Once the morning comes, the nine of us set out to the jump zone, all geared up and ready to go.

"The sky city is similar to the Vanguard's ship," Rem explains, "but the sky city doesn't move through the sky. The sky city is an island that stays floating up in the clouds, way above the Vanguard. I met up with Skye earlier this morning and she set up the elevator to take us there. Once we arrive, we'll have to be careful. It doesn't appear to be threatening, but everyone there mostly worships Elise."

"Understood," I nod.

"Ayan-- I mean Rem," Ciel clears his throat and smiles sheepishly, "can lead you through the city safely."

"Are we ready then?" Veddrian asks.

"Yeah," Skye nods, "and once we get there, we should divide the tasks we have to do."

"Sounds good," Miles nods, "let's head out then."

We head to the sky elevator and Skye beams us to the sky city that Rem and Ciel mentioned. Upon arriving, my eyes widen in seeing its beauty. The sky city, or Alios, as it's formally called, is a beautiful place of ethereal beauty, crafted by the saints themselves. The streets are tan cobblestone and the buildings are all sorts of different bright colors. Multiple trees surround the city and some are planted in the center of the city, vibrant hanging lanterns wrapped around their branches. The golden colored sky seems to cast an ethereal glow over everything and seems too pretty to be real, hills of green grass and many mountain ranges surrounding the city in the distance.

"Alright," Ciel whispers as we hide in an alleyway, Ciel himself glancing around the corner of the building we're hiding by, "from here, if you head to the city square and go straight, you should find the courtyard. Elise typically stays in her tower beyond the courtyard, which is locked by a golden gate and guarded by two guards. We'll have to convince the guards to let us in, and since I'm wanted and Rem is also wanted, neither of us will be able to be seen."

"We could take a carriage and hide you two in the back," Veddrian says, her eyes flickering over to a nearby carriage that's sitting in the street, the owner currently delivering something to one of the houses on the street, "and we could claim that we have a delivery for Elise."

"We'd have to make sure they don't get suspicious, but that could work," Rem nods thoughtfully.

"What else do we need to do?" Valerian asks, glancing over at Skye, "You mentioned dividing tasks."

"Right," Skye nods, "well, whenever I talked with Rem earlier, she mentioned trying to keep the citizens and guards from getting hurt, considering they're mostly all under Elise's false illusions. If we could round up the civilians and the guards that patrol around the city somehow, the rest of us could tend to Elise. Plus, that would mean no guards would interfere."

"We need to hurry and decide who's doing what," Veddrian says, her eyes still following the owner of the carriage, "the owner of the carriage will probably be finished delivering on this street soon."

"Sampson and I can guide the citizens," Katiana offers.

"Yeah," Sampson grins and pounds his right fist into his left palm, "we got this."

"Veddrian and I can distract the guards," Skye says and Veddrian smirks.

"Yeah, because we all know Veddrian loves causing disruptions," Valerian sighs.

"While I'd really love to steal a carriage and play grand theft wagon, putting up a fight and a chase seems too intriguing to pass up," Veddrian grins, "let's do it."

"Right," Ciel nods, glancing between all of us, "so that leaves Rem, Celes, Miles, Valerian, and I to deal with Elise. Alright."

"Let's do this," Katiana says and runs off with Sampson, who nods.

Veddrian and Skye chase after them, only parting ways when they come to the end of the street, Katiana and Sampson going left while Veddrian and Skye head to the right.

"Let's hurry up and steal this carriage," I say and run across the street, the others following behind me.

I quickly leap into the driver's seat and pick up the reigns, looking at the brown horse and white horse that stand in front of me as Miles hops in the seat beside me. Valerian, Rem, and Ciel hop in the back of the carriage, Valerian only going in the back due to lack of room. I quickly snap the reigns and the horses take off down the street, the driver of the carriage noticing and shouting as he runs after us, bags of flour in his arms. Rem directs me from the back of the carriage and I guide the horses through the main square of the city, which consists of a statue of Elise in a water fountain with multiple wooden benches around it for people to sit.

After passing through the city square, I go straight for a little bit before I turn right, noticing the small lake on the left of us and admiring the scenery as we pass by, multiple houses lined up on the right and a few street lamps here and there on the white sidewalk. We turn right once more and head straight for a while, going through the courtyard before I notice a pair of giant golden gates and a brick wall approaching, two male guards in silver and white standing on either side of the gate, their hoods up. I begin to slow down as we come up to the gate and the guards watch us carefully.

"What is the purpose of your travels?" the guard on the left asks, his hazel eyes scanning me over.

"We're here to deliver flour to the castle's kitchen for our ever holy Elise," I smile gently and the guard's eyes flicker between me and Miles.

"Ricky, check the back," the hazel eyed, blond haired guard instructs and the blue eyed, red haired guard nods, heading to check the back of the carriage.

I swallow thickly as he peers in the back of the carriage before he gives the other guard a thumbs up.

"Alright, you're free to pass," the blond guard nods and steps aside, pressing a button on a black box that's on the wall.

The gates open as Ricky makes his way back to his post and I smile at them sweetly.

"Thank you," I say courteously and they nod as I drive the carriage through the cobblestone pathway and garden that leads up to the castle towers.

After we're out of earshot, Miles glances back at the others in confusion.

"How did you hide yourselves?" Miles asks.

"I shielded us from sight," Rem grins, holding up her fingers as black energy swirls around them.

I grin and shake my head as Miles smiles back at Rem before he turns around. I pull the carriage up to the front tower and the black gate raises for us to pass through. After going through the gate, it closes behind us and I stop the carriage in the open area before the red double-doors that lead inside. We quickly hop out of the carriage and run inside the castle, Rem still shielding herself, Valerian, and Celes from sight until we're inside.

"The castle has forty different rooms," Ciel whispers as we stand by the entrance, a long red carpet leading down a creme colored hallway with a golden chandelier hanging above us, "Elise could be anywhere, but her main tower is off to the right and down about twenty rooms. There's a black staircase at the end of the hallway and it leads up into her tower if you turn right again. Her tower is locked most of the time and it's the only door with golden framing. You should be able to find it easily by its appearance."

"What do we do if she's not in there?" Valerian whispers.

"Then she'll probably be in the throne room," Ciel says.

"Got it," Valerian sighs.

"Or she'll be right here," Elise says as she appears in front of us, one hand on her hip as the other has black energy swirling around it.

Valerian clenches his jaw and goes to pull out his longsword and the rest of us draw our weapons as Elise waves her hand, an explosion of orange light glowing around the entire hallway before we're transported in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, an area filled with miles of empty space and the floor made of water, clouds floating above us in the blue sky.

"Welcome to my ethereal plane," Elise smiles and spreads her arms out, the sleeves of her white dress blowing slightly in the wind, "isn't it beautiful?"

Elise grins and walks around slowly, her white heels that wind around her ankles clicking on the ground and water splashing around her feet as she walks, her right leg showing more than her left due to the slit in the bottom of her dress that goes up to her thigh, her crown of white flowers resting on top of her pretty blonde head.

"Did you really think I would let you leave, Ciel?" Elise chuckles, "Did you really think you could escape without me knowing? No, I let you leave because I knew exactly where you'd go. You think I didn't know you weren't loyal to me? Pathetic. I only kept you alive because I knew you'd lead me to what I really wanted. You think I didn't keep tabs on you? How foolish. I see everything."

"You're sick and demented," I scowl, my hand clenching angrily around the handle of my scythe, "creating a false image of pretenses and beliefs is so wrong. Controlling people is wrong. Everything about you is so twisted that it sickens me. I don't know how anyone could ever look up to you."

"And that's where you're wrong, child," Elise sighs, "I create a world that people want to live in, a false reality that gives them everything they could ever desire. And in return, they worship me."

"Who would want to live in a world that isn't real just because it makes them happy?" I sneer, "I'd rather face the truth of reality and a thousand deaths than be part of something that's entirely fabricated."

"Then I shall make your desire come true," Elise says as she crosses her arms in front of her and summons two silver scimitars.

"Go to hell," Valerian snaps.

"Try me," Elise says darkly and runs towards Valerian.

Valerian slashes his blade upwards and diagonally to the right as Elise meets him, their blades clashing together in a fury of red and orange. I run up and join Valerian, swinging at the back of Elise, who leaps up in the air and flips over me so that she lands behind me. I whirl around quick enough to block her slashes with my blade and Miles joins me and Valerian while Rem holds up her katana, her eyes closed as her other hand rests against the edge of the blade while Ciel guards her.

Elise slashes in a wide sweep, sending orange energy flying into me and Miles. The two of us fly backwards as Valerian holds his ground against the energy, it dispersing around his blade as he grits his teeth. Rem's eyes then fly open and rainbow energy bursts around them as it also runs alongside her blade like flames and Rem surges forwards, leaping off on one foot as she whirls to the side and swings her katana through the air, the energy flying towards Elise. Elise crosses her arms and blocks against the hit, but she flies several feet backwards while doing so, digging her heels into the ground as she lands and throwing water up into the air from landing.

Valerian, Miles, Ciel, and I run towards Elise, who pushes her arms forwards and stomps her right foot down harshly on the ground as she sends out a wave of green and orange energy. Rem slashes through the air once more and counters the wave of energy, her own rainbow energy cutting a path through it so that we can continue running safely and it avoids us. Black energy slowly swirls around Elise and she disappears from sight as the four of us skid to a halt, going on guard as we back into each other and form a small circle. Rem forms protective symbols in the air and a shield of energy forms around her and us as she stands there and concentrates.

Elise, still invisible, slashes away hastily at the shield that's around us and attempts to break through, the only visible thing about it being the quick and lethal black cuts that dig into the shield. Valerian scowls as red energy gathers around his eyes and he performs Veddrian's signature move, a red burst of energy exploding and rippling throughout the entire area. Elise flies backwards and appears as she flies through the air, landing flat on her back in the water. She grits her teeth and climbs to her feet before she sends a wave of energy that contains all her colors towards us. It breaks through Rem's shield and dissolves upon shattering the shield. Elise then swiftly throws two bolts of orange energy towards us, which end up hitting Miles and I.

I gasp as I find myself trapped in a glowing orange bubble in the air. I bang my fists on the inside of the bubble before I glance over to see Miles floating in a bubble not far from me, his bloodied sword floating beside him as he floats there unconscious. My eyes widen as I notice a patch of red in his blond hair and a streak of blood running down the side of his head. It's then that I realize his own sword came back and hit him in the head when he flew backwards from the attack, losing his grip on his weapon and allowing it to spiral into him.

"Miles!" I shout, my voice slightly muffled by the bubble.

I turn back to the fight to see Ciel rushing towards me as Valerian and Rem fight Elise. Ciel looks at me with wide eyes and takes multiple swings at the bubble with his sword, blue energy bursting with every hit he makes. Suddenly, Ciel stumbles and his breath hitches as he drops his sword, clutching at the sides of his head as he drops to his knees, eyes painfully wide as he groans out and doubles over.

"Ciel?!" I shout worriedly.

In the background, Elise smirks and manages to push Rem and Valerian aside with a hit. She then runs towards a defenseless Ciel and Valerian glares at Elise's back. Valerian quickly rushes up behind her and knocks her aside as he tackles her, stopping her from reaching Ciel, which makes me sigh in relief. As Valerian and Elise fight, Rem runs up to me and leaps up in the air. Rem pulls her fist back before she punches into the orange energy, shattering it like glass as rainbow energy swirls around her fist. I land in the water and climb to my feet as Rem lands beside me and gives me a nod. Rem then picks up Ciel and carries him over to Miles before she breaks Miles free and tends to them both.

"Why don't you," I start to shout as I race towards Elise and Valerian, my eyes burning with bright blue energy and my scythe exploding with blue flames, "just go away!"

I yell out as I swing my entire body to the side, swinging my scythe in a circle at the same time, and a bright explosion of blue energy comes off of me and goes in all directions. Elise's eyes widen as Rem forms a protective shield around Valerian and the others from my hit, Elise flying through the air and rolling on the ground until she finally comes to a stop, blood running down her nose. Elise shakily climbs to her feet and wipes the back of her hand against her face, looking at the blood before she scowls at me.

In Elise's time of weakness, Rem manages to run at inhumane speeds and catches up with her when she lands. Rem flies through the air and comes up behind her, thrusting her right palm forwards as Elise turns in time to see Rem, her eyes wide. A burst of rainbow energy comes from Rem's hand as she comes into contact with Elise and body slams her down into the ground. A shockwave rings out through the air and the colors from the energy temporarily make everything too bright to see before they fade away. I then see Rem standing over Elise, her foot pressing down on her stomach as she holds the edge of her katana to Elise's throat.

"This is for Asher," Rem says gravely before she moves her katana away and instead grips her hand around Elise's throat, rainbow energy swirling around the both of them as Elise squirms underneath her.

Another flash of rainbow energy goes off and Elise burns away with a shout, floating through the air like ashes as she dies. The scenery around us flashes away after Elise dies and we find ourselves back in the castle of the hallway. Just then, Katiana, Sampson, Veddrian, and Skye burst through the castle doors to find us and the four of them grin happily. Ciel also manages to get back on his feet when they arrive, shaking his head with a grimace.

"You did it!" Katiana shouts.

"The guards chased us here," Skye breathes out, slightly doubled over, "but they suddenly stopped in the courtyard and looked at each other confusedly. We figured you did it, so we rushed here as fast as we could."

"The citizens were safely secured," Sampson says, "I'm sure they're most likely free of her influence now as well. Katiana and I ran here whenever we finished rounding up the citizens in an attempt to further help. We met up with Veddrian and Skye a little bit ago."

Veddrian's eyes flicker over to Miles, who's still lying on the ground, and she frowns. I rush over to him and Valerian helps me pick him up, to which I give him a grateful glance.

"We can deal with fixing the mess Elise left behind soon enough. Right now it seems we need to get back to the ship," Veddrian says, her eyes still trained on Miles.

"How though?" Valerian asks, "Our comms won't work this high up."

"We'll have to jump from the island," Skye says hastily before she takes off in a run, "come on!"

We follow Skye to the edge of the courtyard and I notice that there's a small cliff jutting out of the side of the island. Skye jumps over the small barrier that separates the cliff from the city and she leaps off, spreading her arms as she does so. The rest of us follow after her, Rem carrying Miles's weapon for him. Miles floats aimlessly through the air beside me and Valerian as we fall. We each hold on to one of his arms in an attempt to keep him with us. After we're low enough, we all use our comms and head back to the guild.