>>Amber

"Do you want me to take care of all of them?" My voice came out as a mere whisper, the terror building inside me making my chest tight. The sight of the endless swarm of bonewraiths overwhelmed me, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it.

"You can," Hael replied without hesitation, his voice as calm as ever, like we were having an ordinary conversation, not facing the end of the world.

I stared at him, disbelief mingling with my fear. Could I really do this?

"Remember when you healed the whole palace when I almost died?" His words pulled me from the spiral of panic.

!?!?

"Yes..." I whispered, realization settling in. I really might have been undermining myself. Hael had always believed in my strength, even when I doubted it. The memory of that day returned to me—how I had pushed beyond my limits to save him. Maybe I could do that again.

"But for now, give your attention to me." His voice softened, and I turned to look at him. His focus shifted back to Persephone, who towered over us.

"Looks like you summoned all of your monsters," Hael said, his tone light, almost mocking. "Didn't you send them all around the world?"

Hmm? Is he taunting her?

Persephone's smile widened, her eyes closed as her fingers joined. "Hmmm?" She hummed,

"Are you that afraid of us?" Hael continued, the teasing note in his voice sharpening, "Two humans? And you summon a whole army back."

"There is no way to summon all my babies back so soon," Persephone answered, her tone taking on an amused lilt. "But with the exception of a few, many of them are here. Their mother is being attacked, so of course they want to protect me."

The way she said "mother" sent chills down my spine. There was something twisted about it, also indicating how the years of confinement had gone to her head. She sent these creatures all around the world, so she must have summoned back many of them, because there is no way they came back from the other side of the world in just an hour.

"You plan on keeping summoning them?" Hael asked, his expression unreadable.

"Oh, like I said," Persephone tilted her head slightly, her eyes gleaming. "They came running because they felt their mother getting hurt."

"Running back?" Hael asked, "From the other side of the world?"

The wings on either side of Persephone's eyes fluttered, "Well..." Her smile faltered, "I did help them." See, there is no way they could come back without her doing something.

"So it has to be mutual concern for you for you to be able to summon them to yourself." Hael clearly didn't know but his question didn't sound like a question.

My gaze shifted nervously to the bonewraiths again. They moved like shadows, their skeletal forms illuminated by the dim glow of the rift. Hundreds, no, thousands of them, all eager to tear us apart. My heart pounded in my chest, and my fear surged.

"Hael," I whispered again, my voice trembling. "There are too many of them." My pupils shook as I scanned the masses of creatures, their hollow eyes locked on us, "If we fight them, we won't be able to fight Persephone." I glanced at Hael, my horror reflected in his calm demeanor.

He stood there, still as a statue, completely unfazed.

"What are you onto boy?" She was suspicious of him. I mean, even I was. Why was he asking these questions?

"Hael, are we fighting them?" I asked, concerned

He smirked.

!?!?

"We won't have to," He said, his eyes twinkling with a knowing look that made me blink in confusion.

"What?" I asked, unsure of what he meant.

"I don't sense any more coming," He whispered, raising his hand into the air, as if to show me something I wasn't yet seeing.

"What are you doing?" I asked again, anxiety twisting inside me.

"What are you doing, indeed?" Persephone's voice cut through the tension. Her eyebrow twitched, clearly irritated that she couldn't figure out Hael's plan.

"Watch," Hael said with quiet confidence.

Suddenly, I felt a shift in the air. The wind began to rise, and with it, a strange energy surged around us. My breath caught in my throat as I saw them—countless glowing circles forming beneath the bonewraiths.

!?!?!?

My eyes went wide.

Magic circles, each glowing with white light, appeared one after another, spreading across the ground like wildfire. Symbols I recognized formed intricate patterns beneath the bonewraiths' feet.

"My God..." I whispered, my skin tingling as the sheer force of the magic lit up the rift, creating a radiant contrast to the eerie darkness that hung over us.

Hael was going to teleport them all out of here.

"What!?" Persephone's voice wavered with surprise. She hadn't anticipated this move. Her massive form shifted, and she lashed out, her hands descending upon us like the claws of a great beast. She aimed to crush Hael before his spell could fully take effect.

But I was faster this time. I drew all my strength and reinforced the shield around us. Persephone's enormous palms collided with either sides of it, the impact sending a shockwave through the ground, but the shield held strong.

Hael's smirk didn't falter. He stared Persephone in the eyes, her face only a meter away from ours, the weight of her hands pressing down on the barrier.

"Say goodbye to your 'babies,'" Hael said, his tone almost mocking.

And then, all at once, the transportation circles activated. A brilliant flash of light engulfed the rift, and I watched, my breath caught in my chest, as the bonewraiths disappeared—one by one, in quick succession, until the rift, once filled with them, was empty.

Goosebumps as I watched in awe.

Persephone's enraged growl echoed through the empty space, her towering figure trembling with fury.

"I can bring them back!" She gritted her teeth.

"Try it," Hael answered with a smug look

***

>>Deus

I stood on the front line, on the makeshift fort at the edge of the city, right where the shield began, holding the miasma at bay, looking ahead.

The wind had picked up, growing faster and colder, signaling that the time had come. My gaze sharpened as I saw the teleportation circles begin to appear in the distance.

"Soldiers!" Crown Prince Nevan's voice cut through the wind. He stood at the forefront of the army, his eyes glowing with determination. Hundreds of light magic users stood behind him, ready and waiting. "On your mark!"

The soldiers, who had been recruited by Hael, Nevan and I and trained under our guidance, readied their bows, each one crackling with the glow of light magic. Hael's plan was clear from the beginning: an army of light magic users to destroy the bonewraiths.

And now, we were ready.

This was our army—It consisted of men and women from age sixteen to thirty. People who had good aim and had potential. Hael had the King assemble as many light magic users as possible from all around the world.

I stepped forward, gathering my own magic. With a deep breath, I sent out a pulse of light energy ahead of us. The wave of power spread across the battlefield, pushing back the thick miasma that obscured our vision. As the mist cleared, the bonewraiths became visible, a horde of skeletal beasts looming in the distance.

Seeing such horrifying monsters all at once seemed to unnerve the people and it startled Nevan too but he didn't let it show.

"Aim!" Nevan's voice rang out again, his bow raised high. He stood on an elevated platform, wearing his formal attire. His light arrow was trained on the closest of the bonewraiths, and the soldiers followed his lead.

"Fire!"

In an instant, hundreds of arrows shot forward, streaking across the sky like stars.

The arrows glowed as they cut through the air, their targets locked. The first wave hit, and many of the bonewraiths stumbled to the ground, many of their cores destroyed in a blaze of light. But there were so many of them—too many to take down in a single volley.

I watched as some of the creatures dodged the arrows, their agility surprising.

"Aim!" Nevan called again and the people pulled their bowstrings, his voice as sharp as his arrow. "Fire!"

Once more, arrows flew across the battlefield. The bonewraiths, sensing danger, began to scatter, attempting to flee into the vast, open land beyond the fort. The miasma was thick there, providing cover for them to disappear into.

I calmly stood in my place.

But just as they tried to escape, they hit something—an invisible barrier.

They stumbled back in confusion, unable to comprehend what had stopped them.

As the light arrows cut through the mist, the miasma cleared even further, showing what it was that they crashed into.

I turned my face to look at Loid, who was standing at the edge of the fort, his hands raised. He had created a massive mud wall that encircled the battlefield, trapping the bonewraiths within. But of course, they weren't going to simply stare at it. Many of them started to climb it or try to break it down.

I turned my head to the other side.

On the other side of the fort stood May and Asael, their magic ready. With a flick of their hands, they summoned a flood of water, carried by wild winds from the mud wall.

The bonewraiths were swept up in the current, dragged back toward the soldiers. The monsters struggled, their bony limbs flailing as they tried to escape, but the water held them fast. As the flood of water carrying the bonewraiths surged forward, the monsters thrashed violently, their skeletal forms twisted in the raging current.

The magic that propelled the water forward began to wane as it neared the city's edge. The flood started to lightened, like a candle about to go out. With each passing second, the strength of the current weakened, and soon, it dissipated altogether, leaving the bonewraiths to crash into the city's shield

"Ready!" Nevan shouted, his bow aimed at the struggling bonewraiths who shook themselves off and were ready to run,"Fire!"

The soldiers unleashed another volley of arrows, and this time, there was no escape. The bonewraiths, were too near to miss.

The light arrows collided with their necks, destroying their core.

The bonewraiths that hadn't been hit by the arrows made a run for it, faster and more erratic now, as if they could sense that time was running out

"Ready!" Nevan called, his voice filled with urgency as he raised his bow once more.