The battle was not over yet. There were still a few things they had to do, but this time it wasn't about fighting and killing; now was the time for rescue.
From what Count Tumbu and Camel had said earlier, it seemed there was another party taking advantage of the chaos in the city. This was a rebellion within a rebellion.
The Hamud Country and the Rebel Faction of Count Ingro had been pushed back, but the chaos did not cease. This meant there was still disorder to be dealt with.
"Who could be doing this?!" Lydia asked, panting heavily. They were currently running to the places suspected to be the entry points for the Tutamit into the city.
"I don't know, but I know they are our enemies!" Micah replied.
"Let's stop here!" (Rudi)
The four of them stopped running at a midpoint where the Tutamit appeared at equidistant locations.
"What now?" (Elia)
"We won't make it in time if we go one by one; it's better to split up!"
The three who were listening to Rudi perked up their ears.
"There are three points where the Tutamit are emerging."
"I want you to move alone to those locations."
Rudi turned to Elia.
"Elia, I need you to move with Micah!" Rudi commanded firmly.
"All-Allri-!"
"Wait, shouldn't she be with you?" Micah cut off Elia. He was thinking more logically. Rudi was not someone who could fight many people at once. Elia being with him would be beneficial. However, Micah seemed unaware of one thing.
"Elia still doesn't know how to use her weapon."
"Re-really? (raising both shoulders)"
"I thought everyone instantly knew how to use their Soul Weapons," he added.
Micah took a deep breath. He then looked at Elia. "Come with me, I'll show you how terrifying the American style is."
The team problem was solved. Rudi continued explaining his plan to them.
"Lydia, go to the river in the south. Micah and Elia, go to the eastern gate. I'll go to the western gate."
"Alright!" Lydia turned and left the location.
"Come on, Elia!"
"Y-yes!"
Micah and Elia went east.
Now Rudi was alone where he stood. As he was about to walk west, something suddenly appeared in front of him. It was a glowing bubble that kept bursting in front of him.
Gradually, the bubbles increased and formed a half-human body from the chest up (without arms and legs). The face of the bubble looked old aged man.
"Look what we have here. Someone trying to be a hero by saving them (the citizens) from the Tutamit." The old man sneered at the actions of the person before him. His laugh was like someone watching a comedy theater.
"What if they knew the truth?! The truth that you caused all this." he continued, laughing heartily.
*Slash!
Without warning, Rudi slashed the bubble man. Unfortunately, when the old man's body split into two, it quickly reformed. Perhaps because he was a liquid entity, it was impossible to slice him apart.
"Tch!" Rudi's frustration was evident. He hadn't expected to face such an unclear opponent while he needed to hurry elsewhere.
He had to leave. There was no more time to waste.
"You're just like your friend, rough!"
Rudi, who was trying to leave, stopped abruptly after hearing that name.
"What do you want, old man?" Rudi gave in. He didn't want this old man to bother him any longer.
"You need someone to help you manage the country, don't you?"
"The country? (eyes wide) Seems like you already know..."
"I'm not a fool... Besides, I genuinely intend to help you."
"The payment?" Rudi got straight to the point.
"How about a village for us to live in and lead? Of course, we will still do whatever you ask."
"We?"
So there are many of them, Rudi thought.
"Yes, I am a representative of the mercenary organization, Dragon Fang Legion. Or known as DraFaLe. We will assist you as long as we have a place to settle."
Hearing this explanation, Rudi became worried.
"Don't worry, we will serve you. We are not foolish enough to die meaninglessly like these soldiers." The old man noticed the source of Rudi's concern.
Rudi felt a bit relieved after hearing that. But it didn't mean he would accept it immediately. Not to mention there were still problems in the city.
"Alright, I'll think about it later. I have other matters to attend to (turning and leaving)."
"With the Tutamit?" the old man said, smiling.
Rudi responded to that expression by stopping his steps. He turned back to where the old man stood. "From your situation. I understand, you are the mastermind behind all this."
"Exactly." the old man admitted honestly. He also praised the black-haired man.
"So this is indeed your plan (sigh)...? You could say, now you are holding the city hostage to get me to obey you?" Rudi couldn't believe this was a plot within a plot.
"..." the old man remained silent and just smiled at Rudi.
"Alright... I will grant your request, but remember! You know what happens if you betray us!"
The old man clapped his hands once, like a Buddhist greeting. "Rest assured, I already said. We will not betray you. It would be foolish to do so."
"So... What's your name?"
"I am Foldor, Drian Foldor. With this, I am ready to serve you, my majesty..." the old man who called himself Foldor knelt before Rudi.
Immediately after Foldor knelt, he clapped his hands. "Lord's Light!" A light emerged between his clasped palms. When he opened them, the light shot into the sky, illuminating the dark city.
***
On Lydia's side.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lydia drove the Tutamit horde away with her wind magic, with a single wave of her wand.
"There are so many of them!"
The citizens around her could only watch Lydia fighting alone. They weren't unwilling to help; despair had already broken them. Their hands trembled, unable to activate their skills. The previous incident was the main cause.
"Water! Miss, you need water magic to douse the fire!"
One of the citizens shouted at her. He couldn't bear seeing Lydia struggling alone.
"Fire?! For what?!" Lydia asked. She had a feeling the citizen was only concerned with his own needs and was indirectly asking her to put out the fire in his house nearby.
"The Tutamit see fire as a call!"
Now an old woman shouted from afar. Her right hand formed a trumpet shape to make her voice louder.
"That's right! If there's a big fire, it means there are corpses (those burning)!" added a man beside the woman.
Lydia pursed her lips, reluctantly accepting the citizens' advice.
*Clang!
Lydia struck the ground with the bottom of her wand.
Soon after, a light rain began to fall around where Lydia stood. The rainwater dampened the flames and calmed their fury.
"Hooray!" the citizens' cheers sounded behind Lydia.
At this moment, Lydia was like a hero before them.
However, the cheers didn't last long. Lydia realized why.
The Tutamit went to places where there were still big fires. In other words, they just changed locations.
"What a fool!"
Lydia tried to run to where the Tutamit horde went, but...
*Flash!
A beam of light suddenly appeared where they had gathered before splitting up.
"Huh?" the girl looked at the light in awe. She had never seen such a beautiful and large light before.
*Blurp... *Blurp... *Blurp...
*Touching her cheek.
"Rain?"
A large-scale rain began to fall.
***
Elsewhere, where Elia and Micah were.
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang!
Micah shot at the Tutamit horde, making the remaining Tutamit flee in fear.
However, the instinct of animals remained. A few minutes after fleeing, the Tutamit returned to their previous spot and started feasting on their fallen comrades.
*Boom!
"Ouch!" Elia, on the other hand, was learning to shoot with her Soul Weapon. She shot at the Tutamit from close range, killing them in large numbers with a single shot.
Despite her powerful shots, Elia had one drawback. She still hadn't fully mastered her weapon. She used this moment to learn her weapon under Micah's guidance.
The woman still couldn't handle the recoil from her shotgun when firing.
"Don't worry, it's normal for that weapon." (Micah)
"I don't really like it."
"But your weapon is effective even against shielded enemies."
"True, but it's too terrifying. If I shoot wrong, then..."
"That's why you need to practice!"
They chatted a bit. Micah gave Elia some instructions. Although he sometimes sounded sarcastic, he was doing his best.
"Don't forget to reload the bullets..."
Micah meant the process of ejecting the empty shell from the shotgun's chamber, replacing it with a new shell, and preparing the weapon to fire again.
"Mm-hmm (nodding)!"
*Click!
The shotgun was reloaded.
Something crossed Elia's mind as she reloaded her weapon.
"By the way, Micah, how do you know about this? Do you have something like this in your world too?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's strange, you understand this so well. Especially at such a young age. Usually, people learn about weapons around age 15, and even then, they are just starting and not as trained as you."
The statement made Micah more confused. His fingers unconsciously scratched his nearly bald head.
"Don't you naturally know how to use your Soul Weapons?"
Micah tried to confirm it. He wanted to see how Elia would react to that explanation.
"Impossible! I've heard many things from people, and I've seen it myself! There are many people who sometimes dislike their Soul Weapons because they don't understand how to use them!"
"Oh..." Micah replied calmly. He had gotten the answer he wanted.
'So it's just the three of us, huh?' something was confirmed. Perhaps that was also why Lydia could use all elements with her magic staff. It was all because she knew it naturally like Micah who knew how to shoot and reload his gun by himself.
The Tutamit horde didn't give them any rest. After a brief chat, they had finished devouring their dead comrades and were heading to places with more corpses.
"Damn! Aren't they full yet?!"
"If it were just one, maybe eating one Tutamit would be enough, but in such large numbers. Even a hundred corpses wouldn't be enough!"
"Damn it!" *Bang! *Bang! *Bang! *Bang!
Reloading.
Micah continued shooting without caring about the cuteness of the small animals. They were drenched in blood, and he didn't care if they waddled like ducks or geese or walked cutely because of their small, furry bodies. At this moment, they were nothing more than monsters to him.
*Flash!
A light similar to what Lydia saw was seen by Micah from a different side. Elia, who was beside the young man, could only walk slowly towards Micah while looking up at the top of the light shooting into the sky. Her mouth was agape, and her eyes wide open without blinking.
Soon after, rain fell, extinguishing the fires that burned the houses.
The Tutamit, seeing the extinguished fires, considered this the end of their feast. They turned around and left the city peacefully.
"How beautiful~" Elia praised the light.
"Whoever did this, they must have planned it! Arghhhh!" Micah saw this as a bad sign.
He immediately ran to where the light was.
"Mi-Micah?!" Elia had no choice but to follow Micah.
She realized how angry Micah was now. But she couldn't leave him just like that. After all, it was the plan they had made.
The city was saved. But small problems arose afterward.