“FACE ME YOU BITCH!” Grigory roared.

Mila ignored the raging bull of a man and extended her senses. The next moment, she hissed when an overwhelming amount of mana washed over her.

The screeching sound in the sky indicated Mr Crow was just as unhappy as Mila was. Heat followed by cold buffeted her body. Somewhere in the forest, a man’s scream was cut short.

Tiff’s voice calling out to Kefo reached Mila. Then Perhey’s maddening laughter was interrupted by several whizzing noises. A tree exploded on her left and showered her in splinters.

“DIE, KALDIRO!” Silinth’s crazed voice mixed with the cacophony of sounds struggling for dominance.

It was a chaos. Mila tried to extend her senses again, this time limiting her range and tried to find her friends. Isabel’s desperate call for her made Mila tremble and gave her a direction.

A scalding stream of something passed Mila’s right. The smoke still refused to let up while the wind increased in strength.

“STILL HOLDING BACK?” Silinth’s voice questioned.

“As are you, Silinth.” Kaldiro’s voice rose above the commotion.

A terrifying amount of mana flowed upwards. Somewhere in the sky, Mr Crow squawked in worry. Then, thunder drowned every other sound as lightning rained somewhere in the forest.

Mila pressed her ears shut. The ringing sound disoriented her further. She stumbled to where her mana sense pointed. It was only a few more metres until she would reach her friends.

More screams filled the air. None of the voices were familiar to Mila. Suddenly, she was pressed to the ground as pressure blanketed the surroundings. Her senses told her Grigory was slowly making his way towards her friends.

Perhey, meanwhile, was wildly shooting something to where he thought his enemies were. He still was laughing as the world crumbled around them.

Loud cracks came from Mila’s left, and the pressure eased. She climbed to her feet and sprinted to her group.

“WHERE ARE YOU?” Grigory’s voice came closer and closer.

The man had a way of navigating these conditions. Mila hurried and almost tripped upon Kefo, who lay on the ground covered in burns, being taken care of by Tiff. Not that the girl was in a better state. She cradled her bleeding arm while trembling, trying to stifle her sobs.

Mila reached down and picked up Tiff’s shortsword. It was a bit too unwieldy for the current her, but it would have to do. She nodded to the girl and moved onwards.

At least they were silent and didn’t alert Grigory of their position. Mila took another step and found Isabel holding her shield in front of her, holding back an outpour of magical attacks by Perhey. The barrier she had made was still as resilient as ever, not showing signs of weakening. But the manic rate their opponent was throwing attacks held them down and prevented them from moving.

Andrew helplessly looked around, trying to see anything past his outstretched hand while holding his sword. Above him, Mr Crow sang, and Mila felt Grigory’s step falter while Perhey turned his barrage towards the sky.

“We have to move,” Mila whispered to Andrew.

“To where?” Andrew hissed back. “I can’t see shit!”

A roaring sound of giant fire reached their ears. It continued to grow in strength and moved closer.

“Mila,” Isabel breathed out in relief when she noticed her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes!” She reassured Isabel before continuing. “We have to move,” Mila repeated. “Can Mr Crow guide us out?” She addressed Andrew.

“Maybe-” He stopped. “Yes, but-”

“COME OUT YOU LITTLE SHITS!” Grigory was now only a few meters away.

At the same time, Perhey returned his hellfire towards their general direction.

If not for the overwhelming surrounding pandemonium, Grigory would have surely heard their whispers. That is to say, Andrew was hesitant to risk calling out to his bond.

“Can you hold?” Mila asked Isabel.

“I can.” She affirmed. “I saw you get knocked down.” Isabel leaned closer to Mila, trying to see if she was in one piece.

“It just left me bruised.” Mila tried not to flinch away. Her actual condition was worse than just bruises. It hurt just to move, but it wasn’t anything permanent. “Can you push towards Perhey?” She tried to find a way out and tried her best to come up with a plan.

After Isabel nodded, Mila made a decision. “Andrew, grab Kefo and Tiff. We will rush Perhey. Isabel, I’ll guide you.”

All things considered, Grigory was a difficult target for them. His armour and general mastery over body empowerment made him too resilient for anything they could dish out. He was also somewhat aware of what was happening in the smoke.

Perhey, on the other hand-

The man gleefully laughed as a massive construct of mana tore the earth next to him apart. Mila felt him stumble and move. She guessed the debris had reached the man and possibly hurt him.

The same debris rained down on Isabel’s barrier. Once again, Mila was amazed at how resilient it was. She glanced at where Andrew was picking up Kefo.

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Mr Crow was no less impressive. The bird could impact so many targets while keeping allies unaffected. Even Grigory and Perhey were affected.

“Move now.” Mila gave Isabel a sign as Andrew joined them with Kefo in his hands and Tiff at his side. She planted her hand on Isabel’s back and started to push her towards Perhey.

They had to get rid of the madman, making the already hazardous battlefield worse. While Silinth and Kaldiro were much more destructive, they seemed to have an idea of where everyone was and avoided hitting them directly.

Behind them, Grigory continued to shout. Mila noted the man passing the position they had been in just a minute ago. It had been a close call. It still was as the loud man reoriented himself a moment later and crept towards them once again.

“Quicker,” Mila muttered in Isabel’s ear. She adjusted her grip on the shortsword and prepared to dash.

Their target was now right in front of them. Mila could only guess if Perhey realised they were closing in. There certainly was no reaction from the man as he continued to waste mana.

And then Mila was close enough. She pinpointed his exact position with her senses and corrected her aim.

A tired sigh surrounding her interrupted Mila.

“I cannot allow you to kill Perhey.” Kaldiro’s voice once again rose above everything else.

Then, a sizable fireball splashed against Isabel’s shield, pushing against it and forcing her to her knees.

“Curious,” Kaldiro noted his failure. “It should have pushed you all back.”

“DIE!” Silinth screamed.

The noise of shattering became dominant for a moment before the ground before their group exploded, taking Perhey with it.

Mila looked in surprise at the spot. The way forward was now clear, so she pushed the group to move.

“Troublesome.”

Kaldiro's mutter echoed through the air while Silinth gleefully laughed. “JOIN HIM, OLD MAN!”

The fighting around them continued. It seemed like they were evenly matched, but Mila felt Silinth slowly losing. She didn’t dare to look too closely at what the two monsters were doing exactly, but Silinth’s mana seemed to deplete at a faster rate.

Especially after Silinth had killed Perhey. It had put him in an unfavourable position.

They waded through the crater and bloody bits left of Perhey. Mila stepped over what looked like an arm. Behind them, Silinth sliced the ground, making Grigory lose their trail.

It couldn’t continue like this much longer. Mila stumbled and barely held herself on her feet by supporting herself with Isabel’s hand. But by doing so, she dropped her only weapon.

“Tell Mr Crow to find the quickest way out.” Mila addressed Andrew and took a few deep breaths. She did not pick up the sword.

If Mila tried to, she risked to fall and not get up. Her mana was running out, and she tried to preserve even the tiniest speck.

Andrew shouted towards the sky, and an answer came. Mr Crow’s voice was barely audible over the mayhem. “There.” He pointed towards their left.

With a clear goal, their spirits were reignited. Their steps were full of determination. Mila felt Isabel’s heavy breathing. She was still keeping the barrier up, guarding them against stray splinters and debris tearing into their bodies.

Tiff was groggily staggering next to them. Andrew was in the best shape, with Kefo unconscious in his hands. Even then, the noise and stress were getting to him.

It had been too long since they had a proper rest. Mila blinked sweat out of her eyes. Where was she?

“You fool!” For the first time, Kaldiro sounded angry. “That is a SIN!”

Mila heard the words but was too tired to think what they could mean. The smoke started to clear up.

All around them, there was devastation. Broken and shattered trees. Large gashes in the ground. Burning forest and frozen patches. There were a few corpses thrown around, but none in one piece.

The cart they had hoped to carry supplies was destroyed, revealing the boxes inside were empty.

Silinth roared. “I DON’T SERVE ANY GODS! I’LL-”

An earth-shattering explosion occurred somewhere behind them. Mila stumbled forward from the shockwave. She failed to keep her balance and collapsed, with Tiff falling down next to her.

“We can't go on like this!” Isabel exclaimed. Her spirit was finally spent, and the shield in her hands dissipated.

“STOP!” Kaldiro bellowed. “NO! YOU FOOL!”

Mila blinked the vertigo away. She rolled on her back and looked up to the sky. There was something wrong. Her body tensed. It was wrong. What was it? What made her feel this way?

“STOP!” Kaldiro’s shout made the earth tremble.

It was there. Mila lifted her head and looked towards where Kaldiro’s mana spiked. Next to him, she felt the source of her discomfort.

It wasn’t Silinth, but he was the source. Mila frowned. She didn’t understand. The feeling she got was similar to what she got when thinking about the forbidden name. But the difference was massive at the same time.

Suddenly, murmurs filled the air. At first, Mila thought it came from the corrupt something, but then, Kaldiro’s voice became clear. He was chanting and praying. It was a plea for God’s mercy and an invitation for its presence.

A sudden displacement boomed over them. A limp body was thrown towards their group, and Silinth landed near them with a horrible thump.

Despite that, Silinth slowly stood up. His eyes were empty, and his body shook. He took an unstable step and looked towards them.

Mr Crow soon followed and fell down from the sky, landing on Andrew’s shoulder. He looked tattered and lifeless.

“What did you do?” Mila demanded to know.

Silinth looked at her in surprise. He looked ashamed and full of regrets. “I failed.”

“What does-”

But Silinth interrupted her. “We have to run.” He coughed. “Don’t ask. Kaldiro was right. I was a fool. But it gives us time. Here, I’ll help.”

Silinth unsteadily walked towards them. But with each step, he seemed to regain a bit of strength. When he reached them, he crouched next to Tiff, tore the cloth around her injury and cauterised it. “What about you?”

“I am fine.” Mila managed to force herself to speak.

“Kefo got burned.” Andrew hurried to bring the boy towards Silinth.

“I can’t do anything about it.” The man shook his head and sighed. “We need a proper healer.”

The unearthly murmurs continued. Kaldiro’s voice was endless. Mila felt the man was unmoving next to the feeling of wrongness.

“Don’t focus on it.” Silinth stopped her. “I didn’t know you could feel it.” He paled. “Don’t think about it either. It’s worse than gods.”

It didn’t explain anything, but Mila agreed. It felt worse. She felt repulsed by whatever it was.

“Come.” Silinth pulled her to her feet, and Isabel hurried to support Mila. “We must move.” He picked up Tiff. “Kaldiro will not follow. He will not be able to for a while.”

Mila avoided looking back. She focused on her step. Isabel’s hand wrapped around her and squeezed. The warm touch soothed her tired mind. It felt safe. She pressed her cheek against her friend’s side and braced herself for another long trek.