The second creature closed in fast. Its claws dug into the dirt with every stride. Dust flew up behind it as it ran straight toward Sara and Maya. The first monster, still bleeding from the cuts and spikes they had given it, pushed itself back up on shaky legs. It shook its head and let out a weak screech. Which still was loud enough to scare most people.
Maya stepped in front of Sara. She blocked the first creature's clumsy swipe with her sword. The impact made her arms shake, but her strengthening enchantment held. She spun around and threw one of her enchanted knives at the second creature. The blade spun through the air and hit its shoulder. The monster slowed for a second but kept coming toward them as if it didn't hurt at all.
"Run!" Just as she understood there was no stopping it, Maya shouted toward the people behind her. "Get to the village walls now! Retreat!"
But before Maya even spoke, people had already started screaming. Some dropped their bags and ran. Others pushed forward, trying to get away from the road.
The panic spread quickly. The line they had worked so hard to keep together finally broke apart.
Sara stood still for a moment, witnessing the chaos. Her small wand felt heavy in her hand seeing everything behind her.
She had spent years in this Buena village, hiding what she could really do, not wanting to stand out more than she already did as a council member and a reputable landowner. Most people around here only knew her as the woman who handled half of the agriculture of this village. Only a few knew the old rumors from her academy days. She had stayed out of fights on purpose, as her mother wished.
But now two creatures stood in front of her and a crowd of scared civilians pressed behind her. Clearly, there was no more time to hold back.
"So there's no way around it, huh," Sara muttered to herself. Her voice was low, almost lost in the noise.
She dropped the restraint she had kept for so long, Mana surging through her body. Suddenly, the air around her grew heavy. Small stones and dust on the road started to lift slowly into the air. The ground under her feet gave a low groan.
Maya felt the change. She glanced back at Sara for a split second. "Sara, whatever you're doing, make it big! I'll hold them!"
Maya turned back to the monsters. She dashed at the first one and slashed across its chest again. When the second creature tried to go around her, she kicked it hard in the leg and forced it back. Her enchanted knives flashed as she attacked both at once. She moved fast, using her strengthening enchantment to stay between the creatures and Sara.
While Maya was covering for her, Sara raised her wand high. She started chanting words she had not used in years. The mana flowed stronger now. Loose stones on the road rose higher. A large chunk of earth near the forest edge cracked and started to break free as the spell built slowly, but it grew bigger with every second.
The first monster lunged at Maya again. She blocked it with her sword and stabbed it in the side. The second one tried to jump over her toward Sara. Maya grabbed its leg and pulled it back down. "Not yet!" she yelled. Sweat poured down her face. Her arms burned from holding both creatures.
And finally, Sara finished the chant. She pointed her wand forward, and said the words, "Asteroid Strike!"
A massive chunk of stone and earth tore free from the ground. It rose into the air on its own, spinning slowly at first, then got faster. The rock grew bigger and bigger as more dirt and stone joined it.
Just when it got very big, almost like an asteroid, it suddenly shot forward like a falling star.
It slammed down on both creatures at the same time.
BOOM!
A loud boom shook the road. Dust and dirt exploded upward in a huge cloud. The ground trembled under everyone's feet. People behind Sara stopped running for a moment and stared behind them to see the huge explosion.
----
After some seconds passed, when the dust started to settle, there was only a deep crater where the two monsters had been. There was not a sign of blood, nor any bodies. Leaving behind only broken stones and settling dirt.
Even as the calamity passed, Maya stood frozen in place. Her knife was still raised. She stared at the crater with wide eyes. "What… what the hell…just happened?"
The civilians who had whispered about Sara's small wand earlier went completely quiet, too. No one spoke. A few mouths even hung open.
As the casting finished, Sara's legs shook. She tried to take a step but her knees buckled. She caught herself before she fell and planted her feet wide to stay standing. Her breathing came fast and heavy. The mana backlash from using that big spell hit her hard. Her arms felt weak and her head spun a little as she had not used that much power in years.
For a moment, everything felt calm. Someone in the crowd even let out a shaky laugh. "We… we are safe now, right?" a woman asked.
People finally started to relax. A few even turned back toward the village walls, ready to reach the village wall before something else came up.
And as it turned out, they were not wrong to do that.
Just like those cautious people, even as there were not even a single limb of those creatures left behind because of the large impact, Maya's instincts also would not let her rest. She glanced toward the treeline out of habit.
And just as she did, her body went still. Goosebumps rose on her arms.
"Sara…" she said, her voice tight.
Sara looked too. And the sight was clear to her, too, even from this distance.
She saw, from the edge of the forest, more creatures were pouring out. Thirty, or maybe forty of the almost identical creatures were coming out of the forest at super fast speed.
Most of them looked similar to the ones they had just fought, but they moved together like a wave. Claws dug into the ground as they ran straight toward the road. The sound of their feet grew louder every second.
Maya's face went pale. At first she didn't even know what to do. Then getting her shit together somehow, she shouted, "Everyone, run!" she screamed at the top of her lunge. "Now!"
This time, nothing held the people back. Not Sara's big spell. Not Maya's earlier orders. Pure panic took over.
The crowd bolted toward the village walls. People pushed and ran as fast as they could, while Sara and Maya stayed in place for a few more seconds.
And the horde kept coming, as if unstoppable.
Maya looked at Sara, and said, "This is going to be rough! Sara."
Sara didn't say anything. She just positioned herself, grabbed her wand tightly, and looked ahead, with a focused eye, which shocked even Maya herself.