"I want to go find Oedipus with you."
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
Merka pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Don't be stubborn, Merka."
"Aren't you worried about the situation with Turing over there?"
Dunkirk's tone was clearly exasperated.
She desperately hoped to find Oedipus and perish with him using missiles, completing her redemption. But she didn't want Merka to follow in her footsteps.
"Of course, I'm worried... I'm worried to the point of grinding my teeth, trembling, and feeling unbearable anxiety."
"Worried to the extent of wanting to drop everything immediately and escape with Turing."
"I truly love her... a love a thousand times stronger than loving myself."
"But because of that, I can't do it."
"I have my own responsibilities... so does she."
"We can't run away anymore; Pompeii is our final destination."
"We must stay here and settle the score with Oedipus."
Merka mused.
His determination was full of vitality, which lightened Dunkirk's heavy heart a little.
"...Alright, I understand."
"So, let's split up and take action separately."
"You were given a communication device by the Agio family for contact, right?"
"If you find Oedipus, remember to contact me."
"Mm."
Dunkirk didn't say anything more and plunged into the thick fog beneath his feet in one breath, resembling a sea of clouds.
Merka followed close behind, leaping into the majestic, dusky mire.
————————————
What is a real war like?
Here, fear becomes ethereal.
Humans often perish in confusion without hesitation.
Merka widened his eyes, trying to feel the intricate magical fluctuations in the surroundings.
However, the layers upon layers of distorted magical fluctuations were like the harsh, sharp sound of a saw cutting through wood, making it difficult to discern clearly.
A restless dragon roar burst forth beside Merka, tearing through the clouds. Merka covered his ears tightly, momentarily deafened.
"Instructor Dunkirk...?"
Shocked, Merka looked to the side and realized that Dunkirk, who had just crossed the fog sea with him, had disappeared at some point.
In Dunkirk's place stood a colossal dragon with cherry tree branches intricately entwined on its body.
Its body was blood-red. The branches and cherry blossoms climbing on its body swayed gently with its imposing breath. The cherry blossoms resembled clanging dragon scales, ominous and terrifying, chilling to the bone.
Observing the dragon up close left Merka stunned; he had never imagined such an eerie and dominating creature existed in the world.
"Step in synchrony! Attack under the cover of the Blood Cherry Dragon!"
"Offer your lives for the Daughter of Heaven!"
"For the Daughter of Heaven!!"
Descending toward the ground, Merka saw a large group of people wearing red carp suits hiding behind the dragon, launching an assault on a fortress.
Inside the fortress, people continuously cast judgments and verdicts, spewing thick tongues of fire at the circling dragon in the sky, preventing it from coming close.
Merka realized that he had inadvertently joined the battle.
Bloody limbs and flesh strewn everywhere made Merka's heart convulse.
Despite the pain, Merka knew that now was not the time to easily show sympathy.
"Tocamak toroidal hot core model * thermal nuclear dissection."
Inside the fortress, Scarlett's crisp and cold voice resounded.
In Merka's astonished gaze, a ball of unimaginable thermal energy suddenly appeared above the Blood Cherry Dragon's head next to Merka, violently splitting into two halves.
Unspeakable auroras erupted from the disintegrating hot core, engulfing everything around, including Merka.
————————————
"Wait... Yorkshire can still be saved."
"I heard Merka say that no matter the injuries suffered... as long as the brain is not damaged, true brain death would take at least fifteen minutes."
"With my magic, maybe..."
Turing abruptly realized something. Hastily suppressing the overflowing fragments of hatred in her heart, she walked up to Yorkshire, intending to heal her.
"Don't be afraid, Yorkshire, I'll come to heal you..."
Yet just as Turing was about to touch Yorkshire's soft skin, several sharp, thick rock spikes resembling canine teeth surged up from the shattered rubble beneath Turing's feet, pushing her away.
A toad-like creature with a fat head, thin body, and draped in a gray robe leaped out of the rubble, swallowed Yorkshire in one gulp, and swiftly retreated underground after nonchalantly casting a glance at Turing with its flat-pupiled eyes.
"How dare you...!"
Turing erupted in anger.
She raised her right hand, exuding a dominating demeanor akin to Oedipus, slowly spreading like smoke and dust.
An Incandescent Spiral, reminiscent of a dragon or phoenix, suddenly appeared on her right hand, emitting piercing cries as if roaring against all injustices befell its master.
The graceful flame vortex harshly descended, exhibiting an undeniable destructive power that kept anyone from questioning its earth-shattering might.
