We were shocked beyond belief as we hung in the air, the destroyed portion of wall before us, Damn, what happened? I wondered.


    My fucking wall!


    I froze. Aureus just cussed… I forced myself to take a deep breath, Aureus had never cussed before. He sounded like a preteen, not that he used it in a weird way, but more that he said it awkwardly since he’d never used it before. It would have been cute if he wasn’t so angry. Aureus, that isn’t a nice word. I wasn’t sure if I should chastise him for it or not.


    Yeah, so? My wall is broken, that isn’t nice! We worked hard on that!


    I shrugged to myself, there wasn’t much point in policing his language when he learned it from me. Really, there wasn’t much point in telling kids not to cuss other than that other people didn’t like it. Plus he wasn’t wrong, he’d been working hard to build the walls and it was shitty that it was broken right when we needed it to work.


    Should I… fix it? He asked, defeat oozed from him, painting his every action. His head low and tone exasperated. I could feel it vividly as it seeped into the back of my brain. I wondered if I was feeling more sensitive to his emotions and reactions since our emotions were heightened


    No, we can’t waste mana on that when monsters could be pouring in at any moment. I paused, squinting my eyes in a failed attempt to see through the rubble, debris and dust in the area. There wasn’t any visible movement in the area, no monsters yet I guessed. Probably… actually wait. There should be people here… are there any people around? Do you know?


    Uhhhh


    “Hello? Is there anyone here?!” I hollered, I didn’t expect a response and I didn’t get one. “Noel?”


    “Yes, Boss?” He said chipperly before he gasped asking, “Oh wow, what happened here?”


    “Not sure, did all the civvies from this area get evacuated or should we be looking for injured? Do you know who would have been stationed here?”


    “Uhh, yeah all the noncombatants and kids have been moved to the center. Honestly it was easy work since they were scrambling over themselves trying to get into the center after the upgrade announcement.”


    “Okay, I’ll message Rosalynn and see who was in charge of this area.” I said numbly as I pulled up my messaging window.


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: Something happened in the area to the-


    I paused, which one was this? “Noel, which camp is this? Or like area?”


    “This one is the north east camp.”


    “Cool, cool.”


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: Something happened in the area to the north east, there’s a lot of damage. Who was supposed to be in this area? ]


    Almost immediately I got a response.


    [ “Dauntless Hammer”: That''s Tali’s area. Is she doing okay? Have you not seen her team? ]


    “Noel, Aureus, can you two look around this area for Tali and her group?” Aureus settled lower to the ground so I could hop off and the two disappeared into the smog and dust immediately. I was subtly impressed that Aureus had mimicked Noel’s skill in hiding or at least he disappeared pretty silently.


    “Noel?” I called quietly.


    “Yes Boss?” He replied in kind, a sly smile on his face.


    “Weren’t you going to look?”


    “I am looking.”


    I couldn’t push down my curiosity anymore so I asked. “Okay, I haven’t asked before now because you hadn’t told us, but now I need to know. How does this work? Why are you always here? Like it doesn’t make any sense for you to be everywhere at once.”


    “I’m not everywhere at once. To sum it up, I have a few shadow clones I can get to do tasks for me like surveying the area, and I can also switch places with them when I need to. We have a sort of weak connection and I can kinda hear or feel what’s going on around them. Also, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I haven’t had this ability for that long.”


    “Huh. Okay, then do you just keep a clone near me at all times?” I asked.


    “Duh, you’re the boss. Of course I’d keep a clone on you.”


    How had I become the boss? All I ever wanted to do since I met him was leave. I sighed and waved my hand towards him, I needed to continue my conversation with Rosalynn.


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: We haven’t found them yet, but we’re looking. I’ll keep you updated. ]


    [ “Dauntless Hammer”: This is really going to throw a wrench in our plans tho. How bad was the damage? Are there any dead? ]


    I scanned the area, the dust and dirt was sort of settling and started to reveal an even worse landscape than it had been before we built on it. There were signs that several explosions went off at the same time. Multiple craters lined where the wall once was on the outer edge, but there was also a large one in the inside of the walls. I scanned the debris for any blood or bodies, but I couldn’t find any signs that there were people here at all. Before or after the explosions. Strange.


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: I don’t see anyone, it’s weird. No bodies, no survivors, no blood even. It’s like a bomb went off in an abandoned town. ]


    [ “Dauntless Hammer”: … Well at least no one is hurt ig. ]


    Master, there looks to be a group of humans running away from this area.


    Oh! You found them, thank the gods. What are they running from?


    Uh… it doesn’t look like they’re running from anything. It looks like they’re running towards the exit of the Underhollow.


    I furrowed my brows, there’s no way that timid Tali would be running off to leave like that. “Noel, can you catch up with Tali and her group? They’re running off in that direction.” I said as I gestured towards where I felt Aureus’ was telling me they were.


    “Okay Boss, I’ll be there and back in a jiffy.”


    Aureus, can you come back over here? I’d like to look at the damage, we need to figure out how to protect this area best.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    It will be hard to protect without any defenses. You should request some of those humans who hide in the center to come help. He said as the wind from his wings blew away the lingering dust in the air around me. I climbed onto his back.


    No, they are needed there, we don’t know if any of those worms will pop up. Maybe we can slowly work on building the wall up in this area as we go.


    I won’t be able to make that gate like Caro did, I only made the area the gate went in and she made the door part.


    We don’t need to worry about that right now. We just need to make sure to keep the monsters away from the center as much as possible. Actually now that I say it, let’s go check on the people who are over there. With a mental gesture me and Aureus headed towards the inner wall in this section of the camp.


    “Mia?!”


    “It’s Mia and the dragon!”


    “Is everything okay?”


    “His name is Aureus ya dingus!”


    “Oh, sh-ut up!”


    The rabble died down as Aureus’ claws sunk into the side of the wall and the roar of his winds settled. Four people stood at a distance looking towards us expectantly. I awkwardly clambered off of Aureus, it was a skill I was still working on. This particular position of him hanging off of the side of the wall was more difficult than others. Damn I should’ve had her make that saddle.


    “What happened?” I asked the wide eyed and nervous group in front of me.


    They exchanged a wary look, “We thought you might know…” A sheepish woman offered. The group shifted awkwardly.


    I sighed, “I don’t know much other than that there were explosions out-” I paused, did I need to scare these people by telling them the truth about what happened. As I was about to say the only facts I knew it seemed worse than I thought. There were explosions inside and outside of the walls and the person in charge of the area was making a break for the exit of the Underhollow…


    I cleared my throat, “The walls have fallen in areas and we’re missing some people. I’m not sure what happened but I’m sure they’re looking into it. In the meanwhile I’ll be taking charge of this section so don’t worry.” I mustered the most reassuring smile possible. It wasn’t scaring these people that worried me, it was the idea that it would affect the battle to come.


    Was it a mistake to come talk to them? Now they’ll probably be more anxious.


    Ugh. Humans are so stupid. Weak. Dumb.


    Aureus!


    Knowing the truth shouldn’t change what they need to do!


    I sighed again, and one of the men chimed in, “So, did anyone get hurt?”


    “No, no. There wasn’t any evidence of injury whatsoever. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’ve let Rosalynn know of the situation so hopefully she’ll get y’all some reinforcements since it’ll be hard for me to do as good a job as other areas… since ya know… there’s no wall here…” I trailed off as I looked at the gaping holes in the ground and rubble where the wall should’ve been. I sighed again. “I need to go. Be careful, you’ve got to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”


    The group straightened up at my words and nodded soberly. Well, maybe that’ll keep their minds off of where Tali disappeared to. Another awkward moment passed as I clumsily mounted Aureus again before he dropped from the wall. We were freefalling for a second, our chests filled with warmth and tingles and then his wings snapped out. They caught the wind as we glided towards where the wall was.


    As we landed Noel popped up yet again, “Things aren’t looking so good Boss.” He sounded strange, his voice was devoid of his normal pep.


    “What do you mean?”


    “She’s not gonna come back, neither is her group.”


    “Why?” My heart sank, I had considered that they were leaving, but it wasn’t something I was really expecting. I thought they had a good reason. Or? Maybe it was the naive hope that she wasn’t just deserting us.


    “They didn’t say, but her whole group and Theo have left. They’re almost to the exit… I don’t think they’ll be coming back.” His voice was quiet. Eyeing me carefully as he spoke, he was scrutinizing my every action and inaction. Did he think I would lash out at him at any moment? I hoped I hadn''t seemed like such an unstable person.


    “Huh…” I let the information sink in. Theo left? A strange feeling of betrayal washed over me, it mingled with relief and confusion. “Why would he leave? I mean, at least we won’t be awkward around each other anymore, but these were his people. His saviors. I just…”


    “So?” Noel asked, his expression was cold as his brows drew together, he looked at me with pity but I could see resentment hiding behind it.


    Oh… I see… In just that short time I started to get attached to him again. How pathetic.


    “Yeah, I mean that bastard never really had any loyalty so I’m not sure why I expected anything from him.” I spat bitterly.


    Master?


    It’s fine. Who cares?


    I kicked myself. I was always getting attached to people despite myself just because they were there. This was exactly why I continually reminded myself that I needed to be skeptical, why I needed to keep people at arms length. Why did I always end up here? I barely even talked to Tali, and I didn’t even like Theo, yet here I was broken up by their decision.


    “So? Where do we go from here Boss?” The lightness he usually exuded started to creep its way back in, a tsunami that couldn’t be kept at bay for long.


    “Well,” I paused, considering it, “firstly I need to let Rosalynn know. Then I guess we can figure out how to move forward.”


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: Ther-


    I started to type my message to Rosalynn when a notification interrupted me.


    [ System Update Wave Spawning ]


    Frantically I tapped out a message to Rosalynn, we needed them to know that there was a betrayal.


    [ “Witch of the Wellspring”: There was betryal Tali and theo gone need renforcmnt here plz ]


    As the message was sent I could feel the mana in the air change, in the distance I could hear the shrill screeches I now associated with under rats. I couldn’t see them yet. A ding sounded as her response arrived, but I didn’t open it. Even if I had, what would it matter anyway? Nothing we could say now would change much. There weren''t people to spare to join us here and they weren''t coming back so all I could do was prepare to defend my new post.


    “Noel, I want you to find out how they’re being spawned. Where is the spawn point, etc. Go, now.”


    I didn’t receive a response, but I knew he was out executing my orders. My knuckles started whitening as I gripped my staff tighter with each loud thump of my heart. I glanced over at my quest, ‘protect them or teach them how to protect themselves.’ They really gave me a difficult one. The feeling of being helpless ate away at me as seconds lingered longer than they should.


    Alright Aureus, are you ready?


    Yup. Let’s kick some rats’ ass!


    I grinned, well he could be worse at it I supposed, it was a nice reprieve until I looked back into the distance. The wave of squiggling black animals on the horizon squirmed closer. My stomach bubbled as anxiety wrapped around it like several constricting snakes. It felt like I might throw up.


    This really isn’t the way it should have went. Our plan was great. Everyone who was moderately high level would protect their own area and we would go provide help when they got swamped or needed a break. God… fuck them.


    Various thoughts and ideas flitted through my mind, I wasn’t sure how I should go about fighting anymore. How was I supposed to protect a sixth of the whole camp alone?


    You’re not alone…


    A small sad smile met his comment, yes. You’re absolutely right, I’m not alone. I scratched at his jaw as I thought about what to do.


    Would it be too much to create part of the wall now? I groaned to myself, I was still overlooking good ideas and not thinking quickly on my feet. That was exactly how I got so injured against that asshole on the surface. I still didn’t know how to do this.


    I can do it.


    My eyes wandered up and down the area of the missing wall, ok don’t worry about details or height. Just make it like eight feet tall and leave a way for them to get in. Don’t make it too small or the areas on either side of us might get swarmed too heavily.


    Got it. Aureus said confidently as he planted his paws into the rock beside me, the ground shook as unpolished walls were erected from the rubble. My field of vision narrowed as his rock obscured the horizon that was slowly becoming more rat and less rock.


    Alright. We’ve got this. Let’s kick some rats’ asses! I shouted over our connection as the mass of rats got closer, finally some of their details were visible. There was something… odd about them. They looked different. The excitement and bravery I steeled myself with faltered for a moment.


    They looked… rabid? Their eyes seemed somehow more red. Their mouths hung open as they ferociously clawed at whatever was under them to get ahead. A significant portion of them were already mildly injured just from being part of that stampede. I shivered. Of course they couldn''t make them just normal under rats.