Chapter 367: Coming to a close

"Finally!" Vivian sighed in relief as she managed to get behind a line of people. She was beyond tired and her body ravaged with wounds. All she wanted was to rest. To have a moment to catch her breath.

"Hey! You ca-" The man stopped as he saw her condition, "Quick, move further back."

"No, I can't" Vivian shook her head as she took a seat, "I-"

"You need to rest. Going back into the fight will just cause your death. Do not think that we will be able to revive you."

'Right... This fight will not end in a few minutes...' Vivian sighed and felt like crying. She had thought she would get used to death. Alas, life was not so kind. 

All those she had known, who had also come in the name of Phallos's help... All her comrades were dead. And now too so was Eldrian. She was certain of it and she was incapable of believing that something as great as resurrection could truly be true. Not without a cost.

There was no way she could believe that. There was no way someone would be the same even if it was possible. How could they if their body is totally new?

Fighting her sobs, Vivian thought of just how terrible war truly was. How naive she used to be, and still was. 'I didn't learn.' She sighed as she defeated her sobs. Yet, defeating them had made her feel no better. Instead, she felt even worse. 

'Of course, he never stops training... This... I-' Vivian paused and clenched Nelida's Flame in her hand. "I can't give up!" 

With this shout she stood up on her wobbly feet and jumped back into the fight. The man who had warned her shaking his head but not going to do anything more. He had enough to worry about. There was no way he could spare energy for someone with a death wish. 

...

Laughing wildly, Judith pointed at Therdul who was trying his best to get the vampire from his neck. He was truly lucky the flames had not spread to him, yet she was stuck to him now. Like a vice, her grip would not relent.

"Enough, help him!" Elizabeth scolded as she tried to stand up, falling as soon as she did. 'What is going on?' She wondered, the damage was not that great according to the system. Yet, she could not get her feet to work as they should. 

"You have to-" Judith said amidst fits of laughter. "Admit... It looks ridiculous."

"It sure isn't fun!" Therdul threw back along with a slew of curses that got Judith to finally stand up and help him. In the end a piece of Therdul's went with the vampire. 

Cursing even more, Therdul placed pressure on the wound and looked around. "Why is it so quiet?"

It wasn't really quiet, the sounds of fighting surrounded them. However, no one mistook his question. "You're right. Where are all the enemies?" Nikki asked, from their original 20, only 8 were left. 

"Maybe the vampire scared them off?"

"Or the fire?"

"That does not matter," Elizabeth said as she finally managed to stand up. "We need to find them if they won't come to us."

Complaints quickly followed, Elizabeth exercising her authority to shut them down. "Enough! If we fail, we are done for as a guild!"

"But this quest is insane. How can it be just A-rank?" Therdul asked the question on everyone's mind. 

"Clearly it no longer is. But! You know how they handle quests. It was our bad luck that the main army of undead came to the spot we chose to help at."

Naturally, none of them were happy with it. Yet they had to deal with it. Helping the few who had yet to regain their feet up, they reformed into a simple group with the Ilmadia and Elizabeth in the center. 

As they started walking, Judith commented, "You really need to become a cleric Ella. We need a healer."

Everyone nodded in silent agreement as their first target appeared in their sights. A shriveled centaur, recently dead and turned into a thrall. The sight causing them all to shiver as they realized it could have been them. 

Needless to say, they gave it no mercy. Therdul in particular was beyond active. 

...

Somewhere in the middle of the battle, there was a small circle wherein no undead dared step. Therein lay an elf with short silver hair. His eye's vacant, but many bones and incinerated corpses surrounding the spot. 

"Wha-" A tiger demi-human was interrupted as his partner, a wolf demi-human, pulled him back. 

"Don't," He said and pointed, "Look." 

Where the canine indicated lay a centaur. A clean kill, yet most certainly a friendly one.

"How cou-"

"Fool, does it look like he is in any kind of state to see who is attacking?"

"No-"

As the two were about to move out, a beautiful bird big enough for two or even three people to ride on flew down and landed next to the elf. 

"Wha-"

"Don't" Again the canine pulled his friend back, this time the two quickly needed to act as a group of skeletons found them. 

The Roc looked at the elf in confusion. It could tell that something was wrong, it dared not move closer. Instead, it stayed and kept guard. Killing anyone and anything that dared come to close. 

Naturally, it gave them a death stare as a warning. It did have some reason.

...

"Tovack, you take the elder," Amnur said, his armor suddenly switching to its active mode. His flames rapidly absorbed by the bright red crystals installed on his helm, chest, and gauntlets.  In his hands a greatsword of purple and black. With a peculiar crystal near the hilt. 

The crystal a dark purple. Seemingly with a galaxy inside of it. 

Seeing the blade the elder's original cockiness disappeared. "I-Im-Impossible!"

"As I asked before. Are you sure you wish to die?" Amnur asked, no longer facing the elder but instead looking to the side. With a sigh a demon appeared from the shadow of a boulder. 

"Still as sharp-eyed as ever." The devil looked at Amnur with a hint of worry. His wife was still injured and unable to join him in a fight.

The devil was close to three meters tall, built like a herculean with blood-red skin. Two spiral horns sharp enough to kill and just the right length on his forehead. Perfect for when head-bashing someone. 

"Azamud. If you are here..." Amnur turned and look back to the forest which was far past the horizon. "Does that mean you also have a son here?"

"Don't you dare!" Azamud shouted in fury, the surrounding ground trembling as if an earthquake arrived. 

"It was you who dared," Amnur said, suddenly appearing before Azamud. His sword moving far too fast for the eye to see. The devil king only barely managed to survive the surprise attack thanks to his armor. Yet he was sent flying. Coughing blood, his armor cracked. 

One thought of confusion filling the devil's thoughts as he did his best to detect the next attack. Failing miserably. 'How?'

"Since they started, we should too," Tovack said, the dwarf covered head to toe in abyssal armor. The armor did not even have slits to see through, instead, he used magic to see. Having long since been blinded in battle, the dwarf had practiced for years on end to master the technique and make it his own. 

As soon as his words arrived at the elderly man, so did he. A dagger thrust at the man's heart. 

"Ignorant, you think you can hurt me!" The man was furious that someone at just Tier 10 would dare attack him. Yet, when he blocked the attack he learned that his assumptions of an easy victory were quickly proven false. 

"How-" The man could not finish his question as the dwarf appeared before him again. Dodging again the man laughed, "Your speed is indeed impressive, but you won't be able to land a hit."

"Time will tell," Tovack replied softly, little more than a whisper. Continuing his attacks with the diligence of someone who spends nearly every waking moment training. Only letting the need for food and water come in his way. 

...

Nearly half a day later where the entire battle had started. The chaos and carnage was still hidden from sight by the black mist. It was finally starting to lift, but not fast and night was arriving. 

"Has anyone seen an elf with silver hair?" Vivian asked, walking with a limp from person to person. The battle had finally ended, though calling it a victory would be too much. The Thunder Legion was nearly annihilated. The only reason they won, in the end, was because the higher undead had run instead of fought. 

This had happened when nearly half of them had died. The deaths of the Thunder Legion were even more, but they kept fighting like it did not matter. To them, victory was all that mattered. While to the undead their survival was all that mattered. 

Most simply ignored Vivian's question, some even cursed at her. A few wanted to offer help, though most of them were not in any condition to do so. 

"An elf?" A tiger demi-human asked, a massive cut across his chest still leaking blood. Yet he cared little for it, he cared little for anything at the moment. 

"Yes, have you seen him?" Vivian asked in haste. 

"Yes, it should be easy to find him." The demi-human replied only half realizing what he was saying. "Wait for the mist to go. There is a massive bird watching over him.