Ha-Yoon was running through the streets, trying to find where Yi was at. She couldn't help but look at the sky and be reminded of the nightmare she was in. It was as if the entire sky was dying and its blood was draining across the sky. All it reminded her was watching the blood drain down the steps of her house, where moments ago it was filled with the laughter of her father and brother, and the soothing voice of her mother. Now she was going to lose everything again.
"No! I can fight them this time! I will not allow the same thing to happen again!" Her mouth trembled, as she tried to hold back the emotions.
"YI!!!" Ha-Yoon screamed out, turning her head back and forth in search of him. "Where could he have gone!" She thought to herself. Trying to think back to the last time she saw him, Yi and his group decided to search around the city and explore the area.
"If only I had gone with him!" She beat herself up. After hearing Yi tell her that he was there for her and crying her eyes out in front of him, she felt self-conscious and embarrassed, so she decided to rest in her room. Though their doors were opened, this didn't mean that they had returned.
Even though she knew that the city was strong enough to hold back the monsters for a time, she kept thinking about how the city was going to be overrun eventually. The city would be destroyed and forgotten, only to be remembered as a reminder of the destructive force of the Overflow.
"Excuse me!" She shouted at one of the residents. "Where are the city's guards located?!" The man looked befuddled by her question but pointed towards where they were located. Without a word of thanks, she dashed towards the direction given to her.
As she ran past people, she noticed that people began to calm down after the initial shock of the sky changing colors. Even if people knew that they were safe, the Overflow was still something deeply ingrained into people as an event to fear. Of course, there would be panic by people seeing it happen, but after a time others began to help bring order. There were those who would reassure their fellow residents that the city was safe, and they didn't need to be frightened.
"I am sorry, everyone." She couldn't help but whisper to herself. Even if she were to tell the people, they wouldn't believe the word of a stranger compared to the proof of the city thriving in the face of such a tragic event.
Tears flew past her face, as she kept running and ignoring the odd looks of those around her.
"The city is safe, young lady!! There's no need to run!!" An older man tried to call out to her, thinking she was scared like many were.
Hearing his confidence in his voice only made her chest hurt more, thinking about how they were all going to die, just like her family. Sobs escaped from her throat, as she continued to run towards where she thought Yi was located.
-----
[Master!! Are you alright?!] Brittany called out to him, when the city broke out into chaos as the sky turned colors.
[Yes. I am alright. Idrenis and I are on top of the wall, so have the rest meet me up here.] He directed her.
Looking at Idrenis, Han said, "I guess it is time."
"Yes." Was her response. One of the guards ran up the stairs and towards where she was standing.
"Commander! The Deputy has ordered several of the guards to go into the city to regain order. I was informed to let you know, and ask what our next step should be." The guard saluted, a mixture of excitement and fear in his face and voice.
"Have the entrance into the city sealed! Have those researchers bring out the weapons that were created, placing them at the corners. I want a platoon of guards around each of the weapons, and make sure that only authorized people to get near them! We trained for this scenario, so informed that Deputy to engage long-range fighters on top of the wall along with several detachments of close-range fighters. Those bastards are going to be here soon, so I want it all finished within the hour!" Idrenis parked out the last part at the soldier.
Receiving his orders, the guard quickly raced down the stairs to informed all related parties of her orders.
"Already bringing out the weapons?" Han asked Idrenis.
"Those things will not last that long, and will only buy us time against those things. They are very powerful, but get fused together too quickly." Chuckling at Han, she said, "At least you will get a nice light show."
"I will be looking forward to it." He turned back towards where the flood of monsters would be coming. Han thought back to how many of those things there were on the moon. It was impressive that this city had built weapons, enough to worry the gods, but he knew that it would only be a drop in the bucket against those things. Even the Ones Before, with all their power, were unable to destroy those things.
"Master, we have arrived!!" he heard Anacolis's voice calling out to him. All of them were standing in front of the stairs, looking ready to take on the coming threat.
"How is the city looking?" He asked them.
"There is a lot of chaos, down there. Even though the people likely know that they are 'safe,' they are still emotionally affected by it." Queen informed him.
"Yes. They are 'safe.'" Han repeated. He understood what Queen was trying to convey in her message.
By the look on Idrenis's face, she knew that something had been passed between them but didn't bother to follow up. Though she had her suspicions of the city falling, it was nothing compared to the certainty they had from coming from the future.
"My servants are very capable, so if you need them place in strategic locations, you have my permission to use them," Han told Idrenis.
She looked back at Han's group and gave a grunt of appreciation, but shook her head. "Thank you, Yi, but it is likely better for them to stay near you. I would hate for them to not be there in a crucial moment for you."
As they stood up on the wall, guards quickly moved to place a large cylinder on a nearby metal mount. Like a well-oiled machine, guards wearing different uniforms made formations on top of the wall. The group in the front all had similar looking staffs, while those in the rear had swords and shields. Their uniform looked like metallic leaves scaled together, giving them a reptilian look. The leaves were green in color, though there were differing colors along the shoulders and down the chest. Those with the staffs had a metallic red color, while the one with the swords and shields had a metallic blue color.
"Your men look very impressive," Han complimented Idrenis.
"Yes, they are my pride as a commander. While everyone else is frightened and hiding like children, these brave guards are ready to face this threat." She raised her voice so everyone could hear her. Hearing their commander's praise, all of them stood up straighter.
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Han was impressed by her skill of raising morale, with only a few words. This showed how much they all respected her and was confident in her ability to get them through this.
"Master, they have arrived," Aracia whispered into his ear.
Off in the distance, they could hear a rumbling noise. If it weren't for his prior experience with this, he would have thought there was a storm approaching them.
All the guards became, even more, alert, after hearing the rumbling noise.
"What are your commands, Master?" Queen asked.
Han continued to look at the oncoming natural disaster, thinking about how much they should be involved. "Let us see how they handle the situation. The ending of the story will not be changed, but maybe the middle of it can be altered." He contemplated.
After a stretch of time had passed of everyone being on edge with the noise off in the distance, the monsters could finally be seen running towards them. The trees all shook as those creatures rushed through the forest.
"Mages!!" Idrenis yelled out, as the horde of creatures could be seen closing in.
Like the elegant movement of dominos falling over, the mages all readied their staffs. It was impressive to view the way the staffs were raised starting from one end and flowing to the other. When the first line was ready, Idrenis commanded, "All mages fire!!"
As if a waterfall of fire was being unleashed, the wave of fiery destruction flowed out of the city. It arced over the wall and cascaded onto the forest, incinerating the canopy. Screams of pain could be heard, as the smell of roasting flesh wafted towards them. The river of fire was unrelenting as if burned down the forest for several thousands of feet.
Han was impressed by how they were able to maintain that continuous flow. Before there were concerns about whether they would exhaust themselves, Idrenis called out, "Special Weapons Team, prepare to be unleashed!" Even with the roaring of the fire and the screams of monsters, the sound of her voice could still be clearly heard.
At each of the locations near them, where the cylinders were held, those in special uniforms began to make some adjustments. There was a small humming noise that could be heard. Han could feel pressure in his chest, like when you were near a large bass speaker in a club. The sensation started low but slowly increased in intensity. Now it felt as if he was laying on top of a drying machine when it was on the spin cycle.
Just as the feeling seemed to peak, Idrenis cried out, "SWITCH!!!" Just like dancers, the mages halted the flow of fire magic. Before the fire was completed cut off, there was a powerful beam of light that seemed to split the air. It struck the ground with such strength that the ground ripped open. There was no dirt that was flung up as the ground seemed to melt. Several beams sliced through the creatures and continued to make a path up and down the army of monsters.
Han had to avert his eyes from the sudden brightness, not expecting their weapons to hold such ferocity. He was reminded of videos where people would use a magnifying class and starting a fire using the power of the sun. If a nuclear blast could be focused into a single beam of light, Han imagined this is what it would look like.
All the guards began cheering at the sight of the awesome power of this weapon. For the longest time, all intelligent life forms had to fear the Overflow and cower in shame unable to stand up against it. This moment felt like the turning point, where civilizations would no longer have to hide and hope they survived. This weapon was like the ray of hope during a hurricane, where tears of joy could be shed instead of the screams of sorrow.
Looking at the guards, Han could, for a moment, empathize with what they were going through. How often in life do you feel like a bag in the wind, at the mercy of something outside of yourself. Those moments where you received rejection from those who control access to what could make life worth living. Seeing them look so happy also made him feel sad for their future. These people would ultimately all perish, but at this moment they were on top of the world.
As if mimicking his thoughts, one by one each of the powerful rays began to fade. He looked at Idrenis wanting to understand what was happening. Idrenis stared at the scene in front of her, and a single tear outlined her face. "For a moment we defied them..." She mouthed.
"Prepare for close combat!!" Idrenis yelled out.
The mages stepped back and allowed for the close combat guards to move up. They presented their swords and shields and readied themselves for the fight of their lives.
------
Ha-Yoon felt the vibration in her chest, as she continued towards where the guards were located. The feeling was something foreign to her, which made her anxiety increased. Her legs pumped harder as she made her way towards her destination.
A bright light seemed to appear, so powerful that Ha-Yoon had to turn away. "What is happening up there?" She wondered.
Shading her eyes with her hands, she pushed forward.
Reading the city walls, there were hundreds of guards running around, getting into position. Looking up at the top of the wall, Ha-Yoon could see guards lined up. She could only see the top of the guards, but she wondered if Yi was up there. Feeling a little lost, she thought about someone that may know where they were. Going up to one of the guards, she yelled out over the noise being made, "Do you know where Idrenis is?!"
"She is at the top of the wall, Ma'am!" He informed her and then continued on his way.
"Hopefully she can help me find him." She whispered and ran up the steps.
------
They came over the wall like a tidal wave. The guards were highly skilled and were able to mow down the enemy with precision. There didn't appear to be much-wasted movement, as the guards swung their swords and killed tens of monsters. With the number of monsters present, it helped to keep back the main force of them.
Han was impressed by how they didn't take too much time killing the monsters while making sure to delay the ones behind them. Occasionally, the mages would fire off large scaled magic and hit the main body. Though this may not have done anything for them, it did provide a little breathing room.
While everyone was fighting, another group of mages came up the stairs to relieve those who had taken part in the first attack. Those who were being replaced looked exhausted, drained of everything inside of them.
"Begin volley!!" Idrenis called out, starting the second major attack.
Like the first, another wave of fire arced over the wall and landed on the main body of monsters. As the mages were killing off the monsters in the in front of the city, those who are in close combat were finishing off the remainders that were scaling the wall.
Once the monsters on top of the wall were killed, everyone who was able started tossing the monsters off the wall. This allowed them to make room for the next wave. After this was completed, the red team of mages stepped forward without stopping their attack. The blue team, those with swords and shields, stepped back and were quickly replaced with a new blue team of guards.
"Impressive how you can quickly cycle out tired guards for fresh ones," Han remarked to Idrenis.
Sighing from the constant focus of the battle, she looked at Han, "Yes, we developed this as a method to maintain pressure. Normally the monsters are not as focused and attacking in this manner, but after we developed our weapons, there were some that thought that the gods may retaliate. I, along with others, realized that we might be faced with a battle, unlike the others. The armor that they are wearing is a mixture of metals and mana stones. Through the use of the armor, they can draw in more mana than a normal person would be able to."
"That explains how they can maintain such a continuous stream of fire magic." Han nodded his head, impressed.
"The simulations we ran had us able to attack the monsters for several weeks continuously. With the time the usual Overflow lasts, this gives us a wide margin of error." Idrenis tried to sound confident.
"You think the simulations are wrong," Han stated.
Looking him dead in the eye, Idrenis said, "I have participated in enough battles to understand that plans are only useful up to the moment of the first initial attack."
Leaving her to watch over her men, Han walked over to his group. There were mixed reactions amongst them, as they viewed the efforts of the guards. "Queen, I want you to provide a little relief for them. Have your minions summoned beyond our sight. Continue to summon them until I tell you to stop." Han commanded Queen.
She stepped away from them and began to murmur her summoning spell.
Han closed his eyes and pictured the image of the summoning magic. With no one watching them, Queen wasn't impeded and created a massive hole leading to her realm. From inside came out undead cyclops, giants, and several bone dragons. In addition were the thousands of skeleton soldiers and undead knights.
If someone had seen this sight, they would have been terrified by the sight. It was as if the underworld had opened its gates and released its power.
The bone dragons were amazing to watch, as they blew out a cloud of poisonous gas. It covered millions of monsters, killing them almost instantly. Seeing the dead monsters, the surrounding ones jumped on top of them and began to devour them.
The cyclops shot out a petrification attack and turned hundreds of them into stone. And the giants waved around a giant bone club. Of the larger undead, the giant was the least powerful but was still impressive. Riding on top of horses, the undead knights looked graceful, and they crushed everything in front of them. They plowed open several hundreds of monsters and used their swords and spears to cut everything that wasn't trampled.
-----
Idrenis watched the battle as it progressed. Several hours had passed and they cycled through several red and blue team of guards. She was proud how they were willing to put everything they had into the protection of the city.
It didn't start immediately, but she began noticing a shift in the movements of the creatures. They had been attacking in the usual massive numbers, but the amount was slightly decreasing. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed such a change, but with her commanding and battle skills, she saw the change. At first, she questioned herself, but now she was convinced.
She couldn't think of a reason why the number of monsters would decrease, considering the gods were trying to wipe them out. "Did another power step in to help us?" Idrenis said to herself.
Even their estimates had them winning this event, in the back of her mind she didn't believe this to be the case. Idrenis was confident that this city would be Overwhelmed. As the sun is setting, the monsters would usually calm down, but they were still going strong.
Turning back, she looked towards the center of the city and where the Priestess was being protected. "If only I could take you away from this place. A place where you did not need to shoulder this burden, where you go back to being the laughing child I knew you as. I would trade this city if it meant that you could be safe and happy." Idrenis thought to herself.
-----
The stairs felt like they were going forever. When she reached the top, she saw Yi standing away with the others and Idrenis. Seeing that he was safe, she felt relief. Ha-Yoon knew that he was strong, considering what he had done on that monster continent, but there was still a lingering fear in her. It was the type of feeling you had when you forgot something and was constantly trying to remember what it was.
"Yi!" She called out to him.
He turned to look towards her, and something seemed to flash across his face. Seeing his expression made her breath catch inside of her since it looked like he was relieved she was there. Ha-Yoon shook her head and berated herself. "There is no reason he would be relieved to see you, get a hold of yourself!"
"Are you doing alright?" He asked her.
Blushing from thinking he heard her thoughts, she smiled and said, "Yes, I had taken a nap but was woken up when everyone was surprised by the Overflow's arrival."
"You must have been scared waking up like that," Han said sympathetically.
Ha-Yoon shook her head, and said, "No. I was surprised but being in an unknown situation is something I can handle as a former adventurer."
"Well, I am glad that you were able to make your way here. Though the city is 'safe,' I feel better knowing that nothing happened." Han smiled.
Thumping in her chest could be felt, as she tried to push down the feeling of happiness.
"I felt a rumbling feeling in my chest on my way here. Was that the monsters?" Ha-Yoon asked trying to change the topic.
"No. That was a new weapon they created, in an attempt to fight off the Overflow." Yi said. When he saw the confusion on her face, he answered, "the weapons were not meant to last long and that is why you do not see them firing."
"Their power was too great, so the mana stones end up fusing with the cylinder and making it useless," Idrenis added in, when she overheard them.
"It looks like you are able to hold off the monsters," Ha-Yoon replied, amazed at the team work of the guards. "But why do they need to fire continuously? The sun is about to set, so the monsters should be settling down." From her experiences and what she later learned, the monsters were the most active during the day and calmed down at night. If they were to stay as active as this, none of the cities would be able to survive.
Idrenis looked at Yi, and he nodded his head, so she said, "our development of weapons able to hold off the Overflow has angered the gods, so they are likely using this Overflow as a way to wipe us out."
"Wait! Why are the gods involved in this?" She asked, while looking at Yi.
"It looks like there some steps that were added in, allowing the gods to get involved with it." He hinted with his eyes.
"With our technological prowess, we have developed an armor to help boost the abilities of our men. As you can see, we should be able to hold off the attack." Idrenis said.
Ha-Yoon doubted her words of being able to succeed. She had seen that look of trying to hide something dark when she would look at herself in the mirror.
"With how the battle is going, I need to go to the priestess and inform her of our progress. Feel free to come along with me." Idrenis said to all of them, as she headed down the stairs.
Yi and the others followed after her. He flashed her a smile, telling her, he would like it if she came along.
Even though they were going through such a thing, Ha-Yoon felt happy. As she followed after him, she still hadn't shaken off the feeling that she had forgotten something.