POV: Lola Schmerzklan
The more I ran, the more adrenaline surged through every fiber of my body. The urge to fight ignited with each step, accompanied by the lightning that erupted from my electric armor, a luminous spectacle tearing through the night's darkness.
I tore through the forest toward Luzarion, my thoughts lost in the stupidity of this war and how everything had gone so horribly wrong.
With a violent leap I ripped the earth beneath my feet and launched myself into the sky. From above, drifting between shadow and wind, I could see the capital in the distance, wreathed in flames.
A crooked smile twisted my lips. The destruction unfolding before me was almost beautiful; every corner of the battlefield shimmered under the glare of colliding spells, the ground trembling as if the world itself breathed pain.
"I only stepped away for a moment… and this damned kingdom almost fell," I whispered, letting out a dry laugh before gravity claimed me again.
Maneuvering through the air with practiced grace, I descended like thunder. The impact shook the whole forest and left a smoking crater at my feet.
The boom drove off the nocturnal predators—the silent hunters that hide in the dark.
Still replaying Luis's words in my head, I heard distant soldier screams. The clash of metal guided me, warning that I was close to the chaos.
And then, as I passed the last trees, I saw everything.
From the cliff where I stood, I watched hell unfold: mages summoning fire, raising the earth, creating tornados that hurled bodies into the air like rag dolls.
I clenched my fists to hold back my rage. Astral magic slid through my veins, giving me the intoxicating, familiar power of my element.
The lightning around me darkened, turning into electric shadows: as beautiful as they were lethal.
I stepped into the void and let myself fall. My mind went blank—only my eyes followed the enemies. The metallic scent of blood enveloped me as the wind lacerated my face.
A moment before impact, my body dissolved into pure electricity.
I fell like a bolt.
The ground split beneath my feet, the earth charred, and without hesitation I dove into the slaughter. On my arm the energy took shape as a mantle of dark lightning.
"Keep attacking! This damned realm will fall! For the—AAHHH!" an enemy soldier cried before my strike tore through his chest.
Hot blood splattered across my arm still humming with thousands of volts, stealing his soul in an instant.
"Who's next?" I asked with the faintest smile, seeing hundreds of soldiers closing in around me. "Looks like I'll have many brave ones tonight."
I drew my daggers with speed. The pulse of energy ran through my hands as the world slowed. In a single motion I vanished, leaving an electric echo in my wake.
The next sound was bodies hitting the ground. My daggers had slit throats before they could even scream.
"Bitch! You'll pay for this!" one roared, summoning a massive stone hammer.
"Lovely toy," I murmured, dodging his clumsy swing.
His weapon smashed the ground short of me. I lunged, severing the limb that held the hammer.
Before he could even scream, an arrow whistled through the air and sank into his skull, dropping him backward with a dull thud.
"Aren't you being a little psychopathic?" I heard a familiar voice say.
"I don't think so," I replied, wiping the blood from my daggers on my sleeve. "Besides, Boro, you know I do my job however I see fit."
I turned to see my old friend's face, and behind him the sight of the army regaining control of the battlefield.
The ground still tremored beneath my feet as I approached and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"How many casualties have we taken so far?" I asked with a sigh. "Luis sent me to gather intel on what's happening in the capital."
"Casualties have been minimal," he answered, sparks of lightning flickering in his hand. "Since the Riders of the Apocalypse and the reinforcements showed up, the scales have tipped in our favor…"
Before he could finish speaking, he unleashed a bolt of lightning toward a group of enemies, incinerating them instantly. I watched their skeletal remains collapse to the ground, only to be crushed moments later beneath the foot of a massive war elephant.
"If everything goes according to plan," he said calmly, "this will all be over tonight."
I knew his words couldn't be entirely true. Shaking my head, I leapt and grabbed a rope hanging from the elephant charging straight into the heart of the battle.
Swinging upward with all my strength, I climbed onto the beast's saddle and took position beside the rider.
Channeling mana into my voice, I roared—a war cry that thundered across the field, awakening the morale of our soldiers as they raised their weapons with renewed fire.
The night unfolded between screams of agony and cries of triumph. Some wept for the fallen; others rejoiced in our victory.
For hours, my eyes witnessed blood mingling with the soil, each strike claiming another life.
And when dawn finally broke across the horizon, I rested my head on my arms and watched as the golden light began to wash over the battlefield.
The capital had been returned to its people—those who, generation after generation, had placed their faith in this kingdom.
At last, they could see that their loyalty had not been in vain.
"Long live the Kingdom of Lanpar! Long live the Holy Human Realm!" someone shouted, and soon the chant spread through the crowds gathered at the gates of Luzarion.
We were greeted with applause, tears, and songs that felt almost divine.
Feeling the gallop of my horse beneath me, I straightened up, trying to look composed before my people.
"Thank you for saving us, Goddess of Thunder," said an elderly woman, grasping my cloak with trembling hands. "Faith still lives… the kingdom still lives. May God bless you."
I answered with a sincere smile, dismounting to gently take her hands in mine.
"This war would not have been won without your faith in us," I said softly. "Everyone here fought for what they love."
After bidding farewell to the citizens I cherished so deeply, I rode alongside Boro toward the meeting hall, where the other generals awaited us.
Holding the reins of my horse, my eyes wandered over the devastated landscape—houses reduced to rubble, streets pitted with craters, bodies piled beneath the dust.
It was a scene from hell. But nothing struck me harder than what I saw next.
Nailed to a cross, a woman's body hung in utter abandonment. Her decaying flesh released such a nauseating stench that it drew the carrion birds, tearing pieces from her with their beaks.
I dropped the reins and conjured a bow of electricity. Pulling the string with a thread of mana, I loosed an arrow of pure energy, erasing the scavengers in a single flash of light.
"Is that… Lilia?" I asked without thinking.
I stood there for a while, staring at her face, sorrow weighing heavy as I took in the tragic end of her life.
Her body now served as some kind of warning—a message that death would continue to take more than it should, devouring hope itself.
"Yes," Boro replied without looking at me. "She was the servant of your protégé. No one knows who did this to her."
Bitterness and guilt coiled in my chest at the sound of Kael's name. It was ironic—being his protector, yet never truly being there for him.
The only comfort I had was believing that maybe… he never needed me.
We walked in silence until we reached a makeshift tent serving as the command room.
Boro stepped ahead and lifted the curtain, gesturing for me to enter first out of respect. Inside, the air smelled of sweat, smoke, and victory.
"Well, if it isn't the Crystal Sisters," I murmured, adjusting a flower a little girl had given me when I arrived in the city.
I took a seat at the wooden table where everyone was gathered, setting my daggers on the polished surface before slumping back in exhaustion.
"Lola!" one of them shouted with joy. "It's been years! How have you been?"
"Hello, Gemini," I replied with a faint smile. "It's been a long time… You've really grown."
Gemini was one of Luis's daughters—the youngest, to be exact.
The one who remained silent, with a stern expression and unwavering gaze, was Maya — the eldest of the Astral sisters. Leader of the Astral forces, future clan chief, and one of the strongest people on the entire continent.
"I see things haven't gone very well for you lately," I remarked, looking her straight in the eyes. "Tell me, Maya, is something bothering you?"
"Broker Lola, I'd appreciate it if you took this matter seriously," she exclaimed, setting her helmet on the table with a sharp thud. "What we experienced tonight nearly ended in catastrophe."
I bit my lower lip, holding back the urge to respond. Finally, I straightened my posture, resting my elbows on the table and keeping silent.
"Very well," said Maya, her voice steady and composed. "If everyone is here, we'll begin the meeting. Nothing discussed in this room is to leave it. Understood?"
We all nodded. The tension was palpable; we knew that whatever came next would not be easy to digest.
According to Alkaster's reports and the samurai forces, what we had fought against… were not human.
The recovered bodies were examined in the morgue, and the results were, to say the least, unsettling.
They were replicas of previous enemies. Exact repetitions of themselves. Each corpse shared the same structure, the same wounds, the same magical patterns — as if they had been… cloned.
"What you've just said changes everything," growled Boro, slamming his fist on the table. "This makes no sense! None at all!"
His voice echoed through the tent like restrained thunder.
"They're dead!" he shouted, eyes wide with disbelief. "Their bodies were burned in the morgue. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"You have every right to be upset," Maya replied calmly, though her jaw was tight. "But even if the information is confusing, the evidence is irrefutable."
I tried to step in, searching for a rational explanation, but Maya's authoritative voice cut through first.
"Broker Lola," she said, fixing her gaze on me, "you'll be in charge of the investigation. You may bring along any mage you deem necessary."
I nodded without a word. Slowly, I pushed my chair back and stood up.
"Maya, you and I both know they aren't dead," I said, turning my back to them. "This is a waste of time. I already have some suspicions about what's happening."
I didn't wait for an answer. I left the tent and was greeted by snowfall. The flakes fell silently, blanketing the remains of the battlefield in a deceptive white.
The cold wrapped around me in a bitter embrace, so I released a touch of mana to warm myself. I was about to keep walking when a sound behind me made me stop — someone had landed heavily in the snow.
"I didn't know you'd already recovered, little one," I said without turning. "I need you to deliver a letter to Xavier."
When no response came, I turned around.
Before me stood a blond teenager, hooded, wearing a lion-shaped mask that hid his face completely. His presence carried a natural, almost feline silence.
"Tell your uncle this letter is for Kael," I instructed, handing him the envelope. "And get in touch with the field medics. You'll be my eyes and ears."
He nodded firmly. A second later, the wind swirled around him, consuming his form until he vanished into the air.
I let out a weary sigh and resumed my walk. The fog covered the horizon, yet my mind was murkier than the sky above.
Old traitors were moving once again — and I knew exactly who they were.
The damned Midorian would not rest until the Lanpar reign was brought down.