Eira walked over to the two siblings. Malrik was staring at his sister like he was seeing a ghost.
"You're alive…" Sarah rolled her eyes, holding back a chuckle.
"You didn't think I'd die that easily, did you? Besides, who else would stop you from doing stupid things?"
Malrik's voice shifted to anger. "Stupid! Remind me again who has been busy saving your arse while holding back those two demons."
Sarah gestured to Eira. "This girl."
Malrik gritted his teeth, while his sister laughed.
"It's nice to meet you, Sarah. My name is Eira." The girl had her eyes glowing green as she stared at the words on top of Sarah's head. "I see your rebirth has gone well."
Sarah turned to the two demons in front of them. "Yes, but right now we have more important things to take care of—like surviving."
The Nightmare Vesper was slowly regenerating its blown-off back. Before it could fully heal and get back up, Malrik noticed a small black ball inside the creature. The Hollow Echo walked over to its partner, seething in anger at the kids.
"Seems like we've made them mad."
Sarah turned back to her brother. "Malrik, I want you to go and find Mum… and Dad."
Malrik ignored the pause in her sentence, opting to respond to the nonsense coming out of her mouth. "What are you talking about! I need to stay and fight with you guys."
"You can't stay here—you will die."
"Yeah! Well, you did die. Besides, since when did you become my mum?" shouted Malrik, before he noticed something moving in Sarah's shadow.
"Since I—" Sarah suddenly stopped as Malrik grabbed both her and Eira. He channelled magic to his feet before the Nightmare Vesper appeared from the ground, its sword raised for blood. Cracks formed on the ground as Malrik jumped away.
The Hollow Echo dropped on all ten legs before letting out a shriek of spiralling shockwaves towards the kids. Eira raised her hands, forming another barrier.
Sarah sighed in relief. "How did that demon move so fast!"
Malrik looked back at the Nightmare Vesper, which had its eyes fixed on them. "I think it's teleporting through shadows." The two girls looked at him in surprise. "When it was about to punch Eira, I noticed it rising from the shadows—same as just now. That would explain how it managed to sneak past Mum and Dad's defences."
"Wait, where are Mum and Dad?" asked Sarah. The two shrugged.
"That demon sneaked past them and punched them out of the stadium. We don't know where they are or if they're still alive."
Sarah contemplated with worry. She looked out into the distance, hoping for the best.
Malrik turned to her. "Hey, you came back from the dead, right? What did it feel like?"
"Like letting go of something I never believed in."
The two siblings smiled at each other. Eira noticed the shadows move behind them.
"It's coming!" she warned. "My barrier is too small to contain it. If it enters, it will break it, and we'll be finished."
Sarah stared at the shadows below. She stretched her hand out. Malrik watched as petals began to peel themselves off. They glowed with elegance and shone bright like the sun. Sarah's yellow glowing eyes met with the purple glowing eyes in her shadow. The world around her suddenly felt quiet and still, like all her life had led up to this one moment.
The demon moved as Sarah directed her floating petals to the ground. Before it could connect, the demon disappeared and reappeared behind them. Sarah turned around in shock. 'It teleported to Eira's shadow.'
The shockwaves stopped as the Nightmare Vesper broke the barrier. Sarah tried directing her petals to the demon, but it grabbed Eira and threw her into Sarah. It then slammed its legs into the two, sending them crashing into a broken wall.
It paid no attention to Malrik as it jumped into the air to finish its food. Malrik was about to follow before he sensed the Hollow Echo descending onto them.
As the Hollow Echo drew closer, it stretched back its elongated legs. Malrik watched in horror as the demon lunged its legs towards him, aiming to pierce all ten through him. However, before they connected, a sudden bang! rang out. Not a minute later, the Nightmare Vesper came crashing into the Hollow Echo.
Malrik turned around. A smile formed on his face as he stared at his bloodied mother, with her shield raised in front. The woman sighed a breath of relief, staggering towards her son with a hug. Elara quickly checked her son for any injuries and smiled at him.
"Hey, you've been very brave. I'm so proud of you, my son. Thank you for protecting the girls while I was away. Now I need you to stand back. I'll take care of the rest."
"But you're hurt!" argued Malrik. Elara smiled.
"Your father told me you wanted to know what a Pressure Overflow is."
Malrik looked at her in confusion as Elara pulled him behind her. She turned around with a thumbs-up. "I've lost a lot of blood, but the magic I have left should be enough. Go, protect your sister."
Sarah limped out of the rubble, carrying an unconscious Eira with her. Malrik ran over to her as she handed the girl over to him. She looked over at Elara. "Mum."
Elara smiled at her before turning back around, facing the glaring demons.
Her face turned serious. She crossed her arms, the shield positioned proudly in front. Nightmare Vesper jumped up from her shadow behind her, but she didn't move. Her kids screamed her name, begging for her to move, but she merely breathed in before closing her eyes.
The Nightmare Vesper swung its sword to strike, while the Hollow Echo launched its legs to pierce her. Suddenly, Elara's eyes burst open with shining orange light, revealing itself to the world.
"O Lord, who forges strength in silence, hear me."
A large magical pressure smashed into the two creatures, sending them flying away.
"From silence was I forged, and in silence I waited. Now the hand of war has found me, so I shall be hidden no more."
The ground quaked with power, and the air felt heavy. The kids felt like they were being pushed back. They covered their eyes with their arms, trying desperately to get a glimpse of their mother.
Elara's entire body was heating up. Her hair flowed violently, and a dark orange aura leaked off her skin like steam.
"Unveil the armory within, and let steel be as breath to my soul. Let every blade remember its bearer, and rise at Thy command."
Orange magical circles surrounded the entire stadium like a dome. Spears and swords peeked out, ready to pierce whoever their master deemed fit.
"Pressure Overflow."
Elara stood majestically with her new transformation complete. Her magical aura radiated in heavy waves, enveloping her like a cloud of steam. The kids were sent flying out of the stadium from the pure pressure radiating from the woman.
Elara breathed out heavily before the Nightmare Vesper suddenly appeared behind her, aiming to take off her head. Elara didn't even move. As the demon swung, it collided with the steaming aura and shattered upon contact. Not letting any room for confusion, the demon let out a vicious punch. Elara disappeared. The monster looked around frantically, unable to track her movements. Suddenly, a sword pierced its back. Then a spear hit its front, and then another at its head. The process continued until the demon had multiple weapons sticking out of it. Elara appeared in front of it, and another sword dropped from the sky, pinning its head to the ground.
"If I'm not mistaken, your core is in your torso, cornered by my multiple weapons." Elara's voice had become deep and angelic, further enraging the demon. She raised her hand. A long golden spear appeared before her, and she drove it down on the creature.
— Outside —
The kids had landed outside the stadium. Malrik rushed to get back in, but Sarah stopped him.
"What are you doing? Mum is in there!"
Sarah placed her hands on her brother's shoulders, giving him a small smile. "I know, but we can't go in there. We'll only get in the way."
"Was that it?" Sarah raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What she just did, I mean. Was that what Dad was talking about? Pressure Overflow."
Sarah nodded and looked back. The battle could be seen from outside. She smiled at the beating the demon was receiving. "Right now, Mum is stronger than both of those demons. However, she's on a time limit."
"I know," interrupted Malrik. "She's lost a lot of blood and is currently pumping out what little magic she has left in large quantities, to boost her powers."
Sarah looked at him, amazed, surprised by the amount of knowledge he now had. "Wow, looks like someone's reading is paying off."
Malrik smirked before realising the light around them was growing darker. Sarah raised her eyebrow in confusion, seeing a large, muscular shadow covering them. The two suddenly froze as they felt a primal growl behind them. Malrik didn't dare move, knowing he wasn't fast enough to escape the creature behind him. They watched its shadow as the creature's clawed hand rose into the air. Malrik closed his eyes, fearing death drawing near. Sarah was about to act before suddenly a man appeared behind and cut the creature in half.
Malrik dropped to the ground, breathing heavily as the adrenaline left his body. Sarah stared at the man, who had just turned his head to look at her. Despite her heart racing at lightning speed, she felt like it would stop at any moment. The tension was so thick that even Malrik could feel it. The boy looked from one to the other, confused as always.
"Hey, Dad," said Sarah. Her eyes felt like they would water up again. The two were locked, not leaving each other for even a second. Dain was desperately trying to find any hint of hatred or anger from his daughter. The gods know he deserved it.
"You two should get out of here. Reinforcements from the guild have arrived, and they're currently directing the swarm of monsters towards the stadium."
"What! But what about Mum!" Malrik didn't understand why his father and sister were being so weird to each other, but right now his sole focus was on his mother. "She's all alone in there, fighting those monsters."
Dain finally cut eye contact with Sarah and walked over to Malrik. Leaning down, he hugged him. "Your mum will be fine. She may not look like it, but she's an incredible fighter."
He got up and faced the arena. The sounds of battle reverberated throughout the battered city. "Still, I predict she has about two minutes left before she passes out from blood loss." He turned around to face his children and gave them a small smile with a thumbs-up. "So, I'll end this in a blink of an eye."
Dain disappeared, and Sarah released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Malrik looked down before something dawned on him. He suddenly started frantically scanning the floor. Sarah stared at him in confusion as Malrik looked back up at her.
"Where's Eira?"
— Stadium —
Elara was currently in the eye of a spiralling shockwave. Her golden shield stood defiantly in front of her. The Nightmare Vesper was busy pulling swords out of its body after the failed attempt on its life.
Blood trickled down Elara's mouth. She could barely move. 'Damn it, I'm running out of time.' Elara stared at the two demons. She could sense more creatures gradually moving closer. Her ragged breathing betrayed her confident stance, and the smirks on the demons' faces revealed they knew her dilemma. Elara sighed. She pushed a bit more magic throughout her body, helping her stand without struggle. The Hollow Echo intensified its scream, but it had no effect.
'I might as well take one of you out.'
Elara breathed in slowly, then breathed out. Suddenly, the dome of magical circles disappeared, and a giant one appeared right above.
"You threatened my children's lives." Elara raised her hands to the heavens. From the large circle, a massive cannon-like weapon appeared. From the tip, a blue energy started forming. Noticing this, the demons glanced up. "And for that, I sentence you to death."
As Elara started bringing her hands down, the Nightmare Vesper finally realised what was happening. A large sound of something charging up registered in their eyes as the Nightmare Vesper made a desperate charge towards the woman. It drew closer and closer before a flash of light blinded it, and a sword pierced its neck. Sparks flew from the demon's neck, before the core exploded. The demon's eye shifted to its killer as the light left its eyes. Dain looked back at it, unapologetic.
"You should have moved the core in your neck before making a mad dash towards my wife," were the last words said before a beam of blue light collided with the Hollow Echo, blowing everything back.
From outside, everyone stared in amazement at the beam coming from heaven. Even the clouds seemed to part for its entrance. Sarah and Malrik, who were running from the scene, turned back to witness it. Praying for their parents' safety, they continued moving, searching for medics.
Surrounding the ruins of the stadium, groups of curious magical creatures marched inside. Multiple guards behind them killed any creature strolling the other way. A man stood on top of a nearby building, watching the scene like a movie. He placed a hand on his earpiece to speak.
"Everything is set, boss. The bastards are walking in. They're all yours, Blinking Star."
He took the earpiece off and turned to Eve, who was standing behind him. "You think he can end this?"
"Oh, no doubt…"
— Stadium —
The dust cleared to reveal Dain beside his unconscious wife. Her body had lost a lot of blood, and death seemed to be drawing near. Dain gave a small smile to his wife.
"Don't worry, dear. It shall all be over soon."
The man looked up and gazed at the small army of creatures surrounding him, each as terrifying as the next. Dain smirked. He set his wife on the ground and stood up. The creatures growled, seemingly seconds away from pouncing. Those seconds came quickly as they charged towards the Champion.
Outside, Eve walked forward placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "... observe carefully now..."
Dain gripped his sword, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"O Lord who set the stars in their courses, hear me.
As the stars hasten swifter than mortal sight, so let my steps be clothed in their light. Bend time beneath Thy will, and bid space yield before its king."
Outside, Eve smirked. "… Blink, and he has already won."
Dain's eyes snapped open, golden light bursting through, cracks forming from the ground, and golden magic flying out. The ground shook and the sky darkened, but the mad creatures continued their charge, inches away from the seemingly possessed man.
"Pressure Overflow!"
And in a single blink, the battle ended in golden silence.