Givale flinched, in her haste she actually challenged the Hydra. There was no way for her to contest against that kind of power!
"Calm yourself Givale! It's Berserk, working purely on instinct. You beat it in intellect. When I say go, you are to launch yourself into the sky as fast as possible. Got it?!"
'I-I can do that!'
Akiol slid onto her back his body struggling to stay in shape, Stars placed himself onto Akiol's back. Para followed his actions, sitting behind him. His eyes never once left the Hydra, he simplified the situation for Givale. What mattered now was his timing.
He had no room for error, not in the slightest. Between the delay of the Hydra's attack, its rough travel time, the delay of his order and Givale's reaction time. He had to time it all perfectly. If he spoke too early, they would lose the advantage of Givale's quick launch. Giving time for the Hydra to adjust and fire at them. If he was too late. . . death would follow.
He gained an idea of its attack timing in the brief moment of destruction it was causing. He was well aware of Givale's reaction speed through the months of training she went through. So his actions wasn't purely guesswork.
The energy continued to gather at two of the Hydra's mouths. Building up a frightening amount of power. Akiol could feel Givale trembling at the attack, and he placed a hand on her head to calm her.
Every second felt like an eternity. The flow of time slowing as doom approached. Despite the anxious atmosphere, Akiol remained dead calm.
"Now!"
Givale leapt upwards, flapping her wings to rise higher into the air. Just a moment later two beams passed underneath them, destroying the castle beyond the point of repair.
Three of the other heads looked upwards and also began charging. Akiol smiled faintly, "Fly Givale!"
Givale soared across the city, covering distance the players took hours to cross in seconds. This surprised even Akiol, for she had never flown this fast. If he had known, then the risk he took would've been unnecessary.
"Stress changes a person. . . and even Dragons.", he murmured to himself.
Looking downwards he witnessed quite the sight. Players and soldiers who were just enemies were working together. As people came together to escape the calamity. NPCs being escorted to escape routes.
The battle outside the walls came to a grinding halt as well. The Guilds working rapidly to escape and provide assistance.
This gave a bit of insight to just how massive the Hydra was. The tallest building in the city was Perina's Castle, the Hydra's size was larger than that.
This also showed how much damage the Hydra was causing. Each beam was condensed, but nothing stopped its destructions. Deep crevices formed across the city, many people weren't lucky enough to escape. The city was in ruin.
"What exactly caused this to happen?"
Para looked at Akiol in surprise, "Didn't you get the notification for the emergency event?"
Akiol shook his head, "I don't get System Notifications."
"What?"
"Never mind that, what does it say?"
"It's The Great Calamity of Five: Goju, it was awakened through the intense battle in the city."
"Awakened? Why was it here in the first place?"
She shrugged, "Perhaps Perina planned to do something with it once she reached Fourth Star."
"Some plan that was, look what happened to her Mentor."
"What are we supposed to do against something like that?"
Akiol laughed, "Nothing! This is out of our hands. Instead prioritize what you care about."
"And leave people to die?"
"Lend a helping hand if you can, but don't go risking your life for it. Something of this scale is a horrifying nightmare. We're powerless against it."
"Surely there's something!"
"We could try becoming Fourth Stage!"
"Why are you so pessimistic?!"
"Look at it, we're lucky enough that it's not intelligent. The catastrophe this thing is causing is beyond the level of a natural disaster. The city will be flattened in minutes, and those who aren't fast enough will die."
"So we just sit here?"
"We flee, gather those we can and flee. Our only hope is that it isn't fast."
Akiol watched the Hydra and clenched his hands. Despite what he said he wanted to and save everyone. However he was powerless, even more so in his current condition.
He suddenly squinted his eyes, "Oh gods. . ."
Para was alarmed, "What?!"
She turned to see the Hydra putting its heads together. A massive ball of crimson energy forming at their mouths.
Akiol sent a message in the group chat, and closed his eyes.
Akiol: Whatever you do, get out of there. It's a lost cause.
He leaned back, "Givale, get us as far as possible."
'Yeah, I feel that. It's sending chills down my spine.' -Givale
Stars also spoke, 'What a monster.'
Para was out of the loop, "What's happening?"
"The city is as good as gone, as for the area surrounding it. I would assume wasteland."
"What?!"
"Ever wanted to see the damage a nuclear bomb is capable of? There's a high possibility you're about to see it firsthand."
Givale doubled her efforts, the city and Hydra becoming a smaller every moment. Para watched as a red light expanded. It then exploded, destruction following for miles. A powerful shockwave slammed into them, causing Givale to lose balance.
As the light faded it showed a massive crater where the city once was. The Hydra in the middle, walking towards a direction. Flames spread around the crater, burning whatever wasn't destroyed from the shockwave.
Para was in disbelief, "Something of this scale is supposed to be fought?"
Akiol opened his eyes, "Perhaps it was meant to in the future, when players could wield strength like this."
"It's still going, but where?"
"It's going to destroy whatever it comes across. When it might stop is unknown."
"So the fate of this continent?"
"Who knows."
The destruction of the Hydra was unprecedented. As news of its destruction leaked out it stunned many players. The developers themselves were scrambling, for such an event wasn't supposed to happen like this.
Soon enough the Hydra's rampage spread across the west half of the continent. Causing a large scale panic. The restrictions on sea travel were naturally lifted, as the eastern half began to spend resources to save as many people as possible.
The west half became a deadzone, and was soon called just that. In just a week more than half of the cities were destroyed. Countless lives lost.
Damage of this scale scared the eastern half, and soon they called for action to take place.
~ ~ ~
Before the massive explosion. . .
'Hmm?'
A group of people collapsed onto the ground. Above them was a brilliant magic circle, slowly fading.
Kan'na stood up and dusted off her clothes, "We barely made it."
Wrock rubbed his head, "We couldn't save them."
"If it weren't for the fact I had this spell pre-made, we wouldn't have made it either."
Nimin punched the ground, "Damn! If only I was stronger!"
Yielya tapped Nimin's head with her staff, "It's not your fault. Nobody could've seen this coming. It's a miracle we are even alive."
Clenching his fist Nimin attempted to calm himself, "What now?"
A voice suddenly entered everyone's heads, 'What brings you here?'
Kan'na apologized, "Sorry Treylit, it was an emergency."
'I could tell that much, despite me being this far underground I was able to feel a disturbance.'
"A war broke out, a battle to free the western half of the continent from Perina. Once the battle concluded. . . Goju awoke."
'War caused the Great Calamity to awaken?'
"We believe so, it's the only feasible answer currently."
'I assume you came here to escape then?'
"I wouldn't have used the spell if I didn't have to. That Hydra obliterated the whole city and everyone in it."
'. . . This is terrible news.'
"Again, I apologize for intruding so suddenly."
'The circumstances were unavoidable. However, what is it you plan to do from here?'
Nimin spoke up, "I want to aid those that remain. There are people still trapped, forced to face against that monster!"
'Calm yourself young one. I believe word has already spread. It is in times like these that humanity comes together. Emotional action will not get you anywhere.'
"I know—but I can't just stand around!"
'I will leave the escorting to Kan'na, assist above ground.'
"What about you? I can tell you're something else! Maybe powerful enough to face against that monster-"
Kan'na interrupted, "Let's leave Nimin. It would be best if we started early."
"But-"
Wrock placed a hand on his shoulder, "You're still emotional. Let's take a break before thinking alright?"
"I just don't get how you all aren't panicked! Thousands—no, tens of thousands died because of that monster! Yet you all act like nothing bad occurred! As if it was another day!"
"We've been through situations like these. When your emotions take control of you, mistakes will be made. Trust me, I'm just as furious as you are. It's frustrating. I can assure you that right now you're in no position to be making crucial decisions."
"I don't want that monster to keep wandering!"
As Wrock attempted to calm Nimin down Jarvis approached Kan'na, "I'm going to head out first."
She raised an eyebrow, "Something on your mind?"
"I need to speak with someone."
"Alright, I'll teleport you out now."
Jarvis thanked her and was rapidly sent out of the cave. Closing his eyes he took in the fresh air, "Origins. . ."
Whitelash appeared next to him, "It makes my blood boil. The fact that I—a great Sage—am unable to do my job as a protector."
"A world ending catastrophe."
"Precisely."
Rubbing the tiger's fur Jarvis spoke, "I believe that this world is capable of defending itself too. Though I still wish to lend a helping hand."
"You have an idea?"
"An inkling."
"Then we will stand by your side as always."
"Thank you."
Whitelash returned to the book, leaving Jarvis' alone. Taking a breath Jarvis reached into his bag and pulled out a beautiful item. It was shaped like a charm, but made of jade.
It began to glow faintly. Jarvis lifted it up to his face and spoke, "Kiro, I need to speak with you."