The Mark of Today’s Heroes

"Redunht ruoy dnal het ngier..."

The continuation of the spoken-incantation, culminating the finale of mellifluous Berceuse. Taking a shape of a lenient voice from the agile rosy lips in their slightest movements, reckoned by the crimson tongue diligently refined the ineffable recipe of storm with its indistinguishable vibration and indecipherable murmur... creating this equivocal chant.

"Tsud otni ti nrut."

A gentle chant... cradle of calling for the cloudless skies adorned by the Sigil of the same hue. Aphonic reaction upon the still havoc underneath the enhanced shelter to which the cradle chant was destined... as the pragmatic equivalence had been conducting and guiding the solitary defeat for an unalterable achievement - a thump of triumph shall crack the cradle.

And there was the silver-haired figure whose pair of slender legs were pinned down on the ruined ground, and smoother-skinned arms reaching for the high sky where the infant of thunder was about to fall and to strike down the approaching massive creature towards its root.

Root of Sigil Circle, emitting energy of dark-blue rumbling sound as the distant audiences became even more restless - solely waiting for the expected. Such motivation that drove such an emotion, purely on the innocent side of majority that suffered from the aftereffect of being a victim of the reversing pendulum which destined to be occurred for it was the duty of that silver-haired figure to ensure that her bounded fate would be fulfilled.

Some felt the gaiety, for the menacing threat in a form of grisly beyond one's imagination would shortly meet its demise... yet some children were weeping in their mother's arms where the protective motherly nature - needless to say - had been working to its essence... alleviating their children's worry for it was the only effort they could cling on for a moment.

"Mother? The monster soon gone, right? We be okay, right?"

One bold, innocent toddler, barely knowing how the surface of the world his living into, worked as one complex playground... mostly its beauty and that of towering wall that protected it. Something dangerous and harmless... understanding its basic at pure, sinless level. The little boy took a peek from his mother's tremble arms, questioning few guileless questions to which many adults could relate after staring at the sky with an innocent glimpse of his round tiny eyes. The sky where his round, tiny eyes were able to perceive that the two objects that too foreign for a three years old child, would soon rendezvous high in the bright blue sky.

One that vanquishes and one that to be vanquished,

Hence the childish curiosity.

"Yes, my son. All will be alright."

The mother answered in the most restful way she could provide, so that the antipathetic aura of which she struggled to contain, wouldn't contaminate his innocence. Quickly yet gently put one of her arm around her child's head and placing him right into her chest once again, simply unwilling her child to see the upcoming scene which could potentially alter his view on child's own experiences and perceptions.

The inevitable scene, slowly came to its contemplated realization... as the would-be-vanquished-one was no longer holding its own will - against its will to be vanquished, half incapacitated with the eyes gouged out by the stygian claws of its own kin... witnessing its gigantic form being delivered upward to the sky where thunder awaits no longer, and the silver-haired half-elf had been fully prepared. Apart from her duty to vanquish, she too issued her obligation to protect.

"Retlehs."

One last incantation at long last had been spoken, coming out from the same lips and agile tongue as another few of old paper pieces were materialized out of thin air, floating around their summoner and waiting for further hand gesture. Till the gesture had been conducted when the slender arm of hers was flicked horizontally to her left side in one quick motion with the palm spreading open. The response instantly took its effect on those papers. Abruptly flying towards the restless crowd at the distant corner, hovering at every open gaps available to any major threat that came alongside with the aftereffect of the upcoming cleansing ritual.

Hence those papers came to existence, hovering on top layer of the crowd as the runic lines of cryptic words rapidly formed into a multi-complex fabric barrier that mutually connected and complement each others in order to create this magnificent dome of rune, thicker than the runic wall and notably stronger... capable of absorbing any harmful variable, thus preserving the friendly environment for those poor people who were seeking for a shelter from the rumbling thunder erupting a lightning in the sky.

The dark blue light of that lightning, using the first gratification, was granting the retina of one's eyes with blindness for those ordinary ones, yet such enormous intensity was fortunately being absorbed by the runic barrier protecting those ordinary ones - merely powerless before the power of nature that being manipulated to fall upon one's will through magical incantation. And that version of will, fortunately having sense of virtue in it. Hence the anticipation... resulting in a brief constricting pupil as opposed to a complete blindness.

Something that bounded to be happened next however, in all likelihood, would assuredly cause quite a shock, inside or outside the runic barrier, for the thunder was much more harder to restrain from shaking those ordinary hearts, even when the said barrier had served its purpose to the fullest as the surrounding air cooling and contracting quickly. This was the source that came into one's consideration, mainly for that half-elf who manipulated the enormous ball lightning of her thoughtfully... positioning the electrical discharge at a level which capable of disabling that massive reptilian creature from moving, yet still maintaining the lessened harmful effect for the third party.

In spite of not touching the ground that feral tail was. The thunderclap... creating an ear-splitting echo caused by the massive amount of electrical energy being released in one motion. And in a mere second, building so great destructive in power that wasn't only split the sky, but also shook the ground in a massive area... shattering the nearby wooden and concrete buildings as the invisible shockwave traveling away from the source which seemingly became fiercer in conjunction with the density of that ball of lightning that became heavier... forcefully pushing the space around the outer shell to consolidate with the core of lightning, resulting in smaller size but hotter temperature - more than sufficient to burn that Hard-to-Kill Reptile into black ashes... but that was an unfavourable conclusion nonetheless.

Apart from having no inclination to simply killed the reptile and burying it inside its own ashes, favored having that creature being sealed inside her aged scroll instead... the miscalculation, alas, had been conducted. There was no use crying over the spilled milk as the destruction caused by the ball of lightning was more severe than she had anticipated prior, even when it was lasting only for three seconds and had been casting the Sigil Circle very high in the sky... the houses of local residents, mostly had reached a point of no return.

Regardless what just happened, the reptilian invasion had over with no life casualty but living places and probably... some less ungrateful individuals inside the barrier, watching it slowly faded and revealed the aftermath outside the barrier as the ground beneath them for once again shaking yet less extreme than before, for the incapacitated reptile collided with the unrecognizable ground that was once part of route between districts.

The odor of a coppery, metallic component slowly stung anyone's olfactory organ... sourced from the roasted reptile whose skin partially had turned into some black ashes, and eyes that had melted and likely exploded... leaving the eye socked empty. Rapid twitching and spasm in the entire charred flesh, eventually reduced into a stiff corpse-like body.

In spite of badly injured and had been maimed to near death, such a title hold by this creature was indeed not just for show off nor an intimidating degree to scare off the preys and predators alike. It was a worthy name for this infamous kin. Demonstrated by how the creature still showing a sign of low, barely-able-to-be-heard breath as oxygen and carbon dioxide cycle was still occurred in a very low concentration yet happened in a very high rate... enabling the body to consume more energy to heal the wounds and scars in impossibly high paces. Because the more severe the injured it received, the faster the regeneration process would be. Thus, allowing this reptilian creature to enter the top list of priority to be sealed first.

"Looks like it's over."

A remark, contented with a joyful intonation after a brief sigh of comfort that came not far from the chaotic circumference. A content smile across the oval face of the blonde-haired captain standing with a restful feet and hands that no longer placed on her hip, simply letting her sword to swing leisurely with no longer under pressure of having a chance to be slid it out from its scabbard.

Regardless of the destruction that was wrought in the process, knowing well that the three gigantic monster were no longer crawling on the ground, instead those three aged scrolls that were rolling after the sealing process had been successfully performed... it was more than enough to reassure herself that the peaceful atmosphere went back to reign this thriving part of the city once more time.

"That was... astonishing. Can't believe they both could defeat those monsters. Are they even humans?"

And like all the heroic deeds that has been committed, rumors of goodwill began to take a form of mazzy words and proclaims... the difference though, these spreading rumors were to be believe for the sources had witnessed the hot topics first hand.

"The girl is technically a half-human." the blonde captain held back a chuckle after hearing such a risible remark from the perplexed guard, "But yeah, they virtually come from an ordinary kin who are getting stronger through countless hours of hard work and dedication. They showed us that humans are also capable of becoming strong through pain and sweat... blood and tears... for there's no a definitive limit. We too, can learn from this occurrence and become stronger in order to protect the Jewel of Morning Star."

From a simple answer to an encouraging speech, that blonde captain successfully imbedded the most important seed from this incident to every heart of her subordinates for those who stayed loyal by her side, and did not falter facing the monsters' alter. They vigorously responded to their captain's peroration in unison... one voice and one feeling.

"Sir, yes sir!"

Proudly nodding in the slightest movement the captain was then... was a self-pride after successfully evoking a sense of dignity inside the heart of her subordinates... knowing well that such pride was a prerequisite must carried upon their duty as guards of a thriving civilization, no matter what threats they may stumbled across in the future for there was a human limit they must destroy.

The situation for the main heroine however, in contrast to their contented commemoration and was a bit complicated... having a tangled structural fabric as every effort she had committed till this moment, somewhat condemned her. The unpredictable, merely playing such a childish trick on her, for the butterfly effect had been spreading its sole threads of fate guiding a solitary end where everything was vacant of possession.

Having no influence in here, such the heroine title she may gained after saving the city from the real dangers and eventually vanquished that precarious state with her offensive abilities and that sealing skill seldom mastered by a person... even from proficiency perspective, it was her only... a person who was capable of performing such a thing. Hence this specific destruction that could only be brought by her to the monsters, as she concomitantly too, brought the exact same pieces of it to the city - surpassed even from the monsters themselves capable of - by performing a considered action yet receiving an ill-considered reaction. Ensuing this silent commemoration... a rejoicing moment where many absurd thoughts thinking only about "if only" scenarios.

If only she could utilize her abilities with more efficiently rather than effectively, the damage perhaps could also be diminished in considerable amounts... if only... hence the self-dissatisfaction look on her pale face.

Three old scrolls were rolling to her feet after being blown by the dust amongst the breeze, and the hazel eyes staring blankly at her surrounding ruins that were once a mark of a thriving society.