From her place atop the tallest building in all the city, Amelia Laflamme observed the rain falling beyond the horizon. Londorus seemed to be covered in a gray, cold and indifferent mantle.

A super wet mantle.

Sitting at the edge of the rooftop, she then looked down at the street, having a view of her hair and the fabric of her dress forcibly stuck to her chest, but she did not mind. She needed all that coldness to feel something.

Anything…

She swallowed saliva, tasting it bitter. In less than a minute, she had ignored three social notifications from her ex-guild partners.

Three… More than I expected.

The first was a call from Karen Svensson, who was quickly ignored as soon as it popped up.

She surely wants to brag about the great job she did. Yes… Your new ‘Master’ will surely be proud. Go to her side while wagging your tail, come on.

The other two messages were from William The Stoic and Marco Souza, making the same question: ‘Where are you?’ The difference between the two was that William’s message started by calling her beautiful, and Marco’s text was more demanding.

I should do this sooner than later.

She opened her User Interface, and selected William and Karen’s names from her Friend List and tapped ‘unfriend’. Only Marco Souza’s name remained. She could picture his squinting look, daring her to continue.

She wanted to ask him if stealing from the Shooting Star’s vault was his idea, but last night’s remarks had already given her the answer.

“ This is all strategic—These stopped being quarrels between rival groups, these are private companies now. ”

Well, my former ‘Lord’, my sister is still in that guild you fucked…

After glancing at Marissa’s name and her current ‘Offline’ status, she tapped Marco’s and removed him from the list.

She sighed as if a load had been freed from her shoulders and pointed her face upwards to receive the chilly rain directly. Her winged tiger whined, beside her.

“Oh, sorry! Your wings must be completely soaked. Rest a little, I’ll get down on my own.”

The beast became incorporeal and turned into a jewel that gently fell on her palm.

As she looked at the distance, she felt a set of eyes piercing the back of her neck, coming from something that was always present. Always vigilant.

Amelia sighed. “What is it, Belphy?” she asked aloud, addressing someone standing behind her. “Is there something you want to say? Because this is the time to do it!”

The slim feminine silhouette did not reply, limiting herself to only keep her distance, prompting Amelia to click her teeth and stand up.

“Are you also going to judge me?!” Amelia cried, striding towards her. “Do you think I enjoy this?! Do you think I wanted this to happen?! Sure, why not? I wake up every morning, eager to fuck someone else's life! That’s ME, every single day! This whole situation is so absurd that I can’t stop laughing! Ha—Ha—HA!”

The tall entity tilted her head when Amelia fell to her knees, sobbing.

“Just a couple of days ago, I was chilling with my sister in the Trophy Room, mocking the insignificant feats of the weakest members… We were planning on raiding the Etzebel Castle later this week and celebrate our victory at her favorite place, where they serve those salty nachos. But then the COCKROACH showed up and fucked everything! If it weren’t for him, maybe Marco would have quitted the guild in another less… destructive way… Or am I being delusional?”

Amelia looked up, looking for answers, but the ghostly apparition in front of her did not move an inch.

The specter only remained still while every single drop of rain falling over her round hat passed through. A black through-see veil covered her entire body, and in her hands, she held something resembling a bouquet, composed of knives, pistol cannons, and wrenches.

What am I doing? Amelia lowered her head and bit her lower lip, drawing blood. Talking to this… thing.

An explosion was heard in the distance. Although she was used to hearing them all the time, something about hearing it inside Londorus’ Safe Zone made her uneasy.

Was it my imagination?

Frowning, she looked for the source, until another blazing light, followed by a burst of flames could be seen, 2 miles away.

Lancesmith bridge is in that direction, but… Nan… It can’t be. It must be just a coincidence. Unless…

Amelia imagined a quite colorful scene involving the real Astrid, kicking Karen’s ass after finding out what was going on.

But not even that monstrous woman could cause such destruction… Not here, I mean.

Amelia exhaled, reprimanding herself. Whatever. It has nothing to do with me.

She then turned around and jumped down the building, ready to leave the city and everything behind.

She fell 100, 200, 300 feet, until a memory flashed in her mind.

“ This is a serious issue, Marco! The integrity of this ship and its population is at risk! ”

Amelia shut her eyes and groaned. “ARGH! Ça me fait chier !”

Before crashing into certain death, she sprouted black wings at the last second, landing safely.

“If this ends up being bullshit, I’ll show him hell…” she muttered, glancing in the explosion's direction.

The humongous dragon crawled towards the city.

Its height rivaled the city’s skyscrapers when it stretched out its long necks. While making its way out of the river, it crushed a yacht with one foot and leveled a mansion with its fat, round body.

The white head fired an incandescent beam that melted anything in a straight trajectory, and the black one emitted a chilling cry that created seemingly controlled black holes that consumed everything in a 100-feet radius, before imploding and blinking out of existence.

If left unattended, Londorus would cease to exist in a matter of minutes. Realizing it prompted Alan to draw his bronze-tier sword.

“Stop that thing, NOW!” he yelled, threatening the girl in black.

She turned to him, calmly. “Put that thing away before you poke someone’s eyes.”

“Only yours! Why would you bring that thing here?! This is not a dungeon nor a battlefield!”

“Is it full of ‘civilians’? Is that what you’re trying to say?” she asked in a monotone voice.

“Y-YES! Most of the people living here aren’t members of a guild! You’re practically attacking innocent people!”

Although it was impossible to see her expression, Alan was sure that the young woman was glaring at him.

“You’re not making any sense, Alan Warden,” she said, turning her voice deeper. “So is it okay to kill people as long as they have a weapon in hand? Do you think chivalry has its place in war?”

She snickered, deviating her gaze toward her monster in the distance, giving Alan the opportunity to check his feet. The shadow bounding me has disappeared.

He then tightened his grip on his sword’s hilt. Even if I know it’ll be impossible, I’d later feel 100 times worse if I never tried!

He charged against the unsuspected girl, and swung his sword, going for her neck. “You asked for it!”

The blade passed through, but it felt null as if he had cut the air. The weight of his weapon after drawing a long curve almost threw him off balance.

What happened just now?!

He glanced back, finding the girl’s head still attached.

Did I miss? N-no, I don’t think so. Or maybe she moved so fast that I didn’t notice, like in those animes! Can people do that here?! …C-Cool?

“What were you trying to do, Little Mouse?” she asked, smirking. “Doesn’t matter. I promised you a front-row seat, right? What are we waiting for, then?”

She stretched out her hand again, ready to bring another abomination into the city, but when the summoned creature materialized, it was smaller. Her Mount had the head and the glossy wings of a crow and the body of a black slim mare.

“Seats ready! Hop up, Little--” She beamed, but when she turned around, looking for him, he had gone. “Of course he’ll escape,” she said to herself, sighing until she saw him crossing Lancesmith bridge at full speed. “Is he going after my adorable Draquinox?” She chuckled. “Seriously? Well, I don’t want to miss the show…”

Oscar Mills was not in a good mood.

Maybe Dillan was right, and this is all my fault. If I haven’t brought Alan Warden here… No, no, no… I was the one that said that this was a long time coming… But do I really believe that, or am I just lying to myself?

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his flying cat’s reins.

I even had to swear to Astrid herself that I didn’t know what Marco was planning. I never felt so embarrassed in my whole life… I swear, if I ever see Marco Souza’s face again, I’ll fucking--What the…? Is that what I’m looking for?

As his chubby cat soared in the sky, Oscar could see the two-headed dragon wreaking havoc from a mile away. “Call Tamara,” he made a voice command and his User Interface automatically opened an Audio Chat window.

“Did you find it?” she asked right away.

“Yes, and judging by its size and destructive power, it must be a Superior Summon.”

“Oscar, that’d be impossible.”

“Well, let’s review the facts, shall we? I estimate that it’s 200 feet tall, and its Potential… Umm… By looking at the ease with which it destroyed the entirety of Newsingtown in less than a minute, I’d say it’s Gold B rank. A City Destroyer. What do we call those again?”

“Oscar! Londoru’s Safe Zone limits our mana capacity to the point that we wouldn’t be able to summon anything bigger than a car!”

“Well, say that to this big fella.”

Tamara let out an exasperated grunt. “F-F-Fuck! Okay, okay, where is it going now?”

Did she curse just now? Oscar thought, chuckling. She must be super frustrated. He gave another glance to the beast. I correct myself. Who wouldn’t? This is really unprecedented.

“He’s about to reach Westmonster,” Oscar informed. “Hey, maybe it’s going after the Big Beth. Monsters of this size love to destroy monuments, right? Like in those movies Helen likes.”

“Don’t even joke about it! I-I’m on my way! Distract it whatever means necessary!”

“She really likes that clock tower, huh,” Oscar whispered after Tamara hung up. “Distract it? How? That thing may be ignoring the rules, but I don’t. My stats are currently cut in half.”

As he glared at the thing, the System automatically detected a Guild Member in the vicinity. He squinted, and an icon popped up inside his field of vision, showing the person’s exact location and name. “You have to be kidding me,” he muttered and ordered his cat to nose dive.

After landing at a modest distance, Oscar watched Alan Warden rushing towards a crumbled building. It was until Oscar got closer that he noticed someone trapped under debris.

“P-please, wake up! I’ll help you get you out of this, okay?!” Alan was crying out to the unconscious man. His HP was barely holding up.

“W-who?” the man muttered, slowly opening his eyes. He then uttered a cry of shock. “MY LEGS! I can’t feel them!”

“D-Don’t worry! A healer will fix you up as long as you have some HP left,” Alan assured, as the man suddenly pulled him by his sleeves.

“It may be too late by then, so please, young man! I have 3 million gold saved. Let me transfer it to you and let’s meet here in 10 hours so you can give it back, yes?!”

From his place, Oscar observed the scene in silence.

Was this your true intention, Alan? Since you’re level 5, that much gold must be like a fortune to you. He snickered. Although Astrid may have you in high esteem, I’m glad to see your true colors. He then closed his fists. After all, you’re the true reason our guild…

Alan suddenly turned to Oscar, showing a pale face. “You, big guy! Can’t you see this person needs help?! Give me a hand, please!”

Oscar frowned before stepping forward. “Ah, sure.”

“W-wait a second… Are you level 5?” the agonizing man said in a quiet voice. “I can’t transfer that much gold to you…” He then frowned, looking annoyed. “Why didn’t you step aside so that other man—g-got—f-first…”

The man looked sleepy as his HP finally dropped to zero, and when his body vanished, the debris fell over the empty spot left behind.

Oscar observed Alan staring at that spot for long seconds.

“W-Why?” Alan asked aloud with a broken voice. “I heard you landing like half a minute ago, so why didn’t you help me save him earlier?!”

Any other day, Oscar would find it annoying that someone had questioned him. He would have grabbed Alan by the collar of his jacket and yelled back at him, but this time, he only shut his eyes.

“I’m going to confront that thing,” Oscar said, gruffly. “What about you, Ghost?”

Alan wiped something off his face and evaded Oscar’s gaze as he passed him by. “You know I can’t fight, so I’ll try to help as many people as possi--”

Something crossing the sky at great speed interrupted him and a current of air pushed them when it passed by. They looked up and saw a group of ten winged Mounts flying low, towards the menace.

Oscar squinted at them, waiting for the System to give him some info. “They’re from the Titan Hunters guild. They’ll take care of it.”

“Well, I’ll wish them good luck, then!” a third voice said from atop the collapsed building. “There you are Little Mouse. Don’t run again like that. I promised to show you something exciting, remember?”

Alan glanced at the girl dressed in black for a second before walking in the next street direction.

“Alan, wait. Who’s this?” Oscar asked.

“Who are YOU?” the girl asked back in a lower voice. “Doesn’t matter, don’t even present yourself, for I’m only interested in that little bloodnut over there. So go die somewhere else and leave us alone, pretty pleaaase?”

Alan clenched his jaw, turning his back at both. “She’s that dragon’s summoner. That’s all I know.”

“Is that so?” Oscar grinned, stretching out his hand to his side, materializing a lance. “Fine. Do whatever thing you think it’s best for you, Ghost. Meanwhile, I’ll do the only thing I’m best at.”

“Alan, wait! We haven’t finished talking yet!” the girl yelled, before letting out an exasperated grunt. “Great! Now I’m stuck with this freaking--!”

Oscar powered up first, exerting a fire aura, and swung his lance in a long upward curve, cutting what remained of the building in half. The cut was so clean that not even a single brick fell down.

“The name’s Oscar Mills, sweetie. Now, show me how you bleed,” he said, chuckling, but grimaced after noticing that the girl not only was unharmed but was also yawning. What the hell just happened?

“You’re not a tiny, cute little mouse like him. You’re a big, fat rat,” the girl said, surrounding herself with a purple aura. “And I detest rats. They’re not fun to play with.”

Three and a half miles away, another fight took place on Castlenaut street. There, surrounded by burning buildings, Karen Svensson kneeled and puked blood.

As she tried her best to remain conscious, she squinted at the warrior strolling toward her.

I had to take a beating to realize that their helmet looks like some sort of carnivorous beast.

“A-Are you deaf?!” Karen cried. “I told you I’m not HER! I’m not the real Astrid Bradford!”

“Oh, I heard you alright,” the warrior said hoarsely, grabbing Karen by the neck. “That’s why I can’t let you go unscathed. Your pathetically slow moves and your laughable weak-ass spells are staining her reputation.”

“W-Who the hell cares?” Karen replied as she was lifted off the ground.

The unknown warrior chuckled. “I do. I care so much that seeing your pitiful impersonation disgusts me. So, good night, whoever you are.”

“C-Can I say s-something first?”

“Sure, why not?” the warrior, shrugged.

“T-Trigger off…” Karen whispered, grinning.

The Warrior looked at their sides, finding several magic circles surrounding them. Before the spells could reach them, the Warrior closed their fist to crush Karen’s neck, but the witch’s body had turned into solid ice.

“Oh, you bit--”

A plethora of elemental spells hit both indiscriminately. Lightning zaps, ice lances, currents of frozen air, fireballs, flamethrowers. Even the ground they were standing on had turned into quicksand, trapping the Warrior’s feet.

Karen escaped the bombarding area and started casting: “Calling Familiar, Bearmental Family!”

“NICE TRY!” the enemy roared, dashing towards Karen.

“Baby Bear!” Karen yelled, and a bear cub made of ice got launched out of a summoning circle. It curled up into a ball and hit the Warrior in the chest, pushing them. “Mama Bear!” Karen called, and a fully adult bear came into existence, engulfing its whole body in flames.

The creature threw a swipe that melted part of the Warrior’s chest plate and released a fire breathing. The enemy could do nothing but shield themselves with their arms.

“And last, Papa Bear!”

When it landed, the ground shook. It doubled the Warrior in size, and when it roared, it extinguished the nearby flames.

“You had it in you all this time, huh, Impersonator?!” the Warrior said, laughing out loud. “It’s a shame that the Safe Zone is limiting you, but whatever! Tell your pet to give me a big hug!”

“Papa Bear, crush their spine!”

The summoned beast made of solid rock extended its enormous arms and the Warrior reciprocated by embracing it. “Come here, pal!”

The golem bear was so huge that it blocked the Warrior out of vision.

“Mama Bear, light him up!”

The fire-breathing beast followed the order and began scorching its partner. In a matter of seconds, Papa Bear’s rocky body began emitting light, as if it was made of magma.

“How are your bones, dipshit?!” Karen asked, loudly sneering. “I measured Papa Bear’s strength once, and its embrace is equivalent to 120,000 newtons of force, so enjoy it, you asshole!”

“Oh, geez! That could do some serious damage… if the Safe Zone affected me.”

Karen’s grin disappeared. “Affected… huh?”

“Fire Style, Meteor Punch!”

“Meteor--what?”

The street darkened for a second, a series of blue sparkles manifested around them, and with a blinding light and a deafening bang, the enormous bear got sent flying in a straight trajectory, hitting its family.

The three bears ended up smashing against a building before turning into fading pixels.

Karen’s lips trembled in disbelief. “N-no way…”

That kind of reminded me of Astrid’s Meteora Ferrum… And now… I’m officially out of mana.

Karen fell to her knees as the Warrior chuckled.

“Time’s up, princess. It was fun, so I’m not angry with you anymore. Thanks to this little warmup, we ended up calling the real Comet’s attention.”

Before Karen could say a word, something heavy landed between them. Something that made the ground shake several times more than Papa Bear did.

Karen looked up, staring at something resembling a golden cape in front of her. When she blinked twice, she noticed it was hair, and the owner was glaring at her. Her eyes gleamed silvery blue.

“Who the fuck are you?” Astrid Bradford asked Karen.

The still disguised Karen only muttered: “I…”

“Let me guess, this is one of Kathleen’s lame attempts to get back at me, isn’t that right?” Astrid snarled. “There’s only a pair of bitches crazy enough to try this. You must be Amelia Laflamme or Karen Svensson, most likely…”

Karen pursed her lips and clenched her buttocks, ready to receive her deadly wrath. This is going to hurt way more than that stranger’s attacks.

“Get out of my sight,” Astrid said with closed teeth. “You’re too pathetic to kill.”

Karen shut her eyes, repressed any urge to curse, and ran out of there as fast as she could. One last glance at the Warrior confirmed they were only after the real Golden Comet.

Karen could have shared what she had learned about the enemy with Astrid. She could at least have warned her about what they had said. That the Safe Zone was not affecting them…

But no. Karen decided not to say a word and ran away instead.

And who the hell was that? That person was super annoyed after finding out I was a fake… Ha, this is so funny. I’d laugh, but my everything hurts.

Whoever that person is, it strikes me as a very obsessive, psychopathic fan. Hu-hu-hu… Ouch.

So have fun with that, you bitch.