From afar, a man walked. No visible emotions on his face, all but a firm stance – he approached. "What he said was true," Ferry murmured, a show of overwhelming power.

  "Morning everyone," a few minutes later, he stood with Adete sat on the head.

  "Morning, Xenos," the adventurers could but shudder – what people saw wasn't a display of power. In their eyes, this was the wake of a monster far fearsome than any demon.

Return to Reforge continued, as usual, murmurs, whispers, and stories about how that battle unfolded spread as soon as they entered the premises. He who was responsible became a symbol of strength, unwillingly, people looked up to him.

  "Good job as usual," Jannette stood near the entrance, the rest walk past with nods of acknowledgment.

  "Thank you," Staxius stopped and faced away, "-get ready and wake the twins," the lips moved but no sound was made. "Got it," Avon replied in the same fas.h.i.+on with the addition of a thumbs up. "Sorry about that," he turned as quickly as he faced away, the Sergeant stood baffled by what happened.

  "Reforge will forever be in thy debt," Reinhardt approached. Earlier, the man spoke with the people in charge of taverns and maintenance for the dormitories. A meeting that occurred a mere few footsteps away.  

  "Good to see you in high spirits," Staxius nodded and faced the lieutenant.

  "With you around, it's as if the threat of monsters is but a fantasy," he added in jest.

  "You speak true, though we already live in a fantasy, monsters, and demons – what more do we have to endure before it all stops. If this was a fantasy, I'd expect a hero from old to be summoned," he chuckled.

  "He may well be standing before our very selves," those words were said under the lieutenant's breath, none took notice.

  "Were you saying something?" Staxius asked for he saw the mouth move.

  "Nothing particular, was just saying that it's a shame to see you leave," a half-asked smile that didn't seem that appealing.

  "This isn't the end," he took a few steps and placed his hand onto Reinhardt's shoulder, "-this continent is far away from having any time to breathe. We must always be on guard. There may be more things unfolding behind the scene that we are aware of. I'll do my best to discover what it all is, in the meantime, I leave the responsibility of leading the platoon of well-trained fighters. They deserve far more than is given to them, bear that in mind," he stepped away.

A chill when from the ears downwards, the immense pressure of each word Staxius spoke nearly gave the man a heart attack. "No worries," the fear didn't show for he had kept it hidden, "-the platoon you trained will be in good hands," the sentence ended with a rea.s.suring smile.

  "About the special unit," Staxius faced Jannette.

  "Oh…" it took her by surprise, "-we sent them back to the main-guild. I don't know what they're doing, probably questing to survive. After all, you did give the order for them to disappear after the first day," her stare felt as if it asked more questions than gave answers.

  "Is that so," a sigh later, "-I prefer a team that speaks through actions rather than words," to which the conversation ended. Slowly, step after step, Xenos vanished into the crowd of people wandering about, the military officers could but hold a smile. That man had done far more than words could express. Though the method was crude, almost bullying and intimidating, the ends justified the means. Hard on the outside, and hard on the inside with a little touch of compa.s.sion where was needed, this was the man of various personas.

  "Everyone ready?" he leaned against a doorway inside which rested Kniq and the Lymsey sisters. They all sat opposite one another and had tea with bread.

  "I think so," Undrar replied with heavy eyes – sleep had caught up to the party.

  "Well," he took a step inside, "-how are you guys doing," both hands patted each sister's head.

  "M-much better," they replied with a saddened tone, nothing could be done.

  "It's alright," he smiled, "-if little by little you feel better every day than sometime in the near future, the sadness might get swapped for a feeling of bliss," a considerate phrase that got the other's attention.

  "That's poetic in a way," Achilles added.

  "Didn't expect that coming from your mouth," Undrar commented. Avon and Deadeyes focused on their food as opposed to the conversation – more talking meant less food to chew.

  "O-okay," the saddened tone relaxed, both Emma and Emmy's face lightened a little. The phrase that was spoken had a deeper meaning, one that touched the girl's heart.

  "After breakfast is over, head over to the RFS," the door closed as he stepped out.

  'Let me see,' he thought, '-is there anything else I've missed?' whilst thinking, the destination set was at the back of the outpost. Underneath an iron-sheet shed within which the RFS was parked. 'Not that it matters, the b.l.o.o.d.y lease is going to cost a lot,' the head shook in disappointment. The time now was around seven, the sun had awoken, the warmth wasn't much but it sure was nice.

  "Master," Avon called, the party arrived around thirty minutes later. Most were stuck in saying farewell to the squad that trained under them.  The wishes of luck and fortune were plenty. A feeling of accomplishment whelmed from inside the heart out, it was as if the many months of fighting here was worth every single instant.  

  "Put them all in the back," he ordered to which the now emptied supply bags were placed inside.

  "It's good to finally leave," Deadeyes commented.

  "I agree with you on that one," Achilles replied.

  "We can finally rest," Avon mumbled, "-peace at last," Viola completed their soliloquy.

Rather than Undrar and Avon sitting in the front seat, the decision was made the twins would take that place. The remainder sat at the back with place to spare. No hard feeling nor grudges, Kniq could but smile and try to help those girls out.

  "Try and go to sleep," the machine turned on, "-we'll first head to Stonegrove then from there – we'll return to Rosespire."

  "Thanks for everything," cheers and applause echoed around the outpost. Everyone without exception watched as Kniq left. The wings on the back of those uniforms did send a feeling of rea.s.surance throughout. It was if those wings had the power to fly and burst through every problem someone might face. The wings that defined Kniq – the wings of freedom. Well, tis was the impression the onlookers and bystanders had. For Staxius, it had another meaning, those wings were a reminder to a tale from another world. Icarus's wings, a reminder to always have his feet on the ground and to never try and challenge the sun. People quickly lost sense of their responsibilities and duties after getting power. Corrupted by greed, many began to self-destruct. This was why he chose to have the emblem as a Wing.

 From the back entrance to then a drive around the Outpost. The RFS did a few twists and turns until it stood on the main road, the one that went around the southern border. The same one that was blocked from the general populous. Empty and wide, he drove forth without stopping. As expected, the crew fell asleep within seconds, it would take another few hours till Stonegrove came in sight.

  "Greetings Xenos," stood outside with a file in hand, the Lieutenant in charge of Stonegrove. A man with a bald cut, a strongly built body and firm gaze.

  "I appreciate the effort," he replied courteously.

  "No need for appreciation," the lieutenant fired back, "-you're the man who saved Reforge and helped to maintain the monsters at arm's length. It might not be apparent, but every single outpost is grateful for the things Kniq has accomplished. More companies and businesses have decided to help in the efforts of completing Azure's wall."

  "An adventurer must help those in need," a quick reply later, the RFS resumed its journey back to the capital.

  "To help others in need," Adete voiced, "-seriously?" she asked smugly. Rather than fall for her shenanigans, the focus was put solely on driving. It would take a day or two to arrive. Teleportation was out of the picture; no sleep meant no mana replenishment.  

  "Diane," out in the capital.

  "What is it?" faced with a horde of adventurers filling out paperwork for quests, Diane barely had time to keep up.

  "It's Kniq," Melisa replied, "-they're coming back," she yelled. All heard what was said, the chaos changed into peace, a name that hadn't been uttered for so long.

  "Xenos…" rumors had reached the capital as well, "-the man of darkness will be here soon," they muttered and returned to the ordeal of getting job requests.

  "Care to inform the Guild master?" she asked to which Melisa obeyed. The reason being that the amount of Qaisars collected by Kniq was an amount none would have dared to speak in public. The one who became entrusted by such wealth was none other than Raulf – the man who recommended that crew.

  "Master…" out on the road, twelve hours went by, it was now night.

  "Yeah?" he replied.

  "Can't we stop somewhere?" Avon asked, it had been many hours.

  "We took a break like five hours ago," he replied.

  "Still…" Avon urged; a small trader's town came in view. One separated by a river and surrounded by forest and vegetation.

  "Fine…" the RFS pulled up against an inn, one that looked cozy and accommodating.

  "Three rooms please," Xenos spoke to the inn-keeper.

  "That would be three silvers and fifty coppers with meals included," the man replied with a smile.

  "Here," the money handed over. 'With that out of the way, it's time to rest. If we begin at six in the morning, we'll make it by evening tomorrow,' he thought whilst the crew got ready for dinner. For an inn, the place was empty, not many travelers at the start of the year. Many were getting ready and checking which items might gain popularity, trading and making money was a priority.

  "This is good," Achilles voiced. A table for seven, food arrived fairly quick – the party ate their fill. Not much was said in terms of conversation, the only thing in mind was a good night of sleep. Resting in the RFS sufficed but nothing could beat the feeling of a warm bed.

  "Here are the keys," Staxius spoke, "-the sleeping arrangements will be, Achilles and Viola in one room. The twins in another and lastly, the boys and I."

  "Are you sure, master?" Deadeyes asked, "-will it not be cramped?"

  "No need to worry, I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you or Avon," a casual smile that sent air of confusion around.

  "No use beating about the bush then," Viola stood, "-time to sleep," in pairs, the ladies headed to their rooms.

  "Goodnight," the chambers were right next to the other. The sisters hadn't said a thing since that morning.

  *Click,* the door opened, "this is a problem…" Avon voiced after a quick walk around, only two beds were seen.

  "It's no matter," he replied nonchalantly, "-I'll share a bed with Avon," the voice subtle to not wake the others.

  "As you wish, master," without help, right after the eyes closed, Deadeyes fell into a deep slumber.

  "You planned this didn't you?" Avon pouted, the face a little flushed.

  "Yes, I did," a smug reply, "-you think I would not notice," the voice stern. "The mana inside your body has been getting depleted – I told you to not hold back when recharging."

  "Guess I was found out," the spirit sighed and headed to bed.

  "Listen," laid next to one another, Staxius spoke, "-I know not the reason, but do me a favor and take as much mana as you need. All I want is to have a team of people that are ready to fight, understand?"

  "Honestly, master, the reason is quite simple. I didn't want to impose – the strain of leading all those people seemed to have taken a lot out of you."

  "Don't worry about it," sleep crawled from within, the night peaceful, the crew slept.