*Koukyuu*

I sighed as we flew southeast. Hopefully, Maki had continued in this direction. If not, we would have issues.

"Are you tired?" Kei said, glancing at me.

I shook my head. "Haven't broken a sweat!"

He looked forward. "Alright, but tell me if you do fell exhausted. 

I smiled. "Will do. How about you? You haven't said a thing in a while."

Kei looked over his shoulder. A pagoda had appeared near the ruins soon after we had split ways with King Osamu. "I'm concerned about Hyosetsu and the others. That tower, it's emitting a strange power. One that feels antithetical to angels."

"Demonic?" I asked. Unlike him, I couldn't sense a thing. Though, Kei could feel things from a distance. Without him, my hope for finding Maki at this point would be minimal.

Brother shook his head. "No. It's hard to describe." He eyed the forest. "At least the fire has died down."

"Hey!" a voice called out. Kiyoshi shot up from the burnt forest. Emon and Lorenzo followed closely behind.

"Why are you two here?" Emon asked. "Weren't you going to meet up with King Osamu and the others?"

"We did. It turned out to be a clone of my dad."

Lorenzo gasped. "So it wasn't the real Majesty?"

"It was a fake, but Dad definitely was the one who sent it," Kei said.

The man lowered his head. "Then, it was him who set the forest on fire after all."

"Dad," Emon said, flying over to him. "Don't let what the king did get you down." He pulled out a cellphone. "Mom said that your village was largely unscathed. See, Mom sent these to me earlier!"

His father smiled slightly as he stared at the image in the cellphone. It showed a tiny town with a couple burned buildings, but everything else looked intact. Though, the sky looked blacker there than where we were.

"That's good, but that doesn't change what King Tabiki's fire could've destroyed it. I have to know if it was sheer carelessness or if the king didn't give it a second thought."

"It's odd to hear a terrorist worry about collateral damage," Hideo said as he flew toward us. "Is it only because you're not the one behind it?"

Did he really have to come here to provoke him? Though, he wasn't there to see what went down in Xeleria when King Osamu did that.

Lorenzo gritted his teeth. He growled and lowered his head. "That's different."

Hideo crossed his arms. "How so?"

The man huffed. "I don't need to explain stuff a child like you."

The Rifle Knight lurched at him, but a red blur rushed at him, stopping him.

"Stop it, Hideo! He's on our side, remember?" Hideaki yelled, holding back his son.

"Is he? He seems overly concerned about what the one who set the forest on fire is up to. Plus, can we really trust him after what his kids did?"

Emon sighed. "My siblings and parents might've messed up, but they aren't bad people."

"You say that are as you're their son," Hideo mumbled as he stopped struggling.

The priest-knight smiled slightly. "Maybe."

"Huh? That's it? That's the comeback you come up with? Weak sauce, dude," Kiyoshi said, shaking his head.

Emon chuckled. "I mean, he does have a point. My worldview is shaped by who my family is, where I was born, and such stuff. If I were to alter any of those, who knows where I would be." He cupped his hands together. "If  such an alternate scenario were to happen, I would pray to the Earth Mother than I would still spread the teachings of her grace."

"Okay..." Kiyoshi said, moving away from him.

Suzuki laughed as she, Reno, and their mother flew toward us. "Emon's always been a bit of an odd ball," the oldest said.

Zaki giggled. "Yeah, but that's what makes him Emon."

"How does that work?" Reno asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's like how you being a hothead makes you Reno," Suzuki said, smirking.

Her brother smiled. "Oh, I get it!"

She sighed. "Why am I the only normal child in the family?"

"It's nice seeing you, but we have to get a move on!" I said. I turned toward my right and saw Kei had gone on ahead of me. "Kei! Wait up!" Was he trying to leave me behind too?

"Try to speed up!" Kei yelled at the top of his lungs over the sound of the roaring wind. "I can't slow down now. We might not be able to catch up to Maki at our current rate."

I gritted my teeth and flapped my wings, building up some more speed.

My eyes widened as Hideo suddenly popped up in front of me.

"Move out of the way!" I yelled.

He flew back. "Hold up. I can take you to Maki if you want."

"Huh? You can?" Kei asked, stopping.

Hideo formed a ball of wind and smiled. "Yeah, with this."

*Maki*

I panted. My wings continued to keep me airborne, but I was gradually losing altitude.

My eyes scanned my surroundings. I had flown directly along the arc of the Kuroki mountains, arriving at its southern end, where hills became more prominent. 

I tipped my body toward a lake, propelling myself toward it. Stumbling to the ground soon after landing, I stared at myself in the water. My white hair and clothes were disheveled. I probably should've rested sooner. I wasn't in a good state to fight. Hopefully, it wouldn't come down to that, but I didn't have high hopes. Father wasn't the type to back down easily.

I held my head down. Maybe if I'd practiced flying more, I wouldn't be in this sorry state. Or if I had trained more in general.

"Brother!" Koukyuu's voice echoed in my head.

I snickered. It seemed I was so exhausted that I was starting to hear things.

"Maki!" Kei yelled.

I gasped as I saw two figures flying above the lake.

My eyes shifted skyward. Koukyuu and Kei immediately flew straight at me.

"What do you think you're doing here?" I asked, standing up. They should've been with King Osamu and the others.

"Accompanying you, of course."

"Why aren't you with the Kurorikuians?" I asked.

"We figured out why you had decided to come this way. The one who set the mountains on fire was a clone of our father. The real one is near here, isn't he?" Kei said, glancing around.

The two returned from there? They were a lot better flyers than I was...

I sat down on a nearby rock. My gaze shifted southward. "No, he's further ahead, I think. Closer to the capital."

"Huh? That far?" Koukyuu asked. "How strong is Father?"

I tapped my knees. "Very. That's why you should go back. It's dangerous."

Koukyuu put her hands on her hips. "If that's the case, it's foolish to confront Father alone. I know that you're trying to protect us, but look at you. You're in no state to fight him. At least let us try to talk to him."

"Kou is right." Kei clenched his fists. "Each of us has a different card we can play to try and sway Father to our side. We would regret it if we didn't make every attempt."

Koukyuu met my gaze. "War is messy, but that doesn't mean we can afford to shy away from it. Even if it means fighting our own father."

I sighed. "Hesitation carries a heavy price. Are you truly willing to pay it? I wouldn't be doing this if I was unprepared."

Kei stepped toward me. "We're going."

"And that's final," Koukyuu added, crossing her arms.

I sighed. They really weren't going to give up, were they? Well, it was worth the try...

"Fine, we'll go once I'm ready."

Koukyuu sighed. "You're an idiot, going this far without resting."

I grumbled. "How did you even make it here without looking tired."

"We got help," Kei said, turning to look at the forest.

My eyes widened as the Rifle Knight stepped out of the woods. Behind him were his father, Kiyoshi, Lorenzo, Zaki, and the latter two's kids.

"Hideo brought you here?"

Hideo smiled as he held up a hand covered in wind. "I teleported us over here. It took me a while to find you, though." He reached into his pocket and dug out a golden pill.

"What's that?"

"It's a pill that Eiichi made for me when I was exhausted after training back at Tetsuya's place. Seems you need it more than I do."

I took the pill and gasped. It was a cultivation pill, and a rather high quality one too.

"That guy can make those?" Kiyoshi asked, stepping forward.

Emon snickered. "Maybe we should have him whip together some more for our Xelerian allies."

"Why did the rest of you come?" I asked, lowering my hand.

Kiyoshi put a hand on his hips and scoffed. "Do you have to ask? We're your knights, as the next in line, we Seven Flames have to protect you."

"Hearing that from you is odd," Koukyuu said, laughing.

The rose knight furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"You aren't usually the type to say such stuff," Emon said, snickering.

"I barely know him, but even I can tell it's off," Zaki said, crossing her arms.

Kiyoshi grumbled.

I glanced at Zaki's older kids, her brother, and her husband. "And you four?"

"To back up Mom, of course!" Reno yelled.

"That and I wish to ask your father something," Lorenzo said, averting his gaze.

Something? Was it what he had pondered earlier? Why my father had set the forest ablaze.

"He probably doesn't remember me well, but I wish to speak to Uncle too. Maybe we can reach a diplomatic solution to this," Hideaki said.

Zaki nodded. "He would remember me, though. I had been in contact with him for a while. Actually, he's the one who had been funding our rebellion."

"He was?" Hideo asked. He gritted his teeth. "That makes him guilty for what happened to Dan too!"

"He was only giving us money," Suzuki said, sighing. "We're the only ones responsible for what happened here three months ago. I think it's best you stay back. Let the adults handle the diplomacy."

Hideo ruffled his black hair. "Fine, but if things don't work out, I'm not holding back against that guy. Even if he wasn't directly behind what happened to my brother, his funding of you still destabilized the region." He scoffed. "He still is with that crazy fire of his."

"You're right. But, diplomacy sometimes requires overlooking some things," Hideaki said, staring at the ground.

"Diplomacy, huh? Not sure if that'll work, but fine," I said before popping the pill into my mouth. My eyes bulged. My throat felt strange.

"Maki, are you okay?" Koukyuu yelled, running toward me. She grabbed me by the shoulder, keeping me from curling to the floor in agony.

"Hey, what was in that pill? Poison?" Kiyoshi asked, glaring at Hideo.

Hideo shook his head. "N-no! I saw Eiichi make it. It has no poison. Though, it did experience the equivalent of a year in Munil..."

"Ah, it must be expired!" Reno yelled.

"No, that's not it," I managed to get out. The strange sensation found its way down my spine to my magicum organum. "Those cultivation pills do this. My power, I feel it growing."

Koukyuu smiled.

I winced. "Though, I think it'll take awhile."

"That's alright. Stay here and recover," Zaki said. "The rest of us will go ahead and locate Uncle. Maybe my brothers and I can talk some sense into him."

"Be careful," I said. "He's not the type who will hesitate to hurt his family if they get in his way."

Zaki nodded. "Don't worry, we will be."

"Koukyuu, stay here with Maki," Kei said. "I'll go with our cousins and our knights. Reno, Zaki, Hideo, please watch over Kou and Mac for me."

Hideo nodded. "Sure, I'll keep the princess safe!"

Koukyuu furrowed her brow. "Why me? Maki's the one in pain."

The knight's face reddened. "I meant to say the prince and princess."

I smiled slightly through the pain. No one was buying that. It was obvious he had feelings for my little sister.

Koukyuu walked toward Kei. "Plus, I don't plan to stay here. If we plan to go the diplomacy route, I feel I'm needed."

I sighed. I'd hoped that she wouldn't go. But, she was Father's favorite, so maybe it was worth a shot.

"Sorry, Maki," Kou said, giving me a sad look.

I looked away. "No, it's.. fine. I can't... stop you," I managed to get out.

Kou turned around and ran toward the others who had walked on ahead. Why hadn't they taken to the air? Did they plan to surprise my dad?

Hideo leaned back against a tree and huffed.

"What's wrong now?" his cousin asked.

"Having to be stuck with you two," he said.

Suzuki scoffed. "Well, it's no fun for us either."

"Did all three of us really have to stay back?" Reno asked. "I doubt anyone would appear and attack the prince. The main target seems to be the Kurorikuians."

He had a point there. While I was Father's least favorite, there was no reason for why he would send someone to attack me. Or do so himself unless provoked.

Suzuki gasped. "You actually thought things through for once!"

Reno leered at her. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"She's calling you dumb," Hideo said flatly.

Reno curled his hands into fists. He took a deep breath and spread out his fingers.

"You aren't going to punch me?" Hideo asked, eyes wide.

"No, I'm not going to fall for childish taunts anymore."

Hideo scoffed. "W-well, nor am I!"

I sighed. Why did Kei have to ask the noisy ones to watch over me? Though, guess this was my punishment for having left him and Kou behind. Hopefully, the boost in power the pill gave me would help me against Father, should the others fail.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Sorry for the six day wait. I plan to have Episode 45 out tomorrow to catch up. Had gotten behind with the last update and this one. I'll like to thank ShinomiyaDR for helping me think up the opening for Maki's half.**