Spotting the Abandoned Forest, Talis descended to the ground, slowing down with a few flaps of her wings before setting me down, removing her talons from my shoulders, and setting down behind me. "Ahh, my shoulders can breathe." Rubbing my rapidly healing shoulders, I glanced at the Abandoned Forest, using [Heroes Gaze], though I couldn't spot a single living creature.
Katrina had really sent every monster from the Abandoned Forest to Cassandra after me; there wasn't a single one remaining. Clicking my tongue, my eyes returned to normal as I approached a large rock, sitting down and leaning against it as I began meditating, absorbing the atmospheric mana to speed up my recovery process.
"So, now that we're here, what's your plan, Alex?" Briefly glancing at Talis, I shifted my gaze to where we'd come from, only to heave a deep sigh. "Haa, fight them obviously." "Eh? Fight them? That's your plan? Why didn't you just stay at Cassandra then?" Any sane person would've done precisely what Talis said, except that, after living thirty years, I couldn't exactly call myself a rational person.
"If I stayed behind, more people would've gotten killed. I can't, in good conscience, allow that to happen, knowing I'm the cause of it." I shook my head while my breathing slowed down, matching the rhythm of my heartbeat. "Ugh, so just the two of us? Are you trying to kill me?" Chuckling softly, I dismissively waved my hand. "No, not the two of us. Just me." Although I couldn't see Talis's reaction since my eyes were closed, I could feel her intense gaze lingering on me.
"What!? Just you, Alex? That. That's crazy! There are still several thousand monsters remaining!" "Please don't remind me, Talis, it's disheartening." Wryly smiling, I opened an eye, glancing at Talis, who was staring at me in astonishment. With my eye open, in the direction we'd come from, appearing just from beyond the horizon, I saw a blackish sea appear, causing me to sigh as the monsters already managed to catch up.
"Why don't we just continue flying around and return to Cassandra like a few hours later?" "Ho, you're using her brain? You're not sick, are you, Talis?" Looking at Talis in feigned worry, Talis chirped before slapping my head with her wings, which was more soft than harmful. "I'm being serious, Alex!" "Well, that isn't a bad plan, the problem is, how many items or artifacts do you know of that can manipulate Monsters?"
Talis froze at my question as she furrowed her brows in confusion, though whether that was because of my seemingly off-handed question or because she was thinking of the answer was up for debate. "There is only one method in which someone can manipulate Monsters." "Why does this matter?" Scoffing in frustration and confusion, she folded her wings. "Because, after leading away the monsters, do you think I'll just be able to return to living my life like normal, as if nothing happened?"
Talis's words had her caught in her mouth, prompting me to stand up I hadn't regained much of my mana, maybe twenty percent, but it was better than nothing. Besides, I'd only be using it if I were about to die anyway. "Talis, today just showed the world an unprecedented event: monsters attacking a city. It has never occurred before; my swords Zartha and Trina, spirit artifacts thousands of years old, didn't even believe something like this was possible. The world isn't just going to gloss over today."
Seeing the sea of monsters getting closer, I summoned my two greatswords from my body, clutching each in one hand. "Everyone, Kings, Queens, Nobles, merchants, Adventurers, Mages, Alchemists, etc., literally everyone with more authority or power than me on this planet will want to know what happened, and considering what I've done, when I return alive, I'll become the center of a worldwide storm."
I could already imagine it now, countless people demanding my presence, making me recount every detail that happened, scanning my status panel, and who knew what else to ensure they got every single piece of information. It wouldn't be with malicious intentions, but this event had just told everyone that the world itself was in danger, so they wouldn't let me off easily, not in the slightest.
Of course, I'd already thought of this earlier while fighting the monsters back at Cassandra, and if I hadn't already created a plan to deal with this, I wouldn't have led the monsters away. I couldn't have Cassandra, my home, get destroyed, but at the same time, I couldn't recklessly lead the monsters away without a plan; if they somehow learned the monsters were targeting me specifically, let alone me and my family, it could spell bad for anyone who simply knew me.
However, I was getting ahead of myself at the time. Before dealing with what was to come after killing all these monsters, I'd first need to deal with the monster horde; only then could I think about the future.
Feeling the ground faintly tremble as the monsters drew ever so closer, I glanced at Talis, gesturing her to the sky. "Go, Talis, return to Cassandra, tell everyone I'll be fine." "Will you be fine, though, Alex?" It was rare to hear a lack of confidence from Talis, but it was understandable, even for me; this many monsters were overwhelming. "No, I won't be." "The-" "But I'll return alive."
Lowering my swords slightly, I confidently smiled at Talis, freezing her in place as she stared intensely at me while I shifted my gaze back to the approaching monster horde, the ground now shaking from their collective weight. "You better, Alex. A life without you won't feel right." "Heh, the feeling is mutual, Talis. A life without my best friend would be wrong. Then again, it's been wrong for 14 years." Smirking at Talis, I winked at her while suppressing the bittersweet emotions that tried to creep outwards.
Softly sighing, Talis flapped her wings, launching herself into the sky like a rocket; she hovered hundreds of meters above me before finally flying back home, leaving me to face the monsters with nothing but my two swords and ripped pants.
'Try not to die, Master; it'll be hard to find a competent Master like you.' Hearing Zartha's cold voice, I rolled my eyes and lunged towards the monster horde, meeting them head-on with my swords already slashing downwards.
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3rd POV
After Talis returned, hours passed. During that time, everyone recuperated, whether they were previously injured or exhausted; they all eventually rose to their feet, staring off into the distance, seemingly waiting for the monster horde to return, but by the time the sun began to set, the tension had left.
The Adventurers and Mages returned to the city as the protective dome deactivated, leaving only the soldiers and knights of the kingdom to stand guard. Although it was now night, the whole city remained on high alert, and no one truly believed the day was over.
Yuki, Vanye, Jasmine, Lazuli, and Talis were among the scant few to remain behind alongside the knights and soldiers, as they continued to stare off into the distance; no one bothered them and simply gave them pitiful glances.
It hadn't taken long for Alexander to become famous; his tale of miraculously leading away the horde of monsters and protecting Cassandra was considered a heroic tale. Of course, people were curious how Alexander managed to perform such a feat, with everyone presuming he was dead; none seemed too interested in learning his secret, or perhaps they were respecting Alexander by letting his family grieve.
By the next morning, the soldiers, alongside hired men, began to clean up the pile of monsters just outside the gate, the intense stink having wafted throughout Cassandra, causing every inch of that city to smell rancid.
"Hey, what's up with those five women? They've just been staring out into the distance without moving?" A young man, barely old enough to be called a man, had a cloth mask around the bottom portion of his face and a shovel in his hands. Gesturing to his senior, he pointed at the five women standing atop the gate, prompting the older man to lower his own cloth mask.
"You don't know them, kid?" "Am I supposed to?" "Well, not necessarily, but they're a competent B-class party, the Apostles." "Apostles? Apostles. Hmm, yeah, they sound familiar. What about them?" "They formed their party shortly after you were born, so they'd better sound familiar." "Just get to the point, old man." Rolling his eyes, the young man stabbed his shovel into the pile of monsters and carried the chunks into a large cart.
"I heard their Party, a young man named Alexander, I believe, sacrificed himself to protect this city; someone he led the monsters away." "Really? Was the monster horde that dire? That protective dome was still covering us." "Ho, I heard it personally from one of the soldiers; they said if it weren't for Alexander's sacrifice, Cassandra would've surely fallen." The older man's solemn expression slightly frightened the young man. "Damn, maybe I should thank him." "Can't, sacrificed, remember?" "Oh yeah. Damn."
Gazing at the five women with a look of pity, the duo continued working, dumping pound after pound into horse-drawn carts, until the sun set. Vanye, Yuki, Jasmine, Lazuli, and Talis could still be seen atop the gate, their bodies and minds tired, yet even so, they stood, awaiting the return of their beloved and best friend.