Clementine fell on one knee, panting hard. She carved Dei Ignus on the floor, supporting her body. She would surely fall to the ground if she didn't do so.
'I don't even know how my arms can still have this amount of strength... My legs are nearly collapsing completely. Soon I won't have the strength even to kneel, I will need to lay on the ground. I just hope that it won't happen as soon as I think it will.'
Clementine looked at her own armor, seeing all the cracks spreading all over it. Several parts were thoroughly destroyed and wouldn't offer any protection at all. She had some bones broken as well, but she was trying not to think about it or pay it any heed. If she got too conscious about her harm, she would start to feel a lot of pain.
'I am too old to do something like this, frankly,' she said while trying to get up, but falling to her knee again and nearly letting the other collapse and touch the ground. If she let the other knee fall as well, she wouldn't be able to get up anymore.
Clementine's exhausted eyes moved across the main hall of the Church. Her vision was a bit blurry due to the fire spreading around and the dust in the air. The exhaustion itself made her vision get blurry enough, but these things were making it the more difficult.
With a bit more focus and time, she could finally start to see figures forming in front of her. It wasn't just one paladin or two, but dozens of them making a circle around her. Some of them had wounds on their bodies, most of these wounds were made by fire rather than swords. They seemed quite pissed off, but also guilty and regretful.
After all, all those paladins once were kids aiming to become the warriors they were made into. They needed to struggle and suffer a lot, to the point where they thought they would die or never walk again. The only means of continuing to press forward despite their hardships were the other paladins that they could use as an example for their lives; and, of course, the biggest example of mighty and authority once was Lady Welcome.
The female paladin with a strange surname, without any talent, and not even coming from a family of paladins, could make history inside the Church. She was honored enough to set foot on the Sacred Temple and talk directly with their Mistress. That was something that just a few people in the entire world would be able to do.
She was their greatest example of excellence and willpower. If not for her, the war wouldn't be the same.
Nonetheless, there they were, fighting against her to death as if she was a demon.
None of them wanted to give the last blow, none of them wanted to fight a cowardly battle against their idol. Even so, it was their duty to team up against her and eliminate her as fast as possible.
The most hurtful thing for them was the fact that Clementine didn't back away a single time. She didn't even falter. Despite being tired, she always found the strength to swing her sword once again and prevent them from entering any further into the Church.
'She is done... She won't get up anymore. Or, at least I hope so... I hope she doesn't do this, otherwise, I will need to kill her,' one of those paladins thought.
'Please, stay on the ground,' another one prayed.
'Don't fight back. Just this time, don't fight back!' a female was nearly clasping her hands in a preach.
'Stop getting up every time we put you in check, for God's sake!'
As if defying their claims, showing them that nobody could order her around, Clementine once again used the strength left in her arms to force her body into a standing position.
Her knees faltered once again, but she held her breath and continued to stretch her legs until she was steady enough. She still used Ignus Dei as support not to fall, though. In fact, her arms were doing 70% of the job, exerting enough strength not to let her fall again.
"Clementine, they didn't order us to ask it, but I will ask again regardless... Will you get out of our way before we need to give the mercy shot? It's a simple exchange, Aslam's life for yours. It shouldn't be difficult, right?" one of the paladins surrounding her said, almost pleading for her to let them pass.
Clementine didn't say anything. Her face was darkened since her head was a bit lowered.
"Please, shot," he allowed one of the paladins to aim his crossbow at Clementine. An arrow shot towards her already injured legs, piercing through them almost completely.
The old lady didn't even grunt, however. Her face was hidden in the shadows that the flames around were projecting on her face, hiding any hint of pain there.
"Clementine... we will ask once again," the female who shot the arrow said with teary eyes. "Please, will you move away and let us pass? I am not even ordering you, I am begging you! We all are!"
'What kind of silly joke is this?' Clementine thought. 'Did they send only people who once admired me? Are they trying to dirt my image or something? Are they trying to play with the feelings of their own soldiers? What the hell is happening here!? Are they freaking joking around!? All these people... they are having so much trouble now...'
Although they were all complying with that coup, Clementine could not help but empathize with them. She once was in that same position. An empty shell of a soldier living her days fighting for things that she didn't truly believe, struggling for the purposes of others, not hers.
"If I keep fighting against them, I will do exactly what she wants me to do. There are influent paladins who want to erase Clementine Welcome from the minds of these people, making them hate me, and see me as a villain, not a hero. That's their main objective. It's purely brainwashing, nothing more!'
Clementine gritted her teeth as she took another deep breath and took Dei Ignus out of the ground.
The female paladin with the crossbow shot an arrow again without waiting for an order. She pointed at her other leg, aiming to get her down on her knees again, but the arrow got skilfully intercepted by Clementine's sword.
'I am sorry for acting like this. I wanted to be the hero that you always admired until my last breath. However, things are changing, I am changing. Nowadays, being a demon or a paladin doesn't matter... Regardless of the race, regardless of the identity, I will apply the divine subduing upon any of those who dare to threaten the peace of this city!'
Another arrow came her way from a different direction. The old lady held it in the middle of the air with her arm that was still moving properly, breaking it in half after stopping its rush.
The paladins around her couldn't believe that she still had such good reflexes. She should be more debilitated due to the many wounds she got, as well as her accumulated exhaustion. It had been nearly an hour since she was fighting. Not even professional boxers of the 70's fought that much in their matches.
"What are you so surprised about? I can't get it at all," she asked while taking a step forward, then taking off the arrow stuck on her thigh with a single brusk pull.
"I still have some gas left, and I am willing to burn it all on you, so stop with this silly strategy of firing arrows and come at me already!" she shouted as Dei Ignus got wrapped by golden flames, the Divine Flame that Clementine knew how to wield so well, to the point of not needing any special skill or power.
What was being made inside that Church was history. That battle surely would be remembered for centuries. After all, not all the generations had a talented grade-C paladin who could fight against several grade-B and A paladins at the same time for so long.
'I just hope that the Bloodseeker can get here in time. I can hold these guys for longer, but I surely cannot defeat all of them. I hope that the demon fulfills his promise, otherwise, I will find a way to get out of this situation alive and go rip off his head myself. We had an agreement, after all. Just this once, I was going to help him since this coup was something that would directly affect the peace of this city.'
Clementine Welcome inhaled deeply, holding her breath for the time being. She needed to do so in order to keep her body awake and forget about the pain. If she kept breathing, she would feel the waves of pain crossing her body.
"Just a few more steps, Clementine... Just a few more steps," she softly whispered as she bend her knees and opened her eyes widely, then stomped the ground and advanced towards the crowd of paladins.