When The World Went Still

A/N - Thank you, maneed, Brother Grey, & Sagash, for becoming God of Velmoryn's Patrons!

<<<>>>

The moment Mirion laid eyes on the massive spider mutant, he broke into a full charge, carving through smaller ones as if they weren't even there. His axe swung wide and fast, the crimson edge soaked in green blood by the time he reached the midpoint.

The giant spider finally noticed him, it's dark gray eyes darting upward, but by then, Mirion was already airborne, axe raised, its surface gleaming under the sunlight.

This one, however, wasn't like the rest.

The creature responded immediately, spitting a stream of venom toward him. It knew he wouldn't be able to dodge mid-air, guaranteeing the hit. The toxic arc reached Mirion faster than expected. The green liquid was already in front of him, seconds from impact. However, the frenzied Velmoryn didn't flinch. He was no longer concerned with his safety, as those instincts were dulled by his skill.

Still, it never reached him.

Before the venom could strike, a barrier ignited around him. A radiant shell of crimson light appeared out of nowhere and caught the spray mid-flight, stopping it with a sharp hiss. The liquid dropped to the earth and landed on an unlucky spider below, melting straight through its body in seconds, followed by a deafening shriek.

Isn't a spider mutant's saliva supposed to cause rot…?!

The toxic liquid spat by the giant spider was not only faster than expected, but it also had a different effect - melting. If not for the protection shield, Mirion would have definitely died. Now I understood why he wanted the old mage to be blessed.

Behind the defensive line, Lily stood firmly, her hands extended. The five diagrams, four crimson and one dark green, hovered in the air above her, shimmering with powerful magic. I didn't know what the spells did, as the status window only showed the list of skills she possessed, not the spells she had memorized, but I'd already seen three of their effects firsthand.

She was slowing the spiders across the entire field, and the closer they came, the heavier the drag on their movement became. She could also conjure protective barriers like the one she'd just thrown around Mirion. And when needed, she could summon thorn-covered vines from the earth itself, pinning enemies in place.

Right now, those vines were wrapped around the limbs of the enormous spider. It thrashed violently, but its legs were locked down, bound from multiple angles. Its head remained mobile, fangs clashing in frustration. Beside it, Lucas was engaged with another of the larger mutants, struggling, but still maintaining the upper hand with his superior speed.

His blade carved the shallow crimson line on the spider's chitin just right above its neck, followed by the aftershock widening the wound. The spider shrieked in pain, glaring at Lucas. Its chest rose, wanting to spit a toxic saliva at him, but before it could, its head was yanked down from the force of the arrow hitting and then exploding on the back of its head.

Roy had ended yet another monster, but there was no smile on his face anymore. His arrows had started to slow as his mana was running low. He'd already emptied two potions, but was not taking more. Whether it was caution or some kind of limitation, I didn't know, but his rate of fire had noticeably dropped.

"Lily, how are we holding?" Tekla asked. But even without an answer, she already knew.

"Without a miracle, we shall not survive this," Lily replied simply, her voice completely devoid of any emotion. Then her attention shifted back to Mirion as Lucas had already brought down the spider she was holding in place.

Mirion was still standing, but barely. His right arm hung limp at his side, and blood streamed from a wide, open wound across his shoulder. The Feral Surge was keeping him upright, pushing his body far beyond its natural limits, but the damage was piling up fast.

He now gripped the axe with his left hand, dragging it forward with effort. The weapon was too large for clean one-handed swings, and the weight was slowing him down. Each movement was growing heavier, his balance shaky, his steps uneven. The blood loss was catching up.

Father...

I heard Tekla's voice. Her heartbeat had quickened. She was trying not to panic, but the fear had taken hold. The fear of losing her father.

My Lord, please... help us.

Even without her prayer, I had already begun searching for an answer - anything that could shift the momentum. But nothing I thought of was enough. Striking down even a single spider with divine force came at a cost, and the sheer number of them made it impossible. Even if I emptied myself trying to thin the swarm, I'd still fall short, and then there was the giant spider. It was far larger than the others and not something I could simply erase without paying a heavy price. I was not even sure I had enough Divinity Points.

I stared down at the battlefield from my divine realm, powerless to intervene directly.

There must be a way!

My only real option was to mark and bless a dozen beasts, creatures like Huanir, and hope their presence could shift the momentum. But those beasts rarely wandered near the tribe, and with the arrival of the giant spiders, not a single one was close enough to mark.

As I weighed the choices I didn't have, several spiders managed to breach the defensive line. They slipped past the fighters, darting through gaps with terrifying speed, and rushed toward the Crimson Guardian. They had sensed something - the vulnerability beneath its branches, perhaps drawn by the scent of the tribe's most defenseless.

All the children, the elders, and the pregnant had taken shelter beneath the great tree.

The spiders tore through the settlement's center, trampling over the makeshift shacks without effort. The structures collapsed in seconds, offering nothing more than a soft crunch beneath their limbs.

The moment the weak and elderly saw them, panic took hold. There was no order, no cohesion, just screaming. Cries for help rang through the air, aimless and desperate. Some dropped to their knees, others clung to the bark of the crimson oak tree, whispering prayers with trembling lips. A few ran. Only a handful stood their ground, choosing to face death instead of pleading for mercy.

Vivien was one of them.

At the time I blessed Roy, I hadn't known her full capability. She was a Silver-rank mage, not a dark magician, but a wielder of plant magic. And now, in the chaos, she had already begun to cast.

Dark green runes started to materialize in the air above her. Unlike Ninali, who needed complete focus to hold even a single diagram steady, Vivien moved with confidence, constantly adjusting her position to maintain the safe distance while the spell structure formed above her. The runes shaped themselves into an intricate diagram, far more complex than what Lily had conjured, and with it, the earth answered.

Vines erupted from the ground in thick clusters, weaving around one another, binding, layering, solidifying. They formed a golem - towering, broad-shouldered, and nearly equal in size to the spider it was supposed to face.

It engaged immediately, lunging at the nearest monster and seizing it in a crushing hold. The thorns covering the golem's body bit into the spider's shell, tearing shallow wounds into its chitin. Green liquid leaked from the pressure points, spreading across the vines like acid, slowly rotting them. But the spider's shriek and its frantic thrashing proved the damage was real.

The other two spiders waited, circling like scavengers. Once the first had weakened the golem enough, they struck, rushing in from behind and tearing it apart in a single coordinated assault. The vines were shredded in seconds. But they didn't stop there.

They turned on the injured spider, biting into its body with a kind of primal detachment, using their limbs and fangs to rip open its exposed flesh until it stopped moving. Once it was dead, they left it behind - choosing not to feed, not yet.

Vivien quickly realized she didn't have much time and began forming a second spell immediately. Another set of runes shimmered into place above her, fainter now, their glow less stable. Blood trailed from her nose as she cast, the mental strain already catching up to her.

Even if I couldn't shield every Velmoryn on the field, I wasn't going to let Vivien die, not when she was the only one still holding that flank together, and more importantly, because of her unique magic.

I was about to intervene when I saw him.

The spider that had finished off the wounded one pivoted suddenly and leapt - its legs coiling, its body tightening in the air. It landed just a few steps away from Vivien and launched into a charge, scuttling toward her with terrifying speed, like a monster that had escaped from horror movie.

And then it was stopped.

Lucas landed beside it just before it could reach Vivien, his blade cutting through one of its legs in the same breath he touched the ground. The strike was clean, spinning through the joint with just enough force to sever, but the spider was far from finished - if anything, it held an advantage. Lucas' breathing was ragged, shoulders dipped forward from fatigue, and his stance had started to falter. He was soaked in green blood and coated in fresh cuts. His body was slowing down.

"Run!"

That was all he said. He didn't even turn to look at her. But Vivien didn't move.

She quickly analyzed Lucas' condition as her brows furrowed and gaze hardened. Without a second thought, she continued casting her spell.

The spider had shifted focus. Vivien was no longer the target. Lucas was the obstacle.

It spat green liquid as it lunged, hurling a wide spray across the space between them. Lucas didn't bother dodging. He didn't block, either. The moment the venom left the spider's mouth, he surged forward, dropping low and sliding beneath the incoming arc, closing the distance.

His blade angled up, aiming for the spider's soft underbelly.

Vivien's spell was nearly complete. The diagram above her had stabilized, and she was already thinking through how best to position the golem when she felt it, that sudden shift in air, that pressure behind her spine, instincts never failed to recognize.

She turned.

A spider's leg was already descending, just inches from tearing through her.

But before it struck, something slammed into her side and dragged her to the ground.

Roy.

He had thrown himself into her, pulling her out of the strike's path, but not without cost.

"Noooooo!" Vivien's scream tore through the air as she hit the ground, one arm stretched toward him, her body convulsing from the mana backlash. Blood mixed with tears as it ran down her cheeks, her face contorted in shock and pain. She couldn't move. Her spell had turned volatile, and her body was reacting violently to the sudden disruption. But her eyes never left him.

Roy lay sprawled a few steps away from her, hands clutching at the dirt.

Both of his legs were gone.

The strike had torn through him, and now only his upper body remained, dipped in the pool of his own blood. His jaw clenched tightly, teeth grinding as he forced himself to meet her gaze - silent, shaking, and in agony.

The spider assessed him briefly. It saw the missing limbs, the blood, the body half-destroyed and fading fast. Whether it judged him harmless or saw Vivien as the greater threat, it made its decision. It turned away from Roy and lunged forward.

Straight at her.

Roy's cry tore through the battlefield - a sound full of desperation and helpless rage. He clawed at the ground, trying to drag himself forward, trying to reach his bow, to somehow help her - but his strength was gone. His hands trembled and arms refused to straighten anymore, hope in his face breaking apart, replaced by the cold, hollow weight of despair.

And then something shifted.

Maybe it was the pain, or the fear of watching the woman he loved and the child she carried be torn apart in front of him. Maybe it was simply who Roy had always been. Or maybe it was the kind of clarity that only reveals itself when everything else has already been taken.

He made a decision.

"I swear my soul to Your name," he shouted, his voice trembling but firmer than ever. "I don't want an afterlife! Use me. Use every part of me, but save my family. Please, High Father… please!"

The words rang out, cutting through the battlefield like a blade, silencing even the screams for a heartbeat. The air itself stilled. Time slowed. Or perhaps it had stopped entirely, because for me it definitely did.

A golden window flashed before me, brighter than ever.

It was asking me to make a decision. A decision that perhaps would change not only the result of this battle but others to come.

**

A/N - 

What do you think about the battlefield scene, the cliffhanger and the emotional weight of the last moment? Feedback would help me write better chapters :3

---------------------

Don't forget to Follow the novel so that you don't miss the updates.

If you'd like to support me and also read ahead of the public release https://www.patreon.com/GodWithWings

You can read up to 16 chapters