Part 1

A month had passed since Alex’s marriage and Ashlyn had entered into another heat cycle. 

Because of that, they lay together on their bed, Ashlyn resting on his chest, tracing aimless circles with her finger on it.

“So, basically, we can’t have children the natural way.” Ashlyn mused, causing Alex to shift uncomfortably at the thought.

He gazed upward, churning his mind to remember what he had been told.

“Yeah, apparently our species are similar, but hybrid children would be rare and sickly if born that way.”

Ashlyn let out a weary sigh, the pressure of the public about this matter had been heavy on her lately. “And I thought they were joking when they gave us that pod for hybrid children.”

Alex could only nod at her, remembering her stunned face with fondness. “Yeah it was a surprise. But there's no need to rush to have them.”

Ashlyn's eyes narrowed at that, her finger digging into Alex's chest as she accused him. “Yes, we must deal with your other lover's fanatics first!”

He just winced, his hand instinctively rubbing his nipple as she released her hold over him.

However, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance at the memory of the culprit behind the recent attack on him.

“To think that woman would be behind this.” Alex’s gaze returned to Ashlyn. “She appeared quite happy the few times I met her.”

By his side, Ashlyn's hand extended, taking hold over a tablet from a nearby table.

Touching a few of its holographic buttons, the image of the woman in question sprung forth.

It was a well-kept and refined woman wearing the red robes of the Keeper of the Flame, a red cloth gracefully wound around her head, reminiscent of a nun's habit.

Her blue eyebrows, closed eyes and pure smile seemed a world away from the woman who had cheekily flashed her underwear at Alex in the restaurant.

But it couldn’t be denied that the face scanner installed by them matched her profile to that of the leading terrorist sighted outside the hospital.

Alex frowned as he studied the holographic image. “It's hard to believe she's the one behind this.”

Ashlyn's eyes remained fixed on the hologram as she replied, her voice tinged with concern. “Appearances can be deceiving, especially with people of her religion. We'll need to dig deeper to uncover her motives.”

She passed her fingers through the screen.

The image changed in response to show the woman, Kaztia, ruthlessly delivering a series of kicks to one of the fanatics who seemed to be unwilling to join the ongoing fight.

Each blow rendered the man's face increasingly unrecognizable, and his feeble attempts to shield himself grew weaker until his arms dropped to his sides.

“Damn!” Alex exclaimed in surprise, his eyes glued to the brutality on screen. “Where does she get the energy to do that?”

Ashlyn hummed as she saw the footage. “Most likely from her God, Ignitus. I've heard tales of his ability to bestow strengthening blessings upon virgins.”

Seeing that his wife was concentrating on reviewing the enemy's abilities, Alex decided to roll out of the bed.

Only that he nearly tumbled off the bed in the process.

It was only thanks to Ashlyn's quick reflexes that she managed to pull him back before falling.

“Thanks!”

Ashlyn responded with a resigned sigh, having grown accustomed to Alex's occasional bouts of clumsiness.

Still, the young man easily recovered and without a shame he asked her. “Does Novel truly have the location of her hideout pinpointed?”

“Yes.” Ashlyn didn’t turn to look at him this time. “We're launching an attack on her base of operations this evening before she has a chance to relocate.”

Alex got to his feet, slipping on his braces and rummaging through his closet for a shirt. 

“Alright, keep me informed. I'll be ready to send support your way whenever you need it.”

Ashlyn finally turned to face him, a determined glint in her eyes. "Thank you, Alex. Your support means a lot."

Just then, her communicator beeped, signaling an urgent message from one of her team members. 

She swiftly read the message and sent a short message back. 

“I need to go, Alex. Stay safe, and remember, we'll get through this together."

Alex nodded, feeling a deep sense of confidence in his wife's abilities. 

It was the reason why he had married her. 

Ashlyn's strong-willed nature and capability as a leader and his good luck were the pillars that held their relationship together.

Part 2

Alex made his way through the airport located outside one of his castle’s towers.

The birds, usually annoying to his ears, remained silent as he advanced toward his ship.

With each step he gave, the air seemed to grow more and more tense.

He turned to Pyra and the guards accompanying him, his gaze narrowed in vigilance. “Are you ready?”

Pyra's eyes danced with enthusiasm, and her words crackled with energy. “Time for payback!”

A palpable excitement emanated from her as she imagined all the way she could explode her enemies.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen of Boys surrounded them with their big eyes glowing as they scanned their surroundings.

“Tsk. To think you were smart enough to discover my ambush.”

The sound of a tongue clicking resounded from above them.

Turning their heads skyward, they were greeted by the sight of their enemy.

Kaztia, with a deranged grin, was up there, surrounded by over forty Elysians, all donned in their dirty red robes.

“But, it hardly matters.” She declared, her eyes gleaming with fervor.  “By now, the troops you sent to capture me should be locked in combat with my decoys.”

A deranged full blown laughter erupted from her.

Alex looked up at her with disdain in his eyes. 

“Do you truly believe I would have just one plan?” A brave grin formed on his face. “You know, my wife may be accustomed to battling the berserks that were the Gemcrabs, so she lacks the experience in dealing with rats like you.”

As Alex spoke, one of his hidden guards emerged with a soft hiss, followed by another and another. 

However, it was not the end as more and more metallic fishes turned off their cloaking technology.

Kaztia's earlier grin faltered, morphing into one of dread as her eyes darted left and right, taking in the extent of his appearing army.

“But I do!” Alex continued with a fearless determination. His arms spread outwards, signaling his guards. “Give them hell!”

At his order, the revealed Boys displayed menacing grins, their maws filled with fangs made the enemy feel a chill down their backs. 

Then, without giving time for the fanatics to react, the sleek, glistening metallic fish began to unleash a barrage of energy rays from their open maws.

Orange beams of energy pierced the air, etching vivid lines in the sky, each one aimed at their enemies. 

One by one, the Elysians were struck, and their red robes smoldered with the impact. 

Although a few managed to summon elemental flames to protect themselves and deflect the scorching blasts.

“Attack, you dumb flames!”

Kaztia raised her hand, attempting to summon elemental flames to counter the attack. 

With a maniacal gleam in her eyes and a face twisted with determination, she invoked orange flames that danced in her palms. 

Her lips curved into a deranged grin as she released her attack toward the metallic fish guards.

It was a desperate but fervent attempt to defend herself.

However, as the flames surged forward, they encountered invisible barriers that shimmered into existence, forming domes as the flames striking them scattered wildly.  

Each metallic fish guard had activated a mental shield, a sturdy psychic force field that protected them. 

The flames danced impotently against these ethereal barriers, dissipating harmlessly into the air. 

Kaztia's expression twisted out of frustration as her fiery onslaught turned into nothingness.

“It can’t be.” Kaztia screamed in a fit of rage, her voice filled with disbelief. “Last time, the shields were nothing compared to this!”

She knew they had encountered a trap and their chances of survival were slim. 

“Quick, we must retreat!”

She barked orders to her remaining followers, desperately trying to regroup and find a way to counter this unholy threat.

Yet, the metallic fish guards continued their relentless assault, firing energy rays that continued to strike down her followers. 

“Hump! What a fool!”

yra's playful voice suddenly pierced the desperate situation.

“What do you mean?” Kaztia screamed with a crazy fervor.

Pyra twirled her hand, bringing out her blue hand as her eyes shone with a rare white flame.

“Did you truly think we would show our troop’s true power so easily?” She mocked Kaztia. “Come to think of it,  no Elysian has ever witnessed the might of us Astraliths.”

As she spoke, a white luminous flame formed above her palm.

“Your group can be the first witnesses!”

With that last part said, Pyra swung her hands, sending the white flame hurtling towards their enemies.

Seeing this, Kaztia and her group summoned their flames once again with determination. 

“By decree of the holy Flame!”

However, their combined defense proved useless as the white flame easily consumed their orange flames, like a voracious predator overpowering its prey.

As the flames approached and consumed them, Kaztia wailed in despair. “It can’t be the end!”

With her final cry, the once-proud Elysians tumbled down into a long fall toward the distant ground outside of the castle, the flames never stopping consuming them.

Pyra, her eyes still gleaming with the delight of destruction, dusted off her hands nonchalantly.

“That’s one less worry, right?” She chimed. “We can finally go back to planning our next conquest.”

Alex could only smile uneasily as his gaze focused on her blue hand.

It was unsettling  for him to contemplate how such a small hand could hold so much power.

Pyra, noticing his discomfort, couldn't resist a playful remark. “Don't worry, Alex, I won't accidentally blow you up, promise.”

With that, Alex retracted his gaze and chuckled nervously. “Well, that's reassuring, I guess.”

Part 3

“Let’s wrap this up.”

Alex signaled his small army of Boys to scatter back to their usual posts.

His voice was heard through a repeater to the bustling airport, guarding most of Alex’s personal ships of their time.

The flying robots said nothing in response. They just lined up in five different lines and flew away, leaving the airport that stretched out from the main castle roof to one of its castle towers.

“This is going to take so much time.” 

Pyra, on the other hand, was complaining to a small crew of little robots, resembling toy boys with their square chests and their claw-like hands.

The Partans, despite their small size, communicated their understanding through a series of shrugs and hand gestures. 

Their shiny optical sensors flickered as they repeatedly pointed to the burnt edges of a castle tower.

Alex couldn't hear what they were saying as they spoke in a low pitch tone, but he could say it was not good news as Pyra’s face became increasingly more annoyed.

However, just as he was watching the scene with an amused smile, his wrist communicator started to vibrate with a message.

It was followed by another vibration, then another, and another, each one becoming increasingly insistent, to the point where his wrist wouldn’t stop trembling.

“This again.” Alex mumbled to himself, his brow furrowing in annoyance as he checked the countless messages flooding in from Aria.

He could do little but ignore them as he wrote a simple message to Ashlyn explaining to her what had happened there just a few minutes ago.

Yet, even as he attempted to type, the messages from Aria continued to inundate his communicator, each one causing it to vibrate and interrupting his efforts.

Much to Alex's growing frustration, the relentless stream of messages showed no signs of stopping.

“She’s at it again?” A spirited Pyra, who had just ended complaining to the repair crew, interjected mischievously. “What is it this time? Does she want you to stop sleeping with Ashlyn, or is she threatening you with the icy silence if you don't rush to her side?”

Alex just rolled his eyes, his fingers tapping out the final words of his message in his mother language. 

Yet, as always, the text transformed into the incomprehensible squiggles of the Elysian script.

Finally, he looked up at Pyra, his eyes carrying the weight of exhaustion.

He sighed, his voice tinged with exasperation. 

“I can't make heads or tails of her. First, she was all in favor of being the second lover, but the moment she heard about Ashlyn going into heat, she turned into a ball of insecurity and possessiveness.”

Pyra snorted, casually draping her arm around Alex's neck. “Fool, the moment you start taking someone's words seriously is the moment you've already lost.”

Enduring the weight of Pyra's arm, Alex looked up in helplessness.

He could understand what she was implying. 

You couldn’t trust someone else’s words, actions spoke louder than them.

“I think you are right. It is time I finish this relationship.”