Hideo waved at his father and brother as he cut down thick, dried, brush with blades of wind.

"B-big bro," Dan said, waving as he cut the grass on his side using a miniature wind scythe.

The young knight flashed his little brother a broad grin. Though that smile vanished as soon as he saw the bandages on his little brother's wrists. He had heard from his mother that his father put them on Dan to restrain him should he attempt to take his own life again.

Dan lowered his head. "Y-you heard, didn't you?" the younger brother asked with a whimper.

Hideo looked away. "Y-yeah. We did."

"Dan! Dad!" Kiara yelled. Etsuo was carrying her on her back and running relatively fast.

"H-hey sis," Dan said, looking up. He gasped as soon as he saw Etsuo. "Y-you got yourself a b-boyfriend?"

Hideaki narrowed his eyes at Etsuo.

"Is that so?" Hideaki asked.

"Dad! Dan! Etsuo isn't my boyfriend!" Kiara said, grumbling. She looked down at Etsuo. "Forgive my little brother and dad."

Etsuo snickered. "It's fine. I would probably think the same too if I were him."

Kiara laughed nervously. "I guess."

Hideo turned to look at the girl who was with Hideaki. "Who is this?"

The white-haired girl scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is that any way to ask? I thought that you were a noble of the Makkuroyama family, not a peasant," she said, flipping her hair. "But I'll indulge you this one time. I am Princess Koukyuu Zettai Kasai no Ki."

"Zettai?" Etsuo said, gasping.

"You have heard of us?" Koukyuu said, tilting her head at him. "Not to say that I am all that surprised, the Zettai's history is not limited to only Xeleria after all."

"Or maybe it's because he's supposedly from Tora," Hideo grumbled as he turned away from her.

Koukyuu looked at Etsuo's golden eyes. "Tora? Are you perhaps related to the royal family? Are you a Hoshi?"

"I heard he is one, but not sure about the royal thing," Hideo said.

"I asked him, not you," Koukyuu said, shaking her head at him. She turned toward Hideaki. "Sir, with all due respect, you would be wise to teach this boy some manners."

"B-boy?" Hideo yelled. "For your information, I'm a man already! I'm eighteen!"

"Yuko knows the feeling of a mistaken age," the little girl said as she emerged from a black vortex. Alongside her was Kuroshi, the portal's likely creator.

"Come on, you can all continue your discussion at the palace. King Osamu is probably back now with the others," Kuroshi said.

Dan closed his eyes after looking into the portal.

"It's alright, Dan," Hideo said with a soothing voice. "I got you." He grabbed Dan's trembling hand and followed the others inside.

The interior of the portal was like a short black hallway.

"So, you are eighteen, knight?" Koukyuu asked.

"Ye-yeah, h-he is," Dan responded for his brother.

She chuckled. "So, it seems that you skipped out on your milk and veggies."

"Hey!"

Kiara giggled. "You guessed it!"

Hideo grumbled as they emerged from the portal. They had appeared in the gardens of the palace for some reason rather than the interior.

"Whose side are you on, sis?" the future duke asked.

"What side? I wasn't aware there were any sides in this discussion," Kiara said, continuing to chuckle.

"Where are the others?" Etsuo asked as he looked around the foliage.

"They went on ahead with Anis. They took those who were injured to the infirmary so that they can rest," Kuroshi said.

"Yuko is going to go check up on Nori," the little girl said before running toward the entrance.

Kuroshi nodded. "Please do so, as you won't be seeing him again for a while."

Yuko turned around and gasped.

Kuroshi chuckled and signaled for her to go on. "Go. Don't keep him waiting. The more time you spend here, the less you'll spend with Nori."

Yuko gulped and rushed inside.

"What was that about?" Hideo asked, staring at Kuroshi with suspicion.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Kuroshi said, chuckling.

"S-so everyone else is i-inside, huh?" Dan asked as he opened his eyes.

"Almost all of them," Roa said, waving at them from under a nearby wisteria. "So, who is the girl? I don't recall seeing her back when we stayed at the mansion."

"I'm Koukyuu Zettai Kasai no Ki, Princess of your western neighbor," the white-haired young lady said as she put a hand on her hips.

Roa's eyes widened, just like how Etsuo's had before. "Z-Zettai?"

Koukyuu tilted her head at him before turning to look at Etsuo. "Such odd reactions. I take it that you have met another of my kind?"

Roa snickered as he stood up. "How did you figure? Though you're right. We do know another Zettai, unfortunately."

"Hmm?"

"I had no idea that the royal family of the Kasai no Ki had bred with members of the Zettai clan," Roa said, rubbing his chin. "I wonder if you're as strong as the fox I know."

Koukyuu grinned. "Is that your way of asking for a match with me? If so, then you need to either learn to be more direct or less obvious."

Roa chuckled as electricity sparkled in his hands. "Perhaps so."

"You aren't here to fight," Kuroshi said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ahh, come on now. Why can't we?" a voice called out.

Kuroshi turned around and narrowed his eyes at the gray cloaked figure approaching. "Who are you and how did you get past the gates?"

The cloaked figure pulled out light blue daggers from underneath his sleeves and spun them around. "Just someone looking for a good time. Now, who should I kill first?"

***

[Rosa's room]

Tetsuya stared at the sleeping princess. She was holding her bear tightly.

He smiled. "Sleeping as if you lack a care in the world again," Tetsu said. He reached a hand out and wiped some sweat off of her forehead. His golden eyes lingered on her face as he did. He felt strangely drawn to her...

"Aren't ya going to kiss her?" Teresa asked as she walked in.

Traces of blush appeared on Tetsuya's face. "Wah? Why would I?"

"So that she'll wake up. She's like that princess in the fairy tale with the evil dragon witch. She was cursed upon breaking a mirror, which showed her worst fears. The prince had to kiss her to wake her up."

The young man grumbled. "I'm no prince, and she isn't cursed by any witch." He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I'm worried about how she easily sacrifices her life for others. I'm not sure how much she's given already, but if she keeps this up, she'll eventually reach the point in which her life is very short."

"Well, I don't see that much issue. We aren't guaranteed to live our full lives. In fact, not all that many have lived out their whole life. Our grandmother and Pa sadly fall under the latter."

Tetsuya clenched his hands into fists. "True. Few ever reach the point of a peaceful death. They are either killed in some even. Or are overcome by the drawbacks they've incurred by using their power in ways that stressed the body." My constant regeneration during my battle with Suzuki has probably shortened my own life. Though that ability isn't one commonly seen among our kind to get an idea of how much that might be. "And who knows, maybe it's for the best. The world would become overpopulated if we did live out our full lives."

"I don't know, with people living longer, society might shift entirely. Plus, peace might reawaken something within us which we've lost, the ability to live without food and drink. Though I don't think such a peace will come until the Sky Father returns from the upper heavens."

Tetsuya snickered. "You still believe that? How many years has it been? I bet that the old guy died already."

Teresa shifted uncomfortably. "I am sure he still lives. Who knows, perhaps this is the war which will trigger his return."

"T-Tetsuya? T-Teresa?" Rosa said, opening her eyes.

"That was faster than the last time," Tetsuya said, grinning. "Did we wake you up?"

She touched her head. "I heard a voice tell me to wake up."

Tetsu frowned and looked around. "What kind of voice?"

"I'm not sure, but it sounded familiar," Rosa said as she pushed her blankets away. "Let's heed it!"

Tetsuya put a hand on his hip and sighed. "So now we're listening to strange voices, huh? You sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Even if that was the case, my dreams have had premonitions in the past."

"Really?" he asked, giving her a skeptical look.

Suddenly the entire palace shook.

"What's going on? An earthquake?" Teresa said as the golden chandelier moved wildly. The lights flickered on and off.

"I told you!" Rosa snapped.

"Maybe I angered the Sky Father with my earlier comments," Tetsuya said. He picked Rosa up from the bed using one hand while holding Agnes over her head with the other. "Teresa, come close."

Teresa rushed over to him.

"No. I highly doubt that this is the Sky Father's doing," Rosa said as she closed her eyes. She gasped. "Something is coming! Something powerful. It's coming from the north."

"The north? That far?" Teresa said, mouth agape as they ran downstairs.

The princess opened her hazel eyes. "I'm not sure what it could be, though. My first guess would be the creature that lingered there, but that was defeated by Zafir."

"Maybe it had friends?" Teresa said as they neared the lobby.

"Tetsuya!" Takuya yelled. He stood by the entrance of the infirmary.

"What's going on?" his sister asked, turning to look at him.

Taku took a deep breath. "I'm not all that sure, but I sense a great power is forcin' itself into this realm."

Tetsuya turned to look at the door and gasped as a black liquid began to trickle in through the doors. The strange material divided in half once inside, one half leaping at Takuya.

Takuya tried to swat the stuff, but it went over his arm and headed for the infirmary.

The older brother gritted his teeth. "I'll take care of that! Ya take care of the first one and make sure that it doesn't divide anymore!"

"Ya got it, Taku!" Tetsu said. He handed Rosa over to Teresa. "Sis, keep the princess safe, alright?"

Rosa grumbled. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"

"Now's no time to be arguing, ya lovebirds! What's that stuff?" Teresa asked as she wrapped the princess' arm around her shoulder. She backed away as it began to expand to its original size before dividing.

"I suspect that it's the enemy that we've been warned about all this time," Tetsuya said. The princess and his sister both noticed that he was smiling as he said that.

Rosa sighed. "Think you're right. This war, it's begun!"