The sun rose, but the sky still glowed red. The morning air carried the scent of smoke. A battle had been raging in the night.
A group of soldiers ran across the beach. They wore armor, and some held shields, but most carried spears. Their faces were dirty, and their hair was messed up.
Some of them stopped, breathing heavily. They stared at the horizon.
"We're lucky the Wyverns didn't come here... I heard they attacked the North and the Crown Prince's Army..."
"Yeah. But still..."
The Army from Serpentes had successfully invaded the beach of Padparadscha. But it would be hard for them to invade further. Padparadscha had hired mercenaries and dispatched all of their <Aura Masters> to the war.
Not to mention, their Duke and their Young Lord had also led them himself.
"Don't worry. If even Young Lord Mirai and the two Young Masters ar
The blizzard had completely gone. The streets were clear, and a blanket of fresh snow covered everything. A thin layer of ice glazed everything on the ground; it was slick beneath the giant wolves' army as they walked.Liam was pulling Harriet's hand, guiding her forward inside the church's aisle. She was blindfolded, and a small smile of excitement was on her face.In front of the Gods' statue was a small table with a medium-sized golden basin on top of it. Two middle-aged men stood around the basin, turning in the direction of the door."Why are you blindfolding yourself?" Orcenal, one of the middle-aged men asked."This is important, Sir. I want it to be special," as Harriet arrived in front of the golden basin, Liam began to stand behind her, hugging her behind her back."How do we do this?" Harriet asked."Well, Madam," the Alchemist, who was not used to
It was a whole night of battle. The sky lightened up in light purple and blue color. It was finally dawn.But still...The ocean was red. Wyvern carcasses floated to the shore, dying the wave red with blood. The water was full of fire, burned ships, and screams.Ezekiel gazed to the East, to the enemy's main fleet that had just lessened the number to half. The rest that could still flee retreated. And he started to see a flock of ravens turned in his direction."You good, man?" Heinrich, the man who rode the black cloud platform of ravens, asked."Yeah," Ezekiel answered."You pushed them back," Heinrich said. "You did it.""Nah, you did, man," Ezekiel chuckled. "What was that fucking nightmare?"A dark shadow of a gigantic long creature loomed below the water's surface. Heinrich smiled. "She's Levia. I'll call her ba
"I am... your father."Harriet turned to Orcenal. Her eyes immediately lit up with joy. But then, she turned back to Helena; the direction Orcenal was looking at."I deserved that," Helena walked closer. "Why didn't the two of you never curse me right in front of me?"She nodded, smiling thinly. "I deserved to be called a whore by my own daughter anyways."Harriet narrowed her eyes at her mother's statement. While at the same time, Shawn opened his mouth wide in astonishment after he realized who the middle-aged woman was, and Liam was very awkward in this weird family setting..."If you are here, Mother, does that mean His Grace the Grand Duke is also here?" Harriet asked."No," Helena glanced at Orcenal. "Good thing he wasn't here, or else this man would die.""Excuse you, who would die?" Orcenal said sharply."Anyw
Fashion.It was the very one thing Harriet was very interested in.Harriet assumed that her mother knew, but she never cared about it. But now, hearing her suddenly mention nail polish, her heart somewhat felt sore."I've... heard of it," Harriet answered."Mm, you must try it. It will suit your hands. They said they could also give you nail extensions... I heard it's all about fashion alchemy. Go invest in them."The whole time, Helena didn't look straight into her eyes. She looked down at her injured hand. But her voice was incredibly gentle. It was almost like the Helena Harriet knew was not here right now.Helena dressed her wound carefully like she was afraid of hurting her more. Her expression was relaxed, but she still didn't wear her heart on her sleeve.Harriet... couldn't deduce what was on her mind.At that
"...you see... this is a bad habit of mine. I gambled my money and lost them, then acquired some from odd jobs, then gambled them away. It's good to have some good friends who could lend you some money too... to eat. I never gambled my friend's money..."Orcenal's ramble made it even more awkward."Does Harriet know...?" Liam carefully asked."No, no, don't let her know, or she will let me be a leech to her life. So just... let me be," Orcenal said.Liam stifled a smile. It seemed that this man treated Harriet as someone who should not experience any grief in life. He shielded her even from his own bad habits and uncoolness because he wanted her to see him as this fun uncle she could rely on..."But I wonder, sir... there's something I am curious about," Liam said.Orcenal turned his face up and looked at this long blonde-haired man. He noticed his eyes deepe
"Actually, who... are you?"Liam's question was incredibly offputting. It was the first time he had the urge to ask such a question to anyone.But without even flinching, Orcenal just answered with a simple, "I am your wife's father."Orcenal walked away, drinking the whiskey from his metal flask. He just chuckled, as his answer did not answer Liam's question.DING...!DING...!DING...!The man's steps stopped. He turned to the church in the distance, where the bell rang throughout the area. His eyes mellowed, and Liam caught it. He heard a soft whisper from the man."...I'm sorry... Ayja."If his sense were not enhanced by his <Aura> and his Lycan blood, then he would think that this man did not say anything. It was such a thin and soft whisper.He could not understand
"LUMINE!"Thousand of light arrows rained down on the ocean. But it barely scratched the enemy's number. It was true that it burned their scaly skin, but it was not enough to slow them. They just kept coming.But Heinrich was ready. He screamed once again, "LUMINE!"Light flooded out of his hands, flowing into the air around him like a living thing. The wind roared as if in agony at this magic, its power so great he could feel it all over his body.The light spread across the sky, reaching far above the horizon and illuminating everything within sight. It was a giant light whip."HAAA!"It lashed out with blinding force. A hundred times brighter than anything seen before, the lumen ray tore through the wyverns like they were nothing more than straw dolls. They fell to the ocean, unable even to scream.One of the black-armored Wyvern Rider
CRASH!"Ah!"Two maids immediately came forward from their stand-by position when they saw and heard what had happened. Penelope accidentally dropped a flower vase to the corner of the table, breaking it and hurting her own hand.Blood trickled down her arm and into the floor, but Penelope was in a daze when the maids approached."What's wrong, Young Miss?" one of the maids asked."I... don't know..." Penelope's heart started to beat weirdly. Why was it? She... didn't quite know.Penelope's brown eyes blurred; she thought about something weird... 'Why... do I think of His Highness Hyacinth right now?'***"Duchess!"Harriet was startled by the sudden commotion. She turned to the church door and saw Ezra running at her. She broke down in tears but immediately cried to her, "Please save him...!"