Danger's Reach

"Mr. Clark!"

The waving figure of Bailey approaches. I would have liked to quietly camp down the mountain until the fight was over, but someone noisy has arrived.

"What is that magic!? I have never seen anyone fly with cloth and rope before!"

"It was but a basic contraption."

She doesn't bat an eye when Peo and I pull ourselves into the wooden basket. Now that she's here, I might as well spend the rest of my time with company.

We prepare to turn back around, but the ground beneath us shakes wildly. Rumbles are joined with the sound of utter destruction. The source is none other than Cadell.

"What is happening!?"

"I'm not sure, but we best move."

My words free Bailey from her immediate shock and she sends Apricot into a sprint. Trees obscure the village, but smokestacks are more than enough evidence of catastrophe.

"Avalanche!"

"What do we do!?"

"Somebody help me!"

Villagers are screaming as boulders of all shapes and sizes crash down from above. Houses and people alike are flattened. Furnaces are scattered and set the wooden rubble ablaze. Fighting between hero and monster is brutal, and their clash continues to spell doom to the settlement Bermar swore to protect.

"W-Where are the knights!?"

The face of Norwin's general appears in my head.

"They have likely joined their allies up the mountain. Your village was never meant to survive."

"Then what shall we do!?"

I don't have an immediate answer as rocks continue to rain down on what still remains of Cadell. Humans and animals alike are fleeing, but the rolling stones chase them down as long as they remain inside the village.

"Your best option is to get as far away as possible."

"No, I will not allow my family to die!"

Once again, the force of her will presses down on me. The straggling survivors are not worth risking our lives for, but that isn't what Bailey feels. It's a rather small wish to desire the safety of your people, one that I may as well at least attempt to grant. I don't lose anything if one or two more people survive.

"Peo, can you stop those rocks?"

The young beast looks up at the onslaught. Like me, she tries to see some kind of solution. Her drooping ears tell me her conclusion.

"...Sorry…"

"Don't be. There is no point in discarding your life for the impossible."

Possibilities aren't immediately showing themselves, at least not until a spot of peace lands among the destruction. In the lands above, the Stone Titan falls to the ground with an earthquake beneath it. More debris continues to fall, but it soon subsides.

I leap out of the carriage with Peo following behind.

"If you wish to save lives, now is your chance."

"Y-You mean it!?"

"I will bring you whoever I can. If the Titan stands once more, we leave immediately."

"Okay!"

Bailey smacks the reins and charges into the flames. True to my word, I use Peo's abilities to begin searching.

"Can you hear anybody? Ignore those dying."

Peo closes her eyes for a moment before pointing in the direction of a collapsed house.

"...Two."

"Got it."

We run over as a stone head begins rising on the mountain above. Time is short, but we manage to find somebody beneath the blackened wood.

"Argh…"

It's a man who is both crushed and impaled by his home. He tries calling out despite the blood drenching his clothes.

"Please…save us…"

No matter what I do, this man has no future. His life fades soon even if I drag him to safety. My limited time is best used saving someone else.

I'm about to walk away from the dying man, but his lungs make one final plea.

"At least…save my…child…"

His body draws the last of its strength to push upwards against his coffin. Beneath his chest is a young girl covered in dirt and ash, but not blood.

"No major injuries. Very well."

I crouch down and extract the child, carrying her small body in my arms. The light in her father's eyes begins fading as I turn to walk away with the thing he treasures most.

"Thank…you…"

* * * * *

"Mr. Clark! What of the rest of the village!?"

Bailey's ginger hair is ruffled and her bandana is covered in ash. She finishes helping someone into the wagon as we approach.

"I'm afraid I cannot find any more survivors."

I add the unconscious girl to the small roster of villagers sitting inside the cabin. Three men, two women, and a small boy sit along the bench, their eyes glazed at the scene fate granted them. They all have injuries, but none severe.

"I checked every building, so this is it."

"Are you certain!?"

A thundering boom echoes out from above. Despite being dismantled by Bermar's magic, it stands once again with new limbs and a larger frame.

"We're out of time. Go!"

"What of you and Peo!?"

"We must remain on the battlefield and witness the aftermath. Rest assured, we will meet once everything has concluded."

Bailey's face is filled with conflict, but the struggling people in her wagon force her hand.

"Be safe, Mr. Clark!"

"But of course."

The whining of a mule signals the start of their escape, the wagon and its passengers soon disappearing from view just as the rocks begin falling once more.

"Now then…"

The farm girl may not have noticed it, but we aren't alone in this flaming village. Heavy metal armour makes quite the ruckus, especially during a brief moment of peace. It doesn't take long for the arrows to begin flying in once the bystanders are out of earshot.

"Peo."

Blue shields appear beside me and the dozen shots are handily blocked. When her feet return to the ground, I turn to the trees in the near distance.

"I'm certain that your identity will be of no surprise. Best come forward and own your actions."

"You are quite the wonder, Blessed Knight of Melior."

The older general appears from behind a cluster of trees, his army not far behind him. Unlike those fighting for their lives above, this group of at least 30 knights appear perfectly healthy.

"It appears that Melior insists on being a nuisance until the very end."

"Quite the hostile tone. How might I have earned such hostility?"

"Do not play the fool!"

A vein appears on Ponce's face. It appears that the heat around us isn't the source of his rage.

"Your nation has taken everything from us! Offer aid? No, you offered a curse! Our land was all you truly desired and our pain is to that end!"

I was aware that the political stage of this world was unsteady, but not this bad. This is supposed to be a time of peace. At the end of the day, humans will be human.

"Thirty-two hostiles. Are you prepared, Peo?"

"...Mhm."

The general of Norwin still has much to complain about, but I don't care to listen. Both sides cannot both survive, so our job is simple.

"Then let us begin."