Phoebe slams her fist against the windowsill, then takes Winter by the hand and leads him down the hall.
"You… you were an office worker, weren't you? I mean, I get why Dent and Mirra were so willing to run out there… they were soldiers!" She turns and kneels down so she's level with him. "But you and Caor? You're office workers! Or you were… and I played video games for a living! How – I mean, aren't you scared of dying?"
Phoebe shakes her head and laughs weakly. "But you died, huh? Is that why you're so willing to risk yourself like that?"
Winter grins softly and pats Phoebe's head. "Maybe… but I think it's because I don't want people to be sad. It's a different kind of happiness than what I wanted to give people in my past life but, if I can do it, I'll definitely try."
He steps back, allowing Phoebe to sink down completely onto the floor.
"It'd be a lie if I said I wasn't scared but… I was reincarnated into the body of Carnia Love's superboss and hidden 9th route." Winter flashes a determined smile.
His boyish face and youthful looks makes Phoebe freeze. Somehow seeing such a young-looking kid trying to reassure her made Phoebe think of her little sister.
She laughs meekly, but doubts still grip her mind. First Aki and now Winter.
"So you're relying on the gifts of a game. Are you even as strong as the game version is? Was? How can you be so sure?!"
Winter turns his back on her and takes a few steps away. He takes a deep breath before speaking.
"Honestly, I'm not. From what little you learned about Winter in the game… he was a prodigy, lost his parents as a kid in a raid, and somehow gained awesome power after wandering the wilds." He turns his head to give Phoebe a sidelong look. "I already changed the future by making sure his – my – parents survived. As for that 'awesome power', I have some ideas about where it is but there's no way for me to reach it right now."
Phoebe grinds her teeth together, her eyes falling to the stump of her right hand. A throbbing, phantom pain travels up her arm making her scratch at it.
"But…"
The sound of footsteps and urgent voices break the silence. Winter and Phoebe see a group of maids and guardsmen running through the halls. Blood-soaked bandages trail in their wake, staining the tiles and carpet with the crimson liquid. It was only for a moment, but the two otherworlders saw the urgency in their expressions. The resoluteness.
Even if such a terrifying environment is their normal, how could they not show a hint of fear? Was it because of Aki? Their trust in the city guard? Magic? What kept them so strong against the looming threat of death?
Phoebe raises her hand slowly.
Then, she slaps herself hard across the face.
"Ah! Phoebe!?"
"I'm sorry for panicking like that. Aki said to defend this place, so that's what I'll do." Phoebe slowly stands up and brushes her legs off. She stares at Winter for a moment then sighs.
Her voice is even and collected yet she feels herself tremble even still. Although her words have yet to fully convince herself, Winter seems to be sold.
"Winter, I won't stop you if you're planning on going out there. Just, be careful, okay?"
He nods and starts to make his exit. Winter pauses and looks back.
"It's okay to be scared, Phoebe. In a world like this, it would be weird if you weren't bothered at all."
Seeing his back, how small he looks in the long hall, twinges at her conscience. Is it because she's homesick that whenever she sees Winter and Aki act so boldly and confidently that she can only think of her sister? Or is it because they're all just that alike?
Another group of maids dashes through the halls. One of them Phoebe recognises as the woman who was responsible for taking care of her party. An older cait sith woman with greying brown hair and drooping tail by the name of Dotor.
"Miss Dotor!" Phoebe scrambles up and rushes to the maid. "What's going on out there? How can I help?"
"Lady Phoebe," Dotor purses her lips, eying the other maids who are moving quite urgently before turning her full attention to the adventurer before her. "There's too many of our people flooding the main gate, the guards failed to notice that some Dead snuck in with them. It's chaos!"
Dotor takes a moment to still her emotions and wipe the panic from her face. "To make matters worse, we were under the impression the natural barriers of the sea and cliffs that Estril Manor sits upon was enough to funnel the Dead towards the gate."
"You're saying…"
"Quite so, Lady Phoebe. We're being attacked from all sides." Dotor dabs her eyes with a handkerchief.
Phoebe's mind races. This is reality. This is life. In New Lands Online, this wouldn't be all that different from a large-scale guild battle. Summoner classes were popular enough and NPC mercenaries were common to use.
She grits her teeth, fear of death gripping her as a spout of fire erupts out in the city. As long as she thinks about it in game terms, then it isn't so frightening. She has to do something.
"Don't worry," She places her hand on Dotor's shoulder. "I won't let this place get overrun. I just need to equip my gear!"
Phoebe dashes back to her room, leaving a bewildered Dotor standing there.
Minutes later, Phoebe is fully dressed in her adventurer garb and holds a short stone staff in her left hand.
Upon receiving some quick directions from injured guards she passes in the halls, Phoebe follows the sounds of fighting around the manor grounds, quickly dispatching of the swarming Dead that managed to scale the cliff walls by catapulting them away with her terra magic.
The defenders call out their thanks and quickly run to the next weakened zone with Phoebe in tow. With her assistance, the Dead's magical resistance poses no trouble since Phoebe focuses on sending the Dead flying rather than attacking directly.
From one area to another, Phoebe runs as quickly as she can, so focused on defending the place that her fears have been temporarily subdued.
"It's that adventurer!" A guardsman and his fellows raise their spears and cheer. "Your magic is incredible!"
Their grateful shouts are quickly drowned out by the sounds of battle near where some refugees had been set up. Experience takes over and the guards rush toward the sounds, beckoning Phoebe to join them.
Phoebe grips her staff tighter, hesitating for a moment before dashing after them.
A horde of common zombies had swarmed up from the seaside and torn through the manor's magical defence barrier. Judging by the amount of exploded corpses, it was no small feat.
A colossal Dead holding with a long bone sword and armour steps over its fleshy compatriots.
Lighting the scene from over the city, Phoebe sees Caor's Blade of Light spell manifest, its light growing stronger and brighter and somehow making this Dead and its small horde look all the more menacing.