On the highest floor of the Guildhall, the Founder, lost in his thoughts, observes the city below. Rebecca walks up behind him and says, “Grandfather, have you decided on the Guild’s response?” The Founder releases a heavy sigh, “The King has made a farce out of this whole affair; the demonic portal is growing at a concerning rate, and his actions have squandered any chance of an easy victory.”

The Founder turns toward Rebecca and says in anger, “It’s standard Guild procedure to help in the event of a demonic invasion, but the King rejected our initial offer. Now that his proud army is but a shell of its former might, he pleads for our help. The ignorant fool deserves what’s coming to him, but I refuse to let the Guild abandon this city!”

Rebecca’s face turns solemn as she asks, “So that means we’re accepting the offer?” The Founder’s expression hardens, “Yes, we are. Prepare the contract and issue a Guild wide quest. All available silver and gold ranks are mandated to partake. Freeze any active quests and focus our resources. The Guild will reinforce the border in one week.”

Rebecca nods in agreement, and says, “The King is financing this quest, so I’ll make the rewards favourable; we don’t want the adventurers feeling cheated from being forced to take on a quest. I’ll get everything completed, Grandfather. The adventurers will arrive at the border in one week.”

The Founder returns his gaze towards the city below and contemplates, “Usually, when a demonic invasion becomes this severe, the platinum ranks are sent to solve this issue. We’re only sending people native to this world, so he shouldn’t get upset. I pray they can solve this whole mess because I won’t tolerate the Guild losing any of its cities.”

On the wide grass field, the other party members awaken. Cale gets to his feet, still disoriented. He sees Mia calmly sitting on the grass and asks, “What happened, how did we make it out of the cave?” Emily and Eric also manage to stand up, but their equally as disoriented as Cale; a confused look rests on their faces as they stare inquisitively at Mia.

“Let me cast a healing spell first, then I’ll explain everything,” Mia says as she stands up while casting the holy spell, “I know this will be hard to believe, but the transparent figure we encountered in the cave before, saved us and killed the wyvern.” A frown forms on each of their faces, as they try to rationalise the explanation.

Cale spots the piles of armours and weapons next to Mia and asks, “How long were we unconscious? Also, what is this equipment? Did that figure also give you these?” With a straight face, Mia nods, “You were all unconscious for a full day at least. Also, he did give us the equipment and the sceptre that I’m holding. It said that these weapons and armour were specifically created to fight the demonic beasts.”

Eric shakes his head in disbelieve and says, “Mia, I’d like to believe you, but such a series of events seem unlikely. What are you going to say next; that the figure also gave you the power to close the demonic portal?!” Mia fidgets nervously as she says, “Well… he did give me a way to seal the demonic portal.”

Eric’s face darkens as he shouts, “I tried to be reasonable with your story, but now you’re just making things up!” Emily steps between Mia and Eric and asks, “Mia, is everything you say true? You wouldn’t hide anything from us, right?” Mia’s clenches her teeth in frustration as she confirms, “Yes, it’s all true; you have to believe me.”

Seeing Mia on the verge of tears, Emily embraces her in a hug and says, “Alright, I believe you, Mia. Don’t worry about what Eric said.” Cale, ever the pragmatist, chimes in, “We can delve deeper on what happened later, but we’ve lost a full day, and the border is in desperate need of our help. Mia, I hope this new equipment is everything you touted it up to be. Everyone get equipped and prepare to march!”

They begin to equip the dark blue, scaled, merman armour. Equipping the new armour next to Mia, Emily asks, “So what is this portal sealing thing the figure gave you?” Mia, already donning the new armour and sceptre, says while taking out the pearl from her backpack, “It’s this. Apparently, we need to soak this pearl in the blood of the portal’s guardian.”

“Was there any further explanation about the pearl?” Cale asks, his dark blue, scaled, merman armour glinting in the sunlight. Mia only shakes her head in response. “This armour is so light, and I love the look of my shield and sword,” Eric says as he admires the merman gear. “Do you know what this is made from?” Cale asks as he admires his new set of dark blue, daggers.

Before Mia can answer, Emily interrupts loudly, “This isn’t a bow?! Everyone gets new weapons except me…” A blade with a long chain attached to it rests in her hands. Thinking to herself, Mia contemplates, “Well, it makes sense that mermen wouldn’t use bows; projectiles are fairly useless underwater.” Turning her gaze to Emily, Mia suggests, “I couldn’t choose which weapons the figure gave us, maybe this chained blade will fit you better?”

Emily observes the weapon in her hands and says, “You may be right, but I still prefer my bow and arrow. For now, I’ll keep this on my hip.” Cale scans the group and says, “It’s unfortunate that we’re already replacing the gear we just bought, but I’m always happy to have an upgrade. Everyone looks ready, so follow me.”

The group sets out towards the border, the early morning sun resting on their backs. Within half a day of travelling, they near their destination. The afternoon sun shines on the open plains in front of them. They ascend a small hill and come to a stop at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Kingdom’s border.

A kilometre away, strategically built to intercept any armies attempting to invade the open plains of the Kingdom’s borders, a massive fortress looms in the distance. Akin to a heavily fortified town, the high fortress walls encompass an enormous stretch of land. The flat topography of this border location meant that no hill was large enough to accommodate the fortress, leading to its construction on the flat ground. Inside, the remnants of the Kingdom’s army desperately struggle to repel the hordes of demonic beasts besieging them.

The heroes’ eyes widen at the frightening scene before them. Cale’s expression hardens as he says, “Fortunately, we aren’t too late. Unfortunately, I fear they won’t hold out for more than a day at this rate. If they are to fall and the demonic beasts enter the Kingdom, then I fear there will be no one left to save. We need to formulate a plan and…”

Before he could finish, a deafening boom sweeps the landscape. Similar to the sound of an explosion, the noise rings out again. The group quickly identifies its source. A demonic minotaur, towering next to the fortresses, dents the thick steel gate with its stone hammer. The surrounding demonic beasts cower in the presence of the minotaur, recognising its status as a demonic lord—the ground quakes with each swing of its hammer.

The group freezes in shock and Cale’s next words are stuck in his throat. Scenes of the wyvern’s relentless assault flash in Mia’s mind, her hand gripping the sceptre begins to shake. Standing next to Mia, although invisible, Centum silently shakes his head. He steps closer to Mia and gently places his hand on her shoulder, but she fails to notice his touch.

A comforting presence fills Mia’s heart as her hand steadies. She tightens her grip on the sceptre, her determination mounting. Centum retracts his hand as Mia steps forward towards the cliff’s edge. His gaze is locked on Mia as she retrieves the pearl, holding it in her left hand and the sceptre in her right hand. Centum nods in approval as he resumes his observer obligations.

Mia’s sudden actions catch Emily’s attention as she asks with concern, “Mia, are you alright, what are you doing?” Mia doesn’t reply as she begins to chant. The pearl, having absorbed untold amounts of power, begins to shine in her hand. The sceptre’s pearl shines in response. Mia’s chant comes to an end as she becomes a conduit to the pearl’s power.

Inside the fortress, the meagre number of soldiers who managed to survive the King’s disastrous offensive, desperately fend off the demonic beasts trying to climb the walls. Each blow from the minotaur shakes the walls. The General, who had also trained the heroes, surveys the situation. His expression is grim as he laments their fate.

“The gate won’t hold, and our moral has all but withered away. The King has fled the battlefield, only caring about his own life and not those of his soldiers. This is truly the end of Drezarus,” the General says to himself. “Don’t lose hope, General; the Goddess has not abandoned us. Through our faith, we’ll find salvation,” behind the General, a feminine voice says.

The General turns towards the voice and says, “Priestess Celine, I appreciate the help you and your followers have provided with healing the troops, but now is not the time for rhetoric. Miracle or not, our fate is death, and I would rather die fighting on my feet than bent over in prayer.” The General grips his sword and shield as he awaits the gate’s destruction.

The minotaur’s deafening blows silences the battlefield—the remaining soldiers from a hopeless formation before the buckling gate. No light can be seen in their gaze as if their souls have already joined the Goddess in heaven, and their bodies are merely waiting to follow. Another strike nearly bends the gate in half, and a soldier’s legs begin to shake.

A sense of distress permeates through the ranks as their approaching death takes a toll on their mind, with each blow from the minotaur, hammering away at their sanity. On the verge of madness, a sirens call starts to sing from the walls; a holy mantra was seemingly descending from the heavens itself.

The bloodstained walls of the fortress begin to glow with holy light, the scriptures of the Goddess coming to life. From the wall’s packed stones and mortar, the holy shield rises towards the heavens. Augmenting the desires of those who build these towering walls, the holy shield blocks any invasion.

Outside, the deranged and demonic beasts charge the shield, but its holy power burns them to ash. Clouds of ash rise towards the sky as the Goddess’ fury unleashes its true might. The minotaur, while attempting to strike the gate, impacts the holy shield with its stone hammer. The hammer shatters from the blow, crumbling in the minotaur’s hands.

The minotaur roars in a rage as its bloodlust rises towards an extreme. Its gaze snaps towards the small hill, easily locating the source of the spell. The minotaur roars again, commanding the horde to attack as it begins to madly sprints towards the bottom of the cliff.

Inside the fortress, the soldier’s eyes are filled with reverence as they’re entranced by the sight of the holy shield protecting them. A serene silence settles on the fortress as the destitute defenders fall to their knees in prayer. The priestess places her hands together and says, “See General, the Goddess has not abandoned us.”

The General frowns in response. A suspicion builds in his mind as he quickly climbs the battlements. His gaze is drawn towards the hill and the hordes of demonic beasts storming it. He spots the four heroes and says to himself, “In our darkest hour, they’ve arrived. We abandoned them without a second thought, yet there they are. The Kingdom had failed them, but still, they came. I will not let them carry our burden alone!”

The General turns towards his kneeling troops and shakes his head in disbelieve. “Fine, pray to the Goddess all you want, I’ll do this alone.” He jumps down from the battlements and inspects his sword and shield, preparing to go out and help the heroes who are being swarmed by the hordes of demonic beasts.