Back in the East, the group was also preparing themselves for the upcoming war. Guan Yin had told Elliot every knowledge she knew of, not missing a single detail.

She worked for DuDu, her own brother, for years under the Huoyi disguise. She was just thankful that the man didn't recognize her. The impersonation she made was flawless, after all.

Guan Yin also trusted Elliot with her secret. She knew he wouldn't betray her, and the same goes for Elliot. They have formed a special bond with each other, but it wasn't anything romantic.

At the moment, they were training the soldiers Emperor Kang assigned. These soldiers wouldn't be the ones to attack, since they wouldn't stand a chance. They are being prepared in case an attack would come.

After the soldiers, it was the Avancians' turn to train. Guan Yin and Kaminari decided for them to master cultivating Arcane Points. The more mastery they have, the faster they can regenerate it.

Turns out, Guan Yin herself was well versed with cultivating Arcane Points. She told them that this was the tool she used to rise up the ranks, having two sources of mana for her skills that made her impossible to deal with in the battlefield.

The only setback was the other candidates were from well known families. After learning about Kusa and the other masters, Guan Yin had understood why the tyrannical emperors chose the ones from the higher families.

They think they still led the kingodm with righteousness, telling lies to the people and twisting the truth for their own gain.

"You have skills that are Arcane Points dependent," Guan Yin said, pacing in front of them back and forth. "I have reached the rank of a general and maintained my disguise all this time because my cultivation is impeccable."

"That's very humble of you," Elliot snorted, earning him a narrowed eyes from the woman. "Sorry."

"If you have any plans on even closing in on their power, you have to train," Guan Yin said. "Now, let us commence our training."

To say the least, Guan Yin's methods were much different from Junko's. The former had extensive training and was more strenuous to their bodies.

It was also more effective in regards to results. From a few every couple of minutes, they could gain five Arcane Points every minute. It wouldn't take long for it to fill up and they can use it to their will.

"There comes a time when you'll gain two every ten seconds," Guan Yin said. "That's why I have high endurance and damage output. I'm not afraid to spend magic. My skills are at my disposal."

Elliot was very fond of this new way. He was bummed out because he couldn't get the Arcane Points from Madam Loraine's artifacts, but now he could produce the APs in his own body.

He now had a lot of skills he could use using the Arcane Points. If he could properly execute these, then he could be invincible even when facing difficult opponents like Licht or DuDu.

"You know," Guan Yin said. "Arcane Points respond to the person's inner thoughts. You might not know it, but you have to have white Arcane Points so your skills would be more effective."

"There's two kinds of Arcane Points?" Elliot asked. "How come we only have a single measurement bar for it?"

"Because it's not literally separated," Guan Yin said. "Black Arcane Points gives you only seventy percent effectivity of your skills. The black ones are caused when you're cultivating with a mind filled with hate, despair, wrath, or even lust.

"The other one is White Arcane Points. It will give you one hundred percent effectivity rate for your skills," Guan Yin continued. "Cultivating with a clear mind, and clean intentions will earn you White Arcane Points. It's how simple Arcane Points work."

"You seem to be very knowledgeable," Lance said. "Were you a bookworm that's stuck in the libraries and read every book?"

This earned Lance an elbow from Elliot. The latter knew what Guan Yin had been through, so he had to stop Lance from continuing.

"I was," Guan Yin said with a rather genuine smile. "When I was younger, I was cramped in the libraries of my kingdom. I always love reading even when my fiance said doing is a better learning process."

"Fiance," everyone in the group chorused.

Elliot wanted to stop them but Guan Yin gave him a split second signal that it was okay. She closed her eyes and reminisced her past.

"I was a nerd and he saw through me. We loved each other so much even when we're complete opposites," Guan Yin said, smiling at the vivid memories.

While she was talking about her fiance, she had seemed to let herself be free. It was if she was just another lovesick teenage girl. This was surprising for everyone. They never expected her to ever act like this.

She dropped her strict general attitude and had turned into this. Even Elliot was amused.

"But the rain came on our parade." Just like that, General Guan Yin was back. Her eyes looked lifeless once more and her expression gloomed. "He was killed, and it felt like my life was taken away with him."

To the others, they think her fiance died of a literal death. But for Elliot, he knew that Licht wasn't killed, but was corrupted. All the time that they were betrothed, he was already taken by the darkness.

–

"You know," Elliot started to strike a conversation while they were in the roof. It was him, Guan Yin, Lance, and Kaminari. "I think we're ready. Do you think we're ready?"

It was three days after their training and no one had tried to bring up Guan Yin's fiance ever again. They understood her privacy, and she was glad they did.

"We are," Kaminari replied to Elliot. "Whatever might happen, at least we tried."

"We have the Rogue Maiden to take care of," Guan Yin sighed. "That woman will dictate where the next battle will commence, and I'm afraid that our side won't be as quick to respond as the other."

"Could you tell us more about that woman?" Elliot asked. "All I know is that she's a Rogue Maiden, but I don't know what she's capable of."

"She's known as the Bride of the Sun," Guan Yin said. "Apart from her ability to awaken all the other Maidens, I'm afraid I don't have more information regarding her."

"Bride of the Sun," Elliot muttered, the words lingering in his lips. "I think I know what that is."

The boy took out the book Ilwoo gave him. He turned the pages when a hand suddenly slammed in one of the pages.

"W-Why do you have this?" Kaminari asked, his eyes wide and it looked shocked, as if he just saw a ghost.

"This was given to me by my friend in Avancia," Elliot said. "Why?"

"This book belonged to Emperor Kang's son," Kaminari looked at Elliot. "Kang Ilwoo was his name."

For a moment, everything was silent. They all looked at each other until an explosion broke through their thoughts, waking them up from the trance.

"We've been breached! Evacuate now!"