The Assault (2)
Before the main keep of Kelebor Fortress, a battle of unrelenting ferocity raged on.
"Hold the line! Trust the comrades at your side! Pay no mind to the monsters in the air!"
With that rallying cry, Bernus swung his sword at the monsters charging toward him.
[Keheng!!]
A single piercing shriek rang out as a wolf larger than a grown man was cleaved clean in two, spraying crimson droplets in every direction.
"Hah…"
Bernus drew a short breath to steady himself and swept his gaze across the field. Everywhere his eyes fell, the fighting was just as desperate. The ground was so thickly stained that it was impossible to tell whether the blood soaking it belonged to monsters or men; the situation was turning with terrifying speed.
"Do not scatter! Scatter and you die!!"
He kept shouting orders without pause, driving the soldiers onward. Then—
"More of them are coming!!"
A nearby soldier's cry snapped Bernus's attention upward. Over the walls poured a fresh tide of monsters: great lizard-like beasts, multi-legged arachne, chimera ants, and more—creatures one would normally search for in vain, now flooding in as one. Bernus quietly tightened his grip on his sword.
When this battle ends… how many of us will still be standing?
He looked at his men. Every face he saw was etched with fear as they stared at the oncoming horde.
"Tch…"
Alone, he might have carved a path through them somehow. But as lord of the count's domain, he could not. They were barely holding as it was; if he abandoned this place, what followed would be nothing but a one-sided slaughter.
His expression hardened. He put more strength into the hand that held his blade and began to step forward toward the swarming monsters—when a thunderous roar rolled down from overhead.
[Kyauuuu—!!]
"…!?"
In the same instant, dark-blue flame erupted from the sky and swallowed the monsters whole.
[Kieeeeeek—!!]
[Keheng!! Keheng!!]
Each creature shrieked in its own hideous voice as the fire engulfed them and they thrashed wildly. Above the chaos, a dragon of dark-blue scales swept past like a living shadow.
"Milia!?"
Bernus's startled cry rang out just as Milia and Schwarz dropped into the midst of the monsters. What followed could only be called a massacre.
The dark-scaled dragon struck with tail, foreclaws, and razor fangs at every beast that came near, while the girl on his back whirled her spear with practiced skill, skewering anything that dared approach. Caught from behind in a sudden ambush, the monsters' momentum faltered at once. Bernus ripped his sword free and charged, roaring:
"Do not let this chance slip! Drive them out!"
[Waaaaaah—!!]
For soldiers who had been fighting only to survive, the sight was more than enough to rekindle their courage. Knights and men-at-arms seized their weapons and surged forward. Caught between hammer and anvil, the monsters were wiped out in moments.
How long the slaughter lasted, none could say. Then—
[Kr… krwor—!!]
An orc that had lunged at Schwarz took Milia's spear straight through the brow. Cleanly pierced between the eyes, it gave a final death-rattle and went still. With practiced ease Milia wrenched the spear free; the lifeless body toppled, green blood spilling out to stain the earth.
"Whew… looks like we've cleared the area around us."
"Grrung…"
Milia wiped the sweat from her brow as she spoke. Schwarz scanned the surroundings and nodded. No more moving monsters remained in his sight—though that, of course, would last only a little while.
"Milia!"
"Father!"
Bernus pushed through the soldiers toward her. Milia beamed and hurried to meet him—only to be met with a scolding.
"I told you to wait in the tower! What are you doing here!?"
"I can fight too! In a situation like this I can't just sit somewhere safe by myself!"
She shot back, looking briefly incredulous, then refusing to yield an inch. Tension crackled between them. Schwarz and the watching soldiers broke into cold sweat—until Bernus's shoulders eased.
"…You're right. We need every hand we can get right now. So? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nope. Completely fine."
They say no parent can truly win against their child. Bernus regarded her with lingering worry; Milia only puffed out her chest with confident pride. After a careful once-over confirmed she was uninjured, he turned to Schwarz and gently ruffled the dragon's head.
"Schwarz. Thank you."
"Kkuung."
Schwarz dipped his head lightly. With so many eyes upon them, speech was impossible.
"So what now?"
"I mean to take a few soldiers and gather the scattered men. Can I leave the defense of this place to you in the meantime?"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Milia answered with absolute confidence. Bernus cast her one last anxious glance, then shook his head. If I cannot trust her, who can? He selected several nearby soldiers.
"Then I'll be off. Look after this place well."
"Okay! Don't worry—go!"
A short while later the detachment was ready. As Bernus set out with the men, Milia gave a light wave. He returned the gesture and vanished from her sight.
With Bernus gone, Milia and Schwarz set about grinding the monsters that still pressed toward the keep into dust.
"Nobody fall back! Hold your positions and they won't dare push through!"
No one could deny she was a true daughter of the count's house. Under Milia's deft command the soldiers held the line with steady discipline, turning back wave after wave.
"Kyauuuuu—!!"
Schwarz, too, fought among them—biting, rending, smashing—lending his strength so the front would not break.
How long they held, none could measure. The tide of monsters that had crashed against them like a flood began at last to thin, and with it their ferocity waned.
"At this rate we should get through without any more heavy losses."
"Grrung…"
Schwarz nodded at her words, watching the soldiers push the remaining beasts back. Bernus must have succeeded in rallying the men; the numbers pouring into the fortress had dropped sharply. If things continued this way, no further great casualties would come. Schwarz let out a short breath of relief. Milia was surveying the damage when—
—Gugugugugung…!!
A sudden deep rumble shook the ground.
"Wh-what? An earthquake?"
"Kkuung!?"
Startled, Milia and Schwarz dropped low. The soldiers who had been holding the line likewise crouched, struggling to keep their footing as the tremor grew.
And then—
[Kiiiik—!! Kiik!!]
[Krwok!! Krworuk!!]
[Kyarururu! Kyaru!!]
The very moment the quake began, the monsters that had been charging madly only seconds before wheeled as one and fled toward the outside of the fortress.
"What are those things doing? Running away all of a sudden?"
"Grrung…"
Milia's voice was pure bewilderment; Schwarz felt the same. The soldiers nearby stared in equal confusion—but only for a heartbeat. The shaking intensified until standing upright became nearly impossible. Cracks spidered across the walls of Kelebor Fortress and the structures of the keep itself; broken masonry rained down, crushing monster and soldier alike.
Fearing a falling fragment might strike Milia, Schwarz lunged to her side and arched his body over her head as a living shield.
"Uwaaaaah—!!"
People often say that before the power of nature, humans are utterly helpless. Caught in the sudden earthquake that engulfed the fortress, Milia screamed in panic. Schwarz pulled her tightly into his embrace.
And in that instant—
[--------------------------------------!!]
An otherworldly howl tore through the air. A colossal tower crumbled, and something vast came crashing down upon them all.