139 Battle of the Wild Mountains : Part 7

"What do you think Sarah? It is impossible that managing to pierce that magic shield is a good thing, especially after what happened a few hours ago. So why those magus decided to put us here, when they have failed?" The stressed magus from Synnada was murmuring at the ear of his beautiful peer. Both of them were slightly apart from the rest, that were still trying every magic they knew to get to that circle on the ground.

Around them, there was still some soldiers that were walking toward the second room, to barricade the access. With the death of Avirus, even the arrival of the now Hero Ferrod Minalcar Teldil had not managed to calm everyone. The normal people that were fighting in this war were beginning to lose hope, something no one wanted to see. After all, their beliefs were utterly crushed, days after days.

They were told magus were mighty and powerful, killed with a single arrow. That Gods would save them, banished from this place because of something no one truly understood. That the Heroes will vanquish the evil, beheaded, his corpse taken by their enemy. At this point, the initial fear that was among the magicians was now deeply rooted, and no one wanted to be visible, terrified by that hidden threat. But the worst part was that only one of the Dark Gods had shown himself.

Trying to banish from her thoughts her memories of Leilade, when the latter slaughtered her way out of the prison they tried to trap her in, Meridil nodded slightly. "I think, they want us to act as bait. You see those two, on your right?" Khala looked discreetly where the woman told him to and saw two disciples of the Archmage leisurely talking.

"Before today, they would have been near the portal. But now, they are very far away, meaning they predicted something we don't know. Can be an explosion, can be anything, I have no idea." If someone saw two magus, one from Massalia and one from Synnada acting like conspirators, they wouldn't have believed their eyes. Funny that by putting them close to each other, during several terrifying events, they began to drop their mutual hate.

"Hey, what are you planning you two?" The female magus of Synnada that was present in the desert when Kardel attacked also began to separate from those too close to the circle. But before she could receive any answer, she heard a very unfamiliar sound from behind her, prompting her to turn. In a flash, something as grey as the stone walls surrounding them appeared.

Four thin limbs, with claws at the end, suddenly extended themselves, bypassing entirely the magic shield that was between the creature and the magicians. Too fast to even have the time to scream, four unfortunate souls had their bodies pierced and pulled forward, disappearing along with the monster. Not even a second had passed, and all the humans could see was the traces of blood and the cut pieces of fabric laying on the ground, acting as proof.

"CLOSE THIS WALL!" Sarah did not wait any longer to face those two magus of a higher Circle than her. If she hadn't been talking away from that thing, she could have been killed as well. "Magus Meridil, I know it is a stressful situation, but ..."

"No, but! Leaving this will only cause more deaths, look around you. Do you think we can afford to have some monsters tearing us apart from out of nowhere?" Around her, many officers and magicians were looking with fear at the opening in the wall. The soldiers that previously were passing by normally now were holding tightly their weapons, pointing them at the circle on the ground. A bit overwhelmed, by the situation, the two that were tasked to follow the progress still wanted to continue.

"I see, but were ..." "I was not asking for your permission. I was just telling you what was happening. CLOSE. THE. DOOR." Joining hands with !!! and a few others, they began to create layers and layers of magic shield on top of the one created by the Dark Gods. Five began to raise his hand to cancel everything before she pondered a bit and decided otherwise. A few minutes later, the hidden door was now once more a sturdy wall.

"Keep watching this wall. If something ever pokes his nose out of it, blast it into oblivion." The beautiful magus left the room, accompanied by the two magus of the 6th Circle. Sighing, she only hoped someone had a solution before they all died. Men and women were able to sacrifice themselves for something better than them, greater than them. But if the idea they hold tight in their hearts began to crumble, nothing will make them fight anymore. And if the losses were not too severe in term of numbers, they had lost many important people.

"As your prince and a Hero, I order you to give me that sword!" The tense, calm maybe even sad atmosphere she expected to see was nothing alike, with the Sword Saint gritting his teeth, flanked by his two children. On the other side, Ferrod was shining, his stature far more important than previously. "And that's the same for the rest. Do you know why Avirus died? Because Avenio did not have a single relics from the past. Normal weapons crumbled under his strength, but I will not make the same mistake."

Calmly extending his hand, he unsheathed the sword that was on the waist of Idhrenil Gwendhir. In his hand, the weapon suddenly began to emit light, blinding everyone in the room. "Here, you can have mine." Dropping his belt, the carefully crafted sword was laying on the ground, but Ferrod had already turned his sight toward the men from the Synnada Empire. Not caring at all, he acted no less than a thug threatening innocent people for a protection fee.

"Give it to him. We can't afford the death of another Hero." Slightly bowing in front of Lord Darkwater and not looking at all at the overbearing prince, one officer from the desertic empire left the tent after he heard that order. The rest were looking with hatred at Ferrod, for asking them to give like that what was protected for thousand of years. Maybe for the first time since they arrived, Remi Darkwater was not the first one they would kill if they had the chance.

Soon after, a complete armor was displayed to anyone to see. Even Sarah could tell the vast difference between what she was seeing and the rest, like the sword of the Sword Saint. The equipment crafted by the dwarven Hero, the blacksmith IronSkull had never be surpassed afterward. No one knew if it was because of the dwarf, because of the God behind him or both. But when the new Hero put the armor on, the same reaction happened once again.

"You see, you all sent Avirus to his death. While I will lead you to victory." The ones that had many regrets were the men from Avenio, that only realized now what they should have done. Because their nation had been created after the Age of Darkness, everything they could have was either in the hand of the Synnada Empire or had been stolen by the Organization. But it was easier to steal from an empire than criminals.

Leaving haughtily the tent, the sun above their head created an aura of greatness around Ferrod. All the stares of the preoccupied, worried and fearful soldiers were drawn to him. At the same time, they were not the only one watching what was happening. "Davion, what do you think of this?" The orodil leaned to see more clearly the small human that was wearing an extremely shiny armor.

"Nothing that an energy rifle can't pierce. However, Kardel won't be able to break it with his arrows. Only magic could maybe kill the human, but a very strong magic." Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Leilade couldn't help but curse Master Agnil once more. It all came down to whether the repaired weapon could be used again. Turning her sight toward the broken equipment of Davion, she controlled the lich to get it closer.

Using the meager reserve of irons and C'Thalium they still had, she managed to at least repair his sword and his shield to a decent state. It was not tempered and refined like Agnil would have done it, but it was enough to at least be used. However, she could not fix the tiny holes and fissures inside his armor, far too costly to do it. "Thank you, Empress." That did not bother the calm alien, who was already satisfied with the results.

"Meridiana, it is time now." On the screen, they could all see the Hero charging forward, with fresh troops ready to battle. Behind him, nearly all the magus were present, except a few too tired or that stayed in front of the portal in the entrance. Neither she nor the orodil dwindled any longer, ready to battle. Right before she entered the portal, the succubus still waved at Davion, with the latter nodding back.

"WHAT THE ... ARGH!" She appeared in front of a group of soldiers that were approaching the entrance. Before the one in front even managed to speak, her tail had agilely pierced his heart. Holding tight the two daggers in her hands, she cut down the small troop easily. Only after doing that did she realized how far was her shelter.

Merely two hundreds of meters. Nothing at all, a breeze. Except when that entire distance was just human after human, soldier after soldier. Not daring to not go full out, she felt her entire body going hot, very hot. Flames could begin to appear on her armor, but instead of melting, it only strengthened it. "Emotions gives power. Fuel them, unleash your wrath and let your flames consume your enemies." Repeating the words the succubus that trained her told her, centuries ago, she exacerbated the anger she felt against Leilade to its maximum.

As a goddess of fire, the entire air around her began to vibrate, provoking countless spontaneous combustions. The humans were also affected, and anyone getting too close could see their own skin melting on their bodies. The leather armors they wore under the heavy iron parts burned, sending shrieks of help everywhere. Right before she could reach the entrance, she had to face someone she never saw before.

A huge giant, for the humans, looking not any different than a bear was blocking her path. because Malakov did not want to risk to expose his little spies, he did not put one of them inside the command tent, only looking at the surrounding of the underground base. Otherwise, she could have recognized the father of one of her acquaintance.

Feeling the power in her body getting weaker and weaker, Meridiana screamed at the Sword Saint. "BACK OFF!" The grave and ominous voice were miles away from the usual sweet and soft voice of the succubus. But that did not even make Idhrenil frown. Pouncing on the small armor he was seeing, the two began to battle. However, in merely a few seconds, the human understood that his opponent was far less skilled than him.

Meridiana understood that at the same time, and then decided to not hold any reserve. Murmuring in a small voice, fire snakes began to appear, all heading toward the Sword Saint. If at first, the latter tried to cut them in half, he quickly realized he did not have the same sword. His muffled scream of pain was barely audible, as his sword melted and his left arm was burned. Coupled with his injuries from a few hours ago, he could only retreat, while spitting blood.

Relieved by that sight, the succubus was still not out of danger. She was forced to activate a magic shield upon entering the underground, consuming even more of her mana. The pitiful spells that should have not even made a dent in her magic if it was a normal day almost destroyed it. Barely quick enough to reach the two magicians, she sucked them dry, but it was clearly not enough. Using the fact that her physical body was far greater than the ones of the humans, she managed to just rush her way in the mass of soldiers.

Her only worry was that the Hero was ready to catch her at the end of the tunnel, so she did not waste any times at killing someone that was not directly in front of her. Getting tired and tired as hundred had already fallen by her hands, she casted once more a magic shield to protect herself from the magus. But, it did not last a single second before crumbling. Her armor was getting colder and colder, the flames surrounding her body barely hot to start a fire.

Almost panting, she caught a soldier at the entrance of the third room and threw it on the group of mages. The small mess that was created by that was just enough for her to dive into the sea of soldiers. Fortunately, the humans had weak hearts and did not shot a spell while she was holding that hostage. Leaving the trap they had created by emptying a space right at the entrance of the third room, she stumbled and nearly crash down.

However, the soldiers that were looking at her did not waste this occasion, slashing down their swords and axes at her. If her armor had been reinforced with magic, it could also be weakened by it. And with the fact she could barely cast a spell, she was beginning to leech the mana inscribed on her very armor. One soldier a bit too strong and too lucky managed to hit her with his axe, creating a dent in her arm.

In the last dozens of meters before she could reach the undead, she was subjected to that same event, over and over again. She could hear from afar the loud noises provoked by the duel between the new human Hero and Davion. But in her muddled state, completely exhausted, she did not notice that the sounds were getting closer and closer. "MERIDIANA!" Hearing the call of the orodil, she only lifted her head to see a brilliant sword heading downwards.