A Phoenix's Heart

Chapter Two

Mereoleona, Rill, Jack the Ripper, and William arrive to witness the blinding white light expanding across the land. William and Rill tried to counter and contain it while Mereoleona and Jack tried to attack. They had succeeded at first but after 20 minutes the intense mana overwhelmed them leaving even their mana zone & mana skin useless. The four retreated to the crimson Lion Kings headquarters where they waited another 40 minutes. They and other squad members watch in terror as the nearest village is seemingly eradicated. Some called for evacuation while others crumbed over the grief of loved ones in the town. The panicked crowd dyed down as the intense light faded revealing the wheat field-covered hills reborn as a lush and thriving forest.

"What happened? This is beautiful," commented Rill.

"We have to check the townspeople caught up in that magic. This could have destroyed at least three towns. We have to search for survivors," stated William.

"You three go check in on the towns. I'm going to Fuegoleon and Leo's location," replied Mereoleona before rushing off.

The others divide and head to the towns in need.

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Two months later: Leopold's point of view.

I woke up to an unusually cool July morning. Being proactive I headed to a cafe in Berry to wait for orders. I grabbed a newspaper to read to pass the time.

"Update: A new Grand Magic Zone!

It has been two months since the battle between the Crimson Lion Kings and the Spirit Hunters. The fight was intense and ended with the death of most of the terrorists. The leader unleashed a final attack, resulting in a blinding white transforming everything it touched. The wizard king announced that the resulting blast created a new Grand Magic Zone and no bystanders were harmed by its creation. The Grand Magic Zone is shared between the Clover and Diamond kingdoms.

Magic knights are exploring the new area, finding what places are safe, and creating new roads to connect the 5 towns and the 2 countries.

All of the terrorist's bodies have been found and accounted for, including the leaders. The search is still on for the hero border guard member, Nova, who had gone missing during the blast. The magic knights still hope to..."

I tossed the newspaper aside. The rest of the article was just useless rubbish. The wizard king thought it would be best to lie about our involvement in the battle to expel Estella from any blame. I left the cafe in a huff and decided to go for a run in the forest. After sprinting at full speed for a good 30 minutes I took a break under a beautiful oak tree and closed my eyes. When I opened then there was a lion just staring at me.

"H-Hi. What are you doing out here?" I caustically ask.

"..."

"Were you caught up in that intense mana too?"

"...". The lion took a few steps closer before sitting by my feet.

"I remember that day so vividly. It felt like we were surrounded by immense mana for only a few minutes but big sis said it was closer to an hour. When I woke up after being crushed by the immense mana I thought Aniue saved me but he claimed he didn't and that we were all lucky to be alive. But I don't think we were. Someone saved us, I know it!"

"..."

"Anyways, after overcoming the shock of the situation I started looking for Nova."