*Maki*

[Earlier]

"Tetsuya," Naoru said, flying over to the shield knight.

"Need something?" Tetsuya asked, glancing at him.

He raised one of his knives. "I want to take this to Setsuko and His Majesty, but I'm not in any state to fight."

"Yeah, you aren't!" Rosa snapped. "Let me do it."

Naoru shook his head. "I need to hand it directly to them. It'll work better that way."

Rosa frowned. "That so? Then I'll go with you!"

"No, you stay here," Tetsuya said. He walked over to Naoru. "Let me guess, you want me to make you a barrier?"

Naoru nodded. "Yes."

Tetsuya held out his hand and smiled. "Done."

Rosa leaned toward Naoru. "There's a barrier? I don't see a thing?"

"It's invisible," Hyosetsu said, closing his eyes. "If not for my ice, I would've had a harder time fighting him because of it."

"Yeah," Tetsuya said, somewhat annoyed. Did he lose to Hyosetsu in Munil?

Naoru clenched his knife. "I'll be going now." He jumped back into the air and vanished.

"Nao!" Rosa yelled. She sighed. "Why doesn't he rest?"

"Because, he has things to do," Hyosetsu said as he watched the flames.

Tetsuya glanced at him. "Is it just me or is are those flames reminiscent of your ice?"

"The aura of their creator, you mean?"

"Yeah."

Hyosetsu clenched his sword. "Indeed. I'm not sure why."

My eyes widened. The two of them were right. Hyosetsu and Dad gave off the same aura, just like Tetsuya and Eri shared the same vibe. Wait, could it be that Hyosetsu was Father's doppelganger?

"This is Father's doing?" Kei asked as he walked up to me.

I nodded. "Yes, it appears that way. Kei, find Koukyuu and get her away from here. I'll be the one to fight Father." Setsuko, Serrano, Selena and King Osamu were likely fighting him, but father was much older and wiser. He was a literal cunning fox.

Kei shook his head at me and summoned forth a white wand. Green light covered the wand, transforming it into a scythe. "Sorry, Mac, but I can't let you do it alone."

I sighed. Had a feeling that he would say that. Hopefully, Koukyuu wouldn't decide to join us too. I didn't want either of them to get hurt. Plus, there was the chance that our Father would die before our eyes. Kei had the best relationship with him, so him seeing that would probably scar him for life.

"Do you think you'll be able to do it?" I asked.

"Fight him? Of course, I've sparred with him multiple times."

I scoffed. "That was him going easy on us. However, that's not what I meant. I mean, if you had to kill him to maintain the peace between Kuroriku and Kasai no Ki, would you do it?"

Kei's hand trembled. "I..."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "I thought so. You can't, can you? Stay here and protect this place. I'll go and confront Father. If all goes well, I should be able to convince him to give up what he's doing."

He looked me directly in the eyes. "Wouldn't Koukyuu and me be able to convince him of that better than you?"

I averted my gaze. Kei had a point there. He and Koukyuu had the best relationship with that guy. Shin'en would probably have done better if he were here. My eyes shifted back to the burning mountain range. Out of the four of us, I was his biggest disappointment.

"Maki, Kei, what's going on?" Koukyuu asked as she caught up to us.

My mouth opened, but no words got out. I had no idea how to explain it to her. Koukyuu was born in the waning days of the decade-long war. Nor was she old enough to remember said days. She had no idea what Father was capable of. If not for Shin'en exiling him, the war would've continued.

"Maki, answer," Koukyuu said, giving me a worried look. "Why does it feel like Dad is nearby?"

"Because he is," Kei said, striding forward. He glanced at the barrier that Tetsuya had made around the town.

Koukyuu lowered her head. "Who is he up against if he has to use this much power?"

I placed a hand on her back. "No need to be in denial."

She glanced up at me. "He's attacking Kuroriku? But why? What does he gain out of it? We're at war with Abyssia and likely will be with Cianio soon! Fighting amongst ourselves is stupid!"

Lorenzo and Reno gulped upon hearing her scream that. Those two delayed us back in Xeleria with their foolish desire for revenge. A sentiment my foolish father shared.

I nodded. "I absolutely agree. I am not sure what he's doing. But, he likely figured now's the best time to return and eradicate the longtime thorn on Kasai no Ki's side."

"Shin'en exiled him ages ago," Kei said.

"Our brother isn't here to enforce that. He knew that Dad would seek to reassert himself eventually. Sadly, neither of us figured how we would stop him from doing so. That man is a difficult one to dissuade."

"Yeah, he's a lot like you," Kei said with a slight grin.

I shrugged. "Really now? It's no time for jokes." I took back to the skies. "I'm going to go try to talk some sense into him."

"Maki!" Akane yelled, running over to us.

"Stay here, Akane. Tetsuya's shield may be strong, but your healing will be needed if it fails to protect against a stray attack."

Akane nodded. "I didn't plan to convince you not to go."

I blinked. She didn't?

She grabbed my hands and placed a little woven square into my hands. It had the image of Masayoshi in it.

"Wait, this is your prayer charm. I can't have this."

She smiled and curled my fingers around it. "Yes you can."

I smiled awkwardly. "I'm only going to go talk to my dad."

Akane closed her eyes. "You might still need the luck."

"Alright." Though, I didn't see how a Masayoshi charm would bring me good luck. He was the archangel of justice, not good fortune. For that was Fortuna.

Plus, I had Masayoshi's angel tool. Though, taking it could be bad. Father wanted to recover the Archangel tools.

I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Akane's face turned as red as her hair.

I removed Masayoshi's angel tool and put it on her.

"Huh?" she said, grabbing it.

"Keep it. It belonged to your brother, no? You should cherish it. Plus, I don't want my dad to take it. Not that he can use it, but I don't wish for us to lose another of those to a potential enemy."

"What happened with Zangetsu isn't your fault," Tetsuya said, striding over. "It's mine."

I lowered my head. "Never did say it was."

"No need to, I can read it in your expression." He shifted his gaze toward the mountains.

"Something the matter?" Akane asked.

"It's odd, but I feel Hanketsu nearby."

"That's because he is," Masayoshi said, appearing behind me.

Tetsu didn't turned to look at us. For some reason, only Akane and I could see him. Was it because of our connection to his angel tool?

"Masayoshi!" Akane said, eyes wide.

The archangel smiled. "Long time no see, Akane. Sadly, we can't talk. My rival needs our help."

"Tetsuya, Itou is here!" I said.

He gasped. "He is?"

Hyosetsu glanced at Kohri who stood beyond normal hearing distance. "Let's go and save Conrad."

"You're coming with us?" Rosa asked, raising an eyebrow.

The sword knight scoffed. "What's with that tone?"

"It's just, I didn't think you cared much about Conrad one way or the other."

He nodded. "Indeed, but... I know someone who does."

Yuko cupped her hands over her chest. "Yuko does too."

Tetsuya smiled. "You made sure that Kohri didn't hear, huh? Don't want to see him fight a friend, right?"

Hyosetsu scoffed. "Don't put words into my mouth!"

"Such a tsundere," Rosa mumbled.

The sword knight took to the skies and left.

"Yikes, looks like you made your new friend mad," Tetsuya said, laughing.

Rosa glared at him. "Let's go and follow him!"

The rest of us nodded and took off. Except, I veered toward the right.

"Hey, why are you heading in that direction? Selena and the others went that way!" Kei said, pointing slightly northeast.

"I know, but there's something I'll like to check out."

Both my siblings raised their eyebrows at me but didn't say another word.

['Present']

A fireball broke through the cloud of smoke below with Setsuko as its target. The fireball came to a stop as I yanked it back with my earth mana.

My old foe smiled as he rose out of the dust cloud. Nine white tails swung around him. "Your mana control is as impressive as always, King Osamu. Too bad it was no use against a physical fighter like Daisaru. Else, Eiji might still be alive right now."

I gritted my teeth. "Your grandma told you that?"

He shook his head. "I heard it from Ifrit."

 I took a deep breath. Hearing the Archdemon of Wrath's name reminded that I had to watch my anger if I hoped to defeat the demons and abysmals. That was the only way that Zen mode would work.

King Takibi threw a series of fire balls at me, but I avoided each one. In no time, I had closed the space between us.

His eyes enlarged as I delivered a 'Celestial Knuckle' to his stomach before he could even block with his tails. The fire king grimaced as he was sent flying into the opposite mountain. A dust cloud extended from where he had landed up to the heavens.

I dashed to the mountain and gasped the king by the neck. "Given up yet, Takibi?" I asked, glaring at him.

He smiled. "So, you've finally mastered Zen Mode. Guess I was wrong to have called you weak."

I shook my head. "No, I haven't mastered it. There is no limit to it. It is a power of endless potential."

He laughed. "Sounds ideal, for a man such as yourself who is always seeking for more."

I furrowed my brow. He was right about that, it did fit me. Yet, I had given up on developing it further. I'd allowed myself to slack off while trying to juggle the duties of being a king and my duties as a father. Not that I did very well at either. With the former, I didn't trust anyone, so I had taken to micromanaging what I could. That left me with little time to spend with Rosa and Setsuko. Before I knew it, my girls had become women.

"I know that your people are a laidback bunch, but this amount of nonchalance seems even odd for you. Aren't you afraid of death?" I asked, squeezing his neck.

The king of Kasai no Ki didn't blink, instead he maintained that same smile as before, as if he were two steps ahead of me despite his situation. 

His tails grasped my arm tightly but I didn't budge. "No. I've already died once at your hand. Well, more like the combined hand of Takeshi and you. Plus, my revenge doesn't end here. I have many backup plans. Try to untangle them if you wish, but you'll get caught in the web I've made for you, King Osamu." With those words, King Takibi vanished.

I sighed. So, it was a replica. Where could the real one have been hiding? I couldn't sense him anywhere around me. Could he have been suppressing his mana? No, I likely would've noticed. There was that strange string of mana which appeared to lead into Kasai no Ki. Following it was dangerous. The Kasai no Ki were infamous for retreating as a means to drive the enemy into a trap. His oldest son employed such a strategy to take us off guard during the last war. If only Shin'en were here, he might've been able to decipher his father's intentions.

 "King Osamu!" I heard Kei yell. Koukyuu and he flew toward me with a look of despair on their faces.

From a distance, I saw Tetsuya, Rosa, Yuko, and Hyosetsu flying in the same direction that Selena had run off to.

"Where's dad?" Koukyuu asked, glancing around.

Kei lowered his head and gritted his teeth. "Did you finish him off?"

I shook my head. "If only. Turns out he wasn't truly here. I fought against a clone, or perhaps an illusion."

Koukyuu put a hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

I turned my back to them. "He's with the enemy. You must harden your hearts and be ready to slay him if it's necessary."

Kei gulped. "I-I don't think I could. Maki maybe, but not me."

I glanced at the direction that Setsuko had rushed off to. "That so? He must have a worse relationship with your father than my girls do with me." My wings lifted me up from the ground. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go check up on that rebellious daughter of mine and my nephew."

Koukyuu grabbed Kei's arm. "Let's go find Maki!"

Kei raised his head toward the smoke filled sky. "I have an idea why he split off now."

His sister gasped. "You do?" Her golden eyes widened. "Wait, do you think he found Dad?"

I narrowed my eyes at them. If Maki detected him, then the real Takibi likely wasn't too far. But, why couldn't I pick him up with Zen mode? No, that's not it. Takibi isn't nearby. He must be at a safe location that Maki managed to figure out. But, what could that place be?

I wanted to find out, but my gut told me to go where Selena, Serrano, and Setsuko had gone to. Takibi was strong, but not as much as the Archdemon of Wrath. Plus, if that man had indeed assimilated Conrad, then there was no way to kill him. Not that anyone outside of Hanketsu's reincarnation and the Divine couple could kill him to begin with. But, with the latter pair asleep, that left no one to stop him. He had basically turned into another Daisaru, an immortal who couldn't be slain, only sealed. Hopefully, Eri and the others discovered the sealing ritual we needed to take care of those two major headaches.

In the meantime, I could only hope that Serrano and Selena could get Conrad to retake control of his body before the others arrived. Rosa had already fought me, I didn't want her to fight another possessed family member. 

However, considering that Conrad was on the abysmal's side, he remained a potential threat to the realm.

I rubbed my forehead. That poor kid appeared to be born to be locked up. No, there had to be another way. If Serrano could only convince him to leave the abysmals, Zionia would gain a valuable ally. Plus, there would be no need to seal him up.

"What? You had no qualms about killing him when you first met him again in the spiral rock. Or was it because you didn't know it was him?" a voice called out.

I spun around and gritted my teeth. In front of me stood a robed figure. Her hood obscured all of her face except for an evil smirk. "Mammon..."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories?**