Several hours ago, hundreds of miles away from the castle...
The day was lit dimly by the sun, whose light was shrouded by the deep clouds that covered the air in snowfall- fortunately though, it was just enough for the average person to see his surroundings. The color of white could be seen from every corner, as almost every corner of the woods had been enveloped in snow; even the animals themselves had bore the color white upon their fur-enveloped hides in order to better conceal themselves from any threat that would lurk within the cold forests.
"The Imperial General Triton of the Neugomian Empire greets Lord Stephan of Arslan's Hand!"
Today was no day like any other however: a great portion of the Empire's forces had rallied themselves at this very location, to deal with a threat whose rumors had long been circulating amongst the ears of both the peasantfolk and nobility alike.
The Dragon of the West, a peculiar dragon like no other who most often took on the form of a beautiful woman instead of a massive, scaly lizard; while it's activities had remained dormant for the past few centuries due to the monster preferring to isolate itself within its den, the numerous ravaged villages that had been tragically discovered near its domain had quickly roused panic and suspicion within the hearts and minds of every imperial citizen, as it could only mean one thing: the dragon had awoken, and it was finally deciding to wreak havoc upon the humans it viewed as inferior.
As such, a great many soldiers had been assembled today at this very place- more than 10,000 men, along with several imperial knights and mages, who were all under the command of General Triton Flavius, had all been sent to quell the threat that lied to the Empire's west.
And today, after what seemed to be days of waiting, the famed reinforcements they had long been waiting for had finally arrived- an extermination party from Arslan's Hand, all led by the mighty warrior known as Stephan, a famed executive of the Hand of Arslan who was also vastly talented in both the arts of martial and the arcane; so outstanding he was that his ventures had led to his name being known all throughout the continent.
"... I'm surprised, really... I initially thought that I would have to show my insignia for this matter-"
"Lord Stephan, please do not belittle yourself! Both your face and your reputation are well-known by everyone throughout the continent!" Triton would correct, rather eagerly at that. "For someone to not identify you immediately would be the the greatest form of disrespect there is!"
"... I see, hahaha..." Stephan would laugh awkwardly with a weak tone. "... Anyhow... To discuss the manner of our... Operation..."
The general would clasp his hands. "Of course, Lord Stephan, come with me to the assembly tent! We've been waiting a while for your arrival after all!"
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It was a massively spacious tent, where most of the important key figures of the deployed army were in- Stephan would then seat himself upon one of the few available seats, as their short discussion would finally begin in earnest.
"To begin things in a simple manner..." the general would finally speak as he sat on the chair positioned toward the far end, his words clearly directed to the newcomer of their assembly. "Lord Stephan, how many men did the Hand of Arslan send to help us with this venture?"
"Getting straight to the point I see..." Stephan replied as he smiled briefly. "... The forces I brought with me are rather few: 4 among the 100 Seats, 50 among my personal guard, and of course... Myself..."
Hearing his response, the general would slightly furrow his eyebrows."... I see, it is indeed rather few for today... Have the other threats of the continent been more active as of late?"
"... I'm afraid so, yes..." his expression would become a bit serious. "... However, we will do our best to support you in this battle, please set your worries aside for a moment."
"Of course, Lord Stephan, we understand the importance of Arslan's Hand and the heavy responsibility they uphold. Just the thought of your people lending a hand is more than enough."
"I thank you for your consideration... Now, moving on to the more important matter at hand..." Stephan replied with a light bow from his head. "How and when will your forces be striking the dragon's den?"
"... Ah, about that, our forces are ready to strike at any moment now..." the general's face would steel itself into a deep expression. "Everyone, this meeting has now ended, begin the preparations and organize the soldiers. Lord Stephan, please come with me, the roles of your forces will be very important."
"I see... What would be our roles then?"
"The majority of our forces will strike from within the dragon's castle with the help of the translocation spells that our mages will cast." Triton discussed firmly. "You and I, on the other hand, will be having different roles than the main force."
The general would then clear his throat for a few seconds, before he would finally begin to speak once more. "We'll be striking at the entrance itself, to prevent anything unwanted from escaping the monster's lair."
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A large portion of the woods had already long been cleared out, a section whose now massive space was occupied only by the snowy fields as well as the countless men who were already organized into their battle formations.
The 2 of them were carefully observing the preparations being made with their watchful eyes, as they were accompanied by the imperial general's personal guard and the forces Stephan brought with him, both of whom were obediently marching behind their dutiful masters.
"I see, this is quite... Already well prepared actually..."
"We're not yet done, Lord Stephan." Triton said, as he suddenly began shouting orders to the several hooded figures among the formations of the soldiers. "All mages, begin casting the mass-teleportation spell!"
Simultaneously, the robed figures would raise their staves, as the blue crystals firmly seated upon the tips of their wands began glowing with an azure radiance- the air rippled as it was bathed with the otherworldly energies the mages produced, as above them, large, ethereal constructs that took the shape of flat circular discs began manifesting into existence; massive, magic-born tools that would assist them with their dangerous mission.
The purpose of such a massive spell, and why there were several of these arcane circles that had been casted was a rather simple reason: each and every portion of the force was meant to be transported to each, different part of the behemoth's den, leaving no chance for the monster to escape their assault. Even if many were to fall prey to the dragon's might, the careful positioning of Stephan's and the general's special forces was an important key factor to the victory.
In truth, the reason why they were to be translocated to the entrance was not so that they could prevent anything from escaping the lair's entrance, but it was so that they would wait for the dragon to tire in its fight against the soldiers: indeed, the soldiers they had brought with them were merely cannon fodder meant to weather their foe, as with 10,000 men pursuing its existence within its very own home, even the most stalwart of foes would eventually tire out after fighting so much enemies.
Such was the cold, sound reasoning that the general used to make his plan, that neither Stephan nor any of his subordinates would protest against its logic.
"My word... That is quite the massive spell..."
"It is necessary, Lord Stephan, our forces are plenty, and they won't also be teleported into the same points all at once." Triton replied. "... In a few seconds, a blue light will enshroud all of us, and we will all be instantly brought into the lair of that behemoth..."
"May you be safe Lord Stephan, and may we also achieve victory in this operation of ours..."
Stephan would simply give a courteous nod. "And to you, general... May we all stay safe and slay the dragon successfully..."
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"... Ugh..."
As she was just cleaning the mess that the young prince had made previously in the courtyard, it was then an unstoppable catastrophe had suddenly been laid bare before her very eyes- a massive, storm of light that came in all directions blotted out the view of her surroundings for a moment, temporarily reducing her into a blind mess. Had she been a normal human, this incident most likely would have inflicted permanent damages upon her eyes.
However, the maid known as Whitlea was no ordinary human of common birth.
"... What the hell happened..."
As her sight was gradually restoring itself she looked around to see what the effects of the blinding light had caused. Nothing, at first there was nothing... Or at least, it seemed nothing due to the haziness present in her eyes still. However, after her eyes managed to fully restore themselves to proper vision, to her horror, she discovered several important points of interest that surrounded her from every direction.
There were countless armored men all throughout the courtyard she was still in, each of whom were bearing swords, spears, shields, and all manners of weapons on their hands, as Whitlea simultaneously heard the shuffling of their boots all around.
Perfect, she thought sarcastically. She was surrounded by a bunch of trespassers who had forced themselves into the castle with what seemed to be magick, or perhaps something else?
Whitlea would then begin to wonder to herself: just how many of these invaders were there? And how much of the castle had they already infiltrated into with that nuisance of a magick spell that had just casted?
What a bother, Whitlea thought to herself once more. No wonder one of her creators, Anastasia, hated magick so much.
"Hey girlie..." one of the knights would approach her, his face dripping with a sly, disgusting smile as he pointed his sword at her neck. "How'd a pretty maid like you end up in this desolate place?"
"Why dontcha come with us?" as he moved closer, his hand would then slowly crawl towards one of her more intimate parts, to which Whitlea would immediately respond with a glare. "We can make your life even better when we're around, so come with us-"
"Enough of this Handrick, you are staining our honour..." one of the soldiers would speak with an eerily cold voice as he delivered a blunt force towards his head, instantly making him back off as he held the top of his head in pain.
Well, that was completely unexpected. At first, Whitlea initially thought well of this- perhaps they weren't all the rugged barbarians she was initially expecting them to be? Maybe they had just been lost and had miscasted their spell perchance?
Suddenly, however, the man would draw his sword towards Whitlea, with its pointed edge just inches away from the maid's smooth, fair neck.
"I apologize, dear maiden... You were probably captured by the dragon and forced to serve here, were you not?" the knight spoke, his voice still full of the coldness it held previously. "... However, those who've made contact with a dragon inevitably harbors the filth that these lizards possess..."
Well, down towards the drain did her respect for this man all go now- how disappointing, it seemed, at least for Whitlea.
"Please close your eyes... I swear I shall make it quick."
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"Charge at her! All at once!"
Within one of the castle's many rooms, Anastasia and her son were in a rush as they picked off the loathsome invaders in a rather brutal fashion- to them, they were simply trespassers who had forfeited their lives the moment they entered into this place without permission.
"Argh! She's too strong! And the bastard she's with... That thing he's carrying is too dangerous!"
Anastasia had quickly donned the metal suit of armor she had once worn all those years ago when she first met her son- in truth, it was an armor she could easily manifest whenever she wanted with the help of advanced nanotechnologies, and it was also something she would always wear when she was embroiled within a fight against an enemy. With a single swipe of her hands and claws, any human soldier she would encounter would instantly be reduced into a pile of gored flesh and torn metal that would no longer be able to fight back- such was her extreme power, that the soldiers were concentrating all of their strength and numbers on her sole presence.
"Cast your spells! Take the dragon down!"
The mages would then begin their quick chants as they manifested their magick circles, hurling bolts of lightning, spheres of fire, beams of light and darkness, and many other highly powerful spells that repeatedly rained down on her like a rain from a thunderstorm.
However, Anastasia, of course, had already dealt with such things before.
"What, a shield of this power?! Impossible! This is-"
As a blue construct of nanoformed shields, a layer of blue mass formed by countless microscopic machines, formed to protect their creator, Novus would then point his blaster at the general direction of the mages, unleashing several torrents of blue energies at the hooded figures, instantly leaving gaping holes on their bodies and killing them off rather swiftly.
"You're quite the good shot, my child..." She would praise him with a small smile on her face, commending how accurately he had shot those men. "Still... I'm surprised that you're somewhat still okay after all of this...."
She then, for a moment, got close to him, staring into his eyes with a look of worry written all over her face. "My child... You do realize that you just took several human lives just now? Does this not bother you at all?"
"... Not really. They broke into our home and then they're suddenly trying to kill us." Novus spoke, as she could simultaneously tell with ease that there was a solid sense of conviction in his voice." We can't afford to be merciful with them in any way... Or else we'll end up dead as well."
"... Ahem... I see..." again, Anastasia was surprised with his words, though she ultimately chose to not pay attention to this for a while due to the ongoing situation. "Still... Stay behind me. There are still too many of them..."
"I know, mother, I know."
More of them came charging towards their general direction, this time they had assorted themselves into various formations which consisted of shieldmen up front, with their spears drawn out as the mages behind them casted more long-ranged spells aimed towards the pair. A troublesome bunch they were, though of course, in the face of her overwhelming might, these soldiers were nothing more than vermin about to be exterminated.
[Bend, twist.]
With a single phrase from her mouth, the metal armor of the advancing soldiers violently imploded towards their bodies, the steel protecting them twisting and squeezing themselves inwards as their vulnerable flesh got crushed by the impossible forces pushing towards them: like crushed metal tin cans, their blood and flesh spurted out of their crushed armor like a fountain of red mist and gore.
"... R-retreat! We're no match for that monster!"
Only the mages were left during the violent implosion incident- they had not been wearing a single piece of steel on their bodies, and so the dragon's command had no effect on them. This, however, unfortunately would not protect them from the rest of the possible commands upon reality that Anastasia could make with her creative mind.
... Although, before she could do so, Novus would once more quickly draw his gun once more and shoot down all of the survivors within seconds, peppering their chests with large holes that would seem impossible to survive from.
"... Oh dear... There's nobody left, but..." she put her hand on her mouth, as if she was exaggerating her expressions a bit. "I'm afraid this is going to make the clean-up a tad bit more difficult..."
For a moment, Anastasia would take the time to look at the bloody display around her which she had just produced- maybe she had gone too far? She would then pause for a moment, pondering her thoughts about whether this would have an impact on her child's mind or not... Perhaps he was just pretending that he wasn't being affected by this? No, perhaps not, as when she looked into his eyes, she couldn't even notice a single ounce of fear or trauma in his eyes. She definitely had to have a counseling talk with him later about this, as she couldn't afford to allow some sort of unknown mental deterioration to grow in his mind because of this grisly situation.
Suddenly, it was then an important thought within her mind had suddenly appeared- Whitlea, yes, Whitlea... What could have happened to her during all this time? Maybe she had been killed by these invaders? No, that too was unlikely, as she knew how capable that maid truly was- Anastasia was one of the 2 people who created her after all.
... Although, it would be better to be able to make sure of this...
"... We're done here for the moment. We must split up... I'll go and check the rest of the castle if there're more of these... Lunatics. You go and find Whitlea, and make sure she's safe."
There was no arguing with that- in Novus' mind, her reasoning was pretty sound and logical, just like how she usually was. There were, however, a few questions that remained within his mind, which he would ask a few seconds afterwards.
"... Who are these people anyway? How did they manage to get in? And why are they attacking en masse?"
Anastasia would then sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "... I don't really know as well, dear. I swear, these people... I rarely even go outside, why have they attacked yet again?"
"... Again?"
"... I once had a rather close relationship with these people... Although... It would be best for you not to know everything about this, child." she reasoned, to which Novus would simply respond with an 'okay'. "Knowing too much would only make your little head hurt after all~"
"... F-fine... Just one more question..."
"Of course, ask away, my child."
"... What do I do if I encounter a group as big as the one we fought earlier? I'm not as strong as you after all..."
Hearing this, Anastasia would simply smile, giggling a bit as she gently placed her blood-soaked, armored hand on his shoulder. "Then run. Although, if you aren't able to, I believe you're more than skilled enough to be able to deal with them. You're a good shot after all, my child."
"... Just... Be careful, alright...?"
Novus would respond with a quick nod from his head. "Of course, mother."
"Now run along dear, check up on her and make sure she's safe. Remember to run if there're too many of them, okay?"
Novus would then nod in affirmation. "I understand, mother. I'll get going then."
Unknown to Novus however, there was also one more important reason why Anastasia had chosen to split off and sent him away...
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"I-Impossible... What kind of monster are you?!"
Upon the bloodstained fields of the courtyard, the multitudes of twisted, dented bodies of the soldiers were scattered all around like dead flies- each and every single one of them had fallen prey to Whitlea's powerful ability.
"... T-this is a joke... A joke!"
"This isn't real! Charge men, this is just an illusion the witch casted upon us!"
Foolishly, several of the soldiers charged towards in complete madness as they held their weapons firmly with their hands- of course, deep within their minds, even they themselves knew that such an action was ultimately futile in the end.
"Seriously? Are you idiots delusional or something?"
Whitlea then raised her hand upwards, as her entire body would suddenly be enshrouded in a weak, purple, aura-like glow. Instantaneously, the maid would then simply swipe her index finger horizontally in a nonchalant manner, causing the charging men to be repelled violently by a powerful force towards the same direction where Whitlea had moved her finger towards.
Combat Model Hybrid Series 1001: Codenamed "Whitlea": a pet project that Anastasia initially made to have a companion and drive off her loneliness, now it had helped to serve as a sort of second guardian for her son. Within the blueprints that gave her life, there were many outstanding features written and etched fantastically into its papers- it was the combination of several, highly sophisticated and advanced technologies that no human nor nation within the continent could ever hope to replicate.
A maid capable of attending to one's needs... A servant capable of sentience, self thought, and enacting a myriad of tasks where many others would have great difficulty with... A monstrosity that could fight off an entire battalion of armed soldiers with just a single thought from its mind using her esper-like abilities...
Despite how delicate and maidenly Whitlea would seem at first glance, in truth, she was a monster that bore the resemblance of a human: there was no denying that the men surrounding her were nothing more than insects she could easily crush into mincemeat- even the soldiers themselves were all too aware of this fact.
Even though there were still many of the armored men within the massive space of the courtyard, they had now all become incredibly reluctant to even move a single inch towards her- no being of reason would not feel fear when facing such a monster of incredible power after all.
"I shall give you all one last chance: Flee and leave this place, and you may yet to live another day and keep your lives." there was a heavy emphasis of seriousness in her tone as she spoke.
"... I shall repeat in a manner that you fools can understand... Bugger off from this place, and I'll let you keep your lives, you hear?"
Silence: each and every one of these men wanted to run, but they knew that running would only get them executed as dishonorable deserters. Despite this, there was still the faintest sense of hope within their hearts, as they believed that their numbers would inevitably allow them to gain victory: perhaps they could tire this monster out so that they could even out the battlefield. And also...
The forces from the Hand of Arslan and the general's own knights haven't even arrived to support them yet- all they had to do was to slowly exhaust their opponent and look for any weakpoints they could exploit for the moment.
"No surrendering! Keep fighting!"
"Hmph, very well then. If you wish not to flee nor fight..." Whitlea, seeming that their resolves were firm despite their fear, then began to prepare using her abilities once again. "I shall come at all of you all at once. Meet your end, fools."