Will of a Prince

Chapter 193: Not-So-Friendly Reunion

The field turned into chaos immediately. Thousands of creatures ravaged the lands around them and tried to run away. Right as Slimo started to wonder if reaching the wall was hopeless, he saw something that gave him hope: the creatures were attacking each other as well.

Being chained up for so long must have made their appetites for flesh so intoxicating that they didn’t mind ripping apart their brethren for energy. Maria noticed the strange spectacle as well and called back towards the group.

"Everyone, run for the wall as fast as you can! Avoid fighting if you can help it! The longer we are out here, the more danger we will be in!"

Without saying anything, the group dashed after Maria’s trail as she sliced her way through a thick wall of rotting carcasses. The smell was anything but pleasant. Harold ran up to Maria and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think I can clear us a path! But it will only be for a moment!"

Maria looked at Harold with wide eyes.

"Don’t do it! You can’t control it yet!"

"But it gives us a better shot at making it! Trust me!"

Just then, Sarah grabbed on to Harolds shoulder, panting as she ran.

"Don’t, Harold. Abby will kill you. Let me be a distraction. I can’t even be hurt."

Harold stifled his pride and fell back towards the group. Sarah grabbed hold of a strange, round ball that was tied in a necklace around her neck.

"What is that?"

"I had Enki make it for me a while back. My power is perfect for diversions and buying people time. This should hopefully draw them near me."

Maria studied the ball one last time and nodded her head.

"Just make it back alive, please."

Sarah nodded and ran off to the left, towards a massive swarm of monsters and spirits. Her senses started overloading the closer she got. Feeling the powers of clashing forces was hard for her to handle, even when most of it was passing right through her. When she got far enough away, she grabbed the ball in her hand and squeezed it gently.

"I hope this works."

After pressing a small mechanism on the top, the ball started rising in the air. After three moments, it stopped completely and was left levitating above her head.

Suddenly, the ball exploded into blaze of radiant light. The sound it made was that of a crowd of people all yelling in unison. The creatures reacted to the sound as if they had just heard their captors’ voices and began shooting towards Sarah. The first Spirit to reach her was long and slender like the leaves of a willow tree. It swung its arms like a whip, aiming to behead Sarah. However, the attack passed right through her.

It didn’t take long before a massive pile of beasts started forming right in the spot Sarah had set off the distraction. This allowed for the entire group to gain an insane amount of distance towards the wall. All that was left was the very back line, filled with the strongest of creatures Paria Empire could capture safely.

Most of them looked like large, corrupted birds with human-like features. Others looked more like enlarged insects like mosquitos. However, there was one in particular that caught the groups interest.

"WAIT!"

Slimo’s voice rang over everyone’s head. They all stopped in their tracks and looked back at him confused.

"What is it? What’s wrong?"

Suddenly, the ground began to quake under their feet. A massive roar echoed through the sky, tearing through the air like butter and forcing some people to cover their ears. Then, the massive maw of a dragon crashed through their group and caught Slimo in its teeth. Slimo hardly managed to take out his broadsword in time before the teeth could close on his torso.

The sword was wedged between its tongue and its gums, allowing Slimo to hold on to it as he flew through the air at insane speeds.

"How can this be?! What are the odds?"

The dragon that was attacking Slimo was the same one he had stalemated long ago. It still carried the same scars over its wings and eye as proof. It must have recognized Slimo by either his scent or his presence. Slimo balanced himself in the mouth of the dragon and took out a small dagger. He began to repeatedly cut up its tongue, allowing a river of black blood to fall into its throat.

The dragon seized and squealed while it threw its head around, trying to shake Slimo out. Using the momentum of one of its jerks, Slimo launched himself forward and tackled his sword. The blade cut through the bottom of the dragon’s jaw as it escaped. Slimo began falling through the air, hoping that someone, or something would catch him.

Suddenly, a loud alarm started sounding from the walls of Paria. All of the watchtowers appeared to turn in the direction of all creatures causing a frenzy. Multiple massive booms roared through the clouds, causing craters the size of small lakes to be formed in the fallout of their assault. A small portion of the wall began to open once the dust cleared from the barrage. Hundreds of heavily armored guards were walking towards the creatures with their weapons raised. One of the leviathans tried sweeping through their formation to disrupt them; however, the leader of the brigade effortlessly notched a strange-looking bow and shot a red arrow through its eye. Immediately, the leviathan fell to the ground and began to seize.

Just as Slimo was about to hit the ground, he heard someone call his name from below.

"CATCH SLIMO!"

Large dark roots shot from the ground and wrapped around his body, allowing his fall to be slowed down before he crashed into the ground.

The roots let go of him once he reached the grass. The dragon was still flying after Slimo. It flapped its heavy wings, creating a vortex of wind in its wake. The small gust knocked Jacob on his back and sent Slimo flying towards the wall. Slimo crashed into it with a loud ring. He almost blacked out from the impact.

The dragon didn’t let up. It opened its mouth once more and let out a screech as it flew towards him. Just before it went in for the kill, Lidia flew underneath and began to glow a dark red. The air around her sizzled, the light of her figure turned blinding, and the sound of her bones strengthening could be heard from dozens of feet away. With one massive uppercut, Lidia crashed into the belly of the dragon.

"RELEASE!!"

Everything went black for a moment. The sound of battle had gone quiet. The ground beneath Lidia turned to dust and the clouds in the sky shook.

Then came the explosion.

Lidia had managed to condense its energy straight up as to not blow away her comrades. It looked as if a massive beam of light was sent right into the dragon’s gut, sending it flying dozens of miles away. The sound was so loud that even the steel of the kingdom walls vibrated.

The grueling weeks of training and being a human punching bag had led her to this moment. The amount of energy she released was almost incalculable. There was no doubt that even if the dragon did survive the attack, it would not be the same as it normally was. Slimo looked at Lidia with wide eyes. There was something strange going on with her armor.

There were now small, thin threads of white light covering every crevice, the symbol of Lucy’s brand was glowing a strong, yellow hue, but there was one thing about her appearance that made Slimo speechless.

Resting on top of her head was a small, golden crown made completely of light. It was the most intricate crown he had every laid eyes on. The amount of detail in every small design on it was breathtaking. He suddenly had a large instinct to bow in her presence but snapped out of it remembering that this was his girlfriend.

Lidia looked over at Slimo, her face smeared with blood that was slowly evaporating off her skin. She gave him a light smile and a wave.

"Is there something on my face?"

Slimo fumbled his words for a response.

"It’s just-... I-... Well-... that was a-."

"Dragon? Yeah, I know. And?"

"You... sent him away like he was nothing."

"Well, would you have rather I let him eat you?"

Slimo shook off the surprise as best he could and glared at her crown once more.

"You actually do have something on your head."

Lidia reached for her head and ran her fingers through her hair. Strangely, the crown disappeared as soon as she lifted her hands up to touch it.

"Are you messing with me?"

Slimo smiled faintly.

"I think you got it. Let’s head inside before the guards come back."

Lidia nodded and called over to everyone.

"We got Slimo! Let’s hurry inside!"

Zoey looked around frantically.

"What about Bo? Where is he?"

A small, squeaky voice sounded behind her ear.

"Here..."

Zoey looked around and reached at her back.

"Ow! Don’t poke me in the eye!"

"What the hell are you doing on my back?! Get off, bub! No free rides!"

"I got scared and snuck back to help you all! Just keep running! I think I messed up with something."

"Why? What did you do?"

"Well, I may or may not have had a few things follow me while I was trying to sneak out."

Suddenly, a small beast burst through the ground, its claws flew towards Zoey before she could even react. Her eyes widened as she saw the claws prepare to sink themselves in her torso. However, that moment never came, because a large fist beat down the snout of the creature, sending it into the ground.

Sarah had returned from her dangerous distraction, ready to assist everyone with making the journey inside.

"Holy shit! You saved me, Sarah!"

"Just keep running! I have many more on my tail and they’ll be here soon!"

The entrance was in sight. All they had to do was run through it. However, there was one last obstacle blocking their path: a massive creature with large hands was sprinting after them from their left. Because of its size, it closed the distance immediately. Right as it prepared to attack, Gabriel grew to match its size and tackled it to the ground. The creature screamed and kick while he wrapped his arms around its neck.

"GO! I’LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

Using all of his gigantic strength, Garbiel snapped the creature’s neck in half, causing it to go limp. Afterword, he ran in after his group as fast he could. Almost as soon as they all entered, the steel gates shut on them.

A swarm of guards who were hiding behind buildings ran out and surrounded them. They all put their hands up and slowly dropped their weapons. There was a woman in a military uniform with long, silver hair and green eyes. Her skin was soft and white as snow, her composure was professional, and her stance was confident. Her verdant eyes looked at the group playfully, as if seeing them was the most entertaining thing in the world. Slimo grunted and cursed quietly to himself.

"Out of all people to see first..."

The woman walked up to Slimo and studied his face.

"So, you really are alive, brother."