II

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Arc II Chapter 17

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18th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

"..." Aurora turned to her newest underlings, her fluffballs. Her eyes narrowed. Her icy gaze froze them solid. Her sprites would be pressed into service, even on an involuntary basis, if necessary. Duty called, and they would obey. Far from innocent, the sprites and their thoughtless behaviour responsible were for this entire disaster. No pardon would be given.

"Zzzz." The will o' wisps gulped, sensing their approaching misfortune. They would not escape her punishment.

"Listen, my friends, we both know who is responsible for this, do we not? It certainly wasn't me." Aurora crossed her arms.

"Zzzzzz." Her sprites lowered their heads in shame, confessing their guilt.

Aurora approved of their repentance. "As such, we will fight the beast together. And when I say together, I mean we, and when I say we, I mean you."

"Zzzz?" Her new friends looked puzzled, tilting their heads. They did not understand. To them, the evil princess made no sense.

"Yes, you." Aurora deployed a benevolent smile. "You caused this, so you will also take responsibility for it."

"..." Her fluffballs suffered a near heart attack. Their aether froze, and their confidence dropped to an all time low.

"Zzzzzz! Zzzz! Zzzzzz!" her sprites protested in unison. This was madness! This was insanity! They were no cheap cannon fodder!

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"..." Aurora clicked her tongue, irritated by their sudden renitence. "You are such pessimists. Worry less, ... you will not die. At least, I hope so."

Her last part did not escape them. Her fluffballs heard their evil princess loud and clear, erupting in open protest. "Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz."

Yet their meek protest went unheard, dismissed by an experienced glare. "Is this what I think it is? Do I sense rebellious discontent among the plebeian ranks?"

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"... ... ..." The fluffballs' vivid protests fell silent.

Her actions had proven effective at restoring discipline. Order was maintained. Her sprites whimpered after submitting under the weight of her intimidating glare. They finally had realised that they had got themselves into something beyond their control. From here on, there was no way out.

Aurora raised her index finger. "Do not despair, though. You are not alone. I have a plan."

Her sprites blinked, surprised. "Zzzz?" She did?

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Her chest swelled with pride. "My plan is to use the crystals against our common enemy."

"..." Her fluffballs responded with a row of blank stares.

"To make things simple, I will inject my mana and destabilise the crystal formation. This will trigger a chain reaction and set off the crystallised aether."

"Zzzz." Her friends sounded less than convinced. Hopefully, their mistress knew what she was doing.

"Unfortunately, preparations take time. That is where you all come in. You will create a diversion and distract the enemy, while I prepare the explosion. You will engage the enemy and act as living decoys. After successfully establishing contact, you will then disengage and fall back. Capitalising on your numerical superiority, you should split up and disperse. That way, it is less likely that all of you will get caught."

"..." Her sprites looked at her with a healthy amount of scepticism.

"Afterwards, you will lead him back to my position, so that we can finish him off with our small surprise." Aurora beamed, optimistic. "In short, nothing complicated. Nothing too elaborate. You might end up getting eaten alive, but life is a dangerous affair in general."

"... ... ..." Her sprites declined to comment, unsurprisingly so. Their blank stares told her all that she needed to know.

Aurora clapped her hands together. "Do you have any questions?"

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"None? Excellent. Now off with you. The enemy is waiting for you." Aurora and her accompanying doll took cover behind a lovely and sturdy stone wall, her fists clenched to demonstrate her resolve. "Have courage! Show no fear! Never forget, I believe in you! I am behind you! Right behind this wall." Her hollow declaration offered her comrades in arms little consolation.

"Even my doll supports you. Aurora, wave at them." Her doll waved at the sprites. Her wave carried the bitter aftertaste of a parting gift of dubious benevolence.

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"Zzzzzzz ..." The sprites gulped, yet they followed her command without so much as a complaint. Thus, they marched to battle to face the beast. It was time to confront the enemy. It was time to die.

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Peeking over the wall, Aurora watched her comrades in arms floating directly towards the enemy. They were such brave little sprites, yet their chances of survival ranged from minimal to non existent, which was information that was not supposed to be divulged openly. Her heart pitied them, but the realities of war were tragic. Losses were to be expected.

Aurora consulted her doll. "Do you think they will make it?"

"..." Her doll remained silent.

"I agree. Poor creatures. I hope for them that they are faster than they look." Aurora returned into hiding, biding her time. It was now on the fluffball brigade to prove their worth.

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