He felt a smile form on his lips without even realizing it.
He smiled. He, Dominic, actually smiled.
...
A sudden, deafening roar tore through the sky.
A massive wave of magical beasts was advancing toward the fortress.
Ten… twenty… no, far more. It was an all-out assault.
What was going on?
A force this size was unheard of. In all his years as a knight, Dominic had never seen a horde of magical beasts this large charging at once.
Something was very wrong.
The entire garrison of the fortress had been deployed to fight back, but the sheer number of magical beasts was overwhelming. Even Dominic who is known for its strength, was beginning to feel the pressure. He wasn't sure they could hold the line.
As he cut down another Doshagu.a, Dominic's thoughts drifted to the young boy, Shiao Yi, who was still lying injured in a room inside the fortress.
If even a single magical beast broke through their defenses and got inside, the boy wouldn't stand a chance. He would be killed instantly.
There were too many enemies, and they were too scattered for large-scale magic to be effective.
If they used powerful spells now, they'd end up hurting their own soldiers along with the beasts. But trying to cut them down one by one with a sword—it simply wouldn't be fast enough.
"Shiao Yi!" Dominic shouted in desperation.
How could he have just found this boy—someone who might truly be the one and only person in the world he had a bond with—only to lose him so soon?
But then, suddenly, Shiao Yi appeared behind him.
Why was he here?
Before Dominic could even ask, Shiao Yi said something completely unexpected.
"I'll fight too."
Dominic was speechless.
Right in front of his eyes, ten magical beasts lifted into the air.
They rose high above, weightless for a brief moment—then, in the blink of an eye, they were slammed back down with crushing force on top of the oncoming horde.
It happened in an instant.
All that remained were broken, blood-soaked remains of what used to be beasts.
Could Shiao Yi use magic? Dominic didn't feel any magic power coming from him—not at all.
Even standing right next to him now, it was as if the boy had no magic aura whatsoever.
But the magic was real. And powerful.
"Can you gather the magical beasts into one spot?" Dominic asked, watching him closely.
Shiao Yi didn't hesitate. He did exactly that.
In moments, the magical beasts were being dragged together like pieces of debris, forming a huge pile right before their eyes.
With the enemies grouped up, Dominic's magic would finally be effective.
He raised his hand. A circle of fire blazed into life.
A wave of crimson flames roared across the battlefield, engulfing the mountain of beasts and incinerating them all at once.
They had done it.
What seemed like a hopeless attack—an overwhelming, deadly assault meant to overrun the fortress—had been stopped.
They had defended it, and they were still standing.