Levi watched with growing unease as the entire group of harpies showed drastic health decreases. They were some of the highest health creatures he’d ever captured; for them to be taking this much damage was of extreme concern.

Then Storm's health dropped to nothing, his name going grey. Levi urged his mount on faster, but the sabercat could only move so fast. They'd already been running at full speed all morning, it would take more than a few minutes to return that full distance.

Not long after, the others started cresting level 11 as well, pools zipping back to full before dropping again. This time they dropped more slowly, then stabilized within a couple minutes.

None of the other minions showed any health changes, though, so he wasn’t sure what to think.

—--

Silvie hovered above the crowd of monsters below, vengeance in her heart and a thundercloud in her soul. Storm lay securely atop one of the stone formations, they'd carried him up safely out of reach of the monsters below.

Now, though the tug in her mind pulled her backward, she'd lost all inclination to follow it. If she hadn't been here, things could have gone much, much worse. She would not leave their flock unprotected. Though part of her wanted to stay and mourn, she knew their task.

For a moment she cursed Jayke for staying behind. If they’d had him here, it could have tipped the balance in their favor before Storm was lost. But… she also knew if Storm had been any less insistent Silvie herself would have remained as well, so she couldn't judge Jayke too harshly.

Now! We fly!

Below, a vulnerable feast of powerful enemies spread out, ready for the taking. Everything from small birds who'd be hard pressed to stay off the ground more than a minute to monstrous dinosaurs that could snatch a harpy from the air in a single bite.

All radiating strength Silvie could feel from here, all capable of sundering her flock if they could reach. But they were all only beasts.

They'd already dealt with those who could fly properly. Now, all that remained was to claim the prize.

Silvie screeched and waved a wing, bringing the flock circling up around her. She led the way in a wide sweep, circling the outer edges of the scattering army of beasts. Any stragglers who seemed likely to escape, they struck.

Two of her underharpies swooped down and set off discharges one after the other, stunning the creatures half the time, then Silvie and the other two pelted the target with feathers until it died.

They circled the group three times, clearing more and more each time as the spread expanded, but Silvie didn't relent.

Storm had impressed upon her very clearly that this was an absolutely essential mission. Not a single survivor could be allowed to roam free. They could do too much damage. It would be irresponsible to leave this many monsters wandering out in the world. They could not neglect this duty.

Twice, groups of flying fish came swarming up to meet them, but these swarms were universally weak to the stunning Discharge attacks, making them more tedious to clear than anything.

The evening drew on and still the flock circled. The monsters below had been reduced by half, but still a long night of work awaited them.

Only once the threat was fully resolved could they return to their masters.

They toppled another of the great dinosaurs, swooping in and darting away before it could jump and bite, the patterns well practiced by now. It fell twitching to the dusty ground, the light drifting free of its broken shell. Silvie swooped through the hazy cloud, on to the next.

Power surged through her as the tipping point was finally reached.

She felt the storm within her grow, strengthening and expanding, and dove down at their next target with renewed vigor, letting out a triumphant shriek. Her wings cut through the wind, her storm flooded out behind her and enemies fell in her wake.

The battle was long, the fighting slow, the enemies stronger and much more numerous, but the flock was relentless. In an enclosed area, any one of their adversaries could have killed half of them, but this open wilderness with plenty of inaccessible perches to rest on gave full advantage to the flyers.

Sure, the monsters below put up a good fight. Occasionally one even managed to get a swipe in on one of the close-in harpies who dove to discharge their storm, but the ability to safely retreat and attack again from distance made their victory inevitable.

And when the moon finally rose to give light to their hunt, there was no enemy remaining.

—-

By the time Levi returned to the compound, the place was already a bustle of activity.

Irene directed a group of combined prisoners and villagers - distinguishable by their normal clothing. Gordon had caught up by then as well, so Pierce was helping with the transport of people and supplies as they tidied up the chaos left in Levi's wake.

“Hey, Gordon? Where’d the harpies go?”

“Everyone but Jayke flew off about a day ago. That wasn’t you?”

Levi shook his head. “Where is he? Does he know anything?”

“He’s in the dungeon helping with escort duty. Irene and the kids have been carting out treasure and stuff.”

Levi instinctively scanned the area again for any sign of Peter. “The kids?”

“Several of the younger prisoners banded together, those who were separated from their families especially. Peter and Riana took charge of organizing them and keeping them busy.”

Levi thanked him and jogged over to Irene. He recognized the man standing beside her, even without the flying lobster-bird - the crafter he'd met midway through the dungeon, Javier.

Javier recognized him in almost the same moment, waving for him to join them.

"Hey, it’s the crazy man, you made it out! I was wondering if you would. Never seen someone your level so entirely fearless." The crafter shook his head in admiration.

“I know what I’m doing, most of the time. Did you get the town evacuated in time?”

"I did, yes. I wanted to thank you for the warning. We saw what you did, the mess it left of the place. If I hadn't gotten people clear, there'd have been a lot more casualties."

Levi felt a weight lifted at the news, a nagging concern at the back of his mind silenced. "I'm glad. I didn't have any other option, but I hated to think any innocents might have gotten hurt."

Levi briefly conversed with Irene, checking in on the cleanup process. The dungeon may be empty for now, but it was still an invaluable resource. Something this high level, they'd want to set up at least an outpost around, if not take over the area completely.

He scanned his minion list again. Storm remained dead, the other harpies had reached level 12, and Drok and Stunner’s names had disappeared. Which reminded him of another missing minion.

"Hey, did anyone find Becca when you were coming out of the dungeon?"

"Pierce, I need you," Irene called, and the giant centipede skittered over to her with only a quick glance back to check with Gordon. They disappeared into the dungeon, then emerged a few minutes later bearing a familiar limp feline form.

Levi ran over, confirming it was indeed Becca. Name tag remained in place. "Tame?" He'd never tried taming something already dead before; ordinarily, dead monsters disappeared into the dungeon, but in Becca's case it worked immediately.

She remained dead, Tame not restoring her to life, but that didn't matter. Revive would be off cooldown in a few minutes.

Levi slid her name back up the minion list to its position just below Cen and Centoo, where she belonged.

Whoever else had tried to claim her... no longer mattered. He couldn't conjure the energy to worry over it. The past few days had been wearing and exhausting on every possible scale.

But that would have to wait. He had a couple hundred rescued Awakened milling about, some taking up shelter in the less-destroyed buildings, some wandering the village, others blatantly pillaging.

In the light of day, the swath of destruction Levi had wrought looked all the more dramatic. It looked more like the fallout of a hurricane than anything.

Irene stood beside him following his gaze as he looked over the collected strangers. "I think we should tell them."

"Tell them?"

She spread a hand toward them. "You're never going to get a more receptive audience. You know what's coming. If anyone's going to believe you, it's the people who know how serious things already are."

"All of it?"

"All of it."