All along, the Granian Lord thought that his people’s creation of the hyper-speed gates would act as a great catalyst in the War, giving them an edge over their enemies, the Ethisians. With the Gates, the Granians and their allies would be able to move large fleets of soldiers and ships all at once instead of spending long amounts of time moving through the void of space. This fact brought a new confidence to the Granian Lord who was assured that he and his people would win the War for sure. There was no way the Ethisians would respond quickly enough to an enemy who’d move in and out in large numbers almost instantly. To his dismay, Lord Grania was wrong. The Ethisians also had the same advantage as the Granians but theirs was more advanced. While the Granians could only achieve hyper-speed with the help of the gates, the Ethisians could do it so effortlessly with their ships alone, having no need for outside influence. Somehow, they managed to infuse their ships with that kind of technology. ’Someone’s leaking information to the enemy.’ "What a glorious sight, isn’t it?" Ely, the High Grade, hovered over the War Zone and watched the battle unfolding before her and everyone else’s eyes. In the vast void of space, Ethisian and Granian ships, along with their allies, were in the middle of a Space Battle. The one thing the Granians didn’t want was a Space War since many of their ships were better suited for transport than they were for full-on combat. Because the Granians didn’t expect the Ethisians to respond so quickly, they had no choice but to instead try and take the battle to the ground. Someway somehow, they had to fight on solid ground if they wanted to win. But how could they? The Ethisians appeared with so many ships all at once that they, the Granians, wouldn’t easily make it to solid ground. "The Granians thought their little Gates would give them an advantage over us," Ely lamented with pride, boasting about her people’s sudden drop on the Granians, "I wonder how baffled they are to see us responding so quickly. "Now look at them pitifully trying to take the battle to solid ground. They’ve become so predictable that we can read their moves." ’This isn’t possible,’ Grania frowned. The longer he looked at the battle, the angrier he became; not at his people but at the fact that someone was praying for their downfall. Someone among them was working hard to see them fail. ’She knew about the Gates...who told her that? Who told them that? What else have the Ethisians found out?.’ ’He’s losing it.’ Skyler noticed Grania’s sudden change in composure, understanding that this sudden surprise wasn’t taken lightly. ’If he’s not careful, he could blow our cover.’ "Isn’t this a glorious sight?" Ely shouted with joy as her hands waved up and down, pointing out the obvious sight before her. Indirectly, the High Grade was taunting the Granian Lord, doing nothing but adding salt to the injury. "Tell me this isn’t a glorious sight. "Our enemies, the Granians, cannot compete with us anymore. Soon, they’ll all be defeated and we’ll be victorious, as it was always meant to be..." While grinning, the High Grade stared at Grania and lifted her fist before saying, "Today, the Granians are going to lose something precious to them, thanks to me and my...abilities." The Ethisian’s arm started to glow as Eneraflux escaped from her body. While doing so, she piloted her ship through the battle and into one of the few planets the remaining Granian fleets took cover on. Her body soon started to glow as her energy filled the ship. Soon, her output became so great that it overrode Skyler’s energy. Before she knew it, Skyler’s Ethisian form was no more, exposing who she truly was—the fifth Human the Granians possessed. "Would you look at that," She smiled while she lunged the ship nose-first into the ground, "I have been blessed with one of the Humans in my presence. Lucky me, I’ll get to kill two Humans in one day." Grania’s cover was blown. The High Grade had known for a while and because of this, she opted to do something completely unreasonable. "Lord Grania, it’s an honor to have you flying with me..." she smiled maliciously while the Granian Lord showed his true form. As he did, their ship was only a few hundred thousand feet away from plummeting into the ground. "...thank you for delivering this human to die. Let’s all go down together." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩 "That’s not happening today," Grania snapped as his own body radiated with energy. With one leap, Grania sped from where he was and slammed himself into Ely’s body. The High Grade didn’t put up a fight, nor did she try defending herself. All she did was smile with her eyes glaring at Skyler. Why? Because the same thing she did to Ace was the same thing she did to Skyler. "Are you certain you want to kill me, Grania," she smiled as Grania gripped her by the neck, "If I die, your two Humans go with me, and you’ll plummet to your death. And don’t bother letting me live, because I’ll kill them either way. "So choose wisely. Stabilize the ship and save your own skin, or die trying to be a false hero? Either way, these two are going to die..." Angered, distressed, and furious, the Granian Lord chose to take his frustration out on the Ethisian. With one hand wrapped around her neck, Grania repeatedly slammed her body into the ship’s windshield until it shattered. The air in the ship was sucked out, forcing the two to hold their breaths while Skyler suffocated. Her body hadn’t fully adapted to the Planet’s atmosphere yet and she wasn’t able to transform yet. "Steady this ship, human," Grania commanded and then jumped out of the ship with Ely held in his grasp, "and get yourself as far away from us as you can." Skyler did as she was told without haste. Having only a few seconds of breath left in her lungs, she quickly stabilized the ship and watched the Granian Lord fall from the sky to his certain death along with the High Grade. ’If she dies...Ace and I will die. What’re you going to do, Lord Grania? What’re...you goi...to...’ The sudden drop in air pressure in the ship eventually overwhelmed Skyler’s human frame, causing her to lose consciousness. With no way of transforming to save her own skin, Skyler was doomed to fall to her death...again.