A/N: An invasion is about to happen. The Coldwolf Clan is in hot water now. The Battlesong clan, the Black Council and the forces of the Inflamed Legion against them and the players of the game. I wonder how this will end. Probably not very pretty.


MARCH 31st, 2023. FLOOR 13, WOR'GOL

We return to Wor'gol. Only the second we do, we are fighting in a middle of an argument between brothers. I'm starting to wish I had teleported to a different town on the other 13 floors instead.

Gan'ar is yelling about what a pathetic chieftain Duraton is, that they should fight head-on against the Inflamed Legion and the Draenei. But Duraton thinks that will only bring their clans to ruin. I wonder if this is what brothers are like. I never really had any arguments with my sister Serah, then again I was always strict with everything and she listens to me.

I'm not too hard on Serah, am I? I did forbid her from dating Snow once. But that can't be a bad thing. Snow's an idiot. But I did give them my blessing and allow them to marry. It was hard, but it's still a good thing...right?

"We must fight against the Legion! At the Sunwell, the very heart of Chaos!" Gan'ar says.

"We cannot do that! We are just one clan against an elite army! If we rush in, we will all die!" Duraton says.

"Bah! Why did father ever pick you as the chieftain? You know nothing! You are but a youngling!" Gan'ar says. Duraton and Gan'ar are at a stare-off.

I am now seeing myself as Gan'ar. Oh dear, now I feel sick to my stomach, even since I'm having trouble picturing Duraton as my sister since he's fighting back in his argument while Serah hardly does...unless that's how she really feels on the inside.

"Enough of this!" Gan'ar shouts. "I challenge you to Mak'gora."

All the other Orcs gasp, while we real people are just standing and watching, me without care. I don't know what this 'Mak'gora' is, but I can tell it's not good...for the Orcs at least.

Gan'ar holds out his dual axes. "Draw your weapon, brother, and FACE ME!"

We all, mostly me, the others, Slave and Draka, are looking at Duraton. He just stands there staring at his older brother. Duraton just groans and drops his ax.

"Go on! Kill me and claim the title chieftain!" I'm surprised to hear that. Never through a leader would give up so easily against his own brother. "Just ask yourself this, Gan'ar: Is this what our father really wants? We are already withering away by the betrayal of the Battlesong Clan and with the assault of the Black Council. And now you are turning the Coldwolf Clan against each other! Our father once told us: 'Blood and Honor. We stand and fight as one. We look out for each other. Take care of one another.' That is what he taught me when he crowned me as chieftain." Duraton approaches his brother until they're face-to-face. "Are you willingly going to throw away our pride and destroy our father's legacy just to claim leadership?"

Gan'ar is silent, just stares at his brother. I'm surprised at how well he's handling it. I predicted the second Duraton was done talking, Gan'ar would have his ax down his brother's throat. But instead, Gan'ar shouts and tosses his axes to the ground, gives a single grunt then walks away.

He's handling this better than I thought.

Duraton picks up his ax once Gan'ar is out of sight. "Duraton..." Draka says.

"I'm fine," Duraton says. "We have other concerns to worry about."

"Yes, the invasion," Slave says. "We must prepare our men."

Our quest log updates. Now we have to wait while the Coldwolf Clan prepares themselves for war. I just collect my thoughts while waiting. Seeing two brothers argue like that just makes me think about Serah.

I try to be a good guardian after our parents died. I've been strict with everything Serah does, even when dating Snow. How does she really feel for me?

"You okay?" I turn to see Hope approaching.

"Yeah. I was just lost in thought." I say.

"Doesn't really sound like you," Hope says. "Something wrong?"

I look forward to the snowy fields. "Watching those two brothers fight...makes me think about Serah," I say. "My life since I became a guardian was flashing back. I've been very strict with my sister, telling her what to do, forbidding her from dating Snow." I look down. "I feel like...I've been too hard on her."

"Maybe you have, but I think you're meant to," Hope says. "Ever heard of 'tough love'?" Never really thought of anything like that. "You know, whenever we were alone, Serah always talked about what an amazing sister you are."

I look at Hope with a surprised expression. Serah never told me that, not once. At least not when we were young. Of course, that was just when we were little kids. "She said that?"

"Yeah. All though, she does admit you can be pretty...stone-cold at times, but when push comes to shove you can really come around for us." Hope says.

I smile. Hope is such a good kid, it's also surprising, usually, I'm the one who cheers him up. I chuckle while I ruffle his hair. "Thanks, that helped."

When the timer went off, our quest log updates. We are to speak to Slave in Wor'gol. The five of us turn in the quest, then receive another one, 'Invasion of the Fel Horde'. We are to meet the Coldwolf army in the southern cliff trench.

I wonder if this quest is going to be the last one of this chain of questlines, cause this one, I have a feeling, is gonna cost us our lives.


FLOOR 13, SOUTHERN PASSAGE

We all went to the destination for the quest. For preparations, I called in Hakomo for vanguard and Leafa summons Kirito. The Southern Passage is pretty much a cliff passage that only leads to some gate that's similar to the Black Gate on the 11th floor.

The Damned Lord is floating above the portal, channeling dark magic. All the events here are frozen until we speak to Duraton to begin the assault.

The Orc's plan is to hold off the invasion while Slave summons the elements to destroy the portal and block the passage. To them, it's the only entry to their land. It just feels stupid since to us players, we enter through gate teleportation or perhaps using the stairs from the former 12th-floor boss.

"Everyone ready?" I ask.

Everyone checks in and they all say that they are. I speak to Duraton and the event begins.

"Brothers and sisters! For over thirty years, the Inflamed Legion destroyed our world! Invaded our land! And turned the Battlesong and the Black Council clans against us! Our ancestors worked long and hard to make us the proud clan we are today! We will never let their sacrifice go in vain!" Duraton raises his large ax. "FOR THE COLDWOLVES!"

All the orcs shout in unison. They're way of cheering I guess. Duraton marches forward while Slave gets on the nearest cliff. Hakomo stands in front of Kirito, Noel, and I, drawing out his mace and shield, while the three of us take out our swords.

"Gul'damn! You must answer for your crimes, monster!" Duraton shouts.

The Damned Lord just chuckles evilly. "Foolish Orc. You do really think you and your pitiful clan can stand a chance against the might of the Legion?" The Damned Lord asks. "We offered you a chance to serve us, but that offer is yours no longer. Now you will all burn by the might of the Inflamed Legion!" A small rift appears in the center of the gate. "Battlesong! Hold them off!"

Corrupted Orcs spawns all over the portal and they charge towards us. "Coldwolves! Attack!" Duraton shouts.

We all, both the players and the NPCs attack the Battlesong Orcs. Hakomo is holding off a full group, seven, of them. While he's tanking the Orcs, Kirito and Noel attack the Orcs from behind or the sides.

Yeul and Leafa support us from behind with offensive magic. Hope focuses on keeping us alive. I fight as my own vanguard against the Orcs. I fight with swiftness and strength, cutting them down. In three or four strikes, I have their HP's down to 30%, then they end up breaking down where the NPC's or the rest of my party can finish them.

I hardly get hit myself. I'm moving too fast to get hit by their heavy axes. I'm not the only one who's gone berserk, Gan'ar is hacking a ton of corruptive Orcs. Soon enough, the Battlesong Clan have fallen.

"No matter! They are nothing more than Grunts. Prepare yourselves for a real fight." The Damned Lord says.

More Battlesong Orcs appear, this time its elites. "Come and fight, monsters! I will cut out your black hearts and feed them to the wolves!" Gan'ar shouts with rage.

"Control your rage, Gan'ar! This is what Gul'damn wants!" Duraton says.

The first Orc rushes towards me and attacks. I block his strike with my face. He's right in my face, growling. I can smell his foul breath, a mix of decaying bodies and burning sulfur. The stench of the Fel Corruption.

I'm in locked combat against the one Orc. I'm not the only one. Kirito and Noel are also one-on-one against their own elites while Hakomo is holding off a large number along with Duraton and Draka.

I kill my Orc then I help Hakomo attack his Orcs. Hope struggles to keep us all alive, these Orcs are hitting hard. I bet Hope and Yeul would die from a single hit. Good thing they're at a safe distance. By the end of this wave, Leafa and Yeul are out of mana. They take the break between waves, which is not going to be long, to drink to restore their MP's.

"Black Council! Hold them off! The portal is almost complete!" The Damned Lord says.

Black Council Wizards and Witches appear and attack us using offensive shadow and fire spells. "Slave! How much longer?" Duraton shouts.

Slave is still channeling the elements. A whirlwind circling him with rocks within it. "Just a little longer! I'm almost there!"

"Hold them off! We must give Slave all the time he needs!" A Coldwolf commander says.

I charge towards the Wizards. They try to attack me with their magic, but I deflect the shadow bolts. Doing this is no different than deflecting bullets from a Shadow Sniper. I cut their heads off the second they are within range of my sword.

Another wave of Black Councils, Assassins, and warriors, charge in. "Defend yourselves!" I shout.

Hakomo stands with his shield held out in front of him. He blocks two Assassins while the others run past him. I charge at the Assassin that's coming towards me, use my Disarm ability. The Assassin is unarmed and made an easy kill for me.

"Someone help!" Hearing Hope's shout for help has me on alert.

Hope is in trouble, with an Assassin leaping towards him. I shout as I charge. I draw my Sword back with a charged ability, and I strike it down before the Assassin was able to attack Hope. I saved Hope, but I still don't relax. Two other Assassins attempts to harm him. I disarm the second Assassin then I take the blow on the third. It stings a bit, but still dealt heavy damage, then I cut the Assassin's head right off.

"You okay?" I ask Hope.

"Ye-yeah." Hope casts a lesser healing spell on me to restore my wounds.

The Black Council are finishws, then the ground rumbles. I thought it was Slave's spell, then the Damned Lord crackling cleared things up. "Fools! You are too late!" The portal opens on the gate. "The gate is whole!"

The portal is large and green. A shadow appears on the gate, someone, or something, is coming. The creature steps right through the portal into this world. The creature is ugly, very pale, with demon wings, claws, hooves, horns, and fangs. It's like a mix of a vampire and a demon.

One thing is for certain, it's pretty large, like a Behemoth on its hind legs. The monster has three HP bars, and its name appears; Zarokah. (Sha-row-k-ah)

We're all in worry at the sight of the large demon. "You are the mere mortals who dares to interfere with the masters' plans!?" Zarokah asks us. "You will all be burned by the fires of Chaos!"

Countless demons start appearing right out of the portal. We engage in combat against Zarokah while Duraton and the other Coldwolf warriors run past the battle to attack the lesser demons.

"Outsiders! Destroy the demon lieutenant! We'll cut off its reinforcements!" Duraton says.

Zarokah is a hard fight. Even with Hakomo tanking the demon we are still suffering major damages. Part of the reason is that he strikes swiftly on the tank. Hope doesn't get a second of rest on his healing.

Kirito and I strike Zarokah from behind. Our strikes are heavy and deep, but it also causes the demon to counterattacks us. It knocks us back using its wings we end up crashing against the wall. I land first then Kirito crushes on top of me. For a kid about Hope's age, he's heavy.

"Get! Off!" Kirito rolls off of me when I push myself onto my feet.

We take our moment to recover then rejoin the fight. "I just need...another...moment!" Slave shouts.

"We must give the Avatar more time!" Draka says.

"I will buy him the time he needs! By slaughtering their skulls!" Gan'ar shouts in rage.

Zarokah does a locus swarm ability, casting a wave of dark magic and locus directly at us. Kirito, Noel, and I dodge out of the way, then Yeul casts an arcane barrier in front of her and the other casters to protect themselves from the wave. I charge towards the demon using my Sword Skill, Divine Rose. My blade charges in pink, then I deliver a six-combo attack, with rose petals appearing in the air of my attacks. For my final strike, a glass rose forms on the demon then shatters a second after my blow.

Zarokah suffers major damage, and it's now down to two HP gauges. The demon changes its attack patterns. "You're tougher than I thought! I might have to take extreme measures."

Zarokah begins casting fel magic. It rains Infernal meteors, only three of them, then once they crash they form into Infernos. The Infernos don't have very much HP, so I handle them myself. Hope casts a holy shield to protect me from any harm. The shield only blocks the little damage I suffer whenever I block the Infernos' fists. They don't swing fast, I am able to give them a strike in between their attacks.

"I shall harvest your souls!" Zarokah says. Its glows become enhanced with dark energy. He doesn't focus on the tank. Instead, he vanishes and reappears behind Yeul, strikes her once then vanishes and reappears behind Kirito and strikes. then repeats and repeats up to a total of thirteen strikes. Leafa has to help Hope with the healing on this attack.

We now have Zarokah down to his last HP gauge. "I will not be defeated so easily! I will not fail the master!" Zarokah unleashes some kind of aura. There's a strange magic pattern beneath its feet, in bloody red. What I notice about the new ability is whenever he attacks the tank, he starts regaining HP. He's healing himself, but not very much since he's attacking the tank.

Zarokah casts a Doom spell on all of us. "Suffer!" I have no idea what that is but I have a feeling it's going to be bad. It lasts a minute, which means we have to kill him fast or, in a worst-case scenario, we'll all be dead.

"At this rate, we'll be dead before we defeat this guy," Leafa says.

"Together! We attack together!" I say. "Kirito! Bladelance! Use your most powerful sword skill! Leafa! Etro! Your strongest magic!"

Everyone responds with a 'yes' or 'roger' We Swordman's charge up our sword skulls while Yeul and Leafa begin casting their thirteen-word spell. The second the girls finish their chanting, the boys and I unleash our attacks. I do my Divine Rose skill, can't say what Kirito and Noel are doing.

Zarokah staggers quite a lot from all of our attacks. In the end, we knock out the last of its HP. The demon collapses then shatters.

The ground rumbles. I look up at Slave, noticing the electricity coursing through the whirlwind he is in. I look up and a vortex of dark clouds is circling right on top of us.

Duraton looks up, noticing it's time. "Fall back!" He shouts.

All the warriors of the Coldwolf Clan retreat, then we players do the same. More Demons appear from the portal as Slave unleashes his power, causing a bolt of large lightning to blast the cliffs, causing a massive avalanche over the portal and the demon army.

The Damned Lord notices the avalanche and vanishes just before the first boulder crushes him.

We all look away from the explosion of dusty smoke. Once the smoke clears, all we see is a large blockade. We couldn't see the gate so we guessed it must have been crushed. We thought the Damned Lord got crushed as well until he appears right in front of us.

"So, Duraton! You and your outsider friends may have foiled my plans, but this is just the beginning of the wrath of the Inflamed Legion!" The Damned Lord says. "Enjoy your hollow victory. But mark my words: You and the rest of your clan will burn!"

The Damned Lord vanishes.


APRIL 1st, 2023. FLOOR 9, SHRINE OF SEVEN MOONS

I had just woken up after a long night of sleep. That quest from the Coldwolf Clan really wore me out. But I did earn a powerful one-handed sword from the quest.

Right now I just sit on the town walls, watching the sunrise. The colors in the sky are a mix of red and orange with rays of the sun beaming on this floor's golden grass and trees. It's absolutely beautiful. Whenever I look at a view like this, my worries just disappear.

Back in the real world, I use to do something like this. Only instead of worrying, it's stress. After a long day of work, I sit on the docks of Bodhum, my feet in the warm water as I watch the sunset. It's very relaxing.

I soon take out the family photo I brought to this world. What Hope said to me really helped me when I worry about how Serah really felt about me. Even though I can be cold and strict with her sometimes, Serah is my sister and I love her.

And, one day, when I return to the real world, I'll be sure to tell her.