Chapter 40 - The Choice

Going toward the area Alicia and Frederick ran toward the capital while Arthas reassured them of the safety of the city from the outside.

"Hey, do you know what that is?" Frederick asked, confused by the sudden appearance of the monster.

"It was stated in the old Legend, the time when Lunaria wasn't the capital of Moonglade. The period where The City of Elune was the main capital for trade and commerce. The Leviathan, a descendant race of the old race of the Moon Devourer named Bakunawa, is attracted by the moon's glow and hunger for its presence. Without it, they run rampant like a drugged maniac out of their additive. I heard that they would be rarely found on the surface and would like to stay deep underground where it was comfortable for them."

"You said from the old legend? What happens in that legend exactly?"

"If I remember correctly, the legend ended with a saying 'When the moon shall light the world with its brightest light, the Moon Eating snakes shall take flight.' If you mean about killing that thing then we just have to pummel it until it's dead"

"Then how can we kill something so large and strong with just the resources that we have now? Let's find Francis first before we can proceed. I heard from the guards that he went back inside the building to check on something."

"Let's hurry our way over there then."

With swift movements, the two busted through the air as they went passed soldiers, and citizens panicking and shocked by the events that have happened. There was a lot of broken debris on the streets and dead bodies compromised of lizards, humans, and spiders. It was a revolting sight. Smoke was slowly rising from corners and inside of the city as they looked around.

They quickly reached the front gate and saw Francis running out from the broken door. The building was full of cracks and was slowly getting destroyed every time the giant snake moves slowly to the top of the building.

"Alicia! Are you alright? How about the battle from outside? What's the situation?"

"Everything is okay, Arthas helped us defend, and last time we checked all of them retreated to where they came from. We came as fast as we could when we saw the Leviathan." Allicia explained to Francis.

"Sir Francis, what exactly is a Leviathan?" Frederick asked.

"They are species from the depths of the planet that like to lurk and stay there, and part of the subspecies of a race called Bakunawa, derived from the dragon-like serpent that flew the days of past. From ancient times, they are rarely spotted on the ground and would be docile unless they would be agitated. Anyways, let's get out of here for now!"

"How about the people inside?"

"There are none, and if there were they would have probably made it out by the time the attack first started in the morning. Let's go to your house, we'll make sure Daisy is fine and it's the farthest place from all of this chaos "

They ran through the streets hoping to take shelter from the falling debris, screams and cries were heard as they ran through the destroyed streets.

Finding their way towards the house of Alicia where she was gifted by her family to stay and live. Daisy quickly made them come inside and brought them some food and water to replenish their hunger.

Frederick sat down on the couch, and Francis stood near the stairs deeply thinking about what they could do.

"Lady Alicia, what's happening outside it's just pure chaos from what I am hearing"

"Yes, we are trying to control the situation but for now stay safe. Also thank you for the food."

"No, problem. Well, then good luck miss. I wish you great fortune."

Daisy bowed to Alicia and left to continue without getting in their way. Alicia called Frederick and Francis to discuss the strategy that would kill the Leviathan.

"First of all, Leviathan, how can we kill it?" Alicia first popped the question

"We can try to do a large offensive attack on the thing. It might take a lot of casualties but it's the only thing we can do unless we wait until the monster destroys everything and goes back on its own" Francis replied and gave a deep sigh at the end.

"Do we even have enough to deal with that thing? Looking at the sheer size of that guy our current forces won't be able to deal serious damage." Frederick gave a report.

"Then how about I try something with magic and just wish that it would be gone? We can't just do nothing; the city would open up the kingdom vulnerable to attacks from the front." Alicia's voice sounded agitated from the lack of options.

"And that is probably their goal. It's a lose-to-lose decision, we either wait for the monster to destroy the city or we spend everything and even if we somehow manage to kill it. Prevent the lizards from launching a subsequent attack after we exhausted all our resources." Francis replied to her.

"It's really interesting how they manage to use that monster to help them. Is taming that thing even possible? Maybe a summon?" Frederick was impressed despite the hopeless situation.

"What we need right now, is to take action!" Alicia raised her voice as she gave a suggestion.

"We can't do anything, Alicia. It's either we take care of the civilians then leave for a safe space or we waste all our men and resources to kill that anything." Francis replied in his monotone voice.

"You know that won't be possible to do both at the same time, there's also the fact that there is an underlying danger outside." Frederick gave points to the ongoing siege. "Can't we just ask that guy with his creatures to fight it off?"

"I'm a bit hesitant about that, he isn't from here and is risking his life asking more would not only damage our pride but also risk his life much more than he already is." Alicia gave her thoughts regarding Arthas helping them.

"Alicia was, does Frederick mean by that guy? Is it the Arthas guy you talked about? He's here?"

"Yes, uncle, he contributed a lot to the defense with his summons. He has…2 City Catastrophe Summons…"

"WHAT? HOW? He can't just be…someone that powerful is helping us? But why? He can't just be doing this without any reason!" Francis was suspicious about the motives of Arthas.

"Well, yes… He did say about conditions and rewards for his help but he hasn't made anything and said we could just talk about it on a later date."

"Damn, that guy might be on to something, as much as we need him, refrain from taking more of his help!" He openly stated his dislike.

"But, we don't have any other choice, you said it yourself we will lose everything if we commit to either decision this should be a chance, a choice that could change it." Alicia refuted.

"We don't know his intentions! Much more he could be working for that criminal organization! We can't be too cautious. The timing of his appearance is much more difficult to understand, is it a coincidence, fate? it's too suspicious!" Francis raised his voice stating his point.

"He helped us, he killed all our enemies, he defended the city! His summons are out there fighting for our sake, why can't you understand that!"

"Then what if that snake is his summon, he has already 2 more dangerous summons that could destroy the kingdom, what if he has one more, huh? Tell me are you confident that he isn't playing both sides." He screamed at her while she shirked in fear from his voice which increased by levels of intimidation.

She stayed silent not knowing how to answer his question. She can't answer without proper evidence that Arthas's plans weren't devious or deceptive. He came out of nowhere at the perfect time and offered help without hesitation. Alicia couldn't deny the allegations.

Frederick was watching them from the side, silently observing a sense of anxiety dulled over him, unknowingly frightened by the intense scene that happened in front of him.

Francis looked at them and breathed a deep sigh calming himself down before speaking, "...We don't know his true intentions…I can't trust him with the city…"

The room went silent from the heat of the conversation. Alicia took a seat down in a wooden chair while Francis sat on the stairs. They both were falling silent for a while. They thought there was nothing they could do.

When suddenly the door opened. The silence that was inside flew with wind when footsteps that came from the front door approached from the dimly lit environment.

"If you want to know my real intentions then hear this, bitch." A loud voice echoed in the room. "You freaking idiots are so loud I can hear you from outside."

A man walked out, with dark hair in a black sheepskin cloak that made him look intimidating, his face with a serious expression that oozed with power and exudes glory that shows his presence.

Beside him was Moltar, seemingly observing from afar keeping quiet, his face full of sternness and seriousness.