The clouds continued to churn in the sky above, the terrifying storm completely enveloping the entirety of Chernobog. The very eye of this natural disaster hung directly over the center of the city.
Faced with such a terrifying display of nature's wrath, even Fafnir's massive form—large enough to blot out the sun—seemed rather small, to say nothing of the near-invisible figure of Jeanne standing upon the dragon's back.
The people below stared up at Jeanne and the great beast. Even though they knew all too well that the maiden and the monster were allies of the hated Reunion infected, at this very moment, they could only pray for a miracle, however unlikely it seemed.
Regardless of whether the savior was a despised infected or a terrifying creature of myth, the citizens prayed in their hearts that the duo could tear this Catastrophe apart, snatching their abandoned fates away from total doom.
"Looking at the formation, this particular Catastrophe is going to be a meteor strike," the Patriot rumbled. He had lived long enough to discern the nature of the disaster simply by studying the gathering pattern of the storm clouds.
"A meteor strike?" Talulah murmured, unsure of how to respond. A disaster of that nature wouldn't level the entire city, but the central district and several surrounding blocks would be completely obliterated.
The people below could only watch in despair. The citizens no longer had the luxury to complain about the infected entering their gates; everyone was scattering in a frantic bid to save their own lives.
Seeing that doom seemed inevitable, a few opportunistic souls decided to indulge their worst impulses before the end, turning to rioting and looting shops.
Reunion had never expected that their very first task upon taking over the city would be to form a partnership with the local patrolmen. Together, they struggled to restrain the panicked citizens and apprehend the criminals trying to exploit the chaos.
High above, Jeanne felt the immense cluster of Originium gathering within the clouds, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Though she often complained about the sheer difficulty of raising Fafnir—even joking previously that trying to care for another dragon would drive her to total exhaustion—who would ever pass up the chance to summon a second one if given the opportunity?
Unfortunately, as she drew closer, Jeanne sensed that it was impossible to use this specific meteor to summon another dragon. As for the precise reason why, she couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
"Or perhaps... the fact that the specific Originium stone capable of summoning Fafnir appeared in this world was already a miracle close to impossible?" Jeanne muttered to herself, gently stroking the dragon's scales.
According to what the Doctor had told her, the arrival and descent of the Originium stone that birthed Fafnir was a massive anomaly in all recorded history—so bizarre that it had made her question her own understanding of the world.
"Well, if it can't be repurposed, then we might as well destroy it entirely! Forward, Fafnir!" Jeanne pointed toward the very heart of the storm where the massive Originium meteor was taking shape, issuing a clear command.
A thunderous roar echoed from Fafnir as she accelerated, diving straight into the swirling vortex of the storm.
At this moment, every soul huddled within Chernobog stared blankly at the sky. Whether they were elderly citizens or young children, infected fighters or uninfected residents, every single eye was fixed upon the massive silhouette of the dragon.
Jeanne and Fafnir soon breached the inner core of the disaster. The wind and clouds here were warped by intense pressure, and Jeanne watched as several stray birds were instantly torn to pieces by the violent gale before they could escape.
Yet, she felt no fear. She stood tall amidst the raging storm, staring directly at the terrifying mass of rock that threatened to crush the city below.
"Fafnir, strike!"
Once they were close enough, Jeanne ordered her companion to unleash an assault on the massive cluster of Originium.
Had anyone else been present, they would have called Jeanne completely insane. To attack a Catastrophe-level mass at such close range—weren't they terrified that the resulting explosion would swallow them whole?
But Fafnir didn't hesitate for a single second. Massive fireballs erupted from her maw, surging toward the core meteor. The flames, each powerful enough to wipe out an entire Ursus army division, looked like nothing more than flickering candle sparks against the backdrop of the massive storm.
Down below, the uninfected citizens despaired even further. With an attack like that, how do you expect to solve this nightmare? Are you seriously trying to break a Catastrophe through brute force alone?
Within the ranks of Reunion, however, the fighters were already casually debating exactly how Jeanne would conclude the battle. Their relaxed demeanor deeply astonished the patrolmen working alongside them to suppress the riots.
"That is a massive Catastrophe looming over us! How can you lot talk about it as if it's as simple as stepping outside to beat up a common thug?" The patrolmen genuinely wondered if the disease had rotted the brains of these infected, leaving them entirely devoid of fear in the face of doom.
"That's Big Sis Jeanne up there! She definitely has the strength to settle this! We believe in her!" the fighters responded almost in unison. The patrolmen could only shake their heads, staring at the infected with incredibly complex expressions.
Have these guys been completely brainwashed? To guards who had never witnessed Jeanne's true capabilities, the absolute confidence of these fighters was entirely incomprehensible.
"Sigh, you lot just don't understand. Just watch, you'll see in a moment," a Reunion soldier remarked, noticing the confusion on a patrolman's face. He spoke with the calm assurance of a veteran who had seen it all before.
The guard still didn't understand these people, but the chaotic city left him no time to ponder the matter further.
"What about you all? Why aren't you running for cover?" a nearby infected fighter asked out of genuine curiosity.
"It's just our duty. We get paid to do a job, so we do it. Stop crowding, move in an orderly line!" the patrolman barked, answering the question while managing the flow of the crowd.
"I always thought you patrolmen were just a bunch of bastards who enjoyed bullying ordinary folks," the infected fighter muttered, voicing a deeply ingrained prejudice born from past wounds inflicted by the Ursus authorities.
"Likewise, I used to think the infected were nothing but a pack of bloodthirsty rioters," the patrolman countered smoothly.
Following that brief exchange, the two fell silent. Yet, between these two factions that previously had zero chance of ever speaking to one another—let alone working shoulder-to-shoulder—the first cracks in the ice had successfully formed.
High in the sky, Fafnir's fireballs continued to hammer the meteor relentlessly. Though it appeared unchanged from the outside, the core of the Originium mass was already fracturing under the intense heat of the dragon's breath.
Under the relentless bombardment, the massive stone finally began to split apart. A look of joy flashed across Jeanne's face, and she quickly pulled out her transceiver to contact the ground.
"I've settled things on my end. You can proceed with the plan, huh—!"
A sudden violent gust caused the radio to slip from her fingers, tumbling down into the clouds below. Jeanne watched it fall for a second before shrugging it off. "Ah, whatever."
On the ground, Talulah heard Jeanne's brief confirmation before the signal cut out. She didn't need to ask how it was done; she trusted her companion completely. Now, it was her turn to bring peace back to the city.
Talulah strode up to a high vantage point. Her fire Arts surged to life, causing the surrounding air to shimmer with intense heat. The sudden spike in temperature forced the squabbling crowds to halt their movements.
Thus, Talulah began her very first public address to the citizens of Chernobog.
At that exact moment in the skies above, the massive meteor shattered completely under Fafnir's final strike, breaking into countless fragments that prepared to rain down upon the earth.
Even if the main mass was destroyed, a rain of Originium shards would still cause devastating destruction and trigger a horrific wave of Oripathy infections—an outcome they couldn't allow.
Jeanne drew the brilliant sword from her waist. As Fafnir veered away from the blast zone, Jeanne pointed the Sword of St. Catherine directly toward the churning storm, unleashing her ultimate power.
"What gathers here is my fury! Let my wrath transform into a blazing fire that sweeps across this sky! Let the heavenly flames herald our arrival—[Roar, O My Fury!]"
A sea of brilliant fire erupted, instantly igniting the falling shards of the meteor and spreading rapidly to consume the dense Originium particles suspended within the storm clouds.
In a flash, the sky above Chernobog transformed into a breathtaking expanse of burning crimson. The clouds themselves seemed to combust, presenting a magnificent spectacle that looked like a divine manifestation.
By sheer coincidence, this was the exact moment Talulah reached the climax of her speech.
Just as the Draco lady delivered her final, stirring words, the heavens above ignited into a fierce, passionate blaze, as if answering her call. Standing beneath the burning sky, she looked for all the world like a magnificent dragon descending upon the mortal realm.
Focused entirely on delivering her speech, Talulah remained completely oblivious to the fact that her timing had created such a legendary visual backdrop. She merely looked around at the crowd, thoroughly confused as to why everyone suddenly looked like they were about to fall to their knees in worship.