Fire and Wolves

"Run, Leon! They’re catching up!"

Jeanne ran as fast as she could while pulling Leon by the arm. He had already used his skill and was now dangerously exhausted.

Grrrahhh!

Skreee!

Raaakhhh!

Kreeeghh!

Behind them, the goblins’ war cries grew louder and louder.

It didn’t matter that their group had started out with more than ten adventurers. It didn’t matter that she had hit her mark, or that Leon had cleaved three goblins in half at once with Echo Blade. The monsters had simply been too many for the hastily assembled party of the Frontier Guild.

"Yenda and Frisco… Lemanor… even that arrogant Reris… they stayed behind so we could escape… all of them… just like Bernar…"

"It’s not your fault!" Jeanne shouted. "Veterans take care of the rookies! That’s the guildmaster’s rule!"

"Jeanne, what are our skills even for? We can’t save anyone with them…"

"Then what are your legs for?!" Jeanne exclaimed. "If they catch us, their sacrifice will be for nothing! What matters now is escaping and regrouping with the other survivors!"

"…Sometimes I think you’re the one who’s grown the most in this world," Leon said with a weak smile. "You’re right, we need to get back to the others."

Skreeeraa!

A goblin leapt out from the bushes in their path, but Leon shoved Jeanne aside just in time. A heavy club smashed into the ground between them, raising a cloud of dust and leaving a gaping hole.

Reera!

Skree!

Kregh! Kregh!

Jeanne and Leon barely had time to get to their feet before a large group of goblins caught up with them.

"Jeanne… run," Leon said, lifting his sword with difficulty.

"…Since when do I take orders from you?" Jeanne shot back, dropping her bow and drawing a small knife she kept for emergencies. "Besides, in your condition you can’t even buy us time."

"Do you think dying will hurt?" Leon asked with a wry smile.

"A lot," Jeanne answered. "But I’d rather that than being taken alive. I know what they do to women."

The two youths positioned themselves in front of a thick tree to cover their backs. Though they tried to keep their composure, the truth was they were trembling, sweat streaming down their faces.

"…Nngh… uuh…" Jeanne tried, but she couldn’t hold back her tears.

At her side, Leon bit his lip, trying to chase away his fear with pain.

Graaahgaahh!

At the war cry, all the goblins rushed at them.

They had to fight back, gather enough strength to land at least a single thrust.

But no… the two closed their eyes. They couldn’t bear the reality pressing in on them.

A moment of darkness that seemed to last forever.

Fwoooshhh!

Krieee!

Krie! Krie!

At the sudden heat on their faces and the terrified screams of the monsters, the youths opened their eyes again.

Before them, several goblins were in flames, writhing on the ground as they burned alive.

"Ugh!"

Jeanne hadn’t noticed with the rush of adrenaline, but her right hand had caught fire as well, forcing her to drop her knife.

"Jeanne!"

"I’m fine," the girl answered. "Look!"

What looked like a small creature of fire had descended upon another group of the monsters, setting them ablaze.

Skree! Skree!

Rakh!

The goblins on the outskirts of the chaos tried to flee, but movement in the bushes made them stop.

Grrr…

Awooo!

"Wolves…" Jeanne said, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground.

"No, wait," Leon said, placing his hand on the girl’s shoulder.

From the bushes emerged a pack of sable wolves, another kind of monster, enormous beasts with fangs sharp enough to cut through metal like butter. Yet to the youths’ surprise, they pounced only on the goblins, completely ignoring the two of them.

In desperation, the surviving goblins tried to escape toward the tree where Jeanne and Leon had taken cover, but they were intercepted by a tall, burly man who, with a single swing of his axe, cleaved two of them.

Some of the remaining goblins changed direction, four of them bolting toward the forest, but before they could reach it, four streaks of light, each piercing a goblin, brought them down, split cleanly in half.

Out of the woods stepped a handsome man clad in shining armor, its surface covered with ornate engravings, and over his shoulders flowed a white mantle of fine fabric embroidered with golden patterns.

Skriiee… Skri…

He walked up to one of the goblins still writhing on the ground and crushed its head with a stomp, splattering blood everywhere and nearly staining his pristine mantle.

But the two youths could not focus on that scene, because one of the goblins that had evaded the axe had already charged toward them.

"Aaaghh! Aaaahh!"

"Jeanne!"

Before Leon could react, the goblin had seized Jeanne by her long hair and started dragging her into the forest at full speed.

Swish!

Only the goblin’s body vanished into the brush. Its head and the girl were left behind.

Jeanne could not believe what her still teary eyes had just seen.

A young woman with light brown hair tied into a short ponytail had emerged from her shadow and severed the goblin’s head with a slash from one of her two long daggers.

"Sorry for startling you, but goblin shadows are too tight to use Shadow Walk," said the newcomer while stretching, and then her bright hazel eyes quickly fixed on Jeanne’s hand. "That idiot Iolas never thinks about anyone else! Meildin! Are you here?! Meeildiiin!"

"I hear you! I hear you!" said a woman in priestess garb as she rushed toward them.

"May the sacred heart of Elyria hear this prayer. Goddess, please have mercy on your servant."

Once at Jeanne’s side, the priestess took her burned hand between her own, and as she spoke those words the wound began to glow with a greenish light. By the time it faded, the injury was gone completely.

"Meldia! Don’t waste your magic, we may still have to face more goblins that those incompetent Frontier fools let escape."

The one speaking was the handsome man in shining armor who had emerged from the forest moments before. His concern, however, was more for the cloth around his neck than for Jeanne or Leon.

"Ugh… vile creature, it nearly stained my covenant mantle with its repulsive blood."