In the heart of Stardale, inside a secluded, abandoned house, Lisa knelt on the ground and wrapped Galriel's body with a long, white cloth. Her hand movements were mechanical and the expression on her face was blank.
Scenes of what had earlier transpired when the city gates had been breached kept repeating in her mind. Overcome by immense guilt, she continued to blame herself for not being able to protect her friend.
Although she had only known Galriel for about two months, she had come to develop a strong bond with the elf.
If only I was more self-aware of my surroundings, I could have protected you from the boulders…
If only I had worked harder, I could have protected you from the troll…
If only I was stronger…
Pearls of tears trickled down her face which was covered in dried blood and dirt. She glanced at Galriel's face. Although it had no signs of life, it appeared to be peaceful.
It was as if she had gone into a deep slumber.
Except, she would never wake from this one.
Lisa bent over and gently embraced the elf. "Galriel, forgive me… I couldn't save you…"
Suddenly, she heard the sound of a chain of explosions coming from outside the city walls. She turned her head and glanced through the windows. The scene that greeted her left her shocked.
The night sky was so bright it was almost as if it was daytime. Her eyes widened as she thought incredulously, This… What's happening?!
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})She then heard the sounds of fighting and screaming coming from outside, her face gradually turning grim. She looked back at Galriel and forced a faint smile.
"I must leave, Galriel… There might be others that need me."
Lisa covered the elf's face with the white cloth after looking at her deeply for one last time. The next moment, she placed her hand on the elf's corpse and it disappeared inside her space-type storage ring.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and calmed the turbulent emotions surging inside her. Then, her eyes gleamed with cold killing intent as she slowly got to her feet, exiting the house.
Outside, Ennea was waiting for her by the door, monitoring the surroundings with alertness. When the fox sensed the rage bubbling inside Lisa, she got to her feet and walked toward her, fondly rubbing her head against her.
"I'm alright, girl." Lisa's eyes softened a little as she patted Ennea's head. Then, she climbed her back and brandished the wooden staff that she had acquired from the secret plane.
She muttered in a cold tone, "We will slaughter every enemy that comes our way."
"Grrrr!" Ennea bared her sharp fangs, her emerald eyes gleaming with primal ferocity. The next moment, they sped off into the distance in search of the enemy.
…
At the main square of Stardale, a one-sided battle was taking place between the Magi of the allied forces and the enemy.
This place which used to be a hub of activity now lay in ruins. The large, magical scoreboard had been completely destroyed and the marketplace around it was nowhere to be seen.
Streams of blood flowed through the square and one could see butchered corpses of humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes scattered around. Tragically, most of these corpses belonged to the mortal residents.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})A brutal melee was currently taking place. The small group of Magi from the allied forces were completely surrounded by the corrupted beasts. Moreover, they were also under the attack of orcs and ogres.
By now the enemy had realized that there was no way out for them now that the gates had been repaired. They knew that death was a forgone conclusion for them. There was no way that the Magi would spare them.
If they were going to die either way, then they might as well fight recklessly and take as many people with them as they could.
Due to this very mindset, the enemy inside the city had now become a force to reckon with.
"Kill them!" An orc wielding a large, double axe roared with madness as he hacked down the helpless Magus in front of him. "Kill them all!"
ROAR!!
An ogre standing at more than 3 meters tall bellowed to the skies and then started swinging his stone-tipped javelin around.
Ogres were rumored to have descended from giants. They had soft-yellow skin and easily weighed over six hundred pounds. Moreover, they had highly muscular bodies and large, bald heads.
With every swing of its javelin, this ogre brutally injured anyone standing in its way, leaving them to an inch of their lives.
Just as it raised its beefy arm to hack down an incapacitated Magus in front of it, thick vines suddenly emerged from underground and tightly coiled around its limbs, restraining it immediately.
The vines were thick and had countless thorns growing on them. These sharp thorns dug inside the thick skin of the ogre and started to secrete poison.
"Graaahhhh!" The ogre screamed in pain, desperately trying to free himself from the vines. With its strength, it would take no longer than a few seconds to get free.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But suddenly!
A large, ferocious beast pounced on the ogre from behind. It opened its maw that was filled with razor-sharp teeth and viciously chomped on the ogre's head.
CRUNCH!
The ogre's headless body fell to its knees, the vines around its limbs slowly uncoiling. Above this creature's corpse stood a large, imposing fox. It spat the remains of the ogre's head from its mouth and menacingly growled at the other beasts.
Lisa, who was sitting atop Ennea, coldly glanced at her enemies. She then raised her staff over her head with both hands and spun it around. The wooden staff glowed with a resplendent light and countless runes shone on its surface.
The youth expended a considerable amount of mana into her artifact and the next moment, dozens of thick vines erupted from the ground and quickly incapacitated all the enemies surrounding the Magi.
Everything had happened so quickly, from the ogre dying to the rest of the enemies being immobilized, that the Magi of the allied forces barely had any time to react. They were frozen in shock.
One moment, they were being bombarded by attacks from all sides, on the verge of death. But the next moment, the tables had suddenly turned. And it was all because of the actions of one person. And her familiar.
Lisa had an icy, cold expression on her face as she glared at the beasts and the orcs desperately trying to free themselves.
Then, she looked at the Magi who had dumbfounded expressions on their faces before having Ennea turn around and leave, her parting words lighting a raging fire in their hearts.
"They're all yours."
The Magi got to their feet, their expressions that of extreme wrath. The leader of these Magi, an old elf, fiercely stared at all the enemies with intense bloodlust.
"Kill them!" He roared at the top of his lungs. "Kill them all!"
