Salvos

Catark wasn’t a large city. Well, that wasn’t exactly right. With a population of over thirty thousand citizens, it was the largest city in all of Perios. But Perios was a rather small region in the Helbir Plains. And when compared to, say, Alyras or Dolonia which both had a population in the hundreds of thousands, it wasn’t a stretch to say that Catark wasn’t a large city.

Nevertheless, it had a standing army of nearly ten thousand soldiers. A third of their populace. They conscripted every adult male into their military when they became of age at sixteen, and kept those over thirty in the reserves. This was because they regularly got into conflicts with their neighbors— no, not neighboring cities, but neighboring regions.

That was the hallmark of the Helbir Plains. No one could get along with each other. Sure, they were all a part of the Helbir League, but that was only because they needed to work together to have any sort of standing on the world stage. It was an alliance out of necessity, not friendship. And because they didn’t want to bicker over their objectives as an alliance, they’d regularly alternate the city state that was put in charge of the Helbir League.

The current leadership of the Helbir League was the city state of Alyras— the largest city in Thesi. They neighbored Perios, and because of that, were in relatively unfriendly terms with Catark. But since Alyras’ military was the dominant force in the area, Catark hadn’t actually been at war with them in decades.

That didn’t mean they were allies, of course. Catark was a proud city state that valued its independence. It would never fall so far as to stoop beneath a larger nation to earn favors— they could take care of themselves.

But today… oh, today, as the city’s siege alarms blared and an entire section of the wall was turned to ice in an instant, Beldon wished that Alyras was their ally. Or Dolonia. Or any other nation. Anyone to come support them.

A cold chill crept over the city. Beldon saw flakes of snow eddy down from the sky, carpeting the street floor with a thin layer of frost fell. He was a [Warrior]. A sergeant on patrol. It had been five minutes since the siege bell tolled, and they were rushing down the streets to keep the peace.

“The city is under attack!”

He yelled, rallying his patrol. He led his men back to the barracks as he shouted at the panicked civilians.

“Get inside! Find shelter!”

His commanding voice boomed down the street. For a moment, it calmed the panic. He was Level 45. Equivalent to a Gold Ranked adventurer. His presence had to be reassuring. But any semblance of safety indoors vanished the moment the blast of frost struck the streets right ahead of him.

The entire street was turned into a frozen wasteland in seconds. He stared with wide eyes at the glinting figures— at the fleeing citizens, turned into ice sculptures before his very eyes. Then a large shadow passed over him. He looked up in horror as he heard the wing beats. The shrill screech.

[Lesser Wyvern - Lvl ???]

A few of his men fell to their knees. One of them even dropped his weapons. Beldon spoke in a constricted voice, feeling the bands of fear tightening around his neck.

“Wyverns…? But—”

His gaze snapped to the side as he saw the blur. He barely reacted in time. Beldon threw himself to the side, avoiding the Wyvern as it descended from the clouds. It was a giant winged beast, yet it fell like a bolt of lightning. A hundred feet, closed in the same amount of time it took him to throw himself five feet to the side.

The Wyvern’s maw closed around one of his men. The one who’d discarded his weapon. With a single crunch, it killed him before flying back to the sky. Beldon stared at the Wyvern as it circled back to its flock. And it was quite the sizable flock.

The sergeant got back to his feet, eyes growing wide in terror when he saw how many Wyverns there were. These were Diamond Ranked threats. No— they weren’t swarm monsters at the same level. A single [Lesser Wyvern] could’ve probably taken on a dozen [Senior Centinels] of the same level. Perhaps even more.

And there wasn’t just a single Wyvern attacking the city. There were at least forty of them. Forty monsters, each more than capable of leveling over entire towns on their own. Perhaps even small cities. Here they were, attacking Catark.

But this was no small city. This was Catark. The largest city in all of Perios. Sure, their highest-leveled general was only Diamond Ranked. They didn’t have many of those who were above Level 100— fewer than a dozen, for sure. But they had an organized army of thousands. They’d be able to deal with a few pesky Wyverns.

Beldon got to his feet, raising his blade. He turned to his men as they trembled in defeat.

“Get up, you idiots! What are you just staring for? Your city is under attack!”

His words temporarily broke them out of their stupor. They turned to him, and he pointed at one of the flying Wyverns.

“I don’t care if they’re Wyverns or Drakes or Centinels. We have a duty to protect Catark. If not for the city itself, then for your friends and family. So get up off your asses and fight!”

Still, that wasn’t enough for them. They hesitated as he cursed internally. They weren’t former soldiers like him. They’d never been to the battlefield before. They were just guardsmen. But then a flash caught their eyes.

They looked up— at the Wyvern Beldon had pointed out— and saw it fall. It had been struck by a [Grand Fireball]. And it was falling. Beldon’s eyes widened.

“That’s… from the barracks! It must be [Magus Master] Arkenon’s spell!”

Their highest-leveled [Mage]. Beldon grinned as another spell shot out, grazing a nearby Wyvern. He turned to his men again as a third spell fired out, bringing down another Wyvern from the sly. The guardsmen cheered. Even if they were horribly outmatched, they outnumbered the Wyverns. And they had powerful individuals amongst them too.

“That’s right! We are Catark! The head of Perios!”

Beldon continued as his men rallied behind him. Arrows flew to the sky. Spells were being flung out. The Wyverns recoiled— a third one falling. They regrouped as they flew high up above the clouds.

“We will not fall to a bunch of monsters—”

And just as the words left Beldon’s mouth, he saw the flash. The glint. It was an overwhelming force of magic. The blast of frost magic launched into the heart of the city. The Wyverns unleashed it— their collective breaths. In a single instant, the entire landscape changed.

Beldon reeled back, covering his eyes. He felt the gust of cold wind sweeping him off his feet. He went smashing into a wall. The brick cracked, and he grunted in pain. The next thing he knew, he was lying sideways on the ground.

He placed a hand on the floor and felt something soft. Something chilling. He thought he’d been thrown back into his bed, and that entire ordeal had been a dream. A nightmare. But he soon realized that what he was touching was not his sheets but pure white snow, and that everything happening around him was very much real. His entire city had been blanketed in snow.

He groaned as he picked himself back up. He looked towards the city’s barracks. Where the army had been stationed. He gasped at what he saw.

“No…”

It had been turned to ice. The entire barracks was now frozen inside a giant ice cube. Catark’s army was defeated, unable to even fight back. It had been ten minutes since the Wyverns descended, and they’d already won. The sergeant tried to work his jaw. But he looked around him. His sword was gone, his armor was dented, and his men lay injured and fallen around him.

He thought of this city— where he’d been born and raised. He thought of the reason why he fought. His family. His loved ones. His wife of fifteen years. Their five-year-old son.

Then he made his decision.

Beldon ran as the Wyvern flock spread out once again, scattering across the city. It was a slaughter. He wouldn’t be able to fight back. It was stupid of him to even think that was possible. He ran down the street, ignoring the cries of help all around him. A Wyvern swooped down and grabbed a man into the air, but he didn’t even once glance back.

The Wyverns could’ve destroyed the city in minutes if they’d just used their combined magic a few more times. But they didn’t. They came down, one after another, feasting on the inhabitants of the city. It was a buffet for them, and they weren’t going to ruin their dinner. They took their time, savoring their food. It had been nearly thirty minutes since they arrived, and it didn’t seem like they were going anywhere soon.

Beldon turned the corner at an intersection, recognizing the familiar street. Finally! He stumbled into his house as he caught his breath.

“Marika! Myron!”

He called out to his wife and son. They came out from hiding in the basement at the sound of his voice. Marika ran up to him, carrying their boy in her arms.

“Beldon! What’s going on?”

“We need to leave, now!”

Beldon grabbed them, yanking them to the doorway. He paused and glanced about to make sure no Wyverns were lurking directly above. A large Wyvern flew overhead, but didn’t descend to the ground. It almost looked like it was just enjoying the scene. Once it passed, Beldon led his family down the street. They headed for the city’s walls— for the gates.

It had been an hour now since the Wyverns arrived. Most of the civilians realized what was going on. They fled as well. But they crowded around the gates. A chokepoint. And a feasting ground for the Wyverns.

He watched as a Wyvern swept into the crowd, scooping up dozens of screaming people in its talon-like claws. He shook his head and brought his family down the other street. To the other side of the city.

“B-Beldon, why are we—”

“We can’t leave by the main gate. That’s a death sentence for us. If we leave, it’d have to be through there.”

He pointed at one of the city’s walls. A sheening wall, covered in ice. The section that had been blasted at the initial stages of the attack. Only dead men lay there, and that was why it was the safest route.

“Let’s go.”

They ran against the crowd. While the Wyverns saw easy targets with the large gatherings of people rushing out of the city, they’d miss Beldon and his family slipping their way down the city’s streets. But just as Beldon exited from an alleyway closer to the frozen wall, he heard the heavy beating of wings.

He reacted instinctively. He shoved at his wife’s back, throwing his family to the side as he leapt away. The Wyvern’s talons barely grazed his shoulder, but missed his family entirely. He clutched at the wound as he shouted.

“Run!”

“Beldon—”

“Daddy—”

His family didn’t listen. They called out to him as he looked back to the sky— at the Wyvern coming back for a second chance at them. He grabbed a rock from the ground, preparing to fend off the giant monster. It was three times his level. It was a [Lesser Wyvern]. It was more than capable of killing him in a single bite.

But it didn’t matter to him if he died here. As long as his wife and son were safe, that was all that mattered. So, he stood his ground. He was going to hold the Wyvern off, even if he died. It swooped back down as he readied his strongest Skill.

“Eat this you foul beast! [Fury Strike]!”

He tossed the rock. It shattered against the Wyvern’s hide. It looked at him— at his pathetic display of valor. And it looked like it was about to laugh. The attack barely even scratched the monster.

The Wyvern drew closer as Beldon stared. Its descent seemed to slow as he accepted his fate. It was as though the giant winged beast was moving underwater. He shut his eyes, hoping. Praying that the Spirits would listen. Marika, Myron, please… get out of here—

And he winced as the ground shook. He heard the thud. Like something heavy had crashed into the ground. Slowly, his eyes cracked open. He expected to see himself inside the belly of a Wyvern. But, instead, he looked down at the lifeless gaze of the Wyvern that had been about to swallow him whole.

“What…?”

He stared at its corpse. At the burning wound cut across the Wyvern’s back. He stumbled to the ground, recoiling in shock and relief.

“W-who did this? H-how…?”

A figure hopped off the Wyvern’s back. A girl with silver hair. A pair of flaming wings grew out from her back, and she carried a pair of figures with her. She beamed at Beldon.

“Hi! I’m Salvos!”

The silver-haired girl smiled as she lowered the black-haired man and the red-haired woman to the ground. She gestured at them proudly.

“And this is Edithe and Daniel. They’re my companions. Together, we’re going to kick some ass!”