The two hunchback Dalmacian soldiers were in pain. Both of them were covering their eyes with their hands. Out of curiosity, Demona asked about them.
Demona: What's wrong with them?
Aurelius: As I said earlier... using the weapon exacts a toll.
A small black flame was covering their pupils when they opened their eyes. Both of them were now blind.
Demona: That is an exciting curse...
Aurelius: Undoubtedly so. Would you like to try your luck?
Demona: I'm quite fond of my gift of sight... thank you, Emperor, but I must decline.
Aurelius: My grandfather was blind. I never asked what had happened to him. When I heard the story of the Demon-Halberd, I understood. Then I knew why he abdicated and made room for my father to rule in his stead. Guards! Get these poor bastards out of here! They are now useless. You may dispose of them.
Dr. HP: If I may, Your Majesty... Might I have them back? I believe I can still make something useful out of them.
Aurelius: Very well. Do as you please. Just make sure to keep them out of my sight.
Once they heard that they would go back to Dr. HP's laboratory, they both protested nervously.
Hunchback A: No! Please! We don't want to go back there!
Hunchback B: Anything but that! Death would be a mercy!
Aurelius: Doctor... If you do not take care of your pets, I WILL GRANT THEM THE MERCY THEY SO DESPERATELY DESIRE...
Dr. HP: Forgive me, Your Majesty. Take them to my Lab. I have work to do...
They were then dragged out of the room by the sentries while they were kicking and screaming.
Aurelius: Demona, dear... Why are you still here? I accepted to ally with your Cabal for your usefulness in battle, to gain me the Western Continent. How do you propose doing that from here?
Demona: Believe me, Emperor... You're quite lucky to have me around.
Demona was indeed up to something. Aurelius was sure of it. And still, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of her. A powerful and mysterious force was at work... and yet no one could tell for sure what was happening.
One of the sentries at the Castle in the Dalmacian capital spotted an overwhelming force headed straight for the city. The alarm was sounded, and word was sent to the king. The king ordered all the capital's citizens to enter the castle to take refuge behind its walls. Naturally, the people were pretty nervous about the entire situation. The soldiers were able to help the people get to safety quite efficiently. Not long after that, a vast number of soldiers, Dark knights, and Black wizards made it to the city of Dalmacia and started their attack, destroying everything in their path.
Their true goal was to take the castle. Surrounding the castle and breaching from multiple sides was their go-to strategy, but Dalmacia was ready to counter that. The engineers had built some cutting-edge traps and put them in strategic places for maximum impact. They also had weapons installed around the flanks to prevent enemy pincer attacks. These traps and weapons helped so that the enemy had no choice but to attack head-on. But to get to the castle, they had to go through Dalmacia's finest: Dragoon Gregg Raines-Commander of the Dragoon regiment of the kingdom; Alonzo Gabriev – Captain and new Commander of the Dark Knights of the Kingdom (he replaced Sir Archibald, who was killed in the bombing attack that used a Dalmacian messenger that turned out to be a suicide bomber); White Wizard Jean Riovanes – one of the elite mages in the Kingdom; and Legend – wielder of the Sword of Light.
Jean buffed all four party members with Wall (**a spell that included a defense boost against both magical and physical attacks**) and Regeneration. Alonzo began the Dalmacian counterattack. He was a master of the Dark Sword. His first attack was a blast of dark energy that would either slice or stun all the enemies in its path: Dark Wave. The attack cut through the enemy's formation, taking out their front lines. The Reach had a large number of soldiers on their front line. They were all expendable. Their only purpose was to test the waters and draw out Dalmacia's warriors so they could defeat them with their actual army.
The four defending the line for Dalmacia in front of the castle could handle those soldiers with ease. Things turned a little more dangerous when they started being attacked by Dark Knights.
Gregg: Kid! It's time... Do it as we discussed!
Legend: I'm ready!
Gregg used his jump ability to take Legend high up in the sky. No one in the entire Western Continent had stronger legs than Dragoons. It was believed that they were able to jump up to 40 meters high.
Legend fired a blast of light from the sword from that incredible height. The blast was so potent that it knocked out the five hundred left of the Reach front line.
Gregg: I see you've become quite the show-off!
Legend: I'm just getting started!
Alonzo: Don't celebrate just yet... This isn't anywhere near over!
As they spoke, Fireballs started to fall from the sky. They were hitting the houses around the defense party, and the ones that fell on target were blocked by a magic barrier Jean had set up for defensive purposes.
As these fireballs fell, the rest of the Eastern army pressed onward, forcing Dalmacia's first line of defense to fall back.
Jean: This Fireball rain is the work of an army of Black mages. They must be hidden all around us! If we can't counter their onslaught, I suggest a swift retreat to the castle to avoid certain death!
Gregg: She's right... We're history if we can't find the wizards raining fire on us!
Alonzo: Perhaps it is a perfect moment to fall back to our second line of defense!
Gregg: Agreed! Everyone, FALL BACK!
As the first liners retreated within the castle because of the fireball rain the Eastern mages sponsored, the hosts of eastern soldiers and mages followed... They had to breach the castle's walls to push through. Considering their numbers, it wasn't going to take them too long to do so.
Meanwhile in Lybia
Over at Lybia, Rachel was still helping the injured people in the incident despite Meg's urging to have her take the party to Dalmacia.
Nimrod: Yo, bird-man-guy! How is it that you know they've already begun their attack?
Meg: Call me that one more time, and I'll use my hidden technique on your face, dim-witted fool!
Nimrod: Geez! Calm down! Such hostility!
Richard: Rachel, I am afraid I must agree with Meg. Whatever happened here and at Miranda may have been some unrelated coincidence... Or perhaps even a ploy to distract us from their actual target. Think about it... What would be the first target you attacked if you were an invading force hell-bent on taking over an entire continent?
Rachel: I'd eliminate the greatest threat to my ambitions...
Richard: Precisely!
Rachel: Fine. I'll take us to Dalmacia. But there's a stop we need to make on the way...
Rachel gathered Richard, Nimrod, Kohrr, and Meg. She teleported all of them like before. This time to Miranda. But sadly, there were no survivors in this town.
Richard: This is awful!
Nimrod: I've been seeing towns and villages being wiped out way too often now... Third time's the charm.
Everyone in Miranda was dead. The elderly. Newborns. Men. Women. Children. Housepets. Stray animals. There was no exception. The town was in complete ruins. And the steam from the searing heat with which they were stricken was still in the air.
Meg: I know how you feel, Rachel. But there's nothing we can do for them.
Rachel: There's got to be something I can do! I was given this staff for a reason!
Rachel was shedding tears from the moment they arrived at Miranda. Seeing the lifeless bodies of innocents was revolting. She was saddened but also angry. Angry at whoever was heartless enough to decimate life on such a scale. She held the Staff of Zoe with both hands and went to the middle of town. Raised it to the sky and began to chant a spell, drawing power from the staff.
Rachel: Great One that gave life to the universe, hear my plea! To those that have been cut short of this existence too suddenly, I ask you to return them their spark!
Meg: Rachel! Remember that overusing the power of the staff may have unforeseen consequences!
Rachel ignored Meg's warning. She continued channeling for another moment, and the staff started glowing intensely. Many star-like lights fell from the sky into the lifeless bodies as Rachel shouted the name of the spell: "LIFE!"
Everyone in town that was dead was then restored to life. The newly resurrected felt like they had just woken up from a dream. No one knew what had happened precisely, how they ended up dying, and how it was that they were now alive again. But thanks to Rachel and the power of the Staff of Zoe, those that were dead had just gotten a second chance at life.
Nimrod: I never thought I'd ever see anything like this... – at that moment, Nimrod remembered the children from the village of the Shadow Clan. He got emotional, thinking it would have been nice if Rachel had gotten that ability sooner… or even better; he wished he had known her back when his home was decimated by disease.
Nimrod: {Maybe if I had known her sooner... if she had been around back then... maybe they wouldn't have died... they would have still been with me...}
Rachel was exhausted after using that spell. She looked worn out and pale but happy that the people of Miranda were alive. Determined to stay true to her word, she used the last remaining mana and teleported the party one more time.