Lone Survivor

“Holy shit. Scarlet was right.” Medrauta whispered, her eyes widening at the terrifying sight before her.

She and Viviane had managed to ascend the mountain rather quickly and expediently. After steering their mounts away from the allied army, the two managed to make their way far from the planned engagement zone, leaving their horses at the foot of the rightmost mountain. They had chosen it due to the setting sun, hoping that the light would manage to obscure their figures should the commander somehow look in their direction once they’d reached the peak.

Viviane crouched next to Medrauta, nodding slowly with a grimace. She winced as she dusted off her hands, the delicate skin of her palms stinging as a result of the arduous climbing she’d just experienced. Despite her strength, Viviane still possessed the dainty hands of a noblewoman apart from her calloused index and middle fingers.

“But to think there would be so many...” Viviane frowned. “This just doesn’t seem possible, especially with how we just took one of the shield towers a few days ago.”

“Yeah. I might not be a witch, but I’m pretty sure creating this many witchspawn in a matter of days is just ridiculous.” Medrauta agreed.

Viviane nodded silently and pursed her lips as she and Medrauta continued observing the enormous mass of writhing monsters assembled far below in the rear of the mountain pass. The shield tower stood at the very back, covered in the same squirming black material that the witchspawn were composed of. Above the tower hovered a large orb of black-red mana, no doubt the fuel source for the foul creatures.

“It’s weird though, isn’t it? This army combined with the one we managed to wipe out three days ago was rather sizable already...” Viviane frowned. “Can Amelia really sustain so many witchspawn and the behemoth with just a single source of mana?”

“Y’know, you might be onto something.” Medrauta said, her gaze sweeping through the massive witchspawn army in the hopes of spotting something like a secondary power source. “I don’t see anything, but let’s keep our eyes peeled. It’s likely not placed in the open, after all.”

With that, the two of them sat themselves behind a set of assorted boulders as they waited for Scarlet’s signal. Occasionally, Viviane would peek out from their hiding spot and sharpen her vision, looking for any signs of the Sworn commander at the exposed top of the shield tower. The tower was still a good distance away and it’d be a tough shot to make, but she wasn’t going to pass up a chance at sniping the commander from her hidden position.

Even if the Sworn commander possessed the same kind of immortality as the Walpurgisknight, she still wasn’t sure how it’d interact with the power of the Lake. Plus, she was anxious to test out a couple of tricks she’d learned from Emrys.

“It’s starting.” Medrauta said, her previously relaxed muscles tensing as they prepared for imminent combat. She and Viviane had been busying themselves for the past thirty minutes by coming up with contingency plans and chowing down on some rations before battle, and it was only now that Medrauta’s sharp hearing managed to pick up the distant sounds of the human army’s approach.

Their steel-laden footsteps were heavy as they marched onto the rocky terrain around the mountain pass. A lengthy and deep burst of sound from one of the war trumpets carried through the air, causing both Medrauta and Viviane to peek out from their concealed position.

The witchspawn beneath them stirred in response to the noise and the approaching soldiers, but otherwise remained stationary. Were they not under the control of a commander, Medrauta was fairly certain the monsters would have already begun swarming out of their fortified position to meet the shield-bearing soldiers on a much wider front.

As the soldiers drew closer to the mountain pass, the behemoth rumbled, emitting a sound reminiscent of a bleating goat, albeit at a much, much lower pitch that Viviane would’ve thought terrifying to hear in the dark. It took one titanic step forward, driving a cloud of dust and debris into the air as it splattered its comrades against the ground, their misshapen black bodies becoming nothing more than splotches on the rocky terrain before their twisted bodies regenerated completely.

Viviane pushed herself off the ground, smoothly unslinging her bow from her shoulder in the same motion. “If Scarlet doesn’t give the signal in time, we’ll have to judge it by ourselves.”

Medrauta nodded. “Are you sure about this, Vivi?”

“We’re the only ones who can do this, Medrauta.”

Medrauta grimaced, giving Viviane a worried look as she took her lady’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “...Alright. Just... please don’t collapse again, alright? If it feels like it’s too much, I want you to stop immediately.”

Viviane held her knight’s gaze silently for a few seconds before answering. She had chosen to shoulder this heavy responsibility, after all. “I will, but don’t worry too much, alright? I’ve gotten a bit better at controlling this power of mine,” she grinned.

“I’m serious, Vivi. I’d rather jump down there and fight the damned behemoth myself if it means keeping you safe.”

Three short staccato notes pierced the air as Medrauta finished speaking. It was the signal to trigger the rockslide. A quick look told Viviane that Scarlet had managed to time it perfectly despite her position on the rear of the battlefield.

“Yeah, I know.” Viviane said, raising her hand up as a pillar of silver light burst brightly around her, bestowing her Crest upon Medrauta. It would give away their position to the enemy commander, but there was little that could be done to avoid the trap now. Even if the brunt of the witchspawn army managed to escape, the behemoth certainly wouldn’t.

Medrauta spun away from her lady, feeling the overwhelming power course through her body once more. This time, it was far more controlled and she felt much less like a bursting dam, which was no doubt a good sign. Focusing entirely on directing the immense strength flowing through herself, Medrauta first gathered it all toward the center of her body before concentrating it in her arm and finally her sword.

Kwiiiing!

As if confirming her success, her blade rang with a high-pitched noise as if it were vibrating rapidly from the mysterious power that ran through it. A bright silver light cloaked the length of the weapon, and its weight suddenly increased tenfold such that Medrauta was forced to grip it with two hands.

“W-What the hell is this, Viviane!? This is way different than the first time!” Medrauta exclaimed, a slight hint of panic in her voice as the sword trembled in her hand, feeling as though it might fly out of her control at any moment.

Despite her knight’s alarm, Viviane merely laughed. “I told you, didn’t I? I’ve gotten better at controlling it, haven’t I?”

While Medrauta certainly couldn’t agree with her lady, the energy that was being channeled through her sword was definitely much more concentrated than before, and likely much more dangerous. Hoping for the best, she focused on her target and swung with all her might, unleashing her weapon’s stored power in the shape of a crescent wave that shot forth with such speed that she could hardly comprehend what had happened.

Before she could even register the attack’s success, it had already cleaved straight through the area she had aimed at, slicing through enormous slabs of rock as though they were no harder than butter. The silver crescent passed through the other side, dissipating into the air after flying for a significant distance.

“Do you think that worked...?” Medrauta blinked.

She didn’t have to wait very long for an answer. The ground beneath her feet trembled violently as the mountain rumbled. The colossal stone structure shifted, threatening to unbalance Medrauta as her hand quickly shot out, grabbing Viviane by the arm and stabilizing the equally surprised noblewoman.

The rockslide started slowly, but it quickly became a stark reminder of nature’s true power. It all began with the peak of the mountain that Medrauta’s attack had managed to divorce from the rest of the titanic formation. It slid gradually until it picked up speed and momentum, falling from its former perch and crashing into the side of the mountain in a violent eruption of rocky debris, catalyzing a chain reaction of falling boulders in its wake.

Deafening sounds akin to thunder echoed through the air as gigantic pieces of rock fell from the mountain’s face and collected in the narrow pass, crushing and burying the witchspawn army within seconds. In a matter of moments, their fortified and secure position had been buried by the artificially induced wrath of nature, completely destroying any advantage the pass once afforded them.

“...I think that answers your question, Medrauta.” Viviane said, catching her breath as the tremors came to an end. “But...”

“...Yeah.” Medrauta nodded, similarly breathing hard. She stared at the ruined witchspawn formation, looking in the exact same direction as Viviane.

As it turns out, the violent shaking had caused several boulders on their side to be dislodged too, giving them a few close calls when it came to dodging out of the way. However, that was the least of their issues at the moment.

Though rockslide had eliminated a large part of the witchspawn army, the cannonspawn sitting in the rear had been largely untouched aside from a few unlucky stragglers. While that normally wouldn’t have been an issue, there was just one problem that still remained.

A very big problem.

“...The behemoth’s still alive.”