NOVEL NEXT WORLD 264. Final Castle
Ike charged up to the battlements. A shadow loomed over the castle. Without calling Mag, he could already decode what had happened. All three streams of monsters, Scar's, Rufus', and Ike's own, had reached his castle. He twisted his lips. I was expecting this, but not this early. And was it too much to hope that Vi might absorb one of the streams? Or do the monsters know where their targets go?
Mag fluttered down beside him. "The final castle has fallen. There's no one left who isn't in this castle."
Ike startled. "What? Vi's castle fell? She couldn't escape?" Find your next read on empire
Mag shook his head. "I didn't see anyone escape. Maybe I missed it, but…" He grimaced. "It happened so quickly. One second, her castle stood strong. The next, the monsters broke through their defenses, and it went down in flames. They put up a good fight, but with nothing to retreat to, they got overwhelmed in moments. There's nothing left. Nothing at all."
Scowling, Ike leaned forward on the wall. Scar and her men battled valiantly, but they had struggled to take on one set of monsters, let alone three. The defenses roared, and the Old Guard stood on the edge of the walls, blades drawn, to fight off the ones who reached it. He glanced at Mag. "Where's Wisp?"
"Right here." A dark form descended from overhead, and Wisp dismounted from a thread beside Ike. "Time to go?"
"Yeah. It's all hands on deck, now. We need Rufus, too. Mag, go fetch Rufus and his men."
"You got it."
"And I'll need you fighting, too. I do mean all hands on deck."
Mag punched the air, elated. "Finally! I'm done with this scouting. Let me fight!"
Ike opened his mouth to counter Mag, but paused halfway. Mag could fight. It was Ike who was forcing him to scout. True, Mag hadn't done much fighting recently, but with his first priority as scouting, he'd been limiting himself to a few swoops from the sky. He raised his brows, surprised, and took in Mag in a new light. Mag had truly listened obediently, more obediently than he'd expected. For how pompous and upon-himself the bird boy could be, he was actually a team player. It's like Wisp and I. It's not that we can't cooperate, it's just that we were never given the opportunity to.
He patted Mag's head instead. "That's right. It's time for you to fight."
Mag jerked away and brushed the top of his head off vigorously. He narrowed his eyes at Ike. "What's that look for? Don't look at me like that!" With that, he hopped backward a few times, then took to the wing and flapped down into the castle.
Wisp stared after him. "What was that all about?"
"Who knows? Probably some weird bird thing. Come on." Gesturing for her to follow, Ike hopped off the wall and charged into battle.
Wisp chased after him. The two of them rushed to Scar's side. The Hungry Sword quivered, shaking in anticipation. Ike struck forth, leaping up to take a monster's head. Wisp cast a thick net of heavy strands, binding the monsters to the ground. The attack opened up room for Scar's men and Ike alike to finish off the afflicted monsters before they could rise up. Scar fired a wave of sword energy that smashed the next round of monsters to the ground, and Wisp, Ike, and the others charged forward.
"Scar, send your men to the right. Wisp and I will take left. We'll funnel them into the field here—there aren't many traps left, but it's better than nothing," Ike called.
"Understood!" Scar saluted. Turning to her men, she gave a few quick commands, and they leaped into action. With the two groups, Ike's and Scar's, combined and working together, the threefold monsters were quickly narrowed down to an alley that the two groups could handle.
As the two fought, Rufus and his underlings jumped out of the castle and ran to their sides. Rufus went to order his men, then paused. He lifted his head. "Where do you need help?"
Oh? Asking, instead of just assuming and leaping in? He's learning. Ike nodded. "You three hang back. Act as a net. If any monsters get by us, you jump in and kill them."
Rufus nodded. He turned to his men and snapped orders. His men fell back, and so did Rufus. All three of them stood near the wall, watching the others fight monsters.
"It's fighting time!" Mag hooted, winging overhead. He whirled around in the sky, firing attacks down into the mass of monsters. Magpie projections dashed about, swooping viciously around the monsters' heads, slowing and blinding them so they stumbled into Wisp's webs, where Ike and Scar's men quickly finished them off. The monsters roared in frustration and swept their axes at the bird projections, but the spells danced around their attacks. Small and agile as they were, it was a dream for the monsters to attempt to destroy them with such slow, heavy attacks. Ike almost felt back for them, it was so easy to kill them. They were distracted, slowed, and bound. They were beasts to the slaughter. Eventually, one fled rather than fight them, only to charge directly into the blender of Rufus and his men.
They fought viciously, until finally the wave thinned. Ike fell back, breathing hard. He wanted to take a break, but he knew every second mattered. Instead, he turned to the others. "Rufus, Scar, go take a break. We'll patrol out here until the next round. After the next round, it'll be Rufus' turn to patrol, then Scar's. We keep the loop going until all the monsters die. Everyone agree?"
Scar nodded. Rufus ducked his head, just once.
Ike clapped. "Meeting adjourned! Go on, rest up. I'll see you all in a minute."
The other two groups left, leaving Wisp, Ike, and Mag alone on the battlefield. Ike hopped over to a pile of axes and pressed the Hungry Sword onto them. With a hideous keening, the Hungry Sword ate into the axes, its whole body trembling, every bladed edge chewing wildly into the axes.
"There you go. Like I promised," Ike said.
The darkness in the Hungry Sword quieted, growing thinner. At the same time, a new energy welled up in it, something metallic and sharp. Ike eyed that energy, curious. Interesting. I wonder what form that will take?
In the distance, a monster roared. Ike looked up. Fire glowed on the horizon, red as a furnace, spewing black smoke through the sky. He adjusted his stance to face the roar, letting the Hungry Sword continue to gnaw at the axes. The next wave was on its way, whether they were ready or not. Now we just need to hold the line.