"I knew he was strong… but to win against Rock in a head-on fight?"
Rock, the veteran B rank adventurer, had just lost against Adam, an eight-year-old. How absurd. Was this truly the strength of a child?
"Is this enough for me to join the Golden Wings?"
Martha was taken aback by the question. The boy shouldn't have had a reason to join the Golden Wings.
Why would you want to stain your hands with blood and filth? Why are you trying so hard? Why do you practice until your bones break and fight with your life on the line when it's just a friendly spar?
Martha questioned the little boy in her mind as he stared at her fiercely. She wondered who gave her "son" those eyes. Eyes that would not waver at adults twice his own size. Eyes that faced death willingly and regularly.
"Fine."
Another response cut short. Too much to say, yet unable to say a thing.
She wanted to apologize for forcing him into a life where he had to feel pain.
She wanted to apologize for being unable to protect him from losing the comfort that he was entitled to by birth.
She wanted to apologize for how hard things would be getting from now on.
- - - - - - -
"Hah… Look at him go. He's mowing through those ants with every step he takes."
It gave Martha mixed emotions to see her own son, at just eight years old, completely drenched in blood and murdering dozens of gigantic ants. But now was not the time to be distracted…
"Cheuok-"
They truly came out of nowhere and killed Mau, as if she were nothing.
Though Mau wasn't the best in a direct fight, her detection and concealment skills were top-notch. It shouldn't have been possible for anything to sneak up on her and kill her in a single strike.
Even more unbelievable was the identity of the assailant. Even though she'd only heard about them in stories and fairy tales, it was clear that she was facing a Demon.
Martha quickly came to the conclusion that she should create some space and stall for some time until what was left of the party can regroup. Then, Oliver appeared in her periphery rushing head first towards the Demon.
It made sense that he might do this, seeing as how the love of his life had just been coldly murdered in front of him. But from behind a tree, another Demon holding a bow appeared and shot at him.
"Shit"
She cast a wind spell to try and deflect the arrow, but it would be too late. Luckily, Oliver managed to deflect the arrow himself. It seemed that even in his enraged state he could still remain vigilant. But then another Demon dropped from a branch and stabbed him in the back, killing him instantly.
I see, so we won't be getting out of here alive.
"ADAM!"
Suddenly remembering that her son was also in imminent danger, she glanced over to where he should have been, and began formulating a way for at least him to somehow survive. Instead, she saw a giant pillar erupt where Adam had been standing.
Did the Demons get to him already? No, recalling her past adventures, that was a technique that Rock sometimes used on large monsters.
So Rock had just sent Adam high up into the sky. She pushed doubts about whether or not Adam could even survive such a technique down and away. There was nothing she could do now but pray for his safety.
She looked into Rock's eyes to give her thanks, then turned back to the immediate problem at hand.
"There is one last thing I can do… that is, I can ensure that you Demons will not leave this place alive either."
"Oh really?" said a husky voice, one that came from directly behind her.
She instantly used the wind to push herself away from their line of attack. Just how many were there?
Evading the five Demons in front of her while sending wind spells at them, Martha took another glance over towards Rock, but only saw yet another Demon standing over his bloody corpse.
"Enough. I will soar above all and hold nothing –Gust Leap"
She shot up into the sky and pierced through the thick fog. Four shadows climbed up the trees and jumped at her.
"You fools, if I could truly fly I would have gone far from here by now."
As her leap reached its peak, Martha took in the air around her for a moment. The sunset gave the sky a purple hue and the sea of fog beneath her looked as if it would catch her as she fell. But she knew better.
"I wouldn't have it any other way –Golden Wings"
This was Martha's final trump card. Usually, it would've had a longer casting time, but it appeared that the swelling emotions inside Martha allowed for a shorter casting time and larger wings than normal. It still wasn't strong enough for her to fly, but she wouldn't have tried to escape anyways.
With a final flap of her wings, she shot downwards on a collision course with the shadows.
An explosion of shadow and light took place just above the fog line. For a moment it appeared that these colors would last forever, but eventually they were both swallowed up as they fell back to the ground.
And so silence befell the Valley of Fog once more as the sun set, marking the beginning of a long night.