"CHARGEE!" Iris screamed from Clarence's shoulder as he hauled her up. The wall shuddered under the pounding of goblin boots. Shields rattled. Arrows whistled. Rocks slammed into armor.
"Get the little green bastards off me!" a swordsman shouted as a goblin tried to shove him over the edge. He stabbed back, but another goblin lunged, raking a claw across his side. He cursed, staggering backward.
"Behind you, mage!" someone yelled. A goblin slipped past the front lines, lunging for the spellcaster.
"Not today!" the mage cried, spinning, fire igniting from his hands as the creature shrieked and went up in flames.
Clarence roared, swinging his spiked club in wide arcs. "Eat this, you filthy rats!" He smashed two goblins into the dirt, then stumbled as a spear grazed his shoulder.
"Someone patch me up! I'm bleeding like a Fountain!" a rogue shouted, one hand clutching a bloody stomach wound while slashing at a goblin clinging to the battlement.
Arrows flew. Blades clanged.
"Watch the ladder!" a young fighter yelled, hacking down goblins scrambling up.
Another screamed, "Get off my foot, you damn green—agh!" as he went down, a blade buried in his thigh.
"I'm still alive, you hear me?" a bard shouted while swinging a lute like a club, cracking a goblin across the head. "And I will sing your deaths!"
But the tide was unrelenting. Goblins surged through a broken section of the gate. Shields splintered. Arrows ran out. Exhaustion painted every adventurer's face with blood and sweat.
"Hold the line!" Iris screamed, lunging into a cluster of goblins. "I will personally kill every one of you little—" She barely finished before a goblin stabbed her in the shoulder, forcing her to stumble.
Clarence groaned, swinging blindly, knocking over goblins, but one leapt up and stabbed his leg. "Ugh! You little—" He swung again, sending the creature flying, but more came.
"Fall back!" someone yelled, but it was too late. The wooden gate cracked. Goblins poured through. Screams of the dying and the wounded filled the air. One adventurer was dragged screaming into the fray; another toppled over the battlement with a goblin on top of him, shouting curses.
The adventurers fought with every ounce of strength left, but it wasn't enough. Shields broke. Swords dulled. Bodies piled in the mud. Goblins swarmed in, unstoppable.
Iris, bloodied, panting, and furious, glared at the chaos. "We… we're not done yet! Regroup, NOW!" Her voice trembled with anger and desperation. But even as she shouted, the city gates had fallen. The goblins were inside, and the adventurers had no choice but to retreat—or die.
"Why are there so many?" Iris grit her teeth as Clarence shouted, "I don't know! But likely the Ruda is summoning them, like Dilek said back then… WE NEED TO KILL THE RUDA AND FAST!"
"WE NEEEED JEROME FOR THAT!" Iris shouted. "WE CANNOT GET THROUGH THESE GOBLINS EASILY!"
—
"Aw shit, Diego… I think we might be done for…" Dilek whispered as they hid in the tall grass patches, a couple goblins running past them.
Dilek looked at Diego's broken arm. "Doesn't it hurt?"
Diego glanced at it. "Not really. I think it's a part of the skill to temporarily not feel any pain."
"Oh, then show me. I'll fix it." Dilek grabbed his bleeding and broken hand.
Skill: Painful Healer (Activated)
"SHITTTTTTT!" Diego bit down on his cloth as Dilek pushed his arm back into place. It slowly healed. Diego breathed heavily. "Thank… thank you, Saint…"
"Save the thanks for later. The goblins heard us," Dilek muttered as he saw goblins turning toward them.
"Awh fu—" Diego grabbed Dilek before he could finish and started running.
"DIEGO, HOW THE HELL ARE YOU CARRYING ME!?!? AIN'T I HEAVY!?"
"NOT AT ALL, SAINT! You're as light as a girl!" Diego smiled.
Dilek, being carried, went silent. 'This idiot… calling boys lightweight isn't a compliment.' He looked up as goblins started throwing stones. "DIEGOOOO, THE STONESSSS!"
Diego barely dodged the rocks as he stumbled toward the eastern side of the wall. The goblins hadn't reached here yet. Setting Dilek down, he said, "Saint, we need a plan…"
"A plan, huh? Good point. Well, go ahead." Dilek looked at Diego, who stared blankly.
"I thought you were going to plan."
"Me? Right now? Dude, I barely bluffed the Ruda, and sounded so lame, and that punch plan missed too! What do we do now? And the worst part? The Ruda can make goblins—it can probably reach infinity at one point. What we need right now are big guns."
They heard a scream from inside the wall. A man was surrounded by goblins, shouting, "NO NO NO PLEASE SOMEONEEE HELP—" before the goblins tore into him. Dilek went quiet. He couldn't do anything.
"Saint… please. We're relying on you…"
Dilek looked at Diego and said, "One plan. I don't know if it'll work. But it's our last shot."
—
"You… how come you aren't struggling?" The Ruda looked at the Darkest Night. Surrounding him were dozens of hobgoblins—and the Boulder Goblin lay dead. The Ruda smiled. "Oh, how wonderful. You aren't human…"
"Most of us aren't," Tusk replied, staring him down.
The Ruda's grin widened. "Your species died out centuries ago. How come you're still here?"
"I'm… looking for someone," Tusk said as he lunged at the Ruda. But a goblin took the hit—a freshly summoned one. The Ruda sighed, mildly annoyed. "I don't understand it. Why do you work for humans? A person of your stature… pretending to be a four-star? Why?"
"Does it look like I need to answer a Ruda?" Tusk shot back.
"You don't. But I'm still curious."
"Your curiosity need not be answered, Ruda." Tusk dashed forward, cutting down the goblins emerging from the ground in swift strikes.
"This isn't going to be easy," the Ruda said as hobgoblins and another Boulderback emerged from beneath. "Of course, I mean for you." He laughed darkly.
—
Ami reached the tavern, dashing into her room. She started packing frantically, shoving everything into a bag when footsteps came from behind.
"Ami?" Hela stood at the door. "What's going on outside?"
Ami looked back, panic in her eyes. "We need to go! The goblins have entered! Look, I don't have much time to explain—let's go!" She grabbed Hela, but as Duja appeared, she grabbed him too.
She turned toward the door, but Hela pulled back. "Ami… we're running away?"
"Yes! It isn't safe here anymore! We need to leave!"
"But Ami… you didn't pack your friends' bags…" Hela looked concerned.
Ami froze, panic creeping up her face. "They're dead already! Please, you need to run! The plan failed—nothing is working! The assassination plan crumbled as well, please!"
Duja looked horrified. "Th-they died?"
Kelid watched from above as Hela looked down, then up. "Are you sure? They're dead?"
"I don't know…" Ami whispered. "But everything is in chaos. No one will survive. Please, just don't question—"
Hela looked at her, calm yet firm. "Ami, if I can cast an illusion… can you stop the raid?"
"What…? H-how do you know about the illusion plan?"
"It was written on the papers Dilek received. I read them. Let me ask again—can you?"
"No… no, I can't. I don't want to either." Hela stared at ami as she said that, then looked away. "Fine. Duja, let's go."
Duja went back to his room, wore battle armor, and came out holding a giant axe.
Ami stared, speechless, as Hela walked past her without looking back. In a flash, they both vanished.
Ami looked out the window in shock.
"Pathetic, aren't you?" Kelid said from above. Ami looked up, but Kelid saw her tears. She went silent and returned to her room.
Ami sank to the ground, trembling.
—
Nandita was now dragging Jerome through the crowd after clapping for twenty minutes nonstop.
"My hands hurt," she said, exhausted.
Jerome looked apologetic. "Sorry… it's all m—"
"NO NO NO, DON'T YOU DARE!" She stopped, clapping her hands a couple more times. "DON'T YOU DARE GET YOUR MOOD DOWN! LET'S GO!"
...
"Jerome… listen. Can you cast an illusion on me first? I need to find my friends…" Jerome nodded softly as she pulled him along. He began chanting.
Nandita saw her arm vanish as the spell took hold. She smiled faintly. "Thank you." Then she shouted, "IRIS! JEROME IS HERE!"
As she vanished completely, Iris—standing beside Clarence—looked at Jerome and rushed toward him. "JEROME, NO TIME TO SCREW YOU! RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO GET PHENO—"
Clarence stopped her, his eyes serious. "Cast a spell on me. I'll assist the Darkest Night."
"Clarence, wha—" Iris saw his face, then looked down and nodded. "Jerome, do it. We're counting on you."
Nandita sprinted past the goblins, dodging their wild swings and thrown blades. She saw adventurers still fighting desperately but kept running. Right now, her only goal was to find her friends. But where? All she saw was the endless army of goblins and hobgoblins—and a dark veil in the distance. Were they in there? Dilek… Marcus… Diego…
She ran faster—but then, a voice echoed.
"FOLKS!"
She turned. Dilek stood on the wall with Diego beside him. Marcus wasn't there. She turned toward the dark veil. 'Was Marcus there? Should I—'
"TONIGHT, I'LL SAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!" Dilek shouted, raising his voice over the chaos. "I HAVE RECEIVED THE BLESSING OF A GODDESS!"
Adventurers turned to him—Clarence, Jerome, everyone. Dilek's voice roared across the battlefield. "MY FRIENDS SHALL LIVE UNDER MY LIGHT, AND MY FOES HIT BY MY LIGHT SHALL PERISH!"
"What the hell is he saying?" Iris muttered.
"FULLBRIGHT!" Dilek shouted.
A light burst forth—brighter than the sun.
BP: 102
Skill: Light of God (One Time / Acquired)
The goblins and hobgoblins screamed as the radiance burned through the battlefield. The dark veil in the distance began to crumble.
The Darkest Night looked toward it, shielding his eyes. "Wow, all that light nullified my skill, Now I'm in disadvantage!"
The Ruda chuckled. "Interesting boy…" His skin began to sizzle. "Unique boy…"
But the ground trembled—massive tremors shaking the battlefield.
The Ruda's eyes widened just before a massive club smashed into him, shattering his guard. The illusion magic around him vanished.
"LET'S DO THIS!" Clarence roared. "OUR FINAL FIGHT!"