Huh, really didn't expect to see Belia……what a pain, fighting her feels unnecessary right now. Hm, though it does seem like she's just here to mess around for a bit, she's not fighting seriously. Anyway, Sant still hasn't shown himself, whatever opening he'd been hoping his army would make for him, isn't happening anymore.

  The vast majority of all four enemy groups were retreating, a few thousand or so were continuing on, most of those being Fairies, I'll let my army of Troopers finish them off. They're also free to capture any enemies if they can, for their life force.

  Draco and the Elemental Dragons drove away the enemy group that tried to attack from the north, after killing the Fire Sage. They also prevented anyone from stopping those that decided to retreat, it'd get messy if the enemy suddenly began fighting amongst themselves here.

  Rion's team to the south did pretty good too, they took out one of Sant's remaining reindeer, before the last one teleported away. After that, it didn't take long before they managed to convince most of the enemy group in that area to retreat.

  Then, to the east, Fuo gave a pretty compelling speech to convince them to retreat, after coming very close to killing the Earth Sage, but sparing him in the end.

  And finally, to the west, Az got the Lightning Sage to see reason, but right as they began to retreat, Belia showed up……though everyone besides the Lightning Sage continued to retreat even after she appeared. Seriously, doesn't Belia have anything better to do?

  Hm? Looks like Persia's fighting Belia, Az is keeping an eye on them, though like I said before, Belia's not serious, she's just playing around……she seems to want to fight the Lightning Sage too, from the look of it. Why isn't she……ohh, I get it, the Lightning Spirit must have rejected her.

  Yup, Az just voiced the same opinion……oh, I'm watching proceedings through an invisible Phoenix, high up in the air. It has pretty good eyesight and great hearing, definitely one of my most effective monsters when it comes to scouting.

  Now, then, what should I do? I could offer the Lightning Sage a deal, something like subjugating the Lightning Spirit for her, though in exchange, for the non-aggression pact I'd previously offered. An alliance might be a bit much, all things considered, but after everything that's happened, she's likely to be amenable to leaving us alone so long as we do the same.

  I'm not sure if that's the best move or not though……let's watch for a bit longer and then decide. It doesn't seem like Sant is going to show himself……so, how do I draw him out? I know that I'm his main target, so maybe I can send out a clone or something.

  Sylvar's waiting restlessly as well, he must really want to inflict some pain onto Sant. I have to admit, simply watching proceedings is making me kinda antsy, I find myself wanting to jump into the fray. Gotta be patient though, I have to wait for the right opportunity.

  Hm, what's this? The Lightning Sage is reacting strangely, her expression keeps changing……huh, and most of those that were retreating had stopped too. Some of them looked a little taken aback, but after a few seconds, many of them looked straight up pissed.

  And they were now continuing to retreat, looking a lot more sure of themselves. Ohh, I think I get it, Sant must have contacted them using his telepathy to try and convince them to stop retreating, but I'm guessing he wasn't very tactful in choosing his words.

  Well, now, I think I can use this. I summoned a monster that was behind a large boulder in a deserted area, before grabbing hold of and reverse summoning it to teleport myself there……let's see, do I have any snake monsters near the Lightning Sage……ah, there's one! Alright, now slither up to her……that's it, wrap around her ankle next, aaand……teleport!

  "H-huh, what……!?" She exclaimed in alarm as she appeared before me.

  "Calm down, Lightning Sage……I just wanted to make a deal with you, one that I'm quite sure will be to your liking," I remarked, getting straight to the point.

  "Kuro Black……what is it, this deal you speak of?" She responded suspiciously.

  "Simple, really. Just like I did with the Water and Wind Spirits, I can make it so that you'll be able to access the Lightning Spirit's power freely. In exchange, I want you to use that telepathic link to draw Sant out……he's been hiding out all this time, it'd be a shame to let him retreat back to the Laus Domain and do who knows what to those that retreated, wouldn't you agree?" I pointed out with a smirk.

  "I……suppose that you have a point," She admitted reluctantly.

  "Oh, and also, a non-aggression pact. A simple agreement, one that states that you leave us alone so long as we don't bother you. In other words, a promise not to attack us if we're just minding our own business," I surmised.

  "Hmph……what do you take us for, we are not violent, mindless savages," She huffed in response.

  I think that's a yes.

  "Alright, then, he can sense your location through the telepathic link, right? Tell him that I'm right where you are, and if it sounds like he's hesitant to come here, then call him a coward, ask him if he's going to run back home like a little kid and……hm, what else……?" I mused, trying to think of ways to provoke him.

  "I think I understand the general idea of what you want me to say. However, I have a condition of my own," She responded firmly.

  "Oh? And what's that?" I inquired in reply.

  "Let me……let me fight him as well! I have to……even if I cannot kill him myself, I would like to assist in his death. He has done enough damage, and while this won't bring back the thousands upon thousands that he sent to their deaths, it will prevent him from doing the same to any others," She remarked through gritted teeth.

  "Hm……sure, why not? The assistance of two Elemental Sages will definitely be better than just one, and even if he isn't that good at combat, I'm still not going to underestimate Sant……so, yeah, I'll accept your assistance," I replied, after mulling it over.

  "Wait, you said……two Elemental Sages. Does that mean……?" She asked, her eyes widening.

  "Sure does, Sylvar practically begged me to let him have a crack at Sant," I informed her.

  "I……I see. He will be here too, then. Hold on, what about the Water Sage? He is so powerful, would it not be a waste to keep him out of this?" She inquired in confusion.

  "Yeah, I did plan on including him too, of course, but I didn't expect Belia to show up……she'll probably leave once she gets bored, but until then, I'll have him keep an eye on her to make sure that she doesn't get too carried away. And besides, including him against Sant would be overkill, it'd be bullying the weak," I stated wryly.

  "Tch, Belia……her unpredictability can be rather troublesome, I suppose," She grumbled in response.

  "That's an understatement. Well, anyway, Sylvar's been waiting for this for quite a while now, and I'd hate to keep him waiting for too much longer, wouldn't you?" I remarked, as I prepared to summon him here.

  "Very well, then……let us get started."

  "Right, then first things first……look into my eyes, this'll give you full control over your Sage Mode transformation," I instructed, as I opened my third eye.

  She looked a bit hesitant for a moment, before steeling her resolve and looking into my eyes. I activated the Chaos Magic spell, subjugating the will of the Lightning Spirit and transferring control over to her……

  "Okay, I'm done," I informed her, as I finished the operation.

  "So quickly? That was……I can feel it, I no longer need Electro to unlock my full power, I……I can do it myself now!" She exclaimed in realization, her eyes lighting up.

  "Alright, now get to provoking Sant……I'll bring Sylvar here while you're doing that," I remarked, before reverse summoning the monster I'd attached to Sylvar, as she closed her eyes and focused.

  "Finally, it's about t……!" Sylvar began to exclaim with a wide, murderous grin on his face, giving off immense bloodlust, before trailing off in surprise as he saw Bell.

  "Calm down, dude. Just wait a bit, he'll be here soon," I assured him.

  "H-hold on a second, why is Bell here!? And how can you be sure that he'll be here anyway, huh!?" He responded, clearly riled up……he must have gotten himself all pumped up for this.

  Can't really blame him, Sant did pretty much ruin his life, so it's only natural that he'd want to kill him as soon as possible. Plus he must have been super antsy and restless while waiting this whole time.

  "Well, most of the Laus Domain have finally accepted Sant for what he really is and left. She wanted to take him down too, so yeah. He's currently hiding out somewhere, so she's using the telepathic link to try and provoke him into showing himself," I explained to him.

  "Uh……are you sure that'll even work? He can't be that stupid, surely-," Began Sylvar skeptically.

  "How dare you……my beard is not ugly!" Suddenly came a loud, furious scream from ahead of us……as Sant suddenly appeared.

  "Woah, what did you say to him to piss him off this much?" I inquired in surprised amusement.

  "I only said that his creator has poor taste, giving him such an ugly beard……if I am being honest, I myself thought it was a rather childish and weak provocation, I did not expect it to work," She admitted, before noticing Sylvar and averting her gaze awkwardly, as he did the same.

  "You……SYLVAR! Ah, finally, I can kill you! And you are dead as well, Kuro Black! The same goes for you, Bell……along with everyone else that defied me today! And then……and then, I just have to kill Belia, and I will have made Lord Samsara proud!" Declared Sant, as he threw back his head and let out a triumphant, maniacal laugh.

  The way he's acting like he's already won, despite being at an undeniable disadvantage……it kinda pisses me off.

  "Well, he's certainly getting ahead of himself, isn't he?" Frowned Sylvar, entering his Wind Sage Mode.

  "My thoughts exactly," I concurred, drawing out my twin blades as I unleashed my full power, entering Diablo Mode.

  "Tch, enough talk, let us just kill him already!" Snapped Bell, as the sky above us darkened and ominously crackled with lightning……

  _____________________________________________

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