Artoria kept up her senses. She, too, stopped a little to admire the mushroom cloud. She just nodded a bit at it, as if approving of it.
"Did I hear Carrera say, 'here comes the sun'? And to Kondou nonetheless. There's no way. That has to be a coincidence."
Artoria muttered to herself as she kept moving to where she sensed Michael and Feldway. She kept Rhongomyniad ready at all times, ready to start the decision process of the seals at any moment. And to her, that meant at first sight. She was taking no risks in a drawn-out fight, especially not in a two-on-one confrontation. She would unleash Rhongomyniad the first chance she got.
Was it spamming? Eh, the jury's out on that one. But the entire world will feel the power of Rhongomyniad.
As Artoria moved, she finally came to the spot where Feldway and Michael were supposed to be. But they weren't there, or as she sensed, they were watching her.
'They want to be sneaky? These featherbrained, clovefooted, pigeons are getting on my nerves. They want to surprise me? Fine, I'll just surprise them back.'
Artoria thought to herself as she stood still, but it wasn't for long before she said something that would derail everything.
She held Rhongomyniad up, ready to lunge. It suddenly started glowing bright, much brighter than usual. Even though the sun was still up, it almost seemed to outshine it. The environment around her started to change in unusual and weird ways, from the scale of power being released from Rhongomyniad
"You two most likely know the truths lying underneath the world. You, Feldway, upset like a child who misses their dad. Guess what, you're not the only one, but grow up; you've had more than enough time to get over it. And what you seek is much closer than you realize. For someone who misses Veldanava so much, you can't sense his reincarnation. Michael, mad because you can't make friends and get along with others. A temper tantrum thrown because they don't like a decision made by their parent, and thus all lead to this. Well, guess what, it only makes you different because at least a child gets over them, and you don't. You two just can't accept loss, despite how much time has passed. Normally, in a situation like this, you'd seek help, but neither of you did, and now there must be consequences for your actions."
Feldway immediately appeared with Michael. They sensed something was wrong, and Michael put up his wall, but what is normally supposed to be something indestructible felt weaker, a sign that the faith was crumbling fast. They both saw what happened to Velgrynd, a humiliating and instant loss. They didn't know what was happening, but they had to attack first before they could Artoria could do anything. And what she said about them didn't help their judgment.
Unfortunately, Artoria was faster.
"Sacred Lance, removing restraints. Split the heavens and tether the earth, anchor of the storm. O'light, may you be released from the ends of the earth."
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
That's all she needed.
The sounds of chains snapping were heard in Artoria's mind.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO?!"
Feldway shouted as he felt the overwhelming and intense power around him. But that was the least of his worries. As he looked around, everything seemed to be collapsing, seemingly withering away, but it wasn't at the same time. Pieces of the environment were being torn away, like a drawing being ripped to reveal something underneath. It wasn't that the detail of the drawing was degraded, but the surface on which the drawing was made was breaking apart.
"Yes, I do. And I'm not stopping until you two are gone.'
"You can't kill me, I'm—"
"I do not care. And I'm not 'killing' you; I'm simply going to remove you from reality. Very different thing."
"What? No, you can't have that kind of power! Such a weapon shouldn't exist!"
Feldway ran away, trying to get away from the collapsing reality around him, but he barely got far when he came across a barrier.
"Michael, what are you doing?"
Feldway screamed at Michael, thinking it was Michael that was doing something.
"That's not me! And my barrier is…gone. It's not destroyed, it got erased. It's erasing everything. Even the magic."
"We have to get out of here!"
Artoria, having already trapped them, got closer to them. The area around her, where everything was coming apart, was spreading, Rhongomyniad being the hypocenter. All she had to do was get closer to them; she probably didn't even need to impale them, but she would just to make sure. Normally, she would double-tap, but when dealing with these two, maybe a triple-tap was in order.
"Just come to terms with what's going to happen."
Artoria said as she got closer to them. She pulled the lance back, ready to strike.
"Wait! Hold on! You can't get rid of me! Do you know what would happen!?"
Feldway started to try to convince Artoria, but everything was futile. Nothing could stop what was about to happen.
"Think of Guy Crimson! He won't let this go unanswered!"
One final appeal, ultimately futile.
"Well, I look forward to him showing up. If he does show up, then I have some…Holy Judgement to show him."
"You're crazy."
"Nope. Just taking care of some problems that will interfere with my future. And besides, what's in store for me in the future will be a multi-year-long battle and commitment, possibly spanning a few people."
"What could be harder than this?"
"You'll never know."
In an instant, Artoria disapparated, using Torrent of Light to appear in front of Feldway and impale him. Not only did Rhongomyniad easily impale him, dealing massive damage, but he was also being erased at the same time. In just a few seconds, he was scattered like pixels exploding.
Artoria turned to Michael, who backed away. Nothing was working for her. No matter what skills he used, it just didn't work on her. Mentally, spiritually, physically, nothing worked.
"You're not using magic, are you?"
"Just a little. That little burst I did is about the only magic I used. Everything else is just my gear."
"Well, I'll see you."
"Wai—"
Michael couldn't say anything as Artoria disappeared, instantly appearing in front of him, impaling him and erasing him in seconds.
Once it was done, Artoria stopped Rhongomyniad. What was left was a segment of reality that was broken and torn apart. She would need to fix it.
"Rhongomyniad, fix that."
Slowly, it recovered, being repaired. After a few seconds, it was like nothing had happened.
"Alright, time to end this. I feel a big weight off my shoulders for some reason. And I really, really, really, want to go be with Shuna. I haven't felt such an urge in a while. Why is this so sudden after dealing with Feldway and Michael?"
Artoria questioned herself as she returned.
/\\//\\//\
The Eastern Empire's troops were in complete disarray. Not only did they have to fight against the constant bombing, but also the mass mutiny happening.
It was just a complete massacre now. Any semblance of order was lost, with anyone in a commanding position being fragged or killed by their own soldiers.
"If you want to go home and save your country, then follow me."
Until they heard a loud, booming voice that resonated deep within them. It's like they were being compelled to follow the voice and join their side. As if it was meant to be, as if it were natural, as if they were destined to follow them.
From the forest, a knight in literal shining armor appeared. Their helmet resembling a lion, along with the mane. For what felt like the nth time, the battlefield stopped. Everyone on both sides stopped to see what would happen.
For a second, no one did anything, but slowly, more and more troops from the Eastern Empire, including the numbered knights, who were the most affected, started to turn, deciding to follow Artoria. It was an easy choice for them after everything they went through. But there were still those who were still loyal to a leader they didn't know no longer existed.
Velgrynd was the only one left.
"Good. It seems choices have been made, but show me through your actions. Get rid of those still loyal to your old government."
Artoria said as she started walking back to her side, where the wall was. It started to disappear, revealing a fully equipped army ready to attack and commence an invasion.
It was all that needed to be shown before the side that turned fought against those fully loyal. It was a civil war now.
And while all this was happening, Artoria walked up to Benimaru, who was standing at the forefront of the army, ready to invade.
"Benimaru, are you ready?"
"Yes, Lady Pendragon! I'll make to bring swift and decisive victory!"
"Good. Now, wait for their current fight to finish. You'll be in charge of those new ones joining you. It's last-minute, but I know you can figure it out. Oh, and once you're done, don't leave the Eastern Empire, I'm going to give you a very big assignment that will last at least a few years."
"I won't fail, Lady Pendragon."
"That's good. Remember, you're about to embark on a crusade to destroy tyranny. I have full confidence in your devotion to duty, your courage, and your skill in battle. I expect nothing less than full victory."
Benimaru stayed silent after hearing her words. He felt inspired; he felt that he could take on multiple armies by himself. He wondered how she could come up with such words.
/\\///\\//\
One of the perks of being reincarnated into a new world, even if there's others that reincarnated, is that you can kind of get some…inspiration from things from your past life without people knowing where you got it from. Now, is it original? Yeah, no, it's not, but they don't know that. It's all about taking advantage. Like with all things, it's never black and white; it's grey and with nuance. You will never find a situation where there's a clear bad guy and good guy; there's always nuance and shades mixed in.
Anyway, I was heading to Velgrynd's little cell made from Rhongomyniad. She should be up by now.
I looked inside and she was sitting there. I guess she tried escaping, but realized that it's not happening.
"So, you're finally up."
"What did you do? I feel different."
"I freed you from Michael's control. I don't think you even realized you were under his control, or at least, being affected by it."
"How did you get rid of it?"
"How else do you think? It's a war; connect the dots."
"So…you killed him."
I could see her expression change a little. I guess it makes sense, she thought Michael was supposed to be Rudra, or his reincarnation.
"Velgrynd, he's not Rudra. In fact, the one you're looking for is in the Eastern Empire, leading a revolution. He's the one you're meant to be with."
"And how can I trust you?"
"You don't have much of a choice. I'll tell it to you straight. You're the highest-ranking person left in the Eastern Empire. If the chain of succession is what I think it is, you're now the empress of the Eastern Empire, or what is going to be left of it, and if you decide to keep the position, but for now, you're the empress. And therefore, you're the one who can negotiate the terms of surrender with me."
"What are you looking for?"
"Unconditional surrender. You'll agree to my terms, and you'll get no guarantees, reassurances, promises, or anything like that. I'm going to negotiate with you here and now, and you won't leave until we come to an agreement."
"I can just wait you out. That revolution will succeed once your army goes to help them. And then you'll negotiate with them."
"That's true, but then you'll be leaving the fate of your country into the hands of someone new and inexperienced. And who knows how one-sided that treaty will be in favor of me."
I saw her contemplating, and I was right. Masayuki's a nice guy, but that's the problem, he's nice. If he's going to take over, he's going to need to toughen up a lot.
"What kind of terms are you looking for?"
Got her.
"First, you'll cede half of Eastern Empire territory to us, using the closest natural land border rounded up. Second, the territory left will be placed under Tempest military occupation while we help your country rebuild and construct a new government, including various reforms. Once reconstruction is finished and we see that it will be upheld, we'll return autonomy and end the occupation. Third, the military will undergo disarmament and de-escalation of militarism."
"That's…crazy. You can't expect me to agree to that. And even if I did, so what? You'll have to negotiate with the new leader."
"I know that. And I'm being very nice already. I could make the conditions worse. Every moment you spend thinking and negotiating is more life lost, more towns and cities destroyed, more time spent recovering, more time spent rebuilding, more damage to your country. Is that what you want? Fighting to the end, until the last soldier? Because I promise you this, Velgrynnd, if that's the route you want to go on, I can go down that route. The Eastern Empire's defeat is already a foregone conclusion."
She stayed silent, contemplating what to do.
"They're retreating! Advance!"
In the distance, Benimaru's voice could be heard. We both heard it. I could see Velgrynd react to it.
More time passed. I just stayed quiet and smiled. At this point, I don't need to say anything more. All I had to do was talk less and smile more.
"I…agree to your terms."
"Wonderful."
Using Rhongomyniad, I quickly materialized a document, already filled out with the terms and my signature. All that was needed to happen was for her to sign it as well. And to do that, I also materialized a pen and handed it to her.
She brought the pen to the document and she signed it. There was no going back now. I made a copy to hand to her. The little cell was unsummoned, and she was free.
"Now that that's done, go back to your capital and announce the decision as well as why you're the empress now. Expect resistance and a coup attempt from fierce fanatics and loyalists. But you can handle that. After all, you're a True Dragon."
I handed her the copy, and she silently returned to the capital. She didn't even transform into her dragon form; she stayed in human form.
But finally, it was over. I'm surprised I was even able to stay focused for so long. Why? Simple. Shuna. And I finally understand it. You don't make a decision unless your stomach is full and you're not "thirsty". And I don't mean water.
Maybe, just maybe, for a few minutes, I can…be with Shuna?
Wow, okay, I need to control myself a bit.
The war is basically won; I just have to see it through to the end.