Would he... be alright? That was the question Lucien kept asking himself. After all, in such a short time, he has already been part of two wars.

And in the first... he was ultimately useless. He wasn't able to kill one of the scorpions when the whole village expected him to save them, just like he had promised them. If it weren't for Aether and Kade, he would have long been dead.

Killed with the rest of his people, rotting with them because of his mistakes.

He frowned.

'No... I won't let that happen again. Even if the city falls, I won't be worthless again... I will fight with everything I've got. That way, they can get a second chance, just like I got.' 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

...

Though he was going to be careful, he didn't have a weapon to fight at close range; if someone got too close to him, he might not be fast enough to block him with his Will. But... both Aether and Kade had taken the harder group onto their back... and he didn't have any reason to think that they would fail, so he was going to have to do the same.

He has spent more time with Kade than he has with Aether, and the boy was magical. The amount of growth he can have in such little time is unreal. Plus, he didn't delve into the ways of the mages, as he had; he made his own style with the blade.

He didn't want to take the easy route and take on more work.

And Aether, as he had said, he didn't know him that well. But at the same time, everyone keeps saying he is special. Kade was the first, then the King, and then most of the mages, saying that there was something strange about him...

Even if he was Will-less, he was able to survive in Stormfell for so long... and it wasn't like he was protected by someone.

If there was somebody who could survive this hell even without any powers... it would be him.

'But I have to focus on my survival first...'

Out of all the groups, the one in the middle of the city was the most contained. Even if all the troops were at the gate, they were able to regroup quickly at the center, something that can't be said for the group Kade is helping.

And the gate, even if everyone was there to protect it.

The king of the orcs was there, so there is no doubt that it was the most dangerous zone, even if the Lion King was trying his best to keep him back.

...

But before he could even think about the orc king, he was going to have to do something about his general.

Standing in the middle, with his orcs making a giant circle around him. Whenever a guard tried to attack him, the orcs would just jump on him and kill them. But this meant that the orcs couldn't attack themselves. Which wouldn't be bad... if the orc general wasn't a Will user himself.

With his giant staff, he fired fireballs at them and the forest, destroying everything that remained. If they didn't attack, the center of the city was going to die, the heart was going to collapse, and after that, they would also die.

But if they attacked, they would also die.

So they needed to do something... but what?

Lucien bit his lip. As he looked around...

...

Turning his head to some of the guards, he stared into their eyes with great conviction.

"Do you guys trust me?"

The guards seemed surprised, looking at each other, before nodding.

"Good... then... for once follow my orders. Attack all at once."

...

...

It has taken more than he expected to convince them. And he got that they were risking their life, but when you are in the army, you have to know that you're putting your life on the line.

...

"Now!"

He screamed, and the soldiers followed his scream, dashing forward towards the general.

And as the first orc tried to stop one of the guards from the ground, a wall of stone appeared. This was his Will, and while it might not have the best attacking power, like Kade has with his fire. It's good at everything else.

Lucien took a deep breath before creating a wall around the orcs, so that they couldn't get out to attack the guards... but now, how were they going to attack the orc general? That was a simple thing to resolve by building a staircase.

The guards continued to dash forward, and as they did, the ground rose with each step they took, creating a staircase that led them above the wall... but the orcs weren't going to just sit. They started climbing the wall. Catching some of the guards of guards, as they punched them off the wall.

Luckily, he was able to create a platform to catch their fall... but he wasn't going to be able to save everyone...

His eyes widened... as he heard the scream of one of the guards... he had failed to catch him, resulting in him hitting the ground hard... probably making him leave the fight, and maybe paralyzing him if the damage to his spine was bad.

He had failed yet again...

...

'In a war, lives will be lost... as much as you try to protect everyone, one man can't beat a whole nation... It's just not possible. For no one to die. Death is the primary outcome of every war; at least one side has to die for it to end... But, if you just give up after the first dies... then more will die, and will continue to die. If you were to just give up from one mistake, because somebody died from it, you aren't preventing people from dying because of you... No, they die because of your decision to stop... so you're only killing more.'

...

'It doesn't hurt to try.'

...

Lucien gritted his teeth before he commanded the ground to rise. It felt like an earthquake was happening, as the fall got bigger and bigger, until the point it curved into a half sphere, with a hole at the top.

There was no time to make staircases, so instead, he just forced his powers to quickly raise the platforms the soldiers were on, before creating a path towards the gap at the center of the half sphere, which led directly to the general.

He felt blood spill inside his body, but he didn't stop. If he left things like this, the orcs would find a way to stop the man... so he created a wall between them and the general. But a wall like that can't be thick, meaning the orcs were going to have an easy time destroying it... that is, if he let them destroy it.

...

Every time it got taken down, he created another one, over and over again. He felt as if he was losing himself, but he didn't stop. Not until the general was dead.

The soldiers dived into the sphere, attacking the orc general, but was he going to last long enough?

...

His arms were getting weak, screaming with pain as they kept shaking... he wasn't going to be able to hold it for long... and neither did it matter.

Suddenly, from inside the half sphere, a giant fireball came right to him... it was fast, way too fast for him to react.

...

'Shit.'

He braced himself... knowing that there was no way of dodging it... Yet before it could hit him, something pushed him out of the way.

... When he opened his eyes, he was met by a pair of bloodshot ruby eyes and a gentle smile.

"Are you alright?" Kade said.

He nodded, getting up on his feet, and looking at the battlefield.

His contraction was completely gone... the blast had not only killed all the soldiers, but also the orcs... and yet, the general remained.

'Damn it.' He frowned, something Kade noticed.

He walked forward. "Do you think I can kill that thing?"

Lucien's eyes widened at that question. "I mean, if you are here, it means you probably already killed the other general, so I have to say yes."

Kade chuckled. "That's true... but there is a big difference between this one and the other... I could get close to the one I killed... this one will fire at me until I'm exhausted."

He looked back at Lucien with a smile. "I'm going to need you to protect me."

The magician stared at the boy... before nodding.

Clenching his blade, Kade exhaled, fire burning the corner of his mouth, before he dashed forward. And just as expected, the orc fired fireballs at him. And while he was able to dodge those that came on their own, there were times when the orc fired more at a time, blocking all the direction he could dodge from... that was when Lucien came in.

Shaping the ground to block one of the fireballs and giving him a direction to run in. Repeating this, it didn't take long until Kade reached the orc.

With Lucien raising him from the ground, Kade jumped off, thrusting the orc's head from above.

...

Killing him.

...

With both generals being dead, only the King remained.

...

And only one person remained to prove himself.