In the Bosque capital, Pith, the city was still scorched and in shambles. If there was a change it was that things were finally looking up for its citizens. Miller did not neglect any of his subjects despite the fact that helping was definitely beyond the kingdom's budget.

In return, the citizens smiled brightly and spoke optimistically whenever they saw his figure walk past or whenever they saw him help feed the hungry.

Brennan had to admit that he wasn't able to compete with Miller when it came to charity. Clearly as a person that went through a thornier path than Brennan himself he was rather humble and willing to help the needy.

Common sense dictated that this exchange of money for gratitude was not worth it. The crisis that befell the Bosque Kingdom already exceeded the budget so why care for the citizen's well-being as well?

Brennan didn't think that they had to starve by any means but Miller certainly went above and beyond by providing tents and medicine to those that weren't soldiers or knights.

The reaction from the populace was very positive and if the kingdom could rise back up, the result might be rewarding.

With all of this being said, Brennan actually had no intention to compete with Miller. The young man lacked a king's wisdom but that experience would come with age.

No longer fixated on the throne, Brennan was finally able to spend time with his children. Emphasis on the plural.

Recently, Aaron woke up from his insufferable state. The bedridden Aaron was no more and all there now existed was a kid. Despite the reality of Aaron's age, his body was small and frail so kid was apt.

His brain also seemed to not have matured considering that he maintained the childishness of a young boy.

Though happy that Aaron awoke, Brennan's heart was also stricken. How could he tolerate his child's current state?

To make matters worse, ever since Aaron woke up, his sanity had been put into question. Often times the knights would see the young man, who looked like a frail and innocent young boy, talk to himself.

That was very weird and when coupled with the knights' previous findings led to the conclusion that the boy had gone insane. It was that or he was possessed and neither of these options was pleasant.

At first, Brennan was inclined to believe it was the latter and he thought he knew the culprit. It wasn't a ghost or demon, it was Bloody and W. But no matter how he called out to the monster that once inhabited him there was no response from the child's body.

"Da- Dad, who.. who are you calling?" Even his own insane child questioned him with a speech impediment.

"Sigh.." Brennan did not want a monster in his child but he also knew to be grateful. If he was possessed Aaron was definitely healed by the monster.historical

Brennan's conjectures did turn out to be true. The young Aaron was not talking to himself but to Bloody who would at times also reply. Since Bloody was also childish and naive in nature however there was no incongruence when they both spoke.

If they spoke of more important matters the situation might have been different but what Aaron and Bloody did was play around in the Bosque capital. They would do so with their younger brother and under the supervision of knights.

This play would often last until late in the afternoon and Brennan would sit aside and watch it calmly.

"Things will look better" Brennan was not going to give up on his child Aaron. His third son Alvin looked promising and Aaron would outgrow his insanity and childishness, things would definitely look better.

"""Aaaaah!!!""" """NOooo!!!!""" "God no!!" It was then that Brennan's thoughts were interrupted by the frightened screams of many citizens.

"What's going-?" Brennan asked before noticing that the entire capital became enveloped in a dark shadow. He shut his mouth after acknowledging the source of the distress.

A dragon.

The Volcan dragon.

"They are back.. No..." The soft wails of the traumatized citizens at the mere sight of the dragon was heartbreaking. But the young man atop the dragon, and the dragon themselves, took in this sight with indifference.

Soldiers of the Volcan army sieged the capital anew but this time no one picked up any weapons to fight them off. What was the point?

"Starting now.. I am your emperor!" Mite declared loudly as Pyre descended. His powered voice covered the entire city.

The people were shivering uncontrollably and his statement made them all the more frightful. Could there be a better sovereign than Miller Bosque? Were they going to be made into slaves now?

The royal family was their last and only hope.

The ferocious dragon then dived and landed on some rubble near where Miller and the Duke stood.

"And you guys are my vassals" Mite said to the Bosque King and his knights as Pyre landed.

Neither Mite Bosque nor Calder Lansworth offered a word of refute.

"I'll look forward to working with you" The Duke instead broke the silence and flashed a small smile as he spoke.

Mite returned the favor by gracefully jumping down from Pyre's body and offering his hand.

"Good, as you should" He declared arrogantly.

They both shook hands while smiling thereafter. The citizen's hopes were dashed by the picture.

***

After a few hours more hours of waiting, at the orc plains, Ed could feel that W was near. But even without this feeling, he had received a message a few minutes before. It went something like..

'I'm here' The feeling of closeness came from the spiritual mark and that was, as previously stated, the reason why Ed knew he was near.

Now all he had to do was wait for W to return with A who W had yet to actually meet. Speaking of not having met, A technically hadn't formally met Bloody either, right?

He knew of Bloody through the memories Ed and W made rather than it had made.

That clotted blood was a bundle of joy despite its voracious appetite and while it was a small thing Ed was also looking forward to A and Bloody meeting. This was not a ruse to hide his own longing.

'I can't wait to dissect him..' How many wonderful skills had Bloody learned in its absence? What about advancements? Surely W had advanced some of its skills. Perhaps Blood integration was one of them. What would that look like?

Knowing that W was on the floor made the next few minutes of waiting far more grueling. But eventually, the waiting did pay off.

While still in the grass, he could sense the spiritual mark getting progressively closer. It was only a matter of time before A and W appeared.

Just as Ed's excitement was reaching its climax, A went ahead and entered the tall grass that originally kept them hidden.

"Everyone, do not attack" A said through Yoashk. Reid who was looking at the mushrooms with fear snapped out of his reverie and quickly translated his words to the others.

<"Huh? Then why are we here?"> One of the orc elites asked confused.

"Hey, why are they here?" Reid asked back similarly confused.

A was stunned, couldn't Reid figure that out on his own? Plus he couldn't imagine anyone seriously asking that question.

"They were here just in case, don't worry about it" A replied quickly before disappearing from view.

A then returned with W alongside him. The only thing was that W was currently possessing a human being.

'Dakgu, please restrain her' In an unexpected turn of events, W sent a transmission to Dakgu to restrain himself. Of course, in the context of Dakgu Ed had just instructed him to restrain and keep watch over a human.

That being the case he didn't hesitate to perform this action. W couldn't have the girl run away after what she was witnessing or had gone through. Only after the girl W used as a host was restrained did W dare step out.

<"Huh? What's that?"> All the orcs were unfamiliar with the blood clot Ed created.

<"I think that's a thing humans do"> One of the orcs said in an educational tone.

<"Eh, when?"> Another asked.

<"When you hit them, Dakgu must have hit them"> <"Don't we do that too?" Another immediately interjected.

<"Only to weaklings"> <"Heh, let's try and see if you do it then!"> The orcs continued to discuss nonsense as W made his way to Ed's main mushroom.

Bloody slithered and weaved around the mushrooms as well as any orcs that may for whatever reason have gotten in the way. After a short few seconds he finally reached Ed.

'I am back' W said to Ed who immediately took him into the system space.

'Welcome back' He said inwardly before hurrying off into the system space. The only worry was the human W came with, as long as they weren't killed there was nothing he had to worry about. Ed was thus able to enter the system space without another care.

He appeared in the storeroom and found W's wisp flying there too. Without sharing a thought, both immediately made their way towards the forge room.

This was a very important fusion and W understood Ed was in a hurry from their previous short interactions. The reason why was self-evident.

Ed was about to learn a lot about the outside world through W. Not just that but he was also going to learn if he discovered a potential exploit. Would he receive his transmission? Or would the system interfere and turn it into a level-up or some other form of compensation?

He didn't know, and he was dying to find out. Both Ed and W let out frightening screams in their heads as the forge's flames melted their bodies.