Sang sighed and blinked a few times, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. Maybe the reason she was so okay with dying was the fact that she was exhausted. Perhaps if she had gotten a full night’s sleep, she’d have been angry or upset, but all she could feel was a sense of hope that relief was coming soon. She would leave this world behind knowing that she had performed all of her duties to the very end. Whatever guilt she carried, at least she knew she’d been trying to save the world. And, who knew, maybe it would be saved?
A loud crashing noise accompanied by screams echoed in the distance. Sang was too tired to look around. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, waiting to find out what waited for her in death…
“Jeez, what a bloodbath,” Kylian said as they entered into the Designated Reality Zone. There were bodies all over the place. The bodies belonged to the Kyrissian soldiers.
“That stench,” Bidane groaned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Van knelt down to inspect one of the corpses. The body had a large hole torn in the torso and it looked as if the man’s guts had been ripped out. The eyes were still open and the deceased soldier wore an expression of terror.
“Lots of bodies, but all of them Kyrissian,” Kylian said. “I’d wager to say that whatever army did this didn’t take a single casualty.” He walked up to a tree that had a massive claw mark in the side of it. “That is, if it was an army that did this.”
“Alright, guys, get ready for a fight,” Van whispered. Kenwar had given him instructions as to where Sang had last been seen. She had climbed up in a tree a few miles in. The instructions weren’t the best, and Van had considered forcing Kenwar to come along with him, but at the same time, you could only push someone so far before they snapped. As far as Van was concerned, Kenwar had earned his freedom for his willingness to continue cooperating.
“This… this is beyond the pale,” Bidane said as she pointed to a pair of legs that were sprawled out on the ground. A torso was hanging off of a tree branch a few feet away.
“What could have done this?” Van muttered as they continued to investigate the area. It was clear that the damage sustained to the environment itself indicated that whatever had been there was powerful and angry.
“Whew, so glad I didn’t let Capello come along,” Kylian said. “That boy would have been so excited to face whatever this thing is.”
“Before we go any further,” Bidane said, “let me cast a spell.”
“Magic doesn’t work in this area,” Van replied.
“Not true,” Bidane said. “It just doesn’t work like we’re used to. See, I noticed a while back that all of the spells that we priests use were incredibly detailed. So detailed that I decided to memorize some of the prayers as specifically as possible, more than just the words you usually need to cast them—you know, for my character. If you can physically slash a sword in this realm and it works, why can’t I physically utter the words to activate a spell?”
Van shrugged. “Well, give it a try.”
“Here I go. Ahem... prepare yourselves.
“In the name of the White Fox,
I invoke her powers—
Let my allies stand firm
And their skin be as steel.”
Bidane held her staff up high and tapped the earth three times. On the third tap, a light emanated from the top of her staff. Beams began to leap out and strike against Van, Bidane, and Kylian. As the beams touched against Van’s body, the words Damage Resistance 25% appeared over his head. He could feel his skin grow tougher, and he felt more stable.
“Very nice,” Kylian said. “This should come in really handy. How long does it last?”
Bidane shrugged. “24 hours in the regular game, but who knows for this area?”
“Onward,” Van said as he unsheathed a halberd that he had found lying on the ground earlier. He hadn’t memorized any of his bardic abilities, which was unfortunate because that would have come in very handy in this battle. The next best thing that he had was a weapon that functioned as both an axe and a spear. He hadn’t used one before, but it rested comfortably enough in his hands. It was far better than his darts anyway. Those things wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in this kind of fight.
As they trudged through the forest, Van noticed that the trail of wreckage continued in the direction that Kenwar had pointed him. A fear rose up instantly. Was this a trap? Had Kenwar used the idea of Sang’s potential death as a way to lure him back into the clutches of Draco? No, he thought after a moment, that didn’t make sense. Kenwar was still pressured by the fear that he would die of a poison pill in his gut, meaning that he had every incentive to protect Van. And besides, if Kenwar had been planning on betraying him, wouldn’t he have done so earlier, before the information on the data stick had been uploaded and released?
“Heads up!” Kylian shouted as he pointed toward a pile of bodies in the middle of a clearing. One soldier was standing in the middle, clutching his side. Blood poured from his wound.
“Hey, you alright?” Van asked as he cautiously approached the man. The soldier was wearing Kyrissian gear, although he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
“I… ugh, it hurts so bad, I can’t move. Can’t sit,” the man grunted as he held onto his wound.
“What happened?” Van asked as he slowly walked up to the man.
“It was like lightning; I couldn’t do a thing,” the soldier said. “You should get out of here while you still have a chance.”
“What was like lightning?” Kylian asked. A loud hissing from the trees answered Kylian’s question as a green blur leapt from above and landed atop the soldier. Van recognized it as one of the lizard creatures that he had seen earlier. The man screamed in pain as the lizard slashed and clawed away at his guts.
“Holy crap!” Bidane said.
The lizard creature turned to face them and grinned. “My goodness, back for more?” it asked.
“Lemuel…” Van said. He raised his halberd high and readied for the charge.
“I am most displeased with this unit,” Lemuel said. “They foolishly allowed important information to slip through their fingers. That idiot Zac thought it would be funny to ignore my orders and do his own thing. I should wonder who’s laughing now.”
Kylian walked up next to Van, his great sword drawn. “What’s the plan, boss?” he asked.
“We kill it,” Van replied just before he charged the creature and swung the axe part of his halberd hard. Lemuel dodged low and rolled on the ground, getting behind Van. It swiped with its claws, sinking them deep into Van’s back.
“Arg!” Van screamed, but the word RESISTED appeared above his head and he realized he felt nothing.
“Magic? My goodness, you aren’t as dense as I thought,” Lemuel remarked. Van spun around in time to block the next clawed attack with the steel haft of his spear. Block appeared above him. Lemuel chuckled out a throaty laugh.
“We’re not letting you get out of this alive!” Van spat as he shoved the lizardman backwards. Kylian leapt in the air and brought his sword down hard, but Lemuel rolled out of the way and scrambled to his feet.
Bidane held her staff high and recited a prayer.
“Glory on high,
Flames below:
Show your might.
I call of you, White Fox!”
A pillar of flames came from the sky and crashed down atop Lemuel. 15 damage rose above his head and he shrieked in pain.
“Come on!” Van shouted to Kylian as he pressed the assault, thrusting dozens of times with his spear. Kylian flanked Lemuel on the right and the two began to swipe and slash in unison. Lemuel shrieked defiantly and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
“How do you like that, you scaled bastard?” Bidane shouted.
Lemuel ceased moving entirely. His eyes rolled back into his head and his claws flexed for a few seconds before stopping.