Fate betrayal

CHAPTER 27

Chapter 27: A Tangled Alliance

**Aria’s POV**

A symphony of clashing steel, guttural roars, and the pungent smell of burning dirt filled the battlefield, which was a scene of mayhem. I gripped the hilt of my twin daggers tighter, looking over the chaos for Darius or Killian. The strategy had been simple: stop the opposing troops before they could get beyond the village's defenses. However, simple ideas seldom ever made it beyond the first encounter with chaos.

A stream of energy rushed past me, colliding with a massive beast and turning it into a pile of charred flesh. Darius was lowering his staff when I looked to my left, his ice-blue gaze piercing the chaos. He had always used precise, controlled magic, which contrasted sharply with Killian's unrestrained rage.

In reference to Killian, his greatsword sliced through a group of armored ghouls like paper, and his battle scream shattered the atmosphere. His damaged face was painted scarlet as blood sprayed in an arc. He was a tornado of sheer might, but he was also completely careless.

"Left flank, Aria!" I was brought back to the present by Darius' words.

I turned just in time to see two clawed monsters sprinting in my direction. With a swift push to its neck, the first one fell to my sword, but the second one moved more quickly, its claws slicing for my belly. I slammed my knife into its vulnerable side and turned aside, just escaping a deadly blow. It shrieked and fell to the ground.

"This is insane!" I yelled and ducked as Darius's next burst of energy destroyed a charging enemy. "We cannot keep them away indefinitely!"

"Then put up a stronger fight!" With a vicious satisfaction in his voice, Killian roared. In the midst of the storm, where death was a constant companion, here was where he flourished.

However, things were going against us. The enemy's sheer numbers made them unrelenting. As a giant beast with eyes full of evil intent loomed out of the darkness, the earth underneath us shook. Its thick skin gleamed like obsidian, and it was easily three times the size of the others.

Darius stepped next to me and sadly said, "We're outmatched." Even he seemed unsure, yet his power sparked at his fingers. It's a Sentinel, that creature. To destroy it, we'll need more than just force.

Killian snarled and moved up on my opposite side, saying, "We don't have time for one of your complex strategies." We struck it quickly and forcefully. Don't overthink things.

"And kill ourselves?" Darius yelled. "Amazing plan, as usual."

"Enough!" My irritation boiled up as I interrupted. "We must cooperate if we are to make it through this. We'll all die if you don't put your egos aside for five minutes.

They gave each other a tight look but remained silent, which was as near to agreement as I could get.

**Darius's perspective**

I hated having to depend on Killian. His carelessness was a problem, and his techniques were brutal. Aria was correct, however. The Sentinel's thick skin made it immune to traditional assaults, making it an apex predator. We had to hit with accuracy, and Killian couldn't do that.

"I'll divert it," I responded, improvising a strategy. "You target its weaknesses, Aria. The joints, the eyeballs. Keep the little ones away from us, Killian. If you are able to control it without becoming angry.

Killian hefted his blade and grinned. "Mage, just try to keep up."

Disregarding him, I directed my efforts into my crew. At its tip a sphere of crackling blue light formed, intensifying until it buzzed with force hardly restrained. The Sentinel was hit squarely in the chest by the blow I threw at it. It growled angrily as it raced at me, its enormous claws digging big holes in the ground.

"You huge abomination, over here!" I yelled, blasting again to get its attention.

It was too successful. I was taken aback and sprawled as the beast's tail suddenly snapped out. As its enormous claws smashed down where I had been only a second before, I pushed myself to roll aside despite the pain shooting through my ribs as I struck the ground.

"Darius, don't stop!" The cloud of anguish was broken by Aria's voice. Her daggers flashed as she slashed at the creature's joints as she ran around it with feline quickness. Her strikes were deliberate and accurate—a death dance.

Meanwhile, Killian was at his best, slicing through the weaker animals with ruthless efficiency. However, the constant onslaught of adversaries was starting to wear him down.

**Killian's perspective**

Although I would never acknowledge it, Darius's concept wasn't totally awful. Despite his arrogant demeanor, the wizard was adept at maintaining the Sentinel's interest. Aria, on the other hand, glided like a shadow and consistently delivered hits. It was almost distracting to watch her battle.

When three ghouls sprang at me, I swung my greatsword in a broad arc and roared through them. My muscles cried out for relief as my arms burned, but I persisted. Weakness was not an option here.

I saw a sudden movement—the Sentinel's tail whirling in Aria's direction. She was unaware of the danger since she was concentrating on its legs.

"Go, Aria!" She didn't hear me when I yelled. I sprang forward without thinking, shoving her aside. The tail slammed into the earth with enough power to produce a crater, missing us by inches.

She sprang to her feet as we crashed in a heap, her elbow smacking me in the ribs.

"What on earth, Killian?" She glared at me and snapped.

Another ghoul approached us, so I pushed her away and shot back, "You're welcome." "Try listening."

The Sentinel gave a deafening roar before she could respond. The earth underneath us started to shake and fracture, and its eyes flashed brighter.

“Darius?” I made a call. "Any outstanding concepts?"

**Aria's perspective**

Darius remained silent. A few yards away, he was kneeling and chanting beneath his breath while his staff was shining. He was calling out something, something large, I realized as the air around him shimmered.

"We just need to wait a bit longer!" he screamed, his face drenched with perspiration.

I mumbled, avoiding the Sentinel's next blow. "No pressure." Its roars of annoyance reverberated across the battlefield, and its actions became more unpredictable. Darius was successful in anything he was doing.

A flash of black energy, however, exploded in the earth under him. A dark figure appeared, its shape erratic and blurry. When I realized it was the Wraithlord, a being of pure evil, my stomach fell.

"What did you do, Darius?" With a quivering voice, I yelled.

As he staggered back, his eyes widened in dread. That wasn't me, I said.

The icy sound of the Wraithlord's laughing chilled my blood and filled the air. With a menacing grin on its dark visage, it turned its blazing eyes in our direction.

With a voice like a knife scraping across stone, it said, "Thank you for releasing me." "We'll see how long you last now."

Then it launched an assault.