―Ruins of Aldelviewreld―
The Kings were stunned by the joint request from Fiora and Mustaffa.
"What you are asking is almost impossible, it is not that simple," replied Lord Argus. The mood remained tense, Mustaffa and Fiora remained silent. Both understood that the past and all the conflicts had fragmented any possibility of new diplomacy between the Kingdoms. Many lives have been lost, and resentment towards Fiora is still strong. At least Mustaffa became Averford's business partner two years ago, establishing peace on certain points between their societies over time.
"This is premature. We still don't know if what Fiora has said is entirely true," exclaimed Aurora. The beautiful Queen of Eircloft did not take her eyes off Fiora, and she could feel the sharpness of that gaze.
"It's true, it happened to my adventurers too" replied Mustaffa. The others looked at him incredulously, and Mustaffa approached slowly.
"My adventurers found something strange, a kind of mud with powerful mystical properties, but cursed," said Mustaffa. "What do you mean, Your Majesty?" asked Fiora, and everyone looked at her.
They were confused, because Fiora couldn't have known about this, and yet she and Mustaffa seemed to be very close friends.
"It seems, Your Majesty, that something dark, truly dark, may be happening deep within Threnafell," replied Mustaffa. "That is why we must form an alliance to explore every corner of Threnafell,' he added. Hearing this, all the kings remained thoughtful, and Mustaffa turned to Fiora.
"I'm sorry I didn't share this with you before, Your Majesty" said Mustaffa. 'It had to be said in front of everyone here,' concluded the wise king. Fiora looked at him and nodded in approval of the king's actions. The others thought for a moment until they were interrupted by Everard.
"Your Majesties, we are under attack!" shouted the young warrior.
Everyone went on alert and approached the slope of the small hill where the four runic teleportation portals of each Kingdom, except Averford, rested. From outside the camp, four huge shadows with the silhouette of large lizards could be seen. "Everard, status!" shouted Aurora, requesting more information while her and the other Kings quickly descended, except for Fiora, who remained at the top of the portals.
This was observed by Mustaffa, who wondered for a moment if Fiora had frozen in fear.
"My Queen, we could really use your help right now, please!" begged Mustaffa. Fiora's expression remained solemn as she turned her gaze toward the thick fog surrounding the Ruins of Aldelviewreld.
"Continue, your grace, I will take care of locating them immediately!" replied Fiora. Mustaffa obeyed and continued the descent alongside the other Kings, while Everard and Woodrow prepared to repel the attack alongside the other soldiers at the eighth gate.
"Prepare the cannons and have the lookouts ready with their arrows!" Everard ordered.
The other kings arrived alongside the large battalion prepared to defend the camp.
"Has the lighthouse been prepared?" Aurora asked, causing Everard and Woodrow to stammer.
"Prepare the lighthouse immediately, we must find them right away," Ezekiel exclaimed.
Argus and Dracus noticed Fiora's absence and questioned Mustaffa because Fiora was not helping if she was seeking an alliance with them, but before Mustaffa could answer, he was interrupted by Fiora's cries from the portals.
"I've located them, prepare your cannons and fire where I do!" ordered Fiora.
Aurora was annoyed by Fiora's order, but everyone was perplexed when they saw a powerful red beam shoot out from Fiora's position toward a specific part of the fog. Upon impact with the snow, the roars of the Scarlets were heard Shards of ice, snow, and dust burst into the air, soaked in a foul, dark ooze. Fiora had connected her attack to a large group of those dragons.
"Fire now!" Fiora shouted.
Everard obeyed and ordered the cannons to fire, but before they could open fire, thousands of rocks wrapped in blue fire were launched from the mist, forcing them to keep their shields up. The rocks hit the shields with such force that they created loud booms, and all the soldiers began to feel nervous.
"I must descend immediately" thought Fiora.
The attacks from the Scarlets hidden in the fog continued with increasing power.
"Your Majesty, our hands are tied, we cannot fight back!" said Everard.
"Don't worry, as long as the shield is active, they can't do anything else," replied Ezequiel.
Fiora descended quickly, even with her omen spell activated. This allowed her to sense the Scarlets moving underground. The other Kings, unable to sense their presence, were more concerned about the shield's resistance to the Scarlets' meteor shower.
"Get the cannons ready, we'll find a window to counterattack!" exclaimed Aurora.
At that moment, everyone watched in awe as the Eighth Gate began to emit a light that grew brighter and brighter, almost to the point of being blinding. Everyone covered their faces, protecting their eyes from the beautiful but intense glow of the seals.
"But what does this mean?" exclaimed Mustaffa. The attacks did not cease, becoming more intense. The Kings, almost blinded, heard one of the magicians shout. ―The first seal has been opened―
―Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Averford―
Claire and Margott were being treated with healing spells by Sakura, Lucas, and the others, as they had suffered some cuts and bruises from the clash of the two spells.
"It's unbelievable that you forgot the rules. Why did you do something like that?" asked Kiett.
"Chill, brother, we just got carried away" replied Claire. Kiett looked annoyed and turned to Margott, waiting for an explanation.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I challenged Claire, and then we just got caught up in the heat of the moment," said Margott apologetically.
Kiett's eyes seemed to calm down with every word the two girls said. Lucas warned them that they should not provoke anything like that again, as it could cost them their expulsion from the Legionnaires for ignoring the simplest rules.
"The main characteristics of a Legionnaire are loyalty, honor, and discipline," Lucas explained. "If you can't respect that, you'll be considered prone to insubordination" he concluded.
"Lucas is right," said Blumiere. "We must respect the rules at all times," he argued.
Amber was angry at Blumiere's comment and hit him on the head. Blumiere winced and clutched his head tightly.
"Why did you do that?" asked Blumiere, upset. "You're the last person who should be giving advice, you shameless man!" shouted Amber. Blumiere acted offended, as if he were a diva.
"I am offended. Why are you talking to me like that? What did I do to deserve that?" asked Blumiere. Amber, angry, grabbed Blumiere by the collar of his coat. "Give back the money from that dirty bet you just made" Amber exclaimed, very upset. Blumiere nervously denied the accusation.
"Now you deny everything. Go tell them to their faces, you shameless man!" Amber replied, pointing behind Blumiere. Turning around, Blumiere saw everyone who had bet on which of the two girls would win the supposed decisive duel.
"Guys, no returns—business is business!" exclaimed Blumiere, before running off like a madman, pursued by a crowd of angry young people. Amber and the others laughed loudly at the situation. "Do you think he'll be okay? They won't hit him, will they?" asked Marth, while Amber continued to laugh hysterically.
"Don't worry, he's as sly as a fox. He'll get away like he always does," replied Amber. "Although he could use a little punishment," she added.
While the others laughed, Kiett approached his sister and knelt. "Are you sure you are okay?" asked the young man. "I'm fine, brother, don't worry," replied Claire. "You know I'm as tough as steel," she emphasized, stroking her brother's head.
"I'm here too, in case you forgot" Margott interrupted, wanting to get her boyfriend's attention. Claire shot her with a look of disgust and jealousy. "I know you're there, I have something for you, but I'll give it to you later" replied Kiett.
Margott's eyes lit up and Claire just watched, annoyed. "It had to be her," she thought. Kiett approached Margott and kissed her. "Well, girls, I have to go, and you have a lot of work to do!" Kiett said. Claire and Margott looked thoughtful. "What do you mean?" they asked.
"Remember Princess Liliam's order" replied Kiett. 'You will not leave the arena until it is repaired" he concluded. Claire and Margott bowed their heads in regret. "Remember that tomorrow the incense ceremony will take place at dusk," said Lucas. "We must be there, in honor of our brothers, our companions," he concluded.
Everyone was serious after Lucas reminded them of the ceremony. Claire and Kiett looked at each other, and you could see in their eyes that they were relieved to be able to continue seeing each other.
"We'll be there. Come on, Margott, let's finish this!" Claire exclaimed.
Margott approached Kiett and kissed her right cheek. "See you later, my love," Margott said, and Kiett blushed.
TO BE CONTINUED...