“They have explosives,” Mouse huffed, running up to Taiga as he helped a family find somewhere to rest and have their child treated for a head injury.

“What? The demons?” Taiga lowered his voice as the family glanced at him nervously, “how do the demons have explosives?”

“Looks like they stole a wagon of fireworks.”

“Stole?” Taiga shook his head, “demons don’t steal.”

“Well, these do. There’s over a dozen of them over there, and they’re keeping formation while the mercs attack them.”

Taiga stared at him, “they’re organized?”

Mouse nodded. “If they create enough chaos and havoc, they’ll poison the land here.”

“They’re trying to corrupt the land and create a home base on human territory.” Taiga looked out towards the gate, as a few people filed in and mercenaries left. One attack on human soil wouldn’t be enough. But continuous attacks, seeds of fear and with doubt already created in the minds of people…

He felt the green magic beneath him, stabilized for now. But if enough humans fell into agony, it could taint the land. He’d seen it in the west as the war raged on. The ground died, and drought and disease were common. Farmers from peace became bandits, and lovers turned to murder.

Once an area plunged into corruption, it was near impossible to reverse.

Especially without the Ganakri or Guardian Spirits to manage the lands and balance.

“First, we get the civilians to safety,” Taiga spoke as they walked to the gate. Mouse nodded. “Then, support the mercenaries until the demons die or flee. Got it?”

He nodded again, “And be ready for plan adjustments? I remember war,” he smiled.

At least one of them was confident. “Then let’s go.”

Mouse dashed ahead of him, swerving gracefully around the chaos and through dust and smoke unhindered. Taiga sprinted at full speed just to keep him in sight. When his friend disappeared through the gate and into a cloud of smoke, Taiga drew his sword.

Once again, he wished the sword was metal.

Beyond the smoke, Mouse clashed with a demon, smacking it back while a woman helped an elderly woman into the gate. A guard stopped them, telling them to get back, making Taiga whirl around.

“Are you insane? We need to get these people to safety, now,” he snapped, ushering the women back towards the gate.

“I have orders. Unless they qualify to pass the checkpoint—”

“Qualify?” His voice pitched as his anger spiked. “And what qualifies someone to be safe? Their usefulness? No. Safety resides within the walls. So they go in.” He left no room for debate, and as the guard pushed forward to prevent the women from entering, Taiga stepped between them. Behind the guard, several people huddled near the gate, likely denied entry already.

“They are entering illegally! You have no—”

Taiga whacked him against the side of his head, letting him crumble to the ground. The guard dropped unconscious, and Taiga looked to a young couple huddled in the chaos. “Drag him with you on your way in.”

The two men nodded, stumbling to the guard and heaving him on their shoulders. Taiga watched the people run through the gate, ensuring no other obstruction stopped them from reaching safety. The worst thing in a battle could be a single idiot.

Mouse struck down the demon he fought. A small thing with an easily damageable neck. And Mouse did enjoy breaking those. Another demon took its place as the other one fell, and he grimaced as a young boy screamed while dragged between the demons.

Taiga ran forward, whirling behind Mouse as he held the demon back. He darted between two other demons, twisted over the boy, dropped down, and high kicked the demon. It flung back, and Taiga took the split moment before the demons reacted to grab the child, heave him over his shoulder, and dash back to Mouse.

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A demon grabbed hold of his leg, digging its claws into his flesh. Mouse tore past the demon he fought and slammed his sword into the one gripping Taiga. The demon yanked free, and Taiga lurched forward from the release, catching himself on a stumble, and bolted past the group of demons with the child in tow.

He dropped the child by his mother, before running back to Mouse fending off three demons alone. He smacked one across the head with his sword, though the thing only fell to the ground, quickly recovering. It turned its attention to Taiga, lunging its claws at him.

Taiga dodged easily enough, but another demon jumped onto his back, grabbing at his tunic and pulling him back. He whipped around, trying to get at the demon, though his reach was limited. Instead, he slid his sword behind his head, down his back, and flicked upward. The demon yanked off, and it receded a couple meters away from him.

Fire roared as another firecracker cackled at the gate. A woman screamed, a demon launching from a cart and slamming her into the ground. It gripped her hair, pulling her head back. Taiga tried running to her, but the two demons blocked his path, and threatened any move he made.

Mouse jumped between them, “go,” and slashed his sword in front of the creatures in warning. He kept the three demons at bay as Taiga fled. When he reached the woman, he swung his sword at the demon. It noticed him, and leapt back, landing softly on the wheel of the wagon.

He knelt to the woman as she lay on the ground, “can you get up?”

Tears streamed down her sooted face. She shook her bloodied head, a tangled mess of hair caught on her dress. “Okay, hold on,” he soothed.

A crackle boomed beside them. He flinched, jerking up towards the demons on the wagon only a few meters from them. The one on the wheel watched him, cocking its head to the side and clicking.

The woman cried out, and he dropped back down beside her, “I’m going to get you to the gate, I’ll help you up.”

He kept his eyes on the demon, pulling the woman’s arm off the ground as she struggled to her elbows, and lifted it over his shoulder. She stumbled, her body dropping. He caught her, and though it unbalanced him, he pulled her more onto him, carrying her weight.

The demon hopped from the wheel, crawling to them. Taiga tensed, trying to balance the woman while swinging his sword between them and the demon, “back!”

But it took its chances, inching towards them. Taiga pulled the woman back in step with himself. She clung to him, whimpering. Her blood soaked through his cape and tunic, and her grip struggled on his shoulder. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her up against him while the demon seemed to calculate its chances.

“I said back!” he snapped. In reality, he couldn’t hold the woman up and fend off the demon. Instead he poured focus into standing his ground, puffing his chest, and vocalizing his strength, “back!”

A plume of smoke drew between them, and he used the precious moments to yank magic from beneath the dirt road. He drew the deep roots of the trees through the gravel, strangling around the demon’s ankles. They pulled it into the earth, crushing its legs with force and pressure against solid ground.

It shrieked from within the smoke. Taiga turned, hobbling away with the woman. Once they reached the gate, he handed her off to a mercenary focused on helping civilians to safety. The woman muttered “thank you” through her delirium, even after he’d headed back out of the gate.

Mouse, far ahead now, had joined with a few other mercenaries as they tried to break through the encircled demons. Fire roared and paraded over the voices of those in need. Another boom, closeby, and stone rained down on him. He raised his arm over his head to protect himself.

A chunk of rock smashed into his arm, and he gritted at the pain. Blood dripped down his arm, but he ignored it, keeping his arm raised while scanning the area. A mercenary dropped a few meters away from him, a rock tumbling away as he fell.

The demons on the wagon took their opportunity, a dish laid out before them at a feast. The mercenary wobbled to his feet, but the demons were upon him. He yelled out, swinging his sword at them, pushing one back.

Another mercenary, a woman, ran up to him, wrapping her arms around a demon and ripping it from the man’s face. She tossed it as another attempted to jump at her. Frantic, she swung at them in warning, but the man struggled as another demon bit at his ear. He screamed.

Taiga ran to them, sliding his sword between the man’s nape and the demon’s belly, and used all his strength to swing outward, snapping the demon from its hold and tossing it away. The demon flipped in the air, landing on all fours and sliding to a halt a short distance away.

“Get him through the gate!” Taiga yelled, pointing his sword at the demon, “I’ll cover you.”

“Are you crazy? There’s three of them!” The woman snapped, her eyes flicking between the man and the demons.

“I can hold them off while you get inside,” he’d use magic if he found himself in dire need, “I didn’t say I’d kill them all.”

The woman hesitated, but as the man struggled, dropping to a knee, she tensed, and nodded. “I’ll come back. So hold on.”

Taiga shook his head, “we need everyone to get through the gates. Get the message to the other mercs.”

She pulled her partner’s arm over her, “we can take them!”

Of course, if this was a normal circumstance, he’d agree with her. But organized demons? The unknowns were too high. “Minimal lives lost needs to be the priority! Getting everyone through the gate comes first. We’ll figure out the demons after!”

She stared at him a long moment, clicked her tongue, nodded, and hurried off with her partner, leaving Taiga to face three demons alone.