Dragonfire II: The Twilight Invasion

Chapter 38: Final Preparations

A few hours had passed since Moona's threat to Celestia. They had been preparing all they could, but it was almost time to rest. They still had a few more concerns, however, and decided to have a gathering in the Council room. Albedo and the others members in attendance weren't on their thrones but gathered below them. Albedo, Damian, Asami, Kei, Roxanne, Gabriella, Lucille, and Lui were all in attendance. Lui didn't have anything to contribute, she was just there to be safe in the event of a sudden attack. She was sitting on the floor off to the side, playing with dolls while Albedo and the others talked. "Where's Redderik?" Albedo asked, "I have no idea. He's not in the Keep, apparently." Damian answered, "Great time to go on vacation..." Albedo said, "That's what I said." Damian responded, "Well, we don't have time to look for him. We need to be ready for whatever Moona's planning to throw at us." Albedo said. Gabriella shook her head. "If only it was that simple..." She said, "What do you mean?" Asami asked, "Moona isn't limited to one portal at a time. She can open countless portals all over the place. There are no one or two points she will attack from. She can attack from anywhere, at any time." Gabriella answered, "Surely that has to be draining though, right? I mean, she can't possibly keep opening as many portals as she wants..." Asami said. Roxanne shook her head this time around. "That's what I thought, too. But she's a Demon, and Demons have always been uniquely skilled in portal magic. They can open them left and right with ease. But something about her is...different. It takes her no effort to open them. Fortunately, I think I have a solution." She said, "What is it?" Lucille asked, "A type of barrier I learned long ago. It shields an area from exterior magic, including portals. It wasn't intended to block an attack of this caliber, but I think I can get it all around the city, at least enough to stop her from opening portals directly inside." Roxanne answered. 

"Wow...if only we had you on our side when they first invaded." Lucille said, "Better late than never, I suppose." Roxanne responded. Albedo nodded. "That's some very impressive magic, Roxy." She said, "Thank you. I may have mentioned it before, but I have a pretty huge mana supply. So I can cast large-scale spells like that. It won't keep her from casting portals inside the barrier, though. If she gets inside the city, she'll be able to open portals freely. The barrier works both ways, though, when it comes to portals. Since she would also need to open a portal outside the city, it won't work. She can only open portals inside the city. So, with luck, they won't be able to overrun the city quite as easily as they may be expecting." Roxanne responded, "It will work. It has to..." Albedo said. One detail was bothering Kei. If Roxanne was capable of this spell, then how did Arumi get destroyed? "What did they do after breaching the barrier in Arumi?" She asked, "They didn't breach the barrier. It was never up to begin with. Moona and her company left on bad terms, but I made it explicitly clear I did not want war. They attacked out of the blue, rampaging through the streets before we could even react." Roxanne answered. Gabriella's expression grew dark. "The same thing happened to Arvan. One minute, everything was fine. And the next...I was watching that old man kill everyone I loved..." She said. Roxanne nodded. "We can't forget about that, either. I've never seen Moona actually fight, aside from the attack she threw at Kei. I know she's extremely dangerous, but odds are we won't be dealing with her personally. The old man, Raime, he's the one who leads these assaults. And he's an incredibly powerful sorcerer, way stronger than me. Don't underestimate him." She responded, "Come to think of it...Moona wasn't even there when he invaded Arvan. Huh..." Gabriella said. 

Albedo cleared her throat. "In any case, with the barrier up they won't be able to portal their way in. They'll have to enter through one of the gates. So we'll have most of our forces stationed at them. They'll shoot a signal flame into the air when the Covenant arrives. That way we'll know they're attacking. But we can't just send forces to back up one side specifically. Moona will probably send forces on all sides, considering her massive numbers. We'll need to strike back hard, and be prepared for anything." She said. Kei put a hand on her shoulder gently. "We've got this." She said. Albedo nodded. "I believe that's all. We'll meet again in the morning to discuss any extra ideas. Get a good night's rest, all of you. We'll need it..." She said. With that, most of them left the room. Only Gabriella, Lui, and Roxanne stayed behind. Lui was still playing with dolls and didn't even seem to notice the others leaving. Roxanne eyed her as she floated over to Albedo and Kei. "Albedo, Kei, a word, please." She said, "What is it?" Albedo asked, "I wanted to thank you for helping me, again. And...I wanted to apologize. If you didn't save me...then this wouldn't have happened." Roxanne answered, "No...I...I think this was bound to happen. Even if I couldn't see it. I'm glad Kei saved you." Albedo said, "So am I. But...I'm afraid this barrier spell will seriously drain my mana. Even if I do have a massive supply, it will take a lot to put it up. Especially one that will last long enough to stay up through the entire battle. Win or lose, I may not be able to join you on the field." Roxanne responded, "That's alright. If you put up this barrier, you'll already be doing way more than enough. You can rest here in the keep after if you wish." Albedo said.