The city''s relief was fleeting. The silver-black flames spread over the shields, making them spasm in a bluish color.


    The shield continuously endured the intensifying waves of flame. Each time the flames touched the shields, it glowed with a bluish light.


    When that happened, people began panicking again. Their eyes filled with terror and sadness. Many of them began to pray for the only god they knew... Their leader...


    They all knew she wasn''t some omnipotent being, but it wasn''t the time for rational thinking. It was the time for hope, since they could do nothing else.


    Their end arrived, and they could only watch. The Angelic Order''s churches filled to the brim. Even people who never gave a crap about the religion attended the prayer led by the Sisters and Brothers.


    Some sought shelter; many returned home to their family. They tried to ignore the cataclysm outside, and just spend possibly the last minutes of their lives with their loved ones.


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    While Rome slowly lost hope on the outskirts of the Aegis System, Sera and her group tried to find a solution.


    It was impossible to see through the sea of flames, but judging by the noises, the fighting had only gotten more serious. At one point, they actually saw Otto hit the shield, suddenly bringing shadows to the constant bright light.


    The difficulty lies not in the occasional clashes, but in the continuous mixing of the flames. The destructive mixture degraded the shields way too fast.


    Neither Otto nor Scarred Sera could do it alone. Leslie brought this up, and with this revelation, the solution came too.


    To stop the firestorm, they needed to remove either side of the equation. They either had to make Scarred Sera or Otto stop shooting their flames in whatever way possible.


    They had no way of contacting Otto, and didn''t know how to stop or at least move them away from Rome. After spending a minute or two brainstorming, they only had one idea left.@@@@


    Vicky climbed onto Kastral''s back, and the giant hippogryph took her away. They flew fast and reached the sphere''s top in no time. They stopped only a meter away from where the sea of flames spread.


    Upon reaching their destination, Vicky took a few deep breaths, then turned into her Spatial Form. Gravity bent around her, but Kastral held his ground, keeping Vicky afloat.


    Her power even affected the flames on the other side of the shield. A small dome grew, which let Vicky see through the flames.


    It took her no time to find Otto''s position, and with it, the second part of her job began.


    Vicky reached out her hands and concentrated with all her power. What she was attempting was unlike anything she had ever tried. Opening a Realm Gate was arguably harder, but that was only because she needed to learn how to concentrate perfectly.


    For her next trick, she needed nothing else, only pure unyielding power. Her Spatial Form gathered all the informations necessary, and after a minute, she determined where Otto will be.


    She used her powers on Damien to grow back his eye after the fight with the Stellar goblin, but that was much easier. She guessed the difficulty increase was because of their Rank difference.


    Otto was obviously of Stellar rank, and even in this form, his tail was gigantic. Bea used nearly all her essence, but she could only grow back half the tail.


    With a pale expression, Bea fell over, but a pair of firm hands caught her before she hit the ground. A pair of gray eyes stared out of a handsome, dirty face.


    The prince reverted to his human form, faster than anyone could''ve expected. For a split second he stood knelt there naked, holding Bea, but in a blink, a scaled black armor weaved itself around his body.


    While Otto and Bea stared at each other for a bit too long, Sera''s attention went elsewhere. The flames died down even further, only scorching the bottom part of the Aegis System.


    Without saying a word, Sera flew into the sky and headed to the edge of the shields. On the other side, her twin waited with a wicked grin.


    She scraped one gauntleted silver hand over the shield, sending ripples down on it. Out of nowhere, she punched it with all her might, but it was ineffective.


    "Well, well, well... This battle was certainly unexpected. Castleburg''s leader seems to finally choose a side in this war... I hoped our fight would destroy this pathetic city of yours, but I should''ve known... You never seem to run out of tricks!"


    After speaking, Scarred Sera began hysterically laughing, while Sera just kept her hollow expression. While staring at her broken twin, she felt nothing but a tiny sense of pity deep in her heart.


    "No matter. One day you will run out of tricks, and when that comes, prepare yourself... We will die soon, at least one of us will... I wonder, who will come out victorious, and what will happen after reuniting..."


    Sera''s mouth twisted into a smirk, which seemed to annoy her other half quite a bit.


    "What is it? Your omniscient scientist friend doesn''t know the answer?... Did that idiot gambled everything on a whim, on a chance?"


    "Don''t eve talk about him like that!" shouted Scarred Sera, and hit the shield again, but it was much too strong.


    The smile on Sera''s face grew into a grin. "I wonder what will happen to you, when you fail... Will Harold throw you away, like all his other toys? Maybe he will turn you into a monster, a new beast to his guard his lab!"


    The mad lady growled in hatred and fuming rage, but she controlled herself, and let her boiling blood turn into a cold vengeance.


    "This isn''t over yet... You may have won another battle, but the war is far from over..." said her other half, as she began moving away... "Remember my words, little angel... Ones of us will die!"


    The woman began flying faster, and just as the last of the flames extinguished, she disappeared towards the purple horizon.


    Sera stayed in the sky and continued to listen. Even though the mad lady had disappeared, her words still echoed in Sera''s ears...


    "One of us will die!"