Chapter 143: The Aftermath and the Farewell

Several minutes passed, and the blinding white explosion still filled the interior of the heavily reinforced barrier.

"Dion," Aria whispered.

Aria looked deeply anxious, her hands tightly clasped in front of her chest as if in prayer, her face entirely drained of color. Gina, perched atop her head, kept her beak wide open in shock, her eyes glued to the barrier up ahead. Evelyn stood right beside Aria, clenching her fists so hard her jaw visibly tightened.

"Dion," she murmured as well.

Meanwhile, Takeshi, Johan, and Astrid stared at the barrier dome, which had transformed into a churning mass of white explosive light. Every knight, archer, samurai, battle mage, and airship crew member stood paralyzed in awe, unable to utter a single word as they kept their eyes locked on the dome. The golem vanguard stood frozen in unbroken lines, completely motionless.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, the blinding light inside the barrier began to shrink, but Dion was still nowhere to be seen. Aria reached up, lifted Gina off her head, and held the tiny dragon right in front of her face.

"Gina... We need to go inside and get Dion," Aria resolved.

"Kyuuu," Gina chirped, bobbing her head in firm agreement.

But just as the two of them moved to step forward, Evelyn grabbed Aria’s arm. Aria instantly whipped her arm away, shrugging off the grip.

"Don’t be reckless, Aria... The explosion hasn’t completely cleared yet. Going in there right now is absolute suicide!" Evelyn shouted, her face a mix of fierce anger and terror.

"Don’t try to stop me, Big Sister! I’ll be fine, Gina is with me!" Aria snapped back.

"But... what if something happens to you too?! Please... I’m already terrified about Olivia’s condition, don’t make me worry about you as well!" Evelyn yelled back.

Hearing Evelyn’s words, Aria flinched. She dropped her head, her hands suddenly turning limp as Gina fluttered back up to land on her head, gently patting her hair with a tiny paw. Seeing Aria’s expression shift instantly from anxious and furious to heartbreakingly sad, Evelyn froze. A cold spike of dread pierced her heart, sending her pulse racing.

"A... Aria... What happened to Olivia?" Evelyn stammered, her voice shaking.

Aria remained silent, biting her lip hard as hot tears welled up in her eyes, though she quickly brushed them away with her sleeve. Evelyn lunged forward, grabbing Aria by both shoulders and shaking her violently as tears gathered in her own eyes as well.

"Tell me, Aria! What happened to Olivia?!" Evelyn screamed, her voice cracking with despair.

Johan and Astrid turned away, lowering their heads in silent grief because they already knew the agonizing truth. The couple clasped hands, squeezing each other’s fingers tightly. Takeshi simply kept his head bowed, his face expressionless, though he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Evelyn panicked further, begging the silent Aria to answer, when suddenly,

"Hey... Look! It’s His Majesty Dion!"

One of the mages yelled out, pointing a trembling finger toward the protective dome. Aria, Evelyn, Johan, Astrid, and Takeshi whipped their heads back toward the barrier. The interior explosions had dwindled to wisps, revealing Dion floating in midair, his body encased within a transparent, spherical protective shield. Aria burst into a torrent of tears, a brilliant smile breaking across her face. Evelyn let out a heavy sigh of relief and wept openly, Johan looked immensely relieved, and Astrid covered her mouth with her hands as tears streamed down her cheeks. Takeshi offered a subtle, approving smirk and nodded slowly.

"Kyuuuuuu!"

Gina shot forward toward the barrier. Crack... prang! Expanding instantly back into her massive dragon form, she smashed right through the barrier, shattering it into a million fragments just as the last of the explosive light faded away. Everyone gasped in sheer shock: the grand cathedral and its entire surrounding complex were completely gone. In their place yawned a massive, perfectly circular crater that curved deep downward, exactly matching the exact perimeter of the barrier that had enclosed the grounds.

Dion remained suspended in midair, still wrapped in the spherical barrier. The surreal sight left everyone struck dumb, including Evelyn and Takeshi, neither of whom had ever witnessed Dion’s true power firsthand. But a second later, the protective orb encasing Dion began to flicker erratically before vanishing entirely, sending Dion plummeting toward the ground below.

"Dion!" Aria and Evelyn shrieked in unison.

Gina whipped downward with blinding speed, catching Dion softly upon her back as if she had anticipated the fall all along. She banked hard and flew back toward where the allied troops were gathered.

Boom!

Gina touched down heavily amid the ranks. Aria lunged forward to reach Dion, but someone beat her to it: Takeshi dropped lightly onto Gina’s back ahead of her. Crouching beside Dion, Takeshi checked his pulse. The stern tension instantly melted from the swordsman’s face, replaced by profound relief. He turned his head to look at Aria standing right beside him.

"Your Royal Highness, he is fine. He’s simply exhausted, so there is no need to worry," Takeshi smiled gently.

"Thank God... Let me take him," Aria said, dropping to her knees.

Takeshi raised a palm, gently halting her. He knelt fully beside Dion, resting both hands flat against his own thighs, and bowed deeply in profound respect toward the unconscious king.

"Allow this humble servant to carry His Majesty to his rest, and hear my solemn vow of eternal loyalty," Takeshi declared.

Drawing his short sword, he laid the blade flat upon the ground before him.

"I swear to forever serve as the blade at His Majesty’s side, sealing this oath with the shedding of my own blood."

Takeshi picked up the short blade, drew it across his palm, and let a single drop of blood fall. Aria watched in stunned silence. Takeshi resheathed the weapon, sliding it back into his belt, before turning his gaze back to Aria and Gina, who had turned her head around to watch.

"Your Royal Highness, please permit me to carry His Majesty to a place of rest," Takeshi requested softly.

Hearing Takeshi’s words, Aria felt a brief jolt of surprise. Looking into the swordsman’s eyes, she understood the unspoken message: There are things you need to handle here. His Majesty is safe; leave him to me so he can recover.

"Very well, Lord Makoto. Please help take care of Dion," Aria smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness," Takeshi bowed his head.

Carefully lifting Dion, Takeshi heaved him onto his back. He stood up, vaulted down from Gina’s back, and strode away toward a nearby inn that had survived the perimeter fallout, flanked by the rigid, disciplined line of a hundred samurai. Aria watched them go with a soft, melancholic smile, then looked up at Gina, whose dragon head turned back to face her.

"You can shrink back down now, Gina," Aria whispered.

"Gruuuuu!"

Gina instantly morphed back into her tiny form and fluttered down onto Aria’s head, sagging slightly against her hair. As Aria’s feet touched the ground, her eyes hardened with sudden, unyielding resolve. She looked straight at Evelyn and took a steady step forward. Standing right in front of her older sister, Aria reached out and took Evelyn’s hands in her own.

"Big Sister... I’m going to tell you everything that happened to Sister Olivia," Aria said, her voice trembling, though this time she shed no tears.

Aria recounted the entire tragedy to Evelyn, starting from their arrival in Millfrost, the ruined state of the city, and the final moments at the estate. Evelyn stood in absolute silence, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her face was etched with a crushing, bottomless grief, yet she fought desperately to maintain her royal dignity.

Taking a slow step forward, she pulled Aria into a tight, fierce embrace. Aria buried her face in her sister’s shoulder, and the two of them wept quietly together, holding onto one another without a single sound of wailing breaking the silence.

Suddenly, a miracle unfolded.

Glimmering flecks of pure white light drifted upward from the depths of the colossal crater, floating gracefully toward the embracing sisters. Both of them broke apart and glanced sideways as the sparkling stardust converged in midair, weaving together to take the form of a woman with shoulder-length hair dressed in a flowing white gown. As the features clarified, the woman was unmistakably Olivia.

Aria and Evelyn gasped, bursting into fresh tears as they threw their arms around Olivia, who wrapped them both in a warm, ethereal embrace.

The sight of the three princesses holding each other was witnessed by Johan, Astrid, every holy knight, all the battle mages from Thetor and Mageford, the airship crew, and the city archers. Every single one of them finally understood the full weight of what had transpired. The knights removed their helmets, bowing their heads in solemn mourning. The mages pulled back their hoods and lowered their heads in deep reverence. The archers crossed their bows over their chests, bowing low, while the airship crew stood at attention with hands over their hearts.

A moment later, Olivia dissolved back into a brilliant cascade of light particles, drifting upward into the evening sky. Evelyn and Aria tilted their heads back, watching alongside everyone else as they bade a final, sorrowful farewell to Olivia von Therion, the second princess of the Thetor Kingdom. A gentle smile touched both of their lips as they watched the light ascend into the heavens, their hands locked tightly together in an unbreakable grip.

High above on the palace balcony, King Lamberd watched the glowing flecks of light drift toward the stars. Closing his eyes, tears spilled down his weathered face, but a soft, peaceful smile graced his lips at last.