Chains wrapped around the Defiled thing above, and with nowhere to dodge, it did not wait to be caught.
Kicking off the ceiling, it dove downwards, though it might have tried to spread it's wings and fly, it couldn't for the chains Red had cast.
And so instead, it dove at Red like a torpedo, lengthening it's body as thin as it could to stay in the eye of the storm of chains!
Red was taken aback, it would be less than three seconds till it arrived to her. The other Mages were all completely drained and she wouldn't be able to draw her magic back in time.
She unknowingly looked at Argo, perhaps, she felt that he could save her. Or maybe, that he had some plan up his sleeve.
But, when she caught his eyes… she knew there was no such luck.
Lucian tried casting but nothing came out. He was fully exhausted.
Red grit her teeth. She tried to manipulate the chains inwards, the block some of the impact from the Defiled, and she had managed a thin wall.
But the impact she was waiting for didn't come. She heard shouting but couldn't make out what it was. She quickly retracted her spell, and tried to figure out what was going on while running.
She looked back, in time to see a monstrous tortoise, which Master Murphy had personally seen to capturing and bringing in, his pet, had crashed into the Defiled, and the two were now a titanic struggle!
She turned her gaze around shouting, "RUN! EVERYONE RUN-!?"
Her gaze caught Argo.
He had his sword at his side. Why was he not afraid?
Did he foresee this too? Had he known, that this would happen? Or had he gambled with her life?
She grit her teeth. In order to get an answer, he would have to survive this. And by the looks of it, he wanted to throw himself into battle against the Defiled.
The tetherings of magic ran through her. There wasn't much left, but it was enough for a healing spell, if it was needed.
Lucian caught sight of what he was looking to do, and his jaw tightened, his head drawn back slightly, and his expression dark.
They had already lost too much today-, he, he had already lost, too much. He turned his face away, and ran.
There was nothing he could do, and he would not keep his mages, who were sitting ducks without their mana, here.
It was the right choice… he saw Gart in his mind… it had to be the right choice.
Red saw them all running, and turned her head as well.
It was no time to be day dreaming.
Argo watched the clash.
The Defiled' long arms had wing flaps, but at the ends of it's arms, were a pair of talons that could leave long horrifying scars even on the shell of the tortoise!
It's agility made it difficult for the tortoise to do anything but accept punishment.
He had made a bet, that, Master Murphy would notice the Defiled that had appeared here, and react accordingly, and he was right.
As soon as it was diving to the ground, the personal pet of his stepped forward to intercept. Even now, it was likely fighting with the intention to hold it off until they got the East in order and could come to their aid.
The tide of monsters had been almost completely broken. They were all fighting one another and anything they could get close to, the control that the Defiled Tyrant held over them, was all but broken.
It was only a matter of time.
Soon, the swarm of monsters would run or die, and the Undead would turn around and swarm the Defiled. Not to mention, Murphy, who alone could kill this Defiled within a few breaths once he no longer had to fully focus on controlling the hundreds of Undead.
It's life was coming to an end soon.
But, so too was his.
The Master would want to see him, the one who had cornered a Defiled while being a normal soldier.
And at that time, under a Master's close observation, it would be impossible to hide his Aura, and with that, his fate would be sealed and he would be caught.
It would be over.
In a way, he sympathized with the Defiled, fighting so desperately to escape into the air, but unable to take off with the constant pressure of the tortoise, and Red, who was ready to cast again.
Being caged… imprisoned and chained up, was frustrating, wasn't it?
He stared at it, and couldn't help but smile.
Ironic.
He needed a cover, for the fact that he had aura, and what better opportunity than this?
He sprinted into a mad dash towards the clash of those two titanic creatures!
Red's pupils shrank and the healing spell had already been formed, only needing the last whispers of magic to be cast on him.
Her focus was wearing thing, but, she had a feeling that if she wanted to survive this expedition, and in order to keep the largest number of people alive, he would have to live as well.
No matter what he had done before, if he had gambled with her life or not, if she wanted to live, he had to live as well.
And without a doubt, his presence, had kept more people alive, than would have lived without it.
She chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Her focus burned.
Argo arrived near the titanic fighting, the Defiled noticed him immediately, and the tortoise seemed to react as well, given a moment, it shook off the Defiled from it's shell.
"The Monsters will come swarming to save it! Form a ring and keep tight ranks!" Argo raised a howling shout.
Johan, Mark and Mason relayed the orders down in a more ordered manner, getting the unit into actual positions instead of the vague order given.
But that was their job.
A claw the size of a horse came down seeking to crush or slash, whichever came first, and kill Argo in a single move.
It was inhumanely fast. His eyes barely kept up, but he managed to deftly dodge the lethal attack.
His eyes started to show signs of violet aura, and his body had a thin film of it, beginning to rise up!
The first signs of a Discipline appearing, would be subtle.
He remembered the day he had gained his aura. It was imprinted in his mind. The damp walls of a cell, the stickiness on his skin and the sludge-like air.
The heaviness around his wrists.
His aura grew in intensity.
Red's eyes widened.
She had her suspicions, but she had never been sure.
Lucian who was far away, could feel the fearsome pulse of aura from afar and turned around, to see that violet fire battling against the Defiled in a vicious clash!
His pupils shrank.
To he, who did not know what Red knew, it looked exactly like the first lights of a Discipline awakening. His heart sped up.
A Knight was rare among the Dumbaran bloodlines, which were far more apt for magic, than any other discipline.
And alongside their rarity, there came a certain strength that would manifest.
Dumbaran Knights, were those, who convictions were beyond those of other nations, for magic was simply the easier path to follow, a Dumbaran Knight would be born through adversity.
He had not seen one with his own eyes, since the Great War.
Argo landed harshly on the stone earth!
It felt good, to be able to use his aura. It had been days, and though it wasn't fully regenerated, it was enough for what he was trying to do.
After all, he didn't need to kill the Defiled.
He just needed to make everyone believe he had awakened during his battle with it, and then stall long enough for the battlefield to settle, and then hand over the reigns in a spectacular manner.
He rushed the Defiled, but it didn't attack him this time, instead swiftly moving across the ground, running towards the Undead frontline.
His pupils shrank.
He had not expected it to be smart enough to try and escape through their front line. The tortoise wasn't fast enough to follow it quickly, and Argo was not it's match in a direct foot race.
If it broke past the frontline, then, it would disappear again.
And even Master Murphy wouldn't be able to find it.
Argo's eyes burned.
It was smart enough to know how to retreat, and think under critical circumstances like these, to take the risk of plowing through Undead, rather than keep fighting this drawn out battle.
He stretched his sword arm back, and imbued his blade with as much aura as he could muster giving it!
He closed his left eye, and focused on the right eye.
He wasn't certain, if he could hit the Defiled at the speed it was moving, when suddenly his sight improved drastically.
The tetherings of magic… Red.
He launched the sword as hard as he could, straight at the Defiled' back but even with the farsight the agility of the thing was superb and the sword missed, instead tearing it's wing.
Without it's ability to fly, it would be crippled greatly, but, that would not be enough to stop it's escape, as it crushed the smaller undead underfoot and trampled it's way past.
Argo stood absolutely gassed. His throat was scratchy. His mouth was dry. His eyes were beating like a heart. His head was beating like a drum. His forearms were numb.
His whole body was beat.
But he didn't want to fall to a knee.
Or to pass out.
He just… refused.
He refused it completely.
He looked down. The ground was wobbling. He ushered a weak smile. His vision was going from sharp to dark and back again, trying to refocus.
Life wasn't always about what people wanted, refused to do or wished to be done.