Chapter 111: The examination is over ? (3)
Under a black sky, lit by the sickly glow of a scarlet moon, Duchess Exa gazed across the expanse of her territory.
Her eyes, cold and calculating, perceived every human life now cowering beneath her duchy.
She could feel those who would stubbornly cling to survival.
Nevertheless, regardless of their intentions, the outcome would be the same.
Her preparations were complete.
From now on, even if humanity still possessed a few hidden assets, nothing could reverse the course of events.
"Marquis Yorb. Marquis Broy."
The two marquises immediately knelt.
Their expressions were filled with a newfound determination, a muted yet sharpened resolve.
Exa observed this change with genuine interest.
The humiliation inflicted by those humans had reignited something within her subjects.
Their warrior souls had awakened.
"It is time for you to depart."
"Yes, Your Grace," they replied in unison.
However, before they could leave, Exa commanded:
<< Authority: Cotton Nest >>
The very air seemed to waver.
Spider webs as thick as tree trunks erupted and spread across the sky, weaving a colossal network above the duchy.
They propagated at a terrifying speed.
These threads would serve as suspended pathways, allowing the calamities to move through the air as if the sky itself belonged to them.
---
Yorb, in all his colossal stature, was the first to rise.
He led half of the duchy’s forces with him: nearly nine thousand minor calamities, escorted by barons and several counts.
Their destination was clear.
The military base where the humans responsible for Count Kai’s humiliating defeat had taken refuge.
Meanwhile, Broy led the remaining troops toward the border, with the mission of definitively crushing the knights and their people.
The calamities thus left the heart of the duchy, leaving Exa almost alone... with one exception.
Her son.
Helion had isolated himself since the last battle, locked in deep meditation, consolidating his authority over the ether in accordance with the evolution he had undergone.
Exa had no doubt: when he emerged, he would be profoundly transformed.
Still, she restrained her excitement.
It was not yet time.
---
At the border of the State of Mirage
Kori felt the vibrations of the ether before he even saw them.
Within the span of a heartbeat, the entire border was swallowed by the duchy’s territory.
("It seems Gramm lost his bet...") he thought.
He revealed nothing and simply raised his hand.
"Prepare for combat. Impact imminent."
There was no need to repeat himself.
The seasoned enforcers moved with merciless precision.
Five Masters advanced to the front line, ready to absorb the initial shock.
The Intermediates shouted clear orders, while the Initiates spread around the refugee camp, forming a solid defensive net.
At that moment, Marquis Broy made his appearance.
He did not arrive violently.
He manifested.
An unbearable sensation crawled over the skin of everyone present.
Some turned pale, others staggered back a step, seized by uncontrollable nausea.
An invisible swarm.
A presence that scraped at the soul.
Several knights instinctively raised their weapons.
"Don’t move."
Arnaud’s voice snapped, firm.
He observed the enforcers: none of them trembled.
Not a single glance betrayed fear.
They were simply waiting, as if this were not their first rodeo.
Their posture and the coordination they had shown while deploying made one thing clear to Arnaud.
These enforcers were in no way inferior perhaps they were even a step above.
His pride urged him to deploy his knights as well, but remembering Fidri’s words and those of the others, he merely clenched his teeth.
("I hope you know what you’re doing...") he thought, finally ordering his men to remain in reserve.
---
Military base parking area
Inside the base, most of the candidates watched the black sky above them as if it were a distant spectacle.
For them, the exam was over.
They were still laughing.
Some were drinking, others commenting on the scene with detachment, convinced the enforcers would handle everything.
When about a dozen enforcers climbed onto the stage, they thought they were about to receive their coats and finally be decorated.
Unfortunately, only a projector was installed.
Before anyone could move, the projected image clearly showed the trajectory of the calamities... and above all, the human silhouettes already positioned along it.
Silence fell.
They were candidates like themselves.
Barely two hundred of them, all armed.
Among them: Carla, Bruno, and all those who had never stopped preparing, despite the announcement that the exam was over.
At their head stood Iris, wearing her green coat, a scarf covering her head.
"Damn... are they serious?"
"Look, there are even guys from the archives. And the lab."
"There are non-awakened ones too... we’re about to watch a gore movie today."
When Marquis Yorb appeared on the screen, the mockery stopped dead.
His giant tarantula form rose above the ground.
Twenty-meter-long legs, a massive body, a head as large as a car.
Those who had been laughing froze.
Some fled into their tents, as if he might crawl out of the image itself.
No one dared to mock anymore.
Fear flooded in.
One question imposed itself on everyone’s mind:
"What are the enforcers doing...?"
---
As for the candidates on the front line, they were no exception.
Some were trembling.
Others vomited.
They stepped back, but upon seeing the back of the woman standing before them, they froze.
Iris gave no speech.
She simply turned around and smiled at them.
Their hearts immediately quivered.
A shout burst forth, followed by many others.
"HAAAAH!"
"WAHHH!"
"RAHHHH!"
However, before them, the calamities had already organized themselves.
Yorb, at the front, said nothing.
He let his power speak.
<< Fire Authority: Radiant Orbs >>
Three incandescent spheres appeared in the air and were hurled toward Iris and her group.
Upon impact, nothing was meant to remain.
---
Earlier, within the military base
In one of the offices, Gramm Sigmund sat comfortably.
San stood behind him.
Across from him stood Sirius.
Sirius placed an envelope on the desk.
"Here is the list of candidates who passed the Order’s second trial."
He paused.
"Thus concludes this examination."
