Abasdarhon's Castle

- Ha! Well, places like these have always been popular. If it helps to give meaning to their lives, then I'm all for it," he took the note with the address. - The Academy... you say the Academy? Just settling in, huh? So, you're a first-year student? And probably an excellent one? Well, congratulations! The country, no, the whole world needs people like you!
He smiled warmly, like a father.
- But that's just me being sentimental. Setting aside the unnecessary pathos - I wish you good luck with your studies and a fun university life. I'm sure that very soon our older generation, and your esteemed father in particular, will be very happy to see and understand what kind of daughter they have raised.
"Beautiful, smart, polite, and well-mannered. I'm even a little envious that she calls someone else 'dad'."

The girl blushed and became embarrassed.
- Thank you for your kind words. I am indeed a first-year student, and I study very well. I will become a lawyer; they are in high demand in the south.

While Sid was chatting with the first-year student, the carriage almost reached the city.

Sid and his companions saw what had been a battlefield just yesterday. Corpses of soldiers from Laphir and Tsutar lay everywhere. The soldiers of Tsutar wore strange collars around their necks. Among the dead, warriors from some of the Republic's legions occasionally appeared. As they moved forward, the number of dead increased, and eventually, they were replaced by skeletons. It seemed that their skin, muscles, and other organs had disappeared in an instant, leaving only bones. At the same time, their clothes, armor, and weapons were intact. Sid also noticed that here and there, on the ground, lay black, shiny spheres in the sun, about the size of an adult's fist. Almost reaching the city, they saw a destroyed camp and a large black sphere, about 2 meters in diameter. Next to it lay the skeleton of a huge griffin. Not far from it, skeleton workers were bustling about, loading the remains of fallen soldiers onto a cart. And there was more than one such cart.

- Mother of God! - exclaimed the coachman.
- Well, I'll be! - exclaimed the merchant's guard.
- Oh my... what a mess... - said Minoru.
- What a nightmare! - exclaimed Nisho and leaned against Sid. - I'm scared!