As we turned around and headed back to our position, the Camelot began its descent, finally coming to a halt, parallel to the Pride's walls, lowering itself to a stop and connecting us to the docking tower.

“Connection secured,” Kustov reported. “Stabilizers online, we’re set.”

“Good.” I stood up, rubbing the ache in my neck, cracking it. “Let the crew rest in shifts; we don't know when that bastardly dragon sends more monsters our way. Send word to the other Passes to be on extra alert and prepared for a possible retaliatory attack... We probably angered that thing a lot... While we prepare, I’ll meet with our guests.”

"You mean, we meet with our guests?" Sasha asked in a way that was not a question, already beside me, looking icier than I have ever seen her. Ouch... scary.

Surprisingly, the air was not as cold as in the past few days, probably because our spells clashing had warmed the entire region by a few degrees. But I wasn't afraid of it staying, as I could already feel the wind picking up, rectifying the sudden rise of the temperature. As for the Vasas, they were already waiting for us, their elders standing there, with Sa'Ith at the front. This time around, she wore clothes that let her chest show, and although she wasn't as big as Mikan, she was... nice... and a question of mine was of course answered, because her cleavage showed some red scales on the side of her... Ouch. I couldn't help but flinch as Sasha elbowed me right under my ribs, causing the air to get stuck and now sting like hell. Okay, okay... I get it. Not even looking, eh? Sure, sure, I'll look at her hair, now looking wavy, let loose behind her in an... Ouch... What? I was trying to ask with my eyes as Sasha elbowed me a second time, but she kept looking forward, only eyeing Sa'Ith.

I will never understand women. I thought I did, after having four wives and two daughters, but... nope.

“Sovereign,” Sa'Ith started, ignoring whatever she saw from our exchange, and got straight to the point, “What was that?” Looking at her hands, they were slightly trembling... Then she came right up to me, her hand pressing against my chest as if to feel me up, making even Sasha just look at us with an open mouth, shocked by her savage boldness. Damn, her hands were hot... I mean, literally. She had a much higher body temperature than I or anyone else... and I could feel it through everything. “That light,” she continued, her words rushing out, her breath hitting my face, “That power! You burned the sky itself! You made Ignis feel fear!”

Wait...? They could see the ray? The spell should be invisible, with the wavelength it operates on, only picked up by the Imaginary as it was magic... oh. So they can see magic, no matter what... huh? Do the beasts see it too? It would explain why they know where CC is, even if it's underground. While I was thinking about that, Sasha finally regained her senses, as I saw her grab Sa'Ith's hair, pulling her off me, yanking her head back.

"That's enough!" She stepped between us after shoving the Vasa woman backward. For a moment, Sa'Ith looked confused, but then recollected herself, fixing her hair and her expression, looking into Sasha's eyes. “Careful, Sa’Ith. You’ll wrinkle his uniform.” Sasha added, fixing my coat and then crossing her arms provocatively.

"He would look better without it," Sa’Ith answered, realizing what and why she was doing it, and that Sasha was extremely jealous right now. “You don't need to worry about your position as Queen. I only wish to secure a bloodline for our future,” she declared, looking back at me. “Our Sects, I mean, we and your Avalon, we are not enemies, nor would we want to take over yours. We can't, we can not return to that land... But we can have the same children governing ours, as we are... family."

Yeah, you can't return... but would your kids be able to? But I never posed the question, because I already knew the answer.

"No." Sasha said simply, standing before me, "Leon has already had enough wives, and he is spent. He..." She looked back at me and used words that she picked up from me, making my eyes twitch, "He maxed out his children quota already."

"That's a human problem." She nodded, "With me, he could have a kid easily, as I retained my first-time fertility for this exact moment. I'm untouched by males; it would work immediately."

"How old are you?" I asked, blurting it out without thinking.

"Young," She smiled at me, "Only a hundred and ten."

"..." Neither Sasha nor I had anything to say to that... damn.

"You don't need to care about our offspring; I will raise them. And I will have them..." Then she added, super seriously, "Never, and I mean never, has anyone made her retreat. We forced Ignis back to sleep, yes... but to do it willingly? No. Not even Zah’Ratil could do it. What are you, Leon of Avalon? I want to know...” she continued, looking... well... she looked like a dog in heat. "I want to feel what makes you, you."

"..." I couldn't help but look down at Sasha, who just glanced back at me, telling me with her eyes that this woman was crazier than Yuri. “Well, Sa'Ith, I'm just a man,” I said finally, smiling, “One with a creative mind who makes toys go boom.”

"Go boom they do," She laughed, forming a seductive smile. “Toys that may surprise even the Gods,” she added, crossing her arms below her chest, puffing them up even more, causing Sasha to exhale through her nose. "I never thought it possible," she continued, her head lifting a little, studying the Camelot, her eyes narrowing to a tiny dot, “Your weapons are a mix between magic and the material,” she murmured, “Your own metal beast. You allowed people to access magic even without ingesting it, without their bodies being capable of holding the raw power... You became the Vasa that we should have been... You are not only wielding power… You are giving it to your people... If Zah'Ratil had seen this... he would have known that we have more than our Savior...”

“I... Well... Fuck... Thanks, I guess?” I stumbled, not knowing what to say to that, “Does this mean you no longer want my son? Or his blood? Sperm? Soul? Whatever your plans were originally?”

"I never said that," She smiled at us faintly, “He is still the one who can dominate Ignis and could save us and purify our blood. But I find you more tangible... And desirable.”

"Turn down your heat," Sasha snorted loudly, “Sa’Ith, I think that’s enough admiration for one day. My husband doesn’t usually handle worship well; in fact, he hates it. And I hate fangirls.”

"I only ask for fifteen minutes," She said unabashedly, meeting her gaze as the air between the two of them seemed to spark while neither of their smiles faded. “I am confident in my abilities. He doesn't even need to move. I'll do it.”

"I am happy and proud that I am this popular!" I stepped between them before the sparks caused a fire, pushing them apart, realizing that I touched boobs... Oh well. Just ignore it and keep going! “But I do have my own mind to make the decisions.”

"Do think about it," Sa'Ith's eyes flicked back to me, serious again. “Next time, Ignis will be prepared... so we will have to make sure you can hit her until she is injured enough for the Savior to break her mind. Now we can see... that it can be done. It will be done.” She explained, unbothered, that I grabbed her chest, even if for just a moment

"It will be done without having my SON risk anything," Sasha chimed in, making sure she looked at her as she spoke, “You'll see.”

“Yes,” Sa’Ith whispered, “I do hope you will be right about that...”

“Because now she’ll learn, I know. But," I chuckled, looking at them, as Sasha retook her position in front of me, "it is one thing she knows to fear my weapon; another to understand it. She will not be capable of doing the latter just from that... And I still have some surprises for her."

"I do hope you aren't bluffing," she smiled at me before she stepped closer again, but Sasha stood staunchly between us... she just spoke over my wife, keeping her eyes on me. “When the Vasas, when we first saw you, we pitied you." Then she looked at Sasha, "Both of you. Inheriting our flesh and our magic, separately... Incomplete, but necessary as your union brought forward the new Vasa, who has it both and is clean of the beasts' curse. Now…” She tilted her head, her eyes going soft, “I think you may be something new altogether. Something that our ancestors never expected... I am glad it turned out like this.” Her gaze lingered on my face for another second, maybe waiting for an answer, before bowing her head slightly. “We will be ready for the next assault, Sovereign Leon.”

Then, without more waiting, she turned and walked back toward her camp, her bottom swaying lightly, and as for being deliberate or not, I couldn’t really tell. Haaah... What a vixen!

"Stop looking at her ass." Sasha grunted and then waited until she was out of earshot before continuing, “If she keeps looking at you like that, trying to seduce you like that, I’ll stuff her into one of the cannons and fire her at Ignis. That bitch is in heat!”

"Fiery temper you have there!" I laughed under my breath, leaning closer, pecking her lips. “Jealous?”

“Possessive,” she corrected me, eyes still following Sa’Ith’s silhouette, even when we kissed. “She’s a viper... Beautiful, but she is for sure venomous... I don't trust her, I don't like her, I don't want her near you.”

“Weren't you like this with Yuri?”

“I know, but that's different!” she said, glancing up at me with a small smile. “Yuri was broken, because of what was done to her... This woman was born like this.”

...

....

......

Away from the Avalonian Pass, Ignis broke through the cloud layers like a shooting star, heading above it all, where the sun was actually out, shining onto the top of the clouds, far away from everything. After stopping, her breath came in ragged bursts, every exhale releasing steam that glowed faintly red before fading, scattering around her as she looked back, but she could no longer see anything, just the endless horizon. And... Even at this height, for some reason, the mountaintops were still visible, making her understand, almost on a subconscious level, that no matter how high she flew, the mountains would still be there... always a bit higher, never to be able to fly over them.

It was impossible, yet real, just like the spell that weird, metal beast had spat at her. When it struck her own spell, it was... something overwhelming. She could feel its grain, the waves it generated, the overwhelming law of magic behind it, something she couldn't comprehend... yet. So... if she couldn't, how could they? And how could something that wasn't even alive produce it? How?! Magic is for the living, for those who can breathe it in and circulate it in their bodies... How can something that isn't made out of flesh use it in the first place?!

She hissed to herself, her wings jerking as she tried to calm the tremors running through her body. Her chest still burned from her own sudden release of magic, her scales along her neck looking cracked and dull. They would heal, yes, but the ache beneath them wasn’t just from the wound... Well, it was, but it was amplified by the realization: Just one late breath... one moment of hesitation, and she would have been in serious trouble. If she missed her counter-spell, if she couldn't sense the trajectory of that almost invisible spell... They would have struck her down and could have done something else... maybe send her back to sleep again!

“No,” she snarled, shaking her head violently. “No, no, no!”

The air around her rippled from the burst of heat released from her body as she began throwing a tantrum... She refused to believe it. She would not believe it! They couldn't hurt her, and she had fled because the explosion had made the air unbreathable; that was all. Yes. She hadn’t run because of fear; she’d simply chosen to regroup. Yes... That was the truth. That had to be the truth... That was the clever thing to do.

“I am not afraid,” she said out loud, her voice echoing across the thin clouds, trying to reinforce her mind, “Not afraid. Never afraid!”

Yet, deep down, she could still feel the impact in her bones, in her wings, in the rattled core that was inside her chest. For the first time in her life, she understood the word vulnerable... It was something she had forgotten about.

"It was… fast,” she muttered to herself. “Faster than light. Almost faster than my breath...” She tapped one claw against her jaw, her expression darkening from the pain she felt from doing so, “The metal beast… It has to have a secret... It had to have a thought... Yes...” She hesitated, her pupils narrowing to slits as she remembered the feeling of something, someone, listening in on her thoughts... “There was a mind that touched me...” Her lips curled into a snarl, revealing her teeth, “How dare you?” She slammed her tail into the clouds, churning them all around her. “Little evil thing,” she hissed, “hiding inside your shell! You think that makes you a God? You dare to look at me like an equal? Try to hurt me?! I will eat you like I eat the world! Next time...” she gasped for air, looking at her own shadow stretching across the clouds below her, "I will be ready... for you."