“Ugh! Those damn arrows… What sort of monster can fire such a strong bow?” Sera muttered to herself as she struggled to get up. She felt a pinch of pain on her butt, back, and shoulders, indicating that, at the very least, she had some nasty bruises.

‘I don’t think they’re broken, but they might end up that way after all this.’ She thought, trying to regain her bearings. Her mind was still a bit discombobulated from the tumble, but she managed to get to her feet.

Shaking her head, her vision cleared, and she got a good look at the battlefield.

Marcus and Fenrir were being chased down by wolves, while Zayzal was-

“ZAYZAL!” She shouted, seeing him on the ground with a wolf latched to his leg and another on his spear with Attila pointing his bow at him.

Reaching out her hand, she used half of her remaining mana to create a barrier.

BOOM!

As soon as the golden barrier enveloped him, Attila released the arrow. It broke through its defenses quite easily, but she was able to deflect the trajectory slightly, sending it off course from his heart.

Zayzal was lifted off his feet and sent flying from the impact.

“ACK!” He grunted, feeling a piercing pain in his right shoulder as he slammed into the ground. The tip of the arrow embedded itself into the ground through his shoulder, nailing him to the floor. All the while, the wolf at his leg stood up and started trying to rip his foot off.

“GET OFF OF HIM!” Sera yelled, leaping into the air.

Raising her axe, she slammed it onto the wolf, attempting to cleave it in half, but it jumped into a pool of darkness.

“OH, NO, YOU DON’T!” She shield bashed the puddle, deflecting its own spell against it and forcing the wolf to pop up. Bringing her axe down again, she cleaved it in half, causing blood to spray everywhere, but that wasn’t enough.

To ensure that it stayed dead, she hacked its corpse over and over again until it was a mess of blood and fur.

“Sera, shield up!” Zayzal suddenly shouted, trying to remove the arrow from the ground.

She didn’t even think about why he said that and just turned around with her shield up.

As soon as she did, an arrow crashed into her, sending her sliding back.

“Now, help me up!”

Sera firmly nodded, swiftly slammed her shield down in front of them, and kneeled beside Zayzal. Extending her arm, she grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He grimaced in pain but pushed through it, squirming his shoulder as he worked to dislodge the arrow from the ground.

Finally, with one strong tug, Zayzal was lifted off the ground with a grunt. When he got to his feet, Sera broke off the arrowhead, leaving the shaft stuck in his body.

“I’m sorry, Zayzal. I should’ve been paying more-” Sera started to apologize, but Zayzal stopped her.

“No, it’s fine. It was my fault for being stupid.” He stated, and before she could interject, he continued, “Enough of that. We have to focus on defeating that bastard.”

“Any ideas?” She asked since her strategy mainly consisted of charging at him until he ran out of arrows.

“...”

While Zayzal remained silent, Sera grabbed her shield and stood in front of him.

“...We need to clear the battlefield.” He said. “It’ll be a lot easier to reach him if all these wolves are dead. Other than that, just try not to get hit.”

Although the directions were simple and something she already knew, it was nice to hear. His words also gave her something to focus on. Instead of blindly trying to attack Attila, she just needed to kill the mobs.

“Got it!” She affirmed, to which Zayzal nodded.

“Now, let’s go help Marcus!”

“Understood!”

The wolves seemed to sense the danger Sera exuded and didn’t dare to go after her. Instead, they focused all their attention on Marcus and Fenrir, the weakest of the group. Since Zayzal lost his spear and retrieving it was too annoying, he wielded his short sword.

“Take my extra shield,” Sera said while they ran across the room, dodging and blocking Attila’s arrows.

Zayzal nodded and grabbed the shield from her back, feeling its weight in his right hand.

Armed with Sera's spare shield and his short sword, Zayzal charged alongside Sera toward Marcus and Fenrir, who were desperately fending off the relentless wolves.

Marcus, though less experienced, was holding his own, using his telepathy to work with Fenrir. Anything other than that was mostly unreliable, given that these wolves didn’t feel real according to his talent.

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"Marcus, Fenrir, we're coming!" Zayzal called out as they closed the distance.

Marcus glanced over his shoulder, relief evident in his eyes. "About time!"

Sera raised her shield and plowed into the wolves, scattering them with the force of a battering ram. She swung her axe wildly, not aiming for anything in particular. Some found their mark while other attacks missed. In the midst of it all, Sera was able to kill one of the wolves, leaving four left and the rest injured.

Zayzal wanted to join in on the action, but they had all disappeared by the time he was ready.

Not to mention, he could hear the thump of the bow in the background and didn’t want to be caught by one of those arrows.

The wolves saw that things weren’t going their way and melted into shadows, vanishing into thin air.

Attila, observing the battle from his vantage point, seemed amused by their resilience. "You fight with honor and bravery, but do you possess the wit to best me?" he taunted, readying another arrow.

"We don't need to outwit you. We just need to outlast you," Sera retorted with her eyes locked on Attila.

“May the spirits grant you the necessary strength to try.” He replied with a smirk, letting loose of the bowstring. Sera raised her shield and deflected it, but Attila didn’t let up.

His quiver seemed to be filled with a never-ending stream of arrows. Sera felt her arm going numb with how many shots she was taking, but she couldn’t care about that now. Not if she wanted her companions to die.

While they were hiding behind her, Zayzal signaled to Marcus. "How confident are you in taking down one of those wolves?"

“...About 50%, with Fenrir.”

‘So low.’ Zayzal inwardly shook his head but showed no emotion on the outside. “Well, make that one hundred. Sera needs to protect us, and my strength is limited with this injury.”

“.....I’ll try.” Marcus nodded hesitantly, not used to Zayzal’s commanding tone.

“Don’t worry, I got your back and will warn you of any danger. All you need to do is take down one of them.”

Marcus, though still shaken by the memory attacks from earlier, steeled himself. He kept Fenrir close, unwilling to let something happen to him.

The wolves emerged again, their forms materializing from the shadows, eyes glowing with a malevolent light. They moved, circling the group, waiting for an opening.

"Here they come!" Marcus shouted as the first wolf lunged at them.

The group sprang into action, Sera swinging her axe in random wide arcs to keep them at bay. Zayzal, more cautious due to his injury, used his shield to block and his sword to thrust at any wolf that ventured within his reach, but he couldn’t land many hits.

Marcus, relying on his telepathy with Fenrir, tried to anticipate the wolves' movements. Directing Fenrir to bring them closer, he decided to take a risk.

‘I’ll get one of them to lunge at me. That’s when you strike.’ He communicated to Fenrir, who growled in response.

Fenrir slashed at one of the shadow wolves closest to him, getting its attention. He ran back to Marcus, then straight past him, allowing the man to strike with his dagger. The wolf jumped back just in time, but its eyes turned to Marcus, locking onto a different prey.

‘Fuck!’ He cursed as he turned around and ran.

The shadow wolf saw the fear in his eyes and licked its lips. Tensing its back muscles, it leaped toward him. However, in midair, it sensed danger.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Fenrir jumped from the side and grabbed the wolf’s neck before landing on the ground with a thud. Not allowing it time to get away, Zayzal stabbed its spine and allowed Fenrir to finish it off.

As soon as he was sure it had died, Fenrir ran back to Marcus, and the two of them returned to hiding behind Sera.

In the midst of the chaos, an arrow whistled through the air, narrowly missing Sera. She glanced back at Attila, who was already nocking another arrow to his bow. "Don’t let your guard down! I can’t block all of these!" she yelled.

The battle raged on, a blur of claws, teeth, and steel. Then, amidst the frenzy, a wolf caught Fenrir off guard, latching onto his leg. Fenrir yelped, and in that moment of distraction, two more wolves pounced, dragging him away from Marcus.

"Fenrir!" Marcus screamed, his heart pounding with fear and rage. He moved to chase after them, but Zayzal grabbed his arm.

"Marcus, wait! We need to be strategic about this!" Zayzal urged, trying to hold him back.

"No, I can't leave him!" Marcus struggled against Zayzal's grip, his eyes wild with desperation.

Sera, seeing the situation, charged towards the wolves with a battle cry. "I'll get Fenrir! Cover me!"

Zayzal nodded, releasing Marcus. "Go! I'll handle Attila's arrows!"

Marcus, his resolve renewed, followed Sera, his mind focused solely on rescuing Fenrir.

As Sera reached the wolves, she swung her axe like a madman. One wolf was cut down instantly, its shadowy form splitting in two as blood sprayed all over the ground. The other two, startled, released Fenrir, who limped back towards Marcus.

However, Sera didn’t want to let go of this opportunity and chased after them. Coincidentally, one of the wolves ran past Zayzal’s spear.

Picking it up, she pulled it back and launched it like a javelin at one of the wolves. Before it could hop in the darkness, the spear pierced its spine, nailing it to the ground. It let out a painful howl until it eventually died.

Sera smirked and raised her hand, creating a barrier around the last wolf, then swiftly charged and cut it down as well. Nodding in satisfaction, she dispelled the barrier and ran back to the others, keeping Attila in mind.

Marcus knelt down, quickly checking Fenrir for injuries. "It's okay, buddy, you're safe now," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion.

Zayzal and Sera regrouped, forming a protective circle around Marcus and Fenrir. They kept a watchful eye on Attila, who seemed amused by their display of camaraderie. Sera returned Zayzal’s spear to him, except now, he wasn’t quite as fast and nimble with it.

"Your bonds are strong, but they will not shield you from what’s to come," Attila taunted, releasing another arrow.

Zayzal reacted instantly, raising his shield. The arrow struck with such force that it nearly knocked him off his feet, but he held his ground. Pain shot right up to his shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

Reaching back to his quiver, Attila was going to nock another arrow, only to find he didn’t have any left. Clicking his tongue, he set his bow and quiver down on his thrown, his smirk widening.

“Congratulations on surviving until this point. Not many have faced me head-on and lived to tell the tale. Unfortunately, it looks like this is where we must part.” He clapped mockingly as he walked down his thrown.

Zayzal and the others were confused by this action and remained still, unsure of what he was going to do.

“I suppose it’s only right of me to show honorable warriors such as yourselves why I was called the Scourge of God.” Putting his arm at his side, his hand rested on the hilt of a sword. Slowly drawing it from its sheath, a bright light suddenly filled the room.