Somnus gritted his teeth as he took in a breath after cutting down four ants, glancing over to where the three herons he had talked to earlier.

The stench that his brother was complaining about earlier now reached his nose as well, and the mingling of fresh blood and the corrupted aether is making his throat and nose itchy, making him cough every now and then.

By this time, only the knights, the more capable town's watch and Urien were left in their vicinity, fighting off the hoard that kept popping up while the twins held down the entrance to the safe area where the civilians had run off to.

He could also see Letum's shoulders shaking as his coughing got worse, the magic circles around him flickering every time he coughs.

Letting out another short cough, Somnus glared at the herons fixing the spire.

"Hey, when are you going to be done with that thing?" He shouted as Letum shot fire arrows past those herons and burned down the incoming wasps.

"Two minutes, my lord!" One of them nervously responded back. "The old runestone was smashed in and it took a long time to get all the debris out."

Somnus shook his head at that, the itchiness of his throat getting the better of him and he had to cover his mouth to cough.

Annoyed by his situation, he brought up the sequence memory of the fire he had seen used by Urien in the past during their training in his much younger years.

It was a peculiar fire of blue and light violet, with the barest tinge of red.

Somnus couldn't fully remember why Urien showed it to him but the look of disappointment on the knight's face was enough to be etched into his memory.

Replicating the vague lines of that fire, Somnus imbued it into his sword, with the handle starting to get warm under his grip.

Somnus then clicked his tongue as he watched the blade be covered in a semi-transparent aura of the fire he was trying to conjure.

So this is the extent of his abilities in seifon, as he lacked the necessary ether while his brother is an infinite well for it? Talk about a cruel chance of fate between the two of them.

Flicking his sword in irritation, he charged again at the never ending number of ants.

It could have been his imagination but the moment he struck his sword into them, the corrupted ether he expected to assault his senses didn't come and instead the fire that was melting the body part that was attacked was also chasing or trapping down the visible black ether dusts that was coming out of the injury.

Invigorated by this discovery, Somnus continued on being the one man infantry unit that he thought he was.

×××

Letum's brows were knitted into a scowl due to his coughing and the fact that these creatures just keep on coming into the town.

Did these creatures always roamed around populated territories, waiting for a chance to fill their bellies?

When he heard his brother yelling at the herons, Letum grimaced as he pulled more ether from inside of him and aimed at the wasps that had smartly blended into the night sky, away from the lights and fire that highlight the lighter parts of their bodies.

A stronger coughing fit wreaked havoc in his body as the visible black ether dusts fell down from the sky, his body curling forward as he covered his mouth with one hand while he placed the other on his bent leg to keep him from falling over.

The circles around him flicker alongside his coughing, and once slightly recovered, he looked up with a weary expression to see the herons that they were protecting had decreased in number.

One of them looked like a leaf that was plucked out of the branch of a tree and falling downwards, with their hands clutching their throat.

Cursing under his breath, Letum took a quick glance to see if his brother noticed this and wasn't surprised that Somnus had gone on ahead yet again.

He quickly straightened up and adjusted his circles to create a wind cradle to gently catch the falling heron and lay them down somewhere safe.

Exhaling loudly, Letum adjusted his footing to make himself more centered and manipulated the circles into a thick layer in front of him, aiming at the opening in the sky.

Holding back the cough that's threatening his steady posture, he released the newly merged magic circles to the sky and expanded it to the size of the plaza with a horizontal gesture with his left hand, illuminating the night sky and their battlefield. 

With a grimace, Letum made a downward gesture with his right hand and many sharp, white lightning bolts acting as if they were homing devices went out in search of their enemies.

The large wasps struck by those lightning bolts were all falling like flies that met their ends.

At the same time, Letum heard Urien's urgent yell.

"Letum!"

The young prince could see the dark winged knight hurriedly coming to his side as he finally let out the cough he was holding in. He covered his mouth as the coughing continued, his body bent forward.

The most irritating thing in this coughing fit is that sensation in his throat as if something was blocking his airway and making him gasp for air every after cough he makes. His chest also tightens up the more he coughs, driving him to his knees.

Letum had closed his eyes as he continued to struggle with his coughing and shortness of breath, his magic circles breaking and dissipating into thin air as he could no longer focus on maintaining them.

He then sensed the warm hands of the knight on his back and Letum glanced at him with a pained smile.

"I'm…okay…" He wheezed before coughing and doubling over again.

"Shit…you did a reckless thing." Urien muttered under his breath. "The corrupted ether's much thicker now…"

"Haa…I'm…sorry…" Letum said through labored breath as he finally regained some control.

Urien gently pulled him up, his expression unreadable. "I have to get you to Eury…where's that brother of yours?"

Letum nodded towards the general direction where he had last seen his brother and Urien turned to look.

Then his heart dropped and his blood went cold.

Somnus was also on his knees, with his sword stabbed onto the ground for support, the pale blue and light violet flame sputtering weakly around the blade as he was also seized with the same affliction that Letum suffered through.

The ants that somehow survived Letum's attack were now surrounding the weakened prince, ready to pounce on him.

"No…my heir…" Urien said, his mind going blank on what to do.

He couldn't leave Letum but at the same time, he couldn't leave Somnus to die like that, especially when the older prince had finally awakened and showed his potential, albeit slowly.

He was about to drag Letum by the scruff of his shirt to rescue Somnus but stopped mid step when an arrow made of pure light skewered the creatures and at the same time, a sound like a dull gong echoed around them as the barrier was slowly restoring itself around them.

A white winged heron everyone recognized as the Second Prince of the Kingdom slowly approached the plaza, an ancient and elegant bow with no obvious strings on it in one hand.

Following behind him was a pretty young lady who shares a semblance to him, with white wings and pink tips, and wearing a white cloth over her nose and mouth. Right behind her were a few royal knights.

Once Peiren landed two feet away from Somnus, the heron prince shook his head in disappointment.

"Why would you wear yourself out like this, Somnus?"

Somnus coughed, smiling ruefully at him. "Took you long enough to arrive."

Peiren frowned at him. "Did you catch a cold…?"

Somnus chuckled at that, turning his eyes at the young lady next to Peiren.

"It's nice…to see you again…Nyna…" He weakly wheezed as his grip on the sword slackened and he closed his eyes, not caring if he'd fall face first onto the ground.

"H-hey!" Peiren called out, shocked as he moved forward quickly to catch him.