Chapter 20: Strenuous Circumstances.
The buildings in the ruins of humanity were sturdy, but ancient. Most had already collapsed under the weight of time, though a few still stood tall, untouched by the cruelty of the world.
Cold wind swept through the streets, carrying heavy snow in thick waves. Visibility was poor, the world reduced to shifting white and broken silhouettes. It was already daybreak, but the sun refused to break through the dense, dark clouds overhead.
Yuri and Damien’s figures suddenly blitzed into view, landing on top of a building not far from the Eidolon formation.
They crashed into the snow almost immediately.
Yuri was the first to move. Her voice came out sharp and panicked.
"Oh god no... what have I done... I... Damien?"
She turned and grabbed his shoulders.
His left arm was in a terrible state. The bone was visibly pushed through the skin, and fresh blood continued to pour down into the snow. His face was pale, his breathing uneven, and for a moment he looked barely conscious.
"Damien, wake up. We’re behind enemy lines..."
For a brief moment, Damien’s unfocused eyes sharpened.
He pushed himself up with his right hand. The first thing he saw was the rows of Eidolons ahead. Further beyond them, Chad was still struggling with the siege weapon.
"What happened?"
Yuri hesitated.
She felt ashamed. She had one job. Get them to safety. And she had failed it.
But in truth, it wasn’t that simple.
When the arrows were about to hit, she had blitzed to Damien’s side. She didn’t have time to retreat properly without both of them getting impaled the moment she stopped. So she had forced an upward movement, trying to redirect their trajectory away from the arrows.
But her body had already reached its limit.
Disoriented and exhausted, the final movement went wrong. Instead of carrying them back toward safety, she launched them forward.
Directly behind enemy lines.
"Shit... I knew things wouldn’t turn out exactly as planned, but come on. I hate having to adapt".
Damien’s eyes sharpened with a faint glint. Without another word, he dragged himself toward the edge of the roof and focused his gaze in Chad’s direction.
He needed to reach the undead. If he didn’t, both Chad and Seris would be overwhelmed before long.
Unexpectedly, Priesty stepped forward first. The rest of the undead followed suit, falling into motion. In moments, they were moving with purpose again, as if something had clicked into place.
"What are you doing?" Yuri asked.
"I’m commanding the undead. Chad needs them to operate the siege weapon."
Yuri nodded and quickly turned to scan their surroundings, trying to reorient herself after the instant motion. But the moment she did, her expression froze.
Standing a few feet away was a large figure.
It was an Eidolon, but compared to it, the others looked like children.
The thing towered at over ten feet tall, its body broad and unnatural, crowned with ice antlers that branched out like the skeleton of a frozen tree. Its eyes were blood red, hollow of any slit or emotion.
In its grip was a massive axe, nearly the size of an average Eidolon itself.
"Ei... Eidolon chief."
Yuri’s voice cracked as she spoke.
A cold shiver ran down Damien’s spine.
Yuri was never talkative. She barely showed emotion in her voice, let alone her face. But now, the fear in her words was unmistakable.
Damien briskly turned his head.
The Eidolon priest stood there like a mountain of flesh, its presence alone pressing down on the air around them. Worse still, a few Eidolons from the formation had already spotted them through the heavy snowstorm. They roared in their direction and began rushing forward, clearly intent on defending their chief.
But the next moment, the Eidolon chief turned.
It let out a furious roar.
The sound tore through the snow. It shook deep into their primal instincts, like it was reaching straight into their very being and enforcing the chief’s will.
For a brief instant, even Damien felt it.
The charging Eidolons froze mid-step. The chief didn’t want assistance.
It wanted to kill the pest itself, to show its dominance.
Yuri’s breath was ragged, but she still stepped forward and unsheathed her black katana. She knew she was no match for it, but it didn’t matter. She had to fight.
She activated her dormant ability, Impulse.
Her body trembled violently, then flickered in and out of motion like broken frames. But she didn’t move from her spot. Instead, fresh blood burst from her mouth, while thin streams ran from her eyes and nose.
Her legs gave out and she dropped to her knees.
Her ability wouldn’t respond anymore. There was nothing left in her body to burn except herself, and even that was failing. No matter how much she pushed, she couldn’t override the most basic instinct to stay alive.
Damien’s expression sank.
With only one usable arm, fighting was impossible. He needed the undead.
He turned toward the direction of the entrance.
His dormant ability was Undead Legion. He could bring dead bodies back as soldiers under his complete control, and now he needed them, at the expense of a few allies.
"Oh well, desperate times call for desperate means. This little gruesome and unappealing play being performed by two master stage writers has to come to an end somehow. It pains me to do this, but you guys get it, right. My survival comes first, sure our friendship was short and brief, but it was definitely fun while it lasted...".
Damien’s mind froze for a moment.
"You know what, I change my mind... we were never friends to begin with, let’s call our relationship what it is. Forced alliance under strenuous circumstances, and under these circumstances. I will not be feeling guilty for doing this".
The Eidolon chief stepped forward.
It lowered its massive axe and pressed Yuri down with it, forcing her fully into the ground.
A low chuckle came from it.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it carried through the building with a powerful pressure, like the air itself had become heavier.
Damien turned back and faced the chief.