Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

02 Alliance (Part 1)

The sound was sudden and thunderous. Bullets ricocheted against the translucent dome Maeyune had conjured around the top of the palace stairs. On the street, people screamed as the celebration turned to pandemonium.

Behind her, everyone flinched. The king stumbled back, wrapping an arm around his wife and son. They gaped in horror at the bullets that visibly crashed against the shield.

Maeyune acted fast. "Aerylis!" she shouted above the screams.

Her second-in-command responded immediately. In one fluid motion, the wind celestial extended both arms forward. Her magic brought forth her silver bow and a glistering arrow of wind. She drew back an elbow and released.

In mid air, the arrow partitioned into four separate spears that pierced through Maeyune's shield and into each drone. The machines ruptured, plummeting to the street where the palace guards fumbled to draw their rifles.

There were more screams. At one side of the street, two of the automechs became animate and stumbled forward. The metal tabs on their arms burst open, exposing the guns underneath. With targeting missiles, they destroyed the two stationary automechs on the opposing side of the street.

A dozen foreign soldiers dressed in green and black rushed out from the crowd and aimed their rifles at the palace guards. With the energy shields on their forearms, the guards were able to deflect the bullets. But with the innocent lives scattered deliriously on the street, they could not return fire.

After relinquishing her shield, Maeyune's mind searched the individuals behind her, and she found Benny. He heard her thoughts, and with a large, sluggish grin on his face, he stomped forward.

With both hands up, he erected a tall wall of ice at the bottom of the stairs, isolating the enemy soldiers and the automechs from the crowd.

Through mental concentration, Maeyune crushed the cameras that still floated in the vicinity. Above the ice wall, she could see the city monitors turn black.

Armed soldiers appeared over the walls of the palace steps and surrounded them from behind. The temple guardians had gathered in a protective circle around the royal family and the advisors.

She heard Deiyu's voice behind her. "Iron Prophet," he seethed, his face contorted with fury.

On the green and black uniforms of the enemy, Maeyune saw the white insignia roughly painted over the left chest. It was a crescent moon facing downward, with four sunrays spreading outward from a single point and piercing through the crescent. It was the symbol of the evolution-driven group, the Iron Prophet.

Maeyune narrowed her eyes. Their faction's influence had at last spread across the vast ocean to Suolan.

"Aegis Team!" Maeyune yelled, calling her five allies to attention. The telepathic connection from her mind to theirs was instant.