Melissa grabbed for the sword, testing its weight and balance before nodding towards her princess. The explanation of the magic cloak did not surprise her, as it was quite common for well-practiced magicians to cast powerful hexes or spells on their own clothing, effectively making them armor.

Another crash interrupted her musings on this, and she turned to the horizon to catch another glimpse of the enemy. The sun was still rising, bathing all in a yellow glow…wait. Melissa narrowed her eye and looked closely, noticing that which she could not see before. A sense of dread crawled up her spine and she rushed to locate Alice.

Grabbing the princess’ shoulder, she stopped her from charging headfirst into battle. Meanwhile, archers began to mount their weapons on the castle’s walls, already firing into the enemy’s front lines. However, they were soon firing into nothing, for none of them knew the enemy’s true size and strength.

“Alice,” the knight said slowly. “Alice, the Ultimatum goes by many titles, but one of them is infamous throughout their victims and enemies. They’re called the Golden Army.”

Sure enough, if one took a closer look, they’d realize that the sun’s rays were everything but. Instead, it was an ocean of golden-armored soldiers, each willing to engage in war. And above them all, standing atop a moving citadel bristling with weaponry and pulled by a mighty beast were two figures.

A masked man and a knight covered in platinum armor.

Yggdrasil.