A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

On Erik's other side, Eira was approaching the first rankers with less energy and bloodthirst but with equal amounts of enthusiasm. She didn't care as much about the fighting as she did about being helpful on her adventure with Erik, the harbinger she had waited literal millennia for.

The biggest difference between her and Alice was that she first tried to talk to them.

Since she had the ability to fly, Eira decided to use that to her advantage. After leaving Erik's side, she flew into the air and now floated right in front of the first ranker formations on the left, positioning herself right between the spiritual archers and her allies down below.

"Hi!" she exclaimed loudly, with a bright smile while waving the hand holding a hammer in the air as a greeting. "My name is Eira!"

Then, she charmingly scratched her head with the same hand in a gesture of embarrassment while chuckling, "This is my first time talking to a crowd… it's a little embarrassing."

With Eira grabbing their attention, the first rankers hesitantly turned their gazes away from the objectively scary Erik and focused on Eira. When they did, they became understandably confused.

First of all, Eira's horns, stretched-out furry ears, and long, thin tail with a bushy end were a strange sight for them—at least on someone who looked predominantly human.

But that wasn't all; she was also a little shimmery and transparent, and finally… well… she could fly. Very rarely did someone get a skill or spell that allowed flight, but this girl didn't appear to be using anything, as if flying was a natural state for her.

"Is everyone seeing a floating, transparent cowgirl?" one of them hesitantly asked, apparently questioning his own reality. This man, along with all his colleagues, was still half-kneeling on the ground as they fed their energy into the spiritual archers.

He received some hesitant nods and murmurs of agreement, confirming that the bizarre vision was shared by everyone present.

Eira began to pout a little due to their apparent confusion but quickly shook it off and smiled again.

"Do you guys mind disabling those formations?" she asked, innocently scratching her head again. "Those are my friends down there, and I don't want them to get hurt, you know? We're on an adventure to find my mistress and save the world, you see!"

Before the Arcanists in front of her could respond, she suddenly pouted again and appeared thoughtful. "Well…" she muttered, a little sad. "Maybe not friends yet… some of them weren't all that nice, and I admit I ignored them a little as well at first."

Then, she smiled again, even more brightly, "But I think we're getting there, you know?! All it takes is a little time! Eventually, we'll all be the best of friends as we go on this adve—"

Boom!

Suddenly, Eira's eyes widened as she quickly raised her shield to defend against the three arrows that came flying at her simultaneously. With a loud crash, they exploded against Eira's shield, but the minotaur girl didn't seem fazed.

"Dammit!" one of the guards cursed. "How did she resist that?! She doesn't even give off any power!"

"What's it matter?!" another cried out. "Fire again!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But before they could, she lowered her shield again and glared at the first rankers in front of her. "That was mean," she pouted angrily at them. "I guess people like you are the bad guys in our adventure…"

Then, she suddenly charged the formations and crashed against one of the guards with her shield. Instantly, the man was blasted away, with every bone in his body broken and blood leaking from every orifice.

"Shit!" the surprised guards exclaimed, not having expected this girl to possess such power.

But that was their mistake, because while Eira didn't give off any appearance of power due to her lack of affinity and was unable to cast any spells or use any skills, her status as a solid-form construct meant her body was far from weak.

Her quasi-physical form possessed the strength of a second-ranked Runebound. Moreover, her body was practically indestructible because it was really just a projection. The real Eira existed as the core embedded within Erik's armour. Oh yeah, and she was able to fly.

Thus, while her operating capacity still depended on proximity to Erik and available power—placing an actual limit on the time she could spend in this form—Eira remained a dangerous presence on any battlefield, even without spells or skills.

Something that these first rankers were soon to discover, as an angry Eira started a bloodbath among them.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other wall, Alice had succeeded in dismantling all the formations and incapacitating fifteen of the guards, but was now facing the other fifteen first-rank Arcanists.

Groans of pain and screams of panic filled the air as those guards frantically tried to get a grip on the small, low-moving creature that was slowly tearing them apart. Her biggest advantages were her small size and the fact that these guards were packed very closely together.

It was like a cat rampaging through a pack of dogs, except the cat was covered in razorblades.

However, now that the guards were free of their formations and starting to get a grip on the situation, spells and affinities were quickly starting to flare up as they tried to take down the wereverine in their midst. At the same time, they also started coordinating with each other by yelling back and forth.

They were finally getting rid of their panic and confusion. They were getting ready to fight back.

Yet it wasn't fast enough to stop an enthusiastic, blood-soaked Alice from killing three more before the situation finally changed.

Now, Alice found herself in the middle of the remaining guards, where she laughed excitedly and pounced on another Arcanist, plunging her frostfire-enhanced claws into their chest.

Unfortunately, she had been so focused on the fighting that she'd barely paid attention to the guards planning their next steps by yelling it at each other. Which is why it came as a surprise to her when the remaining eleven guards suddenly spread out in every direction and created distance.

Alice, hunched over her latest victim, blinked in surprise when she noticed her surroundings were suddenly far more open. "Huh?" she mumbled and looked around, only to notice she was now surrounded by eleven Arcanists, all of whose faces were distorted in rage.

"Now!" one of them cried out, and suddenly, three of the Arcanists unleashed their prepared spells.

Alice jumped up in alarm, but it was too late. She was assaulted by a fiery rope and a chain of electricity that quickly wound themselves around her body, while at the same time, the stone of the castle walls moved and enclosed itself around her feet.

She stumbled and fell to her knees while she released a high-pitched roar. "Ack! Dammit!" she cried out, struggling and glaring menacingly at the surrounding guards. "You'll regret that!"

"Hmpf, I don't think so, pipsqueak," one of the guards snorted before raising his hands and conjuring another magic circle. His actions were mirrored by the other guards as well. "Now die!"

But before they could unleash their spells, their eyes suddenly widened, and their bodies trembled, as if frozen in place. A threatening snort echoed, "That's enough playing around."