Monsters Raid

Valencia took a step back, stumbling as her gaze blurred.

“Wh-what? I don’t understand…”

“Little one…”

“I don’t understand!” she shouted. Void spikes surrounded her instantly. She breathed heavily as she looked at the spikes.

Vrastos held his hands up and glanced at her eyes.

“Calm down… you need to control your emotions to control these powers…” he stated. Valencia’s skin prickled. “Your emotional state has been unsteadied for the past few days.”

“W-what… do I do?” she asked, hanging her trembling hands in the air in front of her face. “What am I?”

“You’re just an unregulated human being right now. So, look at me…” Vrastos commanded.

She slowly moved her eyes up to look at him.

“Why?”

“You haven’t been removing the overflowing aura in your body for a while now…” Vrastos explained. He reached his hand to her. “I want you to think… of nothing. I want you to focus on that core… and push it out like you did when you put that dagger on your palm.”

Valencia remembered… the days that she had to stabilize herself. She nodded hesitantly, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath, thinking of the nothingness that kept her still. Breathe… you’ve done this for over twelve years… this should be easy. She gulped… then inhaled. She exhaled slowly, and the spikes surrounding her slowly minimized.

Athesia watched this, rubbing her chin. These two… are like father and daughter. Vrastos, you’ve grown really fond of the last vessel to even take his child as yours. She smiled behind her hand.

Once the spikes disappeared, Vrastos sighed in relief.

“Good… now go change, little one,” he demanded.

Valencia opened her eyes and looked around.

“It’s gone? How?”

“You breathed… now go back before your pretty boy collapses.”

The thought of Kael struck through her mind.

“What? But… I don’t have clothes—”

“Go… then enter the portal again,” Vrastos stated, opening a portal for her.

She stared at it, then at Vrastos.

“But…”

“Next time, use your brain as you’ve done before… don’t overthink it,” Vrastos advised. Then he pushed her through the portal.

Valencia paused as she realized that she was in her room. She grabbed the same set of clothes she normally wore and changed into them. Then she turned around and re-entered the portal—

BOOM.

“Search for Lady Elyane now!” William’s voice screamed while monsters roared from afar.

Valencia held her breath. Fuck… I still have my clothes.

Vrastos’s hand appeared before her, grabbing her clothes, and disappeared. She hid her smile, blushing.

A monster held a spiked bat and swung it at Kael, injuring his head.

“Lord Kael! You must retreat!” Detri yelled.

William hurried to Kael’s side and stabbed the monster’s hand, but the sword only felt like a needle prick.

“Duck!” Kael ordered.

William released his grip on the sword handle—

Kael whipped a light string, swinging the end with a dagger at the monster’s eyes. The monster roared, slapping and knocking anything nearby, including Kael and William. Detri stormed to their side, catching Kael as quickly as possible.

Then the monster stopped stumbling and pulled the light dagger out of its eye. It glared at Kael, reaching its ugly, thick hand at him.

Detri dropped his sword and punched the ground. Pillars of stone shot up around the monster’s wrist, locking its arm in place mid-reach.

“NOW!” Kael yelled.

Fire flared to life in the mage’s hands as the archer lost his arrow. The knight charged in with a heavy hammer.

“Get out of our land!” A lady screamed, bursting forward. Her fist slammed into the monster’s hand with a crack of breaking bones.

The monster screeched—and the fireball drove straight into its open mouth. The arrow struck its remaining eye. A heartbeat later, the hammer crashed down on its skull, slamming the creature into the ground.

Valencia watched in awe, gasping.

“Wow… is this… how they fight?”

Kael stood—

He sniffed, darting his head toward Valencia.

“Valencia…” he called. Then he ran toward her, pulling her in for a hug.

“Kael…?”

“I’m glad you’re safe…” he whispered. He thrashed his hand to the side, a Light spear forming. He kissed her forehead. “Wait for me here…”

Valencia froze. He smiled at her, not caring about the blood that ran down from the top of his head. He turned away and charged toward the monster. As it was stunned, Kael quickly stabbed the chest of the monster as the light grew to pierce through, instantly killing it. Once he realized that it was safe, he sat comfortably and stared at Valencia.

William darted his gaze to her.