Consequences

Chapter 5

With a loud yell, Kiyoto cut away at the group of undead with his halberd. A skeleton drew an arrow, firing it at the Felina general while his back was turned, only for a human to jump in front of him, the arrow hitting the shield he carried. Lyle took out his crossbow, firing from over the shield. His arrow flew harmlessly through the skeleton's ribs, leaving it confused for a moment before it's head was knocked off by Kiyoto's halberd.

Kiyoto gave Lyle a grateful glance before turning his attention back to the battle at hand. Rushing forward and retrieving his halberd, the Felina killed off undead after undead, Lyle close behind him and blocking blows whenever necessary, always having Kiyoto's back.

All across Franchester, soldiers were also fighting off the Nether. The Felden army had already been pushed back too far, they couldn't afford to lose this battle.

' Watch out!' Lyle suddenly called out, and Kiyoto looked up just in time to see Lyle's shield get thrown above him right in front of a projectile from a Wither. The explosion that followed threw Kiyoto off his feet, leaving him defenseless as a blaze sent fireballs in his direction.

In a blur of red, all Kiyoto heard was a hum, and then an explosion along with the dying cry of a blaze. The Felden general's eyes widened as soon as he realised who had just saved him from death. ' You're...'

Ingressus didn't look at him just yet, ' Achillean, the Wither!'

The Nestoris emerged from the trees, using Mobilibounce to get up to the Wither, prepared to take it out. The Wither fired another projectile, which Achillean was forced to avoid, but he still managed to cut off the Wither's left head before landing next to Ingressus with a roll.

Seeing Achillean confirmed Kiyoto's suspicions - this was the duo the Ardoni clans were after. But the question that burnt in his mind was "Why were they here?" It didn't seem that he was going to get his answer anytime soon though, because both disappeared into the fight.

Kiyoto found himself amazed as the two Ardoni effortlessly swept through the Nether forces, lighting up the battle with the glow of their markings and the Songs they summoned. And if it wasn't enough to turn the tide in Felden's favour, Conchord soldiers entered the battlefield, pushing back the Nether forces even more.

The Netheran in command watched with worry as they made quick work of his army. It wouldn't be long before they reached him and he would meet the same fate as them. Just as he turned tail to run, a portal opened up in front of him, and his face met Willa's fist. The punch powered by Aggrohance was enough to send him stumbling, leaving him open for a slash of Arion's sword.

The Netheran growled in annoyance, swinging his iron greatsword, only to be stopped by Aggrobeam. Ingressus charged up to him, firing Aggroblast and knocking him down to the ground, holding out his broadsword threateningly, ' Running away from battle?'

Just then, they heard another loud screech from above. Before any of them could react, a Wither flew over them, shrouding them in mist. The Netheran quickly took the distraction to slip away and flee.

Upon seeing this, Kiyoto held up his halberd, aimed, and with all his remaining strength, hurled it at the Wither from the side, instantly killing it as the weapon went through it's remaining two heads. The Wither burst into energy, and a Nether star dropped down.

As soon as the Wither was taken down, the mist subsided. Ingressus turned around to see Kiyoto approaching them, Lyle behind him. The Felina folded his arms, looking at Ingressus and Achillean, ' You two have a lot of explaining to do...'

~*~

When Thalleous arrived in Oakendale, he was surprised that he had barely run into any of the Nether forces, and only encountered a couple undead, yet they were easy to deal with, not being controlled by Withers. It was a rather uneventful journey. Though Thalleous was grateful for not having many delays, since it was quite an urgent matter, now he was even more intruiged what the Voltaris have been up to. Before, every corner of Ardonia was crawling with Withers and if they were unlucky, even Netherans - though they seemed to prefer staying in their own realm, King Chronos hadn't even been sighted since the battle with the Enderknights, it was as if they were confident that the Overworld was powerless to fight back - but it was like they all vanished from the kingdom of Conchord without a trace. And he was sure the Voltaris had been behind it, or at least partially involved.