CHAPTER 20: SCATTERED AND FIGHTING
The impact landed with a dull and meaty thud. Malric staggered backward, holding his shoulder. Blood slid down his shoulder and spilled onto the floor. Elowen was the first to react, her voice cutting through the chaos, filled with panic.
" Malric!"
Everyone came out of their reverie as the next volley started flying in through the windows, splintering wood and thudding into stone, their sound muffled by the storm.
"Everyone, get down," John shouted, his voice barely reaching the confused group member.
Many immediately took cover, ducking behind broken pillars and old furniture. But some weren't as quick, the ones still half-asleep reacted too slowly, and the onslaught found them before they could move, cries of pain following as arrows hit flesh.
Nico cursed, dragging one of the injured boys by the collar. "Move, damn it!"
Elsewhere, similar scenes unfolded as everyone tried to save those who had been hit. Elowen was dragging Malric toward a safer corner when another arrow clattered against stone inches from her head. She loosed an arrow back through the broken window; it vanished into the fog, and a scream answered.
John was nearby when he saw it. He called out, "Elowen, gather the other long-range attackers and do what you just did. Leave Malric to me."
She hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded and moved to round up those with long-range weapons.
John reached Malric and hauled them both behind a half-collapsed wall as thunder cackled overhead and arrows thudded into the masonry. He examined Malric's shoulder slowly. "That looks very bad."
Malric scoffed. "Oh wow, I didn't notice."
John gave him a deadpan look. "Okay. I'm going to break the shaft on three. Are you ready?"
Malric furrowed his brow. "Yeah. Just get it over with."
John exhaled. "Ok, one… three." He snapped the shaft without giving Malric time to brace.
Malric's face twisted in agony. "You fucki— what was that for?"
"That…was for the sarcastic remark," John replied.
"Wow. You really are a sadistic bastard," Malric muttered, face sour.
"Thanks," John said flatly, then added, voice clipped, "Now start thinking about how to get out of this mess."
After that line, he turned his head toward the others. Nico, Amara, Thalia, Thomas, and the twins were tending the wounded, working with grim efficiency. On the other side, Elowen had gathered the long-range fighters for a counterattack; with her were Liora and Nyara. Liora was as deadly with a bow as she was with a rapier—fast, precise, he couldn't understand how she was good at everything. Nyara was hurling rocks with uncanny accuracy, and, surprisingly, it was working.
After scanning everyone's positions, John turned his attention to Malric and the wound.
"We need to retreat to a safer place. We can't keep doing this," John said, cutting a piece of cloth from his tunic.
Malric snapped back, "I'm not going anywhere. I can still fight."
John began wrapping the cloth around Malric's shoulder. "You're not fooling anyone, Malric. Your right hand is useless in this state, and you'll keep weakening unless we stop the blood loss."
Malric winced as John pressed down on the wound. "I'm a Maltherion. Our regeneration is high. it won't bother me."
John tightened the bandage. "That doesn't matter. You're not the only one hurt. Thankfully most of the others are well over a hundred points and can recover slowly, but we only have a day and a half left in the trial and you're still below a hundred. We need to retreat and make sure we pass."
Malric frowned. "Dammit. Damn the bastard who shot that arrow."
John started to move away, then froze with a puzzled look. "I've been meaning to ask... how the hell did that arrow land? You've got the sharpest senses among us. I don't get it."
Malric turned his head away. "I was… distracted."
John narrowed his eyes. "What could possibly distract you enough for you to get hit by an arrow?"
Malric went quiet, staring in one direction. John followed his gaze and found Elowen loose an arrow, silver hair whipping, golden eyes bright with focus. The sigil on her forehead caught the light; she looked fierce and beautiful all at once.
John blinked, dumbfounded. "Wow… I— I have no words. I didn't expect that at all."
Malric snapped out of his reverie. "What are you mumbling about?"
John shook his head quickly. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Malric eyed him suspiciously. "Okay, you're acting weird now."
"Forget it," John said. "The others have finished gathering the wounded. Elowen and her group will cover us while we move the injured to a safer place."
John and Malric caught their breath for a heartbeat, then sprinted toward Nico and the wounded. "You, alright?" John asked as they ran, glancing at Malric's bandaged shoulder.
"Yeah," Malric panted, forcing a nod. "I am fine."
Arrows hissed past, missing them by inches, but they pushed on. After a short, frantic dash they reached the cluster where Nico was already kneeling over the worst of the injured. He looked up, eyes hard. "About time," he said, then checked an injured person without slowing.
John dropped beside him and spoke, voice fast and sharp. "We're pulling everyone out. Elowen, Liora, Nyara, and the long-range team will keep the attackers pinned. We move the wounded to the camp we set up when we were farming monsters, and be out of sight in thirty minutes. They'll meet us there."
Thalia hauled another injured cadet upright, breath ragged. "That's impossible. First, we can't carry this many people and move faster than the enemy. Second, what if we run into the attackers? We won't be able to fend them off while also protecting the injured. It's just not realistic."
John rubbed his forehead, then opened his eyes, calm and steady. "Okay. Here's the plan. I'll take the twins along with Nico and launch a guerrilla attack to draw them away. While we distract them, you, Thomas, Amara, and Kaelen take the wounded to the fallback point. If they're dealing with us, they won't be able to focus on you."
Amara snapped, voice laced with concern. "That's suicide. We don't know how many there are or how strong they are. You'll be overwhelmed if you engage them."
John kept his tone calm. "We're not charging them head-on. We'll use the storm and the fog for cover. This is almost certainly Daren's doing; I can easily get under his skin. We'll provoke them, lead them astray, just as we receive a signal from you guys, we will disengage and head straight to the meeting place. Elowen and the others will help us until we're clear, then follow thirty minutes later."
Thalia and Amara opened their mouths to argue again, but Nico cut in, voice flat and urgent. "I agree with John. The longer we stay here, the worse our odds of escaping. Daren's group outnumbers us, and Elowen and the others can't keep them pinned forever." He smirked despite the chaos. "Besides, nothing ventured, nothing gained, that is the saying, right?"
Elowen and the others were briefed on the plan. Not everyone liked it, but there was no real alternative, so instructions were set and everyone took their positions.
John let out a long breath, then turned to the twins and Nico. "You ready?" he asked.
Nico grinned, though his hand trembled. "Yeah. As ready as I'll ever be."
The twins echoed the same, voices steady.
John nodded. "Okay. We move on three. One… two… three—go."
All four of them sprinted out at once.
The ruins swallowed sound, thunder rolling overhead as cover. John kept low, moving fast but controlled, eyes scanning for movement between broken walls and collapsed stone.
"There," Nico muttered, pointing with his chin.
Shapes shifted through the mist, too organized to be monsters. They were Daren's group.
John raised a fist. The twins split instinctively, flanking wide. Nico stepped forward just enough to be seen.
"Hey!" Nico shouted, voice sharp and mocking. "You guys are disturbing my sleep. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"
An arrow whistled past Nico's head.
"Yep," Nico said, grinning. "Definitely them."
They moved like shadows—never staying in one place. The twins darted in and out, daggers flashing before melting back into cover. John struck hard, then pulled away, refusing to let the skirmish become drawn out. Nico prowled the gaps, goading and cutting, but the weapon that cut the sharpest was his mouth, provoking them relentlessly.
"Come on!" he taunted, leaping back as a blade kissed his ribs. "Show me you've got more than that... show me, you are not just a trained bitch for Daren."
The man opposite him spat, "Stop moving like a monkey, and I'll show you."
"Holy shit, did the dog just talk?" Nico shot back, and the insult landed. The enemy's anger flared; their discipline faltered, their formation unraveled. frustration bleeding into their every swing.
The plan was working, and they had effectively shifted the enemy's attention to them. Every time the enemy thought they had a them, they slipped away.
A sudden flare of light tore through the fog behind them—brief, bright, unmistakable. It was the signal, a combination of Elowen's arrow and Nyara's numen
"It's time," John snapped. "Disengage—now!"
Nico and Lucian melted back at once, but Orion…did not. He was a storm of motion, attacking with a single-minded fury that blurred his edges.
Lucian's voice cut through the rain. "Orion, what are you doing? it is time to go!"
Orion didn't hear the order, he was lost in the fight, blade swinging, teeth clenched. And then a little distance away, two people drew their arrows at once and loosed them straight for him.
John, seeing this, lunged on instinct. He shoved Orion aside and deflected one arrow, but another slammed into his back. Pain flared hot and immediate; blood slicked his side. The impact snapped Orion out of his trance, leaving him shaking, his eyes wide in shock.
but by then, the enemy had closed in on them. It was already too late.
Men surged from the ruins; escape routes narrowed. Nico reacted fast as lightening; he dropped two archers with brutal, efficient swings, then shoved his scythe between a charging pair to buy space. Lucian hauled John upright, hands steady despite the chaos.
"I am fine!" John rasped, tasting iron. "But you guys need to escape now."
Nico immediately snapped back." And what? Abandon you here, not a chance."
Daren's men surged forward, a living wall of blades and curses. "Nico, I am not joking, you need to go now, I will only slow you guys down!" John said, coughing as he pushed through the pain.
"Just shut the fuck up, will you?!" Nico said, ignoring john.
He and the twins dropped in between the attackers and John. Nico took the front, scythe arcing in a brutal sweep that made the nearest line falter, while the twins pressed anyone who tried to slip around the flank. But it was obvious they were getting exhausted. For a breath, it looked like they might be overwhelmed—then the ground answered them.
The ground trembled, a low, hungry vibration that rolled up through boots and bone. A distorted roar unfurled across the ruin, so deep it rattled John's ribs. Stone cracked somewhere in the fog. Branches snapped like brittle twigs.
"Ah Shit," Nico breathed. "Why now?! was it the light or something else?"
A massive shape burst into view... twenty meters of muscle, bone, and rage. Its eyes burned unnaturally bright, foam and rain dripping from its jaws as it slammed into the battlefield. Everything scattered. Daren's people screamed, the ground cracking as the beast tore through stone and bodies alike. One was crushed instantly, being turned into a puddle of flesh. Another vanished beneath a claw, shredded into pieces.
Nico reacted on instinct. He moved like a machine, scythe flashing, cutting down two attackers who tried to use the chaos to strike. Blood sprayed. One didn't even have time to scream. Then ... he froze. He stared at what he'd done, breath hitching, eyes unfocused. just as he was about to unravel...
"Nico!" John shouted, waking him from his reverie.
The twins were separated, thrown apart by the collapsing ground as the monster slammed down between them. Though injured, they still got up from the ground and started moving.
"Go!" he roared. "Run!"
Nico and the twins did just that as they started running like there was no tomorrow.
The monster roared again, smashing down where john had been a heartbeat earlier. Stone shattered. The fog thickened, swallowing everything.
When John forced himself up, coughing blood, the battlefield was gone. Only rain, broken ruins, and distant screams fading into the storm. His bracelet pulsed.
John staggered back up, clutching his side, teeth clenched as pain threatened to pull him down. but He forced himself to move, limping into the fog as the sounds of fighting scattered in every direction. Not knowing where he was or what awaited him next.