A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

So, Naeku and her ever-growing squad of soldiers carved a bloody path through the beleaguered city of Enkare Nkai. The only foes they encountered were of the first or second rank, and none of them could stand against their furious might.

Naeku's nature sense and tactical acumen, combined with her own considerable fighting power, were enough to ensure they didn't encounter any serious problems among the disorganized, raiding rabble of hunters who terrorized their people.

Since they were under the impression that there was no serious resistance left among the defenders, they were entirely unprepared for Naeku's counterattack. Thus, they were quickly making their way towards the city gates, and it wasn't long before they reached their destination.

Filled with helpless fury, a bloody Naeku crashed past the open gate, only to be immediately confronted with a scenario that was both confusing and horrifying.

In the distance, she noticed Enkai, Ankhur, Emily, and Astrid fighting massive battles against several enemy third-rankers, but those didn't interest her right now. They were obviously stuck in various degrees of stalemates. No, what she focused on was the battle directly in front of her, between Erik and Lilith.

Because Erik was obviously in desperate straits. Although she had no idea why, the heavily wounded Erik was fighting back against Lilith in human form… and with bare hands. His hammer was nowhere to be found.

Desperately, Erik defended himself against Lilith's knives, magical whips, and shadowflame explosions, using only his battered body, damaged armour, and the occasional spell. It was obvious he should have been defeated long ago, but Lilith was just playing with him, a sadistic grin on her beautiful lips.

"Hahaha!" she laughed loudly as her shadowy fire whips snapped against the remnants of Erik's armour. "Is that the best you got, little pet?! Hurry up and bow to me! Maybe you can convince me not to throw your wives into a group of frustrated soldiers!"

Erik's eyes flared in fury, but Naeku could see him forcing himself to remain calm lest he lose all control of the situation. Instinctively, the werepanther took a step in his direction, wanting to help.

'He can't die now!' she cried out in her mind. 'N— Not when I… I finally…' Desperate desire for the man she'd come to love welled up inside her. She wanted to go to him. To fight by his side and face the end together.

But then she halted in her steps. Struggle appeared in her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder and noticed the thousands of people who were streaming out of Enkare Nkai, rallied or saved by Naeku's counterattack, and now looking to her for safety, protection and guidance.

At this point, Enkare Nkai had mostly emptied out as most of the first wave of pillagers had been killed by her and her soldiers, and the surviving citizens and fighters had joined her.

The remaining Enkarians looked ready to fight, but their gazes were filled with fear as they gazed upon the incredibly destructive, third-ranked battlefields. At the same time, more first—and second-ranked Humanitas Sangh forces were advancing on them, intending to enter the city and join in the pillaging.

Still, in her werepanther form, Naeku's mouth opened and closed a few times. Hatred and unwillingness rose within her, but here she was, forced to make a choice between the man she'd come to love and the people she'd sworn to protect.

Upon witnessing the horrors in Djibouti, she'd promised on her life never to let such a thing happen again… and now, she needed to choose between honouring that promise and standing with the man she loved, however hopeless the situation was.

She took one more step in Erik's direction, tears streaming from her eyes at the unfairness of it all. "Erik…" she muttered before glancing in the direction of her father and uncle in the distance, fighting their own third-ranked battles.

Her hesitation lasted another second before she suddenly roared into the sky, unleashing all of her emotions upon the world: unwillingness, fury, helplessness, and disgust at her own weakness.

But when she was done, her gaze had become filled with determination, even as she knew she was about to let a significant piece of herself die. Without thinking about it any longer, she hefted her spear… and tossed it towards Erik's battlefield with all her strength.

"Erik!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I love you! Please live!"
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But then, without observing the results of her actions, she resolutely turned around and cried out at the terrified Enkarians behind her. "My people! Follow me! We retreat! Today, we live! Tomorrow, we fight again!"

With that promise, she roared and charged at the incoming enemy forces, armed with only her shield and claws. Behind her, the people were filled with a surge of energy and charged after her, intent on creating a breach in the encirclement so they could break free and flee.

On Erik's battlefield, he'd noticed the incoming spear and heard Naeku's words. He smiled sadly… but couldn't take his eyes off Lilith for even a moment. Even so, he caught the spear in mid-air and was finally able to engage Lilith with a weapon.

Yet, Naeku noticed none of this anymore. Her mind was now fully absorbed in battle as she tried to drown out the feelings of doubt and self-blame with the blood of her enemies. The Enkarians were surrounded, but with Naeku's nature sense and tactical acumen, they fought back valiantly.

Before long, she and her people broke free from the encirclement and disappeared into the forest, leaving behind a slew of slain Enkarians and hunters alike. Naeku's body was covered in blood and wounds, her gaze cold, having lost a spark that might never return…

***

Back in Erik's dimension, everyone was looking at the screen with wide eyes and twitching eyebrows. Even Elora looked at the scene wryly and glanced at Naeku's unconscious but trembling body strangely.

"Holy shit, that was fucking intense!" Astrid cried out in shock, giving voice to all the others. "None of our trials were that bad! How the hell is she going to feel when she wakes up and finds out none of it was real?!"

Erik, feeling no different from Astrid, looked at Elora sombrely. "That was too much, Elora," he told her in no uncertain terms. "You need to do something because she's going to end up with a trauma over this."

"Ï know…" Elora sighed, rubbing her forehead wryly, looking at Erik apologetically. "I'm sorry, my love… Clearly, I still have some work to do on this sigil. It's supposed to test their love for you, not make them never want to see you again…"

"I don't doubt it, but you need to do something before she wakes up," Erik told her sternly, feeling a little helpless in this situation himself. Setting aside the danger to his relationship with her, he didn't want her traumatized.

Nodding, Elora raised a hand and approached the still-comatose Naeku with a dark green magic circle in hand and a focused frown on her brow…