Alba was traveling with a rather large group. She had everyone with her, the Crimson Crane, along with Rayna and the others. It had become quite natural for them to travel together now, and having fought side by side, even more so.
For a lot of them, it was a foreign land and town, with their link being Raze.
Rayna would actually be the one to lead the negotiations and conversations, as she was the main head and representative of Flendon after all.
When they were about ten meters away from the king's army, Alba commented.
"We'll stay here and wait. If they make a move, we can help from this distance," Alba said. "Although these kingdom guys know of us, they don't really know what we're all capable of individually."
The group nodded in agreement, and Rayna was seen walking ahead on her own.
For a moment, Alba turned her head to look at Froma. The moment the two made eye contact, Froma cowered behind Fixteen, who had also come along with them.
'It's not fair to rely on her like we did in the fight against the Behemoth Clan,' Alba thought. 'She's already been through a lot. Besides, as Rayna said, we can't start a fight… if we do… it's going to be big trouble.'
Eventually, Rayna reached five meters away from the king, and he raised his hand, signaling her to stop.
"I am Rayna, the Dark Magus's wife, and the warrior put in charge of the town of Flendon," Rayna stated. "Is there a reason for such a visit of this nature?"
Rayna made sure to point out the army behind her. Although she had no intention of getting into a fight, she didn't know if the king felt the same way, so she had to be confident in the situation.
By King Doclet's side, Marcel moved slightly forward to deliver his message.
"The town of Flendon has always belonged to the Doclet Kingdom," Marcel claimed. "We are here to take back what is rightfully ours."
"However, when we originally asked to meet with the Dark Magus to talk about this matter, he refused to visit us. It's quite clear… that beating the Behemoth Clan has gone to his head, and he plans to rebel against the Doclet Kingdom!"
"We order that the Dark Magus be brought to us now, and if you refuse, we will attack!"
It was clear to Rayna that everything being said was just an excuse. From those words, their intentions were obvious—they were looking for a fight.
"You are willing to break the pact? This can cause a large ripple effect throughout the entirety of Pagna!" Rayna said. "If you wish to speak, you can speak to us now."
"The only person we will speak to is the Dark Magus. Where even is he?" Marcel asked, looking around for an individual with white hair, but he was unable to spot anyone.
"If the Dark Magus doesn't come out in five minutes, we will attack and force him to our feet."
Frustrated by everything that had happened, Rayna headed back to the others, hoping they might have some ideas on how to de-escalate the situation.
"What's wrong?" Alba asked.
"They refuse to budge or even talk," Rayna replied. "They say they only want to speak to the Dark Magus, and no one else. I have a feeling they're prepared to fight."
"Even if Raze were here, do you really think he could de-escalate the situation?" Simyon asked.
They all thought for a moment. So far, Raze's answer when their backs were against the wall had been to fight.
"Maybe?" Safa said. "You heard him in the room. He's changed. He doesn't want us to get hurt, so he wouldn't do something that would harm us, right?"
Many of the adults shook their heads at poor Safa. Humans couldn't just change at the snap of a finger, and even if they could…
"So what is the plan, then?" Mantis asked. "Is someone going to go back and get Raze, and if he comes…"
"Even if he comes, it looks like they will try to take him by force, and I can guess they'll attack anyway," Ricktor added.
"Right, right. If it comes to it, do we need to fight?" Reno asked.
"I say we fight, but we don't kill," Alba replied. "If we show them our power with just us here, and stop their advance, it could convince them that they've made a mistake, and it wouldn't be breaking the pact."
To everyone, that certainly sounded like the only way. They had barely recovered from the last fight, but it was better this way. More and more, they thought it was best that Raze hadn't come.
"I've analyzed their weapons—they don't have a lot of firepower," Anna added. "We should be able to deal with them even with their large numbers."
Now that they had decided what to do next, Rayna returned to the king and his messenger, trying to give it one last chance to prevent their group from being dragged into another conflict.
She talked and talked, but the king and Marcel shook their heads at every plea she made. She could even see a smile underneath as she turned her head.
'I have to calm down for the sake of all of Pagna,' Rayna thought, regrouping with the others.
"One minute until it's time!" Marcel called out.
The group had to mentally prepare. Fighting while trying not to harm anyone was harder than just fighting them, but they all knew what was at stake.
"All right, it looks like time's up. The Dark Magus has not arrived, so it's clear you've made your decision!" Marcel exclaimed.
The army was getting ready to charge forward, but then the ground shook as dirt and dust were kicked up, and a figure fell from the sky, landing right in front of them.
As the dust settled, white hair became visible, and slowly, the rest of his body was revealed.
"The Dark Magus is a name that shouldn't be said so lightly," Raze said.