When a war is brought to their doorsteps, there is no time for organization.

Lena knows this—has learnt as much—from previous timelines, but it's still jarring to be physically back on the battlefield after her memories had returned. She doesn't feel remotely ready; she's been out of touch since the memory loss, and with its return, the battle instincts come unfocused and detached, as if there's a delay and she still needs time to adjust. The fight with that particular demon had awaken her senses and warned her up for sure, but it is also a wake up call—the students are powerful, but they're still too young and inexperienced. Besides, the fight with the Shadow Syndicate has left her shaking still, there are much more powerful ability users out there who are more physically capable than she is.

When she'd asked in concern about the Shadow Syndicate, Arcana told her that in the vague vision of Time Master's, he's made no mention of this enemy of theirs. She had wanted to point out that what this strange ability user saw had only been through his eyes, and there might be many loopholes about it especially regarding the definition of a final battle. In fact, he did not specify any outcome, which is the most important thing about reading into a future, but Arcana had been decidedly contented regarding it all, and is insistent on having everyone take part in the battle.

His words engrave themselves deeply in some part of her: I just don't want you to have any regrets.

Arcana is certainly looking out for them, but Lena can't help but feel that he isn't telling them something. Everything he conveys is rather ominous, and feels as if they have only once chance at getting things right.

Besides, Lena suspects the headmaster might just be as clueless as them in this supposed vague vision of Time Master's, and he's only trying to help in his best capacity.

Another reason Arcana had wanted them to wait out the battle last evening was to wait and watch things unfold before they take the fields themselves. As much as he wants to believe the S-Class who'd seen a certain future, he must have had his own reservations. He'd probably trusted the man to a certain extent and executed whatever he wished cautiously, but not before he'd had room to observe: other than the demonic threat they're facing, it's easy to forget about the Shadow Syndicate. Before Arcana was confident enough to brush off Lena's concern of this group, he'd also been extremely wary, making sure to wait to see if they will show up, before he is eventually convinced that they might not at all.

Arcana's logic is that they have yet to make an appearance since the chaos, and it's likely they won't, because the demons are a common enemy.

And while Lena wants to remind him that they are the reason for this rift in the first place, she doubts that they will get anything out of the argument. Visions, she realize with her own experience, are omnipotent and too much of a wide overview to understand any other little details. This may very well be the weakness of all visionary abilities, but if she is meant to be there anyway, so be it.

Even without a superpower that has to do with clairvoyance or anything of the sort, Lena knows for a fact that eventually, the Shadow Syndicate will resurface and cross paths with them again. Their paths have been intertwined with something more twisted than fate, and they are bound to clash. The Shadow Syndicate is a loose end and an enemy that Lena and the others will have to deal with eventually, but right now, there are other more pressing concerns.

They have to take their battles one at a time, whether it's against demons or humans. Hence, pushing the Shadow Syndicate to a corner of her mind, she focuses on the current threat in the present.

They arrive at the earliest possible hour—not that any of them had rested easy knowing they are very much needed as soon as possible—and the fighting, it appears, hasn't stopped.

The only synchronized thing Lena has observed from all of the fighting is that Sector Delphinus is now completely evacuated, free from its civilians. A perimeter has been set up in the inner sector of Delphinus, indicating where the battle is the thickest. Other than the open rift above, where several hovercrafts are speeding by and accompanied with quick flashes of abilities and gunfire, there are ongoing assaults on the ground, taking place in almost every other grid between buildings.

In times of chaos, it seems, that humanity is quick to unite. The authorities, who'd been so eager to control everything, is doing that right for once as they organize and scatter manpower throughout the sector. Lena knows for a fact that the threat of demons have been eating away at the city slowly, and she can see the effects of it all now—hardly anyone is free enough for mere patrols and perimeter duty, as almost everyone who is readily available is already engaged in battle somewhere near the rift.

When they'd left Sector Eridanus earlier, there was an influx of arrivals. Even at the early hour, civilians are moving into the safest sector that still accommodates the living in some way. When Andromeda first fell, many had flocked to either Delphinus or Eridanus—two of the other residential areas in the City of Leatia. The people have either been relocated into a temporary residential building or stayed with near relatives, but Lena doesn't want to think of the others who have had no choice in the matter and have resorted to staying in the outskirts of Andromeda or Bellatrix. But with Sector Delphinus now under siege and turned into a battlefield, all that's left is Eridanus.

Lena doesn't know what's worse—the fact that those fleeing had been injured, or that there seems to be a lack of medical care even here on the battlefield, where the Catalysts who are wounded from the demons appear to have no break at all.

No one particularly stops or chides them for trespassing the danger zone either, as Lena had expected how at least some of the patrolling guards would—just like how they'd tried telling her it's dangerous to engage in direct combat as a mere student back when the demon attacked her. In fact, there are hardly any on duty, since most are fending off every single hostile demon in the area, evident by the dark splotches they can now see here and there as they draw closer to the inside of the sector.

Arcana, who'd left them after dinner last evening to rally the others, had certainly been right about two things. One, every single one of them is needed here, whether or not they are a professional Catalyst. As long as you're an ability user, you're useful in this fight, especially since the demons have been attacking restlessly these last few months and bringing down the number of fighters on their side. Two, it's because of the first fact that the authorities can hardly deny help of any form, and can no longer enact their own laws regarding immature ability users since they themselves have their hands tied and would very much appreciate the support.

This might be the first time ever that all abilities come into play without restrictions.

Thinking of her classmates and friends fighting out there restores some of Lena's confidence. It will be hard to fight some demons as they have never fully had the experience before, but she did take down that one demon, and from the looks of it, no one has given up trying to defeat the endless waves of these creatures just yet.

Looking at the snippets of action here and there gets her heart racing in a way she cannot understand, and she hopes that whoever is still fighting out there stays safe on the battlefield.

Celeste had teleported the trio of them all the way from Eridanus since it's way faster than public transport—though Lena doubts any are working at all in this direction—but as they reach the outskirts of Delphinus, they take it slow, not wanting to risk any surprises. Both girls draw their weapons, high on alert, but one look at Caelus tells Lena that he's the opposite. If anything, he looks as if he's been dragged out of bed, relaxed and dragging his feet.

"It reeks," Caelus comments, covering his nose and mouth with his hand. "There's a large density of them."

"And I assume you're here to turn the tides?" Celeste asks, watching his lazy movements. "Feeling cocky, are we?"

"You sound like Roen."

"And you look as if you don't want to be here."

"I don't," Caelus responds, earning a glare from Celeste. Before she can argue, he clarifies, "But both are you are here, and so are Roen and probably Neesha."

"Good." Satisfied, Celeste extends her whip and slashes it to the ground once, powerful enough to send a blast of air and likely enough to cut skin. "Then don't slow me down."

"On your right," Caelus says after a delayed beat without moving.

The whip is lashing at the target before it even gets close, Celeste needing no further explanation or elaboration on his three words. Striking true at the demon that had crept up—crawled with its hind legs, really—quite too close for comfort, the strength she'd put into the slash is enough to pin the demon down and eventually her next slice cuts through its hide and into whatever that makes up a demon. Dark blood bursts from the creature that shrivels away into nothingness, its essence fading.

"Two more," Caelus warns, just as two other similar monstrosity on their four limbs scuttle toward them out in the open.

Lena draws her daggers, but Caelus' gentle touch stills her, his hand on her arm even without taking his eyes off the demons. She looks from him, then to the whip that now extends before them. In one single wipe, it completely cuts the two approaching demons in half, the slash probably even stronger than the first attack that Celeste had took down the ambushing demon with.

From the corner of her eye, she catches Caelus' slow smile as his sister easily took down two demons. More than anything, it's their synergy that is astounding to Lena, wherein Caelus had pointed out the first demon's approach with precision, and his sister who didn't think twice or question him as she follows up, both of them understanding the other.

Her awe doesn't stop there as Lena gapes, pointing at Celeste's brutal weapon. "How much does that thing even weigh?"

"Pray you'll never find out," says Celeste with a wink.

"Please don't ever direct that on me."

"There are more," Caelus declares. "Probably from all your maneuvers."

"Please." Celeste rolls her eyes. "I've hardly used my abilities. But the three of us combined is probably attracting a lot of them, huh?"

"Better scatter," Caelus agrees. To Celeste, he says, "Stay safe. Avoid the northwest, if you can."

She turns, disappearing, only to reappear right before her brother. Being slightly taller than him, she always takes that fact to her advantage by ruffling his hair as she pleases. She doesn't press on why he'd told her to avoid a certain area, and instead says, "You take care, too. Don't be too reckless, all right?"

"I'll see you soon," Caelus says in reply.

"Keep him in check, will you?" Celeste urges Lena, before teleporting a distance away.

Lena can see flashes of her in action as she moves as if she has done this a hundred times before, slashing through demons few blocks away before moving on to the next, her movements like a dance she has perfected. The whip is definitely a good fit for a flexible ability like hers.

As Caelus watches her go, he flips his skateboard and says to Lena, "Want a lift?"

She points, frowning. "How is that going to fit us both?"

In answer, he flips it once more in the air as it extends and transforms entirely to something else. It's no longer just a piece of board on wheels, but a small metallic platform that levitates and defies gravity—much like those hoverboards that she's seen the Catalysts in action use.

She smiles despite herself, though she realizes in a delay that riding that thing will mean that she'll be up high, with nothing to hold on to. She means to say she can't do it, but instead what comes out of her mouth is "But I don't know how to".

Caelus has already stepped on, and he extends a hand to her. Even if she is hesitant to step on something that will defy every law of gravity she knows and literally will be giving in to her fear of heights, the prospect of stepping forward and taking his hand is never easier. So she does, letting him guide her onto the small space behind him as the technology locks her feet in place, the hoverboard just barely enough space for the two of them.

"I am afraid of heights," Lena has to say, but she isn't exactly sure if that's the only reason her heart is beating faster.

"And I am afraid of tight spaces," Caelus admits, surprising her.

With them sharing this small space, however, he doesn't have any room to back away, and she takes that for as much a compromise as she will ever receive from someone as detached as he is.

"I will have to be as close to the rift as possible," he says as he guides her hands around him slowly, as if waiting for permission. When she tightens her hold over him, he continues, "And this area's cleared as Celeste moves inward. I'll take you nearer to the battlefield. Are you ready?"

She knows he isn't just asking about the fact that they're just about to take off to the skies.

There's no preparing for anything that will lie ahead of them, but this is as much of a heads up they will ever get.

So she nods, losing her words as the ground is slowly giving out below them, the engines built within the hoverboard firing up.

"Then you'd better hold on," is his only warning before they take off.

If Caelus had noticed her clutching tighter to him, he doesn't make any mention of it except the obvious tension in his body. Instead, he begins to ease up only after they've traveled in speed through a few blocks, relaxing into her embrace. When Lena eventually gets the courage to open her tightly shut eyes from the moment they took off from the ground, she lets out a breath as she takes in the view from above.

Sector Delphinus is in shatters and smoke as she spots a bit of action everywhere. Demons are on the loose, sometimes a horde of them in a corner which takes more than two ability users to hold them off. While it's difficult to see from here, she can almost make out the different people who have come together to fend off this wave of demons—both from the rift and the ones that are already in their world which are affected by the rift. Some are regular patrol guards, in their white uniform Lena has come to know so well, and are their own team as they take certain formations to regain territory. They may not be ability users, but they do soldier through with their weapons. Then there are the Catalysts that Lena has always seen in action, moving faster than ever with their various abilities and gear, some of them taking the fight on top of buildings, where some of the lesser demons have gotten past the first line of defense at the rift—one quick glance up, and the darkness above her is being held by the stronger professionals, and she can see flashes of power being thrown in the fray, reminding her of the battle in the sky on her very first day of her envelopes in Arcane Academy. How far she's come, to be part of the battle today. Finally, she sees some younger individuals, moving nimbly across intersections and fighting with everything they've got, some of them still in their unique academy uniforms that she can make out from all the way above the buildings.

"Looks like they need help there," Caelus points out to where a group of soldiers are having trouble with a monster that has too many legs for Lena's liking. It's huge, and it occupies the entire pathway between two blocks of building. He keeps one hand over her arms as they descend, and asks, "Can you handle it?"

Be it her fear of heights from hovering in the air or the nerves right before a battle in which she is helpless in the outcome of, the adrenaline has seem to kick in for real, and she feels a different kind of energy right now. She takes a deep breath to reassure herself that they are all in this together, and takes pride in the fact that whatever happens, she'll at least be fighting her last with everyone she's come to care about across the multiple worlds they have been through together. Last but not least, she reminds herself that she has one last fail safe and a trump card to rewind everything should things go wrong—even if it is the very last thing she should be considering.

Her power over time and dimensions will not help her here.

"Yes," Lena answers, realizing that Caelus has turned to look at her. "Please don't do anything too reckless while I'm gone."

He gives her the ghost of a smile. "I'll see you soon."

He makes to drop lower to the ground, but with the massive size of the spider-like demon in the way, Lena thinks better of it. Gathering her courage before she regrets it, she says, "You can stop over there."

They only swoop down as low as a three-story high building, right above the raging demon which had forced a group of the soldiers to back off. One of its long limbs is moving to crush one of the injured men, and Lena shifts her position.

Caelus doesn't doubt her, or asks if she's sure, which she is grateful for. He makes the hoverboard tip in an angle perfect for her to jump, and with one last squeeze of their hands, she lets go.

The rush of air and her gravity greets Lena as she feels as though she is flying, but not for long. She reorients herself and flips, making sure she has the angle right as she readies one throwing dagger. She's never felt freer as she does now, hurtling toward the creature at a horrifying speed, realizing that she does not fear falling as much as she does being on a high ground.

Aiming true, she throws the dagger at one of the demon's larger red eyes, and takes the opportunity to release two of her glass shards from her pouch's collection. When she eventually lands, she stomachs a wince as she brings her feet down on the demon's back, rolling and finding purchase on its body with another dagger of hers, slicing its flesh clean through. Before it can flip her off with its wild, frantic movements from the pain, she flicks one of her shards, disappearing in it.

When she reappears, she's now successfully back on the ground, using one of the building's broken exterior as a gateway. The soldiers startle to see her, but she notices the relief on some of their faces as she makes sure to cut through one of the demon's legs. It doesn't do much, her dagger against a demon of this size, but it does force the creature off balance, and with it, they free the man who was seconds from being a victim.

"Are you a Catalyst?" one of the soldiers who'd approached her in awe asks.

"No," she says, her focus not wavering from the demon, which is now regaining its composure, poised to strike again. "But I'm here to fight."