Chương 10: Episode 7: The Insane Raid

Midnight hit, and we were already sprinting through the sand dunes for our lives. Forty Lunaranite dragons were raiding the kingdom, blasting through the outer defenses before anyone could raise an alarm.

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!" Olsen screamed, officially spiraling.

"I DON'T KNOW! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" I yelled back. Meteors tore through the cloud layer and slammed into the dunes behind us, sending shockwaves through the desert that nearly knocked us off our feet. The howling wind whipped up blinding walls of sand, but Demaurion stayed right beside us, using his water energy to clear a path.

"Stay close!" Demaurion barked, slamming his palm into the dune. A wave of compressed mist and sand blasted outward, sweeping a Lunaranite warrior off its feet. A shadow burst through the storm—another Lunaranite, spear raised and silver eyes glowing. I didn't pause. I slashed my dagger straight across its guard, throwing it off balance before driving the blade down. The body collapsed into the sand behind us.

"Keep moving!" Demaurion snapped as the dunes grew steeper. Behind us, the attack was turning into a full war zone. Dark Don and Overbrawl were leading the charge, surrounded by dozens of Lunaranite soldiers tearing through the city. Suddenly, a beam of golden light split the sky. A force of Celestianites descended through the clouds with wings flared, spears crackling with light energy as they intercepted the raid. Their leader hovered above the chaos, shouting down at us.

"GET OUT OF HERE, KIDS! WE'LL HOLD THEM!" While half the Lunaranites turned to fight the incoming force, the rest charged straight for our group. The two armies collided midair in a mess of clashing steel, snapping wings, and exploding energy.

"THANK YOU!" Ella yelled as we kept sprinting. A Celestianite flew overhead and tossed something down. I caught it mid-stride—a heavy coin, glowing gold and warm to the touch.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" I shouted.

"THINK OF WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND THROW IT!" the Celestianite called back.

"SOMEWHERE SAFE!" My mind raced through options.

"THUNDERSTARK KINGDOM!" Olsen yelled.

"IT'S SAFE! AS LONG AS WE DON'T TOUCH THE ELECTRICITY!" Demaurion grabbed my shoulder.

"Do it! Now!" I hurled the coin forward. Golden light detonated in the air, unfolding into a swirling ring suspended over the sand. Through the portal, I could see the dark blue skies and storm clouds of the Thunderstark Kingdom, lightning flashing across the horizon. Before we could jump, Dark Don shot out of the dust cloud like a missile. His Lunar Lance hissed, silver arcs of energy spiraling around the tip as he locked eyes with me.

"Finally," he smirked.

"The one I've been hunting."

"SERIOUSLY? NOW?!" I ripped out my second dagger. Prince stopped at the edge of the portal.

"DON! THIS IS NOT WORTH A WING!"

"IT'S FINE!" I pointed toward the ring.

"GO!" The group dove through the portal one by one. I planted my feet on the scorched sandstone, my eyes glowing purple as celestial energy flared around my blades. Dark Don lunged, thrusting the lance toward my chest. I pivoted left, cracked him across the ribs with a spin kick, and came up with both daggers raised.

"Don't waste my time," I growled.

"I've got places to be." He sneered, bringing his weapon back around as static crackled along the tip.

"Thunderstark Kingdom? We'll just follow you there." I narrowed my eyes and tightened my grip on the daggers.

"Try it." He launched the first strike, twisting into a vicious thrust. I ducked and swung into a spinning kick that cracked across his skull. WHAM! He reeled backward. I darted behind him and carved across his ribs with one of my daggers. Dark Don spun instantly, his Lunar Lance sweeping through the air. The weapon nearly caught me across the chest as I jumped back. I blurred forward. Blows flew from every angle, but the lance intercepted most of them. SHING! SHING! SHING!

Sparks erupted as steel clashed against lunar energy. I zig-zagged around him, nicking his jaw before sweeping behind him and going for his knees. I dropped low. Spin Drop. My signature move slammed into him and launched him backward like a ragdoll.

"COME ON!" I roared, leaping after him. Dark Don recovered quickly. He swung the Lunar Lance in a wide arc, forcing me back. The blade missed my throat by inches. I intercepted the next strike with a dagger. CLANG! But he immediately drove a lunar-charged punch into my face. WHAM! I tumbled across the battlefield and slammed into a boulder. Debris exploded around me. Before I could recover, he warped forward and smacked me across the jaw like I owed him money. We circled each other, breathing heavily.

"You're strong," he muttered, eyes sharp.

"I've always been strong," I snapped. He tilted his head.

"Where's that confidence come from?" I grinned.

"I believe in myself. You should try it sometime." I dashed forward and flung a dagger. He sidestepped. Exactly what I wanted. I lunged in and Celestial PUNCHED him square in the face. BOOM! The impact blasted him backward like he'd been hit by a meteor. I pressed the assault immediately. Slashes ripped through the air. He countered. I parried. I spun, struck, dodged, then struck again. Blade against lance. Speed against savagery. Roundhouse. Miss. Backhand slash. Parried.

I feinted, spun low, and nicked his lip clean. Then I went full light-speed mode. I blinked around him like a glitch in reality. One moment I was in front of him. The next I was behind him. Then above him. Then beside him. He couldn't keep up. SLASH! A cut opened across his chest.

"RAHH!" I bellowed. I hurled my second dagger. He knocked it away with the shaft of the Lunar Lance. I lunged immediately afterward and hammered a Celestial Uppercut into his jaw. WHAM! Dark Don left the ground. I jumped after him. A heel kick launched him even higher. Then I blinked above him and drove a Celestial Slam directly into his spine. BOOOOOOOM! He crashed into the battlefield like thunder. The ground shattered beneath him. Then came the 50-50-50 Celestial Dropkick. WHAAAAAAAAAM!

My feet slammed into his chest. Dark Don bounced across the sand, coughing up blood as he struggled to rise. Dazed. Disoriented. Stunned. I caught my daggers as they returned to my hands, their blades glinting beneath the moonlight. Dark Don forced himself upright. His Lunar Lance trembled in his grip. I vanished. FLASH! His eyes widened. Too late. SHING! Both daggers sliced across the side of his neck in a sharp X-shaped strike—not deep enough to kill, but more than enough to shock him. Dark Don froze.

His hand flew to his neck, silver blood trickling between his fingers as he stared at me in complete disbelief. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked genuinely rattled. I lowered my daggers.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Dark Don stared for another second, his body flickering as silver light burst around him, before vanishing completely. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Across the field, Power was throwing hands with Overbrawl while the Celestianites clashed against the remaining Lunaranites. And we were definitely winning. I stretched, popped my knuckles, and grinned.

"Time to clean house." Violet lightning crackled across my eyes, and I moved. I launched into the heart of the warzone, my sneakers tearing trenches through the sand as a wave of Lunaranites surged forward. Behind me, the entire desert shook as Power and Overbrawl collided. Blue and scarlet-orange energy erupted across the horizon, splitting the sky apart as the shockwave rolled for miles across the dunes. Nobody had time to watch, though—I was already in the middle of the army. My daggers flashed.

One Lunaranite rushed me, but I slipped past him so fast his body kept running after his head dropped. Another lunged from the side, and I ducked underneath, driving a dagger upward. A third came from above, so I grabbed his arm, flipped him over my shoulder, and kicked him straight into four soldiers charging behind him. I kept moving, using every step to set up the next hit. I leaped into the air, spun mid-flight, and delivered a devastating Spin Drop straight into the center of a battalion.

A crater exploded beneath my feet, sending dozens of Lunaranites flying outward from the shockwave. The second I landed, I hurled both daggers forward. They streaked through the air like violet lightning, taking down two enemies before curving back into my hands. I caught them without looking and vanished again. A dragon swooped low overhead. I launched off the sandstone, rocketed upward, and drove an elbow right into its jaw.

The beast's head snapped back, so I grabbed its horn, twisted hard, and hurled the entire creature into a squadron descending from the clouds. Far off, a blue beam and a scarlet beam collided, carving a canyon through the distant dunes as Power and Overbrawl kept tearing up the horizon. The shockwave blew sand across the battlefield, making the Lunaranites stumble. I smiled. Perfect.

I dropped back into the crowd and unleashed pure chaos—slashes, kicks, spins, elbows, and dropkicks flowing together as celestial energy flared off every hit. Suddenly, the surrounding army swarmed in. Hundreds of Lunaranites circled me from every direction, dragon riders hovering overhead with weapons raised, trying to crush me with raw numbers. I looked around, my violet eyes glowing brighter.

"Why do you people keep trying? I've already erased half your army." The desert wind howled through the silence. I raised both hands, gathering a tiny spark between my palms. The pulse grew hotter and brighter, warping the air until the energy flared like a miniature star. I looked up and grinned.

"I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO REMEMBER!" Violet light swallowed the battlefield as ten giant celestial mirrors materialized around the desert. I disappeared, afterimages bouncing between the mirrors at ridiculous speeds to create a maze of phantom movements. The Lunaranites swung wild, hitting empty air. Then I struck—a single punch detonating against a soldier's helmet hard enough to crack the ground beneath him. Before he even hit the sand, I was already striking five other places at once.

Finally, I launched high above the entire battlefield. Even Power and Overbrawl paused for a split second as my fists flared with celestial energy. I pulled both arms back and roared: "365 DAYS!" Ten colossal celestial fists materialized in the sky, casting massive shadows over the army before slamming down. The impacts hammered the battlefield one after another, launching soldiers, dragons, sand, and stone into the air as the desert buckled beneath the barrage.

I followed the final fist down like a violet comet, crashing directly into the last remaining dragon. BOOM. A wave of sand blasted outward as the shockwave rolled across the dunes, colliding with the distant clash between Power and Overbrawl. When the dust finally settled, the army was completely cleared out. Only scorched sand, broken armor, and defeated soldiers remained. I stood in the center of the crater, celestial energy crackling off my armor while my chest heaved.

Slowly, the surviving Celestianites turned toward me in total silence. Power stood among them, Overbrawl having already fallen, looking genuinely impressed. One of the bewildered Celestianite soldiers walked up to me, wide-eyed.

"Th-there's no way you, a 12-year-old, just wiped out like… 140 Lunaranites in a few minutes?! Who even taught him this stuff?!" Another Celestianite leaned toward the one beside him and whispered, "Told you he'd win. Now pay up."

"He's crystallized too…" one muttered, stunned.

"I've never seen a young Crystallized Celestianite take down an army of Lunaranites and Dark Don in one go."

"I'm surprised too."

"You think he's gonna be our next leader after Vigilzante?"

"Isn't he part of the prophecy?"

"Where are his parents?"

"He's becoming a Hero, I just know it." That's when Power strolled into the middle of the crowd, standing next to me like the main character in a war movie.

"Alright, everybody chill out," he said, waving a hand.

"I taught him that stuff. Well… most of it. He picked up some tricks when he was younger too." He glanced around.

"Now clear out. We got somewhere to be." Suddenly, Overbrawl staggered to his feet. He clutched his scarf, his teeth clenched so hard it looked like they might shatter. Then—bam! He fired an orange energy dart right in front of us. A vortex exploded open, swirling and twisting until it morphed into a glowing portal. Without warning, he swiped his arm forward, creating a shockwave that yeeted us straight through. And then… we were falling. FROM. THE. SKY.

We plunged through thick, foggy gray clouds, the air buzzing with static. Thunder cracked like it was screaming at us, and lightning tore through the sky like it was trying to start a fight. Rain pelted us. Hard. It felt like the sky was throwing cold punches.

"AH! AHHHHHH! WE'RE FALLING AT AN UNIMAGINABLE HEIGHT THAT I CAN'T SUSTAIN KEEPING CALM!!!" I yelled mid-air, twisting toward Power, who was also plummeting like it was a casual Tuesday. Power looked down, his face getting serious fast. We finally broke through the bottom of the clouds and saw where we were headed: Straight into a pool of pure lightning. Yup. A giant crackling pit of blue-white electricity, surrounded by dark rocky terrain, jagged mountains, and some… things. Great. Just great.

Power didn't answer, which meant we were probably about to die. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for pain—but instead, I felt this weird tingly, soft sensation. Like static mixed with feathers? Suddenly, I heard a warping sound— BAM! Face-first into the rocky ground. Power and I groaned as we got up and looked around, dazed.

"We ain't dead…?" I mumbled, shaking off the fall.

"I mean of course you're not dead, you're literally superman times ten with extra stats plus hacks." Rain was still hammering down, thunder still yelling, lightning still doing its electric temper tantrum. Then I saw them. Creatures. Big ones. Small ones. Never seen anything like 'em. One caught my eye: it was massive, armored in cracked dark plating with glowing energy snaking through the fractures like molten lightning.

Its jagged face looked born from nightmares, its arms were radiating raw energy—and debris was levitating around it like gravity was taking a nap. The entire atmosphere buzzed like a live wire. No doubt. That thing was using the Lightning Element. And then it hit me. Zirixes. Only rock-eating lightning creatures native to one place: The Thunderstark Kingdom. Most were small, but a few were massive, and we were smack dab in their territory.

That's when I spotted everyone, huddled inside a small glowing-blue cave in the distance, hiding from the storm. Through the thunder and rain, Power turned to me, pulling on a ripped gray cloak.

"Let's get in." We trudged forward, rain soaking us to the bone, thunder roaring like the gods were arguing. Inside, the cave was dim and cool, a little haven of calm in the chaos. I plopped down next to Archie and the others—Olsen, Prince, Demaurion, Ella… And wait—"ANGEL?!" There he was, sitting cross-legged like he hadn't just been pulled into a full-on cave battle.

His soft blue jacket looked like it came straight from a science lab catalog, gray jeans slightly rumpled, and his glasses sliding down his nose just a bit. Blue owl ears twitched atop his head, talon-like feet tapping like he was running calculations, and his folded, shimmering wings shimmered like he'd been analyzing light refraction all day.

"You're here too? How?!" Angel, Portal Element Electronite. Cool nerd vibes, lowkey awesome, always three steps ahead in calculations and five steps ahead in sarcasm.

"I… uh, was conducting some observational studies in this cave, you know, until someone decided my privacy protocols were irrelevant," he said, adjusting his glasses with a precise finger tap.

"Your privacy doesn't matter," Archie muttered. Angel's eyes narrowed behind the lenses.

"Just as your… empirically invalid opinion doesn't factor into the current situational analysis," he shot back, voice calm but laced with the tiniest trace of superior logic. I was about to argue, but— Boom. Curiosity literally smacked me across the face.

"Angel," I asked, hesitating, "why do you want to be a Hero of Avangard, if you even want to?" Angel's eyes widened like I'd just asked him to explain quantum physics using only interpretive dance. He looked down, fiddling with a small clasp on his jacket. Sighing, he adjusted his glasses and finally looked back up at me, voice measured and nerdy with that weirdly compelling calm.

"For my future. And not just in some abstract sense," he began, fingers drumming a rhythm only he seemed to hear, like he was coding some mental algorithm.

"I mean… practically speaking, I want to ensure maximum safety outcomes for Avangardians. Statistically minimize casualties. Optimize quality-of-life variables. Also—monetary gain, if feasible, to redistribute resources to struggling populations in the Rufty Mountains. Because equity isn't just morally correct; it's statistically beneficial for societal stability." I blinked. Yep. Nerd alert. Full-on.

"Helpless Avangardians can't remain helpless. Variables must be controlled, inputs optimized, failures minimized." He tucked a stray strand of blue hair behind his owl ear, looking almost smug but mostly… scientific. I see it now. Everyone wants to become a Hero of Avangard for a reason—but Angel's reason is like he ran the numbers and concluded the universe demands it.

"I remember… when I was five," he continued, voice dropping into nostalgic lecture mode, "I was a little Narian Miner. Loved the job, very hands-on, very empirical. But the profession deteriorated—data shows increasing hazard exposure and decreasing oversight. Young miners now face dangerous conditions due to cost-cutting and poor protocol enforcement. Morbidity and attrition rates skyrocketed. Witnessing these variables affect long-term outcomes was… disheartening.

Thus, optimizing societal infrastructure and resource distribution became a personal mandate. Make life equitable. Reduce unnecessary risk. Maximize happiness indexes. That's why I want to become a Hero of Avangard." He paused, squinting at Archie, who was idly igniting a little campfire that floated midair, casting flickering shadows on the cave walls. It crackled, and it gave us warmth. I sighed, "This feels great." That was until I noticed Demaurion sitting right next to Archie.

He was holding his Trident, and it had 8 Leviathan meat stabbed through the top. I smiled at him knowing that he killed the Leviathan on his own. He took them out, and he threw the meat at the fire. The meat started to slowly cook, and I stretched my arms and wings. The Thunderstorm out there was still going on, but I could feel peaceful here. Power turned his head to me with a proud smile,"Don, it's pretty astonishing for you to defeat Dark Don and the entire Lunaranite Army on your own."

"You're getting stronger," he rubbed my head.

"I know," I said looking down. Prince lay back, "You know, I heard that there was a Power Gem in the Thunderstark Castle. I was thinking—maybe we could take it for our adventures. I mean, we're the Chosen Ones so nothing could go wrong." Ella chuckled, "Prince, the moment you say something like that, someone has already lost their entire family and they're now living with no home while in debt."

"But I'm sure we'd be okay." I looked at the two with a smile, "Let's just make a plan tomorrow. We sneak into the castle and we take the Power Gem, that way we can be ready to fight the next beast that comes in our way!" At Foreshade I stood at the cliff's edge. Foreshade sprawled beneath me, thick black fog twisting like it knew me. My boots dug into stone. Wings folded tight, heavy. Not rest. Restraint. I breathed in. Cold. Clean. Sharp.

"I never… understood," I whispered. Her words. The ones she almost said. The ones she left behind like smoke. Fading. Almost nothing. Silicia. Her name made something ache inside me. Not pain, exactly. More like a question that kept folding in on itself, impossible to answer.

"What did you mean?" I asked the empty wind.

"What did you want me to promise?" The memory came back in fragments. A smile that didn't reach her eyes. A hand that didn't leave mine long enough to feel safe. A voice, soft, urgent, like it was being swallowed before it reached me.

"… don't let—" That was all. That was it. And somehow, it shattered everything. I swallowed hard, trying to piece it together. Don't let… what? Don't let it happen again? Don't let them win? Don't let me break? Every scenario twisted in my head, every possibility bleeding into another. Her death hadn't been random. She hadn't died to teach me rage. She had left me instructions, a promise, and I couldn't figure out what it was. The fog below churned as my lunar energy sparked faintly, reacting to the tension in me.

My claws scraped the stone. I tried to remember her voice, the cadence, the pause, every subtle hint she had left behind.

"She wouldn't lie to me," I said, voice tight.

"She wouldn't demand vengeance… but she did want something. She trusted me with it." I clenched my jaw. Her last expression. Not anger. Not fear. Just… weight. Like she knew I'd have to carry something bigger than me. Something I wasn't ready for. Was it to protect them? To save someone? To stop someone like me? I closed my eyes, letting the memories drag me down. The gunshot. The scream. Her eyes wide and impossible to forget.

"I failed if I don't understand," I muttered.

"I can't… I can't leave it unfinished." The wind picked up. My wings twitched, ready to erupt. Not because of rage. Not yet. Because her promise demanded focus.

"She needed me to… do something," I said.

"Something right. Something that matters." I thought of Don. The future leader of the Celestianites. Innocent. Unaware. Potentially the key to keeping her promise alive, or destroying it. Killing him? Sparing him? Every angle tangled into the question that haunted me: What would Silicia have wanted me to do? I stepped closer to the cliff's edge, toes brushing stone. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw myself into the fog just to escape the weight of it.

But the thought of her gaze, her quiet demand, kept me from moving.

"She wouldn't want this chaos," I whispered.

"She wanted… something else. And I have to find it before I make the wrong choice." The sun sliced through the clouds in a narrow blade, gold like a question mark in the dark. I stared at it. It felt like the only thing in the world trying to tell me the answer. But it didn't. And so I waited. And thought. And cursed myself for every second I didn't understand. Because until I discovered her last words, until I knew what she truly meant, until I kept my promise—even in silence—there was no justice.

There was no peace. There was only me. And the question. At the Enchanted Kingdom of Celestia A building collapsed in a roar of flame and shattering glass. As the city began to scream, I stepped out through the smoke. I moved. Lunar energy detonated around me as I tore through the streets in a streak of blinding white light, carving through stone walls and flickering across rooftops. Celestianites scattered, running and panicking in every direction. That was exactly how Lunaranites used to sound.

I skidded up the side of a glass tower and launched off the edge, landing heavily on a rooftop as the city burned below. Lunar energy danced across my armor, and I clenched my fists, looking out toward the Room of Zeniths in the distance. A faint smirk touched my face as I spun my lance and took off again. Buildings split apart under the force of my speed. Debris rained onto the streets while flames crawled skyward. Guards rushed in, armed and trembling, but I didn't answer their calls to stop. One step.

One strike. Lunar light tore straight through their line, and their bodies hit the stone before their screams finished forming. A bullet whizzed past, and I slid aside, returning fire with a blast of lunar energy that slammed the guard into a stone pillar. I vaulted over the shattered stone and unleashed a massive lunar beam, crushing entire city blocks under white energy. Landing in the center of the avenue, I drove my lance deep into the pavement.

A dome of lunar force exploded outward—clean, efficient, and devastating. Silence settled over the street. I walked calmly through the wreckage, flames licking at my boots while smoke curled around my wings. Twisted cars littered the cracked streets, and Celestianites hid in the shadows where Lunaranites used to beg.

"This is an announcement," my voice echoed, steady and cold through the burning streets.

"You don't get to pretend anymore. You enslaved us, butchered us, and killed her." I turned slowly, eyes glowing with silver light as fire hissed from my nostrils. One sweep of my arm sent a lunar blast tearing through the pavement, scattering everything in its path.

"Killing one leader won't fix this, and killing a symbol won't hurt enough."

"Y-you're just a kid!" a voice shouted from behind a burning car. I looked at him. The car split in half, and he went down with it. The street went dead silent. Ash drifted through the air as I surveyed what was left of the avenue.

"Anyone else want to defend what you did?" I asked quietly. No one spoke. I nodded to myself. White light swallowed my body as I vanished from the rooftop, leaving behind nothing but ruin—and the lie I kept telling myself that Silicia wanted this too.