The next morning, Ard and Eva visited Abel in his room one last time. They found Eledar and Dimitri busy tending to him. The two of them prepared to say their goodbyes.

"Alright, we're heading back to the Kingdom of Rellios. Chief, Count... please look after my brother," Ard said.

"Leave him to us. It will take time, but he will certainly recover," Eledar replied.

"Don't worry. My people are here now, helping the elves defend this village," Dimitri added.

"Thank you, Count Dimitri," Eva said.

They both turned to Xeria, who was standing in the corner of the room. They walked over and pulled her into a sudden, joint hug that made her flinch in surprise.

"W... what is this for, Your Highnesses?" Xeria asked, confused.

"Thank you for protecting my brother. Please, keep helping us," Ard answered.

"Ard and I have to go now. Thanks again, Xeria," Eva added.

Stunned, Xeria began to cry. She simply nodded, unable to find the words to speak. Ard and Eva released her and turned to walk out. Once outside, Ard summoned Ace, and they climbed onto the Garuda's back. He took to the sky immediately. As they were crossing over the forest, Eva looked out and pointed.

"Ard... look," she said.

Ard turned his gaze toward Gaias, which looked massive from the air. A brilliant light was shining upon the Great Tree, clearly visible even from a distance.

"What now? Should we check it out first?" Ard asked.

"Yeah. Since we're already out here, we might as well fly over," Eva replied.

"Alright... Ace, if you would," Ard said.

Ace banked sharply, heading toward the glowing silhouette of Gaias. When they reached the lake, Ace landed on the island where the Great Tree stood. As they climbed down and looked up, Ard and Eva were shocked. Many of Gaias's leaves had turned a shimmering gold instead of green. They didn't look like dead or dried leaves; in fact, these golden leaves were the source of the light they had seen from afar.

"Huh... what happened?" Ard asked.

"Does this have something to do with the Dragon God's appearance yesterday?" Eva wondered.

"Hmm... maybe. Or maybe it was because of the angel attack," Ard suggested.

Suddenly, raised letters began to form on the massive trunk of the tree, carved out letter by letter. Ard and Eva were stunned to see that the words were written in their own language, not the ancient elven script. The message said:

"Thank you for helping us. Please accept this gift from me. I will let all the golden leaves fall for you to take. Thank you once again."

"Pluk." Ard and Eva turned to see a golden leaf, half the size of their bodies, hit the ground. It wasn't just one; when they looked up, they saw a rain of golden leaves drifting slowly toward the earth. Eva crouched down to pick up a leaf that had landed, then stood up to examine it.

"This leaf... what is it for?" Eva asked.

"I have no idea... let's just keep them for now," Ard answered.

"Kaaaak!"

Ard and Eva turned to see Ace, who had transformed to be about their height and was perched on one of Gaias's roots. They noticed Ace staring intently at the golden leaf in Eva's hand.

"Do you want this leaf?" Ard asked, pointing to the one Eva held.

Before Ard could even finish his sentence, Ace nodded. Eva handed the leaf to Ard, who then offered it to Ace. As soon as Ace took it in his beak, his body was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant, blinding golden light. It was so intense that both Ard and Eva had to shield their eyes with their arms.

"Kaaaak!"

Ace let out a thunderous cry. When Ard and Eva slowly opened their eyes, they were stunned by his new appearance. He was still a black-and-white Garuda, but his wings now looked as though they were clad in golden armor. His beak and talons had become as hard as solid gold, and a golden breastplate now protected his chest. Ace had evolved into an Armored Garuda, the legendary mounts of the gods from the dawn of time.

Seeing Ace's transformation, Eva summoned her Griffin and immediately offered it a golden leaf. The Griffin's body was instantly swallowed by the same blinding golden light. A moment later, the Griffin also changed, wearing golden armor that fused with its body, complete with a saddle for its rider. The Griffin had become a legendary creature of the gods: an Armored Griffin.

"Kieeeeek!"

The Griffin shrieked, suddenly growing in size until it was as large as Ace had been before. It looked incredibly powerful, radiating an aura of shimmering gold and pure white. Ard and Eva then looked around and saw about eleven more leaves scattered near them. Without wasting a moment, they each picked up five and placed them in their dimensional storage. They turned toward the Great Tree and bowed in gratitude. The face of a wise old man appeared on the trunk, wearing a gentle smile.

As Ard and Eva looked up again, Ard smiled. "We'll give the rest of the leaves to our other familiars."

"Yes, let's go now," Eva replied with a smile.

Without further delay, they mounted their respective familiars and took off. This time, the speed of Ace and Eva's Griffin was incredible; they streaked through the air, seemingly full of joy. In just fifteen minutes, they were back over the palace of the Rellios Kingdom.

Beatrice, Rosalind, Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Irwin, and Adeline were in the garden enjoying tea. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind hit them, accompanied by the sound of heavy wings beating very close by. Everyone shielded their faces with their arms and looked up.

They were shocked to see an armored Garuda and an armored Griffin, both massive in size, landing right next to the pavilion where they were sitting.

"Whoa... is that... Ace?" Geoffrey asked.

"Why does he look so different?" Ainsley added, holding his glasses so they wouldn't fly away.

"And a griffin? Eva?" Alicia asked, clutching her head in disbelief.

"Wow... what happened? What exactly did they do in that elven village?" Claudia wondered.

Finally, the two of them touched down. As Ard and Eva dismounted, their familiars shrank back to a smaller size; the griffin perched on Eva's shoulder while Ace settled onto Ard's head. Beatrice, Rosalind, Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Irwin, and Adeline watched the pair, completely starstruck.

"We're home!" Ard said cheerfully as he opened his dimensional storage and pulled out his five golden leaves.

Eva did the same, taking out her six. Without waiting for their friends to start asking questions, they immediately handed the golden leaves out to the confused group.

"What are these?" Mirea asked, examining her leaf.

"They're for your familiars. Give it to them," Ard answered.

"Oh... I see," Milia replied, immediately summoning her sea serpent.

She fed the leaf to the serpent, and a golden light instantly enveloped its body. Every one of its scales turned to solid gold, and sharp horns sprouted from its head. It had transformed into the Golden Leviathan of legend. Seeing Milia's success, the others rushed to try it too. Geoffrey's behemoth became an Armored Behemoth; Beatrice's carbuncle turned into a Golden Carbuncle; Rosalind's green dragon became a Golden Forest Dragon; Pyria's cerberus became an Armored Cerberus; Mirea's three-headed dragon became a Golden Hydra; Irwin's black dragon became an Armored Black Dragon; Claudia's unicorn became a Golden Horn Unicorn; and Ainsley's kelpie became an Armored Kelpie.

"Whoaaaaah!" Everyone gasped in unison, marveling at the sight of their transformed companions.

Ard and Eva quickly recounted everything that had happened in the elven village. Their friends listened in shock, their faces turning grim as they forgot all about their new familiars.

"So... the world almost ended yesterday," Mirea muttered.

"The Dragon God himself went to the elven village?" Beatrice asked, stunned.

"Yes. He came, but he couldn't maintain his human form for long. That's why we still have to go to his home in the peaks," Eva explained.

"Alright. With our familiars like this, we should be able to climb the mountains and fly up there with ease," Ainsley said.

"Hey... our familiars can't fly," Milia reminded him. "They can swim, and they float a bit when they're small, but that's it."

"Oh... right," Ainsley replied, pushing up his glasses.

"Waaaaaa... so cool!"

Everyone turned to look at Adeline. The eyes of Ard, Eva, and the rest of the group widened. Standing there was a massive white pegasus with wide wings and golden armor plating. Adeline was already sitting on its back.

"He... hey... Adeline, since when do you have a familiar?" Ard asked.

"I don't know! When Big Sis Eva gave me the leaf, it just turned into light in my hand. When I opened my eyes, this pegasus was standing in front of me... she's mine!" Adeline answered happily, hugging the pegasus's neck from behind.

"Hihiee!"

The pegasus neighed. Ard, Eva, and the others exchanged looks. Not only did Adeline have a rare familiar, but its color was the rarest of all—pure white. This meant Adeline possessed the white or Holy element. Naturally, the whole group, especially Mirea, became intensely curious as they crowded around Adeline's pegasus.

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