Neptune, who had been lost in the forest for days, finally saw the silhouette of a city in the distance. His body was weak, his breathing ragged.
“Haa... haa... finally out of that damn forest…” he grumbled hoarsely. “I won’t forgive you, damn Exone…”
With staggering steps, he entered the city and approached one of the citizens.
“Hey, what is this place? What’s the name of this city?” he asked sharply.
“This is Azura City,” the citizen replied kindly.
“Azura? Never heard of it.”
“Oh, this city used to be called Tazer. After the former ruler was killed by Exone, we held a discussion and decided to rename the city Azura, which means freedom. We no longer want to be bound to the old name... now we are truly free.”
Neptune frowned. “Tazer...? If I recall correctly, that’s the city hit by a severe drought, right? And Exone did all this?!”
“Yes, Sir. They’re the ones who made this land fertile again. They built houses, water channels, farmlands... all thanks to Exone.”
“Their characteristics?”
“Two kids. A black-haired boy, about 160 cm tall, and a blue-haired girl, about 155 cm tall. Both wear black cloaks.”
“Their next destination?”
“They said they’re heading to Puari City.”
“I see...” Neptune looked off into the distance. “I want to see the former ruler’s mansion first.”
He walked into the large hallway of the old mansion. As he stepped deeper inside, the air around him changed drastically. The temperature suddenly dropped, and icy fog began to envelop the walls.
“What?!” Neptune clenched his fists. “How dare you... insult my king like this!” he muttered angrily. “I won’t let you die peacefully... Exone!”
He immediately left the city, his eyes filled with rage.
Some citizens who witnessed Neptune’s departure began whispering to each other.
“That person... seems strong.”
“Yeah, clearly he’s chasing Exone. Let’s report this to the ruler.”
They quickly headed to the newly built mansion for Pirlo, the new ruler of the city. The old mansion was left standing as a historical witness: the place where Exone first declared war against the king.
In front of Pirlo, the citizens explained what had happened. Upon hearing the news, Pirlo immediately took out the long-distance communication device previously given by Arya.
“Hello, this is Pirlo. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can hear you,” Arya’s voice replied from the other side. “What is it, Pirlo?”
“A suspicious man just came to the city. He asked who liberated this city and your descriptions. The citizens suspect he’s chasing you.”
“Good. That means the plan is working. We’ll wait for him in Puari City.”
“His appearance,” Pirlo continued, “they said he has white hair, about 175 cm tall. And... after he entered the old mansion, the hallway suddenly froze.”
“Haha... froze, huh? That means our provocation worked,” Arya chuckled lightly.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll kill him.”
“In that case, good luck. See you.”
“See you.”
Arya lowered the device.
“Dina, are you sure you still want to fight him alone?”
“Of course,” Dina replied casually. “I’m strong.”
“Alright. But here’s a suggestion—don’t just rely on brute strength. You can channel your magic into your daggers, right?”
“Yeah... until now I’ve only fought guards. I’ve only channeled magic into my daggers once.”
“Our enemy this time is flexible. He can fight close-range, long-range, and has a wide area of attack. Don’t underestimate him.”
“Got it.”
They were now in the forest before Puari City. Five days had passed, yet the white-haired man hadn’t appeared.
“We’ve been waiting here for five days, but why is there no sign?” Dina asked, annoyed. “This is the only path from Azura to Puari, right?”
“Yeah... maybe he went back? Or got lost?” Arya shrugged.
“How about we go pick him up?” Dina suggested.
“Agreed. Waiting is boring.”
They began walking back toward Azura City. Along the way, Dina saw someone.
“Hey, Ar... that white-haired guy, tall. Is that him? But why is he still here after five days?!”
“Is he stupid or what?” Arya frowned.
“Seeing him eat tree roots out of hunger... I’m not really motivated to kill him,” said Dina weakly.
“Yeah, I feel sorry for him too.”
Suddenly, the man realized their presence.
“Who’s there?!” he shouted, alert.
“Oops, we’ve been spotted,” Dina whispered.
“You... you’re Exone, aren’t you?! Damn you! Because of you I got lost in the forest!” Neptune shouted angrily.
Dina replied calmly. “If you’re directionally challenged, why go alone?”
“Shut up! I will never forgive you! Especially for insulting my king!” Neptune raised his hand. “Glacier Lance!”
Instantly, an ice spear shot toward them.
“Watch out!” Arya moved quickly, pulling Dina away.
“Whoa! An immediate attack like that!” exclaimed Dina.
“You sure you can handle him alone?”
“Relax. Let me handle this. You just watch.”
“Alright. Good luck.”
Neptune growled. “Just a girl coming forward? Are you underestimating me?!”
Dina gave a slight smile. “Arya is much stronger than me. But I’m enough to handle someone like you.”
“Frost Fang!”
Icy fangs burst from the ground, but Dina had already leapt into the air.
“Wind Step!” With wind support, she dodged. “Wind Slash!”
Neptune spread his hands. “Ice Aegis!” An ice shield appeared, blocking the slash. “Blizzard Domain! Frozen Nova!”
An ice explosion spread with a snowstorm. Dina was blown away briefly, but quickly stood again.
“Looks like I have to use fire, huh?” she said. “Wind Step!”
She dashed forward at high speed.
“Blazing Fang!”
Her dagger thrust pierced Neptune’s ice defense and melted most of the attack.
Neptune flinched. “What the hell?! That almost hit! You pierced Ice Aegis?!”
“That was nothing. Crimson Cross!”
A flaming cross slash shattered Neptune’s protective layer.
“Tch... you’re strong too! Cryo!”
A heavy hailstorm fell.
“No problem. Wind Step!” Dina dodged and countered. “Infernal Waltz!”
Her body danced swiftly, surrounded by flames. The attack tore through all the surrounding ice.
“Frozen Nova! Argh, still missed?! Frozen Nova!”
“Phoenix Lacerate!”
Dina’s rapid strikes formed the silhouette of a phoenix, exploding as it struck Neptune’s body.
“Arghhh!!” he screamed. “Arctic Judgement!”
An ice golem rose, but in an instant…
“Infernal Waltz!” Dina destroyed the golem.
“And... goodbye.” She dashed. “Phoenix Lacerate!”
The attack hit directly, and Neptune’s body exploded in flames.
“Phew... that was exhausting,” Dina muttered.
Arya approached, clapping. “Nice work, Dina.”
“Thanks, Ar. Can you heal my wounds?”
“Of course.” Arya channeled magic. “Heal.”
“Thanks a lot. But this forest is a mess now…”
“Hm... if the ice melts and the fire is put out, the forest might recover.” Arya raised his hand. “Water! Water!”
Once the flames were extinguished, they continued their journey to Puari City.
Meanwhile, in the Seven Eclipse chamber…
The atmosphere was tense. All members were gathered before a black stone throne where Noctis sat calmly, holding a piece of bluish crystal that was now cracked.
Noctis stared at it blankly. “Neptune’s signal... is lost.”
Venus smiled wryly while crossing her legs. “Ara~ ara… so Neptune-chan is dead, huh?”
Saturn chuckled, his laugh deep and filled with amusement. “Kuhaha! Exone is getting more and more interesting.”
Jupiter, who had been silent all along, lowered his head slowly. “So… Neptune-kun is truly dead.”
Mercury remained silent, his sharp eyes staring blankly forward. Not a single word came from his mouth.
Among them, Gamma bowed deeply. In his heart, he hid a sense of relief. (That means… Brother Arya and Sister Dina succeeded. Thank goodness…)
Noctis turned to the right. “Who’s next? We can’t keep letting them act as they please.”
Saturn rose from his seat, his burly frame moving like a living rock.
“I’ll go,” he said firmly.
Noctis nodded slightly. “Alright. Don’t make any mistakes.”
Saturn laughed lowly, then turned and left the room without another word.
That night, Gamma immediately activated his communicator from his room.
“Hello, Brother.”
Arya’s voice came from the other end. “Yes, hello. What is it, Gamma?”
“As expected, the next one they’ll send is Saturn. As I reported before, he’s an earth element user with incredible physical strength. Almost impervious to attacks.”
“Hm… Saturn, huh…”
“But, Brother… there’s one thing that’s suspicious.”
“What is it?”
“How could Seven Eclipse know about Neptune’s death so quickly when not even a day has passed, and the battle location is very far from the capital?”
Arya fell silent for a moment. “Interesting. So how did they know?”
“Because every member of Seven Eclipse has a signal tracker embedded—not for location, but to confirm whether they’re still alive. When the signal dies, it means they’ve fallen, and Noctis—the King’s aide—knows immediately.”
“So you also have that device installed?”
“Yes… But only for life status. No location is tracked.”
Arya nodded slowly, even though Gamma couldn’t see him. “Alright… Don’t forget, don’t act suspiciously. Don’t use stealth skills, act like you’re one of them.”
“Okay, Brother.”
“Dina is asleep, she’s exhausted after fighting Neptune.”
“She’s the one who fought Neptune… Sister Dina?”
“Yes. She fought alone and won.”
“Amazing, Sister Dina…”
Arya smiled slightly. “Of course she’s amazing. But you’re amazing too, Gamma.”
“Hehehe… Thanks, Brother. I’ll hang up now. See you, and… send my regards to Sister Dina.”
“See you. Take care, don’t rush.”
“Roger!”
In King Sekius’ private room inside Belmera palace...
Noctis stood with his head bowed, calmly reporting. “Neptune has been defeated.”
Sekius showed no sign of surprise. Instead, a grin appeared on his face.
“Exone… just children,” he muttered, moving a chess piece in front of him. “Children challenging a kingdom. Interesting…”
He looked at Noctis. “Proceed to the next phase. Use the plan I created yesterday.”
Noctis received a scroll and bowed deeply. “As you command, Your Majesty.”
He then left, taking the scroll. But… the contents of that scroll? Still a mystery.
The next morning, in a rest house near the forest toward Puari City...
Arya was preparing his weapons when Dina woke up, her face a bit messy.
“Morning, Ar. Any news?”
“Bad and good news. The bad news is, we’ll be chased again. The good news… our next pursuer is Saturn.”
“Saturn? If I’m not wrong, he’s the muscle guy from Seven Eclipse, right?”
“Correct. The earth element user. Strong, sturdy, and stubborn.”
Dina yawned while tying her hair. “So… who’ll fight him? Both of us? Or just you?”
“What about you?”
“Well… you do it,” she replied lazily. “Fighting a muscle-brained guy isn’t fun. Just a waste of energy.”
Arya chuckled. “Haha, true. Fighting someone who only relies on brute force—”
He glanced at Dina with a mischievous smile.
Dina squinted. “What? Why did you glance at me while saying that? Are you saying I’m also muscle-brained?!”
“No! My eyes moved on their own!” Arya replied while laughing.
“You jerk! That hurts more!”
A few hours later…
Dina was chewing dry bread when a beeping sound came from their communication device.
Beep beep…
Arya reached for it and activated. “Who is this? Why so early…”
“Bro-brother! Emergency!” Gamma’s panicked voice was heard through the device.
“Gamma?! What’s wrong?!”
“The King… issued a wanted poster about you! About Exone!”
“What?!”
“Yes, Brother! I saw it myself! They’ve already spread it throughout the capital!”
Arya was silent for a moment. “Suspicious…”
“What do you mean?” asked Gamma.
Dina also looked confused. “Why is that suspicious?”
“Think about it. We always execute corrupt rulers, free the people, and bring new life. The people are starting to see us as heroes. But… if the King immediately spreads wanted posters, his image will plummet. The people will surely hate his actions.”
“True…” muttered Dina.
“Wouldn’t that ruin his reputation?” Gamma asked again.
“There must be another reason behind this. Gamma, please try to find out if there’s a hidden plan behind the King’s decision. But remember, don’t force yourself.”
“Okay, Brother. I’ll do my best. See you!”
“See you, Gamma.”
In the palace…
Sekius stared at the chessboard in front of him. His fingers pushed a piece forward to the center.
“Well then… let’s begin.”