The first thing Leander noticed – aside from reality shattering a few hundred metres away from him – was a third presence that emerged the moment the tear in reality appeared.
Before, there was only Melaine's domain, the aura of decay and death which left its mark on the world, visible by the dead vegetation. Clashing against Melaine's domain was that of the Goddess' the only part Leander had noticed was its influence weakening the darkness.
But now the clash between Lich Queen and Goddess was interrupted as a third domain crashed into the world, pushing back against the influence of everything around it. It had not just affected the world, but the things within the world.
Clutching his head, Leander felt something squeeze his mind.
Narina wasn't in any better state than Leander, her own hands cradling her head. Her face turned to look at the tear.
"No, no no no! An Incursion now! And why is it so big!? Leander!"
Steadying himself against the tree, Leander tried to stand as he looked towards the tear in reality. The moment the Incursion had breached reality, Leander could no longer see the tents of the Undead Kingdom; instead, all Leander saw was a swirling rift. The Incursion had caused Leander's eyes to widen, but what had caused his instincts to react was something moving within the Incursion.
After a second, they emerged from within it. The emptiness of the no-man's-land was suddenly filled with legions of monsters. Fetid creatures ranging in size and shape that looked like beasts had their flesh not been covered in ulcers that oozed pus and dark ichor.
Grabbing Leander, Narina's voice carried an urgent intensity.
"Leander! We need to get moving before those Corrupted Abominations reach us!"
As Narina finished speaking, the world around them began to grow lighter. Day had not come early, instead, it was the orbs of light that lit up the Goddess' Kingdom's side of the border. They had begun moving, silently shooting through the air, darting towards the Incursion.
Despite the light passing over Leander and Narina, whoever was controlling the orbs was either too focused or too distracted by the sudden appearance of the Incursion to pay them any mind.
Within seconds, the orbs of light had reached the Incursion. What happened next, Leander could hardly believe his eyes.
Glowing swords made of a translucent material appeared around the orbs, dropping down to pierce the tide of Corrupted Abominations. Despite the rain of swords, many of the larger Corrupted Abominations continued charging forward, shrugging off the swords that stuck out of their bodies.
The orbs of light were not the only things moving to face the tide of monsters; the Goddess' soldiers, which Silas had described as children, showed no sign of fear as they charged to face the approaching creatures. Each soldier roared a rallying cry.
As they raced toward the fight, the soldiers summoned their Soul Arms. Swords and shields, bows and arrows, weaved themselves out of strands of light in the palms of their wielders. The same had happened for those who had not been wearing helmets; their faces were quickly hidden behind helmets made of white metal that formed from the strings of light.
Despite Narina's best attempts, Leander kept her close to him, not willing to move just yet for one specific reason.
With the orbs of light having moved, the border had been plunged into darkness, causing the soldiers to have to move through the dark night to reach the fight. Some soldiers summoned Soul Arms that lit up the dark, but others chose to simply run through the dark and for this reason, Leander kept still as a dozen men rushed past. Their eyes were too focused on the fight ahead to notice two silhouettes taking shelter against the large tree.
Although Leander knew now was the moment to run, he remained still. His eyes looked towards the Incursion, but no longer at the terrible fetid abominations that had emerged, but at the figures of the humans.
Men and women donned in beautiful pristine white armour stood against the horde of Corrupted Abominations. Yet despite their valiant attempts, the fight ended quickly for some, as a couple of soldiers were ripped apart in a matter of seconds.
Closing his eyes, Leander's mind wandered to what was happening on the other side of the Incursion. Were Silas and the other undead having to deal with these Corrupted Abominations?
Turning away, Leander's face contorted.
"Narina, I want to help them, but… I don't know if I should. What am I supposed to do?"
Leander's fists were tightly balled as he turned to Narina.
"I guess, we live to fight another day. There's nothing wrong with running away. I've run from a lot of fights in the Wilds. Some fights you just have to run from."
Glancing at the Incursion one last time, Leander froze as a heavy pressure weighed down on his body.
Something had emerged from the tear in reality, it looked to be the same type of creature as the small fetid abominations, except for one difference: it was colossal. Nearly the same height as the Incursion, the Corrupted Abomination looked like a moving mountain of putrid flesh, waterfalls of pus falling down its slopes to violate the ground.
If the creatures that had first emerged from the Incursion could be compared to manyfang, then the only thing Leander could reference this new abomination to would be the Beast Lord, Decemtal.
But as the pressure weighed down on him, Leander was unsure that the comparison was apt for one reason. Leander could only reference Decemtal as he was the strongest entity Leander had met since returning to life.
With its arrival, all of the orbs of light shifted their focus. The rain of swords stopped falling on the now small and insignificant Corrupted Abominations, moving to attack the mountain of flesh.
Narina trembled, barely managing to utter her words.
"T-This Incursion has a Fulcrum!"
With the summoned swords from the orbs of light no longer cutting down the tide of Corrupted Abominations, the fight that had been mostly contained exploded as the soldiers were overrun. Leander's eyes widened as he saw many get struck by debilitating attacks, only for their bodies to be overtaken by a radiant glow, the broken bodies standing moments later returning to the fight.
Giving the mountain of flesh one more glance, Leander's face contorted in a grim realisation. Despite the sphere's best efforts, the mountain of flesh moved forward unimpeded by the barrage of swords stabbing into its flesh.
'Nobody here can stop that thing. Would Melaine be able to stop it?'
Turning to Narina, Leander would grab her and ask:
"A Fulcrum? What is that!"
Narina's eyes were still stuck on the titanic creature that had emerged from the Incursion. After a moment, she would mutter:
"T-The Incursion would close by itself, but until the Fulcrum is slain, it's not going to close."
Leander cast a glance back at the mountain of flesh. Shaking his head, he looked back towards the border.
The grass began to be covered by blood, both that of the humans and the murky putrid blood of the Corruted Abominations as the fighting reached the tents.
'We need to get out of here, without a sword, I might as well be dead already. But the question is, can we escape?'
Leander and Narina had been left unaffected by the fighting happening around them as they hid in the dark. The soldier's focus was solely on the abominations and the abominations were solely focused on the soldiers.
A corridor opened in the combat, a clear line between the frenzied bodies connecting the tree they had taken refuge near to the Goddess' border. The moment Leander clocked it, he was already in motion, a hand on Narina's arm roughly pulling her along.
"Come on!"
Despite running through the dark, both were hyper-aware of their surroundings. The sound produced by the fighting was intense, the clangour of claws on metal, the monstrous inhuman moans of the abominations and the cries of the humans.
'Almost there, we're almost there, if we can cross the border and get away from this fight, we can-'
"Ah, help!"
Leander stopped running as he heard the cries of one of the soldiers. Turning his head, Leander saw that the soldier was in a very precarious state. Knocked off his feet by one of the smaller creatures of living putrid flesh, the abomination's jaws were caught around the soldier's shield. Its five unnaturally shaped legs pushed the soldier through the ground, kicking up the dirt as it tried to get to him. Already, cracks were forming across the shield, threatening to shatter any second.
Turning, Narina shouted at Leander.
"Leander! What are you doing? We need to go, we need to run! Now!"
Leander's eyes flicked between three things. Narina, the border and the soldier moments away from a vicious and painful demise.
Leander had decided on his next course of action before Narina had spoken.
Moving with reckless abandon, Leander dashed towards the soldier. Emerging from the darkness like a pale spirit into the light cast by a luminous Soul Arm, Leander charged at the abomination. Spotting the soldier's sword lying uselessly on the grass, in a quick action, Leander picked it up off the ground.
Reaching the struggling soldier, Leander held the sword in both hands, aiming it forward. Using his momentum, Leander slammed the tip of the sword into the mound of putrid flesh, driving the sword through its body all the way down to the hilt.