THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

Three days later, the mortars are finally in place. In fact, they are so close to the dome that they can't fire a single round, or so I think. The Longinus' number has diminished as well. Maybe that's why the commander and Frankher decided to bring the mortars so close to the dome. 

"Kriekk!" 

"Hey, don't they look tired?" 

"What?" What kind of questions is that, Willhem? 

"I mean, they aren't fighting with the same energy they show usually. So I was thinking that maybe they are tired of this as well." 

"Can they even get tired?" I mean, the vanguard and dalls have turned this place into a mess, stealing the life force from everything they touch.

There are a lot of trees that have turned white and scatter to ashes with the wind because of them and even the ground is grey in a lot of places. All that energy they have stolen is supposed to go to the other Longinus so I don't think they would be tired even if they wanted to.. 

"Kriekk…" A sloin attacks me but indeed, as Willhem said, its attack is weak enough for me not to block it. He barely manages to scratch my armor and doesn't even follow after that.

"What are you doing?!!" Stephan who observed the scene runs to me while screaming and destroys the sloin's head like a watermelon. "Are you crazy? Why didn't you-"

"There is a problem." 

Looking around, I notice now that all the Longinus are gradually slower. Some of them even stop moving completely and just stand in place. 

"W-what is happening?" 

"The saintess is here?" No, I don't think so, Willhem. Even when she used her scripts, I never saw them acting like this.

"Hurry up and kill them while they are like this!!" 

Somebody's command brings us back to reality and the bewildered soldiers restart attacking with even more enthusiasm. Everything is rapidly cleaned up and there are no Longinus standing anywhere after a few minutes. 

"We have done it!!" 

"Huff…Huff… Victory is ours!!" 

"Hooray for the eternal army!!" 

They start celebrating like crazy and their screams resound everywhere. But this…This is weird. Seeing Willhem's expression, I know that I am right. This is not the time to celebrate. As if to answer me, the dome suddenly disappears. It simply vanished like it was never there, to begin with. And just like that, Titan appears before us. It hasn't been touched in the slightest. All the buildings of the city look clean and sparkling. Is this an illusion of some sort?

"W-what is happening?" 

"Was there a team inside?" 

"I don't-I don't know. Maybe." 

While the soldiers are surprised and wondering what to do, I focus on the presence coming in front of us. There is something coming with six crystals inside him. This is going to be extra hard.

"Willhem, be careful. Something is coming and it is really powerful." 

"I know. I can feel my skin crawling with fear already."

"Grrr!!" Even K'nor is already on guard even though that presence is still far enough from us. 

Some of the soldiers seem to feel it as well. They are trying to prepare as much as they can but most of them can't stop their trembling bodies. 

Finally, a man appears at the city's entrance. He is alone and wearing an impressive armor. His hands are especially and amazingly threatening. They are designed with precision and there is a small stick going above the elbow area that has a battering ram. 

"The hammer hands…" Willhem seems to know him. 

"Are you sure, Willhem?" 

"There is only one man who has ever had those on his arms." 

"I see." So that's him. But where is Thando? I can't see nor feel any other Longinus around. This doesn't look like a trap. 

As we are all looking at him, the hammer hands's helmet opens like an orange which opened from the rear and lets his head appears. 

"Sinners." He lets out his voice and the power behind it makes the air vibrates a little. I am sure I won't be exaggerating if I say that right now, this guy is stronger than the heroes, stronger than Tatiana even. 

"Grrr!!" K'nor's fur raises all around his body after that.

"Did you enjoy it? Striking and taking of those who couldn't defend themselves? Did you enjoy the feeling of power you had while stripping them of the little they had left?" 

So, he is the cause behind why those Longinus stopped moving? What was that for?

"Dalisto Ozuma Kossi!" The commander steps forward among the soldiers. He is riding a brown and white horse that is wearing the same colored armor as him. "You are accused of instigating a rebellion against Titanium and the church! Killing thousands of innocent people and worst of all, siding with the-"

"Silence, sinner." At those words, the commander's head disappeared. Then a loud noise resounds. By the time I turn my head to look at the hammer hands, the only thing I see is the battering ram of his left hand going back to its place. 

"Commander!!!" 

A lot of soldiers finally release their voices and it breaks the dead silence that the hammer hands brought with him.

"As I was saying," the guy still continues as if what just happened was just a trifling matter, "for too long have you been enslaving us, torturing, using us as guinea pigs, turning our own children against us. Only for you to say sorry, we were wrong at the end. Did you think it would erase the centuries of suffering we went through? Did you think it would erase our humiliation from yesterday, today, and tomorrow?" 

"And do you think it justifies what you have done?!!" Frankher now appears, together with the two knights that were guarding him at the camp. 

"Yes, it does, sinner." 

"Shit!!" 

I use Disperse and right as I land and present Raizen in front of me, I am hit with such strength everything turns white.