Sebastian raised his head. He suddenly found himself sprawled onto the ground. He could still feel his limbs, and his senses were slowly coming to. He remembered that there was a huge blast from behind that knocked him out. He instinctively called for everyone to scatter away from the group. He still heard ringing in his ears as he tried to shake his head. Without even realising that his eardrums were shattered, he circulated his mana to heal himself from within. When the ringing finally stopped and his senses fully came back, he then looked around.
"Zes! Chiza! Where are you!?" He couldn't hide the panic in his voice, nor did he try.
He could hear faint movement from the rubble near him. His body reacted by itself as he found himself digging through the rubble at a frantic pace.
'Now's not the time to panic! Assess the situation calmly! [Augment] Steel mind and body, Triple physical augment!' Even after he calmed himself down, Sebastian was still pulling the debris apart at a heightened speed. While doing so he quickly scanned his surroundings with his mana and senses. He finally got through the pile after a few minutes. Underneath, he found an unconscious female elf.
"Zes! Wake up!" Doing a quick head-to-toe assessment, he only found a few scratches and bruises on her.
'The force from the blast must have knocked her unconscious. If only I could cast [Heal]! Dammit!' Sebastian blamed his incompetence for losing the ability to cast magick spells after his trauma in losing Becky.
'She might have blunt force trauma injuries or something like that. Shit!' Desperation slowly encroached his thoughts as he held his loyal follower in his hands. She was breathing at a stable pace, but that was only on the surface. He considered using his mana tendrils ability - it might allow him to see her condition at a more in-depth level, but it was bordering on unknown territory and he didn't have the luxury of time.
'Remember how it felt before Sebastian!' He coerced himself to remember the feeling of circulating his mana before casting a spell.
'Remember what Rivie taught you!' He pooled his mana in his hand and slowly fine-tuned its properties. He could feel subtle changes, but it always became unstable just before he was able to materialise a magick spell.
'Do it for Zes!' Desperation now guided his feelings. He placed his hand over Zes' chest as he released the pent-up mana "[Heal]!"
A warm light enveloped Zes body before it was absorbed. He could feel his warmth being transmitted to her through his mana. The light dissipated after a few seconds, which was followed by an eerie silence.
She slowly stirred in his arms. When she opened her eyes, she could see the concerned face of her master. She had been travelling with him for a long time to know his mannerisms and his facial expressions. In his current state, she could see a mixture of fear and relief all at the same time.
"Did you cast [Heal] on me Sebastian?" Zes checked her extremities as well - a skill taught by her master.
"I actually did so out of desperation. I never thought that it would work." He finally let go of her and helped her to stand.
"What happened? I just remember you screaming for us to scatter. There was a huge explosion from the back and I lost consciousness."
"That's what I remember as well. The mana fluctuation felt huge and different before that explosion. Let's go look for Chiza now."
After making sure that Zes was able to stand and that she was stable enough, the master and slave duo looked for their additional party member. Chiza felt the fluctuation at the same time as Sebastian. He silently hoped that she would be in a better state than Zes. With her beastkin senses, she might have covered a bigger distance before the explosion.
"Can you find her using your heightened senses Sebastian?"
"I'm actually using it right now. It's strange that I can't even sense her breathing or heartbeat near us. Unless if she was buried really deep." Without stopping, the pair continued to dig through the rubble around them.
"Where is the mutated beast?" Zes finally realised that they were in their current situation because something chased them before the explosion.
"I can't also find the mutated beast. Did you feel that the explosion at the last moment felt different than before? It didn't feel like an [Explosion] spell or something like that. It felt raw."
"That's a good point. From the extent of the damage as well, it seemed like a different attack."
"That's right. I wonder if the mutated beast imploded the mana within it. It might have been an accident or a last-ditch effort to take us down with it."
Sebastian was waiting for Zes to reply when she suddenly stopped and gasped. Fearing the worst, he rushed over to her side as well.
After a few minutes of searching, they finally found Chiza - or what was left of her. The explosion ripped through her petite figure, tearing her in half from the waist down. From the shocked look on her face, it seemed that her demise came quick and sudden. As Sebastian looked away out of sorrow and pity, he spied a dark figure near them. He walked over to investigate when he stopped in his tracks as well. Zes was still in shock at the gruesome sight in front of her when Sebastian broke the silence.
"The mutated beast chose to get close to Chiza before it detonated itself. Only a part of the head is left from it. It - it was a very powerful and savage attack."
Zes couldn't hold back the tears in front of Chiza's corpse. They only met for a day, but she felt comfortable around her. She had a certain charm and innocence around her that allowed people to feel at ease with her. Zes felt that she knew the tiny beastkin for a long time despite their brief encounter.
"Why did this happen... The gods have forsaken us."
Sebastian couldn't respond as he covered her corpse with her cloak. After offering a brief moment of silence, they continued on. The path to the monastery was quicker than anticipated. Time passed swiftly in the silent and depressing atmosphere.
***
They finally reached the monastery - or what was left of it. With the recent mutated beast attacks, it was torn in half. Civilians and guards spilt out of the wreckage without distinction. The injured were tending to the injured while the guards held makeshift weapons to form a perimeter of sorts.
Quickly running to the crowd, Sebastian found a familiar face.
"Jin! What happened here?"
"Sebastian. So you survived that onslaught. The mutated beasts have advanced once more. The destructive power of their limbs are like magick weapons. When pressed in desperation, they can - "
"Blow themselves up." Sebastian completed Jin's sentence with a dark expression.
"Did you defeat one?"
"No. It almost did us in. We got lucky at the cost of someone else." Sebastian and Zes looked down at the hint of Chiza's death which allowed them to live instead.
"I see. Knowing you, I'm sure you did everything. Are you able to help us? We're trying to regroup and reorganise ourselves."
Sebastian looked around the area and was vaguely reminded about war-torn cities and refugees back in Earth. He studied the situation around him before turning back to Jin.
"Where's Rivie and Leo? Elias should also be with the defensive force? Aima was in the monastery as well?"
This time it was Jin's turn to cast a dark expression.
***
At the same time when Sebastian, Zes, and Chiza were running away from the mutated beast.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"The city gates have fallen! Secure the monastery!" Guards were calling out on the streets in the middle of the deafening explosions.
Jin hugged his parents before picking his glaive and shield.
"Jin. Are you going to fight?"
"I have to mom. The city gates have fallen. That means that the ballistae have been destroyed and our defences have fallen. If no one else will fight then this place will also fall."
She tried to hold her son tighter in the hopes that he wouldn't go, however, she felt another force pulling her back.
"Let him go, Yvonne. We are blessed that we are able to rely on our son at this point. The people around us can't say the same. Go Jinzo. Do what you need to do, but also prioritise your safety. I'll look after your mom so don't worry about us here."
"Thanks, dad. I'll leave her to you." After one final hug, Jin turned around and headed to the monastery entrance.
"Are we doing the right thing to send our son off to the front line, Jon? I can't bear the thought of losing him. We were reunited just recently and now he's going again."
"Right here we're in a confined space. Combat will be difficult and we have no way of defending ourselves against those - monsters. We have to trust in him. I'm sure you've seen it as well, he's grown into a fine young adventurer. He won't - He will definitely come back to us."
Within the shaking monastery building, two figures could be seen in a tight embrace, looking fondly at an adventurer's back as he made his way out the last bastion of safety and into the war zone.
"[Ice Lance]! [Fire Bolt]! [Fire Bolt]!"
A few meters in front of the monastery entrance, a female dwarven mage was using her skills non stop. She cast them one after the other without regard for her safety or mana consumption. It was like a rough performance of destruction in front of the mutated beasts.
Jin took up his position beside the female dwarf with red hair. "Aima? What are you doing? You're being reckless right now!"
Without pausing her magick attacks, she turned to Jin. "These bastards have killed everything I hold dear. I will take as many as I can down. If I perish along with them then so be it!"
Jin couldn't hide his shocked expression as he looked at the haphazard magick attack unfolding in front of him. He tightened his grip on his glaive as he seemed to steel his resolve on something. Aima noticed it as well.
"Jin. I've adventured with you for quite some time so I have a good idea what you're thinking. If you're going to knock me out to 'save' me, then I'll just blow us both to bits. Try me!" Aima maintained her determined look as she continued to cast spells one after the other. With her rate of mana expenditure, mana burnout was not far away.
"Then I will defend you instead." Jin circulated his mana through his magick weapon which emitted a faint hum.
BAM!
A mutated beast broke through the defensive perimeter and was headed towards Aima and Jin!
Pa! Pa! Papapa!
From the corner of the defensive line, a figure broke away with a blur. It suddenly appeared beside the mutated beast! With quick strikes and kicks, it landed blows on the mutated beast.
GWAA!
The beast couldn't handle the physical onslaught before it collapsed with a short growl. The huge beastkin warrior with a flowing mane picked up the mutated beast's carcass before flinging it a few blocks away. It looked extremely light from how he handled the body.
"Elias!" Both Jin and Aima called out in surprise.
Elias looked like a wild beast with his huge stature and mane. When he turned around to face the two adventurers, he had a look riddled with exhaustion and fatigue.
"Aima slow your pace down. You'll do more damage if you attack at the congested areas. Focus on area spells instead. Jin, I'll need you in the front lines." He didn't have time to exchange pleasantries as Elias immediately issued commands to both of them.
Looking at the exhausted beastkin in front of them, they both realised that they were fresh supporters in this defensive position. Everyone else was either tired or dead. With new resolution in their eyes, Aima and Jin readjusted their gear before heading to positions. The time for selfish bickering was over. They now had to focus on a desperate barricade.