Geofu.
- "Wow, he's assembled quite an army," I whistled, standing on the outer wall of the city and looking into the distance.
Now, five hundred meters from Geofu, stood a fairly decent army of corpses, and above it fluttered numerous red flags with the head of a black dog in the center. The composition was roughly the same, that is, humans and humanoid monsters, only in greater numbers, and behind them were naked women in chains, in a state that was entirely to be expected given their treatment.
And the corpse itself, sitting on a horse, stood in front of everyone like a glorious general or ruler leading his subjects into battle, but in the opposite sense. His face clearly showed arrogance, confidence, mockery, and other qualities typical of a cartoon villain.
In short, nothing special, although the effect was definitely there. Not on me, of course. Heh.
- "There are tens of thousands of them here..." whispered a female 'knight' near me.
- "If they attack, we won't stand a chance..." agreed another knight.
- "Lady Claudia gave orders not to engage," reminded another, who was apparently of higher rank.
- "Then why are we here? One glance is enough to see that we're doomed..."
- "Orders are orders, officer."
And while panic slowly spread through the ranks, I thought hard about what to do.
To be honest, I wanted to do something similar to the debut of an isekai player with a skeleton avatar and his cute Cthulhu goats, but I wanted to do something original.
Something just as memorable and mesmerizing... Hmm... What to choose...
And then an idea struck me, making me grin and snap my fingers. At that very moment, the ground beneath Geofu glowed with a pure golden light.
- "Well, I guess the locals won't forget this day anytime soon. Heh."
-0-
Standing on a wide balcony under the open sky, Celestine couldn't take her eyes off the uneven rows of the monstrous army gathered under the command of the Black Dogs, who were once heroes and role models for all of Eostia. Romani had promised her that he would deal with it, but she still had doubts in her heart.
- "Are you worried, Celestine?" asked Serafina, standing next to her.
- "Aren't you?" asked Celestine. "Even at the height of our powers, we couldn't defeat such a huge army. Will he be able to do it? Should we prepare for the worst?"
- "Of course he will! He is as strong as he is wise. This entire army is nothing to him!" declared the king of Eldonia, striking his chest.
- "Romani?" Olga smiled. "He would pretend to be weak and powerless, only to completely humiliate and destroy Vult for his own amusement."
- "You see, our colleagues are confident in him. There's nothing to worry about," Serafina smiled.
- "I understand why they are confident, but not you, sister," Celestine shook her head. "Where does your confidence come from?"
- "You'll understand when you see Lord Romani from a different angle, Celestine," Serafina began. "He seems cruel, indifferent, perhaps evil and inhuman to you, but things are not quite as you think."
She paused and looked at the wall where Romani was standing.
- "As strange and illogical as it may sound, Lord Romani is a genuine person, perhaps the best I have ever met," she continued, to which King of Eldonia nodded in agreement, Olga smiled but also nodded, and Celestine looked at her sister incredulously. "He is wise, honest, understanding, and attentive, but at the same time childish, immature, rude, and selfish."
- "How accurate," said Olga, and King of Eldonia laughed awkwardly.
- "But there are no perfect people, and those who seem to be are just trying to hide their dark side. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions, not the rule. Lord Romani hides nothing, he seems to be who he really is, and I think that's what attracts me to him," Serafina said with a smile.
- "I... understand..." Celestine said quietly, remembering how Romani acted and spoke.
He was sincere in everything he said and did, which made her realize why her sister spoke so highly of him. Sincerity and honesty had always been among the qualities that inspired respect and sympathy. Lies and pretense were despised, even if they were well-intentioned.
Celestine took a deep breath to calm her mind.
Perhaps she had been too quick to judge, but something still bothered her.
- "I suggest we stop feeding his ego and enjoy the show," Olga said. "It looks like he's starting."
At that moment, Celestine's eyes noticed that the ground under Geofu's feet was glowing with a pure golden light imbued with the power of Romani. It slowly spread, as if taking root deep into the soil, and with each passing second, the glow grew more and more intense. This continued until all the light suddenly disappeared as if it had never been there, and a giant magical circle lit up beneath the city.
- "What is he doing?" whispered Celestine, unable to look away.
- "How beautiful," commented Serafina.
- "He wants to have some fun, huh?" added Olga.
- "There he is, our god!" declared King of Eldonia proudly.
Then, as if it were the calm before the storm, nothing happened until the tips of the stars inside the circle on the ground released massive pillars of light. Moving upward, they rapidly changed and took shape. More distinct, rough, and translucent.
And when the transformation was complete, Celestine, like the other three beside her, opened her eyes and mouth wide at the shape the pillars of light had taken.
- "That's..." Celestine stammered.
- "...dragons..." Olga finished.
Above the tallest tower of Celestine's palace, several hundred meters up, six majestic golden dragon heads towered, each one different from the other.
Some heads resembled ordinary dragons, but some had no eyes, no nose, or no horns, representing a continuous mouth with four jaws in a circle. Above them, floating in the air, were seven crowns, signifying something that Celestine could not understand.
Their thick necks, covered with hard, sharp scales, twisted menacingly from side to side like the tentacles of a giant octopus preparing to swallow the city in one bite.
Their piercing, ferocious eyes slowly moved around, searching for their prey, like the supreme predator of this world out on the hunt.
Their mouths, full of dangerous, monstrous fangs, opened and closed, and their long tongues tasted the air, as if anticipating the coming slaughter.
Then, as if on command, the dragon heads raised their mouths to the sky and let out a monstrous roar that raised a wind, no, a real storm that swept through every house and street in the city. In response, the sky, as if obeying the golden ephemeral monster, changed rapidly.
Celestine had time to blink only once before the clear sky, without a single cloud, was replaced by ominous black clouds. There was a clap of thunder so loud that it deafened her. Heavy rain began to fall, soaking her hair and clothes in a second, which could now be wrung out by the bucketful. Thick lightning bolts flashed, striking both the ground and the buildings of the city.
And now the full picture of what was happening appeared before Celestine's eyes...
...roaring golden dragons under dark clouds, shining like beacons in the darkest night...
- "Behold the power of the Lord!" rejoiced King of Eldonia.
- "He definitely overdid it," Serafina shook her head.
- "Tsk," Olga clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, wringing her hair. "I'm sure he could have done without the rain."
Then, as if receiving another order, the dragon heads turned toward the Black Dogs' army and, as it seemed to Celestine, grinned ominously, slowly opened their mouths, and...
...the slaughter began.
The dragons released concentrated beams of destruction that began to incinerate the army, reducing it to nothing. It wasn't even a battle, a war, or a massacre, but true annihilation.
The screams, cries, and pleas for mercy of humans and monsters echoed throughout the area, reaching the city walls. The attack did not stop for a second, and the once relatively intact army began to scatter in all directions, trying to get at least a chance to survive. Some even ran toward the walls of Geofu, but it was pointless, as one of the heads was sure to direct a beam straight at them.
The feeling of death, fear, hopelessness, and despair emanating from the Black Dogs as they fled in vain caught up not only with their intended targets, but also with those for whom it was not intended.
The defenders of the city, who had been posted on the walls by Claudia on Celestine's orders, as well as the civilians who had taken refuge in their homes, also found themselves under the pressure of this feeling that had taken hold of the plain.
Their legs shook like rag dolls in the wind. Their teeth chattered loudly, grinding against each other. Their hands weakened, unable to hold or take anything.
Some hid in the nearest corner, hoping to shield themselves from the overwhelming emotions.
Some lost consciousness when their brains could no longer withstand the emotional strain. Others were on the verge of death or madness, as if they themselves were on the other side of the barricades.
Among the victims was Celestine herself, who had always been particularly sensitive to human emotions. The fear, pain, and despair of thousands of people pierced her body like a deathly cold blade entering her heart, or the scythe of Death itself.
She immediately wrapped her arms around herself and fell to her knees, beginning to tremble. She trembled and feared so much that tears streamed from her eyes.
- "Celestine!" Serafina cried out and ran to her. "Focus! Look at me and block them out! Come on!"
- "I... I..." Celestine stammered, unable to hear her sister, and at that very moment, what Romani had desired and unintentionally caused happened...
-0-
I raised an eyebrow, watching the panic rise on both sides of the conflict.
Well, I didn't expect that effect. Of course, I wanted to do something like that, so I tried to imitate Beast VI with a spell and pure mana, but would it have worked out exactly like that? And without the influence of Nega-Genesis? Heh.
Anyway, never mind. Right now, I have to...
At that moment, I was interrupted. A familiar green energy burst out of Celestine's palace, causing me to look in the right direction, and a single black and purple chain emerged from under my feet, immediately beginning to tremble.
My magic circle lit up beneath me and, a moment later, transported me straight to Celestine. And, under the surprised gaze of three pairs of eyes, the chain suddenly pierced the body of the resurrected goddess, which was covered in a green glow.
- "Oya. So, there you are?"
I grinned and began to fill the chain to capacity with my mana.
The passage was open, and a couple of seconds later, my body found itself in an endless white space where there was nothing but me and a wrinkled old woman dressed in something white, similar to a woman's Greek toga with a large hood.
Her eyes were hidden by the shadow of her hood, but I could clearly feel her distrustful, and then dissatisfied and angry gaze on me, which made a sweet, mocking smile appear on my face.
- "Well, hello, how are you? Shall we fight right away, or maybe say a few kind words to each other, hm, world-chan?"
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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