Red's blade clanged once more against the orc leader's glaive, a symphony of desperation echoing in the blood-drenched clearing.
He was slower now.
His breathing ragged.
His shoulders cut open.
And his eyes, scanning, pleading, not for help… but for time.
A minute more.
Thirty seconds.
Even ten… just ten…
Behind him, his companions lay dying.
Selena's breathing was shallow, blood pooling beneath her. Her lips trembled as she fought to keep her eyes open. Hina's hand weakly clutched the deep wound on her stomach, tears sliding down her cheek in silence. Rika and Yuzu were unconscious, pale, unmoving. Lio lay broken like a ragdoll, face buried in the dirt.
They couldn't hold on much longer.
And Red… couldn't hold the line alone.
Not now.
Not like this.
Not when every strike he parried came with the cost of another drop of his life.
But he refused to step back.
Not even once.
Even as the orc leader chuckled, raising his glaive for the finishing blow.
Even as the orcs around them prepared to descend and rip apart the dying party behind him.
"I'm not done," Red growled under his breath. "I just need..."
Then it happened.
Everything stopped.
The glaive froze mid-swing.
Not an inch moved.
Not a breath passed.
The orcs, every last one of them, froze where they stood.
Some with blades raised.
Some mid-step.
Others mid-snarl.
Then, like string-cut puppets, each orc's weapon clattered to the ground.
Their limbs trembled.
Their jaws slackened.
Their knees buckled.
And one by one, thump, thump, thump, they collapsed. Not unconscious. Not dead.
But pinned.
Pinned by something they couldn't see.
Something pressing down on them like the wrath of a god.
The air changed.
It grew heavier than steel. Thicker than water. A force of sheer presence smothered the battlefield, sending tremors through the bones of even the strongest warrior.
Even Red staggered for a heartbeat.
Red: What happen??
Then he felt it.
He turned slowly.
And saw her.
A figure stepped through the woods behind the orcs, as if space itself parted to allow her entrance. Leaves didn't touch her. The wind bowed before her. Her steps were slow, unhurried… but each one sounded like the tolling of a divine bell.
She was elegance made form.
Black and violet dragon-scale armor clung to her like liquid starlight, etched with runes that shimmered softly as she moved. A sweeping black cape danced behind her like a phantom's breath. Her long, raven-black hair shimmered with streaks of luminous violet, cascading down her back in smooth waves. Violet eyes, deep and radiant, glowed with quiet fury and absolute calm.
A soft, unreadable smile curved her lips.
Every orc stared.
Paralyzed.
And in the heartbeat before silence shattered, Red's lips parted.
Red: ...Sis"
His sister.
The one who once rode through thunder to end a war.
The one who walked with dragons as her companions.
She was here.
At last.
The leader of the orcs, who moments ago sneered with confidence, now trembled. His glaive slipped from his grasp. His voice caught in his throat.
Volette's eyes barely flicked toward him.
"Just die, weakling," she said softly.
The orc leader's breath caught.
His feet locked in place.
His muscles screamed.
He tried to step back.
But he couldn't.
None of them could.
Something held them down. Not a chain. Not magic.
But pressure.
An overwhelming weight pressing into every bone, every joint, every thought. The sheer force of her presence flattened them to the ground like ants beneath the sky.
And then…
A second figure appeared beside Volette.
A girl? no, a woman with hair like gossamer strands of wind, flowing white and soft green, glowing faintly with elemental energy. She wore a short, elegant white cloak over a lightly armored bodice. Her eyes were jade green, sharp and amused. Though she looked barely older than twenty, her gaze held the depth of storms.
She walked barefoot.
And the wind bowed before her.
"Lady Volette," she said with a playful grin. "These poor little things look delicious."
Volette gave her a sidelong glance.
Volette: Are you hungry, Tempestra?
The wind dragon, now in her human form, licked her lips mischievously.
Tempestra: Famished, May I devour them?
Volette smiled.
A slow, elegant curve.
Volette: As you wish.
And with that single permission…
Tempestra vanished.
And reappeared in the middle of the orc ranks.
A blink.
A rush of air.
A thunderclap.
The orcs didn't even have time to scream.
Wind howled with gleeful fury as the elemental dragoness raised her hands—and the air itself twisted into spears, blades, and scythes. A tempest of blades sliced through the pinned army like parchment.
Limbs flew.
Heads rolled.
The leader shrieked once before a whirlwind twisted his body into ribbons.
And then
Nothing.
Not a single orc remained.
Only silence.
And the faint aroma of ozone.
Red stood frozen.
His body trembling.
Not from fear, but from release.
He dropped to one knee, blade planted in the earth.
His eyes locked with hers.
Red: …You came.
Volette stepped forward slowly.
She knelt beside him, her armored hand brushing gently against his cheek. Her violet eyes softened, just for him.
Volette: You're reckless, And you waited too long.
Red: …They would've died.
Volette: You almost did too.
Red chuckled weakly. "But I didn't."
Volette sighed, half fond, half exasperated, and helped him to his feet.
She turned her gaze toward the others Selena, Hina, Lio, Rika, Yuzu, all of them broken, bloodied, unconscious or barely clinging to life.
Tempestra walked up beside her, licking her fingers.
Tempestra: Mmm… quite a meal. Trained orcs, too. Haven't had that in a while.
"Don't touch them yet," Volette said, voice suddenly cool.
Volette: We wait.
Tempestra tilted her head. "Are we not healing them?"
Volette: Not yet.
Volette's violet eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze fixed on the battlefield around her.
Volette: There's more to this than a rogue orc battalion.
Her words were almost a whisper.
Volette: But that's for later.
She stepped toward the dying party.
Her cape fluttered in the soft wind.
She stood above them, like a war goddess looking down upon broken heroes.
Elegant.
Immovable.
Divine.
And for the first time in hours
Red breathed.
He knew they were safe now.
Because she was here.
Because Volette…
Volette had come.