Threnafell Forest…
Kiett and Marth had finally cast ROTES SCHICKSAL and were riding as fast as their horses would allow. They continued searching for one of the many hidden paths that Grislett, as a seasoned hunter, knew of. If they found it, it would lead them out of Threnafell.
"I don't see the tree Grislett mentioned anywhere!!" Kiett exclaimed. The rain poured harder, and the day was fading into night. Both men pulled their horses to a stop at the edge of a steep cliff.
"Damn it, there's nothing here! No path!!" Marth shouted in frustration. Kiett looked equally troubled—both were soaked to the bone, and uncertainty loomed over them.
"What do we do now, Kiett?" Marth asked, desperation creeping into his voice. Kiett took a moment to think.
"There's no choice. We are going to have to go back the way we came!" Kiett decided firmly.
"That's insane! The Scarlets are right behind us!!" Marth protested, his voice rising in panic.
"We have no other option! Let's hope the others are already on their way!!" Kiett declared.
With fear gripping their hearts, they turned their horses around, knowing that casting ROTES SCHICKSAL had likely drawn the Scarlets even closer.
Outside Threnafell…
Queen Fiora Windham was preparing to enter Threnafell in search of survivors. She issued orders to Montecristo, Alistar, and the Legionnaires.
"Prepare yourselves! We're going in!!" Fiora commanded.
Montecristo immediately objected. "Your Majesty, I don't think this is a good idea! The situation is precarious!!" he insisted.
Alistar nodded in agreement. "It's suicide to go back in! We barely made it out alive the first time!"
Fiora clenched her fists. "I will not let the survivors die cruelly. I won't allow it!!" she declared.
Montecristo and Alistar exchanged a look before making one final plea. "Then use your Presage, Your Majesty," Montecristo suggested.
Fiora hesitated. "How would that help?"
Montecristo explained. "With Presage, you can locate both the Scarlets and the survivors. We can form a strategy to minimize our losses."
Alistar nodded. "That way, we can head straight to their location and extract them as quickly as possible."
Fiora pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. She summoned her spear, gripping it with both hands before slamming it into the ground.
"KOMM ZU MEINEM OMEN!!" Fiora chanted.
Immediately, a brilliant blue light erupted from her body, stretching toward Threnafell. The Queen's mind expanded, perceiving every living being and tree within the forest. Her eyes widened, soon she sensed five figures moving swiftly, a sixth rider trailing behind them, and countless Scarlets closing in from all sides.
"I found them! Follow me!!" she declared, mounting Prime Bathus in a single fluid motion. Without hesitation, the Legionnaires galloped after her.
Meanwhile, Claire and her group…
Claire, Margott, Rivett, Grislett, and Lucas rushed through the forest at full speed, desperately searching for an exit. Claire and Rivett led the charge, navigating through the thick foliage.
"Where is that damn path!?" Lucas shouted, the frustration was evident in his voice.
"It should be just ahead! Keep going!!" Rivett called back, though his voice carried the same desperation.
Margott, holding Grislett tightly behind her, was the only one who seemed oddly calm. Claire took notice.
"You're not afraid?" Claire asked.
Margott turned her gaze to her friend, but her expression darkened with fear.
"We're surrounded!!" Margott suddenly cried out.
The group came to a screeching halt. Rivett looked around in confusion, only to see dozens of glowing red eyes peering at them from the shadows. A horse burst forth without warning, startling the young women. The rider was Elle, she was drenched in blood, her right eye gone, riding at a desperate pace — as if death itself were on her heels.
"We have to get out of here—NOW!!" Elle yelled at them
The Scarlets charged. The group spurred their horses forward in a desperate chase for survival.
"I'll hold them off! Keep going!!" Lucas shouted.
"Shut up and keep riding! Don't be an idiot!!" Elle snapped, but Lucas ignored her. He unsheathed his sword.
"Lucas, what are you doing?!" Claire called out, alarmed.
Lucas activated his magic, his blade glowing red. The Scarlets closed in, spewing fire. The group barely managed to evade the flames as Lucas found an opening—he struck, cleaving two Scarlets in half. But more kept coming.
"HIMMLISCHER BRUSTPANZER!!" Claire invoked, preparing to stand her ground.
Just then, a massive Scarlet appeared before them, its tail whipping through the air, striking them all at once. The impact sent them crashing into the ground.
Grislett was barely conscious. Claire, thanks to her armor, managed to recover quickly. Margott and Lucas lay unconscious. Rivett was pinned beneath her fallen horse.
A Scarlet lunged at Rivett, jaws wide open.
Rivett screamed.
Elle acted on instinct—her sword sliced through the beast's neck, killing it instantly. Claire rushed to pull Rivett free.
"We're finished…" Rivett whispered, realizing they were surrounded.
Elle clenched her jaw, adopting a new stance, her blade glowing with blinding light.
"Take Grislett and run, both of you! I'm about to unleash Rote Doltch — everything I've got!" she shouted.
"I won't leave you!!" Rivett shouted.
But Elle insisted. She planned to obstruct the Scarlets' vision and deliver a single strike using the Rote Dolch spell, giving them a chance to escape.
Rivett disobeyed Elle's order, while Claire — unable to do anything else — broke free from two Scarlets that lunged at her, decapitating them both with a single, fluid motion.
Elle gritted her teeth. She was losing control of her magic.
The Scarlets lunged.
Then a colossal red beam of energy incinerated them on the spot.
"What… was that!?" Claire gasped.
Rivett, Elle and Claire turned to see Queen Fiora of Averford standing behind, and an army of Legionnaires at her back.
The Scarlets hesitated as Fiora advanced.
"UNREINE WUT!!" Fiora roared, slamming her spear into the ground. A massive crimson bolt of energy erupted from the blade, piercing through multiple Scarlets, disintegrating them instantly.
"EXTERMINATE THEM!!" Fiora commanded.
Twelve Legionnaires stabbed their swords into the earth, chanting GROLLEN DER ERDE. Obsidian spikes shot from the ground, impaling the Scarlets mid-air. Four more warriors unleashed ROTE DOLCH, tearing the remaining dragons apart.
With the battle won, Fiora ordered the wounded to be taken out of Threnafell.
"Your Majesty, wait!! My brother and my friend are still inside! I must find them!!" Claire pleaded.
Fiora shook her head. "You must leave. Now."
"I refuse—"
"Silence, girl!!" Fiora cut her off, her commanding presence overwhelming. "That's an order! I will retrieve your brother myself—now go!!"
Claire hesitated but obeyed.
Fiora turned to her troops. Using Presage, she located Kiett and Marth—only to discover something deeply unsettling.
"Something… unnatural just happened, what was that energy?" Fiora murmured.
She raced towards them, the Queen and her soldiers charged through hundreds of meters of tangled undergrowth and low-hanging branches. When they arrived, they found one boy bleeding out, the other desperately trying to stop it. Fiora jumped off her horse and sprinted to their side, as the Legionnaires spread out to form a protective perimeter.
Marth sobbed. "Please, save him!!"
Fiora cast a healing spell, but the magic failed—Kiett kept bleeding, pale and trembling.
Marth cried out in desperation, begging to know why it wasn't working.
Without hesitation, the Queen tore off her cloak, wrapped Kiett in it, and carried him in her arms as she rushed toward the Averford Sentinels.
"We're leaving. NOW!!" Fiora commanded, leading her army back into the night.
As they rode, Fiora held Kiett close. The rain finally began to ease―but the storm was far from over.
TO BE CONTINUED…