Back in Arbal, a couple of hours before the victory in Stadelitz….

The first attack came at the most unexpected time of the hour. Lilac was resting after her watch when her ears caught some noises that were very unusual for a quiet night. They sounded unlike any animals she knew, not with all the shrieks and roars or a mix of both. Both Lotte and Lilac were already on the front line, behind the wall they made for cover. Lotte readied her sword as Lilac readied her rifle, just as they witnessed the demons throwing their own bodies to the barrier that the two demon hunters erected.

“Here they come,” said Lotte as she let out a snarl. “Ready?”

“Will the barrier hold?” asked Lilac.

“It will only last by some sort of miracle. Never trust one form of defense. I hope you know how to use that rifle. Albert taught you, yes?”

“Don’t shoot until you can see their features clearly.”

“And keep your eyes open.”

Lilac nodded and looked towards the enemy front. The main army stayed put, but they clearly released a couple of lesser demons to test them and to know what to expect.

Only their opposition did not release demons, but hellhounds and some surface dwellers. They only looked vaguely like what they were, but now with features that suggested that they were corrupted by demonic influence. Ridges and spikes covered their otherwise naked body as they ran on all fours. Some were horribly contorted to the point where they did not resemble anything human or hellhound. They roared and screech like mindless beasts, stripped of everything that once made them who they are. The humans were hunched over and acted like a feral, and the Lycans were in various stages of transformation, all of which incomplete, giving them a grotesque look that’s more like a human covered in hair or a hairless werewolf with a human face and head. They looked monstrous, even demonic. In fact, their twisted appearance was a far cry from Lilac’s own appearance who, despite of having snake-like features, still believable to an extent.

The hellhounds did not fare as well, but their appearances were not as twisted, despite of them acting like mindless beasts. They were more like berserkers to the surface dwellers’ monsters as they mindlessly charged through the barrier, only to meet a grisly end as their bodies were mangled by the cleansing barrier that instantly killed them. The sight of them made the defenders uneasy, some even got sick.

“Those bastards,” said Lotte, growling. “They knew we’re using barriers, and they take advantage of it. The barrier will mutilate them, but not cleanse them entirely. The fact that they want us to see this makes me sick.”

“I know what you mean,” said Lilac, remembering what happened to her leg as she stood on one of the mines.

“But do not falter yet, Lilac. This is just the opening act.” She then raised her voice as she commanded the rest of the defenders. “Everyone! This is it! Fight for your lives and others you protect! Do not let the demons reach this town and do not let our spirits falter! For Dusdolf! For the Hunters!”

Everyone shouted in unison, giving them a boost in confidence. At almost the same time, Lilac saw one that looked demonic enough ran towards them. She did not spare her bullet as she simply shoot the demon. Her shot connected, and the demon quickly turned into dust. Lilac quickly pulled the bolt of her bolt-action rifle to shoot again, all of which hit both demons and hellhounds and caused some of them to disintegrate due to the cleansing bullets.

Somewhere in the middle of the town, Albert and Eshdar took their positions on top of one of the highest points in the town and acted as snipers. Eshdar’s archery was good enough to dispatch the attackers that passed the barrier, and his aim was deadly. Of the ten attackers that he dispatched, nine of which were headshots. Albert, a rifle user, did not want to feel inferior to an archer. He did the same thing, except he did it to targets out of Eshdar’s range.

Eshdar saw Albert’s smug smile and, grudgingly, said, “Sure. You used a rifle. That’s one thing to brag to an archer.”

“Consider using a sniper rifle, then.”

“No, thank you,” said Eshdar. “And…what’s that?”

Eshdar looked through the binocular and saw several beasts that did not look like anything from the surface. However, he knew he couldn’t just assume they were demons. In fact, he could determine that most of them were in fact Beasts of the Underworld, meaning that cleansing bullets or anti-demon wards would not work against them for they weren’t demons. His observation proved correct when one of them got past the barrier perimeter without any problem. The beast had a hardy shell, making it hard to shoot it from afar.

Thankfully, Eshdar wasn’t the only one who notice the beast. Just before he could relay what he saw using the wired two-way phone installed specifically for this purpose, Lotte saw the shelled beast past through the ward perimeter along with its uncorrupted hellhound rider. She had anticipated this as she ran towards the beast, claws open. Lilac saw this and tried to support her by shooting the hellhound rider, but she missed and hit the beast’s shell. Eshdar helped her from his position with a well-placed arrow through the hellhound’s eye just as Lotte climbed the beast with her inhuman agility. She then used her sharp claws to blind the beast’s eye and turned it around back towards where it came from, hoping it would be enough for a distraction as she jumped and ran back towards Sophie, who maintained the barrier.

“How’s the barrier?” she asked the hellhound Demon Hunter.

“Still holding, but it won’t be for long,” said Sophie. “I’m trying to draw more energy from the less compromised sites.”

“Try and hold out just for a little longer.”

Then, they all heard an ear-piercing shriek that was so loud that it incapacitated the guards. It was even more painful for Lycans and hellhounds due to their more sensitive hearing. Just as they recovered, the receiver near Sophie let out Eshdar’s voice.

“There are flying beasts coming right at the barrier!”

“Demonic?!”

“Not sure!”

They soon found what it was when a wyvern, black and covered in slick scales that reflected light, tried to burst through the cleansing barrier up on the sky. Sophie felt its resistance as the barrier started to crackle.

“Shit! That thing’s going to break the barrier!” said Lotte.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!”

Sophie’s declaration was quickly followed by her directing most of the barrier’s power against it, successfully repelling it, but also lowered the barrier’s power and Sophie enough to weaken the barrier that even the demons could get through without getting themselves disintegrated and the Corrupted to not be affected at all.

“Swords and claws at the ready!” commanded Lotte as she bared her fangs and opened her sharp claws. Just as she said that the receiver on where Eshdar and Albert were stationed heard her command, which indicated that the combat would be using melee weapons in addition to rifles. It did not mean that they would be useless, for melee combat was the perfect range for both to dispatch enemies and, as Eshdar said, to see which one of them were better: an archer or a sniper.

As both got themselves ready from their position, they saw two figures standing in front of the main defenders. One of them stood out due to his white fur, making him identifiable as Nergora Schelkz, the wielder of ice. The icy aura all over his body made him even more identifiable, both to his allies and his enemies, along with his peculiar-looking sword.

One of the demons that got through the weakening barrier saw him and let out a demonic-sounding noise as it ran towards Nergora, only for the hellhound to freeze it with his aura alone. Nergora proceeded to break the frozen demon, shattering it into pieces.

However, Nergora was in no mood of celebrating, knowing that it wasn’t over yet. In fact, the moment the barrier broke was the moment the real battle began. He had anticipated this, though he was genuinely astonished by how long the barrier held. He had his own plan, and he quickly put that plan in motion the moment he heard what Sophie said.

“The barrier’s not going to hold!” she exclaimed. “Prepare yourselves!”

“(That’s our cue),” said Nergora. “(Ready, Sovarn)?”

“(Ready as you are, good hound),” said Sovarn. “(Do it).”

Nergora had told his plan to Sophie and Lotte of his plan. He then made a stance before letting out a horizontal burst of icy blue energy that travelled along the green hill slowly. Nergora delayed the wave so it would hit the barrier’s perimeter just in time with the barrier breaking.

The slow sword slash wave gave the attackers a sense of false security, especially for the lesser demons and Underworld beasts that were used as the front-line attackers. They thought they could just jump over the wave, but that’s when they were wrong. Those who attempted to jump it found that the hill gave the defenders an advantage and their downfall. The slash did not cut them, as Nergora was fully aware of some of the creatures’ hard shells. Thus, he used a technique he used once before.

As the hit the attackers, they were quickly frozen and killed or severely injured. The pink-colored demons showed symptoms of late-stage frostbite on where they were hit, with the area black as if the flesh necrosed in under a second. Those who were hit on a vital area were instantly killed, while those who were hit on the limbs found their limb blackened and soon desiccated as blood flow was restricted by the frost.

This attack was effective, but it only served to delay their enemies’ advances. Nergora made sure his frozen enemies did not shatter as they all tumbled down the hill, completely halting the enemies’ advance and hopefully causing a chaos that delayed their advances.

The ice hellhound soon turned his attention to the flying demons, which were the main problem. He attempted attacking the flying demons with the slow-moving frost slash, but they easily dodge it before resuming their attack, only to be shot down by the cleansing bullets. It did not stop all of them, and as a result, some of the defenders were snatched by their legs and dropped from a height that would ensure their deaths.

Nergora and Sovarn rushed forward, alarming the defenders as they couldn’t see what was happening. Only Eshdar and Albert could see what they were doing.

“Report!” said Lotte to the two. “What the hell are those two planning?!”

“Thinning out the herd,” said Albert through the radio. He could see how the two struck down demons, hellhounds, and even surface dwellers allied to them. However, Albert was worried about the commanders on the battlefield, who did not seem fazed by the two, though they finally took matters in their own hands when one of them locked in a battle with Nergora, clashing their swords.

“A half-blood!” said the demon as his sword clashed with Nergora’s. “And experienced in combat, nonetheless!”

“Thank you,” said Nergora.

“But you are out of luck!” boasted the demon. “I will burn your ice as easily as I burn those wretched cryomancers!”

But Nergora did not seem to think that the insult did anything, especially when he kicked the circle demon, stabbed him in the chest, then pulled the sword and decapitate the demon’s head, consecutively.

“Which circle did you belong again?” mocked Nergora with a smug face.

The lesser demons directly under this commander were quickly demoralized when their commander was offed so easily by a half-blood Royal hellhound. The hellhounds were, too, after realizing how easily the demon fell to their most hated enemy. Nergora did not stop as he cut through them as easily as he cut the demon.

However, their efforts were hampered by the winged demons that directly attacked Arbal from the air. Albert could only keep up for so long until the sheer number of the bat-winged demons overwhelmed him and Eshdar, forcing them to take cover inside the tower. From there, they saw how the ground defenders were slowly being dispatched one by one, many of them were killed by the height they were dropped from.

“Now, I really wish we had a Fuzandre in our ranks!” complained Eshdar, specifically referring to Rhynsa. “Though I honestly prefer the friendlier one of the two.”

“This is not the time lamenting the facts, Eshdar! We need to shoot them down! Don’t let up!”

But they soon realize that what they had would not be enough when they saw a monstrous flying demon from afar. It did not look like the grotesque-looking demons they dispatched, but instead looked reptilian with smooth black scales, the same one that was repelled by the barrier earlier. It flew towards them and violently crashing into the tower. The sheer force the crash caused the brick tower to fall apart, with both Eshdar and Albert still in it.

On the ground, Lilac saw what the black winged monster did to the tower. She wanted to call out to Albert and Eshdar, but she got no chance to do that when similarly sized winged demons attacked them from the air, forcing them to take cover under the roofs. Even the roofs were not enough to protect some of them. The rest managed to stay under a more solid foundation. She soon realized that the situation had turned against them as Nergora and Sovarn were also forced to fall back when the reptilian flying demons started to turn the situation around. Lilac found herself in cover with a young defender as a hellhound enemy tried to attack them, only for her to grab him and ripped out his throat with her claws.

“Bloody hell,” she swore, disgusted by the grotesque appearance of the corrupted hellhound. Just then, Lotte ran towards her. She looked battered and bloodied from the fight, with most of the blood on her armor not being hers. Still, Lotte fared worse than Lilac, as it was clear that she was considerably injured and parts of her armor were ripped off or damaged.

“You alright?” asked Lotte.

“Flying demons?” remarked Lilac. “in Hell? How the bloody hell is that even possible?

“We called them Geyrons,” said Lotte. “Which means they pulled all their stops. This is bad. We don’t have a way to fight against them without some sort of heavy artillery, and that’s exactly the thing we don’t have in this town!”

“So, what’s the plan?”

Lotte’s lupine expression was grim.

“We have no choice. We must fall back. The town is lost.”

“Shit,” swore Lilac. It was inevitable, but they held out well. It was much better than losing the town before they could properly resist. She wasn’t sure what the townspeople of Arbal would think of the plan.

“We’re simply outnumbered ten to one. We should’ve waited for more Demon Hunters to come. I should’ve insisted for more stationed hunters!”

“It won’t change anything,” said Lilac. “Albert’s reinforcements are days away. All we can do now is either keep defending, or we fall back and risk an invasion into the Adal Region.”

“But still!”

Sophie the hellhound then ran towards where they took cover just as she was grabbed by one of the winged demons. She was only saved by the action of Lilac’s claw, which cleaved through the demon’s claw, causing it to shriek in pain. Lilac soon pulled Sophie into cover.

“What’s the situation?” asked Lotte. “Did you manage to send out an SOS?”

“I did, Demon Hunter way,” she said. “They will have no choice but to divert their efforts here. But I’m afraid we’re going to be overrun long before they have time to deploy. We need to fall back and protect the civilians we evacuated to the next town. We can’t help it.”

Lilac already accepted that it was the case, even though she knew it was not a good idea. Peeking out, she could see Nergora and Sovarn running towards a house while calling the other guards to follow them. Both looked like they had fought against a horde of demons and even attempted to fight against the flying demons. Eshdar and Albert were still nowhere to be found, and she assumed that they were still trapped under the brick building that crumbled down when the big, winged beast crashed into it. She did not want to assume the worst.

She felt lost. She wanted to call for help. In her moment of despair, she silently called for anyone she could rely on for emotional strength. She specifically called for Ifrit to give him the same hope that prevented her from being completely taken over by a demon.

But most importantly, she needed her brother to support her.

She shook her head. She knew neither Hans nor Ifrit could hear her, let alone rescue her in time. Knowing that she must fight for her own, she steeled herself up, stood up, and said, “Come on. We still have work to do. We will fight as we retreat. This is not the end of our journeys. Are you with me?”

Lotte and Sophie, seeing how determined Lilac was, nodded, and readied their silver swords, with Lilac pulling her own automatic pistol she kept for emergencies. The demons were waiting for them to get out of the safety of the house and take them out, but even they would not expect the three of them to get out with a fight. So, they devised a plan to surprise them, and after confirming it, Lilac let out a loud rattling sound from her tail, hoping that it could confuse them.

The loudness of her tail rattle made it impossible for the attackers to find their location, and this worked against them when Lilac ambushed them from a different door. During the years where she learned more about her new body, the snake-wolf also found that her fangs were venomous, and her bite was fast and direct, unlike a Lycan’s. She did so, letting out a loud hiss after doing so. Not only that, but the ambush also worked because her body was now more appropriate for stealth.

Lotte and Sophie furthered the confusion when they threw smoke bombs they saved for dire situations. They killed some of the demons alongside Lilac, creating a pincer attack that was also very effective when the demons least expected them. In no time at all, the demons surrounding the house, at least by the entrance, were all killed, giving them an opportunity to escape before the rest of the demons realized what happened.

They ran to a different building, barely escaping the winged demon’s grasp. They continued to do the same thing until they found themselves unable to move without a considerable risk.

The trio found themselves near the town hall, where there was a big, open space intended as a plaza. There were no other buildings close to where they were, at least the ones safe enough to get to. Realizing they couldn’t go to the safety of one of the still intact buildings (the town hall was devastated), they opted to stay in the same building and defend their positions.

But that was also made worse by the fact that by this point, the demons had already caught wind of their positions and started surrounding the building they were in. This time, they crashed into the building, forcing them to climb to the second floor, then to the roof. When they tried to get out, however, they found that they couldn’t even peek out without being attacked by the winged demons.

All hopes seemed lost when they were trapped on the second floor between the approaching demons, their servants, and the winged demons ready to grab them and drop them to their deaths. With no places to go, the three resolved to fight against the horde, readying their weapons.

And without delay, they defended their positions, with Lilac shooting down whoever came to the second floor while Lotte and Sophie set up a barrier. Their exhausted states made this ineffective in the long run, and soon, the two demon hunters could not even maintain their weak barriers. Lilac also spent all of her bullets. Despite of being able to hold on for an additional ten minutes and managed to rack up the body count, there were still too many of them.

“Where the bloody hell did they get them from?!” complained Lilac. “This is not funny!”

But then, just before the three could be overwhelmed by the horde, a wave of ice attack froze most of the attackers in the building just as some mysterious people attacked the frozen demons, shattering them as they went. When Lilac checked from one of the windows, she was surprised by the appearance of a different flying beast. This flying beast, however, was more regal than vile, with its blue scale color and markings all over its body making it stood out among the frozen army.

Not only that, but another surprise also came to her when someone with a familiar voice, one that she had not heard for three years, called out from the first floor and was approaching the stairwell to the second floor.

“Is anyone here?! Answer me if you can hear me!” he said. “Anyone—”

As he climbed to the second floor, he froze, equally as surprised as Lilac when their eyes met. However, the person, a black-furred Lycan with blue eyes, was surprised for a different reason.

“H-Hans?” said Lilac, bewildered. “Is this…is this a dream?”

“How do you know my name?” asked Hans, bewildered. “And why do you sound so familiar?”

“I know I don’t look like it, but it’s me, Lilac,” said Lilac. She quickly pulled out a pendant that Hans would certainly know. “I can prove it to you.”

“She is Lilac Rezmirn,” confirmed Lotte. “I can vouch for her credibility. Even if she isn’t, she’s—”

“No need. I know you’re Lilac,” said Hans with a smile. “I’ll explain later. Can you still fight?”

The three tried to say they could, but Hans concluded that they had already gone through enough. So, he said, “I don’t think so. Take a rest, you three. This is our fight now. Just stay inside while Azureath do her thing, alright? We’ll talk later.”

Lilac nodded with a smile, full of hope. It was an unexpected arrival, but it was still something she wanted in the end.

As Hans left the floor to rejoin his comrade on the first floor, Sophie touched Lilac’s shoulder, prompting her to turn and face the hellhound.

“Someone you know?” asked Sophie. “He seems like a reliable Lycan.”

“He is,” said Lilac, brimming with confidence. “He is my brother. His name is Hans Rezmirn.”