Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The atmosphere is eerie as we all gather at the edge of Mistfall.

I exhale a slow, controlled breath, steadying my racing pulse as we all wait for the Eradicators to get within range. From here, we can barely make out the movements on the horizon. The Eradicators are closing in. My stomach churns as I grip my wand, grounding myself in the situation.

We have prepared ourselves as much as we can.

We scattered defenses around Mistfall and Stonelight, just as we planned. Traps lay hidden around the forest, waiting to trap any foolish Eradicators who walk into them. I glance over at my sister who is lying in wait nearby me. She looks at me and gives me a nod.

We feel the same weight of the situation.

"Remember, Nico," Justus whispers to me nearby, "you don't have to sustain the light magic for long. Just use enough to lure them into our range. We'll handle the rest."

I nod, the plan replaying in my mind for the hundredth time. Once I summon my light magic and make my figure visible, they will think I am one of their own since no humans can wield light magic except Maura and me. This will lure them into the trap and then we can pincer attack them. This will change the tide of the fight if we can put them on the defensive.

All of us wait patiently for the Eradicators to approach us. In the distance, we already hear fighting between the Magic Knights and the Eradicators at the edge of Stonelight. The sound of clashing swords and spells fills the air around us now. The HLH members, who are a part of the surprise attack, wait silently.

Then we hear it. Nearby, we can hear several hundred crunches of leaves and branches. They are sending an Eradicator surprise squad to defeat us without us knowing. If we can defeat this squad, it will force them to retreat. I hold back the urge to unleash an attack. My body so wants to let out several knockout spells, but the time hasn't come yet.

As they get closer in our general direction, I close my eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths.

My mind concentrates on thoughts of when I was proud of myself or felt satisfied. The times I felt prideful in my ability to help others. With a deep breath, I release the mana from my body into my wand to create a raging ball of light which hovers right above it. The light is bright enough to send a clear beacon to anybody who is nearby.

"They will see it," my sister murmurs, her eyes fixated on the glowing ball of light.

I nod in response to her statement. Sweat beads down my forehead as I hold the ball of light steady in my hand. My wand shaking slightly under the weight of the magic. Some Eradicators notice the light and start moving towards it. Then even more are heading in my direction.

They probably think I am a comrade, considering the mist is enough to cover my face and body.

"Retreat a few steps back, Nico. Once they see you, they will be confused for a moment, and that will be our signal to attack them. In case one of them wants to attack you first instead, be close enough to the tree to duck behind under," Justus says to me as the footsteps of the Eradicators become even louder.

Maura gives the signal for the archers in the trees to get into position.

The Eradicators are nearly in position. Our archers and knights hide behind trees, bushes, etc. Before we knew it, I am face to face with over fifty Eradicators. They look confused as they come close enough for the mist not to distort their view.

"Attack!" Maura yells as the archers shoot their elemental arrows into the crowd of Eradicators. The knights rush into action, cutting off any exits. The archers keep up their volley of arrows at the enemy. Our sudden ambush causes the Eradicators to lose their sense of reason.

My sister twirls through the Eradicators like a tornado of darkness. Her sword and shield of darkness cut through the enemies like butter. We expect more Eradicators, but we find out from another messenger that many get stuck in our traps.

I quickly leap into action casting spells at the enemy.

"Flaro! Blackthorn! Flaro! Blackthorn!"

My wand is a symbol of death as Eradicators fall down with every spell that strikes them. It is like my body is being taken over by the monster within me. Burn their weapons to the ground. Blind them with darkness. It seems like everything is happening at once for me.

Another group of knights comes to our aid from the side and slams into the Eradicator forces. In a matter of minutes, the knights kill many of the Eradicators while detaining others for questioning. Our plan works like a charm.

We all cheer for a moment. We could stop the sneak attack and hold back the Eradicators. Even though our cheers are filled with pain, as we have lost some lives within the knight squad. Our success is short-lived as one of our scouts runs toward us with a message.

"We have repelled most of the Eradicators from the eastern, western, and southern side! Our northern side, though, is under heavy fire and the enemy is pushing into Stonelight. We need to hurry!" the scout shouts.

Justus and I run with the scout toward the center of Stonelight. My sister stays behind with the King to guard Mistfall just in case, while also protecting the King. My heart pounds in my chest as we run closer and closer to the main conflict. Arrows of fire shoot over our heads into the forest.

Defending is so different from attacking a place. The Eradicators are hitting us hard, and we have lost the surprise attack factor. It couldn't have been that easy to repel them from three directions, right? I look at the scout as we run ahead.

"How many people have been killed so far?" I ask fearfully.

I have nothing but wishful thinking.

"At least a hundred among the HRC, HLH, and the residents of the cities. We have many more unaccounted for as well. We may have fought them off, but it was not without sacrifice," the scout says to us grimly as we are closing in on the front lines.

Justus and I glance at each other with a sad look in our eyes as we enter Stonelight Plaza. We immediately hear the loud, uncomfortable sounds of fighting. Many of the houses and stores are ablaze, and a lot of glass has shattered. Dead bodies of both knights and Eradicators lay scattered throughout. Knights are engaged with Eradicators, preventing them from reaching the palace.

One terrifying figure among the Eradicators stands out among the rest. Anytime a knight tries to attack him, they suddenly become vaporized into thin air. He looks taller and stronger than the other Eradicators. Something about the figure looks so wild. Wild enough that it could tear you apart from just looking at it.

I notice Ignis fighting off some Eradicators on the side while my eyes are transfixed on this cruel-looking figure. I run up to Ignis while blasting an Eradicator with the Blackthorn spell.

"What is that thing?" I ask Ignis quickly.

"That thing," Ignis says while taking deep breaths and looking hopeless. His breath shakes with fear as he holds his crimson wand close to him.

"That's one of the three Eradicator Emperors. His name is Malik Flickerton according to our records. Also known as one of the Emperors of Light. He is the one who killed Abel Uracain. The Keeper King, who ruled Tarondar, is not as strong as he. He shouldn't be here today."

My sister is busy protecting King Grey.

I didn't know I had a shot at avenging all of my friend's deaths so soon.