A few days slipped by, and the Summit between the two nations drew closer with each one. The agenda covered a lot of ground — economic partnerships meant to open up jobs and new opportunities for both nations, upgrades to defense capabilities, strengthening ties between the two powers, expanding the reach of their alliance, and, above everything else, addressing the growing threat posed by the Southern Alliance Treaty.
The Empire had already begun preparing for a possible invasion a full three days ahead of the Summit itself, with the Shogun, the Dae-Ryeong, and the Grand Admiral working together to organize its defenses. The Emperor was set to hand down a Martial Law Decree for the duration — full authority passed to the top military commanders for those three days, meaning military law alone would govern the region until the danger had passed.
Every Hwa-Samurai Division was placed on high alert, right down to the guard corps commanders stationed in each town.
Grandmaster Yoo, for his part, was somewhat frustrated. His request to double security around Saeho had been turned down outright. This was due to the fact that manpower was stretched too thin already, spread across the region for the coming Summit, with nothing left to spare.
Meanwhile, Yejin informed her retainers she'd be traveling to Oden Fortress herself, to meet with the other leaders directly. As always, she left Tsuyu and Yul in charge as temporary leads while she was gone.
Another day passed. Two days out from the Summit now. Yul and Kei were on patrol with the rest of the retainers under broad daylight when someone spotted a shape out on the water, far in the distance.
"That's a ship," one of the retainers said, squinting against the glare off the sea.
Yul's eyes narrowed as he studied it. "They're probably here to confirm whether any division's still stationed at Saeho. Must think the leaders and their people all packed up and headed to Oden by now." He frowned. "But how would they even know to check?"
"It's not really a puzzle, Yul." Kei stepped forward, his right hand already glowing faintly with a chill that fogged the air around his fingers. "Someone inside the empire's been feeding them information."
Yul's eyebrows drew together as he watched him. "What are you planning?"
"Sinking that ship." Kei was already moving before he finished the sentence, breaking into a dead run toward the water. Ice spread out from his hand with every stride, freezing a path across the waves fast enough to carry him.
Aboard the scout ship, the SAT lookouts spotted a streak of blue frost tearing across the water and could barely process what they were seeing.
"Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!" one of them shouted, voice cracking with panic, as if he were watching a missile close in rather than a single man. Orders came fast to abandon position and turn the ship around.
It did not matter. Kei closed the distance in under a minute, covering nearly three nautical miles of open water before finally leaping high off the ice and landing hard on the ship's deck. A dozen soldiers rushed him at once — swords, spears, axes, everything they had — and he put them all down one after another, barely slowing his pace. Archers behind the front line loosed volley after volley, and every arrow either missed or was dodged without him breaking stride. By the time he was done, the entire deck was littered with unconscious bodies.
He grabbed the man steering the ship and forced him to turn it back toward Saeho.
That was when a warship appeared on the horizon, far off, and fired a set of cannon blasts that tore straight through the scout ship's hull. Fire swallowed the deck whole, and the whole vessel began sinking fast. Kei managed to grab the one sailor still breathing — unconscious from the blast — before the rest of the ship, and everyone still aboard it, disappeared beneath the waves.
"Should we fire another round, Commander?" a soldier aboard the warship asked, glancing toward the massive silhouette standing at the helm.
The commander — a broad, muscular shape cut against the sky — let out a booming laugh. "Why waste another shot on something already sinking? You think the first round didn't do its job? You fool!" His voice carried across the deck, thick with contempt.
The soldier paled instantly. "No — no, forgive me, Commander."
"Pull back. Regroup with the fleet," the commander said, already turning away.
"Right away, sir!"
Yul arrived shortly after in an Ionan-made speedboat, and the two of them raced back to shore with the surviving sailor in tow, handing him off for medical treatment before he'd be locked up for questioning.
"What you just did was reckless as hell, Kei." Tsuyu shook her head, though there was clear respect underneath the concern. "But I'll admit, I'm impressed."
"After everything you've already seen him do, you're still doubting what he's capable of?" Yul asked, one eyebrow raised.
"That's not it." Tsuyu crossed her arms. "I know he's strong. I'm saying a commander could've been on that ship, and if things had gone bad, pulling him out of the water wouldn't have been simple."
"Honestly, I was hoping a commander would be there," Kei admitted. "Would've made it worth the trip. But I didn't sense anything that strong aboard."
"You think killing a commander's something you just do casually?" Tsuyu shot back. "You literally fought one. Didn't that teach you anything?"
"I need to get into the Shengyowon as soon as possible, that's why." Kei's tone shifted, all business now. "I need information, and fast. Those cultists could already be tracking down the rest of the crystals while we're standing here talking."
"That's enough for now." Yul cut in, glancing toward the horizon. "Tsuyu, it's your team's turn on patrol. Come on, Kei, let's move."
Tsuyu's team took over patrol duty from Yul's not long after. Back at the Tower, the physician gave Yul and Kei an update on the captured SAT soldier.
"Only minor injuries. He'll be fine after a few hours of rest. Once he's stable, you can begin the interrogation," the physician said.
"Thank you for your service," Yul said, bowing his head slightly.
"I should be thanking you, honestly — for keeping Saeho safe. May Amaterasu watch over you both."
Yul offered a small, tired smile in return.
Back in their quarters, Hajun arrived a short while later to report that Vincent had returned — and hadn't come alone.
Yul and Kei went out to meet them right away, and to Kei's quiet relief, Haein was standing right there beside Vincent.
Vincent crossed the distance fast, pulling Kei into a tight hug before he could even get a word out. "Man. I actually thought you'd died, you idiot."
"Didn't realize you worried about me that much, Vince."
"Of course I did! Who else is skilled enough to still somehow be worse than me at literally everything? Only you could pull that off."
Haein shoved Vincent aside without ceremony and wrapped Kei in a hug of her own. "Don't you dare die on me, Kei. I won't forgive you if you do."
"Glad it's you Vincent brought back," Kei said, meaning it.
"Yeah, I know. Cults, huh? Vincent filled me in on the way here. Byron couldn't do anything but agree."
Kei glanced at Vincent, surprised. "You already told her?"
"Yejin told me everything once she woke up," Vincent said. "We tore that whole cave apart looking for you two and came up empty. Once the Empire declared you both dead, I sent a wisp to the Fabled Class to let them know what happened. Got word back to head home and get redeployed with someone new." He tilted his head toward Haein. "And that's how I ended up with her."
"Haein. What a lovely name." Tsuyu stepped forward with a warm, easy smile, offering a gentle bow. "I'm Tsuyu."
Haein returned the bow and introduced herself properly to the rest of the division. She cut a striking figure — black hair, deep red lips, dark paint rimming a pair of narrow, sharp eyes, a lean, curved build wrapped in an outfit that mirrored Kei's own, just tailored for a woman. More than one man in the courtyard found his attention drifting her way, her looks easily a match for Tsuyu's own. She mentioned, almost as an aside, that she was actually from Iona originally — which meant this wasn't some foreign posting for her at all. It was closer to coming home.
"Something tells me you're going to be a real asset to us," Tsuyu said, studying her with open approval.
Meanwhile, far south, in the waters called South Sea, just north of Warmuth and Nareth, the Southern Alliance Treaty had already begun massing a serious army along the coastline.
The commander responsible for sinking the scout ship earlier turned out to be Garoda, Third Commander of the Great Battalion. Gathered alongside him at the staging ground were Ursa, the Second Commander, and Aquila, the Fourth — the same man who'd slipped away from the recent defeat at Hokaishin.
Garoda and Ursa both looked built for war — thick with muscle, imposing in that obvious, brute-force kind of way. Garoda kept his head shaved bald; Ursa, by contrast, was covered in coarse hair from his scalp down to his stomach. Aquila looked almost delicate standing between them, dwarfed by comparison, yet he carried himself with a calm, unshaken confidence.
"Hey. Brat." Garoda's voice dripped with contempt as he sized Aquila up. "Don't go acting high and mighty around here. Heard you ran from Hokaishin and got a couple of our commanders killed in the process."
"I'm not a mindless brute like you." Aquila didn't so much as blink. "I don't throw my life away chasing a fight I can't win."
That set Garoda off instantly, his face twisting with fury. "You still don't get it, do you? A SAT Commander does not retreat. EVER!" He hefted the massive cleaver resting against his shoulder, raising it slow and deliberate, clearly done talking.
Aquila only smiled, calm as ever, and met the strike with both short-swords crossed in front of him. The impact between them cracked through the air like thunder, sending a shockwave of wind rolling out across the gathered soldiers nearby, several of them stumbling back from the sheer force of it.
"HAHAHA!" Garoda's laughter boomed out, bloodlust bright in his eyes as he stared down his fellow commander — and Aquila, unbothered, simply grinned right back at him.