Something clicks within Rosa's heart.
She doesn't know if her plan would work. She never did.
Isn't it the same as this noon?
No. Her heart clearly answers. She still doesn't know how things would play out.
Rosa's eyes meet Lilia's smile. This time, her lips can't help but curve up as well.
She doesn't fight it this time.
She knows. Everything would be okay. She has Lilia beside her.
And right now, she knows exactly what to do.
Her grip on her staff tightens.
"Erika…"
Rosa calls.
"We'll try to draw the beast away… After you stabilize him… Can you tell the mages to hold off plan B?"
She glances at the unconscious Werner.
"You heard the man… He wants to save Reiko. But they can't properly honor his wish without hearing you out."
Erika nods.
"I'll make sure they'll hear his wish. Or feel the coldness of it if I have to."
Rosa turns to Lilia.
"Lilia, phylactery. Now."
Lilia nods.
"Roger!"
They bolt for the shed.
As soon as they enter the wooden cabin, the familiar click of the logging system is swallowed by grunts, shouts, and screams.
WRAAAAAR!
The beast shoots a blast of compressed air from its mouth, hitting one of the swordsmen square in the torso.
He falls to the floor, joining the other swordsmen already on the ground.
"Urk... Gaah…"
"You'll pay for this!"
One of the archers shoots bright blue arrows at it.
The beast swats the arrows aside with its claws.
Each freezes on contact, encasing each of its hands in ice.
The beast tries to form another hand sequence. Yet it fails as the encased palms hit each other.
"Heh, with this you got nothing, pal!"
The others waste no time. Archers retrieve their arrows from their quiver.
"On my mark, boys!"
The lead archer draws the bow slightly. Each arrow glows, wrapped in yellow lightning.
Others follow, tugging the string with at least three arrows each. Eyes cold and sharp.
"Go!"
Every string draws to full and releases at once.
It knocks off the arrows, using its frozen fists as hammers. The ice cracks with each swing.
Yet the lightning still zaps it on contact with the ice. Not to mention the arrows are too many.
Hrrrrrrrrrk!
It slumps down. Chains rattling as they drag on the wooden floor.
Then its body begins to glow. Lines, marks, spreading across its fur.
Crawling across its fur like veins. Growing from somewhere inside.
"That is…"
Lilia mutters. Her eyes widen.
WRAAAAAAAAAAR!
The beast roars once again, rising from the wooden floor.
It smashes its encased hands against each other.
The ice breaks immediately, at the cost of wounding its hands.
Smoke rises from the wounds. Cuts and bruises knitting shut before her eyes.
"Go!"
The mages don't wait, archers draw their arrows and release them at it.
It blurs another sequence of hand signs before it vanishes like the wind.
The lightning arrows hit the wooden floor behind where it stood.
"Vlitzschreitt!"
Rosa's staff glows. Lightning envelopes her legs.
She jumps to one of the archers, tackling him aside.
BAM!
The beast strikes the floor where the archer stood.
Hrrrrr…
Another sequence of hand signs. Two blasts of compressed air shoot from its mouth.
"Lilia!"
Rosa calls as she throws herself into another archer.
When she gazes at another archer, the air cannon is already too close.
"Varriere!"
Lilia shouts, panels quickly forming honeycomb in front of him.
It shatters as the compressed air clashes against it.
Her eyes are still on the shattered barrier when sharp claws rush towards her face.
Zzzzzzzzt!
She reflexively steps back, standing beside Lilia.
"Haaah… haaah… That… that was close…"
A light tap hits her shoulder.
"Rosie…"
Lilia's breath brushes her ear.
"Rosie, can you ride on my back?"
Her spine shivers. She can't tell if it's the breath or the suggestion.
"Huh? What? No!"
"Hear me out, okay!?"
Lilia whispers louder, another shiver runs through Rosa.
"I swear if it's just an excuse to-"
"We're after the phylactery right?"
Lilia cuts her. Her expression shifts.
Rosa silently nods.
"You cast the spell you did on me, together we will-"
Another shiver. This one isn't from Lilia. She jumps backwards along with her.
The creature's fist slams in front of them.
"Can you at least wait until I finish!?"
The beast spins towards Lilia as it bares its claws forward.
"Vlitzschreitt!"
Rosa points her staff at Lilia. Lightning wraps around Lilia's legs.
Lilia bolts further back, out of its reach. She then counters.
She pokes the pole into its forehead, then its jaw.
Then a full swing follows as the flaming tang of her scythe catches the side of its head.
The beast vanishes, then claws Lilia from above, yet Lilia zaps away.
She reappears in front of Rosa. In the position Rosa hates most.
"..."
Lilia looks back at Rosa, still crouching with her back facing her.
Smiling. Of course she is smiling.
"...Just this once."
Rosa slides one of her legs to Lilia's arm. Slowly, as she contemplates her life choices.
Lilia's grin spreads.
"At least can you stop that!?"
"Come on, Rosie! Before the beast-"
"I hate you…"
Rosa slides both of her legs, resting as she lets her body be supported by Lilia's back. Her free arm wraps around Lilia's shoulder, gripping tight.
Lilia, now carrying Rosa, zaps away as the beast strikes their spot once again.
She zaps to the room where the necromancy book lies on the table.
"Lilia!"
She sways left, dodging another strike.
Rosa sees the beast about to make its hand gesture.
Two quick taps on Lilia's shoulder.
"Hand gestures, need to recast."
Lilia slows down. Sure enough, the lightning around her legs dissipates.
The moment it finishes the gesture, the tip of Rosa's staff glows.
"Vlitzschreitt!"
"Vrandefaust!"
Lightning wraps Lilia's legs again. Flame coats her knuckles, then flows to her scythe blade.
The beast shoots multiple barrages of compressed air.
Zzzzt, zzzzzt, zzzzzzt!
Lilia sidesteps blast after blast, each one punching through the wooden wall behind her.
Night draft seeps through the holes they made.
Lilia slams her scythe downwards, using the tang as a hammer.
The floor cracks open beneath them. She zaps in.
Thankfully the lightning on her legs illuminates the dark basement.
As Lilia runs towards the oozing phylactery, she makes a pirouette.
BAM
Another strike lands right beside them. Lilia springs forward.
Zzzzzzt!
As Lilia's hand is about to grab the phylactery, she suddenly falls.
"Hyaaa!"
When Rosa looks back, the beast is grabbing Lilia's foot.
Tightly.
"Hnnngh!"
"Lilia!"
"Rosa… close your eyes…"
Rosa shuts her eyes.
"Gleuhschwairm!"
Rapid red flashes in the darkness of her closed eyes. The shriek of the beast follows.
Zzzzt!
A tap on her hips. Rosa opens her eyes. Lilia is already heading out of the basement.
In Lilia's hand, an ominous jar oozes out purplish aura.
"R-Rosie… urk…"
Night air hits Rosa's face as they burst out of the shed.
The beast hasn't followed. Whatever Lilia did bought them time.
Lilia keeps running, lightning swirling right behind her legs.
Yet Rosa can feel Lilia's hands getting cold.
"...Are you okay?"
"I feel sick…"
Something clicks. The phylactery is designed to infuse raw mana into a corpse.
She is seeing the reason firsthand.
"Mana poisoning… Lilia! Cast something, anything that requires the most mana!"
Lilia nods. She stops and looks up.
"Vrandaetem!"
A cone of fire shoots into the night sky, longer than any she's cast before.
Lilia's hands warm again as she keeps the flame going.
Lilia's legs begin to move once again. Relief washes over Rosa as she slumps to Lilia's back.
"...Glad you like it~"
"The spell? Yeah, that was spectacular in a way."
A light chuckle from Lilia as she runs through the forest.
"That too, I guess. Anyway, we're going to Akira's place right?"
Rosa's eyebrows rise. She bites back the retort.
"Yeah, we will need her too. Besides… I'm concerned."
A gust of wind catches her attention from behind them. She knows what it is.
"It's catching up…"
"Guess you're not the only audience."
Lilia's steps quicken.
"We're speeding up!"
Lilia speeds up. Rosa feels her mana draining as the scenery shifts from grassland to foliage.
Sweat begins to pour from Rosa's forehead, trailing to her cheeks.
Another tap on her hip. Lilia's hand, already holding a blue vial for her.
"You're getting cold, Rosie."
"...Thanks."
A small chuckle from Lilia.
"There it is~ You're welcome~"
Rosa pauses.
She said it. Her fingers drift to her lips. A smile is already forming.
Her hand reaches for the vial and she gulps down the potion.
Warmth floods to her stomach, then to her entire body.
The word just slipped out. She wasn't trying. Wasn't even conscious of it.
Rustling breaks the moment.
"Lilia…"
"I know… Sorry, can't speed up more."
Lilia's hand grows cold against her hip again.
A snap from their right. Rosa immediately taps Lilia's right shoulder.
"Lilia!"
Lilia dodges left. A shadowy figure strikes the path they were going to take.
"That is… shadow wolf."
"Well… urp… that brings me back…"
Another rustle from their left, Rosa taps her left shoulder.
This time, Lilia spins towards the attacking shadow wolf.
"Vrandaetem!"
A flame cone bursts from Lilia's mouth, burning the wolf at point blank range.
It retreats as it blends into the shadow of the trees.
Several more rustles follow behind them.
"The wolves are attacking us…"
"It can't be because of the beast… right?"
Rosa gulps. It might exactly be the case.
Finally, they arrive at a clearing. Trees around it already wilted.
Slices on the ground, chars on some trees, blood spots.
"This is the place…"
Lilia stops. Immediately a dozen wolves emerge from the shadow, circling them.
"Akira… she isn't here…"
Rosa searches the clearing. For Akira. For anything left of her. Nothing.
The creature rushes through the wolves like a gust, landing in front of them.
Chains still clinging to the shackles.
The marks on its body glow brighter.
Lilia breathes fire at the beast. It shields itself with one palm.
She redirects the flame to the sky. It burns bright, then fades into the darkness.
Dozens more wolves emerge from every shadow around them. Left, right, behind. The clearing fills with glowing eyes.
They are completely encircled. A drop of sweat trails to Lilia's nape.
"This is definitely way worse than Vorenfeld…"
Rosa mutters through gritted teeth.
Lilia takes her stance, scythe ready.
"It is… but we're not the same either… We're still going to make it out."
The blade burns even brighter.
"Alive! Just like before!"
Several wolves rush to them. Lilia zaps backwards, only to run into the pounces of other wolves.
Lilia twists her body, swinging the tang to the pouncing wolves.
"Hrk!"
A sharp pain radiates from Rosa's left thigh. A wolf latches its fangs into her.
"Rosa!"
"I'm fine! Focus!"
Rosa cracks her staff against the wolf's skull until it releases.
Lilia zaps away, but another pack of wolves is waiting for her as they swarm them.
Rosa swats at incoming wolves from Lilia's back, barely managing.
Her legs clutch Lilia's waist. Both of Lilia's hands are occupied.
Krrsch… Krrsch…
"Hyaaah!"
Two more wolves bite Lilia's leg. She smacks both using her scythe.
Another bites Lilia's arm, then Rosa's as well.
This can't go on…
A gust of wind rushes past them.
Rosa endures the pain and points the staff forward.
"Varriere!"
"Varriere!"
Lilia shouts the same spell.
In front of them, two layers of honeycomb shield begin to form.
What comes is a kick from the beast, flying at them as fast as wind.
The barriers instantly shatter on contact.
"Gahaaack!"
The force throws Lilia backward. Rosa's grip breaks.
Both hit the ground. Lilia clutches her stomach. Wolves swarm before they can rise.
Time slows as the maws of the wolves close in on Rosa.
She grips her staff tightly.
Not yet… I won't… Not yet…
Before she can swing her staff, something launches past her eyes.
Fireball. No, fireballs. Each one hits right in the wolf's face.
Kiiiiiiii!
A small orange creature runs from the edge of the clearing, flame burning the tip of its tail.
Then it leaps, curls into a fireball, and slams into another wolf.
Dozens of them arrive, matching the wolves in numbers. Foxes and wolves clash across the clearing, flames and shadows colliding.
Then comes the beast itself baring its claws to Rosa's face.
"Rosa!"
Lilia wraps around her. Between Rosa and the claws.
A white figure darts between them and the beast before the claws land.
Bright blue glow envelops the white figure, before cracks of lightning burst around it.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
The beast shrieks in pain as it jumps back.
Baaaaaaaa!
Lilia snaps her gaze to the sound.
"Flau!? You came to save us! But… how!?"
"What happened?"
Rosa racks her brain, wondering how a scene this ridiculous is even possible.
She was sure she would fight until her last breath in this place.
"Yo, kept ya waiting, huh?"
An orange-haired woman walks from behind them as if she owns the place.
Orange ears with white tips flick in the firelight. Her tail swishes as she moves.
Sai in both hands.
The only thing missing is a bottle of wine on her hip.
"Akira! You survived!"
Lilia jumps to hug her. Only for Akira's palm to push her right on the cheek.
"Who do ya think I am? I ain't gonna die in a place like this!"
Akira lands her gaze on the fluffy menace who happened to save their lives.
"Ya gotta thank him y'know? Found him begging for me to take 'im with me. Then I saw the flame."
One of the foxes jumps to Akira's shoulder, perching itself comfortably.
"Also, made myself some friends around here."
Rosa pushes herself up as she looks up at Akira's eyes.
"...Welcome back, I guess."
"What kind of half-assed reaction is that!? Least show more relief when yer friend survived even though yer worried sick bout 'er!"
"Who's worried si-"
A low growl grabs Rosa's attention, cutting the conversation short.
"Rite! Need to address the wolf in the clearing!"
Lilia readies her scythe.
"Round two it is!"
Rosa nods as she points her staff forward.