Having been betrayed by one of our own comrades-in-arms, we were all flung into different directions; some of us were flying off to the sides, and others were sent deeper into the horde, which was practically a death sentence given our current condition. Unfortunately for me, I was among the latter, and since I had no magic, I wasn't even able to use [Air Step], let alone other skills like [Blink] or [Teleport]; I wasn't even able to use [Heroes Gaze] anymore.
Inwardly cursing, I shifted my focus to my estimated landing spot, which was full of monsters with sharp teeth that were more than eager to rip me to shreds. In an attempt to clear my landing zone, I threw Zartha and Trina, my two greatswords, cutting through the air as they slashed through the monsters in my path, pinning them to the ground as I landed on their bodies.
Just as I grabbed the hilts of my sword, several monsters bit me, their sharp teeth digging into my flesh while their powerful jaws snapped shut, refusing to let go. Gritting my teeth, I pulled my weapons out from the ground and swung them at the monsters latched onto my bed like a vice. The first to go was a monster biting my calf, followed by chewing on my thigh; after those two, I then decapitated a velociraptor biting my side, and then finished it off by gutting the monster that had half my skull in its mouth.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn't given a moment to rest as several other monsters lunged at me, seeking to fill the spots of the ones I'd just killed; grunting, I forced my injured yet healing body to move as I turned into a whirlwind of death. Swining Trina, I cut through a monster's body and another's head; slashing Zartha, I decapitated a trio of monsters, their bodies lifelessly dropping onto the ground, their momentum bringing them right to my feet.
I was in a state of heightened focus; nearly ten or so monsters would drop to the ground, dead, every second, there was no in between. My movements were filled with the ferocious energy of anger at being betrayed, the desire to protect Cassandra, and the drive to survive. Even with my incredible healing capabilities thanks to [Rebirth], that skill was still on cooldown, so if I were to die, that would be it; I'd die, and these monsters were definitely capable of killing me. A good bite on my neck, and that was all it needed.
'They're never-ending!' Minutes passed as I continued to hack, slash, and dodge, though the latter was a luxury; it was so dense that dodging or evading attacks was practically an impossibility. I was constantly in a state of healing thanks to the numerous injuries I was continuously sustaining; if it weren't for my ichor, I would've died multiple times over already.
Feeling a talon gouge a deep gash across my back, spilling my golden ichor everywhere, I slashed behind me, killing the monster while my injury rapidly healed, only for another monster to bite my leg while I killed another one, causing me to stab its neck, killing it. There was hardly any technique or skill involved; it was purely desperate swings as I sought to kill them as fast as humanly possible, depriving them of the chance to kill me.
Minutes passed as I managed to keep this delicate balance, and although slowly, I was regaining magic; I already have enough to use my heroes gaze, if only for half a minute, but even that short of a use would be incredible. Using heroes' gaze, I was able to see everything, all the way down to the horizon; first, I used this chance to improve my situation, killing the monsters more efficiently. Next, I checked the others that had been flung into different directions, though from what I could see, a few of them had already fallen, a grim yet unsurprising outcome; they had already been at their limit before the betrayal, after all.
However, as I searched through the sea of monsters, I noticed something weird: they weren't attacking the protective dome. 'Why? Did Katrina give them a different order?' Furrowing my brows in confusion at this sudden change, I used the few remaining seconds I had to try to figure out what was happening, and just before my magic ran out, my eyes widened in realization.
'How didn't I realize it sooner!? Katrina wouldn't only have sent the birds after me!' I felt a bit stupid. This whole time, I thought Katrina had attacked the city, and while I wasn't necessarily wrong, her target wasn't the city. It was me. Just like with the birds in the marketplace, they were targeting me; I should've realized it sooner. If I had, I might've been able to save many lives.
The protective dome wasn't perfect; there was a miniature protruding dome just around the gate that extended outwards. Since I had mainly been fighting on the right side, if the monsters not on the same side wanted to get to me, the quickest way would be to go through the dome, but because they couldn't simply do that, they sought to break it.
While I was a bit curious why the monsters killed others instead of just ignoring them if their target was me, I chalked it up to their either inborn instincts wanting to kill, or maybe Katrina's control wasn't as absolute as I thought. 'No, it can't be the latter. Can it? She had monsters die for her.' The reason was up in the air, causing me to shake my head, ridding myself of such thoughts since, in the end, it didn't really matter, did it?
However, now that I knew the monsters were after me, I could lead them away, which would put me in a terrible position as I'd be unable to receive help, but I couldn't just stay here and let more people die. 'Now, I just need to get Talis's attention.' I was currently pinned down, even though I wanted to; trying to lead the monsters away right now would probably just end in my death.
Just as ideas flashed through my mind, I quickly stepped back, narrowly evading a monster's jaws from clamping down on my crotch, causing my body to go cold as I furiously lashed out, bisecting the monsters. "Fucking bastard!" 'Master, after nearly dying several times, why is it only now that you get furious?' I didn't even have the luxury to roll my eyes at Trina's question since I was punished by a monster biting my shoulder for that earlier evasive maneuver.
"Because I nearly lost my manhood! Literally and figuratively!" 'It would've grown back, Master; you have that skill after all.' Hearing Zartha's cold tone, lacking any warmth or affection, her normal voice, I, for the first time since knowing her, wanted to strangle her. "Tch, you wouldn't understand! Also, stop talking, I can barely focus!" Ignoring my two swords, I continued slaughtering the monsters while loudly screaming into the sky.
My screams weren't ones of pain or help, as a matter of fact, they weren't even human screams; they were mostly chirps and the occasional squeaks, the language of birds, if you will. The protective dome was filled with people talking, so Talis might've missed my voice, but I knew she wouldn't miss her own language. I mean, how many people were fluent in Bird?
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Talis POV
"Vanye, can you see Alex!?" Yuki, her voice full of worry and concern, had her arms raised into the sky while Vanye stood atop them, searching through the sea of monsters for Alex. I would've helped, but I injured my wing, so I wouldn't be doing any flying for a while. "No, it's hard to discern anything; it's like searching for a needle in a haystack." Vanye's voice was calmer than Yuki's, but it also held concern.
"Alex is still alive and fighting. Calm down." Lazuli attempted to be the voice of reason as she approached Yuki and Lazuli, trying to calm them down. "I can't, Lazuli! Alex, his [Rebirth] is still on cool down, if he dies–" "Have faith Yuki." Groaning in worry and frustration, Yuki lowered Vanye and plopped onto her butt.
While the three combatants of our party huddled together, Jasmine and I continued to silently sit together; the former had overworked herself and nearly emptied her mana reserves, and now she was clutching her heart in pain. "T-Talis, how does Alex do it? H-He empties his mana reserves frequently b-but practically shrugs it off… I-It feels like I'm dying." Forcing a smile through her pain expression, Jasmine glanced at me, grunting in agony.
Just as I opened my mouth to respond, I suddenly furrowed my brows, hearing a familiar sound. Looking off into the distance, I focused, shutting out all the other noise, searching for that familiar sound. 'Found it!' It was Alex's voice, but he was speaking my language. "Talis! Talis! I need a lift! Talis Talis!"
Although I didn't know why Alex was yelling for me, for him to do so meant he needed me, and I wasn't a selfish queen to forget to abandon my own knight. 'Don't worry, this Queen is on the way!'