☀️ Arselia and Akonia

 - Soon things will be... very bad for us. We don't know when, how, or what to do; we only know that something must be done, and that something is not preparing for battle.
 - Yes. With all due respect, you couldn't take him head-on even if you tried.

-- Sooo, first of all, it's cool that you believe in my strength enough to suggest taking him head-on ))) -- said Erephir, who by that moment was sitting comfortably on the sofa. -- Secondly. I need to think. One minute.

A minute passed. Maybe two or three.

-- Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Here is what I've realized. First, we don't know the source of the delusion, but I don't believe in collective hallucinations. Furthermore, under any circumstances, I have no doubt that the Apostle of Hopelessness is involved. BUT there is a possibility that the spread of rumors about the coming disaster is the very goal and obsession of "Hopelessness," to sow panic and so on and so forth. That's a pleasant scenario for us, let's not elaborate on it, there's no point )

-- Now, if we have a well-wisher who saw fit to leave Carneola a message... Okay, actually it sounds strange that he chose a bar for the location ) I need to clarify this point, why it's like that. But let's believe in it. Further, don't get mad at me, but I immediately started thinking about how to take him down. Let's imagine words hanging in the air describing our opponent.

This character's attacks terminate the existence of everything they touch. 
Initiative: 1000

-- Now this, of course, is wild ) It looks like Metarma's curse, but even stronger, and on top of that, he has the first move. If we don't find a counter to this, there's no point in fighting further. But let's assume we did. Moving on.

Ruthless Annihilator
Immunity to all negative effects except those that reduce health. 

-- Great profession )) Next.

Immense Terror
Characters with Will lower than 30 cannot perform any actions in the presence of Hopelessness.

-- We need Spirit. And time. I hope we have the latter and will get the former. Next.

Hopelessness
Destroys a small town or one district of a large city, can be used once a week. 

-- Ooh, cool ability. It could be useful. If we had it instead of him ) Next.

Attack: 10000
Equipment
Weapon 1: 

Weapon 2: 

-- This, by the way, is interesting. I don't know if our dragon uses weapons or if, due to incredible strength and annihilation, he sees no point in them. But let's assume he has a weapon, and a good one. Some giant greataxe with 500 damage. And let's assume we have some kind of protection against annihilation. Well then, if we master the Path of Metal, surprisingly, this can be endured 😎 Still the best path, another confirmation. I just need to raise the armor class a bit, to at least 85%, and if we had some regen, we could hold him off for quite a long time.

-- The problem, of course, is that this is all guesswork. If he has some little sword with elemental damage, then thanks to...

Affinity +1000% to all elements.

-- That changes everything. Definitely. And that's assuming the dragon even wants to enter a melee duel, because since he can attack across the whole map, he doesn't need to. And here's another interesting thing:

SP: 200

-- And I thought I was fast, sigh! Hopelessness doesn't need to fight anyone openly at all; he just flies in, shoots across the whole map, and flies away to destroy another place, without giving any chance for a counterattack.

-- In short, the point is... Everything is bad. But incredibly interesting. I can't say I haven't encountered hopeless opponents before; I have. Monsters are monsters, but in the end, humans rule the world because a way to deal with every monster was eventually found. Using intelligence, honor, and courage, our species won and climbed to the very top of the food chain. Every time someone appeared who was too much for us, they rejoiced and gloated, but only for a while, and then they were crushed just like any other plague. The same goes for dragons; Emperor Raidark crushed them in the past, including those who were truly capable of destroying cities: so I was assured. Who knows, maybe that was the Apostle of Hopelessness? Dragons are far more ancient than we are, that option cannot be ruled out. What if Hopelessness is their defeated former king who decided to break an oath? Anyway, these questions are not for me or those present here. The main thing should be clear.

-- Of course, I'm not saying that we must be the heroes in this situation. More accurately, I suspect that I will have to participate, but overall — we'll see. A tactical retreat is also a normal move when there are no other adequate options, but in any case... We must prepare. I really hope we have enough time; I'll inform the princess. However, I suggest Beata and Guion come with me tomorrow morning to deliver the information directly, rather than through erephir distortions. I think that Princess Naera is also aware of the Apostles and will be very grateful for your reconnaissance.

-- Anything else? -- Erephir clearly pulled out her diary, preparing to update the to-do list.