A/N: Hello, I am back. Hopefully I've stopped procrastinating and I'll actually get more writing in to keep my promise of finishing these novels *the new date I'm aiming for is the end of August* XD

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has voted on Fox of Greed in the past few weeks and added my fanfiction into their reading lists. Like, no joke, guys, it's making me motivated to get back on the horse and write more. I am so insanely glad that you are all loving the story so much so far and I want to thank you for all your comments and your interactions within this novel ^-^

THANK YOU!!! <3

Now a quick note about the chapter, I would love all feedback on CH58 because I found it hard to write this one. Mainly because Estra isn't the main focus since I'm following the King vs Helbram battle. I feel like I haven't been able to get into Estra's head much for this one and it lacks the same flow as the others. I am not kidding, I love all feedback - lay on the criticism - and would appreciate the thoughts of my wonderful readers :) Oh and the chapters are also longer from this point onwards, a warning in advance (can't remember if I already gave that warning or not lol)

Okay, enough talking from me! Read on to see what occurs::::: 

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Emerald and jade swirled on the surface of a transparent sphere. The roots batted uselessly against it. A high pitched sound keened inside the dome, a refreshingly cold air settling on my skin. The roots fell silent and the dust they raised obscured Helbram.

The ground around the sphere was a crater and I whistled at the damage those roots had done. Would I have been able to hold that off with firework? Probably at the expense of my own life. King lay on the ground, raising himself slowly. He looked like I felt.

A pang of pain; I pressed my hand against my side, my hand coming away wet with blood. Hissing, I applied full pressure with my palm to staunch the flow, at least until my healing kicked in. I had enough mana stored after using Kitsune for the firework shield, but I loathed to use it to advance the healing, not while Helbram still kicked.

A soft whisper tickled my ear and I whipped around, seeing no one. Leraj was on his backside, head craned back; Guila hugged Ziel tight; Helbram held his hand to his own wound on his side, the armour obliterated. The whisper sang again, coming from all around me.

It was old, ancient, but childish and tinkling like bells on the wind. The others didn't react at all to it and I realised I was the only one who could hear it. I dared not open my mouth to answer the sounds in case the others thought I'd been hit too many times on the head.

The dust settled. Helbram's face was twisted with shock and rage – very pleasing to the eye. He spoke but the words didn't reach; he no doubt saw me laughing though.

The whisper reached a crescendo, swelling with power. It took my breath away and subsequently replaced it. Beneath my hand, the gash restitched, faster than I thought possible, bending me sideways with the itch.

Then I stood ramrod straight – practically jolting on the spot – supercharged.

Every eye turned to me. I grinned, flames dancing down my arms, vibrant, chilling power in my veins once again. The aches disappeared, my wounds healed, the mana I thought would take hours to replenish overflowing in a single second. I felt stronger than ever before. Power hummed like lightning zings through my body.

The others were all admiring their own recovery, peeling their tired bodies off the ground. I bounded over to Leraj, light as a feather, quick as an arrow. He tilted his head up to me and let me haul him off the ground. I tugged too hard though and sent us both stumbling. His hands wrapped around my waist to stop us both careening onto the ground.

"How do you feel?" I questioned. He didn't look any different, still weary-eyed, but he was healed.

"Just the usual," he said, a twinkle in his eye. He opened his mouth to say more but stopped himself.

"What?" I said with a breathless laugh. With a start, I realised our position and slid out of his embrace.

He shook his head with his own laugh. "You'll just hit me if I say it." I pointed finger guns at him in response.

"You're practically glowing," Howzer muttered, looking me over with a curious, thoughtful gaze. I twirled and bowed for him. "How the hell do you look so well rested and healed compared to the rest of us?"

Guila dusted off Ziel, who stared at me with wide eyes. "You look like you never even fought."

"Absolutely no idea," I said, rolling my shoulders, stretching side to side. Now that I focused on them, the others didn't look reinvigorated. If anything, all that happened was that they were healed of their ailments. "Maybe it's because I had Kitsune still functioning when the dome appeared. It probably absorbed some of the power behind the attack." That was a valid enough reason; but my gut told me this was not anything I could conjure or absorb.

That whispering voice rose to mind. Whatever or whoever it had been, this had been their doing. Perhaps the others didn't receive the same benefits because they couldn't hear it.

"Estra, are you okay?"

I spun round to face Diane. "I'm more than okay! My veins feel like they're filled with molten fire and I'm about ready to burst out of skin." I stopped bouncing on the spot and took a deep breath. "What about you? How do you feel?" I asked, serious again.

"I'm feeling a lot better. See?" She pointed to her stomach and the hole in her bodysuit. The skin was smoothed over. "I'm more worried about King though."

We all craned our heads up to see the fairy face-off. They were unmoving at opposite ends.

"I think the battle will end soon," I mumbled. King's face was blank; Helbram practically shook with the ferocity of his rage. "All we can do is wait."

"Do you think King can win?" Guila questioned.

"Of course," I snapped, making her flinch. "You've seen what he can do, and what he just did for us. I have no doubt in my mind that King can best Helbram."

Purple beads of power appeared in the sky, zeroing in on Helbram, enveloping him until he absorbed it. Power from an unknown source; I worried my bottom lip just as the protective sphere condensed above Diane's head into a pulsating green spark.

Whirling daggers appeared around the fairy's head as he chanted, "Here it comes," over and over in a sing song voice and he sent them careening towards King. Chastiefol was by his side in an instant, a spinning shield.

Blasts rang out, dust filling the air in a rough semicircle around our positions. The immense power radiating off both of them had the fine hairs on my neck prickling with a fight or flight response. Our position was dangerous in our states but there really was nowhere else to go.

"Come on, King," muttered Howzer, fist clenched and bouncing in the air in support of the sin. That raised a small smile from me.

Back and forth blade and spear sawed at each other, sparks cascading down on us. The air filled with clangs, King deflecting Helbram's blade with an ease born of practice against the foe. My eyes widened a fraction – whoever Helbram was to King, he'd been prominent in his life, enough for King to learn the nature of his attacks.

A particularly heavy swing left Helbram struggling to hold Chastiefol off.

Straining, he said, "I won't let myself lose, do you hear me?" With a grunt, he threw Chastiefol off and launched the whirling knives again. King barely even shifted, swiping his hand through the air, Chastiefol obedient and unwavering as it knocked them away.

The houses around us exploded shingles and brick; Leraj and I deflected the larger chunks and Diane protected the others with an arm over them.

"We need to find shelter!" I shouted, trying to usher everyone back, when the explosions...stopped. I spun round.

Helbram froze in the air, arms outstretched. His face stilled. King had one hand outstretched, bloody and bruised. I noted a lack of magic power coming from Helbram and relaxed. King had done it.

A gush of red poured out of a gash in Helbram's shoulder and, in the silence, he fell out of the sky and landed with a thud not far from us. Seeing his lifeless body, I couldn't lie and say I felt nothing. That fairy, he obviously meant something to King, as he landed beside Helbram.

Howzer moved towards King but I grabbed his forearm and shook my head. We watched on wordlessly, the sadness of the scene – King bending down to grab a helm from the ground and kneeling before Helbram – curdling in my gut.

Now that everything was quiet, I could hear what they were saying.

"Hey, it's been a long time, hasn't it, Harlequin?" Helbram whispered, the struggle with the words audible. "You know that helmet was actually supposed to be a present for you. Isn't that funny? ...There was something about it that... I kind of... thought you'd like... So I got it...from a human. But... what an idiot I was. One good look at it and anyone... would tell you... it's lame."

"Yeah, you're right," King said, tears in his voice. "In the end, you really are such an idiot."

My skin ran hot and cold all over and I turned away from the scene. I realised when King made his way to us that I was clutching the fabric of my top in a fist in the centre of my breastbone. I let go the same time as I exhaled, shaking off the cloak sadness draped over me.

"You good?" Leraj asked, laying a hand on my upper arm and giving it a gentle squeeze.

I only managed to nod my head.

"I really am sorry, Diane, for making you go through all that alone." King's voice had returned to normal as he hovered before Diane's face.

"It wasn't your fault. Thanks, King."

"I was there too, you know," I muttered under my breath, only slightly miffed. Leraj chuckled beside me.

"You can just leave the rest to me," replied King.

"Harlequin," Diane said, which made King stiffen and his eyes widen. "The name sounds so familiar, I wonder why. Who was it? I can't remember."

"It was a dream." His smile though, it was anything but happy. "I bet it was from a dream you had."

Okay, I was done trying to decipher everyone's relationships. As much as it pained me not to ask, I zipped my lips and turned away from King. When this war was over, I'd grill everyone until they confessed everything.

"How are you holding up, Guila and Ziel?" I asked, kneeling beside her and – hesitantly – placing a hand on her shoulder.

"My brother and I are fine, Estra. Thanks for asking," she said, hugging Ziel tight and kissing his forehead. She avoided my eyes though when she added, "Listen, about how I treated you back in Vaizel..."

I held up my hand then stood, extending it out to help her up from the ground. Ziel clutched her leg tightly, peering up at me with inquisitive eyes. "I haven't forgotten. We can worry about that later thought. Right now, I'm just glad to see you two and Howzer safe after what you did for Diane. You have my thanks."

"And you have ours, Estra and Leraj. If you didn't show up when you did, who knows what would have happened," Howzer said. "But I don't understand something. No matter how I look at it, you guys aren't trying to overthrow the kingdom. So why did you suddenly show up at the capital?"

"We came here to rescue Princess Elizabeth," I answered. "She's been abducted."

"Abducted?! Are you saying that Elizabeth's actually here right now?"

"She's somewhere in Liones, our best bet is at the castle," King said. "Estra, what happened to the others?"

I sheathed my blade and wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Well, Gowther is out," I said, jerking a thumb at the Sin, unsure if he was actually dead though. "Ban and Meliodas were headed to the castle when we split. They told me to hang around for you guys and find Leraj for back-up."

"What's our plan then?" Leraj asked.

"We head for the Captain," Diane said matter-of-factly. "He's sure to know where Elizabeth is by now."

Prickles on my skin. "Probably best if we avoid that direction then," I said, pointing off into the distance. "Can you guys feel it?"

An overwhelming pulse of strange energy surged. It was not the same as the one we'd sensed outside the castle walls; it felt darker, tainted. I told the others of the power from when we first arrived but this was on a different level.

Part of me wanted to find out what or who it was – curiosity never killed any foxes – but the small, responsible part of me warned that I was the only one who seemed to have mana restored, therefore I was the strongest of the lot at this particular time. I had a duty to take care of them.

"Yeah. Whoever is over there, they're strong," Diane muttered, straining her eyes to see the distance. She didn't mention the strangeness of the power. "I can't see past all the buildings but it has to be the Captain."

"Or the Captain is not far behind," I added. I wasn't so sure on it being him but if there was an insanely strong magic source, the chances of Meliodas and Ban being there was higher than 50%. And if it was an insanely strong enemy, they would need backup.

"What's that?" Ziel asked and all heads turned to the thundercloud growing in size in the distance.

A sudden bolt of lightning streaked out, striking the ground with such force that the crackle behind it reached our ears.

"That cannot be good," I said in the silence that followed. Time to take control. "Okay, time to move out. Get Gowther and Jericho. King and Leraj, keep an eye out for any reinforcements." I clapped my hands to get oomph into them as they straightened, stretched and followed my commands.

"Where are we headed?" King asked, floating higher and peering out over the buildings.

"We'll head straight for the castle. I don't want to walk into whatever that is," I waved a hand in the direction of continual lightning strikes that just happened to be in front of the castle – yay us, "but if we take a longer route to the castle, the chances of running into more knights is high. We don't have the strength to fight fresh knights without reinforcements."

Guila hiked Jericho onto her back, Ziel moving away and recovering her lance. He held it awkwardly but the determined frown on his face was nothing to laugh at. Howzer carried Gowther in a similar fashion.

"That has to be Guilthunder's doing, I just know it!" Diane said. "He's gotta be fighting the Captain, right?"

"Yeah, guess so," said King.

"I don't sense Ban's power," piped a voice.