Emily Carter's Perspective
The echoes of crying still rang in her head.
Emily Carter had gone days without sleeping.
She paced through the capital, reviewing reports, sending messengers, and trying to hold together a territory that seemed to be falling apart with every passing hour.
She had followed Lusian Douglas's advice.
She had gathered the inhabitants of the nearby settlements.
She had sent messengers.
She had ordered everyone to retreat toward the capital before the monster migrations reached the region.
But people rarely listened until danger was already at their doorstep.
Some obeyed.
Others refused.
Others chose to hide inside their homes, convinced that the beasts would simply pass them by.
Emily knew what that meant.
She didn't need anyone to tell her.
Those places were already lost.
The capital was completely overcrowded.
Too many people.
Too many screams.
Too much fear.
The lack of soldiers made everything even worse.
More than half of the Carter army had marched off to war against the Empire.
The few who remained were exhausted, wounded, or too young to have ever seen a real battle.
And yet, Emily was proud of them.
—Hold the line!
Her voice echoed across the walls again and again.
—Don't leave a single position unguarded!
But reality was cruel.
They didn't have enough men to cover the entire city.
Monsters were gathering around the walls.
Every hour, their roars grew more numerous.
Every night, the defenses groaned beneath their attacks.
Every dawn, there were fewer soldiers in the ranks.
Food was also beginning to run low.
The streets were filled with mothers clutching their children, elderly people murmuring prayers, and men sitting with vacant expressions.
They all seemed to be waiting for the same ending.
Death.
Emily clenched her fists.
I did everything I could.
The thunderous sound of an explosion in the eastern sector pulled her from her thoughts.
—Captain!
A soldier came running.
He was breathing heavily.
—The eastern wall...!
Emily turned around.
—What happened?
The man swallowed.
—The soldiers are shouting!
Emily's heart stopped.
—Did they get inside?
—I don't know.
Emily was already running.
—Move!
The few reserve soldiers accompanying her ran after her.
They rushed through the crowded streets.
They passed civilians who moved aside in terror.
Emily climbed the stairs to the wall two at a time.
The soldiers' roar grew louder and louder.
But something was strange.
It didn't sound like fear.
It sounded like...
joy?
Emily reached the top.
She prepared herself to find a breach.
Corpses.
Monsters inside the city.
But she saw none of those things.
—THEY'RE HERE!
A soldier shouted.
—LOOK AT THE BANNERS!
Emily raised her head.
And froze.
Beyond the ocean of monsters, through the morning mist, silhouettes began to appear.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Black-and-gold banners fluttered above their heads.
The Douglas wolf stood prominently on the fabric.
Emily stopped breathing for a moment.
The Douglases.
They had come.
But then she saw the man leading them.
She didn't need to recognize his face.
She knew that posture.
That presence.
The way he advanced as if the chaos surrounding him couldn't stop him.
Lusian.
Emily's heart skipped a beat.
He came.
Her lips trembled.
—He... really came.
Tears began to fall.
For days, she had been telling herself that she had to be strong.
For days, she had tried to convince everyone else that everything would be fine.
For days, she had been waiting for someone to come.
And now he was here.
Lusian had kept his promise.
The soldiers began to shout.
Some raised their weapons.
Others embraced each other.
Some simply cried.
Hope swept across the walls like a wave.
Emily placed a hand against the stone.
Then I'm not alone.
We can still survive.
Below, Lusian raised one arm.
His voice cut across the battlefield.
—MAGES!
Hundreds of soldiers responded.
—FAN FORMATION!
Magic circles began appearing above the army.
—AREA SPELLS!
The sky lit up.
Flaming rocks fell like meteors.
Spears of ice tore through the air.
Lightning descended from the clouds.
BOOM!
The first line of monsters disappeared beneath the rain of magic.
—WARRIORS!
Lusian raised his voice again.
—SHIELDS UP!
The soldiers planted their feet firmly into the ground.
Runic shields slammed together.
A wall of steel and dark magic appeared before the army.
The monsters charged.
ROOOAR!
The impact shook the ground.
But the Douglases didn't retreat.
Not a single step.
On both sides of the formation, the adventurers joined the battle.
Swords.
Spears.
Ice.
Fire.
The flanks began to be secured as the formation slowly advanced.
In the center, Lusian rode Thunder.
The electric steed moved through flashes of lightning.
Umber ran beside him, leaping over the corpses of the creatures and bringing down any predators that attempted to approach.
Lusian raised his sword.
—MAGES!
The spellcasters concentrated their mana again.
—CLEAR THE WAY!
A line of explosions tore across the battlefield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The monsters were thrown aside.
The ground was cleared.
Lusian pointed toward the city.
—ADVANCE!
The soldiers roared.
—PRIORITY: CIVILIANS!
The formation began to move.
The Douglases pushed forward.
The adventurers protected the flanks.
The mages kept the route clear.
And for the first time in days...
the monsters began to retreat.
Emily watched from above.
The black formation advanced toward her.
Every meter brought Lusian closer.
Every meter made that nightmare seem a little less impossible.
Finally, the eastern gate of the capital began to open.
Emily could no longer remain still.
She ran down the stairs.
—My lady!
A soldier tried to stop her.
—Wait!
But Emily didn't listen.
She crossed the courtyard.
Ran between the soldiers.
She didn't care about her posture.
She didn't care about her dignity.
She didn't care that everyone was watching her.
She only wanted to reach him.
Lusian dismounted from Thunder.
His boots touched the ground.
Then he raised his eyes.
And saw her.
Emily stopped for only a moment.
During all those days, she had imagined many times what she would say when he arrived.
She had prepared words of gratitude.
Questions.
Even apologies.
She said none of them.
She ran toward him.
Lusian barely had time to react before Emily crashed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him with all her strength.
Her body trembled.
Tears began to fall.
—I thought...
Her voice broke.
Emily tightened her fingers around Lusian's clothes.
—I thought no one would come.
Lusian remained silent.
He didn't try to pull away.
He didn't ask any questions.
He simply raised his arms and held her.
Firmly.
Calmly.
As if he wanted to show her that this time, she didn't have to be strong.
—You're safe.
Emily closed her eyes.
—I made it in time.
She buried her face against his chest.
For the first time in several days...
she stopped thinking about the walls.
The monsters.
The soldiers who could die.
The hunger.
The responsibility.
For a few seconds, she stopped being the heir of the Carter County.
She wasn't a commander.
She wasn't a noble.
She wasn't the future Hero of Light.
She was simply Emily.
A young woman who had spent days waiting for someone to come.
And Lusian had come.
He had kept his promise.
Emily tightened her embrace slightly.
And for the first time since the monster migration began...
she allowed herself to believe that perhaps they would survive.