Vera's strength seemed to vanish all at once. Her limbs had long turned numb from the pain, her vision blurred, even her breathing gone unsteady by the moment, and before she could even brace herself, gravity had claimed her, and she collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Her fight was over. Although she had pushed her body to the limit, she had won, now her only hope was for the invading army to retreat after losing its leader.
Her injuries weren't fatal, at least not yet, but they can change at any moment. She had just lost her right arm, her body riddled with burns, the wounds needed treatment, and it needed it fast.
The cold wind tugged at her, a bitter reminder that the world around her wouldn't wait for her to recover. She forced herself to move, fumbling with her ruined dress. The fabric was scorched, torn in places where the fire had licked at her skin, but she managed to tear off a piece large enough to use as an improvised tourniquet to stop bleeding from her torn right arm. She tied it tight, her hands shaking from both the cold and the pain, but she persevered.
She breathed slowly, trying to steady her nerves, resting her body against a cold broken stone pillar. Her eyelids were heavy from the exhaustion, but she couldn't let herself fall to sleep, not yet, her fight was over, but it was not over, far from over.
She barely had a moment to assess the situation before the sound of footsteps grew louder.
Figures emerged from the shadows, enemy soldiers, their armor glinting under the dim light. Their eyes scanned the battlefield. They were investigating the explosion that had just occurred. They were too focused on the chaos around them to notice Vera. Their comrades lay lifelessly among the wreckage, their leader unmoving and half of his body missing.
Two men quickly ran towards their main group, perhaps to report what they saw.
Meanwhile, the three remains hadn't at first noticed Vera, but now they do. There is one thing for them to do, finish the job.
Vera saw them coming ever closely. She could see the gleam of their weapon, a wickedly sharp blade, and it was clear they were moving toward her with intent to finish her off.
With great effort, she pushed herself against the stone pillar, using it for support as she tried to stand. Her body screamed in protest, but she couldn't afford to collapse. She was alone, gravely wounded, and facing three highly trained soldiers. Her chances of survival were slim, but she had no choice. She had to fight.
...
"Who does he think he's talking to?" Reid snapped angrily, kicking the chair he had been sitting in just moments earlier. "I'm the third prince of the Caldris Kingdom!"
He had just received a telepathic message from someone, ordering him to retreat. They were already inside the walls, preparing to seize the mansion. They had already won. Yet, this man, that man, told them to pull back. It was an insult to his position, he, the third prince of Caldris Royalty. Retreating after cornering the enemy? It was absurd. He fumed at the thought, but there was no denying the reality. This wasn't his decision, not even Argentt's, the mastermind behind the invasion, it was not them but that man.
"We have to leave now." Reid's voice was firm, though frustration dripped from every syllable. The invasion had only been underway for less than an hour, but already, they were pulling back.
What was the real purpose behind this? He didn't know. Only that man knew.
As he arranged the retreat, two soldiers came running toward him, their faces grim.
"Your Highness, Sir Luger has fallen," one of them reported.
"Tsk... That incompetent old fool," Reid muttered under his breath, irritation flaring in his chest. He had already heard the news from the man, but hearing it in a formal report was different, it stung. "Move quickly," he ordered, jumping onto his horse, ready to leave, his anger fueling his every movement.
...
"Icicle Shot!" A sharp command pierced the air as a blast of ice magic shot forward, striking one of the soldiers square in the chest. He collapsed with a grunt, the force of the impact sending him sprawling. The other soldiers, quicker on their feet, managed to either evade or deflect the incoming magic.
"Tsk..." One of the soldiers grunted in frustration as he saw figures running toward them. It was the adventurers Vera had called to regroup at the mansion. By luck, or perhaps by miracle, they had stumbled upon her in her dire state.
"You lowly adventurers!" the soldier spat, raising his sword just in time to deflect the incoming slash from one of the adventurers.
CLANK!
Their swords locked, the sound of metal on metal ringing out through the tense air. But the adventurers were more than just a few, they were numerous, and their coordination was practiced. The remaining two soldiers didn't stand a chance. Within moments, the adventurers overpowered them, their movements fluid and precise, as if the battle had already been decided.
"Are you okay?" the adventurer nearest to her asked. Hearing his concerned voice, Vera exhaled in relief. For a moment, she fumbled, her body betraying her as gravity pulled her down to the ground again.
One of the adventurers rushed to her side and immediately began to cast healing magic.
"Thank you," Vera murmured, her voice weak as the healing magic worked its way through her. "What's the situation?" she asked, her eyes scanning the group.
"We still don't know," the male swordsman replied, his tone tense. "However, flanking them is no longer an option. We'll need to prepare to hold our ground until reinforcements arrive."
"I just defeated their leader," Vera said, her voice firm despite the pain. "That should have dealt a blow to their morale. We need to retreat to the mansion."
"I see," the swordsman nodded.
"Really?"
"Heck yeah!" The voices of the adventurers flooded in, a wave of relief and hope washing over them. If what Vera said was true, they had a much better chance of winning now.
As the adventurers continued to heal her, they helped her to her feet, supporting her as she struggled to walk. They needed to regroup at the mansion, and fast.
...
"Everyone, good news!" A female adventurer rushed into the room where we were staying. Some of us had been patched up, but still weren't in fighting condition. Pristina and Rouge the man who offered to conduct an operation, were still tending to Katherine, but from the way they moved, it looked promising. At least, that's all I could hope for.
"The enemies are retreating," she said. For a moment, it felt like time itself had stopped. Her words echoed in my head, repeating over and over: 'They are retreating.' It was the best news we could have hoped for in this situation.
"We won, then?" someone asked, her voice cracking.
"We won!" the adventurer replied firmly, her words carrying the weight of truth, the confidence in her tone undeniable.
And then, like the surge of energy that follows the end of a long storm, a wave of emotion swept through the room. The chaos of frantic healing, of shouting orders, of blood-streaked faces, it all seemed to melt away as disbelief turned into joy. Adventurers began celebrating, some even crying in relief, the weight of the battle finally lifting from their shoulders. It was over.
At last, it was over.
...
Vera's group trudged away from the site of the explosion, their steps heavy but purposeful. The crackling of fires was fading behind them, swallowed by the eerie silence that followed the chaos.
Vera's wounds, though still painful, had begun to close under the healing magic being applied to her. The worst of the pain had gone to pass, but the exhaustion, both physical and mental, weighed heavily on her.
They had already turned their backs on the site where the enemy she had faced earlier had fallen, the wreckage of their brutal confrontation scattered across the landscape. The wind carried the faint scent of smoke and blood, remnants of the battle that had nearly claimed her life.
But in the distance, something stirred.
At first, it was a single finger, it had moved, and no one to notice. His eyelid shot wide open, his face contorted that of agony and hatred. Blood pours out of his mouth as he tries to speak.
"Unforgivable... unforgivable... I am a Luger... I will kill all of you... pigs... destroy... this world... I will... destroy..." it was Argentt, and what was left of him.
His hand trembled as it reached behind the folds of his grand armor, searching desperately for something. His fingers brushed against a cold, smooth surface, and then closed around it. It was a red blood crystal, its eerie glow faintly shimmering in the pale moonlight, casting unsettling reflections on his bloodied face. The crystal pulsed with a sinister energy, as if alive, waiting to be unleashed.
Argentt held it up before his eyes, the light of the crystal gleaming against the darkness. His lips parted, and through the raw pain that clenched his chest, he spoke with a voice barely more than a hoarse whisper. "Destroy this world... I will..."
Without another word, without hesitation, he swallowed the eerie crystal.
...
It began as a distant groan like the very earth was stretching, groaning under the weight of something immense. For a brief moment, it was almost like the ground itself was alive, shifting, awakening from some ancient slumber. Then the sound grew louder, more distinct until it was unmistakable. The ground beneath trembled violently, sending a shiver up the spines.
It wasn't the rumble of an earthquake, it was far worse.
CRRRAAASH!
Without warning, a massive, nightmarish form erupted from the earth, its appearance so alien, so grotesque, that for a second, none of them could comprehend what they were witnessing. A giant beast, towering over, taller than the famed walls, its shape a twisted mockery of any creature they had ever encountered.
Long, writhing tentacles extended outward, each one as thick as a house, covered in jagged, spiny ridges. Its body was a horrible amalgamation of flesh and bone, shifting as if it were in constant flux, like something that could never quite settle into shape.
ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
The beast's roar was deafening, so loud, so primal, it felt like the very air around them had been torn apart. The ground shook under the force, and for a moment, they thought it might swallow them whole. The roar echoed in everyone's minds, a jagged scream that left the hearts racing.
The earth cracked and splintered as the creature began to move, its massive form rippling with unnatural speed. Tentacles lashed out, smashing through buildings, splintering stone like twigs. The ground itself buckled and cracked beneath its weight, sending shockwaves in every direction.
At first, the beast simply rampaged, crushing everything in its path with raw power. But then, it unleashed blasts of magical energy from its monstrous form, pulses of dark, seething energy that erupted from its body like a storm of destructive force. The magic crackled with malevolent intent, ripping through the air and causing the very landscape to distort and warp in its wake.
"SHIT! It's coming our way!" the swordsman shouted, his voice edged with panic as he turned to see the monstrosity veering toward them. Its immense tentacles reached out, crashing into the earth with deafening force, tearing up the ground beneath them.
ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
The adventurers scrambled, but their movement was sluggish. The sheer size of the beast and its unnatural speed left them no room to react. Panic surged through their ranks as the ground trembled underfoot, each footstep seeming like it could be their last.
One of them, a mage with bright eyes and a steady hand, called out in desperation, "Veil of Light, Raise the Curtain..." She began the incantation, her voice strained with urgency. Her staff weaved through the air, as she began to form the barrier.
But it was too late.
The creature's tentacle shot toward them with blinding speed, a massive, dark appendage that stretched toward them like a whip. With a sickening THUD, it slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave through the air that knocked several adventurers off their feet. The mage barely had time to react, her spell barely half-formed when the giant limb crashed down.
CRUSH!
With a sickening, wet sound, the tentacle engulfed her whole. The force was so brutal that her body was crushed beneath the enormous weight of the fleshy mass, her scream swallowed by the sheer violence of the impact. Her magical chant faltered, her spell falling apart as the air was filled with the grim sound of her demise.
"RIA!" one of the adventurers screamed, his face contorted with horror as he watched the mage be obliterated beneath the beast's weight. The rest of the group was in chaos, scattered and scrambling, trying to get to safety as the creature continued its rampage.
"Move! Move!" shouted the swordsman, eyes wide with panic as he drew his blade, his heart racing. "We need to get out of here! NOW!"
But the ground continued to shake, and the beast unnaturally too fast. Another tentacle shot forward, sweeping through the air like a monstrous serpent. They could hear the terrible whip-crack as it descended, cutting through the air with lethal intent. The adventurers dodged, some narrowly avoiding the brutal appendage, while others were forced to dive out of the way, their movements frantic and wild.
...
"The ground..." Frank murmured, his voice I could barely hear, the sounds of laughter and cheers filling the room. "It's shaking." He looked around, but no one seemed to hear him, except me. Everyone was too caught up in the relief, too lost in the moment after the enemy's retreat.
But then, the world shifted beneath our feet.
CRASHHHH!
A deafening, bone-rattling sound reverberated through the mansion. The walls trembled, and the floor beneath seemed to pulse as if alive. The noise was so sudden, so violent, that it froze everyone in place. The laughter stopped mid-sentence, conversations ceased, and every eye turned toward the source of the sound.
The air itself felt heavier, charged with something dark.
"What the hell was that?" one of the adventurers exclaimed, his voice edged with panic. He had been standing by the walls, his very soul felt the vibration of the walls.
"Did the enemy return?" Another asked, gripping his weapon as he looked around the room for answers.
Something was wrong. The enemy had retreated. Vera and the others should have been victorious, so why was this happening now?
A second crash, even louder than the first, echoed through the mansion. The entire building shuddered this time as if some enormous force was pressing down on it. The wooden beams above groaned under the pressure, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
"What is going on?" I whispered, my voice barely above a breath. My heart thudded in my chest, a cold wave of dread spreading through my veins. Isn't it over already?
...
"FUCKING BEAST!" an adventurer run directly at the massive tentacle, hacking it and slashing it but it does nothing. What little wound that opened up, instantly healed, like it was not there to begin with.
"Everyone!" the knights showed up, seeing the urgency of the situation, they went directly to get the adventurers escaping from the beast.
"To the mansion everyone!" Vera shouted as she looked at the remaining knights and adventurers. Without hesitation, they run straight to the mansion, the one place they could regroup and plan how to deal with the new threat.
Vera's heart pounded in her chest, her mind racing for any possible solution. 'We can't outrun it forever. We need a plan. We need to figure out how to stop this thing...'
But there was nothing they could do, they lacked the manpower to do so. Heavily exhausted, and injured, they had no power to call upon.
They will die.
Wipeout.
...
"Loveria. My name is Loveria," I muttered, my voice barely audible as I kept my gaze fixed on the ground. I couldn't meet their eyes. My words sounded hollow, even to me, echoing faintly in the cold, unwelcoming room. I wasn't sure what kind of expression I wore, but it didn't matter.
"So?" the old man said, his voice sharp and indifferent, his eyes never lifting to meet mine.
I stood there in silence, unable to find the words. The weight of the moment pressed down on me, leaving me lightheaded and nauseous.
I had never been in a place like this before. Everything about it exuded elegance, from the gleaming walls to the polished floors.
I had never worn clothes like these either. Even in my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have imagined myself draped in such finery. It felt wrong like I was playing dress-up in someone else's life, trespassing in a realm that rejected me at every turn.
Everything here screamed wealth, privilege, and power, things I had never known.
My father had been an adventurer. My memories of him were faint, and my mother was little more than a blur. She'd died when I was too young to remember her.
I grew up alone, used to the silence and the solitude. It was all I had ever known.
Then, one day, my father didn't come home. They told me he was dead. And I understood. Being an adventurer was like living with one foot in the grave, one wrong step, and it was over.
After that, I had to fend for myself.
I hunted when I could, and scrounged through trash when I couldn't. My existence was pitiful, a shadow of life barely allowed to persist.
I cried often, though no one ever saw. Alone in the dark, I begged for the strength to end it all, yet some part of me refused to let go.
I hated myself for it, for clinging to a life that had nothing to offer me. And yet, here I was, standing in this room, suffocated by its grandeur, by its indifference.
A desperate spark within me still believed I could change everything.
The old man looked at me, his piercing gaze weighing heavily on my small frame as if waiting for me to explain myself. But I had nothing to say. They had brought me here without much explanation. They fed me, clothed me, and now they stood before me, scrutinizing me like I was some puzzle to solve.
"This kid beat a Bearlion with nothing but a broken sword," the girl said, stepping forward. She couldn't have been much older than me, maybe fifteen at most, her black scythe resting casually against her shoulder.
"And? What of it?" the old man replied, his tone indifferent, as if what she'd said was nothing worth acknowledging.
"What of it?" she snapped, her annoyance flaring. She turned to me, her sharp gaze softening slightly. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You heard that?" she said, her voice rising as she addressed the old man again. "A thirteen-year-old unarmed girl beat a Bearlion! With what? A broken Sword! Meanwhile, your so-called soldiers ran screaming like cowards!"
The old man sighed, rubbing his temples. "And you think she should enroll at the academy?" His tone was calm but filled with skepticism. "Do you have any idea what that would mean? How the nobles would react?"
"If they're upset that a commoner girl is more capable than their pampered brats, they can die for all I care," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "It would be better for the kingdom to rid itself of such dead weight."
"If only it were that simple," he muttered, shaking his head.
Their conversation felt like a whirlwind, and I couldn't follow all the implications. But one thing was clear: an opportunity was being presented to me, one I couldn't afford to waste.
A chance to change everything.
I clenched my fists, the weight of the moment settling over me. Whatever it took, I would not let this chance slip away.
It was a memory from the past. A memory that, of all times, chose now to resurface.
...
"Hey! What are you doing?" a voice called out in panic, but Vera didn't look back. Her legs, shaky from exhaustion and pain, pushed forward with grim determination.
"Just run. I'll do something," she said, her voice low but firm, cutting through the noise of chaos around her. The ground beneath them trembled again as the beast's massive tentacles slammed into the earth, shaking the very air with each movement.
"Huh? Don't joke around!" The adventurer's voice cracked with desperation, her eyes wide as she watched Vera falter, struggling to keep her balance as she pulled herself away from the group.
But Vera wasn't joking. Her body, battered and weakened from the earlier battle, was still going. With every step she took, her breath came in ragged gasps, and her vision swam in and out of focus. She could barely feel her right arm, and the pain from her injuries was unbearable, but she couldn't stop.
She wouldn't stop.
With a sharp turn, she veered off the path the group was taking, moving further into the dark shadows of the street. The beast's roars filled the air, deafening and unrelenting.
"Arthur!" The female adventurer shouted, her voice desperate and panicked. She turned to the swordsman, trying to get his attention. "The head maid! She's...!"
"What?" Arthur snapped, looking back at her but the chaos of the surroundings prevented him from hearing what she was saying.
"She's..." The adventurer tried again, but the ground shook with another colossal thud, and the sound of the beast's tentacles crashing down blocked out everything else. Now she can't do anything. Afraid, she hesitantly followed Vera towards the dark shadows.
...
The simple decision made it clear. The beast wasn't after anyone else, it was targeting Vera. As soon as she broke away from the group, the monster's attention locked onto her, its malevolent focus descending like a shadow.
"So, it was me you're after," she murmured under her breath, just as a beam of light flew past her, missing by mere inches, before exploding behind her with a deafening crash. The blast threw her to the ground, her body tumbling uncontrollably.
At that moment, a magic spell struck the massive beast's body, causing it to roar in pain. But to everyone's horror, the wound closed almost instantly, as if the beast had never been touched.
Angered, it retaliated with a fury. Beams of light shot from its monstrous form, streaking toward the spot where the attack had originated.
The beast's focus wavered briefly, momentarily taken away from Vera. She seized the opportunity, pushing herself up to her feet.
Like the memory that had randomly resurfaced. A broken blade was clutched tightly in her left hand, her grip trembling, but her resolve unwavering.
...
I walked through the door, and what was behind it, was a completely different world.
The Royal Academy of Magic. A sanctuary of brilliance, nobility, and power. It was a world that had never been meant for someone like me. Its grand halls and gilded corridors belonged to those born into privilege, children whose futures had been carved in gold before they even took their first breath.
And then there was me.
A nobody.
A commoner dragged from the slums, clawing my way through life with nothing but desperation and borrowed dreams.
I didn't belong here. I knew it, and so did they. Every step I took felt like a mistake, every breath an unwelcome intrusion into a world that wasn't mine.
But here I was. I had lived through the darkest depths, surviving the lowest points this world could offer. It didn't matter what anyone said.
In this very classroom, in this very moment, I would change my life.
I would carve out a future of my own.
I will become stronger. To climb out of the suffocating grip of darkness and reshape my destiny. I longed for the chance to experience the happiness that others took for granted, something that was once a distant dream but was now, within my grasp.
...
"Where the darkness seeps, Where the fear thrives, I call forth the light, To sever the lies. By the sun's pure flame, By the moon's soft grace, I summon the radiance, To light up this place. Break through the shadows, With brilliance so bright, Purge all the terror, With this blade of light. I offer this soul of mine, I order you. Show me your true form." Amid the utter chaos, Vera's voice rang clear. Every word carries nothing but pure determination. Mana surged within her, something that should not have been possible in her exhausted body.
But there's nothing else to be done, but give everything she has.
The air hummed with power as the broken blade absorbed the darkness turning it into light particles. A magic that was born out of desperation. To protect the people she had ever cared about.
...
"Don't ever use that magic again," Silica snapped at me, her voice filled with anger as I lay in bed, weakened from our previous encounter. "You're going to die," she added, her words harsh, but underneath them, there was a hint of concern.
The hero I had chosen to follow.
"Understood." It was the only answer I could give. I couldn't promise her anything.
When the time comes, and there's no other way, who will care about the means? In the end, it's the result that matters.
If I die, then I die. That's all there is to it.
...
Seeing the ominous light, the beast turned its attention to her. Its tentacle stretched out, shooting toward Vera. Perhaps it sensed something.
Perhaps it was instinctively reacting to the threat she posed.
The massive tentacles raised high in the sky came crashing down, obliterating everything in its path. No obstacle can stop, the utter destruction the mighty beast can offer.
But then...
"First Blade!" Vera shouted, gripping the broken blade with determination. The blade hummed as it was swung with all her strength.
At first, nothing happened. There was no impact, no resistance, nothing changed.
Except, the tentacle had paused in mid-air as if frozen in time. There was not even a sign of a wound, and yet...
As if the world itself held its breath, the giant tentacle began to disintegrate. The dark mass seemed to unravel, turning into wisps of light that scattered into the air. The blade glowed brightly as if absorbing the beast's tentacle. Like it was being swallowed by the very darkness itself, vanishing into particles of light.
It was the beginning of the end.