"Honestly, I was worried that you might have died." Gisle said while sitting at the glass table across from Wain.

"Huh, how could you think such nonsense as that?" Wain grinned as he crossed his arms.

"Well, you've been missing for months and no one's seen or heard from you. You as though disappeared, but when Teresa came back from Dermin I realized how wrong I'd been." Gisle smiled, waved his hand, and a tea set appeared on the table.

"Tea...?" Zero muttered as she raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Lately, I've come to realize the beauty of this wonderful drink. There's nothing like a good hour for a friendly chat." Gisle uttered, took the teapot, and filled three cups to the brim.

The tea of hot red tea emitted steam that spread a strong fruity aroma around the room.

Wain, Zero, and Gisle each took a sip as they felt a strong but pleasant heat that traveled throughout their bodies.

"Not bad, though it doesn't compare to alcohol." Wain said with a slight nod as he set the cup aside.

"Heh, maybe you're right." Gisle smiled and took another sip.

"Gisle, I've heard some rumors about Last Light, apparently things are going very well, aren't they?" Wain asked with a serious look.

"Yeah, you're right. You did a good job sending the Green Cats to us, but we've been working every day to get better and bigger. We have several important allies now." Gisle said as he snapped his finger.

A magical circle glowed on the ceiling as images of some people with maps of the area and other pictures appeared above the table.

Some of these places were familiar to Wain. It was the eastern area of Dermin where the Green Cats Guild, Vrifal Plant Town, and Terrin, Vampire Town had been, but about half of the places, Wain had seen for the first time.

"Plants... Beastfolks, Vampires, Constructs, and Demons... These are all our allies at this point?" Wain asked while looking at the images.

"Yeah. It's a total of four cities and the eastern region of Dermin, so far no one but them knows about us. I'm sure they will definitely support us regardless of the opinions of other members of their races." Gisle said with a shrug, "There are already tunnels and supplies between all the cities."

"You're using monsters as transport, I have to say that when I saw this I couldn't believe it." Wain muttered while looking at one of the images.

There was a huge worm covered in multiple plates drilling a tunnel underground while several men followed it for protection.

"Huh, you're right. Monsters have proven to be incredibly useful allies. Honestly, many of them are even more useful than regular humans." Gisle said as a faint contempt appeared in his gaze.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you about that. There are many Dungeons in cities, walls and barriers provide complete security, aren't these the right conditions for townspeople to begin to evolve?" Wain spoke in a thoughtful manner.

"Well, a lot of people are afraid to even face monsters, though... Let me show you that. Come on, I'll give you a little tour." Gisle uttered, finished his tea, and headed for the balcony.

Wain and Zero looked at each other, then followed him.

Gisle presented his fingers to his lips as a great whistling sound that spread hundreds of yards around.

"Hmm? What was that?" Zero asked with a confused look as she tilted her head.

"Be patient. You'll see it all now." Gisle smirked.

Whooooooooosh.

Suddenly there was a powerful gust of wind with a rumble that came from the top of the castle. Wain and Zero turned around as their eyes went wide.

On top of the castle landed a massive creature with two broad wings that were large enough to cover Wain, Zero, and Gisle with shadow. It was a griffin.

"This is my friend, Guir. I originally thought of taking the monster from my Void, but when I saw it in one of the Dungeon, I couldn't take my eyes off it." Gisle muttered with a glowering look.

"How annoying..." Gryphon said suddenly as he turned away, "Does it really have to be like this every time you introduce me? What's the point of so many words?!"

"Huh, you're as mean as ever." Gisle grinned as he looked at Wain and Zero, "These are my friends. I need you to take us somewhere."

"Hmm? That's out of the question." Guir suddenly said in a serious voice, "Only someone stronger than me can climb on my back. I'll help you, but let them walk or whatever, I don't care."

"Well, you certainly shouldn't have said that." Gisle shook his head.

"What?" Guir frowned.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly a powerful pressure came over Guir from two sources that sent a violent shiver through his body.

"Hey, little bird, I don't think you quite understand the situation you're in." Wain uttered with an angry look while releasing his powerful aura, "Am I right, Zero?"

"Sure." Zero nodded as her icy eyes literally pierced Guir.

"Damn it! Gisle, why didn't you warn me?! They're fucking monsters!" Guir exclaimed with a startled look as he lowered his head.

"Ahahahahaha, aren't you supposed to have well-developed instincts? Unlike them, you're a real monster." Gisle laughed before jumping, "Okay, that's enough. Let's fly."

Wain and Zero nodded as they jumped onto the griffin.

Guir resisted no longer as he took off. For each monster the most important thing was strength, they unlike humans did not often resort to lies, psychology, and betrayal. With monsters, everything was simple, whoever was the strongest could do what he wanted.historical

"Wow... I thought the view from your balcony was incredible, but this is something..." Zero muttered with a dazed look while looking down.

"Hah, Wain, maybe you can run really fast, but you still can't fly. Although, that goes for me, too." Gisle said with a slight smile on his face as he scratched the back of Guir's head.

"Well, you're not quite right." Wain smirked, "But hopefully one day I can fly as much as I want."