The sky was at last clear of enemies. Now, she could redirect her attention to the ground conflict.

Le Francia, standing on the deck of her airship, gazed at the warzone below her. All the dynamic combatants were ants. And Kosetsu was evidently no soldier: she failed to kill and instead merely rendered the enemies unconscious. An appalling performance. She was unsuited for war: the very same unconscious soldiers would later become a threat again once they woke.

Additionally, the remaining enemies who were conscious and fighting still outnumbered the kingdom’s forces by a significant amount. In fact, she could see a pushback: enemy ground units were gradually overwhelming the allies, allowing them to steadily advance and claim ground. Despite Kosetsu’s efforts, she could not be everywhere at once; in spite of her speed, it still took time for her to sprint across the massive field while dealing with every issue that came into her ever-changing trajectory.

“I will put a proper end to this.” She pointed the black broadsword towards the battlefield below at the chaotic confrontations. “Abyssal Sphere.” The sword vibrated within her grasp and a singularity formed in the midst of the soldiers locked in combat. The soldiers closest to it were torn apart instantaneously by the gravitational force—allies and enemies. The singularity expanded and developed into a growing black hole. “My comrades, your sacrifices shall not be wasted. Be proud that you have served the kingdom well, and that I am pleased with you,” she mumbled. Lamentine would not escape the growing void of inevitable doom.

~~~

Flying arrows shot by the sniper archers changed directions and got sucked into the black hole as it slowly moved across the battlefield.
“WHAT IS THAT THING?!” an allied soldier shrieked.

“DON'T JUST STAND THERE!” Another began running.

Soldiers from both sides screamed and tried to run away. But eventually, the black hole swallowed them along with horses and nearby outposts.

Sako stopped dead in her tracks, panting and staring at the terrifying thing in the distance. It was coming slowly in her direction. “What…”

The soldiers near her stopped too and stared.

She was at a loss. A black hole wasn't something she could just punch or kick. She took a quick look through her list of spells in her UI on her holoscreen. They weren't helpful at all, especially with her low Intellect.

As the black hole neared the melee soldiers that were fighting the enemy troops by the biggest teleport gate, mages near the wall yelled their incantations and cast spells to counter it, but nothing worked.

Sako wished Kiyomi were here. She would easily be able to handle this, since she was versatile in different situations and could think critically when the moment called for it. Sako could only do physical damage. Sure, as a Light Wizard, Sako had spells too, but they wouldn't be nearly as effective as Kiyomi's, at least not at her current level.

Sako: Are you busy? I could use some help.

Kiyomi: yeah omw w/ team to raid 

Sako: Alright.

Well, she tried. She couldn't figure out who had made that black hole. And where did the girl with the strange accent go? She had to be responsible for this. First bullets, likely from a sniper rifle based on the far distance, and now this. Sako understood the girl's frustration, but this was overkill.

It was a mess: thousands of soldiers flew up into the air and into the hole, vanishing forever.

Sako couldn’t do anything. She was powerless. 

The anxiety in her stomach settled when Princess Vanescka casually came up to her on horseback. 

“You can do something about that, right?” she asked, pointing at the black hole. Honestly, she didn’t see how Princess Vanescka could help, but she hoped she could help. Somehow.

Princess Vanescka stared at the problem. She was calm as if this were one of her typical days inside the palace. “Hmm…” She swept her eyes over the land slowly: from left to right at everything, considering something…

In some areas, while some soldiers stared at the danger, others took the chance to land cheap but effective blows at the distracted soldiers, which caused fights here and there to resume, but not everyone could ignore the oncoming danger. Many were too baffled.

“So… what do you think?” Sako asked the princess.

“I think…” She stopped. It was hard for her to decide on a course of action.

Sako understood why. This problem was the hardest challenge to deal with. She couldn’t see a way around it.

“Hmm, yeah. More strawberry milk.”

“...What?”

“I couldn’t choose between strawberry milk and chocolate milk. But I’ve decided. I’m feeling more for strawberry.”

Sako didn’t understand…

“Actually, why not both? A glass of strawberry milk and a glass of chocolate milk. Sound good?” The princess looked at  her for reassurance. “Oh, but then I don’t think I could finish two whole glasses. Maybe half of each then...” She paused again, deep in thought as she looked off to one side. “Oh,” she met Sako’s eyes again, “what if you drink the rest for me?” She didn’t want to waste any.

She nodded slowly with sweat drops running down her face. Sure. Anything to get her to shut up about it. Weren’t they in the middle of a war? “The soldiers—”

Princess Vanescka put two fingers to her mouth and let loose a penetrating, high whistle into the air.

Moments after, a girl rode up on horseback behind them and stopped. “My princess,” she greeted, head lowered into a bow. Her skin was a smooth, flawless, soft brown. She had on simple robes and a cloak, apparently not armed for combat. Her hair was short and brown with cat ears on top. She had a distinct, sharp accent. One akin to British.

She kept her eyes on the chaotic scenery as she spoke. “A glass of chocolate milk. A glass of strawberry milk. Warm. Go.”

“Right away.” She turned her horse around and galloped towards the palace.

“She’s my royal attendant. “ She glanced at Sako before looking back to the field at the distant fighting and panicking. “She was busy running errands for me during the banquet, so you didn't meet her.”

Sako nodded. “So, about that…” She gestured at the black hole that was far away, now heading in a different direction.

“Just leave it.”

“What?!” Her loyal subjects needed her. They were screaming and dying.

“That’s just Le Francia being Le Francia. I trust her.”

“But—”

Princess Vanescka waved her hand dismissively. “Listen, girlie, sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to get the job done. I didn’t force anyone. They signed up for this.”

Sako stared at her in disbelief. This girl was nothing but cruel.