(There's not much to do here…) The thought gnawed at Dont's mind as she surveyed the camp… She spent several minutes searching for something to do, and after helping out as much as she could, which wasn't much anyway, she was left with nothing to do.
And while Dont was fine with having a break, the truth was she hadn't done anything during the entire visit to the Holy Kingdom. All the plans had been made beforehand, and even then, they only laid the groundwork, leaving the rest to Bachelory and company, while the entire invasion spent their time in a carriage or behind guards while Black Abyss and the soldiers did their thing. Coming to the forest and dodging traps was relatively entertaining, but only up to a point… H¡Sge could have sent soldiers while she stayed in the carriage, and the result would have been the same.
And they didn't really have much planned for these people, as far as she knew… Just getting them to a city or some safe place, and that was it.
Although she had no idea why Imps, with their assassin and ranger classes, had started setting traps and wandering through the forest, it was as simple as the logic of the Demons attacking, and that was it.
Anyway, she had no idea what Bachelory and the Archarchaeologist were really up to. And that was a bit of a lack of organization… But everything was going to be alright anyway.
Literally, both sides were the same, only one was disguised as the bad guy, and the other as the good guy.
The whole Holy Kingdom recovery thing was basically a staged event, with real deaths, but an event nonetheless. All to deal with the problems Dont had accidentally caused, and to take advantage of the situation and gain significant influence in the weakened nation. And additionally… To take care of a certain other thing.
But as things stood, it would take a few… maybe a few more days before they reached that last thing, and in the meantime, there was really nothing to do.
She stifled a sigh, disguising her boredom with pity for the plight of these people.
She had to give out several potions of dark blue to the seriously wounded, which wasn't a real loss, but Dont's stingy instincts ruffled a little.
Ha… She missed her dovey!
And speaking of the fat ass girl, she should be near Kalinsha, where the Holy Queen or something like that used to reside, according to her calculations.
She might well be underestimating the inconveniences of the road that limited ordinary travel, but oh well. After all, Dont would have to spend some time here while the camp was being broken up.
She could help, but both the Fairy soldiers and several of the survivors seemed reluctant to have Nyx, a duchess who had helped them so much, bothered with such tedious work.
And while Dont could break up the entire camp in less than 10 seconds with her agility and strength, she couldn't use that without raising serious suspicion, so she'd have to do it slowly if they let her.
It was quite a problem… She frowned slightly, one of her passive abilities detecting something…
Naturally, she was aware of the Shadow Devil in her shadow. There was a group of Hanzos as well, but she didn't know exactly where they were. And from what she'd been sensing all this time, no Imps roaming the forest were approaching…
Therefore, it certainly confused her a bit to sense a group of Demons approaching… A violent roar echoed through the forest, or more specifically, the camp, making heads spin, as a person, a paladin, was sent flying, the result of a violent blow from a Demon… Hmm… That wasn't an Imp…
{Gladiator of Wrath PNG}
Dont quickly identified the Demon. A Gladiator of Wrath… A level 40 summon that was basically a Berserker with some extra resistance.
It wasn't a summon Dont liked, nor was it one he could use. It was weak, easy to take down, noisy, and had an annoying aggro that attacked the nearest target, and it didn't understand the 'wait' command, constantly affected by the Rage status effect.
The only positive thing about this summon, so to speak, was that at least it attacked the targets the summoner commanded… Until someone else hit it, and its aggro would shift to that individual until the summoner told it to attack again.
And while, again, it was weak, and Dont could tear it in half with her bare hands… She was talking about a legendary monster in the eyes of these survivors. A sure death. Even if it would never do significant harm to someone like Black Abyss, and to someone like Bulldoger… Well, it was easier for the Demon to destroy a country than to harm something like Bulldoger.
From among the trees, mocking laughter erupted, with some murderous Imps falling from them, while the Archer could see other Imps drawing their bows from the trees… Hmm… I didn't remember this… But… Anything to do? Seeing arrows fly toward the survivors, and panic erupt as the Gladiator charged frantically at the first person she saw, Dont sighed.
"Protect the innocent!" She ordered the knights accompanying her.
They quickly drew their weapons, as if recovering from shock, though they were more likely waiting for orders. After all, if this was an excuse to kill everyone present, the Fairies wouldn't hesitate to obey.
Even so, among the trees, two Infernal Soldiers, basic level 30 summons that had no real use for mid-levels, came out, like more conscious guards and subordinates of the Gladiator, although they simply came with him surely.
{Infernal Soldier PNG}
Dont hummed softly… Umu…
"Take care of the Mad Demon and the Imps." She told the soldiers. "I'll take care of the two warriors." She added, advancing toward them, while the paladins tried to organize themselves.
Ugh… At least I hoped none of the important ones here would die.
…
A thunderous, angry roar echoed through the camp, and Remedios jumped, feeling fear course through her body at the force and violence of the sound.
If it weren't for her intense desire to run, and at least identify the threat, she would have stayed in the tent, packing up some things.
She went outside, and she didn't like what she saw.
A person fell from the sky, as if they had been pushed so hard that they were thrown like a rag doll.
The survivor, a simple man, coughed in pain.
Remedios rushed to his aid, against her instincts to flee and hide.
"S-Sir…? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, examining the man carefully.
"Y-Yes- Agh… M-Miss Remedios… R-Run… D-Demons… They found the camp…" He gasped.
Demons…? The word made her pale slightly.
She didn't remember them, didn't remember ever seeing one. But she'd been told about what they'd done, how dangerous and terrifying they were…
And certainly, considering the unpleasant nightmares of monsters invading a city, she was afraid.
"L-Let's go." She stammered, grabbing the man with relative ease despite not having exercised, as far as she could remember, helping him to his feet and leaning him against her.
People, women, and children ran in all directions, like a colony of startled ants.
However, an arrow came from a tree and pierced a person's chest with terrifying precision.
Watching the scene in horror, Remedios nearly froze… And yet, she continued, forcing her feet forward, hiding next to the man behind a tree.
She carefully supported him and looked around, noticing the tent adorned with purple and black cloth, marking it as Pabel Baraja and Camilla Castillo's tent… And at that moment, it opened.
Camilla emerged, gritting her teeth in a fierce, irritated grimace, limping tensely while clutching a sword, her armor made of a metal called mithril, which Remedios remembered hearing about before, but painted silver.
Camilla glanced at the scene and clicked her tongue, then noticed Remedios and froze.
The brunette remained silent, unwilling to face the terrifying paladin…
Even so, the Colour Purple sighed and went back into the tent, emerging a few seconds later with another sword…
And threw it at Remedios, it landing in front of her.
"It doesn't seem like you've recovered your memories, and I don't think you'll be of any use in your current state. But at least take your sword and run. You can use it to defend yourself in the worst-case scenario." Camilla explained, almost cursing her luck, advancing toward the commotion after singing something.
After that, her sword almost seemed to move on its own, blocking one arrow, then another. She saw it take cover behind a rock… Though then it seemed to peek out, and she darted to another cover, dodging a few arrows in the distance… Remedios looked away, watching the man, who grabbed her shoulder.
"… You must help them…" He gasped in pain.
"What…? But, I… I can't…" The girl stepped back.
"Yes, you can! You're Remedios Custodio! The Strongest Paladin!" The man shouted, throwing himself forward and grabbing her sword, gritting his teeth as the broken bones from his fall caused him intense pain.
With a trembling hand, he thrust the sheathed weapon toward the brunette, who could do nothing but grab it.
"Save us! Captain! Wake up and remember who you were!" The man growled, weakly pushing the woman's shoulder, barely moving her.
Remedios looked uncertainly at the man, who seemed so sure of her…
Why…? How could this person trust her so much…?
She didn't remember her life. As far as she knew, she had never wielded a weapon, despite what they told her.
And no matter how much they told her she had been the Captain of the Order of Paladins, she was afraid.
Mocking laughter came from the trees, and she noticed small creatures approaching from branch to branch…
These sounds made her tremble like a leaf.
She looked back at the sword…
She didn't remember it… She didn't feel the magical power that was so often attributed to this so-called sacred sword. Unless it was just an ordinary sword that Camilla had given her…
Hesitantly, she grasped the hilt… And drew it.
The edge of the bright, almost white metal dazzled her for a moment, though it wasn't a reflection, it was light emanating from the blade.
She set the sheath aside and looked at the weapon, then at the man, who seemed hopeful.
The paladin studied the weapon, and… She felt nothing… Not a single memory stirred…
But…
For some reason… Her hand around the hilt… It felt familiar…
She swallowed, and trembling, stood up, feeling the weight of the sword…
And although it was heavy, it was more like a stick if she had to compare it to something… And yet, it was as if it were an extension of her…
But she still didn't know how to use it…
She raised her gaze slightly and noticed something in the foliage of a tree…
And by the time she realized what it was, she saw an arrow hurtling straight toward her face…
Her eyes widened like plates, and she felt her heart stop for a moment…
… And a moment later, there was the clang of metal against metal, as the sword in her hands blocked the projectile, preventing her instant death.
Her hands trembled, yet remained firmly gripping the handle, releasing the breath she'd been holding, almost collapsing as she felt the strength drain from her legs… But something kept her steady.
She glanced to the side at the wounded man, barely breathing from his injuries, struggling to his feet.
She looked back at the trees and saw another arrow fly… But it wasn't going toward her. It was going beside her.
She immediately feared the worst. The man would die.
She considered swinging her sword wildly, betting that she could block the arrow, using her own body as a shield… And yet… It didn't seem to be the answer.
It was as if her hands were moving on their own.
Her sword swung to her side, slicing the arrow in half mid-flight, causing the projectile, still bound by the laws of physics, to lose much of its force and alter its trajectory.
A wave of relief washed over her as she saw what she had accomplished, seeing the man safe and sound, and she looked back at the trees… This time… She frowned slightly.
She pursed her lips, and… A flicker of confidence welled up inside her.
Fear still gripped her. Doubts flooded her mind like a wave of parasites, sapping away at her already nonexistent will. What if they attacked her from behind? What if she failed to block the next blow? What if they fired too many projectiles and she couldn't block them all? What if she slipped? A flood of hypothetical scenarios drowned her thoughts in noise… She truly felt she could collapse right there, and cry from fear.
But… She didn't. Because deep down, she had something holding her up, as if her bones were made of iron, preventing her from falling and her grip on her sword from wavering.
And that was… She wasn't going to let the man die. She couldn't let him die. She had to protect him… She had to…
If what he said was true, if she really could save him and the others afterward… Then she was going to try.
She had to protect them. She had to… Be brave. She had to be Remedios Custodio, the Strongest Paladin… Again.
If she could be that person even just once, it would be worth it.
Another arrow came, and she blocked it.
And then another came.
She took a step back. Not out of fear or doubt, but to grab the man by the collar of his clothing, and with the strength she had demonstrated several times during her stay at the camp, she lifted him with ease. Although she feared hurting him, her mind couldn't conceive of any other alternative, and she threw him into a bush.
She heard his gasp of pain, but he didn't seem to be badly hurt. And that… gave her relief.
She spun around at that moment, and her sword blocked another arrow.
Growls came from the tree…
Remedios swallowed. She was scared, and she could only block by some miracle of her hands…
Would she be blocking this thing's arrows all day…?
And as if someone were answering her with a resounding 'no,' a shriek came from the tree, just as something flew toward it.
"Die, Demon!" A boy yelled, grabbing a rock and throwing it toward the trees.
Another rock flew, this time from a woman.
"Leave Captain Remedios alone!"
"Die, die!"
Stone after stone, sticks, shoes. Various objects were thrown randomly at the trees, making whatever was there seem to click its tongue in annoyance rather than pain.
Remedios watched this and… Her heart felt… Warm. And despite the rapid beating caused by fear… It felt lighter.
Another stone was thrown, and this time it struck a branch, which was already weak, and it broke.
Instantly, a small, dark creature, with dark clothes and a bow in its hand, fell next to the thin branch, showing that the thing weighed too little for being able to stand there.
It immediately tried to get up and flee, but Remedios acted.
She did the most logical thing she could do. And she drew her sword.
A shriek of pain, along with the sound of something burning, echoed, and then two things fell to the ground. A thin, headless body, and a head severed from a body.
Black blood gushed from the wound, and the body crumbled to dust.
Remedios gasped heavily, her hands trembling as she watched the body disappear… Then her sword…
She… Killed a Demon…
The idea of taking a life seemed unsettling… But…
She glanced to the side, seeing the relieved, happy people, fire burning in their eyes… And the fear subsided a little… No. It didn't go away. It remained… But it was overshadowed by… Wanting those smiles to stay.
She didn't know how to express it. But… That desire… It seemed to give her immense strength.
She smiled slightly, as if victorious, and looked toward the area of the commotion…
She gripped her sword, swallowed once more… She was afraid… But that wouldn't stop her… Not when these people were counting on her.
And so, though somewhat hesitant, she ran.
…
"Stay here."
Her father's order echoed in her mind.
Neia had been helping her father take down some tents just moments before…
And naturally, she heard the roar… A different one than she was used to, but still from a Demon… That is to say, a monster beyond Neia's capabilities…
And as expected, her father reacted almost instantly, rushing towards the din…
It was obvious what was happening.
The Demons had found the hideout…
It seemed inevitable, considering her father had been dealing with Imps in the forest for several weeks, but they were never more than that, Imps that her father was able to hunt down.
They were never abominable forces like entire armies, they never cleared the forest until the camp was practically unprotected…
But it seemed the Demons had grown tired of it, and they sent something…
The blonde froze, undecided about what to do.
On one hand, she was told to stay put, a serious order from her father, who almost never gave her orders.
And on the other… The thought of her father, her mother… Lady Nyx… Being there, exposed to danger… It gnawed at her mind.
She bit her lower lip, hesitant… Everything… Everything indicated that she should go…
But… What could she do?
She wasn't strong like her mother, she wasn't agile like her father, she wasn't a leader like Remedios… She wasn't intelligent like Lady Nyx…
She clenched her fists… She… She was nobody… She was mediocre. She didn't excel at anything… The only thing she was good at was archery, but she never honed it, and her father was a thousand times better archer than her, with experience and a powerful enchanted bow-
She froze, remembering that… If she had something that others didn't…
It wasn't hers… But… It was still bestowed upon her… And although she was generally just a fly among wolves…
If only she could become a bee, and sting her opponents, even just to annoy them… It was a strange metaphor, Neia acknowledged, but…
She remembered Titania's words… When she gave her this bow… Nyx's words… When she expressed her expectations of her…
She even suggested the brilliant idea of… A paladin archer. It was certainly a curious way to blend her forced focus on herself with her innate talent. And… She wasn't going to lie, the idea sounded somewhat appealing. Or rather, interesting, as if… She wished that it really was something.
But… If Neia kept falling behind… How could she possibly meet such expectations…?
She tightened her grip on the powerful bow… Though she then noticed a flaw in her plan.
"Ah, the arrows."
She carried the bow with her, but… She only had one arrow on her.
Not because that was all she had left, but because she had stored them all in her tent, except for one that had slipped through her fingers…
She glanced around, a little embarrassed… It wasn't as if she could have predicted this situation…
But even if she wanted to help, it would take a couple of minutes…
The thunderous roar echoed back, violent sounds flooding the camp.
She shuddered, cursing her stupidity…
And just as she was about to run away, her senses detected something. Very faintly. Not enough to alert her, but enough to stop her for a moment out of curiosity.
And it was that moment that saved her.
An arrow whizzed past her face.
Even so, she wasn't entirely safe. The projectile, like a black barb, cut deeply.
She let out her pent-up breath…
However, another roar prevented her from savoring her victory…
T-Tch…
She quickly ran towards the Imp, which began to crumble into dust, grabbed the arrow it had fired, grateful it hadn't broken, and ran towards the roars… Superficially grazing her ear and cutting a couple of small strands of hair.
If she hadn't stopped, given her speed, the arrow would have struck her skull squarely.
As if on instinct, considering her only weapon at hand was the bow, she reached to the side, towards the quiver on the ground she would grab on her way.
She took the only arrow in the quiver and nocked it.
In less than a second, her life flashed before her eyes as she fired towards where she thought the arrow had come from.
The sound barrier seemed to shatter from the bow's power, and…
A gasp of something unpleasant was heard, along with the sound of flesh being pierced, and something fell to the ground…
Neia gasped, watching the Imp with an arrow piercing her from chest to back…
But… Now she knew the power of Titania's bow. Her bow…
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Name: Pabel Baraja
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