The intense airflow swept countless Homus and toys into the sky. Their screams intertwined in the air before they were flung far away, breaking free from the storm.
These were only a few; most Homus were torn apart in the storm, their screams abruptly cut short. Shattered pieces of cloth and toy parts rained down from the sky like a grotesque downpour.
Joyce's pupils couldn't help but constrict. The banner in her hand whipped violently in the storm.
Her long hair danced wildly behind her, while Schrodinger beside her had already been blown to the ground by the gale, only managing to avoid being swept away by clinging onto Joyce's leg.
This sudden, tragic scene instantly broke the toy army's formation. The Homu residents, screaming in terror, scattered in all directions.
Giant wings blotted out the sun, casting an immense shadow.
Everyone present was tossed about by the fierce wind. Only Joyce stood firm against the gale, alone on the high platform.
The strongest gust forced Joyce's eyes shut for an instant. When she opened them again, the scene before her had transformed.
Menacing, dark dragon scales rippled before Joyce. The colossal body filled her entire vision, forcing her to tilt her head back just to see its entirety.
Jagged, imposing horns, a terrifying visage, nostrils flaring with fire, and sharp, piercing eyes.
The sky-obscuring, massive dragon wings beat once behind it, and the resulting storm instantly flattened the remaining surrounding buildings.
This was a dragon larger than the royal palace itself, the true evil dragon Homusilla.
It was also the same evil dragon that had resided in the Dragon's Lair when Joyce was still the Demon Lord.
The moment its enormous body landed, the entire kingdom trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Joyce, who had been looking down upon the kingdom's battlefield from the high platform, now tilted her head up, silently observing the massive dragon.
---||---
Meanwhile, in the basement, just as Shu had dragged the struggling Bella aside and placed his hand on the shoulder of the stunned Sirin, an excruciating, tearing pain suddenly assaulted his entire body.
This sensation of being ripped apart made Shu instantly drop to his knees, clutching his heart and gasping for breath.
This startled both Bella, who was preparing to get up and deliver another rocket headbutt, and Sirin in front of Shu. Both instinctively took a step back.
The bone-chilling pain made the veins on Shu's forehead bulge. But sensing Sirin moving away from him, Shu gritted his teeth, raised a hand, and tried to force himself to grab her.
However, the sudden, intense pain gave Shu no time to adapt. At this point, just being able to register Sirin moving away was the limit of his capabilities; reaching out to grab her was pure delusion.
Sirin, instinctively recoiling, dodged his grasp, causing Shu to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
"Lady Sirin, let's run while we can!" Seeing Shu fall, Bella quickly ran between Sirin and Shu, pulling Sirin to leave.
"But..." Sirin glanced at Shu, who was writhing in pain on the floor. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to turn and leave.
In the darkness, only Shu remained, clutching his chest, struggling to get up, yet unable to control his body or even think clearly due to the overwhelming agony of thousands of Homus' suffering simultaneously imposed upon him.
If it were just intense pain, Shu could have used the same method he employed against the Herrscher of Dominance—taking control of his body as if it were a puppet.
But now, it wasn't just pain several times more intense than what the Herrscher of Dominance inflicted. There was also agitation, confusion... a myriad of jumbled negative emotions that made it impossible for Shu to maintain even the simplest thought processes.
So, people really could be in so much pain they wanted to commit suicide... Right now, Shu had only this one thought. The external agony forced Shu to curl up, wishing he could completely disappear from this world.
---||---
In the world outside, the storm had finally ceased, but the danger was escalating.
The dark clouds on the horizon continued to approach, and the massive dragon that had landed within the city was now craning its long neck, observing the tiny figure still standing before it with considerable interest.
In the dragon's eyes, Joyce was indeed tiny. She wasn't even as large as one of its pupils!
The enormous size difference made Joyce seem as insignificant as a blade of grass. The dragon snorted dismissively at Joyce, then turned its gaze towards the royal palace.
But why had that place turned into ruins? The dragon couldn't quite understand, but that didn't stop it from knowing that the person it was looking for was in that palace.
The dragon's turn created a huge commotion. Its long tail casually swept, easily destroying the high platform Joyce stood upon.
To the dragon, this was as trivial as knocking over a small building block. But to Joyce, that dragon tail was like a mountain crashing towards her.
Joyce snatched up Schrodinger beside her and leaped from the high platform, narrowly dodging the attack by almost brushing against the dragon's tail.
The surrounding buildings had already been cleared when the dragon landed. Covered in dust and debris, the dragon moved its four thick, short legs, rapidly approaching the ruins of the royal palace.
With every step, the dragon caused an earthquake, and the fleeing Homus were once again shaken, falling over and struggling to get up.
The dragon didn't even deign to specifically target these Homu civilians and guards. It merely stomped its feet, completely demolishing the laughable defensive lines before it.
Joyce, having landed and rolled with Schrodinger, stood up. Looking at the direction the dragon was heading, Joyce gritted her teeth and put down the pale-faced, terrified Schrodinger.
"You take everyone and escape the surface! Return to the underground town from where we came out!" Joyce thrust the flag in her hand to Schrodinger and said quickly, "Whether it's Homus or toys, remember, not a single one of our people can be lost!"
Although Schrodinger was thoroughly frightened, her ability to act remained unimpaired. Relatively composed, she nodded, took the flag, and turned to leave.
Joyce, however, turned back, staring coldly at the advancing evil dragon. She then glanced at the Holy Sword, still standing firm and unmoved in the ground, gritted her teeth, and decisively charged towards the massive dragon.
At the same time, the all-purpose wristband on Joyce's arm suddenly flickered with light. The next moment, a strong light flared, and the wristband vanished, replaced by a handheld device, entirely black.
Joyce ran, stepped onto a protruding piece of rubble, leaped forward, and raised the peculiar device high above her head.
"Fight alongside me—Arahato!"