It was sudden. While Onas and Rose were conversing with one another, Jil, Ryan, and I were talking about the fact that they used to be lovers.

…

Indeed, it was very sudden. But by “it”, I don’t mean Onas and Rose.

“Attention to all citizens residing within the Kingdom of Amber. This is King Adrian speaking.”

That was the voice that began it all... the words that began my misery.

Jil paused in his tracks as Ryan worryingly glanced in every direction. I looked over at Onas and Rose and noticed that they had also frozen up with puzzled expressions.

“What the… are you guys hearing this too?” Jil asked.

“For those of you who are confused, I am communicating to all of you with my spell, [Mass projection]. My voice is simply heard in the containment of your heads.”

Rose, as if she was aware of what was happening, began to shake her head. “Don’t tell me…”

Onas’s eyes grew wide as he clenched his teeth together, although not saying a single word.

“The following message is not to be taken lightly. The Kingdom of Sapphire has declared war on us. Those of you residing in the outskirts of the kingdom, please move within the walls of the kingdom immediately. Leave your belongings behind- but bring what you must. Those of you who live within the walls, please remain inside your homes. Do not leave under any circumstances.”

“Ugh… Haha…. Hahaha! T-the day has finally come!” Ryan cried, lifting his hands high into the air.

“I repeat. The Kingdom of Sapphire has declared war on us. Please take refuge within the walls immediately.”

“Onas? What’s going on?” I asked.

But he was nowhere to be found.

“I am calling for all warriors, knights, and soldiers to gather at the front gates immediately. The battle has begun.”

“Everybody, ride back to the front gates! Come with me Wyliame!” Rose yelled as she sprinted over and grabbed my arm.

“Wait, what about Onas? Where is he?”

“He’s going back home. Come on, we can’t afford to waste any time. Let’s go now!” she instructed as we began sprinting toward her mount. Jil followed behind us. Ryan on the other hand…

“T-the prophecy was right! The day has finally come! The death of the kingdom… everything we’ve ever built… everything we’ve ever achieved… it’ll all be shattered! Haha. Hahaha!”

“Ryan, keep it together and get on your horse!” Rose yelled out after taking a seat on her mount. She reached her hand for me and pulled me atop, allowing me to sit behind her. “Jil, lead the way!”

Riding his horse, Jil nodded and began galloping away into the distance. Ryan and his mount followed suit as we trailed behind them in one single-file line. Because of the speed that we were going, the frosty wind immediately became more piercingly cold than it already was- steadily biting away at my bare cheeks.

*Boom!* *Boom!*

While holding on to Rose’s body as she steered the horse, I turned around and saw massive fumes of smoke about fifty feet into the air as it grew larger and larger.

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“Rose, will Onas be okay?”

…

She kept her gaze ahead and eventually, she brought one arm behind her and pat my head. “He’s a strong man. Believe in him, okay?”

I nodded and held onto her tighter.

This whole situation is just so… sudden. Kingdom of Sapphire? War? I just arrived in this world, damn it!

<[Appraisal Activated]>

Suddenly, Rose screamed, “Watch out Ryan!”

But it was too late. An arrow flew from within the depths of the frosty forest, traveling past half a dozen trees before impaling Ryan’s chest.

“ARGHHHHHHHHH!”

As he fell off his mount, his horse became mad and began sprinting away as fast as it could, leaving Ryan to rot in the burning snow.

“[Infernal Volley]!” Rose yelled, pointing her hand in the direction that the arrow came from. From the tip of her fingers, five balls of destructive blaze formed and immediately discharged deep into the forest at the speed of light.

*BOOOOM!*

Multiple trees collapsed into the ground like dominos, causing a rapid chain of vibration on the earth’s surface as fumes of smoke emerged from the spot that Rose fired at. I could’ve sworn that I heard the sounds of screaming, but it ended so quickly that it could’ve just been my imagination.

Rose stopped her horse shortly in front of Ryan and quickly jumped off while I remained on the horse. She took a knee beside him and gently placed her hands beneath his head, taking off his helmet. “Ryan…”

He was a human with dark-red hair, a mustache, and rugged, bumpy skin. Although his eyes remained open, it was clear that he wasn’t able to see us. He moaned and groaned as the blood dripped down from his chest, painting the snow beneath him red. His breaths became shallow and empty, yet loud and desperate.

“Not again…” Rose murmured with a shaky voice. “I… I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you…”

“Hey, keep a move on! There’s gonna be more of those archers trying to take us down!” Jil shouted from the front.

“Wait, let me bring Ryan’s body-”

“He won’t make it.” I interrupted, looking down at Ryan’s living corpse while I remained seated on the horse. “The arrow penetrated his heart, see?” I pointed at the arrow, which was sticking out from the exact location that a heart would be in.

Rose looked at me with regretful eyes, then back at Ryan’s body, which was now covered in the indefinite amounts of snow that fell from the sky. “Yeah. You’re right.”

As she got up from her kneeling and climbed back onto the horse, a flurry of arrows came from the opposite side of the frosty forest- this time aimed directly at Jil.

“Watch out!” I shouted.

“[Harden].”

Instantly, Jil’s skin became metallic as the dozens of arrows that were shot toward him bounced off his hardened skin as if they were made from rubber. “Commander, shoot them!” he yelled.

“[Infernal Volley]!” Rose screamed. Just as before, five balls of flames formed from her right hand’s fingertip, instantly shooting in the direction that she pointed at in a blink of an eye. But this time, there were no explosions that came along with it. The trees remained still and there was no smoke in the air- a clear sign that something had gone wrong.

Then, the ground began to shake in a constant rhythm as multiple trees caved into the ground. The rumbling became stronger and stronger as the sound of collapsing trees grew nearer.

Jil shook his head and readied his sword. “Commander, it’s coming at us!”

Eventually, the last of the trees fell down, revealing a brute man with long, dangling black hair over the winter trees, staring down at us with eyes of hatred. With each step that he took, the ground beneath us made sounds of thunder, causing the horses to grow wary. The snow that rested peacefully on the trees all fell with each of his weighty, powerful strides, as he dragged a massive golden hammer- one that was the size of a tree- beside him.

“[Fire empowerment].” Rose commanded as she got off her horse and wielded her sword, which immediately became engulfed in her burning flame. “Zilnus, the Giant of Ruination… I thought you were dead.”