Evacuated, Kill!

Edana exited Mrs. Loren's building and wiped the tears streaming across her face. She looked back at the building and bowed slightly. 

'Thank you for all you have done for me and the kids. I'll make sure your family rests peacefully next to each other in a proper grave.'

She paid her respects and left the area quickly. This time, she moved without stopping, as stealthily as she could. But some monsters still managed to notice her. She killed any monster that noticed her before they could alert others.

In her way, she checked the buildings for any citizens that were left behind. After a while, she had already reached the other knights. The knights were barely holding on when she arrived.

She headed towards Vine after spotting him.

"You're here." Vine looked at Edana. "So?"

She shook her head. "It seems they went to the mid-level before the attack. I met my neighbor who told me."

"And where is your neighbor?" Vine looked behind her.

"She..." Edana clenched her teeth. Vine understood after looking at her. "It's okay, you did your best."

"I didn't find any other survivors either."

Vine nodded his head. "Good work. Now help us." The knights were having a hard time. She also joined the fray and helped keep the monsters back while the citizens evacuated.

Some time passed and a knight came rushing towards Vine. "Sir, the last of the people has been evacuated!" He reported.

After a sigh of relief, she heard Vine shout. "Kill! Kill the bastards! We don't have anything stopping us now!" 

"Kill!"

"Attack!"

The knights began killing the monsters one after another after making sure no citizens were left behind.

Teaming up with one another, the knights made easy work of the monsters. And just like before, Edana and Vine were the stars of the battlefield with their Relic weapons. They were killing the monsters so quickly that the knights around them didn't get to do anything.

The more monsters that they killed, the more came out of the cracks on the ground. The knights were slowly being pushed back by their numbers once again. Gradually, the monsters that crawled out of the hellish crack on the floor diminished.

"Kill!" The morale of the knights were through the roof as they were going to finish the monsters with minimal losses on their side.

"Yeah!!"

But things often do not happen as one wishes. As they were getting excited, the ground below them tore apart, revealing a hellish crack larger than the ones the monsters were coming out of.

The newly opening crack didn't stop, The crack followed the knights and many knights fell into the cracks. Along with the living knights, the corpses of knights and people which were on the ground fell into the cracks too. 

"Retreat!" 

"Fall back! Careful!"

Vine and Edana ordered their knights to avoid the cracks. Although the majority of knights were successful in avoiding the large crack, many knights fell to the sudden attack.

Once the crack had enough of it's fill, it disappeared like it was never even there. Then, after a while, more and more monsters started pouring out of the original cracks.

The knights, Vine and Edana widened their eyes at this sight. 

"Are they?..."

"Can't be!"

"Our brothers!"

The knights had different reactions, but they were all hesitant to attack the monsters made from their own people and brothers.

"The monsters before you are not the same people and brothers you once knew! Kill them!" Vine shouted out.

Some knights charged at the monsters, but others were still hesitant.

"I don't think I can..."

"What if they are conscious in there?"

Clenching his teeth, Vine cried out once more. "I don't know if they are conscious or not! But if it were me, I'd probably be screaming for knights to put me out of my misery!"

"Don't falter now! Wield your weapons to defend those who are! And free those who turned!"

Listening to his words, the knights finally got enough courage to free their people from their poor fates. The knights wielded their weapons once more, killing the monsters one after another.

Edana was the same. The long single-edged blade of hers cut down three to four monsters with each movement. What was even more impressive was she used minimal movements to do so. Even though she killed more monsters with each swing, as she was moving less, she would easily get surrounded by monsters again and again.

But each time that happened, she enchanted Severance with Night Flame Ball or Night Flame Wave and killed the monsters in one move. The sight of monsters bursting from Azure colored flame looked like azure petals, and when the monsters burst around in a circle, it looked like a majestic flower when one looked from the top.

Vine also jumped in the crowd and started killing once more. He dashed forward and stabbed two monsters with his twin daggers in their stomachs. The monsters blocked successfully and turned to attack Vine, but the momentum from turning made their head fall down to the ground as it was already sliced from the neck.

He moved around the battlefield like a flash, each movement of his arm taking a monster along with it. But with the new knowledge that he was cutting down his own people, each move not only took down a monster, but it also took a piece of sanity from Vine.