Mission Accomplished?

"Curse you humans!"

Fighting is well under way by the time I reach the final battlefield. There are barely 20 knights remaining, all surrounding a large beast man. His build and animal features are reminiscent of a bear.

"You dare speak our tongue, beast!? Let divine punishment strike you down!"

The beast writhes in pain from an assault of lightning, the cause being none other than Sir Thorsten. The general shows signs of wear, but he appears to be in much better condition than the ragged band of knights still behind him.

Their opponent on his own is likely responsible for the corpses at his feet. His rags are torn with many cuts through his skin and his long brown hair is red with blood. None of this prevents him from sending soldiers of steel flying. He could likely sustain one hundred more injuries before they bring him down.

"Archers, now! Mages, set his mane ablaze!"

We only have two of each left, but those few projectiles dig the beast's grave further. He is unable to press against the barrage with the knight vanguard forcing him backwards. One swipe, one dead knight. Another swipe, now lay two. However, it isn't enough.

As this battle rages on, I watch my surroundings for any remaining enemies.

"Is that…"

A body is spread across the crimson dirt. That alone isn't unusual given the nature of war, but something immediately sticks out about this particular beast corpse. Namely, its scarf.

"Silver fur…"

To my untrained eye, this is any other piece of apparel. The stream of animal fur is particularly long and covers much of her upper body. Somehow, this texture is capable of reflecting the sunlight peeking in from above. Its wearer is still releasing smoke from the irregular wounds across her body, betraying the one who killed her.

"I suppose this concludes my mission…"

There is no reason for me to leap into a fight with Thorsten's prey and I don't have the strength to once again challenge dragon scales. Glory is not my concern.

"Hahaha! This is your end, beast!"

I rest out of view against a tree, my bleeding having slowed. I casually watch Thorsten finally pushing to the front line and preparing to deal a killing blow.

"Glory to Melior!"

His copper blade tears across the beast's chest and inserts a surge of lighting through its entire journey. The beast loses the function of its lungs and can't even scream as a pillar of lighting rises into the sky with him as the source. Flashing lights burn my eyes before coming to an abrupt end. The beast falls to the ground.

"With this blade, the beasts have been exterminated!"

""YEAAAH!""

I can't tell if their screams are for excitement or relief, but they echo through the trees in every direction. Not including me, there are only a dozen survivors. Those still standing are of the few that will be returning home tonight.

"Sir Clement!"

When I rise to join the tearful knights, a young man limps over to me from the pack. His armour is cracked or bent in many places, but Bran lives.

"It seems you were favoured by fate. Well done."

"I saw my life flash many times, but my training with you saw me to the end!"

He looks at me and notices the wounds across my body. They aren't as severe as some of the others, but my armour is considerably damaged at this point.

"To think you survived with such shoddy defence! Was there nothing more substantial to wear?"

"Do not be deceived by appearances, this armour aided me in slaying a beast without any assistance."

"By yourself!?"

Survivors engage in idle chatter like this as the adrenaline begins wearing off. Some have collapsed to the ground from exhaustion while others kneel beside their fallen friends. Regardless, tension has disappeared and peace has settled.

"To arms, knights!"

A loud roar from Thorsten alerts the bloodied force. Now that everyone is back in battle mode, they notice the enemy that they had not accounted for.

"There is one more!"

At the edge of the small clearing, a beast with sand coloured hair and a pair of blue shields is dragging away a body. We are unable to see the face of the fallen, but the silver scarf worn by the body trails across the ground.

"You've defeated beasts many times its size, so make this quick!"

A bolt of lighting reaches for the girl, but the blast is handily blocked. If Hessa's magic was unable to breach a dragon's defence, then Thorsten likely won't fare much better. However, the girl has since lost the element of surprise.

"Surround it! Don't let the beast escape!"

The knights are no match for her speed, but she doesn't attempt to run. She can't. Thorsten continues to bombard her with lighting and leaves no room for the beast to escape with her luggage.

She has only herself to blame for her coming fate. There isn't a knight in this group that could put up a decent fight with her alone. Even my mobility wouldn't be enough to follow her should we be drawn into a chase. The stage was set for her to survive, but she came back.

"Urk!"

I'm the only one who cares to hear her cry. The ranged troops are firing arrow after arrow, magical blast after magical blast. Melee troops are encircling the beast with spear and sword, attempting to find a way past her shields. With Thorsten keeping her hands tied, one last push is all it takes to finish the beast off.

"Blessed Knight! You always praise your magic, so use it!"

He doesn't even look at me to deliver that order. As far as he's concerned, I'm just another pawn to be used as he wishes. Unfortunately, following this order is the best course of action given the situation.

"Very well."

I was unable to defeat this opponent alone, so this works out perfectly. All I need is to aim and pull the trigger, simple enough. I may lose the final use of my weapon, but there is little meaning in saving it. All that changes with an empty magazine is my strategy, not my skill.

One of the knights displaces her shield just enough for a magical blast to strike her hip. This causes her to immediately lose momentum and focus purely on protecting from more damage. With her shields stuck in place, I'm given the perfect shot.

I raise my gun and ready it to pierce directly through the girl's forehead. My index finger is prepared, just one movement will end it all.

"Grrr!"

A quiet growl, but one with a raging flame behind it. My lungs stop accepting air when my eyes make contact with the green eye not concealed by her bangs.

My finger doesn't move.