The resurfacing of Raluth was felt all over the World, but it was the ‘Ifranluan Empire’ that suffered the most because it was in the mountain range in the north of the Empire that Raluth’s head appeared. Or better yet, the entrance to his massive body through his enormous mouth.
Raluth’s body went deep down in circles, from the head to the rest of his body, creating a never-ending spiral that occupied almost the entire Empire’s underground.
When he resurfaced, the tremors lacerated the land, and at the Capital, the Castle cracked, unable to resist the trembling ground.
Ahmed Khan was in front of a large window in his Throne Room, unable to look away from the sight he could see ahead of him. Destruction for miles, the ground opening in large chasms several kilometres deep, and buildings in his Capital falling to the ground, killing his soldiers and common citizens. His Nobles fled to the outside as soon as the trembling started, even with him shouting that the Castle could resist everything while outside the houses were not built as strong. But it was no use. Panic made them deaf.
A long crack appeared on the wall and travelled to the ceiling, and the other end of the crack went to the floor.
The young Emperor backed away and watched as the window shattered and the glass fell all over the floor and went to the space the crack was making on the floor, as the entire Throne Room divided into two.
He looked around, trying to remain standing, as the Castle was leaning towards the left side, and he noticed that the path to the doors to escape the destruction around him had a large gap, as the Castle was crumbling in pieces.
Gathering his Magic, he made a slide out of frozen water from the now broken window to the open patio and jumped to it. As he was reaching the end, suddenly, the entire floor disappeared, and a bottomless pit awaited Ahmed Khan at the very end of the slide.
He jumped to the right side and fell over the dead bodies of two of his guards, who were crushed by the rocks that fell over them as the Castle crumbled.
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He got up immediately and looked around as he shouted, “A horse! Someone bring me a horse! A horse, dammit!”
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His shouts for help ended in a scream when he saw a huge chunk of the ceiling of his once pompous Castle falling in his direction. And with his death, the Khan dynasty, one of the World’s longest, ended, because no one living in that World could ever survive the destruction every time Raluth surfaced to feed, no matter how hard they tried.
…
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In the Academy, Taisetsuna was climbing on Mizukonta’s back, and she heard a loud neigh. She looked back just in time to see Furnace and Rampage vigorously shaking their heads as if trying to get rid of something.
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Seeing that, Hinotsume shouted to the Principal, Teachers, and students that were nearby, “Get away from them! It is starting! Nozomu! Knock them out before they-”
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It was too late. Before Nozomu could jump from Hinotsume’s back, Rampage and Furnace dashed to the street that led to the Capital.
In seconds, they were gone, and Nozomu asked, “What is wrong with them?”
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Hinotsume snorted and answered, “See why I don’t like Unicorns? They are always the first to fall under Raluth’s power! We don’t have time to go after them, but they are heading to the Capital to activate the Magical Circle there so that Raluth can receive his first batch of food.”
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“What? They can do that?”
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“Yes. They will activate the Circle so that the people that fall under Raluth’s power can go to him to be eaten. After the Unicorns will be cattle, horses, and all other animals. ‘Scaraar’s, ‘Ergy’, Drakes, Orcs, and Goblins. They will all go to the nearest Magical Circle to travel to Raluth, or run to him. After that, it will be people. The Unicorns will guard the Magical Circle, opening it for people and fighting whoever tries to stop them. There won’t be anyone to fight them very soon, because everyone will fall under Raluth’s power and will go to the Circles with a smile on their faces. We need to go, Nozomu. Your friends must stay between Raluth and the beings that will go to him to be eaten, to stop them, while we try to kill him. We don’t have much time.”
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“Can you send a mental order to everyone? With all this noise around, I doubt anyone will hear me.”
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Hinotsume ran along the field to take off while answering, “Already did. Hang on, because I will fly as fast as I can!”
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One by one, the Dragons followed Hinotsume, some of them with a rider on their backs, most of them alone, but all with a few chocolates firmly held in one massive paw.
Once flying, they all put one chocolate in their mouths and got an immense increase in their Magic, which made them shoot powerful beams of pure Magic into the air until they got it under control.
While enjoying the sweet taste, they flew at an enormous speed, and Nozomu could barely distinguish anything from the ground. It was all a blur of green and spots of grey. Apparently, the chocolates also increased the Dragon’s strength, and that made them able to fly faster.
The beam of light from Raluth was blinking, and it soon dissipated, and it was then that Nozomu noticed there was a strange round bump in the middle of the mountain range on the horizon. It made a strange sight, a round mass that was coming from the middle of two mountains and going forward, ending in the vast prairie ahead with a big City right in front.
As the Dragons got near, Nozomu gasped. Before him, Raluth. It looked like a massive worm, with dark green scales covering the entirety of his visible body, with the rest going underground and the tip on the prairie, ending in a massive mouth full of rows of teeth all around and inside, pointed at the City, and wide open, as if waiting for its meal.
Hinotsume was flying straight at it, and Nozomu wondered if all those teeth were inside that immense body, or if it was only as far as he could see, and it would eventually end because it was strange if there were teeth all the way to the stomach. Or whatever Raluth had that helped him digest what he ate.
Hinotsume made a wide curve, leaving the mouth on his right side and aiming for the body that was visible after it. He leaned his head back and shot an immense Fire Ball at Raluth’s body, and Nozomu noticed that even if it was enough to melt a Castle, compared to that mass that was Raluth, it looked like a line of water coming from a fire-hose, trying to extinguish a volcano with no visible effect.
At least, until other Fire Dragons joined him. Five, then seven, then ten Dragons. They all shot Fire Balls at the same time and at the same spot on Raluth’s body, and it was making a dent. Scales were falling, revealing more scales underneath, and even those were destroyed, leaving in plain sight Raluth’s rough skin.
On the left side, Mizukonta was with a group of Water Dragons, shooting Frozen Spears to another spot and doing equal damage.
More Dragons arrived, and they were all divided into groups of ten, aiming at a single place and shooting their Magic, trying to pierce the skin.
To Nozomu’s surprise, for as fast as the Dragons were in their attempt to hurt Raluth, he was faster with his Healing Magic. The rough skin kept on healing, and more scales appeared, replacing the ones that he lost. Worse, Raluth didn’t seem to care about what the Dragons were doing to him, as if they were merely a nuisance that he could pretend not to notice.
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Nozomu shouted, “Hinotsume! Tell the Dragons to land on top of Raluth! They can use their claws to take off the scales and shoot Magic at the skin! He won’t have time to heal!”
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“Good idea! But can you withstand our heat? What about your friends?”
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“Your Magic doesn’t bother me, but my friends aren’t that lucky! Tell the Dragons to put them in front of that big City, because-“
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Nozomu stopped talking when he saw it. Three shadows were approaching, lifting dust in the air, coming from the City, the mountains, and the forest on the left side.
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He frowned, wondering what that was, and Hinotsume glanced at where he was looking, and his words made Nozomu shiver, “The first wave of food. Animals and Monsters. Raluth might use some of them to attack us or your friends. Are you sure they can handle it? Wait… The Dragons that your friends are riding told me they want to land and stop people from entering Raluth’s mouth, and for you not to worry, because they will avoid the animals and Monsters and we can do what we have to do. Courageous meat sacs, I give you that! And I also have a job for the pet plants!”
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Hinotsume landed almost fifty meters from Raluth’s gigantic mouth so that Draiky and Oaky could jump.
He then faced them and said, “I don’t care about the Monsters, but stop the animals! Don’t let them be eaten! Stop any meat sac that comes close! And resist Raluth’s power! If you reach your limit and you can no longer endure his tremendous power, at least take out some of his teeth! Make him suffer with your last breath!”
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Draiky and Oaky nodded, and they faced the shadows that were coming close. Hundreds upon hundreds were running, jumping, slithering, or flying straight at them.
Hinotsume took off again and flew to meet the other Dragons. He landed on top of Raluth, and most of the Dragons did the same, except the ones that were carrying Taisetsuna and her group. Those, flew to the City and landed at nearly fifty metres of the gates, and left again to join the attack after their riders jumped to the ground.
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Taisetsuna pointed at the soil a few metres ahead and said, “Chuji, make a trench as large as you can, and deep enough to prevent people from climbing! If possible, all the way to the horizon on our left and right! Tresuria, help her and then use your vines and your flowers to stop anyone that manages to climb! Hinen, you and I are going to use Wind and Water Magic to push people back to the trench! Robert, you can’t use Fire Magic on people, but knock them out if you have to! Chuji, give one of your daggers to each of us! Anyone that feels about to lose control, use the dagger to be put to sleep! Let’s try to hold on for as long as we can! Nozo and the Dragons need time, and they can’t attack if Raluth uses people to fight them!”
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While the others were gathering their Magic, Robert approached her and asked, “Taisetsuna, what about Nozomu? Is he going to stay with the Dragons? Wouldn’t it be better if he-“
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A massive explosion alerted them. They all looked back and saw a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke, flesh, and red blood, followed by a few others, while the Dragons kept on firing their Magic at the newly opened wounds. A scream filled their ears, and it was so strong that they felt like it was piercing their heads.
The scream lowered in intensity, but didn’t stop. Raluth was hurt, and he was not happy. Every time he raised his body and bumped on the ground in pain and anger, the soil trembled.
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Taisetsuna answered while pointing at the massive body that was being attacked. “Nozo is needed there! He can’t do that here, or he would kill all of us! Let him deal with Raluth! We have people to save!”
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Robert stuttered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. “T-that’s Nozomu? How the heck does he do that? I thought he couldn’t use Magic!”
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“I have no idea what that is, or how he does it, but it is him! Less talk, Robert! Focus on your task! I see something coming! Are those people?”
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