His Decision (1)

The harbor of Deltaheim was crowded . It was almost impossible to move through the throngs of people that had gathered . The Outsiders had destroyed the railway to block all reinforcement and supply routes from outside the city . The only way in and out now, was by boat .

Due to the Yellow Ocean Contest there were more visitors than usual .

A number of merchant ships were docked side by side and the line of refugees heading towards them was exceptionally long . There was a bit of a tussle to get on board quickly but it was an immutable law that the high class boarded earlier than them . Therefore the general populace could only finally board after all of the royal families and nobles .

As some ships were escaping amongst the chaos, a huge roar followed by a shock wave traversed the sea . Some people fell down after losing their balance .

People looked up to the sky as it suddenly brightened, as if changing from night-time to day-time .

The sky suddenly filled with burning rocks .

"Wha, what is that…" Uttered someone from the crowd .

Disaster had arrived at the city of the merchants and rich, Deltaheim .

*Booooom*

The harbor was under attack .

"Screeeech!"

"Help me!"

Something swept across the refugees . Merchant ships were critically damaged and some of them were even partially destroyed and immediately sunk by the burning rocks that were raining down from the sky .

"Oh my god, oh my god . "

Some passengers decided to jump into the sea .

Other people died instantly . And the rest could only despair amongst the flames as they burnt to death .

The harbor was rapidly consumed by pandemonium .

A blazing rock flew towards a mother and son . It couldn't be avoided . She knew that she could do nothing but embrace her child in their last moments .

*Bump*

However the rock was shot down by wind bullets that were flying out from somewhere before it could reach them . Dark debris scattered over the sea .

[Ice Crown]

At the same time, water soared from the sea and created a crown of ice . It kept people safe from the debris of broken rocks .

It was Desir's party .

They came to the harbor where the refugees were most concentrated, to reduce the casualties, as soon as Crow Mask withdrew .

Adjest invoked defense magic to cover the refugees, while Romantica intercepted the rocks from her vantage point that allowed her to see the entire harbor . They were trying to minimize the injury of refugees .

"Everyone get on board!"

Pram assisted the soldiers with the refugee evacuation . The situation was quickly stabilizing as a result of the party's combined effort .

Because the feeling of imminent danger was fading, the refugees seemed to recover little by little from the panic .

The mother embracing her child held its hands again and urged it to walk quickly towards the ship .

"We can't finish the evacuation at this pace . "

This was Desir's opinion after taking in this terrible sight . He was working on magic to block the rocks that Adjest couldn't .

Romantica responded while unleashing sniper spells .

"I think so too . "

Not only the harbor, the entire city was devastated . An observatory erected to view the sea was split into two and the debris from it had struck the mall . The upper part of the stadium, where the Yellow Ocean Contest took place, was blown away and flattened .

No building was untouched by the shower of rocks that imparted as much force as miniature bombs .

The flaming rocks continued to pour down without end .

All of the buildings were collapsing around them .

Screaming and various explosions could endlessly be heard . Mixed amongst this cacophony were the once calming sound of waves crashing against the shore . Faint and distant on the now grey beaches .

Dadenewt was a major disaster .

As Crow Mask had said earlier, Zod couldn't easily end this disaster without preparation .

In the past, skilled expeditions rushed into the Shadow Labyrinths but they only managed to deal heavy damage to such demons . It was impossible to stop demons with only these people present .

The eruption phase was also just the beginning . It was the foreshadow of Dadenewt beginning its activities in earnest . While just this foreshadow of its true power was horrendous, if Dadenewt appeared in its original form then Deltaheim would simply be burnt off the map without a trace .

Many people had already died .

When Desir finally decided on the best course of action, he turned towards Romantica .

"Romantica, let's move out . "

The evacuation was almost finished . She took her eyes off her rifle .

"I agree . I'll burn and die if I stay here much longer . My power has also reached its limit . "

After continuous sniping, Romantica only had enough power for one or two shots of Second-Circle magic .

It was the same with Adjest, who was busy protecting the refugees with her magic .

They had reached their limits from battling the Outsiders and then dealing with Crow Mask successively . It was not strange for them to be exhausted .

Desir contacted Adjest and Pram .

– Everybody did a good job . Now we'll evacuate too . Everyone join the procession onto the ships .

Adjest stopped using magic . The structures made of ice collapsed .

Until now they had held up great . A lot of people could get on board the ships while they were blocking the rocks .

There were still about 2,000 people left on the harbor . Although the number was not small, it was much better than before .

Adjest and Pram who helped the evacuation of refugees closer to the boats, joined the queue much further up than Desir and Romantica who had helped from the rear .

They gathered all of their remaining power and smashed the rocks on trajectories that would harm the refugees on the boats .

That was the best they could do .

About five minutes into the final part of the evacuation process, Desir suddenly lifted his head to locate Pram and Adjest . It was hard to see them as they had joined the queue way up in front .

"As there are so many people, to prevent us missing each other, I will bring back Pram and Adjest from the front . If I take too long, then don't wait and just get on board . " Desir explained .

Romantica responded in a rather cold tone .

"Oh well, my life is mine to protect . Of course I should run . I'm just a bitch running away even when my hometown is devastated . "

"I'm so sorry but that's…"

Romantica cut off Desir who was attempting to make excuses .

"Well, it's fine . In fact, you are right . I know it's reckless . I was just grumpy . Go and find them quickly . "

*Smile*

Romantica laughed as her lips formed a crooked arc .

The boy and girl, covered in soot and ash, stared at each other as if looking for something in each other .

"Aren't you going?"

"I will . "

Desir started moving away .

"It won't take me long . "

When Desir vanished into the crowd, Romantica was left alone .

She was not just waiting .

Whenever her power recovered a little she helped smash the rocks flying towards the harbor .

Fortunately, because the number of refugees left in the harbor was considerably reduced, the area left to be protected was also reduced . It now seemed to be relatively safe .

"… ?"

However the movement of the queue suddenly stalled . Listening to the gossip from the front, it seemed there was a fight . It was natural for people to be on edge during crises . Refugees also happen to get into fights easily, even with light arguments .

At that particular moment though, Romantica felt an ominous sense of foreboding .

'Is he caught up there?'

It also made sense for Desir to be involved, as he always seems to be at the centre of each mess .

When Desir, who said he would just bring back Pram and Adjest, was starting to run quite late Romantica began to worry more .

She stroked the rifle several times, that Desir had given her .

'Was he just delayed?'

At the time Romantica was concerned about finding Desir, someone touched her shoulder .

'He might be finally back . '

Romantica took a deep breath through her nose in an attempt to blow him out of her concerns . She then turned to see the face of the man who had touched her .

"So you are here, Lady Romantica . "

"Butler?"

It was the butler of the Eru family . He was wearing a neat suit .

"I have been searching for you for some time now . You happened to be here, after all . Come on . Hurry up . "

When he finished talking, he began to walk out of the procession and head towards the ship .

"Wait! Where are we going?"

The butler realized something was off from Romantica's reaction and tried to explain to her .

"This ship for refugees is actually an Eru merchant ship . You definitely deserve to be on board first as you are the lady of Eru . "

"I understand . But I'm waiting for my friends . "

"You can see them soon again if you are on board . Please hurry out of here . The Baron is worried . "

When she heard that her parents were worried, she had to agree with the butler .

'Well, Desir told me to get on board if he was late . '

She followed the butler and passed the procession . She quickly reached the place where refugees were causing trouble .

"You hit first!"

"Look who's talking!"

They never stopped cursing at each other, even though people around them were forcing them apart .

Romantica passed by them and walked onto the ship . But she didn't leave the deck .

"Oh! You're already here . "

About five minutes later Pram and Adjest approached Romantica . They were surprised that she beat them to board first due to originally being so far back in the queue .

Desir was not here with them .

"Where is Desir?"

"Wasn't he with you, Romantica?"

"No, he said he went to find you . "

"But we haven't seen him . "

Desir had disappeared without a trace .

Romantica looked around . Almost every refugee had boarded but there was still no sign of Desir .

He was not here .

He was not anywhere .

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