Three Spheres

Chapter 36 - Horde

Manan watches in silence as the silver and onyx portal closes, after the ACU pairs leave the Midnight City. She looks away at her pale hands. As if by magic, she turns them into extremely long, red-colored claws. Upon closing her fist, the slender fingers return to their previous state. Seriously, she goes back to the fort, alone.

_ Sis! _ Penan exclaims when the other one appears at the entrance _ Everything's ready! Gatsu is up there taking care of the magic link; Phil and Yago are out there sniffing suspicious things and Drey and Van are flying over the area. Everything as you ordered (◡︿◡)

_ Gatsumiya is at her role, but what about the other two Priests? _ Manan asks, harshly.

_ Ah, err... _ Penan hesitates; Manan approaches _ They went to territorialize the nearby houses... to organize the evacuation... If necessary.

Manan nods and heads towards the office without saying anything else. Penan sneaks in after her, with anxiety on her face.

_ It's okay, Penan. _ She sighs _ I'm just worried. This whole situation is very, very unpleasant. _ A pause _ I just hope that nobody gets hurt.

_ Hehe! Caring so much about others; it doesn't even seem like you (▰˘◡˘▰)

Manan's pupils contract, but she maintains the same cold expression. With a "hmph" and a gesture, she expels her sister from the room. Penan lets the pouting manifest itself, but soon makes a crucial decision: "I'm gonna eat something!".

Yago runs through the woods, with his animal form of Porcão. He thinks about how unproductive his work is: "The monsters only appear once in a while. I'm just wasting time with this patrol, not even knowing if something is gonna happen. Although it'd be nice to have a little action around here! I entered the Ecclesia by the Cavalry just for the excitement!". He stands on his hind legs and imitates boxer gestures. "Although Phil would hate it, right. That lazy Werewolf", he lands again and...

"Hm...?", he thinks when he hears a strange sound coming from the interior of the forest. Gradually, the smell of blood permeates his nostrils. He follows the odor of death. While his hunting instinct makes his presence almost imperceptible, fear accelerates his heart. In the distance, he identifies bulky humanoid figures marching. "T-There're so many... About 15, 20 creatures?", he thinks. He climbs a tree stealthily and gazes as far as possible.

"It can't be...". His black eyes drop, wide-open, when he sees the sea of ​​enemies slowly approaching. Monsters of various sizes form a battalion that extends to the horizon. Yago jumps to the ground again and runs away. Without hesitating, he lets out his most powerful howl, warning the others in patrol about the danger lurking ahead. It doesn't take long before a white owl appears. She exclaims:

_ Yago! What is it?!

_ Vanessa! There's a horde of monsters at north! There must be more than a hundred creatures! Tell Gatsumiya to call back the ACU humans and send the other Priests to evacuate the area! I'll warn the others.

Without blinking, they separate. The owl quickly takes flight and disappears into the night. Yago runs, runs, runs until he reaches the open space that separates the base, ontop of the hill, from the forest. Moments later, Phil appears, followed by Dreyfus, who is already in his human form. Yago is quick to explain the situation. Phil calls for Penan and Manan. The other two rush to prepare Gamila's crazy idea: Using the pipes that carry the gas used to light the city's torches, they set up a green and blue fire wall, shaped like a triangle, which apex points towards to the fort, on the edge of the forest. In parallel to the pipes, two ditches approximately 2m wide and 3m deep, filled with spikes, extend. That structure would allow the combat area to be more restricted to lessen the numerical advantage of the enemies. Thus, two people would enter the forest to lead the horde towards the trap. Those who deviated from the siege should be restrained by the rest of the unit.