"I'm not kidding. She's dead. If you want to meet her, you'll need to die as well. In that case, you can probably meet her in the afterlife," Lucifer casually said as he returned to his eating.
" Oh, so she is dead. That's disappointing," Raia muttered, shaking his head. For a moment, he really thought that Lucifer was telling him to die from the bottom of his heart.
....
The lunch was finished soon, and everyone stood up as they all went to rest a bit. It was decided that the battle of Tristan and Cassius was going to happen after an hour of rest since they just ate.
Lucifer showed their rooms to the Variant Uprising members. As the mansion had many fully furnished rooms, everyone got one where they could start resting right away.
Lucifer and Cassius returned to the couch downstairs as they sat alone.
"Are you sure you want to fight him?" Lucifer asked Cassius. "It can be dangerous."
"As dangerous as fighting the Warlock Kings?" Cassius asked, laughing.
Lucifer squinted his eyes as he gestured for Cassius to stay silent.
There were guests in the mansion, and he didn't want any of them to hear their plan accidentally.
Cassius understood Lucifer's gesture and didn't speak anything regarding it.
"It's just a practice match. Don't worry. Moreover, I also want to see how strong one of the strongest swordsmen of this continent can be," Cassius said in complete seriousness.
Lucifer didn't speak much as he nodded. Since this guy wanted it, he wasn't going to say no.
As time kept trickling away, soon another hour passed. It was time for the battle.
As Tristan was the most excited, he was the first to come downstairs, followed by others.
"Finally, it's time! No more delays," he said.
"No more delays," Cassius agreed. "So, where do you want to fight?"
"Your garden is pretty big. It can be a good place," Tristan responded.
"No one goes in the garden. You'll fight outside the Estate," Lucifer said firmly, rejecting the suggestion. He didn't want his garden to be destroyed. That was the only place he considered to be good.
"Outside it is. In any case, the entire city is our playground now. You'll get more room to move as well," Raia agreed, even though he was surprised that Lucifer was so against them going to the garden.
He wondered if there was something special about that place. He wanted to check it out at night.
As everyone decided on the form and place of the battle, they left the mansion together.
...
"Are you able to contact Riali?"
Inside the APF helicopters, Gensi was sitting with a frown. He had been trying to contact Riali, but it wasn't working.
"I can't get to him either. Something is seriously wrong," Varant affirmed.
"You think he could have been killed?" Gensi asked, concerned.
"There's a good chance," Varant said, taking a deep breath. "Though I did tell them to stay away from the battle. But as they informed me, Lucifer was there with Raia."
"And you know Lucifer... The three of us should be the people he hates the most because of what happened last time. He wouldn't have let Riali go after seeing him," he added.
"I still can't believe he returned. Even after all that. Just how could that be possible?" Gensi inquired, expressing his concern.
Even Varant had no idea how he could answer this question. This didn't make sense. How did Lucifer return?
'According to what I, Zale and Raia had discovered at that time, water should be... This really doesn't make sense. Could it be because Riali messed up by throwing the heart in the sea as well?'
There were many conflicting thoughts in his head, but he couldn't think of a solid reason.
"Are we really fighting a war that we can win? This Lucifer... If he can come back after what had happened last time... Can we really defeat him?" Gensi asked, sighing.
" Even if we defeat and kill him, what's to make sure he won't return again? Is this an unending cycle that will never stop?" he continued.
"It's not an unending cycle. This time, I will stop it forever. Our losses might be big, but we can't afford to lose. We must take them all out this time," Varant said, clenching his fist.
...
Cassius and Tristan stopped twenty meters away from each other, looking at each other.
Both of them had a sword in their hands.
While Tristan had a Katana, which was swift and light, Cassius had a beautiful heavy sword that was not only heavy but powerful.
It was made from the most precious material that could be found in his continent. It made his sword more durable. Even though the material was rare and expensive, his family could afford it.
On the other hand, the Katana of Tristan was something that he had inherited from his ancestors. It wasn't an expensive sword, but it was very durable, and it hadn't betrayed him so far.
As the two youngsters faced each other, Raia, Lucifer, Alicia, and the others stood on a nearby roof from where they had a clear view of the battle.
"Who do you think will win the battle?" Raia casually asked.
"I haven't seen how Cassius fights yet, but I believe Tristan has a better chance. He's more experienced and possibly stronger as well," Vega commented.
"That's true. If only he could temper his impulses, he could be the sharpest sword in our arsenal. Albeit, he's still young and impulsive. That's his only weakness that I can think of," Raia said, slightly agreeing.
"I also think Tristan will win. The other guy might be good, but there's a difference between good and best," Alicia chimed in as well.
"That's right. There's a difference between good and the best. That's why Cassius will win," Lucifer also jumped in.
He didn't know how strong Tristan was, but he had faith in Cassius's strength. He had seen it first hand, after all.
"Hah, you can only say it because you don't know how strong Tristan is. I have seen him in action. Let me tell you, your friend stands no chance," Alicia let out, scoffing.
"Want to bet?" Lucifer asked, not feeling upset.
"Bet what?" Alicia asked, squinting her eyes.
"If you are right and Tristan wins, I promise I'll do any one thing you ask me to do. If I'm right and Cassius wins, you'll do whatever one thing I ask you to do?" Lucifer suggested.
He didn't see any losses in betting since it didn't matter even if he lost.
The rules were only for the ones that were naive enough to follow them, according to him. And he believed Alicia was naive enough.