The battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid smell of burning mana.
Jessica's lifeless body lay crumpled on the cracked earth, her blood pooling beneath her.
The high orc stood over her, its chest heaving with exertion, its axe dripping with her blood.
Its cruel laughter echoed across the ruined field, a sound that seemed to mock the very concept of hope.
Joseph's breath hitched. His sword, glowing faintly with the light element, slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.
His remaining arm trembled as he stared at Jessica's broken form, his face pale, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"No… no, no, no…" His voice was a whisper at first, barely audible over the crackling flames and the orc's mocking laughter.
Then it grew louder, more desperate. "Jessica! JESSICA!"
He stumbled forward, his legs giving out beneath him as he fell to his knees. His hand reached out toward her, trembling violently.
"This… this can't be real. This can't be happening!" His voice cracked, tears streaming down his face as he crawled toward her. "Jessica, please… wake up! Please!"
The high orc sneered, its tusks glistening with blood. "Pathetic," it growled, its voice like grinding stones. "Your sister died like the weakling she was. And you'll join her soon enough."
Joseph's grief turned to rage in an instant. His body began to glow brighter, the light element surging around him in a chaotic, uncontrolled burst.
He scrambled to his feet, his face twisted in anguish and fury. "YOU MONSTER!" he screamed, his voice raw and broken. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
He charged at the orc, his movements wild and uncoordinated.
The orc easily sidestepped his attack, swinging its axe in a brutal arc. Joseph barely managed to dodge, the blade grazing his side and drawing blood.
He didn't seem to care. He lunged again, his strikes fueled by pure emotion, his technique abandoned in his hysteria.
"Joseph, stop!" Lucas shouted, his voice strained as he struggled to maintain his fire elemental form.
The flames around him flickered weakly, his mana nearly depleted.
He knew Joseph wasn't thinking clearly, but there was no time to reason with him. The high orc was too dangerous, too powerful.
Katherine fired another arrow, her hands shaking as she tried to steady her aim.
The arrow struck the orc's shoulder, but it barely flinched. "Alex, we can't keep this up!" she cried, her voice tinged with panic. "We're running out of time!"
Lucas gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus.
He channeled the last dregs of his mana into his blade, fire and lightning intertwining to form a small, unstable plasma orb.
He hurled it at the orc, the attack striking its chest and forcing it to take a step back.
It roared in pain, but the damage was minimal. Lucas cursed under his breath, his body trembling with exhaustion.
Grant, still kneeling on the ground, sobbed openly as he continued to chant. His hands glowed with the swirling energy of the tier 6 spell, but his focus was slipping.
Tears streamed down his face as he muttered the incantation, his voice breaking. "Jessica… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
His grief was palpable, his connection to Jessica—his close friend, his confidante—ripping a hole in his heart.
But he couldn't stop. He had to finish the spell. For her. For all of them.
Viona, her great sword resting on her shoulder, stood frozen for a moment, her eyes locked on Jessica's body.
Her face was a mask of pain and rage, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She had always been the stoic one, the unshakable pillar of strength in the group. But now, that facade crumbled.
"You…" she whispered, her voice trembling. Then she screamed, a raw, primal sound that echoed across the battlefield. "YOU KILLED HER!"
With a roar, she charged at the high orc, her great sword swinging in a wide, devastating arc.
The orc raised its axe to block, but the force of her attack sent it stumbling back.
Viona didn't let up, her strikes relentless, her tears mixing with the sweat and blood on her face.
"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" she screamed, her voice breaking with every word.
The orc laughed, its voice booming. "Foolish humans! Your anger only makes you weaker!"
Lucas watched in horror as the scene unfolded.
Joseph was still attacking recklessly, his grief driving him to the brink of self-destruction.
Viona's rage was consuming her, her strikes powerful but increasingly wild.
Katherine was running out of arrows, her hands shaking as she tried to keep up.
And Grant… Grant was still chanting, his tears falling onto the ground as he struggled to maintain the spell.
Lucas clenched his fists, his mind racing. They were falling apart. They were all falling apart. But he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Jessica's death be in vain.
"Grant!" Lucas shouted, his voice hoarse. "You have to finish it! Now!"
Grant nodded, his sobs subsiding as he focused on the spell. The energy around him grew brighter, more intense. The air crackled with power, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
The high orc noticed, its eyes narrowing. "No," it growled. "I won't let you!"
It swung its axe at Grant, but Lucas intercepted, his blade clashing against the orc's weapon.
The impact sent a shockwave through his arms, and he gritted his teeth, his body screaming in protest.
He couldn't hold it for long. But he didn't need to. He just needed to buy Grant a few more seconds.
"Viona! Joseph! Cover Grant!" Lucas shouted, his voice strained. "We can't let it stop him!"
Viona and Joseph, despite their grief and rage, understood.
They moved to Grant's side, their weapons raised, their bodies trembling with exhaustion and emotion.
The high orc roared, its attacks growing more frantic as it realized what was happening.
But it was too late.
Grant's eyes snapped open, his hands glowing with an otherworldly light. The spell was complete.
"Everyone, get down!" he shouted, his voice filled with a mixture of grief and determination.
Lucas barely had time to dive out of the way as the spell erupted, a blinding wave of energy surging toward the high orc.
The creature roared in defiance, but its voice was drowned out by the deafening explosion that followed.
The battlefield was consumed in light.