Nate felt the vibrations through the soles of his boots as he and Gwen hastened towards the city's beleaguered guards. The air was thick with panic; citizens fled past them in a blur of terror and cries for salvation. Nate's half-fae instincts drew him towards the chaos, his emerald eyes reflecting a steady determination.
"Captain! Do you require assistance?" Nate called out as they reached the barricade where the City Guards were hastily organizing a defense. His shoulder-length black hair, usually tied back, had come loose in the rush, framing his face like the wings of a raven.
The grizzled captain, his face a map of battle scars, turned abruptly. A mixture of surprise and relief washed over him. "Students," he muttered before steeling himself. "We wouldn't normally involve the likes of you, but these are desperate times. The monsters are flooding in from the forest—more aggressive than ever before. We'll take any sword willing to defend these walls."
Nate and Gwen nodded grimly as the captain briefed them on the situation: breaches, fallback points, and critical areas that could not fall.
"Understood," Gwen said, her sea-blue eyes serious beneath her pointed ears.
"Good," the captain said. "You're with Squad Delta. They're confronting the main wave." He gestured to a group of six, already clad in armor and gripping their weapons with white-knuckled readiness.
"Names?" the squad leader demanded, his burly frame and commanding presence cutting through the chaos.
"Nathaniel Cromwell," Nate introduced himself evenly.
"Gwendolyn Blackwood," Gwen added, her voice steady despite the pandemonium.
"Well met. I'm Harlan," the leader replied, then introduced the rest of his team: Kiera, Bran, Tamsin, Jorah, and Eli. "Stick with us, and we might just live through this."
With curt nods and introductions, they headed towards the city gates, which groaned open to reveal the nightmare beyond.
A horde of monstrosities seethed outside the walls, a ghastly menagerie of fangs, scales, and malice. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and Nate's nostrils flared as he took in the sight.
"Is this... normal?" Nate asked, disbelief creeping into his voice as he watched soldiers engage in brutal combat.
"Every few years," Harlan grunted, eyes fixed ahead. "But never like this. Never so many."
"Something's different," Nate murmured. Gwen met his gaze with a resolute nod.
"Let's end this," she said.
"Right behind you," Nate replied, drawing his dagger, its blade catching the light like a sliver of midnight.
They moved as one, a deadly ballet amidst the chaos. Nate's dagger was a flash of silver, each thrust and parry precise, aided by the phantoms conjured by his illusion magic—disorienting the beasts long enough for his blade to strike true.
"Watch your left!" Gwen's voice cut through the din. Her wind magic redirected a brute's charge away from a city guardsman locked in combat.
"Thanks!" Nate called back. His trust in Gwen was implicit, her presence a steady anchor amidst the bedlam.
Nate's emerald eyes darted across the battlefield. Each monster slain only seemed to make room for another. The tide was relentless.
"Does it ever stop?" he grunted, ducking under a gnarled limb tipped with razor-sharp talons.
"Keep pushing!" Gwen shouted, urgency in her voice. A gust of wind propelled Nate forward to dispatch another snarling beast.
They fought as a cohesive unit, Nate marveling at Gwen's defiant stance and the fierce determination in her eyes. With every monster felled, the grim realization weighed heavier on him: there was no end in sight.
"Stay close," Nate murmured, more to steady his own resolve. Gwen was more than capable of handling herself.
Nate's muscles screamed for reprieve, but he continued with a lethal grace, his emerald eyes blazing with resolve. His breath came in ragged gasps, sweat mingling with grime.
"Behind you, Gwen!" Nate's voice cut through the noise as he lunged forward. A creature loomed over Gwen, its maw agape with predatory intent.
Gwen's sea-blue eyes widened as she saw the monstrosity bearing down on her. Nate propelled himself with preternatural speed, his dagger glinting with lethal intent.
Their gazes locked—silent trust exchanged—before Nate collided with the beast. Steel met chitin, and the monster reeled, Nate's blade carving through its grotesque form until it lay lifeless.
"Thanks," Gwen breathed out, her chest heaving. Another wave of creatures surged towards them, but their shared look spoke volumes amidst the chaos.
As the battle continued, Nate's mind buzzed with questions. Something about this invasion gnawed at him. He needed answers.
"Cola," Nate called mentally, "scan these monsters. There's something off about their numbers."
"Analysis in progress," Cola's voice chimed within his thoughts. "Confirmed anomaly detected. A portal has been opened to another realm. This surge is being fed by forces beyond."
"Can we close it?" Nate asked, parrying a claw swipe while casting an illusion to distract another foe.
"Affirmative," Cola replied. "Find the rift. To close it effectively, you must allocate all your available stat points to intelligence."
"Understood." Nate's resolve hardened. This was no mere skirmish—it was a battle against an encroaching tide.
Nate crouched behind a crumbled wall, exhaustion clawing at his muscles. From his vantage point, he saw scenes that would haunt him forever—a young guardsman overwhelmed by beasts, an experienced warrior falling under a giant creature. The air was thick with the scent of blood and the sounds of chaos.
"By the ancients," Gwen whispered, her sea-blue eyes wide with horror. "This... this isn't battle. It's slaughter."
Nate felt bile rise in his throat. Yet, seeing the sacrifice of others hardened his resolve. These were not just soldiers; they were fighting for their existence.
With a nod to Gwen, Nate rose to his feet, his dagger heavy but resolute. "We can't let their sacrifices be in vain," he said. "Let's end this."
As they rejoined the fray, the battle intensified. A colossal creature, its skin like obsidian armor, towered over the battlefield, each step causing the earth to tremor.
"Cola," Nate called. "Appraisal."
"Processing," the AI intoned. The prompt shimmered before his eyes:
[Race: Goliath Behemoth
Weakness: Core crystal located in the chest cavity, susceptible to concentrated magic attacks.]
"Got it," Nate muttered, eyes fixed on the towering monstrosity.
"Be careful, Nate," Gwen said, her wind magic swirling around her.
Nate nodded and dashed forward, weaving between the hordes, his illusion magic casting deceptive doubles. The behemoth roared, its attention drawn by the phantoms as Nate closed the distance.
He leaped, propelled by Gwen's wind magic, aiming for the glowing core on the beast's chest. His dagger plunged downward, shattering the crystal and releasing a shockwave of energy.