Leon had the intense urge to use his [World Map] to teleport the girls out of the castle and to safety.

But since he was considered in battle and the system had flagged him as engaged, he couldn’t activate the item no matter how hard he tried or how much he willed it to work.

And he knew for a fact he couldn’t let Iris attempt to fight it by herself, because if she fell in battle against this monstrosity, the kingdom would lose its greatest defender and all hope would be lost for its people.

"Violet," Leon looked at the dragon girl, his voice urgent and serious, his eyes locking onto hers, "You’re the strongest here, please make sure they get out of this place, go to the stronghold that you talked about and keep them safe until I can find you."

Violet looked at Leon for a split second, her multicolored eyes searching his face, then back at Emilia and Celeste, her expression filled with understanding, and she nodded firmly without any hesitation.

She grabbed the two of them with her arms and unfurled her dragon wings, the massive appendages spreading wide, using them to fly away from the chaos and destruction unfolding around them.

She dropped to the ground outside of the Imperial Castle, landing gracefully on the cobblestones, and met with several Imperial Guards who were trying to stop her from escaping.

SLASH!

She killed them all with her rapier in a single fluid motion, their bodies collapsing to the ground, before transforming into her real dragon form, majestic and powerful, her scales shimmering in the firelight that illuminated the burning city.

"Get on," Violet spoke, her eyes looking at the phoenix and elf, her voice commanding yet gentle, "We’re leaving right now, no arguments."

The two girls simply nodded and got on the dragoness’ back, holding on tightly to her scales as she prepared to take off.

"Wow, its so soft~" Emilia beamed as she pressed her head against Violet’s back, despite the chaos around them and the screams echoing through the streets.

"I know right, also she can carry all of us in this form!" Celeste nodded, her voice filled with wonder even in the midst of danger.

Fwoosh!

Violet found their remarks funny but she tried as best as she could to not laugh, her body trembling slightly with suppressed amusement.

The situation was serious and people were dying all around them after all.

And just like that, the three of them left the Imperial Kingdom behind, heading toward the stronghold deep inside of the higher domain, leaving the burning city and its suffering behind.

Back to Leon, he was relieved to see that the girls were safe, and he could see their icons on the [World Map] zoom through the domain to places that weren’t mapped out for him, meaning they were making good progress away from danger.

This meant he didn’t have to worry about them anymore, and could fully focus on the fight that was unfolding before him, his attention turning back to the monster.

The [Vessel of War] mouth opened wide as its crimson tongue dangled from there, its massive eye scanning the room for any remaining threats, its gaze landing on Leon.

"Ew."

Slash! Slash!

It swung repeatedly at anything that was near it, its claws cutting through the air with deadly precision, destroying everything in its path.

Most of the players and natives that survived the War Cleave unfortunately died shortly after, their bodies falling to the ground as the vessel continued its rampage.

And eventually, only Leon and Iris remained in the chamber, the vessel of war gazing at them, its claws glinting in the dim light, ready to strike again.

Leon already knew he stood no chance against such overwhelming power, and Iris knew that as well deep down in her heart.

"My Combat Power’s around 13,000,000," she spoke faintly as she raised her staff, her voice trembling slightly with fear, "Just leave, you can’t fight it, and neither can I."

Iris knew she couldn’t defeat the Vessel of War, it would kill her eventually if she stayed, but all she could do was stop it until then to allow more of its people to escape the carnage.

"By now, chaos must be spread across the entire kingdom because of the guards," she sighed, her shoulders slumping with the weight of the realization.

Indeed, Leon looked past the many destroyed walls, and he saw many buildings being destroyed, with fire rising into the night sky and smoke billowing everywhere, the sounds of battle echoing through the streets.

It was a sight of apocalypse in the Imperial Kingdom, who seemed so safe and peaceful only a few hours ago, now reduced to chaos and ruin.

Iris’ expression was colder than ever before, all her playfulness left behind after this sudden turn of events that had shattered her kingdom and threatened all she held dear.

"I knew the gods would do anything they could to obtain more power," Iris whispered, her voice filled with bitterness and regret, "But going as far as doing this..."

Nature’s Strings

She lifted her staff and cast her spell to bind the vessel of war, in hopes of gaining precious seconds to cast her more powerful spells.

But alas, her efforts were in vain against such overwhelming power.

SLASH!

The vessel of war cut through her spell immediately then rushed forward with terrifying speed, its massive form closing the distance.

Teleport!

Iris dodged the attack by teleporting a few meters away from it and cast [Flaming Wall] to surround the entire chamber of walls of flame, creating a barrier between them.

She then turned around toward Leon was and shouted even harder, her voice desperate and filled with fear, "I SAID LEAVE, YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING!"

Leon simply stared back at her, his expression unreadable, then with a heavy sigh, he took a step forward toward the queen, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I think YOU should leave," he said calmly as he arrived right in front of the queen, "If you’re here... I can’t do THAT."

"...That?" Iris asked, confused by his cryptic words.

"Also, since you know you can’t win, wouldn’t helping out the people in the kingdom better? You’d be able to contain all the guards and threats, since I’m sure a horde of monsters will be attempting to breach the wall as well."

"B-But if I leave, then the [Vessel of War] will..."

ROOOOAR!

They heard it roar as it pushed through a wall of flames, its massive form emerging from the fire, its skin scorched but healing rapidly.