Atop the small hill, the group stares at Mia in bafflement. “Since when could she do that?!” Eric asks in surprise. “She seems to be channelling the power of the pearl,” Emily comments while observing Mia. The minotaur’s mad roar diverts the group’s attention towards the fortress. On the flat plains, below the cliff, they witness the hordes of demonic beasts charging at them and the minotaur following close behind.

A frown forms on Cale’s forehead as he quickly formulates a plan. He looks towards Mia who’s locked in a half-conscious trance as she focuses on channelling the spell. He decides, “Eric, hold off the demonic beast charging up the hill behind us. Emily will stop them from climbing the cliff, and I’ll support the two of you.”

Cale steps close to Mia and asks, “Mia, I’m not sure if you can hear me, but can you please cast your shielding spell on Eric’s shield?” She weakly nods in response as she begins to chant. From Eric’s shield, the holy light expands outwards, forming a wall and blocking the demonic beasts’ approach from behind. Wielding this wall-like shield, Eric adjust his stance in preparation.

In less than five minutes, the demonic beasts arrive at the hill. The momentum from their charge causes the leading demonic beasts to ram the cliff face, the impact killing them instantly. They mercilessly step on their brethren’s corpses as they begin to climb the cliff face.

The overflow of demonic beasts circle the hill and begin to ascend along the hill’s backside slope. They spot Eric’s shield blocking their path, its mere existence further fuelling their rage. Eric shouts in defiance as the demonic beasts impact his shield, “Just try and get past me! I have a harem of beautiful princesses awaiting my return, and I’ll be damned if I die here!”

Unfortunately, Mia’s spell on Eric’s shield is less potent than the one she cast on the fortress walls; a consequence of the first spell’s power and her waning energy. The demonic beasts’ bodies ignite as they impact the shield. The smell of scorched meat permeates the air as the flames kill each them within a few seconds. Stacks of charred corpses pile up in front of Eric’s shield as he’s inched back by each impact.

Cale looks towards him in concern, but Eric reassures him, “Don’t worry about me. This is far from enough to beat me!” Eric grabs the green crystal from his necklace and crushes it in his hands. A surge of energy flows through his body. A battle cry bellows from Eric’s lungs as he focuses all his power into a single action. Strenuously, he pushes back, regaining his lost ground. In response, the stacks of corpses topple down the hill, disrupting the horde’s momentum.

Near the cliff, Mia’s complexion whitens. Unnoticed by the other heroes, the strain from channelling the pearl’s immense power is taking a toll on her mind and body. Sitting on the ground next to her, Centum meticulously records the event around him. He glances towards her and frowns in response,

Gently closing the leather-bound book, he stands up. With her attention focus on channelling the two spells, she fails to notice Centum’s next action. He grabs the green crystal hung around her necklace. With a silent grunt, he crushes it with his hand and directs its power towards her. Colour resurfaces on her face as the crystal restores her energy.

“Hopefully, this will be enough,” Centum reassures himself. As he steps back, an oppressive force locks his body in place. His muscles are frozen, and the slightest action causes him immense pain. He struggles to tilt his head towards the moon as he groans, “I recognise this interference is against the code. I promise it won’t happen again.” The oppressive force disappears, and he falls to his knees.

Centum sighs in defeat as he retakes his seat next to Mia, “It seems Novem’s warnings weren’t baseless… Directly interfering with fate’s designs aren’t tolerated. If that’s considered a warning, then I would rather not imagine the true consequences for failing my duties.”.

He opens the metallic tome and records a new entry, documenting his actions and their consequences for his successor, and as a reminder to himself. He closes the tome. The sight of him writing stands in stark contrast to the chaos around him. He reopens the leather-bound book, dutifully continuing to record the events around him.

One by one, the arrows in Emily’s quiver disappear as she tries to fend off the waves of demonic beasts. Each arrow penetrates a beast’s forehead, flinging them off of the cliff but rarely causing enough damage to kill them. The relentless assault has allowed the horde to climb over halfway up the cliff.

She reaches for another arrow, but her hand doesn’t find any. “This is bad,” she comments, “If I didn’t need to waste multiple arrows to kill each beast, then I wouldn’t have run out so soon.” Realising the predicament, Cale walks up to her and asks, “Are you out of arrows? Do I need to take over for you?” On the cliff, the horde continues to climb at a steady pace.

Emily’s eyes dart around the hilltop, desperately searching for more arrows. Her gaze briefly comes to rests on Mia, reigniting her resolve, “Mia’s is relying on us to protect her, and I refuse to let her down!” Her focus shifts towards the chained blade latched onto her hip. Nervously biting her lower lip, she decides, “Fine, let’s find out how good this weapon is.”

While replacing her bow with the chained blade, she replies to Cale, “I’m fine. If the beasts reach the top of the cliff, then I’ll accept your help.” An unknown sense of familiarity with the weapon rushes through her mind and body. “What’s going on?” she ponders in shock as she carefully studies the weapon, “I’ll investigate this further, once the battle is over.”

Without further delay, she steps toward the cliff’s edge. Gripping the end of the chain, she releases its full length. Over the cliff’s side, the dark blue chain dangles at a length of two meters. A vicious glint reflects from the blade attached at the end of the chain. Instinctively, she begins to swing the chained blade.

Around her, the weapon forms a tornado of death. The first demonic beasts near the top of the cliff, coming within the blades reach. With ruthless accuracy, the blade, akin to a flying arrow, is launched down the cliff. The blade’s blue edge pierces a beast’s neck, a deathly cry following in its wake. Around the beast’s wound, the flesh becomes a rotten blue, quickly spreading to the rest of its body. Within seconds, only bones remain.

Seemingly improving with each attack, Emily slaughters the waves of demonic beasts. The minotaur arrives at the bottom of the cliff, the bones of demonic beasts raining down around him. It briefly studies the bones. Suddenly, it snarls with almost illegibly words, displaying a hint of its intelligence, “DEEEEP STEEEEL!” It roars with unprecedented rage, its aversion to the heroes’ new weapons driving it insane.

The minotaur throws itself onto the cliff face, rapidly climbing towards the top. Scored of demonic beasts are tossed aside by the minotaur as it ferociously ascends. At the top, Emily cuts down another wave of beasts, revealing the minotaur behind them. She manages to strike its shoulder, but the wound only slows it down; the power of the deep steel, seemingly less effective against higher-ranked demonic beasts.

Realising her predicament, she calls to Cale, “I need help here. I can’t stop this minotaur alone!” Cale, waiting for his opportunity to step up, instantly arrive next to Emily. “What’s the proble…” his words are cut short as the minotaur pulls itself onto the hilltop. Towering over them, it roars in rage. The minotaur, still weaponless from its siege of the fortress, strikes Emily with its fist, flinging her two meters backwards.

Emily’s new armour absorbs the brunt of the blow, dispersing its power across her whole body and causing her minimal damage. The minotaur’s attention shift towards Mia. Noticing its next target, Cale tries to draw its attention, “If you want her, then you’ll have to get through me first!” Invisible next to Mia, Centum’s gaze grows with concern.

The minotaur ignores Cale’s words as it charges at Mia. Cale, with his two daggers in hand, lunges at the charging minotaur, impaling the blades into its back. The minotaur roars in a rage, the dark blue daggers are causing it excruciating pain. Using the daggers as handholds, Cale hangs off of the minotaur’s back. Cale’s weight and the pain caused by the daggers throws the minotaur off balance.

Near the cliff, it struggles to regain balance. On its back, Cale begins to twist the dagger, amplifying the minotaur’s pain. The minotaur roars again as it tries to toss Cale from its back, but this inadvertently causes it to misstep. The minotaur fails to find any ground underneath its left hoof. With Cale still stuck to his back, the minotaur plummets down the side of the cliff.

Winded from the minotaur’s blow, Emily manages to stand up. From the cliff’s edge, numerous demonic beasts reach the top of the hill. Lying on the ground next to her, she grabs the chained blade and charges at the demonic beasts. With incredible grace, she slays the advancing horde, securing the hilltop. Over the edge, she spots the plummeting minotaur, and Cale stuck to its back.

Atop the fortress wall, behind the holy shield, the remaining troops emerge. Their attention is drawn towards the imposing scene of the small hill and the sea of demonic beasts surrounding it. “Isn’t that the General?!” one soldier shouts as he points towards a small figure charging across the plain towards the hill.

“Shouldn’t we help?” another soldier asks with uncertainty, but only murmurs and weak excuses are heard. The effects of their broken moral on full display. Emerging onto the wall, the priestess Celine quickly discerns the situation. Her presence draws the troops’ attention as she clears her through.

Commanding the attention of the thousands of soldiers around her, she preaches, “Now is not the time for indecision. You must have seen it. The people on that hill are fighting for us. They’ve delivered to us the Goddess’ miracle and have shined a light in our darkest hour. We must not squander our blessing and condemn our saviours to death. The General has seen this truth, and we must do the same.”

A new light kindles in the eyes of the hopeless soldiers around her. This sense of purpose sparks a flame in their hearts. “They are not alone!” a soldier shouts out. Around him, similar chants follow. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the army’s broken spirit is reborn anew. A righteous hunger grows in each of their minds.

Numerous orders are given by the captains of each division, “First, second, and third company, form up!” Within a minute, the troops are reorganised. Outside the fortress, they emerge in formation. Without needing further coordination, the soldiers march in unison. The stomp of the of their boots explode like thunder; it’s the war cry of their vengeance and the prelude of righteous deliverance.

Meters from the mass of demonic beasts, the Generals heart rate rises due to anxiety. The horde’s imposing aura casting doubt on his mind. From the plains behind him, the army’s march echoes out. He turns around and sees the army approaching. “You are not alone!” he hears them chant. His heart calms, and a confident smile surfaces on his aged face.

The General’s gaze returns towards the hill. His eyes widen as he witnesses the minotaur plummet, face first, towards the ground, with Cale still clinging to its back. He tightens the grip on his greatsword, his heart unnaturally calm. “You are not alone!” he shouts as he charges into the horde of demonic beasts.