Ch. 641..650

Chapter 641 Leave us

Vera had seen Kione's smile directed right at her just before the dark liquid swallowed him whole. It was not a sad or regretful smile. It was… a brilliant smile that was full of pride. As if he had told her that moment the words 'you're amazing, keep flying higher and never stop'.

And she knew right then that she had lost him. Forever. He was gone. Kione was gone for good.

She shut her eyes tightly closed after screaming out his name, calling out even though she knew that there was no point in doing so any longer. Her body was trembling as she held herself back from crying. This was not the time for her to break down. She knew she did not have the luxury of crying right now. Later… she promised herself. There was always later.

The monsters had emerged from the wall of darkness again and Kione's army charged ahead with a thirst of vengeance for their fallen lord. All of them were roaring out their battle cries to the heavens as they attacked with all their might, not holding anything back.

But Vera could tell that the dark faes would soon be overpowered – especially now that their Lord Kione was no longer there to provide the extra shield of protection for them. The monsters were just too many and too powerful for their small army to deal with. She did not know what to do. She was unsure whether she was doing it right, but she just knew that she had to save them no matter what! Her heart was set on the aim of saving all the warriors and killing off all the monsters.

So she swung her hand in an arc before her and ordered, "Kill all those monsters!"

Azure listened to his master and breathed out arrows of sharp crystals that materialised in the air before him. They flew straight ahead and pierced through the monsters. Anyone who had been hit immediately turned into ice and then crumbled like glass that was shattered by one hit from a stone.

The dark faes looked up. Their wavering spirit due to losing their lord started to strengthen again at the sight of the powerful creature above them. Hope flickered in their eyes as they rallied their own troops and fought against the oncoming monsters.

…

At the other side of the abyss, King Belial had already started retreating.

He had already sent out more than half of his army to aid the other armies but that was not the problem he was facing. He had realized that the enemy was trying to swallow him and trap him.

He had managed to stand his ground and not be pushed back by the monsters, but the armies to his sides, however, were pushed back and losing ground. And now he was being surrounded by two massive walls. He did not know what would happen if he got trapped within the wall of darkness. But from what he observed so far, he just knew that the result would not be good. He could survive but his entire army might get annihilated.

Seeing that the darkness was pushing towards him from both sides at the rear, the king ordered his army to charge backwards while he fought the monsters behind them. He could only hope they would be able to make it in time. The biggest and most troublesome monsters had kept him occupied, not giving him any chances to look back that he had missed noticing this vital matter earlier on.

He had realized now that the monsters must have had some intelligent ones among them who were sending out orders for the rest to follow. They were certainly not just charging mindlessly without any plan. There was a strategy in their war. And he thought that their first goal was to get him, the king, to be swallowed up by the darkness. He also felt that he must not let that happen at all costs.

Though he had been inside the abyss countless of times before, something was different this time around.

Seeing that a massive creature blasted its attack towards the rear, killing hundreds of his elite armies just with that one hit and also causing the wall behind him to keep pushing closer, Belial gritted his teeth. He then decided to teleport to the rear of his army and fought against the giants that had appeared from both their left and right sides. The moment he appeared, he lashed out at the monsters, slashing at them mercilessly and trying to reduce their numbers as much as possible.

"Your Majesty!" One of his generals shouted out. "Please leave this to us! We need you out of here before it's too late!" As a general, his main concern other than leading his army to fight in the war was to ensure the survival of their king.

Belial just smirked at his general before he moved like a blur, stabbing at the monster that was about to lop the general's head off his body.

"We are serious, My King! This situation is getting bleak! At the rate we are going, they are getting us trapped in completely!" another soldier shouted out in a pleading voice. "Please, Your Majesty! Just go and leave us! We will hold the fort."

As his general said that, the giants came rushing at them. Jumping straight out from the wall of darkness. They literally came out of nowhere, catching most of them off guard as they were focussed on asking their king to retreat.

Once the king brought three of the giants down, his eyes widened at the sight of most his men already scattered out of formation and some were even badly wounded. The general that was begging him to leave had also had one of the giant's large finger still stuck in his body. Its long bladelike nail pierced through him.

Anger rose within him as he stared at his general and friend's body already severed on the ground. He was just speaking to the general a few moments before and now the man was already gone. The next second, his darkness pulsated. The initially very well controlled dark magic within him began to turn violent and uncontrollable.

Chapter 642 So close

He tried to keep himself under control knowing that though this would get him a hell lot stronger, losing control was never a good thing. But when he lifted his eyes and swept it around his surroundings, he saw the slaughter that was happening and the wall of darkness that was slowly swallowing them, his blue eyes began to darken. Dark wisps of his magic bled into his eyes as his aura darkened and grew heavier around him.

The King stood there, his dark magic very quicky enveloping him. Just as he was about to launch an attack, an angel's hand suddenly touched his face, dissolving the thick darkness that had shrouded him.

"There is no need for that, my darling husband. Calm down for me. Please?" her sweet and soothing voice penetrated through the haze of darkness that had cut him off from everything else other than his goal. And swiftly, his darkening eyes cleared out again, revealing that intense blue eyes that Queen Beatrice loved so much. "Let me take over for now, darling." She gave him a light caress on his cheeks before turning around to look at the battle that was raging.

And she charged at the giant that was headed right at them. Beatrice dodged its long arms and landed a deceptively light punch on its head. But the brute force that transmitted from her curled up fist sent the giant crumbling instantly to the ground. Her red eyes were burning as she attacked again and finished the giant that was already lying unmoving on the ground.

Then the dragons came, effectively stopping the walls from closing in even further than they already were.

Beatrice was right before Belial in the next moment, holding his hand. "Now, let's go, My King." She said and Belial finally snapped out of the hold his own darkness had over him.

"Did you anticipate this happening and came rushing over to my aid, just on time again, my badass Queen?" he raised a brow at her. Queen Beatrice could not help but give him a little pinch at his waist. Her husband still could tease and flirt around even at this point in time.

"Maybe?" she replied vaguely, and King Belial pulled her into his embrace.

"Just as reckless as ever." He murmured against her hair before he looked at his friend on the ground. After a heavy sigh, he told Beatrice, "Let's go." After which he used his magic to gather his friend's body and they finally left the area.

Once everyone was out of the now narrow space, the wall of darkness finally swallowed it.

…

Belial was surprised at the scene that welcomed him. A new legion of powerful army was spread out before him and countless of ice dragons were flying in fluid four and battle spread formation above them.

He could only smile in wonder. "This is the doing of our daughter-in-law, right?" he asked his wife and Beatrice nodded.

"Yes. But our other daughter-in-law is the one who brought all these ice dragons." Belial thought of how far Vera had come along and grown since she came to the Under Lands.

"I see…" he said, not asking for his sons anymore. "Evie's dragon… that's Onyx." They both eyed the glittering black and massive dragon above them with awe.

"Yes."

The couple watched calmly and full of pride as the dragons took over. The ice-dragons were tasked with creating ice walls around the abyss as the allied soldiers retreated back to safety.

The view was just so incredible it was indescribable. But they had realized that the abyss had already expanded past the radius of their camp. In fact, it had already swallowed their camp. That was how fast the war had accelerated.

Thanks to their reinforcements that arrived just at the right time, everything finally came into a halt.

Many of the soldiers thought that due to the walls of ice, the monsters had stopped emerging. But Belial did not think so. He had already identified that there was definitely someone who was leading these monsters to attack in such an organised manner. Brainless monsters from the abyss do not have this capability of doing so. He had a feeling that the creature controlling the monsters had realized the arrival of the dragons and the other reinforcements and was now formulating a new strategy to engage them in their next battle. In short this was not the time for them to breathe out in relief yet. It was still too early to relax and take a break.

However, this would also give them the chance to regroup and bury the bodies of their comrades who had sacrificed their lives and that they had managed to pull from the abyss.

…

Time passed and everything quietened down. It was like the storm was suddenly over, and now they were all beginning to realize the extent of the destruction and death that was left in its wake.

Azrael was kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at Kione's sword. It was the only thing of Kione's that his men had managed to salvage after their lord had been wiped out completely. His hands were trembling as he stretched them out to picked it up and hold it.

"You, big… idiot!" Azrael cried. He was all wounded, bruised and had his wings tattered from all the intense battles. But all of the wounds he had sustained could not even compare and dampen the intense ache that had taken root in his heart. "You, idiot!! I told you to be careful!!!" he shouted in agony of losing his best friend, his sworn brother.

Vera, who had been standing few steps behind Azrael was tearing up quietly. Kione's face at his last moments kept replaying in her mind. That dazzling smile. That seemingly peaceful smile he had given her at his very last moments. She was sure that it would continue haunting her for as long as she lived.

She had her fists tightened. Why could she not save him? She was so close. So very close to reaching him. And saving him. Yet… and yet she could not make it. And just like that… he was gone. Kione was gone.

Chapter 643 Only the beginning

The smallest group that consisted of the vampires and light faes were gathered together in one place. Everyone was silent as their queen walked slowly across the line up of dead bodies. A few dozens of light faes had already died from the war. Their already small numbers seemed to have dwindled even more.

And many were now also heavily injured, including Samuel and Leon.

After a short ritual, she watched her people bury their dead. They had decided not to bring them back to the surface to be buried. Since they had perished fighting for the land here, they would be buried here to honour their sacrifice. She did not shed a single tear. She could not do it. The tears were not coming as they were supposed to.

Samuel and Leon approached her and stood before her with their heads down.

"Lift your faces." She told them flatly.

When she saw their faces, she felt the lump in her throat tightened. This was the first time she had seen these two men wearing a face like this.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty…" Samuel choked out, bowing his head again. "We couldn't find Zolan nor his… body." They had been dreading reporting about this to their queen.

Evie's fingers twitched when she heard that news. She had to secretly swallow to keep her composure. Outwardly, other than that slight twitch of her finger, there were nothing else to hint of the turmoil that was going on inside of her.

"Don't apologize Samuel." She replied softly as she reached out and touched the big man's arm, slightly putting a comforting pressure. Her magic started to flow strongly into the man's body, bringing healing to all his severe wounds. She glanced at Leon and saw that the man did not suffer as many injuries as Samuel had.

It did not come as a surprise to Evie however, knowing that Leon was such an elusive warrior with his incredible speed. Still, Evie reached out and Leon took a step closer, not letting his queen waste even a single step and he allowed Evie's hand to touch and heal him.

When the two men were finally healed, Evie stepped between them and spoke. "This is war. There is no one to blame but our enemies." Her voice wavered slightly as she said that.

Then she looked ahead to the graves of her people before glancing over to where the dark faes' graves were. Based on the grave markers that littered the ground, thousands had already fallen. And she knew that this was only the beginning. More would fall and even more graves would be erected to remember their fallen comrades.

In her vision, the entire empire of Lirea was reduced into a tiny a space. Only several thousands of Lireans were left.

Seeing all the thousands of graves with her own two eyes, Evie felt her heart waver a little. But when her hand moved to her belly, reminding herself of the child that was growing inside of her, she then lifted her chin up stubbornly. Her eyes turning steely as she moved her gaze towards that cursed abyss.

Right now, Evie had decided to scrap all the previous plans she had made into the background. Because she realized that everything had been messed up. Everything had changed so drastically, and she no longer knew what exactly the impact of these unexpected changes on the future would be now.

For now, she would focus on nothing but this current war and strive to win it at all costs. There was no other choice.

"Let's go," Evie said in a steely tone, and she moved forward. Samuel, Leon and the rest of the vampires and light faes followed after her, leaving the graves behind them. Though sorrowful, it was something that was inevitable.

Soon, Evie was finally reunited with Vera who was still currently grieving for Kione. The news about Kione's death was a huge blow to everyone. He was one of the main pillars in King Belial's army.

Two lords had already fallen in this battle and one more was still in critical condition, barely hanging on.

"It's not your fault, Vera." That was the first thing Evie told her friend as she braced her in a comforting hug. "You had already done your best. And don't forget that this is war. I'm sure you know what I mean by that, right?"

Vera sniffed and nodded at her. "Kione is a good man."

"He is… he's one of the smartest person I've ever had the privilege to meet." Evie said her peace.

Vera agreed as she finally wiped her tears, coming to terms with his passing and her not being able to save him. She knew all she could do for Kione now was to stop crying and lift her head up again. She could only grit her teeth and continue to fight on. Evie truly was her role model. Seeing how strong-willed Evie was in this moment made Vera's conviction strengthen once again. Because that was all she could do for now. Her tears and regrets could never return Kione back to life anymore.

"Evie… there is something I need to tell you." Vera did not waste any more time and told Evie the exact words Gideon had told her.

And as soon as Evie and Vera finished their conversation, Evie immediately appealed to the king to gather everyone together again. Because she now had a new plan to propose. No, it would no longer be a mere proposal. She was determined to push through with it no matter what.

But first and foremost, she needed to deal with the matter about Klauz and his entire legion. Knowing what Klauz had done to Queen Beatrice in the past, Evie already knew this would not be an easy feat to convince the king of his involvement with the war – more so to be on their side. But she had already prepared herself and she trusted that the King and Queen would not let their personal grudges cloud their judgement at this crucial point in time. Especially when they needed every single ally that they could get on their side.

Chapter 644 Plan

This chapter is dedicated to @MonsterUnderTheBed! Thank you so much for the supergift!

The atmosphere was currently thick and heavy inside the tent. The oppressive air was obviously due to Klauz's presence in their midst.

King Belial was definitely triggered just by having the presence of Klauz amongst them. But just as Evie had predicted, the king and queen were trying their utmost best to disregard their personal grudges against Klauz. However, that did not stop the ugly expression that crossed King Belial's face upon seeing him. Not that Evie could blame him. If not for the situation they were being put in, Evie would be loath to even consider this cooperation between Klauz and them.

Even after Evie explained why they needed Klauz and his army, the king did not try to deny nor say anything to object Evie's words. No one mentioned about Klauz's past evil deeds since the king – who was the person who was being wronged – did not even start to spark it, of course, apart from the uncontrollable negative aura moving around his body.

"I'm not going to question you about your newfound army anymore, my dear daughter." The king focused his attention on Evie. "What I want to know more than anything now is the plan you had mentioned a while ago. Can you outline it out for the rest of us here?"

Evie held the king's gaze for a few seconds, gauging the stability of his emotions before she looked at everyone. Her gaze halted at Vera and the two ladies nodded in a wordless agreement between them.

"We are intending to go for an all-out war." Evie declared, causing everyone, except Vera to frown. Within seconds, there were murmurs arising among the noble lords. It was clear that everyone was not happy with Evie's suggestion, especially after their retreat from the earlier battle. Even Klauz looked at Evie with a slightly narrowed gaze.

"An all-out war… the moment the monsters broke the ice walls?" Lord Cadmus was the one who asked.

"No. We're not going to wait for that to happen." Evie's replied made their frowns deepen even more. But the king seemed to already realize what Evie was planning to do and his eyes widened. Evie who was watching the king's reactions flashed a small smile at him and nodded her head slightly in his direction. "Yes, King Belial. I will be the one to lead the legion to attack the abyss." Her tone was firm and confident as she spoke of her plan.

The tent erupted with murmurs once again. Everyone could not quite believe what they had just heard. Did this little lady just offered to be the one to lead the army and actively go and attack the abyss?! Even their most seasoned veterans would not dare suggest such a daring and foolhardy move!

"Silence!" the king's voice that boomed out within the tent made everyone shut their mouths. "Queen Evielyn, we need you to elaborate on your plans." The king's tone was solemn as he spoke.

Before Evie could respond, one of the lords stood from his chair and spoke. "My King. Do you really want to hear about what she is planning? Her plan is extremely ridiculous! She's trying to have us all get killed inside the abyss with that plan! Attacking the abyss is suicidal! All these times we were just managing even just being on the defence."

The Lords agreed, except for Azrael who had kept his head down ever since he had arrived in the tent. "All of us know that the abyss is the most dangerous place ever existed. Only the most powerful dark faes can come out from it alive. And this queen is trying to attack it?! I refuse to be a part of such a foolish suicide mission –"

"Whoever said that I will be taking your coward ass with me, Lord Kalian?" Evie cut the lord off and the dark fae lord blazed in anger from the direct insult from Evie.

"Enough!" King Belial's voice did not thunder but the blaze of his magic was enough to silence everyone once again. "Let her speak and DON'T DARE anyone interrupt her again." the warning in the king's voice made everyone who were standing slowly sat down in their seats again.

The king lifted his gaze back to Evie. "Please continue, queen Evielyn." He said in a calm voice. That calmness… Evie felt her heart squeezed hard at the thought of her husband. Oh, how she missed him dearly at this moment!

But she swallowed the lump in her throat and her gaze became steely, full of nothing but conviction.

"Every part of any land that the monsters seize from now on will be swallowed up by the darkness of the abyss. I'm certain all of you understand what that means. If we just sit back here and play the waiting game, the cycle will never end. No, I should say that it would end with us. The monsters will keep pushing us back until they swallow up everything that belongs to us. And all of us will eventually end up like cornered animals. I don't think anyone here wants to see that happening, right?" her explanation was met with a long pause of silence from the lords.

"So you're planning to attack instead of just defending? Is that the main gist of your plan?" The king calmly asked Evie as his other lords were not able to speak up for the moment. "What makes you think that this plan of yours will work, Queen Evielyn? Have you seen what the inside of the abyss is like?"

Evie gave him that face. The face that said 'yes, I've seen it'. "However… there is one thing I need to make clear. None of the lords or even you, King Belial, will join this war." This statement of hers once again brought another huge reaction within the king's tent.

Another shock swept through the lords. This time, even Queen Beatrice as well as King Belial himself started to look troubled.

"I will be the one leading all my dragons and Klauz's army into the fight. Also, Vera and her ice dragons will be coming along with me. And that is all. Everyone else and none will be the exception, will stay back outside the abyss. There will be by no means that any of the soldiers of dark faes will be allowed to join in." Evie's voice came out resolute and final.

Chapter 645 Avenge him

This chapter is dedicated to @MonsterUnderTheBed! Thank you so much for the supergift!

Mouths hung opened. They all took a moment to process what the light fae queen had just said. They all looked at Evie with mixed emotions. Was this queen just so brave and believes in her own powers so much or had she just plain gone mad? Did she even know what she had just said? She had literally offered to send herself to die in the abyss! That was the general but unspoken consensus that all the lords who were within the king's tent were thinking after Evie's brief explanation.

"We need to destroy all the monsters. That is the only way to stop this war in the shortest time possible and also to stop the abyss from expanding further and swallowing the entirety of the Under Lands. And we are not going to be sitting ducks and wait to be preyed on and slaughtered helplessly. I'm not trying to do anything funny by keeping all of you out of this mission. All of you will stick to the dark faes' initial plan. You and your armies will keep surrounding the abyss and kill any monsters that emerge from it. Continue doing what you have been doing according to plan." Evie then fixed her gaze on the king's alone. "All I ask is for trust from King Belial. I won't ask for permission because whether you agree or not, I will still go ahead with this plan of mine at all costs. And I remind everyone here kindly for your own sake that none of you here can stop us." Her tone was neither arrogant nor overbearing, just as though she was stating a fact.

Everyone could not help but feel goosebumps as they listen to Evie and feel the immense power she had unleashed in her voice as she said that last sentence. It was as though she was backing up what she is saying with proof – and that was her powers. They were confused, however. They still could not quite understand why her plan would make a difference in the development of the entire war. No matter how strong they were, they could not possibly win a war against that darkness.

The King shut his eyes as he contemplated what Evie had just said and opened them slowly only after some moments. A long quiet sigh escaped from his lips before he met Evie's gaze again. "I don't have the power to stop you since you are going to use your own men and not my people, Queen Evielyn. Klauz and his armies are dark faes, but they are no longer my people. They're yours since you were the one who laid claim on them." He said in a neutral voice and Evie flashed a small smile.

She had a feeling that King Belial had already understood almost everything. She did not need to explain everything for this man to figure everything out – or at least almost everything. Even if he did not get it a 100 percent, it was still enough for Evie.

"We don't have any reason to stop you for wanting to end this war. So the trust that you wanted is already given, Queen Evielyn. And I will support you the best that I can from the side lines." King Belial gave his go-ahead on Evie's plan. He knew that she had her own plans as she was the one who had that vision on the future related to the war.

Before Evie could express her gratitude, Azrael's voice echoed out suddenly. He had been silent the entire time before this.

"Your Majesty." The lord rose and approached the king before dropping to one knee. "I would like to join the war. Please allow me to join Queen Evielyn's mission."

And the occupants of the tent fell silent once again.

Everyone knew how devastated Azrael was right now. The king knew. He had trained Azrael and Kione along with Gideon when they were younger. Beatrice was also hurt at the loss of Kione because that young lord had been her favourite among the boys when they were younger. Kione was that kind of knowledgeable boy who knows how to talk about every topic that existed under the sun – even the ones that only females usually talked about – things that Gideon and Azrael or even Gavrael would not even go near with a ten-feet pole.

"You have my permission, Lord Azrael." The king granted him the consent despite what Evie laid out as her conditions earlier. "However, you cannot ask your men to go along with you."

Azrael immediately bowed in relief. "Understood, Your Majesty! And thank you for granting my request!"

Once the king dismissed everyone to return to their post and wait for his call again for another meeting, Beatrice went to Azrael and embraced him gently in loving arms only as a mother could.

Azrael was surprised but he let the queen give him a comforting hug, even going as far as patting the man's head. She did not say anything, but Azrael already understood. Queen Beatrice was always scolding them since they had become grown-ups, but he would not forget what a loving woman she was to them when they were younger. Even now, she still was. Though they had strayed from her because of Gideon, Azrael could still feel the care in her embrace now. She was also very hurt now that Kione was gone.

"Azrael… don't go out there to be reckless, okay?" Beatrice finally said.

The man pulled away and smiled at the queen. His throat hurts but his gravelly voice somehow came out fine. "Yes, Your majesty. I'm going out there to avenge him, not to die. I won't be able to avenge that idiot if I die after all, right?"

Beatrice smiled up at him with teary eyes. "Keep your word, Lord Azrael. I'm holding you to it."

He bowed at her then to the King and Evie as well before he walked out of the tent.

Vera was quick to move as well, and after excusing herself, she chased after Azrael.

"Lord Azrael!" Vera called out.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Azrael stopped at Vera's call for him.

Chapter 646 Sweetie

This chapter is dedicated to @Sacogun! Thank you so much for the supergift!

Vera stilled and then blinked before she turned behind her, looking if there was anyone else following after her.

"I'm talking to you." Azrael sighed.

"What? I'm not a princess." Vera's eyes widened when she realised that Azrael's 'Your Highness' was referring to her.

"Oh, but you already are. You're Gideon's mate, are you not? So by relations, you're a princess now. And from here on out, you will be my princess. I will be under you and stick with you in this war whether you like it or not."

Silenced, Vera approached him slowly. She remembered that this man was the second dark fae she had ever met. And for some reason, since the first time she had met him, he had been so nice to her.

"You're not joining the war because – "

"Ah, what I told the king was not a lie. I will avenge Kione. However, with you here, I can't focus my sole attention on that. I plan to watch over you and make you my top priority.... Ah, don't be too emotional on that, Princess. I'm going to do this because Kione and Gideon isn't here right now. That only means one thing, I'm the only one left to take care of you now." Azrael rambled on. 'I'd be dead if I don't watch over the woman both my idiot brothers have madly fallen in love with! And even if I die and meet Kione in the afterlife, he might kill me all over again if I can't even do anything to protect you. Ah, what a pain in the ass – '

Azrael just continued his self-monologue in his mind when Vera suddenly lunged over and hugged him.

Wide-eyed, Azrael grabbed Vera's shoulders and gently pushed her off him. "Don't hug me so casually like that, I'm not your brother." His head whipped around as if to look for anyone who had seen what Vera did.

Vera smiled at him. "I never had a brother, but I just feel like you're the brother I have never had. You seem to be the best big brother one could ever ask for." Her comment was sincere and shone forth from her eyes.

Those words reminded Azrael of Leah. His sweet little sister. Leah had always told him he was the best brother in the entire Under Lands. Vera always reminded him of her somehow. And that was probably one of the biggest reasons why he could not find it in himself to ignore this girl.

"Thank you for the compliment but I don't want any sister at this point, princess. I'd rather you make me your knight than a brother right now." he said seriously, "Oh, I think you should do it now. Make it known or your dragons might turn me into an ice block if I try to approach you during the war."

"I am going to give you one to ride, Azrael." Vera said.

Azrael looked shocked and his eyes that was initially filled with sorrow gleamed a little. But he quickly looked away and sighed heavily.

"That's tempting but I don't think it's a wise thing to do, Princess. I don't have any time to practice controlling a dragon. It might only cause more trouble than help."

"Are you sure you don't want it? I really wanted you to ride one, Lord Azrael. And I think you can easily control one of my dragons, I'll give you the most obedient one. I promise!"

"I've trained with Queen Evie's fire dragon the last few days but it's hard to control them. It's hard for dark faes to control them in general." Azrael rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly as he admitted to that.

"I think you will find that the ice dragons are different. They might listen to dark faes easier." Vera insisted.

What she said made a lot of sense in Azrael's ears. That was right. What if a dark fae could easily control the ice dragons? He had heard that the ice dragons were already dragons experienced in wars unlike the fire dragons – except Onyx – as they were only hatched after the era of wars.

"Alright. I might as well try. But I really don't have time to train with them, so if I feel that it won't work, I'll give it up. Is that alright with you, Princess?"

Vera nodded and immediately lead Azrael to a wider space away from the tents. Then she called the first ever dragon she rode. The one she randomly named 'Sweetie'.

The dragon answered her call in an instant and sailed over before landing gracefully before them.

"Her name is Sweetie," Vera gently stroked the dragon's snout and introduced it to Azrael.

The man nearly choked as he heard that. "What? S-sweetie? Why would you give such a cool dragon that name?!"

Vera tilted her head slightly before shrugging. "She liked it."

"Impossible. I'll change her name to something cooler." Azrael mumbled as he approached the dragon and climbed on it without any preamble.

"Please take care of him, okay? Listen to him." Vera whispered to the dragon before giving it a small kiss.

"Alright, my cool dragon. Time to fly." He said in a loud rumbling voice. But the dragon did not move an inch.

"Use her name!" Vera yelled in a commanding voice and Azrael could only force himself to use it. He scrunched his brows as he called out.

"Fine! Fly up S-sweetie!" Azrael even squeezed his eyes close as he called out the name Sweetie. He could not believe he had to call out such a name for such an amazing ice dragon.

And the dragon spread out his wings and flew up as Azrael yelled the words, "Oh damn! Princess! I beg you! Change her name please!" the dragon made a sudden dive as if she did not like what he just said. "W-wait a moment! Don't go too fast like that!"

The dragon did not listen to his pleas and continued swerving and diving intensely, until Azrael had no choice but to use the dragon's name again. "Slowly down… Sweetie!!!" And the dragon finally obeyed as she slowed and stabilised her flight, allowing Azrael to breathe out a sigh of relief.

Chapter 647 Reasons

Back in the tent, Evie, King Belial and Queen Beatrice were still huddled over the table as they engaged in a serious talk.

Evie had told king Belial her theory that it might not be a good idea to have the king go inside the abyss at all at this moment. She revealed to her parents-in-law the things that Klauz had told her and all the magical engravings she had found out in that cave. Then there was also the matter of Gav and Gideon's situation. She of course could not keep it a secret from the parents on how Gav was currently now being trapped in a magical crystal of her own doing, and how Gideon was being called and drawn away by the darkness of the abyss itself. Of course, the matter on Gideon was informed to her by Vera herself.

Everything she said had had Belial and Beatrice utterly speechless. Though the couple kept their composure, Evie could tell that they were as devastated as her. How could they not be? These were their beloved sons. Though they had already grown up and had their own lives and were capable of making their own decisions, no matter what, these two will forever be their precious children.

"Once we destroy all the monsters, Gideon will definitely come back to us. I believe that the monsters were the ones who had made him lose himself to his darkness. According to Vera, his dark magic began to consume him that very moment I was trying to trap Gav. I believed that it happened to Gideon the instant that massive wave of monsters emerged as a result of Gav's awakening. So if we annihilated all the monsters as he had told us about, I have a strong feeling that Gideon might be able to come back to us." Evie laid it all out as she rationally and calmly explained.

"So right now, you're telling me that it was Gideon who's leading the monsters…" King Belial uttered and when Evie gave a short nod, the king rubbed his face with his palms. It could be seen that though he was taking this news quite well on the surface, she could tell that it was all getting too much for him. And honestly, she could not blame him. "Is this the reason why you're not letting the dark faes participate along in your attack? Because you don't want them to know that it was actually their own crown prince who is the leader of the monsters that they are fighting against right now?" even as he asked, King Belial was already nodding his head, agreeing that Evie had done the right thing. He could only imagine the devastation and disappointment of the dark fae troops if they suddenly found out that it was their own crown prince who was organising the attack on their own forces. That would be a massive morale blow and it would even cause many of their troops to falter in the battle, causing substantial loss of life on their side.

"Yes," Evie replied straightforwardly, "but that is not the only reason. You are also among the reasons, king Belial. Because I don't want you to be there. And I also believe that we can manage this war with just us." She said confidently.

Evie could not say this to anyone else but the real reason behind her decision was still the future that she had seen in that vision. She had seen how the war had progressed with Gav. In that war, her future self had decided to attack. She had not waited for the monsters to come at them. And in that war, they were so badly outnumbered.

It was true that she should not be comparing this current war with that one in her vision of the future. All for the simple reason where she and her soldiers right now were obviously not as strong as their future selves.

However, this war was not being waged against the king of darkness yet. This war was only against a single Gideon who was the commander behind those mindless monsters who are taking his orders. The abyss was momentarily locked again when she had trapped Gav. Meaning, the monsters were not endless. There was a sure end to their numbers.

This battle was only tiny fraction compared to what she had seen in that future. There was no need to use up all their resources available right this moment. She needed to think of what was coming in the future as well. Especially, five years from now, when the day she could finally free Gav arrives. Thus, she needed to distribute and arrange her resources well and utilise them to the best of her abilities. Waste not, want not. She needed to go forward with this motto in mind.

Most of the dark fae soldiers were nowhere near ready for a battle like this. True, they were used to fighting against the monsters for many years now. However, things are completely different now. The death toll alone just now was already enough to prove that. But the dragons and Klauz's well trained army were ready because they had been training intensively for years. Though the fire dragons that were under her control were inexperienced when it comes to wars – other than Onyx – they still had the advantage of their overwhelming power, aggressive and savage attacks and also good communication with their riders, ensuring effective teamwork. She was confident in them.

This was why Evie think that they were more than enough for now. She was not expecting a solid victory. War will always come at a cost of life, but this was the best option they had on hand right now.

"But Evie…" Beatrice spoke this time, reaching out to touch her daughter-in-law's hands. "You know I trust you, dear. I know you are amazing, and you know what exactly you are doing. But my dear, do not forget that you are still pregnant and… I'm sorry, I can't help but worry for yours and the little one's health."

Evie smiled at her sweet mother-in-law. "I understand, mother. But please don't worry. I will make sure to be careful. And I would be with my dragon so I would be safer. In fact, there would be no safer place than being with Onyx when I move about."

Chapter 648 Dumbass

Once their talk finally ended, and Evie now returned to her subjects, the King and Queen remained in the tent.

"Husband mine," Beatrice whispered out softly as she held the king's gaze.

"My darling…" the king rubbed his forehead with his palm. Now it was just them both, there was no need for him to hide the weariness and worries that he had been holding back within himself earlier.

"I will go with Evie." she suddenly told him, and the king drew in a deep breath. He looked like he had already seen that coming. His wife was not a queen who would sit and hide in the palace. This had been proven time and again. "I want to protect Evie. Not just her, but our dearest grandchild too, Belial."

Belial knew how long Beatrice had been dreaming for a grandchild. When they found out that Evie was pregnant, Belial had seen how happy she was. She was almost as happy when she found out that she was pregnant with Gavrael back then.

And that was why when Evie told them her plan, he already saw this coming. Beatrice will not just sit here while Evie went out there and fight.

"Don't worry, I will not be reckless." She cupped the king's face. "I think I will ask Evie to ride with her dragon just so someone could watch her back all the time. I just need to be there to watch over her, husband. I do not intend to go out and be a heroine. I promise I will come back to you safe and sound. Evie and everyone too."

No matter how his heart protested it, Belial knew he could not and should not stop his dearest. There was no way he could stop her and both of them knew that.

So he could only pull her into his embrace and kissed her forehead.

"You better keep in mind that if I feel that you're in big trouble, I'll come to you flying, Beatrice. And nothing can stop me, not even you." His voice was firm, a contrast to the gentle and loving actions of his body.

"I know, my king," she kissed his lips, smiling.

And after a few more exchanges, the king finally summoned the lords for another meeting. Now it was time for him to appoint new Lords and new leaders who will replace the fallen ones. He also needed to discuss a plan of their own in case things take a turn for the worse.

…

"Forgive me, Your Majesty! Please let me join in the war. I'm not going to stay –"

"Shut up, Zirrus." Evie's cold and clipped voice cut the man off from his outburst. "You will stay back. That's an order. I need you to keep healing Vermillion until he is fully recovered. Do you understand?"

Zirrus dropped his head submissively. The cold and absolute look that had flashed in the queen's eyes told him that even if he continued begging, the queen would not relent. She was definitely punishing him.

"I will leave half of the light faes to stay back with you this time too." Evie declared and the light faes, including the ones who came from the Great City glanced anxiously at each other. "Kariza, I am appointing you as leader over them."

Kariza bowed her head. And after a few more words to the ones she was leaving behind, Evie finally approached the small group of vampires in the corner. All of them looked gloomy and had slight expressions of blame on their faces.

Evie knew that the rest had already found out about Zolan and that was why the atmosphere over them was heavy.

However, when they saw Evie approaching, they tried their best to stand tall and hide their emotions.

"Please don't have any of us stay behind again, Your Majesty," Levy was the one who spoke. Luc and Reed bowed their heads as well. The three of them no longer refraining from expressing their desire to fight alongside her.

"Don't worry, I will not ask any of you to stay behind this time." Evie relented.

As soon as those words reached their ears, the three men's heads snapped up and they beamed at Evie.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! You're really the best!" Levy comically held Evie's hand as he bowed. "We promise that you definitely will not regret that decision in the least!"

Evie raised her brow as Levy moved between Luc and Reed and put his arms on their shoulders. "We might not be as strong as those two behind you, but we are –"

"Don't talk in my stead, Levy. I'm as strong as those two." Luc retorted and cut Levy off with a snort.

"What?! Stop being arrogant, you show off. Can you defeat Samuel then? Huh? Huh?!" Levy challenged him.

"I'm stronger than Leon. The only thing is that he's just faster than me." Luc boasted, wanting to get the last say.

"Shut up, you two." Reed finally interjected, sighing. He wished that he could bump these two's heads together. "The queen's already gone."

"What?!" Luc and Levy simultaneously whipped their heads forward only to see that the queen had indeed already walked off and left.

"If the queen changes her mind and leave us behind because you two cause trouble, I'll kill you both. Just you wait…" Reed crossed his arms and stared threateningly at the two in question who were older than him and yet acting like they were actually way younger than he was.

"This is your fault, you… dumbass!" Levy elbowed Luc and the other retorted.

"Who are you calling dumbass, you dumbass? Stop blaming others. You are the one who…"

Somehow, the two slowly quietened and straightened their stance at the feel of their leader's death glare trained on them. Samuel did not need to speak but they knew what exactly that glare meant.

They could only behave themselves and it was then that they noticed their queen speaking to someone else. It was Queen Beatrice!

Both queens then approached the men, and everyone's stance became overly straight.

"Glad to meet everyone again. I will be joining the battle alongside you guys!" Queen Beatrice told them cheerfully and the men's eyes visibly stretched wide with surprise.

Chapter 649 Short

A couple of days quickly went by.

And then it was time to go into battle once again.

The army of thousands, which this time led by Klauz, was now lined up in front of the great abyss that was currently surrounded by tall ice crystals.

The ice dragons were scattered all about in the formation that Vera and Evie had determined to be best for this attack. Each ice dragon now has a rider who were dark faes. All were ridden by Klauz's elite soldiers for the exception of Sweetie, who had Azrael as her rider. The soldiers had somehow managed to pacify the dragons because of Klauz's secret knowledge about the magic of communicating with the dragons. However, the dragons still required their real master's approval before allowing other riders to mount them. Those warriors were only able to ride them during the war.

Vera was positioned right at the front with her own dragon, Azure, while Azrael and Sweetie were right behind her. He had made sure that his positioning was not too close that he would be a nuisance if she needed to maneuver. But neither was he too far that he could not zip over immediately to her rescue if something untoward does happen.

On Evie's side, the vampires were also right alongside her with the exception of Leon. She had ordered Leon to aid Zanya and watch over Zanya's back while her attention was focused on controlling Silver. One other reason was also because just last night, Evie had found out that Zanya was pregnant.

Leon did not know of the pregnancy nor the child as of yet. Zanya had only told Evie that she had been planning to tell Leon about it once the war was over.

Evie did not insist on asking Zanya to consider letting Leon know earlier and just made some slight adjustments to the placing of her people and had the couple just move together in this war. Zanya had a big role to play this war as she was the one controlling the second largest and most powerful fire dragon. She could not afford to have another dragon getting injured. Therefore, Leon being there to aid Zanya was also a good call on that front on top of the hidden agenda of him protecting his lover and their child.

"Look at our Leon right there, looking all smug just because he's going to a war with his beloved." Levy tsked and shook his head, mocking Leon from his position, his voice sounding playfully sour. "Just let me aim at him! I'll stone him to the ground."

"Stop being such a petty brat and green eyed monster, Levy." Luc commented. "Didn't you spent all your time fooling around with dark fae beauties the whole time when we were in the palace?"

Levy sighed exaggeratedly. "Fooling around is totally different, Luc. Just look at him! Look!! And don't dare you tell me that you're not even one whit jealous. Fighting alongside your beloved… damn, is there anything more romantic than that?" he then pursed his lips and pouted childishly. Luc only rolled his eyes at the drama queen getting his kicks in throwing his daily tantrums.

"Going to a war with your lover is romantic, you say?" Luc's face looked as though he had just heard the craziest thing. "Something's seriously wrong with your brain, you dumbass."

"You're the dumbest one! You don't even have a single romantic fiber in your bones, you poor little Luc. Ah… I sometimes feel so sorry for you, you know? Don't you know that romance is the bestest thing in life?" Levy sighed out dramatically as he wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, brushing off imaginary sweat.

"Where did you even hear such lame nonsense, you fool?!" Luc was flabbergasted.

Levy pointed at himself as he grinned smugly. Wordlessly claiming that he was the guru that would occasionally enlighten the people around him with his words of wisdom in love.

Luc could only shake his head and stepped away from Levy. "I'm out of here! I can't tolerate your craziness anymore."

"Hey! Luc, my love. Don't ditch me like that." Levy called out fondly as he rushed over to grab Luc.

Luc was shocked at Levy's loud voice and shameless behaviour. He looked around and the light fae ladies and even the men started murmuring as their pointed looks were directed at the two of them.

Pissed, Luc turned back and approached Levy before elbowing him nicely in the abdomen.

"You, dumbass! Now that Leon isn't here, you're messing at me next? Now stay away lest your disease get spread on to me!" as he said that, he made shooing gestures to Levy, pretending to chase him off.

Levy grinned. "Haha. Ditto. Ugh!"

"Luc!" Samuel's commanding voice rang. "Come over."

Luc immediately release Levy and stopped fooling around before walking over to Samuel, leaving Levy fixing his collar that had been gripped by his friend.

He was chuckling as he ran his fingers through his hair, thus accidentally bumping over someone as he was stepping back.

His brows immediately creased because he literally did not sense anyone behind him when he was stepping backwards.

When he turned around, he saw a dark fae soldier standing there. Wow! He was fascinated that this dark fae did not seem to have any presence at all! Even when he was literally looking right at her! How interesting.

Like all of Klauz's soldiers, this one too was wearing a black mask. A mask that had covered her entire face and only left two holes over their eyes to see out of.

"Apologies. You're… you're so short I didn't notice you at all." He teased. It was true that this soldier was pretty short compared to everyone else present here. This soldier was even a bit shorter than Vera.

Swift as a cat, the soldier's hand was already gripping Levy's neck.

Another surprise. Wow! This shorty has got insane moves!!!

"Insult my height again and I'll take your head –"

The soldier broke off when Levy put his hands on the soldier's chest.

"Hey…" Levy started but broke off the next second.

Both of them froze until Levy's hands moved. He thought he had felt something soft, and he was trying to reconfirm that texture when…

A hard punch came flying and landed right in his face.

Chapter 650 Ready?

The hit was so strong, so sudden and very unexpected that Levy fell to the ground with a loud thud. Daaaamn! Levy's eyes widened comically even as he was on the ground. This shorty was savage and damned brutal! And she was a girl!!! He had thought that she was a man because he assumed all soldiers under Klauz were male. It was really hard to tell because quite a number of them still wear cloaks. However, that accidental grope he had of 'his' chest had made it clear that the soldier he thought was a he, was actually a she!

"Y-you're a… gi –" Levy clamped his mouth shut when she knelt down on one knee next to him and bent over to whisper in his ear. He somehow thought that the whisper was particularly menacing and full of warning.

"Shut your mouth, damn vampire. I'm a man." She said in a voice that was pitched low.

Levy did not know why that only served to make him smirk. "Oh… so you're hiding the fact that you're a girl? Why? I've seen female dark fae soldiers –" and Levy did what he did best – tease and rile others up.

"I'm not really disguising. I just don't want to flaunt the fact that I'm a female. Many males will usually look down on others just because they are a girl. And that's the last thing I want happening, especially since I'm now with a new group. So now, would you kindly shut up?" she warned through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I see, I see. Sure, sure… your secret is safe with me. But first, do tell me your name." He whispered back in almost a familiar manner.

She sighed defeatedly, knowing that she would need to play along with this vampire if she wanted her secret to be kept safe. At least for now. She wondered why this vampire was such a busybody. "I'm Laiza. Lord Klauz sent me here to protect the queen alongside you guys."

He flashed a wide and friendly grin. "Oh… I see. Then, nice to meet your acquaintance, Laiza. I'm Levy." He generously introduced himself and offered his name right off the bat.

She stood up, ignoring him. But Levy just shamelessly moved closer beside her and leaned into her personal space. "Laiza, can I ask you a very important question?" Levy spoke with such seriousness that Laiza was convinced for a moment. "… Are you single?"

"…!!!" Laiza almost snorted in contempt. Could this vampire ever take things seriously?! What a player!

…

All preparations were finally finished.

Evie rubbed Onyx's snout gently and a little absentmindedly as she looked on at the happenings that were going on behind her. The thousands of soldiers. The dragons. Everyone. All preparing to go up against their common enemy.

She silently prayed that they would all survive this battle. That there would not be too much blood to be shed on their side.

Her gaze then slowly travelled to Onyx's eyes. The dragon had been shrouded with dark magic ever since they were reunited in the Under Lands. The magic that Gav had transferred into him was still in him. And right now, this dragon was stronger than ever. She could feel the tremendous force of the dark magic undulating and swirling in and out of him.

At first, Evie was afraid that Onyx might not be the dragon she used to know anymore when she approached him in that cave upon their reunion. However, she was proven wrong. And how thankful she was for being proven wrong at that time.

Onyx was still Onyx. The only difference is just that he has a tremendous amount of dark magic stored within him now.

She had tested him during the first war, when they had arrived to aid their kind. Onyx was totally unaffected by the abyss and its darkness even when she had boldly entered as she flew in on Onyx to the inside of the wall of darkness.

It was like the dragon had somehow managed to tame the dangerous dark magic's hold over his consciousness and now he turned it into his own strength. Evie believed that as how a knife was in a chef's hand, that was also how the dark magic was in Onyx's control.

Klauz had expressed his doubt about Onyx, but Evie chose to put her complete trust in her dragon. Of course, her vision of the future also helped her stop doubting Onyx. Because she remembered that in the future, Onyx had these similar dark magic oozing from him and yet he was not relegated to an enemy but instead, was one of her most trusted allies.

That memory was enough for Evie to feel secured in her trust and not worry at all about Onyx. Because Onyx will never betray her. Never. He would be with her until the end.

She kissed the dragon's snout lovingly and then smiled at him.

"Ready?" she whispered to him softly and the dragon roared out his assent.

All the other dragons, including the ice dragons roared out as well. Creating a sound that had everyone sprouting goosebumps that crawled over their skin.

The dark faes, including the king, who were standing at the distance and watching over Evie's army as they prepared themselves, shivered as well.

And then, the army joined in the battle roar.

They watched as the Light Queen leapt gracefully onto her dragon's back. The king also saw his wife seated right behind Evielyn.

When Onyx flapped his massive and powerful wings and rose from the ground, all the other dragons pushed off the ground as well.

Everyone watching this magnificent and imposing scene had their hearts beating loud and fast and suddenly, they all suddenly feel regret that they could not join in this battle.

Another shriek was issued from the Light Queen's dragon mount and the other two fire dragons flew forward and shot pillars of fire at the ice walls as the army began to charge forward.

The moment the ice cracked and collapsed due to the gradual melting, they entered into the dark wall.