--Kukis--

“...got it. We have the west side covered.” I responded with the [Air Message] spell I learned a while back. Currently the village was completely surrounded by the Church of Luxus, and everyone was making an effort to beat them back. From the messages I’ve recieved, it turns out that many of the witches were still in a panic and were unable to decide whether to evacuate or fight back. Actually now that I think about it, how are we going to run away in this situation?

The witches that were fighting were sustaining heavy injuries and a few have already passed away. The injured were moved to the village square for emergency treatment, and the deceased were also brought along for a proper burial… assuming we can get through this. A good portion of the witches were running around the village setting up hexes and other traps, while the ones that were ready headed to the different sectors of the village to fight against the church. The rest were busily gathering up all sorts of valuables.

Apparently the Grand Witches were also out in the field, with a total of four of them helping out the east side of the village. What I found ridiculous is that Q was currently holding off the north side by herself while Phanos and Brie took on the entire south side. Seriously, my party members are stupid strong… Though it does make me a little proud to be considered a proper member of said party. At the very least Pamerun was moving to the north, Haeldrix was moving to the south, and Suina was helping Cinnamon and myself here in the west side. Each of the Grand Witches had a dozen or so witches following around which would normally be some serious firepower, but with the weakening barrier everyone’s spells were only half as effective.

I felt the same way I did when fighting the Kindersnatch - useless. I can’t say that my spells were absolutely weak, but the fact that I couldn’t deal any substantial damage with them bothered me. On the other hand Cinnamon was having a field day with these soldiers. When they first saw an angel ‘descend from the heavens’, they were cheering and thought that even their god was blessing them with his grace. The shock on their faces when she pulled out her spear and began attacking them was hilarious.

Every single one of her movements was geared towards crowd control, which I suppose was appropriate since that was her role in our party. The best thing is that her defenses were naturally more resistant to light attacks, meaning that most of the soldiers couldn’t leave a scratch on her. Some of the players in the crowd were pretty crafty and tried darkness spells or sneak attacks, but she dealt with them all easily.

As for me, I was left with using earth magic to try and funnel the soldiers in a single point. Of course I had some potions to throw, but I didn’t get the chance to make that much since the broom race and the battle with the Kindersnatch which left me low on boom-boom supplies. Instead I learned a new spell from the Grand Witches, but with spells being weakened and the one I obtained being a bit… disruptive, it’d probably end up doing more harm than good.

“Man, I am so envious of these girls… I wish I had skills like those.” I muttered as I sent a soldier into the sky with a [Blast Mine].

“Don’t sell yourself short Kukis.” Suina smiled as she suffocated a group of soldiers in a ginormous bubble of water. “You’re doing some great work! Just keep it up until our reinforcements arrive.”

“O-oh, you think so?” I scratched my cheek in embarrassment. “Alright, I’ll give it my all!” I cast the same combination of spells I used on Q during the broom race, [Flame Pillar] and [Water Pillar]. The two collided in the middle of the soldiers and mist came out. Then I sent out a lightning bolt spell which spread throughout the mist, electrocuting the soldiers which allowed Cinnamon to finish them off.

The only problem was that no matter how many we defeated they kept on coming out through the gap in the trees. The ones we didn’t finish off were healed back to full health as well, making it extra troublesome. “Ah geez, I hope the others aren’t having a hard time…”

--Q--

Well, my ‘demoralize the adventurers’ plan didn’t work out. I guess the sparkly priest is really going to be a hindrance if I want them to stop fighting. Just as a quick experiment I shot out an amplified fireball towards him, but it was blocked by a magic barrier. The priest grinned in contempt, and let out a barrage of light orbs all aimed towards me. For a second I considered using the [Null] rune again, but it really does take up a lot of my mana. From the two times i’ve used it, almost a quarter of my mana was sucked up (though it’s already regenerating), so I decided to dodge instead.

Originally I was going to head out to the west side of the village, but from above I could see that Cookie and Cinnamon were flying there so I changed directions. Cinnamon I wasn’t worried about at all, and Cookie was surprisingly adept at beating down enemies (despite her claims that she was inferior to the rest of us). Their combination was also quite good as well. I should probably think of a name for them like... Cinnamon Cookies. Yeah.

Anyway, the situation was pretty bad when I reached the north side of the village. There were already witches falling out of the sky from the church’s attacks. I tried to get to them as fast as I could but a few of them were already gone by the time I got there. There wasn’t any time to regret though, so I put some flight runes on the fallen witches and had them slowly float back towards the village. I also asked (more like forced) the other injured witches to escort them back, which left me to take on the church alone. Just me and hundreds of soldiers... I got this… Probably.

Honestly I’m thankful that my runes aren’t weakened. It’s probably because [Rune-writing] is a skill rather than a spell, though I don’t really know the specifics. It’s also at this time that I’m thankful that I put a point in my skill tree earlier which let me activate different runes individually. I could constantly create runes and use them immediately or let them hover in the air for a long time, ready to shoot.

A lot of the runes I shot out consisted of ‘void’ which was mainly used to push the soldiers back with the sheer amount of magic attacks directed towards them. A big plus is that it also didn’t take up too much mana so I could continue spamming attacks in this way. What I found funny was that my fingers were actually moving so fast that I felt like I was programming again.

For a while everything was okay, but then the mages in the group created a multi-layered barrier which blocked my weak attacks. In response I used [Charge Spark] in one hand and created an amplification gate in the other. The archers and mages tried to hit me at this time, but I spun around and activated the rune circle I was drawing with my tail. A large circular shield with multiple layers of different elements appeared and successfully blocked the majority of their attacks (and I avoided the rest).

With that out of the way, I let loose a full power amplified [Charge Spark] and completely broke through the shield the mages created (though it was stopped by the sparkly priest). Once the barrier broke I went back to bombarding them with tons of runes. The problem was that no matter how many runes I used, I couldn’t directly kill anyone unless I focused on them so I was really just buying time for reinforcements. As proof of this quite a few soldiers were starting to slip out of the barrage and made their way to me. The players were particularly annoying because of all the different skills and spells they had up their sleeves, but as long as I kept a distance they weren’t able to get me.

Somewhere halfway through this Pamerun came up beside me with a group of witches and whistled upon seeing the destruction I was causing. “Very impressive Q. Thank you for holding them off for so long. Allow me to assist you.” She cast a spell which created a giant tornado. Well, normally it would be a giant tornado but now it was more like a… moderate-sized tornado because of the spell weakening. Even then it still caused a lot of havoc amongst the soldiers and players as it sent them flying through the air. With the addition of the other witches assaulting the soldiers, my job became a lot easier and I found some leeway to talk with Pamerun.

“So this is a disaster huh?”

“Yes. To think that such a thing would happen just when I considered opening up the village to more adventurers…”

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“You were thinking of doing such a thing?” I sent out another amplified [Charge Spark] to destroy the barrier they created again.

“Yes. We took in one adventurer at first to see their reaction and they appreciated our culture, then your group showed up and it was all good. Now just when I’m thinking of letting more adventurers in, I see that some of them are even part of this attack…” Pamerun sighed.

“Eh, don’t blame them so much. I admit that not all adventurers are purely good, but we’re easily influenced, just like anyone else. This time that it’s that sparkly priest dude that’s incited the adventurers to attack.”

“...Sparkly Priest?” Pamerun furrowed her brows in confusion, but when I pointed at the sparkly priest her eyes widened in shock. “The head priest! To think that even he would show up…”

“That sounds bad, but I can’t really see him as anything other than some crazy old dude in sparkly robes. What should we do?”

“Pfft. Crazy old dude… *ahem*. It should be fine as long as they don’t bring out their… Sunlight Warriors.” Pamerun’s expression sank when she saw the strangely dressed warriors come out from the trees. The warriors were wearing armor equally as shiny as Sir Albert’s with the image of a star that had symbols which looked a bit like a face. “Oh dear.”

“Praise the light!” The warriors yelled as they drew their swords and ran forward. I tried really hard not to laugh at this phrase. Controlling my laughter, I sent out some dark runes to test the waters, but the warriors easily dealt with it with a swipe of their swords. The warriors then began glowing incredibly brightly, and became a golden blur which approached us.

“Light Dash huh… and here I thought Glaukes had a monopoly on that… though their dash isn’t nearly as good as his.” I quickly made a shield and retreated from the warrior which appeared in midair and cut the shield. “Heh, you’re not the only ones who can do that!” Rapidly moving my fingers, I created a rune circle with the configuration for Light Dash. I then took a deep breath and concentrated. My breathing seemed to become slower, and the entire world looked like it was moving in slow motion. Even though I know that none of that is actually happening, it was still unpleasant.

I activated the Light Dash circle on myself, and I sped up to a ridiculous speed (almost the same as my maximum flying speed). According to Glaukes using the spell makes it feel like everything is in fast-motion, but thanks to my previous ‘preparation’ everything looked normal to me. I flew around a few times in this super speed to get used to it. The Warriors reappeared on the ground, looking at me in disbelief. “How… our secret technique was used so easily! What sorcery is this!?”

“It’s called ‘magic’ you idiots!” I went in and tackled one of the warriors, sending him flying. “Keep ‘em coming! I can go all day!”

“Hmph. Relay the command to all Sunlight Warriors!” The sparkly priest said. “It is time to unite with the light! Achieve maximum incandescence!”

The Warriors got into a cross formation and their glow became absolutely blinding (comparable to Glaukes when he was flying around) and I shut my eyes in reflex. At the same time I activated [Mana Perception], and I’m glad I did since a blast of magic was headed towards my direction. I grabbed Pamerun and flew back as fast as I could, just barely avoiding the attack.

“This seems like a good time to retreat…” I used a few flying runes and sent back the witches who were hit by the attack and became unconscious… or worse.

“Yes… we must regroup in the village.” Pamerun and her entourage flew off to the center of the village.

I took one last glance at the sparkly priest who now had a haughty grin. Feeling a little pissed off, I sent out an earth drill covered in fire magic, and amplified it once. The drill was intercepted by a few spells, but it ignored them all as it made a beeline for the priest. The moment it made contact with his barrier it was temporarily repelled, but as it continued to spin the barrier cracked and began to fracture. Panic was now on his face, but luckily for him a few of the Sunlight Warriors came by and broke the drill for him.

“Bleeh.” I stuck out my tongue and flew away, smiling as I heard the sparkly priest rage behind me.

--Phanos--

“Hmm… you’re called warriors but I can’t sense an ounce of dignity or honor from you.” I said, brandishing a knife.

“Kuh… shut up you damn monster!” One of the Sunlight Warriors tried to use his glowing dash but a quick throw of my knife stopped him in his tracks.

“My my, and you’re all so uncouth. Besides, your speed isn’t even anywhere close to Q’s maximum speed…” I felt a slight twinge of fear remembering how fast she could fly in the sky. Never again…

“Grr… attack the other one!” A group of warriors tried making their way to milady, but I laughed in contempt. As milady was currently in her ‘battle state’ I wasn’t worried at all. She took one step forward and knocked aside a warrior’s sword, then with a flick of her wrist she stabbed into his armor’s joints. A swelling of magical power could be felt emanating from her sword, and it caused an explosion of flames inside the warrior’s armor.

As the warrior crumbled to the ground, smoking, at least three attempted to use their coordination to attack milady. In the end it was useless as her amazing footwork and masterful swordplay quickly dispatched those three. The rest of the warriors became a lot more cautious and backed away, forming a line at the south treeline. At this point milady approached me and left her battle state asking, “Phanos, are you alright?” Her voice was a little stiff due to nervousness from facing so many men. I should alleviate a bit of her worries here.

“Those are my words milady. Though to answer your question, I’m perfectly fine. I must say though, these Sunlight Warriors and soldiers have no courage at all.”

“I believe that is because of your surroundings.” Milady gestured to the ground. All over the ground were the corpses from the men I had killed, with eyes wide in fear and disbelief. I stopped counting after 30 or so, but the number of corpses on the ground seemed to be at least double that (not including the other adventurers who disappeared into thin air).

“I suppose so. I am getting a little tired though, might I suggest we regroup at the town square? It’s almost been half an hour after all.” The most important thing right now is to lead Milady out of the battle zone, as I could feel her discomfort growing every moment she spends facing this large group of men. I will definitely reprimand Q later for sending milady out here... Admittedly though, I am feeling tired. The only problem I have with this game is the limitations that it puts on my body. If this was real life and I had more time I could definitely deal with these enemies.

“Yes. Let us depart.” Milady was a little relieved upon hearing my words.

I left a barrier with my hexes before following milady back into the village. At this point the Grand Witch Haeldrix appeared with a battalion of witches, ready to fight. “Damn!” Haeldrix appeared incredibly agitated. “I can’t believe I’m so late! I hope they haven’t gotten past the… you. Where’s the enemy?”

I pointed behind myself. “They’re still there. I slowed them down a little, but they’ll catch up soon. We’ll be taking our leave first.”

“H-hold on a moment Phanos. Should we not assist the witches with this?” Milady regained some color on her face, though I noticed she was trembling slightly.

“Milady, my highest priority is you.” I remained stoic. Milady opened her mouth for a moment before closing it in frustration. “Haa…” I let out a sigh knowing that she would be upset if I just left the witches like this. “I understand milady. I will continue to assist the witches, but you must stay out of danger, understood?”

“Yes.” She left to find a safer area to stay while I joined up with the witches who left somewhere midway between our conversation. The hexes I left behind were doing their jobs properly as they slowed down the soldiers and even a few players with lower magic resistance. The Sunlight Warriors remained unaffected by this and continued to dash around with that annoying glow. A few knives will fix that though…

Although the witches fought back with a manic intensity you would only see from someone protecting their most important things, the church’s forces were undaunted and slowly pushed them back. Even the Grand Witch was having a hard time as she was fighting alone against 5 Sunlight Warriors, as well as one who seemed like a leader. The injuries and casualties continued to pile up on our side. “Grand Witch Haeldrix!” I shouted. “We must retreat! There’s too many!”

“Retreat my ass!” She somehow managed to yell back despite all the pressure she was facing. “This is our home and we’ve been on the receiving end for too long! It’s time we fought back!” A spike shot out of the ground and impaled one of the Sunlight Warriors, but the others were quick to retaliate and increased the pressure on Haeldrix. Meanwhile the other witches cheered upon hearing her words and their morale shot up for a moment. A quick cursory glance revealed they also had the determination to fight until death.

So be it then. I quietly slipped away and headed towards milady’s location. This battle cannot be won. Though their conviction is commendable the witches simply don’t have the strength or numbers to take on the church, especially not with these conditions. I must find milady and escape from this place immediately. At times like this I find my class quite useful as the multiple charms I hid on milady’s body alerted me of her position. The problem is…

“She’s getting hurt!?” From the party screen I could see her health was reduced ever so slightly, but I didn’t hesitate and used my skills and spells to reach her as quickly as possible. By the time I got to her position I saw her in an alleyway surrounded on both sides by soldiers. Her face was pale and sweating, and she was gripping her sword so hard her knuckles turned white. How did they get here so fast!? The moment the question appeared in my head it was also cleared away. There’s no time for that. I must save her.

My murderous intent rose as I began to cut a path through the soldiers to reach milady. The soldiers quickly took notice of my presence but I continued to one-sidedly slaughter them in order to reach her as quickly as possible. “Ph-Phanos! Thank goodness…” She breathed a sigh of relief upon noticing me.

“Quickly milady, we must get away!” I pulled her arm and began making my way back through the way I came, but the end of the alley was blocked by the same Sunlight Warriors who were fighting Haeldrix earlier. “Damn!” My mind kicked into high gear as I began thinking of a way out of this situation.

It was at this moment that I noticed a figure from far away, one with fiery red hair, floating on a staff. Milady also noticed her as she joyfully cried out, “Q!” Though I hate to admit it, I am glad to see her as she would definitely be able to help us in this situation. What she did next though… was beyond my expectations. Q locked eyes with me, then looked around herself. She was still for a moment, but then she… left. My eyes widened with disbelief as I watched Q’s back get smaller and smaller.

My mind was thrown into chaos because of this, but milady’s small voice brought me back to reality. “No, this… it is… happening again. I… I cannot…” She collapsed on the spot and began sobbing uncontrollably. Now we were stuck here surrounded on all sides by enemies, while our only source of help abandoned us. Abandoning us is terrible, but worst of all… worst of all… she made milady cry.

“I won’t forgive you.” I whispered as I let out my killing intent.