Pov Sara (A-B)

  It had been about half an hour since Sara and Kaia, carrying Zye, had left the mines. Luckily, they had not been followed, thanks to Ali, who had bought them some time.

  Zye was still in bad shape on Kaia's back—she had passed out, completely unconscious after days of intense bor. Sara had snatched the object that Zye had built at the martyrs' request and held it in her hand. She inspected the object and raised an eyebrow. She wondered what this machine was supposed to do.

  The girls stopped in a small alley. Chaos still reigned in the city. Sara and Kaia exchanged gnces.

  "We need to get back to the pace," Kaia said, stretching as she set Zye down against a wall.

  "The journey will be perilous. It's absolute chaos out there, and I don’t think we’ll go unnoticed by the martyrs…"

  Kaia nodded. Sara was right about that. Crossing the entire city to reach the pace was going to be a real challenge, especially while carrying Zye. She wasn’t very heavy, but she wasn’t exactly light either.

  "Let’s move…"

  Sara said as a snowfke appeared in the palm of her hand. Kaia noticed something strange about Sara, but before she could question it, Sara told her to forget what she had seen—unless she wanted to suffer.

  Kaia hoisted Zye back onto her back, and the two girls started moving through the city, taking a long, winding route through various alleys. But soon, Kaia's senses sharpened—she felt someone approaching. And she was right.

  As they turned into another alley, suddenly, Amadee nded in front of them, having jumped down from a rooftop. She held knives in her hands, ready for battle. She looked injured, her clothes torn.

  "Give me the machine. Now."

  Sara had the machine in her hand, and since it seemed valuable, she wasn’t about to give it up easily. The snowfke in her hand suddenly transformed into an icicle—then not just one, but a dozen sharp-tipped icicles materialized in her palm.

  "A mage!"

  Amadee was surprised. Elves could easily recognize mages because they had a special aura around them. But Sara wasn’t a mage—she was human.

  Suddenly, Sara spoke in an incomprehensible nguage, and the sharp icicles shot rapidly toward Amadee.

  Amadee dodged most of them skillfully, and those she couldn’t evade shattered against her bdes.

  Once the icicles were gone, Amadee lunged at Sara. But with a small smile, Sara made a quick hand gesture, and the broken shards of ice on the ground suddenly formed into a thick sheet of ice, causing Amadee to slip and lose her bance, slowing her down.

  By the time Amadee regained her footing, a solid wall of ice had formed in front of her, blocking her path.

  On the other side of the wall, Sara and Kaia—still carrying Zye—took a few steps back before breaking into a run. Even though Sara could wield magic, she wasn’t the best fighter. All she could do was slow Amadee down and, hopefully, lose her.

  However, the ice wall wasn’t much of an obstacle for Amadee. She leaped from wall to wall, gaining height, and when she reached the top of the ice wall, she used it as a foothold to jump and hurl one of her knives toward the fleeing group.

  Sara never saw it coming. The knife struck her directly in the neck. She froze in pce before colpsing to the ground, blood pouring from her wound as she y there—dead.

  "Sara!"

  Kaia screamed as she saw Sara fall. The object she had been protecting tumbled to the ground. Kaia felt compelled to take it, but she already had Zye to protect. In the end, she decided to run, carrying Zye on her back.

  Amadee nded on the ground and walked toward Sara’s lifeless body. She picked up the object from her hands and pced a finger near her ear.

  "Object retrieved, Mistress."

  Pov Ali (A-B)

  After a long race against time to reach the pace and avoid the various enemies blocking their path, the group finally arrived at the grand gate separating the lower-css popution from the noble and governmental district of the capital.

  However, a rge group of soldiers was guarding the entrance, and they didn’t seem to be on the Prime Minister’s side, given that they were pointing their weapons at the group.

  “Surrender! You are under arrest for terrorism!”

  “Not yet.”

  Mikki sighed as she eyed the soldiers. But suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed through the air, and both the soldiers and the group felt a wave of submission and calm wash over them. It was as if someone had just ordered the entire capital to be silent and remain motionless.

  Everyone, including the soldiers, stood still for a moment. No one dared to move or speak. The military men had lowered their weapons. Eliana then noticed the presence of Taiwo and another lion with blonde hair and a proud demeanor. There was also a high-ranking military officer—Ali quickly deduced his rank from the well-decorated uniform he wore. The lion then gave a strict order to the soldiers.

  “Soldiers! Patrol the city and arrest anyone affiliated with the martyrs! The coup has failed, and you’d better move quickly before you all end up in prison.”

  None of the soldiers dared to challenge the general’s orders, and they immediately rushed off into the city. Taiwo approached the group with a smile.

  “I’m proud of you. I received reports of your successful missions… Three of the four captains of the martyrs have been neutralized. Only one remains at rge, but we have already sent our agents after them.”

  It seemed like the end, but something didn’t feel right to Ali. Something was missing. Then, Mikki spoke up.

  “Do you have any news about Sara and Kaia? They should be with Zye, right, Ali?”

  Ali nodded and expined to Mikki and the rest of the group what had happened. Taiwo responded quickly.

  “A rescue team has already been dispatched.”

  Taiwo turned around and motioned for the group to follow her.

  “Come, let’s debrief—”

  Suddenly, Taiwo was interrupted as someone appeared before the group. It was the angel Ali had encountered earlier—the only one in the group who had seen her before. Ali immediately shouted:

  “It’s her! The angelic rabbit!”

  The angel raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, hovering in the air thanks to her angelic wings.

  “I have a name. I am Kra Bunnae, and I am here to fulfill my goddess’s orders.”

  Mikki drew her katana, Ali summoned her wolves, Eliana readied her pistol, Sarah brandished a metal axe she had stolen from a martyr she had taken down along the way, and Taiwo, though initially unarmed, was handed an assault rifle by the general standing nearby. Kety, the group’s medic, took cover behind a low wall—she was never a big fan of violence.

  “Why are you doing all of this?”

  Ali suddenly asked, taking a defensive stance.

  “You really want to know my motive? Fine. I have to wait for something anyway.”

  Mikki raised an eyebrow at this revetion. What was she waiting for?

  “You see, I have always harbored hatred for humans and other demi-humans. They have all treated me like a child… That’s what rabbits are—weak, overpoputed, an invasive species.”

  Taiwo tried to counter Kra’s argument.

  “That was decades ago! The situation between the fiercer and more docile demi-humans has stabilized! This makes no sense!”

  “Shut up, lioness. You lions have always been the kings of these nds. Just look at the monarchy and your government—the most powerful figures are all lions.”

  “That’s because lions are the only race with the legitimacy to rule the kingdom of Okarios.”

  A new voice spoke up—it was the prince. But Kra shot him a deadly gre, quickly drew her bow, and fired an arrow into his stomach.

  “Ack!”

  Kra smirked as the prince colpsed, blood seeping from his wound.

  “I’m speaking to the main characters. I don’t need to hear from a second-rate lion.”

  Kety immediately rushed to the prince’s side to administer first aid. Taiwo stared at Kra in horror.

  “Anyway, I have always envisioned my species ruling the world, and now I will finally accomplish my goal.”

  She pulled a red stone from her pocket. Sarah immediately recognized it and stepped forward.

  “That’s my stone!”

  Kra nodded.

  “I know. It was originally meant to be passed down to your older sister. It has been an heirloom in your family for generations. Your ancestors must have completely forgotten its true purpose.”

  “And what is this stone for?”

  Sarah shouted, reaching toward it.

  “It comes from the ‘Deadhorses’ that once roamed our nd. It is the remnant of Deadhorse 54’s heart… I don’t know how it ended up in your family’s possession.”

  Eliana’s eyes widened. She had heard tales of these titans—beings that ruled the earth before the great apocalypse that wiped them out. It was a legend passed down through generations, but there was little proof that these titans had ever truly existed.

  “That’s impossible…”

  Mikki then stepped forward, unsheathing her sword.

  “It’s a little suspicious that the big vilin is giving us a whole speech about her motivations. Are you stalling for time?”

  Kra ignored Mikki and continued her story. She paused for a few seconds before resuming.

  “My goal is for all humans and demi-humans to be subjugated under the rule of the rabbits. Those who join me will be spared… This stone will allow me to control the entire world.”

  Suddenly, something fast approached the group. It was Amadee—the elf—holding an object in her hand, the one she had stolen from Sara and Zye. She also held something else—a severed head.

  “Here is the object, Mistress. I had to neutralize one of their comrades.”

  She then tossed the head toward the group. To their collective horror, it was Sara’s severed head, nding before Sarah and Mikki’s shocked eyes.

  “Sara! No!”

  Tears streamed down Sarah’s face, while Mikki remained cold, staring at Kra with a murderous gaze.

  “Finally, we can begin…”

  Kra took the object, opened it, and pced the stone inside. She held it in her palm and decred:

  “NOW WE SHALL COM—”

  She was abruptly interrupted as an explosion erupted near her hand. She vanished for a few seconds, and the object fell to the ground. To everyone’s shock, what hovered in the sky was a massive airship—and the colossal structure aboard it was none other than an asylum. But not just any asylum—the very one where Sarah and Mikki had grown up. It was unbelievable.

  “CANNON!”

  A strict female voice ordered the weapon to fire at the angel.

  “Urgh! What the hell is this?!”

  Pov Mikki (A-B)

  The flying ship had just arrived—it was a marvel, an absolute beauty. Mikki had seen blueprints of this ship when she was little. She had thought it was nothing but fantasy, but no—it seemed real. A spark of hope ignited in Mikki’s heart, and she smiled broadly.

  "Alright, I’ve had enough of all this talking. We just need to get rid of the rabbit, so let’s do this quickly."

  Eliana, Sarah, Ali, and Taiwo all nodded in unison. Suddenly, the fming bird tattoos on the five girls began to burn, glowing intensely.

  "Looks like I have no choice…"

  Kra pulled out her gold-ornamented bow, and an arrow appeared on it. Suddenly, the group dispersed—Mikki moved to the left with Eliana, while Sarah and Ali headed right. Taiwo remained in the center, firearm in hand.

  The first arrow Kra shot was aimed at Taiwo, but Mikki swiftly jumped, using her wind power to enhance her leap, and sliced the arrow mid-air with her katana before nding. Kra’s face tensed, and another arrow quickly appeared, but that wouldn’t be enough.

  Taiwo started firing at Kra once the arrow was neutralized. Her rate of fire was much higher than Kra’s, forcing the archer to abandon long-range combat. The bow transformed into a thin bde.

  The rabbit was not alone—Amadee was with her. She dashed toward Sarah, who seemed to be the weakest target, but Ali was by her side. Just as Amadee’s knife was about to strike Sarah, a wolf lunged at Amadee, sinking its teeth into her arm.

  It was a success. Amadee had to retreat, her arm once again brutally bitten.

  Armed with her axe, Sarah leaped at Amadee, trying to nd a powerful strike. But the axe was much heavier than a knife, cutting Sarah’s speed in half. Amadee attempted another attack, but Ali came to Sarah’s defense—this time, two wolves lunged at Amadee.

  Meanwhile, Kra had nded on the ground and was now locked in close combat with Mikki. Sparks flew as Mikki’s katana cshed with Kra’s short swords. Thanks to her wind powers, Mikki was much faster.

  Eliana was still analyzing the rabbit’s possible weaknesses, but it was taking longer than she had expected. To contribute to the fight, she started shooting at Kra, as did Taiwo.

  Using her wind abilities, Mikki slightly redirected the bullets so they would hit Kra instead of her.

  The bullets forced Kra to teleport, disappearing and reappearing seconds ter a few meters away from Mikki.

  "Give up—you can’t beat me!"

  Mikki smirked. Kra was desperately trying to reach the object, but the explosion in her hand had only knocked it down. However, Mikki, Taiwo, and Eliana relentlessly attacked her, preventing her from reaching it.

  Ali summoned two more wolves, though one of her wolves had been killed by Amadee. Ali had fought her earlier and could see that she was growing weaker. It was Sarah who attacked Amadee the most with her axe—she was in a furious rage ever since she learned that Sara had been decapitated by the elf.

  "I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

  Sarah roared, delivering a final, full-force axe strike. Amadee could hardly dodge—wolves surrounded her, attacking from all sides. She blocked Sarah’s blow with her knives, but they suddenly shattered.

  Amadee colpsed to the ground, the strike having been so powerful that she temporarily lost the ability to use her hands. As she y there, the wolves cmped onto her arms and legs, pinning her down.

  Ali stepped forward and, looking down at Amadee, delivered a massive punch to her face, knocking her out cold.

  But the battle was far from over. Mikki continued attacking Kra without pause, while Taiwo did her best to shoot at Kra whenever she tried to approach the object and the stone. Eliana kept circling Kra, still analyzing her weakness.

  Ali and Sarah then joined the fight, surprising Kra. She had already struggled against Mikki—if she now had to deal with Sarah’s axe and Ali’s wolves, she knew she wouldn’t make it.

  Suddenly, Kra unleashed a powerful energy wave, pushing the entire group back and knocking them to the ground. She soared back into the sky, dodging the shots fired at her from the ship.

  "You can’t kill me! I’m an angel—I am immortal!"

  One by one, the girls got back on their feet. They were exhausted from the fight, wondering how they could possibly win. Then, suddenly, Eliana had a revetion—she had finally discovered the rabbit’s weakness.

  "Really? That’s her weak spot… I don’t know how we’re going to pull this off."

  Eliana looked up at Kra, at the small ring above her head. She had thought it was just an illusion, but the halo was real. It only needed to be turned to defeat Kra. She didn’t know what effect it would have, but she was certain it was the only way to win.

  The girls regrouped as military reinforcements arrived, aiming their weapons at Kra to keep her away from the object she needed to ensve everyone under the rule of the rabbits.

  They agreed on a pn, nodding to each other—they had found a way to win.

  Suddenly, they all ran in different directions. Kra noticed the sudden movement. Frustrated by the soldiers’ gunfire, she finally fired an arrow toward them—when it hit the ground, it exploded.

  Sarah headed toward Amadee, while Mikki, Ali, and Eliana stuck together. Eliana pulled out her hunting knife, ready for battle. However, Kra refused to come down—there was no way she was going to engage in hand-to-hand combat again.

  While Kra focused on Mikki’s group, Sarah took on Amadee’s appearance and disappeared into the shadows. By copying Amadee’s form, she felt lighter, faster—as if she had inherited her powers.

  "I already told you! You can’t beat me!"

  "A so-called angel doesn’t scare me."

  Mikki smirked provocatively, which visibly enraged Kra.

  "NOW!"

  Ali shouted. Suddenly, Mikki leaped onto a wolf, then another, using them as ptforms. With her katana in hand, she was ready to strike. Taiwo let out a fierce roar, momentarily distracting Kra. Mikki’s katana sliced toward Kra’s right shoulder, but the bde didn’t pierce her.

  Kra ughed mockingly.

  "Dumb kitt—"

  Mikki grimaced. Disguised as Amadee, Sarah leaped into the air with the help of Mikki’s wind magic, reaching Kra’s halo and suddenly twisting it.

  "Bleh—"

  Kra gasped weakly as she crashed to the ground, still conscious but as if her mind had been disconnected.

  Mikki pounced on Kra, pinning her down. The rest of the group gathered around.

  "…Did we… did we win?"

  Eliana shook her head.

  "No… I think she’ll wake up in a few minutes, and I doubt any of us can tie up an angel."

  "You won’t need to."

  Suddenly, Lupa appeared before the Firebird group, smiling—she seemed proud of them.

  "Lupa!"

  Ali excimed. She only remembered seeing her in a dream, but she recognized the goddess of her kind. Then, another girl appeared, She was a tall woman with long white hair, face markings, dark skin, rabbit ears, and a kimono.

  "KLARA!"

  She screamed, waking Kra, who immediately knelt before her approaching mistress.

  "Great Goddess Bunnae! What an honor to see you!"

  Her voice wavered with stress as she desperately tried to appease the one she served.

  "Kra… I see you’ve been working against me in secret. You will, of course, be punished for this crime."

  Kra shook her head rapidly.

  "Great Goddess Bunnae! I only did it for you—the rabbits must rule the world!"

  Lupa raised an eyebrow.

  "Seriously? We’re already discriminated against by humans—if we start killing each other, that won’t help."

  Bunnae drew her katana, pcing it on Kra’s shoulder—the exact spot where Mikki’s bde had almost struck.

  "I don’t want to hear your excuses. You’re coming with me."

  With that, she grabbed Kra by the ear and dragged her away.

  "No, no! Not like this! Great Goddess, have mercy!"

  And just like that, the goddess and the angel vanished. Only Lupa remained before the five Firebirds.

  "You managed to defeat the prophecy, you changed the future, and now the world is saved... I can never thank you enough... As a reward for your hard work, you will be able to keep your powers, but do not abuse them... As I've heard in the past, "with great power comes great responsibility."

  The goddess smiled and looked one st time at the gathered Firebirds.

  "I must leave. I can't interact with mortals for long, unfortunately. I wish you good luck."

  Lupa also disappeared, as did Bunnae and Kra. The five girls fell to the ground; the fight was finally over.

  "D-did we won ?

  Eliana said, not believing it was over.

  "Yes, we won..."

  Sarah said softly, watching the ship gently nd outside the city.

  "It's time to go home, Sarah."

  Pov Noctis (A-B)

  As the Firebirds had completed their mission, the royal guard of Felicity—still consisting of the queen, the SGU, Noctis the bodyguard, and Janira the journalist—had left the city to take refuge outside, far beyond its walls.

  The group watched the city as Noctis tried to contact some friends to secure transportation out of the kingdom. The queen and Janira were surrounded by the five remaining SGU members.

  "Before we leave, don't forget that I need my nurse as well as the kitty we recruited into our ranks," the queen reminded, crossing her arms as she looked at Noctis.

  "We will wait for them, my queen, don't worry," Noctis reassured her.

  The queen gave a slight nod and kept her eyes fixed on the horizon, but suddenly, from the sky, a group of winged semi-humans descended straight toward them.

  No one had expected an attack from above. This group consisted of five winged semi-humans. The SGU quickly tried to defend themselves, but their restricted vision left them at a disadvantage. Noctis attempted to intervene to block the assaints, but a woman stopped in front of her. She was armed with a katana, had bck hair with cyan-blue highlights, and raven-like wings.

  She drew her katana and engaged Noctis in combat. Noctis immediately raised her rge shield to defend herself and counter with shield bashes, but her weapon was heavy, while the bird-like warrior was extremely fast.

  The fight was only meant to distract Noctis. The other winged semi-humans had already overpowered the SGU and were heading straight for the queen.

  "Back off! Damn birds!"

  But the warning wasn't enough to stop them. Two of the winged attackers grabbed Queen Mia by her arms and took off, soaring into the sky as Janira and Noctis watched helplessly.

  "Queen Mia!"

  Janira cried out as the queen disappeared into the distance.

  The bird-woman fighting Noctis eventually retreated, but Noctis managed to grab her by the wing. As the semi-human struggled to break free, she dropped a badge onto the ground before finally escaping into the sky.

  "I'll have your head!"

  Noctis colpsed to her knees, ashamed of having failed to protect the queen.