[61.4] The Fall of a Kingdom

[Author's note: This part of the chapter is from no one's POV.]

Cyrus and Zephyr ran across the Academy grounds, panicking as they tried to find where the two went. Suddenly, the earth started to shake and a loud explosion burst in the distance. Zephyr went flying back in the air from the blasting wind, giving Cyrus barely any time to grab him so he wouldn't fly off.

Cyrus stabbed his sword into the ground and held onto it with one hand as he endured the blasting winds and shaking ground.

Once the wind ceased, the two of them looked into the distance with their mouths opening.

A large creature made out of pure black smoke slowly grew.

Zephyr gasped, "A-A monster?!"

The monster grew so large, it collided with the barrier and let out an ear-splitting scream. They all closed their eyes in pain as windows burst. The barrier was unable to handle the power from the scream and cracks began to form.

The King and his retainers rushed out of the door, staring at the sudden appearance of the Monster.

The King gasped, "No… Reika…"

The Headmaster looked at him in surprise, "Reika?!"

The Headmaster stared back at the Monster and grit his teeth. Leaving behind the King and his group, he flew toward the Monster, soon coming across Cyrus and Zephyr. He shouted down at him, "What's going on!?

Cyrus shouted, "Felix is Moni and is doing something to Reika!"

Zephyr shouted, "That Monster IS Reika! Moni corrupted her and turned her into THAT!"

The Headmaster stared at the Monster as he drew in his breath, "It's just as my father tried to warn me…"

Cyrus bit down on his lip and started running off towards the Monster with Zephyr and the Headmaster following him closely.

Now free from the confines of the barrier, the creature faced the Holy army with its eyes slitting as it screamed.

Vira took a step back, staring at the creature with trembling pupils. Her voice croaked, "R-Run."

"My goddess?"

"RUN!"

Just on cue, the Monster took a step toward them, the grass at its feet turned brown and decayed as if it had aged in an instant.

Those unlucky to get caught by the Monster suddenly turned grey and finally to a skeleton before disappearing into dust.

Seeing this, Cyrus, Zephyr, and the Headmaster suddenly stopped, realizing just how dangerous it could be.

Two people suddenly arrived standing on a golden sword. Hazel held the Swordmaster in her arms with the Swordmaster's body still putting itself together.

The Swordmaster shouted, "Quick! You need to stop her! If this continues, this entire world will be destroyed!"

The Headmaster shouted, "What should we do!? Run up to her and try to get her attention to calm her down!?"

Hazel looked at Zephyr and spoke calmly, "We can't approach her like this. We can only approach her in our minds."

Zephyr screamed as he messed up his hair, "I can't do that! I need the person to be CONSCIOUS! Not a rampaging monster!!!"

"You won't have to do it alone." Two more people suddenly appeared. The one speaking had black hair and red eyes that shone with determination. Astra faced Zephyr, "We can help Momma together."

Zephyr bit his lip, "Fine… I can try. But I can't promise anything."

Billy stared up at the Monster in awe, "It's kinda cool though…"

Everyone ignored him and nodded to each other.

Zephyr's eyes started to shine vibrantly red as he spoke, "There's still a possibility that we won't be able to enter her mind. Reika is too powerful for me to force my way in, so we can only hope that she will let one of us inside."

Cyrus took a deep breath, "It's worth a try."

The Headmaster stared at Zephyr, "And if it doesn't work?"

The Swordmaster slowly turned to look at Hazel, "Then the only other option is to drive a Holy weapon through her heart to stop her."

Hazel bit her lip, looking back at the Monster.

Cyrus ignored this, "That's not an option either. Now hurry up. Let's not waste any more time!"

Zephyr and Astra grabbed each other's hands as their eyes shone together. Their voices harmonized as they spoke simultaneously, "Get ready."

Moni watched from the distance as the forest slowly wilted and dried out, leaving behind only a wasteland. Animals reverted back to newborns before disappearing into the air. All around the Monster, anything living either ceased to exist or aged rapidly before collapsing to dust.

The recent war had damaged the Capital of the Kingdom, but now the entire continent was evaporating as death and destruction reached the rest of the land.

Moni whispered as he watched in horror, "What did I do…"