Where The Dead Ones Go Book 2 -Republic-

Chapter 20

And together with Morris, the voice took us to a place that seems to be within the realm of dreams...

"Morris, do you remember what they are?"

Dozens of steel birds zoomed above us as we stand in the middle of a large meadow under the blue skies.

"Yes! They are the jet fighters of the empire and part of the Imperial Air Force directly under the empress!"

"How about them?"

Gigantic and slow-moving balloon-like monstrosities suddenly filled the skies by the hundreds...

"Airship bombers of the Imperial Air Force! Gods, I almost forgot how many they are!"

The scenery changed, and we are warped to the beautiful white beach gazing across the vast expanse of the oceans as hundreds of steel fishes sail passed us and began firing burning balls from their cannons in quick successions.

"The battleships of the Imperial Naval Force! With their help, we have secured the waters around the continent from monsters!"

And finally, we are teleported to farmlands filled with rice and wheat. Still, to our surprise, a horde of metal vehicles burst out of the nearby forest and began moving across the fields, firing similar burning balls from their cannons as they march through the vast open farmlands.

"Battle tanks of the Imperial Land Force! A single shot from their cannons can pulverize a chimera!"

And then we are back at the town of Elysian right in front of the fountain where a familiar boy wearing a white tank top and black boxer shorts appeared with his back facing us as he looked above the blue skies.

"So you have remembered them, Morris..."

"Remembered?! I dreamed of joining them after I graduate. But I guess it is all a dream now, huh?"

He shook his head when he heard what my cousin said, "So what if it's a dream? Does it have to stay a dream? Or will you work for it to make it come true?"

"The empire is no more, all of you showed us are nothing more than the memories of the past Golden Age..."

To our surprise, he summoned two majestic silver wings from his back, "So what if the empire is no more? Just because they are gone, does it mean they are no longer existing?"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked carefully that made him chuckle as he raised his right hand and reach for the skies above.

"That nothing is impossible in the future. If you hope for something and work for it, then everything, anything is possible. Isn't that right, Vivet?"

Everything became hazy again as he started to blur out of existence, "Wait!"

"The future doesn't wait for anyone, Vivet. I already showed you how it is up to you to finish the job and show the mortals the Golden Age wonders back when their ancestors believed in everything and hope for the bright tomorrow full of infinite possibilities. Make them remember the hope they left behind and the grandeur of the ages past..."

And then everything faded to black, and when I blinked again, I am back inside my protective barrier that is about to be broken by the relentless assault of my enemies from below.

"Dreams they may be, it doesn't mean that they have to stay that way forever. After all, every wonder of the Golden Age started from mere dreams of the hopefuls..."

"The impressive defense of the daughter of Elpis is showing cracks! Is this the end for her and the Auxiliary Class, folks?!"

"Vivet..."

"I finally realized, Morris..."

"Surprisingly, I as well, Vivet."

"We can dream even if we are awake!"

"Then show me! Show me the future, Vivet!"

I summoned all of my power in my heart and personally shatter my defense in defiance.

"Elpis: Imperial Palace!"

And from my wings appeared millions upon millions of mayflies made of light and created the structure I summoned back at the republic.

But this time, it is floating in midair, and the spectators stood up in awe as they saw the marvelous and shining floating palace in the sky made of my white light.

It is not just made of radiance but also surprisingly material and stable as I landed on the grand balcony at the highest floor of the palace and looked down upon my enemies.

"As you have kindly offered me a chance earlier, then I will do the same. Surrender and none will be harmed, continue your hostilities, then I will be forced to retaliate..."

I then raised my staff and remembered the dream the boy showed us, and my heart was filled with pride all of a sudden.

"Elpis: Imperial Armada!"

And from the light of my mayflies, they flew towards the heavens and exploded into a bright explosion that scattered glowing dust motes that formed the vestiges of the lost age.

From behind me comes hundreds of airship bombers escorted by dozens of jet fighters of the Imperial Air Force making a flyby above the stadium. A fleet of battleships from the Imperial Naval Force appeared in the skies and sailing slowly on my right and training its cannons downwards to my enemies.

Three columns of tanks from the Imperial Land Forces appeared beneath me and tread ever so near my opponents.

"Don't be scared! This is nothing but sparkling dust!"

"An illusion at best!"

"You can't fool us!"

"Resume attacking!"

"She is just one!"

"Glory to the one who finishes her!"

So, in the end, they choose to resist.

So be it...

"Then, the might of the empire falls upon you!" I shouted as I pointed my staff at my enemies, and if this was a real battle, then I think I would have committed a m******e.

The airships began dropping bombs after bombs at the battlefield and even outside the colosseum that made the spectators scream in fear as the jet fighters rain down countless explosives that saturated the ground below me.

My battleships opened fired and began shelling the field with impunity as the tanks below formed a wall and began moving forward with their cannons firing mercilessly as I stood from my palace, watching the sheer destruction done by my forces.

This is what my mother means by anything.

That hope can be everything one's heart's desire.

As her daughter, I can make my own dreams into reality, not just for myself but also for my enemies.

If I can defend those dear to me, then it is only natural that I can also attack in their name.

Then I hear again in my mind the words that the daughter of the goddess of discord left me after she trained me mercilessly...

"There is no such thing as half-baked, Vivet. If you want them to respect and take you seriously, you have to beat anyone who stands in your way without mercy to get your point across. Pound it in their mind and hearts that you are not someone they will ever dare to cross. That's how you gain confidence and grace under pressure. After all, how can others see you as a confident and graceful lady like me if you don't show them that you have what it takes to be respected?"

So I didn't stop the bombardment, not until I heard the last scream of pain from my enemies.

They made their decision, now they must face the consequences of their folly...

My friends are counting on me to make this a win without question.

A victory so clean and absolute, they will have no choice but to acknowledge our superiority.

That no matter how they scheme and bully us around with their unfair tactics, we will still prevail.

When I don't hear and see any screams and movements below me. I raised my left hand, and the shelling has stopped at once.

I waited a few seconds as the dust settles, and I saw twelve unconscious bodies lying scattered on the battlefield.

The gong was sounded, and the battle and competition are over.

"In the end, all lost before the Auxiliary Class!"

I shouted those words, and my classmates below rejoiced as the spectators stood up and clapped their hands respectfully as I willed my armada to dissipate into countless dustmotes and my palace.

"The Hellenic Elemental Cup is over! The victory goes to the Auxiliary Class, who managed to win all their battles without fail! There is no question now that the Auxiliary Class reigns supreme against overwhelming odds!"

The crowd cheered for us all as the other sections just look at our class in awe as if they can't believe that we managed to triumph against all their underhanded schemes against us.

"Vivet! You did it! We did it! We won!"

I heard Morris's thoughts in my head as I saw through his mind's eye, our crying classmates, as they happily congratulate each other.

"Morris, I am..."

I didn't manage to continue what I am about to think as I blacked out and started to fall.

It seems that when I used that much power, it is only natural that I will have to pay for its return.

"No! Vivet! Zenith, Avesa, Taurei!"

"Damn it all! We wouldn't be able to make it!"

"Vivet!"

I plummeted to the ground head first, and I can't do anything about it, so I just closed my eyes and accepted what is going to inevitably happen.

At least I managed to help my friends win, and I didn't become the reason they lost.

They won, and that's enough...

I'm falling for a few seconds and then suddenly, it stopped...

I opened my eyes, and I can see the night skies full of stars above.

What happened?

"Do you have this weird habit of falling from the skies?"

I blinked as I heard a familiar annoying voice, and I looked on my left, and I saw him.

"You..."

"Seriously, you are flying above a palace laying siege below, and the next second you are falling down headfirst!"

"What are you doing here?"

He heaved a sigh and smile at me, sweetly, "Catching you, of course."

-0-

"We managed to even bag the Best Fighter Award and another Five Million Drachmas!" Syden said happily as he asked Taurei to pass on the ketchup, "That's what? A total of Fifteen Million?"

As she happily hugs Athena's daughter, our class president nodded, being spoonfed by Avesa, "All thanks to my vice president! Did I just say, "my"? Yes, "my" second. Way to go!"

"Looks like Eonia is in a great mood tonight, huh?" Hera's daughter asked as she wiped the spaghetti sauce from Gala's mouth, "Well, I can't blame her. Her class just proves itself superior in any way without question, and her vice president is the hands down the best combatant. Need her to say more when it comes to the question of who is the best class president?"

"I still don't think I should keep the glory to myself, Avesa. You are the one who gave me all the opportunities and chance to prove myself in battle," Gala said humbly as she smiled at the High Priestess who is taking care of her as she cannot even move her hands.

"Nonsense, I am only following your orders and strategies to the letter! Now, just keep on eating and leave everything to me!"

Zenith grinned at us all as he winked at our class leaders, "Nice one, you two. They are absolutely fooled, tooled, and totally played on the palm of your hands."

"I know they are listening on our conversation back at the briefing room, so we have to make them believe that we are trying to shield our weakest players by pushing you and Vaski to the first phase," Gala said simply as she nods at Eonia to continue.

"Which they immediately fell for by sending their weakest fighters first to face our first to the third phase. They repeatedly try to change the rules of competition, just the way we expected them to do. By constantly shifting the flow of battles, we are easily manipulating how they send their representatives that are easiest to be defeated by the team that we already assemble beforehand and armed with pre-prepared tactics. Unlike them who just trying to use their numbers to brute force their opposition."

Narcine however, looked at Avesa and Gala as she slowly shook her head, "I am honestly worried about the battle against Apollo and Artemis's scions."

"While I didn't plan to be this injured, everything just went according to my strategy. By instructing Avesa to loudly state that she is near-useless in battle and needs to be ignored. We already planted a seed of thought that they won't have to pay attention to her at all."

Avesa nodded at her partner and sighed, "Indeed. I sent a single cow of mine knowing full well that it wouldn't stand a chance anyway, but Gala instructed me to do it anyways to drive home the point that I am easily defeated, and they need to pay attention more to her. Thanks to that, and also the powerful aegis, I managed to peacefully charge all of the energy I needed to unleash mother's wrath in peace."

"And I finally know why Zeus himself is afraid of his queen," Vaski said matter-of-factly after he swallowed a helping of ice cream, "The winds you summoned by incantation is already an invocation level, and that stampede is hands-down second only to Vivet's."

"I hope you have enough arrows..."

Everyone burst out laughing when I imitated Avesa's sarcastic remark.

"Just keep your best bud in a tight leash, Taurei," Rebie warned at the friend who is sitting beside the son of Koalemos, "I bet I fear him more than they fear Vivet or Morris."

We all fell into silence as we looked at the most dangerous part of our class who just smiled lopsidedly and shook his head, "What? I am tame compared to the one who will supposedly "reap" souls to offer to the god of death or to the one who didn't stop bombarding her enemies until she is satisfied."

Estelle pinched his cheeks fondly, "You can be so cute in a maniacal kind of way, Syden. Now, I think I will have a hard time finding a pair for you, hmm."

"But really, I'm sorry. It's just, I can't help it. When I was about to be rolled-over, I just thought that I can't be the one who will bring you all down. So I just thought, oh well, as long as we win, the means will not matter anymore."

Taurei put his arm on his shoulder and shakes it a little, "Hey, at least I managed to stop you from destroying that poor guy's mind. Just don't do it again, all right?"

"I won't, I swear. To hear your shriek right next to my ears is enough to last a lifetime, almost."

We laughed again as I took a deep breath and looked around me contentedly.