Rescue

Entering the orc camp for the first time, it was impressive just how much damage had occurred in the short time. There wasn't many orc huts but the ones closest to the entrance were already damaged and on fire. Thankfully the huts were pretty widely spaced both from the wall and other huts so it was difficult for the fire to spread much farther. The elven army seemed to have dispersed pretty widely too. Roko had half expected to be running to a defensive line not far from their point of assault but it seemed like instead of immediately retaliating, the orcs had scattered, forcing the army to split up and chase them down.

 "Seems like there's a lot more innocent orcs than we thought." Kaguya said.

 "Aw man, now I feel bad all over again." Momo frowned.

 "Back! Back!"

 Shouting drew their attention to the cave that Drift's group had told them about. The elven army had already surrounded the entrance and began invading there as well but they were already forced to retreat as the orcs emerged from the cave, waving weapons on one hand at their invaders to push them back as they held naked female humans in their other hand as hostages.

 "Still feel bad now?" Roko asked.

 "Significantly less." Momo said as she stretched her legs, "Time to start our job now right?"

 "Go wild."

 "Just don't hurt the girls. Got it." Momo said as she took a deep breath, "...Haste."

 Momo disappeared in a flash and in a shockingly fast time has reappeared in front of the first orc. The monster looked astonished to see a human appear in front of him so quickly but Momo was already raising a fist up.

 "Rally."

 And Momo tapped her fist against the orc's stomach. The orc looked confused for an instant before a force suddenly caved his stomach in and he doubled over, spitting out a disgusting amount of spit and bile as he lost his grip on the human girl he was holding and he fell to the ground. The other orcs roared in surprise and fear, raising their weapons to try and attack Momo back but the princess simply grabbed the human girl and zipped back to Roko's group with her in her arms.

 "There you go." Momo smiled as she handed the girl over to Reaumur and Drift, "Our first rescue."

 "Damn girl, you really gotta show off like that?" Helena smiled.

 "Gotta show off our progress sometimes right?" Momo winked at Roko.

 "I'm just glad my ideas are working." Roko sighed.

 "Still..."

 Momo stood up and turned around as an orc chucked a firebomb at them from afar. Helena moved to shoot the explosive out of the sky but Momo motioned for her to hold on. With the bomb now falling towards them, Momo reached out with one hand and caught the firebomb. Crushing it with one hand, Momo was suddenly engulfed in a ball of fire. The stunt drew gasps from the less prepared party members but the more jaded members simply watched as Momo emerged unscathed from the fire without even a hint of singe.

 "Armament's crazy." Momo said as she dusted some ash and flicks of flame from her body, "Fortify didn't even let the flames touch my body."

 "That's crazy." Helena whistled, "You sure you're okay?"

 "Oh yeah. Couldn't be more fine."

 "Right, well, let's not let that happen too often." Kaguya said as she eyed the frightened dark elves and Corissa.

 "Yeah, we got a job to do anyway." Momo jumped in place, limbering up as she faced the now absolutely terrified orcs.

 Without recasting haste, Momo flicked out of sight again as she closed the significant distance between their parties to face down the next orc. This orc in particular looked down at the small girl in front of him with terror but he still grounded his teeth and swung his club at Momo. Momo was preparing to strike back without even bothering to defend but a blade of ice suddenly stabbed into the orc's head from afar. Taking a few steps back for the dead orc to fall, Momo turned around back towards the party curiously.

 "I'll take em out from here, you pick up all the girls!" Helena called from several meters away, "Teamwork!"

 Momo chuckled as she caught the next orc's axe swing with one bare hand without even looking back, "Sure."

 A bolt of lightning blasted the orc in the face, knocking him away from Momo as she moved to pick up the dead orcs' hostages and carried them back to them in a leisurely fast speed.

 "Take these girls out of the forest, back to the carriages." Roko said as he handed the next two rescues to the other two dark elves. The trio nodded and quickly began to hurry away as Momo and Helena were already preforming the next rescues.

 "Here you go!"

 "I gotcha." Corissa said as Momo handed her one of the former captives.

 She looked at the naked girl in her arms. Her battered and dirty body. Her dead and broken eyes. She was still alive, breathing without problems but it was clear this woman had been mind broken from careless sexual abuse. Corissa could only look at the state of this and the next rescued girl and the next and the next, quietly aghast by what she's seeing.

 "You going to be okay?" Roko asked.

 "Huh?" Corissa looked up, "O-oh… Yes! I'm fine… It's just..."

 "It is a pretty reprehensible act to witness. A step or two too late and you might've been in the same state as her."

 "Huh? What do you mean?" Corissa blinked.

 "...So no one's told you yet?" Roko sighed, "Well, it doesn't matter. Helena! Momo!"

 "We've just about gotten rid of these first orcs." Helena reported as Momo delivered yet another captive to the sizable pile of bodies they had now collected, "We're chasing the orcs into that cave right?"

 "Yes but pay attention." Roko pointed upward, "They're coming."

 Turning their gazes upward, everyone saw a sight that defied reality itself. A sky riddled with cracks, shards of reality falling down around them like glass. And from the frayed fabric of existence, monsters broke out, falling down at them all like a nightmarish rain.

 "Mikado!" 

 At his princess' signal, Mikado removed the shield from his arm and pointed up upward. The shield expanded in size until it covered all of them like an umbrella, blocking the monsters from falling directly onto them.

 "The magic's wavering." Mikado reported, "They're eating even the cursed magic."

 "Roko!"

 Roko turned as Drift, Reaumur and Ohm just returned from having moving the victims to safety.

 "We can't handle all of these monsters." Roko said, "Our targets are the orcs. Drift, continue moving these girls to safety."

 "That's a lot of them though." Drift gulped as he looked at the pile of girls.

 "I'll stay back and hold them off." Momo nodded, "You guys head into the cave. Once the girls have been moved, I'll back up the elven army."

 "Don't forget they can eat magic." Roko said, "Be careful."

 "This is nothing compared to the giant kaiju one I killed." Momo smiled, "Though if it keeps raining, it'll just be a whole other problem."

 "We probably won't be able to come help you once we're inside." Roko said.

 "Oh, I figured. Go on then. Get those orcs!"

 "Everyone, ready up. We're sprinting."

 Corissa looked down at the girl in her arms one last time before she gently set her down and stood back up again, "I'm ready."

 "Go!"

 At Roko's call, everyone but the dark elves and Momo ran towards the cave, Mikaido moving the shield with them to block the rain of monsters. The monsters on the ground were keen to intercept their group but between the knights, Helena and Roko's efforts, they were able to make it to the cave, throwing the remaining orcs back as they charged inside. As the orcs retreated further into the cave, Roko turned around and called to Helena amidst the chaos. Helena pointed a hand at the cave ceiling and fired off a blast of lightning, destroying the stone and causing it to cave in before the monsters outside could follow them inside. Winning a small moment of brevity, the group took a moment to collect themselves.

 "Everyone okay?" Helena gasped.

 "We're good!" Kaguya announced, "Mikado, good job on covering for us out there."

 "Naturally." Mikado nodded.

 "Feel any side effects yet?"

 "No."

 "How about you Helena?" Roland asked.

 "Feeling good." Helena smiled, "Honestly, I wish I had more of a chance to go all out. Sniping is more patient work than it is powerful work."

 "We're good too." Corissa said as Varis helped her back onto her feet, "We trapped the monsters outside but we've also trapped the orcs inside with us right? So should we hurry or take our time?"

 "No, if the orcs knew they would be trapped inside, they wouldn't retreat into it if we were attacking right at their doorsteps." Kaguya explained, "It's likely they have another exit so we should probably hurry before they escape."

 "O-Okay." Corissa said with a determined manner, "Then let's go..."

 "I'm fine by the way. I know no one asked." Roko muttered.

 "Oh! I-I'm sorry Roko!" Corissa yelped, "Are you okay?"

 "No, it's fine, let's just get moving before we lose our targets."

 "N-No, really, I'm sorry I didn't notice!" Corissa said as Roko rolled back onto his feet and began to walk off, "...You aren't mad at me are you?"

 "Girl, as if he could be mad at you." Helena patted Corissa on the back before following Roko deeper into the cave.

 The cave was rather big both in size and space. It was one thing to have wide and tall tunnels to accommodate the size of the orcs but there were branching paths and rooms built into this main hall. There were chambers filled with more female slaves. Some left on the ground, some chained to the walls. None of them looked well nor was there any place for them to escape to anymore so they simply left them there, swearing to save them later. Roko noted a dank moistness wherever they went. Storage rooms, kitchens and even lodging rooms were built into this simple cave network but none of them had any orcs in them so they trudged onwards through the evacuated dens. It wasn't long before the sounds of snorting and talking began to echo down the cave and everyone steeled themselves for combat. At the end of the tunnels was a large cavern. Much wider and taller than any other room and furnished much more grandly than any other room. It was nothing like the grandness of Granreveria but the decorated banners, wooden torches and a wooden throne in the center of it all explained all they needed to know. Tables and crates were scattered around the room but at the very back was a row of chains, their captives removed and transported away by the orcs who were hurriedly carrying things through a rear exit behind the throne. The orc carrying things froze in fear as the orcs carrying weapons turned to face the intruders.

 "Helena?" Roko said.

 "Boop."

 Helena fired an ice spell from her hand that sailed over the heads of the orcs to crash into their emergency exit, freezing it completely and cutting their escape once again.

 "Can you believe you said this wasn't going to be useful?" Helena chuckled as the orcs roared in anger.

 "You know if you couldn't do it, I would've just gotten Varis to do it."

 "Well I'm glad you thought of me."

 The orcs roared and charged at Roko's group.

 "Mikado, defend the girls. Roland, Varis, you're with me." Roko said as he drew his sword.

 "I don't take orders from you." Roland muttered as more orcs began to appear from the connecting caverns.

 Diving into battle, Roko approached his first orc who swung his axe at him first. Sidestepping the attack, Roko slashed into the orc's open side with his sword. Landing a clear cut on the orc didn't seem to deter it however, the monster moving to try and attack him again without paying attention to his own injury. This resilience was proving to be a common trait for orcs, something that was particularly exaggerated by Waur and with Roko's above average strength for a civilian but below average strength for a fighter he wasn't going to be able to dispatch orcs as easily as the others. And in this raid, Roko had to be careful not to get overwhelmed by enemies. But who said he had to absolutely kill each orc he came across? He may not have the power to land a lethal blow on the monsters, he could debilitate them. When the orc attacked next, Roko blocked the attack and repelled it, slashing into the inside of the orc's elbow joint. Immediately the orc's arm went limp, or rather, went straight as using the joint would only cause pain from the injury. It didn't seem like the wound was particularly severe, the orc would continue to swing at him despite the injury but his movements were slower and the recovery left ample time for Roko to strike back or respond to any other attacking orcs. It wasn't much but Roko's tampering methods did make them easier for Roland and Varis to deal with and eventually even opened up opportunities for Roko to start killing some of them.

 And Roko hated it. This wasn't a new tactic. Attacking joints was not an idea that Roko never thought of before. It was just a slightly gruesome tactic that he had never felt comfortable using before in the few cases it might apply. And now he was using it without another care in the world. Perhaps the gulf in natural abilities between him and the orcs were too big so he felt justified in less ethical tactics. Perhaps the orcs were too monstrous for Roko to afford them sympathy. Or perhaps the cursed crown was removing his empathy in such an insidious manner that it felt too natural. Any combination of these reasons could be the cause and Roko didn't like any of them. Of course, his only recourse otherwise was to use magical enhancements again which felt a bit like overkill and he didn't want to waste his energy too quickly. This also still relied on the crown's power so it wasn't much better.

 "Ice!"

 Helena's spell pierced the head of an orc that was behind Roko, killing out before he could sneak up on him.

 "Keep an eye on your surroundings, Roko!" Helena called, "Thinking is good and all but think about where you are right now too!"

 That's exactly what I've been doing. Was what Roko wanted to say but rather than offer a response, he turned his attention back to the problem at hand. That being that the orcs have not stopped emerging to fight them and more and more of them were beginning to appear with light armor, making Roko's tactic less effective. They must've cut down the "civilian" orcs that were evacuating and now the warrior orcs were rushing in to face them...or...gathering together together? The armored and armed orcs were forming a small group behind the throne. They looked angry. Like they wanted to fight but instead they were bunching together. Forming a unit to fight them probably. A coordinated attack would certainly do more than just attacking them one by one. Still, Roko wasn't particularly worried as he had full confidence that Varis would be able to cut through them with little trouble. That was until the orcs seemed to finish bunching up and one at the very front of their resistance roared loud enough to fill the room. It drew everyone's attention but they were more confused by the cry. From this, Roko could assume the orcs had cried out in their own language. Because Roko could hear it perfectly.

 "Release the monsters! To battle!"

 So while everyone turned their attention to the charging orcs bellowing a war cry, Roko looked up and saw the cracks in space above them.

 "Watch out!"

 Was all Roko could say before chaos began to rain down on them. Eldritch monsters fell from empty space and orcs quickly overran their small party with sheer numbers and indomitable strength. Roko quickly switched to using enchantments but every attack he blocked either disrupted his enchanting or was quickly eaten up by the monsters. In the melee, Roko could see that his companions weren't faring much better. Varis was cleaving through his enemies without problem and Roland was doing surprisingly well with his dual swords but Helena was screaming spells out over and over to no avail. She fired fire, ice and lightning everywhere she could but every single time, a monster was there to eat up her spells.

 "I didn't think they could appear in a space as small as this!" She yelped as she continued frantically firing off spells.

 "Really we should've seen this coming." Kaguya scowled as she began to hack away at the monsters around them with a regular knife alongside Mikado.

 "Varis!" Corissa yelped.

 With a nod, Varis pulled his sword back for a big swing as he ignited his blade in bright fire. With this magic, he swung at monsters and orc alike. But even as his attack rung out, the monsters swarmed him, eating away at the fire until there was nothing left of his attack. Varis looked surprised and quickly ignited his sword to try again but the mawed monster quickly swarmed his body, biting at his armor, eating his magic and completely covering the unusually powerless knight.

 "Varis?!" Roland cried, "Pull yourself together man!"

 Repelling the enemies around him, Roland quickly ran over to begin slicing monsters off the black knight.

 "Watch your own back!" Roko scowled as he began to run over to cover Roland. An orc quickly stepped in Roko's way and swung an axe at him. Managing to weave together a wind enchantment on his sword, Roko parried the attack, knocking the orc's weapon out of his hands and into the face of a tentacle monster. Roko stabbed at the orc next but the monster sidestepped his attack, letting Roko's sword graze his stomach as he moved closer, fist reaching across the sword's length to attack him. Roko raised an arm to try and protect himself but the orc's giant fist impacted his stomach with immense force, pushing Roko up and throwing him into the air as the orc uppercutted him into the cave's ceiling. Bones creaking, mind blacking out, Roko could feel the impact he made rattle across his entire body and even into the earth above. And the only thing he could think of as he began to fall back down to the ground was the sound of rushing water.