Largin took a deep breath as he proceeded to speak in front of the large audience in the hall
“ Evening, my fellow citizens of Kaigran. We have come a long way since the founding of the nation by the first Head Contractor, Issuhcus Chivesker. Since then, Kaigran has groomed many capable and charismatic Contractors that succeeded his legacy and I am sure that he too would’ve been proud with the rich history that our nation has today.
We have continued to uphold good ties with our neighbouring country, Altria and both countries have definitely benefitted from the relationship. They have continued to aid us with their advanced magical expertise in exchange for the blessed soils from Kaigran.
However, as peaceful and prosperous Kaigran may seem, we must still be vigilant against malicious external adversaries. The Council has captured a prisoner recently who seemed to be after the Pieces of Issyria. He is being detained and monitored in the high alert prison as we continue to interrogate him to find out his true motives and objectives. The Council suspects that he is from the Nation of Xebaia which was recently said to be taken over by a new ruler.
Moving on, tonight marks the last night for me, Largin Chivesker, as the 19th Head Contractor of Kaigran. I am honoured to have worked together with remarkable and selfless individuals during my time as Head Contractor. As of tonight, I shall be succeeded by the 20th Head Contractor of Kaigran, Jeph Chivesker!”
A thundering applause filled the grand hall as Largin finished his speech. Jeph then appeared on stage as he walked with confidence towards Largin. Then, he went down on one knee as Largin downed the cape of Kaigran, a fabric bestowed only to Head Contractors, onto Jeph’s robes. Once the cape was equipped on Jeph, he rose to his feet as the audience continued to cheer for their newly appointed Head Contractor. Largin then continued on with his speech,
“ And now, I shall proclaim Jeph Chivesker as th-“
Amidst the coronation and cheering going on, Jeph caught a glimpse of something shiny flying towards the top windows of the hall from the corner of his eye.
“Largin! Watch Out!” yelled Jeph as he instinctively pushed his brother away from the path of the flying trajectory. All of a sudden, the cheers of excitement changed to screams of horror that sharp object pierced through the top windows of the hall, causing the broken shards of glass to fall onto the audience below.
“Wha-“ Largin was confused from the disturbance from the crowd. He turned his head and noticed some of the audience running from the glass debris while others were fixated on the stage. Their eyes and mouth wide open as they seem to be staring at something in disbelief. He then turned his attention back to Jeph and a cold chill ran down his spine when he saw his brother again.
On the stage was Jeph who was impaled by a spear in his left chest. He yelled out in pain as he collapsed onto the floor. Blood from his wound started to stain his shirt and trickle down his robes. The hall erupted into chaos as a certain sound of a bell chime started to fill the air.
“It’s the Bell tower. Kaigran’s in danger!” thought Abner to himself. Abner was well aware of Bell tower, an iconic landmark in the town plaza. The Bell tower is known to play a certain melody every 6 hours on a daily basis. However, it plays a different sound when Kaigran is under attack to notify the citizens of the danger as well.
“W-Where are the guards? “ Eiya started to look around frantically. An unexpected explosion then crashed through one of the walls of the grand hall.
“Ahh crap, we missed Largin. We’ll settle for Jeph then. Your security is pretty weak these days, Council of Kaigran. Now, it’s time we set up the stage of your deaths!” said a menacing voice that came from the explosion. Amidst the debris were a few silhouettes that started to walk into the grand hall from the cracked wall.
“ Who are you people?! ” shouted Largin as he tried to maintain his composure while tending to the severely wounded Jeph.
“ Materialize, Mesylrius!” Zevra, one of the Council members materialized her spiritual weapon to engage the unwelcomed visitors. She was soon holding twin blades, each blade had a large mythical leaf engraved at the large tip of each sword. Royal blue magical fabric could be seen flowing from the engraved leaves around the swords.
Zevra charged at one of the enemy with a huge body physique who was trying to attack Largin. Out of everyone’s surprise, the enemy stopped her sword barehanded.
“What?!” Zevra’s eyes widened as she was caught offguard, unable to comprehend the enemy’s powers.
“ Tch- Materialize, Dragonblague!”
The spiritual weapon that gained so much fame the past 20 years appeared in Largin’s hand as he tried to provide Zevra with backup. The huge greatsword had a broad and spiky hilt with a bizzare design but Largin wielded it skilfully with his arm.
Just as he was about to head towards Zevra, one of the enemy tried to attack him from behind. However, Largin’s senses were sharp and he intercepted the blow with ease. While her comrade was distracting Largin, one of the assasins sneaked towards Jeph and forcefully pull out the spear from his chest as he screamed out in agony. The female assassin then threw the bloodied spear towards what appears to be the leader of the group while dodging an attack from one of the members of the Council.
“Landon, the spear!” shouted the female
“ Heh, thanks Sylvia. What are the rest of you doing?! We missed our first target, get the other one!”
All of a sudden, all of the mercenaries had their eyes on Abner and Eiya beneath the stage.
“I’m your opponent. Where do u think you’re looking at, scum?” threatened Largin.
“Dragon Arts: Dragon Ignition!” A huge head of a dragon engulfed in dark miasma was emitted from a single swing from Largin’s dragonblague. The large source of enery rushed towards the enemy group as they defended the attack with all their might.
The fierce attack left the stage in shambles and severely injured most of the enemy group. Nevertheless, they struggled back to their feet as they seem to be buying time for their leader who is apparently called Landon.
*Huff* “ Thanks guys,” *huff* ”it’s done”
Landon appeared to be in pain as he commanded them. After looking carefully, it seemed that he had pierced himself with the spear that had previously impaled Jeph. The spear then started to slowly fade away from his body and soon vanished without a trace.
The members of the Council stared in bewilderment from the scene as they tried to figure out what the enemy had up their sleeves.
“What is he doing…he stabbed himself with it?”
“They are up to something…Be on your guards as they are strong”
The members of the Council tried to regroup and think about their next move on the scene. One of them hurried over to Jeph to check on his condition.
“He’s severely injured. He needs treatment as soon as possible!”
“Holding them off takes priority for now. They are strong and I doubt we can escape with an incapacitated Jeph unscathed.” reasoned Largin as he assumed his role of Head Contractor once again in this dire situation.
“As of now, one thing I am certain is that they are also after Abner and Eiya. We can’t afford to put them in even more danger. I will open the gates to the dragon realm for them to escape. We should then be able to defend Kaigran better with them safe and sound” said Largin as he started to channel energy to his spiritual weapon.
“But, what about you, dad? And the Council?”
“Abner, please understand the situation we’re in right now. Ensuring the safety of you and Eiya takes priority for now.”
Largin started to swing dragonblague in a circular movement and a dimension gate soon appeared in front of him
“Oh, you’re not getting away!” shouted Landon as he seemed to be equipped with some knucklers emitting some static as his spiritual weapon.
“What?! That’s Jeph’s weapon!” exclaimed Largin as he dodged the attack.
“Dad!”
“There’s no time left, hurry into the gate you two!”
With tears in her eyes, Eiya reluctantly grabbed Abner’s hand and dragged him into the portal. Abner caught the final glimpse of his dad and the Council engage the unknown enemy as the gates slowly started to close.
