+++ ???’s Perspective +++

“Hasgar, do you have a minute?” The tall shaman poked her head out into the training hall. The magic caster wore a long azure turquoise robe with a beige pattern along the right sleeve. The mantle was of high quality with gold accents along the sides, an expensive accommodation provided to the ones in service of house Telderane. The shaman herself had shoulder length brown hair that was swept to one side, covering her left eye. Her eyes were a dark amber and she wore a couple of flower shaped hair clips, making her seem young for her age. 

“Greeting Floras.” A muscular man in leather training gear with a brown, square cut hair style responded to her request with a salute. He held the position of the captain of the guard of the Halyis branch and his build and skills reflected the needed expertise to possess such a position.

“I wanted your advice on some of the strange occurrences in Scorluk forest.” The magic caster asked meekly, clutching the book she was holding tightly, “I-I’ve been told your patrol frequents there often.”

“You are correct, and I’d be happy to help but the troops and I are busy preparing for the new arrivals to the main house. The current Seventh and the lost Fifth are coming later tonight.” Hasgar replied confidently.

“O-Oh I see. T-That’s fine.” The shaman’s face grew red with embarrassment. Of course the captain would be busy, why didn’t she think of that? “I-I’m sorry to bother you then.” Her shoulders dropped as she wished she could dig a hole and hide herself there.

Seeing the sight of the disheartened mage, the captain looked troubled before offering a proposal, “Ahem. That being said, if it won’t take too long, you can join me on my lunch break. I was just about to head to the kitchen.”

Floras’ face brightened at his offer, “Y-yes, I’d be glad t-.”

She was interrupted when her body shuddered from a sudden tidal force of mana assaulting her. Cold mana, sinister in nature. The murderous intent was unlike anything she’s ever felt. Being a shaman, her primary field of study was that of communication with the natural world, and being as gifted as she was, she was particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the life energy around her. 

“U-uregahhhhh!” That being said, the ability she possesses is not without its drawbacks and the current surge of mana she was feeling was so strong she crumpled over and began convulsing wildly on the floor. 

“Floras? Floras! What’s wrong?” Hasgar knelt on the floor beside her, an expression of worry upon his face. “We need a priest here, now!” He shouted to the personnel currently in the training hall.

“H-H-Hasgar...” Floras choked on her words as she frantically attempted to adjust herself internally to protect against the foreign mana, “S-Scorl-l-uk.... D-danger....” 

 

+++ Alfon’s Perspective +++

Nina and I snuck out of the civilian gathering without much issue. They had minimal combatants protecting it and the priests were much too busy maintaining the protective field around the perimeter to worry about a few children slipping through. 

That being said, now that we didn’t have protection, the forest was a lot scarier so we tried laying low as much as possible, staying near the foliage so we had a place to hide.

Still, we couldn’t avoid all the monsters.

“Nina!” I whispered urgently, “Get down!” I ducked my head and attempted to shove Nina down as well but...

Her head didn’t move at all, despite me pushing it.

In fact, it felt like I was trying to move a stone wall. Fortunately, she understood what I meant and ducked her head down the moment after.

As we lay holding our breaths in the undergrowth, I carefully peeked my head out. 

A Wolfenhil, one I had seen many times before. Its skin was a mottled shade of gray and green, with tough, leathery patches that seemed almost armor-like. Its long triangular ears were flattened against its skull and twitched intermittently. The creature's head was elongated and narrow, with a snout that bristles with rows of sharp, serrated teeth. Its red eyes darted left and right, scanning for prey.

I quickly drew my head back into the brush, before it spotted us.

Making as little noise as possible I reached into my backpack and took out a metal box of dried fish snacks I had bought back in Darisport, praying to... well... Talis I guess, that I don’t alert the creature.

“Nina,” I whisper and hand over the small box, “Open this and throw it to make a distraction. We’ll sneak past it after.” Considering Nina seems to be a lot stronger than I am, I figured it would be a better idea to have her try and toss the metal box than me. She’d probably throw it further.

She nodded her head, and took the small box. She stood up slowly and quietly winded up her arm like she was making a baseball pitch.

Was she... Glowing a little?

VOOOM.

The wind rushes past with force strong enough to blow my hair up.

SPLAT.

.... 

I had expected her to throw the box pretty far away.

...

I did not expect her to throw it directly right at the monster’s head.

And I most certainly did not expect the sheer force of the throw to obliterate the creature’s skull and create a gaping, oval shaped hole right through the center of where its head was supposed to be.

The corpse teeters, and the momentum of when it used to be alive carries it forward for a little before it falls sideways on the ground with a soft thud.

...

I gaze silently at the dead beast before me. The metal can... or what used to be the metal can lay crumpled up against the trunk of a tree, bits of pink mush surrounding it. Was that... The seafood that used to be in the can? Or the remains of it's brain?

...

I look back at Nina, whose expression hadn’t changed from the smile she always carried, though she had stopped glowing and I noticed pulsating white veins had appeared on her throwing arm. She catches me staring at her arm and quickly hides it behind her back.

...

I look back to the scene of the crime. Feeling just a little bit... Confused? Surprised? Slightly terrified? Something like that.

“N-... Nice throw Nina.”

She nods enthusiastically.

Still dazed from the raw display of throwing strength, I continue to make my way forward with Nina tailing closely behind me. I kept thinking about what I just witnessed before the noises of battle brought me back to the present.

It sounded like the fight was just ahead.

Slight problem.

Three of those Wolfenhils stood in our path... and it looks like they had spotted us this time.

They must have been alerted by the death of their friend.

I internally scold myself for not remembering what Swift had said about these creatures.

‘They don’t really look too similar to wolves, but we call them wolf monsters because they never hunt alone.’

Idiot. Why can’t you remember something so simple? It’s literally in the name.

Though I had little time to fix my slip-up as the creatures drew ever closer, enraged by the loss of their packmember.

“Nina!” I shout and toss the last two metal cans her way. I had bought quite a bit of seafood snacks, but most of them were in leather pouches as metal made too much noise and was a lot heavier.

She catches one of the cans I threw her mid air and launches the container like a missile towards the closest Wolfenhil. The creature didn’t even know what hit it.

Quite literally.

Because it died in the same way the previous one did.

Death by metal box to the cranium.

Or rather.

Through the cranium.

But I had little time to admire the fine display of monster extermination prowess as one of the beasts was seconds away from tearing my throat out.

“Icicle spear.” Good thing I had completed the chant in my head. A misshapen rod of ice appeared before my left hand just in time to impale the creature’s shoulder, digging in slightly before breaking off. The momentum of the impact propelled the Wolfenhil to the side and it slammed sideways into the trunk of a tree.

“Icicle spear!” The scars on my right arm had started to shimmer a little as I repeated the spell. Though unlike before the awakening, where I would have felt the burden of the spells by now, the feeling of casting this magic made me quite energized.

I could do this all day.

Another sharp spear of frost was hurled at the creature, but...

The projectile was slow.

The powerful hindlegs of the four legged beast shot the creature forward as it nimbly dodged the rod of ice, which slammed harmlessly into the tree behind it.

Thankfully. I still had time. And it couldn’t dodge while moving in a straight line.

“Icicle Sp-” 

BADUM.

A sharp, stinging pain materialized on the tip of my left hand, before shooting up my arm and searing into my skull. 

“Ah! Ahhh!” I leaned against a tree to support myself, the left side of my body was on fire. It was a cold burn, a familiar pain that made me feel like puking.

I had misfired my spell, and, without a staff or a wand, the mana had backfired right up my arm.

Thankfully, the pain didn’t last long, and I recovered the strength in my hands in a matter of seconds.

But I didn’t have time to cast another spell. The wolf-like fiend had leapt forward and was moments away from sinking its fangs into me.

I brought my hands up and closed my eyes, waiting for the gruesome noise of flesh being shredded apart.

SLURCH.

Which did happen... but not to me.

I gingerly opened my eyelids to see the Wolfenhil, suspended before me, held up by a long white talon the size of my head. A snow white spike had pierced through the monster and skewered it midair. The creature, still alive, snapped its teeth at me, blood and drool dripping from its open mouth.

SNAP.

A pallid claw tore the biting head of the fiend clean off and threw it into the forest. The bleeding corpse of the animal slipped off the pale barb and landed lifeless before me. I stood still, taking it all in as the claws retracted out of view. 

I didn’t need to guess who they belonged to.

“Alfy? Okay?” I heard some strange, unearthly noises to the side of me before Nina came into view, looking no different besides having torn sleeves and a couple of blood stains. I could catch a glimpse of the third beast way off to the side. It had a hole in its belly and its head too had been ripped off like a giant praying mantis had taken a fancy to it.

“Uh... yeah... I’m fine. Thanks for the assist.”

Don’t think about it too much Alfon. 

As we got up to leave, out of curiosity I took out the metal knife in my backpack that Prisilla had given me a long time ago and tried plunging it into the dead creature.

The knife barely pierced flesh. 

Despite all my weight behind the thrust, it made what was effectively a paper cut on the hide of the beast.

...

“Huh.” Don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

I looked back to Nina, who was still smiling.

“Alfy?” She tilted her head at me, with a questioning glance.

“Ah nothing.” Stop thinking about it Alfon, “We should go.”

 

+++ ???’s Perspective+++

“Ah,” Prisilla did a sweeping surveil of the people still alive, “Hm, hey you there, with the blindfold. You were at the place with the nice seafood right? Good to see you’re still kickin nya.” She pointed at Belserai, who had been holding a crying Gabriel tightly in her arms.

“Ah, that voice. Y-You’re Prisilla of the Dragon’s Teardrop.” Belserai, who had been stricken with fear just moments before, regained her composure as she recognized her savior. 

“Nyaaa, you remembered. You guys should head on over quickly. I’ll take care of this guy.” The beastwoman waved the children and the injured guard to move past her as she turned to face the ogre.

“Wait. I can assist you.” Hubert, who had left the children in the hands of Calidra, offered to help.

“Nya, bad idea. Your job is to make sure they get out alive right nya?” Prisilla criticized, “Besides, I can’t beat this thing anyway. I’m just stalling till you leave.”

She narrowed her eyes in disgust as the ogre quickly regenerated the limb it had just lost. “Oi, you two, help them to evacuate. You’re all deadweight here.” The mercenary and guard that had followed her gave her a thumbs up.

“I... understand. Good luck.” Hubert put his sword away before devoting his attention to helping the children of his lord.

“Nya, now then.” Prisilla readed her stance one more as she charged at the ogre. 

The edge of her greatsword hacked and chopped at the ankles of the ogre, leaving great gashes of bubbling flesh which began regenerating as soon as they were cut. The ogre roared in pain before sending a powerful swipe of its arm towards the catwoman, but she sidestepped the blow gracefully before countering with one of her own.

The battle dance that Prisilla led slowly whittled away at the ogre and the damage seemed to outpace even the incredible regeneration of the monster. If she could keep this up and crack its core, she could certainly win this fight.

“Haa... nya...”

But her stamina wasn’t infinite, she needed to end this.

Shing!

As she delivered a sideways blow, her exhausted muscles miscalculated the angle of delivery.

Slurk.

The sword sliced deep... but not deep enough.

It had gotten stuck in the flesh of the creature inches away from its core.

“Nya... are you serious?” Prisilla let go of the greatsword as the ogre brought its fists down on her, barely dodging as the impact cracked the ground beneath her.

Prisilla cursed her luck as she watched her greatsword get broken into pieces by the reconstructing flesh. “That one was my favorite...” Though she didn’t have much time to lament as a pack of Wolvenhils had surrounded her.

“Well. At least they made it out nya.” The ogre roared once more and made a thundering charge towards her, despite its tendons having been severed just moments prior.

The beastwoman crouched and readied herself until a geyser of fire came hurtling from behind her. It exploded upon the chest of the hulking monstrosity and sent it tumbling backwards.

The lumbering beast fell upon the road, unable to regenerate through the flame, dead.

“Were you seriously thinking of fighting that cat?” A volley of fire arrows flung themselves at the Wolfenhils at Rafine’s command, incinerating a dozen and maiming the rest.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes nya.” The catwoman gazed gratefully at the blue robed mage, whose wand glowed red with every spell she cast. She had missed the sight of those tall horns of hers, burning like fire, shining like a beacon of light. “Must be pretty bad out there if Rafine is casting fire spells huh nya?”

“Stay alert Prisilla. My mana control is way off.”  A wall of flame erupted from beneath Rafine and cut off the rest of the monsters on the other side of the road. “Ha... come on, we need to get going.” She panted from the effort it took to control the spells with one arm, the harsh consequences being reflected from the curled scorch marks on the wand she was currently holding. 

“Dam. This one’s done for.” She threw it to the side and took out another wand from her bag, before handing her companion a long cloth wrapped object the size of a spear, “This is yours. I had to lug that giant hunk of metal all the way here.”

Prisilla stared at the weapon wrapped in cloth with fear, “N-Nya... About that...”

“Yeah, you’d rather die than use it right?” The fiery amber eyes of Rafine stared unflinchingly at her friend, “But your life isn’t the only one on the line right now.”

“N..N-Nya..” The beastwoman argued back meekly.

“Then why did you carry it with you all this time? Pretending it was some sort of camping equipment when you’ve never even owned a tent.”

“Nya. Nyaaaa.” 

“Of course I knew.”

“N-Nya.”

“But you can’t do that. Not if you want to save everyone you want to. Not if you still want to be that hero you promised you’d be.” Rafine kept up the pressure. “If you want to blame someone when this is all over blame me. Kill me if you must... as you should have. But I’m not letting you run, not this time.”

Prisilla couldn’t meet those honest, blazing eyes, but neither could she run from them, for she had nowhere to go in this monster filled hellscape.

All she had been doing her life was running. Away from her debts, away from her emotions, away from her past.

It was so much easier, and the world was so wide.

That’s why she had always admired her, the little mage that could. Her fiery, invincible resolve that blazed like an inferno in times of crisis. She could always rely on that unshakable willpower that burned within her companion. If anyone was going to be the second coming of Reinhardt, it would have been her, someone who could knock down a wall when faced with one, someone who never ran.

She wanted to run, but behind her was a wall of flames and a sea of monsters.

And in front of her.... was Rafine.

She breathed in, and out, forcing her gaze on the weapon that had haunted her all this time.

Rafine whispered a soft plea: “I can’t do this alone.”

Maybe... this time.

She wouldn’t run.