"...Dad?"
There was still a cloud of dust veiling the air. But even then, however, the crowd's eyes were all centered on the man with a gray beard that fell from the sky. They then all looked at the one that responded to him, only to see a man with a group of people that the crowd could only a.s.sume to be his family.
"What are you doing here, and with my grandchildren?" The man with the gray beard then started looking everywhere as he noticed the crowd gathered around him. He was about to approach his son, but then his eyes suddenly landed on Aerith.
"You… you're planning to leave!?" The man quickly realized what was going on as he rushed toward his son and his family. But before he could reach them, Aerith suddenly blocked his path.
"Your son and his family have made their choice," Aerith sighed as she grabbed the gray-bearded man by his wrist, "Let them, and just say your goodbyes."
"Choice!?" The bearded man pushed Aerith's hand away as he looked at his son, "You are putting these lies in my son's head. And you… you really let yourself be indoctrinated by this rebel!? This is our home!"
"Father, the Princess did not force me to do anything," the man's son shook his head, "My children are almost a thousand years old now, I want them to experience more."
"...More?" The bearded man forced a chuckle as stretched his arms to the side, "What more do you want?"
"I want them to be free to explore the stars."
"..." The bearded man could really only shut his mouth as he looked at the crowd. But soon, he suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter. He then turned his eyes toward Hannah and the others,
"Do you want to know why these people seek out and explore the stars? Because they are not content with their imperfect planets!" The bearded man raised his voice, "Theran is perfect! Why can't any of you see that!?"
"New Theran can be their home too," Aerith blocked the man's view; her voice, a complete opposite to the man's rant, "And unlike here, they will actually have a chance to move forward there."
"You don't see it, do you, princess?" The bearded man shook his head as he continued to chuckle, "You will lead them to their doom. It will be all on you if they are sent to their Eternal Deaths."
"It won't—"
"He's right, you know."
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, a familiar voice whispered in the air. And before Aerith could even see who the voice belonged to, the bearded man in front of him kneeled on the ground. It wasn't only him, the rest of the people did too.
"...Queen Adel," Aerith's eyebrows quickly furrowed as she looked at the only remaining themarian standing—her long golden hair, circling around her ankles.
"Hm," Queen Adel only hummed as she started walking around; the people near her, quickly moving away and making her a path. Her eyes looked everywhere, and as they reached Hannah and the others, a scoff quickly escaped her lips.
Paige was about to kneel when she saw this, but Hannah grabbed her arm to stop her.
Queen Adel, who saw this, only giggled before raising her eyebrow and finally walking toward her daughter.
"Princess Aerith! I detected something moving here—Oh, they're here already," Elder Olseyir, who tasked herself to welcome and orient the themarians, descended from the sky… perhaps a little too late,
"My bad...I'm just going to join the others," she then whispered to herself as she very carefully flew toward Hannah; her oversized pink robes, slapping on some of the people kneeling on the ground.
"..."
"..."
"How did you find me?" Aerith almost snarled as she saw the smirk on her mother's face.
"Don't insult me, child. I am the Queen," Queen Adel rolled her eyes and sighed, before looking at the bearded man, "Thank you for alerting me, beloved citizen."
"..." Aerith turned to look at the bearded man, only to finally notice that he was actually holding a small mesphere.
"As for the rest of you," Queen Adel then very elegantly waved her hand; her long golden hair, flowing along with her arms, "Go home, all of you are pardoned and will not be questioned for anything."
The people all flinched as they started looking at each other. And after a few seconds, some of them started standing up.
"No!" Aerith also waved her hand, causing the trees surrounding the glade to rustle, "Mother, these people deserve a home where they could be free. They want to leave."
"Dear…" Queen Adel sighed before clicking her tongue several times, "None of these people really want to leave. They are just… curious. You'll see, most of them will just choose to go back here once they realize there's nothing out there but garbage."
"You—"
"And this bright man is right," Queen Adel then placed her hand on the bearded man's shoulder that was still kneeling on the ground,
"You are just going to lead these poor people to their death. Or worse—they are going to live with the rest of the dirty animals."
"The world out there is colorful. More colorful than Theran will ever be."
"Enough, Aerith. Just how long are you going to continue this farce?"
"Kh…" The bearded man could not help but grit his teeth as Queen Adel's grip suddenly tightened.
"This pet project of yours is over. We are done indulging your silly little games," Queen Adel shook her head and started walking around, "Freedom? Are you delusional? What aspect of our country, of our planet, of our people is not free?"
"Y—"
"Everyone is living their lives the way they want," Queen Adel looked at the crowd, "Everyone is just living their lives peacefully… and now they are fighting for a freedom they already had in the first place. Honestly, dear…
…this entire thing doesn't make sense."
"W—"
"Oh, tu tut tut," Queen Adel raised her finger, "We've allowed you to bring your half-breed b.a.s.t.a.r.d to the castle, we've allowed you to bring animals into our home. I'm afraid they have started infecting you with whatever they have from spending too much time with them…
…Is that what all of you want!?" Queen Adel once again looked at the crowd of people, "You want to be the same as my deluded daughter? Mingling with the animals!? You want to devolve and—"
And before Queen Adel could finish her words, a thundering snap echoed in the air as Aerith suddenly slapped her cheek.
"I… allowed that," Queen Adel, however, only smirked as she quickly recovered herself.
"These people you call animals are my friends. Watch your tone, mother," Aerith sucked in a deep breath as she looked her mother in the eyes.
"You said that already," Queen Adel scoffed as she looked away, "I should have listened to your father. These animals are tainting your mind…
…they need to be removed."
"Wh—"
And before Aerith could even say anything, Queen Adel suddenly slammed her palm on her chest, violently throwing her miles away.
"..." And with her gone, Queen Adel quickly turned to face Hannah and the others.
"!!!" Tomoe quickly moved to cover Hannah, but Hannah quickly pushed her and Paige away; her entire body, lighting up as the air around her began to distort.
"That's cute," Queen Adel disappeared from her spot, only to appear about 2 meters in front of Hannah. But with a smirk forming on her face, her silhouette once again blurred—her fingers, instantly only a foot away from piercing Hannah's chest.
"...Oh?"
But before the tip of her fingers could reach Hannah, a hand covered in what seemed to be a white gauntlet grabbed her wrist. And before she could do anything else, the hand pulled her arm away; her feet, being kicked to make her lose balance at the same time.
She was then slammed into the ground—well, not really. Before her face could touch the ground, she remained hovering in the air. Her head was about to be stepped on by a white greave, but Queen Adel pushed herself from the ground, causing it to crack as she flew away.
"Well now…" Queen Adel then remained floating in the air as she looked down, only to see an individual fully clad in white armor,
"...Who is this?"
"...Dad?"