As soon as the souls' release ended, I hurried to Cahrona. She was still trembling but clung to me as soon as I reached her.

"That was probably the most horrifying experience in my life..." She said with a shaking voice. "Never before have I... Gods... So much suffering..."

"Hush, my Angel..." I hugged her tighter. "You need to rest now. Irene? How do you feel?"

"I'm fine..." She said quietly but her voice suggested that she couldn't have been further from being fine. She wasn't trembling and shaking, however, like the incredibly empathetic Cahrona.

"Let's rest," I said with a tired sigh. "Let's leave the ensuing problems for tomorrow..."

•••

One million people...

Humans, Elves, Beastkins, and even a few thousand uncorrupted Succubi, Incubi, and Thieflings...

One million souls...

My mind was numb as I sat on the sofa and watched the flames crackling in the heart of the hearth. They cast dancing glimmers of light and spread their warmth. But I was too numb to notice it because my mind was occupied by a single thought. How many more millions of innocent people are suffering right now in Vestargo's slavery? Right now. At this very moment?

"How many?" I powerlessly asked the stars above.

"Don't think about it, my Dear," Luna responded quietly from my side. She was sitting nearby, stubbornly refusing to go to sleep. "If you rush..."

"I know that, Luna. If I lose too many soldiers at once, I won't be able to protect my people. If my forces break, I will lose a chance to save the remaining people suffering in Vestargo's slavery. Probably endangering everyone else to his slavery." I said flatly. "I know that Vestargo isn't, probably, doing this out of spite but rushing certainly never worked in the past. I can see why so many failed to win. They always rushed forward, pushed by their need to save the suffering people."

She looked at me and I became aware of the tears flowing down her cheeks. She stared at me with disbelief.

"You... Can you resist that urge?" She started and slid weakly towards me until our foreheads touched. "How? How strong-willed are you?"

She asked without raising her gaze as I gently patted her back.

"Enough to impress me." Luna twitched in my arms upon hearing the quiet and slightly bitter voice.

"Minerva..." I smiled at War who appeared near the doors.

"My Love..." She smiled at me and approached us.

However, this time she was different. She wasn't dripping with blood and the pressure she exerted was a far cry from what she used the last time.

"Ahh... You noticed. As sharp as ever." She giggled and covered her blood-red lips with her pale and slim fingers. "This body is just an Echo, and it won't last long, but it was your latest outrage that summoned me. I wanted to come myself to bring ruin upon your enemies, but I was stopped by Death, Famine, and Pestilence. Besides, they were right. You don't need my interference. You never needed it..."

"Sometimes I would like the easy way out... But, perhaps, the price would be too great. Anyway, at least now you won't scare anyone," I said with a shrug.

"They aren't you so of course they are afraid." She said with a soft sigh and sat near Luna who trembled.

"Lady Minerva..." She said with a shaking voice but, before she could gather her bearings, War looked at her with a mysterious smile.

"So you belong to him as well..." War touched one of Luna's fluffy tails, making my wife freeze, but she gently set it aside after she patted it. "It's so unfair..."

"I..." Luna swallowed in fear.

"You have nothing to be afraid of, Kitsune Luna va'Theon," War said softly. "After all, he claimed you... Who am I to defy his wishes? It was his holy right as a conqueror."

"I thought that I sensed you earlier..." I scratched the back of my head and decided to ignore what she said. "Thank you for lending that ominous echo to my voice when I was speaking with Vestargo."

"Well... No problem, I guess." She lowered her gaze for a split second and I couldn't guess what it was about. She then looked at my wife. "I took the liberty of waiting because I wanted to speak with you, Luna."

"Me?" Luna's eyes went wide.

"Yes. Because you must fully understand." The woman I called Minerva gently touched the middle of Luna's forehead. The Kitsune's face tensed and she let out a ragged breath. "The children of men, no matter how disciplined, are impatient and prone to follow their desires as they please. He isn't that different..." War laughed as she looked at my smug smile. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't have eleven wives!"

"I have ten wives..." I corrected her, but the difference wasn't substantial at this point, and I knew it.

"Tsk... Tsk... Tsk..." She waved her finger and tilted her head. "No matter what you believe, you are mine, which also means that I'm yours, Theon. However... I'm too prideful to accept that I'm eleventh. Not when I claimed you so long ago."

"I don't remember-"

"I know. That memory was taken from you as were so many others..." She said sadly as she crossed her hands in front of her and put her leg on another.

"I..." I hesitated. I knew she often insisted that I was hers... "When?"

"When your wife left you. Your kids were adults a long time ago but they only had brief contact with you anyway. They had kids of their own you never saw." Minerva said sadly and avoided my gaze. However, each word was true and I didn't have to rely on my skill to know it was true. "She couldn't stand that you continued that hopeless fight. She deeply believed that you had done enough and you had the right to finally rest. It was her deepest belief that you should retire. However, she couldn't fathom that you couldn't leave your soldiers and the fate of billions in the hands of others..."

I felt a painful emptiness in the place where that memory should have been. But as soon as the pain came, it faded away. It was there, it was even important, but not substantial. I knew for certain that it was a closed chapter for me.

"I left that life behind, Minerva," I said quietly with a thoughtful smile. "The wife in my previous life was probably right when she yelled at me that I had already done enough. But that is a closed chapter..."

"I know... I'm sorry. I shouldn't..." She lowered her head.

"Don't be. It looks like I, perhaps, should be grateful for those who erased my memories. I might be stronger than before not having to worry about repeating the mistakes I made in my past life."

"You are much stronger than ever before, Theon..." Minerva looked at me with a shy smile.

"Thank you." I sighed. "Maybe one day I will find the courage to learn my story..."

"Maybe one day, I will find the courage to tell it to you." She said with a hint of a sad smile dancing on her lips. "There is one thing you need to know as well... Not all of the memories you lost were erased in Nilmerthis. Before your death, you were ill, Theon. Your mind wasn't working properly and you replayed one day of your life over and over again for so long... You couldn't hear me anymore... I... I... It was so hard to see you like that..."

I looked at her in silence and simply nodded with a sliver of understanding. Another piece fell into its place...

"Thank you for telling me that. I think that I missed our discussions when I was lost like that..." I smiled at her and she simply looked happy for a moment.

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"Before my Echo fades away, I wanted to see you and speak with you, Luna. I imagine that you have questions." War looked at Kitsune who slowly nodded.

"The images and memories you showed me..." The Kitsune said with a trembling voice. "They... They, mostly, already faded. But for a split second, I saw Theon as you see him... But I still don't understand. What you showed me were pictures of him as a normal, flawed Human. You sounded as if he were exceptional and then you admitted that he was flawed. I just don't understand..."

"I'm contradicting myself, aren't I?" Minerva giggled. "Maybe slightly... I was simply thinking about different things. His desires, his heart, his spirit... He is exceptional indeed. But he is also flawed and makes mistakes... Anyway, you don't have to be afraid of Theon going berserk and losing himself in wrath. That is one thing he wouldn't do. He won't endanger any of you, my Sisters..."

Minerva stood up, paused in front of Luna, and extended her hand towards me. Instead of simply holding her hand I pulled her into my arms and hugged. She let out a surprised and short cry but smiled as she put her head on my chest.

"Thank you, Minerva... For everything." I said softly.

"I always admired you for your resolve and spirit. Thank you for accepting me, but… You know that I'm not Minerva…" She said with a quiet voice and I could hear a strange trembling in her voice. "I'm War."

"You will always be Minerva to me."

"Thank you..." She said as she started fading away. "Maybe one day I will be allowed to see you again in person... And the question you asked previously... You know the answer already."

"I know..." I said and looked straight into her sad eyes. "Too many..."

"Yes." She nodded and her Echo disappeared. "Too many..."

Her last words came as a whisper even though she was already gone.

"So this was War..." Luna said as she curled her legs and slowly slid into my arms.

"What did she show you?" I asked with curiosity.

"Maybe it will sound stupid but I can't really remember. The images faded, leaving only emotions behind…" The Kitsune sighed heavily. "But, somehow, she helped me understand you a little bit better."

"It's a good thing then..." I patted her head and touched her incredible fox-like ears.

"The darkness can't swallow you because you are carrying your own darkness inside your soul..." She said with a tired voice. "So she is War... The Crimson Lady who insists that you are hers..."

Before she fell asleep, however, she pulled me down and kissed me.

"But you are mine as well..." I heard her dreamy voice and felt her soft hands touching my face before I fell asleep. "My Hero..."

•••

Galahad stood amongst the golden warriors of Legio Aeigs and black-and-gold Praetorians. Behind him were ranks of the Legion's remnants who survived the initial battle. The flames inside him roared in outraged fury. Behind him, reality itself started collapsing when the Dungeon lost all the magic that supported its existence. The roar of collapsing ground and breaking walls turning into dust echoed across the freshly created plain, where the few remaining stumps couldn't muffle the sounds of Nilmerthis retaking what was rightfully hers. The Bugs watched in apparent horror, frozen in powerless despair at the annihilation of a certainly important mana production centre for Vestargo. They stared from behind the range of Fairies and Faés forces where they had stopped once the Titans and Crusaders were recalled back to Avalon. They couldn't do anything to stop what was happening and Galahad felt an immense satisfaction sensing their fear mixed with disbelief.

The entire front line collapsed. Arcadians no longer had forces capable of resisting the bug's attacks but, on the other hand, Vestargo's army lay in ruin. However, that wasn't enough for Galahad. The wrath of his Lord coursed through the magical veins that held together his skeletal body. He still had nearly fifty thousand Legionnaires under his command. With a wide and very dramatic wave of his hand, unnoticed due to the darkness surrounding them, he issued the order to advance. With a snap of thousands of soldiers standing at attention, the Immortal Legions of Arcadia responded in their frightening unison. The darkness around them flashed with magic spells and the radiant light of forming arcane circles. The high magitech of Arcadia wasn't the only power at the disposal of their Lord.

Vestargo's forces were surprised by the advancing Arcadians. Never before had that happened, but the effect of surprise was exactly what Galahad was counting on. Hundreds of spells tore the darkness asunder when fire rained down on the enemies in blazing streaks. Then, the Legionnaires were close enough to unleash their auras that crushed Vespids and Arachnids. The Ancient Forest forces had gradually become more skilled and posed a big threat even towards the Immortal Legions. However, now they were facing Legio Aeigs and Praetorians who outclassed them completely. It was a massacre with a single goal: annihilation of enemies.

"Kill them all," Galahad ordered quietly.

•••

Maia hugged Wes tighter when he received his deployment orders. While his new mission was going to be very demanding and exhausting, she wasn't worried. What's more, she was going with him; she had already made up her mind. Hundreds of her sisters were preparing to aid the newly freed slaves. After all, they knew best how to help them.

"What a mess..." His whispering voice was worried as he gently rubbed her arm.

She could feel the warmth of his hand through the thick coat she bought herself, along with a beautiful pendant from her first salary. Her husband insisted that she needed to spend it that way.

"Mess? Why?" She asked, confused. "It's good that the Emperor managed to save so many people..."

"Of course it is, Maia!" He violently shook his head and focused his gaze on her and slightly looked around. "Let's return home, my Dear."

She nodded, slightly confused, but stayed silent until they reached their home. Maia was still somewhat ignorant about many things since she had only learned things considered common knowledge and common sense. She had spent the last three months learning and leveling her class...

"A million people, Maia, is basically more than currently live in Avalon," Wes said as he closed the door behind him. "That... That will create a huge strain on our food supplies. We are in the middle of winter... The fact that our Emperor is using all the Dungeons of Arcadia to grow food is the only reason we haven't starved."

She allowed him to help her take off her coat and fixed her long sweater. Maia felt a cold shiver running down her spine. She moved her hand towards the heat control before she shrieked in panic and dashed towards the kitchen. Her fluffy tail raised in panic and she cursed under her breath as she closed the window she had forgotten to close before they left.

"Sorry..." She said but Wes simply laughed and turned the heat up.

"Well... You will learn to close windows in the winter one day. I'm sure of it." He laughed and took her to the sitting room where he started a fire in the hearth. "Anyway... Food. That shouldn't be a huge surprise to you since everyone needs to eat. You may not know this but Arcadia is supporting all our allies with food. We are supporting literally everyone. But now... We have one million more mouths to feed. That is the immediate problem to address... Then you have to take into account housing, education, and employment. Any other country would break under such a burden but I will bet that the Emperor has a plan."

•••

"A plan?!" I laughed after hearing the question during the emergency meeting I called early in the morning. "How the fuck would someone have a prepared plan for accidentally stumbling upon a million people in the fucking forest?! Are you delusional, Vilhem?"

"But..." The man in charge of the logistics of this particular crisis looked as if I had just told him that the sky is green.

"I will be painfully honest," I said with my arms crossed as I dragged my gaze over the faces of dozens of people gathered in the conference room. "The northern battlefront in the Ancient Forest completely collapsed. Galahad is trying to salvage the situation but I don't believe there is anything salvageable. The only saving grace in this mess is the fact that Vestargo was hit even harder than we were. But that doesn't mean that we are in a comfortable spot. On the contrary. All three fleets are grounded for the next few weeks and a few months in case of the most damaged ships. From thirteen Legions deployed to the Ancient Forest, we lost eight. Our combat-ready forces consist of two Titans, one frigate, three destroyers, and the JDF army that is currently relocating in panic to bolster our numbers in the Ancient Forest. In a pinch, I will use HMS Victory and every single corvette we have. We can only withdraw for now, lick our wounds, and race against time with repairs."

"With all due respect, my Lord, it can't be that bad..."

"Of course, it's not that bad because it's worse. It's an absolute tragedy." I laughed bitterly. "We had prepared emergency supplies for two hundred thousand more people I expected to free from the slavery, not a million! We already put on hold our operations in the south but we needed to finalise the transactions we initiated. Those will bring an additional ten thousand people in just a couple of days. Jasper?! Tell me there is hope!"

"Honestly, I think that our best chance of feeding all these people is to, not only, ration food but we will have to cut rations in half at day zero. The granaries have stored enough food for a month and a half when we take the new population count into consideration. The next harvest is in three months. It will be... Hard, my Lord." My Scion shook his head. "We could try to increase the amount of meat if we sent hunters into the wild but it will be exceedingly hard to hunt enough to make a real difference. I recommend it nonetheless."

"Could we expand the farms?" I asked Lavender.

"We can always do that but unless we find a way to build underground facilities in the Dungeons where we could grow crops all year, the Dungeons will slowly change into massive farms." She slowly shook her head in denial. "I'm afraid that we have to stop or at least limit the food exports to our neighbours."

"Wait..." I looked at Lavender and Jasper in disbelief. "You planned everything with keeping the export volume in mind?"

"Well... Yes." Lavender briefly nodded. "Our neighbours have the food shortage on their own. Leaving them like that could lead to disaster."

"All right." I slowly nodded. "I will call the emergency NATO summit and I'm going to inform our allies about everything. What would our situation look like if we cut food exports in half?"

"We would have to cut the rations anyway but the situation won't be as bad as without doing anything," Jasper replied immediately. "I estimate that our supplies would last for two months, maybe two and a half, once we start rationing food; we could possibly last until the next harvest."

"What after that?" I looked at Lavender.

"Thanks to the increased amount of Dungeons under your control, we should be able to produce just enough food but the growing population will need more supplies than we can currently produce. Fortunately, Central Arcadia lies on verdant plains and, with the spring, we will have to divide the land and mark out the farms. However, even though we have enough land for farms, we won't have enough farmers and heavy equipment for them. Nothing short of a miracle will help us feed everyone...."

For a brief moment, I held my breath while everyone around me seemed desperate and depressed. However, I looked at Irene...

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