Rex ran up the stairs leading to the top of the wooden wall that served as the entrance to the camp. His breathing was already heavy by the time he reached the top, but he barely noticed it.
He rushed towards the edge of the wall and looked out towards the battlefield, expecting to see the artificial storm still covering the area.
Instead, the storm was disappearing.
The thick wall of snow and wind gradually weakened, revealing the devastation that had been hidden from the camp. Bodies were scattered across the frozen ground, both humans and Eidolons, while broken weapons and pieces of shattered armor were buried beneath the snow. Large sections of the battlefield had been completely torn apart, leaving deep craters and trenches across the frozen wasteland.
Rex stared at it for a moment before his eyes moved further ahead. His expression immediately changed, the main Eidolon army had arrived.
More than a thousand Eidolons stood across the battlefield, their massive bodies forming an enormous formation as they waited in complete silence. Behind them was the massive weapon, its colossal frame rising above the army while its glowing runes slowly gathered energy.
And it was pointed directly at the first human advance force.
Rex took a shaky step backwards.
His heel nearly caught on the wooden stairs behind him, but before he could lose his balance, his back bumped into someone.
He turned around and saw Claire walking up behind him.
"How are the Eidolons here so quickly? We haven’t even finished evacuating yet."
Rex was sweating heavily now. He turned back towards the battlefield, his hands trembling slightly as he watched the giant weapon continue glowing.
"The second advance force hasn’t even finished mobilizing, and we still need to prepare for a drawn-out defensive position."
He ran both hands through his hair, his voice becoming increasingly frantic. "Everything is falling apart. Where are the damned Round Table members?"
Claire raised a brow, clearly annoyed by his panic.
"You do realize Ryan and Andrea are fighting on the front lines?"
Rex grabbed his head and cursed loudly.
"Ryan and Andrea ain’t enough! We need Vincent and Naomi as well!" He pointed towards the distant battlefield, his voice carrying far enough that several nearby soldiers turned to look at him. "Those two cowardly pieces of shit ran away, didn’t they? They left us here to die! Why wouldn’t they? They’re probably strong enough to conquer this quest on their own!"
Claire’s expression darkened.
She glanced around and noticed more soldiers turning towards them. Some had stopped what they were doing entirely, their attention drawn to Rex’s shouting. His panic was spreading through the camp faster than any order could stop it.
Claire stepped forward, her fist slammed into Rex’s face.
The blow sent him crashing onto the wooden floor, his body rolling once before coming to a stop.
The surrounding soldiers went silent, Claire looked down at him without an ounce of sympathy.
"Get your shit together."
Rex slowly raised his head, still stunned from the impact, Claire pointed towards the battlefield.
"Once the second advance force leaves to join them, raise your Boundary and buy me more time."
Rex nodded briskly.
Claire fused into space and vanished from sight, reappearing deeper within the camp. Her expression was somber as she looked over the chaotic evacuation.
Things weren’t going according to plan. Rex had every right to panic, and yet she had stopped him from doing even that. She was starting to seem similar to Andrea, always forcing herself to remain calm even when everything was falling apart around her, and Claire didn’t like it.
A long queue stretched towards the back of the camp, passing beyond the frozen lake and towards the ice caves. The medic teams were leading the sudden evacuation, directing people away from the camp while soldiers hurried to move whatever supplies they could carry.
Some people were still trying to carry weapons and equipment they probably wouldn’t have room for, while others were desperately gathering food and anything else they believed might be useful once they reached the caves.
Claire knew they couldn’t take everything.
Andrea initially made no plans for the healers to treat the injured. Those who fought would either win and survive, or die. There was no middle ground. It was harsh, but the situation had changed, Claire was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but they needed the healers now more than ever.
"Seris."
Claire called out to the dark-haired young girl helping organize the rations. Seris immediately dropped what she was doing and turned towards Claire, her hands still holding several pieces of food she had been preparing to distribute.
Claire didn’t waste any time.
"We need to abandon some of our supplies. Leave anything too heavy to be carried." Claire stepped closer and leaned towards Seris, lowering her voice so the people around them wouldn’t hear. "The utility-based Awakened and the healers go first. Then the normal non-combatants and children."
Seris stared at her in disbelief.
"What?"
Her expression quickly hardened.
"Are you insane?" Seris snapped, but she immediately lowered her voice. "The utility-based Awakened can actually defend themselves when push comes to shove. Even we medics have some powerful Dormant Abilities, but the non-combatants don’t even know how to use their Dormant Abilities, if they even have one. And the kids can’t hope to defend themselves."
"I know." Claire’s expression tightened with pain. She didn’t look away from Seris, even though the decision clearly bothered her. "We were hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but in the event that the war is lost, we’ll need more utility and healing-based Abilities to aid in our recovery. It’s negotiable."
Seris’s eyes widened slightly.
Claire continued before she could interrupt.
"The Eidolon army has already arrived, and we’re losing this war. Trust me, you wouldn’t want more helpless mouths to feed while we’re scraping by ourselves. If we survive this, we’ll need people capable of keeping everyone else alive. We can’t afford to throw away every useful Ability just because we don’t want to make a difficult choice."