a harvester!”

“Yes, yes!” another shouted. “The Sky Devils have run out of luck this day! Their advance stops as soon as Your Imperial Majesty wills it!”

Sunlit sat back, letting their adulation wash over him, taking his attention temporarily away from the burning in his scars. Not all of his generals were so enthused, however—about half of them, those that had been appointed by either his mother or his grandfather—were sterner and quieter, with a few quiet looks exchanged amongst themselves. Sunlit made a note of every one of them. They were going to be problems, he could tell. He’d have to deal with them after returning from his glorious counterattack.

But before that, he thought he should prepare a present for Leon Raime. Something that would showcase the fate that awaited him once Sunlit was finished with him. Something that would send the right message…

It didn’t take him long to think of the perfect thing, and once he did, he dismissed his generals and began preparing. He’d leave that night, and by morning, the Sky Devils would be halted in their tracks.

---

Leon smiled as he sat back, finally able to relax after a few days of hard work. The advance of his forces had been hard and fast, and nearly a full third of the Sword had fallen back into their possession, leaving only the northern coasts and mountains for the Sunlit forces to cling to. They still had more than a million troops, however, so Leon wasn’t about to let himself get complacent, but the success of this offensive had been staggering.

One of the reasons why it had been so exhaustive, too, was that many Imperial units had been successfully surrounded. They’d either been too slow in falling back to the north or had simply been left behind by their comrades, with them learning of the Tribal offensive as the central army bore down upon them.

With an eye to retaining the moral high ground as much as he could, Leon had done his best to ensure that all these units were taken prisoner rather than exterminated—a feat that had required some doing on his part given the grief and animosity that existed between the Tribes and the Imperials.

He’d largely succeeded, with not a single unit he’d personally intervened in favor of being killed. There were a few massacres, and Leon had had the perpetrators taken off the front lines and imprisoned, but for the most part, the only Sunlit units that were completely wiped out were those that steadfastly refused to surrender, no matter what Leon did.

‘I’ll have to make sure to bring Arcaion with me more often,’ Leon mused as he contemplated that problem. He’d gone as far as to get the former Sunlit Commander to communicate with some of his more stubborn colleagues to convince them that they’d receive honorable treatment if taken prisoner, which had done much to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, but Leon still felt like he could’ve done more to help.

As it was, the amount of space that they had to keep all these prisoners was becoming limited, and simply keeping them fed was going to become a problem that the Jaguar, Solomon back on Kataigida, and many others were already working to solve. Feeding more than a hundred and fifty thousand prisoners on top of the nearly million troops already deployed was a herculean effort and one that Leon wasn’t envious of. Dealing with the minutiae of logistics was of paramount importance, he knew that much, but he was quietly very happy that he wasn’t the one who had to deal with it.

But it was all worth it, as far as he was concerned. The simple fact that he was relaxing in the solar of a large castle only a few dozen miles from the new frontline was proof of that. With him were Valeria, Maia, and Anzu, with all the others in his entourage in their own quarters. The castle was more than large enough to accommodate him, his Tempest Knights, and thousands more, and it was surrounded by picturesque mountains, lakes, and forests. So beautiful was it that Leon was sorely tempted to make this a personal retreat of his should they retake the island and manage to keep it once all of this was over.

Maia was relaxing as she was wont to do: by dozing on the nearest sofa with her nose buried in a book. Leon recognized that particular book, having seen it many times before, but its appearance became far more frequent after revealing his decision to start trying for kids.

It was a book from his family’s archives detailing the methods they’d used to try and get around the fertility issues that all bearers of Inherited Bloodlines were burdened with. They’d already tried a few of the easier methods, though Leon strongly doubted anything had yet worked. Even mortals often had to try for months to have kids, let alone strong mages with Inherited Bloodlines, and he’d spent a goodly portion of the past quarter of a year since his announcement unconscious.

Anzu, meanwhile, was playing a game of keeps with Valeria. The young griffin had spent no small amount of time watching Leon and Gaius play and picked up the rules of the game from them. However, Leon didn’t have as much time as he would’ve liked to play the game with his adopted brother, so Anzu had to rope others into playing with him. Valeria, fortunately, enjoyed the game and presented quite the challenge for Anzu to try and overcome.

As much as Leon would’ve loved to head on over and either watch or participate, he had other things on his mind, things that he’d put off for far too long.

Namely, his lessons.

As a King, he had many duties, but he was more than aware that he needed a great deal of help in order to properly fulfill his role. He needed advisors and generals and others to whom he could delegate power. He needed experienced, knowledgeable people who could help him in places where he was ignorant or otherwise lacking. He needed people who had been in his position before and could offer advice and let him learn from their experiences.

Fortunately, he had two such people in his soul realm.

So, he cast another quick glance at his family before diving straight into his soul realm.

Xaphan was there, which didn’t surprise Leon in the slightest. It wasn’t like the demon roamed around Leon’s soul realm, nor did he even want to do so.

What was more surprising was that the Thunderbird was there waiting for him atop her perch.

[Leon,] she said with a loving, motherly voice echoing through Leon’s mind, though she was in her avian form and couldn’t smile.

“Ancestor,” Leon warmly replied, letting his unabashed smile out to express for them both. “I’ve had a few… interesting weeks, but I’m ready to resume my never-ending education.”

[You damn well better be,] the Thunderbird said with a cheeky tilt of her head. [Follow me, we’ll be flying and talking today.]

Leon nodded and lifted off as his ancient Ancestor flapped her mighty wings and soared into the air above his soul realm.

As he joined her in the ‘sky’, he spared a few looks back down. His soul realm was healing quite well, with the remaining damage done by the interaction between the Iron Needle and the Hesperidic Apples almost completely gone.

Upon reaching her desired height, the Thunderbird leveled off and used her wind magic to prop herself up, allowing herself to hover. Leon did the same, hovering in the air about ten feet from her.

[How has your war been going?] the Thunderbird asked.

Leon quickly filled her in.

She clicked her beak a bit and said, [You must be more willing to kill your enemies, Leon. Taking so many prisoners will make others view you as weak.]

“I’m not looking to bathe Aeterna in blood,” Leon shot back. “Doing so would only validate the negative opinions about our Clan. Opinions that I’m somewhat partial to, I would remind you.”

The Thunderbird gave him a baleful glare for a moment before her expression lightened slightly. [Strength is what matters most,] she resolutely declared, her eyes filled with conviction. [If your enemies believe you to be strong, then they won’t attack you. If they think you weak, regardless of the truth of the matter, then they will attack. Such is the way of things. Present yourself as strong, whether you are or are not. Avoid whatever makes you look weak. And taking so many prisoners makes you look weak.]

“I disagree. That I’m able to take so many prisoners shows my strength more than simply killing them would.” Leon paused a moment and looked the Thunderbird in the eye. “I can deal with the Imperials. It shows both my mercy and my ability to be able to take so many into captivity instead of killing them outright. It gives those who remain hope. They will be more likely to surrender if they understand that their comrades are being treated well.”

[You would prosecute your war by pandering to cowards?] The Thunderbird looked about as concerned as her avian face could express.

“No, I’m pandering to the common people that these armies are made from. No one sane wants to die, and all cornered animals will fight to the death. To make sure that the Imperials don’t fight to the death brings this war closer to its end with greater speed.”

With another click of her beak, the Thunderbird snapped, [Keep an eye on these many traitors, then. Those who are willing to surrender themselves and betray their Lord are not to be trusted. They may be sent specifically to drain your resources.]

“Impossible,” Leon dismissed with a wave of his hand. “Not the way we broke through. Not with the way they were equipped. But I will assure you, Ancestor, that I have quite a few serious people who are taking this matter seriously. There is a method to this mercy, as much as you seem to abhor it.”

After a moment of thought, the Thunderbird replied, [Make your own mistakes. Such is the folly of youth, turning away the advice of their more experienced elders.] She paused, then brought her head down closer to Leon’s to emphasize her seriousness. [No matter what you do, I still want that bastard’s head. Bring it to me.]

“The Sunlit Emperor will die by my hand,” Leon resolved. “That hasn’t changed, nor will it. He will receive no mercy.”

With a satisfied chirp, the Thunderbird withdrew her head. She was about to say something more when Leon felt someone pushing and pulling on his physical body and whispering into his ear. Turning his attention back outward, he realized that someone was Valeria.

“Leon,” she was saying. “Something’s happened!”

“Pardon me, Ancestor,” Leon said as worry bloomed within. “I need to head back out. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

[I’ll wait here for you to return,] the Thunderbird replied as she followed Leon in diving back to his Mind Palace.

Soon enough, Leon was back on his throne while the Thunderbird stood upon her perch.

When Leon opened his eyes, Valeria looked relieved, though her sapphire eyes were narrowed with worry.

“What’s happening?” Leon hurriedly asked.

“The Sunlit Emperor has made a move!” Valeria swiftly stated as she waved to Lana standing in the doorway who’d clearly just delivered the news. “He’s attacking us right now!”

---

Leon stared at the devastation around him, cold fury burning within him. A few black sparks were emitted from his fingers and the night sky, fairly clear until this point, had quite suddenly become overcast.

What lay beneath Leon had, until about an hour before, been an important strategic fortress taken on their push north. It had been incredibly large, being big enough for a garrison of more than ten thousand and able to barrack tens of thousands more. The Bear Tribe’s army had been tasked with securing it.

Now, it lay in ruins. Its tall buildings had been obliterated and the people within were killed seemingly to a man. The ground was littered with the dead and dying, and Leon’s Tempest Knights and central army personnel were already swarming downward to join the search for survivors.

However, one place drew Leon’s attention more than anywhere else. It was a stack of war beasts that he could tell had been arranged specifically to draw attention.

It started with a bottom layer of dead pegasi, numbering in the hundreds. Following that were various kinds of bear, though Leon thought he could see the corpses of a few transformed Bear Tribesmen in there, too. Above them were more unique war beasts, from chimeric hybrids to completely unique creatures.

At the top of the stack, however, was a large bear with red fur and the swirling silver pattern that seemed common to all those in the Bear Tribe. It had been impaled on no less than half a dozen massive stakes propping it up like a macabre art piece, reminding Leon in no small way of some of the atrocities that Jormun had inflicted upon his people in the Serpentine Isles.

The Beast Lord, Leon believed, especially since he’d been in charge of this fortress. He was dead.

And staked to his chest was a box hanging from rope woven from silver and blue thread. Leon descended upon the mound of dead war beasts and used his magic to lift the box. A small note attached to the box specifically addressed the box to him, ‘courtesy of His Imperial Majesty, the Sunlit Emperor.’

Leon, after making sure that the box wasn’t trapped—it was just an average completely unenchanted wooden box—and that he was still a fair distance away, opened the box, bracing himself for some kind of explosion or other bit of shenanigans.

However, what was in the box was not a hidden explosion spell, but something almost worse.

A pair of severed hands, nailed to the bottom of the box, freshly severed enough that they were still wet with blood.

Within the box was also another note, this one just a little longer.

‘He bravely withstood my attentions,’ the note read, ‘but he screamed when I took these. All men scream eventually, no matter how hard they are. If you want the rest of him, you’ll have to come and get him. I’ll even be generous and leave a few more bits behind to help you find him…’

Leon glared at the note and barely resisted the urge to incinerate it right then and there. Instead, he drew it and the box into his soul realm, and then turned his rapidly-darkening gaze northward, where the Sunlit Emperor’s arks were still hovering around the nearest mountains. Wrath coursed so thickly through him that all other emotions he might’ve felt were completely drowned out.

He knew whose hands these were, for they could be no one else’s: they belonged to Iron-Striker. Leon was running out of time to get him back, if time hadn’t already run out.