" Cough... Cough... "
Cynthia spat out some blood, as she weakly sat on the devastated land around her.
Her clothes were tattered while the bloody injuries on her body were deep and terror inducing.
Her one arm had completely been destroyed, it's mana circuits pulverized, but the good thing was that she had somehow managed to kill the two Stage 4 undeads.
Suddenly she felt the multiple footsteps approaching.
With difficulty, she forced herself to stand up while using her mana to create a red battle robe around herself to cover her exposed skin.
With her illusion ability she then masked majority of her grievous injuries.
Soon, many soldiers in mechas and many civilians holding weapons approached her.
All of them looked powerful and high tech, but each of them had their faces covered in worry.
But, as these people watched the graceful and angelic woman standing before terrifying corpses of Stage 4 undeads, they felt infinite awe towards her.
" T-Those monsters are dead... "
" Oh my God. W-We... We are saved!! "
" She killed them! "
" Godess!! She must be the Godess who descended to save us!! "
Cynthia didn't know who started spouting nonsense first, but she soon found all of these people kneeling before her.
The soldiers who were confused at first also followed soon after, as they kneeled before her in respect and worship.
Cynthia sighed, she knew that her own presence wasn't any less than a divine Godess.
She was already beautiful, but as she Staged up her beauty now had the touch of divine!
She was now far more beautiful and graceful than any mortal.
" Cut the nonsense... What's the situation with evacuation? " Cynthia asked flatly.
One of the soldiers quickly replied, " G-Godess, the evacuation is still going on... Due to that behemoth Whale's surprising under water assault... the underwater tunnel has completely collapsed... Also, we currently don't have enough ships to rescue everyone at once. This has caused major problem as riots are happening everywhere... Godess... Please help- "
" Behemoth Whale!? " Cynthia was irritated, this idiot soldier was taking too many pauses while speaking, so she asked, " Where is it? "
But, next moment she asked this, her pupils dilated in instinctual fear as she felt tremendous pressure on herself.
She looked straight at the soldier who was speaking few moments ago, but now the robust man at stage 1 peak couldn't even move his eye muscles.
Cynthia with trembling gaze turned to the side, there she saw it...
A massive silhouette descending out of clouds...
It was so massive that it masked even the burning sun, throwing the shadow of darkness over the Aquarion.
The creature's expanse seemed like in tens of kilometres or may be even hundreds, as Cynthia with her eyes couldn't even see the end of it in the clouds.
At the same time this massive creature seemed to be looking directly at her.
Through the pressure surrounding her, she could feel its fury.
The Stage 4 undeads she killed were definitely its subordinates and now it was here to take revenge.
Cynthia now regretted it...
She deeply regretted coming here...
This... This monster wasn't something she could fight against...
' No... No human can fight against this thing, ' she realised.
She could feel the massive pressure on her intensifying.
The mana density around her increased, as every other air molecule was destroyed.
It was definitely the work of the massive whale that was targeting her.
The air itself started distorting around her, as the ground beneath her started melting not into liquid but in thin air.
The people who had kneeled before her in worship had longed turned into blood mist and disappeared.
They were dead, leaving behind not even ashes...
But, Cynthia didn't care about them.
' I need to escape... '
She didn't even care about million strong city behind her.
She was kind hearted, not an idiot.
Using every ounce of mana she could muster, she forced herself to fly.
But, the massive monster in the sky didn't have the same idea as her.
Shrieeeekkkkkkkk
The island shuddered, as weak humans died on the spot just because of the monster's shriek.
Cynthia who was in the center of this concentrated mana attack, was forced to the sea.
She couldn't maintain her illusion as her blood flew around like water.
She cried out in pain, understanding this was the end..
At this moment she deeply regretted it...
May be if she had just refused her family and the king, then she wouldn't have to die now...
... Or may be if she had just stayed back at Hiesta city, she would never have been forced here...
" S-Save m-me... I-I beg... "
She pleaded.
[ I remember you saying, you would never give in to me ]
" I-I was wrong... "
[ Stop resisting my mark. I'll handle it from here ]
Cynthia wordlessly used her mana to take out the earring she was wearing, and threw it far away into the ocean.
It was the artifact, she was using to resist the foreign mark that the insidious Player had left in her.
As soon as she did so, she could feel warmth flowing into her body.
[ Tsk. You injured yourself to this degree. You really love to pretend huh ]
The voice in her head spoke, as she completely lost the control over her body.
She didn't resist.
At the same time, Aquarion city was thrown into chaos.
The casualties were staggering.
The protector they had hoped for had fallen, and the unending parasites attacked again.
They were in despair, as they saw the behemoth in the sky above them opening its mouth wide.
A giant beam of pure mana started coagulating in its mouth.
Every human on the island could instinctively feel that this was the end...
The behemoth existence no longer wanted to play with them.
But, before they could breath their final breath, a beam of light shot out from the deep sea.
In just a matter of millisecond, it pierced the massive whale that was flying high in the sky.
The mana it was preparing in its mouth suddenly exploded.
The black blood flew everywhere like rain, as the undead whale started collapsing into the ocean with a pragmatic scream.
The unimaginable weight couldn't be controlled, as a massive tsunami was created as soon as the monster fell into the ocean.
The earth seemed to shake, as all humans in the city looked up at the giant wave of ocean encompassing their eye sight.
" O-Oh my God... "
" N-No... "
" Mommy... Sniff. Sniff... "
They knew that once they were struck by that wave, they won't survive.
Even level 19 humans would most likely be crushed under the weight of that massive wave.
Many closed their eyes giving up on living, while many kept looking at the disastrous monster of nature, while relatives hugged each other for final time....
Crashhhh!
" W-Wait!!! What is that!?? "
" A Shield!? "
" I-Isn't that the Godess! "
" That's really her!!! "
" She's alive! That beam of light must be her doing! "
" We're saved!!! "
The humans saw a small person standing high in the sky, raising her hand towards the huge wave of blue.
The disastrous wave continued for what felt like a long time and finally it subsided!
The figure in the sky, waved her hand and destroyed any secondary waves that could form.
Cynthia who herself saw this scene through her consciousness, was shocked beyond belief.
Even if she was strong and could protect herself easily against this much of a wave, saving a whole island was quite hard for her.
But, the one who was now controlling her body had done so effortlessly.
It was not just about using mana precisely, but also the deep knowledge of dynamics and everything.
But, before she could even think more, the loud shriek from the monster echoed again.
This time obviously there were no casualties on the Aquarion, as the translucent barrier protected the whole city.
At the same time, the massive whale jumped out of the ocean and flew towards the island like a bullet.
Its fish like eyes were filled with hate and fury, as it wanted to destroy the bug that had harmed it.
Even while splattering black blood throughout the ocean, the whale appeared before Aquarion just in a second.
Every human saw this terrifying monstrosity upclose.
Its mouth was kilometers long, and as it opened its gigantic jaw they could see counless mountain like teeths along with millions of more parasites.
" T-That thing... "
" I-I can't even see it's ends... "
" C-Can the Godess really defeat it... "
But, as the monster bit down on the translucent barrier, the crunch sound echoed.
Instead of barrier, the teeths of the massive beast broke down and melted like ice.
The figure high in the sky moved her hand again, the massive amount of mana contacted around the miles long beast.
Cynthia who had seen this before knew what it was.
' A mana cage... '
[ Seems you remember. But, that time i didn't even use 1% of your mana... Let me show you what happens when I'm serious ]
The undead beast shrieked again, this time in pain and fear.
It tried to escape, but felt that its million ton body was too heavy for it move now.
Shirekkkkkkkk
It shrieked again, as it felt the sharp force against its body.
The unknown cage started contracting around it mercilessly.
Instinctively it started using the reserve of mana it had in its body, but before it could even use it it felt the mana disappearing in the cage around it.
[ Just a little trick and it can't even use its own Mana. Without Mana it's just a tough skinned 100kms long beast. Nothing extraordinary ]
As the voice spoke, Cynthia finally understood the huge gulf of difference between herself and this Player.
Just like those mortals down on the land, she also watched as the massive monster that killed millions till now was slowly whisked out of its life.
When the monster finally disappeared, the survivors in city cheered.
Without hesitation now they kneeled in worship before the Godly figure that had saved them.
Back in the time, after two days passed from the situation, the ministers of the city that had fled started returning one by one to take their positions.
Cynthia who was reminiscing about yesterday, along the shores was told about this by her bodyguard or more likely assistant Alsa.
" I'll return to Capital soon, for now let's meet with these deserters, " Cynthia spoke.
" Yes, my lady- Ah, " Alsa nodded respectfully, but let out a charming surprised voice when Cynthia pulled her up in the sky along with her.
" You should feel honored. It's not everyday that I let someone fly with me, " Alsa heard Cynthia's melodic voice in her hear, which helped her calm down quickly.
She was someone who had been trained from young age to serve as a loyal servant of Royal Family Members, so her adaptability and abilities were outstanding.
As soon as they approached Governor's mansion, she skillfully jumped down to the ground.
" Hmm. That's a nice posture. You should tell me how you do that later on, " Cynthia said watching the graceful movement Alsa had made midair.
Alsa was surprised by weird interest from her lady, but she nodded, " I had training in acrobatics. But, with my lady's talent, you should be able to do such manuvers easily. "
" Fufu, you'll have to teach me that later on, " Cynthia sweetly smiled and waved her hand to let Alsa follow her.
She soon reached the meeting Hall, where all ministers were waiting.
The door was guarded by two military soldiers, who were both at Stage 2.
' These people really are farming Players. '
The door was opened by them quickly, as these trained soldiers didn't even look up at her.
Inside 11 ministers of the Aquarion city were sitting around the round table.
Seeing Cynthia they all put on a fawning smile and stood up.
" Our humblest Welcomes to the Respected Royal Consort, we were all just waiting for you. "
" Please have a seat, " The man at the main seat stood up with a fawning smile motioning Cynthia to take the second highest seat.
" What a fool. "
Cynthia snorted, waving her hand arrogantly she threw away the smiling man who brushed away like a paper and broke through the large window behind and fell down.
His condition unknown.
The silence pervaded in the meeting Hall after this moment, as everyone was stunned.
But, no one moved as only the rhythmic sound of Cynthia's high heels echoed before she sat down on the main seat and crossed her legs.
Her seat slowly levitated up, reaching certain height, as she could now look down on everyone like she was the recent and these all were her unworthy subjects.
" I don't need a welcome in my own house. Or are there anyone else who want to join the idiot outside? " Cynthia domineeringly asked.
Her voice laced with mana, left a strong impression on everyone making them shiver in their seats.
Alsa was also shocked, as she looked at the arrogant expression on Cynthia's face.
She didn't know this side of her lady, as she had always found her approachable, kind and friendly but current her was was completely different and... Sexy.
No one dared to say out of line, as smart ones now finally understood why the Rumble Rutherford was not here with them and had only sent a son of his as the representative.
" Consort Cynthia, The one who you just threw out was the son of the Governor Rutherford! Also, the brother of esteemed Queen Seraile Albigion who is the part of the Royal Family! If you don't give a proper explanation now, your actions can equal to rebelling! "
One of the ministers quickly stood up, he was the strong supporter of Rumble Rutherford as Governor.
Cynthia looked at the man with smile, the smile which sent a chill down his spine.
But, still the man was also a stench politician, he didn't buckle down.
So, Cynthia said, " This is not rebellion, I'm just taking care of a traitor who threw away his responsibility and ran away like rat... But, as much as I remember, he was not the only one who ran away like a rat. "
Cynthia's voice bore down into these people's ears, as they understood that they will be having a similar situation happening with them soon.
" We didn't run away. It was just a strategic escape. We even sent back our ships and private armies to help as many people as possible escape from the island that was bound to sink. Please don't think ill of us, " Another politician spoke with helpless and harmed face.
" Yes. In the retreat someone had to escape first. We were just those who did that along with the talented individuals, strategic resources and confidential information that couldn't be lost. Lady Cynthia has to understand that what we did was just for a greater good. "
Another elderly woman with gentle demeanor spoke from the side.
" Even now we're back here not due to our greed, but for the sake of common people on this city. Each of the ministers here represent an individual force that's still standing in the Albigion, we're literally the lifeline of the Aquarion. Otherwise from where would the million strong city be provided with resources needed to run it... "
One by one all 11 ministers spoke different reasons and philosophies.
Each one had something new and mind-blowing to speak which sounded extraordinarily spotless and completely perfect, yet endlessly morally kidnapping.
Even Cynthia who was sitting high up couldn't keep straight face, as she started doubting whether she was really in the wrong and these people were right.
[ Sigh, in the end you're too young and still don't understand. Out of 20 ministers only 11 have returned. And all of these are just secondary seat holders from same backgrounds. Real power holders haven't even shown up. Besides, you might not have checked the database but I did. The Aquarion city itself is self-sufficient to provide for the current population and can even take some more in. These people are total scumbags trying to guilt-trap you ]
Cynthia was suddenly rescued from her stupor, as she heard the voice in mind that had disappeared for some time.
As she was feeling confused before, now she completely understood the situation.
But, still she couldn't make a proper decision.
' What should I do now? '
[ Sigh. If you didn't like to pretend day in and day night this would have never happened. There is not even a need to let them speak nonsense. You're the one who they need not the other way around. ]
' W-Who likes to pretend!? I just wanted to hear out their side of story... '
[ Whatever you decide to think, though I really like this clueless you who tries to act smart but then runs back to me like little girl coming to her daddy ]
' Bastard! If you speak less. No one will think you're mute, ' Cynthia's face turned beet red.
But, the ministers beneath her couldn't hear the monologue between the couple, and thought that they had completely pissed off Cynthia to the point she was fuming from her ear and nose.
They now no longer could muster their words, as real fear started accumulating as Cynthia kept her silence.
Finally, after few minutes Cynthia who looked beyond furious looked down at them with regal aura.
" How Traitorous. Even after betraying the human race itself by running away at the moment of need. You people have mind to righteously defend yourself? Pathetic. "
" Because of you leaving the highest command, uncountable commoners died not due to undeads but due to riots and internal strife. Your lack of management one thing, you even escaped faster than Royal rescue could come that also after providing incorrect information.... "
Without stopping Cynthia listed out tons of more crimes which weren't even done by these poor ministers.
Only then did she finally feel like she had vented enough, and then threw out a final decree.
" Label these traitorous bastards as traitors of human kind. Take them away. Tomorrow on first light they will all be executed before the survivors they have wronged! "
As soon as Cynthia spoke, Alsa moved and subdued two Stage 2 guards and soon more people at Stage 1 peak entered.
These were all Cynthia's loyalists, they quickly apprehended these ministers.
" Stop! You can't kill us ministers! If we die you'll loose control over majority of facilities in the city! "
" The central AI won't recognize you, unless we name you as Governor! "
Cynthia narrowed her eyes in confusion, " Central AI? You mean this? "
A smoking hot holographic female figure appeared besides her and bowed, " Greetings Governor Cynthia, what can I do for you? "
Her emotionless voice sent the chill down these minister's spine.
" H-How?! You can't change the Central AI's settings unless majority of ministers vote! Not even Governor can appoint another Governor! "
Cynthia was also confused, as yesterday she had just gotten this AI calling her Governor.
[ It's obviously because I hacked into it and gave you the highest authority in it ]
' Really? '
[ ... No. 2nd highest, since as your husband my authority should be obviously higher right? ]
' Shut up! '
Taking Cynthia's silence as disinterest, her loyalists quickly took away ministers even before she could vent, leaving her in frustration.
Only Alsa who was left behind and was in complete awe of her Lady's Charishma couldn't help but be surprised to see her Lady stomping on air and then sitting down on her chair with folded hands.
' My Lady looks frustrated... I wonder why, ' Alsa curiously thought, as she closed the main door and like a loyal servant waited outside.
After how gracefully and confidently Cynthia had handled the situation just now, Alsa's respect for her had increased even more.
She couldn't help but feel, that her Lady was simply a role model for all womenkind!