Before they had time to say anything or see that he was crying, Nozomu ran out the door and helped Koyaga wrap the blankets around the piles of bags with chocolates near the Dragons that were waiting for him.
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When Draiky brought the last bag and Nozomu tied the last knot, he gave the wrapped blanket to Mizukonta, and he said to the worried Koyaga as he was giving her a dagger, “Go to the Princess. Tell her that Raluth is emerging and that he will control everyone with his Magic. All over the World, no one will resist him, and they will go to him to be eaten. This dagger is coated with a Sleeping Potion and you just need to scratch the Princess with it and you as well. Maybe if you are both sleeping, you have a chance. Trust no one, Koyaga, because the moment Raluth controls them, I don’t know what they will do.”
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“And you? What are you going to do with all those chocolates, Nozomu?”
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“I am going to meet Taisetsuna and all the Dragons in the Academy, and I am going to kill Raluth. I might die in the process, but my kid will be safe, and so will you and everyone else. I found out that the chocolates make the Dragons immune to Magic, and it also increases their Magic, so maybe that gives us an edge. The Dragons always tried to kill Raluth to protect everyone, and they kept on dying to save people. Goodbye, Koyaga, and take care of the Princess and our child.”
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“What are you saying… I am going with you!”
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“No, you are not. The Princess needs you at her side. I wanted to be there as well, but I can’t because I have a monster to kill. One that has been destroying every civilization in this World since the beginning of time, and people have mistakenly called it a God. Do as I ask, please. You are the only one that can protect the Princess.”
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She hugged him while crying, perfectly aware that it would probably be the last time she would see him.
He climbed up to Hinotsume’s back with Oaky and Draiky, and they took off. Koyaga waved at him, and she then ran to the building of the Magical Circle, wasting no more time.
Around her, buildings were collapsing from the shaking that kept happening. It seemed like the ground was in pain, and it was crying like she was.
She reached the Magical Circle when it was sending a group to the Capital to seek refuge, so she tagged along.
When the Magical Dome disappeared, she was at the Capital and ran towards the hill where the Castle was.
In minutes, she was at the gates, and she pushed the Guards aside to let her pass, not even bothering to answer what all those tremors were and what she was doing there.
She kicked the front door of the Castle, and ran along the corridors, shouting for the Princess.
A servant came running to her and pointed at the Throne Room before running to the outside, while cracks were appearing on the walls around.
In the Throne Room, the Princess was seated at her Throne, looking at the reports a few Ministers were giving her, while her court was near a wall, kneeling and praying.
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When she saw Koyaga emerging through the opened doors, she asked, “Koyaga! What is happening? I am receiving all sorts of weird news!”
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“Raluth is emerging! Nozomu is going to the Academy to meet his friends and all the Dragons in the World to fight him.”
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“Nozomu is what? Fight God Raluth? He is nuts!”
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Koyaga pulled the Princess up while saying, “You are not safe here! Everyone! Let’s go outside before the ceiling falls! Move, you dumbasses!”
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As they were running along the corridor to the patio and tripping in the new cracks on the floor, Koyaga explained, “Nozomu found out that the chocolates make the Dragons immune to Magic, and they are going to help him fight Raluth.”
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The Princess asked, almost tripping again, “But why does he want to fight God Raluth? If he is rising to cleanse the World, we are all doomed! Or at least, the ones he deems are not worthy!”
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“The Dragons told him that Raluth is just a Monster that eats people, and they always try to kill him to save everyone. This time, Nozomu is joining them.”
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“But he will die! What about my baby?”
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“That is why he sent me here: to make sure you survived all this. He gave me a dagger coated with a Sleeping Potion to put you to sleep and told me that maybe we could resist Raluth’s power if we were both sleeping while he fights to save us all. But with the Castle almost crumbling down, I am not sure where it will be safe!”
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When they reached the patio, the Princess saw the beam of light on the horizon and gasped. “Koyaga… What else did Nozomu say?”
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She answered while holding the Princess’s arm and doing her best not to fall because of the tremors. “That Raluth uses some weird Magic to control people, and everyone will go to him to be eaten.”
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“Everyone? What do you mean, everyone? I will lose all my people?”
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“According to what the Dragons said, maybe? I don’t know, but that light, these tremors, and the way Nozomu was acting… He looked pretty certain about what he was saying!”
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“I… I have to do something… I can’t let my people die!”
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“And I can’t let you go anywhere. We need to find a place to hide and use the dagger. Even if you lose half or all your people, you are expecting a baby, and that takes precedence over everyone else.”
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The Princess looked around and saw the fear in the eyes of her Nobles and guards.
She signalled one Cat-kind Royal Guard to approach, and he stumbled to get to her.
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When he was doing his best to stand straight, the Princess ordered, “Send a message to every Beast-kind soldier in the country. I want them to use the chewing gum to gather their courage and to stop everyone that tries to go towards that beam of light. No one should go there, and I mean no one. Anyone that goes will die because of what is waiting for them there. Move! Why are you still here?”
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The Guard nodded and rushed to deliver her message. Soldiers were running to get chewing gum from the deposit, while others were going to get the horses to go to the Magical Circle in the centre of the Capital to travel to every City in the country to deliver the Princess’s orders.
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When the Princess was going to talk with the Nobles of her court, Koyaga stood in her way and grabbed both of her arms. “Where are you going now, Mere?”
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“I need to take my court with me! My Ministers! I know where we can hide!”
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“You will not do that. Nozomu also said not to trust anyone, because the moment Raluth controlled them, he didn’t know what they would do. We go hide alone in a safe place and use the dagger.”
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“But… but…”
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“I wasn’t asking, Mere. You can either go by your feet, or I will scratch you with the dagger right now and carry you! Where is that place?”
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The Princess opened and closed her mouth, trying to find some arguments, but the bright in Koyaga’s eyes dissuaded her.
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She pointed at the stables on the right side of the Castle and said, “There is a tunnel there that leads to the forest on the back of this hill, after the City walls. There is a small hunter’s shelter at the end, and we can hide there. The tunnel is carved in pure rock, and it can endure massive explosions, so I think it will be safe, even with all these tremors.”
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“Okay, let’s go while everyone is distracted. I don’t want anyone following us.”
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Princess Mere and Koyaga walked to the stables, with the Princess telling everyone they met not to panic, and to get away from the Castle so that no one would be hit by a falling stone.
They stopped in front of the stable and only entered when they were sure no one was looking at them.
In there, the Princess went straight to the last stall and kicked the wooden boards in one corner until one got loose. She put her hand inside the hole and pulled a lever, and there was a sound of something moving. She pushed a section of the boards, and it opened, showing an entrance.
Koyaga followed her, grabbing an oil lamp that was hanging on the wooden wall and closing the entrance behind her.
They went down the steps that were carved into the rock and reached a narrow tunnel.
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The Princess looked up and said, “I hope everything works out, Nozomu… Let’s go, follow me.”
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While Koyaga and the Princess were walking along the tunnel to safety, Taisetsuna and her group arrived at the Academy.
Dozens upon dozens of Dragons were already there, and there were more arriving each minute.
She made Furnace run to the back of the Academy, and saw Hinotsume and Mizukonta already there, giving paws full of chocolates to the Dragons, with Nozomu, Draiky, and Oaky helping.
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Taisetsuna jumped to the floor and asked, “Nozo, we got here as fast as we could! Where do you need us?”
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“I already discussed that with Hinotsume and a few Dragons. Choose one that already has chocolates and ride him towards that beam of light. The Empire is in that direction. Hinotsume said that is where Raluth always appeared, and that light is him, signalling his awakening. When the light disappears, he will use his Magic to control people, and everyone will go to him. Some will go by foot, others will ride to get there, unable to resist his power, but many will travel by Magical Circle.”
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“By what? By Magical Circle? How is that possible?”
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“Beats me, but Hinotsume said that the buildings and those columns that make the Circles work were made with Raluth’s scales that he shed thousands of years ago, so he knows exactly how to activate the Circles. Now you see what we are up against? Calling Raluth a God is not as absurd as it may seem, considering what he does to people, and his Magic power is beyond any of us. I have no idea if we will be able to kill him, but maybe we can prevent this civilization’s end, or at least save as many people as we can. You and the others will be in charge of making a safety line. Don’t let anyone approach Raluth. None of you is powerful enough to make a dent on him, so it is better to use your Magic to save people.”
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Taisetsuna hugged him and asked, “And you? What will you do?”
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“Join the Dragons on the attack from the sky. I can access Hinotsume and Mizukonta’s Magic to make my dark clouds. If that fails, I will go straight to his mouth and blow him up from the inside.”
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“But… you will die if you do that, won’t you?”
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Nozomu pointed at the two bags that he was carrying and explained to the crying girl. “I have here vials full of explosive nectar from the flowers of the ‘Fool’s Death’ bush. This, together with my dark cloud that I will create inside Raluth, will destroy him. And me, along with it. If you are still in control when I go to him, run away as fast as you can because the explosion will for sure wipe out everything around.”
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“I… I want to go with you, Nozo. I can’t live without you!”
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“Sure, you can. You have Robert, Hinen, and I am pretty sure that Tomiga also likes you. You have all our friends, the Guild Master, the Priest, Koyaga, and the Princess. They will be sad if I die, but they will be even sadder if we both die. I didn’t have the opportunity to tell you, but the Princess is expecting my child. She will need your help as well, and maybe the kid looks like me, so you will see me every time you look at him or her. It is still pretty soon to know if it is a boy or a girl.”
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“She is… She is what? You… I see... I forgot you were with her... And if you die, I won’t be with you...”
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Nozomu touched her forehead with his and said, in a low, gentle voice, “You are an amazing woman, Taisetsuna. I wish we had more time to be together and grow old on our farm surrounded by kids. Will you do me a favour and live in my place? Be happy and have lots of children, because family is the most valuable thing in a person’s life. I lost my family when I died on Earth, and I am going to lose another family if I die here, but at least you and all our friends will be safe, and that is enough for me.”
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Taisetsuna looked at him, put her hand on the back of his neck, and gently pulled him in. His friends, the Dragons, the Principal, Teachers, and all the other students that were gathered around them, looked away, while Taisetsuna gave him her last kiss.
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After a few moments, she broke the kiss, her face full of tears, and hugged him while whispering, “You are a fool, Jack Snyder. You received a new life here, and now you are willing to waste it on a bunch of people you know for only a short amount of time. You are a gentle soul, and I will miss you forever if you die, so please, try not to die, will you?”
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“I can’t promise you that, you know? I would prefer not to die because I like to live in this weird World, but at the same time, I don’t mind dying to protect it and everyone living here. I guess I am strange or stupid. So, what do you say if we go kick Raluth’s butt?”
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“Yup, fine by me! Let’s show that Monster whom he dared to mess with!”
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