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Lilac kept running past the fights that happened. Her allies were trying hard not to get killed, and the civilians were scrambling about like lost chicks. The peaceful border town suddenly turned into the state of anarchy when the demons started to reveal themselves and attacked them. While the hellhounds were prominent in the fight, Lilac also realized that there were also possessed humans who fought with supernatural strength that was devastating, leaving some pile of bodies everywhere. Lilac tried to avoid the fighting as much as she could, but she was blocked by a possessed human who was wandering around. Lilac could smell the putrid scent he made, meaning that this one was dead and basically a walking corpse.

Lilac had heard about the stories of old about those dead people who were raised from the grave by demonic magic or just simply magic, and she knew that if they managed to bite you, it would infect you with the magic and turning you into one, much like how werewolves infect others. She knew she couldn't stay there, or else she would become one of them.

Knowing that there were also some other walking corpses, Lilac made a hasty plan. She suddenly jumped to the side and ran up the wall, relying on her werewolf agility to climb up the three story brick house. She got to the roof, but realized too late that there were also reasonable possessed humans on the roof, who knew Lilac was coming and lifted her with ease. She tried to claw her way out, but it was useless when your assailant was supernaturally strong. Just when he wanted to crush her skull, Lilac bit the assailant and removed a chunk of his throat. Knowing that it would kill the possessed and turning him into a walking corpse, Lilac hastily escaped, jumping from roof to roof.

She watched her surroundings. At the streets, there were fights and riots, with law enforcement had no effect with the possessed humans. Those who were still free from the clutches of the demons got easily slaughtered, while those who could fight were struggling not to attack the wrong civilians. The carnage made Lilac felt wrong for leaving Ifrit and not going to Albreich, yet she must go to Hans; right then, he was the only one with the strongest ability, as he was an experience dragon rider and was riding a dragon.

Lilac wanted to jump to another roof, but she didn't see a demon behind her, who tripped her. Falling down on the slated roof could be hurtful enough that she had more time to recover. The demon, clearly not a hellhound, stood there watching her for a moment. At first, she thought he wanted to attack, but when she saw blood and entrails trickling behind him, she realized someone saved her.

As she rose up, a man stood behind the demon with bloodied sword on his hand. When he sheathed the sword and wanted to walk away, Lilac said, "Wait! Do I know you?"

He didn't reply her, but it wasn't necessary for Lilac. She just said, "No matter. Thank you for saving me."

Ignoring the man (who was capable of defending himself), Lilac raced to Hans's camp. She finally reached it in the middle of the night, yet when she went out from the bushes, she couldn't find her brother or his dragon everywhere. She tried sniffing them out, but since they were flying, the trail went cold. Just as Lilac cursed his brother's timing, a fire ball came down from the sky and almost hit her if not for her instincts. She didn't have time to be surprised when another surprise came to her in the form of Azureath falling down in front of her while grimacing in pain, while Hans climbed down of her panting hard.

"Hans, what is bloody happening? The sky is falling!"

"First of, don't believe in fictional nonsense. Second, if you would look up..."

Lilac turned her gaze up and saw a terrifying vision.

There was another dragon up there, but unlike the smooth scaled Azureath, this one was like a blazing up flying dragon-shaped charcoal. Like most hellhounds, it reeked of burned smell, and it's face and horn made it even more otherworldly. With big, bulbous horns and face that was very rough and twisted, coupled with the roar that was not even a dragon, Lilac shook on it, and almost thought that it was the judge of the world, until Hans said, "It's a hell dragon. I don't know the details, but that kind of dragon once terrorized the new world many years ago."

Suddenly, while the hell dragon was roaring, another dragon flew to it and pushed it away. The dragon unleashed a high-pitched roar while the earth shook, channeling a strong rune-filled light that hit the dragon square while igniting it in flame. The light suddenly exploded and the dragon was thrown and hit the ground near Azureath.

Both siblings were surprised by the turn of events, in particular Hans, who was bewildered by it. The dragon then landed near Azureath, and both of them were clearly scared by its appearance.

Unlike the four-legged dragon it killed, it was only standing on two legs; both of its front legs were wings. It folded its wings to walk on four, and to crouch near Azureath. Hans readied his sword, when the dragon said, "Sweet child, that dragon is not of your current experience." The raspy shrill voice added to its dangerous and mysterious origin, despite of the calming talk she gave to Azureath.

"H-Hey! Get off her! I can snuff up a dragon if I want!"

She then turned to them, and said, "If you do that, then I must make you an enemy, foolish mortal. You mortals are no match for the forces from the bowels of the earth, and still, you challenged them."

"Foolish mortals? Heh, you really are a cocky bastard."

The dragon turned to Azureath again. "Where's your rider, child of ice?"

"You...you're looking at him.... Ancestors..."

She turned to Hans, examining him, and said, "He lacks courage and self-sacrifice, as just like the dragon slayers. He isn't the standard of dragon riders when I was in the Order, sweet young child."

"The Order? What.... You know her, Azureath?"

"You fool, you really don't know? She's one of the fallen heroes that fought the traitorous dragons almost 80 years ago."

"The heroes I know are Seraphor and Avila."

"You don't get it, Hans. You riders may not know her, but we dragons knew. Ramusk is talking about her all the time."

"Ramusk? Is he well? So, it has been 80 years since that day. Have you found Sera and Vila yet?"

"They're...still missing...."

"Oh...those poor dragonlings...."

Again, she turned to Hans and said, "If you don't know me, then you don't have the right to know. I only give my name to those I deemed worthy to hear it, like my rider, Caim. Let your dragon explains it to you."

Hans wasn't all that patient with the dragon. He turned to Azureath and said, "What the hell is she, Azureath? I'm not into games and riddles!"

"She's Angelus, the hell dragon that save the Western Continent with her rider. She's killed during the fights and...wait, you're dead? Then..."

"Don't be so dramatic, child. Yes, my name is Angelus, and you do know that I'm more a wyvern than a dragon? We have a name down in hell to call me; a dravern, I think. I'm half wyvern and half-dragon, but all demon."

"Do I look like I care about that?" said Hans. "If you're not an enemy, at least help a little. There's no neutral party in this event."

"Neutral Party?!"

Despite her shrill voice, her raised rage-filled exclaim was enough for both Rezmirns to hold each other in fear. The dravern then stood with her hind legs and said, "I'm participating in this pointless fight, you foolish mortal! You're the one trying to run away while your dragon here is fighting to the brink of death! I can't believe I burst out. You may be a dragon rider, or you may be one of the army with extraordinary fighting skill, but shame on you when your partner is down while you're still healthy!"

That talk made Hans felt guilty, which was sensed by Lilac. She knew the fact that Hans was in love with his dragon, and knowing that he put his lover, whatever she might be, in danger, proved that he made her only as a mount, not as a partner. Thus, Lilac said, "Are you really that cruel to anyone? He just barely reached this place and he's involved in some bloody demon invasion! Goddess, why doesn't anyone have some sense of optimism? You, in particular, dravern, is no exception! Help someone, will you? And don't give me a crap like you're a neutral party or maybe lecturing someone who's clearly not ready for a demon invasion."

"I AM trying to sort things out...but say, you're of a special case, mortal." Angelus then moved her head closer to Lilac, stared at her for a while with her white eyes, and said, "I see.... I appraise your dedication, demon girl. I might help you, but tell me...this scent is familiar. Who did you have an intercourse with?"

"Can I trust you on this?"

When Angelus nodded, Lilac summoned what she could to be honest, and said, "He's Ifrit Schelkz."

Angelus gasped. It was something weird to be done for a hellish dravern like her, yet she was clearly shocked, and said, "Did you say...Ifrit Schelkz?"

Meanwhile, talking about Ifrit...

"(Shit, this is bad. At this rate either we kill Eshdar or he kills us!)"

They had been fighting for at least two hours, with collateral damage all around them. Ifrit and Anubis were exhausted while Nergora, who was injured the most, was out cold. Rhynsa couldn't back them up when he was fighting one on one with the mysterious hound, where both were equal in hand-to-hand combat.

Despite of the discrepancy in the fights, the two standing monarchs were still trying to persuade Eshdar to fight the conditioning. Eshdar was supernaturally strong and there would be no way a scout role like him could gain such level of strength. Not only that, despite of his accuracy, Eshdar couldn't fire arrows as fast as an automatic weapon, which only meant that he was fighting while his body was forced to do what was more than his body could handle. If the fight went on, even if they refused to kill him, Eshdar would still be dead.

Ifrit tried to silently ask Anubis if he still had anything up his sleeve, but Anubis gave a grim shake of his head. Ifrit silently cursed the situation, and he still need to confirm if the Lilac he saw just then wasn't just an illusion of near-death.

Eshdar attacked again, this time using his ornate dagger to attack Ifrit. Anubis tried to manipulate the particles, but knowing that he was exhausted, his senses were distorted and it was hard to determine which one was agitated. Not only that, the carnage all around them didn't help at all, because recently dead people scattered soul particles everywhere, creating a static screen-like vision to Anubis. He couldn't be off help, despite of being able to manipulate some of it to at least concentrate on inanimate objects and throw it to Eshdar to at least halt him. After much effort, Anubis managed to sense a small movable object, in reality a trash can, to be thrown to where Eshdar was. The next problem was to find his swirling particles in the sea of particles.

Ifrit caught Eshdar's body, now that the red-furred hellhound was at his body limit. He found that Anubis was still trying to find Eshdar, which prompted Ifrit to shout, "(Ani, concentrate on my voice! Throw that thing to the direction of this voice!)"

Anubis heard Ifrit shouting, and without hesitation, threw the trash can to where he could hear the voice. Ifrit turned so Eshdar's body was at the way of the trash can. Eshdar growled and struggled to release his body from Ifrit, but it was too late. The trash can hit Eshdar's head, and with it, he became dazed and suddenly lost consciousness due to the hit.

Seeing that, Ifrit suddenly panicked and said, "(Holy shit, we didn't kill him, did we?)"

"(As if an empty trash bin can kill him! Quick, find something to bind him before he wakes up!)"

They both scrambled to find something to stop Eshdar before he woke up and they couldn't hold back. Despite of that, they were in the middle of an open space, and it would be hard to find one even if they could.

Just then, Ifrit found out that a hell dragon just passed them, while another one, a wyvern, chased after it. They ended it when the wyvern forced the dragon to the ground with its hind legs, breaking its neck in the process. The wyvern saw Ifrit, then said, "(Ifrit! You're alive!)"

"(Uh...wait, do I know you?)"

This kind of answer actually surprised her, which made her said, "(I'm Angelus, your guardian! Have you forgotten?)"

"(I know a wyvern in my life, but I never specifically remember one!)"

"(Well, you should be! I'm the only dravern on the outer circle. I'm with my partner who wields a sword and having ridiculous hairstyle!)"

"(Wait...now that you said it...I dreamt of you! I remember, you're the wyvern that saved me from starving many years ago! But, I can't quite remember your name. It's...Angelus, you say?)"

"(He really hit something in his life)," thought Angelus. "(How could he ever forget?)"

"(A-Anyway, do you have something to hold Eshdar? We don't want to kill him when he wakes up!)"

"(Wait...you want to tie him up, yes? I know someone that might help you. I'll find her. You hellhounds must find your comrades and get out of this town. If you feel to it, find a warehouse on the next road. You might find something good there. Go, hounds, and help the realm you've come to love!)"

And with that, Angelus flew away, leaving them. Anubis wanted to stay, but Ifrit said, "(Somehow...I believe her. Ani, we need to find that warehouse. It might hold some importance to us)."

"(Wait, you believe someone with a shrill voice like that? We barely even know her, dude!)"

"(She may be right. I might need answers after this. It's true...I don't remember my childhood much. Her presence...with Rhynsa and some others, were blurred for me before I even reach this plains. Don't you, Ani?)"

"(I don't, okay? It's just you who's weird, that's all. As far as I can remember, I can only see soul particles everywhere, so it doesn't matter if I remember things or not. Anyway, Ifrit?)"

"(Yes?)"

"(I wanted to stay not because I'm not certain to that voice, but I can't see a thing with high death toll around me. My curse actually helped me to determine

Where to disperse the soul particles and my telekinesis helps me a lot. The problem is that because of so many killed people around me, their stable soul particles became scattered to the atmosphere, rendering my vision useless, and making me practically blind)."

"(So that's why you hesitate when you wanted to attack. You might not find Eshdar since he's as silent as an owl)."

"(I might be able to follow you while running, but I can't determine if there's...)"

Anubis again tripped when he couldn't sense a rubble in front of him, yet before he could reach the ground, he was helped by Ifrit to stand.

"(I'm still blind)."

"(Don't worry, I'll help you walk. We gotta find the warehouse somehow)."

"(Just leave me, Ifrit. You gotta hasten your pace if you really want to help...)"

"(It's better two than one, right? In fact, if it's dangerous, we need to go back to back on this, right? C'mon, if you can't run, I'll help carry you. You're quite light)."

Hearing that, Anubis said, "(No thanks, I can go by myself. The particles had faded. Let's go, Ifrit)."

While running to find where the warehouse at the next road, Anubis said, "(You know, Ifrit, you're quite unique)."

"(Unique as if...?)"

"(You managed to find more and more friends than most of the monarchs, and because of it, you can muster a great force of strong people with you. You know why?)"

When Ifrit kept silent, Anubis said, "(We trust you, Ifrit. As you're the son of the first victim of the rebellion, you and Nergora are trusted to help others. Your father is a respected hellhound, and thus, many of those loyalists would like to give away their lives just to save the king and queen. Even if Ensalder Winsel had betrayed us, many loyalists still followed him, and thus, he helped most other monarchs to save themselves, including my family and others that were not as lucky as us)."

"(But...if Eshdar's father is the cause of your suffering, shouldn't it be natural that you want to kill Eshdar? Why helping us? I have a vague memory of what's going on, but you know what actually happened, right?)"

Anubis smiled. "(Even if you have a grudge on someone who makes you suffer, do not extend it to their sons, as it will means that we're just in for a slaughter. I don't blame Eshdar for what his father had done; in fact, I felt pity that he must be reduced into that. I wanted to know him better, and thus I can determine if he's just like his father or not. Don't you agree, Ifrit?)"

"(Yeah...if anything can return him back to who he was, you'll be a great friend to him, Ani)."

Ifrit stopped at a building that looked like a generic warehouse, where he sensed something demonic in it. Though deep in his heart he believed that wyvern named Angelus, he felt unsure if this was her trap or she just didn't know what's inside.

Unsure what's inside, Ifrit had second thoughts, but his body moved out of curiosity. Pushing the small door inside the bigger gate, he found that it wasn't locked, making it even more suspicious. Despite of that, Ifrit and Anubis were surprised that what they found inside were different from what they imagined.

In the vast room of the dark warehouse, electrical lights suddenly brightened the place, revealing a massive collection of bizarre technology they couldn't imagine. Even without the electrical lights, once one of the machines were turned on (by mysterious means), they were bright enough with the lit picture in front of them. Not only that, there were various automated machines that looked futuristic and also demonic.

"(W...what the hell is this place? It's full of...weird stuffs)."

Anubis moved closer to where he could find soul particles, but when he tried to touch something, he felt a pattern of bumps that resembled something he knew when he was still a child, when his steward introduced him of this kind of patterns. He moved his fingers horizontally, and he could understand what was written.

"(Hey...Ifrit, there's an inscription here)."

Ifrit approached Anubis, but what he could see was only a pattern of dots lining the side of a machine.

"(It's just a dot. Maybe it's a puzzle)."

"(It's not. My steward taught me how to read this by using touch. There must be something written...uh, is this a machine?)"

"(It is)."

"(It says here that it's a surveillance monitor using the latest technology from the fifth circle. There's a manual for this thing. Can you find the book?)"

Ifrit found the book in no time, lying in front of the so-called monitors. Like the inscription, it was written with the same code for the blind, so he gave Anubis that. He moved his fingers from left to right, reading it carefully and sincerely. Ifrit wanted to help, but just like the book, the pads in front of the monitor was lined with the same code.

"(I see...)"

"(What is it, Ani?)"

"(Ifrit, this warehouse...it's where the demons will try to communicate to the other posts. Arbal is only an outpost. I don't know how they can get this, but all of these...things are beyond our current technology, both from the outer circle and the surface world. I'm afraid if we attack them now, we'll be sitting ducks)."

"(Exactly as the blind jackal said)."

Ifrit heard it and quickly readied his spectral sword, but the owner of that voice quickly showed herself and said, "(The monarchs of the hellhounds may have a little chance of winning, but without formidable army and equipment, you will know that you'll lose)."

"(Who're you? You look like a cat and...big? Not only that, you talk with my tongue?)"

"(The correct term is 'you talk my language', huh, hellhound? As for me, I'm a Catsith, and depending on your perspective, I can be your enemy or your ally)."

"(I bet on being the latter, catsith)."

The catsith smiled. "(It depends on you hounds. Oh, on your left shoulder)."

Ifrit instinctively threw a spectral dagger to his left shoulder, which directly hit an invisible enemy. Anubis suddenly felt soul particles behind him and managed to push the attacker to a nearby machine before turning around and used both his hands to snap his neck.

"(Brutal. So that's the power of a hellhound prince)," said the catsith. "(Anyway, those two are currently the last ones I can't quite get the feel off. I've taken care the original owner of this warehouse)."

"(But...they were invisible! How?)"

"(For that...I cannot say. Its high level of technology is beyond the fifth circle. To be precise, I can't believe it actually exists. This rebel problem has started to disturb even the circles beyond yours. My own circle is in peril and so as the second to the fifth)."

"(So you're from the first circle...ugh, just when I am out from that hellhole...)"

"(I hear that, you know)," said the catsith while hissing to Ifrit. "(The rebels are too strong at this point, and thus, many of the demons that despised the invasion to the surface decided to band together as a whole, albeit temporarily. One of your kings is the cause of this, including one of the old demons)."

"(But we haven't even be able to contact any allies from the circles beyond the outer rings)," said Anubis. "(Even by now, we can't find more allies without trying to draw more conflicts to the humans)."

"(First step to go is to harness the technology. I've keeping tabs of what's going on outside with a wireless communicator, courtesy of the second circle. Then, when you've finished learning about the surveillance monitor, blind jackal, help your friend here to find better technologies in this warehouse. I'm going to help as much as I can, but you two can't go out unless necessary. If this warehouse is recaptured, you hellhounds won't get another chance)."

Just like that, the catsith was gone, leaving the two of them inside the warehouse with no other way to defend it except to be able to find out how to make the technology work.

As per the catsith's advice, Ifrit started to look around the vast warehouse, trying to find something of significance. While he could found many smaller machines, he happened to find the wireless communicator the catsith was talking about, it the form of the same earpiece she was wearing. Beside them were rectangular black blank image that when turned on, it made static noise and white random dots all around.

"(I don't know what the writer is thinking about, but if this motherfucking technology actually can help us, I don't care. I don't know why, but I can think of this as anachronistic in the setting of this story)," thought Ifrit to himself. "(I can't even operate these things! I guess I should've ask Azgal about this. He's a fifth circle demon, after all)."