Frostfire Legacy

Several figures were gathered in a dark, shadowy space. Each one of them wore grim expressions, a clear sign of the gravity of their situation.

A quick glance revealed two distinct groups. One group shared a unique trait—pure white wings, each wing about half the length of their arms, attached behind their ears. The other group, however, showed no such uniformity, with appearances as varied as could be.

One of them looked like an elf, though with a skin tone darker than usual. Another appeared as if her entire body were burning in flames, yet she seemed perfectly at ease, suggesting this fiery look was her natural state. Another figure, seemingly affected by Monsterification, had lost most of his humanlike features. However, the glint in his eyes still held a spark of intelligence, suggesting he had retained his rational mind.

"So…" A man in that group—a figure wearing a domino mask that covered his eyes and the bridge of his nose—broke the silence. "Your key personnel got taken back. What's the plan now?"

His tone was detached, as though he held no real stake in their troubles, despite being in an "alliance" with the other group, however temporary. His casual comment drew a sharp reaction from Lionel, one of the members of the opposing side. Lionel's teeth ground together as if he were just about to charge forward and land a punch square on the man's face.

*Pat!*

But a firm hand tapped Lionel's shoulder, halting him. He turned, about to snap at the person holding him back, only to see that it was their leader. His aggression faded immediately as he met her gaze, her irises glowing in a mesmerizing blend of red and blue.

"I believe you understand that we need to remove the control chip embedded behind the eyes of our last two members, Mister Arima." Their boss, Lorelai, spoke steadily, her tone precise and controlled. "For that reason, retrieving Cassandra Bright is a top priority."

At present, they had no way to remove the chips without triggering an explosion. The chips were deliberately engineered this way, to ensure the Aracelli Race couldn't wield their powers freely, even if the military were wiped out entirely.

Chronalisa, their ally, could theoretically "revive" someone who had died, but it was not a true resurrection. Instead, it worked more like a rewind in time, restoring the target to an earlier state. This meant that the chip would also be restored, rendering the effort futile.

Apart from Cassy's Revive skill, most other pseudo-revival techniques operated similarly to Chronalisa's, functioning through time reversal and providing no help in this situation.

"We plan to move as soon as everyone is back to full strength," Lorelai continued, detailing her plan. "It will take about 24 hours, at least," she estimated.

Arima rubbed his chin thoughtfully, nodding as he listened. "I see."

Lorelai was hopeful that with Arima's assistance, retrieving Cassy would not be too difficult. After all, Arima was widely regarded as the "strongest person" in the world, surpassing even the Dragon's Roar clan leader, Ragnaros, and the mysterious figure known as No. 0 in the Hit Squad.

But his next words shattered that assumption.

"Then, good luck with that." He offered a thin smile and waved a hand dismissively. "I'd love to help, but some other urgent matters need my attention. So, I'll have to excuse myself from this operation."

"What?! You bastard…!" Lionel's rage ignited once again. "Running away, you coward?! Just admit you're afraid of that strange elf!"

Arima, indeed, had poor compatibility with Faeloria, but the notion that he would fear her was almost laughable.

"Well, think whatever you want," he replied indifferently, unbothered by the insult.

As Arima turned his back, Lorelai snapped back to her senses and called after him in a low voice, "Are you abandoning our alliance?"

*Tap!*

Arima paused mid-step and glanced back, his face unchanged, bearing that eerie, unreadable smile.

"I'm not abandoning the alliance. Honestly, I'd like to help, but it's just a matter of bad timing on my end." He sighed. "Still, even if I can't participate myself, I'll send some of my pawns. You can command them as you please, apart from brainwashing."

With that, Arima stepped into a dark void that Selene, the dark elf in his group, opened up. One by one, the rest of his team followed, until finally, Selene herself entered and closed the portal behind her.

"… "

Lorelai frowned deeply. Although Arima had promised support, sending his "pawns" wasn't the same as having him directly involved. She felt conflicted. While he was undeniably useful, she also considered him a dangerous individual—one she'd prefer to eliminate if the opportunity arose.

"Oh? What's this?"

Just then, Chronalisa noticed a white strip of paper where Arima's group had vanished. Her curiosity piqued, she bent down and picked it up.

It was a small scrap of paper torn from a notebook, with a few sentences scribbled on it. Chronalisa's eyes scanned the words, and her face turned pale almost immediately.

"T-This is bad!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to hand the note to Lorelai.

Intrigued, Lorelai glanced down at the note, reading the words. Her frown deepened further.

"Damn…" she muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth in a mix of frustration and anxiety.

The note was undoubtedly left by Arima, and it read:n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

'The threat of the Aracelli has already reached overseas, alerting the powerhouses over there. Factoring in their preparation time, you have roughly a week before they intervene. I'll hold them off for a month, so wrap up whatever you need to accomplish by then.'

One individual, claiming he could delay an entire nation's, no, an entire continent's forces for a month—normally, such a declaration would sound like insanity. But, considering Arima's strength, it wasn't out of the question.

Still, this revelation didn't change the pressure now looming over Lorelai and the Aracelli members. They suddenly faced a harsh deadline.

One month.

It might sound like ample time, but given Aster's tendency to drag his group through the dungeon, the search for Cassy could take longer than anticipated. There was no guarantee that a month would be enough to locate and reclaim her, especially with the looming threat from overseas drawing closer each day.

Lorelai gripped the paper tightly, crumpling it, as her eyes released a wavering glint. It was unfortunate that nobody knew what she was thinking of by then, or else, the situation could've still been salvageable.