As Isabella moved the rubble where her sister landed, a dark cloud formed in her heart.
She had been directly told to retreat without Mizik...
Such a thing was normally considered out of the question. A laughably impossible request.
But...they had encountered an enemy that could not be overcome. Mizik was defeated and the Cursebreaker was shot down.
There was nothing to do but run and formulate a new plan...
Eventually, Isabella located her sister and pulled her out of the rubble.
She had been knocked completely unconscious by the impact, but her heart stone remained intact.
Isabella dreaded dealing with her when she awoke...
Cassandra was likely to go ballistic as soon as she learned about Mizik.
So...Isabella made a decision.
She cast a healing spell that would prevent her from waking and sped up regeneration in the process.
Although with their innate healing factors from the heart stones, Isabella guessed that this would only give them a few hours.
Despite this, it was enough time to get off of Tanavol, provided that the Cursebreaker's emergency escape functions were still operational.
Isabella held Cassandra in her arms as she used divine teleportation to move to the downed ship. Once she arrived, she walked in through the front that had been blasted open and entered the bridge.
"Isabella! You're alive! Wait...where's Mizik...?" Rastair said suddenly as she ran over.
Isabella sighed in relief as she looked around and saw that no one had died.
"What's the status of the ship? Mizik was captured by Eris, so I am currently acting captain."
"Eh...well... She can't fly, obviously. Virtus had a panic attack but concluded that several systems are still online. Which ones those are, I'm not sure. None of the crew died, thankfully. they weren't in the areas that...exploded. I don't know where the Conquerors are. Hey...are we stranded? I wanna leave this shitty world..."
"As do I. I would prefer to get Mizik back, but that looks to be impossible right now. I need to see if-"
There was a flash of light nearby and a man walked out of it holding a lance.
It was Abbadon.
Isabella couldn't help but feel angry as she saw him. She wondered why he hadn't bothered to tell everyone what was happening.
"What are you doing here?" Isabella said.
"Ugh...I came to check on everyone. It appears as though I'm too late..." He said.
Isabella turned to Rastair.
"Check to see if the emergency escape protocol is online. If it isn't, get it working. We'll have to escape to Excelsis and repair the ship before we can try anything."
Rastair nodded and ran off. Isabella sat Cassandra down in one of the nearby chairs.
After that, she calmly turned to Abbadon.
"WHY DID YOU NOT YOU WARN US ABOUT THAT CRAZY BITCH!?!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WE COULD HAVE ALL DIED, YOU BASTARD!!! AND NOW, MIZIK HAS BEEN CAPTURED!!!!" Isabella screamed in rage.
Abbadon was taken back by her sudden outburst and his lance disappeared. He raised his hands in defense.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I did my best to get a message through to you, but it failed. Something is wrong with this realm. It's broken. It's like my voice kept speaking into the past and future. The time cycle of this place is out of wack. Do you understand?"
Isabella could still feel her blood boiling, but relaxed a bit upon hearing his words. It made perfect sense to her.
Mizik had sensed something was off since the moment they arrived in the Order realm.
Although he probably had no idea that this would be the result...
"I'll continue. I managed to get a message through, but only to Masina. I told her to relay the message to Mizik as soon as possible. What happened after that, isn't any of my-"
A silvery flash of light appeared.
"You idiot! Why did you wait so long to speak to me!?" Masina shouted.
"Ugh...I'm going to scream is this keeps up..." Abbadon said.
"Masina, please relax. I am already interrogating him," Isabella said.
"B-but..."
"You can help us out by gathering the Conquerors and other crew members. Find Ranis and Nirani. Also, bring Demon Queen Estelyn and Stella to the ship."
"Yes, Lady Isabella... It will be done."
Masina disappeared.
"Now then, let us talk about how you can continue assisting us, Abbadon," Isabella said.
"Well, I can try to figure out where Mizik went-"
"No. It is blatantly obvious that he is probably in the Destruction realm. Eris would not leave Tanavol, either. She likely is unable. If she did, she would weaken to the point where Mizik could defeat her with ease. From here on out, you are relieved of service. Go back to Excelsis with the Oracle's Faithful and serve Johann. We will handle the rest."
He seemed both disappointed and relieved.
"Fine...it won't be my problem then. But...please try to save my world, okay?"
"I can promise nothing. However, it is more than likely that this world will cease to be. Prepare for that inevitability."
"Yeah...I figured as much... I'll take my leave..."
Abbadon disappeared just as Rastair approached.
"Excellent timing. Give me a status update."
"Emergency escape protocols are offline, BUT, Virtus said it was only an error caused by a system failure...and a lack of power. She plans to reroute power fix it. That should only take a few minutes."
"Excellent. Masina is currently searching for the Conquerors. When she returns with everyone, we will retreat."
"Awesome! I'll just go...have a drink or something... Uwaaa...my precious baby... That crazy bitch shot my baby out of the sky!!! GAAAAHHH!!!! IF I WERE ON DELVANDAL, I'D HAVE HER ASS KEEL-HAULED FOR THAT AFTER LETTING MY CREW TAKE TURNS WITH HER!!!"
"Please go relax. You are giving me a headache."
"Y-yes ma'am..."
Rastair scurried of and Isabella sat down on part of the wreckage.
"How did this happen...? By the gods..."
Isabella sat and waited for a while. She felt as if there were things she could help with, but had no motivation.
They were in dire straits right now and all she could think about was saving her beloved husband.
As she sat and thought about this, Isabella began to drift off into sleep.
But before she could completely close her eyes, she heard a voice speaking to her.
"Vice-captain? Hey...sorry about everything..." Aldaril said.
Nasuria stood next to him. Her normally perky fox ears had been lowered.
She looked like a sad dog.
"Ah...it's fine... I don't blame you. What could you have done, anyway?"
"I could have tried to attack? I don't know... I have a feeling that if I did, I would only end up like Triglavikk..."
"Exactly. That would disappoint Mizik greatly. Not to mention, Nasuria as well."
"You're probably right about that... I have no words to describe my frustration."
"Everyone is frustrated right now, Aldaril. My husband was abducted and our ship...our sanctuary...was shot down in a single attack. It would be strange if you were not bothered by it."
"I guess so..."
"Now, do you have anything to report? Where are the Corrupted Generals and that blasted dragon?"
"They escaped. Valtheim finally pushed through and took them away. Stella isn't all-powerful against her... If she was, we wouldn't be here."
"Indeed... Well, that takes care of any immediate danger."
"Yeah...umm... Hey, vice-captain?"
"I have a name, Aldaril. That is a title. And to me, it reminds me of when I was once called 'Princess' and 'your Majesty'."
"Right. My mistake. Isabella, are you okay?"
"What an absurd question..." Isabella said as she shook her head.
It truly was.
In light of everything happening, how could she possibly be okay?
In fact, for the past twenty years, she could hardly describe herself as okay...
She was tired of fighting. All Isabella wanted to do was settle down with Mizik and live peacefully.
But they were instead forced to fight.
Regardless...
"Thank you for your concern. I will be fine. I am merely tired of fighting all the time, is all... And I am also worried about Mizik..."
"Hey Isabella? Don't cry, okay? We'll get him back..." Nasuria said.
Isabella then realized that there were tears falling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and smiled cheerfully.
"Yes! We'll get Mizik back soon. Until then, Mizik will simply have to wait. I can only hope that the crazy woman who abducted him won't harm him in any way..."
"I'm sure he'll be fine. She referred to him as her prize, didn't she? I doubt she plans to torture him or anything," Aldaril said.
"That would also be unlikely. Ah, it looks like Masina has returned. Please enter the ship, you two. We might be leaving soon," Isabella said.
He nodded and the two of them boarded.
Soon after, Masina passed by with the Conquerors. Stella, in particular, looked extremely upset. Curiously, Estelyn was nowhere to be found.
As they passed, eventually Nirani and Ranis stopped in front of Isabella.
"Ah...Isabella, I-"
"Do not begin with pleasantries, Ranis. Instead, tell me something. Do you plan to stay with us? Nirani has already joined our crew as a full-fledged member. What about you?"
"I...have a realm that I must protect. I apologize...but as it stands, the Life realm might be the only civilized place where people can live freely at the moment...other than the now-forsaken Peace realm. If you plan to leave, I understand. But abandoning Tanavol is a cardinal sin. I cannot-"
"It is unfortunate to lose you. The knowledge you have of this world and the current situation are quite valuable. But the world as you know it will likely cease to exist in the near future. I hope you will continue to do research on how we might go to the central realm. For now, non-crew members are not permitted to be on the Cursebreaker. Begone with you."
Ranis nodded and turned away. He began walking towards the portal without a word.
"Oh thank the gods... I thought he'd never leave... He tried to hug me when he found out I was still alive! He called me beautiful! Can you believe that!? Disgusting..." Nirani said quietly.
"Is it really such a bad thing to be complimented?" Isabella asked.
"When all you ever receive is praise for your looks, voice, talents, and status...it begins to sound revolting to you. I've lived this way for three thousand years. I'm tired of it."
"I can relate... I used to have the same problem back on my home world."
"Ah, I see. Does Master also give you the same treatment as me?" She said.
She was drooling.
"No, you degenerate. Mizik treats me as a dignified and proper lady. He respects and cherishes me more than anyone else."
"I don't get it... Is that fine with you...?"
"It is. Getting hollow praise and compliments from strangers is one thing...especially when it is so constant that it makes you gag. But receiving praise from someone you love is so much more fulfilling. Perhaps you should try to cherish Mizik. After all, you'll have plenty of time to think while he's away..."
"R-right... I wanted to help but-"
"Please stop. That monster would have killed you on the spot just like Triglavikk."
"Wait...Triglavikk is dead!?"
"You weren't aware?"
"I was quite literally blown away by Master's power when he unleashed it. The fighting between him and Eris was so destructive that I couldn't stand anywhere near it..."
"Hm. Well, if you must know, Triglavikk tried to intervene. Eris killed him in an instant and confiscated the Eye of War."
Nirani seemed greatly disturbed to hear this.
"I...I need to lay down..." She said.
"Please do. It is almost time to depart."
Nirani left and Isabella got to her feet as Masina bowed respectfully.
"Queen Estelyn has politely refused to board for the time being. She said that she would be more than happy to join us at a later date," she said.
*Such a headache...very well. Go help the others get situated. That will be all," Isabella said.
Masina nodded and departed.
Then Rastair finally approached.
"Shall I assume we are ready?" Isabella said.
"Sure am...*hic* are...am...ehehehe..." Rastair said.
She was holding a bottle of some kind in her hand and swaying slightly.
"Oh. She must be drunk. Well, I suppose we should get going regardless..." Isabella thought.
"Go tell Virtus to activate the anchor function. We're going back to Excelsis."
"Yeeee... That shounds really goooood...ehehehe...*hic*"
Rastair walked away and Isabella saw her speaking to Virtus. Shortly after, they started arguing and Rastair passed out...on top of Virtus.
Virtus shrieked and cried until Aldaril removed Rastair. When she had calmed down, she began the escape protocol.
Her voice boomed over the remaining speakers...but it sounded mostly static.
"ATTEN....LL CREW MEMB.....WE ARE ORGANIZING A TAC....RETREAT! PLEASE REMAI.....ALM AND DRINK PLENTY OF MIL.....THANK...Y..!"
Moments later, a portal opened below the ship and several anchors attached to the underside.
Much of the debris the ship rested on fell through into the portal.
And as the ship sank...Isabella looked out of the massive hole in the ship's hull.
From there, she could still see the crater with the black gateway floating in the sky.
"We'll be back. Count on it. See you soon, my love..."
And with that...the Cursebreaker left Tanavol.