The Mercury clan had arranged their forces so that the Awakened stood in the front lines, holding off the knights, while the non-Awakened behind them were split into two groups: one bombarding the city of Orion with long-range mortar fire, and the other supporting the Awakened against the knights.

Thus, if Lucy and the others wanted to reach the missile, they first had to cross the ranks of the non-Awakened at the rear, making themselves an open target for their firepower.

---

At the wheel, Fidri was struggling to dodge the bursts of assault rifles. But when the Mercury clan's men switched to sniper rifles, he couldn't react.

"Lucy, do something!"

he shouted after the rearview mirror was blown to pieces by a sniper.

"I got it," replied Lucy.

A second later, the sniper was taken down. But there was no respite: more of them were still out there.

"Shit, we're gonna die for sure!" cried Elizir, crouching under the seat to avoid the flying shards of glass.

"Ah..." sighed Gracia before climbing out through the window, scaling the car's roof to join Lucy.

"We need to get as close to the missile as possible, right?"

Lucy nodded. Her rifle had just dropped another man.

("In that case...") Gracia thought.

She leaned toward the door, her hair dangling toward the ground.

"Fidri, floor it like your life depends on it. Leave the rest to me."

("Oh no... her too.")

Fidri thought Gracia had lost her mind until his eyes widened, realizing what she was about to do.

A track of ice suddenly formed beneath the vehicle, rising into the air like a skateboard ramp.

"Fuck!"

Fidri spat before slamming the accelerator with all his strength.

The car, at full speed, shot up the ramp of ice, leaving enemy gunfire below them.

When they reached the end of the ramp, the vehicle soared into the air, flying above the battlefield.

For a brief instant, they felt relieved... until gravity brought them back to reality. The car came crashing down heavily, right beneath the missile.

"Ohhhh!" Fidri screamed like a little girl.

"If I die, I'll haunt you all!" cursed Elizir.

And as if his bad omen had taken form, the missile was launched at that very moment. By some cruel twist of fate, they were directly under its trajectory.

Their screams overlapped. Nobody really knew who it was that yelled:

"Mommy!"

But before the missile could send them into the afterlife...

<< Gate Closure >> (Lucy)

<< Escape >> (Fidri)

Before everyone's stunned eyes, the missile vanished as if by magic, and the car crashed violently into the ground. But by then, no one was inside anymore.

A second before impact, Lucy had used her resonance to send the missile into her pocket dimension. Fidri, on his part, had pulled off one of the most classic tricks of magic: evasion. Thanks to him, the four of them had mysteriously disappeared from the vehicle.

---

"I'm alive... I survived!"

Elizir frantically patted himself down, confirming he was still in one piece.

"Insane... that was insane! I'm never doing something like that again."

They all caught their breath, still in shock, as if they had narrowly escaped a heart attack. But the respite didn't last: they were now in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by several Mercury clan men.

"It's not what you think..." Fidri said.

Lucy and Gracia weren't any luckier. They had landed right in the thick of the melee between Orion's knights and the Mercury clan's Awakened. To both sides, they were nothing but enemies.

---

At the same time, in the streets of Orion.

"Fire! Bring water over here!"

"Someone's trapped under the rubble!"

"My child! I can't find my son!"

Panic consumed the people who, just two hours earlier, had still been full of joy.

They were running everywhere under the cacophony of shells raining down from the sky.

Nothing was more terrifying than the unknown.

For these townsfolk, who had never seen nor heard the horror of modern weapons of war, the bombings could only be interpreted as divine wrath from the heavens.

Among the knights trying to save civilians, Arnaud stood with his back against the wall of a house shattered by artillery.

From atop the ramparts, he had seen the cavalry slaughtered before their blades had even reached the enemy.

Later, he had been forced down, powerless before the collapsing walls, forced to witness the infernal bombardment. Their catapults and ancient weapons were nothing against these demonic machines.

"Young chief!"

"Young chief, we must evacuate!"

"Let's flee, young chief!"

Arnaud didn't know what to do. His father wasn't there to guide him.

His legs grew heavy, and he fell to his knees, crushed beneath the weight of responsibility.

A memory came back to him.

"Arnaud, tell me, what is the strength of Eterniti?"

"I know, Father... our strength lies in the King and his knights."

But his father had only shaken his head.

"No. The strength of Eterniti is you, the young ones."

"Us? What can we do that the King cannot?"

His father had placed a firm hand on his head.

"The King is King because we believe in him.

Never give up. If you can't accomplish something alone, then lean on the faith people place in you to achieve the impossible."

Arnaud still remembered that day.

Kneeling, he opened his eyes slightly.

And he understood.

The knights, the women, the children... all were waiting for his words. All had faith in him.

"We will not run. This city is ours. Whether knight, woman, or child... we fight together!"

"At your command, young chief!" the knights replied.

The people exulted.

They were not weak. The young men had learned the art of the sword since childhood, so that once Awakened, they would become proud knights.

"We'll exit through the west gate, circle around the battlefield, and strike their forces from behind!"

Arnaud remembered the layout of the enemy troops. He believed neutralizing their destructive weapons would be the key to victory.

The people roared. They grabbed anything that could serve as a weapon.

They would defend their city with their lives.

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