[Alex]
[Five minutes prior to the death of the queen crawler.]
I left the runestone with a scavenger on the fourth section. He was the only one amongst all the scavengers present to be around my age—someone I wouldn’t expect to appear in such raids. Most teenagers would be training to be a raider or a soldier, while the older, weaker men would take the job of a scavenger.
I had to admit, he seemed capable in comparison to others of our age. With a decent frame and some muscles to back them up, he didn’t seem weak at all. Still, in such jobs, it would be natural to think of him as inexperienced.
But there was something offsetting about him. Something that made him stand out from everyone else. Not just his age, but something about him…
Was it his observant gaze?
I noticed multiple times since we entered the caves. The entire time, he was… observing. Not just me, or the raiders party, but… everything.
But still, to entrust the stone to an inexperienced scavenger was a bold move by me. That stone, the runestone, would probably be the most valuable thing to come out from this raid. Its existence itself was hidden from the common folk, and only those deeply affiliated with the royal family would know.
…Well, those who bothered to learn, anyways. The meathead that was my second brother wouldn’t know a damn thing about it.
However, he always had a sharp nose. And he certainly knew that I had a plan in mind for this raid, even if he didn’t know what the plan was. From the moment we set foot in the caves, he had been constantly monitoring me—that was, if he wasn’t panicking from the delroids and the little crawlers that appear from time to time. Hence, leaving the runestone with a scavenger was the safest option.
“Prepare to engage!” Pevrius’ order could be heard from the other side of the tunnel. From the tone of his voice, I deduced that something unexpected was happening out there; we were supposed to have a few more minutes until we began clearing that section. Quickly, I ran to the end of the tunnel, where all the raiders gathered.
The raiders had gone into formation, forming four distinct groups. One group on the front was led by Raynhert, the Raiders’ Association representative, and the group on the right was led by Pyke, Raynhert’s second-in-command. The group on the left was led by Pevrius and Allen, containing the royal soldiers. That left the group at the rear, which was none other than my assigned group, filled with archers and mages from both the military and the association. There was no significant figure leading our group, but our role in the raid wasn’t one that required extreme coordination, so it was accepted as part of the plan.
I dashed towards my allocated position and readied my sword. The truth was, I wasn’t given any useful role in this raid. The fact that a swordsman was placed at the rear was indication enough that I was only intended to participate.
But I wanted to fight. To practice my skills. To get fame and glory. And most importantly…
To get recognition from my father.
I clicked my tongue. No matter how much I wanted to get into the action, I had to stay in my position. Holding the formation is the basics of a raid.
“Get your weapons ready! Wait for the shielders to charge, then we will attack the flank!” Pyke commanded as he and his group started the first move, and subsequently, Raynhert proceeded to command his own group. “Shielders, lead the charge! Let’s finish this quickly!” In conjunction, Pevrius commanded his own group as well. The start of the attack seemed to work synchronously, just as planned.
But something didn’t click. We were attacking a lot sooner than we should’ve, and there was this air of… unease, that I couldn’t wrap my head around. Why do they all seem anxious?
As the three groups ahead of me began moving, I finally found the answer to the restlessness breeding among my peers. The gaps between the groups finally widened, and I saw the enemy we were facing.
Three large, ironclad knights, each carrying a giant double axe, slowly approached us with firm steps that shook the ground beneath. Their entire body was covered by violet auras, so dark that it almost seemed black. Their eyes glowed with a light blue color, contrasting their pitch-dark bodies. The amalgamation of these produced the rampant fear that ran across all the raiders.
Vahlias, the soldiers of the abyss.
But how? None of them had been seen since the inner gates were sealed! Dread soon began to envelop my skin, creeping into my heart and wringing it until I got a grip of myself. But it was only natural—these monsters were last seen 500 years ago, and the only ones known to defeat them were the Seven Sentinels. Perhaps the only saving grace was that there were only three of them that we were facing, as opposed to the thousands that used to swarm the gates back then.
The group of shielders, led by Raynhert, charged straight into the three Vahlias to gain their attention. Despite the large, bulky physiques of the ten men in the group, they looked like a toddler in the face of a Vahlia, which was around three times as large as one of them.
As the shielders clashed onto the Vahlias’ axes, shouts of “Enforte!” could be heard, followed by a dim glow appearing on their shields. Taking this chance, the flanking group began to move to the Vahlias’ sides, and those in the group capable of magic began chanting them.
“Ensharpe!” “Enstrente!” “Enswifte!” Half of them were the amount of people who could wield magic. Tch, was this how low our combat power was? The previous mobs didn’t require us to use much magic to kill, but now with our backs against the wall, our true potential was tested, and it didn’t seem like we would pass.
The group led by Pyke successfully flanked the Vahlias and engaged, each raider striking the Vahlias’ jet-black armor. Slashes, stabs, punches were all thrown at the mighty Vahlias for a few solid seconds.
They did nothing.
Not even a scratch or a dent could be seen on the Vahlias’ armor, and they didn’t seem to take any damage at all. If anything, they became aware of the new group of measly humans charging at them.
BANG! One of the Vahlias finally responded to the flank attack, and with one single slam to the ground, it knocked away multiple raiders. Those affected were either mortally wounded, if not dead. In a single move, things have turned grim for us all.
In retaliation, the secondary flank began charging into the Vahlias in a similar manner to the primary flank, with strengthening and sharpening magic. Members from my group, responsible for inflicting long-range damage from the rear, also began their barrage of ranged attacks, with varying spells from simple fireballs to sharpened arrows.
They’re practically unharmed after everything we threw at them. On the other hand… One sweep and we already have casualties. Assessing the current battle situation, it’s clear as day who the victors would be.
The slow, creeping fear that infected the raiders since the beginning of the fight finally took its toll. After a minute of constantly attacking, the raiders’ movements began to feel sluggish, succumbing to tiredness and dread. During this minute, at least a dozen raiders are out of commission from the fight due to the Vahlias’ otherworldly-powerful attacks, further decreasing our chances of winning.
And there I was, standing idle at the back. Fight back, Alex, Those people need you. You’re stronger than they think, so show them. Show them what you’re truly capable of!
This was it. The chance to prove myself. The chance to be recognized by Father.
I held the grip of my sword firmly, while unsheathing a fraction of the sword. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. Remember all your training. Channel your mana, and strike. Ending the thought, I swiftly opened my eyes and swung my sword.
Celeste, thunderslash.
At the same fraction of a second I took to swing my sword, I dashed across the battlefield, arriving at the other end. An aftereffect akin to a lightning streak appeared along my tracks, followed by a thundering roar.
Celeste was a sword magic exclusive to the Magnolia bloodline. The sheer speed obtained from the spell was tremendous, and the damage it dealt was devastating. It did come with a cost, which was that a huge portion of my energy was burnt out.
I turned around to see my spoils of war, only to be met with an unexpected predicament. My strongest attack, honed to perfection for almost 8 years, only managed to crack the armor of a single Vahlia.
It’s… unharmed?
“It’s impossible!” A raider from the primary flank yelled out, his voice practically filled with terror. Leaving his assigned position, the man made a run for his life.
It wasn’t just him. Soon, one by one, around a dozen raiders fled the scene full of panic. Witnessing one of the whole country’s greatest spells had lit up a spark of hope for all of them, but the insignificant damage it caused in reality had stomped their hopes back down to the depths of hell. For the first time, they realized the true extent of the enemy they were facing, and their true colors finally showed: cowardice.
“Pyke, get the scavengers out of here! We need to retreat!” Raynhert seemed to be the only one besides me in the room with any form of composure left. Pyke, upon receiving the command, broke out of a trance and immediately ran back to section 4. Whether it was due to dutifulness or cowardice, no one could know.
However, I wasn’t in any position to care about the rest of the party.
The Vahlia I had damaged began approaching me steadily. I began to move away from it, but the speed it picked up surprised me. Since when was it this fast?!
Rationally, there was no way for me to outrun it. In addition to the overwhelming speed of the Vahlia, Celeste took a lot of energy from my body, leaving me with barely enough to run.
This is my only choice.
I came to an abrupt stop and twisted my body. With one motion, I drew my sword and positioned it above my head, holding both ends of the sword with both hands.
I was one hundred percent sure that I couldn’t block its attack. Regardless, I had to try. With that, the Vahlia took a large swing and clashed its axe into…
“Lion’s heart!”
…a shield.
It took me a while to realize that Raynhert had sprinted across the room to reach me and cast a protective spell to deflect the attack. As the axe struck his shield, an energy barrier appeared and shielded us. “Prince Alex, please fall back with Prince Allen. Your safety here is our priority.”
This was my only chance to convince my father that I was worthy. Falling back wouldn’t get me to where I wanted to be. I had to keep fighting—
No. To be a real leader, I had to be rational. Think, Alex. Make the right decision.
I nodded, holding back my dissatisfaction. As soon as the attack ended, the barrier dissipated, and I gathered every last drop of stamina I had left to make a run for it.
“Make sure you come back alive.”
I hated myself. I was supposed to be the talented prince. I had to be strong to be the next king of Magnolia. I had to show my father that I was indeed worthy for his throne. Worthy to be depended on by the people of Magnolia. But I kept running.
Retreating was the logical choice. With such monstrosities standing in front of us, there was no chance to defeat them, and hence we needed to fall back. Still, I hated this option. It represented fear, cowardice and defeat. It was everything I stood against.
Allen, carrying a torch, didn’t wait for me to arrive and started running back through the tunnel without me. Thus, there was no time for me to rest.
As I went along, I finally caught up with Allen at section 4, and we continued escaping to section 3. Part of me still felt an extreme frustration for leaving Raynhert and the others behind, but this was the best choice I had. Death was awaiting for those who stayed behind, and I was an asset too valuable to lose. Focus, Alex. You have a duty to fulfill, one that you owe everyone back there.
Out of a sudden, Allen stopped right on his tracks, and so did I. We were just about to enter section 3 when a scene playing in front of me took the breaths out of my mouth.
It was a towering humanoid storm of fire beating down on the corpse of a monster. Whatever that thing was, I was certain that it was on par in strength with the Vahlias we encountered before. Fear began to grow from deep inside my heart.
What is that thing? Is it going to attack me? Unconsciously, I readied my right hand on the hilt of my sword. If it had moved even an inch towards me, I would’ve struck my sword.
It was then when the giant fire spirit attacked a raider provoking it. In an instant, the man was incinerated into ashes. He did not stand a single chance.
Whatever that thing is… There’s no way I can defeat it. For reasons unknown, the fear induced didn’t suffocate me as much as the previous experience with the Vahlia. Still, I knew not to make an enemy of it. It seemed that Allen came to the same conclusion, seeing that he didn’t move a single muscle.
The fire spirit died out abruptly, revealing a figure that had been controlling the flames. It was the same scavenger whom I had left the runestone with. After a brief silence, the few people in the area began panicking and tried to avoid the teenaged man who stood in the middle of the room. The room quickly began to fill up with noises of accusations.
‘Was that thing… the runestone? But how did he activate it?’ There was only one known man in the history of the world that could activate a runestone, and the person standing right there definitely wasn’t him.
Nonetheless, my brain started going to work. If he indeed had the power to wield the runestone, then perhaps…
Perhaps he could be the key I needed.
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