Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

Lucious quickly grabbed all their belongings from the saddles. “I’ll carry these, you just keep moving we must be near.”

Luna sluggishly snatched her bag from the man and released a tired sigh. “Things will only get more dangerous from here, keep the path clear and I’ll support you!”

“But you’re in no state-”

“I’m pregnant, not crippled or dying!” The woman snapped at him with unexpected vigor. “Now move your ass, I’m starting to feel dizzy.”

Lucious always knew when to avoid an argument with his wife who mixed the stubbornness of a dwarf with the pride of an elf in a human-like body all the while hiding her real appearance. That temper had only worsened since the great news of their family growing in number and recently… talking to a brick wall would be preferable. At least the wall wouldn’t shout back.

They moved on just as the wife decreed, cresting the hill obstructing their view only to find a desperate sight as they reached the top.

The city, Megaris, was besieged from all sides not by armies of men the walls were built to resist but by beasts numbering in the thousands. The frenzied creatures attacked anything that moved indiscriminately, be that prey, natural predator, or even their own family, driven by their instincts to grow and consume.

“Are we too late?” Whispered Lucious as he searched for a way through.

“We have to get behind those walls.” Answered Luna, not even stopping to take in the carnage. “There’s no other way.”

“Luna it’s suicide.” The man tried to reason with his wife, his pleas finding deaf ears.

It is common practice to cull the monster population around large settlements in order to keep the farmers tending their fields safe around the stone monstrosities. With magic and dedicated Skills, they were able to achieve greater yield and faster crop growth, making the area around the city all they needed.

Right now the creatures small and large alike swarmed around the towering stone walls, drawn to the feast and large concentration of mana taking refuge inside. The gates were tightly shut and the guards rained down destruction on the tide below without a need for proper aim as the bodies were so tightly packed with more arriving by the minute.

The bloodied ground shone under the moonlight and the glow of the Comet, claws meeting skin, teeth sinking into flesh, and roars filling the night like a bloody nightmare. Despite this scene, Luna marched toward what could only be regarded as certain death with grim resolve in her tired eyes.

“There’s no other way, no other city nearby, and nowhere to hide. If we stay out here we’re as good as dead so prepare yourself.” She explained in an even tone without slowing even one bit of fear.

Ice gathered around the woman as she threw the bag onto her back and brandished her spear. As a mercenary who’d been in the business for decades, Luna had seen her fair share of desperate situations and overwhelming enemies. Yet what was awaiting her was incomparable to any of her experiences and had put all the tales about the Comet to shame. There were no easy routes of escape, no tricks, no help coming. It was only forward.

Ice froze the ground at her feet and lances of shimmering ice formed by her side, ready for combat they had tried to avoid so desperately. Despite being a warrior her second Class as an ice mage gave her the versatility and control they’d need to push through the wall of bodies between them and safety.

Lucious followed suit, taking the lead and holding his daggers tighter, determined to protect his family and be the tip of the advance.

The closest beasts quickly caught their scent and converged on the two combatants far smaller and weaker looking than the rest of the forces on the field. Their average level was only about level 150 yet the numbers promised an unending fight with victory almost impossible to achieve through pure slaughter.

“We’ll rush through, don’t stop Luna!” Shouted Lucious as he met the first mindless beasts head-on.

The creatures threw themself into his blades without any regard for their own lives, driven by hunger and the feeling of false invincibility as mana raged through their bodies. The Hunter moved swiftly and struck with precision however his aim was not necessarily to kill but rather thwart the beasts and move past them as quickly as possible. He left his flanks and back open, concentrating only forward and trusting Luna to deliver anything he failed to kill to the silent domain of Malor, the God of Death.

Their initial advance quickly stalled as they pushed deeper where the fighting was more intense and the numbers greater than the mind could comprehend. Massive creatures like the Kodiak Hippo trampling on anything in its path proved to be the real obstacle as killing them quickly was just straight-up impossible and moving around slowed the suicidal advance considerably.

Before long the defenders, eradicating the beasts in the air, trying to scale the wall, or aiming to demolish it turned their fire to support the couple and managed to lighten their burden even if just a little.

Surprisingly, past the halfway mark the numbers began to dwindle again, something many would wrongfully rejoice about. Anyone experienced knew why fewer beasts lived in the deepest parts of any forest. That's the territory of the strongest creatures, the most dangerous region.

A storm scorpion the size of a horse ravaged a pack of wolves right in front of them, its pincers crushing bone and tearing skin while the three tails growing out of its back spewed bolts of lightning indiscriminately. Since approaching this creature of lightning and chitin in melee would be a foolish mistake Luna took the lead, using the opportunity while the beast was preoccupied to deliver a devastating strike. She conjured a round serrated blade with a hole in the middle and latched her spear through it, making the blade spin before swinging it at the scorpion followed by two more in quick succession.

The first severed the tails, the second took a pincer, and the last one cut through a couple of legs. Just as the scorpion fell to the ground she rushed toward it, feigning a dodge to the left before sliding below the remaining pincer just as it slammed to the ground behind her and driving her spear straight through the nine hate-filled eyes.

She collapsed a second later, breathing heavily after exerting her burdened body way past what many would consider healthy. She tried to lean on her spear to push herself up while breathing heavily but her strength seemed to have abandoned her completely.

A Direwolf, previously locked in combat with the scorpion, saw the opportunity, a weak and defenseless prey presenting itself right before its eyes. The predatorial instincts overloaded by the arcane storm consuming Aelion pushed the creature to pounce on the weakened Luna whose face was contorted in pain as she held her belly, leaving her defenseless.

The elf fighting off multiple attackers reacted almost too late, punching at the wolf's head. However, the beast noticed the arm-shaped piece of meat flying towards it and decided to bite the arm instead. The fearsome canines sank into the arm, ravaging the flesh, before the wolf started flailing its head to tear the bony skewer of meat into pieces, his jaws holding strong.

“Lucious!” Luna cried out in fright as the man screamed in pain.

Fueled by emotions and desperation her eyes returned to their original ethereal purple color as she disregarded the demands of her body, pushing herself up and commanding her mana to eliminate the beast. Icicles formed around the wolf, piercing its body and turning it into a hedgehog of blood and ice. And still, it did not relent.

As the other elements of the battlefield converge on the three weakened and deadlocked members Lucious’ eyes turned cold with grim resolve. His attempts at taking the Direwolf's life with his other blade proved futile as even with its throat slit and countless injuries coating its body the predator refused to go down. So the husband cut where the effects were guaranteed.

Lucious sacrificed his arm with a heart-wrenching warcry before breaking away and dragging his wife with him till they hit the massive stone wall. He was not a greenhorn and had his fair share of wounds after living for decades but losing an arm is losing an Abyss-damned arm.

“M-my dear,” Muttered Luna. “I'm so sorry, your arm-” She tried to form coherent words with her hands shaking above the bleeding stump while looking at the love of her life in great pain.

“Get us up there Luna, quick!” The man whispered through his teeth, stroking the face of the panicking woman.

In a moment of clear mind, Luna nodded and the ground around them was coated with solid ice before it started pushing upwards, growing like a massive pillar of translucent blue stone, carrying them towards the top of the wall. When reaching the ledge with soldiers gaping at their fairytale-like escape, they took one last glance at what soup of blood and corpses they swam through before quickly climbing over and collapsing on the cold hard stone.

If one disregarded the bodies and gore littering the ground the scenery below became quite a mesmerizing sight. The glow of the three moons and stars with the addition of the Comet reflected on the blood pooling on the ground more beautifully than any sea or ocean could ever mirror the night sky.

But more importantly, they made it. Through struggle and difficulties, resolve and grit… For their family.

The men quickly helped the couple in, calling for a healer and doing their best to support the couple who won their respect in mere minutes through blind and foolish bravery. Luna and Lucious soon joined the tens of thousands of refugees taking shelter behind the majestic walls of this major city, the lucky ones who made it here in less than a day’s time and likely just a small portion of the people who tried to flee the wrath of the Comet.

The survivors of the calamity.

***

The sounds of carnage from outside the walls never stopped even for a second through the night, roars filling the air and the walls shaking as beasts of colossal sizes clashed with the towering stone, trying to bring it down.

Thankfully the healer was skilled enough to restore Lucious’s arm for a hefty sum of three gold, knowing well he could name his price for a man in dire need of help. The exhausted couple did their best to restore their strength in one of the tents provided to them temporarily, however, it wasn't quite the time to rest yet.

“Are we safe?” Luna whispered early in the morning, tiredness still written on her face despite the hours of dreamless sleep they just had.

“You know what’s next.” The husband answered. “It’s not over and many more people will die.”

Their bags containing all their supplies survived by some miracle, packed with everything they’d need to weather the Comet’s passing and to rebuild their lives after Aelion calmed, after the cruel red lighthouse watched over them no more. It was plenty but it was not enough and thinking ahead was the best thing they could do.

A city the size of Megaris was home to many people with granaries planned to feed them through the winter months when the farmers couldn’t harvest every other week. The difference now was that the population more than doubled and not even hunters or food merchants were able to go outside and relieve a city in case the warehouses turned empty.

“I’ll see what I can get, you just rest here and make sure our little one stays as healthy as possible.” Lucious chose his words carefully.

The only way to keep the hardheaded woman he called his wife still and from exerting herself was by using her belly as an argument. The life growing inside her was one of the few things she valued more than her pride so it was a tool Lucious would exploit as long as he could.

“Bring some water too!” Luna whispered before closing her eyes again.

Just a little later when Solaire first climbed over the horizon the poor souls in Megaris became only more frightened when a scream from the inside broke the silence on the streets out of nowhere. A woman howling in pain with emotions familiar to some but blood-freezing for many.

Lucious quickly hurried back to his wife with the water he was sent to draw from the well, recognizing her voice even halfway across the city. “Luna, what happened?” He burst through the tent flaps only to find the woman breathing heavily on the ground.

“The baby,” huff. “the baby’s coming. Get -URGH,” Luna groaned in pain. “Get help, NOW!” She managed to whisper before screaming again.

Hardly was there a less fortunate time to come to the world, nature however doesn't wait even if the mother is exhausted and the world is on the brink of collapse.

The women who recognized the cry, mothers and grandmothers, all arrived even before Lucious could comprehend what was right in front of his eyes. They dragged the shocked man out, taking the water from his hand and helping the soon-to-be mother through her peril as per tradition.

***

Six long hours later the screams finally faded, and another equally as loud but higher-pitched one took its place. The little girl cried as loud as a banshee in the loving embrace of her mother, bloody and confused.

Luna looked at the newborn with beautiful motherly love on her tired face. “A child of an elf and a celestial.“ She chuckled. “She's the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, even if she resembles a purple little goblin. Have you thought of a name already?” She asked the proud new father.

His usual elven coldness and high nose were melted by tears replaced with a wide goofy smile and snot covering his entire face.

“Elyssia,” The man said, choking on his words. “Our little Elyssia.”