Chaos reigned in the heart of Tokyo as the setting sun casts a golden hue over the city, painting the skyscrapers in warm tones of orange and red. The streets, usually bustling with the evening rush, were in disarray as a massive Butterfly darted through the city, its skills shimmering like a kaleidoscope under the fading light, creating a mesmerizing and surreal spectacle.

Aimi Nakamura clung tightly to the butterflies back, her heart pounding in her chest. Beside her, secured just as firmly, was a woman with a terrible injury engulfed by a dull yellow light. The futile attempts of the Butterfly-like dragon to heal the woman, Aimi’s mother.

The dragon’s mighty wings beat against the air, propelling them forward with incredible speed, weaving between buildings and dodging the obstacles of the urban jungle.

Behind them was a horde of hooded individuals, all adorned by an all too familiar symbol. Along with their dragons, they gave chase, the shouts and roars of their beasts echoing off the cityscape. The cultists’ dragons varied in size and shape, some breathing fires, others exuding chilling blasts of ice, turning the chase into a maelstrom of elemental fury.

“Strike true and explode, Arrow!” Aimi shouted, clapping her hands together, causing a bow and arrow made of Mana to manifest in her hands.

Firing off her arrow at a nearby building with little care for the destruction caused, it promptly exploded, taking some of the cultists down along with the rubble and narrowing their numbers further. Despite this, their numbers didn’t seem to shrink at all!

The streets below were chaotic, with pedestrians running for cover and cars screeching to a halt. The Tokyo police, sirens wailing, tried desperately to keep up with the unfolding mayhem while waiting for [Dragon Riders] to appear on the scene. They weaved their vehicles through the congested streets, but they stood little chance against that mighty dragon’s aerial speed and agility.

The butterfly dragon, Hoshihime as it was called, navigated expertly, her movements a testament to her intelligence and bond with Aimi. She soared over the iconic Shibuya Crossing, the sea of people below scattering at the sight of the dragon and her pursuers. The digital screens around the crossing lit up the scene with an array of vibrant colors, adding to the surreal nature of the chase.

“Damn it! Hoshi! What the hell is going on? How have no Dragon Riders appeared when this chaos has been going on for half an hour already?” Aimi, the young teen, shouted in irritation.

“There aren’t any high-ranking members of those sun bastards around. They must be intercepting them! I don’t understand why they’re suddenly so aggressive! They’ve been dormant for the past three decades!” The dragon responded without opening her mouth, her words transmitted directly to Aimi’s mind.

As the sun dipped ever so slightly lower, its light began to wane, casting long, dramatic shadows across the city. The golden hour bathed everything in a soft, ethereal glow, contrasting starkly with the danger and urgency of the moment.

In the sky, the cultists’ dragons unleashed their powers, sending streaks of fire, ice, lightning, and just about any other element you could imagine across the buildings, most coming dangerously close to Hoshihime as a few struck her, sending her toward the ground.

With a powerful barrier around them, Aimi secured her mother tightly as they spiraled downward toward a long-running river. Hoshihime barely pulled up before colliding with the water, skimming close to the surface. The reflection of the chaotic scene played out on the river, creating a bizarre, mirror-like spectacle before she was forced to crash land on the bank of the river.

“Hoshi!” Aimi cried out, the nearby police boats doing their best to track their course, but the speed and erratic movement of the trio made it difficult. No doubt, the cult would make it to them first.

“I’m fine, Ai. I’m sorry, I lack the offensive capabilities to defeat this many.”

“No! It’s not your fault! Just keep healing, Mom, please! I’ll deal with them! Even if my life burns out!” She stated with a steadfast determination before leaping off of her partner’s back. “Armaments of Arcane, Condense, and Manifest!”

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The everyday wear this black-haired Asian girl once wore shifted in a flash of light. Her eyes had a fierce glare sharp enough to kill, along with black full-body armor, an ornate hairpiece, and a terrifying-looking spear. Without wasting another moment, she charged forth, tearing apart countless foes who tried to attack her, utilizing the chaos that having so many foes creates to make them injure each other.

Unfortunately, she was already tired and almost out of Mana. Even though she was a proud student of the [Celestial Scales Academy] and a powerful level 78 Dragon Rider in training, dealing with this many people who snuck to attack her was impossible.

She made significant progress in dealing with them, but it was like she was fighting a Hydra. Whenever one was killed, two more appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

‘Damn it! Just how many people did they send after me? Why did they send so many after me?! I thought I managed to stay under the radar!’

Her movements were crude, revealing a lack of formal training, but she certainly held the larger proverbial stick, which gave her the upper hand for far longer than she should have. For longer, yes, but not long enough.

Taking hits was unavoidable. Much of the damage was reduced or outright nullified thanks to her powerful armor, but it adds up. Powerful explosions, raging infernos, hailstorms, and rocks to the back of the head!

Realizing her imminent demise, she clicked her tongue while glancing at her draconic partner.

“I must give them an opening to run!” She shook off the pain, impaling both a dragon and its cultist rider like a shishkabob. “Converge and Detonate, Dying Star!”

Tossing her spear at another assailant, an orb of pulsating energy came into her hand.

“If you’re so hellbent on killing me, we’ll all die together with this explosion!” She roared. Nothing more than a bluff.

Sure, what she held in her hand was indeed a bomb and quite a powerful one at that, but she lacked the energy to create anything terribly strong. Still, if she ran into the middle of all of them and detonated it, the carnage it’d create was undeniable.

Preparing another frontal assault as blood oozed from all over her body, she dodged and parried dozens of blows before the orb that she held began to pulsate.

With a bitter look, she began inwardly saying her prayers…

‘If a God truly exists… Please save my mother and Hoshi! I beg of you!’

Fortunately for the dearest Aimi Nakamura, her prayer was answered! Powerful winds accompanied by a burst of manic laughter caused the field’s chaos to cease immediately. The bomb was sent flying, and Aimi fell to the ground, her eyes wide in confusion.

“Holy shit~ These freaks really stepped up their game after I ruined their attempts to kill Seraphina…” The giggles quickly evolved into full-blown and uncontrollable laughter.

A young girl with two tails and jet-black hair holding an intricate fan that could barely hide her massive smile gently floated onto the battlefield.

“And to think the police are even here. It seems the cult is in cahoots with the American government.~” Aella mused, finally arriving on the scene. Her timing is as impeccable as ever. “A Foxin, a Fallen Angel, a Harpy, a Fairy, and now a Valkyrie? This world is so weird…”

While Aimi’s prayers were answered, they weren’t answered by any God. Nor a Devil or Demon. It was something far, far worse.

The Children of the Lost Sun all looked at Aella with eyes just as wide as their target. Information traveled fast in this day and age, and they could immediately tell who that little girl was. And for those who couldn’t, “It’s that brat who ruined our plans in America!” Someone conveniently screamed.

“W-who are you? Why are you here? Run!” Aimi tried to tell Aella.

Aella did not speak a lick of Japanese, though, so she ignored the girl and continued with her thoughts.

“Perhaps I should refer to them each as something. Ooo, what about the Naturalis Power Rangers? I’d be red, I guess. Hmm, no, Red’s really not my color. White then. Seraphina could be our black ranger. Grayson would be… Blue? Maybe Yellow, considering his subspecies. And you could be…”

While trying to think of what ranger Aimi would be based on her appearance, a cultist tried to attack her, only for the flames of his dragon to fly straight around her, her neck snapping to look at that one guy in particular. Without a single word, Aella sent a blade of wind at the cutlist's neck, killing him instantly only for his body to decay into an uncountable number of bugs.

Clicking her tongue, she leaped backward as the bugs scattered around, trying to devour anything they possibly could.

'Those bugs again... I see, so that's the case...' She mused inwardly, narrowing her eyes at her enemies