I'm still very sore post-surgery, but the chapters that are about to follow are the chapters I've been dying to write for this story. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm glad to finally get this out. Thank you for your patience.
Because I had to push this chapter back due to surgery, the end of the government poll will be pushed back as well. So now you have until Saturday, 4/2, to vote in the poll. I will post the results in the chapter that follows the poll.
Part Seven
Quiet. Tense. It was what Daunte could sense in the air as the Liberation Army prepared to march. The soldiers were armed and ready, and Daunte saw his comrades saying goodbye to loved ones they were leaving behind.
"Don't you worry Dad!" Dylan said with a smile. "I'll have my room clean before you come back!"
Virgil laughed. "I'm looking forward to it."
"I-I've never participated in a battle before," Blaise said softy. "I'll try my best to not disappoint you."
"Stay alive," Tamara responded. "Then I won't be disappointed."
"Don't go dying out there, you hear me you two?" Priscilla said, pulling Nigel and Thea in for a simultaneous hug.
"You as well, Lady Priscilla," Thea said.
"We'll all be fine," Nigel said.
Áthas and Sásta were hugging a man and woman that Daunte assumed was their parents. "Everything will be fine!" Sásta said cheerfully.
"That's right!" Áthas agreed.
"Dad, please be careful," Esther said tearfully, hugging Sloan around the shoulders.
"You have nothing to worry about," Sloan said confidently, setting her down. "This is not my first time on a battlefield. I know what I'm doing."
Ciana was hiding behind Tidur. From her body language, it looked like Tidur also wanted to embrace her estranged husband. After a few moments though she hugged her arms. "…Take care of yourself, okay?" She said softly. "Both of you." she looked between Sloan and Adalgiso.
"I won't let anything happen to my Lord," Adalgiso promised her.
"She also told you to take care," Sloan pointed out amusedly.
Ciana finally moved out from behind Tidur and meekly approached her father. Sloan watched his youngest child approach but did not move towards her, afraid he would further scare her. Ciana stopped in front of Sloan and stared up at him for a long moment. Then she reached out and extended her hand to him. She didn't say a word. Sloan stared back at her for another long moment of silence before he took her hand.
It was an awkward and painful handshake between father and daughter.
"Don't ANY of you even think about dying," Freyr said sharply, jabbing his finger at his family and fellow Falenans. "I'll never forgive you if you die today!"
Georg laughed. "You certainly have spirit, Prince Freyr!"
"I'll keep the Prince safe," Mokuren promised him.
"Just don't overdo it," Surya said.
"Hm," Soturi said.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure we're successful," Israfil said.
"This is a waste of time," Reis scoffed.
"I…have a bad feeling," Mihr said, looking towards the east.
"Really?" Keiran asked him in surprise.
"I feel an omen of bad things to come." Mihr shook his head. "We need to be careful today."
"Hey." Keiran put his hand on Mihr shoulder. "This isn't a first for us. We have a grand battle ahead of us, but we will be victorious."
"…I believe you," Mihr said, turning to look at him.
"Now, let's go." Keiran slapped him on the shoulder encouragingly. "We need to put on our brave faces for our soldiers."
"Hey Lanny!" a soldier shouted. "Did you say goodbye to Desiree?"
"OO-OOH!" the other soldiers cooed obnoxiously.
"S-SHUT UP!" Lanny spat, his face red.
"Let's show these humans how real warriors fight," Oisin sneered.
"Let's keep calm and focus our energy on the enemy," Dahlia soothed him.
Rafe stretched his arms over his head. "Aww…I'd rather be on a treasure hunt."
"Finally," River breathed, turning to his fellow elves. "Vengeance is ours."
"We'll finally vanquish the people who took everything away from us," Clover said, nodding.
"I'll do my best," Silvano murmured, feeling slightly out of place.
"We will uphold the standards of the Maximillian Knights and bring JUSTICE!" Fred declared, pumping his fist.
"R-Right!" Rico squeaked.
"I'm glad to have you both in my unit," Eamon said.
"Let's give these bastards a run for their money," Allise said.
"Eresh will do her best," Eresh said.
"Say," Jeane said. "Gunther looks awfully sullen this morning. Did something hap—"
"I don't know," Allise quickly answered.
"You okay, Gunther?" Zuzanna asked.
Gunther shook his head and forced a smile. "A-Ah, yes I'm fine."
"I w-won't let you down, Lord Lorik!" Zander stammered.
"You could never let me down, Zander," Lorik said. "Just take care of yourself."
"I'll take care of you both today," Tala said. "I promise with my life."
"Please don't say that, Tala…"
"I will do my country proud," Viola said, speaking directly to her sword. "I will show the might of Dunan!"
"That's the spirit!" Jantu cheered her. Varnaz nodded and sighed, "We will succeed today because we must succeed."
"We will show the might of the Dragon Knights," Futch said as he mounted Bright.
"Yes we will," Sharon said, holding Suna as she climbed up behind Futch.
"We're to go on ahead and collect intel," Masaru said.
Shou sighed in exasperation. "Do we gotta?"
"Yes."
"…Do we?" Uemko added.
"Yes!" Masaru shot back.
"I w-w-won't let anyone down!" Lysander declared.
"I'll point and shoot anyone in my way," Barō said coldly.
Farzin laughed with a strained voice. "That's reassuring."
"You guys will be in the rearguard," Daunte told the Support unit. "Do not join the battle. Just your presence alone will boost stats for our Army."
"I suppose," Sanji sighed.
"You got it!" Yasaka cheered.
"I want to go back to bed," Yaman grumbled.
"I'm looking forward to the article I will write about this battle!" Quasim declared.
"I-I'm ready!" Liron said.
"I'm back," Blaise said, hurrying back over.
"So we're in the vanguard?" Pesmerga said coldly.
"I…I see!" Viki squeaked. The other soldiers in the unit likewise looked scared.
"I'm not fighting," Yuber snapped.
"W-What?!" Viki exclaimed.
"I will not advance," Yuber barked at her. "My contract does not stipulate that I must work with you wretches!"
"How predictable," Pesmerga scoffed.
"I-If you march, I'll tell on you to Lord Daunte!" Viki snapped.
Yuber moved in so close to her that their noses were nearly touching. "Are you threatening me?"
"A-Ah, no!" Viki shrank back.
"Let her be," Pesmerga admonished him. "She is not nearly strong enough to take you down so don't bother. You have a contract with the Tenkai Star, so you are bound him. Follow him like the good dog you are."
Yuber unsheathed his swords. Viki cried out and jumped back as Pesmerga unsheathed his own sword.
"Yuber!" Daunte shouted. "Enough!"
Yuber flinched, but put away his swords with a loud curse. "Later," he said with dark promise.
Pesmerga sheathed his sword with a dark smirk. "Later."
"Are you guys okay?" Daunte asked as he returned to his unit.
"Never better," Felicity said.
"I-I'm a little nervous but you can count on me," Roen said.
Arin hurried over and hugged Daunte. "Be careful, Big Brother!"
Daunte forced a smile and hugged him back. I will, Arin. I'll make sure we win today."
"Lord Daunte!" Caesar called as he hurried over. "We just got a message! Hero, James, and Xi An have departed Hero's Island! They will arrive early enough to the battlefield to make first strike!"
"All right!' Roen cheered.
"Oh, and Öt was spotted to the northeast traveling the circumference of Winter Hill," Caesar added. "It appears that Öt is looking to attack the Army around the perimeter of the Great Cistern."
"I'm glad he's not trying to destroy it," Daunte said. "Nagarea needs that water."
"In other words, we are ready to march at your command," Caesar said with a smile.
Daunte gave Arin one last squeeze before nodding to the Strategist. "Let's move out!"
The Liberation Army cheered in response.
The Battle of Winter Hill
Holy Army Forces: 200,000
Liberation Army Forces: 90,000 and skyship
Victory: Defeat commanding units
Failure: Daunte's unit falls
"The Liberation has been spotted!"
Brennus did unsteady breathing exercises as he moved to stand in formation. He patted his pocket comfortingly for the weapon while his right hand gripped his glaive tightly. We can do this. Everything will be okay…
Screams to the north startled him and he looked towards the north. "W-What?!" He cried out.
"A Death Worm!" a distant voice shouted to him. "Unit R was ambushed by a Death Worm!"
"Oh no!" Brennus cried out. His comrades also shifted in shock, but their commanding officer whistled for silence and to get their attention. "Enough! Unit R has their weapons as well! The Death Worm stands no chance against them!"
The screams to the north lingered though, and…turned into retched, guttural noises. Brennus swallowed thickly. W…What's going on over there?
He shook his head and tried not to listen as he turned to face towards the west. Nagar damn you, Liberation Army! This is all your fault!
From the west one kilometer away, the Liberation Army marched with the main units leading parallel. The units from north to south were Israfil, Farzin, Varnaz, Gunther, Oisin, River, Lorik, Eamon, Tamara, Daunte, Sloan, Surya, Allise, Áthas and Sásta, Masaru (though Shou led the unit), Futch, Keiran, and Yuber. Behind them marched several secondary infantry, calvary, and rune archer units, and in the rear the Support unit followed three hundred meters behind the Army.
"Wow," Felicity breathed uneasily. She grabbed Daunte's wrist. "They weren't joking. That's the entire Holy Army coming towards us."
Daunte felt a hard lump in his throat when he saw the sheer number of enemy soldiers slowly advancing towards them. He swallowed quickly and kept an outward mask of calm. "It will be fine," he said, forcing the confidence through his tone. "We will win today."
"Let me see if I can spot the Sheikhs," Caesar said, pulling out a pair of binoculars. "We can ignore most of the infantry units and focus our attacks on them."
"Good idea," Daunte said. "That will minimize casualties on both sides if we take out all four Sheikhs at once."
"This is our last battle," Roen said, his tone a little giddy. "It will finally be over after today…"
"Does anyone else hear that?" Tamara said suddenly.
"Yeah," Allise spoke up. "It sounds like…screaming. Though the majority of the Army is advancing stoically."
Daunte did indeed hear screaming towards the leftmost side of the advancing enemy units. He looked towards that direction and his heart leapt into his throat when he thought he saw Öt rising high into the air. From his posiiton he could not tell if Öt was injured, but his eyes widened when he thought he saw two dozen Holy Army soldiers leap from the ground and jump onto the length of Öt's body. Five of whom managed to grab around Öt's neck and mouth.
Öt's neck and mouth…which happened to be six meters in the air!
W-What?! Daunte had to bite down hard on his lower lip to stop himself from shouting the word and he quickly shook his head again. He looked in the direction he saw Öt, but he no longer saw the Death Worm. He slowly let out the breath he was holding so that it would not sound shaky. Wha…Did I imagine it?
"I see two Sheikh banners," Caesar said. "Where are the oth—oh." his voice abruptly broke off and he slowly lowered his binoculars. Daunte was startled by his hardened expression. "If I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing, then we're in trouble."
"What is it?" Daunte asked.
"Lord Daunte." There was a brush of wind in front of them as Masaru suddenly appeared in kneeling position. "I bring urgent news. Flanking the rear of the enemy army is the Cabinet of High Priests."
"The High Clerics?!" Adalgiso exclaimed.
Masaru nodded. "I recognized them from the information you have provided to me about their physical appearances."
"Is it all of them?" Caesar asked him, lifting his binoculars. "It looked like all of them from my viewpoint!"
"It's all of them, including a man fitting the physical description of Supreme Priest Takefute," Masaru confirmed. "They are in their ceremonial robes, no traces of weapons or armor, and they are without bodyguards."
"They didn't come dressed for battle?!" Keiran asked with genuine confusion as he rode over with Mihr. "And they have no guards attending them?!"
"This is a trap," Sloan said quickly. His face was set in stone but his tone was full of concern. "Lord Daunte, this is surely a trap."
The High Clerics each held a spyglass or a pair of binoculars as they observed the advancing Liberation Army. "Those—ah, what were the names of the Sheikhs who replaced Faakhir and Lažov again?" Ziya asked.
"Does it matter?" Hitogoroshi responded.
"You're right," Ziya conceded. "Regardless, they're marching with the sheep flanking the left and center formations."
"Keha Hale and Azamuku will be arriving shortly," Kuzu said. "Then things should get interesting."
"I see Sloan Faakhir," Hayato announced suddenly.
"I see Tamara Nuori," Kayanu said.
"I see Keiran Umed," Yuuto said, his grim but his mouth smiling as he lowered his spyglass.
"And there's that boy Daunte," Takefute said, lowering his binoculars. "Our priority is killing those four. But given our readiness for today…none of them will be leaving the battlefield alive anyway."
"Oh don't worry," Yuuto said, snapping his spyglass closed. "I promised Umed that his life is over, and I intend to keep that promise."
"We have to salvage the boy's corpse," the Matron said sternly. "We must get the Rune of Restoration before anyone else does!"
"After everything we've gone through to get that True Rune we must get it today," Takefute said.
"I agree," Caesar said grimly. "They're not so stupid as to bring the most powerful members of the Theocratic government onto the battlefield without proper provisions. This is a statement. They're here to witness a massacre."
A massacre. I brought the entire Army to a massacre.
Daunte looked at Caesar, and then looked at his lieutenants. This was supposed to be their big chance. The war was supposed to end with this final battle. But now—now something nefarious was going on. It looked like the Theocracy had indeed gathered their entire might for this one battle, but the fact that all of the High Priests were there was incredibly suspicious. Particularly when they weren't armed for battle.
I knew it! I knew it when I saw the Tablet of Stars was not complete!
"We could retreat," Varnaz said as he rode over. "But they will follow us."
"Or we could fight and be slaughtered in whatever way they plan to massacre us," Eamon said, his tone shaky.
"Neither option sounds feasible," Surya said. "But if we retreat then at least we can prepare for the massacre they intend to inflict upon us."
"Lord Daunte?" Caesar said, turning to face him. "We will follow whatever plan you choose."
Daunte knew he had to make a choice. He could risk the trap and commence the attack and possibly end the war, or they could cut their losses and withdraw, and stall the fighting for much longer. Either way there was a strong risk for more deaths.
"I can feel it," Yuber said, suddenly appearing and cutting through the silence. "The air is crackling. Something is about to happen." Daunte watched him grip the hilt of his swords. "Boy," he said to Daunte. "If these humans are too scared of their own shadows then send me out alone. I will gladly slay every enemy on this field by myself."
"Who are you calling a coward, demon?!" Sloan hollered, but Adalgiso grabbed his arm to hold him back.
"No," Daunte said finally. He looked out over the landscape of Winter Hill once more. "Something is wrong. We can't risk unnecessary bloodshed when there's too much uncertainty. Caesar, initiate the call. We're going to withdraw for today."
Caesar nodded and extended his arm. "We need to make haste before the enemy reacts! Command all units to retreat! Do not engage the enemy!"
I hope the call reaches Öt in time, Daunte thought, but at that moment the clouds in the sky parted as the skyship descended towards the battlefield. Daunte could hear the enemy soldiers shout with alarm at the sight. "O-Oh, wait!" He shouted, waving a hand. "The skyship can attack the army!"
"Oh good," Farzin sighed in relief.
"James, are you ready?!" Hero shouted from his seat.
"Grandpa, something's wrong!" James shouted back. Xi An was hanging off his back.
"What do you mean?!"
"W-What the—those people are EATING EACH OTHER!" Xi An screamed in horror.
"Ow, that was my ear!" James shouted.
On the Holy Army side, the Cabinet of High Clerics sat placidly on their horses as they watched the skyship sail down towards the Army. "…Ah," Kayanu said slowly. "We forgot about that."
"No need for concern," Takefute said. He looked to his right. "My Lady?"
The Matron watched the skyship for a long moment before sighing irritably. "What a pest." She flicked her wrist towards the sky.
"Ah!" Leknaat pitched forward as she felt an uncomfortable surge on her body. Her knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Her brow knitted as she tried to stand back up, but her body would not move from its kneeling position. She shook her head quickly, but the dreaded realization filled her body and tears rose to her closed eyes. "It's…her."
"Hmm?" Hero looked up towards the front window. "Is the sky going dark?"
"Dark?" James and Xi An asked at the same time.
From the ground Daunte saw sky darken above the skyship and a horrible feeling of dread surged up inside him. "HERO!" he screamed.
A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and sliced straight through the center of the skyship. The skyship dipped dipped upwards on both sides like a folding table for a split second, before a burst of light consumed the ship and a deafening "BOOM!" filled the air as the skyship exploded into ball of fire.
"NO!" Gunther shouted.
"Hero! James! Xi An!" Caesar shouted.
Daunte's mouth hung open in a silent scream as fire and pieces of the skyship fell to the ground, landing on the open plain of Winter Hill to the north of both armies. The Holy Army cheered loudly while the Liberation Army stood frozen in horror at the burning wreckage of the skyship.
They're dead, they're dead, they're dead—
Eresh stared in the direction of the wreckage of the skyship. "…Eresh knows this magic," she said softly.
"So do I," Jeane said grimly.
They're dead, they're dead, they're dead—
"Oh goodness!" Viki screamed. "That was the same lightning strike that attacked Yuber!"
"No, it isn't," Yuber retorted sharply.
"…Wow," Pesmerga said bluntly.
They're dead, they're dead, they're dead—
"URGH!" Futch pressed a hand to his face and pitched forward before he began shaking violently.
"Futch!" sitting behind him in Bright's saddle, Sharon tugged on his arm worriedly. "Futch, what's wrong?!" Bright looked over his shoulder at Futch, his blue eyes filled with worry.
Futch squeezed his eyes shut, but couldn't stop the whimper that erupted behind his closed mouth. That strike! That was exactly like— He dug his fingers into his face. "Black…"
They're dead, they're dead, they're dead—
"Hey!" Shou shouted. "Forces are marching from the north and south of our positions! They have Sheikh banners!"
"That bastard must be one of them!" Allise shouted.
They're dead, they're dead, they're dead, THEY'RE DEAD—
"Lord Daunte!" Caesar grabbed Daunte's shoulders and shook him slightly. His usually lazy eyes were wide with shock. "Lord Daunte, keep your wits about you and call for the retreat!"
Daunte struggled to calm down and push down the panic and hysteria that threatened to consume him. Think, THINK! Act now or everyone will die!
"Masaru!" He shouted, his voice hoarse. "S…Take your unit to the skyship and see if Hero, James, and Xi An are alive!"
"Yes, Lord Daunte!" Masaru shouted, waving to his unit.
"How are they alive?!" Shou yelled in exasperation. "Even without that lightning strike, they fell from 600 meters in the air!"
"Oh Nagar, could you shut up?!" Tamara shouted after Shou.
"Everyone, ENOUGH!" Daunte said. "We have to escape NOW and get back to HQ before that person attacks again and before the two Sheikh forces get here!"
"RETREAT!" Caesar shouted.
"Oh, good," Yaman scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm pissed they dragged me all the way out here for nothing, though…"
"Eh?" Liron looked behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw a line of broken earth forming in a long line behind them. "Um…guys?!"
The rest of the Support group turned around. "Oh, is that Öt?" Yasaka asked.
"I…don't think that's Öt," Sanji said cautiously.
"What makes you say—" Quasim began, but then something from the broken earth caught their eyes. From the ground—a human arm stretched out towards the sky.
"That," Sanji said, pointing to the hand. "That's why I said it wasn't Öt."
"Ah, so Units A, B, and C found the rear," Ziya mused, watching through her binoculars.
"They got our most potent dose," Hitogoroshi said.
"They had to," Takefute said. "Since they had to dig underground to get to the rear without detection."
The Matron folded her arms over her lap. "And now…there is no escape for them."
"S-Sir!" one of the Holy Army soldiers shouted to his commanding officer. "Unit R! The Death Worm—we think it gave them rabies!"
"Rabies?!" the other soldiers shouted.
"Yeah! They're screaming and other—"
"Never mind," the commander snapped. "Get your weapons out! Unit J and ours are to move out and take out the two northernmost units!"
"W-We take it now, sir?!" another soldier shouted. "Just Unit J and us against calvary units?! B-But both of our units are infantry!"
"Yes, you idiot! By taking the weapons now we will effortlessly wipe out both units! Now DO IT!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers in the unit fumbled in their pockets for their weapons.
"I found them!" Masaru shouted from the wreckage, but his face was grim. "But I'm afraid—"
"So they are dead," Shou scoffed.
"O-Oh no!" Umeko cried out, dropping to her knees beside their fallen allies. She rested a trembling hand over Jame's mangled one. "Oh—these are children!"
"War is hell," Masaru muttered.
"Incoming!" Shou shouted, pointing. "Two units are charging towards us!"
"We're here!" Israfil shouted, riding up to them with his unit. Varnaz's unit was not far behind. "Get ready, they're coming!"
Viola frowned at the Holy Army units charging towards them. "What's wrong with them?"
"What?" Varnaz said, and squinted in the direction of the advancing soldiers. They were racing towards them quickly, but…but it was strange. Abnormal, even. They were running too fast, and their arms—their arms looked like they were flailing around. The noises the soldiers were making was also not normal. They weren't shouting battlecries. They were…screaming.
"Umeko, get back," Masaru said warningly as he quickly armed himself.
"I-I can fight you know!" Umeko snapped at him, but her tone was shaking.
"Everyone, spread out!" Israfil commanded his unit. "Be on guard to—"
"LOOK OUT!" Reis screamed, slapping a hand over her face.
Israfil turned around, but froze on his saddle. He saw a soldier jump into the air. No…it was more like a lunge. He was screaming like his comrades, but he flipped through the air with unnatural momentum, his ankles together and his legs long. Israfil had never seen anything like it, but it proved to be a costly distraction.
Before he could raise his sword in self-defense, the heels of the soldier's boots slammed into his torso. And his world exploded into red.
Lunas
CRASH!
"Archana!" Craig shouted, jumping from his seat. He fell to his knees beside his oldest daughter where she had collapsed onto the air. "Archana, what happened?!"
Archana responded only with a scream, hugging her middle with her arms. Her eyes were squeezed shut but tears was streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh goodness!" Haswar cried out, falling to her knees on Archana's other side. "Archana—Archana, what is it?!"
Kaylani stood frozen in the doorway of the sitting room, her eyes and mouth wide while she hugged her baby to her chest.
Craig and Haswar held Archana in their arms while she grunted and cried in pain. "Archana," Craig said more calmly.
"Ooh!" Archana shook her head violently and dipped forward, still hugging her middle tight while she gasped for breath. "I…something's wrong! Something's wrong…!"
Kaylani hugged her baby tighter and looked towards the window. "Silvano…"
Daunte looked towards the north where the wreckage of the skyship was. It sounded like there was a battle going on, but the screaming he heard from there was bone-chilling. What's going on?! Israfil, Varnaz, Masaru—are their units all right?!
"The Support unit is under attack!" someone shouted
"What?!" Daunte shouted. "By what forces?!"
"Lord Daunte!" Futch quickly sailed back towards the ground. "Approximately 300 soldiers burst out of the ground and ambush the Support and secondary units!"
"The ground?!" Felicity yelled. "How did they just burst out the ground?!"
"Let's go!" Sloan shouted, raising his sword and steering his calvary unit back towards the rearguard.
"Right behind you!" Surya shouted as well. "Let's show them the might of Falena!"
We're surrounded, Daunte realized. He looked over his shoulder at the bulk of the Holy Army still advancing upon them. They surrounded us! But how?! How did they send soldiers through the ground to box us in?!
"We have no choice," he said grimly, struggling to keep his voice steady. "We have to fight our way out of this! Everyone, move out!" He shouted. "Fight the soldiers that ambushed us and get yourselves out of here alive! We have greater numbers than—"
"Lord Daunte!" Gunther shouted, pointing towards the Holy Army. "Look!"
Before Daunte could turn though, Caesar grabbed his arm tight. Daunte looked at him, but his eyes were wide and his expression…confused? "They stopped."
Brennus felt his heart hammering in his throat as the order sounded for them to halt. By his approximation, the rebel forces were 150 meters away from their position. The Liberation Army seemed to be in disarray. Almost panicking. That's a good sign, isn't it?
Somehow, though, Brennus didn't feel good about it. Especially from the horrific sounds of battle he could hear to the north.
A horn blew from the rearguard, and Brennus saw his commanding officer raise his scimitar. "It's time! Take out your new weapons!"
Brennus sheathed his glaive and reached into his inner pocket. Like the hundreds of soldiers around him he pulled out the brown pouch and opened it, reaching inside and pulling out the "weapon" that had puzzled him ever since he first opened the bag.
For the new "weapon" they had all been given was nothing more than a small vial with clear liquid inside.
"Soldiers, ready!" One of the new Sheikhs rode to the front of the vanguard. Brennus was immensely embarrassed that he couldn't remember the man's name, but he knew that the Sheikh had replaced Ramiro Lažov. Brennus saw that he was also holding the same sort of vial everyone else held. "Now—take your weapons!"
Another horn sounded, and at the horn the Sheikh and thousands upon thousands of Holy Army soldiers pulled the corks off their vials and swallowed the contents. Brennus likewise yanked the cork off his own vial, but he pulled too hard and the vial slipped from his hand.
"AH!" Brennus dove to catch the vial in time, but just millimeters from his fingers the vial broke against the grass and the weapon soaked into the soil. "Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" He frantically tried to scooped the liquid up into his palm, but there was nothing left but a few droplets clinging to the grass. Brennus clapped a hand over his mouth as panic overtook him. The weapon! I lost the weapon they gave me! What am I going to do?!
"C—" Brennus was about to shout for his commander, when the soldier next to him suddenly started screaming. Brennus looked up at him and recoiled when he saw the man's face. It was bright red like a sunburn, but his eyes—his eyes were wide and manic and filled with veins! He screamed again, and the sound frightened Brennus even more. The soldier sounded like a rabid animal!
Before Brennus could ask him what was wrong, the air suddenly filled with more screams.
Daunte jumped back at the sound of the screaming. From the distance they hadn't been able to tell what the Holy Army soldiers were doing, but now suddenly all of them were shaking and screaming.
Daunte grabbed Caesar and shoved him behind him, but he had no time to shout an order to the Liberation Army before the entire Holy Army was suddenly charging at them at unnaturally high speed. Some soldiers jumped into the air, easily going as high as 500 meters, before landing on the ground with thunderous booms and charging again without pause.
"BERATE!" he screamed, raising his right hand. The Rune of Restoration glowed, and the spell struck several soldiers, but though they staggered they did not stop. "LOOK OUT!"
A Holy Army soldier threw a spear, and it was nothing but a blur before the spear struck Eamon. Daunte screamed when he saw the spear pierce straight through his throat, the force of the throw so powerful that it penetrated to halfway. Eamon retched blood before falling off his horse into Fred's arms. "ATTACK!" Fred shouted.
Daunt'e mind went blank as Liberation and Holy Army forces met in full. Though the Liberation Army had weapons, shields, and many brilliant soldiers fighting for their cause, the vanguard was no match for the inhuman strength of tens of thousands of screaming Holy Army soldiers.
It only took five seconds for the soldiers to breach the front line of the Liberation Army, causing whole units to scatter in the chaos.
Sanji could not run anymore. He pressed a hand to his side and dipped forward as he heaved for breath. "I…don't think I can run anymore," he panted. He could barely hear his own voice over the sounds of battle and hideous screaming. He checked his surroundings for enemies but did not see any nearby. "Okay…good."
The Support unit was dead. When Holy Army soldiers began springing out of the ground like daisies, Sanji's unit and other Liberation Army soldiers had been taken by surprise. They had no time to react before 300 soldiers were upon them, fighting like rabid animals and screaming like they had lost their minds. Sanji had seen one soldier leap straight from the ground and rip Quasim's throat out, and for a brief moment Sanji panicked because he thought the soldiers had become vampires or zombies.
Did that disgusting woman turn these people?! he had thought for a fleeting moment before the soldier spat the flesh out of his mouth and Sanji saw a row of flat, bloodstained teeth and he threw Quasim aside without devouring him further. Then he lunged upon another Liberation Army infantry soldier, and when Sanji saw Blaise run away towards the vanguard he knew that he too had to run.
Away from the battlefield.
Sanji patted himself down, and he felt reassured when he felt it through his coat. "Okay. I can—OOF!" he grunted as he felt something slam into his right side and tackling him to the ground, knocking his glasses off his face. Sanji quickly brought his hand up and caught the Holy Army soldier the by the throat as the soldier gnashed his teeth and screamed. He was covered in dirt from head to toe; he was no doubt one of the soldiers who sprung out of the ground. "Die—DIE!" the soldier shrieked, his voice abnormally warbled.
He's not a zombie. Sanji allowed the brief amused thought before focusing his energy on fighting for his life. The enemy soldier was sprawled on top of him, and though he wasn't armed with a weapon his fists were flailing wildly as Sanji tried to push him off. The soldier brought his fist down, and Sanji moved his head out of the way in just the knick of time. The soldier's fist pierced the ground and buried all the way up to this elbow.
Sanji stared stunned for a brief moment before he felt a surge of adrenaline. "Get…OFF!" He shouted, bringing his leg up and kicking the Holy Army soldier in the chest as hard as he could. The soldier went flying backwards and hit the ground on his back, but the blow barely winded him. He on his feet in a second and was charging at Sanji screaming in gibberish again.
Sanji scrambled across the grass and swiped up his glasses as he sprung to his feet. He frantically ran backwards to escape the soldier. He looked at his surroundings, but he couldn't see any familiar faces amongst the battling soldiers around him. No one was coming to save him.
Then…I have no choice!
"Damn!" he cursed, and whipped his coat back.
BANG!
Barō stiffened, and looked over his shoulder. Even with the fighting and screaming around him, the sound in the distance was unmistakable. That sound…he gripped Rotkappchen tightly in his hands. That was a gun!
The distraction from the sound proved to be his undoing though, as he was ran through from behind by a spear-wielding Holy Army soldier.
Barō saw Farzin fall, and he knew then that they had to retreat. "Get up, kid!" He shouted, throwing Lysander's arm around his shoulders. Lysander was bleeding heavily from his side. Damn, I'm out of healing spells! he threw one of his books at an advancing soldier, and the corner of the hardcover book struck the soldier in the center of his forehead. The soldier wasn't fazed.
"Mmm…" Lysander sagged against him, his legs barely moving as the strength left him. His eyes were glazed as he looked up. Farzin's heart started ponding when he saw delirious confusion in his expression. "M-M-M…Mama?"
"You're not dying before me!" Farzin snapped, but he couldn't hide the pain from his voice. "Nagar would never forgive me if I let a youthful believer die before someone of my age!"
Two hands grabbed his right arm by the elbow and yanked, and Farzin cried out in pain as his arm was pulled out of his socket. Both Lysander and him were pulled to the ground, and though it hurt him Farzin twisted his body to land on his injured arm so that he didn't land on Lysander. He looked up and a feeling of cold dread swam over him when he saw four crazed Holy Army soldiers surround him him and grab for them with free hands while their other hands held swords.
"P—Please don't kill this child!" He managed to choke out. "He's just a boy, he—"
"KILL!" A soldier shrieked, and the four soldiers began stabbing.
Sanji stood over the dead soldier, a black sword in his left hand and a still-smoking handgun in his right. He frowned deeply as he slowly raised it to look at it. "…Well. That's one less round for you, Talgrund."
He heard another scream closeby, and slammed Talgrund back into the hilt of the sword. "I think I'm done here," he said quietly, and turned and ran in the direction of Liberation Army's headquarters.
Varnaz had never seen such ferocity in his life. When he saw the soldier kick straight through Israfil's body, he knew that they were in trouble. But he had to fight. He was a soldier, and he had soldiers under his command.
Soldiers that were all dead…except for one.
"HAA!" He shouted, swinging his Morningstar and striking a Holy Army soldier in the head. He saw the impact crater of the Morningstar on the man's skull, but to his horror the soldier moved as though he didn't notice what should have been a life-ending blow. "How are you holding up, friend?!" He shouted over his shoulder.
Jantu laughed humorlessly as he held onto Varnaz's back. "I'm…not ready to die yet."
"Neither am I!" Varnaz agreed, but at that moment another Holy Army soldier grabbed his horse by its neck and twisted it, snapping the poor animal's neck. Varnaz was unable to jump off his horse in time with Jantu before the animal collapsed to the ground, pinning Varnaz and Jantu beneath it.
"Guh!" Varnaz wheezed. The horse had landed on his chest, and he felt himself slowly being crushed under its weight. He didn't have time to check on Jantu as patches filled his vision and he struggled to push the dead horse off of him.
In his struggles, he did not see the heel of a Holy Army's soldier's boot descended upon him, and her foot slammed straight through his skull.
Imbuka watched the battle passively through a spyglass. Her unit was not given the vials that the majority of the Holy Army had been given, and she had stopped the advance so her unit could watch from a safe distance.
"Ah…are we joining the fight?" One of her soldiers asked.
"Do you want to die?" Imbuka responded coldly. She was met with silence. "Good. Neither do I."
She then spied a familiar face through her spyglass, and a sadistic smile rose to her lips. "The little girl is in trouble…"
"Get off, GET OFF!" Tamara shrieked, but the Holy Army soldier overpowered her and dragged her off her horse.
"TAMARA NUORI!" The soldier shrieked. "TRAITOR! YOU MUST DIE!"
"LET HER GO!" Nigel shouted, spinning the soldier around and stabbing him in the torso. The soldier coughed up blood, but he otherwise looked unfazed and effortlessly swung his sword up and decapitated Nigel.
"NIGEL!" Thea shrieked while Tamara screamed in horror. The Holy Army soldier still had Nigel's sword stuck in his body and he stumbled as though he were drunk, but his steps were otherwise steady. Thea kicked aside the soldier she had been fighting and rushed to Tamara's side. The hysterical girl was screaming crying, and Thea grabbed her with her free hand. "My lady—"
The soldier who had killed Nigel lunged forward and sliced Thea's arm off. Tamara screamed again, but Thea could only gasp in shock before the soldier ran her through with his sword.
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Tamara screamed as she frantically scrambled to her feet. Thea's severed arm was still hanging onto her elbow but she didn't give it a second thought as she frantically ran for her life still screaming. She didn't know where she was goin. All around her though, Holy Army soldiers saw her and recognized her.
"TAMARA!"
"NUORI!"
"EX-SHIEKH!"
"TRAITOR! TRAITOR!"
"LORD DAUNTE!" Tamara screamed as a soldier grabbed one of her braids. Before he could yank though, Blaise suddenly appeared and swung his bag of books at the back of the soldier's head. "GET OFF HER!"
"Blaise?!" Tamara cried out. The Holy Army soldier did not fall, but the blow startled him and he let her braid go. Blaise grabbed her hand and pulled. "This way, Tamara!"
The relief that came over her was so powerful that she almost started crying again, but she held the tears back as she ran with her fiancé to try and escape.
But the relief was short-lived, as they were both grabbed by Holy Army soldiers.
"Tamara, hang onto me!" Blaise shouted. "Don't let go!"
"I'm TRYING!" Tamara shrieked, but the soldier yanked Blaise back hard and they both tumbled to the ground in a violent struggle.
"DIE!" the Holy Army soldier holding Tamara screamed, and hoisted her up tight in his arms. She tried to struggle but he squeezed his arms around her and with a slight tug he broke her back.
"Lord Lorik, RUN!" Tala shrieked.
"NO!" Lorik snapped back. "I'm not leaving our soldiers to die!"
"AH!" Zander shrieked, firing his crossbow at a charging soldier. The arrow pierced his eye. "Lord Lorik—that was my last arrow!"
"Get over here!" Lorik snapped. He grabbed Zander by the arm and with help from Tala he pulled Zander onto the saddle. "You're getting out of here!"
"Good—" Tala began, but she was then tackled by a Holy Army soldier.
"No!" Lorik jumped off the horse and landed on the enemy soldier's back. "Zander, GET OUT OF HERE!"
Zander stammered for a few seconds before pulling the reins of the horse and riding through a break in the chaotic battlefield. Lorik briefly watched him go and felt immense relief to see the young man get away before refocusing his efforts on saving Tala. "Get off her you bastard!"
The soldier didn't seem to notice him and continued his struggle with Tala. Lorik fumbled frantically for his belt and found a dagger, and he began frantically stabbing the man in the neck with it. "Get off! Get off! GET OFF!" he punctuated each with word with a stab.
The enemy soldier slumped to the ground, dead. Lorik quickly pushed him off Tala and checked on her, but his breath caught in his throat when he saw her conditions. She was bleeding heavily all over her face and horrible wheezing noises were coming from her mouth. And Tala's throat—he could see that her throat looked sunken in. Her throat had been crushed.
No, no, no, no, no—
Lorik scooped her up onto his arms and stood up. "MEDIC! HEALER!" He shrieked. "I need a Water or Wind Rune, PLEASE!"
Tala cupped his cheek, drawing his attention back to her. She was losing her battle to survive but she used the last of her strength to lunge forward—and kiss him on the mouth.
Lorik stiffened in shock, but the moment passed as her hand fell away and her body slumped in his arms. Lorik hugged her tight to him and sank down to his knees. "No…not again, please—"
It was then that a soldier came up behind him and swung a war hammer at the back of his head.
"What is this?!" Dahlia shouted, flying with the Winger unit over the chaotic battlefield. "W-What's wrong with them?!"
"You see?!" Oisin snapped. "I told you humans were savages and I was right!"
"Just shut up about your specism!" Rafe snapped. "We have to help them!"
"Right," Dahlia said, nodding. "We have to—"
A Holy Army soldier launched high into their towards them and tackled Dahlia straight out of the sky. "AH!"
"DAHLIA!" Oisin shrieked, and dove towards the ground after them.
"Damn!" Rafe shouted, diving after him.
"Clover!" River shrieked, striking a Holy Army soldier across the face. "Clover, where are you?!"
"We have to go!" Silvano snapped, hurrying after him.
"I'm not leaving without my wife! You go and worry about your human family, traitor!"
Silvano almost snapped at him but caught himself. This isn't the time for an argument. "Stay alive." Was all he said before running away.
"Clover!" River shouted again. "What did you damned humans do with my wife?!"
"Futch, we have to take off!" Sharon shouted, swinging her spear frantically at the Holy Army soldiers trying to climb onto Bright's back. "We need to get into the air and fight from above!"
"No!" Futch snapped as Bright blew out a stream of fire. "If that evil woman sees us in the air, she'll turn her spell on us!"
"What evil woman?! Do you mean that lightning—DAMN!" Sharon shouted as a soldier grabbed her arm. She kicked him away. "Suna, do your stuff!"
Suna let out a smaller stream of fire on the soldier, but it was enough to consume him. Then she turned back to Futch. "Futch, we—"
"NO!" Futch shouted more harshly. "We're staying grounded! She killed Black, she's NOT killing another one of my dragons!"
"What are you talking—LOOK OUT!" Sharon shrieked.
Futch looked over his shoulder as ten Holy Army soldiers leapt onto Bright's back.
"Damn!" Allise shouted. "I'm out of spells!"
"Eresh is out of spells," Eresh said calmly. "Eresh is puzzled as to why the soldiers did not die when she casted her spells."
"This is…familiar to me," Jeane said grimly.
"How so?" Allise said, but then she heard a shout behind her. "Allise! You're still alive!"
Gunther?! She looked and she saw that Gunther looked disheveled and he was bleeding from his left shoulder, but he was alive. She was shocked by the relived laugh that burst from her throat at seeing him.
"Just you?" Jeane laughed breathlessly as Gunther rode over. "Where are Zuzanna and Priscilla?"
"Dead," Gunther grunted, slicing at a nearby Holy Army shoulder. He hissed in pain and grabbed at his shoulder. "Ugh—I got this pretty little wound trying to protect Zuzanna. This is insanity!"
"Where's Lord Daunte?!" Allise asked.
"I have no idea," Gunther said gravely. "We have to find him bef—LOOK OUT!"
He suddenly lunged off his horse and tackled Allise to the ground. Allise saw stars when she fell onto her back, but then Gunther's screams rattled in her ears and she heard several impact noises. The screams abruptly broke off and he fell against her heavily. Allise struggled briefly, but then Jeane was at her side and pulling Gunther off her.
It was then that Allise saw a dozen arrows sticking out of his back.
"Damn it all!" Keha Hale shouted, thrashing around violently in his saddle in frustration. "You idiots fired too late! Hurry up and go and kill her! I want that Pale Gate Rune and I want it NOW!"
His soldiers however hesitated. Unlike the other units they were not given weapons in the form of a vial. Now the seasoned veterans were observing the chaos from a safe distance, and were too afraid to join in. And as cowardly of a man he was, Keha Hale was likewise not going to rush onto the battlefield in its current state.
"He is dead," Eresh said bluntly after she checked him.
"I am sorry," Jeane said to Allise sympathetically.
Allise sat frozen on the ground, staring at Gunther's still form. Her hand was trembling violently as she reached out and pressed two fingers against his neck. She didn't feel a pulse.
He…He's dead? He died? He died saving me?
Tears quickly stun her eyes and blurred her vision. She did not see Jeane's hand grab her wrist and she did not hear Jeane shout her name. A pair of hands grabbed Allise's shoulders from behind, but before Jeane could pull her away the Holy Army soldier clamped her mouth around Allise's nape, and when she clenched her jaw her teeth broke Allise's neck.
"Yes! YESSSSSSSSS!" Hale shrieked in sadistic joy when he saw Allise fall. He pumped his fists in victory. His demeanor was almost humorous, except given the current situation. "She's dead! She's finally dead!"
The soldiers in his unit exchanged glances with mouths hanging open in shock. "Wh—NO!" Hale shouted when he saw Jeane hauling Allise's body up under her arms. "I need that body! Stop them from leaving, GO!"
Still stunned, twelve soldiers broke from the unit and charged their horses towards them.
"Stand steady!" Keiran shouted, spinning his horse to knock over a few soldiers. "We will win this battle!"
They were surrounded on all sides. He did not have many soldiers left in his unit, but he was uninjured and so was Mihr. Keiran did not allow himself to panic and kept pressing on. We can do this! We MUST do this!
A chorus of youthful screams reached his ears, and Keiran's head snapped around to look. Fifteen meters away he saw Áthas and Sásta surrounded on all sides fighting wildly for their lives. He did not see Luciano, or any other soldiers in their unit still standing. Are they the only ones left?!
A wall of soldiers separated him from the twins, and he saw no other allies around. He looked towards Mihr and his second-in-command nodded to him. Both men dismounted their horses simultaneously and rushed towards Áthas and Sásta. "Solider's Oath!" Keiran shouted, and they lunged forward with their unite attack against the enemy combatants. Keiran was not scared that they didn't fall easily to deathblows from his sword. Rather, he was frustrated by the fact that for every one Holy Army soldier he killed, ten Liberation Army soldiers fell. It was like they were fighting against invincible, immortal creatures who simply would not die.
This…The rumors—is this—
"MIHR!" Keiran shouted when he saw his comrade be tackled away from him. Rage flooded his body and he took the moment to go after them. "Get off him!" With the swing of his sword he decapitated the enemy soldier, and thankfully that was enough to kill him.
Mihr scrambled to his feet as Keiran reached his side. "Are you all right?!"
"Yes, but the kids—" Mihr said.
"I know!"
The duo fought their way and finally reached Áthas and Sásta, stabbing and slicing the soldiers who had attacked the twins. "Mihr, get them!" Keiran shouted, effortlessly dodging the stabs and swings of enemy weapons. "I'll hold these bastards off!"
Mihr came to the twin's side. Sásta was dirty and had numerous cuts on her arms. But Áthas…his head was resting in Sásta's lap, his eyes closed and blood staining his chin. Mihr looked the boy over and saw a dark knot of blood directly over his heart.
Oh no…
"Brother…" Sásta didn't have the energy to sob. She cradled her brother's head in her lap while she wept quietly. " Áthas…what am I going to do without you?"
Mihr took her by the arm gently. "We need to go," he said calmly.
"I can't leave Áthas," Sásta protested mournfully, not looking up at Mihr. "He's my twin! I can't leave him out here alone!"
"I am sorry. But you must come with me if you want to survive." Mihr kept his voice calm as he gently tried to urge her to stand.
Sásta shook her head furiously. "I can't leave my twin! What am I going to do without my twin?!"
"Sásta—"
"Mihr!" Keiran shouted, hurrying towards them. At least twenty soldiers lay dead at his feet. "Let's g—"
His voice broke off as the blade of a sword burst through his diaphragm from behind, rising towards the sky at an angle.
Mihr screamed. He felt the vibrations in his throat from the scream. But he didn't hear the sound. He sat frozen on the ground beside the twins, but the world fell away. All that he could see was Keiran. Keiran, who was just one meter away. Keiran's eyes were wide, his mouth was wide. His sword slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. After a moment Keiran arched his head, and spewed blood from his mouth.
It was then that Mihr saw a hand cupping Keiran's left shoulder from behind. Then he saw movement behind Keiran. A head, a smiling face. Mihr knew that face. But he was helpless, his body unmoving as that face leaned forward to speak at Keiran's ear. Somehow, even with the chaos around them, Mihr heard the word that High Cleric Yuuto spoke to Keiran.
"I told you that your life was over."
Then Yuuto yanked the sword out of Keiran's back.
Keiran's blood splattered onto Mihr and Sásta. He fell forward as though in slow motion. It seemed like an eternity, but everyone occurred in just a matter of seconds. The world still sounded so silent to Mihr, so that when Keiran's body hit the ground facedown, it was a deafening 'BOOM' that rattled in Mihr's ears.
Mihr looked up briefly, growling in anguish as he looked for Yuuto, but the High Cleric was gone. Mihr scrambled to his feet and hurried over to Keiran, dropping back to his knees in front of Keiran's head. His body lay in an ungracious sprawl, so very unlike him. He did not move, and Mihr saw blood pooling out from the left side of his body. Mihr reached out, and rest his hand on the back of Keiran's head. Strange…he still felt so warm.
"Keiran." His breath formed the name, but he couldn't hear himself say it.
Something slammed over Keiran's back, startling Mihr briefly, but he blinked and recognized Lanny. Lanny was yelling but Mihr couldn't hear him, but he saw the words, "Sheikh" and "My Lord" being spoken. He tugged on Keiran's back several times as though trying to wake him up from a sleep, but Keiran didn't move.
Keiran didn't move because Keiran was dead.
Mihr still sat frozen as he saw the realization dawn on Lanny. Tears spilled down Lanny's cheeks and he threw himself onto Keiran's back, hugging him as he cried. By his wide mouth, Mihr knew he was wailing loudly.
Mihr blinked, and suddenly came back into himself. He heard the screams, the battlecries, and Lanny's wailing. He was aware of the battle around them, and the two grieving children. He surged up and hooked one arm around Lanny's middle, lifting him up under his arm. Then he raced over to Sásta, hooking her up under his other arm. He glanced again at Keiran, and when he blinked again he realized he was crying.
But then he saw more soldiers charging towards them, and he took off running.
"C—Commander!" Brennus voice wheezed as he found his commanding officer. His throat was frozen in horror from the slaughter he was witnessing around him. "Commander—w-what's going on?!"
"You?!" His commanding officer snapped. "Why are you like that?! Didn't you take you weapon?!"
"I d-dropped it, but never mind!" Brennus cried out, grabbing the man's arm. "I—what is this weapon?! Why is everyone acting like this?!"
"It doesn't matter, here!" his commanding officer reached into his pocket and shoved a vial into Brennus's hands. "You're lucky I had an extra vial! Now take it and join the battle!"
"I-I can't! This stuff turned everyone into monsters!"
"This is a powerful and potent weapon," his commanding officer retorted. "It will make you into a less worthless soldier than you are now! Now drink it!"
"I can't!" Brennus protested. "I-I don't want to end up like THAT!" He pointed to a Holy Army soldier nearby who was ripping a Liberation Army soldier to pieces. With his hands and teeth.
"I don't give a damn what you want!" The commander shouted in his face. "You're a soldier and you were ordered to take that and fight! Now do it right now or you will be charged with desertion!"
Brennus looked down at the vial in his hands, and flinched when another monstrous scream rose into the air. Tears stung his eyes as he looked up at his commanding officer. He'd known this man since he first joined the Holy Army. He thought this person cared about him as a soldier. As a person. But it was clear that he didn't care about him at all.
Brennus sniffled loudly, choking on a sob. Then he threw the vial to the ground, shattering it. "No."
The commander shrugged. "Fine. Have it your way." He unsheathed his scimitar and slashed Brennus straight down the front of his body. "Traitor." then he rode away from the battle.
Brennus lay still on the grass, struggling to breathe as his world slowly became dark. Oh…Nagar. Why?
"Sir Georg!" Surya shouted, striking down another soldier. "Mokuren, where's Sir Georg?!"
"I-I don't know!" Mokuren shouted. She stabbed another soldier with her naginata in his stomach, but he was unfazed. He grabbed the hilt of her naginata, and suddenly Mokuren was in a tug of war to get her weapon back from the soldier she had tried to slain. She looked over her shoulder and saw Surya unguarded and with a strangled cry she shoved the soldier away from her, leaving her weapon and pulling a dagger out of her belt. "Prince, come on!" She grabbed him by his arm and pulled. "We're not safe here!"
"I know," Surya said grimly, his throat aching as they ran. All of his soldiers were dead, they had been separated from Georg, and he had no idea where Daunte was.
Please! Please be all right, Daunte! He looked towards the north. Israfil, Soturi, Reis—please be all right!
"There!" Mokuren shouted, pointing.
"Sir Georg!" Surya screamed. Three meters away, Georg Prime was surrounded by twenty enemies, and even the legendary warrior was struggling to fight them all at once. "Mokuren, let's go!"
"No!" Mokuren snapped, dragging him back. "I can't let you go!"
"But Sir Georg—"
"We cannot go to him! I lost my naginata, and there are too many soldiers! We have to get out of here!"
"Don't you give a damn about Sir Georg?!" Surya shrieked. "Do you just want him to die?!"
"OF COURSE NOT! " Mokuren screamed in his face. "How could you say that to me?! But I'm YOUR bodyguard, Surya! My duty is to YOU! I will NOT risk your life no matter the circumstance! I will do anything to protect you!"
"Look, just forget your damned family obligation to me! We HAVE to help Sir Georg!"
Mokuren gasped shortly, and tears of anger filled her eyes. "I—even now, you think I'm doing this because of my family?"
Surya felt a spike of pain fill him and he grabbed her shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said, softening his tone. "I didn't mean—"
"PRINCE!" Mokuren suddenly hugged him and spun him around. It was at that moment Surya saw the Holy Army soldier jabbing his sword forward—and straight into Mokuren's back.
"MOKUREN!" Surya shrieked, grabbing her in his arms and frantically pulling her away from the enemy. The solider gurgled out a laugh as he pulled the sword out of her back. "You BASTARD!"
Georg quickly looked over his shoulder. Prince Surya?!
The Holy Army soldier in front of him pitched forward, and Georg shouted as a green mist spewed from his mouth and blinded him. Georg stumbled backwards, swinging his sword wildly as he hovered his free hand over his burning eyes.
G-Green mist! This is—
He was blinded, but he heard the 'whoosh' of air before the blade of a sword stabbed him through the chest. He allowed himself a brief thought as the darkness claimed him. So…this is where I finally die…
"W-Why did I use all my Kindness Drops before?!" Surya rasped, hugging Mokuren tight to him as he stumbled ran. "I—how am I supposed to help you?! Why did you have to be so reckless?!"
"Mmm…" Mokuren groaned against his neck. She didn't have the strength to hold him. "Prince…"
"Whatever you want to tell me Mokuren, save it! You're going to survive this battle and then you can tell me!"
"R…Right…" her voice was getting weaker. "I-I…I'll tell you later that I—love you."
Surya stopped in his tracks as his heart began to slam. He turned and looked down at the top of her head. Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. "…I love you, too," he whimpered softly.
Mokuren groaned again, as though confirming that she had heard him. Then she exhaled softly, and her body slumped against him.
Surya sucked in a breath to scream, but he was seized from behind in a full nelson. "Surya, LET'S GO!"
Silvano. Surya felt a momentary relief that his cousin-in-law was still alive, but his hold caused him to let Mokuren go and her body tumbled to the ground. "Silvano, STOP! Mokuren—"
"I'm sorry, but you can't help her!" Silvano shouted. "We have to get out of here and survive!"
"No! MOKUREN!" Surya tried to fight Silvano, but the elf was unmoving as he dragged Surya away from Mokuren's still form.
"Two Sheikhs down, one to go," Takefute said smugly as they continued to watch the battle.
"Bastards!" Sloan shouted, punching a Holy Army soldier in the face. "You have no honor!"
"BUTCHER!" One of the enemy soldiers shouted.
"TRAITOR!"
"FOUL HUMAN!"
"W-What is wrong with these soldiers?!" Adalgiso exclaimed.
"I know," Sloan said grimly as he decapitated another soldier. "I heard all about it! This is R—"
"FAAKHIR!"
Someone in Sheikh robes landed directly in front of him. Sloan didn't recognize the man because of the scarf, but his eyes were as mad as the others.
"DIE, FAAKHIR," the nondescript Sheikh yelled in a garble voice.
Sloan remained calm and took a fighting stance with his sword. He lunged forward—
And another soldier stabbed him in the left side with a spear.
"NO!" Adalgiso shrieked, racing forward. Before he could reach Sloan though, he was tackled from behind. He felt two bodies sit on his back and someone kicked his sword out his hand. Adalgiso felt a fist in his hair and his head was yanked up with so much force that his neck was nearly broken. Fingers from another pair of hands pressed into his eyes and forced his eyelids open.
"WATCH," one of the soldiers on his back snapped.
Adalgiso had no choice. He was helpless laying on the ground, his eyes held open as spear-wielding Holy Army soldiers surrounded Sloan and began skewering him on both sides, bypassing his armor. Sloan cried out in pain, but he didn't fall. The soldiers used their spears to force Sloan to his feet and held him steady as other soldiers descended upon him. His torso armor was ripped off him and the soldiers began rapidly stabbing him all over with swords and knives. Adalgiso sobbed loudly and struggled, but he couldn't move. He couldn't look away.
Sloan stood limp held up by the spears as the Sheikh moved in front of him. It was unclear if Sloan was still alive, but when the Sheikh buried his own knife in Sloan's chest, Adalgiso screamed as he knew then that his best friend was gone.
No, no, no, no, please NO—
The Sheikh licked the blood off the blade and turned his attention to Adalgiso. "NOW—YOU."
Roen! Felicity! Where are they?!
Daunte was so tired that he stumbled as he ran, his breathing ragged. His hand was numb was hanging onto Caesar's arm, but he wouldn't let Caesar go. When the Army attacked and scattered the units, Caesar was the only person Daunte was able to keep at his side. He lost Roen and Felicity in the chaos.
I'll not let anything happen to Caesar!
They hadn't said a word to each other in several minutes, but Caesar supported him and kept out of the way as Daunte fought off the forces and tried to heal his allies. But his Howl spells were worthless with the sheer onslaught going on around them.
"Lord Daunte!"
Daunte gasped when he heard the familiar voice and turned. "La'Ahad!"
"I lost track of my unit!" La'Ahad shouted, striking down another soldier. "But I'm here to help!"
"We're so glad to see you!" Caesar said, his voice surprisingly calm. "We're still in the area of the vanguard, we have to—"
"RAAAUGH!"
A Holy Army soldier suddenly tackled La'Ahad, sinking his teeth into his jugular. "NO!" Daunte shrieked. He rushed forward, punching the soldier in the temple and checking on La'Ahad. He had a horrific injury; his throat was a gaping hole of flesh and blood.
Caesar fell to his side and looked at Daunte. "…We can't help him."
"No, La'Ahad!" Daunte grabbed his hand with his left one. "You can't die! You need to regain your memories and your true name!"
La'Ahad wheezed briefly before he went still, his hood still covering his face. Daunte sucked in a breath as though to scream, but then Caesar screamed, "LORD DAUNTE!"
Daunte turned and saw a soldier stabbing a sword at him. Before the weapon could strike him though, there was a 'whoosh' of air and Yuber was standing there. The soldier who had tried to stab Daunte flew backwards. Both of Yuber's swords were soaked in blood.
"This doesn't look good for you," Yuber said, his back to Daunte. More soldiers charged at him but he effortlessly slew them. "You appear to be losing."
Daunte's breathing quickened as Yuber glanced over his shoulder at him. "Do you remember our contract? That the contract would end if you lose?"
"Yuber—" Caesar said.
"So what are you going to do to stop your loss?" Yuber interjected, still looking at Daunte.
"…What?" Daunte asked.
From her position, Imbuka checked her pocket watch and tucked it away. "One minute left. It's time to go. Move out!"
"We need to go!" Hale shouted.
"But Sheikh!" Someone protested. "The soldiers who went to retrieve your wife haven't come back yet!"
"It's their loss, now let's go!"
"You have one minute left," the Matron said.
"I am aware," Takefute said. "It is time to go."
"Give me an order," Yuber said coldly. "To ensure your victory, Daunte."
Daunte was stunned to hear Yuber use his name. He took a moment to look at his surroundings and saw many fallen Liberation Army soldiers around him. He was frozen briefly in horror…before anger snapped through him quickly.
"The High Clerics," he said savagely. "They're at the rearguard. Kill them all. Kill them all!"
Yuber smiled coldly. "As you command." And he teleported away.
"Okay," Caesar breathed, grabbing Daunte's arm and helping him to stand. "Now let's get out—"
Both Daunte and Caesar were simultaneously tackled to the ground. Daunte was stunned for a moment before he recognized Sheikh robes. He was pinned side-by-side with Caesar on the ground underneath a Sheikh who was clawing at them and trying to bite them, screaming in incomprehensible gibberish.
"Hey! HEY!" Caesar shouted, striking the Sheikh rapidly in the face with his fist. "Over here! Attack me!"
"Caesar!" Daunte cried out.
"I'll keep him distracted, now RUN!" Caesar shouted.
"But—"
The Sheikh suddenly went still. Caesar shoved him off them both and sat Daunte up. "Are you all right, Lord Daunte?!"
"Y-Yes, but—" Daunte began.
The Sheikh shrieked. It was different from his screams before, an agonizing scream. He tore his Sheikh hood and began frantically clawing at his throat while screaming and gurgling. He collapsed to the ground and convulsed violently.
Daunte realized that Holy Army soldiers all around them were suddenly collapsing and convulsing. Screaming in pain and gurgling. Daunte and Caesar slowly stood up and looked around them. The battle had stopped as surviving Liberation Army soldiers stood stunned while thousands upon thousands of Holy Army soldiers convulsed against the ground and screamed towards the sky.
Then, just as suddenly, they all gradually went still. And silence filled the air.
"Ten minutes," Kayanu said proudly as they rode away from the battlefield. "That's our best time yet."
"Agreed," Ziya said. "It's wonderful seeing the fruits of our labor be so successful."
"Now we just have to wait for Yuuto to get the True Rune for us," Hitogoroshi said.
"Indeed—" Takefute began.
There was a 'whoosh' of air, and Hitogoroshi and Kuzu screamed as blood spurted from their bodies. The High Clerics halted as Hitogoroshi and Kuzu fell dead to the ground as their horses fled.
"Leaving already?"
Yuber suddenly stood before them, blood dripping from his twin swords. He was smiling sadistically. "How rude for the hosts to leave their party before it ends. Why not stay and play, hmm?"
Takefute frowned deeply and gripped the reins of his horse. "I know you," he said. "You are Yuber, the demon who thrives on chaos. It was unwise of you to kill my allies like that."
Yuber slowly tilted his head back, still smiling as he raised his blades. "Who says I'm done?" then he lunged forward.
"Takefute!" Kayanu shouted.
Yuber moved so quickly that Takefute had no time to react. But when Yuber thrusted his blades towards the Nether Gate assassin, there was suddenly an explosion of energy between them and he found himself flying back. He was stunned briefly, but composed himself and did a backwards flip, landing on the ground on his knees still gripping his swords.
"Yuber, Yuber, Yuber. What have I told you about being rude?"
Yuber flinched as the voice sent a chill through his body. A woman suddenly appeared between Yuber and Takefute and she was shaking her head at Yuber as though she were scolding a child. "Violent and impulsive as always, aren't you? Then again…those are some of your better traits, aren't they?"
Yuber didn't move. He sat very still on the ground as she reached up and grabbed her own hood, pulling it straight off her head. She shook her head and tossed her blonde ponytail over her right shoulder and ran her fingers through her blonde bangs. Then she lifted her head and smiled at him. "Well? Nothing to say to an old friend?"
Yuber let out the breath he'd been holding in. His body felt paraylzed but his lips formed the words that were screaming inside his head. The voice that produced these words didn't sound like him. They sounded small…and afraid. Because he was afraid. He was deeply afraid of the person who stood before him wearing her familiar sadistic smile.
"Lady Windy."