Aryn bumped his fist against Milly's, the contact solid. She nodded once in return, and as their hands fell away, he found himself taking a closer look at her.
Before the thought to scan her even crossed his mind, his attention lingered on something far more human.
She was tall and solid, carrying herself like someone used to standing her ground. Her red hair was pulled back and loose, strands slipping free to frame a face lightly filled with freckles. Just enough to sharpen her features rather than soften them. She wore light blue jeans and worn sneakers, a cropped shirt that showed toned abs beneath a half zipped, army green jacket, practical but unmistakably confident. She was curvy in a way that naturally drew the eye, but it was her gaze that made him pause.
Bright green eyes and very intense. Almost unsettling against the red of her hair and the fire she commanded. There was heat in them, not just power, but impatience, like she was always one step away from moving first.
Aryn realized he'd been staring a second too long when Milly squinted at him, giving him a look that very clearly said 'don't look too hard, bud.'
He snapped out of it just as Jaxon nudged him in the ribs, a quiet chuckle following. Kaia shook her head, and Aryn could've sworn he heard her thoughts mutter, 'Men. Ugh.'
'UI. Scan Milly.'
[Scan complete]
[Entity]:
Mirella Dune, "Milly"
Empowered, Magical
[Threat level]:
A
[Physical output]:
Enhanced
[Physical integrity]:
Enhanced
[Control]:
Medium–High (can vary with emotions)
[Power types]:
Mana
Elemental – Fire
[Abilities]:
[Flame manifestation]
[Combustive surge]
[Fire shaping]
[Skills]:
[Mana Control I]
[Area Denial]
[Aggressive Spell Flow]
[Mana Endurance]
[Pain Tolerance]
"Dope…" Aryn muttered without thinking.
"What's dope?" Milly asked, eyebrow lifting just enough to imply she knew exactly what he meant.
"I—uh—not you. I mean—well, not that you're not dope. You look… amazing. I mean—" He stopped himself, exhaling. "I'll just… yeah."
Both Jaxon and Kaia facepalmed at the same time.
Milly laughed. "Relax, tint green man. I'm messing with you."
She'd noticed his features too. He looked mostly human, but something else lingered beneath the surface…. Controlled, distant, and far closer to the orcs he commanded than he probably realized.
"Anyway," Kaia cut in, clearing her throat before the awkwardness could go any deeper. "We're heading into Hollowfront Mall to find our parents. It sounds like you're trying to get in too."
"We are," Milly replied. "We heard from another group… Well, they told us, at least, that there's some kind of portal inside. Whatever these things are, they saw them coming from there. We figured if we deal with it, this ends."
"A rift…" Jaxon muttered, eyes drifting toward the goblin packed entrance.
"What's a rift?" Milly asked.
"It's the portal they mentioned," Aryn said. "We closed one already. They're dangerous. We almost… didn't make it out."
That set off murmurs among Milly's group.
"We're not heroes! And we are definitely far weaker than you four." a man with glasses said, gripping a metal pipe. "Our phones don't have signals, the internet doesn't work, the streets are crawling with those green things, and there's no police or military anywhere! We don't want to die!"
"I don't want to die either!" a woman echoed, panic rising.
Aryn understood immediately. Milly had carried them this far. Without her, they wouldn't have even considered the mall.
'Damn… the carry always has it rough,' Aryn thought, shaking his head. 'Feels like a game of League of Myths.'
"We're not asking you to go in," Jaxon said sharply. "Just help us get inside. The goblins aren't charging anymore, they're grouping up."
They all turned to the entrance.
Thirty, maybe forty goblins clustered together, noisy and disorganized, forming something like lines stacked behind other lines. It looked extremely sloppy, stupid even.
"Help us clear the entrance," Aryn said. "Once we go in, you guys can run to safety."
The group hesitated, fear written across their faces.
Then Milly stepped forward.
"We'll help," she said. "And I'll do you one better, I'm going in with you."
Aryn blinked. Then smiled, looking over to Jaxon and Kaia.
Jaxon grinned and Kaia nodded.
"This shouldn't be too hard," Jaxon said. "I'll thin them out."
"Gregk and the scouts can pick off the edges," Aryn added. "Kaia, keep your distance and throw spears."
Kaia nodded as light formed into twin spears in her hands.
Gregk and his scouts took position silently.
Fire gathered around Milly's body, and fist sized flames forming in both hands.
"Gregk," Aryn said. "Time to work."
Gregk gave a hand signal and the Orc Scouts arrows flew. Goblins fell at the precise shots from the Orc Scouts.
Jaxon hurled three rocks, two into the center mass, and one at the densest cluster. Kinetic explosions tore through the formation, misting the air with blood and bone.
Milly followed, launching fireballs that detonated in waves of heat. Only a handful of goblins remained in the aftermath.
This was like a visual signal for the rest of Milly's group as they raised their makeshift weapons and charged.
Aryn surged forward with them, his physical strength carrying him past normal limits. He slammed into three goblins without using [Pulse], pure force alone crushing one beneath his kick with too much force. His foot passed straight through it to his surprise.
He shook the corpse loose awkwardly just as another goblin lunged. Aryn caught its arm, pivoted, and slammed it into the pavement with a bone crunching crack.
The rest of the goblins didn't last long and when it was over, the entrance lay open.
They exchanged quick words instead of drawn out goodbyes with Millys group. Milly stayed where she was, stepping closer to Aryn's side, while the others hesitated only a moment longer before turning and running, disappearing into the streets, scattering back into the city… Desperate to survive.
Then only four remained.
Aryn glanced at Jaxon, then Kaia, then Milly. No one said anything. They didn't need to. There was a shared understanding in the silence between them… An unspoken agreement that this was the point of no return. Together, they turned toward the mall. Ready.
Gregk and the scouts vanished.
The doors creaked open.
"In we go," Aryn said softly, exhaling as they stepped inside Hollowfront Mall.