***The Holy Palatial Gardens***
"Yaaaarrgh!"
"Be careful of hitting the Iron Princess!"
"First line, aim! Fire!"
The leading line of the Seductress' shadows were immediately shredded by the gunfire from the paladins, who formed a cordon around the largely-destroyed Saint Palace. Fighting ahead of them was the Iron Princess, supported by their captain, as well as the two saints Seirna and Ruro. On the opposite side, along with shadows, was their beloved Human Saint, now possessed by a dark entity known as the 'Seductress'.
"Don't let down your fire!" Lily ordered. "Don't be afraid of hitting Her Holiness!"
Nevertheless, the paladins were still careful of their fire, giving the shadows the chance to besiege their lines. Good thing that the magicians had brought up the magic barriers in time, or their enemies would increase a hundredfold with newer possessions.
"Your Highness!" Lady Henristone threw an amulet to the Iron Princess, "That's the last of mine! Let's try taking Her Holiness down one more time!"
"We'll hold off these shadows!" Ruro shouted her support. "You and Lady Seirna do the attempt!"
Lily and the Saint of the Flame exchanged affirmative glances and counter-charged. Leading them were Lady Henristone and the Beastman Saint, who cleared the way for them. When they reached the nearest point where they could launch their attack, Seirna chanted a flight spell as the Iron Princess used Ruro as her springboard to jump.
"Maddie!" Lily called out to her friend, "You helped me when I was drunk in madness; now, I'll return the favor!"
"!!!" However, Maddie's reflexes were faster than hers. As the Iron Princess was about to reach her with her sword, the Human Saint threw a ball of concentrated miasma towards her. Lily would have no time to dodge that, so she used her blade to block it.
"Kyaa!!!" The counter-attack not only threw off Iron Princess' own attack, it also sent her flying down, crashing towards a line of paladins. Seirna, Ruro and Lady Henristone immediately covered the gap in the defenses.
"Your Highness," the Saint of the Flame checked on her, "are you alright?"
"Y-Yes…" Lily tried to get up, but as soon as she used her left arm to support herself, an excruciating pain shot up, that she nearly screamed.
"Damn it!" Seirna cursed under her breath, "Don't move it; you're already injured."
"But we still have to defeat Maddie!"
"That'll have to wait, I guess," the Saint of the Flame told her. "My amulets are already used up; I need to make more. Lady Ruro's exhausted, and Lady Henristone sustained injuries, too. For the meantime, tell these paladins to keep up the barriers, so that the shadows and the Seductress' miasma won't escape this area."
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And so, the battle was ended when the humans decided to disengage. It was like that for several days now, since Lady Madelaine 'woke up'. Hundreds of paladins, fighting the shadows alongside some beastmen guards of the Queen Cherwind, were already injured. There were forces from the Queen of Amaranth coming to reinforce the cordon around the Saint's Palace, but it was still days away…and their numbers were dwindling with every push they attempt to rescue their beloved Human Saint.
The situation was even made worse by the broken left arm sustained by the Iron Princess, Lilyhaven Tamriel. Without that, her efficiency in combat was halved, though her 'Bloodbath' skill was active.
"Hey!"
Lost in her thoughts, Lily was brought back to her senses by Eris, who was serving as a nurse in one of the makeshift hospitals in the Holy Palatial Gardens. She gave the Iron Princess a mug of warm milk, and some soup, which was cooked by Queen Jessica.
"Thanks," Lily told her, accompanied by a weak smile. "How are the others?"
"Lady Henristone was taking a rest; her right leg was broken. Lady Ruro was sleeping for now; she says her mana was depleted in the recent fight. As for Lady Seirna…I think I heard her say that she will come here in a bit to check on you."
"I see…and the paladins?"
"The second shift had just taken their positions around the Saint's Palace. It's been pretty silent for now," Eris gently touched the splint on Lily's arm. "So please be at ease."
"Yes…"
"I heard of what happened to you, Big Sis," the young maid said, "and without Her Holiness the Lady Madelaine's power to heal, I guess it would take time for you arm to fix itself."
"True," was the Iron Princess' curt answer.
"Hm…I know what you're thinking. You're planning to return to the battle tomorrow."
"You're going to stop me?"
Eris shook her head. "Even though I want to, I know I can't. Lady Madelaine is like your sister; you can't leave her alone."
"Of course…I'm sure Kuro would do the same, if he was here."
"Haa…why is this happening to us? It's pretty tiring, you know?"
"I get what you're feeling, Lady Eris…" Lily heaved a sigh, "But well, there are things we can't avoid, no matter how careful we are."
"I just hope Lady Madelaine would return to normal soon."
"She won't, Duchess Braunhauer," Seirna, who happened to pass by them, entered the conversation. "You're only hoping in vain."
"You mean there's no hope for Lady Madelaine, Your Holiness?" Eris couldn't believe what she had heard.
"There is," the Saint of the Flame refuted her. "However, the answer whether or not she would return to normal lies in Lady Rubinforth herself."
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"The Seductress' powers thrive on negative feelings, events and thoughts," Seirna explained. "That's why, she manifested in Lady Rubinforth. Jealousy must've filled her heart, and the Seductress exploited that. Your beloved saint will remain in her grasp, as long as Lady Rubinforth will not realize her mistake."
"But if she is, she can break free, yes?"
"There's no absolute in this world, Duchess Braunhauer, only chances. Of course, there's the possibility that Lady Rubinforth can break free from the influence of the Seductress. But, to do that, she has to accept a few things about the man she loves…"