The New World: Battleground (Part Four)

"Us against them?" George questioned, narrowing his eyebrows.

"N-No, well, okay, we don't need to be on the offensive." I corrected myself, hastily. " I'm suggesting we round up those who don't want to take part in this slaughter and instead create a stronghold somewhere defensible, then blockade any Myrian's. They should be noticeable due to the insignia on their outfit, so…" I said.

"Okay, that sounds a lot more rational." Michael said, nodding in agreement. "Still, we'll have to tread carefully. We have to avoid being spotted at all costs, somehow muster up people who still have weapons, and get us all THERE."

"That's why I'm suggesting we should split up." I replied, rubbing my chin a bit, thoughtfully.

"Damn, you recover from emotional trauma fast…" George commented.

I shook my head. "I… …I have a duty. We all have a duty." I said. Illaena talking to me had helped me recover, but… I knew what I had to do.

"And what's that?" Michael asked.

I couldn't afford to be sheltered any longer. I couldn't afford to just idly stand by and let things happen around me. I had to be an active part.

I stepped back, and used the only magic I could, one that you couldn't learn anywhere—one that only a divine spark could grant you. I gripped at the air above me, clenching my fists. Fire sprung forth—divine, vibrant fire—spreading over my fist, spreading out into the air. Michael and George looked onwards, their eyes widening. Michael mouthed 'what the…' as the elegant bow shaped and formed in the air, streams of light bursting forth from my fist, before the fire finally faded.

"My name, is Naema. Myria usurped Illaena from her throne, and she has become a part of me." I said, lowering the bow, and summoning an arrow of pure, divine fire. "Her soul resides with mine, and mine, with hers. It is my goal to take back the throne, and put all these heinous acts to rest. But I cannot do that alone." I didn't really know why at the time, but saying those things just sounded… *right*.

"…W…What?" George said, his voice quiet as he squinted his eyes, looking both at the bow, then at me. "…Something's messing with m-my eyesight, man."

"You're seeing this too?" Michael said, glancing at George, then at me. "H-Holy shit!"

"Illaena… Illaena, why does that name sound familiar…" Michael rubbed his chin. "…The old statues! From when I was a kid! Before—Before Myria! –H-Holy shit, they looked just like you do! …Only, they were nine-tailed… Not two…"

"That is because Illaena is transforming me to an image of her. As a Kitsune, I grow in tails by the amount of training I do and how strong I get, or the advance of time." I explained. "Now, can I trust you two to follow me?"

George and Michael looked at each other. "….I don't know, man, it could be a trick by Myria… To fool us…" George said.

"Myria wouldn't want to fool us. What would she gain?" Michael replied.
George rubbed his chin. "…Very well, Naema. But I will remain sceptical till you show yourself true." He said.

I nodded. "That is all I ask." I sighed a bit, rubbing my forehead gently, looking towards the door. "So. As I said. We should split up. Gather our ranks, and send everyone alive who escaped the deathroom to the roof. Since there's only one entry to the roof, we can hold them off by sheer force, unless Myrian's have some dirty trick up their sleeves." I said.

George and Michael nodded. "Right." They said, in unison, heading to the door and opening it, looking out.

I couldn't help but hope I knew what the hell I was doing.

'Divine instinct.' Illaena said, simply.

My ears piped up a bit as I noticed George and Michael giving me one last look, before heading out, the door easing shut behind them. 'Divine instinct…?' I replied to Illaena, rubbing my chin gently.

'Yes. Your divine spark is growing, and you feel compelled to do something. You feel compelled to LEAD.' Illaena responded.

I pondered a bit, wiping some stray hair away from my face as I looked around. 'I… Guess that's a good thing, huh…'

'Yes, because it's compelling you to not sit in a stall all day crying when there is work to be done. Now hop to it.' Illaena replied, flatly. I blinked a little, surprised at her insistence, but a part of me knew that she was right. I couldn't sit around; my conscience wouldn't let me. Myria had gone too far. It was time to stop this.

I rushed to the door, opening it a crack and peered through it. The immediate hallway was empty, thank gods. I slid it open, looking around, before rushing over to the nearest door, opening it. It was a classroom, though it was presently abandoned. I swore a bit, and heard the rushing of feet from the corridor to my left and decided it was in my best interests to hop into the classroom, and leave the door open only a crack so I could see and hear.

The footsteps were in two, and they were running. I heard heavy breaths, before I saw Rin rush right past the door, stopping in his tracks as he spotted something worrisome. I angled my head a bit to check what it was. There were two Myrian's wielding swords approaching him from head-on. I swore gently. Rin readied his sword.

"Alright, you bitches are going to make this hard, then, huh?" Rin said.

"We are doing what is the will of our house." One of them said, simply.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I got it, so you leave me no other option." Rin said.

"You can submit. Accept defeat."

"Never."

Rin charged forward, clashing swords with the Myrian with mighty blows. They duelled back and forth for a while, the two Myrian's interchanging attack patterns, and Rin swiftly figuring it out and dodging, somehow managing to have naught but a scratch on his skin.
I could see why Ares chose him. I narrowed my eyes a bit, but seeing as I didn't have a clear shot for my bow, nor anything useful, I would just get in the way at present. I still hesitantly raised my bow, angling the arrow towards the fighters, but I didn't open the door any further, and I didn't risk being seen.

Rin was an exceptionally competent fighter. He slashed, dipped and dodged, without even seeming to take much of a hit, even against two Myrian's. Then, finally, Rin jumped behind them, and swung around with his blade while they attempted to turn… Slashing right through them. I closed my eyes, cringing, and when I opened them, the Myrian's had vanished, their equipment clattering to the ground.

I breathed a sigh of relief, heading out of my hiding place. "Hey, Rin." I said. He turned around, eyes widening a bit as he readied his sword, but relaxed when he saw it was only me.

"Shit, Vixen… Nearly gave me a heart attack." He said, before narrowing his eyes a little, and looking looked around, assuming an on-edge, always-ready persona.

"We need to amass troops to head to the roof." I said, bending down and picking up the equipment the two Myrian's left over; two bows, two quivers, and sharp knives. "I'll need you to lookout for me while I carry this. I can't protect myself like this, and I suck at close-range combat." I said.

Rin nodded. "We should then head to the roof first-off and deposit this stuff somewhere hidden." He whispered. I nodded in agreement. I would be of more worth to Rin if my hands were free. I de-summoned my own bow and quiver, as we began to rush to the roof. Luckily, we managed to make it there without encountering anyone from the Myria camp. We informed others from different houses about our plans, and tried our best to spread the word.

We headed to the roof, and dumped our extra gear behind some large dumpsters and crates. We figured it would be best to sandwich the stuff where if a Myrian came up here, they wouldn't be able to find it. I stepped back, and took a deep breath, summoning my bow again just in case. Glancing to the door, I was surprised to see students were already rushing towards the roof, fending off Myrian's down the hallway as they did.

One, two, three, four… More and more students piled up. I took charge as an archer, angling my bow down the hallway and firing at any Myrian I had a clear shot at. Students rushed passed me—and I couldn't help but notice Lilly joining us too.

"Keep it up." She said, pausing next to me, before rushing atop the roof. The flow of students ebbed, leaving me with several minutes of rest time in between them showing up. I didn't know how many students we'd rallied, but I knew we needed to keep the doors open for at least a little while longer.

So I waited.

And waited.

And waited…

Half an hour had passed without the sight of a single student. My arms were getting sore of holding the bow, so I de-summoned it, and lowered them, turning around. I closed my eyes, letting out a bit of a sigh. The moment I relaxed, my legs wobbled a little, as I fell over onto my rear, panting a bit.

"Vixen, you okay?" Rin rushed down to check on me.

It was a wave of exhaustion like none that I'd felt before. Although, now that I thought about it… My mind trailed back to the hot springs. When I'd first used my magic there, I'd felt something similar, but nowhere near this scale.

"Nnh… Hnn…" I gasped, trying to form words but being unable to. Maybe I shouldn't have used so many fire arrows… But I couldn't help it; I had to give the regular arrows to those who could make use of them on the roof, taking out wolves down on the ground five floors below.

Rin bent down, grabbing me under my knees and my back. "Come on, girl, you've done enough for now…" He said, softly. I gazed at him a bit, feeling a slight warmth in my chest, which soon passed, leaving me confused as to what exactly it was. Rin rested me on the ground, against one of the crates, before turning around. "Yo. Felix. You take charge of the hallway." He said, pointing towards it.

A man with scruffy black hair nodded, rushing to the place where I'd been standing, readying his bow and waiting.

Rin then walked over to the edge of the roof, where five or six archers were training their arrows on the wolves down below.

There was a contingent of people on the other side of the roof sharpening their swords, and exchanging armour to those whom it would suit better. Rin was then organizing amongst those troops to send out a small scouting party, to gather more resources and troops from the school buildings. A contingent consisting of two groups of five people. They then rushed down through the hallway.

I was slowly regaining my strength. I rolled over and placed my hands on the ground, pushing myself up with a small groan, and forcing myself to attempt to get onto my legs. I… Mostly succeeded, but I found myself leaning against the crates behind me for support, my legs feeling like jelly and wobbling.

"You sure you should be standing?" I heard a familiar, female voice say. I glanced to my side, and saw Lilly, wielding a dagger, looking up at me, curious.

"I can't sit around on my ass." I replied, trying to support my own weight, but collapsing back into the boxes, remaining on my feet, but not wanting to do that again.

"You used too much magic, didn't you?" Lilly asked, with a slight frown on her face, her bubble-gum-pink hair flowing in the wind slightly.

I nodded. "I needed to save our physical ammo for those who could use it to greater advantage." I said, clutching my chest a bit as I panted heavily, trying to regain some form of composure. "I'm more surprised at how it only sunk in after I relaxed…"

"Maybe it's… Hmm." Lilly rubbed her chin. "Perhaps your body was taking signals from you, and didn't give into the tiredness until you deemed it okay."

"I didn't deem it okay!" I replied.

"But your subconscious might have."

"I—Well—That's---…Yeah…. Y..You have a point…" I conceded, sliding down and resting on the ground a bit, closing my eyes.

"We'll handle this. You just relax for now." Lilly said, rubbing my shoulder a little before rushing to guard duty.

'That girl… Intuitive. I'm surprised she caught on.' Illaena told me.

'Wait, you mean she guessed right?' I replied.

'Indeed. Curious… Perhaps she is right to say that we should rest.'

I nodded a bit, closing my eyes... I'm pretty sure I fell unconscious for some time, but… There was nothing more I could do at that point.