People around them were desperate. There was a lot of bumping as they passed through the sea of bodies. Isabel pulled Mila’s arm, yanking her ever forward.

The sobs and shouts of fear and distress filled the air. The heavy smell of dust permeated the surroundings, and the smoke from the fires blanketed the sky.

Mila stumbled over a fallen woman. She was trying to crawl out of the way as people rushed over her. No one stopped to help.

Neither did she. Mila took more steps as Viola moved forward. The woman’s task was to find Munny. She didn’t wait for Mila, Isabel and Silinth.

Isabel said something, but Mila couldn’t tell what. Children's desperate weeps prevented her. But a moment later, she moved past the clawing family, and Isabel repeated.

“They are not letting them in.” Isabel pointed at Temple as it came into sight further ahead. “Wait, they are.” She yelled over the noise. “Just slowly.”

Mila pulled herself closer to Isabel. “Are they checking those who enter?” She wanted to know.

“Maybe.” Isabel was taller but not tall enough to see.

“They are asking questions before letting them in.” Silinth joined them. He spent a bit more time studying the Temple’s entrance. “It’s risky to go in this way.” He concluded.

“Then we go around.” Mila motioned to the side.

“There are too many people at the entrance,” Isabel added as she continued to look towards their target. “They are looking for other ways in. Just like we are.” She pushed through the crowd using her superior mana-enchanted strength.

People looked at them, but feeling the overwhelming physical strength overpower them, most didn’t say a thing. Some complained some begged for help, but they left them all behind.

“They will find them,” Mila muttered. The Temple grounds were not a fortress. There were several points people could get in if they pushed enough.

As another wave of magical pressure washed over them, people grew more frantic. Their pleas at the gate fell on deaf ears. Only a handful was let it.

Mila tasted the air. She felt the source of this operation grow closer. It was still inside the temple. The ever-present irritating thing was grating on her nerves.

Over their heads, a booming flash zipped past, impacting the wall at the far side of the city.

Then, a headless corpse shot from the sky and crashed into the crowd, raising more chaos in its way.

Above the temple, an electric net formed, preventing another flash that contained a large boulder from devastating the buildings.

Mila recognised that spell. It was a difficult one to master. At first glance, it looked inefficient, but the lighting threads the net was made from would latch onto anything that touched it, preventing it from passing through.

There was someone formidable still in the temple. Mila looked at Silinth, who studied the net as it vanished, carrying the intercepted bolder down to the ground. “Manageable.” The man concluded.

While Silinth’s judgement was in question, Mila agreed. They proceeded. She moved behind Isabel, who broke through the mass of people.

As the Temple walls came closer, Mila heard the guards shout for people to calm down and that they had to proceed calmly.

But the herd of headless sheep were too scared. They did not listen. The shouting was ever-increasing in intensity. Soon, the guard voices were drowned by people seeking sanctuary.

When one of the nearby buildings went up in flames, people broke. Their shouts of desperation grew into anger. They pushed forward, ignoring all else. All they wanted was just a bit of safety.

Isabel pushed past a family. The trio of children looked at them go. Their parents barely keep their offspring standing. For how long? Mila couldn’t say. The area was getting more packed by the moment.

Cracking and shattering in the distance was followed by another explosion. The mass of people swayed as the shock wave washed over them.

Mila now knew what those heavy boxes Viola’s people had brought contained. But these explosions were all similar. There had to be…

And then it happened. As the booming voice of a woman shouted at her enemies, it was interrupted by a flash of light.

The impact and sound arrived a moment later. Twice as strong as the previous explosions, this one was too much for the ordinary citizens seeking refuge. They fell as the rumbling, rolling wave of destruction arrived.

Large and small pieces of debris decimated the crowd. The earth seemed to overturn as it groaned from the vibrations. Mila watched as wooden splinters slaughtered people on the left of her.

Mila felt Isabel snap around and raise her shield. She pulled Mila towards her and extended her shield arm to receive a torrent of destructive projectiles that peppered the area.

A moment later, Isabel flashed her ability, protecting the two of them from any and all harm.

All around them, Mila saw only a bloody mass of flesh. The angry shouts turned into sobs and cries. Then the screaming resumed. Weaker but so much more pressing.

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The family that they had just passed was no more. Just a cooling pile of corpses remained.

Mila felt Isabel stumble. “Don’t look.” She hurried to advice.

“I already did.” There was a grim, determined acceptance in Isabel’s voice.

Once more, Mila was overcome with regret. Isabel shouldn’t have been here. But the next moment, she was pulled along as her girlfriend resumed the course towards the temple.

The messy, fleshy mass at their feet sometimes cried as they stepped over it. Some people were luckier than others. They had survived without injuries. But even then, they were paralysed by the sheer amount of horror that now surrounded them.

There was a sudden smell of blood filling the air, suffocating them all even more. Mila felt its taste on her tongue just from breathing.

And it broke the Temple guards as well. While the Temple’s defences prevented it from being pelted by destruction, the people inside were filled with regret.

“Quick, everyone who still can, come inside!” A young voice rose above the rest.

The guards joined the voice and started to help struggling survivors enter the temple premises.

But even as they did, more people arrived, herded towards the temple by the growing fires and devastation that tore the city apart.

“Help them!” The young voice called out.

Mila caught a glimpse of a young man, perhaps a bit younger than Andrew, standing in front of the guards, helping pull a legless woman inside the temple.

More cries followed as people who had survived woke up from the shock they had experienced.

Once more, Mila was lost in the cacophony of sounds. All she heard was the prayers and pleas mixed with sobs and cries. The long, sorrowful howls made it impossible for her to speak with Isabel, who was still marching on.

Their legs grow bloody. Their bodies, too, as their purposeful steps splashed the pooling blood on their garbs, soiling them irreversibly.

Their advance towered over the survivors who tried to regain their footing and bearings. Silinth kicked away some who clung to their feet, begging for help.

Isabel spat on the ground as the taste of the death on her tongue grew unbearable. She tightened her grip on Mila’s hand, seeking solace in the contact with her closest person.

Mila responded. This was far worse than she had imagined. Her steps didn’t waver, nor did her mind, but she knew this would leave scars on all of them.

Less on her, but Isabel and Andrew would not be the same. How these changes would manifest, Mila did not know.

Silinth shouted something, but his voice was drowned out. He grabbed Isabel’s shoulder, pointing to the right, and they headed for the closest building to go through it.

The booming voice of the woman who seemed to be in charge returned. But she only proclaimed the death of their enemies. There was piercing hate that promised doom in her tone. The powerful explosion had not taken her down.

As they stepped through the half-ruined building, Mila caught a glimpse of someone standing on the Temple’s walls. A man who was dressed similarly to how Kaldiro had been.

Before Mila could see more, they continued into another destroyed building. They were close now. There was a rush in front of them. People spilt from all around and flung the Temple as if it were their last lifeline.

And the guards didn’t stop them. But those few entrance points could not take in the vast amount of people seeking refuge.

When some people get swept under the current of limbs and pushed under, the smarter ones turn towards the walls and start to climb.

Mila’s head snapped towards her left, with Silinth and Isabel following.

“It’s me!” Viola shouted over the roaring mass. She pushed through the human wall and joined them at Mila’s side. “She is there.” Her finger pointed at the Temple as she leaned closer to Mila to explain. “The premises are breached. The servants are in disarray. Everyone is seeking a place to hide. There were places deeper where the order was still maintained. We didn’t dare to go there. My squad is still inside, making sure the girl doesn’t vanish.”

“Will they do more?” Isabel butted in. There was a deep-rooted distaste for Viola on her face.

Viola did not respond and turned to vanish back in the crowd. A moment later, she started to climb over the wall, inviting them to follow.

Despite her hateful glare, Isabel started to pull Mila towards the Temple while Silinth quietly started to buff his body. He also took out a sword, which appeared filled with mana to Mila’s senses.

Once more, Mila was forced to press against Isabel’s back to not be swept away by the crushing mass of bodies. More people fell in their path, but they stepped over.

And the wall was finally in front of them. Silinth covered their backs, punching some people who tried to climb over them.

The crow learned quickly, as the imposing man did not leave any doubt of what would happen if they tried again.

Some people accused them of not helping the defenders as they were obviously more powerful than the ordinary citizens. But after another glare from Silinth, they stopped.

Most of them. There still were those who wanted their group's help. They screamed sorrowful tales of lost family members, of brutal suffering and begged for aid.

If they stopped and helped, they could save so many. But would their lives be more valuable than theirs? Mila didn’t believe so.

It sounded wrong, but not all lives had the same value. Mila was not ashamed of valuing Isabel’s life over the city's population.

And so did Isabel would choose Mila above anyone else. Otherwise, she would not be here.

Otherwise, Mila would have managed to keep Isabel away from this hell.

Mila raised her head to see Viola extend a hand down from the top of the wall. Silinth was the first to grab it, despite having enough strength to just jump over.

They didn’t want to garner even more attention. They were already standing out too much as it was.

After Silinth was over, it was Isabel’s turn, and when she was up on the wall, she pushed Viola over it to extend her own hand down.

Mila grabbed it and her girlfriend’s strong arms to carry her up. She was at the top of the wall just for a moment before jumping down on a flattened bush.

All around them, people ran towards the Temple’s centre. New arrivals continued to fall over the wall.

Mila straightened and looked around.

Viola pointed towards a building further up. “There.”

It was their next target and after.

Mila turned her gaze towards the deeper parts of the place.

Afterwards, they would go and see what was calling her.