She was as beautiful as she was bloodthirsty. The woman clad in golden armor, her face was like a porcelain doll's; perfect, but lifeless.
Her illustrious hair waved in the hair as she hovered above us, white strands gleaming like sunrays as she pointed her massive lance at me.
Ashari was the first to act as she grabbed Rayji and Tesera in a lightning-fast maneuver, hurtling out of the wagon as she made a break for it to the forest.
The Paladin seemed unphased as she watched her go with the two, I had a feeling however that she'd deal with them later if I didn't do something myself.
"Who are you!?" I shouted, pointing to her.
But she didn't respond as instead she blocked what seemed like hundreds of arrows being shot at her from her right; it was the royal corp making their attack.
Taking this as my chance, I shifted to the side and covered Flaur.
"Flaur who is she? What's going on?" I rapidly whispered to her.
"That is a Paladin, one of the strongest warriors that Aurum has. There are seven of them, they're called the 'Virtues'." She explained.
"The Virtues?" I paused as I looked back at the Paladin, she was still occupied by the torrent of arrows; but she was unharmed, "Tell me... do we have a chance of beating her?"
"...No, at our current strength, at best, we can run away at a heavy loss. And even then, that isn't promised..." She grimly spoke.
Great! We just managed to get away from one tragedy to find ourselves waltzing into the next! What I do wonder is why was she targeting me!?
Wait--
"They'll come to greet you at some point too, now that you've made this much of a ruckus" Is what Lunarsa told me in the dream state.
This is all my fault! If I hadn't cast that stupid spell and just graciously lost, we would've skipped all of this crap. But, as golden as she looks, I have a feeling she isn't who Lunarsa was talking about.
"Hm, what are you thinking about?"
"W-Wuh!" Suddenly, from my right, the austere look of the paladin appeared as she asked me innocently inches away from my face.
Her eyes which were red in color were transfixed onto mine, it was as if she was boring into my soul the way she looked into me; I felt like a frog trapped with a snake.
But before I could answer or react, the paladin was sent flying by a surprise kick given by Stergos. She punched through the wagon's wooden wall as she stood just outside on the ground, she didn't fall but was instead pushed.
"How rude of you, Wardog, I do believe you shouldn't be moving around this much in your elderly age," She remarked as she casually dusted off her pauldrons.
"Ignis, escape with her Majesty, the royal guard should be enough to escort you safely to the capital; I will hold her off until you do," He commanded as he tore off his butler's coat, revealing a dull grey iron cuirass with the emblazon of a snarling wolf at its front.
"I may be aged, but I'm still strong enough to kill a golden whelp like you," Stergos said with a sneer as he slicked his hair back and assumed a combative stance. It was low and lean, animal-like in nature; like a prowling wolf.
"It would be an honor to fight the legendary Grey Wolf, but unfortunately, I have orders from the gods to take that Demon into custody--" She looked at me as she said, "Spare yourself, Grey Wolf, and escape with your Queen; your deaths will come another day,"
That confirms it, the gods, those 'two'.
It was the Twin Gods, Solus and Solaster that wanted me. It made sense, given that I spoke to Lunarsa.
If that was the case, then--
"No, I cannot do that, Paladin," Stergos said.
I felt a tug at my cuff as Flaur turned me around.
"We must go, carry me Ignis," Flaur said flatly, devoid of emotion.
"W-What? If I go with her, then--"
"Now!" Flaur erupted into a shout, her body was trembling.
Wordlessly, I picked Flaur up, she weighed nothing as I did. I felt her tiny body in my arms as I looked at Stergos and the Paladin.
"That is not your choice to make, Grey Wolf," The paladin said as she made a lunge with her spear at me.
It was too fast for me to track, even with my heightened senses, I could've sworn I felt the cold tip of her golden spear connect with my arm, but as I blinked, I saw that it was the back of Stergo's heel that had caught the lance in motion with a diverted parry.
With a pivot, Stergos did a tornado spin and kicked the Paladin back squarely in the chest; sending her flying once more.
"Stergos," I uttered.
"Go, take care of her, she is a selfish child, yet, she has the ambition to revive this nation," Stergos said with his back turned to me as he lowered himself to his prowling stance once more.
"State your name, Paladin of Aurum, for I, Stergos the Grey Wolf, will devour your heart today," Stergos shouted as from his arms, tufts of long grey hair began to sprout, and his slickened hair began to grow into a wild mane.
Stergos let out a ravenous howl as his body transformed into the hulking yet lean profile of a lycanthrope; he was an armored werewolf.
"I am Diligence, one of the Seven Virtues." Diligence said as she unfurled her wings, flying high into the air.
"Bear witness to the glory of the Twin Suns, Grey Wolf, for this shall be the last day you feel the sun's warmth" Diligence said as from her wings, small light rays began to form; it looked like she was about to make a wide-scale attack.
"GO!" Stergos snarled at us as he leaped high into the air, rupturing the wagon floor as he connected with Diligence.
Taking this as our chance, I went through the now broken coach's window as I encountered the rest of the royal guard corp. Half of the corp was there by the wagon, they had their bows and swords at the ready as they allowed Flaur and I through.
"Take her Majesty to the front, the other half of the corp are waiting for her," It was Reeskris who said this as he held what looked like a flag banner of the nation fixed as a spear, that of the tri-headed dragon.
"But what about the rest of you?" I asked, faltering my step.
"We shall claim victory, for the Grey Wolf is with us today,"
"GLORY TO ARS GOETIA!!" Reeskris screamed with pride into the air as the others began to make their attack.
As I ran, I saw the fallout of the battle occur. Hundreds of arrows sent flying into the sky, aimed at Diligence who was dodging while blocking Stergos' wild pounces.
Pillars of golden light began to appear in the battlefield, I saw handfuls of the royal guards seared into ash as these pillars connected with them. But they did not stop, they did not falter as they drove further into their desperate attack against the Virtue known as Diligence.
"Flaur?" As I turned my head back to the front, I saw that Flaur was still and silent in my arms. Hot tears were running down her cheeks as she stifled a bitter sob as she gripped the fabric of my shirt; her knuckles hot-white.
I said nothing as I averted my gaze from her, as we both knew, deep down in our hearts, that there would be no victory for Ars Goetia today.
"Ignis! Over here!" Ashari called out to me from her riding Tiki, Stergos must've unhitched her when he had the chance during the attack.
"The children are with the corp just ahead, come, jump onto Tiki!" She called out.
With Tiki slowing down, I leaped onto her easily enough as I took my seat behind Ashari. With the three of us in tow, Tiki picked up speed as she trailed through the forest path, faster than ever before.
"She is sensing the absurd amounts of mana being expelled into the air, I couldn't stop her now myself if I could," Ashari explained.
"Sir Stergos, is he...?" Ashari stopped herself just short as she saw the lycanthropic figure dance in the air, grappling with Diligence.
"We cannot stop, we can't rest until we've made it to Ars Goetia," I told Ashari.
"Stergos has stayed behind to make sure of that, we can't fail him now,"
With a grim tight lip, Ashari nodded as she focused her attention back to Tiki's sprint. And with a light tap of the reigns, Tiki shifted her dash towards the wagons just ahead.
As we reconnected with the other half of the corp, we all collectively turned our heads around to witness the massive pillar of light begin to form from the epicenter of the battle.
I could feel its heat from here, it was scorching the center of the forest as it continued to expand from its cast. It was brightening the surrounding area, turning the twilight of the forest into the blinding light of the midday sun.
"No..." Ashari gasped as she we saw that the pillar was rapidly beginning to pick up its pace, it didn't look like it was stopping.
"Ignis!" Ashari cried out, but as the pillar seemed to just about reach the rest of us, we suddenly heard it.
Like a clap of thunder, it came, the howl of a wolf. It shrieked into the air; it strummed our bodies like the strings of a harp. As fearsome as it was, I felt a melancholy pierce through my muddled senses; this wasn't a warcry, but a goodbye.
And with it, the pillar of light, the gift from the sun, disappeared in a wrapping silver-strewn mist. Just now, the sun had fully set, revealing the cusp of the moon on the horizon; its moonlight illuminating the aftermath.
Everything, and everyone, was gone; shrouded and spirited away like wisps by the advent of the silver mist.
And with it, Flaur began to wail; her hope shattering with the loss of her closest friend.