Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy! The reason this took me so much longer to write than others is that I've been having a serious gaming addiction that's been a detriment to my writing. Not only did I start playing Ni-Oh, but I also got both Horizon: Zero Dawn AND Zelda: Breath of the Wild last week! So I've been busy playing those and procrastinating with this story!
July 10, X791
Now that all of the wizards had recovered from their injuries, they were invited by the king to attend a banquet as thanks for defending their homeland from the dragons and the millions of lives they had saved. The men of Phoenix Dawn were gathered in a room to change into formalwear and Jayden was pulling on the collar of his tuxedo, which consisted of a dark blue coat over a white shirt with black pants and tie.
"Are these outfits supposed to be this tight?" Jayden questioned.
"I don't know who came up with them, but they did and we're stuck with them." Spiral responded as he was putting the finishing touches on his regular black and white suit and tie.
"Black and white?" Kyo asked while wearing his regular attire. "Really? Were you picking the most generic combination you could think of?"
"Smart question coming from the guy who should be asked 'where the hell is your suit'." Spiral retorted.
"I don't do monkey suits." Kyo answered.
Lionel had been listening in on their conversation while standing near Eden, who was in the middle of changing.
"… On second thought, Eden…" Lionel spoke up loud enough for only Eden to hear him. "I'm gonna get changed, too?"
"What changed your mind?" Eden asked.
"… Really? THAT joke?" Lionel attempted to dodge the question by implying that Eden was making a terrible pun.
Lionel started sifting through the available formalwear and left Eden completely confused as to the sudden turn his friend just underwent.
At the same time, the ladies were changing in another room distant from the one the men were in. Sakura had yet to change out of her current clothes because she kept glaring at most of the other women in the room.
"Sakura, would you mind helping me put on my dress?" Aqua walked up to the Dragon Slayer, but she didn't respond in any way. "Sakura?"
"Stop rubbing your boobs in my face!" Sakura growled. "Can't you just create an arm out of water?"
"Yeah, but this dress looks expensive and I doubt I can afford it if it gets wet." Aqua explained.
"I'll help you, Aqua." Azusa, wearing a cute silver dress, came over to them.
Sakura pulled Azusa toward her and began whispering in her ear.
"Don't do it, Azusa." Sakura said. "Us flat-chests need to stick together."
"I can hear you!" Aqua spoke up.
Sakura then noticed something small and blue walking by, which was Wendy, and practically pulled the Sky Dragon Slayer to her side.
"We'll show them, won't we, Wendy?" Sakura asked.
"Um… what?" Wendy looked at her with a blank and confused expression.
Once everyone got their formalwear on, they went to the ballroom where several tables with a variety of foods were lined up by the walls with all of the space between was reserved for the dozens of wizards to walk around and socialize.
"What remarkable architecture!" Aqua looked around the ballroom with glowing eyes. "The royal family is so lucky to live in such a wonderfully crafted palace as this!"
Melody, in a sparkling, long violet dress exposing a bit of cleavage, looked around and noticed that one of her guild mates was already missing.
"Where did Sakura run off to so quickly?" Melody asked.
"She was whining about how hungry she was in the halls, so she's probably getting some food." Azusa answered.
"Good idea." Frost spoke. She was wearing a tight, strapless dress with a diagonal line in the middle separate the blue coloring of its top and the white of its short skirt. Like Melody's dress, Frost's was revealing her cleavage except they were more exposed and prominent in her choice of clothing. "… Spiral?" She went next to Spiral and leaned against him. "Would you be a dear and create some ice I can eat? Please?"
Frost attempted to woo Spiral into acquiescing to her request by using her arms to squeeze her large breasts and make them even more prominent than they already were.
"Uh… Uh… Uuuuhhhh…" Spiral stammered with a steaming red face.
"Back off, bimbo!" Hikari came in and pushed Frost away from her boyfriend, showing her white dress was modest and not the least bit revealing. She looked at Spiral and took in every detail of his suit. "You look so handsome, Spiral!"
Hikari practically tackled Spiral to the ground while snuggling against his arm, much to the boy's embarrassment. Although, Spiral didn't mind it that much once his thoughts went back to his vision of Hikari's death at the hands of the hatchlings.
*She's embarrassing me in front of everyone again…* He thought to himself. *But… I'm grateful she is…*
"Jayden Oceari…" A familiar voice spoke as it approached them.
Jayden turned toward the sound of the voice and spotted Kara, Momo and Bryant of White Valkyrie, all dressed up for the banquet. Kara was wearing a beautiful dark blue dress that caught the attention of dozens of men, Bryant was in a black and grey suit that was rather tight on his muscular body and Momo had a modest gold dress.
"Kara?" Jayden acknowledged her.
Kara knelt down and lowered her head in front of Jayden. "My actions during our battle were unforgivable. I desired to face you in combat to test our skills, but I was forced to hasten our battle and attempt to take your life. I am deeply sorry for everything that had occurred in the finals."
Bryant and Momo were surprised at Kara's humbleness.
"Kara, easy, it was Minerva-" Jayden said.
"No excuses can be made." Kara interrupted him. "Even if events were out of my control, I cannot place blame on others and refuse responsibility for the outcomes. Please, accept my sincerest apologies."
Jayden looked at the still kneeling Kara with a weird look on his face, mainly of confusion, and had no idea how to properly respond, so he just said the simplest and first thing that came to his mind.
"O-okay… Apology accepted." Jayden said.
As Kara finally stood back up, Spiral noticed some faces missing from White Valkyrie's group.
"Excuse me, Miss Krieg?" Spiral asked. "I don't see Leah or Sora with you."
"Leah isn't very social." Kara responded. "She's staying at the inn by herself. Sora did come with us. He just went on his own."
"Oh!" Jayden suddenly spoke up. "I better find Kagura!"
Jayden walked off to find the Mermaid Heel mage.
At one of the tables, Sakura was eating from a huge pile of lettuce leaves with some other vegetables on the side with Flora flying behind her so she wouldn't get accidentally eaten along with her Dragon Slayer's meal. Sakura's dress was green and sleeveless and Flora wore the exact same one, only smaller. However, one poor soul dared to approach Sakura while she was eating.
"Sakura?" A boy's voice spoke up.
After munching a leaf into her mouth, she turned to the voice and saw Sora in a gold dress shirt and tan pants. Sakura chewed the food in her mouth and swallowed it before speaking.
"You're that boy from White Valkyrie. Sora, right?" Sakura asked. "How are your injuries?"
"I'm fine now, thank you." Sora answered. "How did you fare against that grave dragon?"
"I'm a Dragon Slayer!" Sakura pumped her fist. "Dragons don't slay me, I slay them!"
"But I heard none of the Dragon Slayers were able to defeat any of the dragons."
"… But I didn't lose, that's for sure!"
"Yeah, and that counts for something." Sora looked down and away with a bit of a light blush. "… Listen, Lady Kara looks out for me a lot, but I want to be strong enough to stand on my own. Would you mind if… we sparred together sometime?"
"Heck yeah!" Sakura grinned with joy.
"'Yeah' as in 'you do mind' or 'you do want to spar'?"
"Of course we can spar, duh!"
"Th-thanks!"
From a distance, Momo was watching and listening in on their conversation and she just smiled to herself.
*So that's why you're not shy around women anymore…* Momo thought before walking off.
At a table with several different glasses of consisting of a variety of drinks spread out all over it, Jayden was looking at the liquids in curiosity.
"What kind of drinks are these?" Jayden asked Tristan, who was holding a glass of a fizzy drink.
"Champagne." Tristan answered before taking a sip. "You should try some."
"What's this sign that says 'Not for those under the age of 17'?" Jayden inquired as he pointed to a small paper sign that stated exactly that.
"It's alcohol… You DO know what alcohol is, right?
"Just that they're drinks that hinder your ability to think. Why would anyone want that?"
"'Cause it's relaxing!" Tristan held up an untouched glass of champagne to Jayden's face. "Try some!"
Jayden stared at the fizzy drink and slowly moved the glass toward his lips.
"JAYDEN!"
A loud shout startled Jayden and he nearly dropped the glass he was holding. He turned toward the voice and saw Kagura in a fancy strapless dress with a dark purple-blue top and a long white skirt. Her face was a bit flushed and her movements indicated some slight wobbling.
"Where have you been all night?!" Kagura hiccupped after her demanding question.
"I just got here." Jayden replied.
"How come you haven't noticed me yet?" Kagura asked with a slurred voice.
"I brought him here as soon as we came, and are you drunk?" Tristan replied before firing a question of his own.
"I've been waiting this whole time and you go for drinks first?!" Kagura scolded Jayden.
"I'm-I'm sorry, Kagura." Jayden said somewhat nervously. "Your dress is very beautiful."
"And I don't?" Kagura looked a tad irritated by the response.
"Of course, you're beautiful, Kagura!"
"Now you're just saying that to save your hide!"
"No! Really! I mean it!" Jayden started to panic.
"Then make it up to me! We're dancing!"
"'Dancing'?"
"There's a dance later tonight." Tristan chimed in. "Have fun, kids."
Tristan walked away with his champagne.
"Hold on…" Jayden said. "Kagura, you never answered Tristan's question… Are you drunk?"
"It's your fault, you know?" Kagura pointed her finger right into Jayden's chest. "Th-Wow, you're ripped-The girls kept pestering me about you not able to take your eyes off of me in this dress. The more I thought about it, the more nervous I got. So I had to loosen up with a little wine."
Kagura took a glass of wine from one of the tables and sipped the entire thing in one go.
*Maybe I DO need a drink…* Jayden thought as he took a few sips from the champagne in his hand.
Far away from the capital, Kyrin was walking down a barren road barely lit by the night sky.
*I don't need Sabertooth anymore!* He thought. *I refuse to associate myself with anyone who loses! After all, they're already missing Jiemma and Minerva. What's the point in hanging around?*
The ground started shaking and a giant, horned monster silhouetted by the night walked up to Kyrin with its red eyes glowing and focused on the lone mage.
"Ignore me and we both leave unscathed." Kyrin said to the monster.
The monster let out a terrifying bellow and was about to swing its giant claw at Kyrin, but the wizard vanished and reappeared behind the monster. After a few seconds had past, water burst forth from the slice Kyrin had apparently inflicted straight down the monster's body. Its body spilt in two and each piece fell down and a large amount of water splashed onto the ground around the creature's dismembered corpse.
"When I give you a warning, you should listen."
Kyrin resumed walking without looking back at the dead monster even once.
*I will prove to Mother and Father that I am stronger than anyone! And I'll start by ridding them of the mistake they made 18 years ago…*
A/N: Oh my God! The end of this was such a pain in the ass to come up with and write! I hope you all enjoyed! Only two more chapters left and I can finally take a break from this story for a bit! Stay tuned!