Every harpy in the room lunged for Kanae at once. Every harpy except Nasiri. The closest one got within a three feet of Kanae when she casted Mass Charm, putting a stop to most of their attacks. Some managed to resist, but she redirected her thralls to jump on them instead. They didn't expect to be attacked by their own and quickly fell.

However, these were soldiers. The harpies that couldn't be charmed cast away their weapons for spears instead, then formed a defensive perimeter around Nasiri. Kanae's charmed minions defeated them one by one until their leader was the only harpy left. The remaining ten attacked her from every side.

"Hundred Palm Strike!" Nasiri smirked.

A crack of thunder followed each blow that landed on her subordinates. All of them went flying in every direction, knocking over mannequins in suits of armor, racks of weapons, and over counters. It happened in an instant, and yet Nasiri looked as if she hadn't moved an inch from her stance.

"Is that all, Kanae? I don't need to see what my forces are capable of. Show me what you are capable of!" Nasiri exclaimed.

"Should I assume you're going to stay right there? Fine by me. Turn Horny!" Kanae fired a spell.

When it landed on Nasiri, her knees neither buckled nor trembled.

"What?" Kanae gasped.

Nasiri merely smiled. She uncurled her fingers from a single fist to gesture for Kanae to try again.

"Very well," Kanae said, clicking her tongue and switching on Sadist. "I'll make you grovel one way or another. See if you'll continue smiling with my heel on the back of your head!"

With Sadist activated, her weapon Lust now inflicted Turn Horny at no cost of mana. Kanae landed blow after blow on Nasiri. Still, the harpy woman didn't flinch. She took every hit without so much as a wince. It was as if Kanae was striking a statue.

"Your attacks may have incapacitated anyone else, but I have trained and disciplined my body to be a fortress. Behold, Kanae Toyomi. For a fortress does not sit still during a siege. It fights back!" Nasiri dashed right up to Kanae and threw an uppercut.

The world flashed white. Kanae hit the ceiling. As she fell, Nasiri jumped high and pummeled her back into the ground. That hit definitely rattled her brain. She had Sheeba's skill, Lion's Pride, active when the attack landed. It granted her a massive boost against physical and magical attacks, and yet…

Kanae picked herself up while Nasiri slowly walked circles around her.

"Major Charm!" Kanae casted.

"Nnh…" Nasiri's eyes glazed over as she fell under Kanae's control, only for the connection to snap a second later. "Oh, what an unpleasant sensation. Major Charm, huh? Stronger than the charm you used on my subordinates? Unfortunately, Monks are among the handful of crowned classes that can resist compulsions to the mind. Peace of Mind and Soul triggers on its own. Well, Kanae? What else do you have to throw at me?"

"How about this? Magic Hand!" She incanted the spell through Blade of the First Temptress, conjuring a giant hand closing into a fist.

That one, Nasiri didn't expect. She raised her elbow and knee to block the punch. The impact left her skidding across the armory.

Kanae buffed up with Heightened Haste and tossed the blade aside, picking up Cockcalibur instead. It transformed into a large ogre cock. She came up from behind Nasiri, but a spinning kick deflected the attack.

"Ha! Clever! I wonder what other spell you have in store?" Nasiri grinned.

"Spells aren't all I have." Kanae compelled Magic Hand to pick up Blade of the First Temptress. Nasiri spun around too late. The sword plunged harmlessly through her chest. At the same time, Kanae soared in and put her in a chokehold.

The effects of the enchanted weapon seized hold of them both. A vision, one granted by the Blade of the First Temptress. It laid bare Nasiri's deepest wants and desires. The harpy kneeled in front of a totem pole. A ceremonial shamanistic garb draped over her shoulders made of feathers and bones. Her headware depicting a sun and its rays were adorned with beads, windchimes, and fetishes. Also kneeling in prayer behind her were thousands of worshippers, all chanting in unison. The vision peeled back, and they were in the center of a lush forest as green as the Commonwealth.

In this future, Nasiri wasn't some warlord. She was the Exalted Mystic.

They returned to the future jumping back from each other, winded and dizzy. Nasiri pressed a hand to her chest and laughed.

"Very impressive Kanae. You caught me off-guard. It won't happen again," Nasiri swore.

"Wait! The vision we just saw. That was you, wasn't it? You wanted to be Exalted Mystic?" Kanae asked.

"I still do. But Ujit chose Jahree to be her successor instead…" Her words weren't filled with venomous envy like Kanae expected. "They are both traditionalists of a bygone age, better suited to be custodians of the past. But that makes them unfit to guide the future of Elusis. The Harpy King is a visionary who will get us there. It's a shame you tricked Praijya over the Sceptre of Want. That would have made things much easier."

"Nasiri… A flood is coming. It's powerful enough to turn this side of Savir into an ocean. The Harpy King isn't interested in saving them. Countless will be killed if we don't do something," she explained.

The Dervish nodded grimly and said, "I know. I don't share the Harpy King's vision of the harpy races' supremacy. But the flood must come to pass whether we like it or not. For too long, Savir has been a barren and desolate place. The Arkesian Wastes and Avanesse is proof of that. The snowmelt will nourish the land with water. If we stop that from happening, well… more and more like Theena and her family will continue starving."

"You're… You're all crazy. These are lives we're talking about. Ever since I came to Savir, I've seen some of the most selfish people turn over a new leaf. I witnessed a woman so paranoid and sick in the head take a moment to reflect. This is… wrong."

"Not all of us can make the hard choices, Queen of the Commonwealth. You should have returned to your paradise when you had the chance." Nasiri set aside her emotions and squared up again.

Some of the harpies groaned, coming back to consciousness. Kanae wasn't going to beat Nasiri and certainly wouldn't fare better against their reinforcements. She just needed to make a run for it.

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree." Kanae seized control of the harpies again and compelled them to attack Nasiri.

They took the Thundering Dervish by surprise and pinned her against the wall. Kanae's Magic Hand brought her the Blade of the First Temptress, and she took off flying out of the armory. Hundreds of people tried to stab at her with spears. Many fired from bows and crossbows. She escaped from the corridor into a large chamber in search of a window, any window to fly out of.

"Kanae!" A surge of lightning chased after her.

The two weaved through columns and statues of the Harpy King. Any harpies that tried to help and got near were zapped out of the air. Banners hanging from archways fluttered violently from their beating wings. They crossed through an entire cafeteria, destroyed an interior garden, and blew a storage room to pieces.

Finally, after flying for what felt like ages through the Opalescent Spire, Kanae spotted an opening. It was one of many perches that let harpies in and out of the spire. She felt the scorching warmth of the sun until someone dead-armed her.

Kanae spiraled out of control. She crashed down several floors before hitting the polished sandstone ground.

"Ow… What the— hnng?!" Kanae had the wind knocked out of her by a harpy, whose massive wingspan and brown plumage looked familiar, stomping on her chest.

"Looks like I'll get my revenge after all." Praijya sneered and brandished a glove with long protracted claws.

A lightning strike hit the ground next to them and out walked Nasiri.

"Stay your talon, Praijya. Kanae is more valuable to us alive," Nasiri said.

"I promised I'd slaughter Kanae the next time I see her. Do you plan on making me out to be a liar?" Praijya snarled.

"If you think you can strike faster than I can stop you, you're welcome to try." The Thundering Dervish glared.

Praijya shouted in frustration. The claws on her gloves retracted. But the last thing Kanae saw was a heavy boot. She awakened sometime later being dragged down a long corridor. Recesses in the wall contained statues depicting a harpy man with incredibly large wings. The same harpy was on the wall ceiling, too, as painted murals where he soared the wide open skies.

They passed by many harpy guards, who stood as still as the statues beside them. The distinct red hue of their equipment clued Kanae in that they wielded weapons and wore armor made of felmetal. Her own weapons were gone. Glancing up, she saw Nasiri walking ahead with a wand, Lust, Blade of the First Temptress, and Cockcalibur in her arms.

Kanae cursed under her breath. She had been completely disarmed again. Things had gone from bad to worse, and now from worse to hopeless.

A group of guards pushed open the large iron doors at the end of the corridor. Hot air rushed out, followed by the repetitive echo of metal striking metal. It sounded like… hammering. Someone was hammering metal deeper inside.

"Your Majesty, we have brought you the Queen of the Commonwealth," Nasiri said.

Praijya tossed Kanae forward. She thought it was a throne room they had taken her to, but no. It was a blacksmith. The sandstone walls of the room were painted black by soot and ash. Forges lined the walls with smiths slaving over the hot coals and anvils. Smelting furnaces billowed with abnormally powerful flames, and crates of felmetal ore waited their turns to be refined into ingots.

A much larger large was situated in the center of the room. It was circular, with several openings to accommodate multiple smiths at once. A large man, who had a heavy cloak draped over his shoulders, was working on a set of… felmetal wings. He peeled his hood back to reveal a chiseled face. Short sky blue hair stained with sweat and soot framed his head.

"Ah. The meddlesome succubus. I was afraid you would miss this because of someone else's incompetence." He shot a disapproving look to the side.

Kanae followed the man's gaze to Sol, Renya's long lost minotaur half-brother. There were others in the smithy as if attending an audience with royalty. They tugged on the collar of their embroidered tunics as sweat dripped down their necks and faces. Some of them she recognized, too. Riley Dryoak, Riben Crow, two of the five Dervishes, Toro Squa and Sofisa Rash'wan, and Theena.

The young woman couldn't believe her eyes. She welled up with shame and sadness, meeting Kanae's gaze.

"Forgive me, Harpy King. I'll find the ones among my retinue responsible for letting her escape. They will be thoroughly punished." Sol bowed, his grandeur from before replaced by a suck-up.

"You're the Harpy King?" Kanae interjected. "You don't look very kingly—"

Praijya smacked her on the back of the head.

"I suppose that makes two of us, given our current state. You have been a meddlesome cactus spine in my side for some time now. Tell me, where is the Sceptre of Want?" The Harpy King asked.

"Out of your reach is all you need to know," Kanae growled.

"And Elusis' former Exalted Mystic? Ujit?" he pressed her.

Kanae said nothing. The Harpy King turned to Praijya and Nasiri for answers, but they only shook their heads. He quietly returned to working on the felmetal wings, affixing feather-like plates to the arm.

"Riley, what happened to Petyr? Is she… Is she alive?" Kanae hesitated to ask.

The guildmaster of the Dryoak Consortium faced away, but not before Kanae caught a glimpse of something on her expression. Something like regret. She refused to believe a knight as strong-willed as Petyr would have perished. Riley was hiding something.

"Theena, did you know Seven came to Elusis? So is Kara. We came together to try and find him!" Kanae shouted.

"Seven? Kara?" Theena's voice trembled, and she whipped around to the Harpy King in hopes of an answer.

"You mean Nawan? He is in no danger. Nawan is currently in Buhar, awaiting to be infused with an elemental of his own. He shows promise. Moreso than my other six children," the Harpy King said thoughtfully.

"But—"

"Theena, that's enough." Nasiri motioned for her to be silent.

Kanae scanned the surroundings for an escape. Aside from the small vents high in the ceiling to allow smoke to escape, there were none. Even if she attempted to, Nasiri and Praijya were too fast to outfly.

"What's so special about Ujit? And don't give me that nonsense about wanting your mother back. You're the one who alienated her and turned her role of Exalted Mystic into irrelevancy," Kanae said.

"You have spoken to her. Mothers. Always too eager to talk your ear off. But I will give Ujit one thing. She was a one of a kind shaman to be able to plant an elemental lord into me. With help, Nasiri can carve rifts into the Primal Planes and infuse common elementals. But not elemental lords," the Harpy King explained.

To Kanae's side, Nasiri squeezed her fists together. It was clearly a sore point for her.

He continued, "You wish to know why I want Ujit back? I will show you. Behold the power of an elemental lord."

The Harpy King shedded his cloak. Kanae almost wasn't what she was seeing. He didn't boast an incredible wingspan like the statues depicted him. He didn't even have a set of paltry wings. Instead, two pathetic protrusions on his flexed out. They were boney and scrawny. The outlines of his humerus and ulna bones were very distinct underneath his chestnut skin.

"I was born without the ability to fly. I have been robbed of the skies and the freedom it offered. Whenever I looked up at the sun from the surface, its shining rays taunted me," the Harpy King rambled.

"So, you're going on a conquest because life was unfair to you?" Kanae chided.

"No! Absolutely not. Being crippled showed me just how far and above those, who can fly, are compared to everyone else. You yourself are strong. Your wings unshackle from the ground! Now, with wings myself, I'll reclaim the skies. With an elemental-infused army, I shall conquer all of Savir. Witness. My. Rebirth! Uzazzsa, to me!" he bellowed loud, ringing like church bells.

"Yes, my king~" a hissing voice answered.

The Harpy King slipped the spines of his wings into the felmetal replica. Fire within every forge and smelter roared to life. The air became noticeably hotter. Everyone who was near their king took a step away from him and shielded their faces. It was too hot for even some of the smiths in the room. They couldn't take it any longer and ran. The only ones unaffected were Toro, Praijya, Nasiri, and Theena.

Snaking flames crawled out of central forge, taking a feminine form whose hair was like streaks of the sun's solar flares. Two yellow eyes snapped open, and a pair of lips formed a wicked grin. Her skin took on a smooth maroon color, then cracked like molten lava. The heat was so intense from her presence that Kanae no longer sweated. They evaporated as quickly as they came.

The elemental named Uzazzsa settled on the Harpy King's back. Her flames became his flames, filling the gaps and empty space within the felmetal wings. Yet for how hot it was, he appeared unaffected and unfazed. He lifted off his feet and ascended high above them on fiery wings that were like a phoenix's. Meanwhile, Uzazzsa clung to his back like a lover.

"Queen Kanae Toyomi. I admired your conquest of No Man's Land. I applauded your valor when you repelled the Empire of Ortesia's invasion. But Savir is not yours to meddle in. It is mine. We will find Ujit eventually. Put the succubus in a cart to Buhar and throw her in the cell with the Radevic knight. We mobilize our armies for war," the Harpy King said.