After they finished breakfast, Aoi walked out to the backyard. Agares and Milenia followed behind her. That place was the only suitable spot for Aoi to undergo her evolution.

"I'm ready."

"Neutralize all your abilities," Milenia instructed. Aoi nodded.

She closed her eyes, and a bright light glowed from her body. The teenage girl form disappeared, replaced by a white fox the size of a cat. Aoi stood in the center of Milenia's backyard, her two tails swaying—showing how happy she was.

"A light-affinity gem. Am I right?" Agares asked.

"Right," Aoi replied.

Agares tapped his magic pouch and pulled out a rare-quality light gem. He floated the gem—called Shard of Dawn—over to Aoi. She caught it mid-air and bit down on it with her mouth.

Still, before she could evolve, Aoi needed to gain enough EXP to level up—at least to level 20. Agares tapped his pouch again and summoned 25 EXP Elixirs, letting them float in the air above Aoi.

Using his energy manipulation, Agares opened all the elixirs and allowed Aoi to absorb them one by one.

Aoi enjoyed every second, taking in the EXP from each high-grade elixir. One high/rare EXP Elixir contained around 2,500 EXP—and with her current EXP, that was more than enough.

Through Agares' vision, he saw Aoi's HP bar increasing, and the small number beneath her avatar rising—a sign she was leveling up multiple times as she absorbed the elixirs.

She stopped when she saw the 3rd Evolution Panel available—meaning she had reached level 20. Agares confirmed it; she had reached level 20 after consuming 10 elixirs.

He retrieved the remaining 15 elixirs and saved them for later. Would he use them for himself? No—the amount was too small to boost his level.

It was much more efficient to give them to Aoi since the EXP range between levels for her wasn't as wide.

"My third evolution is ready."

"Go for it," Agares said.

Aoi nodded. She activated her personal system and started the evolution process herself. She and the Shard of Dawn floated inside a white energy vortex made from her power. The swirl was much larger than before but didn't pose any danger to anyone nearby.

The Shard of Dawn floated in front of her. The light affinity energy inside it was drawn out and absorbed into Aoi's body, forming a golden egg-like shell that wrapped around her completely.

Though Aoi had entered an incubation phase for evolution, the white-and-gold vortex kept swirling around the golden egg, which hovered midair. Milenia smiled—Aoi's evolution was going smoothly.

In front of Agares, a system panel appeared as a result of the evolution. He received it because he was Aoi's master.

[Pet Evolve Duration:]

[00:05:59:12]

"This one's taking way longer than her second evolution," Agares said.

"Will Aoi be okay?" he asked Milenia.

"Of course. Early evolutions don't risk her life. But I'm not so sure about the higher ones."

"Higher evolutions? You mean the 8th or 9th tails?" Agares asked. Milenia nodded.

"Yes. Usually, when a pet evolves to its perfect form, they have to pass a life-or-death trial."

"If they succeed, they become perfect. If they fail, evolution fails too."

"I see… Looks like I'll have to start preparing for that ahead of time," Agares said.

"It's too early to start worrying about Aoi's higher evolutions. Let's wait until this one finishes first."

Agares nodded. He summoned another clone of himself and left it in the backyard. Its job was simple—guard Aoi during her evolution and make sure no one disturbed her. The clone nodded silently.

Milenia and Agares went back inside, heading to the second floor to be with Aizen. While there, Agares began telling her everything that had happened to him from floor 81 to 85.

Agares talked; Milenia listened. Every now and then, she responded with expressions of awe. She didn't expect that the floors beyond 80 were trials for saber knights.

Realizing that, Milenia understood Agares' true goal. It was Lumen Astra—the legendary sword said to be hidden on the 100th floor, meant only for the Divine Saber.

Agares needed to collect the Lumen Astra Fragments so he could enter the Saber Hall and claim the sword. No one in the world could claim Lumen Astra—except him.

"If a Divine Saber reappears, the Knight's Throne will be affected."

"Knight's Throne?" Agares asked.

"It's a sacred place for all hero-class knights. It holds seven special chambers, each representing a Divine Knight."

"When someone becomes a recognized Divine Knight, their sigil appears in the Knight's Throne."

"As long as the sigil stays active, it means they're still alive."

"I see…"

Milenia cleared her throat. She explained that it had been ages—maybe even hundreds of years—since the Saber sigil had last lit up in the Knight's Throne.

"If you claim Lumen Astra, that means they—"

"You're right," Agares interrupted.

"They'll know I'm still alive."

He fell silent for a moment, lying down on the bed next to Aizen. His eyes stared up at the ceiling above.

If that moment came, Agares was ready for the consequences. But he wasn't ready if his reappearance put the city—or Milenia—in danger.

That's because everyone knew his last trace was inside this dungeon. All eyes would turn toward Midgard.

"If I pull that sword out, the Saber Sigil will react and cause an uproar across the world. The Grand Empire and the four other kingdoms would likely join forces and invade this place."

"Most likely to capture me… or in the worst-case scenario, hold the city hostage."

"I can't let you and Aizen be in danger," Agares said.

Milenia was deeply touched. She never imagined Agares would think of something like that. She always knew his status was dangerous, but she had no other choice.

If Agares wanted revenge, then the only path forward was to become a Divine Saber. That was a destiny he could no longer avoid.

"Don't worry about the city. I—and all the townspeople—will be fine."

"When you reach Divine Saber status, you'll gain immense power and elevate your stage. That alone is enough to make you unbeatable," Milenia said.

Agares let out a quiet breath. He still hadn't found a clear way to protect the city. But then he remembered what Lo had said earlier—about dungeon authority.

He smiled, then chuckled softly as he realized he might have found a definite way to protect the city… and protect Milenia and Aizen too.

The key was with Lo and the entire dungeon system.

Milenia glanced at him when he chuckled for no reason. She gently soothed Aizen, who was whimpering quietly and then resumed nursing.

"What's so funny?" Milenia asked.

"Seems like Lo might be the only one who can save you all."

"Lo?"

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