A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Erik's body was on the brink of collapse and his eyes were becoming unfocused, but he forced himself to stay awake. His head was on its side, and his eyes were looking to the side, at his now-prone-mother. After Lilith was forced to interrupt the enslavement, Runa had sagged to the ground and remained still.

"E— Elora…" he rasped softly, his voice pained and barely legible.

"Yes, my love?" his wife answered gently as her fairy-sized form slowly fluttered down to stand next to his head, now obstructing his view of Runa.

"H— How's… Mom…?" he asked with difficulty, the concern obvious in his voice.

"She's fine, my love," Elora smiled while putting her tiny hand on his upward-facing cheek. "Why don't you let the girls out of our dimension and rest a bit, while we handle the rest, alright?"

But Erik didn't want to let it go so quickly. "A— Are you… sure…?" he rasped, trembling a little. "L— Lilith…" he gulped. "She—"

"Shhh," Elora interrupted him while playfully pushing a tiny finger against his lips. "Why would you listen to her over me, huh? Don't you trust me anymore?"

Erik blinked and found it increasingly difficult to stay awake. But then he chuckled gently, "Of course… I do…" He smiled confidently, "I'll leave the rest… to you… and your s— sisters…."

As soon as the last letter slips from his lips, his consciousness went with it, and he closed his eyes. With his last conscious breath, he pulled everyone from his dimension out of it.

Everyone, that is, except for little Alice.

* * *

A few seconds earlier, a group of five or six second-ranked guards were standing outside the room and appeared literally scared stiff. The loud confrontation between Erik and Lilith had lured them all there, but they hadn't dared to go in. They realized their commander was doing something and they feared disturbing her.

Now, however, they'd just watched their third ranked confessor be yeeted through the wall like a sack of particularly powerful potatoes, and they didn't know what to do with themselves.

"Wha— What just happened…?" one of them muttered, utterly disturbed, his eyes fixed on the hole in the wall where Lilith had just disappeared through.

"T— The confessor was defeated…" another gulped, her face quickly beginning to pale. "By a second ranker…"

"Is she… still alive…?" a third wondered anxiously.

"We'd better hope so, or it will be our heads next," a fourth despaired.

"Well, I'm not waiting around for that!" a fifth snarled with a combination of anger and fear. "Don't you see how that guy is just lying there!? Let's kill him! Whether Mistress Lilith is dead or not, killing him will surely get us off the hook!"

Despite his words, this fifth guard didn't charge in straight away. Instead, he looked anxiously at his five comrades, hoping they'll go in with him. No matter what, this werewolf was still pretty terrifying, even when seemingly unconscious.

The guards looked between each other, until the sixth gathered his courage, and nodded at the other guards. Then, he stepped through the doorway. The others then panned their gazes between each other, before quickly following after him.

In the end, they certainly couldn't let this guy get the glory for himself, as they'd only be punished harder then.

Slowly, carefully, they inched closer to the motionless Erik. Aetherium moved on their fingertips and magic circles formed. At first, they didn't notice the fairy, because she was on the other side of his head, but after a few steps the first of them started noticing her presence.

"Eh…?" the sixth guard in front muttered in surprise when he finally noticed the tiny, winged human.

But he didn't have much time to think about it.

Suddenly, seven beautiful women appeared out of thin air and the guards halted in their tracks. Shock and confusion began to fill their minds.

But it didn't last long.

Weapons sang, spells flashed.

They all sagged lifeless to the ground. Some had their heads chopped off, others had it dissolved, and one got a spear through the heart.

But, however it was done, blood flowed, and the guards were no more before they even fully realized who killed them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Elora looked at her unconscious husband with love, before sighing gently. Then, she turned around and looked at Runa with eyes full of concern. A concern she didn't show just before.

"I guess I'll have to make my words a reality now," she smirked wryly, before turning serious. "But first we have to get out of here."

She flew up and looked sternly at the women gathered here. In front of her were Emma, Emily, Astrid, Seraphina, Naeku, Anne, and Nora, but they all ignored her.

After killing the guards on their entry, they all began fussing over Erik, with the exception of Naeku and Seraphina, who were focusing on their surroundings instead.

Emma was crying silently as she kneeled next to her husband and frantically tried healing him. "Please be okay, Master…!" she exclaimed emotionally while pouring as much as she could in her first ranked healing spell.

Unfortunately, although it had gotten quite a bit stronger over the past year, it still functioned more as a supplement to natural recovery, rather than true healing.

Still, it did help, and it's not like she could be stopped, either.

Meanwhile, Emily was on his other side. She, too, was kneeling next to him with the occasional, lonely tear dripping down her cheek. Her right hand was anxiously pulling on her collar, while the other grasped Erik's bloody arm, and she mumbled helplessly about needing more punishment, meaning he couldn't leave her.

As for Astrid, her face was twisted in frustration and anger. She tightly clutched the handles of her swords until her knuckles widened, while she paced back and forth.
Your journey continues with empire

Her anxious eyes were firmly pointed at Erik's motionless body, only occasionally wandering around to see if there were more people she could kill to alleviate her helplessness. "I'm gonna kill her," she continued whispering furiously, over and over again.

Anne and Nora stood a little further away, looking at them anxiously. They remained at a respectable distance due to their status, but they clearly wanted him to be alright.

Elora decided to give them a moment, but quickly decided it was enough. She whistled loudly to get their attention and enlarged herself to human size with a stern frown on her face.

"Alright girls, that's enough," she began seriously. "Erik is fine, but he won't be for long if we don't get out of here, and neither will any of us, so let's get moving before Lilith finds her way back here."