Point-of-View: Bell Fairbairn

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  "What is taking so long!? Have none of you yet made it past the second barrier!? Such incompetence……hurry up!" Snapped Laus impatiently, right as we reached the next barrier, one that was blue in hue.

  Tch, it has barely even been fifteen minutes since he commanded us to move forward. I suppose that I should create an opening in this barrier……unlike the previous one that simply nullifies active spells, this one is a physical barrier, we need to break through it with force.

  What nerve Laus has, to reprimand us so harshly when he could not even unravel a single one of these barriers even after three whole hours. I am beyond simply just losing faith and respect in him……at this point, I believe that I am starting to despise him.

  "There is a problem……there are thousands of monsters just a few dozen meters inside this barrier……," I began to respond.

  "Shut up! All of you keep giving me the same response, I do not care about your petty excuses! Attract as many of the enemy forces towards you and then eliminate them, that is the job that all four groups must carry out……do I make myself clear!?"

  "……very well, then. But I shall take the lead, only we Elemental Sages possess enough power to create a large enough opening for several to pass through, otherwise our front lines will be slaughtered with ease-," I started to explain.

  "You will not! Carry out the plan as I instructed, I will not allow any deviations!"

  Tch, if he will not listen to reason, I have no choice but to act……I must do everything I can to ensure that this attack is successful, because otherwise, far too many of us will die. And to do that, I have to lead this group. As I took a step forward, I suddenly stopped as several Fairies surrounded me.

  "What do you think you are doing?" I inquired icily, causing some of them to flinch in fear, but they did not back away.

  They may feel fear and other emotions like the rest of us, but when it comes to Laus, they are easily capable of ignoring their feelings and emotions……it is as if they are brainwashed.

  "We should be asking you that……do you truly intend to disobey Lord Laus's commands?" Responded one of them.

  "That is akin to an act of betrayal, do not be foolish," Added another of them.

  Damn it……what should I do? When I began to step forward, many of those around me perked up, hope appearing in their eyes……but now, that hope was clearly diminishing.

  "Why must we throw our lives away so unnecessarily!?" Suddenly spoke out one of the Elves at the front, his voice barely audible due to the distance, but nearly everyone seems to have heard him.

  For a moment, there was silence, and then, those in the front erupted into murmurs, growing louder and louder until several of them began protesting……the fear of death coupled with the confusion over why the being they once revered was sending them to their deaths, it was too much for them to handle.

  And that first Elf snapping and blurting out the question that they must all have in their minds acted as a trigger, all the fear and emotions that they had been holding down finally burst forth, and it was having a profound effect on the rest of us as well.

  "That is enough! Do not let your minds be corrupted, we must remain loyal to Lord Laus!" Suddenly snapped one of the Fairies, as hundreds of them flew up and charged up water and fire attacks.

  "Cease this insolence immediately……any that continue with this will be disposed of!"

  "If you keep displaying these signs of betrayal, we will not hesitate to kill you all!"

  A tense silence fell over everyone, as the Fairies made it clear that they were not bluffing. If I do not do something, we may well end up killing each other. I need to prevent that, I cannot let it come to that……!

  "Enough, fighting amongst ourselves whilst on enemy territory is the height of foolishness!" I exclaimed as loudly as I could.

  "Perhaps so, but if that is what it takes to ensure that no one betrays Lord Laus, then so be it," Responded one of the Fairies.

  "Shut up. But very well, we will follow Laus's commands……however, we will not do so blindly. If you have a problem with that, then come down here……I will kill you myself," I remarked coldly.

  "I do not understand what you are saying, but so long as you follow Lord Laus's commands and stay at the rear, there is no problem."

  "I see……in that case, I will do just that," I stated, as I raised my hand, the clouds above darkening and crackling ominously, before yelling as loudly as I could, "Listen, everyone! I shall blast a large opening into this barrier, charge through once I do so, use long range attacks to kill as many of the monsters as possible! Elves and Fairies, take to the sky and back up the front line as best you can, prevent as many casualties as possible!"

  I then dropped my arm, and in the blink of an eye, a massive bolt of lightning burst down from the skies, striking the barrier with a devastating impact, vicious streaks and sparks crackling out as it struck the barrier, creating a massive opening that spammed several hundred meters wide.

  As the dust cleared, those at the front began charging forward, firing wavered Elemental Magic attacks at the monsters ahead of them, as the monsters immediately began rushing towards them……I then froze in horror as I noticed……the barrier, it was mending itself. And quite quickly at that.

  It was closing by about ten to fifteen meters every second, the opening I created will not even last a minute before it is fully closed……and I cannot use my lightning again, I would inadvertently end up blasting those in front as well, it would be too difficult to avoid. What do I do!? Barely a fifth of us will be able to pass through before it is completely restored.

  "Those with powerful ranged attacks, fire at the edges of the opening, keep the barrier from mending itself for as long as possible!" I exclaimed at the top of my lungs, my throat starting to feel sore from all the shouting.

  They were unable to stop the shrinking of the opening, but they were slowing it down quite significantly, about two thirds of us should be able to get through. If I rush forward, the damned Fairies may do something foolish, but……I could hear the echoes of screams ringing out voraciously from up ahead, along with the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking.

  Enough……I refuse to let our corpses pile up, I am going forward! I suppose that I should use my full power……

  Electro, I require your.

  "I refuse. If you are going against Lord Laus, then I cannot help you."

  Wha……I am not going against Laus, this will give his plan a much higher chance of success!

  "I can sense your feelings, Bell……all of the positive feelings you held towards him have soured quite drastically."

  Maybe so, but that does not mean that I am going to betray him. Without my full power, I cannot be as effective in this battle as I otherwise would be……the Wind Sage has been exiled and the other two Sages are both very inexperienced. We can discuss this after the battle, but for now, give me your power……it is essential to the probability of success.

  "……very well. I cannot deny that you are correct in that assessment. However, if you go against Lord Laus during this battle, I shall never against grant you my power……which means that you will have to be killed and replaced with a new Lightning Sage."

  I understand.

  A vicious crackle of lightning burst out from me as I entered my Lightning Sage Mode and shot forward at top speed, rushing in through the opening and firing out a powerful lightning bolt from my hands, wiping out hundreds of the monsters in a single shot.

  "What are you doing!? You are disobeying Lord Laus!" Screamed one of the Fairies in horrified fury.

  "Yes……YES, I AM!" I snapped in response, continuing to blast the monsters……when suddenly, they all vanished.

  Huh? What just happened? There were still tens of thousands of them left, I only managed to wipe out a few thousand……why would they retreat?

  Suddenly, I stiffened as screams of terror began ringing out behind me, my blood running cold. I glanced back with my breath held, my eyes widening in horror……the barrier was fully restored, with about half the troops having made it through.

  But with both halves, inside the barrier and outside……there were monsters were among them. The same monsters that had just been in front of us. I need to help them……!

  "I wouldn't pay too much attention behind if I were you……the bigger threat is right in front of you," Suddenly came a voice from ahead, a lazy-sounding, unmotivated voice……

  I could feel it, a sense of dread and despair starting to envelop me as I turned towards where the voice came from, my eyes widening in horror……I remember him……the Water Sage……

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