Angel Monarch

A day before the siege, the leaders sat together to discuss the plan one more time. Behind everyone's back, Veronica and Kastral already made plans of their own.

When she informed everyone of their intentions, most of them had strong opinions about her intelligence.

"Are you stupid?! Or you just simply want to kill yourself?… Your plan is closer to a suicide plan than an actual strategy!"

Just like always, Bea declared her opinion, without reservations. From everyone, she received the news worst. Her fists clenched and unclenched constantly while she gritted her teeth.

Sera was pretty sure she would've punched her already, if Vicky wouldn't be standing nearby.

Instead of showing her emotions in an aggressive, physical way, Bea took a few deep breaths, then returned to insulting Sera.

"I just don't get it. Why do we even have to engage those armies? The Aegis System can defend against any of their attacks with ease, so if we stay here, they would eventually have to leave!"

A few people around the room nodded their agreement, but most just shook their heads or stared at Sera.

This was another dividing factor in their talks. Fighting seemed like a waste of resource, when they can just wait it out safely.

These concerns were, of course, only raised by people who didn't know Sera's thinking.

In war, she never just defeated her enemies, but destroyed them, like she took personal offence because they dared stand in her way. With this thought process, it wasn't surprising she didn't want to seem like a coward hiding away.

But this wasn't the only reason. She wanted to send a message to the Federal Alliance, the United Front, and their citizens.

It was more of a warning, and a way to increase recruitment. It was a warning, since it sent an obvious message about Sera's intentions of staying independent through force.

People would also flock and stand behind her after her first independent victory. For now, many people only see Sera as someone who took advantage of this conflict.

But as everyone knows, power equals legitimacy. Her first victory would give her a larger claim on her five city-states.

Bea knew all this too. She just didn't like her plan, which was understandable… No sane person would like to see their loved one die, even if their death wasn't permanent!

While Sera wanted to stay nice and polite, Lilith didn't have the same filters and self-control. She treated any critique about Sera as a personal attack.

"Frankly speaking, nobody cares about your concerns. We have already decided on the plan, so just accept it so we can move on!"

Bea considered herself a calm person. She would've never hit her daughter's mother. But she didn't have the same problem with Lilith.

She took one quick step, moved her right hand back, and decked Lilith in the face, or at least tried to. Her husband, Adam, moved just as quickly, and he stood between the punch and his wife.

Because Bea was aiming at Lilith's head, the punch only reached Adam's chest. Her fist travelled fast, but when it hit Adam, it felt like she punched a brick wall.

A few grains of sand fell from his robe, but otherwise he showed no signs of caring.

Bea's knuckle split and a few drops of blood fell from her clenched fist. In the next second, the wound had already healed, and she turned away from Adam, like nothing had happened.

The people stared at her, but the only eyes she cared for were Sera's and Vicky's. They both raised an eyebrow in question.

Bea turned away with a blush, then pretended to cough, before finally apologizing and accepting.

"Fine, sorry… The plan is actually pretty good. I just hate your part in it!" She said, while Sera just chuckled. "If you hate my part, imagine how I feel! Unlike me, you don't have to die!"

For a second, Bea's eyes widened with a new understanding. Throughout this entire ordeal, she never thought about how Sera felt.

She was giving her life away for an advantage during the fight. In this new light, everything she said seemed so much worse. She was thinking very selfishly, not caring about what Sera wanted.

In her mind, Sera was still that young girl she found unconscious and dying atop a roof in a forsaken city. But this woman standing in front of her wasn't the same.
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Yeah, Sera had no memories of those times, but the changes in her personality were much more thorough.

Back then, she was just someone who tried her best at leading a few hopeless people. Now, though, she wasn't just trying, but successfully leading millions.

Everything changed in the past two years, and Bea was still got confused. For her, these changes didn't happen in the past two years, but a bit more than a month ago.

With those few heart-wrenching sentences, Bea began to understand how different everything was.

She mostly stayed silent through the last part of the meeting, and instead of trying to control Sera, she listened to her. Finally, after a long time, Bea started accepting the current situation.

Sadly, with acceptance came the realization… Nothing would be the same again…

…

Sera rode upon Kastral about 50 kilometers above Rome. At this height, nobody below them would sense their approach.

The only downside was the lack of air, but as Ascended, they could hold their breath for an especially long time, and they only had to spend a few minutes up here.

When the first round of artillery hit the Aegis System, Vicky teleported both of them up into the edge of the Stratosphere.

The temperature here should've been freezing for even Sera's Ascended constitution, but Kastral's constant burning warmed them both.

The sky was empty of clouds, so they had a clear sight of the destruction below. At least Kastral had. His hawk eyes easily caught glimpses of the flashing shield. Sera just saw a tiny, glowing dot below them.

"How are you feeling, old friend? You haven't done this before." Said Sera through their connection, while petting his burning feathers.

Their light was much more subdued, so they wouldn't bring attention to themselves. Kastral tried to screech, but it either didn't make a sound, or Sera simply didn't hear it.

"I actually tried it before, just to know how it would feel… It was the worst experience I ever had in my life… How the hell did you do this so many times?"

Sera smiled sadly as she watched the flashing dot below.

"It's easy to break further when you are already in pieces… And I had people who put me back together… Otherwise I would've turned even more insane a long time ago…"

Below her hand, Sera felt Kastral's neck vibrate as he made the approximation of a hippogryph chuckle.

"Bran is a good man. He's probably beating himself up, since he can't help you!"

Sera's lips twisted into a small smile as she snorted… "What do you mean 'can't help me'? He's single-handedly the most important person in this entire operation!"

Kastral screeched again before speaking through their bond. His voice was full of seriousness and annoyance.

"You know what I mean! You never ask for his physical help, and you keep using his goodwill!"

Sera raised an eyebrow as she stared at Kastral… "What do you mean?"

He glanced back at his rider and watched her confused facial expression. After a few seconds, he let out a strong exhale, similar to a sigh.

"You really didn't know… When was the last time you helped him with something? Have you ever?… He was with you at your worst moments, always helping and nurturing you back to light!"

His voice turned from annoyed to straight up angry.

"After every torture session with Harold, he was there! At every moment of weakness, when you felt like death would've been a blessing, he was there! Every time you were losing your sense of reality, he was there to bring you back from the edge!"

He stayed silent for a bit, and let his turbulent emotions calm. His next words hit Sera harder than any blow throughout her life.

"He sacrificed everything for you! Unlike Lilith and Adam, he isn't helping you because of devotion! Unlike Melinda, he isn't helping you because of the past's memories… He truly loves you, and you use this love to your advantage!"

Sera couldn't even look at Kastral anymore. She hung her head low in shame. Even though it was never her intention, she understood why Kastral saw everything in that light.

From his viewpoint, it seemed like she actively used Bran as an emotional support and a servant. He followed her every order, down to the last word. He would do anything to her, purely because of love.

The worst part was, she never could reciprocate his love, purely because of her lack of emotions.

And now that Bea had returned, he was even questioning if they would ever get together, even after getting back her emotions.

But what really made Sera's heart ache was his helpfulness. Even though he knew very well what could happen, he helped open the Gate to the Realm of Boundless Frost.

He actively helped Bea get back, knowing the possibility of never getting the love he deserved.

Kastral felt her distress through their bond, and he shook his gigantic head.

"Sera… You have to decide. Not now, but as soon as possible… You can't let him live in false hope just for you to dump him when you finally receive everything you wanted!"

Sera's eyes turned clear as she stared ahead into the darkness. After weeks of confusion and indecision, she finally understood what to do.

"I know…" she whispered through the bond, then a larger flash of light brought both of their attention away from the previous conversation.

Without a word, Kastral turned in the air, and turned vertically towards the ground. Their speed quickly turned close to unbearable, but neither cared...

It was showtime!