"So your name is Insdramir, like my older brother?"
"Yes, sir. I am the 250th heir of the Kartnod lineage. After all of you were sealed away, my ancestors remained hidden in the shadows for centuries, waiting for the right moment to free you."
"For generations, we have infiltrated the ranks of the traitorous families to prepare for your liberation, and that moment is finally approaching."
"And tell me, why did you only free us? Why didn't you break all the dimensional sealing circles?"
"Because even if they may not seem like a threat to you, the current families would be difficult for us to defeat in a direct assault. We have very few magic bearers; most of our forces are merely users. We discovered that only a few centuries ago. Compared to the magical power possessed by the Five Families, we are vastly inferior. That is why our plan was to destroy the main seal, and if we failed, we were to free the naval forces and provide whatever assistance we could to help you adapt to this era."
"And what happened?"
"We infiltrated agents into nearly every mansion and base. We planned a coordinated attack so they would be unable to assist the ÓBroim family, allowing us to break the gate sealing the Mirror Dimension. However, we did not know they had prepared an emergency countermeasure. According to our investigations, it is only temporary and lasts less than a year. That is why the next step was to free all of you and help you destroy the traitors among the Five Families."
"You did not perform badly. Your messages saved us time locating strategic points that could aid us, such as that small magical energy source. I still cannot believe this plane has been fragmented. Long ago, it was a single continental mass, and now it has been divided into several planes. But that does not matter. Since they are narrow strips of land, they will be easier to conquer with our vanguard once we bring it into this plane."
Suddenly, the magical alarms began to sound.
"Report what is happening."
"We are under attack. Multiple magical signals are appearing on the scanners."
"Impacts confirmed. Five of our battleships have suffered multiple hits."
"How is that possible? Report immediately!"
"Sir, look at the screen."
Kaisel could hardly believe what appeared on the monitors. Hundreds of thermal signatures mixed with magical energy were appearing across the displays.
"What is all of that? Where are they attacking us from?"
"According to the trajectories, the attacks are coming from the terrestrial plane. We are also detecting a massive concentration of ley lines at coordinates 34°50'5"S and 20°E. It must be another base belonging to the traitorous families."
Cape Agulhas, Kruger Family Base — the southernmost point of Africa.
Lihan Kruger, second son of the family and commander-in-chief of the surface-to-air missile base, supervised everything from the command center.
"Sir, the magical missiles have been launched. Impact in two minutes."
"Very good. Prepare the second volley."
"Direct hits confirmed on fifteen enemy vessels."
"Excellent. Launch the second barrage."
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, in Portland, United States, Michael and Crystal rushed through the facility while reactivating the magical power systems.
"Is it ready yet?" Crystal asked.
"Yes. I just finished entering the final lines of code."
Michael pressed his bracelet and asked:
"Have the crystal tubes been installed?"
The bracelet glowed once again.
"Everything is ready. You may connect it now."
"Press that button," Michael ordered.
The moment it was pressed, the lights came back online.
"We did it!" everyone shouted.
At that same moment, aboard the Infinity's command bridge:
"Sir, all magical energy systems are coming back online. We will regain full firing capability in approximately two minutes, and all ships ready for launch may deploy once you give the order."
"Deploy them immediately."
"All ships, you are cleared for immediate launch. I repeat, all operational ships are authorized to launch immediately."
"Dambusters Squadron ready."
"Green Knights Squadron ready."
One by one, the fighters launched from their hangars. Suddenly, a group of enemy ships was detected approaching from the southwest.
"All ships, multiple enemy contacts approaching rapidly from the southwest. Prepare to intercept."
"Copy that," came the unified response.
While the Green Knights and Dambusters squadrons intercepted the incoming enemy force, the magical generators aboard the destroyers resumed operation.
"Sir, magical energy reserves have reached eighty percent of firing capacity."
"All combat-capable ships, open fire."
The Infinity, the Bismarck, and the Hood unleashed their weapons. Blue beams shot across multiple directions, striking several enemy vessels.
"Report," Admiral Smith said firmly.
"We destroyed five enemy ships, and the remaining vessels are retreating, including the group approaching from the southwest."
"Any casualties?"
"None at the moment, sir, though three of our ships sustained damage."
"Sir, all enemy vessels are retreating."
"Order our ships to return. Conduct a full systems assessment immediately. We must set sail for Mexico as soon as possible."