Kraang! Kraaang!

It was now the next day, woken up by the annoying sound of the alarm, I let out a big yawn and stretched out my arms.

Opening my eyes I found myself right in front of my desk indicating that I indeed had fallen asleep at my study table last night.

Though not a rare occurrence I hated this part of my behavior as it always left parts of my body very stiff by the next morning.

Trying to re-adjust my eyesight, I blink twice staring at the opposite corner of the room before standing up from my chair and turning off the annoying alarm. There's not much to remember from last night aside from my sketching, but it seems that I had also inadvertently created a lot of mess during that time.

On the floor of my room were several crumpled papers from all my mistakes last night. Looking at the finished product at the desk I couldn't help but stare at it longer than I anticipated. I was quite mesmerized by the appearance of this woman's face as it oozed an unexplainable familial feeling.

After cleaning my room, I made my way downstairs where Rain and Maya seemed to have just finished making breakfast.

"Good morning" Rain greeted me energetically to which I also greeted her back.

"Good morning, Is breakfast ready?"

"Yep, Maya and I made a simple bread with ham and cheese today. Here have a try" Rain then serves me a whole loaf of bread with a decent amount of ham inside. managing to whiff out some of those aromas, I had to say aside from its simplistic look, the smell was very enticing and mouth-watery.

Anyway without any further ado, I cut out a hand size of the sandwich and take a bite.

!!!

It was delicious!

"So how did it taste?" Rain asks.

"It was good! The bread was so soft! Though I was pretty sketchy about the ham at first because the cut was so thin but you can definitely tell it's there and it's so sweet and savory!"

"Glad you like it, I personally aged that ham for two weeks with soft wine and honey" Maya explains.

"This breakfast is perfect, with you two around maybe I should tell Mom that there's no need to hire some cooks, or rather we should start selling this thing! We can make a fortune out of it!"

"Surely you jest young master" Maya chuckled as she accepted my shower of compliments.

"—Sigh... just call me Rey"

**********

Unlike yesterday's forecast, today seems to be a very sunny day. With the chirping sound of the birds and the humming whistle of the wind, I couldn't help but relax for a bit while taking a sip from my morning tea.

"By the way, did Roxan got home last night? It was supposed to be her vacation, I wonder what had transpired in the south that forces the palace for her immediate summon..." I curiously ask.

Upon my question, Rain couldn't stop but to let out a worried look.

"She's still sleeping, Maya told me she arrived two o'clock in the morning pretty down, drunk, and agitated" Rain answered.

"Is she alright?"

"I hope so... I received a letter from Mom earlier, apparently there was a commotion in the palace court yesterday. It was about the news of a skirmish at the southern border where her best friend was gravely injured. Investigators said that the skirmish was premeditated and the timing of the attack perfectly coincides with her departure for her vacation" Rain handed the letter to me "Mom and Dad were worried"

"Hope she wouldn't do anything reckless again. Last time this kind of thing happened it almost ended in a full-scale war"

"Yeah..."

As the two of us finish up our conversation, Rain and I suddenly hear a light footstep from the stairs, when the both of us turn our attention, we see Roxan heading down very groggy and seeming to have many things circulating in her mind.

"Morning" Rain again greeted very livelily, but Roxan just waved her hand and sat at the dining table.

"I cooked ham and cheese for breakfast, here enjoy" Rain again places a serving of the sandwich in front of Roxan which she eats silently.

Roxan then spread out the newspaper she was carrying and as soon she turned the page of the newspaper I managed to catch a glimpse at the headlines.

Crisis at the south!

Mercenaries hired by the neighboring Olzia kingdom disguised as bandits attack Phiria town, several villagers are killed and many more are injured, Is this a premonition of war?

"So this is what the letter from yesterday was referring to!" I exclaimed, but Roxan could only remain silent, though you could visibly see her anger by the tightening grip of her hand on the newspaper while sipping her tea.

As we finish our breakfast, A chime from the gate bell can soon be heard.

"I'll get it" I then stood up and opened the front door only to be greeted by a group of seven people wearing a familiar armor set that's similar to my sister waiting by the gate.

"Is this the new Argent resident?!" The person who I assume is the leader of the group shouted.

"Is there anything you need?" Rey asks as he approaches.

"Ah yes, we're looking for a person named Roxan Argent"

"Err..."

"—Cut the chatter Drex, why are you here?!" Roxan suddenly appears behind me.

"you know exactly why we're here captain!" A black-haired man which I suspected to be Drex then answered. "you can't just lea-"

"I thought I already made it clear to you all last night"

"But that's unreasonable!"

"Listen I know the group of people who's behind that attack in the south, they're trying to undermine the relationship we've established with the Olzia king to spark a war, but their real target is me"

"Then that just gives us more reason to come with you teach!"

"By targeting me specifically they made this a personal war, just go back to HQ and let me handle this, I've had enough of those guys, and this time I will leave for a military campaign alone next week so do not interfere"

"wait, cap-!"

Roxan then walks away and slams the door shut.

"—Your boyfriend?"

"—Work problem?"

Rain and I ask at the same time.

"Now where did you two get that idea... Come let's get back to our breakfast" Roxan chuckles as we return to the dining room.

"But still... —wait! A military campaign?!" I concernedly ask.

"It's nothing serious I'm just gonna try to knock at their door, wreck havoc here and there, probably sink a fleet or two, before sincerely asking them for cessation of all hostility. —And If they somehow decline my offer then I'll just raze every vital infrastructure they have to the ground, so let's leave it at that"

After that short commotion, Rain and I decided not to further pry on Roxan's agenda and just leave it at that.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

**********

It was now midday and I had now secluded myself inside the library to start on my assignments before going to school for some club activities.

"The great societal collapse, or simply known as the great collapse" I muttered as I stretched my arm in the air preparing for a long task ahead of me.

The year was 2052 AD exactly three thousand and seven-hundred sixty-five years ago when the great societal collapse happened.

Years just after a third great war that engulfed the world has ended, a great fracturing of many countries occurs. Caused by an unforeseeable crisis such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes that battered the seven continents it resulted in massive apocalyptic events to both fauna and flora of which all society has greatly regressed.

It is said that the world has truly changed after that point. Many technologies were lost, and maps created before the great calamity were no longer usable as the world was altered so great that it doesn't resemble anything of the present age, geologically and geopolitically-wise. It was truly a harrowing point in our history that resulted in any subsequent events from that point on will only be referred to as the days after calamity or simply AC.

Many countries were dissolved and billions have died, some were just utterly annihilated and those that survived have no other choice but to start over and rebuild themselves. One such country that came out after the great collapse was the Holy Ishidar Empire, A theocratic nation that ruled over former Russia's Western territory, as for Its Eastern territory of Russia, it was now governed by a monarchical government known as the Kingdom of Erstovakia.

During that time there was also a continent known as Europe commonly known now as Europa, countries from this continent were all very rich and culturally diverse but sadly they too suffered heavily from the great collapse and those who managed to survive had no choice but to unite themselves and became a federation of kingdoms which is known now as the Allied State of Europa.

Further west of the continent of Europa lies the great country of Bretonnica, an island empire that has its roots dating back to the golden age. It is said this empire suffered the heaviest comparatively against its neighbors resulting in its heavily fragmented state but nevertheless, she and her people persevered and rebuilt the nation back to the world stage, and under the rule of the royal household, Bretonnica today is known as one if not the most influential nation in the world.

A similar thing happens for Asia and the two American continents. Asia, mostly experienced nonstop hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods which wiped most of the countries clean leaving many untapped resources for the seven kingdoms that emerged after the great calamity. As for the American continent, they experienced by far the worst as one after another all the volcanoes in the continent suddenly erupted setting the entire continent ablaze, and when everything subsided it was then subjected to a short ice age of five hundred years.

As I continuously wrote sentence after sentence dark clouds started to form outside which was odd considering it was brightly sunny just a moment ago, I then opened up the window to see the sky when suddenly a familiar ominous smoke entered the room which was followed by a painful pulse inside my head.

"This... arghh! -again!" As pain began to surge inside me I was forced to grit my teeth and endure every passing second. As if a lightning flash the world once again has turned into a blue hue, but unlike before everything wasn't frozen and instead has only gotten a little darker.

"ARRGG!" Another pain surged again but this time it was seemingly much more painful than before, and with each pulse, I was forced to scream from the top of my lung trying to alleviate the pain, but in the end, it was simply too much, and before I know it, I was greeted by the darkness itself along with my fading consciousness.

"I foUnd yOu... sOuL arg GoD agE pAst... diVidEd No moRe! homE muSt come HomE! ForgivE wE sInnErs FOols..."

**********

"Rey what happen!" Hearing such a painful scream from upstairs, Roxan who was just enjoying her quiet afternoon tea soon came crashing down to the room and slammed the door wide open.

After seeing Rey down on the floor and unconscious, Roxan immediately checks on him only to notice the haze of thick black smoke that's entering from the open window and slowly filling up the room.

Cough cough!

Upon inhaling the smoke Roxan too felt a sharp pain in her head which was followed by an extreme cough.

"Thick black ominous smoke... Miasma?! This is bad... a Ravager? Here?!" Roxan couldn't believe herself as the black smoke soon came gushing in.

Without any second thought, Roxan immediately held her breath and picked up Rey by dragging him by his shoulder and jumped outside by the window.

After landing in the courtyard Roxan immediately turned around and saw a huge amount of black smoke fuming out of the library window and headed straight towards the both of them.

"Tch," Roxan still carrying Rey jumps backward evading the initial attack of the phantom mist but as the black smoke lands on the ground, it soon starts to take its form.

Forming an initial shape of a lion, it then grows a pair of bat-like wings followed by a snake-head-like tail which was then finished by two pairs of red beady eyes.

"what's a manticore-type ravager doing here deep inside the walled city? your kind should have been contained on the great northern frontline... don't tell me...!!!"

With a terrifying roar, the manticore immediately lunges toward Roxan using its claw of which she manages to easily evade. Putting the unconscious Rey down leaning by a wall, Roxan then makes her stance and reaches her hand towards the beast.

"Bloom forth flames of malevolence!

Cinder flame of Lobelia!"

With the voice of an aria, Roxan casts a short chant that summons eight small purple flames that have the shape of a flower.

As the magic completely materializes it immediately launches itself into the manticore before swallowing it in a purplish fiery hell.

—But as the flame subsides, only then that Roxan realizes that her attack was ineffective seeing that it only manages to singe a partial part of the beast's thick hide.

Enraged by the attack, the beast lets out another deafening roar before lunging for a second time with another set of claw attacks.

"Tch annoying..." Bobbing and weaving Roxan flawlessly evaded every strike the beast made.

With another successful evasion, Roxan then primed herself for a counterattack and held out her hand to cast another spell. —But due to the close proximity and ferocity of the manticore, she was unable to utter even a single word.

"I bRinG oUrs bAck!"

"!!!" Hearing an inaudible voice from the beast Roxan was halted on her feet.

"A ravager that can talk...impossible! Your kind shouldn't be able to possess any intelligence" Roxan confusedly whispers under her breath trying to comprehend the situation.

"YoU NoT HalT ouR RepenTancE!" The beast howled at Roxan releasing a thick cloud of miasma in the air before assailing Roxan with another set of slash attacks.

GRAAAAOOOUU!

"Tch..." Roxan tumbled backward trying to evade the attack, but just as she thought she was in the clear, to her surprise, another set of claws immediately followed the first of which she barely managed to avoid a fatal blow.

Five shallow claw marks managed to graze Roxan's shoulder forcing her to grunt in pain but was pressured to ignore it knowing full well the significance if she lost her focus.

"This isn't going anywhere... " Roxan complains as she dodges another attack.

Currently in a stalemate, Roxan is beginning to feel a little tired, but knowing the consequences if she yields, she instead steels herself to continue to dance with the beast.

"You're stubborn one aren't you!" Roxan blurted a taunt to which the beast returned in kind with a slash.

"I need to do something... Or else!"

Grouaaa!

"If only I got my Origin!" Unable to chant any spell, Roxan can only grow more desperate by the second as she catches a short glimpse of her unconscious little brother.

"I guess this is the only way!"

With no other option, Roxan decided to counter the manticore's claw attack by temporarily empowering her fist using red aether before letting out a two-counterpunch deflecting the claw attacks and following it up with another heavy punch aiming to destroy the beast's eye.

Gruuaaahh!!"

Landing a clean hit the manticore's skull caves in and staggers for a bit second creating an opening in which Roxan immediately monopolizes and reaches her hand again towards the manticore.

"Burst forth flames of Camellia.

unpretending excellence,

glint of inextinguishable blaze.

Bestow me the spark of fire which torment foes alike,

For their flesh are gone and their bones shall return to ashes.

IGDRA'S FLARE!"

As Roxan finishes her chant, pinkish flames suddenly appear out of thin air that coats her right fist which she immediately uses to hit the manticore's jaw with an uppercut.

GAAAUUUA!!

As her attack made contact with the beast, the flame coating her fist immediately spread out completely engulfing the manticore with a hellfire that was able to melt steel in a matter of seconds.

GRAAUUUOOOO!

Getting swallowed by the flame, the manticore cried in agony as its body was now slowly being turned into ash.

"GRaarrR! LifE fOol ForGiveneSs GoddEss Abandoned Ours! GrAaarR!"

hearing its whimpers and struggles from the pain brought by the slow process of death by flame. Roxan couldn't bear to feel very awful for the beast and approach it slowly.

"You've chosen the wrong place to wreak havoc, I'm ending your existence right here and now, may the goddess grant your next life be a better one..."

With those words, Roxan cast an execution spell that would consume the beast until nothing was left but dust and ash.

After dealing with the manticore, Roxan immediately shifts her attention to Rey who's still lying unconscious.

"How did a manticore manage to wander off deep inside the city... all the gates should have been contained at the great northern front... Was it just a coincidence, or is this a bad omen..." Roxan whispered to herself.

"Captain!" A sudden voice from behind. When Roxan turns to see who it is, she sees that Drex and his company have just arrived.

"Sorry for trespassing but there's bad news, HQ just sent a messenger owl indicating that there's a phase 9 ravager was detected close to our vicinity!" Drex exclaimed.

"We came over as soon we were notified but we lost track of the beast. We need to hurry and evacuate the civilians to prevent any casualties" a girl in the group speak up while giving a salute.

"There's no need, I already dealt with it, and please as I said yesterday don't refer to me as captain anymore... I already relinquished my position as the captain" Roxan calmly answered and slowly lifted the unconscious Rey back to the house.

"before you go, captain, what type of phantom was it?" Drex silently asks.

"a manticore..."

"and you easily dispatched it?..."

"I wouldn't say easy..."

"Without your origin?..."

"..."

"We know your strong captain... stronger than any of us combined... but why all of the sudden?! Why did you decide to go without telling us, teach!" Another woman wearing a red robe voices her complaints.

"—there were a lot of flames and noise earlier, just focus on your job and start thinking of a way to cover it up or else there will be mass panic" After that Roxan didn't utter another word and continued to carry Rey's unconscious body into the house and gently close the door "It's better this way"