I decided to worry about Shana later and get back into battle with Xylvia. I was running much faster since I wasn't carrying Leonna this time.
"You better stay alive when I get back," I said. "I still need to take you on adventures once this is all over!"
After several tiring minutes of running, I finally made it back to The Town of Colors. The city still looked perfectly fine. The battle, however, was still as colorful as when I left it. The color that covered most of the battlefield, unfortunately, was the color red.
"HIRO!"
I saw Xylvia running full speed towards me with a huge smile on her face.
"The mages are here," she said. "The dragonmen can be dealt with now!"
Mages were people who specialized in high-class magic abilities. Whether it be fire or water, or attack and defense, they exceeded much more than anyone else in this world in every class. The people who fought with their swords could only combine their magic with their swords for much more powerful strikes, but they couldn't fire spells as projectiles. When it comes to to how to fire off more powerful magic attacks and defenses, concentration, training, and monster blood were key. But when it comes to being able to fire magic off or not, you just have to be lucky enough to be born with that ability.
"What now?" Xylvia asked me.
"We should head back to the city and rendezvous with Gleam," I answered. "Those mages can take care of the dragonmen. Plus, we're still not powerful enough to hold our own against those soldiers on the ground."
"Ok."
She gritted her teeth as if she hated the idea, but she accepted the reality of the situation and nodded to my proposition.
Reality is a bitch.
Gleam was waiting for us when we made it back the gate of the city. She had a pretty troubled look on her face when we got to her.
"Something doesn't look right," I said. "If she has that look, then something must be wrong."
"Good point." Xylvia said.
She still had the same look on her face when we got to her, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to the battle. She was looking...straight at us.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"...HUH!??"
She looked startled and seemed as if she was just snapped back into reality.
"Are you ok?" Xylvia asked.
"Ohh...uhh...why yes. I...I'm alright," she said. "I guess I'm just a little tired is all."
"If you're worried about the battle, then you can rest assured," Xylvia said. "The mages can take care of the dragonmen, and the soldiers on the ground are pushing the Black Soldiers away from the city."
"Ahh...that's good to hear. I'm so ashamed of myself though. If I had just called the soldiers and the mages here, then the casualties that we have to face would've been much lower."
Gleam looked really upset about this whole thing. This must've really got her worked up.
"We didn't have enough time to prepare," I reassured her. "I may not know what a soldier think while on the battlefield, but something tells me that they're glad that all the people were safely evacuated. If they didn't want to protect them, then they wouldn't have even drawn their sword in the first place. what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't blame yourself. You did what you could."
Gleam's eyes went from being filled with sorrow to filled with joy and determination.
"You're right," she said to me. "I may have to bear the deaths of those who have fallen, but I will not let their deaths be in vein."
"We'll help you bear those deaths as well," Xylvia said. "Remember: You're not alone. You have us on your side."
"Yes. It's about time I start acting like a true goddess!"
"Then you can start by actually putting some clothes on instead of walking around naked all the time." I pointed out.
"No way! Do you realize how uncomfortable those things are! I can't even comprehend how you humans are able to wear such troublesome fabric."
"Well then at least cover your chest with some hair strands."
That form of censorship always annoyed me when I watched anime, but I think I'll make an exception to that rule since this isn't an anime.
"GREAT GODDESS GLEAM!!!"
The three of us turned our heads to see a fellow comrade running full speed in our direction. He seemed to have an excited looking expression on his face.
"The Army of Darkness is retreating! WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS BATTLE!!"
"Thank goodness," Xylvia said with a sigh as she slowly sank to the ground. "I'm glad those mages came in at the right time."
"..."
Something didn't seem right. This felt almost...too easy? Or maybe I'm just overthinking things since the battle ended a lot quicker than I thought it would, which is a good thing! But still...something is off.
"Keep firing at them until they're out of our sights," Gleam ordered. "I can't stand to see those repulsive creatures killing my beloved people!"
But what about their leader? She was the one who sent us that message telling us that she was going to invade this place tonight. I haven't even seen her or her subordinate, Gray.
"...where were they...?"
"Hmm...did you say something Hiro?" Xylvia asked me.
"Oh...well...it's just...weird. We didn't see their leader or that Gray guy," I said. "Why would they announce an attack this big, yet not even lead them in the battle?"
"You do have a point their."
"That is...strange," Gleam said. "...I wonder what there endgame really is..."