Chapter 39: Dark Star

Chaos occurred throughout the scenery of the capital as the titan cloud rampaged, destroying all the infrastructure and devouring it all with corrosive smoke. A maniacal laughter echoed as the man who called himself the Dark Star controlled the black cloud, slowly spreading throughout the area.

The power of a herald—the capability to trample a kingdom with their might.

"Every second that you don't show yourself, more people will die!" Miguel screamed as the titan cloud slammed its arm in the crowd of running people.

Screams echoed throughout the place; however, rather than turning silent as expected, screams continued as an indication that the people inside the cloud were still alive. As the titan cloud raised its arms, what was revealed were the people it attacked—unscathed and continuing their run—being protected by a thick blue barrier.

"I am not done yet! Shadow Spears!" Miguel screamed, summoning hundreds of spears made of shadow in the sky and launching them down, targeting the people.

However, just like the last attack, the spears didn't manage to pass through the thick blue barrier protecting the people.

"A barrier that can block my attacks? There's only one person who possesses such defensive magic capabilities. If it's not Zero," Miguel smirked. "That old lady must not be as rusty as I thought."

Miguel raised his hand and summoned dark minions that could blend into the shadows and move at high speed.

"Find the Shining Guardian, Mikaela," he ordered.

Immediately, the entire army of shadow minions moved and began their search for the person whom Miguel thought was responsible for the unbreakable shield.

"It seems... one of your old friends will inevitably die today, Zero." He smirked menacingly. "Mikaela was strong, but I don't think she could catch up with me in her current state."

***

On the other hand, along with a crowd of running people, Ilya was joining the evacuation. However, her eyes were filled with concern upon noticing something.

"Where is Killian?" Ilya asked, her tone in panic.

"I don't know, but he told me to take you to a safe place no matter what," Finel answered as she pulled Ilya away from the chaos.

"What? What is he thinking?" Ilya screamed.

"Of what he thinks is the right thing to do," Finel answered without doubt in her eyes. "Unlike me, who could not fight without my sword, Killian is a healer; he would be a great help in this situation."

"But..." Ilya could only say as her words could no longer come out of her mouth.

Screams echoed throughout the place as an army of monsters made of shadows appeared and rushed towards the people. They were moving so fast that running away was futile. The mouths of the vicious monsters opened as they jumped to attack, revealing their sharp black fangs.

"Those are shadow hellhounds. But... why are they so massive?" Finel could only say in disbelief as she watched the ferocious monsters easily reach them.

They could no longer move, and the great fear made Ilya fall to the ground.

"Vanquishing Slash!"

A powerful wave of light passed through the wave of monsters, annihilating them in an instant. As Finel and Ilya wandered their eyes, what was revealed was the majestic image of Princess Vahili, valiantly standing in front of the crowd. The wave of ferocious monsters was no more.

"I managed to kill many of them, but they are still coming. The person inside that giant humanoid cloud keeps on creating them," Vahili announced.

"The people from this side have been safely evacuated. Although it is a good thing, it's quite strange that the survivors were a lot higher than predicted—not even a single casualty." Princess Hyuna stepped in, creating a barrier in a massive area.

"The two princesses!" Finel could not help but shout upon seeing Hyuna and Vahili next to her.

Vahili and Hyuna stared at her and smiled sweetly.

"Hyuna, if something strange happens and it favors us, don't worry about it. That's what I learn after years of fighting side by side with a bunch of strange people," Mikaela showed herself. Although old, the image of her former glory was still visible in her aura.

Mikaela extended her hand to Ilya, and with a smile, she spoke. "Are you alright, young lady?"

Ilya nodded, took Mikaela's hand, and let her pull her up to stand up. "Thank you very much, Lady Mikaela."

"Lady Mikaela, do you mean those barriers protecting all the people are not from you?" Hyuna asked with confusion. "Because it's not me. I am not strong enough to make such a potent barrier."

"As much as I want to claim it, it's not me," Mikaela said as she pulled a great sword out of her dimensional storage. "This old lady can no longer create such a powerful barrier anymore." She smiled. "Incoming!"

"I found you! Mikaela!" Miguel screamed as the massive humanoid cloud slammed its massive arms into the ground where Mikaela was standing.

"Respect the elderly, young man!" Mikaela screamed as her giant sword lit up in blinding light. "War God's Slash!"

With one wave of the sword, the massive black cloud reduced into nothingness; its massive image instantly disappeared as a powerful wave of light annihilated it.

"I've really gotten really weak now," Mikaela said while looking at the aftermath of her attack.

"That was... marvelous!" Vahili could only say in awe. "That's a fraction of the power of the Guardian of the hero's party."

"Hyuna and Vahili, help with the evacuation; I can only buy just enough time," Mikaela ordered, looking at Finel and Ilya. "And, you two beautiful ladies, this is the best time for you to run. The battle is still far from over."

All the ones who received orders moved and did what they were told to.

"That was impressive!" Miguel's sadistic laugh echoed throughout the place, revealing himself standing on top of the building. His hood was removed, revealing his face—a blonde man with blue eyes who had the aura of a noble. "As expected of you."

"You found that impressive? You should have seen me back in my prime—I used to destroy brats like you for breakfast," Mikaela said, raising her sword.

"Yes, that was your era. But it was over," Miguel said with a mocking tone. "Now, this era is ours to take—the greatest era the world will ever see—the era of Heralds!" He raised his arms. "Corrosion Cloud."

In an instant, three giant cloud titans rose from the ground. An image of calamity molding right in front of Mikaela's eyes.

"Zero killed my brothers, so you will die today, old lady. But I won't stop there, because I will also kill all the living members of the hero's party!" Miguel announced with rage in his eyes. "He will know my pain because he will go through it."

Mikaela shook her head. "The king was right; I'm already too old to deal with this kind of nonsense."