“Sidonie, retreat and use a healing potion to cure your injury!” Lilith shouted as she used Gleipnir to attack Surtr, while the Succubus Princess backed away to treat her injuries.
Surtr had unleashed a Firestorm which completely destroyed Erinys’ flying ship, forcing them all to abandon it.
Erinys could fly, so she caught Superbia, while Celine took care of Invidia.
Shannon was able to survive because of the flying Monster that she had drawn before the battle, allowing her to summon more to protect her sisters from the searing flames, keeping them at bay.
Princess Sidonie was the one who caught Lilith, but the Fire Giant’s attack managed to leave a deep gash in her left arm.
Even so, she held onto the Amazon Princess as if her life depended on it, and took her safely to the ground.
“Still resisting?” Surtr asked in a mocking tone. “All of you should just accept your Fate. Today, everyone in this world will die, and even your Patron Goddesses won’t be able to save you from destruction.”
The members of the Eight Deadly Sins ignored Surtr’s mocking words, and worked together to attack him after they had treated their injuries.
Not far away, the members of the Heavenly Virtues were busy helping the Army of the Alliance, who had lost their will to fight.
“It’s no use,” Melody said as the power of Faith in her body weakened. “They have lost Faith and Hope. If this continues, everyone will…”
“Do not falter!” Lira said as she sliced apart all of the Giant Bats that encircled their flagship. “Just endure and keep on fighting!”
“She’s right,” Ephemera said as she unleashed a powerful slash that cleaved the head of a Giant just below their flying ship. “If we give up now then they will truly lose hope. We are their beacon, so we shouldn’t let our light die out just yet!”
Audrey, who was boosting everyone’s morale, continued to pray. However, even with the power of her Divinity, the God of Destruction’s attack had crippled everyone’s fighting spirit, and some of them didn’t even resist the Giants as they were killed.
Perhaps, they had truly reached their limits and they only wanted their suffering to end.
“Puny mortals!” One of the Pseudo-God Ranked Giants roared as he stomped on the ground, turning several Elves into meat paste. “Today is the day of reckoning. All of you can go to the afterlife together and die a dog’s death!”
The Giant then killed dozens more before turning his head to look at the Saintess of the World Tree, who was busy healing the injured people in the distance.
As someone who had fought many battles, he knew what the high-profile targets were like. Those who emit strong magical powers, especially those that were capable of healing people, were the targets that they must kill at all costs.
Arwen, who was trying to encourage the Elves to take up arms and fight for their world, was unaware that she had been targeted by one of the Pseudo-God Ranked Giants, who had finally broken through their defenses.
Seeking to gain great merits in the war, the Giant ran towards Arwen with the intention of grinding her under his feet.
However, when he was only dozens of meters away from the Saintess of the World Tree, a beam of light pierced through the back of the head of the Giant, making it stop in its tracks, before falling face down on the ground.
Fortunately, the Elves had finally broken out of their daze and dodged to the side, evading the falling body of the Pseudo-God Giant that died without knowing how he died.
A second later, a dark beam of light pierced through the head a Demigod-Ranked Giant, instantly killing it.
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, the survivors of the Alliance heard voices that made them look up to the sky.
Surtr, who felt something odd, shifted his attention to where the Half-Elf was located a few minutes ago, and didn’t find him there.
At that moment, he also heard words coming from the sky.
The Fire Giant then turned his head to the part of the battle where the Army of Destruction was currently fighting the Alliance.
There, he saw a Half-Elf, who seemed to be in a trance as he floated over the battlefield, with two little familiars by his side.
The two familiars were busy killing giants, left and right, without caring for their rank.
Seeing that the morale of the Army had waned, Elliot smiled as he looked at the survivors on the ground who had lost their courage in the face of adversity.
Right now, only the Einherjars, and Kasogonaga’s troops were still fighting actively on the battlefield, giving the Army of the Alliance time to recover from their shock.
The Einherjars had already experienced what it was like to fight against the Army of Destruction, so they weren’t too affected by the deaths of their comrades.
They knew that it was inevitable, so the only thing they could do for their slain friends was to slay as many Giants as possible in their honor.
Kasogonaga’s troops from the Underworld had nothing to fear either. All of them were already dead, so the concept of death didn’t scare them at all.
The Alliance had only fought against Human armies, and monsters in the past, but now, they were fighting against Gods.
They had always doubted their chances of winning, but after Surtr’s one-sided genocide, they felt that there was no point to continue fighting, making them fall into despair.
It was at this time, when Elliot’s and Conan’s voice reached them, while they waited for the Half-Elf to complete the transformation that was happening inside his Spiritual World.
“Did you tackle that trouble that came your way with a resolute heart and cheerful?” Elliot asked the people on the ground while pointing a pink lollipop at them, which he held firmly in his hand. “Or hide your face from the light of day with a craven soul and fearful?”
Surprisingly, his voice spread through the entire battlefield, causing everyone to hear him and shift their attention to him.
“Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce, or a trouble is what you make it,” Conan said with a smile, as he pointed the King Chess Piece at the Armies that had lost their will to fight. “And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts, but only how did you take it?”
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“It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,” Conan commented. “But to lie there–that’s disgrace.”
“The harder you’re thrown, the higher you bounce; Be proud of your blackened eye!”
“It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts, It’s how did you fight–and why?”
The two familiars glanced at each other and spoke together, waking the armies of the world from the despair that they were suffering from.
“If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.”
“Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only, how did you die?”
The last question, “but only how did you die?” resonated inside everyone’s heads.
The Giant said earlier that all of them would die a dog’s death, but none of them wanted that kind of death.
The Alliance then gazed at the Einherjars, and Valkyries who were still waging war against their enemies, and watched some of them die in the process.
But, even so, none of them retreated and pushed on, fighting with everything they had, till they could not fight any longer.
All of them were soldiers, and they had already prepared themselves to die when they decided to fight for their families, their friends, their loved ones, and their world.
This was something that they had momentarily forgotten due to their despair, but after hearing Elliot’s and Conan’s words, and seeing that there were people who were still fighting and not giving up, those who were kneeling and crying on the ground picked up their weapons and slowly stood up.
Eldon looked at his men, and they all, too, looked back at him with fear in their eyes. And yet, the same fear that they felt inside, could not be seen in the Dwarven King’s eyes.
“Dwarves are shorter than most races,” Eldon said as he picked up his warhammer from the ground. “But we have the biggest hearts in the world. And now, it is time to show everyone who the bravest race is.”
Eldon forcefully raised his weapon with his right arm until it was above his head.
“I am Eldon, the son of Felton, and the 38th King of the Kingdom of Beldaral!” Eldon roared. “I stand before you just as my father, and my ancestors did before me, fighting on the frontlines of the battlefield, not for myself, but for the future of the Dwarven Race!”
The warhammer in Eldon’s hand hummed, as it released an aura, which started to spread into the entire Dwarf army, increasing the strength of the Dwarf Fighters, and making their exhaustion disappear.
“For the Earth Goddess!” Eldon shouted.
“”For the Earth Goddess!””
The Dwarf Warriors all shouted, making their warcry reverberate across the entire battlefield.
Eldon then mounted his Mountain War Goat whose wool was already red with blood, due to its injuries. Even so, the War Mount’s eyes were filled with burning determination to ride into battle with the King on its back.
As Eldon sat on the back of his mount, he could feel that his old companion’s life wasn’t going to last long. However, he could also tell that his companion had enough will inside of him to see this battle through until its end.
“Fight! Warriors of the Dwarf Kingdom!” Eldon shouted. “Fight! For Hearth and Home! Fight for Family and Brotherhood! Fight for our futures!”
All the Dwarves cried out, making the Humans, Elves, Demons, Beastkins, and other races all look at them with awe and admiration.
Just like a small spark that rekindled the flickering flames in everyone’s hearts, Eldon’s battered and injured form made everyone look at him as if he was the tallest person on the battlefield.
All of them were kneeling, collapsed, or lying on the ground, and yet, a single injured Dwarf stood tall and, in their eyes, he was bigger than life itself.
“Ride! Warriors of Beldaral!” Eldon roared. “For the Alliance!”
“”For the Alliance!””
The Dwarven Army charged forth like a roaring tide, leaving everyone behind. Seeing his injured form, Swiper gritted his teeth and shouted.
“You damn motherf*ckers! What are you all waiting for?!” Swiper shouted. “Are you going to let the bastard Dwarf take all the glory?! Are you Demons or are you dic*s?! Stand up and fight! Stand up for the Demon Tribes!”
Swiper then raised his bastard sword in the air before charging alone towards one of the Giants that were headed their way.
“For the Alliance!” Swiper roared.
“For the Alliance!” Lindir shouted as he ran beside Swiper.
The two of them were people who didn’t like to fight. Both of them were scared of dying, but now, they were the ones leading the charge, without waiting for anyone to fight alongside them.
Soon, the ground shook, thousands, tens of thousands, millions of people once again took up their arms and charged towards their enemies, not caring if they died the next second or not.
They would rather die fighting, than die like dogs.
Elliot and Conan, who was high above the skies, both raised their right fists in the air as they, too, shouted the warcry that shook the entire battlefield.
“”For The Alliance!””
During their world’s darkest moment, the champions of the world regained the courage that they had lost. Although it was not enough to overturn their current situation, it was enough for them to tell those that had died before them, that they didn’t die on their knees.
They died fighting, so that they could rest in peace, knowing that they had done everything within their power, to give their world, and their people, a chance to see the next sunrise, which most of them wouldn’t be able to see once they finally closed their eyes and took their last breath on the battlefield.
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(A/N: The title of the Poem that Elliot and Conan spoke of is “How Did you Die” by Edmund Vance Cooke. I came across it and thought that it was fitting to add it here. All rights go to the respective owners.)
