I ran through the woods until a thick grove of bamboo sheltered me. There, I channeled my Ring of Recall to teleport back to base. A faint, cyan light began to surround my body.

I had done it. I think. I think I did it. Mr. Atlas, please…

The light surged and momentarily blinded me. When it faded, I was back within the walls of our base, beside the vending machine.

Reens knelt at my side. In her arms, she cradled Mr. Atlas.

I reached out to him and touched his face. Solid. Bloodied, but no longer fading. He looked weakly at me and lifted his palm for me to see. In it was a broken Death Ward.

I could hardly believe it actually worked.

I sighed a shuddering sigh as the grief inside me melted away.

"You aren't going anywhere," I comforted him. Mr. Atlas, I'm here. I'm here to save you.

"That was very brave," Mr. Atlas managed to say. "Sophia, thanks."

Relief bubbled up within me. But our match was far from over. The combination of our vending machine's healing aura, plus Reens' own magic, patched Mr. Atlas up fast.

We needed everyone, if we were going to win.

I scanned the arena. Though I couldn't find the cat, I detected Anastasia advancing down the top lane, and Lore advancing down the bottom lane. Judging by the position of golems in the middle lane, the cat ought to be there, pushing its forces towards us. As much as we wanted to rest and recollect, our enemies left us no such opportunity.

Mr. Atlas rose to his feet and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

"Situation, Sophia?" he asked.

"A three-pronged attack," I informed. "They want us to split up to defend. They want to force one-versus-ones."

"We'll be playing into their hands," Reens pointed out. She was right, that solo fights were the specialty of our enemies. Saber called their tactic split-pushing, and there was no easy answer against it without three solo-capable combatants of our own.

"We'll ignore them," I proposed. "Let them take our side towers. We'll march down mid lane, blast straight into their base."

Reens looked to Mr. Atlas for support.

"We're gambling everything," she pointed out to me. And indeed, we would be. If they got into our base first, through the top and bottom lanes, that'd be the end for us. Our only chance would be to beat them to the punch and destroy their Base Core first.

"If we can't defend, we'll have to attack," I said. "Besides, we've always been stronger together."

"You know what you're doing?" Mr. Atlas asked.

"I know well enough," I replied. Seeing that we were all fully healed, I began jogging down the middle lane, and waved the others onward.

Not long after exiting our base, we came across the frontlines. Our golems were locked in combat against the enemy golems in the middle lane, and losing. At the back of the enemy lines was Lady the cat. Us three charged forward, reinforcing our troops. The cat was wary of the range of my spells, and stayed a great breadth away from us.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Our golems, though battered, overcame the enemy forces with our support. We advanced forward until we reached the enemy mid tower. The cat's mana was running low attempting to match our output. What few mice it could spare sending were promptly nullified by Reen's defensive magic.

The mid tower began to crumble as we laid seige.

「Red team has destroyed a top tower.」

They were ahead of us.

"Keep coming," the cat hissed. "Soon my friends will tear your base to shreds."

Not that we could stop them right now. Regardless of what the cat said, we had to press onward.

Mr. Atlas heaved his axe and charged at the enemy tower. With one mighty swing, he took out a great chunk of its girth. The tower began to lean, and it fell.

「Green team has destroyed a middle tower.」

With what remained of our golems, we proceeded forth down the middle lane. The cat was playing cautiously, and it fell farther back.

「Red team has destroyed a bottom tower.」

Lore, too, was matching our progress down there.

By the time we reached their inner mid tower, we met the next wave of their golems. Our forces clashed, and despite our firepower, our golems were the first to deplete. The previous tower had damaged them too much.

We stopped in our tracks. Without our golems, there was nothing to draw the fire of the laser towers. We couldn't lay siege to it until our next wave arrived. It'd take minutes. We didn't have the luxury of waiting idly around.

"Should we recall and defend?" Reens asked.

"We can't risk splitting up," I insisted. "That's how they'll pick us off."

"You've grown so scared of death!" the cat sneered under its tower. "You'd rather stay here and lose, than dare at a chance for victory. I've thought too highly of you, Sophia. Amateur until the end!"

Perhaps it was right, in some way. My judgment might've been clouded because I was scared of death. Of my own death, and I was scared to lose Reens and Atlas too. Perhaps that was the wrong way to play this game.

But it didn't matter. I only get to play this game once, so I was gonna do what I wanted. And that was to make sure everyone lives.

I finished off the last of the enemy golems nearby and leveled up to 6.

"Keep pressure mid," I bid Atlas and Reens. "Wait for our golems. I'll buy us some time; be right back."

If someone should split from the group, it was me. I ran off the lane, and into the forests to the south. My destination, the bottom lane.

We couldn't destroy any towers without our golems. But the same principle was true for the enemies.

Ordinarily, I could take out at most one of the enemies' golem armies – either Anastasia's up top, or the one Lore led down bottom. And while I exhausted my spells taking out the golems, they could attack and kill me.

But three things worked in my favor.

First, the top and bottom lanes were the longest ones. They wouldn't be able to reach our inner towers immediately.

Second, when golems marched, they marched down the center of the lanes. I could predict the exact path they took.

Third, my ultimate ability targeted a space within an arbitrary octagonal shape. It was restricted to an area of 3142 sq. meters, but I could stretch it as thin as I wanted.

I panted hard as I skidded to a stop. I had arrived in the bottom lane. Right between the enemy towers, where their attacks couldn't reach me.

I planted my palm on the cobblestone ground. It felt warm and coarse to the touch. My strongest magic flowed into it, and advanced as a thin, thin strip.

Oceans, roar. Darkness, mourn.

Solstice of the desolate land, drink the blood of kings.

Do not ask the tide from where it comes.

Do not ask the moon to where it returns.

O fourfold cardinal paths,

Heed the supplications of the victorious one

And shatter beneath the weight of oblivion.

Final spell,

Maw of Leviathan.

image [https://imgur.com/UkOWAlY.png]