"A break is unavoidable now…" Julian said. "It seems this puts you in a difficult spot, Arilene."
"Normally, that would be the case," Arilene said. "However, I didn't forget that those guys attacked my people and destroyed my city. I will join the fight and make them regret that. I couldn't have hoped for a better chance to do that... I am even more fired up because some of them showed up to help as if nothing had happened."
"You aren't mad that they tried to capture you?" Julian asked. "That is kind of amazing and worrisome as well."
"It is only natural that low lives would target someone in my position," Arilene declared proudly.
"Well, if you are coming to help, that truly will improve our situation," Louise said. "We are heading back now, so touch my shoulders to avoid problems."
The others followed that, and then Louise used the system to return to the guilds' base. Upon arriving there, they found a lot of people preparing for the battle. Usually, they would take some time with the prep talk, but it seemed that everyone was out for blood that day.
"As a student of medicine, this really makes me feel troubled…" Lana said. "I know that we don't have many options, but fighting other humans is… even fighting other sapient beings isn't something that I am willing to do."
"Sometimes, we need to do what we don't want to," Rose suddenly approached Luke and said. "I admire your loyalty toward your friend, I really do… but there are more important things right now."
"We know that, and that is why we are here," Louise said.
"Let's not let the blood rush to our heads, ladies," Luke said. "We are all very tense, but this is an important moment, and we don't have to waste energy arguing amongst ourselves. By the way, it seems that you have a new friend… I am ashamed to let you see all this, Your Majesty."
"This doesn't bother me in the least," Arilene said.
"You have been working hard, Luke," Lana said. "To the point that it has been some time since I heard you saying nonsense or trying to get on someone else's nerves."
"Well, I guess that would be too much… given my job in the guild," Luke said. "I have been keeping an eye on a lot of people while showing some masks, and I don't have much of a choice in a situation like this."
"Don't feel too bad about it. Your work is harder than most," Lana said.
"Lana… thank you for your kind words. Do you want to go out for a drink later?" Luke asked.
"No thanks," Lana readily replied.
"At least be gentle until the end…" Luke said and then sighed. "Putting that aside, you all should keep your guard out there. You might be more targeted than most due to your relationship with Jake, and he got on their way many times, after all. Since he is hard to catch as they come, they might try to get their revenge on you."
"They are welcome to try," Julian said. "They won't get even close to us."
"I also have a problem with assholes like those guys… so I am filling itching for a fight as well," Karina said. "Still, it has been a while since I knew that I would cause the death of other humans…"
The group fell silent after that. It was something that they had to do, but it wasn't something that they had to enjoy it. In any case, they had a few hours before the mission started, so Louise's group decided to rest for a while. They have been trying to find Jake for many weeks, after all. If there was only an easy way to find someone that didn't want to be found… Unfortunately, life wasn't that convenient.
"To avoid unnecessary deaths, I organized your parties on the positions that you would be best suited to," Frederick suddenly declared when the final preparations had been completed. "All of the guilds will be joining us in this fight, so in order to avoid total chaos. I will need your cooperation. Still, our chances of victory were extremely high since we had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. So, focus on keeping your position and watching the backs of your friends. That is all."
Louise and the others looked at each other, and then the whole guild assumed their positions right there in the base. After receiving the coordinates, they all received the orders to transfer to the planet in question.
Once they arrived, the group noticed the darkness that they were in… they had been informed of that, but the whole planet was too dark. They could only see the shadows of their allies ten meters ahead.
"It will be hard to tell where the others will be in a situation like this… we truly will need to keep our formations in order to avoid attacking our allies," Louise said.
Some mages on the borders of the formations began to create fireballs to fly around them. The warriors on the frontlines began to light some torches or magic weapons.
"This place is awfully silent, considering that many guilds were supposed to be here," Arilene said.
The others nodded… all the guilds should have to be teleported at the exact same time, and that would count to almost ten thousand humans suddenly appearing in that world. Thanks to that, everyone raised their guard.
Meanwhile, right in front of that army, Frederick, Rose, Luke, and Adam were trying to figure out what was going on, considering that they noticed that something was off. Rose tried to contact the other guild masters since it was supposed to be a terrible time for them to be ambushed on their bases.
"I can only contact Milena and Helena. The others aren't here," Rose declared.
"I will check things with them…" Luke said and then began to focus. "What the hell… my skill isn't working…"