Day 68 / Power
Garret was awoken the next morning by the sound of mountain birds chirping. The soft, morning light streamed through the crack in the haphazardly closed tent flaps, and Annika, not yet awake, lay there peacefully, snuggled up against him. He let out a contented sigh, then gently put an arm around her, before settling back down to nap for a few more minutes. Peaceful moments like this might be in short supply, but at least for now, with a beautiful day awaiting them and the woman he loved in his arms, all seemed right in the world. It wouldn't hurt to let the moment last a little longer.
The illusion of perfection was somewhat shattered when, nearly an hour later, they actually had to get moving. Annika stirred and he greeted her with a kiss, but when he tried to sit up, his muscles cried out in pain.
"Mornin', Garret!"
"Morning, Annika…"
"How are you feeling?"
He groaned as he forced himself into a sitting position.
"Sore…"
The cause of his discomfort smirked.
"You know, it would have all gone so much smoother if you'd just given up and learned your place beneath me.~"
"Yeah, right, that's never going to happen."
Throughout last night, they had been involved in a 'friendly' battle for positioning during their numerous rounds of sex. Neither one of them liked being the one on the bottom, with both preferring the more dominant position on top. While the two of them had trained in grappling, the weird positions, twists and tumbles they found themselves in, meant that only one of them got away without straining muscles – and it wasn't the sorcerer unused to prolonged physical combat.
Garret stretched, pulled his cloths and boots on, then made his way out of the tent. Despite sleeping in a little, it was still early, and very few people were around his area of the camp. A hundred meters away, he saw more soldiers organizing and being sent to the walled off areas to receive their enchantments, and an unusually large number of guards stationed around the camp's edges. They must have only blessed half the troops last night… made sense. If monsters surprised and overwhelmed the camp because its soldiers were all,… busy, their invasion would have been over before it began. At least that indicated things were still going according to plan, and they wouldn't be moving today. They could relax a little and, more importantly, take the time to do some laundry. Given the vast and varied stains that had appeared on his and Annika's bedrolls last night, they definitely needed to be washed. For that, though, they needed a stream… and to find a stream, they'd need a guide.
"You there, Sir! You look like you're searching for a ranger."
A sudden shout came from behind him. When Garret turned around, the object of his search stood just a little ways away from him, almost like he'd materialized from thin air. Utterly unremarkable with his brown hair, hazel eyes, and average build, Garret couldn't remember if he'd ever seen that man before, much less spoken with him. If he'd had personal effects tied to his worn leather armour, he might have stuck out a little bit, but there was nothing of the sort. It was almost like he had explicitly tried to dress as generically as possible.
"Well, uh… Yeah. Yes I am. Can you point me in the direction of a nearby stream? I need to visit one."
The ranger smiled and gave a quick upward nod.
"I'll do you one better. Meet me on the camp edge with your partner in a few minutes and I'll guide you there myself."
"Thanks for showing us the way."
"Not a problem. I think I'll be doing this a lot today."
As luck would have it, there was indeed a stream close by, and their companion wasted no time in showing them the way. Having been deployed with the other rangers as a scout, he knew the lay of the land exceptionally well, and was more than happy to act as a guide. When they arrived at the babbling mountain brook, Garret and Annika dropped their bags, unpacked the soiled clothes and bedding they had stashed there, and set about the task of washing them.
"Have a nice night?"
Seeing the purpose of their visit, the ranger, now perched upon a rock to stand look-out, made a remark that caused Garret to blush. Sure, it was no secret, but still, discussing the topic with a stranger made him uncomfortable.
"I… I suppose?"
The man grinned and flashed a thumbs up, seemingly enjoying teasing him, but then fell silent as he went back to watching for wandering monsters. Garret and Annika chatted for a little about inconsequential matters, before following suit and focusing on their laundry. As he silently kneaded the clothes against the rocks, though, a worrisome thought intruded on Garret's mind. Had anything changed about that unusual grove he had spotted the day before? He set his laundry aside, excused himself, and then quickly scrambled further up the mountain to get a better view of the demon realm lying beyond the camp. Casting his gaze towards where he had spotted that unusually verdant grove yesterday, Garret noticed an unwelcome change – it had gotten closer. While the unusual phenomenon had been near the horizon, today it had 'moved' many miles closer, leaving a trail of overly colourful plants in its wake. Given its current course, if it kept moving, it would end up beside their camp in a day or two.
"Have you seen that weirdly coloured grove in the distance?"
Once he returned, Garret brought that question up with their ranger acquaintance, who nodded with a serious expression on his face.
"Ya, we've been keeping an eye on that."
"It's getting closer."
"Well, the trees themselves aren't, but what's making them extra vibrant is, yes. It'll probably arrive here in a day or two. Don't worry. Our hero spotted it when we first made camp, and it's already been accounted for."
Well that was good to hear, but if they were already planning for that, then…
"Do we know what it is?"
"No one has scouted close enough to know for sure, but we've got a pretty good idea. Do you know anything about botany, Garret?"
He took a moment to retrieve his laundry and begin scrubbing at a particularly tough stain, before shaking his head.
"Not in the slightest..."
"Well you don't need to know much to get what's going on. Flowers and fruits are reproductive organs of plants and they grow to be attractive to things that help them spread, like insects or animals. You know what demonic energy does to human, so…?"
"… So it's making the plants more 'attractive' with bigger flowers and fruits?"
He nodded.
"Exactly."
"Then whatever's there is giving off a lot of demonic energy… so it might be a powerful monster?"
"Or a lot of smaller ones. Or both, that's what I'd bet on."
"And they're coming towards us…"
Annika, who had remained quiet for most of the conversation, chimed in from the other side of the brook.
"We'll just have to beat them back to whence they came!"
The man cracked a grin, sharing her optimistic outlook.
"Indeed. We'll be ready for them, don't worry, Garret. Naton wouldn't have made it for two hundred years if its armies crumpled at the first sign of trouble."
Well at least the two of them were in good spirits. Maybe he was just overthinking things.
"I suppose…"
Once their laundry was done, the ranger escorted them back to the camp. They had to part ways at its edge, however, as another couple of soldiers, having spotted them returning with wet clothes to dry, ran over, asking where they could wash their own.
"Thanks for guiding us, Mr. …"
"Meer. Richard Meer, but most people call me 'Rick'."
Upon hearing this, Garret felt a strange feeling of déjà vu. Something told him that if he insisted on calling the man 'Mr. Meer', he'd be constantly reminded to address him as 'Rick', so despite the awkward feeling it gave him, he preemptively acquiesced.
"Alright, Rick. I guess I'll see you around."
The man gave them a quick wave as they departed.
"You definitely will. Don't be a stranger!"
As they walked back to their tent to figure out the logistics of drying their laundry, Annika giggled.
"Wow, you're really making the most of this crusade, Garret. Another friend? If you'd told me back in Northreach that you'd be this social, I wouldn't have believed it.~"
Garret just shook his head, a slightly amused smile upon his face.
"We talked for all of about ten minutes, Annika. I wouldn't call him a friend yet."
Perhaps a continuation of the déjà vu from before, another thought entered his mind. 'But he could be.'
True to Rick's words, by the evening, the phenomenon of overly vibrant vegetation had crept closer, and it looked like it would arrive before noon of the next day. By now, more and more of the common soldiery had noticed its approach and rumors were starting to circulate. At dinner that evening, those rumors were confirmed. Their officers announced the approach of a possible mamono army and ordered everyone to bed early to ensure they'd be well rested for the coming battle. Given the need for increased security, the number of guards that night was doubled, though shifts were cut in half to ensure no one would be too sleep deprived. Mages were, to Garret's relief, exempt from these shifts, but Annika drew one of the assignments and had to report sometime around midnight.
"Hey! Nyman! Wake up, it's your turn."
When it was time, Annika was awoken by a guard whisper-shouting into the tent, and Garret, by his partner stirring and jostling him awake.
"Nyugh… Where'm I goin'?"
"South side of the camp."
"Ok, ok,… I'll be there soon."
Once he was sure she was actually getting up, the soldier headed off, and Annika slowly extricated herself from Garret's arms, trying not to wake him (unaware that she already had). When she started pulling her clothes on, though, Garret propped himself up and yawned.
"Time for your shift?"
"Yeah... I'll be back in an hour, Garret. Go back to sleep."
He shook his head and joined her in getting dressed.
"No, I'll come with you."
She smiled but still tried to insist otherwise.
"You're a mage, ya need the sleep. Don't be silly."
He shook his head and kept dressing. Part of the reason he'd woken was because his sleep had been pretty shallow. Something about an approaching monster army didn't make it easy to relax.
"Wasn't sleeping well anyways. It'll be fine, I'd rather keep you company."
"If you're sure…"
After a few minutes of fumbling around, getting dressed, the pair made their way to Annika's designated post. It was on the edge of the camp, near a watch fire, and one of the previous guards had dragged a bench over at some point, giving them a place to sit when not patrolling. That was where Garret planted himself as he watched Annika walk her route, and occasionally cast his gaze over towards where the 'monster army' was supposed to be. It wasn't difficult to spot where the monster (or monsters) had set up camp. A purple radiance emanated from beneath those trees, occasionally flickering brighter or dimmer, seemingly at random. Whatever was coming, Garret didn't like the look of it. He had the sinking feeling it would be unlike anything they had faced before.
After ten minutes of pacing back and forth along the edge of the camp, Annika finished the first of her patrols and sat down beside him. Garret scooched closer and leaned against her, closing his eyes. Even if he was having trouble sleeping, he was still tired, and Annika was just the right height… This caused Annika to chuckle as she affectionately returned the gesture.
"You know, Garret, it's only an hour. You can go back to bed, I won't mind."
"Yeah, but…" He shook his head sleepily. "We're going to fight tomorrow… Anything could happen."
Perhaps he shouldn't have said that. Bringing up those morbid thoughts cast an unwelcome damper over their mood, and both of them fell silent. After a while, Annika broke it by hugging him tightly, then getting up for another patrol.
"We've gotten through everything so far; we'll get through this too."
"… Yeah… So long as we're together, we can handle anything, right?"
"Right."
Day 69 / Nice.
Author's note: Couldn't resist.
When they eventually returned to their tent, Garret's second sleep was a little more peaceful, albeit still disturbed by strange nightmares. Towards the end of it, though, he began to hear a faint melody playing through his dreams. Eventually, Aisha's voice accompanied the tune.
"Come to me now, and we'll paint the town red. 'War has begun, you can sleep when you're dead."
His eyes shot open. Suddenly Garret was awake and fully alert, with no trace of the typical morning grogginess one would expect. Annika had been awoken likewise, and outside their tent, they heard the tramp of many boots as The Order began to organize. Needless to say, they quickly scrambled to don their arms and armour before heading out to join them.
The camp was a whirl of excitement as soldiers rushed around finding their officers and positioning themselves in the formations they were ordered to. As they headed towards where their sergeant and the rest of the Northreach soldiers were setting up, Garret spotted Aisha standing atop a table in the center of the camp, singing a magical song that reached the entire army. Judging by its lyrics, this had been what woke them and dispersed any residual grogginess. Before he could proceed further, though, he and Annika were intercepted by Brynhild, who appeared in a flash of light.
"Mr. Fax. Ms. Nyman. Good morning to you, both."
They skidded to a halt and snapped to attention, but the Valkyrie quickly waved that off.
"No time for that. Your assignment has changed, come with me."
She escorted them towards the front of the camp, where Garret saw the impossible. Thousands of trees from the forest beyond the plateau had been ripped from the ground and hung suspended in the air by strange swirls of purple magic. Roots and trunks wove together to form a canopy that sheltered a vast mamono army from the arrows of The Order and also gave them much more land to maneuver in, uninhibited. Such a display of power sent a shiver down Garret's spine, as the only thing he could liken it to was his hero's own works of magic, destroying an entire mountain… if the monsters had that sort of power, well… He tried not to think about it.
"Mr. Fax, You're going to be given a group of mages to command. We need more leaders to replace the ones we've lost. Ms. Nyman, you'll be with the troops guarding them. You two won't be far from each other."
As they walked, Brynhild quickly briefed them on their new orders, though, like when he had been ordered to give a speech, these words caused Garret to balk. At least then, lives weren't on the line, just his dignity.
"Wait, you want me to put me in charge of people?!"
He was about to protest but, having dealt with him once already, Brynhild knew exactly what he was going to say. She immediately spun around, and jabbed a finger at him, before answering him with a harsh rebuke.
"Yes. You will command a group of magicians, you will work with them to the best of your abilities, and you will do so without complaint or protest. Do I make myself clear?"
The force behind her words, as well as the glare that accompanied them shut Garret up, and he stammered out a quiet "Y-Yes, Ma'am." She nodded when she heard this, then summoned another one of her bubbles of silence so that it encompassed just the two of them, leaving a sympathetic Annika on the outside. Unlike before, though, this one was opaque, shielding them from prying eyes. Almost immediately, Garret began to sweat, thinking he was in for the ass-chewing of a lifetime. Surprisingly, that was not what happened. When the bubble had completely formed, Brynhild dropped her expression from its previous, intense look, to one that was just plain stern, and began to talk in a level but serious tone.
"You're worried, Garret, I understand that. Everyone gets scared during their first command, but we wouldn't have chosen you if we didn't think you could do it. Trust in the abilities your Goddess has given you and have faith. You were able to lead soldiers out of that mountain a week ago, you'll be able to lead mages through this."
Garret took a deep breath, steeled himself and nodded again.
"I'll… I'll do my best."
"That's all we can ask. You have been and will continue to be given all the support necessary for your success. The rest is up to you."
Garret half snorted. What support? Then again maybe she was implying, in a round-about way, that he already had the skills he needed.
"I guess… Once more, though… Why me?"
Hearing this, Brynhild slightly smiled.
"You're a symbol, Garret. You're too valuable to risk as a common soldier on the frontlines."
Then, something caught her eye and she looked off to the side, somehow seeing through the inky blackness of the sphere, before snapping her fingers, causing it to start to fade away.
"We need to keep moving, the battle will start soon. … But we can't have people thinking I'm letting your doubting off easy."
Once more, she donned her expression of intense anger and, as the bubble faded entirely, began to shout.
"I don't want to hear any more excuses out of you! We're at war, we don't have the luxury of being able to coddle your feelings! You will do what we tell you to do, no matter how you feel or what it costs. Do you understand me?!"
Again, stunned by the force of the tirade, he only uttered a shaky "Y-Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. Now let's pick up the pace, we've wasted enough time as it is."
Beside him, Annika winced in sympathy. She probably had a much worse impression of how their discussion actually went. Brynhild wasn't wrong when she was shouting, though, even if it was just for show. This was a war, he had to suck it up and deal with whatever came his way. It was true, they didn't have the luxury of complaining when a battle was nigh. He'd have to do better. As Garret came to this conclusion, he could have sworn he saw Brynhild briefly glance back at him, a slight smirk upon her lips. … Maybe her words hadn't just been for appearances after all…
So now he was a leader of men… As Lukas and his officers briefed him and the other squad leaders about their appointments, Garret was still having trouble believing this. If anyone was going to be promoted, he thought it would have been Annika, or maybe Eric. Never in a thousand years would he have believed he'd be the one leading soldiers into battle, yet circumstances had conspired to see that he would after only two months… Fuck. Brynhild's words echoed back through his head, and he shoved his growing anxiety away, returning his attention to the briefing. He'd manage somehow… he had to.
"Ms. Dale, your archers will be on the left flank, here."
Lukas pointed with his sword to one of the battle lines drawn on the map they were gathered around.
"Go to them, and direct them to cover the soldiers in your area. That just leaves…"
He quickly searched the group, before finding who he was looking for.
"Ah. Mr. Fax and Ms. Nyman, you'll be in the middle of our central formation. Nyman, your squad leader will fill you in on the details, but you'll be acting as a line of defense for the magicians. Fax, you'll be commanding a group of mages, and will be responsible for directing their efforts in shielding our troops and bombarding the enemy. I trust you know enough about a wizard's magic to give general orders?"
He gave a quick 'Yes, Sir.'. His college had taught him that much at least.
"Good. We've still got a little time, so go get acquainted with what they can do and make sure you're ready for anything."
Lukas looked back over the group, addressing them all one final time.
"This army is strong, and they're defending their homes and husbands. They won't hesitate to kill us if they can, so show them no mercy. Listen for our command to start the battle, but until then, do not engage. You're all dismissed."
While everyone else, Annika included, immediately left to join their squads, Garret got an officer's permission to stay a moment and study the map. He wanted to get a better idea of how the army was arrayed, and how the battle might go. As he remained, he saw Lukas and Brynhild purposefully stride to the edge of the plateau, hand in hand, and raise their sword and spear to the sky. The two pulsed with divine energy, and a brilliant column of white light flashed into existence, shooting into the heavens. A few seconds later, the signal was reciprocated by a similar pillar of dark, purple energy bursting through the wooden canopy covering the monster army.
"I see… So that's how it's going to be."
Observing at the two of them, for a moment, Garret thought Lukas almost looked scared as he muttered those words. He never got a chance to ask what this was all about, though. Almost immediately, the two disappeared in a flash of light, teleporting elsewhere.
For about an hour, Garret conversed with 'his' troops, trying to get an idea of how much experience and, more importantly, how much stamina they had. If he gave the word, they could carve a path of raw destruction… for about five minutes, before passing out, but that wouldn't be ideal in a large battle like this. This wasn't something a single blitz of spells could win outright; they'd need to pace themselves and rely on their fellow soldiers. To that end, he decided to adopt a conservative strategy focused on low-intensity spell-fire support, though in all honesty, he had no idea if it would work. He'd never participated, much less lead, in a battle of this size before.
"Good luck, Garret!~"
"Don't die!"
The Order had already mostly organized, but some last-minute shuffles still occurred. Eric and Aisha were apparently part of these, and they spotted him as they marched by, shouting encouragement. In front of his group of mages, Annika and a cluster of other rear-line soldiers flexed and rolled their shoulders, warming up. When she was suitably limber, Annika cast a glance back and gave him a 'thumbs up' just like she had during his speech. Unfortunately, though, that just reminded him that a screw-up here would doom her as well as his unit, somewhat undermining her encouraging intentions.
"Cheer up, Garret, it's killing time!"
Someone slapped him on the shoulder, and when he spun around, Garret discovered his unremarkable, but overly cheerful ranger acquaintance.
"Rick…"
"Get it together, man! No stress! You'll make it through, you'll be just fine!"
He shrugged, unsure if he believed that, but Brynhild's words forced him to put on a brave face and try to act at least somewhat confident.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm sure I will."
The man smiled and nodded.
"Good. Since it's your first-time commanding, I'll give you some advice for free. See that tree-canopy?"
Rick grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed, but that was unnecessary. How could he not? The hovering trees spanned half a mile.
"There's no way they're doing that without someone extremely powerful in their army. That means Lukas and Brynhild are going to have to fight them."
"So we should focus our efforts on supporting them?"
"No. That's a battle of titans, Garret, you and your mages are going to be useless. Do what you can to shield our army from stray spells instead. I'd be very surprised if the battle wasn't already decided before you got a chance to attack."
Garret arched an eyebrow and squinted at him, then looked back at the floating trees that sheltered the mamono army. He could see some logic in the man's words, but… Rick was a ranger. He had no magic, should he really be giving advice about how Garret should use his spells?
"… You're sure?"
Dropping his happy, cheerful look, Rick answered with a dead-serious expression.
"I've been around a bit, ok? I've seen this play out before. Please listen to what I have to say, I actually know what I'm talking about here."
The man's insistence slowly persuaded Garret, and eventually he nodded.
"Alright, uh… I'll take that into account. Thanks."
"No problem. But! Before I go…"
Rick unclipped a spyglass from his belt and handed it to Garret.
"You'll need this more than me, it'll help you see what what's going on. I want it back after this battle, though, so don't break it."
"I'll do my best. Thank you."
Rick nodded, then pushed through the soldiers, making his way back to where the rangers had set up, and disappeared into the sea of bodies. That left Garret alone, with more orders to give.
"Alright, change of plans…"
A half hour later, Garret spotted another pillar of light that shot up from the frontlines of their army. Again, it was answered by a blast of purple magic, and seeing that, their hero and Valkyrie stepped out from the army, into the grassy no-man's-land between the two forces. From under the trees, a dark figure emerged and strode over to meet them, allowing the three to begin to talk.
From the distance they were at, Garret could only barely make out the blue-gold armour that identified Lukas, and could garner no description of the person he and Brynhild were meeting. Training Rick's spyglass on them, he tried to get a better look.
Beautiful. She was so beautiful. Beyond description. Sexy yet classy, seductive yet chaste, the woman he viewed was a walking contradiction, but at the same time, was the embodiment of perfect beauty. No. Not perfect. Such a word seemed too lowly to describe what he was seeing. Her shining, snow-white hair contrasting with her form-fitting black outfit, the gentle curves of her breasts and hips, the elegance with which she carried herself… all of these things meshed together to create something beyond mere beauty. Beyond mere perfection. She was… He couldn't… He had to go to her. He had to get closer. He had to fuck her!
Just as Garret took his first step forward, the image in the spyglass pulsed and tinted itself slightly blue. Immediately the spellbinding effect of the supernatural beauty was broken, and not a minute too soon. He hunched over and gasped. What was that?! She was a monster, yes, but just a glance at her had nearly made Garret cum on the spot. Geeze…
Once he'd regained his composure, Garret took a second look. Whatever magic had been woven into this spyglass was in full effect now, shielding him from the ocular hazard. Now he was able to study the meeting more closely. Indeed, the woman Lukas and Brynhild were meeting with matched his previous description. White hair, black clothes, a perfect figure that men would kill for… She had to be some kind of succubus, but an ordinary succubus wouldn't have had that kind of effect on him. A slightly longer study confirmed this when he spotted a tiny pair of black horns poking out of her hair, but more importantly, it revealed the exceptionally cross expression on her face. Apparently the 'negotiations' weren't going well.
Sure enough, a few moments later, things got heated and swords were drawn. A massive explosion of energy split the ground between them when holy and demonic magic collided, marking the start of their battle.
Rick was right… What the hell could he and his mages hope to contribute to this fight? With the two main armies still firmly planted on their positions, Garret had no orders to give, aside from occasionally checking to see if his wizards were doing alright, maintaining their wards. Once that was out of the way, he was free to watch the spectacle unfolding before them. And what a spectacle it was… Truly, even an entire army of soldiers seemed inadequate compared to the sheer power displayed by their hero, Valkyrie, and the monster they were up against.
The fight began on the ground, with the three of them darting around in a lethal ballet. Propelled by their magic, they lunged and dodged dozens of meters at a time, letting lose powerful blows, parries, and counters. Lukas and Brynhild worked together, attacking as one from opposite sides of the monster. Clouds of dust and shredded grass were kicked up as they darted to and fro, stepping in for earth-shattering strikes from sword and spear, or backing away to get enough distance to safely work their magic. Despite this onslaught, their foe had no problems matching their strength. With incredible speed, she ducked and dodged, twirling away from thrusts and slashes, letting the magically empowered blades and spears pass harmlessly through the air, or plough into the dirt leaving great craters from the impact. When a spell came, she easily deflected it with dark magic of her own, sending it spiraling off into the sky, before retaliating in similar fashion. On the martial side of things, claws had grown from her fingers, which she used to slash at her opponents, and spinning kicks, when they landed, sent Lukas or Brynhild flying. Given how adept she was at dodging attacks, and the fact that her strikes were the only ones that seemed to be landing, Garret began to get increasingly worried about the battle's outcome. As armour was dented and her opponents got thrown around, it almost looked like she was… winning. Thankfully, that began to turn around after she delivered a particularly powerful kick that sent Lukas skidding across the battlefield.
When Lukas landed, instead of rushing back in immediately, he took a second to compose himself, then passed a hand across his blade, which began to shine like the sun and seemingly grew several feet longer. As he grasped the glowing sword, a bit of that brilliant aura encompassed him as well, and when he lunged back into the fight, he did so with such speed that Garret had difficulty tracking him. Brynhild did something similar, though without the need to pause, and the two of them began their attacks anew. This took the monster by surprise. She tried to twirl out of the way when Lukas swung his sword of light towards her, but he was moving too fast. The blade grazed her, carving a shallow cut along her side and leaving her off balance. When he stepped forward for a following strike, though, instead of trying to dodge it, bursts of dark magic enveloped the monster's hands and she caught the blade as it swung through the air.
Sparks burst forth from where the blade connected with the monster's hands, showering the two. She and Lukas briefly engaged in a contest of strength, with her trying to force the blade back towards his throat, and him trying to push her down with it, or at least, safely disengage. Obviously, with a third person on the field, though, this didn't last long. A bolt of light shot across the field as Brynhild charged with her glowing spear, aiming to impale the monster while she was busy. Another burst of sparks exploded, obscuring the trio, but when the air cleared, Garret was awestruck by what he saw. Still holding Lukas' sword with one hand, the mamono had reached back with the other and grabbed Brynhild's spear as well. What WAS she?! Sweat dripped from the woman's brow and, with a pained expression of exertion and a scream that echoed even at this distance, she pushed both of them back with a massive explosion of black energy, then darted upwards, flying into the sky. White wings and a tail materialized, and her horns grew until they wrapped around the front of her head. Now in her true form, the battle began in earnest.
"Don't try to stop those spells! Deflect them towards the,… uh… Shift them towards the rear! We can't let them hit the center of our army!"
Now Garret was having to actually give commands. As the battle continued in the sky, the auras of those involved blazed brighter (or darker), and the blades of light and bursts of darkness grew ever larger. While the melee was impressive, the spells were the biggest problem. Bolts of light and dark, thicker than tree trunks were being thrown around, often without regard to where they would land. If they hit no-man's-land, they either detonated with massive explosions, or fell with such an impact that they carved small ravines into the ground, shattering earth and stone alike. If they hit the armies, though… their effects were lethal. Handfuls of men or monsters were instantly killed, with a dozen more wounded each time, and these casualties only got worse as the battle intensified.
Garret's wizards couldn't stop the magics, there was just too much energy to block. Instead, he opted for a policy of damage mitigation. If they couldn't block the bolts entirely, they could at least redirect them a bit. That might cause some of them to miss, or if nothing else, land in the less populated parts of the army. At least they only had to worry about the demonic spells from whatever that monster was. Lukas and Brynhild, while clearly fully focused on the fight, managed kept enough presence of mind to avoid launching spells directly at the center of The Order's formation. Regardless, Garret prayed this would end soon. He couldn't contribute to the wards, and his wizards were rapidly being worn out. When half of his men were out of commission, he presented them with Catherine's necklace, letting them syphon off a bit of energy. That keep them going, but… a day's worth of one person's energy didn't last long when split amongst a half-dozen, even when he channeled some of his own into it to increase the supply. Things were rapidly becoming unsustainable.
Sonic booms sounded from the sky as man and monster flew about, their blows like thunderclaps, and spells like lightning. The trio were moving so quickly, now, that Garret completely gave up on trying to use the spyglass, opting instead to just watch with his eyes. At one point, Lukas got thrown to the earth, leaving a crater with his impact, but as the monster dove at him to finish the job, there was a brilliant flash of light. When the dust settled, there stood Brynhild, arms raised, shielding him from the attack with one of her warded bubbles. It pulsed outward, tossing the monster back into the air, and giving the two enough time to launch themselves skyward once more.
Despite the back and forth, slowly their hero gained the advantage. As minutes ticked by, the magic and dark aura around their monstrous foe began to fade, her spells became less frequent, and her movement slowed. In contrast, their hero and Valkyrie only got faster, brighter and stronger as time went on. Eventually there was a break-through. With her moving too slowly to dodge his strike, Lukas slashed her across the chest with his light-blade, sending her flying backwards. There, Brynhild was waiting, and she ran her spear through the monster's back, then flicked her off of it, throwing her into the ground. When she landed, a bolt of lightning from the valkyrie struck her, and it was Lukas's turn to finish her off. With a battle cry, he gripped his sword with both hands and plunged towards her, the force of the impact sending tremors through the ground.
Even from this distance, the resulting explosion of dirt and dust pelted Garret and the rest of the army with small stones and bits of earth. For a moment, there was nothing, and silence descended over the two armies. A minute later, though, two figures appeared. Brynhild, spear thrust upwards in triumph, flew high, and raised The Order's spirits with a shout of 'Victory!'. By comparison, Lukas' flight was lower, wobbling, and unsteady as he made his way to the rear of The Order's lines. It looked like he could barely keep himself airborne. What happened? Was he injured? For now, it didn't matter. Brynhild took over commanding the army as their hero retreated and issued her orders through a booming voice filled with divine power.
"Soldiers of The Order! The beast is dead!"
She swung her still-glowing spear towards the monster army.
"Now! There stands her accursed army! DESTROY THEM!"
War-horns sounded, signaling the start of the battle, and a cry rose up from the men around Garret as their forces pushed forward. Whatever had happened to Lukas would have to wait. For now, they had a battle to win.
Author's Notes: I'm alive! … I think. Really sorry about the massive time-gap between chapters, but I was far too busy to sit down and write fiction. Anyways, like I've said many times before, I refuse to let this die. I'll be working on this story until it's conclusion, no matter how long it takes. Now! Let's move on to the chapter discussion.
The battle here was meant to demonstrate the absurd amounts of power that Heroes and Lilim have compared to the common human or monster, respectively. According to the lore, they're extremely powerful, so I wanted a good 'anime fight' to show just how strong they really are. I think I managed to do that here, with them moving faster than the speed of sound once they got serious, striking so powerfully that their blows could carve out ravines in the earth, etc. Hopefully, that gets across the idea of just how, heh, fucked the humans are without divine intervention, now that you've seen the Lilim soloing a hero and a Valkyrie. Sort of.
On to characterization… Another supporting character joins the fight! Rick is going to stick around for a while, though he won't always be with the group. I wanted him to be a bit of a supportive, advisory character, though I can't really go much more into detail with him else I risk spoiling the story. Rest assured, he isn't just showing up here because I felt like it, his character does have a significant purpose in the plot. For Brynhild, there isn't much to say here, I think. More characterization cementing her strict (but fair(?)) nature, and a scene showing her true power, but that aside she should be pretty inline with how she was developed in previous chapters. Same with Annika and the rest of the cast (for what little screen time they got).
On a final note, I think I could have made this chapter much shorter if I just wanted to focus on the battle, but you've probably noticed by now, that I like to have at least a bit of build up for major events. The colourful groves from last chapter got referenced again in this chapter, and y'all got to find out what they meant. That sort of thing. As such, there's a bit of that in this chapter too, which padded things out, but hopefully when certain future events happen, I won't have people thinking "Wow, that came out of nowhere".
Anyways! Again, sorry about the wait, I'll try to avoid taking six months to write the next chapter. Thank you all for reading, and…
Until next time, Sayonara!