The moonlight illuminated the two faces that Ida was familiar with. The beautiful honey blonde-haired woman stood protectively in front of Ida, her hands gripped onto the glowing, translucent rope that aimed for Ida.

The rope coiled around her wrist, and Ida could see Auriana's entire arm covered by transparent claws belonging to a hawk.

"...!" the hooded man stiffened before he hissed. "Auriana Lionheart!"

"Don't move. Not even a single step." Auriana said firmly, glaring at him.

“It's all because of you that–”

A swift movement came from the shadows and a sword aimed at the hooded man's neck, making him stiffen. If he took a step further, the sword would have sliced his neck.

“Auri was being nice when she warned you.” Nikulas threatened lowly, a dangerous glint in his coffee-brown irises.

Ida was prepared to call on the sleeping June for some fae dust, but she realised it wasn't needed.

She smiled to herself.

The protagonists are truly kind.

It was also a relief, since she didn't need to reveal her unpredictable trump card yet.

“You trusted my words, thank you.”

“You could have been seriously injured, Ida!” Auriana exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. “How can you still remain so calm?”

“Pay attention to the spirit mage.” Ida warned.

In an instant, the glowing translucent rope transformed into a glowing claw, similar to Auriana and gripped fiercely back at her hand, crushing it.

“Agh–”

Auriana winced in pain, a hint of surprise shooting past her almond-shaped crystal blue eyes. She released her grip on the hooded robed-man and gritted her teeth, the transparent claw dissipating from her hands.

At the same time, Nikulas sliced at the hooded robed-man's neck, forcing him to release his grip on Auriana. The man quickly created some distance between Auriana and Nikulas, glowering at them. His glowing claw split up into several pieces of icicle-shaped objects, aiming right at them. A transparent figure enveloped Auriana, and the figure resembled that of a werewolf. Her bruised and deformed hand immediately recovered. She massaged at her hand, letting out a menacing growl at the attacker.

“What ridiculous regenerative powers,” the hooded robed-man muttered, taking a step back. “And Ida Wolfe, I never told you what I am.”

“It was simply a guess,” Ida said, her expression composed. “Animals aren’t the only beings we can form a contract with. If one is lucky, we can share a link with another living being like us.”

“...”

“Do you think I would team up with someone who is a spirit mage who forces beastman’s blood down your throat?” Ida added. “No matter what I did, you were planning to destroy my village.”

“...they were wrong about you. You aren’t an ignorant fallen noble.”

The spirit mage flicked at his hand and his glowing icicles shot at the three of them.

“My little one!”

“No, June! Don’t reveal yourself! I’ll be fine!”

Ida was communicating telepathically to the frantic June, halting the fae’s actions.

Nikulas breathed in deeply, his fingers clenching around the handle of his sword and a luminous aura surrounded his arm and sword. In an instant, he slashed the air apart and the glowing icicles shattered into pieces.

“...!”

The spirit mage hastily coalesced his broken icicles into one large wall, shielding himself from the impact of the slash. His wall broke apart and he panted, his eyes filled with anger.

“An enhancing-type spirit mage? They said you were a swordsman.”

“I don’t only use swords.” Nikulas lowered his weapon.

“Gah!”

The spirit mage was tackled by Auriana, aiming straight for the tree behind him. Fortunately, he managed to avoid crashing into a tree trunk as he shoved himself aside along with Auriana with his glowing weapon. After which, he swiftly separated himself from Auriana, grunting as he bumped onto a glowing wall, pushing himself up. Auriana charged at him once more and the spirit mage sneered, lifting his hand. His glowing weapon transformed into numerous orbs and hovered in the sky.

“...?”

“Something is being attracted to those orbs.” Nikulas said, a translucent white flame-like aura lining his eyes.

From his enhanced eyes, he could see rainbow-coloured dust floating towards the spirit mage. However, from Ida’s point of view, she couldn’t see a single thing.

“This bad tall one! How dare he disturb my toys!”

“June?” Ida whispered to herself. “I can’t see anything. What is happening right now?”

“He is using the fae pot to collect all the dust! How did he get our pot?!”

The June that was only visible to Ida stormed her feet in frustration.

It took a short moment for Ida to comprehend those words, and she gasped in horror. She clutched at the shawl and nightgown, taking off to the entrance of the village.

“Hey!” Nikulas called out. “Where are you–!”

Nikulas stumbled, the ground below him started to tremble. He glanced around and saw Auriana halting abruptly, a step away from tackling the spirit mage. She turned towards Nikulas, sending a message to him with her eyes.

There was something more dangerous heading their way right now.

“June, please! I beg you!”

“Hm? Why are you suddenly so upset?”

“You have to collect those fae dust back! Without it, the village will…!”

“Watch out, little one!”

Ida stumbled due to the tremors, falling to the ground. Ida hastily pushed herself up, breaking out into a sprint. She didn’t have time to stop and think about her scraped knee or her dirtied shawl that she tossed onto the ground.

“Please, June! We don’t have time!”

“Worry not, my little one! I will not let the bad tall one destroy my precious toys!”

The spirit mage smirked as he transformed one of his orbs into a spear. He aimed it towards one of the pillars that supported the barrier to this village.

Boom!

One of the pillars was destroyed.

“No, no!” Ida murmured out in fear. “There’s nowhere for the villagers to evacuate to!”

At that moment, Auriana and Nikulas realised what was happening. They took off running to where Ida went, ignoring the spirit mage. The spirit mage smirked and his glowing weapon became a carpet, carrying him into the sky. His hood has never once fallen off as if it was binded in the same spot by magic, and thus, the three of them couldn’t get a clear look at his appearance. They could only see the ugly scar from his lips down to his chin.

“Serves you right.”

The three of them didn’t pay any attention to the spirit mage now. The ground was trembling more than ever, and they could hear the low growls and howls in the distance.

The Wastelands have come alive.

The village would be its first victim.

The spirit mage observed the wolves tore through the forest and their ravenous eyes fixated in the direction of the village. They bared their teeth, eager and hungry.

“You’ll taste the same despair as I have.”

In the midst of relishing in his victory, the spirit mage didn’t notice the sleight of hand from the displeased June. The fae pot was shaped like a tree stump and decorated with bright-coloured mushrooms, and she switched out with an identical pot.

Hmph!

Serves you right for making my little one upset!

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

June spit her tongue at the spirit mage. She knew he would be in for a surprise when he opened up the fae pot. It was saddening that she couldn’t witness his expression, but her imagination was enough.

***

The warning bell chimed and its deafening sound resounded throughout the entire village.

Ida reached the entrance of the village as quickly as she could, panting heavily. The sweat rolled down her face and she was struggling to breathe. It was the first time she felt irked at having such a weak constitution. Some of the guards were already gathering the villagers in order and shouted at them to evacuate to the neighbouring village. Whereas, the rest of the guards were bracing themselves for the impact at the entrance of the village.

“Lady Wolfe–”

A few guards ran up to her, greeting her but she waved them off. “Run…run away! With the villagers!”

“How could we–”

“Run away! Or you'll die!”

“We cannot abandon our post even if it means death!”

The excited howls were growing closer with each second. Ida clenched her jaw, looking at the guards standing before the pillars and watchtower. They brandished their weapons, their spirit animals enshrouding them or hovering at their side.

Even in this life, why…

Why must I witness this?

Ida squeezed her eyes close, pinching at the bridge of her nose. There was a layer of sweat on her forehead, and a few droplets trailing down her cheeks. Some memories of her past life flashed across her mind, and they were memories that were forever ingrained within her.

In this life, she was powerless.

She couldn’t fight.

Nevertheless, she was still the temporary liege of this village. The lives of these people were still in her hands. These same people had become extremely precious to her.

“Lady Wolfe, you must escape–”

“As your temporary liege, heed my orders, soldiers!”

The guards stiffened on the spot.

“Fight, crawl or be a coward, do whatever you can to live!” Ida bellowed, wiping her sweat with the shawl as her amber eyes blazed with anger. “Even if you must die, you must live.”

The guards lifted their weapons into the air, letting out a cry of approval.

“Grrr!”

The mutated wolf growled loudly as it leapt into the air, bursting through the weakened barrier. Meanwhile, another wolf rammed itself straight into the other pillar, making it totter. It didn’t take a few seconds before the other wolves caught up, striking their body against the pillar as it collapsed. The guards avoided being crushed by the pillar, wielding their weapons and charging towards the wolves. The wolves snapped their teeth at their prey, rushing at them. Just like that, chaos ensued and an all-out war began.

“Ugh!”

“Agh!”

“Die, you nasty mutt!”

The guards wielded their linked spirits, whether it was a bear, wolf, hawk or panther, none of them showed the wolves any mercy. Alas, they couldn’t fight the wolves bare-handed with the strength of their contracted spirits, since the jaws of the mutated wolves were tremendously powerful. Among the guards, there were a few new recruits who had never fought the mutated wolves before. The mutated wolf leapt at a new recruit, and his linked spirit, which was a hyena, utilised the energy of its linked partner and bit down on the limbs of the mutated wolf.

The mutated wolf whined in pain, missing its landing on the new recruit and decided to ignore its pain, lunging at its prey without hesitation. The new recruit panicked, flailing around and their weapon miraculously connected with the chest of the wolf.

“Ahh! Ahhh!”

“Grrr…”

The mutated wolf thrashed against the spear that was slowly plunging into its body, its hungry eyes never straying from the new recruit. His body shivered violently and the grip on his spear was loosening.

“Recruit!”

At that moment, Ida rushed up behind the new recruit, using all of her strength to thrust their spear through the wolf’s body. The wolf struggled in pain, drooling excessively.

“Grrr!”

Black liquid sputtered out from the spot where it was pierced, splattering onto their faces. The new recruit turned his head and was shocked to see Ida right beside him, the moonlight reflecting the black liquid sliding down her face as she wore a cold expression.

“You can run, hide or fight, but you cannot hesitate,” Ida said, her words solemn and chilling. “The moment you do, you will die.”

“...I…”

“Pay attention!”

“Ye-yes!”

“Use your spirit’s strength and kill it! Now!”

The linked hyena was immediately linked to the new recruit and his arms were lined with translucent furry arms. He clenched his jaw, plunged the spear through the wolf’s body, killing it swiftly. In an instant, it stopped thrashing and its body melted into a puddle of black goo.

“Get up.”

The new recruit straightened his back, stiffening.

“What did I just say?”

“Even…even if you must die, you…” the new recruit stuttered, his lips quivering. “You must live!”

“Good, now go!” Ida yelled.

The new recruit bowed towards Ida, his eyes brimming with confidence now. He gripped tightly onto his weapon, rushing at his next target with a newfound vigour. Even before Ida could properly see him off, another mutated wolf lunged for her and she dropped to the ground, rolling aside. The wolf missed her but didn’t allow her to catch a break.

In that instant, someone took advantage of the moment and shot an arrow at the wolf, piercing right through its heart. The wolf melted into another puddle of black goo.

“Lady Wolfe! You need to escape to the neighbouring village with the others!”

“I’m not that kind of leader that abandons her own people in a battle.” Ida gritted her teeth, pushing herself up.

“Even so, you–”

“Mummy! Daddy!”

Ida and the freckled-face guard looked in the direction of the child’s cry. They saw a couple protecting their child from the mutated wolf approaching them slowly. The freckled-face guard lifted their bow and the view of their world changed, it became clear, slow and quiet. Their eyes became slitted, like a hawk aiming for its prey.

He released the arrow and it pierced the vital point of the wolf.

Alas, before they could celebrate the victory of saving the three innocent villagers, another wolf appeared out of nowhere, biting onto the shoulder of the freckled-face guard.

“Aghh!”

Ida didn’t hesitate, procuring an arrow from the fallen quiver and stabbing it into the eye of the wolf with a merciless glint in her amber irises. The wolf cried out in pain, releasing the shoulder of the freckled-face guard.

“La-lady Wolfe…”

“It’s still not over!”

Ida snatched the bow from his hands, clutching it in her hands and stood protectively in front of the guard whose face was extremely pale. Even if her arms lacked the strength to shoot arrows, she could still use the bow as a defensive weapon. The wolf recovered from its pain swiftly, ignoring the arrow still stuck in its eye. It growled at Ida and pounced at her.

“Ida!”

Auriana swooped down from the air, crushing the wolf under her legs as it disintegrated into black goo. There was a translucent figure of a kangaroo enshrouding her.

“We are sorry for being late!”

Nikulas swooped in with an attack from his sword, slashing at the wave of wolves rushing towards them with his luminous sword. The wolves were hurled back from the impact, hitting the tree trunks and dissipating into black goo as well.

“What would you have us do…” Auriana trailed off as she witnessed Ida tearing apart at her night gown.

Ida quickly wrapped that piece of her nightgown around the nasty wound on the guard’s shoulder.

“Lady Wolfe, you don’t have to–”

“Don’t move. Don’t talk more than necessary.”

Nikulas observed the focused Ida who was covered in grime and cuts, disregarding her condition to help her subordinate. There was a subtle hint of approval in his eyes.

At that moment, some of the guards made their way over to Ida. Even in such a situation, the survival of Ida, their temporary liege, is more important than their lives.

“Lady Wolfe!”

“You must flee!”

“You cannot remain here, how are we to answer to the lords if–”

“Nikulas, Auriana. Take care of the wolves, and only focus on the wolves. Leave none of them alive.” Ida commanded, laying the freckled-face guard on the floor and her eyes were ablaze with determination. “And the rest of you, prioritise the villagers and the injured. Bring them to a safe place and guard them together. Stay in groups, and keep each other in check.”

They knew, no matter what, Ida Wolfe would not flee this battlefield under any circumstances. There was no convincing her.

“Of course, Ida.”

“Yes, Lady Wolfe!”

“And above all else,” Ida raised her voice, her voice resolute. “Come back alive.”

“...”

“...”

“Now, go! Every second counts!”

The group quickly dispersed.

“You can still use your spirit, can’t you?” Ida asked the guard. “I need eyes in the sky.”

“Yes,” he replied weakly. “What are you looking for?”

“The temporary safe haven. Look wherever there are groups of villagers and guards,” Ida stated. “You don’t have to worry about the wolves. Those two are more than capable of killing them all.”

Auriana and Nikulas.

She didn’t expect them to offer their help so willingly, but she’ll take any chance she can get. With those two here, Ida was confident that no one would die.

“My little one, I’m back! I have collected back the dust! That bad tall one will be punished!”

June danced her way back to Ida’s side, announcing her presence with a hint of mischief in her voice. This time, she did not bother hiding her presence.

“Thank you.”

Without hesitation, June summoned the fae pot out of thin air and dropped it onto Ida’s hands.

“Hehe, you are welcome! Wow, what an exciting sight!” June observed the chaotic surroundings with delight in her aqua-coloured orbs.

“June.”

“Yes, yes, my little one!”

“If you do as I say, I will give you the most delicious and sweetest pastry. I will also promise to play with you for an entire day.”

June was ecstatic, twirling around Ida. “You said it! You said it! You can’t go back on your words! My little one can’t break promises!”

“The moment you see big groups of tall ones, cast a barrier on them with your fae dust,” Ida said, a smile on her face. “I’ll guess the number of barriers you have made. That’s our first game.”

“I like it, I like it!” June cheered, tilting her head a second later. “But what if you lose?”

“I’ll give you more pastries.”

“Okay! Okay!” June nodded eagerly. “Breaking a promise with a fae is bad!”

“I know. I’ll keep my promise to you.”

“Hehe, I really like you! My little one!”

June floated into the air, flitting here and there. Her animated expression was a contrast to the grim situation of the village and the dim moonlight. She disappeared into the fray with her glittering wings.

“You know what to do, don’t you?”

“Yes,” the freckled-face guard answered, smiling weakly. “I would prefer not to be turned into stone again.”

“Don’t worry,” Ida said, her face composed as her smile faltered. “I won’t let any one of you die.”

Ida assumed by distracting the spirit mage with Auriana and Nikulas would ensure the safety of her village. In the end, she realised, the plot of this world has to happen no matter what.

The village had to be destroyed.

However, that was something she would never allow. Not as long as she lived in this world. Even if she had to go against the fate of this world.

“I’ll make sure that none of you will ever suffer like this again.”