Chapter 136: Success?

Chapter 136: Success?

"It's time for you to get back to your company," Kefira said, unwillingly.

They had stood together in the center of the battalion under the watchful eye of Serilla, just talking about random things and enjoying each other's company. Reivyn had sensed a short pulse of Mana come from Kefira's communication device, and the both of them understood that to mean that Kayzor was about to engage Aeriella.

"Alright," Reivyn bent forward and gave Kefira a parting kiss. "Since we'll be coordinating with your brother's army, this battle shouldn't be too long, and we'll see each other again soon."

"Mhm. When it's over, hand your duties off to one of your lieutenants and then join me in your 'official' capacity."

"Will do," Reivyn gave a little wave as he turned to head back to his men.

Gauis had returned to his band of volunteers a while ago, but Rayha was still hanging out just on the edge of being polite. She bounced with enthusiasm, waiting for Reivyn and Kefira to finally separate, and much to Reivyn's amusement, she immediately ran to Kefira, lunging into hug the other girl. Reivyn didn't wait to see what they talked about, and he continued on his way.

After walking for just a minute or so, he perceived Rayha running up to him through his Divine Sense, and he took a deft step to the side as she tried to do the same thing to him as she had Kefira. She was quite dexterous, though, so she didn't fall to the ground. She quickly regained her balance and turned on Reivyn as he kept walking.

"Hey! I thought you were going to wait for me," she crossed her arms and huffed.

"Why?" Reivyn just kept walking.

"Because we're friends?"

"Eh, you can see me back at the company."

"Rude," Rayha stamped her foot.

"Hey, I was there to see Fira. You just tagged along."

"Hmph," Rayha cocked her hip and ran her hand up the back of her hair before flipping it.

Reivyn frowned as the movement tugged at his awareness, but Rayha quickly bounced up to him breaking his line of thought.

"So this is it, huh? After this battle, all of this will be over," Rayha said.

"What makes you say that? They're still here, and the civilians are still unaccounted for," Reivyn retorted.

"But isn't this the culmination of what they're doing? If they release the captives after this, is there a reason to continue fighting?"

"That depends on what they do with the Spider Matriarch. We can't let them use her to go on a rampage throughout the kingdom. But it's not up to me to decide. The Prince of Wispan will probably decide the course of action to take. They did attack several cities, killing the defenders and kidnapping the people. I'm not sure the king and nobles of Drallo will just let that slide."

"You think they'll try to annihilate the invaders?"

"I don't know. They'll definitely want to hold those responsible accountable, though."

"What are your plans after this is all over?" Rayha turned the conversation to a new topic. "Are you going to follow Fira back to Wispan?"

"Probably," Reivyn answered. "I don't know what her plans are after this, but I'm sure her family is going to want her to return after participating in a war."

"Maybe. If she was out on a journey to gain Life Experience, as long as she had already done a lot of the things she had wanted to prior to this war, then she would most likely go home. If she had just started her journey, she could probably get away with just updating her brother."

"That makes sense. It's not like she's completely out of communication with her family, but I don't know how long she's been out or what other adventures she's had. Traveling to an underground village way out in the middle of a huge desert and then participating in a war are pretty big events when it comes to Life Experience. Not many people can say they've done either of those things, much less both in quick succession."

"She's a Caster, so she might have some specific things related to her Path she might want to accomplish, too."

"Her Path? You mean the direction she wants to go with her future Classes?"

"Yeah. I'm following the Path of a Blade Dancer. It might sound like a Combat Class Path, and it kind of is, as I'm sure you've seen, but it's not entirely. It's kind of like a Bard who can improve their companion's abilities and negatively affect enemies through their Mana-infused music, but it also synergizes with Bards and other support-type Classes."

"Bards, huh? I've only ever experienced a Blessing from a Paladin before, but I've seen how you affect those around you when you're in combat. I don't know if Fira needs to do anything related to her Path or not, but I would guess that leading a Mage Corps in battle would do good things for it."

"Yeah, sounds like she'll most likely head home after this. Maybe I should tag along with you?"

Aeriella was on the back foot the entire time, and Reivyn's frown deepened as she failed to perform at the prior level he had seen of her. Kayzor's sword flashed like lightning, and Aeriella had a hard time parrying the swings and thrusts. Kayzor suddenly dashed forward and slammed his shoulder into her after he had baited her into getting a bit off balance, and her helmet got knocked clean off her head.

Reivyn watched as the helmet, the pink plume fluttering in the wind from where it was attached at the top, went sailing into the air, and then he turned his focus on the girl that had been knocked to the ground. Kayzor walked up, sword out, and pointed at her throat, as she attempted to scramble back, her sword lost in the sand.

This was the first time Reivyn had gotten a look at her beneath the helmet, but he still couldn't see her face. Long blonde hair cascaded down from where it had once been balled up underneath her helmet in a way that Reivyn could only assume had been quite uncomfortable.

Reivyn couldn't see Kayzor's lips moving, and he couldn't hear anything because it was so far away, but he assumed he was saying something to the girl on the ground before him.

He apparently didn't get the answer he was looking for, as he suddenly lunged forward and pierced his sword through her throat. He quickly pulled his sword back out, and a fountain of blood followed. The girl turned over, facing the battalion, and stretched her hand out, as if pleading for something.

Reivyn felt a little bad at the demise of the enemy commander, as she hadn't come off as exactly hostile. She had just seemed like someone with a different worldview but wasn't inherently evil. There were no other feelings, though, aside from the slight pang of pity at the loss.

Suddenly, Mana matching the color and signature of the Runic Spell launched from the girl's outstretched hand as she bled out in the sand. The Mana zipped across the open space at lightning-quick speed, and Reivyn watched as it seemed to hurtle straight toward him. It didn't come straight at him, though, and he turned to follow its trajectory as it smashed into Rayha, standing a short distance away from him.

He watched, stunned, as the ball of magic didn't do any harm, but instead entered Rayha's body. Everyone else, likewise, turned to watch the scene unfold, and her body began to shift subtly.

She slowly grew a couple of inches taller, reaching Reivyn's chin, and her hair turned a shade of pink that matched the plume from the helmet worn by the girl Reivyn had assumed had been Aeriella. Rayha's facial features remained mostly the same, but they became slightly more symmetrical. She shifted into a more beautiful girl. Before, she had been what Reivyn would consider cute, but now she had a different air about her. One of more maturity and authority.

She stood tall and straight, her chin lifted high as the Runic Magic settled within her chest. Likewise, the Runic Ball surrounding the Spider Matriarch reached a crescendo in condensing and suddenly seemed to wink out of existence, but Reivyn could still feel the immense power of it in the distance. Reivyn Sensed it moving, and a shining, golden ball screamed across the open air to arrive right in front of Aeriella.

Aeriella held her hands out, and the ball plopped down in them. The shining winked out, and in its place was a transparent orb with a tiny spider about the size of his hand nestled within.

Aeriella lifted her hand and brushed her hair back, exposing a "6" tattooed on the side of her neck. She turned and faced Reivyn with a smile.

"Well, Reivyn, it has been very interesting getting to know you and sister Fira over these past weeks," she said. "I'll miss our time together, but I got what I came for, now. I'll keep in touch. Oh, and the civilians we captured are all fine. They're a day away to the east in a little camp we made for them."

Suddenly, immense pressure came from behind Aeriella, and everyone, including Kayzor in the distance, was forced to the ground. Reivyn struggled against it, but he, too, was forced to take a knee. Aeriella blew him a kiss, and a little ball of Mana followed it along to smack Reivyn right in the side of his face. He felt the kiss that she blew as if she had planted her lips directly on him, and something else seemed to settle in his mind, but he was unable to pinpoint it after just a moment.

A portal opened behind Aeriella, and a dignified man stepped out. He swept the surroundings with his gaze, and everywhere he looked, people broke out into a cold sweat. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His hair was starting to go gray, and he had a neat, trimmed beard and mustache. His eyes had a fierce light to them, and Reivyn felt his entire body go cold when they settled on him.

"Master!" Aeriella shouted before jumping forward to hug him in the same manner she did with Reivyn and Kefira. The man stood completely still, his gaze still focused on Reivyn.

"Is this the one?" A voice deeper than Reivyn would have expected coming from the man.

"Uh-huh. Isn't he cute?" Aeriella wiggled her fingers at Reivyn.

"Do you want me to bring him?"

"Not yet, he has things to do."

"Very well. Come along."

The man turned and stepped back through the portal. Aeriella followed behind, but she turned her head one last time.

"Bye, Reivyn!" She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted loudly toward the center of the Battalion. "Bye Sister Fira! I'll see you, soon!"

Then she stepped through the portal and was gone. The portal winked out of existence, and the pressure holding everyone to the ground disappeared with it. Reivyn Sensed other, just as powerful Mana fluctuations from the direction of the enemy army, and after he gained his feet, he saw that twelve other massive portals had sprung up behind the soldiers fighting the spiders.

The soldiers slowly, but methodically made their way through the portals in an orderly manner, never ceasing their fight against the spiders. Twelve heavily armored soldiers stepped forward from each portal, though, and took over the defense of the retreat of the armies.

Kayzor staggered to his feet, and he started to make his way toward the battalion, slowly at first, but he gradually picked up speed as he recovered. The soldiers he had brought along followed behind him.

Reivyn regained his feet, and he watched as the enemy army slowly disappeared through the portals, leaving the battlefield.

"Everyone get up and get ready!" Reivyn yelled at the top of his lungs with Commanding Shout. "Prepare for battle!"

Some of the soldiers looked at him in confusion as their bodies obeyed the order, but everyone regained their feet and stance in formation.

The enemy army might have retreated from the field, but the horde of spiders was still spilling out of the hole in the ground.