All this time his friend had been acting strange because it was never really Matthew in the first place. Pantaleon had pretended to be him and although it took them some time to figure it out the charade could not last much longer. His biggest mistake was believing that Mathew was an ordinary paladin, the behavior of a normal paladin is completely different from Mathew's like the sun is different from the night. To begin with, paladins are brave no matter what religion they belong to, they are not selfish, they are kind, they always seek to destroy evil and do justice. Mathew was not like that at all. You could say he was almost the opposite. Yet it had taken them a long time to figure it out, distracted by all the things going on around them.
- You're a bastard! What have you done to Kunoichi and Mathew? - Mila asked angrily.
- You better speak up if you value your life. - Said Runkdar holding his axe.
- Hahahaha are you sure you can threaten me like that? we are in a public place, I could scream and the guards would come. - Said Pantaleon looking around.
- Your head would roll on the ground before the first guard would arrive.... - Said Zafiro who was still holding him tightly.
- Oh really? and what fate do you think your friends will suffer if something happens to me? - Said Pantaleon with a defiant and mocking smile.
- Do you really think you are in a position to threaten us? - Ashram said. - We don't even know if our friends are still alive.
- If you thought they were dead, I wouldn't be alive. - Said Pantaleon very confidently.
- But if you don't take us to them, your life is worthless to us, so start talking, before I decide to take more drastic measures. - Ashram said.
- What are you going to do kid? You don't have the guts to kill me.
- We need you alive, but not whole, since you won't talk first we will reduce you to a more convenient size. - Mila, turn him into a rat! Then we can throw him in boiling oil until he decides to talk.
- You don't scare me boy, if I die you'll never know where your friends are. - Pantaleon replied defiantly.
- Don't worry, every time you are covered with burns and you think you are going to die, I will take care of healing your wounds, to throw you back into the boiling oil, again and again and again... until you decide to talk or your mind breaks.... - Ashram said with that cold tone that had frightened them minutes before. Pantaleon wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was trying to scare him, but his heart rate skyrocketed.
- Mila, at once! Turn this bastard into a rat! - Ashram ordered, winking at her so that Pantaleon couldn't see him.
- Of course leader, I'll make this rat into a form befitting his filthy soul! - exclaimed Mila following the charade as she made magical passes and a circle of light formed below them.
- NOO! HELP! GUARDS! - shouted the captive before they managed to cover his mouth.
A contingent of about fifteen guards, who seemed to be looking for something, heard the screams and rushed to where they were.
- Damn, that's all we need, we have to shut him up. - Runkdar said hastily covering his mouth.
It was too late, the soldiers surrounded them quickly, aiming their spears at them. Pantaleon kept struggling and kicking with all his strength, like a trapped rat trying to get free, but Zafiro held him tightly.
- It's just a joke gentlemen, we are playing with our friend. - Faye said, trying to convince the guards.
The fact that they could see Pantaleon trying to scream behind, didn't help at all. Even a charm like hers had its limits.
- What happens to this monster is of no concern to us. We were looking for you outsiders, we have orders to arrest you and take you to the dungeon. So don't put up any resistance and come with us. - Said one of the guards.
- You've got to be kidding... - Said Faye quite surprised. - Yesterday we had an audience with the king and he congratulated us.
- I don't know anything about that, I only know that you are accused of high treason, so you will come with us by hook or by crook. - Having said that, the guard also pointed his spear at them.
Accused of high treason? that did not make any sense, only a few hours ago the king was happy with them. Should they resist arrest? but if they did, they would have all the soldiers of the city trying to hunt them down, there had to be a solution.
BOOOOM! A huge explosion echoed from the northern part of the city, causing the ground to shake beneath them.
- A tremor! - Zafiro said.
No, tremors are caused by the plates of the earth as they move, we are above the clouds, there should be no tremors. - Said Ashram, however the earth beneath his feet was shaking.
BOOOOOMM!!! another explosion made the ground under their feet tremble, for a moment, they had the feeling they were falling, but they stopped, like in an elevator when you go down. The people in the streets were terrified, apparently they had never experienced an earthquake in their lives. In the city where they lived before coming to this world, earthquakes were not very frequent, but they did happen, maybe once or twice a year, so it didn't affect them as much as it did the others. The guards were very scared, without realizing it, they stopped pointing their spears at them and tried to notice if the ground stopped moving.
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!! A third explosion coming from the southern part of the citadel caused the floor to tilt slightly to one side, they had to hold on to a column to avoid falling. The guards fell to the ground without being able to avoid it. Birds would normally fly, but as they were clad in armor and unaccustomed to flying, they did not react in time.
During all the time they were there, a light blue mantle covered the sky, it was very faint, barely visible, it did not interfere with the view of the stars, but it was there, if you looked closely, you could see it, like a protective barrier, that explained why the enemies of the avians, could not attack except from the walls, the entrance through the sky, it was impossible.
At the sound of the third explosion, the most powerful of all, that protective cloak vanished, leaving the city and its inhabitants to their fate. Immediately a black cloud covered the sky as a harbinger of disaster, from it began to emerge winged figures of dark plumage. They fell on the population like a predator on its unsuspecting prey. The inhabitants, accustomed to the peace behind the walls, panicked, ran and flew in all directions, many of them being shot down by the newcomers.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Pantaleon managed to free one of his arms and threw something into Zafiro's eyes, causing her to let go. Before anyone had time to react, a black cloud covered the whole place.
- Your time has come usurpers! You will all die! Hahahaha - Pantaleon exclaimed as he lost himself in the crowd and the black cloud he summoned.
- Damn you! I'll get you! - shouted Zafiro wiping her eyes, which were bleeding.
- GET OUT OF THE WAY, YOU USELESS FOOLS! - Runkdar shouted pushing the guards and breaking his way through, everyone followed him, holding hands so as not to get lost in the black smoke. The guards were either too confused or too busy fighting the ravens attacking the marketplace to chase after them. They ran through the crowd until they emerged from the smoke-covered area. Then Ashram made them stop for a moment to heal Zsfiro and organize the group.
- I'll get that bastard and make him pay for this.... - Zafiro said very annoyed.
- That bastard is very smart, he knew they would attack the city and took advantage of that to escape. But for now we can't waste time chasing him, we have to find Kunoichi and Mathew. - Said Ashram taking a garment out of Kunoichi's backpack. - Sniff this little one, I know you can find my sister.
Zulki sniffed the garment, it had the familiar scent of one of the pack members, the smallest one. She was scanning the environment for a while... there were too many scents, lots of creatures moving around, like many threads of different thickness and sizes, tangled in a single big skein in which she had to find just one. There it was, the thread of the smallest of the herd. Swift as the wind, Zulki took off in the direction of that scent.
- Let's go after her before she gets out of sight. - Ashram said.
They ran in pursuit of Zulki as fast as their legs would carry them, they had to make their way through the crowd trying to get to safety. The whole city was in chaos, arrows flying over their heads, explosions in the buildings, the guards engaged in different confrontations with the invaders. That was in their favor for the moment, because they could not go to arrest them if they had to repel an invading army. But something was not right, they were too few to be a whole invading army, and they were not attacking strategic targets, but terrorizing the population, it seemed more like a distraction than a large-scale attack aimed at taking the city.
Zulki had just turned the corner, when a contingent of about twenty heavily armed invading soldiers closed in on them.
- Break down the doors, kill everyone, let no one be left alive! - shouted the one who appeared to be the captain.
Hearing these words, several of his soldiers began to hit the doors with axes trying to smash them to fulfill such nefarious orders.
- We don't have time to waste, but we can't let these guys kill innocents in front of our eyes either. - Ashram said. - Maneuver seventeen!
Immediately Mila launched a fireball to where more enemy soldiers were grouped, several of them fell to not get up anymore. The druid's vines came out of the ground like a predator's tentacles to grab the crows, who did not expect anyone to resist. Zafiro leapt into the middle to finish off the remaining ones with a single swing of her scythe, Runkdar also finished off those who were about to break through the doors, from between a crack, a small voice thanked them.
Not so far from there, Kunoichi who had managed to open the lock of her prison, was running through the streets of the city, heading to the inn to warn her friends. However, seeing the chaos in which the city of the skies was plunged, she could not suppress a sense of failure, it seemed that any warning would come too late, the sinister plan to exterminate all the inhabitants of Pajar Akon citadel was already underway. In front of her a few meters away, some Avian soldiers tried to block the road, maybe she could slip between them if she went fast enough, so she accelerated as much as she could, but when she was close to reach them, a sphere of flames exploded where they were, burning them. She managed to look back for an instant before a second explosion directed at her blew everything into the air. Fortunately she managed to jump and avoided being caught in the flames by a hair's breadth. That attack was only the beginning, as the group of crows began to chase her. As if she didn't have enough trouble already.
She rounded the corner to lose sight of them for an instant, jumped up to the second floor and when they went after her, she leaped on one of the crows stabbing him in the back. That feeling was always unpleasant, but she had no choice if she wanted to get back alive. She threw a couple of shuriken at the other two crows and used a smoke bomb, the kind she bought at the alchemist's store. Without looking back she slipped through the crowd of citizens who seemed to be venting their anger on the fallen enemies. Suddenly a shadow fell heavily on her knocking her down, it was some kind of beast, and it was licking her, wait, licking? It was Zulki!
- Ah! nice to see you Zulki! - said Kunoichi happily hugging her pet. - How did you find me? Where are the others?
- Priii PriPriiiiiiii - Said Zulki without stopping licking who was also her owner when they were in their world.
- Ah I don't understand what you're saying when my brother is not there to translate, but take me to where everyone is. - Said Kunoichi stroking Zulki's fur.
She climbed onto the giant weasel's back and they set off swift as the wind, making their way through the crowd. Zulki was not under the effect of a growth spell this time, but she was about the size of a big dog, perhaps slightly larger, Kunoichi was less than one meter thirty centimeters tall and very light, so she had no trouble carrying the little ninja on her back.
After finishing off the soldiers, the group of friends continued on their way but they didn't know in which direction Zulki had run. They were deciding where to go, when they saw her arrive with Kunoichi on top of her and five crows chasing her.
- I've had enough of these guys! - Mila said rather annoyed. Get down!
Understanding their intentions very well, Zulki and Kunoichi ducked in mid-run, sliding on the ground, while a sphere of flames burst over their pursuers. The momentum of the run made them unable to stop in time and they ran over Ashram, knocking him onto his back.
- I am so happy to see you! - Ashram said hugging his younger sister. - Good job Zulki. - He told her while caressing her head.
- Excellent! Now we have to go look for Mathew, I'm sure Zulki can track him too. - Mila said.
- That won't be necessary, I think I know where he is. - Said Ashram.
- Where is he? - Runkdar asked
- In the healing rooms, that "wounded" perso we thought was Pantaleon, is surely Runkdar under some spell of change of appearance like the one he used on himself.
- But why didn't he try to come back to us? - Faye asked.
- He must be under some sleeping curse or something similar... -Said Mila.
- Then let's go get him immediately. - Runkdar said.
- There is something important we should do first. - Said Kunoichi.
- What could be more important than our friend? - Runkdar asked.
- The whole city, will be destroyed if we don't do something, everyone above it will die, including Mathew and us. - Said Kunoichi. - This attack is just a diversion. Follow me, I'll tell you everything on the way.
The group went after her, making their way through the chaotic streets, they were in a race against time to prevent a genocide, the lives of all the citizens, men, women and children, hung in the balance.