Blood dripped down Crystal's arms, making it hard to grip her sword. Somewhere in the chaos of the battle, she had been bitten by a centipede, and now the blood from her own arm was getting in her way.
It was strange, really. Just two days ago she would have been appalled at the thought of being wounded. Now, however, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be, wound included. It still hurt, of course, but not as much as she expected.
She fended off a creature that looked like a giant lizard, letting David dash forward and stab it. Their little group had been able to sustain themselves this way, switching back and forth to ensure that no one stayed in the front for too long. Crystal had observed several other groups doing this, and it hadn't been long before they picked up the practice as well.
Still, she was tired. She could tell the others were tired as well, but what were they to do? They couldn't retreat, because the horde of monsters would simply chase them. There was no one to switch out with, because the entire army was holding back the horde.
Even with the entire army present, they were struggling. Crystal could hear the cries of pain so often that they simply became background noise to her. She slammed her sword into the head of another wolf when she heard a loud explosion.
[You have slain…]
In the middle of the horde of monsters, a crater had formed, with countless twitching bodies around it. In the center, a man in glittering armor stood, armed with a sword. As she watched him in awe, he raised his sword, and a bolt of fire came out of it, slamming into a centipede. The creature was thrown backwards, before exploding into hundreds of pieces of flesh and chitin.
Crystal… didn't even know what to think. How was he doing that? What even was this place?? She didn't stand a chance here…
The man jumped further into the endless horde, easily clearing the heads of the monsters. Yeah, that was fine, just give him super strength too. She wasn't jealous. At all.
She returned her attention to the fight happening right in front of her. Switching out with David again, she found herself next to Elias, who was fending off a trio of wolves to cover David's retreat. Before the wolves could adapt to her presence, she quickly cut open one wolf's stomach, and the others retreated immediately.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Iron Fur Wolf.]
Just like before, she had a strange feeling when facing down the monsters. It was like she belonged here, like she had no purpose other than to fight. The feeling fueled her, and was probably the reason she was still standing instead of collapsing on the ground from exhaustion. Each time she swung her sword, she was being guided through the motions, making each swing so much better than she could have naturally done.
She closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling. For once in her life… she felt free. A part of her told her this was wrong, that she was in danger, that these feelings were wrong. But for the most part, she was alive.
Her sword danced with more grace than she had ever had in her life. Even in the uneven footing of the desert, she was practically dancing around the wolves.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Iron Fur Wolf.]
Each time the voice whispered in her ear, she felt unnaturally giddy. It was like a drug to her, every time her blade sliced open a monster.
As she stepped backwards to take a breath, a pair of hands pulled her backwards. Looking behind her, she found David and Elias watching her. Elias sounded concerned.
"Are you… ok?"
"Yeah? Why wouldn't I?"
"Crystal… you have like, seven open wounds."
She looked down, where there were indeed several cuts bleeding profusely. Now that she wasn't actively fighting, the adrenaline was wearing off. She was becoming more and more aware of just how much pain her body was in, and it was so much more than she was used to.
David ran off to help Cole, while Elias pulled a small roll of cloth. He began to rip some off and tie it around her wounds.
"You're lucky I have some of this. Not many soldiers carry bandages around, surprisingly."
Crystal nodded, trying to blink away the pain. Elias quickly finished the makeshift bandages, stemming the majority of the bleeding. Crystal tried to sit up, before wincing in pain. Elias supported her with his arm, and laid her on the ground. He cleared his throat, drawing her attention to him.
"Thank you, by the way."
"For what?"
"For… I don't know. Being here? I guess that's the right way to phrase it. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you. Neither would the others."
Crystal offered him a small smile.
"You've saved me too, you know. I would be dead several times over without you."
It was sobering to say it out loud. Being here, being in constant danger… the reality of it hit her all at once. She stared blankly at the bandages wrapping around her arm, covering the wounds that could have killed her. She understood it all now.
This wasn't some fake dream. This was life or death, no matter how much that scared her.
Crystal took a few deep breaths. Absorbing that information. As the seconds passed by, her pain also slowly disappeared, by god knows what magical effect.
She pulled herself to her feet, feeling much better than before. She started walking towards the battle, before she heard a scream.
The screams were practically background noise to her. But this one… this was far too close.