The Topaz Knight’s sword clashed against Aeris’s twin blades with a thunderous clang that echoed through the sealed chamber. 

Sparks flew as they exchanged blows heavy swings met with nimble dodges, precise parries, and vicious counters. 

Aeris fought with relentless precision, weaving between the lesser knights with her shadowstep, her spiderlings distracting and lacerating their defenses.

She ducked under a wide swing, slid across the stone floor, and conjured a bone spear in a single fluid motion. 

With a shout, she hurled it into the gemstone embedded in Flavum's chest.

Crack.

The Topaz Knight faltered, his greatsword clattering to the ground as the gem shattered. 

Around him, his summoned knights crumbled into piles of shattered stone.

Aeris sighed in relief.

“Aeris, Watch out! Talia screamed

As a crackling sound cut through the air an arrow of lightning arcing towards Aeris back

Talia’s sword flashed, batting the projectile aside with ease. She turned, a fiery gaze fixed on Aeris.

“Let me help you, I’m not some helpless child.”

Talia scolded, breath sharp, her cheeks dusted pink from the exertion.

Aeris opened her mouth to protest, only to sidestep a mace strike with grace. 

She caught Talia’s eyes again stern, and unyielding.

Gods she's cute I just want to squeeze those flushed cheeks.  

Aeris allowed her mind to wander before a system pop up snapped her back to reality.

System Notification:

Enemies

Viridis, The Jade Knight – Level 25. Summons:  Mace Knights x6 (Lvl 12)

 Electri, The Opal Knight – Level 25. Summons: Crossbow Knights x6 (Lvl 12)

“They just keep coming,” Aeris muttered.

“Talia,” she called, “you take the archers?”

“Leave it to me, Aeri” Talia smirked, already on the move.

With sharp elegance, she danced between the bow-wielders, each sword stroke swift and precise.

Arrows clattered to the ground uselessly.

With a final lunge, she impaled Electri through his gemstone, shattering him in a flash of opal light.

Meanwhile, Aeris and her spiderlings shredded through the mace-wielding knights

A sanguine slash from her dagger broke through Viridis’ defenses and cracked his core.

The silence didn’t last long.

Four more statues dropped from the walls, shaking the chamber as they landed.

System Notification 

Enemies

Saphir – The Sapphire Knight (Staff)

Achates – The Agate Knight (Spear)

Margarita – The Pearl Knight (Halberd)

Aventurina – The Aventurine Knight (Glaive)

Each knight fallen summons each in turn. Aeris gritted her teeth.

“They’re doubling every time,” she realized 

“Next wave will be the last three…”

A war of attrition. They were strong, but not limitless. 

Her mana pool was dangerously low, and her undead disintegrated once depleted.

The battle was chaos Aeris weaving through a storm of blades, spiderlings pouncing from above, Talia slicing through knight after knight.

Showcasing how she earned the moniker “Quicksilver” 

Yet the numbers were overwhelming.

One by one, her spiderlings fell.

With a snap, Aeris called forth her final reserve.

“Melina, Crush them.”

The Drider and her ghouls surged forward with a hiss, blades and claws flashing. 

Melina tore through Aventurina and Margarita, ripping the gems from their chests.

Aeris and Talia coordinated to take down Saphir and Achates in tandem, forcing their blades between armored plates with surgical precision.

After the knights fell, Talia staggered, leaning against Aeris.

“This is bad,” she gasped. 

“How many skills do I have left? Three… no, four if I push myself.”

Like her spells need mana,  sword skills require Skill Points and the more powerful the skill the greater the cost.  

Aeris blinked and opened her system panel.

Aeris Garland 

LVL 29

Primary Class:Necromancer

Sub Class: Assassin
 

HP: 2900/4000

Mana: 10/200

SP: 5/60

She'd taken quite the beating and her mana was running on empty.

Then came the final three.

Zirconia – The Zircon Knight (Flail)
Lemon – The Citrine Knight (Dagger)
Sanguine – The Garnet Knight (Scythe)

Aeris prepared her Shadow Chains to bind them and let Talia strike but her vision blurred.

She dropped to her knees, gasping.

System Notification:

Sanguine the Garnet Knight has activated: Leech Scythe
 

Drains Mana in a radius of 40 meters 

“Shit…” Aeris croaked.

Her undead dispersed, dissolved into black mist. She couldn’t summon anything. Couldn’t defend.

Talia rushed to her side, blade flashing as she tried to cover them both. 

But the numbers were too great. She was knocked to the ground, her sword flung from her hand. Blood staining her sleeve.

The knights surrounded them. Their weapons raised for the killing blow.

Then a searing whirlwind engulfed them

A fierce gale that spiraled through the chamber, lifting dust and stone into a violent ring. 

Lesser Knights were thrown like toys, crashing into walls.

Even the captains hesitated.

Standing before them, eyes glowing violet and tail ablaze with ethereal fire, was 

Zarena.

“What the hell?” Talia gasped.

The shy demi-human girl’s voice was now fierce and commanding. 

“Sit down and shut up, human scum.”

Aeris startled, breath caught in her throat.

Zarena darted forward, her silhouette flickering like a candle flame.

 She moved faster than the eye could follow, claws searing through the lesser knights like parchment.

The captains charged her.

She stood still inhaling heavily 

Ringtail Secret Arts – Third Form: Phoenix Talon.

Her fists and feet glowed with burning energy as she struck one, two, three times in rapid succession.

 Each blow detonated with a shockwave. The knights staggered, cracked, then shattered, their cores crushed by her raw power.

Silence swiftly followed

The three broken statues remained, lying in pieces on the floor.

Aeris blinked. “That's a neat trick…”

“That was totally badass”

Talia heaved between laboured breaths.

Zarena turned back to them, brushing ash from her tattered sleeve. Her flames dimmed.

“I’ll have Zarena explain later,” she muttered, swaying slightly.

 “But next time, don’t drag me into your human bullshit, or I'll be the one killing you”

Then she dropped to her knees, panting.

Aeris didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, she had been useless in the end and still needed saving.

She settled on collapsing next to her Talia for a much needed moment of respite.