«It's good, then.»
Kai asked quietly, the emotions in his voice suppressed:
[Good?]
She nodded.
«Yes. If the abominations are rampaging, it means that there's still someone alive.»
A moment later, the dragon landed on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Jet and Effie jumped off his back and approached the edge of the dry riverbed's slope.
Out there below them, the hastily assembled army of the Western Quadrant was assembling into a formation to assault the fallen city. In front of the mundane soldiers, the battered Awakened vanguard was finishing off a wave of Nightmare Creatures that had wandered away from the burning ruins.
They had noticed the flamboyant landing of the great dragon, and were now looking back, cheering and waving their heads in the air.
Kai's fame preceded him.
Effie cracked her knuckles and asked, her voice uncharacteristically somber:
«A Great Devil… can we even handle something like that?»
All three of them had become immensely powerful after Transcending. The battles they had won were beyond count, and the Nightmare Creatures they had killed were beyond measure… and yet, they had never faced a horror like that before.
Only the Sovereigns had.
Facing a Great Devil was a first for them… and could very well become the last.
A relaxed smile appeared on Jet's face.
«What's the matter? If push comes to shove, we'll Just die. Well… the two of you will die. I'm already dead.»
Above them, the dragon scoffed. His magnificent voice resounded above the desert, making Effie's heart tingle…
That was just something Kai's draconic voice did, even if he did not use his Aspect Abilities.
«Still. We should try to stay alive… well, Effie and I should. You just stay in one piece, Lady Jet.»
She chuckled.
«Alright. As we've discussed before, Kai will support the Western Quadrant forces in their advance. Effie and I will spearhead the assault, push back the abominations, and engage the Gate Guardian. There's nothing else to say. Godspeed!»
The beautiful dragon nodded its great head, then pushed himself off the ground and glided gracefully toward the assembled army.
Jet looked at Effie, already summoning her scythe.
She lingered for a moment, and then said in a tone that was a little gentler than usual:
«But seriously… don't die, Effie, Nightingale and I can die, but you can't. You know why. There are people waiting for you to return.»
For a moment, Effie felt her heart tremble… just like it did every time she went into battle.
It had been easy to risk her life before, when she was young. But now, she had things to protect, and people whom she did not want to and could not allow herself to leave. Every time death snarled in her face, Effie felt… guilt, and shame.
And fear.
What was she doing on the battlefield when her husband and son were somewhere else, waiting for her?
Why was she being so stupid when she could have remained safe behind a Citadel wall, in their idyllic cottage, allowing someone else to fight, and bleed, and die in her place?
But then, she remembered.
It was precisely because of Little Ling and his dad that she was here.
Because someone had to prevent the world from collapsing on their heads and burying them under the rubble. Effie didn't particularly trust someone else to not mess everything up, so she had to build a world where her son could live a decent life with her own two hands.
Thankfully, her hands were quite strong.
If you wanted to do something right, you had to do it yourself.
Looking at Jet, Effie grinned.
«Why do you always talk about dying, big sister? Not everyone is like you! I'm not planning on kicking the bucket any time soon. That would be such a tragedy… imagine all the food I would not be able to eat!» 𝔣𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔴𝔢𝖇𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔢𝔩.𝖈𝔬𝖒
Laughing lightly, she shook her head… And activate her Transformation Ability.
…A moment later, a titanic figure clad in polished steel rose from the dust, shining brilliantly under the incandescent sun.