Lances and Daggers

17. Nightfall

"This isn't like last time," Alex said. "There are too many of them. They might overwhelm us."

His eyes were scanning the horizon and counting the pairs of crimson eyes. His observation was useful in assessing the danger, but the few words he said weren't well-chosen; they dampened the spirits of the fighters.

"Numbers don't matter." I tried to raise morale. "What matters is that we fight as one. We lost in the fog once, but we won't lose again."

The fighters cheered in support.

"You're right," Alex said. "There are children and old people in this camp, and they're counting on us."

His words served as more motivation, but they also raised a question that I had not considered before: why did the concepts of appearance, age, pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness—the many features of life—exist in this wasteland? The victims who died as children appeared here as children, the old men as old men. Even our clothes and weapons were transported with us to this realm.

I realized that there was much that I didn't understand. And this realization led me to ask another question, which was more relevant to the upcoming battle. I scratched my cheek and whispered, "By the way, Alex, how do we defeat these demons?"

"So much for the speech you just gave." Erica, who had been sleeping on the ground, stood up and smirked at me. "Unlike the ones in Ashenbrook, these demons can be killed with your sword."

"That makes things easier than I thought." I laughed with embarrassment.

In our world, the demons were nothing but apparitions, but here, they had a tangible presence. As they approached, I saw their red-veined black bodies—twice as tall as an adult human. Their torsos were made of dark grime, which dripped like saliva, leaving a hungry trail wherever they went. And out of this grime extended their limbs and heads. Each limb ended in a silver claw, while each head was equipped with two crimson eyes and a gaping ivory jaw.

"We shouldn't fight from behind the barricades," Erica said.

"The queen's up to boss us around," Alex scoffed.

"The barricades won't hold," she continued with confidence. "We should fight in the open and retreat behind them toward the end of the battle."

"Are you insane?" Alex shouted. "If we step outside, we won't hold!"

"Uh, I know you're busy," I said. "But..."

Erica and Alex turned to me and said with one voice, "What?"

"They're here."

A demon jumped above our heads and landed inside the camp. Before it could turn around and attack us, however, three of my throwing knives pierced its head, and it fell dead on the ground.

"Look what happened because of you, Alex," Erica said.

"Because of me?"

Before the endless game of tic-tac-toe restarted, I said, "Erica, they're already here, so it's too late to change our strategy." The fighting began, and I added, "Alex, you'll continue to lead the defensive forces. Erica and I will circle and distract the demons from behind. This way, we'll make sure they don't overwhelm you."

"It sounds like a plan," he said as he stabbed a demon with his spear.

I turned to Erica and said, "Let's go."

She hesitated for a second but then nodded.

As she and I ran along the barricades, the demons began to attack in large numbers. We heard desperate cries for help. Heads were trampled, and necks were crunched. The scene was horrible, but we couldn't stop to help anyone. We had our mission. We needed to fulfill our role so that the group as a whole would survive.