From Beyond The Rift

Chapter 28: Besieged!

[Saaya's POV]

Dang it! I had to seal off another entrance when the incoming fire started harming our shielders. Now, the only one left is mine, and I'm the only one defending it since the rest can't seem to hold their ground. Just to rub some more dirt on our faces, our mages and archers were barely making a dent to their numbers, while the spears and swords aren't able to do shit!

To make matters even worse...

Zeef:
Mom! Uncle hasn't been seen for almost ten minutes now! He's not supposed to stray too far from here, right?!

Saaya:
Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine!

I'm not sure at all!

The thought of him ending up like Kaizuma keeps punching me in the gut, and I can't help but panic! I mean, it's not like we have the luxury of time to go searching for him either! The enemy is relentless, and if we let our guard down for even a moment, it could cost us everything! But still, he's family, and I can't shake this feeling of dread!

Dad was right about having to worry about entering the battlefield with family! Personal connections can cloud our judgment in moments like these and honestly, if it wasn't for the fact I can't leave Zeef, I may have run out there to find him myself and shook off my title of lieutenant!

Saaya:
Fuck it all!

Sealing the last entrance would be a grave mistake! We'd be like sitting ducks in a frozen pond, vulnerable to starvation or freezing to death. Our supplies are outside of this icy fortress, and being trapped within the chilling embrace of the [Frozen Canopy] and lack of oxygen would only hasten our demise!

The enemies assaulting the other entrances began to converge on my position, but I felt confident in my ability to hold them off for a few more hours. My [Barrier] was proving effective against these adversaries, but I struggled to find an opportunity to launch a counterattack. If only Riece were here! I could hold the line and safeguard everyone while that fearless lunatic charged out and decimated their ranks!

No. I can't rely on him to come to save our asses, and even if he came, he's already come into terms with the fact that we are more of an enemy than family. Rationally speaking I can't blame him, but right now I'm feeling pretty irrational so I can't give a solid answer! On the bright side of all of this, at least the Olvians crippled the undead user. I mean it's not like she's dead, but there's no way she's fit to fight. If she were here then the situation would be-

Soldier:
T-The un... The un.....

Huh? WHat's going on at the centre of the formation!?

Soldier:
THE UNDEAD ARE RISING!

The hell!?

I had to blink repeatedly to ensure I wasn't hallucinating, but reality proved unkind. From the very ground, decomposing arms of grotesque creatures I'd never encountered before began to rise, presenting us with a dire situation both inside and out!

How in the world is this happening!? According to Kuriyami, she shouldn't be in a position to fight, even if considering she's more of a necromancer than a fighter! Do they have some insanely skilled healers on their side or something?!

Can't worry about that now! The moment any of these creatures managed to pop their heads out of the ground, I froze the to ground and prevented them from moving, allowing our soldiers to swiftly dispatch them. But that was only for the ones within my line of sight! The ones on the other side of the formation, however, are out of view, and I have no means of stopping them! Should I close up this entrance and deal with the corpses first!?

Zeef:
[Thunder Dragon Style]!

Oh.... right.

Zeef:
[Starved Thunder]!

I can only hear him but can't see him, but his lightning on the other hand I can do both! Several roaring bolts of his yellow lightning were erratically spazzing out, swimming through the crowd of soldiers and practically disintegrating any and all undead phenomenon they came across, moving in a spiralled pattern in between the rings of the formation! I completely forgot that in terms of pure firepower, the kid's already stronger than I am!

Despite his raw power, his lack of experience is glaring. If the formation hadn't been arranged in predictable rings, his lightning might have struck allies as readily as enemies and on top of that, he isn't yet capable of dispersing the attack in a harmless fashion, which is why he did a smart move and commanded them upwards and forcing them to hurl themselves into the inner walls of [Frozen Canopy], causing the ice to eat the rest of the attack! The walls weren't even scratched, but that's only because I made them! If it were any other shielder here right now, there'd be a very bizarrely made roof light over our heads right now! I guess that's the genes of a Splixin for you. Every lightning user's born into the family, ends up a monster by their early twenties!

That said, entrusting the interior to Zeef might not be wise. But if I don't, I'll have to close the last entrance, leaving us trapped. If that were to happen, no one here, not even I, would be able to break us out!

Aw hell! What do I do?! What do I do?!

???:
[Winter's Embrace]

Huh? Winters....

???:
[Frostbound Domain]