“AKITSU!”

  Rhen Calder’s voice tore itself raw the moment the ground split.

  He lunged forward without thinking, fingers stretching toward the widening裂—toward Akitsu’s falling figure, blood already streaking his face.

  A steel-clad arm wrapped around his chest and yanked him backward with brutal force.

  “LET ME GO!” Rhen screamed.

  “Kid—NO!” a royal knight barked, dragging him away. “You’ll die!”

  “That’s my friend!” Rhen thrashed wildly. “LET ME GO BACK!”

  Lemon shrieked from Rhen’s collar. “AKITSU! AKITSU!”

  The crack in the earth widened, swallowing buildings, screams, and Akitsu Shouga himself.

  The knight slammed Rhen behind a broken stone wall as debris rained down.

  The city did not stop screaming.

  Explosions thundered from above. Rhen looked up just in time to see dark shapes streak down from the sky.

  Elves.

  They rode massive birds with outstretched wings, shadows passing over burning streets. From their grips, glowing orbs dropped.

  “BOMBS!” the knight shouted.

  The ground erupted again.

  Fire swallowed entire streets. Civilians vanished in flashes of light and sound.

  Rhen covered his head. “This—this isn’t real—!”

  A wet, grinding sound rose from below.

  The street bulged.

  Then burst open.

  Giant moles—monstrous, armored creatures with gaping maws—erupted from the ground, grabbing fleeing civilians and dragging them screaming into the earth.

  “No—no—no!” Rhen choked.

  Lemon clung to him, trembling. “Rhen… this is wrong… this is very wrong…”

  “Move!” the knight yelled. “We need to move NOW!”

  They ran.

  Smoke burned Rhen’s lungs. He tripped over rubble, over bodies. The knight hauled him upright again and again.

  They turned a corner—

  —and the chaos abruptly stopped.

  No screams.

  No explosions.

  Only silence.

  Too much silence.

  Dust and smoke hung thick in the air, obscuring everything ahead.

  Rhen’s heart hammered. “Why did it stop…?”

  Lemon whispered, “I don’t like this.”

  The knight raised his shield slowly. “…Stay down.”

  Then—

  A brilliant pink light ignited ahead.

  “GET DOWN!” the knight roared.

  The explosion that followed erased sound itself.

  The world turned white.

  The ground convulsed like it was alive. An entire quarter of the kingdom on the right side vanished—buildings lifted, twisted, and disintegrated midair.

  Rhen felt himself thrown backward as the knight tackled him to the ground.

  The shockwave arrived a second later.

  Houses flew.

  People flew.

  Stone shattered.

  Wind tore past them like a living thing, ripping roofs free and flinging debris overhead.

  Rhen screamed into the ground, gripping the knight’s armor as the world tried to peel them apart.

  Lemon buried himself against Rhen’s neck, shrieking.

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  Then—

  Silence again.

  The wind passed.

  The dust settled.

  Slowly, the knight lifted his head. “…Alive?”

  Rhen coughed violently. “…I think so.”

  They stood shakily.

  What remained of the kingdom burned.

  Rhen looked into the distance—and froze.

  A dragon.

  No—the dragon.

  Ocean-blue scales gleamed amid smoke and flame. Two massive heads, each with three glowing eyes. Four legs crushed stone beneath them. Four wings spread like torn skies.

  Its tail, lined with razor-sharp spikes, coiled behind it.

  Rhen’s knees gave out. “…That’s… that’s not real…”

  The right head opened its mouth.

  A familiar pink light gathered inside—brighter, denser than before.

  “It’s charging again!” the knight shouted.

  The light grew.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  Not an explosion.

  A punch.

  Something struck the dragon’s head from above with devastating force, slamming its jaws shut.

  The dragon roared as the blast detonated inside its mouth.

  Flesh tore. Light burst outward. The right head collapsed in a spray of energy and blood.

  Before Rhen could process it, a figure landed in front of them.

  Black hair, streaked with gray and white. Calm black eyes. Clothes torn, yet posture unshaken.

  “…Are you two alright?” the man asked evenly.

  Rhen stared. “W-What… who are you?”

  “We’re fine!” the knight snapped. “Name, now!”

  “Later,” the man said. “Follow me if you want to live.”

  The dragon roared behind them.

  The man turned and ran.

  The knight didn’t hesitate. “MOVE!”

  They sprinted through ruins that had once been streets. Fires burned unchecked. Elves slaughtered civilians in open streets—on horses, from the air, without hesitation.

  Rhen watched an elf cut down a pregnant woman without slowing.

  “…Why…” Rhen whispered.

  Lemon shook violently. “They’re not soldiers… they’re butchers…”

  They reached a shattered tunnel entrance.

  Bodies lay everywhere.

  The passage had collapsed.

  Elves stood nearby, blades dripping red.

  The man stopped abruptly. “Damn.”

  The knight raised his sword. “Orders?”

  “You three go,” the man said. “I’ll handle this.”

  Rhen grabbed his sleeve. “Wait—!”

  “GO.”

  The man stepped forward alone.

  The knight pulled Rhen away, sprinting east.

  They passed royal knights clashing with elves—steel ringing, magic flashing. The knights were holding, barely.

  Rhen glanced back once more.

  The dragon was bound in massive glowing chains, roaring in fury as it struggled against an unseen force.

  “…Akitsu…” Rhen whispered.

  The emergency exit loomed ahead.

  Royal knights waved them through.

  “CIVILIANS THROUGH! MOVE!”

  They emerged outside the walls—into mountains, smoke rising behind them.

  Rhen collapsed to his knees.

  Lemon slid down his chest, silent.

  “…We survived,” Rhen whispered.

  But the words tasted wrong.

  Akitsu wasn’t there.

  And the sky behind them still burned.