Chapter 12
The Battle Begins
The moment the sun peeked over the horizon, the remnants of the Zeus Familia awoke. Even though it had been over a decade, the fragments of the once great familia could still awaken from deep slumber in an instant when the moment called for it. It was a skill all seasoned adventurers needed to possess in order to sleep at all in the deeper floors of the deadly dungeon filled with relentless and never ending monsters. Larger familia, like the Zeus Familia used to be, that dived in larger parties had more breathing room, but it was still a necessary skill for all adventurers who wanted to go deeper into the Dungeon and not get eaten in their sleep.
They got up onto their feet, and exchanged the typical pleasantries. When they left the barn, they were greeted by the mayor, Dr. Oleson, Monica and Sapphire, both of whom were pulling on carts carrying bowls of food.
"Wow, you adventurers rise as early as farmers," the mayor said, impressed that the adventurers were already up and ready.
"Did you all not sleep last night," Kuda asked, able to tell they hadn't.
"Who can sleep when there's an impending crisis?" The mayor asked. "Besides, none of us are strangers to sleepless nights. Right, all?"
The others nodded, agreeing.
"Besides we figured you would be hungry and need some energy when you go to deal with the enemy, so we all made you some breakfast. It's nothing fancy and likely not as good as what you got back in Orario, but it will definitely fill your bellies."
"That's kind of you all, sirs and lasses," Barren said. "Hope it wasn't too much trouble."
"It wasn't any trouble at all," Monica assured them. "You all are going to leave after you eat, I take it?"
"Yes," Kyra said. "Most of us will go to one of five other towns and villages. We'll leave a group here to protect the village, but I have a hunch they might not attack at all."
"Wait, really?" Monica said. "What makes you say that?"
"Simple. When the enemy sent the goblins to attack, it was almost certainly to see how their targets would respond. I killed the goblins before they could do a lot of damage. If they want to avoid risks, then they'll likely give up on this village. Besides, not to offend you, but this village isn't exactly wealthy, so the benefits don't outweigh the risk. Also, the mountainous terrain would make it difficult for large groups to invade in the first place."
They nodded, understanding the logic.
"They might decide to attack her after they've finished with the other five villages, but that won't happen," Kyra said confidently. She was especially certain of that possibility of the scenario when she considered the true meaning in these attacks.
"By the way, are those two girls that are with you also going to fight?" Sapphire asked.
"If the need arises, yes. They are both at Bell-kun's home looking after him. Knowing them, they are both still asleep over there."
Kyra made a mental note to smack those two awake. The two youngest members of the familia had the least amount of dungeon diving experience as the Zeus Familia had fallen from power when they had just joined. They never developed the skill to awaken from sleep when the need arrived. Of course that wasn't their fault, but the adults that raised them did find such sweet pleasure in discipling the two troublesome girls. With that in mind, she went to grab herself a bowl of breakfast, as well as two bowls for the girls, then said she would go fetch them. As if vanishing in thin air, she instantly moved toward the Cranel home. When she got there (which was under 10 seconds), she didn't knock, but opened the door quietly so she wouldn't wake up the sleeping Bell. With the stealth of an assassin, she made her way to the hallway without making a sound. Neither bedroom door fully closed, she could see that the girls were sleeping in the room opposite to Bell's. She entered quietly and approached the bed the two were sharing. Setting down the food bowls she carried, she flicked the two girls' foreheads at sonic speed, making them both open their eyes, but before they could yelp in pain, Kyra pinched both their lips closed. They struggled, but the difference in strength between them and her was too great. They settled down when they saw the look in Kyra's eyes telling them to shut up. Kyra released their lips and mouthed we're leaving. Understanding, they nodded, got out of bed, and got the sword and staff they had left leaning against the wall.
The three of them quietly moved towards the house's exit, but by the time they reached the door, a voice called out to them.
"Are you leaving?" Bell called from the hallway.
"Bell-kun," Kyra said as she and the girls turned to face him. If they wanted to, they could have left the house in a snap, but that would have made noise that would wake him, but now that she thought about it, she realized was a farm boy and would be used to waking up in the morning. She chastised herself for not considering that. "Sorry. Did we wake you?"
"No, I usually wake up this early," he said, staring at Nim's sword and Phina's staff. He looked at Kyra, who wore her cloak over her body, which concealed the knives she had on her person. "Are you going to fight?"
"Yes," Kyra answered. "We're all going to meet up with Kuda and the others, then leave for the battle. I came over here to pick up Nim and Phina. They were watching you for the night."
"Oh, really?" He turned to the two girls and bowed. "Thank you for looking after me."
"It was no big deal," they said together.
"Bell, you should come with us," Kyra said, surprising the other three.
"To fight?!" Bell blurted, shocked by the idea.
"Of course not," she said, chuckling. "The mayor and Monica are at the rendezvous point. We'll take you to them."
"Oh, okay, but I'm okay by myself."
"A kid shouldn't be by himself, especially not right now." She handed the breakfast bowls to Nim for her to hold. She motioned for Bell to come to her when it occurred to her that this was the best view of Bell she's had of him since they had arrived yesterday. When she first saw him, he had been bloodied and injured by the goblins that attacked yesterday, and knocked unconscious. Last night she had seen him on the magic-lamp lit streets and illuminated by the fire, but now, the house being lighted by daylight, she could see him in his full image. She saw everything she saw the previous night, just brighter and more clear. For some reason, that intensified the complex feelings she had been having since they had arrived yesterday. "Come on, I'll carry you."
"Oh, really?" He said, his eyes brightened at the thought of being given a ride by another powerful adventurer. "Are you fast like Alystar-san?!"
Kyra grinned at Bell's expression. "I'd say I'm faster, but he'd probably say he's faster. Either way, we're both the fastest in the group."
Although, she doubted that Alystar moved as fast as he could when he was carrying Bell. If he had done something so reckless, she'd cut him to ribbons.
"So, shall we go now?"
"Okay!" Bell ran to her and she let him onto her back. After making sure he was as secure as possible, Kyra was about to move towards the barn. Nim proposed they raced over there, secretly thinking that she and Phina had the advantage since the more powerful woman would be slowed down carrying Bell. Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Kyra accepted after Bell gave his approval.
So, they raced.
It was no contest. Kyra out ran them by a wide margin. Of course, her superior status played the biggest part in the result, but it was also because Bell was hardly the heaviest thing she had ever carried. She had been made to do supporter work for the familia on expeditions when she was a rookie. She had to be able to carry a hundred pounds worth of weapons and potions and magic stones on her back while still being able to keep up with the battle party. It was tough being a supporter for the strongest familia, but eventually she mastered the physical needs of support work, and those experiences stayed with her ever since. The same was true for Kuda and the others. They all had to work before they could gain.
Bell cheered when they won the race. Nim and Phina complained openly about how Kyra was too unfair in all ways. When Bell got off of Kyra, he immediately ran over to Monica and the mayor and told them about everything that had happened since he had last seen them. Seeing him with them, it brought back the same regretful feelings she had the night before, at the same time, Monica felt similar feelings hearing how excited Bell was and how happy he looked. It was a look he had never shown to her before.
"Okay, we should get going," Kuda announced with a serious expression. They had all just finished their breakfast. Luckily, Monica and the other three had the foresight to make a bowl for Bell, otherwise, Kyra would have made Nim and Phina give up their bowls to Bell and share with each other. The adventurers finished their food swiftly, and at their leader's words, their expressions became serious Even Nim and Phina looked intense. They all threw off the cloaks they had been wearing since their arrival, revealing the outfits they had on underneath. Bell and the other villagers couldn't help but stare at them all. Simply put, the way they carried themselves created a heroic image.
The adventurers gathered around Kuda like an army around a general. No, Bell thought, not like an army. It was something similar, but different from. Bell couldn't find the right words to describe it.
"Kyra," Kuda said. "Your plan?"
"Okay," Kyra said. The familia stared at her attentively. "Let's do it like this…"
At the same time, the alliance of the Morpheus and Aristateus Familias set out for their respective targets. In total, their combined numbers were over three-hundred. This was not just the combined number of men in the two familias, but also mercenaries and strays that they had recruited from the dark corners of society. There were no shortages of those who survived in the shadows and the two familias gathered as many of those sorts as they could find to strengthen their ranks. Roughly speaking, their combined strength consisted of eighty-five percent of Level Ones, meaning the remaining fifteen percent were Level 2 or higher. With that much might pooled together, they could conquer a small nation. It was both impressive and terrifying how quickly this group-this force-was able to be formed.
And it wasn't just humans and demi humans in the gang of bandits, but also monsters that they had purchased from a certain criminal familia that dealt in such commodities. They were monsters born from the depths of the Dungeon itself, meaning they were far more powerful than almost anything found on the surface. In fact, they were almost too powerful. If it wasn't for magic tools that made monsters submit, then they couldn't rely on the other tamers to tame the monsters. Although, if possible, they would avoid unleashing the monsters unless the situation called for it. Not out of mercy, of course, but if the monsters were released and went on a rampage, then they'd likely destroy the targeted villages and towns. Meaning there'd be no monetary rewards to be reaped. Even if monsters could be tamed, that didn't mean they could be controlled like puppets or pets. If everything ended up destroyed, it would make all the time and money spent on this operation wasted. Although Insley and his Familia personally wouldn't mind that so much, if their true objectives were achieved, the loss of material gain was a small consequence.
They had been divided into five groups numbering a hundred-twenty each. Originally, they had assembled 600 men and planned to strike in groups of six, but things had changed, so they divided themselves into five equal groups. As discussed during the previous night, they would not attack Noda Village immediately, out of caution. The goblins that were sent there were immediately killed by a woman. Most likely she was the so-called hero that protected Noda Village from outside threats while maintaining anonymity even to the village in question. Some of the local rogues they had recruited mentioned that they had been a part of groups that had tried to raid Noda Village before, but all of them were thwarted by the hero. They didn't see her face, since they always tried to strike in the dark and she wore a face covering to boot. All that they really knew about her was that she was frighteningly strong and was easily able to beat them back. Several groups bound together to try and take her down, but the mountainous and forestry terrain that surrounded Noda Village made it difficult for them to move together in such a large party and made them easy pickinging for the unknown heroine. She must have been a blessed fighter that had leveled up once or twice. Given her interference in their past exploits, some of the rogues that they had recruited joined to get the chance at paying her back for their humiliation. They were disappointed at Noda being removed from the initial targets, but they settled when they were promised that Noda would be the final target once the other five were dealt with. After all, they had no plans of sparing anyone from their vendetta. No matter how strong, a lone woman couldn't stand up to the combined might of the alliance they had created.
That is, she couldn't so long as she wasn't a monster like those from Orario.
But it was highly unlikely that she was. The city didn't make it easy for adventurers to leave. The Morpheus Familia themselves were only able to escape the city by utilizing the city's sewer system to escape unnoticed (although, it also might've been that the city just thought that they were another casualty of the Gale Wind's rampage). Realistically, only someone from the city's underbelly would go that far, and someone like that wouldn't protect a poor village for nothing. Meaning, it was more likely she was a fighter from another place that had decided to hole up in the village. Perhaps she was an army deserter and was in hiding? Regardless, Insley didn't feel worried over her, nor would she allow her to ruin their plan, their goal. After the first six villages were destroyed, they would move on to the next set of towns and villages and destroy them. Then they would repeat the process again and again until they were stopped. But before that, they'd probably destroy an entire country or two before they were put down. By that point, Insley and his familia would be satisfied and could pass on peacefully.
Barood and his Aristaeus Familia also felt that way to a lesser extent. They wouldn't let themselves be killed for the cause, however, Insley had a hunch that they would stick around as long as there were profits to be made and would end up dying with them. Same for the rogues that they had recruited. Such were the ways of those motivated by greed and debauchery.
Insley wasn't completely insane. He understood the pettiness and insanity of his objectives, he just didn't care. Now that he thought about it, his mindset was probably similar to the late Zeus and Hera adventurers, Zard and Alfia. Those two despaired over the current world where their familias were no longer around, so they joined Evilus to try and destroy the city they originally protected. At the time, he had thought that was madness. However, a little later, after the oldies of Loki Familia lead a suicide charge to clear away all the monsters that had been released into the city, he started to see their point. This world was doomed without Zeus and Hera around. He acknowledged the strength of Loki and Freya, sure. His familia was certainly no match for them, but come on. They were merely cheap replacements for those legendary men and women.
Insley originally went to Orario because he admired the legendary familias and wanted to be like them. He, Shades, and their companions tried to get into one of them, but they didn't make the cut for either. You'd have to already have a foot past what could be considered human to even be considered for a spot amongst them. They grew to envy the greatest familias, but their admiration never left them even after all these years. When they tried to mug some Zeus Familia members after they had returned from a mini expedition, he knew they would be beaten back hard, but they still did it because they wanted to see the gap between them. It was large, to say the least. When they were still around, it was probably what kept Morpheus Familia from crossing the line into what they became now. But when the legendary familias left after being defeated by the One Eyed Black Dragon… they lost the one thing that kept them somewhat in the light.
'This world has become unsatisfactory,' Insley thought darkly. 'When Gluttony and Silence died, I lost my hope. So, I shall follow their example and destroy things until I am destroyed. I will be a villain that will remind the world of the darkness it contains.'
"We're here, Insley-san," a Morpheus follower said. They had arrived at the woods's exit that led to the top of a hill. At the foot of the hill was the town of Seymour. This town exists on one of the main paths leading to Orario. So, it was highly likely that some aspiring adventurers, as well as merchants and travelers, had stopped there on the way to Orario. That was the main reason Insley chose to lead the attack on this city. It was likely that all of the aspiring adventurers in the town were inspired to follow the hero's path by learning of the exploits of past and present heroes alike. They, in all likelihood, did not have what it took to achieve those lofty goals. So, in his twisted mind, Insley thought it would be better for them to be killed before they could even try, so that they would not feel the despair of knowing that their dreams were unattainable from the start like he and his companions had. It was a mercy.
"Good," he sneered, an expression that could only be considered evil spread across his face. He boomed his orders. "Go! Raze this pathetic town to the ground. Leave no survivors! Allow no one to escape!"
"YEAAAAHHH!!!"
As if his words unlocked some kind of restraint, the pillagers roared madly. Their inner beasts were unleashed and ready to rampage to their hearts' content. The men charged like animals on the hunt. Insley stayed back for a moment to watch the initial carnage. He would enjoy the show in the same way a little boy would enjoy destroying a toy that another had spent so long building up.
But his enjoyment would never be fully realized.
"Gah!"
Insley saw that the ones that were at the head of the charge were thrown back, but, from his vantage point, he could only see five individuals concealed in cloaks standing in front of their party. Subsequently, they all felt a wintry cold breeze hit them in the face as it climbed up the hill. The bandits were forced to halt their charge in the face of the unknown obstacle before them.
"Hey, you morons!" A rough faced human rogue shouted at the ones who had been knocked back onto their rears. "What the hell just happened?!"
"Some weird wind just hit me and knocked me on my butt!" One of them shot back as they all got back up onto their feet. "It was so cold!"
'Did they cause the front runners to be knocked back?' Insley wondered, his face contorting with irritation at this unexpected scenario. He started asking himself a hundred questions about who they were. 'Was it magic? Are they guards? But Reese never said anything about any kind of cold magic and the goblins rampaged there for hours.'
According to Reese Shades, his fellow Morpheus Familia member, there were wannabe adventurer magic users and mages who tried to assist in exterminating the goblins, but they were too incompetent to use their spells in a real fight. By the time they finished the chants for their spells, Shades made his goblins. The ones who had finally killed the goblins after hours of devastation were some sword and weapon wielders.
'Did they anticipate another attack just from the goblin raid? Even if that was the case, no way would a bunch of amateur mages be able to suddenly improve their casting like that in less than a day. Could they be reinforcements? Could they have really sent word for help and received aid in a single night? Not even Orario could respond that fast without prior notice! What is going on?!' The veins on Insley's neck began to throb. Clearly, he was not happy. 'Who are they?!'
Unbeknownst to Insley, the other four bandit parties had also run into the same obstacles as he had.
"Who the hell are they?" Jake Coalsworth, the third Level 3 of Morpheus Familia and the leader of the raid on Pink Leaf Village, demanded when his party was being halted by a mere group of five. They were on the path to their target village when they had encountered five cloaked individuals. Their cloaks and hoods concealed their bodies and faces, making it difficult to tell their races or genders, but Coalsworth could tell that the one in the middle was woman since his vantage point could see part of her face through her hood and that she was likely an amazon due to her dark skin. When some of the frontline fighters tried to beat them away, the shortest of the five leaped up at them with startling agility and started attacking the frontline fighters with relentless fury. Her movements caused her cloak and hood to fly open, revealing she was a blonde haired, prum girl or woman (it was always so difficult to tell the ages of prunes, especially if they had falna). Her face made her look more suited to organizing tea parties than standing up to brutal bandits, but she had just taken down five of them without breaking a sweat. "Something about the amazoness feels familiar…"
"Who are these people?" Roark Holler, the Level 3 vice-captain of Aristaeus Familia asked himself as he too led a party of bandits that were being blockaded by a band of five on the way to Tayta Village. One of whom-a male member of the rare dark elf race-had dispatched several of them with a black blade, while a white elf was chanting an incantation.
"I know that bastard!!" Lark Barood, captain of Aristaeus Familia, roared, old hate and bitterness permeating his voice. His group was the one assigned to Prod Town. It was perhaps the largest of the targets and also a town surrounded by nothing but flat land, making it especially vulnerable to any kind of attacks. Of course, the town had capable fighters that had falna in their employ, but the best amongst them were only Level 2. If Barood and his men could get to the town, then they'd overwhelm them all, easily.
If only they could have made it to the town.
Halfway to the town, they were intercepted by a group of five blocking their way. Before they could even get a word in, a short yet powerfully built dwarf charged at them with surprising swiftness, grace, and nimbleness and rammed his meaty fist into one of the frontmen, knocking him back with such force the ones he collided with were knocked down onto the ones behind them, creating a human pile. In a single punch he had brought down a fourth of their numbers.
The action caused the dwarf's face to be revealed, causing Barood to recognize him and remember horrifying memories of younger days over 20 years ago. Heat climbed in the familia captain's face and he growled furiously at the sight of the black haired dwarf. "Why is a ghost from a dead familia here?!"
Of course, Reese Shades would not be spared from the unexpected obstacles. Unlike his cohorts, his group of thieves were able to enter their target village without trouble. That was ironic since their target, Forest Village, was arguably the most secure of the six targets due to the fact that the whole village perimeter was encased in wooden fencing that surrounded the entire village similar to how Orario was surrounded by stone walls. The wooden fences were tall enough and sturdy enough to prevent the likes of goblins and other small category monsters from breaking into the village. The only entrances and exits were the four gates placed on the four sides of the village fences. The gates usually had at least two guards stationed in front of them. Shades would know, considering that his goblins had wounded two of them when they raided the village. But this time there were no guards at the main gate. Shades was suspicious. His goblins caused a lot of damage, before they were killed, so it should go without saying that they should have been more on guard, not less.
It must've been a trick. It seemed unlikely, but perhaps the village had deduced that the goblins that attacked them were just the first wave. So, they decided to cage themselves in their village in order to protect themselves from another assault. They likely expected only goblins to be the attackers. They might have been thinking that it would be better to not risk any guards and just hold themselves up in their fenced village.
Shades looked upward, staring at the tall watch tower that was at the center of the village. It was the only structure in the village that was built taller than the village fences. He knew its purpose was to keep a lookout for monsters. Almost always, there should be a man at watch. However, at the moment there was no one. Shades had a bad feeling about that. That said, they were already there. Even if he was a failed one, he was still an adventurer that regularly explored the Dungeon. The unknown alone wouldn't scare him off.
He gave the order to break into the village.
Predicting that their opponents were former adventurers, Kyra anticipated they would move forward.
"There's no one here," one of the bandits said. The bandits broke open the closed gate with their weapons and barged into the village like they belonged there, their bloodlust obvious to anyone. Such an entrance generally warrants a reaction, yet they received none. There was no one there to fear them.
There were shops and stores stationed at the entrance, yet no employees or shopkeepers were inside of them. At this time, there should be at least some people out and about. Even if there was a bad goblin attack the previous day, they still needed to go about their day, didn't they?
"Did they all run away?" One of them asked.
"That can't be true, can it?"
"That sucks, but maybe they left behind some valuables?"
"Spread out!" Shades commanded. "Break into every shop and home you can and find anyone you can!"
He had a sinking feeling in his gut. It seemed unlikely. Hell, it was completely mad, but did someone actually evacuate the 300 or so people living in the village? That was impossible… at least, under normal circumstances. If, perhaps, a clever person or persons were able to anticipate their plans just from their goblins' attack, then they'd want to either prevent them from entering the village or… lure them all in and trap them so they could eliminate them all? It sounded so preposterous that anybody else would have just dismissed the idea right there, but Shades was from Orario, the place where the impossible and preposterous happened daily. He knew of at least two people who could, maybe, predict their schemes. They were Loki Familia's captain, Finn Deimne the "Braver, and Freya Familia's elite member, Hedin Selland the Hildrsleif. They were powerful adventurers known for their sharp intuition. But those two were in Orario, which made it difficult for their adventurers to leave the city. Hypothetically, someone requested aid from the city and the city actually responded quickly. They would have only sent a low ranking or mid ranking familia at best for goblins. No way would they have sent either of their strongest just for goblins.
So, someone with wits and intelligence matching Braver and Hildrsleif anticipated everything?
'Gods, this is maddening!' Shades screamed in his head. There was a missing piece to the puzzle. Something he was forgetting, overlooking, or just didn't know about. Could a god be behind this? Certainly, a deity could see through their schemes. No, even if a god did choose to act against them (which in itself would be a miracle), this was not a god's work. It was definitely a person who was behind all of this. That was clear. It was the "who" he needed to figure out. His mind kept returning to Braver and Hildrsleif, but that was impossible. This was not a time for Orario to let any of their best people out of the city. There were no variables that would change that.
So, it had to be someone with similar intelligence to those two from outside Orario. Not only that, they needed the means to oppose them. He knew of no one else like that, but that didn't mean they weren't out there. Out here.
"Augh!"
Shades's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of one of his men grunting in pain. More sounds of his men's pained screams and groans reverberated all across the village and came from every direction. They were being attacked. Shades ran to the closest direction. He needed to get to the bottom of all this. Running past several houses and buildings, he found the unconscious bodies of his men and the small figure that stood over them.
'It's Braver?!' Shades immediately thought, but a half second later he realized it wasn't him. This unknown assailant was a blonde and blue eyed prum, but the resemblance ended there. Compared to the famous Braver's appearance this one's face was more aged and defined, his hair less kept, and eyes furious as opposed to the Braver's cool ones. He wore simple clothes consisting of a gray shirt under a black coat. In other words, he looked like a delinquent; the polar opposite of Finn Deimne. Besides, he used a metal staff as opposed to the Braver's trademark spear. He was not the Braver, but for some reason, Shades still thought he recognized him.
"I assume you're a bandit, too?" The unknown prum man inquired before charged at Shades with great speed and swung his metal staff at him. Shades just barely unsheathed his blade in time to protect himself. The impact was enough for him to feel it all over his body. This prum was strong despite the limitations of his undersized race! Shades tried to counter but the delinquent prum continued his attack by swinging wildly yet accurately in swift motions. Shades could only stay guarded as he endured the power of the compact prum. If he broke his stance he would be knocked flat on his back. In order to avoid that, he leaped backwards with his might and nearly crashed into one of the homes of the village. There was a wide gap between them now. The prum did not continue his assault, but remained in a casual but guarded stance. Shades didn't complain. His arms trembled and ached from the short exchange. Clearly, he had falna and was at least Level 3, but was probably a Level Four. And he probably wasn't alone.
Who was he? Shades knew all the names and faces of the level Fours and higher in Orario because they were so famous, but this was one he didn't know. That in itself was strange since he was a prum and any prum that was Level 2 or more became famous due to the fact that most of that race never made it past Level 1. It was unthinkable that he didn't know this hobbit.
Or did he? He began to remember something from the past. Before his familia escaped Orario, before the Dark Ages began, and even the Zeus and Hera Familias' fell, there were stories of a delinquent like prum who prowled the poorer streets of Orario and beat up thugs who abused the residents. That prum was a member of Zeus Familia…
'That is impossible!' Shades thought, fearing for himself. As he debated the possibility, the delinquent looking prum looked at him appraisingly.
"You're a bit tougher than the rest of these chumps," he said callously. "Let me guess, you're a Level 3? Are you the boss of these guys? Regardless, if you're the strongest here, then you should just give up now. You lot made the dumb mistake of pissing off a really scary woman. Now that it's come to this, you have nowhere to run. You can try, but I wouldn't recommend it."
"Who are you?" Shades demanded, trying to keep calm.
"Nobody special," he shrugged. "The name's Wilbur."
Shades instantly remembered the name.
"A-As in Wilbur the Little Rebel? Of Zeus Familia?!"
"You know, I seriously hate that title. And it doesn't really matter if I am or not. What matters is our shadow has set her eyes on you, and now you're screwed."
"Shadow…?"
"Honestly, don't people ever look up anymore?"
Shades looked up and focused to see the same dark haired woman that had killed his goblins at Noda Village standing atop the tallest structure in the Forest Village. But for a normal person, it would take hours to get from Noda to here. So she wasn't normal. She must've hidden herself because they had definitely not seen her when they arrived. But now she stood in clear sight, watching over the battlefield like a tactician. Their eyes met, a cold and intimidating gaze meeting his own.
"Wait a moment…" Shades said in a whispered tone. With his Level 3 gaze, he could see the woman's features even from beneath the tall tower. She was beautiful like a cruel queen. Her eyes were blue like sapphire. Her expression gave the impression that she rarely lost her cool, and when she did, you would want to be far away from her location. He knew that face. He knew the woman. The only reason he hadn't recognized back at Noda Village was because her hair color, which was her most defining trait, was now different. "That's Kyra Slavis! The Thunderstorm!"
The realization caused his spirits to drop like a corpse in the deep ocean. If someone like her was their opponent, then even if there were a thousand, no, ten thousand, no, even if there were a hundred thousand of them, their hopes were nonexistent.