Chapter 120: Losing Ground

The Enforcers did not publicly make a decision to abandon the civilians.

But...

We had no choice.

As many people as possible were evacuated to bunkers, but we knew they wouldn't be safe.

I felt dirty as we gave the order.

They would be placed underground for 'their own safety', and when the Ooze came along, it would hopefully make their deaths quick and painless.

It didn't seem to be obstructed by physical objects and could warp the landscape as it saw fit.

At this point...there was no saving these people.

All of us felt terrible about it...

But we chose to bear that burden together.

Johann offered to take us out of here several times, but we wanted to fight until we were backed into a corner.

Isabella made a few tearful calls to Emily and Zack as well and I joined in.

They were precious friends of ours...but there was nothing we could do.

Isabella cried and cried as she spoke to Emily but she understood.

"Please...just promise me that you'll live on for us, okay? Maybe someday we'll meet again. Until then, I love you both so much! Isabella and Mizik, you two are the best friends I've ever had! We believe in you to win this!" Emily said at the time.

When all was said and done, Isabella hesitantly hung up the phone and cried her eyes out.

"I don't want to lose everything again!!! I love this world! I love my friends! I love the people here!!!" Isabella cried.

I didn't worry about Bravery this time, either. After all, I was sure it understood.

It felt so wrong to part with the people here...but the battlefield called to us.

Two days after we returned to Arcadia, The Dark Army reached our shores.

The coastal cities fell quickly to the monsters and the Generals destroyed our armies.

Additionally, the shadow dragon had begun moving on its own and devouring everyone in sight.

We tried to split up and fight separately to no avail.

Multiple times, some of us almost died as a result.

We learned the hard way that Enforcers were not immune to infection.

We almost lost Gavin, but Isabella saved his life. However, it seemed as though I might have been immune to infection. It would certainly explain why I was never in any danger of it and if this immunity came from the Unknown Skill...

It meant that Isabella may also have been immune. Despite this, the Dark Army could still use more conventional means of attack.

As a result of these things, we moved and fought as a group.

The Black Ooze was attacking us from all angles in Arcadia. It was slowly coiling around us like a snake and driving us back towards Torantis, the center of Arcadia.

It was maddening... The Ooze could move so much quicker than this and yet, it took its time. The Source was mocking us.

Eventually, we found ourselves near lake Alta...the place we landed thirteen years ago.

It was night time and everyone was stressed out to the maximum.

"Hey...isn't that the treehouse you two built when you first got here?" Michael asked as he pointed to the structure up in a tree.

I was surprised to find it still sitting up there after thirteen years. And it looked pretty stable, too.

"Yeah, that's it," I said. "This is where we landed after we escaped from Avernia."

"It feels like so long ago, now..." Isabella said.

"You all want to rest here for the night?" Jallah said.

We were currently moving on the ground as we sought to attack the most dense areas where The Dark Army resided.

Our attacks were devastating to the enemy, but the numbers were hard to deal with and we couldn't be everywhere at once.

We had actually won many battles, but every time we did, the enemy won several more off in the distance.

We were too paranoid to split up, as well...and it was affecting our ability to defend Arcadia. We knew without a shadow of a doubt, that if we split up, the enemy would take the chance to pick us off one by one.

We absolutely could not let that happen.

It was selfish...we all hated ourselves for it...

But we were more than comrades. The Enforcers were all a family.

And now we were here at lake Alta.

"Resting might be a good idea..." Leiso said.

"Sounds like a plan. Anyone feeling brave enough to check out the treehouse Mizik and Isabella made?" Michael said.

"Hey, we know how to build things pretty well! It should be safe!" I said.

"After thirteen years? Really?" Gavin said.

"Eh...I'll check it out," I said.

I climbed up the tree trunk and entered the old treehouse.

There were dust and webs everywhere.

Several places had wood rot and it creaked loudly whenever I stepped on it.

At one point, I almost felt my leg go through the floor.

I decided to go back and step down.

As I did, fond memories of the romantic and peaceful time Isabella and I spent here raced through my mind...

It had been a while since we last had time to be intimate... Not since shortly before the Black Ooze arrived, that is.

I sighed quietly to myself.

We both had needs, but we were too stressed and busy to spend time alone together. It would have to wait until we were safe again. If that ever happened...

I walked up to the group as they pulled sleeping bags from their inventories, and shrugged.

"It's mostly stable...but it's full of bugs and webs. Probably not safe for more than one person," I said.

"Sorry man, but I called it," Michael said.

"Doesn't bother me. Although, it was a lot of work to build it," I muttered.

"Hey, after thirteen years it still looks like a work of art. You two did really well, you know?" Michael said with a smile.

"Thanks, Michael. That means a lot."

"We should probably get some sleep, everyone," Johann said.

"I'll take first watch, I'll wake someone up when it's time to switch," Leiso said.

"I'll join you, Leiso. Can't just have only one person awake when Kyriel is out and about," Gavin said.

He had a point...

Kyriel had her own lethal style of fighting.

She cast powerful magic from her dagger that decimated our forces and fought like a lethal assassin on the ground. She was also capable of cloning herself and attacking multiple places at the same time.

She really was more of a problem to deal with than Tyras and Axiom. Even combined.

It was no wonder she was technically their superior.

Although, the shadow dragon caused more collateral damage and moved quicker.

Valtheim had also been seen moving about next to a man with white hair.

Sadly, we hadn't been able to get a good look at the man...

But we had a pretty good idea of who it was.

The white-haired man had apparently been able to completely obliterate entire military bases with ease.

From what our intel had on the guy, he didn't wield a weapon and instead, could summon gigantic monsters from anywhere.

But something was odd...

The last time we encountered any Generals, was during the flower hunting expedition.

We knew they were in Arcadia because of the reports our troops would send before being slaughtered by them.

But we had yet to encounter any Generals, or Valtheim and the Source ever since the campaign against Arcadia began. We did, however, encounter the shadow dragon a few times.

But every time we were called to a location where the Source or his Generals had been spotted, they would vanish.

And we weren't looking for a fight with the shadow dragon right now.

That thing annihilated everything wherever it went. In fact, seeing it approach your location was now considered a death sentence.

Still, I wondered why the Source refused to face us yet. He obviously had more than enough power. What was he hiding?

Did he really have secrets worth keeping from us?

Or was he just toying with us?

In all honesty...I couldn't shake the feeling that to him, this was just a game.

Regardless, I allowed myself to drift off into sleep with Isabella in my arms.

* * *

When we awoke, it was already morning. Leiso and Gavin had switched with Jallah and Rune, then Carlos and Michael.

They were intent on making sure the two of us were in our best shape possible.

After we got up, we were called to help the nearby city of Florence. Michael's own place of residence...

There wasn't much to say here...

We fought as hard as we could, but once we saw the shadow dragon approaching, I ordered a retreat.

Michael was less than happy about his beloved city being destroyed. He vowed to beat the shit out of the Source for it on sight.

And it was the same for Gavin with his home city as well.

Soon after that, we were called to fight in Ulkanos to the north.

Earl was actually on the front lines and we fought side by side. Sadly, it was just like last time.

As we were overwhelmed, the shadow dragon appeared.

Earl stayed behind with the Ulkanos forces. He told Jallah to take good care of Rune and that he was more than happy to die in the city he loved so dearly.

After a tearful goodbye, we went to Torantis.

The region that the enemy had control of at this point encompassed most of Arcadia...among the rest of the world.

Torantis and the surrounding area had yet to be attacked. We visited the Enforcer HQ as the remainder of our military made preparations for a final stand.

I placed several of my personal treasures in my inventory as I prepared to have Johann help us leave this world, later.

Among them, were CDs of my favorite bands in this world...

I loved the music and I wanted to be able to listen to it later, if possible.

Actually...many of the bands I'd come to like had even written songs about us. I considered it an honor.

This world had so many memories...

Isabella also placed many of her favorite items in her inventory. Including mementos and pictures from our beloved friends, Zack and Emily.

Before leaving, Carlos approached us.

"You two...are you ready to give it one final effort?" He asked.

"We are. We'll give it everything we have. I'd like to fight the Source to get an idea of what we're dealing with. After that, Johann can take us away," I said.

Carlos nodded.

"I love this world, Mizik. I hate the idea of abandoning it, but-"

"Carlos, there's nothing left for us here. I want to save this world too, but there's no hope," I said.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You're very blunt, Mizik. I respect that. Just promise me that you'll do everything you can. This is our home. This world is everything we have," Carlos said.

"You can count on us, Carlos. Let's stick together and give it our all. If we fail, Johann can take us out of here," Isabella said.

He nodded.

"I'll hold you to that. Thank you both."

Then he left to get ready.

We planned to converge on the city center as the fighting got bad.

The final battle was set to take place around the Torantis Enforcer HQ.

Once that was done...

We headed out to the area we believed the The Dark Army would be coming from.

A few helicopters hovered on standby as they waited to move us around the city when the fighting started.

We checked the troops and the defensive turrets of the city.

The troops were beyond demoralized, but Isabella's Almighty Presence fueled them with the courage they needed to be ready to fight.

It also helped that she was exceedingly beautiful and asked them kindly if they would fight as hard as they could.

Torantis was all we had left at this point...

Isabella and I sat down on the ramparts of the defensive wall and spoke to each other.

"This is familiar, isn't it?" I said.

"Too familiar... I was hoping I wouldn't see such a thing ever again..." Isabella said.

"Do you want me to be romantic again?"

"Hmm...if you can manage it, I wouldn't mind. I like that side of you."

I leaned over and kissed Isabella deeply on the lips.

"Ah...that's much better!" she said.

Today was cloudy. The sky was gray and it looked like it might rain.

But that wouldn't matter, anyway. Once the darkness overcame us, the sky would turn black.

Nevertheless, I smiled at Isabella and she returned it.

"If we survive this, I'm going to grab you and-"

"Thank you, Isabella," I said.

"Yeah... In all seriousness...I hope we do survive this. You can count on me to stand by your side, Mizik. Always," she said.

"Wouldn't it be nice...if I could promise you that we would kill the Source today? And make good on it too?" I said.

"Why not? Take a chance. Promise me that we'll win. And if we survive, maybe I can still call that a victory."

"Then, Isabella...I promise we'll be victorious today."

She sighed and then smiled at me.

"That doesn't mean anything. Are we going to just survive? Or are we going to kill the Source?"

"We'll see, won't we?"

Isabella leaned her head on my shoulder.

I could see something moving in the distance...

"Can't we just have this moment? Can't they just wait a bit longer?" Isabella said.

"I don't think the Source has such manners, Isabella."

"Evidently not..." She said as she slowly stood up.

We both pulled out our swords and Isabella readied her armor and shield.

I changed my swords into submachine guns.

After that...we heard an alarm sound and the remaining Enforcers, along with Rune and Johann, gathered around us.

And thus began our final stand.

For the glory of Arcadia.

For the glory of Nexus.

For Iris...

And for our beloved Ignitus.