March.

Everybody is coming, and this time, that's without exaggeration. You were only going to bring those who you knew could fight, but then...

"Please let me come too," Yin begs. "An army is not only soldiers. Allow me to assist you. And... I wish to see them. The Flame General must be taken down, and I want to see it happen. Please."

You glance around the courtyard. Your household and Nyllia with her party have gathered in the courtyard. When your eyes meet the templar's, she gives you an assuring smile and nod. You place your hand on Yin's head and stroke your fingers back through her hair. "Of course you can come," you say softly. "You don't need to beg."

"Me too!" Peony suddenly grabs you from behind.

"W-Wait. That's not possible," you say.

"Sure it is." Another voice comes. It's the deep, booming voice that could only come from an oni. Zazra stomps towards the tree first planted here when Peony arrived, wraps her arms around it, and tears it up from the soil. "Now you can. Just stick close to me."

Instead of screaming about her ruined garden, instead the dryad's eyes light up with glee. "I can come with Lord Warren?!"

"Are you sure you want this?" you ask.

Peony nods happily. "Of course I do."

"Then I guess--Eh?" You turn as something sticky starts encapsulating your leg. When you look down, you see the pleading eyes of a strange, purple girl holding onto your body. "Jelly. Let me guess. You want to come too?"

She nods.

"All right! Everyone is coming. I get it... Thanks, everyone. Just be safe, okay?"

Both Bill and Phil approach you. "I admit, I didn't expect much from you way back when we first met," says the former.

"You've grown a lot," says the latter.

The group gathers their things, and then the journey begins. You meet up with the others from Avana coming with you. Mistress Dajy insists on remaining at your side, and despite her beautiful appearance and protective power, you can't help but feel a little uncomfortable beside her. Fang looks eager to meet the girls she hadn't seen before. She's a vigilante, so it makes sense that she'd want to help, though you do feel that part of the reason is the same as why she accepted coming to the beach before.

Zazra follows behind the rest with an entire tree hung over her shoulder, allowing Peony to walk along with her. There won't be a lot of road travel where you're going. Not long after passing through the northern exit of Avana, you march your way through the plains towards the east. In the distance, you see Crystal Lake, and then you proceed into the hills. The goal is to arrive there early, so nobody else has to wait unprotected.

It takes a few days to arrive, but you stop at the point on the map where you've all decided to set up. Zazra plants the tree down into the ground, and the others begin assembling a temporary camp. It's so early in the morning that the sun hasn't even risen over the horizon. Over the period of the day, all will be revealed. Everything will be decided. Tomorrow is the day of attack, and there's no going back now.