- POV Random Human Soldier -
"So let's see if both can survive against one human..."
As His Majesty the King spoke this sentence, all the Knights including myself stepped aside to let the most frightening of us all pass... Lady Erina. She was not the leader of any battalion and despite her high level and her title of Mage Knight, she was still part of the army as a simple Knight. I had never seen her fight before, but today the famous redheaded Knight would fight.
Lady Erina then walked up to the King in silence before bowing and grabbing the two swords she had on her back. The two subrace half-humans were still in the middle of the clearing and still didn't seem to give up. As I smiled at the thought of them falling from above, her ever-compassionate Majesty was sure to raise his voice one last time to give them one last chance.
"WOMEN ! Or whatever you are... kneel before me, give me back my daughter and we'll just destroy this forest and capture all your little friends ! When do you say ? Isn't this the best solution ? No deaths...isn't it the most peaceful for all of us ?"
Of course, all the Knights and Paladins knew perfectly well that the King didn't mean a word of it and planned to spill blood regardless. After all, why bother dealing with subraces when you can take everything by force ? But that didn't stop us from playing with them a little and enjoying the moment when hope left their eyes and despair took over.
Just as I thought the two subraces might think twice, the red-clad woman with the crimson hair began to change. A brown aura came out of her body as horns grew on her forehead, wings behind her back and scales on her forearms. The woman standing in front of her mediocre army and raising her voice was none other than a...dragoness.
"Capture and destroy ? Pacifist ? Tsk ! Talking about peace while spilling blood is something only Humans can do. I, Gaya, Queen of the Elysium Empire and wife of the Empress, will show you what it is to destroy !"
At her words, our entire army could feel the power that emanated from her body, which despite our taunts was not to be taken lightly. Her amber colored eyes were piercing, wild and the feeling of innocence she had, had disappeared giving way to a feeling of real danger. The beast woman had also spoken of being Queen, of an Empire and an Empress, what was going on ?
"Y-You ! Would you be an earth dragon ? Y-Your name sounds familiar but...no...that's impossible ! You're Gaya, last of her kind nicknamed the Mother of Earth Dragons ?"
Out of nowhere and with a trembling voice, Saint Leto who was standing behind his Majesty pointed at the dragoness unable to believe what he was seeing. The Mother of Dragons ? Did he know this woman ? In an instant, the transformation of this subrace had caused an uproar, but this time on the Paladin side. Saint Leto, however, did not have time to wait for an answer as the three-tailed half-human spoke in turn.
"I, Kira, Princess of the Elysium Empire and younger sister of the Empress, swear to make you regret coming here !"
She had raised her head distinctly and opened her eyes to stare defiantly at all of us, and at that moment, the already agitated Paladins began to incant their spells. The gray-tailed subrace had cold purple eyes carrying a dangerous glow. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but at the sight of her eyes the members of the Church became agitated before being stopped by Saint Leto.
"Wait ! You ! Vile demon !! Are you the one we came to capture ? Are you able to change your shape as you please and take on the appearance of an innocent little girl with white hair and violet eyes ?
At his words, the two monsters in front of us stopped dead in their tracks before a wave of powerful killing intent came over us suddenly making me almost choke. I didn't know what but something had made them instantly angry and while I did my best to stay upright I looked up at them. The dragoness then spoke up, immediately followed by the one who had declared herself Princess.
"What did you just say ? Human, don't think you can get away with what you said... you'll never get out of this forest and you'll be happy to have only the two of us in front of you..."
"You dare to attack our family ? You will pay the price. And then vile demon ? I hope for your sake you never meet onee-san because if you do... then you'll can talk about a real demon."
Family ? Onee-san ? Everything that came out of their mouths was incomprehensible and nobody seemed to understand what they were talking about. The two monster women, in spite of the daylight, had eyes that shone in a disturbing way and were ready. Suddenly, the King, who was just as lost as we were, began to shout angrily and eagerly, triggering the first movements of the hitherto motionless Lady Erina.
"ENOUGH ! Erina, order of your King ! Get rid of these two pretentious trash cans and quickly so we can fight this pathetic army and find my daughter !!"
The next moment she had disappeared only to reappear right behind the two women wielding her two swords before bringing them down on them at an impressive speed. Everything was going very fast for my eyes but to my surprise the two beast women had managed to dodge. The dragoness had spread her wings while the other had made a prodigious leap backwards landing on her bare feet.
The scythe and the swords clashed with power and despite the strength of our Mage Knight, both managed to resist. The half-human with tails was using her element which seemed to be lightning bolts that appeared under her feet giving her speed. The two women were fighting together but more than attacking, all they were doing was dodging or blocking Lady Erina's strikes.
"Kira since we have the chance to be the first to fight, let's use our elements and save time !"
"Hai~ onee-san count on us !!"
Suddenly, as the dragoness had said those words, the one who had answered closed her eyes before a wave of power flowed out of her. Her entire body began to crackle as her entire body was covered in blinding blue-gray lightning. Her violet eyes shone like two fiery fires and her gray hair sparkled as if it were made of lightning.
The beast woman named Gaya was pounding her two fists together shaking the ground as a brown aura formed around her again. A roar escaped from her mouth and her crimson wings opened wide behind her back making her even more imposing. For a few seconds, I could almost see the phantasmagorical image of a gigantic, majestic and frightening dragon behind her.
The next thing I knew, both of them were pouncing on the one brave Knight who stood against them in a fight that had just reached another level. The lightning girl kept disappearing, bringing down her scythe with precision on Lady Erina and the dragoness fought without weapons, using only her incredible strength and claws. There were only three of them fighting and yet the forest was already shaking for miles.
The black and red scythe spun in the air crackling like a blazing fire sending out a multitude of lightning bolts every time it hit the ground or Lady Erina's weapons. The tails subrace knew how to handle it perfectly and kept disappearing as if she could teleport. Her fighting techniques were not perfect but she fought with rage, strength and precision which made her dangerous.
The dragoness had no weapon, but the more we watched the fight, the more obvious it became that this monster certainly didn't need one. I didn't want to admit it to myself but she fascinated me because despite her appearance she had a colossal strength. Each blow that this Gaya made always split the earth a little more and shook us as if we were experiencing a real earthquake.
*It's...impossible to believe*
Both were monstrously powerful and their attacks were perfectly coordinated as if they knew when, how and where to strike. I was shaking, I was scared because I realized that against these subraces alone...I wouldn't stand a chance. It wasn't even 10 minutes into the fight and the middle of the clearing was already unrecognizable, the ground scorched by lightning, scarred by the blows of swords and scythes and filled with craters.
In an instant, the clearing had been crossed by a gust of wind coming from the two monsters, which against all odds were much more powerful than expected. However, unlike them, Lady Erina had not yet cast any spells and was fighting only with the strength of her arms. I couldn't see much, I could feel my eyes stinging, but I didn't have time to worry about it as Saint Leto's worried voice rose among the sounds of battle.
"Your Majesty ! The creature and dragon your best Knight is fighting are no ordinary ones ! They...they don't even need to incant before using their mana ! You...you have to order a combined attack and kill them with numbers otherwise...
"Leto, shut up and open your eyes ! If Erina Velfury is one of the most powerful mages among the Knights, it is not for nothing. She possesses extraordinary power and has never lost a single battle. Look..."
I was trembling in spite of myself, but what the King had just said as loud as he could so that as many of us as possible could hear it, had reassured me. He still had his head up and a mischievous, mysterious smile on the corner of his face despite the situation. As I lifted my head to look at the fight again, a new shadow from the sky crossed the clearing, raising bright particles.
I felt slightly weak, I was shaking, my eyes stung as if I was sleepy but I could hear perfectly. I felt an urge to raise my head, but suddenly Lady Erina's voice reached my ears, making me forget my desire. The battle was raging but this time despite the noise, I could hear her voice finally incanting to release her magic that the King described as special.
Her two hands holding her swords began to glow as Lady Erina twirled her weapons with ease and style before raising them to the sky. Suddenly, a mini-dome was created in the entire clearing, not very high but encompassing everyone without exception. At that moment, as if by magic, the two half-humans fell to their knees instantly losing their monstrous forms.
"W-What..."
"H-How ?"
The fox-tailed subrace was no longer similar to a lightning bolt, none was visible on her body or hair anymore, and the dragoness had just lost her wings and other body modifications. I didn't understand what was going on, was Lady Erina responsible ? Her power was this dome but how did it work ? My head was spinning, so many questions were running through it and despite the growing discomfort, I kept looking at Lady Erina.
She hadn't said another word and without waiting any longer, she threw herself on those two monsters that were in our way. My vision became for some unknown reason blurred but in a blink of an eye our most powerful Knight was behind the three-tailed woman. Destabilized and lost because of what had just happened, she had not sensed the presence of Lady Erina who was already raising her sword above her head.
"KIRA ATTENTION !!"
Just as the shining sword split the air at an impressive speed, the kneeling dragoness had shouted these words as she got up as fast as she could. Everything happened very quickly and as Lady Erina's weapons were inches away from her target and the crimson-haired woman reached them, an explosion erupted from them. The dust on the ground rose very quickly, hiding the outcome of this confrontation.
"cough cough !!"
"I...I feel weird.."
"uuuurg my eyes !"
pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ "What happened ?"
The entire clearing was now submerged under a cloud of dust that I had obviously breathed in and was further stinging my eyes and burning my lungs. My comrades around me were in the same state and from what I could hear, they too had a strange sensation. Then, little by little, the dust dissipated with the warm afternoon wind, letting me see what had happened.
Under the terrified gaze of the subraces in front of us, the two monsters that had stood against Lady Erina were on the ground. The dragoness named Gaya had apparently arrived in time, but in the end it was no use judging by the blood on the ground. Gaya was hugging the other girl but had a sword stuck in her body running through her and her protege.
"cough...Ki-Kira..."
Indeed, one of the Knight's swords had gone in through her chest to come out at the belly of the one with three tails. The two monster women, so terrifying at first sight, had been literally impaled in only a few minutes. I didn't know what Lady Erina had done and what her power was, but one thing was certain... Her Majesty was right.
The attack had been so powerful that the dragoness' ribs had broken into a thousand pieces, spreading the wounds all over her back. Her chest was open, bones were sticking out and only death awaited her in the next few minutes. The beast girl was not in a better state because although she had been protected, the blow had been fatal for her too. Her scythe had blocked Lady Erina's second sword, but the first one was stuck deep in her stomach, causing her intestines to come out.
The blood kept flowing and as Lady Erina withdrew her sword, their bodies fell to the ground with a thud. Time seemed to stand still, I could not believe my eyes and although my eyelids were heavy I was amazed. The two women were now writhing on the ground trying to get up in vain because in one blow Lady Erina had wounded them severely and fatally from the inside.
"GAYA !! KIRA !!"
"NOOOO !!"
After a heavy silence due to the shock, the subraces in front of us began to shout at this scene that for us was divine. The eight masked and frightening individuals then threw themselves in the center to try to recover the dying body of their companions but it was without counting our best Knight. With a powerful kick, Lady Erina sent the two women to the ground in the direction of the subraces before stepping back.
She knew she couldn't fight eight warriors at once and preferred to send her two opponents flying at them as a diversion. With a perfectly controlled leap, our best Knight was going to stand next to the King before bowing her head in respect. As the subraces in front of us became agitated, our good and great King finally spoke up and ordered the beginning of the all-out war.
"BUNCH OF MONSTERS, THIS IS WHERE YOUR MADNESS HAS LED YOU ! YOUR TWO SO-CALLED STRONGEST FIGHTERS HAVE FALLEN AND YOU ARE NOW ALONE AGAINST AN ARMY OF 3000 HUMANS HAHAHAHA~!!!"
"..."
"SOLDIERS !! KING'S ORDER !!! PURGE THIS FOREST OF THE SCUM AND BRING ME BACK MY DAUGHTER WILLINGLY OR BY FORCE !!"
"YES MY KING !!!"
The time had finally come to enter the battle and show these subraces just how superior humans were. Shouts of encouragement echoed through our ranks while across the way frightened and angry faces stared at us. We were 3,000 against about 1,000, our victory was guaranteed, and as I was about to charge, my legs suddenly gave out from under me, causing me to fall to the ground before I passed out.
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