An Extra’s POV

"Hahahahahaha!!!"
The Dragons all laughed as the City before them was burning up—completely laid to waste.
The corpses of the innocents who attempted to evacuate also littered the ground a good distance from them, from all evacuation
points no less.
There were four gates that led outside the Capital, and with two Dragons assigned to two each, the results ended the same for
everyone who attempted to flee. They all died, and the exits were sealed so the rest would suffer within the stifling world of the
Capital.
No one had any doubt about it—the humans were ruined.
"Thank you for your hard work, comrades!" Kat'erin smiled at the Dragons who stood before her and her comrade.
There were a total of six of them—two contributed from each Lord allied with the White Dragon Lord. They had rendezvoused a
little beyond the outskirts of the Capital, though they could see all that went on in the ruined city from where they were.
It was all so fulfilling, and from the looks of all the Dragons involved, it was clear they felt the same thing.
"We do not deserve such high praise, Lady Kat'erin. You and Lady Shai'ya are our seniors." The most mature of the Dragons
said with a smile, bowing slightly to her.
Despite them being men, they acted so humbly among two women. This was because, unlike certain societies and cultures that
incorporated sexism in their practices, the Dragons did not care for sex or gender differences.
What mattered most was ability and rank.
"We are all Generals here, so there's no need to fuss over seniority." Kat'erin said with a dismissive wave, though she was
satisfied to know that the people before her knew how to deliver proper respects.
"Still... you are a part of the 7 Squads. It is my dream to one day join a Squad, so I'll work very hard to prove myself worthy to
the Empire."
"Me too!"
"I'll do my best as well!"

All of the Dragon Generals expressed immense readiness to serve, and that pleased Kat'erin very much. It reminded her of her
time in the Academy, and she figured the Generals before her only finished their Course only recently.
"When did you pass from the Academy?" She went on to ask.
It was a somewhat strange question to ask, since they were only related by professional strands. Still, since a General belonging
to one of the special Squads of the Empire was asking, the General did not hesitate to answer.
"A-about seven years ago! I was dispatched for three years in the Southern Continent, and I spent the rest in the Western
Battlefield—mainly performing training and management roles to my juniors."
Kat'erin smiled and nodded at the stiff, awkward, but well-meaning words of the Dragon before her.
"Not bad... you've racked quite a bit of achievement already. I suppose you were quite exceptional in the South."
"Hahaha! You render me too much praise."
'I haven't gone to the South yet, but that's more due to politics than personal abilities. In any case, he's had some good
experiences since I hear that's where the war is most intense.'
Kat'erin was sure this General didn't really fight in the front lines, but it was still a good experience he had to put in his portfolio.
'The intensity of the battlefield was probably too much for him, so he requested to be transferred to the West. Since he is still
fresh, I can't blame him. Usually, the exceptional ones are the kind that thrive in the South.' All of these were random thoughts
that she had about her junior, but they were nothing serious. The only reason she had such a long train of thought was out of
consideration for him joining one of the Squads of the Empire.
'It'll take some time for him to accomplish that, but... I suppose it's possible.'
As long as he wasn't too ambitious, he would be able to join one of the lower-ranked Squads.
'There's no real need to tell him all of that, though.' Kat'erin thought to herself with a light shrug, so she simply let the General off
with a few words of encouragement.
"Just keep working hard. I hope I meet you one day in a Squad Evaluation event."
"I-I'll try my best, Ma'am!"

The moment he said this in a stiff salute, the other Generals also did the same, all raising their voices with pure energy.
"We will do our best as well!"
It seemed they all had the same ambition as the first guy, but none of that surprised her. Dragons were naturally attuned to
warfare, and nothing motivated them more than rank and merit. They all desired to bring glory to the Empire through their
actions.
She was no different—though her real allegiance belonged to her Master, the White Dragon Lord.
She was only loyal to the Emperor because her Lord served him.
'I'd never say such a thing to anyone, but... that is truly how I feel.' She smiled to herself, even blushing slightly.
She simply adored her Master that much.
~BZZZTZZZ!~
She felt a buzz on the communication device with her, instantly recognizing who was trying to reach her.
'M-Master!' Her eyes widened in glee as she brought out the device and showed Shai'ya, who was instantly brimmed with joy the
moment she saw it as well.
Kat'erin signaled the Generals before her that she would be excusing herself, and in the blink of an eye, the two subordinates of
the White Demon Lord created considerable distance between themselves and the other Generals.
Part of the reason they did this was so the Generals wouldn't be able to listen to whatever information their Master wanted to
give them—just in case it was confidential. It was best to respond to such calls in private, and Kat'erin was sure the other
Generals would have done the same if it was their respective Lords calling.
However, there was another reason they preferred taking the call of their Master in private.
"Heheheheeee!"
"Can't wait! Can't wait!"

They picked up the call and awaited the kind words of their Master as they greeted her with the most excited tone one could
have.
"Master, did you see how—?"
"Master how have you—?"
Before any of their greetings could land, though, the loud voice of the White Dragon Lord pierced the air in an unsettling manner.
"You fools! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" "E-eh...?" Kat'erin and Shai'ya both had stunned looks on their faces as
they heard the voices of their Master.
They thought, for sure, that Lord Frey'ja would congratulate them for their exploits. Sure, killing a bunch of humans wasn't that
big a deal, but still... she was always fond of praising them for every little thing.
This was one of the reasons they were so attached to her.
The mere fact that she was using such a harsh tone proved that they had done something extremely wrong.
Shai'ya's distracted gaze moved to the other Dragon Generals, perhaps out of fear that they had heard the words of their Master
despite the anti-sound field that was in place. However, she was shocked to see that each duo was also on their respective calls.
It seemed their Lords were also speaking to them.
Their reactions also contained distress.
At this point, the two Dragon Generals realized that something was wrong somewhere.
They had made a fatal mistake... but they did not know what it was.