Marionette

Chapter 5

WHAT?! 

Why was he a Captain, then?! Jesus! This made no sense whatsoever! 

He was probably a noble or whatever, and they promoted him to Captain due to his family's connections, even though he was unqualified. 

Shit! This was bad. In a few minutes, we would all be minced meat. 

"You guys get the hell out of here..." said Captain Arne, "I'll buy you time." 

I could not believe what I was hearing! Was an army Captain of Milwick, a nation that had enslaved us, about to sacrifice himself to save otherworldly filth? 

There were a lot of mysteries about this guy. He was not soft, but he never went out of his way to be cruel to us. During training, he would also make sure his Knights were not too harsh with us, and trust me, those twenty idiots wanted nothing more than to make our lives miserable. 

"Marco, pass this message to one of my Knights," he said with unwavering eyes. "Elise, I love you and promise to find you again in my next life. James, may you become a strong boy and never defy Milwick." 

I nodded. I felt uneasy about it, though. 

GRRRRROOOOOUUGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Demon's Shield stopped about eighty yards away, growled loudly and stood on its two legs. That thing was massive, at least eight feet tall. 

"Go!" shouted Captain Arne. With his sword pointed at the beast, he ran into the fray. "RAHHHHHHH!!!!!" 

"Let's go!" I shouted, glancing at him one last time, and ran in the opposite direction. 

Yui and the two others followed me without a word. 

As I ran, I could hear Captain Arne's sword clanging against the bear's thick skin. The Demon's Shield growled loudly again. It was not amused that a puny human dared to defy it. 

"SHIT!" I heard the young, inexperienced Captain shout in terror. It was followed by a loud thud.
I turned my head. 

Captain Arne was knocked down, the Demon's Shield on top of him, its mouth widely open, and its massive canines descending on his neck. 

Time slowed. 

I unwittingly changed direction, poured vast amounts of magic energy into my feet to run faster, and made it in the nick of time. 

"GAHHHHH!!!!" I yelled, trying to withstand the immense weight of its jaws, holding the shield with both hands. The beast's teeth had sunk into my wooden shield, scratching my shoulder. 

"Marco!" I heard Yui calling my name, but I couldn't reply under that massive weight. 

"AHHHHHH!!!" I was not strong enough to do this thing. 

"LIGHTNING BALL!" screamed Yui, firing at the Demon's Shield. 

Arrows shot from Azra's bow and whistled in the wind, and Azi attacked its side with his sword. All to no avail. This thing was not even paying attention to them; it was focused on tearing me apart. 

My shield was about to crumble. It was a miracle this cheap thing had lasted this long. 

"G-get h-him to s-safety!" I managed to say. 

Yui was still frantically firing lightning ball after lightning ball. She would run out of juice quickly if she kept this up.

Azi and Azra, who had realised how futile this attack was, had backed away, their mouths hanging open. Thankfully, they heard me.