(THIRD PERSON POV)
The forest quaked. Roots tore free with a groan, trees shuddered, and soil collapsed into gaping holes. Blood and scorched moss filled the air, a heavy metallic scent that made Adam's stomach twist. Somewhere beneath it all, a roar rolled like thunder.
Ophelia stepped forward, white-gold armor glinting in the dim light, dark blue hair whipping around her face. Green eyes flared, sharp and focused. Golden light flared at her feet. Prana pulsed outward in steady waves, bending shadows. Adam felt his chest tighten, instinct pulling him forward even before he saw the bull-headed monstrosity.
"Stay… sharp," Victor muttered, voice low but steady.
"RAGHHHH!!"
The bull-head plowed through roots, horns tearing saplings from the earth as if they were paper. Behind it, the clay golem reshaped its jagged arms mid-swing, slamming into the soil with a metallic crack. Dust and roots erupted.
Adam's heart hammered.
'They're not stopping. What are those things? Did those cultists create them?'
Ophelia arched back, sliding beneath the bull-head's swing. Her massive greatsword swung in a wide, deadly arc, catching the golem's jagged arm. Sparks erupted where stone met steel. Prana flared, stitching muscle, sharpening every reflex. Golden light trailed her movements, licking the forest shadows.
"Damn it," Melina hissed, voice tight as she launched a fireball. Kobolds scattered, screeching.
"Keep… moving! Don't… stop!"
Her mind wandered back home to her village. She saw herself again, a girl running through town or reading under the shade of the trees, desperate to become a mage. And now, here she was, fighting for her life against monsters that didn't exist in any encyclopedia she had ever read.
Adam swung, crunching a Naga's neck. Tani leapt from his shoulder, claws scraping scales.
'Don't look away. Don't pause. Just keep moving!'
Victoria's sword sliced through the inky wings of another eagle-serpent. She spat, muttering, "Empty… damn it. All out." Her movements were precise, measured, lethal.
The bull-head roared, each note shaking Adam's teeth. Branches splintered, roots snapped. Ophelia collided with a massive root, golden light sputtering. She rolled, Prana knitting torn flesh, but her chest heaved, her back aching. Her mind… that couldn't heal. Every swing, every block, every dodge cost more than her body.
"Ophelia! Left!" Adam yelled.
She glanced at him, eyes flaring with gold.
'I can't stop. Not now. Not ever!'
"DIE… ACCURSED HUMAN!"
The clay golem's twisted, crude face grinned.
It split its arm into three bladed whips. Ophelia swung her greatsword with controlled force, intercepting two. Sparks flew. Golden arcs traced each movement. She spun, blocked, struck again. The light bloomed like wildfire. Each blow bruised her shoulders, tore at her wrists, but her armor and Prana took the impact.
Roots slammed overhead. Adam ducked, rolling, feeling the scrape of bark across his arms. Another Naga lunged. He shoved it aside, tempered steel meeting corrupted scales. Black ichor spattered the moss.
'God, my arms are going to tear off before this ends…'
"Behind you!" Melina screamed, tears streaking her dirt-stained face. Fire erupted, incinerating a pack of Scourge-tainted kobolds. She didn't pause, didn't flinch.
'I can't… I won't… stop! Until I become a mage! Until I get out of here!'
Victoria side-stepped, cutting down anything that moved. "Keep him back!" she spat, voice ragged. Each swing measured. No panic. No wasted motion. Just lethal intent.
Ophelia faltered again, slammed sideways by the bull-head's skeletal horn. Golden light flickered like candle flames in the wind. She lay prone for a heartbeat. Her Prana stitched her body, armor dented but holding, limbs shaking. Her mind threatened to give out.
'No. I can't let it leave me.'
Nita stepped forward, small and trembling, ginger hair plastered to her blood-streaked face. Glasses lost in the melee.
"Ophelia…" Her voice cracked, barely audible.
Ophelia's golden aura sputtered. Exhaustion pinched every muscle. She barely registered Nita at first.
Nita shook her head, tears falling. "Don't… don't give up! You can't… not now!"
Her hands glowed. Prana poured outward like liquid sunlight, knitting Ophelia's fractured aura, patching mental strain as well as physical.
Victor's hand rested on her shoulder, firm. "It's okay. You're okay. Focus on me," he said, voice calm, unwavering.
Ophelia's chest heaved. 'I… I can't…'
"Yes! You're okay!" Nita insisted, voice growing stronger. "I can! I will keep you steady! You don't have to do this alone!"
Ophelia's lips parted, an exhausted laugh breaking through. "Nita… Victor… I…" Her voice caught. Heart hammering. "Don't worry… I made a promise, remember?" Victor gave a crooked smile.
Golden fire flared again. Ophelia rose, walking through devastation. Every step left trails of light over shattered roots, splintered trunks, and blood. Her greatsword swung in controlled, deliberate arcs, slicing through limbs and corrupted scales with brutal efficiency. Even in the broken forest, the monsters, the blood, she was beautiful.
Adam's chest burned. Lungs screamed. He swung deliberately, measured. Kobolds lunged—he met them mid-strike, sending claws and teeth scattering. A Naga lunged from the debris. He shoved it aside, finishing it efficiently.
Victoria cut through winged serpents. "Keep… pushing!" she shouted. Black ichor streaked moss. Boots slid in blood and mud, but she didn't stop.
Melina's magic tore through Scourge-tainted monsters. Fire, frost, energy crackling. Tears streaked her cheeks, but her hands were steady. Adam skewered a kobold aiming for her skull. She didn't flinch.
The forest groaned. Every impact from the bull-head sent shockwaves. Clay flowed, limbs morphing into lethal blades. And Ophelia moved with them, arc by arc, step by step, strike by strike, streaking through chaos in golden fire, greatsword smashing, armor glinting, each hit leaving sparks and blood in its wake.
Time fractured. Adam heard nothing but the crunch of bone, crack of roots, hiss of Prana, roar of Scourge beasts, clash of steel, fire and ice, his own ragged breaths.
KRASSHHH!!!
Ophelia faltered again, golden aura flickering. But she smiled through blood and pain. Light radiated from her like hope, steel singing as her greatsword slammed through false flesh.
Golden fire blazed behind her. She rose, walking through devastation, sword raised.
Victoria, Adam, Melina, Victor, Nita—all battered, bloodied, bruised, breathing heavy—stood together.
The monsters were not finished. Scourge-tainted wings beat, claws slammed into trunks, bodies hurled through the forest. But we were ready.
Ophelia's golden trail blazed, a single flame cutting through the darkness.
Victoria whispered, awe-struck, voice barely carrying. "She… she's beautiful."
Ophelia's thoughts remained inward. 'I can't defeat them all. Not by myself. Only… a miracle can save this. And… I think it's coming. Even if it doesn't…'
She leapt for the monsters.
"I'll fight till the end!!"