96. Refusal

No, no way! So many rebels have appeared...! Are the guards off duty?

, Everyone! Don't panic!

We have the Dragon Orchid! And you have me who can manipulate it! No matter how many rebels come, we must not be scared!

Yeah... we still have Lady Raeon!

Long live Lady Raeon! Hoorray!

That's pretty crazy... defusing the chaos so quickly.

...She's lived up to her reputation as the supreme leader of Eastrise. At least her leadership style is good enough.

Humph, that doesn't matter! I only care if she's good at fighting! Now, I'll go and cause her some trouble!

No... wait! Why are you guys here?... What the heck is going on here?

I'm also curious, but there's no time! Now, hurry up and save Awakener and everyone else!

All of you...

(I... almost made an incredibly stupid decision. Obviously, no one here ever thought of giving up...)

(To be honest, I don't know which is the ''right answer''. Perhaps surrendering to Raeon is best for Rayna...)

(But... I want to stay with my friends...)

... Raeon!

What? Are you gonna draw your sword against me? If that's your answer... I'm sorry to hear that.

If you don't pledge your allegiance to me today... I'm gonna make you regret it for the rest of your life!

Now that you've decided to stand against me, I'll use force to make you surrender!

Come on! Warriors! You are the pride of Eastrise! Kill those bastards endangering our country! Kill them all!

Aye, aye! For Eastrise!

Alas... Troopers in high spirits are the hardest. Honestly, I don't want to mess with them.

And we're outnumbered. Things are getting out of control.

Anyway, we have no reason to stay here... Just draw back our forces and wait for the proper moment to retreat.

You're right. Everyone, retreat now!

Now! Everybody retreat!

Oh no, they've run away...!

The enemies have fled the execution site! We'll track them down!

Hum... I'm afraid we can't count on these troopers...

Firentia, go find those bastards. Bring Awakener to me, dead or alive.

... Yes, madam.

Don't let me down... (After a long breath)

... Are you sure about this? We could have knocked them down easily, as long as you use the Dragon Orchid one more time.

... No worries. Let's wait for the good news from Firentia.

(Pff, if those enemies have really escaped, it'd be a shame for not only herself, but also Eastrise.)

(There is no way she was not aware of this risk, but she still let them go, which means...)

(It's not that she ''didn't want to'', but she ''couldn't'' use it. That power is too overwhelming for Raeon, so she can't use it twice in a row... Maybe that's the reason.)

(I can't see any other shortcomings in the Dragon Orchid... Hee... Things are getting funny.)

Um...!

... You're such a tough woman. Most people can barely stand up straight after so many strikes.

It's a matter of life and death for Awakener. I won't give up easily.

Impressed. But now, I'm getting bored of this fight with you... Let's end it!

...!

(No way to escape...!)

... Humph!

Ah...

Sunflower!