Mirage Queen was restless since yesterday.

It had already been a day since the war started and the results were appalling.

While humans and abyssals performed equally in the wars involving high awakeners, a distinct pattern was evident in the wars involving only mid and low awakeners.

Humans were winning.

It's more of an edge. A significant, but not game-changing advantage. However, it was undeniable.

"How far they have come." Mirage Queen stared at her own reflection in the ceiling as it asked 'how far she had come.'

Her 'family' volunteered to be the vanguard for the great mission of abyss rejuvenation.

It'd been more than a hundred years since the abyssals found humans. Mirage Queen grew up from a naive little girl into the queen that oversaw one-eighth of the abyssals.

And as she grew, she watched humans grow.

When she was a low awakener, humans were still barely surviving the abyssals' onslaught.

When she was a mid awakener, humans were barely protecting themselves.

When she became a high awakener, humans were barely contesting them.

When she became the abyss queen, humans were barely matching them.

And now

Humans were barely surpassing them.

With her experience, Mirage Queen was clear humans would far surpass them in a decade or more.

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Humans were a terrifying race due to their insane growth rate.

Mirage Queen wasn't surprised at the war results having known them for so long.

Nor was she restless because of them.

Because the one responsible for her mood was

"Bastard!"

The destruction of another city played in front of Mirage Queen, causing her to gnash her teeth.

Right after the war began, she had been hearing news of the cities' destruction.

Ten cities were destroyed in a single day. More than ten million lives were wiped off.

Even for Mirage Abyss which housed billions of abyssals, this was a blow hard to accept.

As the deaths piled up, even a strong woman like her felt her heartache. "Attacking citizens that have no way of defending? How cowardly are you? Pathetic trash."

*** *** ***

"Guilty about all the blood on your hands?" Varian asked.

Sia was sitting on the couch with her head hanging low as if she had done something wrong. But hearing his question, she shook her head lightly and said in disbelief. "I can't believe I killed so many."

"Most of them are non-combatants. So, the numbers won't make sense, unlike the soldiers you killed." Varian shrugged and poured himself a glass of juice.

"I don't mind staining my hands in blood, but you, didn't you feel conflicted about Ron's situation? Are you fine with joining me in killing so many people? Every city might have someone like Ron." Sia looked at him with a worried expression.

They had several deep conversations and one of them was Varian speaking about his inner conflict regarding Ron.

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Even though he seemed fine, Enigma told Sia that Varian was very skilled in hiding his true emotions, sometimes, even from himself.

So, she asked, to get a reply and check carefully if it was true.

Varian took a breath and shrugged with a helpless smile. "I'm not living in a fairy tale where the friendship between enemy races solves it all. Ron is indeed pitiful. His life is a tragedy."

Sia nodded.

Working hard for a decade for a herb to save his sister. Then dying without ever saving her or even bidding her farewell.

If it was Sia before Roxanne, she would've sympathized with his experience and shed a tear or two. But now, the most she could do was agree that his life was 'tragic'.

"There are more pitiful abyssals than him, the ones that faced even more adversity," Varian said and his eyes flashed with a golden light. "But so what? Should I spare them all because they're pitiful?"

"When abyssals attacked humans and nearly pushed us to extinction, kids starved to deaths, pregnant women gave birth to dead babies, infants died from lack of food, old men and women were killed by their own children."

Varian's face twisted as he recalled the footage he saw from that dark period. It made his stomach churn from how disturbing it was but it also made the conviction in his heart stronger.

"I'm not running a charity. I'm a warrior before anything else. Since abyssals think it's fine to kill the normal people on Pluto, they should expect the same treatment."

Sia grabbed the same juice jar he was drinking and finished it off. Though she tried hard, her lips still curled into a smile.

"Sia."

"Hm?" Sia put down the juice and looked at him.

Varian stepped toward her. Closer and closer.

"W-Wait, the distance?"

Sia was surprised when Varian was only at a bit more than an arm's length.

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With a smile, Varian raised his finger and swiped it in the air in the direction of her lips.

Sia felt a soft sensation pressing on her lips and saw creamy juice appearing on Varian's fingers.

"This is sweeter," Varian remarked after tasting the cream on her lips.

"" Sia stood dumbfounded at the unexpected flirt.

"Any news?" Mirage Queen asked with a frown.

"Shadow Lords have taken up this matter, your majesty. They're using all their connections and resources to dig up the matter. I believe we'll find something soon." The intelligence officer said in a serious voice.

Upon her command, Shadow Order began to look into Kreo. Even though Shadow Order was taking loss after loss under Varian, being able to survive for centuries, it got a deep intelligence network.

"Varian is delaying time." Mirage Queen tapped her forehead. "Or he is trying to give the impression that he is delaying time. Which one is it?"

After her initial rage cooled down, Mirage Queen was able to see this clearly.

If he's delaying time, then going to the battlefield was the right decision.

If he's trying to give the impression that he's delaying, then there's a trap on the battlefield.

If it's any other human, Mirage Queen wouldn't be cautious regarding traps. But Varian

"If he's really related to Devas like Julius announced, then he could create traps that could end my life."

The second day of the war passed and just when Mirage Queen was impatient, her communication stone lit up.

The Seven Shadow Lords had a report.

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A report that would decide the fate of Mars.