Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The sound of sirens echoed through the city of Eric. Airships obstructed the view of the sky and cast giant shadows on the ground, terrifying the civilians.
All anyone could see was vessel after vessel sail by as they blocked out the sun. Each ship bore the marks of the Kingdom of Hollyma. They were military ships. They weren’t doing anything yet, but the blood of the people ran cold. Military ships meant the beginning of a war, and the beginning of a war meant death.
“They’re bomber ships! Bomber airships from Hollyma! Everyone, hide!”
“War! This is war! Hollyma Kingdom is waging a war on us!”
“Bombs! Bombs!”
The alchemy bombs dropped from the sky, setting fire to the streets and houses in the city. The explosions caused billowing fires to rage from one end of the street to the other. Strong, black smoke and a vile smell permeated the air.
The bombs pierced through the air at incredible speeds, making an ear-splitting shriek as they fell.
People in the city cried out in agony as they scrambled to find their families. This wasn’t a war, it was a slaughter. There had been no warning, no declaration, only invasion and destruction. The Kingdom of Hollyma was the most powerful country in the exotic realm. It was a tyrannical overlord and had been exploiting smaller countries for a long time.
The combat airships of the Kingdom of Eric surged into the sky. All thirty-something vessels took off with magically-reinforced Gatling guns, and wings wide open like those of birds. They could fly more flexibly than the bombers which were made cumbersome by the amount of priest apprentices they held. The combat ships led attack after attack, striking the bombers from above.
Just when it seemed like Kingdom of Eric had the upper hand, the priests of the Master of the Night raised their hands high and began to pray.
“Divine Incarnation, Moon without Line!” they called out. “Great Master of the Night! We call your divine name. Please cast eternal darkness on our enemies.”
The priests began to perform combined witchcraft on the combat airships. They all raised their wands high, and the godly power of darkness rushed out of their hands, surging into the sky from the decks of their bomber ships.
A dark moon appeared in the sky alongside the sun. Darkness immediately spread out over all of the combat airships and curled around them like black ropes. A blood-curdling scream shattered the sky as the combat airships were eroded and fell to the ground like rotten iron.
After that, many supernatural apprentices and bloodline knights dove from the Hollyma airships with paragliders and landed in the city like birds. They occupied all the major facilities and alchemy workshops in the city.
The people of Eric, both supernatural and ordinary, tried to defend themselves but everytime they were either defeated or killed by the priests.
“You murderers! I’ll kill you all! Murderers!” shouted a man hiding in an alchemy workshop.
Unfortunately, a fireball was thrown into the alchemy workshop, and everyone was burnt to ashes.
“My child! Where is my child?”
“Bruce! Bruce!”
“I curse you people from Hollyma. One day, karma will catch up with you!”
Defenders of the city continued to fall following the sound of guns and cannons. Fire and blood turned everyone’s pupils red. Fear and anger hovered like a cloud over the city. Fire and dust tainted the sky crimson.
Even Golden Oak College was not safe from the slaughter. Supernatural power turned the entire college into ruins. It had taken decades to build Golden Oak but only minutes to destroy it.
“Flame Ring!” yelled Frank.
He stood among the ruins and sent out waves of fire, destroying the priests who couldn’t escape in time.
Willbert wielded his witchcraft sword and used its beam of light to slash some of the attackers in the sky.
“Fire!”
The enormous gun barrel Alpha carried fired and gleaming element light burst out of the barrel. It surged to the sky and shot down a small airship spinning lower in the sky.
The ship was disintegrated and the fragments fell to the ground. A giant iron wing scraped against the stones as it crashed, igniting a blazing fire. Alpha continued operating the level-four element annihilation cannon, and he aimed it at another airship that tried to dive.
The three of them stood on the ruins and watched with clenched teeth as their people were slaughtered. The Kingdom of Eric was engulfed in flames. Clock towers, buildings, even Golden Oak college was in ruins. The three took off to kill as many priests and soldiers from Hollyma as they could, yelling like maniacs as they tore through the streets.
The air smelled revolting, like burned meat.
“Level-four element witchcraft. Level-four wizard! This is a level-four wizard!”
“And an element annihilation cannon? How does he have this weapon? Isn’t this a secret alchemy weapon from Sheehan City Alliance?”
“Be careful! We need help! Help!”
Priests who encircled the three were all terrified. They would have never expected to meet such enemies in this tiny kingdom.
Many priests rushed toward the three, and in the distance, high priests of the Master of the Night hurried toward them as well. Even the airships in the sky paid attention to them.
“Go! We need to leave now! Kingdom of Eric has fallen! We’ve failed!” yelled Willbert. “Go! Let’s go!”
Willbert tried to drag Frank and Alpha away. When they saw that the three were trying to escape, some of the lower-level priests tried to go after them. Willbert cast sword light in their direction and Frank bombed them with witchcraft, allowing them to escape the city.
The three of them fled in a panicked helter-skelter while the squad of high priests of the Master of the Night continued to chase them. The airships circled the sky, shooting and dropping bombs, trying to find them. They fled into the forest, and the priests lost track of them.
As they were leaving, Frank looked back at the fallen city of Eric. All the civilians in Kingdom of Eric were trapped in catastrophe and death. He looked at the scene, dazed. It was apocalyptic, as if the entire world was crumbling.
Frank recalled the people running and yelling in agony, and the bodies of children in ruins. Wives had held their husbands in despair while others were blown up or swallowed by flames.
The three recalled their partners who were slaughtered by soldiers from Hollyma. Some of them were supernatural creatures with a similar mindset; some of them were scholars who wished to change their future and some of them were youngsters who’d flown combat airships for the first time. They could still hear the blood-curdling screams.
“No! No! This is not what I expected. How did this happen! We promised them a bright and happy future! Why did this happen?”
Frank was screaming so hard that the others thought his throat might break, and his mouth became dry. He clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails pierced through his palm. The only thing he could see was airships from Hollyma circling in the sky.
Willbert squeezed the long sword in one hand and with the other he was supporting Alpha who’d been hit by the divine techniques performed the high priest of the Master of the Night while they were trying to flee. Although Willbert used purification potions on Alpha, the power from the divine technique still penetrated Alpha’s body, rendering him incredibly weak.”
“I’ll have revenge!” Alpha cried.
He raised his head and his face was covered with sweat and blood.
“Let’s go to the central province. There are all sorts of belief systems there, and countless clashed between commoners and supernatural creatures. Let’s go there. Then we can have a fresh start.”