As night fell, the sounds of battle from outside faded away. However, it seems that the fighting between the demon tribes and the elves is still continuing.
This is to be expected.
This time of night is the domain of the nocturnal beasts.
“Due to the massive offensive from the elves up until today, they have forced their way into our Demon Kingdom territory, Westwood. This is a good opportunity for us to reduce the number of elves. The beast units, who can see well in the dark, will take advantage of this darkness to launch surprise assassinations.”
Alaya had explained this to Swan and the others about two hours ago.
With the demon units now moving, it was expected that there would be fewer casualties for a while, so the field medics were given time to rest in shifts.
“…Hah.”
Most of the seriously wounded soldiers had already received their Dark Heals. Those lying in the medical camp tent now were either unconscious or unable to move due to magic depletion, even though their injuries had healed.
With nothing else to do at the moment, Swan sat down in the corner of the tent, took a deep breath, and looked around. The number of medics in the tent, dimly lit by a pale blue light, was few. Two-thirds of them had already gone on break, and they were now sleeping in a nearby nap tent. Alaya was nowhere to be seen.
…I wish I could sleep soon.
However, since the trainees were taking breaks based on how much magic they had left, Swan, who still had some magic remaining, was among the second group to rest. At this point, she wanted to chat with a good friend to pass the time, but Usari had collapsed from magic depletion and was already taken to the nap tent.
So now, there was truly nothing to do.
…If I just close my eyes, I should be allowed to, right?
Checking that no one was looking her way, Swan quietly closed her eyes. Almost immediately, a pleasant drowsiness began to pull her consciousness into darkness.
However, such peaceful moments did not last long.
A sudden heaviness enveloped her body, and Swan’s eyes snapped open.
Golden light, as if rising from the ground, illuminated the entire medical camp.
She recognized the brilliance. It was divine power.
“—Enemy attack! Everyone, escape the tents!!!”
The shout from a demon sentry outside coincided with the “Spears of Light” falling through the ceiling of the large tent.
It was a large-scale holy magic developed by the elves—”Holy Downpour.” Hundreds of holy spears created through sacred magic rained down over a wide area.
“Ugh, ahhh!!!”
There was no longer any time to worry about others. Swan slashed through the wall of the tent with her sharp wings and rolled outside. Luckily, the holy magic only affected the inside of the tent, and no spears fell where she had fled.
However,
“Ugh…”
Swan involuntarily pressed her hand over her mouth at the screams coming from inside the tent. A hellish scene unfolded behind her, as those who had failed to escape were impaled by the spears one after another.
“You didn’t think we’d be the ones attacked at night, did you?”
A cold voice echoed from above.
Swan looked up to see a young elven woman standing atop a tall tree, illuminated by the glow of the holy magic. Her long hair fluttered in the night wind, revealing her sharp ears.
“You see, your main forces are probably out hunting elves by now, right? While they’re distracted, I’ll crush this place.”
The elf held a long staff, gazing down at the tent without expression. Swan could see the faint glow of her golden eyes.
“Your medical camp is exposed. There’s no escaping now.”
Swan barely had time to react as the demon beast units began their charge.
“Attack! We can’t let this place be destroyed!” came a commanding shout.
But the elves, with their holy magic, easily pushed back the attacking demons, piercing them with rays of light from the staff. Swan, paralyzed with fear, could only crawl towards the injured lion-faced demon, casting Dark Heal on him.
“You… leave me… go…”
The lion-faced demon gasped, pushing Swan away with his last strength.
“I understand… you can’t fight against that,” Swan thought, understanding his meaning all too well.
The elves were few in number, but each was a powerful warrior who had spent hundreds of years mastering holy magic. One elf could be more than a match for many demons.
“Don’t… abandon them…” Swan protested, but the lion-faced demon pushed her away, urging her to escape.
“Go… take the injured from the nap tent… and tell someone… this was a strategic strike… they’re after our position…!”
Swan nodded and started to turn, but before she could move—
“Oh, you’re still here, huh? Well, you won’t be escaping.”
The elf turned to face her, golden eyes gleaming.
“I’ve had enough of this war. It ends tonight.”
As the elf’s staff glowed, Swan thought, “I’m going to die.”
But just as the light engulfed her vision—
“—Hmm, looks like you’ve been having your way for too long.”
To her surprise, Swan didn’t die. Familiar voices reached her ears. As she opened her eyes, two figures stood before her, blocking the holy magic’s attack.
“Ah, so this is the elf, huh? It’s my first time seeing one up close… It’s thrilling,” came the voice of Alaya , riding on the back of a large warrior zombie. The doctor used Dark Heal to counter the elf’s holy magic.
