Aono struggled to push through the thicket of bushes and tall grass, twigs and the like sticking out of her hair, her glasses cracked down the middle and taped crookedly.
"Ha…. Haaaa... I-I made it! And I'm finally relieved of those blasted followers of mine! Freedom at last to fulfill my true destiny!" she shouted, jostling her clothes back into place as she tumbled out of the bush falling face-first into the snow.
"Ahh!!! Why is it so cold!?" she screamed, "No! I can't think about that, where did that bus go?!"
Aono had somehow made it all the way from Japan to the United States. Her journey was perilous and well. Very lucky to say the least. She had hitched a ride on a small raft from Japan traveling over the Pacific Ocean which was now several times bigger and many more times dangerous.
Thankfully for her, she had met a sailor of sorts. Or well, Pirates that helped her instead of robbing her. They had a large ship that was more a malformation of a ship if she had to say. Combining several ships together in a very waterworld-like creation.
After some bargaining and desperate pleas she was allowed to be let off on the coast of San Fran, or what was left of San Fran.
From there she had rapidly traveled the length of the States, unfortunately not by choice, at least not choice of travel.
On the port of the States, she was snatched up by a large bird she had no idea what was, that had apparently been traveling East. From there she was only a few hours in the air before the bird was shot down by something and to her surprise not only did she survive the several hundred-foot fall, but she was now on the east coast of the states.
After more negotiation with several vagrants and some officials who seemed to be establishing a government or reviving it, she was allowed to accompany them upwards to where her, 'Drake-dar' was pointing her.
Another few hours later she received a notification like the rest of the people in the world.
[The Second Honing Crystal has been placed by Drake Wallen - The Patriarch Asuran, The Tyrant, 167 hours until completion]
Aono's eyes shone like stars, seeing the name of her Knight after so long. Squealing like a little fangirl in the Humvee almost forcing the driver to swerve off the road the pitch was so high.
That was where her luck ran out. They had kicked her out of the Humvee for her disturbance. Something about official business needing tending to and that she was a liability to security from there on out as well as a clear occupational hazard if she continued to rant about how great Drake was to them.
This left her where she was now. Lead by her nose and 'Drake-dar' she was forced to walk to her destination.
Meandering through the city she had landed in she was told of the escapades of her knight.
"I wish I could have seen the whole thing at the system center…" she lamented as she picked herself out of the snow and trudged forward, "My Knight has learned quite a few new tricks! That spell! Was such beauty, as if sculpted by a god!"
She then snickered to herself, "Well, it was sculpted by a god… My god! The dazzling God! Mwahahahaha!!!!"
Coughing to herself she continued forward, her eyes peeled looking out for the buses that her knight had used to procure the orphaned children in his city.
"Ah! So compassionate! So daring! So Elegant!! Does my Dazzling Knight know no bounds to the human emotion?!"
Aono suddenly felt a disturbance in the Drake-force her head snapping to the side, her nose lifting slightly upwards as she took in a deep breath.
"Kagu Kagu… Kagu Kagu… Hmm, he has fixed his electrolyte problem… He is getting quite a lot of protein lately and… Oh naughty naughty, he is eating a fair amount of sugar! And what is this? A-Arousal?!"
Aono's eyes bulged and filled with blood as they reddened.
"Why would he be?! I must know! I can not miss a moment more!"
Like a hunting dog that had found the scent, Aono dropped to all fours galloping through the snow and grass in the direction of Drake.
The bus coming into view in the distance above the grass she swerved making for the treeline.
Plastered as tightly as she could to the tree she looked out for her knight. But to her disappointment, he was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he…" she whispered, "I see the buses but where is my Dazzling inspiration?!"
Lamenting the absence of her target, Aono whimpered slightly as she pulled out a holographic card, looking at it fondly as she caressed it.
Yes, in her hand was her greatest creation. The Dazzling God dispelling the world of the worthless Ant with a bow and arrow of pure magical brilliance.
She drooled slightly as she rubbed her cheek against it, "Haha..Hahaha… Do not worry your grace… I will be there to document your every moment soon enough!"
Her head whipped to the sound of the buses being lifted and moved. Instinctively she began her chase. After a few brief minutes and her lungs burning with fire as white-hot as her ambition to her Knight she fell to her knees outside of a small village.
Aono dropped the to ground on her knees only for a hand of green to come into her view.
She looked up to see an Orc offering a hand to her.
"With others? This way by order of Patriarch."
Aono didn't hesitate to nod and be brought to the 'others' of the group.
She quickly slipped into the crowd once there and searched for her Knight.
Within seconds she spotted him, staying a distance away enough to hear him.
"Keep your eyes on the sky," Drake said before raising himself into the air a moment later.
Sky? Aono thought following Drake's person into the air, her eyes widening at the sight of the massive bird that was blocking the snow from falling.
"It is a sky battle?! And so soon?! Magnificent!" she shouted, people turning to her puzzled, some children pointing at her whispering things like 'crazy, funny old lady, weirdo,' but she cared not.
For Aono, she was so pleased with what she anticipated to witness everything else was mute.
She looked on, Drake beginning his fight by cycling through his skills for defense.
"Precautious as ever… Such diligence!" she murmured her hand plucking the mana stylus from the air as her Mana Paper materialized in front of her.
Drake then rushed forward disappearing for a moment before a thunderous boom rang out.
"Such speed! Once again he has become faster! My feeble eyes could not even follow it!" she squealed.
Drake began bombarding the bird with spells Aono had not seen before. He went back and forth striking and dodging, not allowing the monstrous bird to retaliate in any way.
"Such one-sided tyranny! I can not believe… I can not believe how... How wondrous! Ahhh! My dazzling knight will not even allow such an insignificant threat to tread near the ones he is sworn to protect, will he? Magnificent!" Aono howled, her hand moving with such speed as she scribed down the slightly embellished recording of the event.
Finally, the sound of screeching reached everyone's ears as their heads snapped to the sound, dozens of black dots coming closer, molding into new monsters.
"Reinforcements?!" Aono said almost with smiling, her head returning to following Drake, "What will you do now my wondrous Knight?!"
Drake moved, throwing the larger bird to the lake, splashing the crowd, but Aono's eyes never left her source of elegant inspiration. Drinking in every second of his wonder.
Raising his hand, Aono saw as Drake summoned countless magic circles, more than she had ever witnessed him use before.
"A new level?!"
Soon Drake rose into the air a violet ball of lightning, numerous droplets of water spreading out and finding their way across the sky to the oncoming birds. Each drop glistening in the rays of the sun forming bright beacons in the sky as well as rainbows.
Aono continued to draw, her eyes beginning to water from the beauty.
"I-i… I!!!!" she began mumbling as she drew.
Still mumbling she heard Drake through the noise, forcing her words to get caught up in her throat as she waited on baited breath for his words.
"Die. May the wrath of gods pierce you."
"Megiddo!!"
It was over in an instant, Aono's eyes stretched to their limit to gather as much information as she could, her hands never stopping for a microsecond.
What hit her first was the shockwave of impact from the bolts of lightning hitting their target. A second later the sound of the crackling thunder splitting her eardrums down to their vagus nerve bringing her such euphoric pleasure she hummed with gasps of joy.
Her hand finally finished as she dropped to her knees, a line of drool on the side of her mouth.
"Such…. Wondrous power… My Dazzling Knight…. No! My Dazzling God! You have reached a new plane of existence! I will forever be bound to witness these feats of gruesome unrelenting magnificence!!!!!"
Aono passed out but a moment later, being poked by a stick from the local and orphaned children.
"Haha, she's funny," they laughed in unison, matching each other's thoughts though they could not understand one another yet.
Thank you for reading as always!
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