Eirach

Zenna reaches to Teraxa and is at the gate where it leads to Eirach. She waits anxiously as her husband is facing an opponent that could put not only their family, but all of Teraxa in danger. Indux slowly regains consciousness.

"Where am I? What happened?" Indux said weakly. Zenna was relieved from what she is seeing.

"Thank goodness you're okay. To answer your question, you passed out from the intense pressure from the Divine class." Zenna said.

"I passed out?" Indux said. Then he realized what happened and became concerned. "The raid! I missed it! Did we fail!?"

"I prioritized your safety, so I can't fully answer. I'm sure your father will succeed." Zenna said, smiling.

"And that I have." Algra said. Zenna gasped from the sudden appearance and looked behind her. She sees Algra, but covered in bloodstains. Horror swept over her, especially Indux.

"Algra..." She said with her voice quivering.

"Wait, this is not my blood. I am unharmed." Algra said, reassuring those two. Zenna sighed and then smiled.

"How did it go, father?" Indux said.

"The Divine class user won't be threatening us anymore. Let's head to Eirach. We must meet with Xavier and the others." Algra said.

The Onyxthorns began heading to Eirach where it leads to an open meadow with flowers unlike the trail leading to Lyse. The time it takes on foot is one day where on horseback takes around a few hours. Since their raid ended at dawn, they should reach Eirach by noon.

{Meanwhile...}

Xavier and his escorts, Vega, Terzo, Danielle, and Virin kept walking through the dark tunnel with the lantern.

"I think the Divine Class is gone, I can no longer feel the pressure." Virin said.

"It's possible that the Divine class turned back." Vega said.

"If that's the case, there is a possibility that he's coming back with more guys than before. More than 500." Virin said. "Best case, they ruled it as a bandit attack. Worst case, they come attack Lyse and Teraxa, setting us back a bunch."

"I knew there's a risk, but a risk this large? I hope Algra is doing well." Xavier said.

"I see an exit." Danielle said, pointing at a speck of light. The group head towards the light where they have reached the end of the forest which leads to a meadow and further down, leads to a place called Eirach.

Eirach is a place where trade goes by land and sea. Majority of the city's food is scaled fish. This is also the place where pirate activity was rampant until Vega fended them off just by appearing.

"There it is. Eirach." Virin said.

"Amazing...my place always has trees and rivers. This have an ocean." Xavier said in awe. "Where will we be staying?"

"See the building with the blue flag? That's a restaurant, but there's a base hidden underneath with networks." Vega said, pointing ahead of him.

"We're not going to the front door, right?" Xavier said.

"No, to the back. Besides, I know the owner and his brother." Vega said.

The escort group kept going until they reached the entrance and sees the building with the blue flag. That place name is 'Winston Diner' where the owner named Ian Winston and his twin brother Chris Winston. The Winston brothers were born in a bandit family where they were poor at first in Iveria, but managed to survive by stealing and pawning valuable items from Iveria to buyers. However, they had to escape Iveria because of the Iverian knights are cracking down on smuggling and illegal trade. Fearing they'd be next, they had to abandon most of their stuff. Now in Eirach, they managed to establish a restaurant and business was booming ever since.

They reached the back of the restaurant and sees Chris. Chris is wearing coyote brown shirt, and a forest green pants with a single black stripe going down with a white apron that reaches to his knees. Chris puts a bag in the dumpster and wipes the sweat off his forehead with his forearm.

"Halt, citizen!" Vega said in a deep, authoritative voice. Upon hearing that, Chris jumped and tripped on the wooden steps in a panic to run, he looked around quickly until he sees Vega, smirking.

"Shit, Vega. You know I'll be running if someone say it like that to me." Chris said, laughing. He gets up and dusts himself off.

"You gotta be alert since both y'all are outlaws. In Iveria at least." Vega said walking towards Chris.

"Heh...true that." Chris chuckled as he shrugged "What's good, man?" Chris said offering a fist bump.

"I got one hell of a story to tell you, but Chris. This is Xavier Orato. He's a mayor in Lyse and the girl next to him is Danielle." Vega said, fist bumping Chris. "You know Virin and Terzo, right?"

"Yeah man. Oh, Sytha's inside and downstairs." Chris said as he opened the back door with a sign saying 'Employees Only'. The group walked inside the restaurant where there are stoves, ovens, and refrigerators. Chefs and waiters alike worked professionally, but to them, it was another day on a job.

"I'll meet with y'all downstairs after my shift." Chris said. They reached downstairs where there is a wooden door. Before Vega opens the door, a moan was heard from the other side. Vega had a confused look on his face, but opens the door. They see Sytha sitting on a sofa, eating pasta with white cheese. With each bite, she softly moans as the hot creamy cheese and the tender pasta noodles melt in her mouth.

"Oh, it's just you eating. Thought you were enjoying yourself the different way." Vega said.

"You have a dirty mind, don't you? And yeah, I came here pretty quick thanks to my Wind magic." Sytha retorted. "No casualties?"

"Nope, just some injured, nothing serious." Vega said.

"I see Xavier is safe and sound."

"Yes, of course. I also wonder if Algra is okay as well." Xavier said.

"Don't worry, Algra can take care of himself." Virin said. "Have a seat." Everyone in the room sat on the couches where the cushions are soft and comfortable. After a few moments, Chris came through the door.

"Hey, I bet y'all hungry. I got your favorites." Chris said, holding a large platter of food with one hand. "Sunset Chicken Strips for Vega, Flame Grilled Steak for Terzo, Spaghetti for Xavier, and Moonlight Salad for Danielle." Chris said, serving the food.

"Your shift ended already?" Vega said.

"Yep, just now. So...you got one hell of a story to tell me, right?" Chris said, removing the white apron and hung it on the hooks. He then sat on the lukewarm leather chair.

"Right, where should I start. For some time there were blockades on my trade routes because of the Iverian emperor. I took detours, but it really slowed me down." Vega said.

"I swear, they made a blockade for the emperor, but the emperor wasn't even here in Eirach, just a couple of giant escort ships." Chris said.

"When Algra visited Xavier earlier, he gave him a deal to join our faction. However, we haven't heard from him in a week." Vega said.

"It's true, have you heard of the name Geon Raleph or Luster Order?" Xavier said.

"The fatass? Who doesn't? My family had to deal with them from time to time." Chris said.

"Well, Geon came to my abode with 250 men stationed there. The reason being that I was in suspicion of being in association of the Black Fangs and harboring a Darkness outlaw from the Iverian Empire. That event took place a day after Algra came." Xavier said.

"Did you call on his bullshit?" Chris said. Xavier's eyes widened not by the question, but the way Chris said it in a unrefined way.

"A crude way to say it, but yes. I denied his allegations, but Geon showed me a paper that is a decree from the emperor." Xavier said.

"Was it forged?"

"Unfortunately, no, even Danielle couldn't find any discrepancies. Decrees are exclusive to emperors of such empires. Decrees must be signed and stamped by their emperors or empresses." Xavier said. "Therefore, I had to let him ransack my manor. Had I resist, I'd be confirming their allegations."

"It doesn't stop there. The contract Algra gave me is in my office so I had her burn it to cover our tracks." Xavier continued.

"So you had to cover yourself. I get ya. Had you resist, you'd be a rebel towards the emperor." Chris said. "Damn, Luster pricks always throwing their weight around."

"They even stayed there for a week to search for the specific outlaw and some Black Fang members. Also, they'll come back for a week to do it again while imposing higher taxes despite Lyse is not part of the Iverian empire. To prevent them from getting suspicious, I placed posters regarding the matter." Xavier said.

"So, Algra and I came to meet him and when we came, Lyse is a ghost town. To find out what's going on and he told us what happened. Including the burned contract." Vega said. Then a door opens.

"So I gave him a copy with the same conditions." Algra said, coming through the door.

"Ayy, Algra! It's been awhile!" Chris said standing up, welcoming him with open arms. They make a bro hug and shook hands.

"I hear they're filling you in. So I'll join. Xavier has decided to join our faction and to get rid of Geon and his lackeys, I orchestrated a bandit attack with my own members. It was a success, albeit rough." Algra said.

"That's nothing new, you incited a riot in Conrie, south of Iveria so Sytha her sneaky crew can clean out the vaults." Chris said, drinking a bottle of beer then realized what Algra said at the end. "What do you mean 'albeit rough'?" Algra began explaining.

"I encountered Palax Steinford who seemingly came to assist Geon-" Algra said, but Chris choked on his beer and began coughing.

"PALAX STEINFORD!?! You fought that nuclear fossil man who broke a hundred!? The top dog!?" Chris shouted.

"Of course." Algra answered calmly.

"Oh man, I dunno how you call it a success. Fighting him is fighting an army. If he comes back to Iveria, we're gonna have a big problem." Chris said, dreading that both White Swans and the Luster Order would come for blood if the Black Fangs were to be involved in the attack.

"You won't be worrying about him anymore. Because he's dead." Algra said causally. Virin chuckled, doubtful of Algra's words.

"Algra, my mate. Those in Dragon or above don't die of old age of 80 or 90." Virin said.

"How did he die? Did he choke on a fly?" Terzo said, munching on that steak.

"His cause of death was me." Algra said. Everyone froze from his answer. Even Sytha had to stop eating her pasta. A few moments later, Zenna came through the door with a look of shock and astonishment.

"You what!?" Zenna said.

"I killed Palax Steinford." Algra said.

"Nah, nah, nah, man! That priest has made my trading days hell when he began destroying my ships. I even lost a good deal of Military Arcanite crystals and some good ores." Vega said.

"Now you can basically do as you please." Algra said.

"Okay...I think waking up early has made you...hallucinate. Let's say you did, how did you kill him?" Zenna said.

"Do you happen to know Igris Onyxthorn?" Algra said and their faces turned blue from horror where Virin assumed the worst.

"You brought the Infernal Monarch, who's your granddad...FROM THE DEAD!?!?" Virin screamed.

"Even if I have Death magic, I wouldn't dare to revive him, despite losing his Inferno magic upon death." Algra retorted. "I used him as a mirage via magic. It worked magnificently."

"Wait, you said that you'll hit him where it hurts, right? Your granddad is his trauma?" Virin said.

"Of course, my sources say that he kept the lights on when he sleeps. Back to Palax's death, when he is distracted long enough, I come from behind and pierced his chest." Algra said. "Think about it, a high-ranked priest who suddenly has been removed would create a power vacuum. Iveria, White Swans, and Black Fangs is no exception."

"So, we'll get to raid them and push back? The White Swans are what we should worry about IF the Luster Order were to get shaken up." Virin said, emphasizing that if the Luster Order were to be affected by the terrible loss, the White Swans would be forced to take action to find the culprit.

"We'll have plenty of time to make sure their suspicions are away from us." Algra then turns to Xavier. "Xavier, we will return to Lyse tomorrow morning. If either a person from Iveria, a White Swan, or a Luster, tell them that the bandits attacked and you managed to escape with your life."

"Okay." Xavier nodded. "I'll avoid mentioning any one of you if possible."

"If all goes well, we'd bought ourselves some more time to press on the advantage." Chris said. "Let's get to it."

Chris clapped and everyone went in to a room to set the plan in motion. Zenna however had to turn back to get Indux.

"You'll be bringing him here?" Algra said.

"Yes, but in a separate room." Zenna replied.

"The sleeping quarters is on the left when you get back." Chris said. Zenna nodded and left the basement floor to get Indux so that he stays close if anything goes awry.

"Well then, let's begin while the day is still going." Algra said.