Chapter 740: Dinner (2/2)

“Nobody cares about your shit tales, old man,” a woman said. She wore a blue dress, her eyes the same color, long black hair falling down her pale skin. “Sit down and enjoy the food like everyone else.”

“Stay out of this, little Dragonkiller,” the man spoke. He didn’t look at her.

She growled.

Power flooded the hall in an instant, magic emanating from the Destroyer himself.

Dale grit his teeth. He stood up and shielded Abby.

“Sir. I will have to ask you to l-” the waitress said when he whipped his hand at her, water flowing around her head.

Three Shadows appeared at the same time, aided by four Sentinels.

“We would appreciate it, if you stopped this,” one of the Shadows said. “And leave this place.”

Loud laughter echoed through the hall. “Why don’t you make me, Shadow boy. I haven’t had a good fight in what feels like years.” He grinned as more water formed around his arms.

The guards and Shadows were tense but hadn’t yet attacked.

Dale watched as a masked woman appeared next to the waitress. She held up a hand as visible air flowed around the water, all of it removed in mere moments. “Nobody is interested, Destroyer,” the woman said. “Now leave.”

“Yeah, fuck off!” the same woman from before said, lightning now sparking around her form as dark blue steel grew on her body. She jumped up and crouched, a grin on her face just before it was covered.

Her dining partner stood up too. She cleaned her face and summoned two black axes, her entire form erupting in flame a moment later.

Dale felt a heavy weight land on his shoulder. Looking up he saw a Lizardman clad in armor.

“If this starts, you get her out,” the being said. “Do not engage.” His form started to radiate a red mist.

Dale nodded. When he looked back, there were more people. An armored man wielding a scythe, another two teams of Sentinels, one of them quite a bit larger than the others, crouched with ash claws extending form his fingers.

A dozen more of the guests had stood up, various powerful magic emanating from them. Some few remained seated, glancing at each other instead. They seemed calm. Entirely unfazed.

“I will tear this whole place down with all of you in it,” the Destroyer spoke.

Dale felt a sudden surge of strange magic, both himself and the lizardman next to him wobbling slightly as they adjusted to the strange pressure. Everyone turned to face the origin, some of the previously seated people now standing and clad in armor.

“My name is Kyrian. You asked. And you will leave this place, Destroyer,” he stood now, covered in savage black metal armor, spikes and edges moving as he raised his arms.

“Now that… is the opponent I want,” the Destroyer spoke.

“I won’t fight you. I merely ask you to leave,” Kyrian said.

A dull thud resounded from the ceiling, the walls shaking ever so slightly. Some of the people looked up.

“Well I wont lea-” the Destroyer said when he vanished.

Dale turned when a distant impact resounded. He looked out the window to see Kyrian blocking a beam of water before it struck a nearby house. The metal mage appeared inside again and sighed, sitting down opposite the short haired woman. Another impact resounded, this one farther away.

Most of the people had sat down again, resuming their dinner, back in their dresses and vests. The masked woman gently helped the waitress, asking her if she was alright. The Sentinels and Shadows were gone.

One of them appeared again a few seconds later. Dale hadn’t even sat down yet. “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. It seems an avalanche of rock and snow has been triggered. If any ice mages are present to deal with the latter, we would be in your debt.”

A gray haired man stood up from a nearby table.

“William,” the Shadow said with a light nod.

The old man just sighed. “I’ll be right back,” he said to the trio sitting at the table. “Uncivilized, rude, barbarian,” he growled and vanished.

“Oh, I’ve rarely seen him that intense,” the lightning mage woman said, back in her dress. She seemed quite a lot less threatening, a casual smile on her face as she resumed eating.

“Nearly killed a man who was rude to a waiter once,” the woman opposite her said.

The lizardman gave Dale a nod and returned to his table.

Wait, Empress? Dale glanced at the table where a blonde haired woman sat. She looked around the room and finally glanced at him. Silver eyes. He looked away. And sat down a few seconds later, not quite stable on his legs.

A waiter appeared a moment later. “Are you alright, sir?”

“Yes. Just. Need a moment to breathe,” Dale said with a genuine smile. He shook his head and started laughing a moment later.

Some people smiled. He didn’t care. “Fucking Lilith.”

“Hush, don’t curse in this company,” Abby said with a warm smile.

“I love you,” he said.

“You always get like this after a dangerous thing happens,” she whispered, a smirk still on her face.

A group of waiters appeared, plates in their hands. One of them tapped a glass. “An improvised addition by the head chef. Crushed velra clam in black powdered halmer shell. The Golden Goose apologizes for the interruption. We hope your experience will not be marred by such an unfortunate display of discourtesy.”

Some approving murmurs went through the room as everyone received their plates.

The next half hour went through without any major events. Until heavy steps came from the stairs.

An ashen form reached the floor, still dripping with bloodied water. She took in a deep breath and sighed. “The Destroyer will no longer interfere. However, I’ve been informed that he has signed up for the main tournament. If any of you were still on the fence, perhaps facing him is worth the trouble. I won’t be participating myself,” she said and tilted her head, hitting the other side to get rid of water in her ear. “I’ll throw in a small favor. If you take him out of the competition. That is all. Enjoy your dinner.”

She walked back down with a bed of ash cleaning up behind her.

Murmurs erupted right after, quite a few people soon talking in excited voices.

“She started something,” Dale said.

“That, she did,” Abby answered and ate a piece of clam.

________________

Edwin stood in front of the painting. People came and went but he couldn’t take his eyes of the canvas.

It depicted a woman clad in ash, wings on her back, resolve in her eyes. She stood atop a monster’s head, enormous black horns growing out of its skull. Sand was all around them. The scale of it all was shocking, displayed in such a lifelike manner he may as well have been there himself. The heat. The anticipation. The magic.

But I wasn’t.

He had been ready to mock the so called gallery. A little girl supposedly the artist. And yet with every piece he laid his eyes on, he felt smaller. More insignificant. He had known her, had he not? The woman depicted in many of these incredible works. Ilea, the healer. He had fought her, had given her pointers. Inexperienced and instinctual she had been, naive and blind to the truth of this world.

He ripped his eyes from the canvas and walked into the next hall. He looked around to see the many visitors commenting on various pieces. Most treated it like some legend, a tale spun by the local bard. He knew the truth. Deep down he knew, that all of this had happened. He grit his teeth and walked to the one person in the room he knew.

“I thought you wanted to sign up for the tournament,” he said, stepping next to the young woman. Why do I even care?

“Doesn’t he look lonely?” Lily asked. She wiped at her face and focused back at the large canvas in front of her.

Edwin looked. A dark castle, covered in snow. Dark clouds seemed to move below, purple light pushing through. The ocean, unending, flowed into the distance, the last light of day coloring the single mountain in an autumn hue. He sighed, finally spotting the single figure standing on the peak, black flails lying in the snow behind him. He was unfocused, a mere smudge in the vastness of the world.

“He’s waiting,” Edwin heard himself say.

“For what?” the girl asked.

For what indeed.