He who defy Gods (Arifureta X OC/Male Reader)

(Season 2) Chapter 11 Invasion of The Capital

No one's POV

A short while before Sora and Noint's battle began, Aishia, Yue, Shea, Kaori, Celia and Liliana snuck into the palace. Liliana was leading them to where Kouki and the others were.

Aishia and the others' primary goal in the capital was to find the labyrinth hidden within the Divine Mountain and clear it, so normally they would never have bothered helping Liliana meet up with Kouki and assist in solving the kingdom's problems. In order to ensure Aiko's safety, though, they needed to make certain Kouki and the others weren't brainwashed. After all, they were the ones who'd be looking after her once Sora got her out. Furthermore, the Divine Mountain was the Holy Church's base of operations. It was where their main temple was located. In order to infiltrate it unnoticed, Sora would need to get Aiko alone. While they could take on the Holy Church, Sora and his comrades didn't want to start an open war with them just yet.

As there was nothing else for them to do in the capital, Kaori and the others decided to join Liliana as she snuck into the palace. Hajime and Tio had remained outside. They were waiting on standby, in case anything happened. Hajime had thought it best that at least two person stay somewhere they could have a full grasp of the situation.

The secret passage that Liliana led the girls through brought them out in an unused guest room. As the last person in line stepped out of the passage, an antique wooden drawer slid over the passage's entrance, hiding it from view.

Liliana: At this hour, everyone should be asleep.

Celia: We should start by going to Shizuku's room.

Celia and Liliana whispered quietly to the girls behind them. Their decision spoke volumes about who they trusted the most out of the students. It wasn't Kouki, who was ostensibly everyone's hero and leader.

The girls nodded, and they filed out of the room. Shea, who had the best hearing of the group, took the lead this time. Shizuku and the other students' sleeping quarters were in another wing of the palace, so they had to jog through a number of hallways to get there.

When they were almost there, there was a massive boom that shook the entire castle. A second later, the sound of shattering glass rang out through the capital. All of the windows in the hallway the girls were standing in blew out, littering the ground with glittering shards.

Shea: What's going on?!

Celia: Don't tell me!

Shea crouched down and nursed her bunny ears. They'd been perked up, listening for even the slightest of sounds, so the deafening boom had hurt pretty bad. Behind her, Celia and Liliana paled and dashed over to a shattered window. Aishia, Yue and Kaori followed behind them.

Liliana: Impossible... The Great barrier has been... destroyed?

She brought a hand to her mouth and gasped. The night sky was speckled with a million dots of light. However, most of those weren't stars, but the remnants of the now-destroyed barrier that covered the capital. There was a brilliant flash of light, and another thunderous roar. A second barrier flared into existence and bore the brunt of the blow. Still, cracks spread across its surface.

Celia: E-Even the second layer can't... How did our defenses grow so weak!? At this rate...

The great barrier that protected the capital was actually three separate layers of defenses. Those barriers were created by an artifact held by the palace. Magicians worked day and night to pour mana into it, ensuring that it never waned. For centuries, it had stood firm, protecting the capital from invasion. Never before had it been breached. It was one of the main reasons humans had been able to fight evenly against demons.