Victoria strolled through her town's streets, accompanied by her militia and Larkin. The echoes of battle reverberated in the air as they approached the grand fountain. Along the way, they encountered a few mind-controlled militia members, engaging in brief skirmishes. However, these controlled individuals lacked strategic prowess, mindlessly attacking Victoria's forces. Subduing them proved relatively straightforward, given Victoria's numerical advantage and the enemy's lack of tactical acumen.
However, the real challenge lay ahead – facing Eirisse. Despite hoping for Lennix's group's success, Victoria couldn't ignore the harsh reality: the odds were against them. That's precisely why she had sent Kaden. The distant explosions near the grand fountain indicated Kaden was in combat with someone. It also meant he, and Xain by extension, hadn't descended to the ritual site. *Just who or what could Kaden be fighting?* Victoria wondered.
Glancing upward, she observed the mist rising from the grand fountain, its towering presence eclipsing the modest 2-4 story buildings that surrounded it.
Meanwhile, Larkin had a pretty good idea of who Kaden could be fighting. *He's absolutely fighting Amara, isn't he?* Larkin thought, glancing at Victoria. "Hey, Victoria," he called out, prompting her to turn and correct him, "It's Mayor Victoria! How many times do I have to tell you that?" Larkin had already anticipated the scolding, preemptively covering his ears. "Yea, yea, anyway, how strong is, uh, Kaden? Cause depending on your answer, we might need to hold a funeral," Larkin said as Victoria huffed, replying, "He's the strongest member of the militia and most likely the strongest person in Triton."
Unable to resist a jab, Larkin teased, "Okay, so pretty weak then," earning glares from both Victoria and the militia members. He nervously chuckled and added, "It was just a joke. Could ya all calm down?" Victoria, still glaring, questioned, "You know who he's fighting, don't you?" Larkin nodded, admitting, "Yeah, I do, and I don't know if the strongest person in Triton is going to cut it." Victoria replied, "Hmph! Like you know anything about Kaden; he will win; he always does." This sentiment was shared by the entirety of the three dozen militia members following Victoria—the unwavering belief that Kaden couldn't be defeated.
Larkin, skeptical and having witnessed Amara's prowess firsthand, remained unconvinced of Kaden's invincibility. "Well, I hope your faith in him doesn't lead to disappointment if we find his lifeless body there," Larkin remarked, earning more glares from those around him. Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rocked the area around the grand fountain, dispersing the mist and creating seismic tremors that mimicked an earthquake. The militia members, caught off guard, reacted differently—some stumbled to the ground from the tremors, others from the deafening noise, while most simply stood in stunned silence.
"My fountain!" exclaimed Victoria in dismay. Larkin attempted to console her, saying, "Don't worry, you can rebuild it. Shouldn't you be more concerned about Kaden? Wait a minute, Xain is there too." However, Victoria was on the verge of tears. "But, but I spent so much coin building it!" she lamented, confusing Larkin. "What?" he asked as Victoria broke down, crying like a distressed child. "That was my main source of tourism! And now I have to spend coin rebuilding it, and... and people threw sniff coin into the fountain, which made me even more coin sniff. Why does the goddess hate me so much?" she cried out. In response to their mayor's distress, the militia members rushed to her side, offering various gifts from their clothing, including chocolate, toys, and straight-up coins.
Larkin, observing the assortment of items being presented, couldn't contain his disbelief. "What is she a child? Why are ya doin' this?" he questioned, but his remarks fell on deaf ears. Disregarding Larkin, a militia member holding a bag of coins stepped forward, saying, "Cheer up, Mayor Victoria! You can use the coin I've been saving up for my daughter's wedding to rebuild the fountain!" Victoria, still teary-eyed, nonchalantly took the bag from the militia member and stowed it away in her own bag. "First of all, that's just shameless. Second of all, don't just give away that coin, you sorry excuse of a father!" Larkin exclaimed, utterly shocked. His protests, however, were once again ignored.
Another militia member, holding a soft-looking plush toy, chimed in, "Here, you can have this, Mayor Victoria! I saved up enough money to get this for my daughter's birthday, but you can have it to cheer yourself up!" Victoria, now sniffling, accepted the toy as a gesture of comfort. "Oi! What are ya doin'! You can't just give away the gift ya bought for your daughter!" Larkin protested once more, but the militia members continued their offerings. This time, a member holding an expensive-looking box of chocolates stepped forward, saying, "Here, Mayor Victoria! You can have this expensive chocolate my daughter has been wanting to eat for years to cheer yourself up!" Victoria finally ceased her tears, accepted the chocolate, and casually took a bite before promptly spitting it out. "What are you doing!" Larkin yelled as Victoria expressed her distaste. "This sucks! Get something better next time!" she declared, prompting the militia member to nod in agreement.
"Hey, idiot platoon! Wanna get going? Someone might have gotten caught in that explosion!" Larkin yelled urgently, prompting Victoria to agree, "Yes, you're quite right. We should get going." Larkin let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, we can—" His words were abruptly cut short as Victoria added, "We need to see if any part of the fountain is salvageable." Larkin, sounding deflated, muttered, "Whatever, let's just get a move on." They resumed marching toward the fountain, a journey that took only about a minute and a half since they were already quite close.
Upon arriving, they were met with the sight of the fountain completely destroyed, sunken into a sinkhole and covered in rubble. The surrounding area, however, remained intact. Victoria pondered, *Probably Kaden's doing, but where is he?* as she scanned the vicinity. Suddenly, a rumbling sound caught their attention, and Larkin yelled, "Hey, look over there! That could be Xain or Kaden!" Victoria turned around and noticed movement under a large pile of rubble. Several militia members jumped down into the sinkhole to assist whoever was trapped beneath. In a brief moment of realization, Victoria thought, *Wait, that can't be Kaden. He would have just lifted it using gravity magic.*
As the members began lifting the rubble, Victoria shouted, "Wait, don't!" But it was too late. The moment the debris was lifted, one of the members was instantly killed with a slash across his throat. Blood sprayed out as Eirisse emerged, jumping on top of the fallen member and began drinking the spurting blood.
Victoria, Larkin, and the militia members stared in wide-eyed horror as Eirisse emerged from the rubble, her body marred by severe burns, her tattered clothes barely clinging to her form, creating a ghastly sight. However, the grotesque appearance was short-lived. In a blink, Eirisse, covered in blood, swiftly drank the spurting blood from the dying militia member, and before their eyes, her body healed instantaneously, restoring her to an almost pristine state.
The remaining militia members, now aiming their guns at Eirisse, witnessed her vanish before their very eyes. The next moment, a spray of blood and the sound of dismemberment echoed behind them. They fell to pieces, dead before comprehending their own demise. Victoria, witnessing the gruesome scene, started hyperventilating, the shock of seeing her men perish overwhelming her.
Eirisse, casually cleaning the blood from her claws by licking them, locked eyes with the hyperventilating Victoria. In a surge of anger, Victoria aimed her staff at Eirisse and yelled, "Die!"