I sit back, letting out a shaken breath. There's no way the invasion battles are normally like this, right? Helios said the boss was stronger than it should be. But still, we came this close to losing, and that was with the boss abandoning its attack on the city core to come after me. If it had simply plowed its way through the defenders in its path, they wouldn't have been able to put out enough damage before it reached the core.

Well, I guess it couldn't do that since people kept drawing aggro to keep it from advancing. But still, it isn't sitting right with me. Sure, we beat it, but it took everything, including a ton of clearly exploit-level buffs and it outright ignoring the defenders just to attack me. Because I draw impossible amounts of aggro with my stupid cursed Title.

There are a ton of other problems, like the way it could mind control players, and... and whatever the hell it did to me when it grabbed me. If it could corrupt people to have them lose their tower bind, why didn't it do that to me? The fuck did it do to me? It didn't seem like the spell it used to turn everyone else; it didn't deal any damage, it was more like it was trying to destroy my mind. I lost my sense of self as Mei for for a little bit there. And then it corrupted me? How?

Why did it even care that I'd respawn at a tower? I have so many questions and absolutely no answers. Ugh...

In any case, I have to look over that footage later, I'm pretty sure I've been recording this. I never turned that off from earlier, now that I think about it.

When I pull up my stream settings to check, I see that I am still recording all of this. Have to see what happened around me while my mind was collapsing. I swear I saw some giant crystal tree, but I'll be damned if I have any idea what it was. Was it real, or just in my head?

For the first time in a while, I turn to the camera and pull up the stream chat. “Hey, so... yeah. Invasions aren't usually that bad, right?” I ask tiredly.

I start to scroll back through the chat that's been going for a while, but the fight is such a mashup of adrenaline and desperation, it's not like I can match much of what was said to what was happening when they said it. I do keep an eye out for the comments from the devs though, and even before I make it all the way down to the answers to the question I just asked, I'm getting the clear impression that most of the devs found the fight abnormal. That's downright concerning...

There's even some panic and a couple unsubtle hints at possibly force logging me out, which I'm assuming occurred when Xanaad was trying to break me. It looks like the devs were split on that one, notably Marina and Triangula for it, while Fraggar and Malafesto, and a few others were against it. Apparently it would be too much interference. Guess that's why they didn't. Do they even know what it did to me? The way their messages are written, it seems like they don't. There's a mention of asking 'NI' about it, but that's all I'm seeing...

Then I make it to the new messages, confirmation from everyone that invasions are not in fact like this normally. According to a few people that were watching other streams earlier, the way the portal opened at the beginning seriously screwed things up.

When I ask, they explain that the commander's first tower placements for the beginning of the battle were outside the city. The two towers I saw, that luckily ended up saving me. However, the portal wound up opening way closer than normal, rendering them nearly useless. Without the towers, the early stages of the invasion were a disaster that lost us a lot of our defending forces before they had towers available for faster respawning.

That's when someone explains, and my mouth falls open a little. Apparently, the normal respawn time without a tower is three hours. Like when I was forced out before, it logs you out and only lets you back in when your respawn timer has expired. The entire battle was under an hour, so dying in the opening stages means you'd be out for the whole thing. That's why our army was far weaker than it should have been.

Is that why they were so worried about me dying? Because I'd be out of game for the whole event?

Besides the awful start heavily weakening our forces for everything that came after, the boss itself was one hundred percent overpowered. It's beyond what Helios mentioned though. According to my viewers, no other boss has ever come close to that level of personal fighting strength. There's a unanimous consensus among them that Lara and Helios' absurd strategy would have reduced normal bosses to nothing in a matter of seconds.

Hell, any one of the high level standouts from today's battle should have been able to hold their own to take down an normal invasion boss with the kind of support we had backing them up. Instead, it wasn't even enough to make it through the final phase.

When a new window comes up, I push aside the chat. I more or less understand the context of the situation now, even if I have no more answers about why all this happened. Looking ahead, the new message reads,

Oblivion invasion repelled successfully.

Event ending in:

1:56

Two minutes left, huh. A massive round of applause goes up all around the plaza. People shouting, whistling, and hugging. Some crying. Lara must see it too, because she opens her eyes and tugs on me, pushing a little and getting us back up and standing together.

She's still so weak that she's hanging off of me to stay upright. People start gathering, a dozen heading our way from the surroundings, including the remainders of the group that finished off the boss.

They mostly keep a respectful distance, but Helios immediately runs over, throwing something heavy and warm over us with a gentle smile. One woman comes hesitantly forward to fix up Lara. I notice how much longer it takes, her health only slightly improving as the healer continues casting on her. It's nothing like the near-instant healing I've experienced so far, given my tiny level one health pool.

After about a minute, everyone is still smiling and congratulating each other when I look over to the body of the boss lying on the ground. It hasn't dissipated yet. With a light tug, I get Lara to walk with me. There's a moment of confusion from the men and women in front of us before they clear a path and let us hobble our way over.

When we reach it, I look over the thing that caused us so much trouble. For me in particular. I know it was really just some computer program, but the thing basically tried torturing me when it decided not to kill me. What sadistic logic...

It's still muscular, not to mention still in a single piece despite all the wounds that should have severed entire parts of its body. No arrows buried in it either since they disappear on impact. Otherwise the thing would be more arrows than flesh by this point.

What little remains of its fur has already faded from a deep purple to a more ashen shade as the dark particles float out of it, the pace slowing as it seemingly runs out after its death. Like a hose with the source cut off.

“Helluva fight,” Lara murmurs, eyes glazed over.

“Yeah...” I watch the countdown briefly, before movement draws my eye. I turn us away from the dead monster, to see Helios at our side again. He offers another pleasant smile and rubs Lara's back. For someone so pivotal to our success, he doesn't have a scratch on him. On the surface, all he really had to do was stand back and fire off spells.

The same can be said for all the archers and mages on the rooftops, but they still did the majority of the damage. How easy or hard something is doesn't necessarily translate to how important they are for such a big group effort like this. In games like these, everyone has their own role to play...

And that's not mentioning how during a battle that lasted almost an hour, Helios had to pull out those buffs of his at the exact right moment. Any earlier and they would have worn off when Lara couldn't afford to be without them. Any later, and our entire army would have fallen before they stepped in to save them. And that's measuring in seconds, in either direction. That's one hell of a balancing act... They even mentioned that they got the timing wrong, despite being off by ten or twenty seconds at most.

“Great job, Lara,” Helios says when she finally drags her droopy eyes up to him. The pair extend hands and bump fists lightly, Lara with an overtired smile.

“You too.” We stand there comfortably, letting the last of the timer tick away. About thirty seconds left, and a soft swish passes as the boss begins dissolving away entirely. I absently shift the camera up above again, imagining a good shot for my expanding list of viewers. I pull up the chat and start scanning down the viewer list. There are so many more names now, with it reporting a watcher count suddenly over a hundred. I really have that many?

Then the chat window turns into a literal blur of new messages. I only manage to make it out at all because they're all saying the same thing.

'BEHIND YOU'

I whirl around so fast my world spins, the panic already hitting. My eyes search, and I find it not an instant later. On the ground directly in front of me is the head of the boss.

It is disconnected from the vanished body, silently crawling away with its mouth-tentacles. I don't think the logical part of my brain has understood the sight when something snaps, and the animal terror part is already screaming bloody murder.

My hand is flung toward it, and I'm casting Dark Curse. The spell effect forms, the dark circle flashing over the little monster head. I have no idea how much damage it does, if dark magic is even effective against the thing at all.

I don't wait to find out. I just keep casting, I blow the spell over and over again, as fast as I possibly can, all the effects overlapping. In moments, the spell hits the thing a half dozen times before my mana pool is totally empty. Then I'm on top of it, attempting to pin it so it can't get away. I don't have a weapon or any special attacks to throw at it like this. Beating on its with my fists is the best I can do.

The thing shrieks and writhes, tentacles flailing against me, saw teeth cutting into my fists and arms as it fights back. Hideous black liquid gurgling from its throat to spew over my arms, my face, in my eyes.

Some part of my mind lurches and more crystal bursts. But I won't be stopped. Not this time.

There are shouts from just behind me, Helios and others from further off, along with the loud pounding of feet. I can't tell what they're saying over the monster screeches and my brain about to explode. Power flows through me, a dozen different buffs and heals hitting me all at once.

Doesn't he have any attack magic?!

I can barely recognize the thought as my hands move automatically, grabbing, clawing, tearing at the flesh of the thing fighting desperately in my hands. I slash at the tentacles with shards of glowing pink crystal. Grabbing them and heaving with all my might to rip them right out of Xanaad's horrible face, then pummel it with punch after wild punch, completely ignoring the way it chomps down on my arm with its teeth, shredding my skin so my blood flows free over the monster and surrounding ground. And the way every wound pours out more of that black blood that makes my entire consciousness recoil.

IT STILL ISN'T DEAD.

When I've torn and hacked away most of the tentacles fighting for control, I shove an arm all the way inside, ignoring the teeth and blood, and lift thing's entire head above me. I beat it into the pavement as hard as I can.

There's a fleshy crunch. Darkness and slime spew out, gushing over every inch of my skin. It's still moving, more crystal bursting from me every time I refuse to budge. So I do it again. And again.

And again.

And again!

And again!

I can barely feel my own mind, scattered across the surrounding pavement, when I stop, nothing left in my grasp. Hands are on my back and voices ring in my ears.

My vision wavers, hardly capable of comprehending my own sight in the wake of me tearing myself apart so many times. Everything is covered in black. Every moment is full of void, pushing in from all sides. It will never work. I refuse to let me be anything but Mei.

I can feel the crystal binding me to the ground, reforming as fast as it can shatter. I continue to sit, fighting for consciousness, until bright light dissolves away all the blood from my hands. The daggers of darkness stabbing into my mind are finally withdrawn, the broken pieces coming together again at last.

My voice cuts out. Was I screaming the whole time?

“Mei!” The first thing I hear is my name. Like I'm puppeteering a sack of flesh from a million miles away, I try to remember the proper sequence of actions to turn my head. I see Lara. She's right at my side, hugging me. Hanging on me, really.

It takes every ounce of my willpower to make my puppet open its mouth. To force myself into my own mind. “La...ra.” My mouth moves, searching for the words I don't know how to supply. But I have to say something. Lara looks distraught. My mind is barely functioning, but I already know I hate seeing her like this.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Just use all my available thought to make words. “Mental... attack. Can't think. Can't... Mind... Pieces...” I can barely string concepts together. “Still healing.”

Am I though? It's more like I'm forcing all the broken pieces into a mold, getting things the correct shape, even if the actual contents are all wrong.

Even that analogy is the best sort of thought I can form right now.

I keep breathing, like I was taught. Lara presses her forehead to mine. We breathe in sync, until I truly feel myself coming back. The pieces are starting to line up, I can feel it. I look at Lara one more time.

“Welcome back,” she smiles tearily.

I can't help my own soft smile back at her. “Never left.” She hugs me weakly, and I fully relax again for the first time in quite a while. Since I was atop that tower, probably.

Under control again, I push myself up from the ground. As it turns out, Lara is still too weak and exhausted to stand on her own, so I have to go back to supporting her.

More importantly, besides Helios still standing by, there are other people now. A handful of clearly high level players in shining equipment. They're standing just a short distance away, but... also a little further than it seems like they should be. And with a glowing, heavily damaged magical shield fizzling out as a woman in blue drops her hands to her sides, panting for breath while someone else supports her. Wasn't that the same woman in blue from earlier?

I don't really understand what the shield was for, but with it gone, they all begin to step closer, more toward a distance I'd expect if they wanted to talk. They do all wince and tense when they come in range of my danger aura. About... ten or fifteen feet, I think. Looking them all over, sure I saw some of them during the big parts of the battle. Glancing further, there's a whole crowd out in the wings beyond them. And no towers, I guess they disappeared after the event...

Standing in front of everyone else is someone I don't recognize at all, just stepping into conversation distance. A man in his upper twenties. My first impression: Mr Perfect. He has the tall stature and spotless silver armor of the ideal, storybook knight. Short, wavy locks over the edges of his ears, with a chiseled jaw, regal cheekbones. A perfectly handsome face. Gleaming, intelligent blue eyes. He even has a majestic green cape clasped around his neck, beneath his sleek, rounded pauldrons.

Gross...

The only thing that saves the man is his hair. Rather than that perfect, shimmering blond I'd expect, it's a kind of dirty blond, brownish color. The single flaw makes him actually look human.

He takes a few strides forward, heavy boots clanking against the ravaged pavement, every movement exuding confidence. What a commanding presence... “It is good to make your acquaintance.” As soon as he opens his mouth, his words sound tight and formal, but somehow softer than I'd expect. Something about his voice nags at me as he approaches, one hand extending for a shake, the other coming to his breast in a knightly salute.

“I am Ollin, the commander of the Lenarlil city defense council.”

I hesitate. My brain still feels clunky after everything that happened, so I'm having a hard time keeping up. Why so formal? He's the commander? From the tower defense? Is he an NPC? Those are called Nirvallans here, right? I take his hand, lurching a little in the process as I try to catch up.

“Mei. I'm umm, Mei.” I bungle my introduction, but do my best to give a good handshake. His grip is tight, maybe a tad too tight. The feel of it is interesting though. His gauntlet has metal segments along the back, but the underside of his palm and fingers are covered in leather that feels sturdy yet pliable to my fingertips.

After a few seconds, he releases my hand and goes on. “So, Mei. What brings you to our good city?”

I blink. What brings me here? I mean, nothing in particular, it's just my home town... “I, umm, just kind of got here?” I scratch a finger against my cheek, zero idea how to properly answer.

“There isn't anything you're looking for?” He raises a questioning brow.

Something I'm looking for... I try to think, my trudging mind raking over all my memories at random, and I actually manage to stumble on something. “Oh!” My ears shoot straight up. “I was told I should find a seer.” Wait, there's no way that's relevant to him, I realize after the words are already out of my mouth.

Well, if he's such an important person, he might know more about them than I was able to find online, so I guess he isn't a bad person to ask, even if now really isn't the time. Still, after being tortured by a literal eldritch monstrosity because of the aggro my cursed Title generates, finding a seer has jumped way up my list of priorities. So maybe it is a good idea to ask after all? Thinking so, I decide to just with it. “I have a Curse on me and I need to know more about it.”

“A seer...” the tall man frowns faintly.

“A Curse, you said?” Helios suddenly speaks up a bit too loudly from where he's still standing, on the opposite side of Lara. “What kind of Curse?”

“That's what I'm trying to figure out. All I know is that it gives me a dangerous aura and drives the Oblivion crazy. Once they notice me, they ignore everything else and try to kill me. You saw it during the battle, right?” I ask the two men. Helios shakes his head since he was too far back to see, but Ollin nods. I guess he had a good enough view of the battlefield while commanding to notice that.

“I mean, Xanaad? It actually stopped before killing me because it realized I was bound to a tower. As soon as it broke the bind, it tried to kill me again. The Oblivion really want me dead.”

“That is awfully relentless...” Ollin murmurs, clasping a hand over his mouth as he thinks. “I'm just glad we were able to protect you in the end.”

Huh? Protect me? When they see my confusion, Helios speaks up to help. “Commander Ollin issued an order during the battle, designating you a VIP and ordering us to protect you.”

“O-oh?” I stammer, blinking dumbly. He did that for me? Why? Is that why people kept throwing themselves between me and the boss? All those last second saves weren't a coincidence at all...

I can't really bow too well while supporting Lara, but that doesn't stop me from trying. “Thank you for protecting me, Commander Ollin. And you too, Helios. And everyone else who helped.” They aren't here, but I speak my thanks anyway. I'd definitely have died without them all. I'd be sitting out there, waiting hours until I got to be Mei again.

But why in the world would they do that for a random low level like me? It doesn't make any sense...

Ollin smiles warmly. “You're very welcome. Now, how about we get somewhere a little more comfortable?” Then he turns to the others standing by and he asks, “Does anyone have some more clothes for her?” While they're discussing that, I wonder... clothes?

Then I look down and realize I have some sort of cloth, like towels or short cloaks or something, wrapped around my shoulders and my waist. My own clothes are gone. Now that I think about it, crappy starter clothing like that, they must have been shredded into a million pieces with everything that happened...

“No worries.” Helios gives a small thumbs up when he sees my realization on my bright red cheeks. “Lara and me got you covered before anyone saw anything.”

When she hears her name, she stirs slightly and mumbles, “I gotchu...” in her half-asleep stupor. What about my hundred plus viewers though...? And Helios himself?

For now, I try not to think about that.