"Who are you talking about?" With sword in hand, Ethan approaches the creature, firmly planting his feet. "Have you seen me before..?"
"You...? No, certainly not. But..."
A strong wind arises, swirling around the massive blue dragon, creating what appears to be a tornado.
"...I remember them clearly... the one who created what you call... magic. And that arrogant man... the pathetic creator of what you call aura. Trash! Both of them! Or rather... they were..."
The wind dissipates, spreading in all directions and pushing those who are airborne in the process. In a few moments, the creature's wounds are completely healed.
"To think she would discard her... toys so soon... Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!..."
The laughter echoes, shaking the remaining trees, trembling the castle walls, and reaching the trees of the Great Forest.
"Fool! You thought you had won, didn't you?! But no, that won't happen! For a being that does everything to act omnipotent, how is it that you can't even do things right?! You killed the toys you allowed to exist, but you couldn't get rid of a piece that shouldn't have been on the board in the first place?!"
Everyone trembles upon hearing that voice, those words laden with incomprehensible power. Seeing such a creature ascend to the skies, they all had a single certainty, this creature cannot be defeated... not by them.
Its wings beat and the entire sky freezes. The clouds fall, animals die, and somehow, even the moons are affected, slowly consumed by ice.
His eyes falter for a moment and Clovis sees something simply insane. A shadow forms on the ground, grotesque and terrifying. He turns immediately and, paralyzed, sees the kingdom on the brink of destruction.
The lake's waters rise, forming a grand wave heading toward the mountain of the kingdom that connects to the Frozen Peaks. His hands tremble and his eyes widen completely. With sword in hand, he instinctively sets off.
"Clovis, wait...!"
Aiden tries to stop him, but when his eyes meet such monstrosity, his reaction is exactly the same. His wings beat frantically and, without blinking once, his eyes search through the crowd for a single being.
"What are you waiting for?! Go!"
Upon hearing Ethan's orders, Riley and Carlos immediately head to the parts of the Kingdom near the mountain.
Aiden stops over the city near the castle. The green hair of Silvia waving desperately and her hopeless face cause a painful clench in his heart. Clenching his fists tightly around the sword's hilt, his eyes turn to the blue wave and, before their gazes could meet, he flies swiftly towards the tsunami.
"Aiden..."
On the other side of the wave, the knights meet and, with raised eyebrows, all four had the same reaction.
"So...? Does anyone have a plan?"
Everyone responded to Carlos' question with silence. At that moment, the only sounds that could be heard were the prayers and the wave itself, which seemed to have a life of its own.
"Alright, let's go, split up!"
Clovis sheathed his sword and signaled with his hand, giving orders to all three.
"Each go to a city and use magic or aura to protect them!"
"Oh, sure, in that case, where's Scarlet? You know I can't use any of those things!"
"Ethan didn't let her come," replied Riley.
With a click of his tongue, Carlos split from the group and each went their separate ways. From left to right, the knights were divided with Aiden at the first, Clovis at the second, Riley at the third, and Carlos at the last city.
Raising his hands, Riley was the first to raise his shield made of intense white flames. Then, Clovis created his with powerful orange flames. It wasn't easy, taking considerably longer than the others, but Aiden also formed his aura barrier.
"Seriously, favoritism at a time like this...?"
With eyes closed, Carlos brought his arms together. The voices disappeared as his concentration peaked, and at the moment when a great point of light could be seen forming in front of the city, not even the noisy approach of the waters could reach him anymore.
Mana accumulated rapidly, as if forming a massive sphere. Then, when the blue orb reached a size that could easily fit a few human beings inside, Carlos opened his eyes.
"Carlos, what are you doing?! Hurry up!"
"Oh, please, stop stating the obvious...!"
An enormous effort was made to separate his hands, and even more to continue the motion.
"Damn... when Aiden did it, it seemed so easy...!"
His veins bulged along with his wide eyes, and at that moment, he saw the tsunami approaching the limit imposed by his own mind.
"Aaaaaahh!"
His hands pulled at the air as if opening an invisible surface. With the movement of his fists, the energy ball expanded, but when his hands gave in, it shrank back to its usual size.
"Damn it, Carlos, hurry up! There's no more time!"
"Damn it, I told you..."
His eyes closed, and his teeth clenched. Placing his hands on the center of his chest, even blood flowed from his gums as his limit of strength was surpassed.
"Stop stating the obvious!"
His hands open and mana spreads, creating a curved barrier that covers the front of all the cities. The tsunami crashes against the created shields, generating an unparalleled weight that nearly made Carlos' hands retreat.
Changing the direction in which they moved, the waters split, with half heading toward the sea and the other half bypassing the shield on the right. The kingdom's wall could not withstand the impact of this blow.
When the tsunami passed, Carlos managed to endure a bit, but without strength, he fell towards the precipice left around the cities after the water receded.
"You saw it, right...?"
Riley appeared, catching him and carrying him to the ground.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ha! I didn't mention...? Magic and aura are useless."