Late Evening - Late Summer : Over the Leyfa Askr/United States Border | Earth

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  - Kazzaer Aldinn ~

  *Swish-Swish* Swirling my drink as I looked out the window of a large suite, overlooking the endless forest between the United States and Leyfa Askr, the gentle hum of the airship's reactor greeted my ears and the scent of delicious food filled my sinuses.

  But even in such a relaxing environment, my nerves could never find ease.

  At the time, I was on my way back from my meeting in Leyfa Askr after a number of days of debate, returning to Arlington where I would have another meeting with Congress and the heads of major guilds to decide how we, the United States, would go forward with the details of the deal the 'Queen's Representative' proposed to us.

  In general, the deal itself was in our favor, but no matter how much I thought about it, so many aspects of it just didn't sit right with me.

  "She's going to be a problem..."

  Nodding as Miss Tsvetok's voice met my ears, I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see her throw back a shot of liquor. "I agree..." Turning back to the window, I looked down into my glass of iced bourbon with a troubled expression. "Things went better than expected, but something about her doesn't sit right with me..."

  Pausing, Miss Tsvetok's expression darkened before anxiously plucking one of her feathers and fidgeting with it.

  She was currently coming back to Arlington with me in order to propose a formal treaty between the United States and Russia to Congress, and discuss the specifics of the relationship as per our deal before the meeting.

  But while such a treaty was indeed something that would take the world by storm, neither of us could even think about it. Even after well over eight hours had passed since the meeting concluded, we couldn't get our minds off the meeting, dissecting the actions and thoughts of the 'Queen's Representative' Eir Igna, and comparing her to the Queen.

  As a representative, one would expect that she would share many of the Queen's ideals, thought processes, and desires, whether it was instructed by the queen herself, or simply the traits of a close servant.

  However, what we saw in the meeting showed no such relation, almost as if we were talking with a poser, a scammer, even though she and Madam Ormr were most certainly who they said they were.

  To try and keep it simple, the deal would grant both the United States and Russia a huge amount of military support to our major cities, something we desperately wanted, in exchange for a series of changes uncharacteristic of the Queen, and a 10% discount on an order of mana stones under the pretense that they bought in bulk.

  On the surface, it was an exceedingly good deal, something we couldn't have even wished for prior to the meeting. -Even at a discount, she is giving us a shit ton of money, and providing military support.- But while the number of cores she actually wanted was more than a little concerning, being essentially the entire stockpiles of both the United States and Russia, the impending monster waves from the rank-up would more than supplement it.

  In other words, it was like we had the chance to sell a stock at its peak knowing its price would fall.

  But even with such a good deal at our fingertips, neither Miss Tsvetok nor I could be happy about it, and that was all thanks to 'the fine print'.

  Tied into the larger deal was an incredibly long list of seemingly out-of-character changes like reverting a series of trade and travel deals made in the past that would make the already limited travel into the country next to nonexistent, while simultaneously projecting a huge amount of emigration from the country. -Before.. while it was slow, the Queen did seem to be slowly integrating Leyfa Askr into the global market.. but now it's like she did a complete 180...-

  It just felt odd, and with the purchase of five times the world's global supply of mana cores, it was clear there was some kind of change in plan that occurred behind the scenes.

  We just couldn't see what it was just yet...

  "What could she possibly need all those things for..?" It was millions of tons of mana cores, unimaginably more than the US could even fathom using in their current state.

  "If I knew, I wouldn't be so anxious..." Shaking her head, Miss Tsvetok threw back another shot of alcohol before grimacing. "This whole situation reminds me of when Argentina bought a bunch of atomic synthesis supplies and glassed half of South America with Californium bombs..." *Clang* Slamming the glass back on the table, she looked up at the widescreen over the fake fireplace, showing the news reporting a series of towns that had gone up in flames, and stiffened her expression. "I just can't wrap my head around a reason why for any of the decisions she made..." Turning to me, a slightly drunken suspicion flooded her voice. "Do you not find it odd..?"

  Tightening my grip on my glass, cracks spreading beneath my fingertips before I quickly caught myself. *Tink* -Shit... I'm getting too worked up...- Looking back out over the Great Lakes, I let out a heavy breath to try to ease my nerves. "I do, but I can't refuse this deal because of suspicions like that." Reaching over and setting down my glass on a nearby counter, I finally turned around. "After all, who's to say that the Queen acquiring a new powerhouse didn't make her change."

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  "You can't be serious." Shooting me a glare, the feathers on her head flared out. "That frosty bitch would never go back on deals she's made. She would know we would take this deal even if she didn't backtrack past agreements. Many of the deals were in her favor, yet she still terminated them." From engaging in the trade of potions, large amounts of technology, and mercenary equipment, Leyfa Askr got more than a little bit of support from previous deals.

  -But regardless of that, they were all terminated...- And to add the cherry on top, she offered us military aid, something that was never even a negotiable option before. "It does feel odd.. I'm not denying that... However..." Thinking back to the situation with Evren, my unease settled slightly. "I don't think we should ignore a bone when it's tossed to us." -Perhaps Evren just wanted to repay us...-

  After all, many of the old deals being terminated helped us rather significantly, especially with a storm on the horizon.

  But Miss Tsvetok wasn't so keen, sharpening her gaze as she looked at my reflection. "Even if every hint we've been given says that the bone is laced with poison?"

  Stiffening my expression, I locked eyes with her. "Sometimes poison is needed to fight poison." Turning around and looking at the news, my gaze turned stiff. "We have a disaster at our doorstep. One so great it will threaten all life on this planet... Even if it's poison, I think we need to take it."

  "Tch..." Following my gaze to the screen, she clicked her tongue and leaned back, watching as the camera panned to a pack of lizard-like monsters, the culprits of the destroyed towns. "I just hope you know that if you're wrong.. it's not just you that's fucked..."

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  Mid Afternoon - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota

  - Evren Lestir ~

  -Alright...- *woooOOOOSH* Zipping through the forest at several times the speed of sound, my mind raced to scan my aura for the presence of a monster, any monster.

  I was trying to find a monster I could have Bella or Eve kill in order to try and level them up and get them some upgrades, but the forest was completely desolate.

  Or at least that was the way it seemed.

  As it turned out, all but the world's top predators like the drake I had killed earlier ran after feeling my presence, so in order to find anything, I had to catch up to the monsters running from me, and that happened to be much faster than Eve could handle, even after taking a step toward immortality.

  As such, I had left them behind to essentially run in circles around her and Bella to try and find some 'food' for them, which didn't take very long.. but.. the first thing I ran into, a massive dinosaur-like omnivore, unfortunately, didn't survive the blow I landed to try and knock it out. -That thing's head popped like a balloon...-

  Even though I only used mana in my bones, my punch was many magnitudes heavier than anything I threw on Earth. -It makes me wonder...- Looking down at my hand, I clenched it a few times before gathering my mana in it, dissipating it, and clenching it some more. -Ever since my system got wiped, my body has been getting stronger... Slowly.. but surely...- Looking back up as I finally started approaching my target, a large lizard clinging to the side of a tree came into sight, and I pulled my hand back. -I wonder what's causing it...-

  *Flash-WHOOOOM* Hitting the lizard right between its hind legs, its spine snapped like a brittle twig before following the shockwave through its body and digging into the tree trunk beneath it, brutally blowing the lizard's body in half before the shockwave blew through the back of the tree and showered the surrounding forest with a mix of green blood, fragments of bone, and wooden shards.

  That was far from enough to kill the lizard though.

  Rushing to close its wound, its abdomen contracted around its spine while it started racing up to the canopy in hopes of escaping, ignoring that it just lost the lower half of its body, only for its front legs to abruptly snap as well, and for my aura to completely lock it in place like the grip of a giant's hand.

  "Sorry in advance little guy, your death won't be quick..." Looking back at where I could faintly feel Eve's aura, some hundred and eighty kilometers away, I plucked the oversized lizard off the tree and rushed back toward them, keeping a fairly close watch on its condition to make sure I wasn't accelerating too fast.

  But even though there was a hundred and eighty kilometers between us, at just under Mach 9, it barely took a minute.

  *WHIP-CRACK* Coming to a near-instantaneous stop on the branch next to Eve and Bella, my heels dug into the wood and forcefully dug trenches into it before stopping and turning toward them.

  "Sorry that took a bit longer than expected." Grabbing my neck to try and ease my anxiety about being so far from them, I let out a breath to relax before noticing their gazes locked on the behemoth behind me.

  Granted, compared to the drake it was fairly small, however, being almost a hundred meters long, or rather closer to fifty now, it was still huge.

  And both Bella and Eve knew that even without a lower body, it was still far stronger than anything they'd ever matched gazes with. -There's nothing to worry about though...- "I have him restrained, don't worry."

  Watching as their hesitancy and unease grew, my smile widened.

  *Thump-Rustle* Slamming the big lizard down on the branch, I quickly walked over to him before hopping up on his lip and rather casually opening his mouth before it slammed its tongue into my back, slinging slimy saliva all over everything.

  After all, while Eve could maybe deal a killing blow with a big enough spell, it was much easier if I gave her a shortcut to its brain.

  That shortcut just happened to be through its mouth.

  "You.. can't be serious..." Eve was certainly not too keen about it.

  Bella, however, wasted no time. As soon as Eve voiced her unwillingness, she ran up to the lizard and perched her front paws up on it, *Splat-Splat* getting showered with slime in the process. "I-I'll go first."

  -Oh.. that's surprising...- Looking out at Eve, my smile faded for a moment. -I thought she would be more eager to get stronger after our talk...- Looking over my shoulder as the lizard's tongue repeatedly slammed into my back, I shrugged before gripping it with my aura, tying it all to my arm, and ripping it out. *CRACKLE-SPLAT* Blood instantly started flooding its mouth.

  But Bella didn't waste any time hopping into it with a splash. "S-So, how am I going to kill this thing?"

  She was clearly still a bit uneasy about it, but as she looked up at me, she looked oddly determined. -I like it...- "Just follow me." Glancing over my shoulder, I gave Eve one last glance before stepping into the lizard's mouth and letting go of its mouth. "We'll be back in a moment, Eve." *SNAP*

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