Wish

Chapter 11 || Attack!

"...Sunlight?" When Talo had fully realised that the reason he was running to the village was important, and scooped up Lypher and took a forest shortcut, the last thing he was expecting to see was beams of the morning's rays present past the folds of the leaves above him. Nowhere else did the sky break its cloudy pattern, and when he looked directly up, he couldn't see where the sun had come from. Perhaps, it wasn't sunlight? "What else could it be then?" he pondered, pace still fast yet steady.

The orange lights floated around weirdly, yet they were near miniscule. "...Embers!" he said, both shocked and scared, not for him, but for Kai and the other residents. With a newfound, even bigger surge of urgency, he began to slice through the shrubbery with the blade, mercilessly. Ever since he encountered those Tearer's, his care and respect for nature overall had taken a bit of a dive.

Screams. Whooshing fire. Collapsing rubble. They were small sounds for now, but present. He finally pushed forwards past the final greenery, and came to witness a site of sheer horror. Villagers were running around in a panic, a few flames spreading slowly but surely, homes being broken down and falling into ruin, all caused by the creatures overflowing from each direction. "Darkborns!" he spat hatefully.

Before he could realise what he was doing, Lypher had flown out of his arms and ran somewhere else. "Buddy, wait-" A sudden, broad pain hit him in the chest, sending him flying back. He could barely manage to force his eyes open, and reveal what to have hit him as a Darkborn, bulky in its arms but with spindly thin legs. His hand had lost hold on the Faded Blade, being sent to the side, now hidden from basic sight by a large berry filled bush.

Agony now ran through his abdomen, before falling on the damp ground flatly. He groaned, but still managed to push himself back up. His legs quaked numbly, but he stood strong. The Darkborn lingered menacingly, its sharp pointed limbs nearly gleaming like steel, yet it didn't bring his awareness to his missing weapon, or the fact he was physically defenceless at all. Magic would suffice, he concluded.

It began to bend its lanky legs, poising to dash and cut or bash into him. Without a second to spare, it ran towards him. He quickly ducked under its arm, only rising again to slice at its back and legs with a small light dagger which quickly dissipated, leading to it tripping over and screeching in rage. "Talo!" he heard someone call out.

He looked back around and spotted Kai, panting, his tunic slightly torn. In an instant, he bounded towards him, leaving the Darkborn behind. "Kai, what the hell is going on?!" he demanded, looking around the scene, petrified. "I don't really know, but a couple hours ago there was a loud shattering, I don't know if you heard it or not, but Darkborn's arrived and began seizing Labed, around ten minutes ago!" he told swiftly, instinctively holding out his second blade for the other to take.

"I don't know how, but I can just feel that sound and these things are connected!" he mentioned, gazing deep into the forest, where he speculated the shattering had occurred. "Regardless, we need to stop them!" Talo grabbed the sword without any hesitation, and nodded to reassure Kai that he will receive his assistance.

It seemed divine intervention wanted him to prove it, as another wretched beast had suddenly appeared behind his friend, yet he instantly dashed forward and parried its stab at them, the other quickly springing into action, striking it down. "Well, we just need to do that to every other Darkborn, and we'll win. Simple as that!" Talo chuckled, yet kept his senses sharp. "Ha, I wish!" Kai replied, before a blood curdling scream shot straight through their moment of slight hilarity. Wordlessly they ran towards it, making sure to watch each other's back.

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"Come at me ya ugly lookin' purple slendies!" Woodie barked, feet fallen into the sands of the Shore. "Brother, not the time for insults!" Liern commented weakly, whacking away at small Darkened creatures with his basic dagger. If only he hadn't seen him running down to the beach, he could've been nice and safe in the secret hideout bunker under Fairytailor! But yet, here he was, the kid titled as the biggest scaredy cat in his young days, now being a somewhat braver- yet a lot more cautious scaredy cat!