Jax crouched as the fox scratched insistently at his leg, its fluffy pink tail flicking with agitation. Mana shimred faintly around the small creature, marking it instantly as a bound ssenger rather than a mundane animal.
"Easy," he murmured.
The fox imdiately relaxed when he lifted it, settling comfortably against his forearm as if it had always belonged there. The creature’s intelligent, luminous purple eyes blinked up at Jax before it gently released the sealed letter into his free hand.
Holding the letter, Jax saw a stamp on it. A stylized nine-tailed fox sigil, etched in shimring silver mana rather than wax alone.
"Aurora," Lyla said, recognizing it at once.
Hydra leaned in slightly, curiosity sharpening her expression, "Wonder what she wants,"
"Impromptu ssages usually ans urgent" Jax replied.
He broke the seal with his thumb. The mana-infused wax dissolved cleanly, dispersing into harmless motes of light. As he unfolded the letter, faint illusionary glyphs flared briefly, Aurora’s preferred thod of ensuring authenticity, before fading.
Jax imdiately read the entire letter in silence.
As his eyes moved across the page, his expression remained composed, but the atmosphere around him shifted subtly. Mana pressure deepened all around him and Hydra noticed this imdiately.
"Well?" she asked.
Jax folded the letter once, then again, tucking it neatly into his sleeve before answering.
"The Capital’s primary designs are nearly finalized," he said first. "Construction has already begun in several districts. Soon, it’ll actually be fully livable and sustainable,"
Lyla let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. "That’s... faster than expected. Feels like only yesterday you were telling us about this plan,"
"The Witches don’t waste ti once they commit," Jax replied, "And this City benefits everyone, so they’re all putting a-lot of ti into this,"
Jax continued, his tone shifting almost imperceptibly, "However."
"The Mana Stone Mines I told them to excavate are all under attack with repeated incursions that’s delaying the process of gathering the necessary Mana Stones to further propel the construction process," Jax explained.
Lyla’s brows drew together, "By who?"
"Holy Knights, it seems after the incident with the Heroes they’ve began to try and minimize the resources we own, probably sensing us doing sothing big," Jax answered.
Jax’s words landed like a stone dropped into still water. Around them, the forest did not react, but Lyla did. Her jaw tightened, fingers curling slowly at her sides.
"The Church," she said quietly.
"Or one of its branches," Jax corrected. "Aurora didn’t specify banners, but the description matches consecrated armor, Light-aspected enchantnts, and anti-demonic suppression fields."
Hydra’s lips curled back slightly, revealing a hint of fang, "They’re getting bold."
"They’ve always been bold," Lyla said. "They just usually pretend it’s righteousness instead of resource theft."
Jax nodded once. "Mana Stones are strategic assets. They’re too important to let this go on for long,"
Jax’s gaze lowered briefly to the fox still nestled against his arm. He reached up and scratched it gently between the ears. The creature let out a soft, pleased chirr before dissolving into pink motes of light, its task completed.
Aurora’s letter had included coordinates.
Three locations. All deep within contested territory near the eastern borders the Demon Kingdom shared with the Human Kingdom.
"They’re testing us," Lyla said after a mont. "Probing how quickly you respond."
"Yes," Jax agreed. "And how decisively."
She turned toward him fully now. "Will you go yourself?"
He didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he stepped back to the railing and looked out over the Dark Elven settlent one last ti. The celebration below continued unabated, music rising, laughter echoing through the branches, mana-rich lanterns drifting upward like slow-moving stars.
This was peace. Hard earned peace and it was already being threatened.
"I didn’t descend into this world to rule from a throne," Jax said at last. "If the Church believes they can bleed the Demon Kingdom at its foundations without consequence, they need to be corrected."
Hydra straightened. "So we’re moving."
"Yes."
Lyla inhaled slowly, then nodded, "Good,"
Jax turned back to Lyla, "I’ll deal with the mines personally. You focus on stabilizing your territory and coordinating with the Witches. Construction will draw attention."
"It already has," Lyla said. "Scouts have reported increased Divine scrying attempts since your spell earlier."
Jax’s lips curved faintly, "Let them look."
Hydra chuckled, "Nothing scares gods more than a King who doesn’t hide."
Lyla allowed herself a small smile at that, but it faded quickly. "Be careful, Jax. The Church wouldn’t doesn’t send Holy Knights lightly, especially after all of them they killed. If they’re willing to cross borders openly,"
"Then they’ve got sothing prepared for , I know," Jax finished.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice slightly, "But don’t worry, no matter what they throw at , I’ll handle it,"
Lyla studied him for a long mont, then inclined her head deeply, "May the forest shelter you," she said formally. "And may the Goddesses guide your hand."
"They already do," Jax replied.
Monts later, Hydra was moving ahead of him, her presence shifting subtly as her form began to blur at the edges. Erald scales rippled into existence beneath her skin, her silhouette expanding, reshaping.
Lyla stepped back instinctively as Hydra’s draconic form fully manifested on the adjacent platform, wings unfolding with controlled power. The wind stirred violently for a brief mont, then settled as Hydra anchored herself to the structure without damaging it—a conscious act of restraint.
Jax approached her without hesitation.
As he mounted, mana flared around them both, synchronizing instantly.
"First mine?" Hydra asked through their shared link.
"The closest," Jax replied. "We make an example."
With a single powerful beat of her wings, Hydra launched them into the sky.
The forest canopy fell away beneath them, replaced by endless stretches of green and shadow as they accelerated eastward. Mana currents bent subtly around their passage, parting like water before a blade.
As they flew, Jax closed his eyes briefly, expanding his awareness.
The land answered.
He felt the Mana Stone Mines long before they ca into view, vast subterranean concentrations of condensed energy, throbbing like buried hearts beneath the earth. And around them...
He could sense intrusion.
"They’re not even really raiding it," Jax said quietly. "They’re just trying to cripple production."
Hydra’s growl reverberated through the air. "Then they die."
"Not all of them," Jax corrected. "So will survive."
She glanced back slightly. "To run?"
"To spread the ssage."
Ahead, the land began to change.
The forest thinned, giving way to rugged terrain scarred by excavation. Massive stone entrances carved into cliff faces glowed faintly with embedded mana channels, the outer structures of the first mine.
Smoke rose from one entrance.
And standing before it,
Armored figures wreathed in soft golden light, banners bearing the sigil of the Church of Light planted boldly into demonic soil.
Holy Knights.
Jax opened his eyes.
His golden gaze hardened, not with rage, but with cold, absolute intent.
"So," he murmured, voice carrying easily through the rushing wind, "they chose violence."
Hydra banked sharply, descending.
Below, the Holy Knights looked up, all getting in formation, ready for battle.
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