The Struggle of Change

Lilin crashed herself directly into the center of the town, demon features on full display as she left a crater where she landed. She looked around, soaking in the cool night air as people began to leave their homes. Countless lanterns flickered to life as people investigated the noise she was making. She took a deep breath, then began to shout at the top of her lungs.

"Every last one of you is a worthless peasant who owes your life to the King! Without him, you wouldn't be able to live in this stupid town! Without him, the world would still be infested with monsters! Without him, you wouldn't have the stupid Mana you need to farm with! So, I need all of you to give up this stupid charade of not caring and start coughing up the money you owe!"

Lilin gasped for breath, her eyes glowing now as she felt her entire body shaking. She wanted nothing more than to level this town. A single swipe of her claw to cleave through most of them with a blade of wind, she could even use her Core to make it a blade of blood if she wanted to. Enough people would die that she'd be able to recover what Mana it cost in no time at all. But she couldn't. That wouldn't make the King proud, it would anger him. He didn't want this town gone, he wanted its money. But nobody was doing anything for her, even as she shouted at them.

"If you don't start paying, I'm going to start killing people! Starting with you, dammit!"

Lilin couldn't see who anybody was behind the light of their lanterns, so she threw out her first attack at random. She drew Mana from her core, forming a liquid blade of blood that launched itself towards one of the people she saw holding a lantern. However, a pillar of stone emerged to intercept the sudden attack.

"Stand down, servant of the King!" shouted a feminine voice. Slowly gliding down from the night sky was Euwelyn- not just one, but several of them. They glared at Lilin as their eyes glowed as well, the intensity of the green of their eyes exceeding Lilin's red.

"I'm tired of listening! It's my turn to be listened to!" Lilin screeched.

Lilin unleashed a dense payload of Mana into the air around her, screaming hysterically as she did. Dozens of crimson arrows formed, flying every which way. She didn't care who she hit, as long as somebody got hit. One of the Euwelyns stomped on the ground, unleashing a matching burst of Mana to raise dozens of rocks. One by one, as the arrows hurtled through the air, the rocks darted straight through them. The liquid splashed down, raining the town in blood as Lilin's eyes focused on the Euwelyn who had intercepted her attacks.

"You."

In the blink of an eye, Lilin was on top of her. There was no thought behind her attacks. She slashed with her claws and kicked like a wild animal, desperate to land any attack. The witch was not equipped for close quarters like this, but she was far from helpless. She managed to pivot and twist to avoid being tackled to the ground in the initial lunge, and then relied on her instincts to lean away from and duck each attack to avoid being hit.

"Stand down," Euwelyn stated once again.

"To HELL with that!" Lilin snarled, kicking her leg at the witch's face. The witch once again dodged out of the way only to feel Lilin bring her heel down onto her head in a vicious axe kick. Euwelyn cried out in pain, crumpling to the ground and clutching her head. Just as Lilin tried to follow up on the attack, the ground beneath her crumpled and started to fall.

"Your damned tricks!" she shrieked, her voice beginning to grow hoarse as she jumped into the air. She kept herself from falling into the ground by taking flight with her wings, but the loose earth scattered with the wind and created a massive dust cloud. "Where the hell are you?!"

"You're throwing a temper tantrum," said a voice behind Lilin. She turned in time to see a boulder being flung at her, but not in time to do anything about it. Her scream pierced the cold night air as she was knocked out of the air, plummeting to the ground under the immense weight. She mustered up as much Mana as she could, just managing to cut through the boulder before it landed.

Euwelyn watched as the boulder crashed into the ground, only to see it cleaved in half. In an instant, Lilin was darting towards her once again. She gasped and quickly descended, but Lilin was able to correct her course far faster than Euwelyn was able to navigate in the air. Lilin slammed into her, driving the air from her body and sending them both careening downwards. They crashed violently into the ground, Euwelyn's life fading from her eyes.

"Ugh, f-finally!" Lilin cried as she sank her claws into the Earth General's neck. "I-I... I finally did it, I-!"

Just as Lilin was beginning to take pride in her victory, she saw the body underneath her turning to clay. It slowly crumbled, leaving Lilin's victory feeling hollow. She had barely, with all of her energy, bested a mere replica of the Earth General. And there were two more.

"Stand down," one of the other ones said. "You stand no chance."

Lilin turned back, her face twisted with rage. However, her eyes weren't glowing as fiercely as they were before. The previously sharp death gaze of red was now a dim glow, and her mouth was trembling as her muscles began to give out. She stood, only to fall to one knee as her entire body buckled.

"Damn... Damn you all... To hell!..."

"Rest," Euwelyn said, stepping forward.
The last thing she felt was a blow to the side of her head. Then, everything went dark.