War

The ground shook under the hooves of horses and the footsteps of creatures running across the plain. Dusk had fallen, and night was approaching. The sky was clear, the air warm and heavy on every being. The king and his army arrived at Yorl.

From a distance, they saw Iwao and the others standing at the edge of the village, waiting for them. The king stopped his army and dismounted his horse, handing the leash to Rufus. He stepped forward, yet a hundred meters still separated them. No soldier dared make a single sound. The silence reigned over the battlefield.

Even from afar, everyone could hear the king’s heavy, roaring breath. A red aura ignited around him as he locked eyes with Iwao and Saya. Flames burst from his fists, fire tearing through the joints of his armor as though he burned from within. The heat grew, and the flames swelled as his breathing grew more intense – until it suddenly calmed. He lifted his head to the sky, eyes shut, inhaled deeply, and then fixed his gaze on them once more.

“I will not let you tear this kingdom apart and burn it to ashes! I am the king – the one who decides, the one you should bow before! You disobeyed, you dishonored, you killed, you burned, you terrorized! For these acts, I judge you guilty and sentence you immediately to death!” He roared, fury in his voice, as he began to hover above the ground, gusts of wind swirling beneath his feet.

He fixed his gaze on Iwao as the soldiers roared, impatient for battle. The king pointed a finger at him, flames spilling from his hands to ignite the grass, reducing it to ash.

“You! I will do what my father should have managed before. I will kill you and erase you for eternity. Let me tell you something. At first, I was afraid of you – because of the stories my father told me. I thought I’d go insane with the fear you were supposed to inspire. I was scared for my kingdom. Everything I had built, you could have destroyed it. But… I never imagined for a second that you’d be this weak, this insignificant. You did nothing! You were nothing like the creature my father described. When I realized you weren’t a threat, I felt no fear, only pity – pity that you would die easily under the weight of my fist. I don’t have to fear you.” He shouted with all his might, laughing.

He turned to his army, arms raised, fists clenched.

“Look, my soldiers! If I do not fear this creature, neither should you! You are strong! Kill the other three! I will take care of this abomination!” He exclaimed proudly, his laughter echoing.

“You won’t do anything, father! Your arrogance will be your downfall! Don’t underestimate us or think we are weak! You are the one who will perish! I will seize the reins of this kingdom and lead it on the right path. Your life of misfortune ends today – at the hands of Iwao!” Saya shouted, her fists glowing, wind swirling around them as she prepared her spells.

“You have no right to speak to me this way! You will die too! I will show no pity even if you are my daughter! You have caused enough trouble to this kingdom and to my family. I can’t allow this to continue!” The king spat, his words burning with rage.

“You’ve changed so much, Saya… after the Greyford Valley events… during training… and even in these past two weeks. You’re stronger now. You don’t hesitate to defy your father. You’re no longer as fragile as you once were. You’re a true princess now, with your head held high. I’m proud to have witnessed this change in you, Saya.” Iwao thought, watching her with a small smile.

He turned his gaze to the king, a broad smile on his face. He dropped into fighting stance, like a boxer ready to enter the ring.

“You’re afraid, aren’t you? You shout and roar, but the slightest word makes you lose your temper. Instead of ranting, fight me for real. Soon you'll have nothing left but your eyes to weep with. Your mouth will not even be able to voice your anger!” Iwao mocked, laughing.

The king lowered his gaze, sighed deeply, then raised his arm to the sky and unleashed a massive jet of flame. At that instant, the army charged toward the village – five hundred soldiers and thirty creatures, enough to shake the earth beneath them.

The king remained in place, as did Iwao, while the army swept across the plain like a human flood. Meanwhile, Saya and Lo dashed forward to meet them in battle.

“I must keep the pendant’s power as a last resort. I can’t use it yet. Even after training with Lo, I haven’t progressed much compared to him. I don’t want to repeat what happened with the adventurers at the swamp. I must keep control of myself when I defeat him.” Iwao thought, gritting his teeth.

A sob and heavy breathing behind him made him glance back. Celi was still standing there, not rushing to fight like the others. Her right hand, still holding her axe, clenched around her stump. She trembled, tears shining at the corners of her eyes, her face drawn with fear. She raised her head and met Iwao’s gaze – her expression full of pain.

“Iwao… can I really fight like this? I don’t know if I can… I didn’t think there would be so many of them, or that they would look so strong at first sight… How am I supposed to fight? I can’t even wield this axe properly… I’m just a burden… I only realized now – when I saw your determination, all of you... when I saw them arrive. I don’t know what to do...” She sobbed.

“Celi… You’ve become the opposite of what Saya is now. I didn’t want to admit it sooner, but… When I first met you, you were strong-willed, always certain of your choices and abilities. Saya was the opposite. Then, you both changed and met halfway, lost in your feelings, acting alike. But after that, you each took different paths – yours leading to doubt and fragility, hers to strength. And I can only blame myself for this… for putting you through everything… I’m sorry, Celi.” Iwao thought, his expression soft as he held her shoulders.

The wind grew harsher, the air hotter. The king’s army, Lo, and Saya closed the gap with every passing second.

“Celi! Don’t doubt yourself! Remember your strength! Saya told me how you cut off Urui’s arms with only one hand! Don’t depend only on your axe – your mind is strong too! You mastered countless spells and understand Firia better than anyone. Use it! We will win – together. We’ll win, and one day, we’ll find a way to restore your hand!” Iwao urged.

Celi wiped her tears, gripped her axe, and raised her chin with renewed resolve.

“Thank you, Iwao… Win, please…” She whispered, before casting a wind spell beneath her feet, launching herself into the fray.

When Iwao looked back, the king hovered in place, hands clasped in the air, flames roaring hotter and brighter. Iwao narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him.

The king gathered power into his hands and fired a massive pillar of flame high into the sky. It rose higher and higher – until it struck something invisible. For a moment, the sky shimmered orange, then the light vanished. The king frowned.

At that same moment, from the far left of the army, the sound of a gong rang out. The ground erupted – giant spears shot upward, impaling soldiers where they stood. Some were skewered, bodies dangling. Others were thrown to the ground, injured but alive. The spears remained planted, disrupting the plain’s flat horizon.

“I see, I see... A trap, triggered as soon as my soldiers stepped on it. And that thing above us – it must be a protection dome. The blonde one’s work, no doubt. Clever, to trap us here. But when they are going to kill her, the dome will vanish along with her. Still... don’t you feel shame, using such tricks in battle? This is war! Strength should decide the outcome, not cowardly tricks like these!” The king roared, his eyes blazing with rage.

He then swept the air with his arm, a green light bursting out of it. This light shot toward the creatures Lo was fighting. As soon as the light struck them, ten of the beasts froze on the spot and began running aimlessly until they triggered traps – hurting or killing themselves – while deactivating them. Soon, all ten creatures lay dead – skewered by rising spears, frozen in ice prisons, plunging into gaping pits, consumed by endless braziers, and destroyed by countless other traps.

“A little sacrifice for a fair fight!” The king shouted.

These creatures were unlike anything Iwao had ever seen. They were immense, formless masses, brown as dirt, with no face – just a single, massive eye – and two legs resembling those of an elephant.

Lo fought the remaining creatures, reducing their number little by little. It hurled fireballs or concentrated water into his hands, producing a piercing jet that cut through the monsters and killed them instantly. But casting these spells took time, and the creatures rushed it too quickly. It then unleashed lasers like the one it had used in Greyford Valley, each one piercing two creatures at once.

“It’s not enough. The more I kill, the faster and stronger the rest become. Soon, I will not be able to cast these spells correctly if they can dodge them. I need to use it – that’s what I trained for.” Lo thought.

Suddenly, one of the creatures appeared behind it without its noticing. Lo had no time to react before the creature’s massive foot struck its back, sending it flying with a cry of pain.

It vomited a blue substance, staring at it for a moment, then regained its senses and stood, trembling. Wiping its mouth and clearing its throat, Lo closed its eyes, remaining still as the creatures charged toward it.

Its arms and legs began to glow with a blue light. Seconds passed, and when Lo opened its eyes again, the glow blazed brighter, blinding everything around. When the light faded, it looked down at what it had done to its body.

“It worked again – just like in training with Iwao. I have now Goamur legs and Gorimur arms – or, as Iwao called them, goat’s legs and gorilla’s arms, because they looked exactly like that, he said, if I remember correctly. The firsts belongs to one of the fastest animals out there, the seconds to one of the strongest in terms of sheer physical power. By combining Goamur’s speed, Gorimur’s strength, and my own abilities, I’ll move far quicker, strike faster, and multiply my power immensely.” Lo thought.

Blinded before, the creatures had lost sight of Lo, but now their vision cleared, and they charged at it once more. Only eight remained. One of them launched a chunk of its own body toward Lo. It was fast and clearly dangerous.

Lo leaned on its new legs and swiftly dodged the attack, which struck the ground and exploded, scattering the creature’s matter everywhere. Lo rushed the creature, moving faster than ever before, and leapt higher than it had ever done. Now above the monster, it fell rapidly, joining its gorilla-like arms together, muscles bulging as they swelled. Drawing them back, Lo thrust them down with all its might, crushing the monster into the ground and tearing it apart. Its matter splattered everywhere – even onto soldiers on the far side of the battlefield.

Lo stood still, shaking the matter from its arms, when it noticed the remaining creatures regrouping. There were seven left. Then, a shockwave rippled across the ground, and six of them collapsed. The last one suddenly grew larger, its form beginning to change.

******************************

At the opposite side of the battlefield, the fight pitting Saya and Celi against the soldiers was raging.

Even behind barriers, they were hurt. When swords struck and slipped against Celi’s axe, the force often broke through hers, leaving small cuts and blood

Saya supported her with healing spells, while together they cast earth spells to strike the soldiers from a distance. But the soldiers were well-trained and used powerful barriers to absorb the shock of the spells.

As Saya cast a water spell, creating a vast pool on the ground, and Celi followed with a thunder spell within it that made the soldiers’ armor lethal on contact, the soldiers effortlessly dodged by hovering above with wind spells.

They mainly relied on their swords, though sometimes they hurled spells – spheres of rock or water – to strike them. Both Saya and Celi were hit many times, wounds opening across their bodies, blood flowing. Celi sliced her enemies with her axe, amplifying her strength with gusts of wind that pushed from behind. The soldiers fell one after another, while Celi and Saya accumulated injuries.

“If only I didn’t have to preserve my Firia reserve for unpredictable events, I could summon my golem – it would be faster. I can’t heal and attack at the same time!” Saya thought quickly as she dodged swords strikes.

“They dodge most of our attacks… we never really mastered any large-scale spell, so we can’t strike them all at once. We’re being overwhelmed by their incessant assault. We need a solution quickly, or it will be the end of us – killed by simple soldiers…” Celi thought, stepping back as she cast a wall of dirt in front of her. It gave a moment to catch her breath and heal some of her wounds.

Suddenly, in the night lit only by the moons, a sudden red, bright light illuminated the sky intensely behind Celi and Saya. The heat was intense as well. A few seconds later, a roar erupted and echoed across the battlefield.

They tried to glance in that direction as the light faded, allowing the moons’ light to take over once again and the heat to decrease.

It was impossible for Saya and Celi to do more under the incessant assaults of the soldiers, who broke through the wall of dirt and rushed them – Celi countering sword attacks with her axe, and Saya throwing rocks to keep them at bay.

During a brief second of respite, Celi managed to glance clearly toward the source of the roar. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of something from the corner of her vision that made tears shimmer in her eyes.

Iwao lay on the ground, unable to move.

The king stood above him, a foot pressed against his chest.

“He was… defeated…?” She wondered, her face drawn with fear.

Forced to focus on the battle to survive, she felt a soldier’s sword nick her stump. Blood spilled as she gritted her teeth, struck him down, and struggled to heal the wound.

The sound of clashing swords, soldiers roaring, spells being cast, and monsters howling – all echoed across the plain.

This place was no longer the peaceful heaven of tranquility and silence it once had been.

It was war. Destructive, bloody, and deafening.