An alarm sounded through the Villa causing its resident's to snap awake. Estile was out of her bed, on her feet and dressed within seconds. She rushed to the living room to find some of her companions already waiting.
"What's going on?" she looked around on edge. The alarm was only meant to be triggered on the most serious of calls and hadn't been rung for more than a decade. The children too had woken form the noise and looked towards their parents anxiously.
Karen spoke wiping the remaining sleep form her eyes, "We're getting calls from all over the world for help. At first Ellen and Sephie who were on duty left but since then we've just kept getting more and more."
"Do you know why?" RIftin asked as he adjusted the daggers on his side. His black hair glistened in the morning light perfectly matching the dark tanned armour he wore.
"Arvel's trying to monitor the situation and said something about a foreign invasion but since then I haven't heard from him," Karen creased her brow.
"Could it be the devils?" Mori asked while stifling a yawn. The yellow haired girl shook herself. "And what about the armies, are they doing anything?"
Trent answered, "Of course they are. They wouldn't call us if they could handle it themselves."
Kyle who had been silent till now turned to Mori, "Do you think it's related to your nightmares?"
The girl stiffened, "Maybe, but I can never be sure. In the dreams I saw death and people crying for help. Creatures that were melded together by dark web squirmed through the ground killing everyone in sight. I hope it's not the same."
Estile tightened the grip on her sword, "We can't just sit here talking. Let's get down to business and go."
Karen nodded and spread her hands as a large map appeared displaying the world and all its continents, "The red blips are the countries and cities that have called for aid."
"There's so many," Trent gulped. Even if they all split up the twelve of them wouldn't be enough.
"Whatever is happening we're going to have to face that we won't be able to save everyone," her eyes flicked to Estile. "We'll be prioritising the cities our children may be. Any objections?" No one disagreed. "Good. Kyle and Mori will head to Dupoint through the Dew Valley gate, Trent and I will go towards the West Continent, Riftin will stay here and Estile-,"
"Hang on," Estile interrupted. "All these cities are from mixed race countries or not human. You don't think the pro-human nations have something to do with this?"
"We'll figure that out later. Our goal is to support the nations as much as we can and get them to form up their own defences as we move on to the next target. Estile I'll send you off directly to Ardentgrad."
"Do it now then," the white haired girl spoke firmly.
"Okay but one last thing," Karen looked to her friends, the companions she had made and the other Mercenaries of the Ever-Garden, "No one die, I have the feeling we can't afford to on this one." They nodded grimly. "Estile when you're ready." A shimmering portal drew itself beside Karen.
Estile looked to the children who were crowding the nearby corridor, "Everyone we have work to do now so behave yourself. Maxi is in charge while we're gone and if anything happens call for Arvel okay?" The children looked at each other and Maxi nodded, her ears twitching. "Then I'm off."
Estile jumped through the portal as the world distorted rapidly forming a new sight of a familiar seaside city. She fell from the sky giving her a wide view of the landscape and the current situation. It hadn't even been that long ago when they all took a vacation to play amongst the beaches. Now however the city was in dire straits. The streets were empty and the castle district being the safest had been crammed with as many people as possible. Beyond the outermost wall, a tide of black was being held back by a thin line of the city's defenders. Sparks of light and explosions spread across the scenery as the defenders gave their all to protect their home. The once beautiful landscape was filled with war. Being the Capital of Ardentgrad it had been over a century since fighting had every come so close to the walls. It was a feat in itself that the King had managed to prepare a solid defence at such short notice.
She quickly found where to go and launched herself towards the command centre just on the inner side of the wall. A crash of wind announced her arrival as the soldiers nearby were pushed back alarmed, many of them trying to draw their weapons.
"Put away your arms!" the voice of their King calmed them quickly. He stood a far cry from his usual regal self and instead wore a simple yet sturdy armour. The only difference between him and his knights was the crown on top his head. He bowed respectfully, "Lady Estile, thank the Sleeping god that you are here. We thought you'd never arrive." His eyes turned anxiously, "Are you alone?"
"Unfortunately," Estile replied grimly. "Yours is not the only city in danger."
The King frowned, "I feared so. Our attempts to contact our allies have been for naught. We're barely holding the line as it is."
"Let's see if I can change that," she let out a confident smile, more to encourage the soldiers around her than anything else. "As a Mercenary of the Ever-Garden I refuse to let you down. We'll beat back the enemy together and make sure they never come back!" A resolute cheer resounded from the crowd as she pumped her hand into the air. "Now King Ardent I need to know as much as you can tell me."
"This way my Lady," he bowed and led her into the command centre. A large map displayed itself on the central table. It showed the state of the battle and the surrounding fields, even including small illusions representing the state of both armies. "We're spread thin but have managed to focus the enemy assault towards a single point. It'll take a full day before our standing armies can gather and return from their assignments, until then we only have the city guard, new soldiers, as well as my knights."
Estile stared at the map absorbing the details. The enemy's position was clear as they formed a dark mass continually trying to break through towards the main gate. "And what are the enemy like? They're clearly a lot of them but how strong are they?"
"That's the strange part my Lady. They are all the one enemy from what we can see. Fully armoured black soldiers, each with a single shield and sword. Their strength is about the same as your average soldier but their numbers and resilience are far greater than ours. We've tried to scatter them with different magic but they don't seem to fear or be effected."
"It sounds like a type of summon but these numbers...," Estile bit her lip. It was impossible for even an Archdevil to summon that many peons and even more so if these were the same creatures that were attacking the other cities. "What's your current plan?"
"We've gathered all the magicians we can spare and have begun the preparations to cast a Grand Annihilation spell." The King's expression deepened, "Our target is the back lines of the enemy to hopefully break apart wherever they are coming from. With their reinforcements broken the cavalry will spear head an attack to break the front lines."
"A solid plan but two things. How long till the spell is ready and do you know the source of the enemy?"
He turned to a robed man near the edge of the room, "How long left?"
The man jerked awake, clearly tired, "Still an hour your Highness."
The King nodded, "As for the source. Our clairvoyants and scouts can only tell they're coming from the forest. No matter how many of the damn things we slay they keep coming back."
Estile closed her eyes in thought before nodding resolutely, "For now we'll stick to your plan. I'll ease the burden on your soldiers at the front line as much I can. Hopefully we'll get some new information soon."
"I cannot thank you enough Lady Estile. Had you not come I feared the worst." He looked to a tall figure behind him, "Aravest, you and your knights will support Lady Estile in whatever she needs."
The fully armoured figure saluted, "It will be an honour!"
Estile took a deep breath, "Then I'll be off." It had been a long time since she had fought in a large battle like this and she honestly hated it. As strong as she was, there was no way for her to control the entire field of battle, people would still die.
"My Lady, one more thing," the King's eyes became pensive. "These creatures... they appear to lack a solid will. Our reports have shown they will only attack those who attack them, the exception being any of the non-human races."
"What do you mean?"
"They ignore humans and attack all others."
"Then what will you do?" The King was human as were majority of his subjects.
"I will stay and defend my country."
"You are a good man Ardent."
Without having to be lead Estile marched herself outside the wall and to the frontlines where groups of soldiers had formed a makeshift barricade of wooden spikes and shields. The two sides collided together as archers and the few leftover magicians supported from the rear. The fact that it hadn't divulged into a mess of melee combat showed the degree of discipline the soldiers held as they held the lines. Now that she could see the enemy Estile understood what the King meant. Each of them wore full black armour and were a copy of the other, even to the same height. Their attacks were simple but numerous like a wave that never ended.
"My Lady Estile," Aravest stood behind her along with four other men. "It is honour to fight beside you once again."
She looked at him surprised, focusing on his face, "Oh... the boy from Tiber?"
"You remember?" the large man perked up.
"Well you've certainly grown into a fine knight since then."
"And you remain as resplendent as always," he bowed his head. "Order us as you see fit. Our lives are yours."
Estile looked to them all, "Then my first order is to prioritise your lives. The King will need you even after this battle. If you tire at all retreat and rest. Even among the Mercenaries there are few who can keep up with me."
"Yes my lady!" they slapped their chest plates in reply.
"Good. I'll be heading in. Do your best to survive!" With those words Estile crouched and with a powerful jump sprang into the air and over the soldiers at the front lines. The knights below drew their weapons and charged forward as she continued to sail further into the enemy ranks, finally landing among them.