Chapter 1041 - Overture

Brina looked into his eyes to make sure he understood what she was talking about, "I will not run away again..."

And from his aghast expression it was obvious he did.

But the very next moment the shock was replaced with anger as he responded through gritted teeth, "I did nothing wrong! He made his choice and it got him killed. Why should I be responsible for-"

"He was our friend, your BEST friend! You-WE should have fought with him togethe-"

"Then we would have all died!"

"IS that really such a bad thing? At least I wouldn't be feeling guilty every waking moment of every day. I wouldn't have to feel like I was drowning whenever I felt happy for even a second. At least....at least it wouldn't hurt this much..."

Her voice fell to a whisper as she mumbled the last sentence to herself. Wern had nothing to say, there was nothing he COULD say, it was all true. He was feeling the same way too but for him it was much worse.

The person in question was his best friend. They had been together since they were 4 years old and he was only here in the first place because of Wern's insistence.

He did not have the standing nor the connections to be able to enter the academy on his own so Wern used his position as the youngest prince of his Kingdom to bring the boy along. Unfortunately, it did not end well.

Wern could not even bear to look at Brina anymore so he just turned around and started walking away. A moment later his voice rang inside her head.

"Fine then. Stay here and die pointlessly."

Her eyes began to water as she finally screamed back at his receding figure, "SCUMBAG!"

Obviously, their interaction did not go under the radar but no one wanted to insert themselves in an already tense situation. To the ones that were unaware it just sounded like a lover's quarrel so there was not much that could be said.

Hazel sighed inwardly while watching from the sidelines. Others might not know but she did.

"If your heart is not in it then it's better to just sit out," she muttered under her breath, justifying letting an otherwise important asset walk away from a fight but since they were doing so well maybe they wouldn't need him.

But not a few seconds later she began to doubt her decision as the second wave that had been on the horizon was finally close enough that they could see what it really was.

Where the grunts they had been fighting all this time were mutated humans with extra appendages that had not completed their evolutions, the ones that were coming had.

They were taken apart cell by cell and then put back together within the embryonic sacs of the main hive in the depths of the prison. There was nothing 'humane' about them, not their physical appearance and certainly not their reason for existence.

The minor tremors turned into small 3.0 magnitude earthquakes just from their collective claws stomping on the ground still almost a mile away. The barrier hummed lightly and became even brighter as more and more power was routed to it.

Suppressed gasps and whimpering breaths sounded one by one as the corrupted spawn got closer.

There were still numerous grunts running alongside and under their legs but the spotlight fell on the several meters tall insectoid-shaped monsters leading the charge.

Deformed elongated heads attached to grossly oversized bodies riddled with sharpened spikes and other bony masses jetting out from the sides and the backs bobbed up and down with every step taken by the two to eight pairs of legs each of which ended in heavy hoofs and jagged claws.

Their eyes glowed with a peculiar yellow light that was so bright that from afar it looked like a field of radiant stars.

From the tip of their thorny tongues to the ends of their honed claws, there was not an inch of space anywhere on their bodies that was not suitable to take lives.

Rhisiat, Fulke, and all the other melee fighters that were standing outside the barrier could feel it better than any else. The very air had become heavy with dread once more, and this time they knew in their heart of hearts that it was not going to be easy.

It would not even be comparable to the grunts they had been fighting till now.

The sheer oppressive aura that they were giving off was enough to make them rethink all of their life decisions.

'I should not have come to this place,' was what many of them were thinking.

At a distance of 700 meters the snarling roars reached the city and penetrated even the barrier through sheer force.

A cacophony of death and destruction, just an overture for the orchestra of ruin that was to follow moments later.

Hazel was forced out of her stupor before anyone else by the Grail Seeker's cleansing effect. She shouted new orders.

"COME BACK! EVERYONE INSIDE THE BARRIER NOW! CLOSE THE GATES AND BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

***

Authors Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ

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