The Crono Magic Academy lay in ruins, its once-proud structures reduced to rubble and debris. The air hung thick with the acrid scent of expended mana, so dense it made breathing difficult. Students and staff scrambled for safety in a chaotic exodus, their panicked voices carrying across the devastated grounds. The cause of this apocalyptic scene floated high above the academy – Victoria Lancaster, the Mad Star, lived up to her infamous title.
In the sky, eleven figures hovered in a tense standoff. Victoria's appearance was frightening – blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, her hair whipped around her head as if defying gravity, and her eyes blazed with supernatural blue light. Within those glowing orbs, anyone who dared look closely could see actual stars rotating in their depths, a mesmerizing and terrifying sight.
Surrounding her in a loose circle were the heads of the kingdom's ten great families, each bearing evidence of the fierce battle. Their usually immaculate appearances were disheveled, their clothing torn and dirty. Only Friedrich Rothschild maintained some semblance of composure, though his attention constantly shifted between his wife and the blue portal below. He was also worried about his son but unlike his rage-consumed spouse, who seemed ready to bury the entire kingdom with her son who wasn't even dead yet, Friedrich remained somewhat rational.
Thaddeus Blackvale, his noble bearing marred by obvious battle damage, broke the tense silence. "Dammit Friedrich! Are you going easy on her just because she's your wife?" His accusation went unanswered, adding frustration to his already battered dignity. The other family heads glanced briefly at this exchange but kept their primary focus on Victoria, recognizing her as the true threat.
Suddenly, Victoria closed her eyes, her body becoming unnaturally still. This abrupt shift from her previous fury to absolute calm sent waves of anxiety through the assembled nobles. Victoria Lancaster, known for her constant stream of curses and explosive temper, had never gone without flaring up for such a long time, especially when suffering such "injustice"– this stillness felt ominous, like the deceptive calm before a devastating storm.
When her eyes finally reopened, they had transformed. Gone was the supernatural glow, replaced by a natural but impossibly deep blue.
A/N - It means that her eyes aren't glowing because of her space abilities anymore but have changed color naturally.
More shocking was her hair, which changed color before their eyes, shifting to match her eyes in a matter of seconds. Her ears elongated to delicate points, completing a transformation that left her barely recognizable. The expression she now wore chilled even the battle-hardened nobles to their cores – gone was any trace of human emotion, replaced by something ancient and otherworldly.
Friedrich stared at his wife in growing horror. This wasn't the Victoria he knew; it was as if some primordial being had taken possession of her form. Her gaze, completely devoid of emotion, swept over the assembled nobles as if they were already corpses.
Sensing an overwhelming increase in her power, the family heads launched a desperate, coordinated attack. But before they could reach her, Victoria spoke a simple command: "Get out." Her voice was soft, almost gentle, but the power that pulsed from her eyes sent all ten nobles crashing to the ground below. Even Friedrich, spared in previous exchanges, found himself treated no differently than the others.
Without sparing her defeated opponents another glance, Victoria floated toward the portal. Near its swirling surface, the academy's ace team huddled behind Principal Cassandra, who attempted to shield them from the conflict. Victoria materialized before them instantaneously, her inhuman gaze meeting the principal's terrified eyes.
Cassandra, who had weathered Victoria's legendary temper countless times before, found this new version infinitely more terrifying. She preferred the cursing and unreasonable Victoria a million times more than whatever this was. The woman before her seemed to operate on a completely different plane of existence, one where human life held no more significance than specks of dust.
Victoria walked past them as if they were invisible, causing Cassandra to collapse, her body trembling uncontrollably. The ace team fared no better, their elite training meaningless in the face of such otherworldly presence.
Approaching the portal, Victoria raised one delicate hand to its surface. "Should I just break it?" she mused aloud, her soft voice carrying clearly to all present. The suggestion sent shockwaves of horror through the witnesses. Portals were fundamental forces of nature, mysterious phenomena that had challenged human understanding since the beginning of recorded history. Yet here was Victoria, contemplating their destruction as casually as one might discuss breaking a window. The terrifying part was that no one doubted she could do exactly that.
…
"Should I just break it?" Victoria's contemplative words hung in the air like a deadly promise. After a moment's reflection, she answered her own question: "No! I can't control my powers well so it might collapse in on itself." She paced around the portal's perimeter, her movements precise and deliberate.
"If I were to tear space from here," she demonstrated with a cutting motion of her hand, "as long as I'm careful enough, I should be able to send people into the portal." Her gaze drifted to the paralyzed ace team nearby. "But the chances of failure are high. Theoretically speaking, it should be possible. But I don't want to risk my son's life over just a theory."
As she continued her measured pacing, her thoughts seemed to crystallize. "If only there was someone who could..." Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization. "Father!" The word burst from her lips, followed quickly by concern. "But what should I do to make him come here, my son doesn't have much time left."
Her casual mention of "Father" sent tremors of fear through the assembled nobles. They all knew the story – how the legendary war goddess Celestia Lancaster had fought the demon general (strongest being beneath the demon king) for seven continuous days. Despite emerging victorious and earning the title of True Hero, her injuries had been too severe. Her desperate journey to the spirit world in search of healing had led to an encounter with the Spirit King himself, resulting in Victoria's birth.
Though Celestia had been cured, the price had been steep. The birth had stripped her of all powers, and her health had deteriorated rapidly afterward. She'd chosen to spend her final days in the House of Lancaster, where she ultimately passed away. Common knowledge held that Victoria blamed the Spirit King for her mother's death, making her current willingness to seek his aid all the more shocking.
Friedrich watched his wife with mounting concern. Few knew the true depth of Victoria's hatred for the Spirit King – to see her willing to request his help spoke volumes about her desperation to save their son. The weight of his failure to protect both of them pressed heavily on his conscience. But the question was still there, how would she make the Spirit King leave his position where he maintains world balance, just to come here to save his grandchild.
The question of how Victoria planned to summon the Spirit King was answered with terrifying clarity. The world itself began to tremble, not metaphorically but literally. Looking skyward, people witnessed an impossible sight – a massive celestial body materializing in the heavens, its bulk gradually eclipsing the sun.
The atmospheric pressure began to fluctuate wildly as the foreign planet's gravitational field interacted with Earth's own. Clouds swirled in unnatural patterns, creating vast cyclones visible from the ground. The oceans responded to the new gravitational force, tides rising to unprecedented heights. The very air seemed to grow thicker as the atmospheric compression increased.
The approaching planet's massive shadow plunged the world into an artificial twilight. Its surface features became visible to the naked eye – vast continents and oceanic expanses many times larger than Earth's own. The sight was both magnificent and terrifying, like watching the end of the world unfold in real-time.
Victoria observed her handiwork with eerie calm. "The Spirit King mediates between the human world and the demon world. I don't believe he'll wait until I destroy this entire planet for him to show up." Her words revealed the full scope of her actions – she was literally pulling another planet toward Earth, willing to risk the extinction of humanity to force her father's hand.
"What a crazy woman!" The thought echoed through countless minds, but none dared voice it aloud. All they could do was pray that the Spirit King would indeed appear, for if he didn't, Victoria Lancaster would become not just the Mad Star, but the harbinger of humanity's extinction.
A/N - I keep alternating between Victoria's last name in some scenes but I dont think its confusing. Anyway, I feel like I rushed the story of the War Goddess in this chapter so I might edit it later. Or maybe I can release a chapter solely dedicated to her since she's the only True Hero we currently know of.
All awakened are referred to as either heroes or villains depending on how they use their powers. But a true hero is someone who lived up to the name of hero and contributed greatly to the human race.