[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Empire.
...
...
Meanwhile, as night was just beginning to fall over the Empire.
Madara and Ciri had teleported to the capital of Nilfgaard. At that moment, they were standing on the roof of one of the city's towers, where a massive bell rested. One of his clones had left a Hiraishin seal there yesterday so that Madara could teleport directly to the location if he ever needed to travel south.
Ciri immediately turned her gaze, surprised, toward the enormous Nilfgaardian city. There was a gigantic coliseum, a statue of a man holding a sun near the sea, the golden palace almost at the center of the city, even though they were on the eastern side of it, still far from the gate because the city was enormous.
They could also see the harbor, which had a gate with a giant sun-shaped circle that ships passed through...
"Why do they like the color gold so much, and why are there some places with black?"
She observed the buildings stretching as far as the eye could see. Most of the houses had rooftops, and some of them had dark-colored facades. It was strange.
"In practice, that's pretty stupid. Black absorbs more heat during the day. The houses end up heating up much faster. Up north, they usually use lighter colors. But maybe these people are patriotic enough for things like that..." Madara shrugged. He also took the opportunity to observe the layout of the capital.
It wasn't just the color of some places. Flags bearing the Black Sun, with a golden disc against a dark background, fluttered from the highest points of the city. The same symbol appeared engraved on public buildings, barracks, monuments, and even on the signs of many shops.
"I wonder if they force the people to do that. It looks like war propaganda," Ciri commented. Despite her calm expression, she analyzed every detail.
The two had already passed through worlds where governments forced their citizens to demonstrate absolute loyalty to the nation. Sometimes out of fear. Other times by trying to fuel excessive patriotism, convincing their own people that their sons, brothers, or fathers were heroes fighting for a noble cause. Defending the kingdom. Preventing an invasion. Saving their own country or its allies.
In other cases, however, it was nothing more than the ambition of rulers interested only in personal gain, caring little about the lives of the soldiers they sent to die. They only needed the right incentive.
Even so, they both knew that keeping morale high was an important factor in any war.
"Either way, the people seem quite confident," Ciri observed. "The army's defeat hasn't shaken their confidence. They still believe they're going to win... or, at least, that's how it seems. I also doubt that what happened would be made public so easily..."
Madara silently agreed. News of the disaster in the north had probably not yet reached the capital.
"It would be interesting to see their reaction if they already knew what had happened in the north..." she commented.
Madara merely shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."
Ciri turned to look at him. "So, what's the plan? Just deal with my dear father... or are you planning to do something else?" she asked with a small smile as she stretched her arms, like someone about to begin a marathon.
"You head to the palace," he said, and Ciri nodded. "And I'm going to show Nilfgaard... and the world... what it means to fear us."
She smiled, and with a single greenish flash, disappeared.
Madara remained silent, observing the calmness of the night, watching the nightlife of the Empire's capital. Guards patrolled the streets while citizens walked back and forth as if nothing had happened.
It was possible to hear a few comments about the battle in the north in taverns and in conversations throughout the streets.
But no one knew exactly what had happened. The information was being carefully controlled to prevent it from reaching the common people.
Not even the nobility themselves were supposed to know the truth. If they discovered that Nilfgaard's greatest army had been practically annihilated in just a few hours, despair would spread throughout the capital.
Madara leaped toward the center of the city, landing in the middle of an enormous plaza. He crouched the instant he touched the ground.
The people immediately noticed him. Some had even seen him descending from the sky and pointed, asking one another who that man was.
But no one had time to get an answer. Madara simply raised his hand above his head and slammed it into the ground.
At that very instant, a gigantic summoning seal appeared beneath his palm, rapidly spreading across the entire plaza.
"Summoning Jutsu."
The people barely had time to react before the explosion came in the very next instant, shattering everything around Madara.
BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM
Some were thrown backward by the shockwave. Most didn't even manage to run. In the next moment, the entire plaza erupted as a massive cloud of smoke suddenly appeared.
Houses, buildings, and the surrounding streets were destroyed in a single explosion as a colossal cloud of smoke swallowed everything around it.
Ciri watched everything from the roof of the golden-colored palace. The explosion raised a column of smoke so enormous that it surpassed the height of the imperial palace itself.
Entire buildings were torn apart and hurled into the air, scattering debris across various parts of the city.
"What's happening?!" The screams immediately began echoing throughout the city.
The people inside the palace below her rushed to the windows and balconies, while others ran desperately through the streets.
Ciri remained motionless, watching the smoke stabilize before it slowly began to dissipate.
"So... he really did summon that thing after all..." she murmured.
As the haze disappeared, an enormous silhouette began to emerge. Two red eyes opened within the darkness. Panic spread throughout the city.
"W-... what is that?!" People pointed at the creature.
The very next instant, one of its arms emerged from the smoke and, with a massive swing, crushed another entire building with a single paw.
Then the creature fully raised its body. The smoke finally disappeared.
"ROOOOAAARRR!!" The roar echoed throughout all of Nilfgaard.
Its nine tails slowly swayed behind its colossal body.
Kurama.
The gigantic fox, as large as a mountain, now completely dominated the center of the Nilfgaardian capital.
Screams echoed from every direction. Men, women, and children fled in complete panic, shouting about a monster in the Nilfgaardian tongue.
Ciri merely watched. Standing atop Kurama's head, Madara remained still, calmly looking over the city.
Then, without needing to make a single movement, the Nine-Tailed Fox began to move. Entire buildings were crushed as though they were made of paper.
Nilfgaard would never forget that night.
Ciri let out a quiet sigh. She had a task of her own to carry out. In a greenish flash, she vanished from the rooftop.
The very next instant, she appeared hidden behind a massive pillar inside the Emperor's audience hall.
From there, she watched her supposed biological father running alongside guards, generals, and advisors.
They all shouted about the enormous monster that had appeared in the center of the city as they hurried toward the palace's main balcony. Even seeing Emhyr only from behind, Ciri noticed the exact moment he turned pale; all the color had drained from his face.
She simply crossed her arms and made no effort to hide. She merely leaned against one of the pillars, watching the spectacle.
Kurama seemed to immediately notice the group's presence on the palace balcony. Its enormous red eyes turned toward them.
Then the fox roared. ROOOOAAARRR!!
The roar made the entire palace tremble. A violent gust of wind swept across the balcony, forcing guards and nobles to shield their faces as they were pushed backward.
Panic spread throughout the area. "We have to flee! That monster is going to destroy everything!"
"Can someone explain to me where that thing came from?!" Emhyr shouted.
But no one had an answer. Then Kurama slowly opened its mouth, and a black sphere began to form.
It grew larger and larger, concentrating an absurd amount of chakra.
Ciri watched in silence. If Madara truly wanted to... with that single attack, he could simply wipe the entire capital off the map.
The moment the sphere was complete... It was fired. The Bijūdama streaked across the sky like a black meteor.
Emhyr and everyone around him screamed, instinctively throwing themselves to the ground, certain they were about to die.
However, Madara had not aimed the attack at the palace. Even so, the shockwave shattered every window as the sphere passed overhead.
Since the capital was a coastal city, the sea lay just beyond it. Along its path, the gigantic statue located in the center of the city simply vanished when it was struck by the Bijūdama before the attack continued toward the ocean.
It was completely disintegrated. For a brief instant, it almost seemed poetic.
Then... A brilliant flash illuminated the entire horizon.
On the far side of the palace, a colossal explosion erupted. Ciri couldn't see it directly from where she stood, but the entire city was illuminated as though it were broad daylight.
She understood perfectly the magnitude of that attack. Emhyr and the others couldn't see the impact. But the inhabitants near the coast watched, completely frozen, as the entire horizon transformed into a gigantic sphere of destructive light.
This was no longer about armies. It was not about magic. It was not about a conquering king. It was not about politics. Only destruction. Pure and absolute.
An explosion powerful enough to erase all of Nilfgaard if Madara had truly wished it.
Ciri smiled faintly. Madara really hadn't been joking when he said he would make Nilfgaard understand the meaning of fear.
After that single shot, Kurama became still once more. It simply remained seated in the center of the city, slowly swaying its nine tails.
There were no more explosions. Only the sound of the wind cutting through the air... and the capital's terrified silence.
Then Madara appeared beside her. "I thought you would've already taken him into custody," he commented.
Ciri shrugged. "I lost the motivation." She subtly pointed toward Emhyr and the others.
"Look at them." The Emperor, his guards, and his advisors were still trying to get back to their feet, completely pale and trembling.
"I was supposed to have already put the tip of my sword against his neck... But I think I enjoyed watching them piss themselves in fear more."
Madara couldn't hide a smile when he saw that as well. "Ciri. Come with me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Where?" She received no answer, finding herself being pulled by her husband into the hall, leaving the balcony behind.
Meanwhile, Emhyr remained completely motionless. Never in his life had he felt such fear.
A monster the size of a mountain had appeared in the center of his capital. His city was trembling, and people were screaming from every direction.
And after that colossal flash that had illuminated the entire night, he finally understood one thing.
This wasn't an invasion. It was a warning.
Deep down, Emhyr already knew. It had something to do with those two, and they were behind all of this.
An entire section of the capital had been destroyed simply by that creature's presence as it crushed everything around it. No human being could summon a monster of that size.
A demon.
But if it was those two... then it was entirely possible.
"We'll try to contain it! Summon all the sorcerers!" Emhyr ordered as he struggled to his feet.
However, when he turned to return to the throne room... He froze. All the guards and advisors behind him froze as well.
His throne was occupied.
Madara was sitting on it as though he were the true owner of that place. And on his lap, Ciri rested comfortably against him, with one arm draped around his neck.
How they had appeared there... Emhyr had no idea. But that only confirmed his suspicions. They were the ones responsible for the gigantic creature that remained motionless in the center of the city, silently watching the palace.
"You..." Emhyr could barely get the word out.
It was the first time they had finally met. And it certainly wasn't a pleasant meeting.
They had been enemies for years. Ciri wore a small, mocking smile as she looked at him.
"Emperor of Nilfgaard..." She paused briefly. "Or should I say... my father." The last word came out laden with contempt and disgust.
The men behind Emhyr were completely stunned. "Your Majesty... What did she mean by that?" one of the advisors asked, utterly confused.
He still had no idea what had happened in the north. Emhyr hadn't even had the courage to reveal the whole truth.
He had needed to find those two first. However, he had never imagined they would appear so soon.
And above all, that they would wait until that very moment. Now he understood. They wanted him to have enough time to receive the news, feel the weight of his defeat... and completely lose control before the real confrontation.
Emhyr heard another roar coming from outside. He knew it was the giant orange monster. The colossal fox continued staring at the palace.
He swallowed hard. Even so, he forced himself to regain part of his composure.
He raised his head again and looked at the two of them. The man sitting on his throne was exactly as the descriptions had said.
Madara Uchiha. They had never met in person, although Madara had observed him many times through his clones.
Nor was it a pleasant sight for any father to witness. Seeing his own daughter sitting on another man's lap. Under any other circumstances, that would have filled him with rage.
But this was no ordinary situation. He needed to maintain his composure. "Cirilla..." he said, taking a step forward. "It seems we've finally met... daughter."
Behind him, the guards and advisors remained completely stunned. Ciri, on the other hand, simply stared at him. And from the look filled with contempt... and even hatred...
Emhyr immediately understood. She would never acknowledge him as her father. "You... knew all this time...?" Ciri asked, revealing beneath her hatred a tone that was also slightly hurt and lost.
She closed her eyes for a moment. Madara, who had one arm around her waist and his other hand resting on her thigh, gently squeezed her arm and gave her a serious look.
Ciri had always been an extremely emotional woman. It was true that she had changed greatly after so many years by Madara's side and all the training she had received.
Even so... There were feelings that simply couldn't be ignored.
She opened her eyes again. She didn't need to hear that man's answer. "So... it's all true." Her voice came out quietly.
"You really are my father." Even as she said that, she made no move to leave Madara's lap. She simply continued staring at Emhyr with profound disgust. "I saw you..." She took a deep breath. "When I was still inside my mother's womb."
The entire hall fell silent.
"My self from three years ago traveled back to the time when my mother was still alive. I was there... on that day. I was in that throne room... still inside my mother's womb."
Her gaze remained fixed on Emhyr. "You were standing beside her." She paused briefly.
"My grandmother never liked you very much... did she?" Although it sounded like a question, there was no curiosity in her voice.
It was merely a cold observation, because Ciri had been there that day. After taking Madara's parents to a small village, after they had both lost their memories when she traveled to the past, she went to Cintra... She saw the palace, saw her grandmother alive, her mother, and the man standing behind her... The man who killed her... Even if only indirectly.
Just as Madara had still been nothing more than a baby in his mother's womb... She also existed only as an unborn child in her mother's womb.
It was at that moment that she entered the palace. She found her mother, pregnant, standing beside a much younger Emhyr.
And above them all... Her grandmother presided over the court of Cintra.
"We have much to resolve today, Emperor Emhyr." Ciri said, looking coldly at her biological father.
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