We Are Taking Down the Goddess

Remnants

Under the chill of the black fog, the battle at Wolfmore was in full swing. The acrid smell of burnt monsters enveloped the senses. It was difficult to filter the air from the decaying monstrosities, let alone stand and fight.

But, without a shred of doubt, the elves kept fighting valiantly to defend the village. They maintained their formation slicing their way through the wave of beasts.

The first row of spear wielders thrust their blade forward in a devastating slash, opening a path for the second row. Then, the warriors with two blades in each hand emerged from the crowd and swept their weapons into a mighty attack, killing every creature that would block the way.

The adventurers did their best to support them. The wizard forced a powerful lava column to spew forth from the ground and burnt the monsters' feet. The warrior charged directly in the face of danger brimming with energy.

- "This one is mine!!!"

He focused all his strength in his rusty old blade and struck at one of the monster's wounded feet. The archer too backed him up with an arrow to the eye disabling the creature immediately.

After a roar of fury, the third row of the elven army joined the onslaught slamming their magical axes made of light.

But, no matter how many monsters they slew, more and more would take their place. They were heavily outnumbered. There was no end and they knew it. But, they kept fighting anyway.

That's when the massive red monster jumped into the fray. With a single roar, it tore between the ranks of the first and second row, murdering those who stood in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was now facing the captain of the elven army. Everyone gulped, but the captain didn't falter. Without hesitation, he grasped his weapon of light and charged at the humongous beast.

- "For Elidy! For glory!"

But, before the weapon could reach it, the monster swiftly swiped its toxic claw cutting the captain in half. The creature was so efficient, that the army didn't even hear a scream. They just gasped as blood gushed and the lifeless body fell to the ground.

- "Oh. Shit." – the wizard mumbled.

Everyone was petrified, even the trained elves couldn't help but panic.

The last few surviving warriors of the first and second row suddenly felt the urge to run. The only beacon of hope for the village was now gone. How could they stand a chance when the strongest elven warrior couldn't even land a hit?

Fear spread like wildfire among the ranks. They dropped their weapons and stood there, hopeless. Their legs shook relentlessly. The army lost it. 

Then, one of the elven warriors pushed through the crowd and stopped in the middle. His blonde hair was thrown back into a messy bun from all the fighting. But, it fit his fair skin and pointy chin perfectly. As he lifted his sword towards the sky, a long scar slashed down his right bicep revealing his thorn armor missing a sleeve. One of the elven warriors immediately recognized him.

- "Vesryn! You are alive?"

- "Yes. And we need to stay that way. Take up weapons! Positions!"

He was known among the ranks as the second in command. He looked up to the captain, he learned all his skills and tactics from him. The rest of the warriors respected him greatly. But, despite him being there, only a few elven guards had the courage to stand and fight.

The archer and the wizard noticed the hopelessness. They looked at each other in despair, hoping that at least one of them will recommend they run. The human warrior was the only one with the guts to stand and fight.

- "Ha! Bastards." – he chuckled. "What do a couple of rich guys know about fights? You've been pampered your whole lives and now you expect to win a real war? Pathetic. A bunch of wussies like yourselves don't stand a chance. I, Baro will show you how it's done."

He spat on the dirt before grasping the sword with his two bare hands. That was the first time the warrior mentioned his name, but the elves didn't care. The only words they heard were the insults targeted at them. Those who were terrified quickly regained their composure. Now, they were furious. Some of them immediately took up their weapons and prepared to charge at the human. Baro smiled.

- "That's more like it." – Vesryn added as he took up a defensive position. "Focus your anger at the beasts ahead. The red beast is mine. Charge!"

The army yelled. This was their last chance for victory. Without a moment's notice, the elves ran towards the beasts head-on. The monstrosities and the elegant guards clashed once more. Baro joined them as well. But, everyone avoided the massive red beast.

One by one the monsters fell. While everyone was busy fighting, Vesryn covered his body in a shadowy cloak, hiding his appearance in the middle of the battlefield. His cunning spell gave him the perfect opportunity to sneak behind the leader and climb on its back.

- "For the captain! For Elidy!"

He grasped his weapon with all his might and swung the pointy edge at the creature's back.

Suddenly, the beast's furry behind transformed into an icy surface. Instead of hair, it was now covered in spiky icicles from head to toe. Vesryn's weapon shattered into a million pieces immediately after it touched its prey. But, it wasn't over yet. The icy edges pierced Vesryn's two legs, gluing him to the back of the beast. The elf screamed in agony. His cries echoed across Wolfmore.

The red creature simply smiled in satisfaction as if he was concocting an even bigger ploy.

- "No way!" – one of the elf guards uttered as he let go of his sword.

- "Run!!! Run!!! Everyone!" – another elf joined.

At that moment, Baro focused all his strength on his legs. Then, his feet doubled in size. He used the perfect opportunity to sprint towards his friends.

In a matter of seconds, he reached both the wizard and the archer who were standing not far from the battle. He placed them over his shoulders.

- "What are you doing?" – asked the archer.

- "What...what just happened?" – the wizard was horrified.

But, the warrior didn't have time to speak. He simply focused on running as further as his feet could carry him.

Suddenly, the red creature stomped the ground creating another smaller earthquake.

Everyone fell to the ground. Even the army. Yet, Baro managed to get his friends slightly further from the village before he too lost balance.

The remaining monster forces dashed towards the elves. Their ferocious jaws snapped the life out of everyone they touched. That's when some of the warriors lost their sanity. They prayed for the goddess to accept them with grace. Others simply closed their eyes as the feeling of searing pain rushed through their bodies.

When the last warrior fell, strange dust came out of the lifeless bodies. The creatures sat calmly as if they were waiting for a treat. The dust gathered in the sky forming a massive ball, and then it directly went for the creatures' mouths.

The monstrosities were ecstatic.

- "Is that...mana? Are we...food?" – gasped the archer as he watched from afar.

The clangor of weapons died away. The screams hushed. There was nothing left of the elven army but bones and dust. Then, came silence. The adventurers stood there, powerless. Without the army, their magic was meaningless, their attacks pointless. The arrows could barely scratch the monster's thick skin, let alone hurt them. For what seemed like an hour-long fight, in reality, lasted just a few minutes. Just like that, the elves were defeated. The village and the mines were defenseless.

All of a sudden, the red monster unleashed a terrifying loud roar that echoed through Wolfmore village. The animals and birds nearby escaped in fear. The creatures charged, quickly approaching the adventurers head-on. The archer and wizard couldn't believe their eyes. They were paralyzed. Baro, however, prepared to take the last stand. 

Then, for some odd reason, the wave of monsters jumped over the terrified adventurers laying on the ground and sprint forward, ignoring them to continue their slaughter.

- "What's this? Fight me!"

The warrior clenched his teeth and swung his sword at a nearby monster. But, the weapon simply bounced back and landed on the ground. The creature smiled at the futile attempt and joined the rest of its kind.

- "The captain was right. They are after mana and apparently can read ours. To them, we are just bugs, unworthy of a fight." – added the archer with a miff.

- "That's stupid! Fight me!!!" – Baro screamed.

The wizard couldn't take it anymore, his hands were shaking profusely. He desperately tried to make an effort to escape. He grabbed the archer by the shoulder and pointed towards the desert on the completely opposite side of where the monsters were heading.

- "No way, man. I'm not dying here. This is fucked up. Let's go."

The archer retrieved the arrow to his quiver and placed the bow over his back.

- "I agree. Let's get out of here while we still can."

The warrior didn't like it one bit. His eyes were still fixed at the monsters rushing for the mines. But, deep down he knew. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take them down. Then he spat again, lifted his sword, and turned his back on the mines.

♣

The shaking in the mines subsided. Ren struggled to move some of the boulders that blocked the way in the tunnel, but it was too dark for him to see anything.

- "Aiko?! Aiko? Where are you? Speak to me!" – his voice trembled.

Aiko screamed. Her tears burst forth like a waterfall spilling down her face. Her hands lay loose as she sat on the ground hopelessly. Her chin trembled with the thought she would never see Daisuke again. She then unintentionally dropped the mana stone on the ground. Ren quickly followed the voice but bumped into a few boulders before he could even get close to her. It was impossible. Not when it was pitch black.

- "Ouch...Aiko! I'm coming! Stay there! You hear me? Stay there!"

Moment by moment, the tunnel was losing its oxygen. Ren was running out of breath. He kept removing the blocks of coal as fast as he could, but his paws suffered. He was badly wounded.

- "I'll save you, Aiko! Hold on!"

Then, he noticed a bright light emanating from the ground not far from where he was standing. He immediately knew it, it was the mana stone. Ren threw the remaining coal he held in his paws and sprinted towards the light. There he finally found Aiko. Her eyes were blood red from all the crying. She lifted her head, bit her lips, and told Ren the truth.

- "Daisuke is dead. He saved me...and died..." – she wiped her tears and continued. "I'm sorry, Ren. I couldn't protect him."

Ren was shocked. He turned around and saw Daisuke's lifeless body lying beneath the massive boulder. The words left him. Then, his eyes desperately searched for Aiko.

- "We need to get out of here, Aiko."

- "But, we need to get him! How am I going to tell his mother? We can't even give him a proper burial! No, Ren! I'm not going! I'm not going anywhere!"

There was a certain warmth in her tone. Yet, somehow, under all that sorrow, Ren could notice a glimmer of hope in her voice. She thought to herself that maybe...just maybe... if they get the body out, it will all be better. But, the more they stayed there, the more they were losing consciousness. Ren noticed it right away.

- "Aiko! The oxygen won't hold us that long! We need to go. Now!"

- "No! No! Nooo!"

Ren frowned. Then, suddenly, a single tear fell down his chin. That was the first time Aiko had seen him cry ever since she found him in the forest as a cub.

At that moment, the bitter memory of little Ren caught her off guard. He was sobbing at the bodies of his murdered parents under the apple tree. Aiko was small too, barely even five years old, but she recognized that pain. She knew it too well. She too was without a family and couldn't bear to leave the cub to his own fate.

Aiko realized. Daisuke was really gone and there was nothing she could do about it. Not even, bury his body.

- "Trust me."

Ren said before lifting her up with his snout, carefully placing her above the teeth. He then placed the mana stone in her hand. Aiko sobbed and covered her eyes. Ren sprinted for the exit knocking aside all the stones with his flying orange spikes. In just under a few minutes he cleared a path.

The exit was up ahead.

Soon, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ren took a deep breath as a sign of relief then sprinted even faster.

But, just before they got to the exit, the tunnels shook once more. This time, the shaking was worse and it took Ren by surprise. He opened his eyes in shock as he tumbled to the ground. His body twirled and rolled before it finally came to a halt. The impact sent Aiko flying. She found herself outside the tunnels, yet, half of Ren's body was still inside.

- "Ren!"

Aiko immediately turned around and attempted to stand up. That's when she noticed her arm was broken. She clenched in pain.

- "Ren! Stand up! You need to move!"

Ren opened his eyes. He saw Aiko desperately trying to move his heavy body with just one arm. Then, he gathered his strength and barely stood up.

- "Ren! Let's go." – Aiko gave him a genuine sweet smile as she wiped her tears away.

Still, fate wasn't willing to smile at them just yet. The shaking got progressively worse. In a single moment, the tunnels came crashing down, trapping half of Ren's body with it.

Aiko was petrified. Her already pale skin turned paler. Her heart felt as it was going to burst out of her chest. Ren was quickly losing his breath, and Aiko couldn't do anything to help. But, just when things couldn't get any worse, a stampede of monsters arrived at the scene. The moment they got to the mines, the shaking stopped.

Aiko realized it was them all along. It was those creatures that started the first and second earthquake. It was they who killed Daisuke, and they were about to take Ren away. The closer the monsters came, the louder the screams got. Vesryn was still pierced by the icy spikes, and the red monster carried him on its back.

- "Run! Run!!!" – Vesryn yelled from the top of his lungs.

- "They...they killed everyone in the village, didn't they?"

Aiko caught a glimpse of the second in command. Her once gleaming eyes full of hope had lost their shimmer. From the look of it, the elves didn't even stand a chance.

- "Girl!" – Vesryn curled his upper body as he tried to cope with the pain. He was slowly losing the feeling in his legs, but he still had the strength to speak. "The slaves are alive. But, they won't be for long. Save yourself while you still can. Leave your friendly beast and run!"

- "No! Ren is coming with me!"

Aiko wrapped her hands around Ren's head and tightened her grip. For a moment there, she tried to pull him away from the toppled stones, but his body didn't budge. Then, she stood up and went for the stones as a last resort. She pushed and pulled the boulders that were pushing down Ren's body, to no avail. The weight was unbearable for her small soft hands. She even cut her finger on one of their pointy edges.

- "Ouch." – she miffed and sucked the blood.

- "Aiko...I'm sorry."- mumbled Ren. "I don't think I'll make it."

- "Don't be stupid. We are getting out of here together!"

Though her legs were beginning to tremble, Aiko didn't take a step back. She sunk her feet in the ground and pushed all the stones she could to set Ren free."

- "Aiko, listen to me. You have to go. You must go. It's only a matter of time before they get you too."

- "Stop it, Ren! I'm not losing you too." – Aiko retaliated as she held her tears back.

- "Please, for once listen to me."

- "No!"

Meanwhile, the red beast ordered for the rest of its army to stand by the canyon, while it slowly approached the young girl.

When it arrived just a meter away from her, it let out a huge grin, full of cruelty and malice.

Aiko turned around only to face the most horrifying abomination the world has ever seen. But, as quickly as she turned to face the monster, she returned her gaze at her dying friend.

- "Please...no."

Her eyes dripped with tears. Aiko wasn't that scared of the beast as she was of losing Ren. She gently hugged him giving him the space to breathe.

- "Finally, the main dish." – the creature spoke with a menacing voice.

Vesryn couldn't believe his ears. He had no idea what was scarier, the fact that he was stabbed by sharp ice or that he tried to fight a creature of superior intellect. A monster that could speak. Nevertheless, two words caught his attention.

- "Main dish?"

- "Oh, yes. Tasty. Very tasty."

That's when the red beast opened its terrifying mouth packed with the ugliest set of teeth and bent down to take a bite of the defenseless girl.

Without a second thought, Aiko accepted her fate. She closed her eyes and waited to meet her end.

- "Ah... at least I will join both of you, Daisuke...Ren."

- "No..."- Ren cried.

- "What are you doing, girl? Run! Don't just stand there! Run!" – Vesryn tried to get some sense into her. But, his screams were in vain. With each passing moment, the creature's mouth came closer and closer. Eventually, Aiko could smell its foul breath. Ren barely managed to stretch his front paws and pull her closer to him. His embrace was warm and gentle. Aiko always felt safe by his side, but not today. Ren's fearsome arms were losing their strength. His energy and vigor were slowly leaving him. The sound of his heartbeat got even quieter. The young girl simply sobbed.

Then, out of the blue, a massive wave of water came crashing down before them. The magical stream evaded Aiko, Ren, and Vesryn, but it flooded all the beasts.

- "What?" – Vesryn mumbled in surprise.

The water turned into a powerful vortex that pulled him away from the ice. His legs were miraculously set free. Then, the waves circled around the oblivious Aiko once more and pierced all the remaining creatures nearby.

The ferocious army was obliterated. Just like that, they were all gone. The only one standing was the red beast.

When Aiko opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a woman's back. Her long black hair laid loose, obscuring the vision to her silky blue dress. Yet, Aiko managed to catch a glimpse of her honeyed skin and striking golden embellishments. Her long arms were covered in golden bracelets, each prettier than the next. Her gown was decorated with jewels, silver, diamonds... all the shiny decors one can desire. Even her long earrings flickered in the night as they danced with the wind.

- "Who...are you?" - Aiko hugged Ren's head even harder as she tried to mumble a single word.

Vesryn gathered his composure. From the powerful water current and the strong attacks, he immediately recognized the mysterious woman.

- "Kana Nakamura? Impossible? What...a water mage of your caliber...what are you doing here?"

- "I will explain. Stand back, for now." - her gentle voice emanated across the canyon. Vesryn and Aiko immediately felt a sense of security as she spoke.

The lady pointed the left hand behind her, and the water vortex carried the wounded man right next to Aiko. Aiko simply watched in disbelief. As soon as Vesryn landed on the ground, the red beast turned to face Kana. It showed no trace of fear, only a reddening face full of anger and resentment. Its eyes narrowed, cold, hard, and rigid – fixed on the prey before him. Its whites in the eye turned pitch black. Then, odd green symbols with four dots and a line in between them formed in the iris. That burning hard stare would tare anyone's heart to shreds. Yet, Kana was unfazed. She raised her hands and moved her body in a fluid-like motion. Water spewed forth from the ground enveloping her like an impenetrable shield.

- "Leave this to me."