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Chapter VIII Hour before Battle

-AUGUST-

I wasn't going to panic this time. Not again. This time I was standing my ground against that monster.

As the giant dragon closed the distance between it and our group, Vatra immediately tried to teleport us out of there, but the monster's stare seemingly paralyzed her.

Tel and Aiden weren't doing much better, with Tel having fallen to the ground and Aiden shaking so hard he could barely hold his bow steady. Even Kavik was hesitant to engage the beast, although his swords were drawn.

I started having flashbacks to when I encountered this thing the first time. All the fear and panic that I felt back then was coming back to the surface, but I wasn't going to let it consume me this time. As long as I have Faith, Fear can't defeat me. Right?

Fear let out a stream of flame in our direction. Vatra met it with her own fiery breath, but Fear's was much stronger. I instinctively stood in front of Vatra as her fire was drowned out by the demon's, a shield of dark energy shaped like wings appearing in front of me. I guess I summoned it, but it was a blur.

The shield deflected the flames easily enough, but then Fear decided to confront us on the ground, pounding into the earth and releasing a shockwave that nearly knocked me over. Kavik ran toward the creature, swords drawn, screaming like a maniac. I was almost certain he was going to get himself killed, but I thought if we werre all going to die, we might as well go down fighting, so I shot a blade of dark energy at the monster's face. It did practically nil, which admittedly is exactly what I expected.

Before Kavik could directly engage the hulking monstrosity and get brutalized by it, a sharp gust of wind struck the creature's face. This attack did manage to do damage, at least disorienting Fear for a second. It had come from North. He and the others had arrived, no doubt drawn by the explosion.

Kavik stabbed both his swords into the beast's claw, digging deep into its rotten flesh, but it had no actual effect on the creature as far as I could tell. North and Phenix combined their magic, creating a flaming tornado that hit the monster square in the face, Fear letting out an unholy shriek in response.

The two got closer, continuing to throw their magic at it as Kavik kept stabbing at its foot, occasionally using his own magic, hoping that he was at least doing something to it. Vatra breathed more pink fire at it, Lilac shot it with her lightning and me with my darkness, and Aiden and Tel even managed to land a few hits with their arrows and water magic, respectively.

Under the onslaught of our attacks Fear flew up back into the sky, letting out another of its piercing howls as it disappeared from sight.

"YEAH!" Kavik screamed, laughing almost maniacally. "We showed that fucker!"

"It's still around, isn't it?" Aiden stammered, trying not to look too nervous but failing miserably. "That couldn't have been all it took to defeat it."

And indeed, I could still feel the creature's presence, and the pain it put on my chest, but just barely.

"I think we should be okay for right now." Vatra sighed in relief. "It won't come back until it has a better battle plan."

"Oh, so we'll just wait here while it figures out how to kill us all." Aiden barked agitatedly.

"That's not what I said, Aiden." Vatra growled back, irritated and on edge herself. "And calm down, your fear isn't helping our situation."

"I'm not afr-" Aiden began to speak.

"Don't bother, Aiden." I cut him off, tapping his arm with the flat of my sword. "We can all see..." I managed to stop myself from saying 'that you're afraid' and directly insulting him, instead taking a second to find a more tactful way of expressing my thoughts. "We're all afraid."

"August is right." North said, having finally caught up with our group and patting Aiden on the shoulder. He didn't seem to appreciate the gesture that much, but he seemed to relax at least a little. "So what now?"

Before anyone could answer, a soldier called out to us from the fort behind us, barely poking its head out the hole that Fear's fireball tore in the wall.

"Get in here!" He yelled.

Vatra nodded in his direction and we obliged. I don't think anyone, at least not any of the five of us who had been in Vatra's group, really wanted to go in that fort, but it was better than standing in the middle of nowhere waiting for Fear to show up again and incinerate us.

-NORTH-

"Did your group drive that... that monster off?" A ram soldier, his armor decorated with the insignia of the Disciples of Respite, questioned us as soon as we were inside the fort. He seemed to think of me as the leader and I felt no reason to correct him.

"We did indeed." I smiled confidently. I didn't want to boast, and indeed I wasn't sure if my answer was entirely true, but I wanted to give the clearly beleaguered man some hope.

"It'll be back, though." Phenix pointed out. The man looked like he was about to panic, something I hoped to quell before it started.

"Don't worry." I put my hand over my heart. "We will help you drive it away permanently."

"Thank you, sir." The man, looking relieved, bowed. "Thank you so much."

"North." Aiden sighed and walked up beside me. "How long exactly do you think we're gonna stay here?"

"Oh, don't worry." The man spoke before I could answer, which was good because I didn't know if I could say anything that would make Aiden feel better. "We will only need your assistance until Sir Anastasius arrives."

"Who?" Elin asked quietly from the back of the group.

"Commander of the Disciples of Respite." Kavik answered.

"Ah." Elin said. "Who are they?"

"Later." Kavik replied.

"When should we expect him?" I asked, trying to put Aiden's mind at ease.

"We uh..." The soldier became rather pale. "We don't know."

"Fuckin' lovely." Kavik chuckled, irritating the rest of our group who didn't find the situation the least bit amusing.

"We sent a messenger out to find him, to tell him about the unusual Nichts activity we had been seeing." The man explained. "And while the messenger did return, he was killed by Nichts before he could tell us anything, almost on our doorstep."

"I'm sorry for the loss." I put my hand on my heart again and bowed my head, the man doing the same. "We will stay until your Commander arrives, and we will help you drive off this cowardly beast permanently." I smiled, trying to display an air of confidence and peace that I prayed would rub off on my teammates and the soldiers.

"Coward." August muttered.

"I'm sorry?" I replied. He was obviously going somewhere, but I failed to see where.

"Fear is a coward." August continued while lighting a cigarette in his mouth. "Of course, that makes so much sense!"

"What's yer point, Auggy?" Kavik asked, getting frustrated.

"Don't call me that." August shot Kavik a grim stare, breathing smoke out of his mouth. He took a deep breath, regaining his composure, and explained. "Fear is a coward, a bully. That's why it ran away when we started getting the upper hand."

"Oh, crap." Lilac said tensely. "If he's a bully, that means when he comes back..."

"It'll bring an army." August said coldly.

There was a moment of complete silence among our group as the information sunk in. It seemed about right, unfortunately. Even putting the monster's cowardice aside, bringing reinforcements would make sense.

"That's..." The soldier we had been talking to stammered, his hope dying.

"We'll still win." I stated clearly.

"Right." August added, sighing calmly and breathing out more smoke.

"H-how do you know?" The man replied, a look of absolute dread on his face. "That thing could bring an army of hundreds! Maybe even thousands!"

"And we'll kill every last fucking one." Kavik clapped his hands together, grinning gleefully.

"Right!" Elin added, throwing her fists into the air. "You can count on us! We're professionals!" Elin enthusiastically flashed the peace sign at the soldier.

"That's right." I patted the man's arm. "Just trust us."

I half-expected Aiden to say something that blew our lie about being professionals, but thankfully he didn't. The idea that our group was highly trained at destroying Nichts helped keep the man, and by extension the rest of the soldiers under his command, from giving up hope and at that's all we needed for the moment.

"Now sir, can you show us what your fort has to offer?" I asked him. "Then my team and I will come up with a plan of attack."

"Yes sir." The man bowed. "Thank you all so much!"

"No problem, it's what we do." Lilac said smiling. "Apparently." She added under her breath.

-PHENIX-

The inside of the fort was expansive and open, with soldiers running every which way to give supplies or other aid to their comrades. The place was well manned, but there were far less people here than I expected, or hoped, to see.

As the rest of my friends split up to explore the fort for various reasons, I caught up with Lilac to make sure she was okay. She seemed rather on edge, not that I could blame her, and I wanted to make sure if I could help.

"Lilac, how are you feeling?" I shyly tapped her on the shoulder and stepped back as she turned around to face me.

"I'm alright." She brushed her hand through her hair and looked away from me.

It was obvious that she wasn't being completely honest with me, but I wasn't sure I wanted to press the issue. After all, she did say she was alright, so who was I to say otherwise?

"Are you sure?" I asked nervously. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

"Yeah, Phenix. I'm fine." There was a great deal of tension in her voice. I recoiled from it inwardly, but I didn't want her to see that her tone bothered me.

As she started to walk away, I was going to leave it at that. But something rose up in me, I wasn't really sure what it was, but it was some sort of protective instinct.

"Don't lie to me, Lilac." My voice sounded deeper, only by a touch but enough to be noticeable.

"I'm not lying, Phenix. I'm fine." She barked at me, still facing away from me.

I scowled as I approached her, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around. Normally not how I would ever treat a lady, but I felt like I was having a sort of out of body experience and was just letting instinct take over my actions.

"What can I do to take care of you?" I asked, brushing hair out of her face and holding her by the shoulders. My tone was stern, but gentle. I needed her to know I was serious but also genuine in my concern.

"T-take care of?" Lilac stuttered and she took a quick step back, like she had briefly lost her balance.

"Yes." I took a small, quick bow, my hand over my heart. "Let me know what I can do to take care of you."

"Nobody's ever taken care of me." She blushed and pulled away, obviously skeptical of my offer. Likely with good reason no less, I could see just by looking in her eyes that she had been hurt many times before. N-not that I was looking into her eyes or anything!

"I find that difficult to believe, m'lady." I was still holding her hand with my right hand, my left gently poised on top of it. "You are a beautiful, kind, caring woman. How could no one want to take care of you?"

"You haven't met my family." Lilac wryly remarked.

"You're right, but back to the topic at hand." I didn't want us to completely veer off-topic. "What can I do for you?"

"I'll be alright Phenix." Lilac's smile was sweet, beautiful and innocent. "I'm just a little bit anxious being trapped in this fort. But thank you so much for your kind words, they really did help me feel better." She took a small bow and pulled her hand away from mine.

"If there's anything else I can do, don't hesitate to call me." I bowed in return.

"Thank you, Phenix." Lilac showed me her beautiful smile again and walked away.

She's a very kind and lovely lady. Nobody's ever taken care of her? That's not right. All women should be taken care of!

But wait, no. They're supposed to take care of themselves! Right? That's what I keep being told, that women can take care of themselves and I shouldn't be trying to... what was the word? Disempower them, that was it. I wasn't trying to, but I guess I was? I don't know.

Damn it, I'm so confused.

Let it go, Phenix. Just do the best you can.

-TEL-

I was feeling nervous about the upcoming battle. A little excited, but mostly nervous, so I looked around for someone to talk to and found Kavik. He was leaning against a wall near the back of the fort, fitting for someone who liked to project that 'cool, disaffected loner' image. It made me chuckle, but it was pretty cute.

I kinda have a thing for people watching, so I stood and watched Kavik taking in the environment for a moment.

His aura was very calm and collected, if a bit arrogant sometimes. His smile alone said a lot, that he thought of himself as better than most people, and the way he held himself suggested that he was right about that opinion to a degree. I know it's just body language, but you can read a lot into that!

Nothing seemed to faze him at all. Not Nichts, not people, nothing. I wanted to be like that, minus the arrogant thing. And yet, there was something in his eyes, they burned with a cold fire. He held onto so much rage and anger, but at the same time most of it seemed directed inwards. And I could tell he was somewhat depressed, since I can spot the signs of depression better than most.

I sensed a sort of kindred spirit between Kavik and me, like we were cut from the same... mold? I forget how that metaphor works. Anyway, I felt like we were kinda the same in a way, and I wanted to connect with him because of that, but the walls he built around himself, like not taking anything or anyone seriously, made that really difficult. Oh well, I'm nothing if not determined I guess.

"How are you doing, Kavik?" I said politely as I walked over to him.

"Pretty good." Kavik smiled genuinely, instead of the egotist grin he usually showed. "How 'bout you, kid? You feelin' alright so far?"

"I think so." I smiled and closed my eyes, trying to center myself and stay in a place of peace. "How 'bout you?" I stuck my tongue out at him playfully.

Kavik just laughed coarsely in response, about what I expected.

"Of course, kid!" He said, this time showing the aforementioned egotist grin. "Honestly, what kind of sissy do you take me for?" Kavik stuck his tongue out at me in return.

"I'm glad to hear it." I smiled kindly at him. There was a moment of silence as neither of us seemed to know what to say next, so I just decided to say the first thing I thought of to make conversation. "Hey Kavik, do you have any family?"

"Um, yeah." Kavik seemed slightly surprised by my question, which is fair since it was somewhat out of the blue. "Both my parents are still around, and I have a sister and two brothers."

"Oh, you come from a big family. That's really cool." I beamed. I was almost a little jealous. "I think I may have mentioned before, but my family's just me and my mom now." My smile disappeared, replaced by a mournful frown, but I shook my head and smiled again, trying to chase away those bad thoughts and memories.

"But you guys're on good terms?" Kavik asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely." I nodded cheerfully. "Mom may be a touch smothering at times, but you know how moms can be." I giggled. Thinking about mom made me a little homesick, but it cheered me up too because I thought about seeing her again and how proud she would be of me going on this journey, and that made me really happy.

"Yeah, my mom's a lot like that too, always overly concerned about us kids and stuff." Kavik chuckled, recalling fond memories of his own. "She's even overprotective of dad, it's funny."

"How'd she take you leaving Caldera then?" I asked.

"Dunno." Kavik shrugged, a stern and somewhat resentful look on his face. "I didn't tell anyone I was leaving."

"Why not?" I asked concernedly. I really didn't expect to hear that. "Are you not on good terms with your family?" I was suddenly kicking myself for just assuming Kavik got along with his family.

"I am for the most part." Kavik sighed harshly, almost more of a growl than a sigh. "My big brother graduated from the academy and joined the Disciples of Strength three years ago, so he's hardly around but he's kind of a town hero and I really look up to him, just like the rest of the family does. My little brother's only a few years old so it's hard not to like him and my sister..." Kavik paused, stroking his muzzle. "We have our ups and downs, but I care about her a lot." He said wistfully.

"Then how come you didn't tell anyone you left?" I was confused.

"I just..." Kavik sighed miserably. "I just needed to get out of there. I'll tell you all about it sometime if you want, but right now we have other stuff to attend to, okay kid?" He patted me on the arm.

"Okay." I nodded. "Promise?" I held out my hand to shake.

"Of course." Kavik enthusiastically clasped my hand. "I'm a man of my word."

"Glad to hear it, my friend." I said, smiling. I was really glad I chose to talk to Kavik.

-AUGUST-

The Disciple we met at the gate showed North and I, along with the two ferals, around the fort. He showed us the escape tunnels, the inside structure where the medical facilities are located, the outside wall that looks down on the Ravaged Lands and the mages who keep the invisible barrier above the fort.

He told us that there were about one hundred and fifty or so soldiers here in the fort and that roughly a third of them would be unable to participate in the battle due to injuries. The fort had been attacked again and again by Nichts for the last week and they had been expecting reinforcements in two or three more days.

This information combined with the knowledge that most of their medical staff were injured or killed in recent attacks led me to believe that Fear's appearance here wasn't some random coincidence, it was actively trying to bring this fort down but was too cowardly to show its damn face until it was sure that the fort was weakened.

North and I sat atop the wall looking down at the inside of the fort. Vatra and Noble were nearby, conversing with each other.

"So, what do you think?" North asked me. He seemed very calm but I could tell he was definitely on his guard and slightly on edge.

"I don't know." I lit a cigarette, trying in vain to relieve my mounting stress. "I'm not sure what I should think."

"We'll be alright, my friend." North put his hand on my shoulder and rubbed it gently. I wasn't used to being touched and I usually hated it, but North's touch felt rather nice and helped ease my nerves.

"Yeah, I know." I sighed, breathing smoke into the air. One would think that I would be panicking about now, but I really was certain that my comrades and I would make it out of this battle alive. Call it instinct. Or faith.

What bothered me though is that I felt it was my responsibility to figure out exactly how_we would all survive, that my specific skillset and ideas were what this fort and my crew needed to get through this, but I was drawing blanks. _So what the hell is my plan?

I let out a heavy sigh, planting my face firmly into my hands. North started rubbing my back, and while I'd like to emphasize that I am mostly heterosexual, I admit that I was feeling rather, um... pleased. I could probably cut that out, I'm not sure I need to share that information, but fuck it I already wrote it down.

Arousal aside, North rubbing my back was relaxing and that's exactly what I needed. As I sat there and concentrated on that relaxed feeling I suddenly received a stroke of brilliance. I stood up immediately, North following suit.

"Noble! Vatra!" I called out for the two ferals, who obediently came running and waited for me to speak. "You two need to find Anastasius." I could remember the Commander's name that was mentioned once and who I'd never seen, but not the name of the man who showed us around the fort. Go figure.

"We were talking about that as well, August." Vatra said dreadfully. "But there's a small problem."

"What is it?" I irritably exhaled another smoke cloud. I really didn't want to hear any more problems.

"I can find the Commander with my divination." Noble explained. "However, I can't seem to get an exact location on him." Noble closed his eyes and glowered. "I can feel him with my magic, but it's faint, likely because of being in the Ravaged Lands."

"But you can find him?" I asked impatiently, tapping my foot on the ground anxiously.

"Yes, I believe so." Noble nodded.

"So what's the problem?" North asked.

"Noble can't teleport." I dolefully enlightened North on our friend's slight magical handicap, breathing a heavy cloud of stress relieving smoke as I did so.

"So you would both need to go." North stated bleakly, a scowl on his face.

"Unfortunately, yes." Vatra admitted nervously.

"Then go." I said flatly. I didn't want to waste a second of our time. "And hurry."

"But August, what if you need us?" Vatra sounded surprised by my decision.

"If you two can bring the Commander back here, that'll be a great help." I paused for a moment to take a deep breath and expel another cloud of toxic smog into the air above me. "It will give the soldiers here great morale, be another powerful fighter that can fend off the enemy, and most importantly, we can leave this fort in his hands and that will make our crew happy."

"I... I guess." Vatra stammered.

"I agree with August." North backed me up. "The eight of us, combined with the brave soldiers already stationed here, are more than enough to hold this fort until you return."

Vatra was still concerned and unsure but Noble's nod of agreement made her completely out voted.

"We will return as soon as we can." Vatra reassured us, although she didn't sound too confident herself.

North and I nodded, anxious for them to be on their way. Vatra and Noble's eyes both began to glow, and they were off in a blaze of pink light and flame.

As they left, North and I walked over to the edge of the wall and looked outward, spying an oncoming horde of Nichts a few miles away. My heart leapt into my throat as fear tried to take over but I managed to fight back and push the feeling out.

"So what now, August?" North turned his attention to me, a serious and determined look on his face. "Do we have a plan?"

I grinned and said back "I think we just might."

I breathed one last cloud of smoke into the outside air before dropping my cigarette on the ground and extinguishing it. I wasn't happy to see my theory about Fear's potential army realized but I wasn't surprised either, and more importantly, I was ready.

Fear may have waited until it was sure the fort was weak to attack, but it didn't count on us being here and I was determined to show it why it should be afraid of us instead of the other way around.

-ELIN-

While the nice soldier guy was showing North and August around the fort, all the others were looking around the place themselves, all except Aiden who was down in the dumps standing in a corner all by his onesome.That's no good! I should go cheer him up! So I went and did that!

"How ya holdin' up, Aids?" I asked cheerfully, getting up close to him and smiling joyfully.

He didn't say anything at first, but he did look at me with a scowl on his face so I knew he heard me, and I'm patient and had nowhere else to be so I waited for him to speak.

"You seem really wound up." I added, trying to spark a conversation.

"I guess." He sighed frustratedly, adding credence to my prior statement.

"What's wrong?" I poked him playfully, but not too much that I annoyed him, I hope. "You can be totally honest with me, and I won't tell anyone. Promise!" I raised my hand to salute, showing how super serious I was.

"I just don't like these forts is all." He shrugged and rubbed his arms, his eyes darting back and forth agitatedly.

"How come?" I could tell he was holding back on me, but I didn't want him to think I was prying too much. "I admit, I'm not a huge fan either, but it's not that bad." I shrugged and gave another jolly smile.

"Is this your first time being in one?" Aiden asked gruffly.

"Nope!" I shook my head fastly, almost gave myself a headache.

"Really?" He looked astonished.

"Does that surprise you?" I grinned. I like surprising people.

"A little, yeah. You seem so innocent, I didn't expect you to have much experience with stuff like this." He shrugged and nervously ruffled his hair. He was so cute, he made me giggle a bit.

"I stayed in one for a little bit before it got overrun." I tried to cover what I just said with another smile. I kind of spoke without thinking and bringing those memories back hurt a lot. But that was okay with me, I would let myself be hurt to make others feel better every single time!

"I..." I don't think it made him feel any better though, he just got really somber, which made me get all sad and my ears get all droopy. "I'm so sorry." He said, shaking his head sadly.

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it." I playfully batted a paw at him. "I was only in the place to steal food from it anyway, it's not like I knew any of the people inside." I feel really connected with all kinds of living things though, so it still really hurt, and some of the things I saw that day are still permanently etched into my brain. But I didn't want Aiden, or anyone for that matter, to know I was ever in pain.

"Still." Aiden scowled, his eyes looking far off into the distance of spacetime or whatever. He had a blank stare, is what I'm trying to say. "To see that kind of devastation... no one should have to see something like that. So for that, I'm sorry."

"Are you gonna be all sad now?" I asked moodily, my tail falling limply to the floor in sadness.

"No, actually." Aiden perked right up, showing a weary smile. I could always tell when someone was faking emotion, but he actually seemed genuinely happier. "You've given me some good perspective." Aiden laughed. That kinda self-depreciating laugh when you realize you've said or done something stupid. "Sorry I was acting like a sulk there."

"Don't worry 'bout it!" I giggled and my tail wrapped around my leg. It does that when I'm happy. "Just try not to go back to sulk, okay?"

"Okay." Aiden chuckled, brushing his hand through his hair.

"Promise?" I held out my pinky.

"Promise." Aiden smiled and hooked his pinky around mine, thus signing a blood oath of pinky swearing!

"Hey, Aiden!" North called out to Aiden from up on top of the wall of the fort. "Can you come here?"

"Sure!" Aiden yelled back. "Gotta go, 'boss' is calling." He winked at me, and suddenly I could see why Lilac was into him. He's so cute!

"Okay." I gave Aiden a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

-AIDEN-

As I made my way up to the wall to meet North and August, I thought about what Elin had said. I was acting moody because I had bad memories of having been forced to stay in these godforsaken forts for a few weeks, but she actually saw one destroyed, likely witnessing countless deaths. I know there's no real 'scale' for pain, just because someone else is hurting 'more' doesn't make my pain less, but I felt like if Elin could be that strong, so could I.

"What do you guys want?" I was trying to catch my breath, my hands on my knees, after having had to climb four flights of stairs to reach the top of the wall.

"You're too slow." August growled, smoke pouring out of his barely open mouth. "You could have asked for a ladder."

I managed to hold back from just saying "fuck you" and turning away. Unfortunately for him though, I did not resist just shoving him off the wall to his death. Okay, I would never do that but the thought made me smile. Just a little though, of course.

"I reiterate." I glared bemusedly at August. "What do you want?"

"August has come up with a great plan." North was smiling confidently, but then again that was somewhat his default expression. "We want you to use your magic to enchant the weapons of the soldiers here, so they will be more effective against Nichts."

"Shouldn't the soldiers who fight Nichts on a near daily basis already have effective weapons?" I asked, slightly puzzled by the odd request. Although I supposed it was worth finding out if I could make their weapons more effective.

"If you can't do it, Aiden, just say so." August said coldly.

"I'll see what I can do." I glowered at him. He was just staring at the ground though, like he was in a daze. Which is great for the guy coming up with the plans, right? "Anything else?"

"Yes, take my hand." North extended his hand toward me.

"Look North, you seem like a good guy but you're not really my type." I grinned mockingly.

North just put on a very amusing vexed expression and repeated himself. "Take my hand."

I did as he asked this time, although feeling rather uncomfortable holding the hand of another man when it wasn't me initiating it. August was holding North's other hand though and didn't seem to mind. Made me wonder is all. Using his wind magic, North jumped off the wall, taking the two of us with him, and landed safely on the ground.

"Warn me next time if you're gonna do something like that, alright?" I snapped at him, irritated and frazzled by the sudden leap to the ground.

"Well if you had just taken my hand instead of making smart remarks..." North stuck his tongue out at me.

"Look at this." Before I could respond with yet another smart remark, August spoke, having moved a slight distance away from us toward the hole in the wall that Fear caused.

"What do you want me to do?" I grumbled, begrudgingly accepting where this conversation was going.

"We want you to fix this, of course." North explained, smirking at me.

I took a look at the hole. It wasn't severe enough to cause a major structural rift thankfully, but the rubble had all been burned to cinders so there was barely anything left to reconstruct the wall with.

"And how exactly do you expect me to do this?" I asked, quickly adding "And don't say 'with magic'. I can't just make stone out of thin air."

"Well, what can you do then?" August bluntly shot back. I wasn't sure if that was a genuine question or an insult against me.

"Hmm." I glanced at the bracelet on my wrist, the one that would enable me to use elemental magic. I had the idea that if I used my earth magic to make a wall where this one was, it would at least hold the monsters off for a while. "So you want me to fix this wall then, huh?"

"Yes, we said that already." August retorted.

"I'll do you one better, I'll make it an emergency door." I grinned.

"What do you mean?" North asked, intrigued by my brilliance.

"I'll use my magic to patch up this wall." I explained to my slow-witted colleagues, walking up to the hole in the wall and touching the stone with my hand. "Between my earth magic, what's already here and my transmutation I should be able to put together a solid wall, albeit not strong enough to keep the demons out for more than a few minutes at best."

"A few minutes is better than no time at all." August interjected.

"As I was saying." I hate to get interrupted. "But using my magic, I can bring the wall up or down as I please, making it into more of a door if we need a quick escape."

"That's perfect!" North exclaimed.

"Yes, I thought so." I smirked, stroking my chin and feeling like a true mastermind.

"What do you think, August?" North turned to the cold, black Fionbri.

"You use transmutation?" August asked, seemingly ignoring North.

"I do." I answered.

"Can you transmute the wall when you're done fixing it? To make it stronger, I mean?" August said.

"I suppose I could." I hadn't thought of that, and it was a good idea too.

"Then do that." August demanded.

"Yes SIR." I griped.

"Wait, Aiden." North spoke up, holding his hand up. "Can you teach the rest of us to use that kind of magic?"

"Well I could." I stuck my tongue out. "But then you wouldn't need me anymore, would you?"

North chuckled. I did too, and while I was definitely joking when I said it, I thought for a second that it was probably truer than I would have liked to admit.

I went to recreate the wall, pushing those lame thoughts out of my mind. I inscribed runes onto either side of the wall and the ground, two each, one for recreation and one for reinforcement, might as well do both at the same time.

"I, uh, need a boost." I looked up at the north end of the wall and saw that I couldn't reach where I needed to draw the symbols.

I expected one of them to get me a ladder or something but instead North, without missing a beat, just walked over to me and picked me up, holding me below the shoulders and lifting me up so that I could just barely reach the wall and draw the runes.

"Uh, thanks." I said as he put me down. "Never do that again." I leaned away from him, not embarrassed at all, no sir!

"Will do, Aiden." North chuckled, bowing politely. "Thank you very much for your help."

I gave a salute. It was always nice to hear praise for my work. I turned back to the hole in the wall and clapped my hands, using my magic to make it a hole no more. The patch where I had recreated the wall had a faint brownish tint, whereas the stone around it had a greenish tint, so it wouldn't be difficult to tell where the weak spot in the wall was. For safe measure I inscribed one last rune on the center of the new wall, clapping my hands and activating the spell to reinforce the wall's defenses just a bit more.

"There, that one's on the house." I grinned proudly.

"Great." August said. "Now go enchant the soldiers' weapons. We'll fill in the others."

I just glared for a moment at him before leaving silently to follow my orders. The way August was just ordering me around was starting to really piss me off, but I didn't make anything of it since I did have important duties to perform. My pride may have been important, but making sure that we lived to see another day was much more so.

-NORTH-

August and I gathered the rest of the group together, sans Aiden who was busy readying the soldiers' weapons.

"Alright, is everyone ready to hear the plan?" I asked. "Which, by the way, you can thank this guy for." I patted August on the shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably, blushing and hunching his shoulders.

"It's not a big deal." He murmured nervously.

"Well I think it's a great plan, my friend." I reassured him.

"What is it?" Elin hopped excitedly. "Tell me! You're keeping me in suspense!"

"Alright, here it is." I adjusted my clothes, making sure they were neat. It's something I did when I was anxious. "A small group of soldiers, about ten or so, will fight the Nichts outside the wall, led by Phenix and I."

"That seems really dangerous." Lilac said concernedly. Her worry was understandable, but unnecessary.

"Not so." I smiled, trying to ease her fears. "Do you all remember the hole in the wall from the explosion?" The group nodded. "Aiden's patched it up with his magic so we can use it as a makeshift 'door' in case we need a quick egress."

"Not that we'll need it of course." Kavik grinned excitedly, clapping his hands together. "We'll kick so much demon ass, those bastards are the ones who'll need an egg rest or whatever!"

"Is all you hear the parts about fighting?" Lilac questioned testily.

"Pretty much, yeah." Kavik nodded, sticking his tongue out at Lilac and causing her to slap her forehead.

"Kavik's right though." I said, leading Kavik to smirk smugly in Lilac's direction, who just rolled her eyes. She seemed uncharacteristically tense, not that I could blame her. "Those soldiers, led by Phenix and I, will be more than enough to hold the fort's walls."

"I see." Lilac grumbled, tugging at her hair in frustration. "So is that what Aiden's doing right now? Patching up the wall?"

"No." August shook his head, still looking down at the ground. "Aiden is using his magic to enchant the soldiers' weapons, make them more effective against the Nichts."

"This is, incidentally, where you come in, Lilac." I held my hand out toward her. She looked attentive, but anxious to hear her part in this. "You and August will be up on the wall, raining hell from above with your magic, along with several other soldiers, both magic users and archers with enchanted weapons."

"Will it be safe?" Lilac asked, twirling her hair around her finger. "Lack of roofage and all?"

"That won't be a problem." I assured her. "There are several magic users around here who will keep a barrier above the fortress. The monsters' attacks won't be able to get through, but yours will."

"Think you can handle it, Lilac?" August said coldly.

"Don't underestimate me, August." Lilac smiled confidently, and it was good to see her get her spirits up.

"What about Tel and Elin?" Elin asked impatiently, pointing at herself with her other arm around Tel.

"I seem to recall you both saying you know some healing magic, before we left St. Augustine?" I replied. I hated to answer a question with a question, but I believe in this instance it was warranted.

"Yeah." Tel cheerfully stated, Elin nodding her agreement.

"Perfect. Then you two will tend to the wounded inside the structure." I pointed at the tower built into the wall at the far end of the fort. "Thanks to recent attacks, the soldiers here are very short-staffed in the medical department, so you two will be in charge of taking care of the injured."

"I think we can do that." Elin chirped. "Right, Tel?"

"Definitely." Tel gave a salute and a passionate and self-assured grin.

"Great, then I think that's everyone." I gave the group another smile and returned Tel's salute. I was happy and confident with our team and how we would all handle our tasks, and I was excited to get this battle underway, and more importantly, over with.

"What about Noble and Vatra?" Lilac asked. "Where are they anyway?"

A brief moment of silence passed. August and I had forgotten to mention their whereabouts and neither of us wanted to be the one to answer that question.

"They aren't here." August flatly stated.

"What." Lilac, and the others for that matter, seemed rather... upset at this information. "Aren't those two, like way stronger than any of us?!"

"Theoretically." August coughed. "But their magic is weakened in the Ravaged Lands anyway. North and I were confident the eight of us could hold this fort."

"Well where the hell are they then, just sitting on their thumbs?!" Lilac ranted.

"No, of course not." I tried to calm her down, putting my hands on her shoulders. She was still angered but she seemed to relax just enough.

"They're going to find the Commander." August explained. "I was pissed off too, but with Noble's divination and Vatra's teleportation, they need both of them to find him."

"I thought the head honcho guy was already on his way?" Kavik pointed out.

"We have no idea how far away he is." I replied, sighing tensely. "When our two friends find him, which shouldn't take that long mind you, Vatra can just teleport him back here."

"And they can't just pinpoint his location of course." Lilac dryly remarked.

"Unfortunately, no." I shook my head sullenly. "Inside the Ravaged Lands, their magic is weakened."

"Of course it is." Lilac sighed, reluctantly accepting our situation. She clearly wasn't happy, but she understood that we needed to make the most of this and not focus on the negative.

"So does everyone know what they're going to do?" I asked, clapping my hands and trying to appear as positive as possible.

The group nodded, Kavik adding a "Hell yeah!" for good measure.

"Now let's go out there and kill those bastards!" Kavik pounded his fists together and walked toward the wall before I held my hand out to stop him.

"Kavik, you're staying put." August said.

"Wait, what the hell!?" Kavik exclaimed indignantly. "Why the hell am I not going out there to kick some ass with these guys?!" Kavik pointed at me and Phenix, who I had almost forgotten was standing next to me. He'd been curiously silent during the whole meeting.

"Because we can't trust you not to go into some sort of insane blood frenzy or something and screw up the plan." August said, remaining cold and distant. "If you get caught up in the fighting and separate yourself from the group by accident, you'll likely get yourself killed and we'd rather avoid that."

"Well that!" Kavik paused. "Is entirely reasonable, damn you!" He pointed at August who gave a satisfied grin in return.

"So are we due on the wall right now, August?" Lilac started to walk to the wall.

"Pretty much, yeah." August nodded. "I'll meet you up there, I have one more thing to take care of."

Lilac nodded and headed to her position. Elin and Tel headed off as well, and Phenix and I were next. Before I went, August weakly tugged at my hand and I turned around to see him.

"Go with God, my friend." He said.

"You too, August." I bowed, humbled and extremely grateful for his blessing, and to hear someone else say those words for once.

-KAVIK-

After all the others had left to take their posts, August came up to me to talk. I gave him my attention, but I was disappointed and a little irritated to be left out of the battle and didn't try to hide it.

"Kavik." He said, in his usual aloof tone. "There's another reason why I kept you inside the fort."

"Yeah?" I said dryly. "And what's that?"

"Can I trust you with sensitive information?" He asked.

"How sensitive we talkin' here?" The answer to that question didn't really matter, but I needed context.

"You can't tell anyone else." He replied.

"Ah." I nodded, stroking my chin. "Well yeah, you can trust me. I'm an honest fellow, but I can keep a secret if need be."

"And you won't tell anyone." August glared at me.

"Of course!" I scoffed. It slightly miffed me that he wasn't sure about me. I didn't like being distrusted, it was something of a pet peeve, but I guess I understood where he was coming from.

"I need strong fighters inside." August explained. His voice was low and he sounded pretty serious. "I have a feeling that the Nichts may try to get inside the fort."

"You think they'll succeed?" I asked nonchalantly, pretty much unfazed.

"I don't know." August lit up a cigarette and looked around to see if anyone was listening in.

"There's no other way inside 'cept the front door, right?" I shrugged. I was tryin' to bolster the guy's confidence, but I don't think it was working.

"There's a maze of tunnels under the fort, they're emergency escape tunnels." August grumbled.

"Ah." I had to admit, that didn't sound too promising. "Y'think they'll try to sneak in that way?"

"Again, I don't know." August sighed, a cloud of smoke flowing out of his mouth. "The captain says there's nothing to worry about, but I just have a bad feeling."

"Gotcha." I gave a salute. "Say no more, man. I'll make sure this place is one-hundred percent Nichts proof."

"Thank you." August bowed. "I don't want to worry the others over a feeling though, so keep quiet about this, alright?"

"Yeah, I got it. No problem." I smiled and dismissed August with a wave of my hand. He bowed again and ran to take his place on the wall.

I admit I wasn't so convinced that there was, and I quote, 'nothing to worry about'. August may not have believed his own instincts, but I wasn't gonna just dismiss them out of hand.

I started looking around the fort, inspecting the outer walls first for cracks and such. My dad had taught me a lot about stone work, so this kinda job was right up my alley. I made my way all the way around the place, not finding even the slightest crack or breach of any kind. The place was put together marvelously and it was kept in tip-top shape. I was impressed.

Eventually in my search I ran into Aiden guarding his 'escape door'. It looked way weaker than the rest of the walls, but I guess that was to be expected.

"Hey, Aiden." I waved as I walked toward him. "How ya holdin' up?"

"Alright I guess." He shrugged. He was sitting down with his back to the wall. "Tired from all the magic I cast though." He chuckled.

"Y'gonna be arright?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Of course." He smirked. He was in a way better mood than when we came into the fort, which was good. "I don't think I'm going to be casting too much magic for a little while, but I'm doing well."

"Good t'hear, man." I grinned and gave a thumbs-up. I thought about asking if he'd seen any weird things in the fort, to be thorough in my search, but I decided I didn't want to accidentally make him worry or anything. "Let me know if ya need anything, kay?"

"Actually yeah, could you get me some floozies?" He said sarcastically.

"Heh, sorry man, yer on yer own on that one." I chuckled, sticking out my tongue. "If I find any chicks 'round here I'm keepin' 'em to myself."

"Oh I see." He returned the gesture. "After all my hard work. Bastard."

"Damn straight!" I grinned evilly and laughed, Aiden chuckling in response.

I walked away and continued my fort inspection, waving at my buddy as I left. It seemed the whole outside area was clear, but that wasn't in much doubt. Now I needed to inspect the tunnels.

-PHENIX-

I was standing outside the fort, North directly to my left and ten soldiers whose names I didn't even know standing behind me and putting their lives in my hands. The air was as warm as it ever was, but I was shivering. I was afraid of the coming battle, not helped by the sight of the enemy on the horizon.

"Are you alright, my friend?" North lightly touched my arm, snapping me out of my brief daze.

"Yeah, I guess." How could he even ask that? Of course I wasn't alright, but I wasn't about to let him know that, him or the other soldiers who were relying on me to be strong.

I took a deep breath, fighting the urge to choke on the distorted air of the Ravaged Lands. I wasn't going to let fear control me, no matter how damn hard it was to fight back. I was getting through this fight alive and I was going to bring all the soldiers who put their trust in me through this as well.

I looked over at North. He was eyeing the oncoming horde on the horizon, still about a mile or so off, and he was smiling. Not a sadistic, bloodthirsty grin, but a genuine, peaceful smile.

"How are you so calm?" I couldn't help but ask him.

"Because I have the Lord on my side." He answered. I admit I probably should've seen that coming. "She will protect me and all my comrades."

"I see." I sighed. "That doesn't exactly make me feel better though." I said under my breath.

"Then know that, with the Lord's grace and strength bestowed upon me, _I_will protect you." North tapped my shoulder and his touch, combined with his seemingly unfailing confidence, did start to make me feel a little safer.

"Thanks." I grabbed his hand on my shoulder.

"You are welcome, my friend." He smiled.

It was like he had no fear to speak of, like he knew that everything would be okay. I wished I could have the same confidence, but his idea of god was just... I couldn't believe it, that there was some divine benevolent force watching over a world as fucked up as the one we live in.

"And to the rest of you!" North turned to the soldiers behind us and raised his fist. I turned instinctively as well. "We will come out of this battle! We will come out strong! We will return to our homes and loved ones with grand stories of our victory today! I promise you this!"

The soldiers cheered, enthusiastically raising their weapons in the air. North grinned proudly at me as we turned back to watch the approaching enemy, and I simply was awestruck at his composure and ability to inspire the others like that. I couldn't help but smile back, his confidence was starting to become contagious, and I loved it.

I eyed the oncoming horde with anticipation, centering myself with another deep breath.

He's definitely right though. I don't give a damn how scared I feel, I will not so easily surrender to the darkness. And I will not let any of my comrades fall.

-LILAC-

August, myself and several other soldiers, probably about twenty, stood on the wall of the fort overlooking the wasteland below. August and I stood near the center of the wall, or at least the center approximate to the gate below. The other soldiers stood farther away to give us room. The two of us were going to be wielding some rather dangerous magic and we didn't want any collateral damage, or at least that's how August put it.

We could just barely see the demon horde on the horizon. August was right about an oncoming army, there must have been hundreds of them. It was all I could do to not start shaking, but I looked over to my right at August and he had such an air of confidence about him. He was even smiling, which I didn't think I'd ever seen him do!

"How are you not scared shitless right now?" I probably shouldn't have been quite so blunt, but whatever.

"Who says I'm not?" He chuckled nervously.

"You don't look it." I said, slightly bewildered by that answer.

"That's the point." He sighed, exhaling smoke as usual. "I can't let anyone see that I'm afraid. This plan was my idea and if I don't look like I have confidence in my own plan, the troops will lose morale."

"Do you not have confidence in your plan?" I saw his point, hearing him say he was afraid was the exact opposite of reassuring.

"Maybe." Not the answer I wanted to hear. "But I know I have faith in our crew."

"I see." Okay, that made me feel a little better. "I wish I could project that kind of confidence."

"Why can't you?" He looked at me. And I mean at me, not even at the ground by my feet!

"I just..." I thought about it for a second, looking up at the dismal gray and brown sky and scowling. "I guess I'm just not as strong as you are, August." I shrugged and rubbed my arms.

"Bullshit." He scoffed, taking me a bit by surprise.

"I'm sorry?" I looked at him with astonishment.

"You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for." He added, removing the cigarette from his mouth and blowing another smog cloud into the air.

"I guess." I didn't really believe him, but I didn't want to make waves.

"What's your Testament called?" August said out of the blue, although I'm sure he had a point.

"Um, Ma-Majesty." I stuttered.

"Majesty. I see." August paused to think. "Does that not fit you?"

"Um, why do you ask?" I looked away from him and at Majesty, still harmlessly put away in its scabbard. I really didn't think that it fit me, but I didn't want him to know that!

"Majesty. It means impressive stateliness, dignity or beauty." August said that as if he'd just read it out of a book. "It seems someone as majestic as yourself should be able to put on a cool, calm demeanor when the situation calls for it."

"I..." I stammered again. "What do you mean?"

"You said you couldn't put on the same air that I am, with the confidence and whatnot." August explained. "Yet your Testament would seem to indicate otherwise."

"It's not like I chose the thing for myself." I griped. The fact that I didn't measure up to what I thought I could, or even should be was a sore issue with me and I felt like August was intentionally trying to hit my buttons.

"Nor did I choose Faith." August pulled Faith out from where it was placed in the ground in front of him. "But the thing is... it's perfect for me."

"You have a lot of faith then?" I quipped.

"No. I really and honestly don't think that I do." August groaned. "I don't even know if I believe in God or not. When Faith was first given to me I thought it was some kind of joke or mistake. But every time I hold it I understand a little more." August gave a genuine and very charming smile.

"Faith represents the me that I want to be." He continued. "I want to be someone that people can put their faith in, someone who can come through for others when I'm needed, someone who isn't afraid, who doesn't give up and can inspire others to be the same. Even if it doesn't quite fit me right now, it fits the picture of who I _want_to be, even if I didn't quite know it until I held the sword myself, and I'll do whatever I can to make the me that others see the me I see in that picture." August sighed contentedly. "Does that make sense?"

I stood silent for a moment, awestruck. It actually made _perfect_sense to me. I thought back to that picture I saw, the one with that beautiful woman, when I first claimed Majesty. I remember thinking that I wanted to be her, but I didn't think I could be. But hearing August talk about his Faith... it put a new perspective on it for me.

"Thank you, August." I said sincerely, my hand over my heart. August smiled and nodded in return, and I could see he was blushing a little bit too. When you got past his cold aloofness and the fact that he reeked of smoke, he was a good guy. "I'm going to try and do the same thing I think." Majesty was lighter than it had been before but I still struggled to pull it from its sheath.

"I'll put on a brave face too." I said proudly, holding Majesty in front of me with both hands. "No, I'll just be brave. For myself and for everyone. I... _we_will not be defeated this day." I smiled and raised the sword above my head like a silly old-school hero would do. I felt simultaneously ridiculous and somehow empowered.

August raised his own sword into the air and crossed blades with mine. We exchanged glances and smiles, reassuring each other of our confidence. I lowered my sword, and August did the same in turn, and took a deep breath.

I felt strong. I was going to fight to protect those I cared about and I was going to show any and all watching just why you don't fuck with those under my protection. It felt so out of character for my usual self, but I loved it.

I could feel the gaze of all the other soldiers around on me but I truly did not mind. I was almost _excited_to fight that day and my sword suddenly felt lighter than air. And I would get my chance to fight very soon, as the horde was rapidly closing in on the fort.

"Here they come." I smirked and said with a gleam in my eye. Not a single enemy was going to survive.

-PHENIX-

The horde rushed our small troop like a tidal wave. It was made up of countless small, skeletal beasts with limbs that warped around their bodies unnaturally, their distorted, eyeless faces snarling with mouths filled by rows upon rows of gnashing, crooked teeth. North continued to yell battle cries to the other soldiers and I hoped that they could hear him, but I was washed away by a combination of adrenaline and fear, my confidence being sunk like a stone as soon as the Nichts closed in.

I lost sight of North or the others, only able to focus on the monsters that surrounded me, slashing them with my sword and burning them with my magic. I kept fighting as hard as I could but the sheer density of their numbers was overwhelming, I felt like I was drowning and could barely breathe.

Panic washed over me. I wanted to start running. It just looked so hopeless. At a distance the horde seemed manageable, and North's stalwart demeanor was such a boost to my own confidence, but as soon as they made contact it was like all my other thoughts had been erased. All that was left was whether I would fight to my death, or run and see another day.

No.

No, I can't just run. I can't run and abandon my comrades, my friends. I'm not going to abandon my clan.

That's what I kept telling myself anyway. It was all I could do. All I could do to keep myself there, fighting a hopeless fight.

No.

No, it is not hopeless. I will win. No matter what happens I will stick by my allies. I will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath and I will not show mercy.

Why on earth would you show mercy to monsters? That thought suddenly raced through my mind.

Because I'm soft. It's who I am. I always felt like I could never show the world my real face. I was afraid of myself and what I could do.

No. That is who you pretend to be. I began to let go of that part of myself though in order to survive, the part that was nice, and submissive, and weak, and I started to wonder why I even bothered with that masquerade in the first place, but those thoughts quickly got superseded.

It doesn't matter right now. There's about to be a bloodbath.

-NORTH-

As the Nichts attacked, I steadily cleaved through them with wind and steel. No spawn of Hell was a match for one blessed by the Lord and I was going to exemplify that in this battle. I would show all the soldiers who put their faith in me that with God on my side I could not fail.

I continued to shout battle cries to rally the other soldiers, who responded in kind. It brought a smile to my face to hear the strong voices of such brave men and women, who were willing to fight in the face of harrowing odds to protect their loved ones and their homes. My smile soon vanished however as I lost sight of Phenix.

He disappeared into the mass of demonic bodies, both dead and those still fighting. I fought my way through several more Nichts, with support from the archers above and my own comrades on the ground, to get to Phenix's aid but more and more skeletal, screaming brown monsters got in my path, with no end apparently in sight.

I soon realized that this was their strategy, to divide us and kill us all separately. A dirty tactic to be sure and I was not about to let them realize their goal.

I cut through another group of Nichts with a strong blade of wind, cutting through some and sending others, or _pieces_of others at any rate, flying away. Their numbers may have been great but individually they were small, skinny and weak. The smell of demon blood started to fill the air and to me there was no headier scent. I couldn't help but sport a grin that many would consider 'sadistic' but to me it was simply joyful. I took great elation in ridding the world of unneeded filth such as these monsters and it was evident on my face.

As I continued to make my way to my friend, there was an explosion of red fire. I looked on in reverence as I saw Phenix's burning crimson aura ignite everything around it, and reduce the Nichts surrounding him to little more than carpet sweepings. The small spattering of surviving demons doubled back, fearful of Phenix's deadly flames.

His gaze alone was enough to detonate a pile of demon carcasses, destroying many more live Nichts surrounding the bodies. He waved his hand at another grouping of monsters and threw a fireball at them that incinerated the whole crowd instantly. I couldn't contain my excitement, letting out a billowing laugh.

Phenix turned his attention to me and the soldiers who had gathered behind me. They might have briefly thought that Phenix would turn on us next, not helped by the intensity in his eyes, which were burning like suns, but I knew that my brother would not harm us.

Something had changed about my normally calm and mild-mannered friend. Obviously he was wielding his powers different from normal and his appearance was changing to match, but I meant that something was different inside him.

His posture was different, he usually stood very straight but he was slouching as though he were completely relaxed and in his element. His smile and his eyes, what little I could see of them past the flames, betrayed a sadistic glee and almost craving for the slaughter he was bestowing on our enemy. And I couldn't have been prouder of him, to see him show such strength against the Nichts, I didn't know he had it in him.

"North." His voice was deeper, grittier, as if even his throat was burning. "That's one hundred and twenty seven by me." He grinned, showing his teeth. "How many do you have now?"

"Ninety eight." I replied with my own delighted smile. I always kept track of how many I'd killed, to know how many souls I would need to pray for at the end of the battle. Though Nichts had no souls, the counting had become ingrained in my mind as just another part of the battle.

"Do better." Phenix snarled, his grin getting wider.

He summoned a shower of fire above the demon horde, the monsters panicking as their kind burned to death around them. I turned to my comrades to check their morale. Although Phenix's apparent transformation had frightened them initially, his overwhelming power had a great effect on their spirits.

It looked at first as if the battle had been won, but there were yet more monsters coming from behind the first wave, Nichts that were bigger and tougher looking than the last, like ogres made of stone.

I chuckled at the pitiful tactics of our foe. It looked as though the first wave was simply meant to wear us down, weaken us for the second wave. And if we were normal soldiers and not blessed by God that tact may have worked.

"Let them come." I said with a smile. "We will show them the might of God's soldiers."