Part 2
The sun had barely climbed over Arkenfel's rooftops when the first signs began to appear.
A spice merchant, used to heading out early toward the southern border, stopped in front of the great western gate. He greeted the guards, showed his pass… and crossed the main gate without a second thought.
The cart came to a sudden halt. The horses slammed into something unseen and neighed wildly, panicking. They no longer obeyed.
"What the hell…? Did we hit something?"
The man climbed down, uneasy. He walked up to the lead horse and took a step forward. That's when he felt it: an impact. Something repelled him. Invisible. Elastic. Like a wall that shouldn't be there.
He staggered, clutching his chest.
"What's going on…?"
He grabbed a stick from the side of the cart and tossed it forward.
The piece of wood hit an invisible surface and burst into a small crackle of bluish electricity. The air sizzled.
"Guards!? What the hell is this?!"
From the tower, two soldiers hurried down. One of them hurled a small fireball outside. The spell bounced off and fizzled out the moment it touched the barrier.
"This... this wasn't here yesterday," one of them murmured, pale.
Another soldier climbed the watchtower and fired arrows in multiple directions. All were repelled with the same shimmering burst.
"It's not a barrier…" he whispered. "It's a cage."
The merchant dropped to his knees, his face twisted in panic.
"No... no, it can't be… we're trapped…"
From the top of the tower, one of the guards shouted toward the border post:
"Quick! Notify General Balliard immediately!"
Balliard and the heroes were still in the central plaza, trying to disperse the crowd gathered after the cleric's execution. The air was still thick with whispers and barely contained fear.
"General Balliard!" A young guard arrived, breathless. "There you are..."
"What is it, soldier?"
The guard stepped closer and pulled him aside, speaking in a hushed tone. Yamato watched silently, still wearing the mask of Junya: the arrogant, useless, and perfectly harmless hero. But inside, he knew.
The plan was in motion.
He just had to keep playing his part… until the curtain fell.
Balliard's face hardened with every word the soldier whispered. Then he turned, seething with unhinged fury, toward Yui.
"You little brat! I want an explanation and I want it now!" he roared, shoving the girl to the ground.
"What the hell is wrong with you, you decrepit bastard?! Why are you attacking Yui?!" Nanami shouted, stepping between them.
Balliard's gaze flared with pure hatred. Not political. Not strategic. Instinctual.
"You think I'm a fool?! Trying to steal my authority?!"
"Hey, that's enough," Yamato cut in, crouching to help Yui. "You're crossing the line, Balliard."
"Insolent brats!" the general spat, foam at the corners of his mouth. "I'll say this one last time, Yui! Take down that barrier or I swear I'll make you suffer—and I'll do it in front of the entire city!"
Yui shrank on the ground, on the verge of tears, as if facing a rabid predator.
"What barrier are you talking about?! I didn't do anything!"
The sound of the slap echoed through the plaza.
Balliard had struck her. Brutally.
"All of Arkenfel is surrounded by an electric barrier! One that only an S-Class hero could maintain!" he screamed, spit flying. "It's either you or that damn beast-tamer!"
He raised his hand again… but this time, Yamato caught it.
"That's enough, Balliard."
"You too, Mori? Going to defend these traitors? What a shame… I was even planning to let you have some fun with them."
Yamato didn't blink.
"And what proof do you have?" he said coldly. "An energy barrier and wild wolves? That's it?"
Balliard glared at him with burning fury.
"Wild Fenrirs. A dome-style electric barrier. Unsigned magic. Those… are hero-class abilities."
The tension became unbearable.
Yamato had his bow in hand, already drawn with an invisible arrow.
Yui was curled up on the ground, crying.
Nanami had summoned a massive white Fenrir, growling like a thunderstorm held back by will alone.
On the other side, Balliard had drawn his sword, and the guards were aiming their spears high.
"Heroes of the Kingdom of Valheim!" Balliard roared. "You are hereby officially under arrest for high treason!"
His voice echoed through the plaza.
And the people… couldn't believe what they were seeing.
The city's protectors.
Turning their weapons on one another.
[HIGH TREASON?]
A dark voice resonated across the entire city. Deep. Omnipresent. It came from nowhere, yet trembled in every stone, every nerve.
Silence fell. Absolute.
And then… the ground began to shift.
A summoning circle etched itself in the center of the plaza. The lines burned with black fire, as if searing the very fabric of space.
First, a hand emerged. Skeletal. Colossal. It slammed into the ground with force.
Then, slowly, a skeletal dragon rose from the heart of the pentagram. Vertebrae cracked with every motion. Its skull, crowned with bony horns, stared into the world with empty eyes… and eternal judgment.
[HUMANS ARE SO AMUSING…]
[YOU PRETEND TO BRING JUSTICE… WHILE FEASTING ON EACH OTHER.]
No one dared speak. The creature's aura was suffocating. The townsfolk were frozen. Some wept. Others simply collapsed to their knees.
"Wh-what… what are you?" Balliard managed, clutching his sword with shaking hands.
[I SUPPOSE YOU'VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN ME...]
[BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER.]
[I CAME ONLY TO WARN YOU.]
"Warn us?"
[YOU HAVE SEVEN DAYS TO HAND OVER THIS CITY.]
[OR ELSE...]
Just then, the ten SSS-ranked adventurers appeared in the plaza, led by the Guild Master. The entire city was watching.
Balliard clenched his teeth and shouted back.
"Or what, bone pile? Try me! Make me laugh!"
The dragon turned its skull toward him. It lowered itself. Met him eye to empty eye.
[YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD SURRENDERED.]
[YOU WILL BEG FOR DEATH.]
The dragon's breath was warm. Human. As if to remind him that he could still breathe… but not for long.
[YOU WILL UNDERSTAND SOON, BALLIARD.]
And with that, the dragon began to descend. Its body was slowly pulled back into the summoning circle, which sealed shut with a dull surge. Only ash remained where bone and hatred had once stood.
The city remained frozen in silence.
No one fully understood what had just happened.
But one truth struck the mind of every soul alike:
Arkenfel was no longer under threat.
It was already condemned.