Fifi calls out to me but my mind was muddled with rage. Even if my body is sacrificed, I’ll save Mako and the others. While Kayla is still talking with Jorge, I rush into the fray of enemies. Jorge speaks like he has the upper hand but I can tell that all of them were tired. Bodies of their allies lay around the area so it must have been a tough fight for them.

Catching them by surprise, I throw Kurulu towards the man holding Mako down. Unable to react, a gaping hole was left in his chest as he was impaled onto one of the trucks. Those standing on the truck lose their bearings as red tentacles emerge from Kurulu and grab their legs. Two of them lose the plumpness in their legs before they were able to cut off the tentacles while the third person grew wings and escaped.

“Protect the civilians!”

Realizing the situation, bullets begin rushing towards me and the others. Kayla also gives out instructions and a wall made of earth magic soon surrounds them. There are hundreds of them but I know I can trust Fifi and Jill to protect them. Now I can fully concentrate on killing the enemies.

I block the incoming bullets with Conrad’s sword. Even though the sword was heavy, with minimal movements I can use it as a shield. I reach Mako and grab her before she gets hit by any stray bullets. We hide behind the truck and I can see that her injuries were more severe than I thought. 

“I promise I’ll save you.”

There was no reaction from her as she was already unconscious. Bullets rain down from the sky as the man with wings chased after us. He was a nuisance so I hurl Conrad’s sword at him. It misses its mark but that gave me enough time to grab Kurulu. The two enemies on the roof panicked as they see me approach them.

“P-please don’t kill me!”

“W-we are just following orders.”

The two of them beg for their lives but I can only feel rage in my heart. Because of them, many villagers lost their lives and my friends almost died. There’s no pity for scumbags like them.

“Gaaahhhh!!!”

“Fuck, I’ll kill you!!”

All the blood is sucked out of their bodies as the man in the sky charges at me with a sword in his hand. I dodge his attack and he turns around for a second attack, but it’s already too late for him. The 5 blood discs tear his wings and body apart as I finish him off by piercing Kurulu through him. Kurulu shines a deep red color as the blood pulsates around the spear.

“Hahaha, is that all you got. I guess the other Units were worried for nothing.”

“Tch, shut your mouth.”

Kayla attacks him with her lance but it phases through his body. It must be his ability because his body turned into smoke which made Kayla’s attack useless. Her body had injuries because her white armor was used to protect William, Rachel, CZ, and Ken. Jorge was strong so Kayla was struggling, but it wasn’t only her who was having a hard time.

Gorou, Gul’sa Mun, Jill, Cammy, and root guy were struggling to fight against 15 opponents. Individually, each enemy is weaker than Gorou and Gul’sa Mun, but their teamwork was great. Their abilities were unique and complemented each other which caused Gorou and them to suffer. The most troublesome ability from the enemy’s side was the person who used their voice to make us drop our weapons. Throughout their fight, this ability hindered Cammy, Jill, and root guy to properly support Gorou and Gul’sa Mun so it was basically a 2 versus 15 fight.

“Bisecting Slashes.”

I continuously swing Kurulu as I run towards their aid. Crescent shape blood flies through the air and slashes into the enemies. Some of them were able to block them while others were injured. I thrust Kurulu towards the man with the vocal ability.

“Your attack will move towards the right.”

Once again my mind becomes hazy but this time I was prepared for it. The speartip pierces through empty air as a smile appears on the man’s face. Believing that I was under his control, he dodges the opposite direction but that’s when my leg meets his face. He’s sent flying away as I dodge out of the way of an incoming flame breath. It was weaker than a lizardman’s flame breath but it would still cause some injury.

“Step back, Jude.”

I follow Gorou’s instructions as I can feel the mana in the air being sucked into Gul’sa Mun. He took the weak flame breath head-on as he released his own flame breath. The power and range were levels above the enemy, and three of them were immediately burnt to a crisp. Gul’sa Mun’s attack was going to ravage the enemies but roots appeared from the ground and wrapped around his mouth causing his attack to backfire on him.

Looking back, the root guy wrapped Jill and Cammy inside of his roots. I didn’t think he was a traitor considering how much he’s helped us so far. It was an oversight on our part and if nothing is done, Jill and Cammy will be squeezed to death.

“JILL!!”

“It’s fine, I’ll deal with it.”

Gorou and I were worried about them but we still have to deal with the remaining enemies by ourselves. Gul’sa Mun was currently incapacitated due to his attack backfiring and that flame breath also consumed a lot of his mana. Whether it was Gul’sa Quan or the lizardman king, the flame breath would always leave them exhausted.

“You’re good to go, Jill!”

Fifi’s voice echoes in the distance as Jill begins chanting. While we were fighting, Fifi reinforced the magic that was protecting the villagers. The roots around Jill continue to squeeze her but she doesn’t stop chanting, she was preparing a large scale magic.

“Damnit, die already!”

“Your ability depends on roots growing from the ground so its useless against me. All I have to do is uproot them. EARTHQUAKE!”

The ground begins shaking uncontrollably as cracks begin to appear. In an instant, the small cracks become large enough to swallow all of the enemies. Some of them try to run but the sudden appearance leaves them no time to run. They scream as they fall into the cracks while only a few had gotten out of range. Just as soon as they appeared, the gaps close up and crushes those that were trapped. All that remained of the enemies are Jorge and two others.

“Shit, retreat!!”

“Don’t think this is the end, Jorge! I’ll never forgive you for injuring my comrades.”

Kayla stops us from chasing after them as they take one of the trucks and drives off. We didn’t have time to worry about them as we had injuries on our side. Jill collapses and Gorou rushes to heal her while I call out to Fifi as I run towards Mako. Out of all the members who were being held captive, she was the most injured.

Holding her in my arms, her body was cold as ice. I rush Fifi to heal Mako but her body remains cold. The injuries are already healed but her complexion is still as pale as snow.

“F-fifi! Heal her, please!!”

“There’s nothing else I can do, Jude. Mako’s already…”

“DON’T SAY IT!!!”

It can’t be real! There must be something I can do, I’m a hero aren’t I? Why can’t I do something as simple as protecting the people important to me!? Wait, my blood!?

“Kurulu, is there a way to revive someone using magic blood magic?”

“It’s possible in theory but it’s impossible for the current situation. You don’t have the right ingredients and even if you did, you’ll have less than 1% chance of it succeeding. But there’s another method you can use.”

“What is it? Tell me!”

“You can turn her into a Blood Slave. Even if it revives her, she’ll be a completely different person than the Mako you know. She’ll become a mindless being who can only live off of your blood.”

“I…”

I hesitate to ask Kurulu for more information. Even if I turn Mako into a Blood Slave, that is too cruel for me to do. If her soul isn’t there than she would be no worse than a mindless zombie. I can’t desecrate her body like that, but there must be another option to save her. Think, Jude! Think!! I can’t lose her like Tod or Tigurka.

The sunny sky is suddenly covered by dark clouds and it wasn’t long before it begins to rain. Mako’s body becomes colder but strange enough, my body was incredibly hot. My body was burning but I can feel the power surging through my body. Something was awakening inside of me and a single word was embedded in my head.

“Connection.”