Zalia stood to the side as the food Ember had summoned was handed out to those in need. She did her part, cycling her healing through all of the people that came close, watching as they stood a little straighter, cuts and scrapes healed and disease was eliminated.
They were a bit off to the side in the park, away from where the food was being grown. Zalia had already set up the living ritual of Manifest and Frozen Heart that would help grow the grains. All they had to do now was finish handing out the food and they could leave. Technically there was no reason for them to have to stay but Zalia wanted to heal them all as much as she could.
She was feeling a little uneasy. The city was feeling lighter already, as if the sudden decrease in violence and mistrust due to the shapechangers being gone had brought a new light to the streets. The tension that Zalia felt was in complete disregard of that, the source of it being the knowledge that the city was actually a little less safe now. Sure, on the inside it was better off but the danger from the outside had only really just begun.
And there wasn’t really any way to tell if the attack would come that day, the next or six weeks from then.
Both Boreal and Aylie were nearby too. She had told them they were going to leave sooner than planned as they needed to get help as soon as possible.
A thought had occurred to her, that she could leave all three of them behind and make the run to Endelbyrn herself. She was self reliant enough and stealthy enough to be able to manage that and could make the distance even faster than Boreal due to her Mobility passive.
Mobility - passive
Tin - Your speed is increased. Your stamina is less affected by movement.
Iron - You may step on air one time before stepping on a solid surface once more.
Bronze - You are able to step on air three times before resetting this ability. Additionally, you may perform a short range teleport with a long cooldown. Finally, when travelling long distances, you are able to maintain a fast pace while maintaining your stamina indefinitely.
The second half of the Bronze rank effect wasn’t something that she had ever really needed, but this was the perfect situation for it. She could probably make the distance, especially since she didn’t need to sleep, in three or four days. Maybe less, she hadn’t seen how quick of a pace she could maintain just yet.
It was deep in those thoughts that her eyes got caught on a little black dot in the sky. She only saw it due to her bettered eyesight, managing to spot it past the occasionally crackling dome that protected the city. It was flying above the city, watching closely. It was also something that Zalia recognised, a creature very similar to the one that had killed the Collective.
She ran up to Tristan and Ember.
“Hey, hey we might have a problem.”
She pointed to the dot in the sky and they both left the cover of the little pavilion to see. Ember cursed, also recognising it, though Tristan looked confused.
“It’s Silver rank, a much more dangerous Silver rank than the other one we killed. This one is built for one thing and that’s killing.”
Looking around, Zalia knew they had the best odds they could hope to have against such a creature right here. Five Bronze rank people, herself, Ember, Boreal, Tristan and one of his guards. It was a lot more than they’d had against the shapechanger.
Her hopes that they wouldn’t need to fight were dashed as she watched the dot drop from the sky, landing on the dome and sending a crackling ripple across its surface. It punched once, another ripple travelling across the dome. This time it came with an arcing sound and people started to notice. It punched again, a big crack appearing under it.
With a quick check, she knew that both Nature’s Wrath and Protection of the Wilds were on cooldown. She did still have the anti-death measure of Healing Presence however, something she hoped they wouldn’t need but was glad to have.
A third punch and the dome shattered, a hole ten metres wide appearing in its surface. The translucent material fell with glittering light even as it dissipated in the air.
Dropping like a rock, the demon fell towards the city. Two glowing arrows rose from the park to meet it, carving a brilliant arc through the air.
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It dodged them both, yet a third struck one of the demon's wings. It didn’t seem too affected but its course changed, now in a guided descent towards the park even as the hole in the dome slowly repaired behind it.
The people in the park hadn’t missed what was happening, fleeing with screams even as death approached. The farmers also fled, running from the centre of the park into the streets beyond. All three of Tristan's guards tried to stay but he sent away the two Iron rank ones, knowing they would only get themselves killed. Ember sent Aylie off to the house to hide in the still open vault.
Zalia felt her blood pump and adrenaline release even as she shot more arrows towards the demon. Clued into where the arrows were coming from now however, no more landed before the demon itself did.
It slammed into the ground next to Zalia at speed, throwing her off her feet with the impact.
Ember, Tristan and the last guard all moved forward and engaged it in combat, the crystal shards growing from Boreal’s back beginning to glow a light blue as she charged Pounce.
Tristan brought his axe down in a brutal strike that was easily dodged, the guard following through with a jab that scratched over the demon's obsidian skin. They both had to immediately go on the defensive as the obscenely quick demon struck back, slapping the sword out of the guard's hand and then slashing at Tristan with its clawed hands.
Ember came at it from behind but it had already stepped back from the other two and punched her shield so hard it dented as she was thrown back a few steps.
Boreal took her chance and pounced, slamming into the demon's legs and freezing them to the ground even as she raked her claws across its thigh. Bright blood glimmered in the sun, three light claw marks showing on its skin. It must have bonded Resilience then, to shrug off Boreal’s claws like that.
Taking advantage of its immobility, Zalia shot it and was rewarded with an arrow that sunk very slightly into its shoulder.
The demon managed to grab Boreal before she could retreat from the pounce and threw her across the park. Zalia watched her spin away but didn’t worry as she saw the damage immunity shield from Pounce still active.
Ember, Tristan and the guard all made use of the time the demon had taken to throw Boreal and moved in again. With a quick exchange of blows, during the time of which Zalia started casting some protective rituals on her allies, the three managed to cut the demon twice, a thin line of blood visible on its back and chest.
Seeing her casting something, the demon used its teleport to appear right behind her and grab her by the neck. She’d forgotten about that.
She heard a crunch and a stab of pain before she felt nothing. A shimmering skin of light appeared over her and a warmth deep in her core expanded, protecting and healing her. Her anti-death measure. It had been so quick.
The demon dropped her limp body to the ground and she heard a screaming as the other three fought it. She could feel the pain and worry of her friends through the emotional bond and eventually, felt her body once more.
Her spine finally healed and she stood from the ground, summoning her bow to her hand and rejoining the fight.
The others had managed to cut it a bit deeper, some of the wounds visibly slowing it down now. Boreal pounced once more from a distance and the demon tried to counter it by punching her mid-flight. Its undoing there though, was that the one-use invulnerability that Boreal gained from Pounce every so often was active and the punch accomplished nothing. The others took advantage and Ember managed to stab her blade into an existing cut and through its leg.
It grunted in pain and ripped the blade from its leg before flying upwards. It was trying to escape.
Zalia fired off a few more arrows in an attempt to take it down and then… it hit an invisible wall.
A glowing rune came into their vision and a hundred others followed as a large cube appeared around their fight. The Enchanter.
The demon tried to break through this shield just as it had the other, yet found no success. Zalia’s arrows found its back and wings, dropping it from the sky.
It landed hard, turning to face them with anger filling its expression. Anger, and what looked like a little fear. Good.
They attacked again, the others pushing the advantage of their numbers.
The demon managed to break the guard's arm and Ember quickly went to assist. It then tried to use the same move on Zalia but she was ready and teleported away herself, escaping death. Looked like this thing only had one real trick.
The arm was healed already, the combined healing of Ember and Zalia enough to fix it in a flash.
From there, the demon grew more desperate as it accrued more wounds. It kept allowing hits to try and take one of them out of the fight but both Zalia and Ember healed any damage it could do.
It was when it ignored one of Tristan’s strikes that it finally fell. It tried to grab Ember’s head but was blocked by her tattered shield and Tristan’s axe fell down hard on its arm. He managed to cut halfway through and the arm hung limply from its side. From there the others began to brutalise it. It tried to teleport away and flee the cube once more but the power of a Barrier Enchanter solely focused on keeping you in was not so easily overcome. It died in that cube, stabbed, hacked, shot and clawed to death by the five Bronze rankers after its life.
In the aftermath, they were all breathing hard. The fight hadn't taken long yet each of their hearts beat quickly as they tried to recover some semblance of calm.
Ember came and grabbed Zalia, holding her tight. She didn’t think she could imagine the fear Ember must have felt when it had snapped Zalia’s spine. She didn’t have to imagine, though. She could feel it.