The Army of Darkness is here. The battle has begun.

"Quick! To your chariot!"

Maya obeyed, and Roberto ran for his warhorse. His worry was gone, replaced by excitement for the upcoming battle. But this time, he was determined to win.

Lynn scurried along the ledge, avoiding another Ogre patrol. Her small form enabled her to sneak around without attracting too much attention, aided further by the blizzard around him. When she sensed that the enemies had lost her, she resumed her trek.

She slowly half-dragged her body to the designated point. Softly she chuckled. Of course she was going to die. She had no other purpose being in the group. Atrus was wounded, and her being in the group would only increase the group size, which was quite dangerous in this mission. Also the venom in his veins rendered her heavenly songs, her only unique trait, useless.

And then again, there was always Falstoff.

Her track stopped immediately. Was she really still holding a grudge against Atrus for killing Falstoff? Was that why she wished to leave the party?

Falstoff was the offspring of Lord Daemon and his captive Goddess Gaea, sent to the realm to slay the Champion of the Guardian before he matured. Unaware of his mission, however, Falstoff had joined Atrus and the rest in defeating Kastor, the red dragon. Falstoff had also taken special interest in befriending her. However when Atrus discovered his true destiny, Falstoff had to do what he was made for. Even with heavy heart, Atrus had to kill him in a pitched duel, something she could never forgive.

Or could she? Had she been too hard on Atrus? All this time she had been pretty cold to him. Had she been giving him more trouble than he deserved?

He was being ripped apart, Calem had said, and Lynn respected the wizard well. Atrus had seen too many of his friends dying for and because of him, and his soul ached for relief. That would explain the lust for vengeance in his heart. He was just like her. Had he not been wounded, he would have slaughtered every single monster in the Northern Continent single-handedly.

Then, surely, he didn't take any delight in killing Falstoff...

Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over her. She fell on her knees, sobbing quietly. She regretted her whole charade against Atrus. The demonic venom inside his veins was killing him slowly, and she had been aiding that process by being cold and indifferent. She was a part of the real venom.

A wound or disease kills, but the society kills faster...

Slowly she looked at the looming tower before her. She had one chance to redeem herself, and she wasn't planning to mess it up. She was going to get the party into the tower with little attention on themselves.

She quickly scurried to the designated place, a small hill with decent view to the tower and the surrounding valley. Should her plan work, she could withdraw to a small valley to the west, drawing the monsters further away from the tower.

As she reached the hill, she looked sadly at the cliff near the tower where the party was hiding. "I'm sorry, Atrus... for I have mistaken you for a killer..."

Then she drew her breath, and began to sing.

"Lynn!" Aurelia gasped. "She's crazy! That's not a diversion! She's marking herself!"

Anna couldn't reply. She knew what the Fairy was doing, and despite her heart's protests, she knew that it had to be done.

"That Fairy!" Atrus hissed. "She's going to get herself killed!"

"She's doing her diversion," Anna calmed him down. "We must sneak in as soon as there's a hole in the garrison."

"Look, the monsters are dispersing!" Aurelia said.

And the monstrous hordes guarding the tower were drawn to the song, eager to end it. Orcs and Goblins pounded their heads furiously, trying to get the angelic song out of their head. Ogres and Giants went into berserk, pounding everything nearby into pulp.

Then one of the hordes spotted the Fairy.

Lynn slowly retreated toward the valley, maintaining her song. The monsters easily located her flight and followed, leaving their posts. Some Goblins caught up with her, but the little Fairy was ready to fight. She expertly feigned their attacks and blasted them to bits with her magical strike. Her fighting capability, as rusty as it was, was enough to fend the initial rush, but she knew she had to keep retreating before the monsters brought their big guns.

Then she found another group of monsters appearing from the other side of the valley, blocking her escape path. She quickly steered north, preventing the monsters from sandwiching her from both sides. Soon she found a large mound quite a distance from the Emerald Tower. On this hill, she decided, she would make a final stand.

The monster seemed endless, but one by one fell to her magic. While she was still singing her song, the monsters couldn't fight as well, giving her some sort of unfair advantage. But she fought bravely, dropping her foes one by one, even the largest of the Ogres.

Then, to her horror, a smaller version of the Gate appeared just behind her, and a new wave of monsters charged her position. Truly sandwiched from two sides, the Fairy fought desperately for her life. One lucky Ogre smashed its club against Lynn's stomach, knocking the air out of her and probably breaking a few ribs. The poor Fairy doubled over and took another blow on her back. Her song stopped, she could only hear the renewed war cry from the monsters around her.

"I'm sorry..." she mouthed.

That was her last word, as her form disappeared beneath the seemingly endless waves of monsters.

"We're in trouble..." Aurelia said.

Anna peeked over the hill and found the problem. While most of the monsters were gone pursuing Lynn, the Trolls remained. Even worse, the wicked monsters seemed unaffected by the song, and moved closer together, tightening their defense. Getting through them would be suicidal, as they outnumbered the party nearly ten to one.

"I still have a final trick under my sleeve," Anna whispered. "I already mastered the invisibility spell. I can cast it on all of us, then we can sneak in unnoticed."

"Why didn't we use that spell earlier?" Atrus demanded.

"Because the spell would result considerable drain in my power. The duration is short, but enough for us to get through those Trolls and sneak into the tower. Besides, the spell was not foolproof. It would only mask your body, but not your scent or any noise we make."

"What makes you think they won't hear or smell us, then?" Atrus asked.

"The blizzard would cover our approach," Anna explained. "And about the smell, we all smell like wasteland dirt anyway. They won't notice we're coming."

"Whatever we're doing, we have only one chance," Aurelia commented.

"Very well," Atrus said. "Let's do this."

Anna closed her eyes and cast her spell. Atrus felt some sort of tingle creeping through his skin. His eyes suddenly found something interesting with Aurelia's form, who was right before him. Her form seemed, ethereal, like a phantom. Slowly he could make up the view of wasteland replacing her form. Her equally horrified look was the last thing he could see before she vanished completely into the air.

The worry didn't last for long, as something smashed against his body and pulled him against it as tight as possible. "Oh, good thing you're still there, Atrus!" Aurelia's frightened voice came from somewhere near his chest. "I... I thought... you're gone!"

Atrus curiously touched the air before him and found Aurelia's familiar form snuggling against him. Although he knew that Anna would kill him for this, he curiously traced his finger along her invisible body, amazed at what the spell could do.

"You could have told us that we would be totally invisible, even to each other," Atrus said to the open air.

"Sorry," Anna's voice came out of nowhere. "I've practiced the spell on virtually everything, but never to myself or anyone. But we must waste no more time. Join our hand, and we'll stick together all the time."

With some difficulty, Atrus tried to find Anna's hand. He found her breast instead and gripped it, making her yelp.

"I don't know if you acted out of instinct or you're just a lucky bastard," Anna scowled. "I'll take point. Aurelia, you guard out rear. Remember, no voice!"

Slowly they made their way down the hill and to the valley where the Emerald Tower stood. The sight of the Trolls making a defensive ring around the tower base welcomed them. For a while Atrus could feel the hesitation in Anna's grip as they approached, but the monsters seemed to be quite oblivious to their presence. The effort became harder, however, as they drew close. The stench coming out of the vile creatures were simply unbearable that the three companions were forced to hold their breath as they came past. The desire to puke was there, but even a slightest gag this close to the creatures wouldn't be healthy to any of them.

The companions froze on their steps when the Trolls shifted restlessly. One closest to them began sniffing the air around it. Atrus could feel both girls' hands sweating from fear. He got his own problem. The pain in his abdomen returned as his state was getting worse and worse.

The creature's hiss, however, confirmed their fear, "I smell bloooood..." it snarled. "Elven blooood!!"

The thought of Atrus' scratch wound on her forearm struck Aurelia like a blast of lightning. The bad news was, she couldn't help but shriek.

The whole Troll army went wild as they scrambled to locate the source of the scream. Failing to spot anything, the Trolls began clawing the air like crazy. One swept its clay dangerously close to Anna's position, and Atrus was thankful she was fast enough to dodge it. But he knew that they were already discovered, although not entirely. They had to make a run for it...

Suddenly he felt Aurelia forcefully drawing her hand back. He lost her arm before he could protest, and the Elf was cut off from the party. Torn between finding the Elf and following Anna to the Tower entrance, he stopped his advance, earning a firm squeeze from Anna in return. She was demanding what went wrong.

She quickly got the answer.

One Troll, who was dangerously close to their location, suddenly doubled over and cringe in a lot of pain, gripping its crotch and howling like mad. Before either of them could laugh, another Troll did a majestic somersault, although a bit flawed since it landed upside down, breaking its neck. This whole ruckus, of course, attracted the rest of Troll army.

"Hurry, make a run for it!" Aurelia screamed out of nowhere. "I'll keep them busy!"

"B...but, Aurelia...!"

"No, Atrus, go!"

Before Atrus could protest any futher, Anna pulled him along the short path and right into the tower entrance. Thanks to Lynn's effort, the opening was totally unguarded. He was definitely resisting, but at his poor state Anna was stronger. As they entered the tower, Atrus could only hope that Aurelia could rejoin them, or at least escape.

The prospect for the Elf, however, was not very good. The Trolls had formed a tight ring of defense around the tower, and a group was now sealing the entrance. With the wound in her forearm, the Trolls could track her down with the smell of her blood. She also saw that the Trolls guarding the entrance were also torn between seeking the intruders and hunting her down.

Escape would be near impossible. But one option seemed logical.

With lightning speed she fetched three arrows and struck the tips on a nearby stone. After the third try, the sulfur-coated tips caught fire. When the Trolls surrounding the tower entrance spotted the floating fireballs, they were already streaking toward them.

Old mages from the old days called it the gods' divine justice in creations. Trolls were powerful monsters with an incredible ability of regenerating any wounds they might suffer during combat. Balancing this power, however, was their ultimate bane, fire. Like a walking mound of sulfur, Troll flesh caught fire easily. During the Great Troll Hunt a few decades back, a Human rider from a Troll-besieged town lit a Troll ablaze with his flame-tipped arrow, sending the fiery creature scampering back to the forest. The fire, however, remained burning throughout the journey and ignited tree leaves and bushes along its path, creating one of the biggest forest fire in the realm's history. The forest fire, although destroyed the town and devastated its surrounding farmland, decimated nearly half of the Troll population in the nearby swamps. Such was the bane of the Trolls.

These particular Trolls guarding the Tower were not an exception.

Aurelia's arrow pierced the nearest creature's chest, a minor wound to the powerful monster, but its flesh was suddenly ignited into bright flame. Its nearest neighbor, although not struck by the arrow, was unfortunate enough to catch a spark from its fellow and quickly burst into flame. Chaos erupted amongst the Troll ranks, as each creature ignited other fellows in attempt to douse the fire.

The other Trolls guarding the entrance, however, got a wind of Aurelia's position and came forward with raking claws. The Elves felt a sharp pain on her left shoulder as one Troll got a lucky hit. She staggered out of the way of another attempt and tried to retreat, but he Trolls seemed to track her escape path down easily. Then she realized her mistake. The invisibility spell couldn't mask anything separated from her form, and she was dripping fresh blood from her gash. And the Trolls could easily sniff her out, making escape quite impossible.

She knew that her best bet was to stand and fight. She could only hope that Atrus and Anna were already inside the tower, safe from these beasts.

With her shoulder badly wounded, her warbow was useless. She quickly switched to her last resort weapon, her short dagger. She picked a nearby stone and held it with her left hand. With lightning speed, she dashed toward the nearest group of Trolls and caught them off guard. She sent one strike of her dagger across the stone, creating sparks. Although not enough to ignite any Trolls, it was enough to spread panic to the already traumatic creatures. The Trolls clawed blindly, often hitting their own kind. But Aurelia was already gone, dashing toward the next group of monsters.

Although invisible, she was not invincible. For every group of monsters she fought, she received several claw slashes on her battered body. Her leather armor did little to stop the lethal claws from wounding her, and did almost nothing to slow her blood flow. Her movement began to slow down, and the Trolls were having easier time to track her down. She was no longer aware that the Trolls around her were herding her to where they wanted her to be.

And when they caught her, all hell broke loose.

She didn't had time to even cry out in pain as multiple slashes ruined her leather armor and drew more blood from her open wound. Anna's spell ceased working, revealing the battered Elf under the monsters' mercy. One Troll grabbed her head with its wide hand and trapped it inside its claws, not tight enough to crush it, but enough to cause pain to her. With that she lifted her weak body up high for all to see. The surviving horde of monsters roared in delight as the intruder was shown for all to see.

Despite the severe pain she was experiencing, her heart was truly in peace. "May Mother Nature... be... with you... Atrus..."

As the monster slammed her back to the ground, she allowed darkness to overcome her while hundreds of Trolls, controlled with battle lust, crowded around.

There were too many of them.

The Alliance stronghold held. Dark critters from the three dimensional portals were swarming the Alliance troops from almost all sides, but the line held. The monsters were numerous, yet the troops consisted of some of the best people of all five groups. All troops fought hand-in-hand, all trace of ancestral hatred and racism forgotten.

Hawk watched with pride as he braced for the majestic view. Before his eyes were thousands of Orcs swarming his pikemen detachment, who were doing a god job at holding them at bay. Suddenly the land went dark as thousands of arrows, specially fletched by the Elven Rangers of Elom, swarmed the sky over him. He could see thousands of bodies dropping to the ground as the arrows struck. Human elite archers followed suit, firing fire-tipped bolts from their crossbows. Fire began to start amongst the mounds of corpses, lighting the land and trapping the monsters within. The engineers had constructed a long ditch surrounding the area, which could be filled with water should the fire decide to move toward the Alliance troops.

Hawk smiled. The trap was Prince Farn's brainchild, and it had been performed to perfection. But would it keep the enemy away from the hill?

No.

It would slow them down, for sure, but it would not defeat them. Even the best Alliance troops were mere mortals. Mortals needed rest. Mortals could not fight forever. The monsters came from the Underworld, which probably contained enough monsters to conquer dozens of realms at the same time.

Hawk felt sick. The demons were just toying with them. Once they were entertained enough, they would move in swiftly and decimate his troops.

But he was willing to play their game, knowing that Atrus was probably somewhere in he Northern Continent doing what he could to stop this menace. Hawk trusted him, and he trusted that Atrus' friends would be fighting as well, although he could not witness them.

For a moment he felt out of place. He wanted to be out there, in the Northern Continent, fighting side by side with Atrus. He wanted to be like he old times, covering Atrus' flank as the Ranger charged through the enemy ranks. In a way, he sometimes envied his lover, Aurelia, who was among he five Warriors of the Guardian, protectors of the Champion.

He, of course, didn't know about the demonic venom in Atrus' veins. He didn't know what the party had to go through. He didn't know, finally, how many had fallen.

He brushed the thought away as he sub-commander gave him a nod. To finish the trap, he would lead the Human knights across the battlefield, around the valley, and into the trapped enemy ranks, charging them from both sides and letting the fire do its work. Meanwhile, coming along with his cavalry were two wizards and a Priestess of Lycra, who would attempt to do something seemingly impossible. They would try to seal the dimension door.

The Emerald Tower was littered with undead minions. Animated skeletons, zombies, and other dark abominations filled the once-majestic hallway. Had this been a tour, Anna would have allowed herself to be marveled by the majestic shape and design of the tower. Green walls still flashed and hummed lightly despite having been defiled by the force of evil for quite some time.

The doors connecting the hallways were made out of tall oval mirror frames, but without the mirrors themselves. Instead, light bluish amorphous substance seemed to serve as dimension doors connecting each hallway to the next one above it. The doors, however, seemed to be imbued with divine magic, since one undead creature accidentally touched the liquid substance and was instantly reduced to dust. It made Anna wonder whether the doors were to keep evil out, or keep it in.

But the doors made her task a bit easier. Every hallway was simply a gauntlet. Despite the invisibility spell, the undead could still sense, among few things, magic emitting from Atrus and Anna, but they still couldn't see them. Anna had been hacking through the undead ranks, clearing the path toward the next door without risking extended battle for fear of ending the spell in the middle of enemy ranks. Atrus, despite his miserable state, refused to be a total burden and fought along... or at least smacking the enemies with his inert sword. Even Anna could blast the skeletons' brittle bones to bits with her Sun Mace. Failing at his job, Atrus retreated to Anna's side, protecting her flanks and parrying any swords or claws that came near. When the undead creatures got a wind of where they were, both of them quickly dashed toward the door, ending the gauntlet and starting a new one.