As the Knights finally left the outskirts of Izalith behind, they were greeted by the sight of piles of bodies scattered across the plains, demons and Silver Knights alike. Although there were more of the former, the remaining Knights looked as though they wouldn't last much longer.
And if they fell…
"Gough!" Ornstein barked, "Protect the humans! Ciaran, Artorias and I will go forward and clear a path. Follow behind at your own pace." Crouching down and placing a palm on the ground, he pushed off with an explosive burst of speed.
Artorias sheathed his greatsword and slung his shield onto his back, following after the Captain. "I wish I knew how he did that. He's definitely going to hog all of the action."
Ciaran kept pace next to him, taking perhaps two or three steps for every one of Artorias's long strides. "He neglected to share that technique."
Artorias glanced over at her. "Would you care for a ride there?"
She scoffed. "Artorias, I'm a Knight of Gwyn. I can run the whole way if I need to."
"Well, sure, no doubt. But you've got to go directly into combat afterwards. As for myself, that Casper fellow really can work miracles. I feel as fresh as though I just got here!"
She considered.
"If you're worried about image, don't be. No one could be ashamed of being astride such a magnificent mount!" He indicated Sif, who was bounding alongside her.
"Oh. Of course." She banished the image of herself receiving a piggyback ride from Artorias and flipped athletically onto the huge wolf's back.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Not ten seconds after Ornstein arrived, piercing the rear line of the demon horde, a collective cry of dismay rose up from somewhere on the front lines.
That wasn't a good sign.
He really wished his helmet had survived this mess.
The demons had wasted no time in converging on him, howling and lunging with animal savagery. He quickly found that wading into their mass was not something that would end well for him. He was forced to strafe along their line, drawing them out and picking them off. If he kept his guard up, and the main force didn't converge on him, he'd be able to—
"STAY STRONG MEN! HOLD THE LINE FOR ANOR LONDO!"
Artorias barreled into the line at full speed, sword and shield drawn, flattening the first few demons before they knew what was happening.
On Ornstein's other side, Sif leapt into action, sweeping his sword into his foes while Ciaran's tracers wheeled in deadly arcs over his head.
So much for that.
There was an abrupt flare of intense light from the other side of the Demon horde, and those that hadn't been surprised by the sudden appearance of the Knights whipped their heads around to stare towards the new spectacle. From the far flank of the Silver Knights, it came again and again, accompanied by howls and screams.
Ciaran guided Sif over to Artorias as she might a horse, much to the wry amusement of the wolf. "Artorias! Give me a boost!"
"On it!" The Knight planted his sword in the ground and slipped his hand out of the enarmes of his shield, grasping her waist and hoisting her into the air without apparent difficulty.
She opened her mouth, but closed it again. She had really just intended to stand on his shoulders, but this would probably do…
…and his hands on her waist were hardly an unpleasant sensation.
"What do you see? What's happening over there?"
The demons seemed to get over their shock, attacking in all directions like a cornered animal, and a fleet of those strange blimp-like creatures blocked her view.
"Still can't see—watch out!"
Sif disemboweled a Capra as it tried to do the same to Gwyn's Knights, but another rushed through.
Artorias lowered her briefly for a moment, and she took that opportunity to move her hands blindingly fast to her belt, whipping two pairs of knives at the aggressor. Each one found its mark in a glowing red eye, and it dropped its improvised weapons, clutching at its head and screeching as the poison took effect.
"Here we go; one good look coming UP!"
On the last word, he tossed her straight up with a grunt.
The battle dropped below her, and the mostly flat area allowed her to see far through the fray.
The demons were scattering. Not in a uniform, organized manner, but it was clear they were leaving in search of easier prey. And she saw what the commotion was being caused by on the far side of the field.
Artorias caught her, setting her on the ground. "What's happening?"
She looked up at him. "The Daughters of Chaos are going back to Izalith."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Casper was tired.
Tired from running, and falling, and tired in the aftermath of his adrenaline working overtime. Not to mention working various miracles in defense of the residents of Izalith that they had managed to save.
Their bedraggled group of refugees, accompanied by Gough, had managed to slip by the side of the fleeing force disappearing into the deeps in and around the subterranean city. The Knight had taken deceptively slow steps that ate up a lot of ground, loosing that enormous bow as he did so and killing or maiming with nearly every strike. Eventually though, the giant had heaved a sigh and grumbled to himself like a localized thunderstorm.
"No more arrows." He looked over to the Berenike, and Casper got the impression that he was smiling under his helmet. "Giroldus, remind me to expand my quiver's storage when we get home."
The man answered absently, looking intently to where flashes of light were flaring on the field. "That's got to be the Daughters."
The giant turned to look as well. "Hmm? Ah. Right you are." He tilted his head and scratched at his neck. "But what are they doing going back into Izalith?"
"What?!" Giroldus had his sword out.
Gough evidently believed the knight hadn't heard him. "What are they doing going back to Izalith?" The ground thrummed in response to the giant raising his voice, and Casper winced.
"They can't! There are still demons everywhere!" The Berenike swept his eyes over their group, fear in his eyes. "You made it back to safety, Hawkeye. I have to stop Quelaria!" He took off across the stony plain. "She's going to get herself killed!"
The giant took a step after him, then stopped. He still had a group of refugees to take care of.
Casper stepped forward, drawing his own sword. "Fear not, Gough. I will aid him. You're nearly there."
The giant hesitated another moment before nodding his massive head. "I would rather none of thee vanish, especially now.", he rumbled, "But I suppose they do need the help. Go."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Quelaria had scythed her way through the far flank of demons with her sisters in tow with less resistance than she had expected. It appeared that they were taking their leave.
She strode determinedly with her two remaining sisters on either side of her. Quelana spoke up.
"Sister, do you think this is a good idea? The city is likely still infested. We could wait until—"
Quelaria didn't break her stride. "They're family, sister. Every moment we wait, our sisters could be bleeding out. And you saw Qayleb. He needs us."
Her sister winced, but nodded.
A passing Taurus demon roared and decided that they looked like easy prey, adjusting itself to barrel toward them. Quereina spat out a harsh vocalization and loosed a white-hot bar of fire that bored through the demon's chest, leaving a hole wide enough to encompass her. It fell soundlessly to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut.
She was glad she Quereina had decided to come. Out of all of the Daughters, she had the greatest sheer power. Whereas Quelaria could work some very fine and subtle fire, her sister had heavy magical muscle. She would be invaluable in the immediate future, she sensed.
They made their way to the edge of the city with little resistance, much to her suspicion, as she had seen the majority of the host of demons vanish inside. She was hoping to exploit a certain shortcut to cut straight to the palace region of the city that she had used countless times before, under much happier circumstances…
No. There would be time for sorrow later.
Family came first.
Her hands found the hidden switch behind the rubble of a shattered statue, and she gave it a brisk turn while caressing the mechanism with a flow of fire. There was abruptly a plain opening in the wall where there had not been one before.
There weren't many illusory walls in Izalith, not to say that there weren't other means of hiding passageways. She had specifically requested this enchantment.
The passage was filled with dust, but was otherwise quiet.
"Well, here we go."