Chapter 6: Resolve

"You've got to hit harder than that SilverAsh." Asmodeus blocked her sword. "Don't keep your guard down." She advised him with squinted eyes and stared right at his eyes to hide her falcon that was flanking him from behind.

"Too predictable." He smirked at her and caught her falcon softly without taking his eyes off of her. "What a ridiculous monster you're becoming." SilverAsh smiled wryly and while he released the falcon, ice arts came at him from the side.

"Enciades, it is ineffective. Press the attack." Gnosis prepared another shot as Ash caught the energy blasts made of ice. Creating frost on his hands, but he clenched it and the ice around him shattered.

"Hup!" Degenbrecher who was waiting for an opening tried to hit him from behind with her greatsword. With Ash blocking it by the flat of his blade. "Nice assist!" SilverAsh tried to stab him and Ash had to swat her thin sword away.

Degenbrecher then kicked him behind his knees and that made him lose his balance. The two leaped backwards and Gnosis' prepared arts hit him, a blast of ice arts that froze a radius around him exploded.

"Your hubby is quite ridiculous isn't he, madame?" Degenbrecher laughed and the feline didn't have the time to retort with a witty comeback. "Incoming!" She yelled and Ash was running at Gnosis like a raging bull.

"Degenbrecher." Gnosis looked at the side and tried to slow him down with rapid fire arts, but instead of being frozen, he just shrugged it off like he got hit by a snowball.

"I won't let you do that sir~" The dark knight went at him from the side and he slowed down quickly by blocking her swing. He can't ignore her after all, she's only a bit worse in strength than him.

"Madame! Now!" She chained him down by pressing him down with her sword, though she was struggling heavily because he was much much taller than her.

The leopard charged her arts with her sword and swung her cane sword. A vacuum blade quickly making its way towards him that made him dodge. "It's over." Gnosis fired his strongest arts and aimed it at his feet.

"Shit!" Ash swung his sword against the vacuum blades from SilverAsh and Degenbrecher was about to release an onslaught of attacks with all her might.

Ash raised his hand and the caprinae flew away like a ragdoll. An explosion went off on his feet and destroyed the ice while raising a cloud of dust.

Before SilverAsh could schwing schwing her sword again, his weapon flew at her. Clicking her tongue, she had to parry it and the heaviness of the blow made her arms and hands numb.

With a quick dash, Ash arrived quickly at her side and tapped her on the neck. Signifying she was dead, while Gnosis immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Another lost huh? Whenever you start using your arts, we lose badly." The dark knight sighed.

"I knew you were physically strong... But your arts and skills have improved massively." SilverAsh remembered his start where Degenbrecher could solo him. But now, they're even if he doesn't use his arts due to his dynamic vision.

"Outstanding combat effectiveness, even if tactical acumen is moderate." Gnosis gave his analysis and he scratched his head. "You're gonna make me blush everyone, except you Gnosis. You're still a cold blooded scientist."

Gnosis nodded at him for the compliment. "I told you madame, your hubby can demolish the Kazimiers majors. Where do you keep your arts unit hidden anyway? Is it under your clothes? The enemies won't expect your arts that way, smart."

"Ahh, I don't use arts unit." He smiled at them and they froze again. "Y-you can't do that! Strip! Strip right now!" SilverAsh ordered him with desperate urgency and he raised a brow, but he still took off his clothes.

"Wow." Degenbrecher looked between his legs. SilverAsh checked his whole body and after a few minutes of very thorough searches, she sighed in relief. "What's the big idea? Why'd you made me strip again? I'm starting to think you're perverted."

He squinted his eyes and SilverAsh glared at him. "You idiot! You do know that everyone needs an arts unit to cast their arts right! It's the conduit to use it you fool! Is your infection internal? Why are there no signs of oripathy?"

She threw a barrage of questions and he tilted his head. "Oripathy? I'm not infected you know?" He dropped a bomb on them and even the blank faced Gnosis had a shocked look on his face.

"Impossible... Are you a true Lung and just hiding your tail? Well, you have a tail in front. But it's not scaly." Degenbrecher furrowed her brows.

"A tail? I'm not a Lung, do I look like I'm an eastern dragon? I don't have a stache as my whiskers and a scaly tail." He shrugged and the trio had different reactions.

Gnosis looked at him with interest, which Ash thought was looking borderline gay. Degenbrecher was in disbelief. While SilverAsh got anxious and was feeling complicated about the situation.

"Listen, don't ever tell anyone you're using arts without an arts unit. Especially because you're a non-infected. Yan will be on your ass and call you a true Lung, they'll probably do that because your horns resemble theirs." SilverAsh explained to him with steel in her voice.

"That's right, true Lungs are the imperials of Yan you know? Another imperial that's as strong as you, influential and rich to boot. Will be taken by Yan with everything they've got." Degenbrecher added.

"O-ohh, I guess I'll be careful." He nodded at them and thanked them for their advice. "Asmodeus, can I research your physiology?" Gnosis squinted his eyes and his glasses had that sheen on them.

"Say no homo first." Ash looked at him suspiciously and the black haired man agreed. "Listen Asmodeus, don't you ever tell anyone that okay?" SilverAsh doubled down on him.

"Alright, alright, sheesh." He smiled at them and they nodded at him. "Mistress, a letter arrived from Leithanien." Weiss who is the feline's courier gave a letter to her.

"A letter? Ash, this seems to be for you." SilverAsh gave it to him and he raised a brow. "Why did they send me one? This didn't came from Adele, she can call me directly after all."

He opened up the seal and started reading it. He suddenly had a sour look on his face and a subconscious pressure escaped from him that made the ground crack.

"A-Asmodeus, what's wrong?" SilverAsh looked at him with concern, feeling the heavy weight that was bearing down on her. Similar to Degenbrecher's, though it was much heavier.

"My parents died." He squinted his eyes, wings appeared on his back and he crouched. Jumping explosively to the skies as he accelerated himself to the maximum with his arts.

The group froze for a bit, but the matriarch quickly got her mojo back. "Quick! We go to Leithanien!"

She ordered and her subordinates immediately started to prepare for the journey to Leithanien.

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"What the hell happened?" Ash's mind was in disarray and he was thinking of why Adele wasn't contacting him.

"No way... Nothing was mentioned about her, but is she incapacitated right now? I need to hurry! Faster!" He released jets of energy behind him and his kinetic energy multiplied.

His reserves were getting drained fast, but he didn't care. Travelling to Leithanien with as much speed as he could.

"Come on! Make it!" He gritted his teeth and he was running out of gas, he could see Leithanien in the distance and he glided the rest of the way in order to have some left over energy for landing.

In 15 minutes, he travelled thousands of kilometers and crashed right at his house like a bullet. The servants gasped when they saw him. "Y-young master."

"Where's Adele!? Does anyone know where she is!?" He yelled and pointed at the nearest maid. "S-she's in the hospital master." The maid told him that she was in the nearest hospital.

He ran towards the place and located her energy signature which he memorized. "There!" Without regard for any staff, he entered her room that was being guarded by people.

"Sir Asmodeus, you can't en-" The guard got pushed away by him and he kicked down the door that was locked. And he immediately noticed that it was a negative pressure room.

"Ash..." Adele who looked worse for wear went wide eyed when she saw him. Calling his name softly with her hoarse voice.

He frowned immediately when she saw her. There were black crystalline objects on her. "Oripathy..." Ash walked up to her and held her hand. "What happened Adele?"

She looked blankly at empty space and she couldn't cry anymore, her tears have dried up. "Mother and father were caught up in a pyroclastic flow of originium..." She furrowed her brows and her expression was forlorn.

"But that doesn't explain your oripathy?" He looked at the originium on her. "I... I got it from them. Their corpses were burnt, with both of them having terrified expressions as they died, Ash..." Every time she slept or closed her eyes, their faces appeared in her mind.

"I hugged them... But the molten originium that hardened on them pricked me in multiple places. I couldn't even say goodbye to them Ash. When they left, I was busy in my research!" Adele cried, albeit without tears.

He hugged her tightly and slowly caressed her head. "It's alright, I'm here." Ash gritted his teeth. It was so unexpected and sudden.

The dynamics of the Naumann family changed in a heartbeat. Emma won't be there anymore to cling to them and annoy him. Hans won't try to advise them and help them with what they need with a smile.

And Adele contracted oripathy. She might be a leading researcher right now for originium and catastrophes here in Leithanien. But it's incredibly unlikely that they'll treat her as good as when she was clean.

"Fuck, how could this happen?" He frowned and tried to calm down Adele. With his last vestige of energy, he poured it into his arts and made her sleep deeply so she could rest.

"Sir! You can't interact with her like that! You might get infected!" Security arrived at the room. He glared at them and the metal frame of Adele's bed gave at his grip.

"Shut up, there has been no records of infection through physical contact against originium." Ash made them quiet and he overlooked Adele soundlessly.

Like a stone guardian that was immovable, he just sat there and looked after her. Waiting for his reserves to recover in order to remove the energy of the originium in her system to deactivate its corrosive properties.

In his research about oripathy, the mineral binds to cells like cancer once infection sets in. And taking out was basically impossible without harming the individual.

But what he could do now is to reduce the damage as much as possible. Adele's oripathy looked to be moderate and he hypothesized that it developed while he was in Kjerag.

After a few hours, he recovered well and prepared himself. Thinking if it would work. "I've never done this for an infected before, that was an oversight."

He concentrated like how Gnosis taught him and he controlled the energy from Adele's originium particles inside of her. The pained look on her face that was the flare ups of oripathy disappeared and Adele relaxed in her sleep.

"A success... But not a major one." He checked the condition of her body and as expected, it was like mercury poisoning. With the originium particulate matter binding to her cells and changing it into the mineral.

"Like cancer and heavy metal poisoning, what a horrible combination." He frowned upon seeing it and brainstormed on how to cure Adele from it.

He called the butler of the Naumann house and let them bring his laptop to the hospital. And while Adele was asleep because of mental and physical stress. He just kept on making plans upon plans to combat oripathy.

Obviously, the AOS wasn't full proof, like in Adele's case where she wasn't wearing one and surprises may come, like a catastrophe or terrorist attack for example.

And if they were infected already, it just stops people from being in contact with the source. It still grows, albeit slowly. Babel has already given him some papers about that which Kal'tsit sent to him.

Asmodeus enterprise's employees were mostly infected too, with his company's reputation of free AOS's to infected and very thorough screening for non infected to join. The employees didn't have tensions like in blacksteel or other companies that just flat out rejects infected.

So he was planning on hitting a lot of things at once. Even though he predicted that the research in order to cure or at least stop the progression of oripathy permanently would take years. Ash was determined to change the status quo.

It would also lead to stable relations between the two groups in all the nations. Except probably Ursus which kept on pumping propaganda that infected should be put in concentration camps or be killed off entirely.

"I'll cure you Adele, I promise." He kissed her on the forehead and patted her hair softly. Cleaning her up with his arts and checking her condition 24/7.

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"Careful, you might have recovered. But your body is still fatigued." Ash increased Adele's bioenergy and helped her walk to home.

"You're right Ash, thank you for the boost. I know you used your arts." Adele nodded at him, but her bubbly smile was absent and she still had that far off look on her face.

"Are you sure you already want to go home? We could stay a bit longer in the hospital and leave when you're completely healed up." He was worried about her, she was walking slowly. Her gait was wobbly at times, but he noticed that it isn't because she's injured. But because she was distracted.

"It's fine Ash." She continued walking. "You're wobbling, you're obviously not fine." He sighed and she craned her neck towards him. "I said... I'm fine!" Adele yelled and he was surprised. She had never got upset like that before.

Adele noticed it and she looked towards the ground with a pained expression. "I just need some time Ash. Time heals all wounds right?" She looked at him helplessly and he furrowed his brows.

They arrived at their home and Adele was being avoided by some of the servants, because of fear of being infected with oripathy. He sighed heavily and was about to get angry and fire them.

But they were the product of their environment, it's not entirely their fault that they were scared or even detest people with oripathy. He would be fucking scared of them too if he didn't understand it like them.

The thing was a terminal disease once you contract it, no cure, only efforts to slow it down. And you'll die a painful death in which you will see your body turn into black crystals.

Of course, it wasn't a good thing for Adele and she immediately shut herself off in her room. "Listen here ignorant fools, oripathy can only be contracted through contact with originium. Do not make Adele uncomfortable, or I will make you regret it."

He glared at the servants who were gossiping earlier and he went to his lab in order to research more about oripathy. He only read about catastrophes in the papers they got from Babel, so it's time to see more about the disease that was plaguing the whole planet.

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After hours of research and checking out the papers from Babel, he didn't really get new information from it. "My knowledge of oripathy is even more advanced than them."

Ash sighed, because he already knew that the energy of originite is the one that causes fevers, extreme pain, and other oripathy symptoms. While the crystal growths is more of a sign of progression. It was like heavy metal poisoning, yes. But it doesn't kill you like mercury or lead does.

That's why people with high originium adaptability and proficiency with arts can live much longer and even function normally even though the crystallization on them is more than 10 percent which is almost certain death to a lot of people already.

"Young master, you have visitors from Kjerag." Their butler informed him and he raised a brow. "Tall woman, pretty?" The butler nodded and he stood up, cleaning himself with arts and going to the living room.

"You've come." Ash sat down at a couch on his living room and the Silverash matriarch with her retinue is there.

"We got worried about you Asmodeus... You just uttered an ominous sentence and you flew off from Kjerag." SilverAsh explained why they were there and he sighed.

"What exactly happened? We heard some rumors that the Naumann couple got killed while researching in volcanoes. And that the daughter of the family got oripathy..." Degenbrecher frowned and Weiss just listened to them.

With Gnosis being left in Kjerag as SilverAsh's CTO, he was in charge while she was away. "That's correct, they were killed by a pyroclastic flow. Heat killed them, it was already good enough that they didn't die of oripathy."

"Even your sister contracted it?" SilverAsh wanted to know if that was true as well. "Yes, but I suppressed it for now. You know that my arts is special right? Read this." He went back to his lab and fetched the paper about his theory on originite's energy.

"This is... Have you confirmed this?" Degenbrecher was in awe. "Yeah." He had all the evidence he needed, with trying the suppression method on Adele while she was in the hospital.

And it would be effective for a very long time until the one who received the suppression used arts as their originium for a conduit. Or perhaps people who get in contact to originium at heavy doses.

"This is excellent, Rhine labs would kill for this. As well as Babel in their Rhodes island." SilverAsh noticed the value of his research and it was pretty much a game changer.

The problem is, he was the only one who can do it. That's why he wasn't publishing it and he has no plans to do so. Except maybe give it to some people like SilverAsh just said, Rhine labs in Colombia which has advanced tech, more so than other countries. Or Babel in Rhodes island.

He then had an idea that struck him like lightning. "Weiss, make a copy of that and go to Kjerag. Send it Gnosis, SilverAsh, do you want to turn this world upside down?"

Weiss received the papers and was already off, while SilverAsh snorted and grinned at him. "I thought we would've got along well. You already know the answer to that, you crazy man."

"What's your plan sir?" Degenbrecher asked him and he squinted his eyes.

"I'm going to develop suppressants in the market that will stop oripathy progression. And coupled with my AOS, it would basically let infected live a normal life." Ash revealed to them.

"I took samples from Adele, I don't know about other races or people. She has really good originium adaptability. But the suppressant I developed is pretty effective."

He used the gene and cell therapy that cured cancer from his previous life, repurposing it by making it seek originium and its energy.

Putting it in a stim shot like an EpiPen, it would be easily accessible. "That's amazing, how did you make it?" SilverAsh was gaping.

"I programmed some stem cells to be like immune cells. I actually made it with my arts, the stem would swallow particulate matter in the blood and prevent further crystallization. They'll get rid of it through urination." Ash took his laptop and showed them a diagram on how it worked.

"Amazing, this would save a lot of lives..." Degenbrecher looked at the diagram a couple of times to understand it. Because it was going to be history.

"Guhahaha! We're witnessing something that is basically a miracle." SilverAsh patted the caprinae on the back.

"But won't this be stopped or at least be restricted by the governments if you try and build a clinic here in Leithanien?" Degenbrecher frowned, the ruling bodies would most definitely be a bitch and say that a prestigious company like Asmodeus enterprise would waste resources on infected.

"That's right, and this is the solution for that." He gave them a blueprint and the duo was surprised by the crazy build he was going to do.

"A mobile city?" SilverAsh furrowed her brows and thought of the expenses, it would also be time consuming to build it, the resources needed for one is astronomical.

"Not really a city, more like a compound. I got the idea from Rhodes Island, I'll be constructing mobile hospitals and house infected in there, give them jobs, but unlike Rhodes island. We don't need to weaponize their arts and abilities." He squinted his eyes.

"We just need to get as many as them as possible. Promise treatment at the mobile compounds my company will create. And then gather manpower which is sorely lacking in Terra anywhere." Asmodeus smirked.

"You're... You're making a country aren't you?" SilverAsh gasped and Degenbrecher gaped at her employer. "A-are you sure madame? Is that really what you're going to do sir?"

"I see that you haven't lost your touch, yes." He wasn't getting any resistance right now from the countries he was trading with. But when he launches his medical facilities, there will definitely be a backlash from it.

He might lose some popularity a bit, especially in Ursus and Lungmen that segregate the infected. But they'd have no choice due to the well hidden purpose of his company that they'd notice once he does something that the government doesn't like and they would try to do something.

They'll find that the best action they could do against him is to release propaganda and boycott him a bit. Which is impossible, he's already in deep in society like supervillain that's waiting to strike.

It's simply impossible to get rid of him, his roots have been set already. Infected and non infected alike would riot and gut the government for him if he completely stops trade. Just one sentence was needed, the government pushed him to withdraw all support.

"Kjerag will support you in this endeavor." SilverAsh wanted in on his crazy idea. "Thanks, then... We actually need a PMC so we could protect the infected and the hospitals that will roam around other countries." He wanted their opinion on this.

"I'd say to use the infected we gathered as citizens and recruit them... But would you like that?" Degenbrecher probed him for his opinion and he sighed.

"I guess I might need to create that huh?" It was a choice that was heavy, unless he had something that can prevent it from getting into the hands of others, he won't make it at all. Firearms would devastate armies here.

Squads with lmg's and explosives on them would fuck up entire battalions of soldiers in Terra. In an open area, they could cause a massacre. While in urban combat which would be the norm, they'd kill them with tons of grenades, claymores, mines, C4, etc. Without even needing to use arts.

"I have a secret weapon that could mow down entire platoons with even just a single user. But it's really dangerous, I prefer to have willing and already trained people right off the bat." Ash was apprehensive and the duo nodded at him.

"We can use the Sarkaz mercenaries that are getting popular." Degenbrecher suggested, making Ash and the leopard woman shook their heads immediately.

"They're a no go Degenbrecher, the Sarkaz mercs are being controlled by the military commission of Kazdel. The leader of those mercs are rebelling against the Sarkaz king Theresa who wants peace. It would be foolish to trust them." SilverAsh gave her the side eye.

"I see, so someone that can be trusted huh? That's a pretty tall order madame, sir." Degenbrecher closed her eyes and went into deep thought.

"How about Kazimierz? They're a nation of knights right? There must be some there that we could poach because they're dissatisfied with the state of affairs due to the corporations taking over?" Ash remembered where she came from.

"That's a good idea actually, but armorless union would definitely be on our ass." SilverAsh sighed and Ash raised a brow at that.

"They're the knight assassins of Kazimierz which specialize in long range assassinations. With bows and heavy black steel arrows." Degenbrecher explained, they hunt down rogue knights that could be a risk to Kazimierz.

"Ohh! I know! The 22nd major tournament recently ended and the radiant knight Margaret Nearl got exiled and branded as an infected. Though rumors say that she isn't. And the Nearls would definitely not exile someone in their family if they're infected. Something fishy is going on there." Degenbrecher suggested to find her.

"Already sent a message to Emperor, I'll let penguin logistics find her. Exusiai has too much free time on her hands eating apple pie and partying anyways." Ash texted Emperor.

"Any more ideas on who we can get on our side for a brand new city?" SilverAsh continued the brainstorming. "How about Reunion? People say they're terrorists, but isn't that bullshit? If you protest totalitarian regimes, you'd be branded as a terrorist after all." Ash remembered the freedom fighters.

"That's not a good idea Ash, if we take them in. Ursus will definitely try to eliminate us no matter the cost. They hate infected like the plague. And we'd be branded terrorists as well. Don't underestimate lunatics. They'd let the whole empire starve to death in order to get rid of a threat like you." Degenbrecher warned him.

"I see, then maybe we can support them from under the table? They could act as mercs for us then for a bit of work. Nothing like real merc work, fighting and all that. Just observe and lay eyes on different factions." Ash wanted to use them and give in exchange for suppressants and food.

"If you say so, but we can only talk with the head of the movement. We can just use the Ursus tactic of deny all allegations when it leaks that we're working with them." SilverAsh agreed to it, what would they do anyway. Asmodeus enterprise is a private company, they can sell stuff to whoever they want.

"I guess that'd be it for now, we have to focus on creating the hospitals for now. We already lack manpower. Penguin logistics and blacksteel could only help so much. We'd be spreading ourselves too thin." Ash concluded their impromptu meeting with that.

They decided that their main objective would be make mobile hospitals like Rhodes Island and spread it to rural areas which they could poach all the villagers easily. Like stealing candy from a baby.

And then spread originium crystals there to make it look like a catastrophe happened. It's not like the countries are helping the rural villages anyway. They were in the mercy of nature, hoping to whoever deity they pray to that a catastrophe doesn't happen nearby their settlements.

"Adele will get better and she'll live here in this planet in peace. Mark my words, Terra. History will be shaped by me. And if anybody dares to stop me... Then so be it." Ash balled his hand to a fist and the air trembled because of the pressure of his arts.

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With MountainDash's larger company than penguin logistics. Ash was currently manufacturing their mobile hospitals with the help of the Karlan trade at the outskirts of Kjerag.

Not only is Kjerag basically in the middle of nowhere. The low visibility and treacherous weather of the realm of snow makes them invisible to prying eyes. Ash's fiancee could also provide the necessary manpower in the form of Kjerag's engineers and builders in the Silverash family's domain.

The people in Kjerag don't go outside of the country too, it was the best place to secretly build the mobile hospitals.

Ash designed the mobile city to traverse any terrain. Using wheels made of carbon nanotubes so it does not only need air. It was insanely durable, it conforms to any terrain and the chassis of the mobile city to have shock absorbers made out of the valuable material.

It was practically indestructible and they just have to check on it from time to time for maintenance. The platform in which the city would be laid onto were made of carbon fibers and nanotube sheets that made it light.

Giving it a much higher weight limit on what could be built on top. And he splurged his nigh endless money from dominating the agricultural scene for years.

Black steel, like the ones that the assassins in Kazimierz use as arrowheads are used as foundations for buildings. Supported by his miraculous graphite beams that he tirelessly created day and night.

He was consuming the energy from stray originite crystals in no man's land where gigantic constructs of them formed because of catastrophes.

The small mobile cities would be the fastest, most durable, and dangerous mobile cities in the entire world. Because he installed turrets on them that are too heavy to be stolen without being seen. And with the thing being a turret, it was bolted heavily into its post.

It was the GAU-8 Avenger minigun. Shooting 30mm rounds at a maximum rate of fire of 4000 rounds per minute. Bullets with a velocity of mach 3 the size of large beer bottles raining on any group that was foolish enough to try and attack it.

Ash focused on creating materials with his arts and going home to Adele in order to stay with her and comfort the caprinae. "Adele, I'm home." He announced his return without fail.

Adele knew he was most likely the busiest man on Terra, but he was staying with her still and refused to leave her alone. "Ash, don't you have a project with sister in law?"

The caprinae was grateful for his thoughtfulness and decision to stay with her everyday after working. "Yeah, don't worry about it though. It's all progressing as predicted." He sat on a couch and sighed.

Fatigue was of course starting to overwhelm him. With him sacrificing an awful lot for the project by creating materials to construct the city. Even several parts of no man's land nearby Kjerag lost tons of originite crystals that grew on the ground.

Because he consumed their energy for his arts like a madman. "Ash... Brother... I'm fine now." Adele saw the fatigue on his face. And due to knowing his physique more than others, that means he was working harder than even a machine.

The caprinae understood that Ash had supernatural stamina, even if compared to other races that have tons of it. He basically had limitless physical stamina to go on with his day.

"What do you mean Adele?" He squinted his eyes at her and she started to tear up. "I'm fine already. You can't live like this."

"Hah, don't worry your head over this. This won't even last that long, I'd be able to rest lots after the project is done." He patted her head and gave a tired smile.

"No! I'm seeing a pattern! What if you need to work on something again on the future? You're the only one I have left... Please, you can't leave me too." Adele sobbed and he frowned.

"Is that what you're worried about Adele? I'm not that fragile you know?" He sighed and hugged her tightly.

She developed some trauma about almost losing him and the death of their parents. Her anxiety levels always rose when he was away.

"Let's go somewhere." Ash wiped her tears and they went for a walk after calming her down with his arts. "What are we doing in a flower shop?" Adele was confused and Ash just pulled her for a walk.

After travelling a bit, they arrived at the grave of Hans and Emma. Ash put a bouquet of Irises on their graves. Faith, trust, wisdom, hope, and valor. He'll embody them as he promised to make the world a better place for Adele.

"I promised Adele, that I'll change this world. Shape it into my bidding in order for us to live with peaceful lives. And you'll just be able to research what you want without any problems." He looked at her and patted her head.

She didn't speak and just listened to him intently, learning of his motives. "And Hans also made me the man of the house. As a man, there are things that you need to do Adele. Sacrifice is one of them."

Adele had a pained look on her face, apprehension and anxiety visible on her expressions. "That's why, even if I have to burn this world to make it anew. If the world just refuses to change. Then so be it." He squinted his eyes.

She could feel his resolve and it was scalding. "Then I'll help too, in any way that I can." Adele furrowed her brows and wouldn't just put all the burden on him.

"That's a promise. To fight for everything that is beautiful in this world." She gave her pinky and he was surprised that she still remembered it. "It's a promise." He intertwined his pinky with hers.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.