Nataran was in utter chaos, with people screaming and running away from the city’s entrance, which had been blasted open. The dark-armored army quickly advanced through, killing everyone in sight while the Nataran’s military was assembling and trying to hold it off. Ken kept bumping into people as he was making his way through the cluttered crowd.

Rumbling of the enemy’s feet from behind was slowly coming closer, along with the flesh-slashing and pained screams of the helpless citizens. Soldiers with rifles ran towards the threat. Instead of fleeing, some of the civilians were going that direction as well. Ken ignored it for the time being, as Charlotte was the one and only person on his mind. He hoped to get home in time and take her away to safety. Gasping for breath, he arrived at the sports hall and it seemed he escaped the mess for a while.

The sounds of battle were dulled by the room’s walls. Ken almost reached the exit, when he heard someone walking towards it from outside. Accompanied by a distinct clanking of metal, a man appeared in the doorway in front of Ken. The jagged obsidian armor covered most of the man’s body, making him look like a faceless silhouette. He was wielding a rather bloody steel sword. Ken clearly had his attention and made a few slow steps back. The warrior followed and lunged at Ken, who dodged the diagonal swing that would otherwise slice him in half. Attacks kept coming and Ken circled around the room while avoiding the slashes. The only manner of somewhat slowing the warrior down was to throw chairs his way, but it was mostly futile. After every missed attack, the man visibly grew impatient and his swings became more furious.

The warrior seemed to have had enough, as he suddenly stopped. With a big sigh, he dove his hand into one of his pouches and took out a small blue crystal. He cracked it and released some essence that got immediately absorbed into his hand. Right after, he stretched that hand behind him and punched towards Ken from distance. In that instant, a wave of air bursted out at Ken at high speed and sent him flying towards the end of the room. He hit the wall and fell on the ground.

The blast itself was painful, but as his back hit the wall, he lost his breath and couldn’t even scream in pain. Mildly dazed, Ken lied on the floor with his vision temporarily blurred. The warrior slowly walked towards him, probably enjoying the moment. When Ken’s vision returned, he saw something in the mess around him that could give him a chance. Even though not as much of an effective weapon, he grabbed the wooden training sword.

With an mighty raise of his steel sword in both hands, the warrior swung at Ken, who toppled him just in time. The warrior fell and swung towards Ken again, but his weak attack got blocked by the wooden sword. It cut deep, but not through it. Deep enough to make it stuck. Ken realized that and disarmed the enemy with a snap. He stood up and released the steel sword. Being pulled down by the not-so-light armor, the warrior attempted to stand up as well, but the sharp blade sliced his throat before he managed to do so. Blood spilled out like a waterfall, before his body eventually gave in.

Ken watched him for a brief moment and inspected the sword, which to his surprise, wasn’t as heavy as the ones he held in the past.

“Just hold on a little longer, Charlotte…”

The city had become a warzone, with shots and explosions echoing around. It didn’t take long for Ken to arrive home. When he did, he heard Charlotte’s cry out:

“Let me be! Go away!”

It came from her room. Ken rushed in and there she was, blazing fire at a warrior similar to who he just fought. Unnoticed, he pierced the newly acquired sword through his chest, and a few more times to make sure he’s dead. Charlotte’s glimmering eyes gazed in relief.

“Sis...” Ken hugged her and held her close, almost crying himself. He was happy that she’s safe, but what to do next was a troubling question. Battle seemed to be going on everywhere around and he had no idea how far the enemy had advanced. Aleric is likely fighting that blue-haired witch, unless he got overrun by this dark legion… and if they keep infinitely coming in through that portal, there is no way Nataran survives.

“It’s my fault. All of this is my fault. Why have I brought that elf here? What was I thinking?! My fantasies have deceived me and unleashed hell instead of a paradise…”

“Let’s go, as far away as possible.”

Ken tried to figure out where to flee, but his thoughts got interrupted by a loud, distant roar from above. He took Charlotte’s hand and ran outside. To witness that sight with his own eyes was astonishing. Or rather, terrifying.

A bus-sized black dragon was breathing fire all over Nataran. The siblings were speechless, watching their home city bathing in the inferno.

“Is this it? Everything we have worked so hard for is gone, just like that? At this rate, Charlotte will never get to experience a-”

Another dragon’s roar came from behind. Ken turned back to see the creature spitting flames under itself, quickly moving towards them. The blaze covered a wide area, no way one could get out of its way, unless a miracle happened.

“-a normal life…”

Someone grabbed them and all of a sudden, they were standing in an alley full of garbage, while the dragon’s fire passed near.

“A-Amazing! You literally teleported them!”

“Emilia?”

The person holding them was an elderly man in a robe.

“I suppose it’s who we were searching for,” he said and released them from the grip.

“What happened?” Ken asked, “Did we just...”

He looked back and forth between the man and the spot where they stood a few seconds ago.

“It’s a child’s play for a mage like me. Allow me to take you to safety now, before the Cryth reach here.”

The man began to cast a spell on the siblings. Ken was unsure what did he mean by taking them to safety, but he trusted him and expected some relocating magic again. Emilia stood near, confidently posing with her sniper rifle.

“You aren’t going?” Ken asked her.

“Why, no. There are many heads to put holes in.”

“Hey mage, stop!”

The elder halted the focused spellcasting.

“Hmm, is something wrong?”

“You have my thanks, but… take only the child.”

“Alright then,” the mage said and began to cast the same spell on Charlotte. “The name is Enju, by the way.”

After a few moments later, both him and Charlotte disappeared.

“Don’t worry,” Emilia said, “Everyone is being evacuated to the other end of the city, out of the harm’s way. But why the hell didn’t you go with them?!”

“Aleric is out there, I need to help him.”

“Oh, do you know whether he’s still alive?”

“From what I have seen, I don’t think he would go down that easily. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least try. Why did you come here?”

“I figured you took Charlotte home, so I hoped to get at least her out, but as I see, you were first.”

“So you came just for-”

“Pssst!”

Multiple enemies were approaching the alley. Ken hid behind a trash container while Emilia lied down into the garbage around, partially disguising herself. She was aiming at them and briefly showed three fingers to Ken, as to say there were three foes. When they came close to where he was, Emilia fired and Ken followed up by engaging the enemy. One was already dead and he slashed the closest one, neutralizing two together. The third warrior attempted to cast a spell, but Emilia shot the foe in the chest and Ken finished them off.

“Your stick flapping seems to prove itself useful,” Emilia laughed.

Another enemy appeared on the other side of the valley, riding an unknown beast. He was wielding a lance and charged at Emilia.

“Behind you!”

She took out her pistol and started shooting at them while still on the ground. The beast lost balance as the bullets dug into it and propelled the lancer forward, beyond Emilia. He landed effortlessly, but the beast ended up dead on Emilia, who screamed in pain and was unable to move under its weight. The lancer ignored Ken and wanted to kill her.

“Hey!” Ken rushed at him and almost got his head cut off as the lancer swung his weapon around, though the follow up kick pushed Ken away a few meters. The lancer jumped at him, but he rolled out of the way and continued the fight. They exchanged slash after slash. Ken struggled and kept receiving non-fatal cuts. He tried to reach for the pistol on the ground, but the lancer denied every opportunity. Soon enough, the lancer got hit by a light blast and fell in front of Ken.

“Aleric? You’re here!”

He began to charge another bolt.

“Move aside!”

Ken went out of the way while Emilia covered on the ground, still stuck under the beast and groaning in pain. A series of magical bolts and blasts started flying through the valley from both directions. Shira was on the other side, firing spells at Aleric, while simultaneously dodging and blocking his. After a few moments, Aleric created a barrier of light in between them and Shira. It worked as a protection while they released Emilia and ran to the valley’s end. Shira morphed into a white cloud and was about to go around the barrier. They escaped the valley to be welcomed by the march of an army, which shined in the light reflected on the silver armors with diamond parts.

“So I went and informed Troy as you asked me to…”

Aleric smiled.

The silver army continued past them towards the Cryth, who were approaching. In addition to their ground units, cavalry and mages, the enemy also had stone golems of different sizes. These two forces were about to meet right there. And so the dark legion charged, while the allies stopped and formed a simple formation. The front line rose their shields and waited for the legion to come closer. When it did, blades and lances came out in between the shields, catching the initial wave. The armies crashed into each other, soldiers cut each other down. Dragons joined the battle shortly after, but were mostly harmless thanks to the mages who sustained an aerial barrier. Ken got separated from the others during the mess and found himself in one of the houses near the battlefield. A few silver-armored warriors were lying dead and the room reeked of blood.

Marvin stood there shocked, as he watched the dark legion coming through the rift, raiding Nataran.

“Where are you going, Marco? Aren’t we supposed to be fighting out there?”

“There is no use for me without an aircraft…”

“Dude, our home is being destroyed.”

“I will find a new one, I am not dying here!” Marco said and began walking away with his coffee.

“So you would rather live in this shithole of a world?!”

“As if I had a choice of what world I live in…” he stopped, ”Wait, what are you implying?”

Marvin pointed at the violet portal in the distance.

“If you want a home worth living in, it’s right there.”

“Based on what’s coming out of that thing, I don’t think it’s any better than this.”

“We have to defeat the enemy and see for ourselves...”

After a few seconds of visible thinking, Marco walked up to Marvin and put his cup on the table. “You know more about what’s going on, right?

Marvin silently looked at him and turned back to the window.

“I see… I will go get some guns then, you better prepare an explanation,” Marco said and left for the armory, which was a few rooms away. It took him a minute to get back with two rifles and a bulletproof vest for himself, as Marvin already had one.

“So then? Where are the dragons?” Marco laughed.

“It’s coming!”

“I was just joking, obvi-”

“Get down!”

A black dragon crashed into the building and shattered the window with its head, followed by a roar. The unfinished cup of coffee spilled.

“Oh, you will pay for that!” Marco said and got pulled up from the ground. The dragon prepared to spit fire and so both of them escaped the room immediately, right before it got set ablaze.

They left the headquarters and joined the other forces with shooting at the dragon. It did no harm, but the ground soldiers got the dragon’s attention and were about to get attacked. A soldier launched a rocket at it and barely missed. As it hit the building, the explosion and shrapnel probably hurt the dragon, as it roared and flied away. The soldiers continued towards the front gate.

“This is crazy,” Marco said.

“I know, right… Whether you want to come with me or not, it’s up to you. But my friends are out there in danger and I am not leaving it at that.”

Some of the civilians went to the direction of the front gate as well. Marvin was about to stop them and send them the other way to safety, but they silently said something to themselves and suddenly, they appeared in all kinds of silver-diamond armor, wielding swords, polearms and bows. Their body features changed as well. Marvin was surprised, but not as much as Marco.

“Did you see that? Who are they?”

“So these are probably Shira’s people, as we were told...” Marvin thought, “She had that special device, could it be her opening the rift and unleashing this bloodbath? No, it couldn’t be her… Something must have gone wrong.”

“H-Hey, guys-” Marvin approached two of them. An elf archer and a huge, muscular guy, who looked feline with those ears and the tail. The axe and the shield he wielded were almost bigger than himself. They turned to him with grim faces, as if he was an annoyance.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

A dwarf joined the group, “It’s the Sorrowbringer with the Cryth legion.”

Seeing these guys combined with the recent events made Marvin laugh in the inside. Marco was very likely weirded out too.

“Unbelievable…” Marvin thought. He was glad that he could drop the suspicion from Shira.

“Anything else you need?”

“Uh, can we go with you, guys?” asked Marvin.

The dwarf looked at the others, they nodded.

“Just don’t stand in our way.”

The five of them walked through Nataran, seeing people running away and being rescued by the military or the silver warriors. Once they came closer to where the battle was happening, they confronted a mage who launched a series of fire missiles at them. The big cat dude dropped his heavy shield in front of the group and after the missiles got neutralized, Marvin shot the mage down. They continuously encountered members of the Cryth and fought them off. In spite of his size, the dwarf had no issues beating them up with his hammer. Quite a power he had, smashing skulls like watermelons. The elf precisely shot his bow and used its blade-like edges if the enemy came too close, while the cat dude sliced them in half with every single clean strike. To Marvin, it felt like an adventure.

“We are in trouble...” he pointed at a hill in the distance, outside of Nataran. Like a horde of ants running down that hill, the Laar’s military was commencing its promised assault.

“Oh my...” Marco said, “Look at the choppers! Just where did they get those from?

“And the tanks, well...”

A white cloud stopped in front of Ken, and Shira appeared in its place. He impulsively swung his sword at her, but she instantly created a small ice barrier to block it. Then, she attempted to attack Ken with a spell, but the magic somewhat failed and she reached for her pouch from where she took out a blue crystal the last time.

“Is that how they gain power?”

Ken lunged at her and tried to prevent her from doing so. She dodged, but the sword cut off the pouch from her hands and it fell down along with the one crystal that rolled out. She picked up a sword from one of the fallen warriors before Ken followed with another attack, which she deflected. He then quickly moved away and stepped on the pouch and the crystal, crushing it.

Shira watched Ken for a while when suddenly, dizziness took over him. She smiled as if she knew it was going to happen, and used that time window to attack. Ken regained his senses in time, parrying the strike and all of those which came after. It looked like Shira was definitely skilled, but her light clothing meant a single slash on her would be serious, if only Ken would land it. She was just too quick and evasive.

The fight has moved upstairs, under the destroyed roof.

“Where is the little girl from earlier?”

“Leave her out of this,” Ken said, trying to catch breath. He was exhausted.

“I know she isn’t ordinary…”

“What does she have to do with you?!”

Hate showed on Shira’s face.

“The likes of her have caused all of this!”

“The likes of her? Does she mean the ability to use magic? But she is the same-”

Shira charged at Ken, with anger in her movements.

“This is my chance” Ken thought, seeing the reckless attack which was aimed at his chest. He moved his sword to deflect it and blinked from expecting a powerful clash. It did not come. The cold steel severed his right thigh and he fell down right away, screaming.

“Pathetic, swinging the blade like an infant,” said Shira.

“If you lay a finger on her, I will kill you!”

Shira laughed.

“Ah, their fate is being concluded, do you hear the screams?”

The silver army was indeed being beaten up by the enemy.

“How rude of them to share it with you…” she lifted her sword, “But you don’t have to suffer anymore.”

Ken reactively raised his hand as to protect himself when she slashed. When he did, a kind of a magical barrier stopped the blade.

“What?” he thought.

Shira continued slashing, but nothing could go through the barrier. She smiled.

“You don’t even know how, do you?”

He looked at his hand, trying to figure out what is happening. Meanwhile, sounds of engines were to be heard from afar. Shira turned to take a peek through the destroyed roof and walls of the building.

“Your help is on the way… Not like it’s going to change anything.”

She came closer to Ken.

“Luck was on your side this time, boy,” said Shira and walked away.

The painful wound was deep and covered the floor in red. Ken managed to look outside and recognized the source of the engine sounds. It was way beyond dawn, but it seemed the Laar army finally came.

“You are late to the party, guys...”

Some people entered the building.

“Smells like shit,” he heard Emilia’s voice as she went upstairs and found him lying on the ground.

“Ken’s here! Oh my god, what happened? We gotta patch that up,” she said and began searching around in the room.

“That blue haired elf…”

Aleric came upstairs as well.

“Can you move?” he asked.

Ken tried to stand up, but couldn’t.

“I sense something strange within you,” Aleric said, “What exactly did she do to you?”

“I got saved by some magic, but I don’t know how.”

Emilia returned with a pillow sheet and used it as a bandage.

“About the Laar attack… I think we are fucked,” she said.

Ken turned to see the two otherworldly armies fight each other and noticed the Cryth were slowly falling back. It seemed Shira was confident and had split her forces to deal with Laar.

“Maybe not.”

Aleric and Emilia helped Ken to stand up and walk down the stairs. He noticed Shira’s pouch from before on the ground and remembered crushing the crystal. Perhaps it had something to do with the sudden ability to shield himself.

“That- thing,” he pointed at it.

The crystal was in crumbs and Aleric picked up the pouch. There was something still inside, so he dug in and found the same kind of a crystal.

“Even one can be dangerous to us,” he said and poured out the crumbs of the rest, which were crushed.

“I saw Shira using them to cast spells, so I stepped on them…” Ken said.

“Oh, then you should be fine.”

“Should? What do you mean?” Emilia asked.

“Don’t worry about it now. Ken needs to have his wound treated, so hurry to the dome where everyone is.”

Aleric gave the crystal to Emilia, “Here, we will study it later.”

“Woah woah, didn’t you just say-”

“Just don’t break it. Even then, it’s harmless to you.”