Before Lunaria knew it, she had fallen into a deep dark hole of pure despair.
Freefalling downwards endlessly, the dot that is the light at the exit of the hole became smaller and smaller. A draft of cold wind came from under her, blasting right at her defenseless self.
Lunaria's first instinct was to spread her wings to stop herself from falling. It wasn't until a few seconds of struggling passed that she realized she didn't even have wings to begin with. Not even her tail was present, needless to say the rest of her draconic features.
Her next response was to shout. She needed to say something, anything.
Once again, nothing could be heard. Was it because she was falling at a rate that she was unable to hear even herself or the wind blowing from below that restricted her voice from being heard? Lunaria didn't know. All that she could remember was blacking out in front of a purple glow.
The fact that she couldn't see anything around her, do anything or say anything, made her alarmed. Lunaria could feel her heart thumping violently in sheer agony over her helplessness. No matter what she tried to do, nothing worked at stopping the fall. She couldn't even see or feel the width of the hole she was falling into, only accompanied by endless darkness.
Just as she was about to burst to tears, her body suddenly stopped mid-air, creating a jerking motion that caught her off guard. She felt like she was floating, but at the same time finding an invisible solid beneath her. The floor itself wasn't a solid floor. It was like walking on air, yet she couldn't tell what it was exactly she was stepping on.
The first thing she did now that she had a platform to stand on was touch herself. She wanted to confirm her own identity, that she was Lunaria, a dragonkin of Aravel. While her sense of touch had not faded yet, it was fair to say that it was the only thing left of her now that her sight was robbed by the darkness and her ears deafened by the loud silence.
Taking a few deep breathes to calm herself down, she tried speaking once again to no avail. Nothing could be heard, nor did anything respond to her empty words.
Lunaria looked around desperately, as if searching for something. Her worries were answered when a flash of light zoomed past her iris, causing her to have a delayed reaction to instinctively look at the direction where the light was headed to. Her legs carried her along, wanting to not be left alone in the cold darkness.
A short sprint was all it took for Lunaria to arrive at the next zone. When she realized, she was already in what looked to be a hastily constructed dirt tunnel that was barely kept lit by the dying wooden torches kept hanging on the side of the wall. Lunaria hesitated, unsure of whether or not to follow on. Looking back at the empty space of black, she took her chances with the tunnel.
The tunnel gradually took shape as she continued traversing cautiously down the single straight path ahead. At first, everything looked blurry to her with distorted space, but now it became the 'reality' that Lunaria was used to seeing. The distorted lines stabilized, and the flickering lights became more prevalent. Lunaria's transition from a dark place to an area with light caused her to wince since her eyes still weren't used to the light yet.
Gradually, sound returned to her as well. She could hear the sound of dirt crunching under her feet with each step she took, which was a relief as that meant she hadn't gone deaf. Still, the unease did not settle within her, for she did not know where she was yet or how she got there.
A few more minutes of walking later, Lunaria found an opening up ahead. She was still underground, wherever she was, which meant the opening either had a chance to lead up to the surface or a split path. She could not even harness her magic powers right now, leaving her in a vulnerable state should an enemy appear.
Turning to the opening, Lunaria realized there was a door that blocked her way in. The reason she couldn't see the door earlier was due to the design of the passageway itself, but it really wasn't that big a deal. She leaned her head carefully against the wood, trying to use her sense of hearing to listen for signs of life inside. Once she confirmed that it was silent other than the crackling sound of the fireplace, she turned the handle of the door and pushed it inwards.
The sight that greeted her eyes could only be described as horrifying, like it came out of a nightmare.
What that Lunaria thought to be a mysterious place struck a strange sense of familiarity with her. The lingering feeling that kept bugging her was finally answered with her own confirmation upon taking a look at the inside view of the room.
It wasn't just anyone's horror story: it was both Lunaria's nightmare and reality.
- - - - -
When the light beam struck, Lunatea raised her hand in an attempt to help cast a barrier to protect them from the attack. Sakuya and some of the guards cast their magic at the same time as Lunatea did while Lucentia got ready to warp them away. The problem with warping was it required everyone touching Lucentia to get transported due to the nature of the spell. Right now, Lunaria was the only one who was in contact with her as her limp body was being huddled tightly by Lucentia.
Whatever that happened next was unknown to everyone. Only the roaring sound akin to that of a tidal wave charging at them rang in their ears accompanied with a brilliant flash, forcing everyone to close their eyes. In that instant, impact was made.
The next thing that could be heard was a huge explosion of magical force colliding with each other. One would assume for it to be the sound of the barrier making the last of its effort to keep the beam at bay before shattering, if not for the gut-wrenching roar right after the explosion.
Immediately, everyone opened their eyes to see what the source of such monstrous cry was from.
What that greeted them wasn't a desolated wasteland nor heaven. All they could see was a huge being towering over them, turning the already dark surroundings even darker from its body blocking any form of light around them. Each movement from the being caused the surroundings to tremble from the sheer force that it was exerting to even more in the first place.
The view was vastly different from the sky. Kaze, who was being held on by Luniel, widened his eyes at the sight in front of him. Even if he hadn't seen one up close before, it was still enough based on the general outline that he knew what it was. Heck, anyone who grew up hearing stories and tales of the past could tell at once what creature suddenly sprouted out of nowhere.
"Is that… a dragon?"
"… It's Lunaria-nee…"
"… Eh?"
Luniel's face turned pale upon stating the identity of the white dragon that showed up all of a sudden. Rather than the usual state of admiration she had towards Lunaria, only fear and intimidation was being shown on her face instead. Kaze didn't know the reason for it, but why he felt terrified was attributed more towards the fact that a dragon showed up without a warning.
The two devils emerged from within the smoke ball that had formed as a result of the collision of the beam with Lunaria. From the looks of it, they appeared to be quite frazzled with the appearance of a dragon as well.
"What the heck?" The devil without his mask commented, dusting himself off while floating mid-air. "A dragon?"
"Don't tell me you didn't expect one of them to turn into a dragon!? This was why I said it was too risky to drag on!" The other hollered at his partner, mad at the turn of events.
Luniel swooped in underneath Lunaria to where her sisters were. She quickly spotted Lunatea and Lucentia huddled up together with some of the soldiers and Rena and Shoko. Manoeuvring past the wreckage caused by both the beam and Lunaria transforming, the group met up with Kaze once again.
"Kaze!" Rena gasped when she saw him and Luniel together. "You're fine!"
"Yes, barely," Kaze hugged her tightly, relieved that she was okay. "What happened?"
"W-We don't know either," Shoko nervously stated. "One second we were trying to cast a barrier, and the next…"
They glanced up at the monster above them. Shoko and Rena both knew that this was definitely Lunaria, since they had seen their friend in dragon form before. After knowing Lunaria for so long, it would be weird if they didn't. However, what that caught them off guard was the fact that Lunaria transformed right now.
"Lucentia, Lunatea," Kaze quickly went to the dragonkin princesses' side. "What happened just now?"
The two dragonkins looked stumped, a few of their guards reacting in such a manner too. It took Kaze a few tries to get them to respond, even when he was right next to them.
"A-Ah, Kaze," Lunatea looked at him shakily. "Sorry. I don't think I will be able to answer you right now-"
Lunaria let out a loud cry for a second time, her draconic roar even more prevalent now that Kaze was directly beneath her. Shielding his ears from the pain of the sound tremor, the rest had a similar reaction to the aggressive cry.
Energy in the form of magic could be seen condensing where Lunaria's mouth was. As she opened her jaw, a ball of pink was seen gathering rapidly, forming from what looked to be a tiny speck to the diameter of a tree.
"Take cover!!"
The energy was released once it was ready, Lunaria letting loose without hesitation at the two devil figures still arguing.
When they realized what was coming, the two dodged immediately, albeit a little too close for comfort. Thankfully they were not on the ground, otherwise the blast from Lunaria would have demolished the city of Tristania that stood in her path.
From the ground, the blast of energy was no joke. The magnitude and force of it was enough for everyone below Lunaria to feel the air compressing around them from how rapidly magic energy was taken in by Lunaria. Following that, the pressure in the air decreased, creating a sort of whirlpool of suction all around them from the air in the surrounding needing to quickly replenish the empty space that was left. If they were not careful, their bodies could potentially get swooped up.
Lunaria's dragon form did not stop there. Upon realizing she missed, she cancelled the magic and gathered enough for a second as soon as possible. This created panic with the group below, for Lunaria was also moving about, meaning that they could be stomped by her if they were not careful.
"Does Lunaria not know that we are beneath her?!" Kaze asked in a panic.
"I don't think so!" Lunatea shouted back, grabbing him by the shoulder. "If she was, she would know to not transform!"
At once, they teleported from under Lunaria to a safe zone further away. Since Lunatea was unable to get everyone nearby, they had been split up into groups unintentionally. With Lucentia and Luniel being capable of teleportation themselves, they were able to help the others escape. Kaze, for one, had grouped up with Lunatea and two other dragonkin soldiers.
"Come on, we got to move!" Lunatea dragged him along, not stopping to see Lunaria rampaging.
"L… Lunatea! Please explain what you meant back then!" Kaze tried to get Lunatea to explain as they ran. "What do you mean Lunaria or any of you are not allowed to transform?!"
Unfortunately for Kaze, Lunatea didn't look interested in offering an explanation at the moment with how frantic she was. Especially not when her sister was currently a dragon on a mindless rampage. With the soldiers following closely behind, Lunatea had them hold Kaze as they took to the air to escape the madness occurring below.
When they suddenly soared into the sky, Kaze's heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He was most definitely not used to the method of appearing in the sky and moving about without his feet touching anything. Anyone else without flying experiences would have similar reactions as he did, for only races like dragonkins who were capable of flying were able to move about freely without getting dizzy.
"Lunatea-sama, how many more times is teleportation available?" One dragonkin soldier asked.
"N-No more," Lunatea panted, looking rather drained. "Only Lunaria-nee is capable of making multiple teleportations in a row."
Once again emphasizing on the greatness of Lunaria, this was contrasted with her currently wreaking havoc down below. Kaze and the others could only watch helplessly at Lunaria trying to destroy the devils, who had probably already escaped as it was hard to spot them with how messy the surrounding was. Smoke in the air from multiple directions, dirt torn from the ground, the small part of the city close by terrorized, everything quickly spiralled out of control the moment Lunaria's dragon form showed up.
"Lunatea-sama! We have received word that Reginsleif-sama and Laevia-sama will be making their move with the King of Czech!" The second dragonkin soldier with them informed Lunatea. "We are instructed to leave the area and secure the safety of the citizens."
"Father and mother…? … Alright, lets follow their word," Lunatea nodded after contemplating their options. "Kaze, I'm sorry. Any questions you have would have to wait for now. We have to move."
At the same time, they could see the rest of the dragonkin squadron flying in formation towards where Lunaria was. With Reginsleif leading the way, he was wearing his armour as a precaution when dealing with the situation. Needless to say, for the Emperor himself to get involved would mean that the situation had gotten out of hand.
"Father!" Lunatea rushed up to the squadron to greet her father. "Lunaria-nee is…"
"I know. Regroup with your mother," Reginsleif patted his daughters' head. "She will be giving treatment to the humans injured, give her a hand with that."
"S-Sir, is Lunaria… going to be alright?" Kaze asked, hoping for an answer from the Emperor himself.
"My daughter is not someone that weak to fall under pressure," Reginsleif chuckled at Kaze's worried expression. "How long have you known her, Kaze?"
"Um… a few months now."
"Do you think she is weak?"
"No, sir. Far from it."
"Mm, that's your answer. Don't worry, I'll be saving my daughter."
The Emperor and the rest of his soldiers flew towards Lunaria after that, leaving Kaze and Lunatea to head to where Laevia was.
From above, they were able to see that Tristania soldiers were already roaming the streets, helping the people involved with the mess to evacuate. Mages and swordsmen alike helped with the evacuation and the debris of houses collapsing. All in all, it was a chaotic scene caused by Lunaria's rampage.
Kaze took a glance at Lunatea's crestfallen face as they travelled. He could tell that she was devastated her sister caused all the destruction in the city. As they were merely guests invited to the city of Tristania, the destruction of the city was akin to them declaring war on Tristania if not treated well by the King. Thankfully, from Reginsleif's tone earlier, it seemed like Ethan understood that whatever happening wasn't their fault and was ready to help them.
Even more than that, Lunatea must have felt powerless. One reason could be that she was unable to contribute to helping Lunaria. Instead, the situation took a turn for the worse when Lunaria transformed. Damage containment was of utmost importance.
Arriving at the palace once again, Kaze could see the injured lying in the courtyard. The surroundings had transformed into a makeshift refugee camp of sort with soldiers streaming in and out. Perhaps because the situation was too dire at the moment, none of the soldiers took notice when Kaze, a potential fugitive on the run, dropped from the sky with a dragonkin princess.
"Mother!" Lunatea immediately sprinted towards where Laevia was, with Kaze following closely behind.
Entering the palace, the two could see Laevia in a discussion with Ethan and his wife, Kathia. The rulers were looking rather worried as well, until Lunatea's voice broke their conversation.
"Oh, you're safe," Laevia heaved a sigh of relief and hugged Lunatea tightly. "I see Kaze's with you as well."
"Yes. We managed to teleport away at the last second," Lunatea nodded. "Where's Lucentia?"
"She already came earlier. Your father got to them first before heading to Lunaria," Laevia addressed the situation to Lunatea.
"Do you need any help?" Lunatea asked her mother. "The humans-"
"Have been treated. And the injured who are being brought in will be too," Laevia finished her daughter's sentence. "I will only tend to anyone severely injured."
"Sorry. Mother has cast her Area of Effect healing spell already," Lunatea explained to Kaze, who looked a little lost. "The spell will last for a few hours, depending on when Mother chooses to stop it."
"You're a big help, Laevia," Kathia sighed. "I don't know how the healers of the nation would be able to compare with you."
"Don't diminish the position of your nation's healers. There is no reason for me to not help, not especially when the cause of all this stemmed from my daughter's actions," Laevia shook her head, addressing the Queen. "Please, accept our apology."
"No. While it is true that Lunaria was the cause of the attack, the devils are the true cause," Ethan stopped Laevia from shifting the blame to them. "We shall discuss this after your husband has managed to save your daughter."
"Lunatea, take Kaze someplace safe," Laevia told her daughter. "Once the dust has settled, Kaze will be the focus of attention again."
"W-Wait, Laevia-sama. Pardon my intrusion, but what does that mean?" Kaze stopped Lunatea from pulling him away. "I believe I have not done anything wrong."
"Yes, and just like my husband and daughters, I believe you," Laevia placed a hand on his shoulder. "But it is hard to say what the rest of the public along with the soldiers think. Despite Sir Ethan being able of issuing a command to stop the search or prosecution, the rest of the nobles who are not on the same page would do otherwise."
"That's not fair," Lunatea gaped when she heard this. "Sir Ethan, can't you do anything?"
"I'm afraid not. Even as the King, I cannot show bias," Ethan shook his head apologetically. "I agree with your mother, Lunatea. Keep Kaze hidden for now, and we'll see what we can do about the situation."
After listening to their explanation, Kaze and Lunatea could only depart to where Lucentia and the others were without complaints. While there were other ways they could argue out a solution, the situation took priority over everything else.
"… Are you sure you don't need our help?" Laevia asked the rulers of Czech softly once the two left. "If it's regarding the nobles…"
"Please, Laevia-sama. We understand that you may feel responsible for what happened, but we both know this lies far beyond the conflicts between our nations," Ethan sighed. "Plus, you have also suspected there is a rat, right? In announcing my support for Kaze's innocence, we may lose our lead to catch the rat out of surprise."
"… You're right," Laevia contemplate the issue for a bit before agreeing with Ethan's suggestion. "As much as I didn't want to make it obvious, it is as you have said. I will entrust that duty to my daughters."
"M-My King!!"
The trio turned to the entrance once again. One of the guards who were on duty rushed into the hallway accompanied by another two soldiers. All three seemed out of breath and dishevelled, emphasizing the madness that happened in the span of a few hours.
"What's the matter? Have more areas been affected?" Ethan asked, his heart clenching tightly for he fear for his subjects.
"N-No, sir. This is regarding the bandits," the guard shook his head while panting heavily. "We have discovered… they were rigged."
"Rigged? Do you mean they are spies?"
"No sir. One of our mages noticed that there is a string of mana connecting each one of the bandits that we have captured. It is assumed this applies to all of the other bandits who have not been taken care of yet."
"Could that be the reason for them being strengthened?"
"Yes… and no. We suspect that the form of strengthening has been cast by the person in command of them, who has the capability to organise such an attack."
"It's a bomb. The bandits are sacrificial pieces rigged to explode at the trigger of magic."
When such a report came, all three rulers felt stunned. Judging from the words conveyed, they knew the effects if the report was true.
"Is there no way of dispelling the magic?" Ethan gritted his teeth.
"N-No sir… The only way would be to eliminate the life of the bandits," the guard gulped. "So the choice would be between containment… or becoming-"
"- a mass murder," Laevia muttered softly. "How cunning of the enemy to let us be the decider of our own fate."
"… Let this be known to everyone involved. Have them immediately distribute their captured bandits or cast barriers around them," Ethan issued the order with his voice quivering. "If our mages' reports are true, if there is even a slight hint of doubt that every single bandit is a bomb… this is a matter of national security. Take no chances!"
"I'll help," Laevia told Ethan as the guards ran off to deliver this message. "Perhaps we can figure out a way to dispel the magic at the same time."
"Thanks, Laevia-sama," Ethan made a weak smile. "Things quickly spiral out of control the moment I thought we had it in order. As the representative of the nation, I would like to apologise for this unsightly scene."
"Ethan…" Kathia muttered, her squeezing his hand in return.
"Dear me, who would have thought leaving your nation for a short while would resulted in so many things happening?" Laevia grinned, referring to herself. "As neighbouring nations, as well as for my daughter's sake, I don't think this is something that needs apologising for."
The trio of rulers instantly headed out to prevent a terrorist attack from happening after Laevia's words.
Quickly, word spread through the nation. With precaution being taken against the bandits now, the soldiers were left with the choice choosing to kill the bandits or to capture them and try containing the explosion.
One would question the supposedly obvious decision of executing the bandits. However, in doing so, blood would be left in the hands of the soldiers who had done the killing. While it is true that their job involved killing the guilty and staining their hands, but would it be morally right? Even though the bandits being chased had done crime in the past that have hurt people, it was easier said than done to justify killing them.
This was what the devils had in store for the nation to choose. Initially, the plan didn't include Lunaria suddenly transforming into a dragon, but unforeseen circumstances have occurred. It would also be dumb to question if the devils had not considered the possibility of the dragon transformation happening. It was precisely because they had factored in the chance that they chose to execute their plan.
Frey, who had been duelling it out with M this whole time, was notified of the bandits and all by one of the nearby soldiers.
"Huh, so that's the plan?" Frey hummed softly and nodded. "Alright, please pass this on to those still in the school. I will manage just fine here."
The soldiers saluted at Frey before leaving the area. With many citizens at hand, they had their hands filled.
Frey turned her attention back at M, who had collapsed in front of her. Blood could be seen splattered on the ground and debris all around from the multiple cuts on his body. A pool of blood dyed the floor red, the cause of it from a missing limb. M had lost his left leg as a result of the fight.
Even though Frey had won the fight, she hardly came out of it unscathed. The surroundings were barely recognisable from getting levelled by their fight. What was once a small outer section of Tristania where houses once stood had been diminished to a rubble. Most of the residence in it had escaped when the fight first broke out with help of the soldiers, with their property suffering the effects of such a fierce brawl.
More importantly, Frey herself felt drained physically and mentally. It had been a while since she last fought with all her might for her life. There were only a few moments countable to her that she could recall ever involving her nearly dying, hence why she let out an exasperated sigh and fell onto the ground in exhaustion. Her tattered dark magic armour dissipated in response, allowing her to plop her head on the cracked stone ground beneath.
"Man… that was too close for comfort," Frey muttered to herself. "If I was a second later…"
Frey allowed the feeling of disgust and fear to take over her body before getting up. Picking her scythe along, she headed the opposite direction of the draconic cries that kept ringing throughout her battle.
Between encountering a being she felt stronger than she was and saving civilians, Frey made the obvious choice.