Part 6 –
“Over here! There’s – there’s people under here!” Khalis relayed. The felled upper floor of what used to be a weapons shop sifted. He stood at the edge of its ruins, hearing muffled voices underneath the collapsed shop. “Water! Vevi!”
“O-On it!” Vevi, who found herself searching through a pile of debris, instantly rose from her scratched knees and ran straight for Khalis. At the same time –
“I found someone!” Haiyoto from just across the smouldering street exclaimed as he shoved one of his sheathed blades into a large stone, prying it from the crushed leg of a trapped survivor. “A-are you ok!?”
“H-Help…” The croak of the old man caused him to tense up.
“You too!? Haiyoto – C-Catch!” Vevi swiftly tossed him a leaf as if it were a throwing knife.
The trapped man was old and rugged, with their leg exploded like a burst sausage. His face shrivelled as they cried, clutching onto Haiyoto’s ankles as he was finally freed.
If only this were a nightmare.
Haiyoto thought to himself, wincing at the injury as he carried the man out into the street where another few also waited, all injured to varying degrees. These people were the survivors, found within the proximity of the scream that caused the Undead Brute to annihilate this small portion of Palvel.
Just across the street, past the ruined homes was a crater that sunk nearly ten metres deep, carrying the imprint of the monumental object the Brute had swung. It hissed with unimaginable heat as steam rose like a rolling fog.
Luck could not begin to describe how these people were able to survive. There was even one old lady who was not scratched even the slightest. However – this did not change the fact that he had more fingers than there were survivors.
The last two hours were spent salvaging whatever fragment of life was left along this ruined section of Palvel. A small, insignificant portion where life could not possibly exist after the Undead Brute’s attack.
Yet these people had survived.
Even a single life was significant enough to rally the hopes in their hearts, most notably Haiyoto’s who couldn’t be happier to rescue them.
“Can you drink this?” He showed him the leaf. A wave of awe filled the old man’s bloodshot eyes for a split second, unable to believe what was held before his very eyes.
“Water…? Ack… P-please.” He coughed.
Once the old man was laid upon a bed of plant fibres, Haiyoto swiftly placed the leaf by his lips and poured the cool liquid into his mouth.
“I can’t feel my leg… I can’t feel anything down there. Oh Gods. Why?”
“Stay still for the time being. You… you really can’t feel this?” Haiyoto could not avert his eyes from the gaping wound as he knelt beside it, his knees drenched in a disgusting mixture of ash, soil, and blood.
Using salvaged cloth, he wrapped the upper part of the site with incredible tightness, stopping the bleeding. But the old man complexion was worrying. He was beyond pale, his breathing so rapid that he appeared to tremble as he croaked with each breath.
“V-Vevi!” Haiyoto exclaimed, realising the man was about to pass out from shock. But before he could utter another word, an injured man clutched onto his shoulder from behind.
Half his scalp had been seared off from the flames. It was bandaged with disgusting cloth. Even someone like Haiyoto understood the complications it could lead to, but in a world of magic none of that seemed to matter.
Yet despite this – magic was not enough to create miracles for everyone.
“Stop… nothing will save that old man anymore. Miss Elf’s magic won’t be enough.” He said mournfully. “Sir. Save your energy. I bet he’s thankful he didn’t die alone.”
Haiyoto clutched at the old man’s cloth, realising that in the moment he had finished applying the bandage, the old man had passed most certainly from blood loss. He saw the light in his eyes fade away, now staring into a world past him as he lowered his head in sorrow.
Could we have saved him?
Haiyoto mentally asked himself. It wasn’t the first time either. By now he had witnessed enough deaths to understand the gravity of their weakness in the face of beings beyond comprehension. It brought him back to the same night he and countless Otherworlders were summoned into this world.
The tragedy of not acknowledging that this was reality regardless of circumstance led to the largest massacre of life in Truebirth’s history. What occurred here was certainly worse, and could be described as a similar massacre, for they were all led here by the one person they trusted the most.
The man eventually pulled his hand away from Haiyoto’s shoulder, returning to the other injured citizens of Palvel. Only a total of 7 were found alive, with 2 unable to walk. Khalis had already returned with the seventh alongside Vevi who applied the magical splint on both the woman’s legs as she huffed in a comatose state.
Haiyoto closed his eyes, steeling himself before he rose to his feet.
“This… this is all we can afford to take.” Khalis regretfully announced to the injured right as Haiyoto arrived by their side. “For now, it will be best to return to the others. There’s a place safe from the destruction and Undead. We wish to take you all there for refuge until this all ends.”
No one protested. Screamed. Yelled. Shouted. Everyone seemed oddly calm. But the tears didn’t stop falling. Every single one of them understood that there was no point in arguing over the dead. They could only accept their extended hands and take it while they could, elated that they were rescued, but equally as devastated that no one else was left.
At a small clearing just further down the street held a long line of bodies. There were at least 30 there. Those were the dead; all having been consumed by the flames already. But they were not found charred. Given the nature of the Undead, leaving a body would only strengthen them. Worse was that the corpses would become an Undead.
Khalis took it upon himself to burn them. He could not allow Haiyoto to carry this burden, nor Vevi who was physical incapable of carrying even half a body. As a result – Khalis pristine armour was drenched in blood, the crimson appearance making him appear more like a harbinger of death than a man the embodied the principles of hope.
“S-sir. We’ll follow you wherever. I’m just happy I’m alive.” A woman said, clutching at her chest with both her broken hands, which had been wrapped with cloth ripped straight from her cooking apron. “Really… really glad.” She was suddenly at the verge of weeping, causing another woman to comfort her.
Khalis nodded once before heading straight for the old man’s body. It needed to be disposed of at all costs.
“Haiyoto, please lead them in my stead. Don’t blame yourself for this.” He said right as he passed Haiyoto.
“… You’re one to speak.” Haiyoto bit his tongue, almost unaware of what he had just said.
Khalis’ rugged face suddenly mellowed for a moment. He was amused by Haiyoto’s sudden jab. But after a long exhale, he looked down at the body with unwavering conviction.
“I am aware of my hypocrisy. That’s why you shouldn’t shoulder the burden. Leave that to the adults.”
“Adults… we’re not children you know.” Haiyoto growled, annoyed not by his words, but by himself. But he cleaned his emotions, showing nothing but a complex face to the world as passed by the group of injured.
One by one, they rose to their feet, some offering their shoulders for others while two were left on the ground, unable to walk themselves due to their injuries.
“Sorry. Let me carry you. It’ll be easier than having two of us supporting you.” He offered down his hand to a young woman. She looked up at him with sparkling eyes, as if staring up at a star on a desolate night as she took his hand.
“Ah- um. Yes. T-thank you.” She whispered in a groggy voice, weakened considerably by the agony of her shattered legs. He held her close in a princess hold, unable to find a more suitable way of carrying her. Even a single twist of his body would cause her immense pain, so, he treaded carefully to the front.
At the same time, Khalis scooped up the remaining woman, hoisting them over his shoulder like a bag of rice. The woman seemed a little… disappointed by this, but nevertheless, it was not like it mattered.
Not in a time like this.
At the back of the group a small boy remained. No matter how hard he tried to move forward his legs would not budge, as if they had been frozen. He began to panic, unable to shout out for someone to notice him until suddenly, a warm hand suddenly enveloped his.
“Hey. Wanna walk together?” Vevi crouched by his side, her tender voice causing him to snap out of his strange spell.
“… big sis…” He muttered, tearing up. “Mm.” With a nod, Vevi warmly smiled and began to guide him along, holding his hand with the warmth of a mother.
“Don’t worry. So long as I’m holding your hand nothing bad will happen. I promise.” Vevi whispered.
“Mm.” The child could only reply with a simple sound, their eyes quivering no matter where they fell.
Death was as prevalent as the heat itself. Under each mound was a person, crushed and mangled by thousands of kilograms of ruined memories. Haiyoto could only imagine what it must have felt for these people to walk along the streets that had flourished just only yesterday.
“You’re making a scary face.” Vevi spoke with a soft voice unlike her usual timid stammer. It was beautiful. Soothing; befitting an Elf of her stature.
It took him by surprise. His attention was suddenly drawn to her, and then the child in hand. His face softened, the angry folds disappearing as he wore a smile for the wary child.
“Was I? Sorry, I was just… thinking.”
“Thinking. I’m surprised you can think surrounded by all this.” Vevi quietly spoke. “Isn’t it sad seeing countless memories disappear? They’ll be forgotten. When this is all over what do you think will be left to prove that these people once existed?”
Haiyoto was strangely entranced by this question. No answer immediately came to mind, but as he stared out towards the stretch of road ahead and saw nothing but the red haze – his mouth moved before he realised it.
“Memories, right?” He slowly answered.
“That’s right. Memories. The world won’t remember what happened to Palvel, but the people here will. The only exception is the Maiden of Wisdom.” Vevi began. “Did you know that everything is recorded by the Domain of Wisdom? Every nation, every war, every thought, and every breath are recorded. Never remembered but written. When memories disappear all that’s left are those archives, only to be seen by those who seek it. Isn’t that funny?” She looked down at the child with honest eyes.
“Funny…? Well, it sounds like a contradiction. You can only find proof if you remember. At that point can you even call that proof?” He wondered.
“You have a good way of thinking. I thought the same thing as well a long time ago. Memories are a sanctity of one’s will. But they can change because we don’t see them for what they are, only from what we feel. We can only interpret them, even though they are born from our experiences. What’s written by the Maiden of Wisdom is certain. It’s proof. It is now more than ever. What happens now will be the only ‘truth’.”
Vevi’s eyes then fell onto the tome by her hip.
“It must be strange talking about this from out of the blue. But I felt like you needed to cleanse your thoughts somehow. I’ve seen that same face one too many times.” She added.
“All that from my face? Vevi. You’re incredible.” He wanted to laugh.
“Not at all. Once you reach a certain point in your life, you’ll understand our dichotomy. How we smile when we’re sad. How we cry when we’re happy. How we’re silent when we want to scream. Someone thousands of years younger than me showed me that dichotomy. The duality of our world. I regret never offering my hand when they chose to confront what they believed in. Haiyoto. Thousands of years later I still regret it. Try not to make my mistake, ok? Even hundreds of years from now you’ll remember things like they were only yesterday.”
Vevi’s eyes fell onto Haiyoto’s as his face lit up. Every word melded with his heart, warming his body as he cherished those words.
“I… I think I get what you’re saying. Thank you.” He thanked from the bottom of his heart.
“Don’t thank me for speaking my mind. Stranger things will happen in the future. You’re a Hero of the Children of Balance. Where there is despair there must be hope. That’s why people need to believe in you. But how can they when you can’t even believe in yourself?”
… that’s… that’s right. Was it that obvious from the start? Believe in myself… I see. Vevi –
“Vevi – who are you?” Haiyoto needed to ask.
He had seen and met many Elves in Truebirth, some hundreds of years old, boasting considerable knowledge of the world beyond Colight’s borders.
But none were quite like her. Her magic was unconventional; a blasphemy to all that they knew about its inner workings. Her dreamy way of speaking made it sound like she drew her words from heartfelt memories, and the vast experiences she had cultivated over the thousands of years she claimed to live.
Haiyoto didn’t doubt her.
And neither did Khalis.
Vevi noticed their growing curiosity and pointed the same finger which had been resting by her tome to the skies.
“I’m just an Elf that spent too much time sorting through books. That’s who I am –”
Haiyoto was not given a chance to believe whether this was true or not. Before he realised it – just as they set foot onto the trail of the main eastern street – a wave of drowsiness seized his body. In seconds the world fell to darkness as he surrendered to the overwhelming spell, his final moments spent watching the Elf fall beside him.
What… is going on? Did we… were we attacked…?
No. This place… I remember this place.
This was…
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
When the darkness faded, all he saw were the flashing lights of red and blue as a siren blared in the distance.
* * *
Alice was awoken by multiple thuds. One by one, crunches of metal rang throughout the tower as the adventurers and soldiers of Truebirth fell unconscious as if their lives were plucked by an invisible entity.
The pain instantly assaulted her as soon as she shot up, screaming internally at her legs which were wrapped in layers of cloth. Pandemonium spread like a plague, infecting all before the mangled thuds ceased as she finally came to, now completely lucid of her surroundings.
“T-they’re unconscious! Every single one of them!” Someone screamed as bodies were dragged towards one side of the room.
“What’s happening!? Are- is it a disease!?”
“It’s the same thing that got us! They’re asleep like we were!” One figured out almost immediately. “Quick! Wake them up!”
“AYE! Wake up! Can you hear me! Please – Please get up!”
Alice couldn’t believe that the nightmare had grown worse. From the agony of her mangled legs to the infectious panic – she could only remain seated up on a bale of hay, watching the chaos unfold with quivering eyes.
Her hands slowly spread around her, suddenly touching something warm just to her side. She recoiled, instantly turning to see the sleeping Hero resting on a bale of hay beside her. Her face grimaced in her sleep as beads of sweat drenched her clothes, her breathing so rapid that one could easily mistake her for convulsing.
“Are ya alright…?” Alice whispered, her voice reaching no one as she reached down to touch the face of the girl. “A-are ya ok!? Someone – wait – it’s happenin’ to her as well!?”
Calin, Amy’s elected caretaker, was folded over just beneath the hay bale, also displaying similar symptoms. If Alice didn’t know any better, she would have believed it to be a disease just like how someone had blurted out. But knowing that Palvel had fallen into a similar slumber, and by the warped facial expressions Calin displayed – it appeared as though they were trapped inside of a nightmare.
“The dreams. They got hit as well. A-Amy. That’s yer name, right!? Wake up!” She pulled on the cheeks of the girl, pinching them enough for her nails to leave a mark. But the girl didn’t react, never mind showing any signs of rousing from her deep slumber.
“Yer kiddin’? They can’t be woken up?” She wondered, pinching harder this time, almost to the point of drawing blood. “Agh – argh! O-ouch. My damn legs… agh.” She groaned, resisting the urge to press down on her legs, less she wanted to further pierce the hundreds of fragmented bones into her flesh.
Only now did she realise the true severity of her injury. Her legs were both completely shattered beyond repair. It would take magic of the [Fifth Tier] and above for it to even be remotely healed. Her heart could not stop beating. As tempted as she was to remove the cloth, she refrained with all her heart.
“It was when… when the gravel hit me. It was then… agh! Then Haiyoto stopped me from screaming. Wait. Haiyoto? Vevi? K-Khalis? – aren’t they still out there!? With that – giant monster?” She exclaimed, startling a few who passed by enough that they dropped a man onto the floor. Their body flopped like an old rag, remaining perfectly still after the initial impact as they laid there, breathing rapidly.
“If they’re asleep then – then – agh! What do I do!?” The girl continued to ponder, unaware of her surroundings any longer.
That was until the same people before her yelled as they reached for the man.
“Hey! Someone’s waking up!”
The dropped adventurer grumbled as their eyes groggily split open, returning to reality almost as quickly as it was robbed.
“Earth…? I was back home – I thought this was all just a…” The adventurer, who was revealed to be an Otherworlder, silently cried with gaped eyes, unable to accept that they had returned to this world. “… Bad dream… Why am I still here?”
And how could they?
What happened in Palvel was not something one would expect in world that was supposed to be filled with grand, upbeat fantasy like their world’s fiction typically depicted.
The devastation of unparalleled scale; the Undead that broke the very souls of the living; the flames that razed a city of tens of thousands –
This was their reality now. An inescapable nightmare born from the selfishness of beings they could not begin to fathom. The Otherworlder was going to die. He knew it. They broke down into a mess of deranged tears, silently sobbing as their mind nearly shattered once they realised this.
“G-Get a hold of yourself.” Alice muttered, trembling at the broken man as he was quickly dragged aside.
“They can be woken up! Look, another one’s coming back!” Someone exclaimed as more of Truebirth’s forces woke back up from their sudden rest.
“Hit ‘em harder till they wake up! It’s the only way!” Another added, right as one was awoken to a mighty barrage of slaps. While crude and unsightly, these people were going to do whatever it took to bring them back from the same sleep that had plagued them.
“Aye, another one’s wakin’ up!”
“Over here! This one’s coming back!”
“Why won’t you wake up!?”
A sight worthy of being called a beatdown unfolded before her eyes. The sleeping men and women were ‘stimulated’ to varying degrees, some with minor slaps while others were lightly cut. Around 20 had already been brought back to reality, with others unfortunately finding it much difficult to rouse from their slumber.
Alice reached out for Amy once more, grasping onto her cheeks. No matter how much she pinched, squeezed and pulled – the girl would not budge.
“Nothin’. I can do nothin’ at all… Amy – yer need to wake up! M-Miss Greater Knight! Wake up!”
She could not even wind herself up for a punch without her body recoiling in immense agony. It was a miracle she was able to sit up for as long as she did with what little useable muscles remained in her lower half.
Mustering what little strength she could, Alice swung her arm around and clasped onto Amy’s shoulders, attempting to rock her awake. However – the bale of hay beneath her suddenly toppled over.
Unbeknownst to her, the bales of hay she laid upon were poorly stacked; arranged like in a cross-like manner. Her shifted weight was all it took for it to collapse backwards, sending her straight for the ground.
Whether by a stroke of luck or fate – Her hands managed to absorb most of the impact that would have crushed the back of her skull.
A heavy thud resounded almost as loud as the sound of her legs, which snapped like dozens of trees had been felled all at once.
“AAAAH! Agh!” She cried, watching her legs flail into her blurred vision as she desperately clawed onto her stomach. “Ack… AAAAH- Arngh!”
The only thing that kept her sane was the twisted thought of her pain being insignificant compared to becoming an Undead. But even so, Alice’s vision waned in and out, as dark spots invaded her sight.
“What can I- Argh! – D-do!?” She growled, dragging herself towards the folded Calin.
It felt like she was being dragged over a bed of hooked nails. The vivid imagery of flesh being ripped by claws as if it were made of mere fabric came to mind as her legs trailed behind her like a serpent’s tail.
“Waaaaaake up! Greater Knight lady! Yer gotta wake up!” She yelled as she clutched onto Calin’s stomach for dear life, for it was the only thing she could do anymore. “Please – Wake up! Everythin’s goin’ to hell!”
No matter how violently she shook the red-haired woman she did not budge. Just as she was about to give up, she looked up at Amy’s dangling arm and remembered how the first man had awakened.
“It’s the only way. I gotta do it. C’mon. Argh… C – C’MON! YA GOTTA WAKE UP!”
Gritting her teeth and dragging herself closer to the stack of hay, she wriggled her fingers underneath and with every ounce of energy left in her arms, she lifted it enough until the entire stack collapsed. Amy was light to begin with, and it greatly helped that she wore little now to help with the heat and her breathing.
Still – Alice surprised herself with her sudden burst of strength.
A loud thud followed as Amy’s body fell limply. She was hidden behind one of the bales of hay, forcing Alice to further drag herself forward as she passed by it. Suddenly, her tiny pupils became like dots as her eyes widened at the sight of blood.
“O-Oh no.” Alice muttered, ignoring the pain as she powered until she was mere inches away from Amy’s darkened face. A small pool of blood formed beneath her head, drenching her already crimson hair as she reached out and gently pushed the girl onto her back. “Yer eye!? Amy… I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to – I’m sorry! I’m sorry for ain’t bein’ able to do anythin’ right!”
Amy’s left eye was half-gouged by the impact. She likely scraped against the uneven ground; her eye being caught by a minor outcrop. Alice nearly became hysteric as she blamed herself endlessly for her fault as the commotion swelled to unhinged panic.
A bright flash of light suddenly exploded from outside, blinding everyone within with its outrageously bright rays. For a moment, many had believed the sun had returned, but to their despair – once they began to look outside through cracks and windows, they realised that a new wave of Undead began to march down the north-western road straight towards them.
At this point Alice felt helpless. So helpless that she could not stop trembling. Her fingers were smeared with the blood and minor bits of gore as she tried to stop the bleeding, her eyes near bursting with tears as she rapidly blamed herself.
Alice was not a strong person. Her magical and physical aptitude were none-existent, even though she possessed a capable mana capacity. But she was also a girl with a good head on her shoulders, with a sturdy heart capable of powering through what many couldn’t. But it wasn’t because of strength.
Rather, it was more because of acceptance.
Alice was not the type to go down fighting. She was the type of person who’d roll over and accept whatever the world threw at her. At an early age she recognised the futility of repelling the inevitable and the strong – having lost both her parents long before she could speak, and much more to the hands of others in a land unfamiliar to her.
Her pale complexion, tall, frail build, and eyes that that closely resembled a Demon’s did not help her either. But she accepted it because what else could she do? Even so – and despite this – Alice found herself wanting to help Amy and the Heroes. As helpless as she was, Alice wanted to help the people she saw in her dream, even if she couldn’t do anything right.
The vision she saw was something that struck a chord so deep that it urged her to join Haiyoto in seeking out the survivors. Frankly speaking, she didn’t know what it was, why it was – or if the dream even meant anything.
For all she knew she was just going along a simple delusion, constructed by her fears and ineptitude. But she didn’t care.
That’s why – as a stampede of boots rung around them, trampling over bodies, Alice threw herself over Amy and endured the stomps, her tears coating the girl’s cheeks to the agony of her bones being grinded into her minced legs.
“Wake… Wake… Wake up! They’re commin’ this way. We ain’t got no one left to fight. Misses Greater Knight. Everyone – why won’t you wake up –!?”
“HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAH!” A sudden roar tore into the condensed fear, instantly freezing everyone in the tower right as people were flung aside with a powerful blast of heat. The boot stramping over her disappeared at the same time as the sound of rustling metal approached.
“That was one nasty fucking dream. Showing me something too good to be true. Anoma, it’s no wonder you were roped into this mess. Now. You fuckers better calm down before I incinerate every single one of you!” Calin dominated the tower with her awakened presence, the released heat searing the air at her fingertips.
“Misses… Greater –”
“You poor thing. Tch. Look what these animals did to you. You have guts putting yourself on the line for that cowardly Hero.”
“Wait, but yer gotta have a look at her eye! She’s lost it! I…”
“She won’t bleed out. But if you’re that concerned, then watch over her in my stead. Rest with her. You’ve got a stronger heart than most of these pieces of shit. This tower’s a mess. A fucking mess. We go to sleep for only a few minutes, and it resorts to this!?” Calin unleashed a [Flame Whip] that coiled around her like a sea serpent, swimming majestically in the air as if it were truly a living thing.
One could easily mistake this for [Summoning] magic, as Alice did who could only stare up in utter awe.
“You.” Calin suddenly directed her attention to someone random, pointing the end of the whip towards their face. “Catch me up on the situation. This panic doesn’t come from a sudden sleep spell.”
“Y-Yes. O-O-Of course.”
* * *
thousands of Undead spilled into the north western street only a hundred metres away from the tower. Their origin was unknown with how many had perished to the firestorm, inciting immense fear for they had believed they were cleared from an Undead resurgence.
But that was a foolish thought to begin with. The Undead army consisted of utterly disfigured corpses, moving almost as one entity as they hideously crawled like clumps of insects. What lurked in the backlines, hiding within the shadows of the ruined backstreets was one of the eight nightmarish Undead.
It was a humanoid entity with exaggerated limbs, each used to suspend it amongst the surrounding ruins like a spider’s egg sack. Its main body was a massive head bearing the face of the woman it once was, its hollow eyes dripping with black tar. A cavity that was supposed to be the mouth more closely resembled a womb where countless Undead arose, constructed by dozens of umbilical cords.
The inner flesh of the womb was torn apart by these tentacles and were used to form newly created Undead in an utterly haphazard manner. It seemed more focused on creating them than anything else.
This being was not a Brute like the others were. In fact, not all eight of them were Brutes to begin with. This one in particular was not suited for combat. But where it lacked in strength, it made up a thousandfold in its infectious ability to spawn the Undead.
The Undead was a Spreader, its hallmark characteristic in spreading the Undead whether through spawning them, luring the living, or simply by existing and feasting on the mana of their environment.
It was a rank beneath the Brutes, weaker in a sense, but a nightmare for those ill prepared.
The tower made for the perfect target for this beast, as ordered by its master.
Chaos continued to unveil within the tower itself as Calin fought for control, scorching the limbs of those asleep until they awakened. Her cruelty was justified given the circumstances, and as such, no one dared to stand against her. She was after all, one of the strongest Greater Knights in both Truebirth and Pathfist, with her [Fire] magic only second to Amy’s.
The proof was in the lack of damage she left on Amy’s body whenever she struck her with her magic. No [Fire] magic, even of the [Sixth Tier], was able to leave a mark on her body. Amy’s innate aptitude for [Fire] magic was unparalleled to say the least, which was an even greater shame that she could not be roused awake no matter what anyone did.
In the end, Amy was left at the top floor with Alice and all the injured, away from the bottom where the final stand against the Undead was to be staged.
And unfortunately, she was also the only one who had yet to awaken from her sleep. From what Calin was able to gather from the brief talks with the others afflicted by the sleep spell, those that knew they were in a dream were among the first to awaken. Furthermore, the few that were rendered down to scrawny remains were presumably entrapped by what they could only call a curse.
With that in mind, it was likely that Amy was stuck in a limbo of some sort.
The wailing never stopped. Not for a moment. It became permanently embedded with the air like the sound of the wind, and in here like the crackles of the flames. Despair so thick that if one were to breathe in their entire lung’s worth, they’d be rendered insane. But even so –
– No one wanted to die.
“Barricade every crack you can find! Anyone willing to fight head out with me right now! This is the last time we’ll have to fight! So – Let’s fight to the end! Fight to live!” She commanded, bearing intense flames in one hand and in both eyes as she rallied only the bravest to rise and battle till the bitter end.
“””””HAAAAAAAAAAA!”””””
The numbers of those willing to fight were small, but strangely larger than with the group they first arrived with. The Palvel citizens were given arms and what remained of their pre-chanted papers to fight as Calin watched over the exchange before proudly grinning at these brave souls.
Most would die. Calin knew it. They all knew it. But that didn’t mean they could just allow themselves to die. She empathised with Anoma for a moment, understanding the dilemma of their conflict. But this time was different.
These people were going in knowing well of their fate, and the unlikeliness of seeing the light of tomorrow. Exchanging only a nod, Calin led them straight through the main doors and out into the blazing atmosphere, taking a stand at the street where the Undead funnelled through.
“Retreat now if you want. But know that my back will forever face you all. Greater Knights. White Knights. Black Knights. Stand strong!” Calin exclaimed, rousing an overwhelming roar that rivalled the rumblings of the approaching Undead.
With just one glance over her shoulder, she grinned at the adventurers. The regular grey-armoured soldiers. The volunteers. And finally, the citizens of Palvel.
“None of you needed to witness this. The world really should leave these sorts of things to people like Anoma and I.”
“What are you saying? That doesn’t sound like you at all, maid of the Adventurer’s Guild.” A Greater White Knight laughed.
She didn’t retaliate. She only smiled at their response and nodded to herself.
And with the Undead now only 50 metres away – Calin unleashed one of her strongest spells without another word, save for the chants that ferociously left her lips.
At that moment a barrage of countless spells was hurled by the honourable souls standing around her, each one lobbed straight for the Undead’s formation as leftover molotov found their way into their ranks. But like a vast ocean, every impact was refilled with neighbouring Undead. They were like a tidal wave, steadily approaching with no end in sight.
Another one of the brilliant flashes of light engulfed the skies of Palvel, temporally halting the Undead as all eyes searched for the source of the powerful magic. Calin smiled again towards the light like it was a revelation from the Goddess Hope.
Anoma’s also struggling. I guess it’s our turn now.
Three crimson magical circles formed above her in the shape of an arc, each one interconnected with multiple mini circles. It was formed in the shape of a halved sun, the symbols quivering like the flailing tongues of a flame.
This was her strongest magic –
“– Of flames of the dreaded lands, incinerate the life of all that walk – [Inferno]!”
A surge of flames gushed from the magical circles like massive flamethrowers. Half a column of fire engulfed the entire street, encasing it as all turned a bright orange. The flames did not stop as it continued to incinerate all that dared to tread before her, for the Undead were unworthy of withstanding the power of [Sixth Tiered] magic – the pinnacle of magic for natural-born humans.
The downside of this was the amount of mana it consumed. By now she had already dropped to half of her reserves. It was easily possible for her to cast another one or two more, but then she would suffer from a mana depletion. And in this environment, she’d be turned into an Undead before she could even be killed.
Needless to say – Calin could not use it on a whim.
It lasted for a long 20 uninterrupted seconds before the flames died down, leaving only the ashes of hundreds of Undead. However – even though she had bitten off a decent chunk of their numbers – they did not relent.
“That’ll buy us a minute or two. Keep lobbing your magic at them! Once they’re close enough, I’ll hit them with it again! After that – and if they start to overwhelm our lines, then I want you all to retreat to the tower. We’ll just have to defend the lower entrance at that point.”
“And afterwards!?” A Black Knight asked.
“We fight for our lives.” She simply answered, her hands hissing with steam as she created a pair of [Fire Whips]. “They can only enter from the bottom. Everything else should be safe!”
“… Understood.” They spoke with absolute resolve.