Gralrbfo had been feeling depressed until recently. They had left him in charge of the area, but with hardly any troops.

“How do they want me to get merits just like that!?” it had been angry days ago.

But, a few hours ago, it had discovered a small group of livings. It had followed and watched them, and had made sure there were no more in the vicinity. Then, it had set a trap for them.

The snake it had sent hadn’t managed to escape and attract them, but the dog had. Although it had ended up dying, it had been a necessary sacrifice in order to surround them and prevent them from escaping.

It had decided to finish off the mage, so it dispatched all air troops he had, as soon as the other livings were distracted. It hadn’t ended as expected, but much better than it could have anticipated.

The mage was still alive but dying, so causing despair to penetrate the hearts of the other livings for not being able to help him. And desperation gave the general a chance to capture them, to corrupt them. It was difficult, it would be a great achievement if it got one, but at least it could try. Be that as it may, killing all five was already a good merit.

It waited until they were tired, exhausted, and injured to deliver the coup de grâce. It sent one of its beasts to jump on the wounded man, intending to kill him and defeat the will of the others, to break their souls, whatever hope they might still have.

What it couldn’t expect was for someone to intervene, to kill that beast. It looked in the direction from which the arrows had come, but could only see the silhouette of an animal approaching. And as it did so, more of its beasts fell victim to the arrows.

That exasperated it, so it ordered those which remained to attack their enemies, to overwhelm them. But a feline jumped between them, so covering one of the flanks. It meant there was less space to defend, so the group was less vulnerable.

She was agile and powerful, too much to be in that area, and her claws held unusual power against corrupted beasts. In fact, Gralrbfo felt a chill at their brightness, as if it could harm itself.

Despite this, the exhausted and injured adventurers didn’t have it easy to contain their enemies. However, the losts had another invisible enemy in the form of precise arrows, which managed to restrict their movements, to slow them down, to make them easy prey for the adventurers.

The corrupted spirit was between incredulous and furious. It couldn’t believe that its plan was failing, that someone had interrupted its victory, its merits. But what really frightened it was that the feline looked at its eyes.

It was only an instant, as she soon returned to her task of eliminating the corrupted beasts, so Gralrbfo told himself it had been a coincidence. And that she couldn’t hurt it anyway.

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What it couldn’t know was that, through Visual Link, he had been spotted by someone else, someone with the power to kill it. Several consecutive Curved Shots were fired in the distance, supported by Hawkeye, Purifying Touch, or Light Arrows.

When it glimpsed them, it worried about its beasts, It couldn’t know that the trajectory of those arrows were changing, turning towards it. They were too fast, it didn’t even have time for regrets before disappearing forever.

Meanwhile, Goldmi was getting closer little by little, while firing her arrows over and over again. And her sister kept cleaning the place of losts, until there were no more.

The adventurers then looked at the lynx, not quite sure how to react to that ferocious animal. She simply sat and looked at them, but with no intention of attacking or approaching.

They looked at her suspiciously, but also gratefully, and even bowed slightly. However, there was something that worried them more.

“Come on, Glidran, drink it,” Jarlia cursed.

But none of them knew how to make the mage drink the healing potion. Not knowing what to do and almost crying, Anlimoth was the first to see a silhouette approaching. She was one of most beautiful elves he had ever seen.

It was true that her blond hair was disheveled, a consequence of the vertiginous journey they had carried out. And her clothes were dirty and dusty, also the fault of the trip. But that didn’t stop her aura and figure from captivating the young warrior. Or, maybe, they even shocked him more.

She was approaching by running faster than an elf was supposed to be able, although this wasn’t so surprising, as there were those who had skills to increase their speed.

She was wielding a bow, which pointed that she might be one of the people who had helped them. However, it was shocking not being able to see the rest, not even her until then.

“Let me see him,” she ordered as soon as she arrived.

She surprised the jaguar-woman, as she had been too concentrated trying to make him drink the potion to see her arrive.

For a moment they hesitated. However, not only was it evident that she wasn’t a corrupted being, but the feline that had saved them had gotten up and was standing next to her, so making it totally clear that she was her companion.

Immediately, she used Basic Healing on him. Once. Another time. And another. It was evident that she was using a large amount of mana, and she didn’t stop until the spell was no longer effective.

“It’s all I can do. I hope it’s enough,” she almost apologized, clearly tired and worried.

All four looked at their companion. His wounds seemed healed, and he was breathing normally, but they couldn’t tell if he was really okay. It wasn’t until he opened his eyes that everyone sighed in relief, even cried, Jarlia more than anyone.

“Don’t cry, you look prettier when you smile,” the magician said then.

“Silly...” she reproached him, while smiling and hugging him, with many tears falling through her cheeks.

“Thank you… Cough, cough,” Omny thanked the elf, but couldn’t avoid coughing and staining his hands with blood.

“Let me help you, I still have mana left,” the elf replied.

Her smile made Anlimoth blush, though only his sister noticed. She smiled mischievously, while taking a mental note, so that she could make fun of her brother.

Goldmi treated them all, and Anlimoth regretted not having received a few more injuries. They didn’t stop thanking her, until their jaws dropped when she explained that only she and her feline sister were there. It was she who had shot from a distance.

They looked at her in disbelief. The elf’s level was higher than theirs, but it was no more than 30. It was impossible for her to heal, run and shoot from so far and with such precision. But neither could they deny reality. And even less when she gave them a demonstration, by making a corrupted bird fall.