Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Omerta - Chapter Sixty Eight

"Eat this!"

I heard Hana shout right next to me. By the time I turned to see what happened, they fired the crossbow at someone inside the encampment. Did the lizardmen break through our lines? The one they aimed for was much more sinister and dangerous, even than thousands of reptiles.

"The Elder?" I yelled, right as the bolt hit her. It threw sparks around, and I heard a loud clang over the noises of the raging battle. But the crossbow hit true, the bolt managed to penetrate all her defenses.

The blonde woman was just as surprised as we were. Hana's crossbow was stronger than the rest, and they did not idle around, reloading the weapon. The Elder fell to the ground, but it seemed too nice to be true. She survived a similar wound last time.

"Omerta, watch out, she's doing something!" I heard Hana yell at me and almost noticed it too late. The way her hand touched the ground wasn't to give her support. No, she prepared to drain our life forces again, and with so many people around, an attack like that would have been devastating. I couldn't shield everyone at once.

I needed to concentrate on a spell and make it quick. A bolt of lightning seemed like the fastest spell I could pull off. There was plenty of pent electricity in the air around us, I just had to give them a nice, juicy target.

"No, you're not!" The Elder yelled. She ripped off the bolt and thrust it into the ground before my lightning could reach her. It acted like a lightning rod, and she got away with my attack. Still, she was bleeding badly, and her spell needed serious concentration. As long as I kept hitting her, it should have been fine.

"Behind you!" Hana shouted, tackling me, and bringing me to the ground all of a sudden. I was concentrating on the Elder too hard myself. I forgot about the battle raging around me. The lizard's shamans broke my barrier, and their archers lobbed arrows through the gaps.

It would have been much better to be hit by those. The spell the Elder immediately unleashed was much more devastating. It happened to me the second time now and I was quick enough to shield myself, then steadily increased the radius towards my brother and other allies. But I was too late to protect everyone. Withered orcs and goblins fell one by one around us. The Elder seemed to be completely healed once again.

"What are you doing, orc witch?" Ember asked, distracted from the rest of the fight as well. "She almost hit me with something nasty."

"I could use some help," I confessed, swallowing my arrogance. I remembered how it ended the last time I fought her. "She is way too powerful for me, and I feel like she is somehow connected with the..."

I couldn't finish. The fight started, and she regained her strength, attacking everyone around her indiscriminately. I had to shield as many people as possible while looking for openings. It was tough with a thousand or more lizardmen behind our backs, but if I wanted to give the company a fighting chance, we had to deal with the Elder first. Ember did not waste time hitting her with different fire spells, but she had to restrain her powers.

"I see, another witch. And this one is only a child." The woman taunted us effortlessly between two offensive spells. "Who would have thought the Demon Lord already has to scrape the barrel? But don't worry, the younger you are, the more of your life force I can steal away."

"You freak me out, human." The Fire Witch answered, lobbing one fire arrow at her after the other. The mage defended herself with a watery aura, so it was time for me to send another lighting at her. It hit her but didn't do much damage. Hana on the other hand was up and standing again, and they finished reloading their crossbow too.

"No, one was plenty enough of that!" The Elder yelled, reaching her hand towards the weapon. I reacted too late, and it caught on fire. Hana would not let go of it before they got off the shot, but this time it missed.