I chuckled as I turned my back to Setty and brought out my sword in its original form. "See ya."

"Hey!" Setty yelled.

I closed my eyes. When I reopened them, I was back in the lab. Uncle, Tabiki, Rosa, and Kohri were gone, so time must've flowed at a similar rate as in the dream world.

"Welcome back, son!" Dad said, grinning as he waved at me from Kohri's former seat. "So, how was dreamland?"

"It was okay. Everyone seems to be doing well. Anyway, I better get going!"

Yuko smiled and stared back at Tetsu. The poor girl really loved him, didn't she?

He sighed. "Okay. See you later."

"Nori, can you teleport him?" Ximena asked, glancing at him.

Nori nodded.
It was still hard to believe he had grown so much in so little time. Yuko and he definitely weren't typical Kyuu Seishinians.

"Thanks, Xime," I said, hoping I didn't sound awkward.

"Don't get scared," Nori whispered. He put a hand on my back and surrounded us in a stream of vibrant flames. I knew I would never get used to it. But that could've been because I wasn't used to teleportation magic at all.

I had a hard time understanding what was happening until we landed.
We appeared in a circular white room with several thrones, including a large one where Lady Saya sat. She and Prince Ryonoko, who sat next to her, smiled as soon as they saw me.

I smiled and waved back at my doppelganger.

"How nice of you to make it. Thanks for bringing our slacker here, Nori," Queen Saya said, chuckling.

Nori bowed before vanishing just as he had come.

I frowned. "I wasn't slacking."

Her Majesty laughed. "I know! Rosa and Kohri explained everything."

Rosa and Kohri smiled and patted the empty seat between them.

I smiled and took to the air. Most non-angels would probably freak out at the thought of sitting on one of them. Well, not that we Kuroriku were that at home in them either. We preferred being perched on the ground, not high in the sky. It wasn't comfortable after a while.

Had Aunt Anis gotten into her seat without help? If she could, she probably would've flown around the house instead of depending on her wheelchair.

"Thankfully, you didn't miss much," Uncle said, smiling slightly.

That was good!

"Yeah, just the boring formalities like introductions," Kohri said, shrugging.

I cleared my throat and straightened up. "Hello, my name is Serrano Kuroriku. I am the Knight of Aventine. I've informally been a knight since I was a little kid, but formally became one at age twelve. My favorite food is onion yaki udon with a lot of meat."

Kohri chuckled. "Serra, this isn't school!"

I grumbled. Seemed I hadn't gotten past my shyness completely.

Rosa smiled. "It's fine. I did the same."

I looked at everyone and smiled again. "Anyway, that's my introduction. So I'm looking forward to working with you all."

Yikes, I did it again!

Everyone smiled at me and nodded.

"We're happy to have you, Serrano," Queen Saya said. "Now let us begin! Sir Tabiki, if you would have the honors."

Tabiki bowed his head and descended to the center of the room. His face was pale and sweaty. Was he nervous? No, it must've been tied to whatever was causing him pain when I walked into the lab.

It was a similar expression as that of the Five Knights...

Queen Saya frowned and tilted her head. "Are you ill, Sir Tabiki? If so, we could delay-"

He raised a hand and shook his head. "No, I'm alright."

She hummed. "You do not appear healthy."

"I agree," Prince Maki said, jumping down from his throne. "Go and sit down, Father. I'll take over from here."

Tabiki smiled slightly at him. "Did you even memorize the entire plan?"

The purple-haired Seven Light knight next to Ryonoko sighed. "After Kasai no Ki and Kuroriku went into the trouble of putting all of this together, it seems they came ill-prepared."

"Unexpected events do come up," Zafir said, waving his hand dismissively.

The Light Knight crossed his arm and leaned back on his seat. "True, but it broads ill for the war endeavor." He eyed the empty seat beside Eiko. "Plus, the Seven Hills are currently one knight short. Did Sir Eiji not pass away over a week ago? How can it take this long to find another knight?"

Eiko frowned. "Capitolinus is being fickle."

He sighed and shook his head. "That guy sure is a diva, huh?"

A blond-haired girl in a white dress glared at him. Think her name was Flava. I didn't interact with the knights of the other orders much during our training sessions, so missing out on the introductions was probably bad after all.

"Yukari. I ask you to speak more kindly about my husband," Flava said, huffing.

Yukari smiled. "Alright. I won't say a thing about my dear bro-in-law. That fine with you, Sis?"

She nodded.

Uncle grumbled. "That guy reminds me of that gadfly."

Anis nodded.

She wasn't even going to defend Uncle Takeshi? Ouch!

"Enough. We didn't gather her to argue or to gossip. Sir Maki, if you would go ahead," Saya said, holding her hand out.

Maki bowed. "Thanks, Your Majesty. The plan my clan came up with to deal with the demons is to activate Renata's Sacred Tree. It will create a holy aroma around the vicinity, pushing them out of northern Kasai no Ki and eastern Mizu no Kin."

"Hmm, sounds like it would benefit us more than you," Ranaa said, leaning forward and crossing his fingers. "The southern end of your nation has the majority of the population centers. If I'm not mistaken, the north is made up mostly of small towns, most of which were at one point loyal to the communist leadership."

Maki nodded. "That's correct. But this meeting would not have occurred if we were still hung up on historical ills." He side-eyed my uncle. "Plus, that's not where the plan ends. We also plan to use it as a weapon."

"But aren't you part demon?" Uncle asked, crossing his legs. "So won't it affect you too? Your priest knight also has the same issue."

Emon gulped.

Ranaa gasped. "Demons?"

Yukari shook his head. "I always knew there was something foul about you noble Kasai no Ki."

Tabiki lowered his head for a moment but then raised it. "It's true. We do harbor demonic blood. But if we were truly evil, we would be burning up right now."

"You do look ill, though."

Maki sighed. "He has a point there, Father. It makes one doubt your intentions."

He grumbled. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

Queen Saya cleared her throat.

"Apologies, Your Majesty," Maki said, bowing again. "About King Osamu's concern, we plan to rely on our extended family for that."

Anis gasped. "You mean my husband's family?"

Maki nodded. "Although, I'm not sure if your children or his siblings can help, considering your abysmal blood."

"True, when I hit the abysmals with my ray of light, it hurt Sir Tetsuya and Sir Serrano," Lady Saya said, frowning.

"My uncle and cousin are still around," Tabiki said.

"What about Ximena? She's in the palace and is the latter's granddaughter," Anis said.

"Her blood seems to have some demon within it, too," Tabiki said, chuckling. "I'm certain that girl's my great-granddaughter."

Several people in the room gasped.

"This is turning into a soap opera!" Rosa said, jumping up and down.

Anis nodded. "I know, right? Wish I had some cookies!"

"Popcorn, too," Eiko said, laughing.

"Girls, have a little tact," Miyuki said, laughing awkwardly.

I sighed. "Lady Miyuki's right."

Rosa lowered her head. "Sorry."

Eiko shrugged.

Anis munched on some raisins as she watched Tabiki and Maki.

"That explains why Ximena reminded Shin'en of our missing older sister," Maki said.

"Wait, how does Shin'en know her? Isn't he around our age?" Eiko whispered.

"He's far older than he seems," Osamu said. "I heard he froze himself as a kid out of sheer fear. I assume it was too risky for Tabiki to try to melt it with his flames."

"Poor guy," Rosa said. "Can't imagine being frozen for decades."

"Director Shin'en sure went through a lot," King Akhzar said.

Director Shin'en? Did he know him?

"Anyway, with the help of my cousin or uncle, we can activate the tree. Emon will run them through the details," Tabiki said.

Wait, come to think of it, wouldn't that make Ximena's grandparents like Setsuko and me? Well, at least they were royals like us.

"So, how exactly will you turn the sacred tree into a weapon?" Queen Saya asked.

"We'll concentrate the mana into the air. It will require the Seven Flames working together in tandem," Maki said.

"One question. Won't that leave the environment dead?" Kimura asked as he raised his hand. "Taking too much mana out of surroundings usually isn't a good thing."

"The Sacred Tree is potent enough that it won't cause a noticeable effect. Now, there is a risk if it turns into a drawn-out battle. That's why I prefer us going on the offensive. Fighting defensively allows the enemy time for them to chip away at it. Especially if they're aided by abysmals, given their energy absorption skills," Tabiki said.

"It will also draw the enemy's attention," Maki added. "The abysmals should be like moths to a flame."

Tabiki chuckled. "Half literally, of course."

"Sounds decent," King Akhzar said, smiling slightly. He glanced at us. "So, Sister-in-law, what do you have in mind?"

Miyuki laughed. "Uh, ask Osamu. He's the king, not me."

Osamu sighed. "You know our plan well enough to share it."

"Yeah, but it would be rude."

He shook his head. "I guess."

Was Uncle shy too? But this wasn't the first time he spoke to a crowd. If anything, this one paled in comparison to the group that went to Grand Crater.

Tabiki smirked. "What, did Takeshi get your tongue?"

Uncle glared at him. "I don't want to hear that from someone who was on the floor in agony not too long ago and yet pretends he's fine."

"Fellas, do not make things hard on poor Sa," King Akhzar said, holding his arms out.

"Sa?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, that's my nickname for my dear cousin!"

"Oh, yeah, you're cousins," Kohri said.

Saya cleared her throat. "We're getting off track again."

"Pardon," Uncle said. He jumped down from his seat and stood next to Maki. "Our plan is to have the Seven Hills stay back in Kaguya to defend our country while the Five Knights are in Xeleria."

"Xeleria? Why should the Knights of Prophecy be there? Their mission is to defend Zionia," a voice echoed from what appeared to be a birdbath.

"What's that?" Rosa asked, alarmed.

"It's Aquarina's voice," I said.

"But, why isn't she here in person?" Kohri asked.

"She's probably doing something else," Anis said. "Legends do say she's a workaholic."

"Silence, Seven Hills! We've heard enough commentary from you to last us the day!"

Rosa gulped.

Osamu turned to look at the birdbath. "I'm aware of that, but that's why I'm sending them to Xeleria. Margaret plans to take the Ziz. If she obtains it, it will spell trouble for all of Zionia. The world as we know it will come to an end."

"But she lacks the Behemoth, does she not? So I do not see how she can threaten us at the moment. Leave her to my nephew and his people. They can surely figure something out. After all, it was the Xelerians who sealed away Daisaru."

"With all due respect, Aunt Aquarina, I don't believe they have that kind of power anymore. According to Father, it took the full weight of the divine powers of Xeleria to bring that guy to his knees. Many perished in that battle. As for the sealing. Eri and the others are still looking into it, but they haven't found the spell used to lock away the Monkey King."

Eiko shivered. "That monster," she whispered.

"Hmph, those magicians are as unreliable as ever," Aquarina said. "Yet, do not underestimate their might. They did nearly breach this place long ago."

I gulped. What kind of power did the ancient Xelerians have to have defeated Daisaru and nearly taken this sacred mountain?

"There is reason to fear the results of the battle in Xeleria," Uncle said. "Reginald has the Behemoth. Should he defeat Margaret, he can retrieve Leviathan and take the Ziz from the Xian clan. Should that happen, Zionia will fall all the same. After all, it was his second oldest daughter who attacked Xian, not Margaret. And he attacked Prince Ryonoko to get Behemoth and later showed up at the Mahoulympics with both land and sea beasts to wreak havoc."

"It's true! That guy is dangerous!" Ryonoko said. "He didn't lift a finger, but I could tell he was stronger than either of the beasts. If anything, he should be our real target."

Grandfather had lost power since then. So how much of a threat was he now?

"You make a valid point, Osamu, Prince Ryonoko."

"Indeed, he does," spoke a metal statue in the shape of a bird. It was Halim.

"Now, what about you, Mizu no Kin, Amadeus? What do your nations have planned?" a voice rang out of a golden flame. Was it Kushina?

Akhzar smiled and jumped down. "I shall go first if that's alright with you, cousin Sabrina."

"You may go ahead."

I gasped. Sitting among the Seven Light Knights was a woman resembling Sabine.

**Solar Note: A bit late in publishing this, but thanks for reading Legend of the Five Knights for the past six years! Your votes and comments have helped shape this series into what it is now.**