Isha ran through the forest, weaving about the trees to confuse her pursuer, one of them much closer to her than others. Bait or no, Isha shuddered to think what it would do to her if she was caught. She couldn't allow that. Going against the plan, she turned and raised her hands.
[Lightning Shot].
The small bolt of lightning struck the giant cockroach closest to her, stopping it in its tracks. It spasmed violently and dropped—its blade like legs twitched one last time before going still. Smoke rose from its carcass and Isha wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt flesh.
"Damn cockroaches!"
Now that the insect closest to her was dead, she ran once more, the other assailants already gaining on her because of that small stop. Oh, she could use her movement skill to escape them, but she had no need to—she wasn't in any danger, after dealing with the Titan Spawn that had almost caught her.
Balls of flames streaked from the heavens, one after another, like falling stars. Wherever it struck, Titan Spawn screeched in pain, set ablaze—they were incredibly susceptible to flame. Like dry wood, they were. The flames consumed her pursuers.
Isha gagged at the smell.
Akin to leaf in the wind, Nairobi landed next to her, smiling with triumph. "I just advanced to level 4 High Practitioner."
Isha wasn't impressed. "Good for you."
Nairobi's gaze moved from the one charred body of the monster to another before shifting back to Isha. "Was that all of them?"
"Nope, you missed one."
The last Titan Spawn pounced on Nairobi from behind. Isha was ready for it—she released [Whispering Arrow], the only offensive spell she could cast at a moment's notice.
The arrow of compressed air went right through its human-like eyes, punching a hole through its head. It crumpled to the ground. A [Fireball] from Nairobi incinerated it—the fire crackling like a burning timber.
"For your first attempt at the nest of Titan Spawns, You did wonderfully. That's my girls."
Isha turned to her master's voice. The black woman walked in their direction, clapping her hands.
The woman had disappeared just before they had attacked the nest of the titan Spawn in the cave—Isha as a bait to lure them out and Nairobi the ambusher.
"Next time," Castra said, eying both of them. "Nairobi will be the bait. You must learn both roles, is that understood?"
Isha and Nairobi exchanged looks before nodding.
***
Atop the saddle of the giant elephant with wings and crimson hide, they roamed the village, eyes wide with horror—it was desolation incarnate.
Village's fields, once alive with growth, were trampled and torn. The Titan Spawn's razor sharp legs had left behind deep tracks in the soil like wounds in flesh, crushing crops and uprooting them in its path.
"How could this happen!" Isha said, trying her best to stop her tears from flowing—she failed miserably.
Oh, how they must have suffered. No one deserved this. No one!
Dead lay everywhere, their bodies molested with deep lacerations or ripped apart, exposing bones and insides. Carrion-eaters were already feasting on them, squawking at the unwanted intruders.
It began to rain as if to wipe away all that red.
"An entire legion of Titan Spawn must have passed by here," Nairobi said.
The buildings had been reduced to splintered wood and rubble, their walls clawed and shredded. Some structures were flattened and others left in disarray—with broken windows and doors ripped from its hinges or hanging askew.
"We can't sit idly by, we must go to the next village as fast as possible, and defend it before it's too late."
The next village was in ruins, and the next.
"How many villages have been wiped out?" Isha said. "This is terrible. We have to do something. We have to help them."
Nairobi and Castra ignored her words, studying the destruction around them.
"It doesn't make sense," Castra said, dismissing her giant elephant and leaning against the ruined wall. "Something isn't right here."
"Did you figure something out?" Nairobi said.
Castra rested her chin in her fist. "I am not sure," she said. "Let me think."
They trudged through the drizzling rain, scouring the destroyed village, hoping to find survivors—there were none. Her heat twisted every time she saw the lifeless eyes of a child. This was an atrocity. She had seen a plethora of dead in her life, her mother had made sure of that, but they were never children younger than her—and she was only twelve, almost thirteen.
May Tsuganda have mercy on their souls!
Abruptly, Castra gasped and rounded on them. "Did either of you see any corpses of the titan Spawns on the road?"
Both Isha and Nairobi shook their heads.
"There were more than a few of their dead bodies in all the villages, but never on the road," Nairobi said. "How does it matter?"
Isha frowned, why hasn't she noticed it? It was indeed odd and didn't make sense.
"The legion of the Titan Spawns are made up of hundreds of nests," Castra said. "These nests fight against each other as much as they pillage towns and villages."
"What does it mean?" Isha asked.
Nairobi bit her lips as if she already knew the answer that eluded Isha.
"Only this, child. Something or someone is driving them with purpose and preventing them from killing each other."
Isha paled. "Who would do such a terrible thing!?"
Castra shook her head. "There are evil—"
Isha felt Mana building up above her, and in huge amounts—all three of them looked up. An electric blue light crackled just beneath the dark clouds. Then a bolt of lightning streaked in their direction.
Before Isha could even think of doing anything, Castra unleashed a spell.
[Lightning Trap].
A crumbling house in the distance lit up with green energy. The lightning twisted and turned at mid-point and struck the glowing building.
The building exploded, sending splinters of burning wood flying in every direction. What remained of the building was set ablaze as well.
"That would have killed us!" Isha exclaimed.
A figure hooded in black hooded in black hovered beneath the rolling cloud, hands stretched outward. It would have been impossible to locate the figure if they hadn't known where the attack had come from—the ambusher was barely more than a speck.
"Move back," Castra said urgently. "Quickly now. That's a Great Mage. I barely managed to counter that spell."
Isha obeyed immediately, grabbing Nairobi's hand and running away—the Cniad woman was staring at nothing. She had no intention of getting killed by a stray spell from a battle between two [Great Mages].
What have we got ourselves into?