The ground trembled again—another thunderous stomp—as a volley of glowing arrows and spell-charged bolts cracked against the rock golem's groaning frame. Its massive limbs thrashed, sweeping trees and stone alike into debris, yet its slow, mindless focus remained locked on the mischievous fairies dancing in and out of reach.
The plan was working. For now.
Raleigh's command echoed faintly across the battlefield: "Focus fire on the right knee joint! Make it collapse under its own damn weight!"
A few dozen meters away, crouched low in the dense underbrush, Virelle barely breathed. Her body tensed like a coiled spring, fingers pressed into the dirt as her sharp eyes scanned the scene. Her cloak was pulled tight to muffle the glimmer of her enchanted brooch. Sweat clung to her brow—not from fear, but from calculation.
She muttered under her breath, "They're handling it… better than I anticipated."
Her gaze narrowed on Raleigh, who stood like a commander of old—an aura of pragmatic authority around him as he directed soldiers, eyes never leaving the golem. She'd known he'd be a problem. But even she hadn't expected a Tier 0 mage to be this tactically sound.
Still, her mind kept circling back to her objective.
This had to look like an uncontrolled magical incident. One so chaotic and absurd that no one would question why a group of teenagers had been nearly crushed days ago. Tilly's mangled body needed a scapegoat. And this lumbering brute was it.
"Let them destroy it. Let them think it wandered out of the forest, a freak accident. That's all they need," she whispered to herself, calming her racing thoughts.
Suddenly—a snap of a twig behind her.
Her eyes flashed wide, and she twisted sharply, a spell gathering in her palm—only to freeze.
"Kael?" she hissed.
Kael crouched low in the brambles, hands raised in surprise. His eyes darted to the battle in the distance, then back to Virelle, his face a mask of disbelief.
"What the hell is going on?" he whispered, crawling to her side. "That thing—you summoned it?"
Virelle cast a silencing charm around their thicket—a bubble of quiet, invisible and impenetrable.
"Yes," she said flatly, "I did."
Kael's brows furrowed. "Why? What is this, Virelle? Some test? A distraction? You said we'd lay low—"
"I am helping us lay low." Her tone was sharp, but low. Focused. "Listen. If anyone connects you to Tilly's injuries, it's over. You're tried, sentenced, maybe executed. You know how the courts treat nobles' sons, even the idiot ones."
Kael's lips pressed into a grim line. "You summoned a Tier 0 golem to cause a public disaster—just to cover for me?"
Virelle looked at him then—not with remorse, but with that same strategic intensity she always wore when the stakes rose.
"I summoned a creature that responds to simple binding parameters. It attacks movement and magic, nothing more. The damage is collateral, but contained. They'll blame the forest, not you. And most importantly, it erases the timeline suspicion. No one will question how Tilly got hurt when they think this thing was prowling around the outskirts."
Kael glanced toward the battlefield—saw the glowing fairies, the struggling militia, the crack in the golem's leg deepening with each blast. Then he turned back to Virelle.
"And what if it kills someone?"
Virelle's face softened—only for a second. "I designed the summoning to expire after an hour. It can't hold together longer than that. Raleigh and his team will bring it down long before then."
Kael exhaled, his fists clenched in the grass. "You're insane."
"I'm precise." She looked him in the eye. "And this—this is the price of protecting someone the world's ready to erase."
Silence fell between them, broken only by another deep rumble—the golem's leg giving a shudder under renewed bombardment.
Virelle tilted her head. "Look. They've almost got it. As long as Raleigh doesn't figure out the summoning origin…"
Kael's eyes locked on hers. "And if he does?"
Her answer was instant. Cold. "Then I burn the scroll and disappear."
---
Kael sat still, his eyes locked on Virelle as if seeing her for the first time. The words she had just spoken echoed in his mind, the gravity of the situation settling like a stone in his stomach. Since he was a child, he had always seen Virelle in a very specific way—gentle, patient, and forgiving. She had been a steady presence in his life, though never the strong, unwavering figure he needed. Always the peacemaker, she never truly fought for herself—or anyone else for that matter.
Yet here she was, having summoned the rock golem, something so far beyond anything Kael could have expected. She had orchestrated this entire situation to cover for him, and the magnitude of it hit him harder than any spell or attack ever could. It made him question his understanding of her.
His voice came out almost breathless. "You... you really did this, for me?"
Virelle didn't look surprised by his question. She merely nodded, her gaze scanning the battle from their hiding spot. The thundering footsteps of the golem, the loud screams of the militia, the crackle of spells—all of it happening right under their noses.
Kael swallowed hard. "I never thought you were the type to—"
"I'm not," she interjected quietly. "But I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Kael."
Her words were simple, but they carried a weight he wasn't sure he could bear. All this time, he had believed her to be weak, even naïve—someone who couldn't truly understand what it meant to fight. To take action. To break boundaries. But this, this was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
Her actions were a silent testament to a side of her Kael had never been shown. She wasn't just a simple housewife, a gentle figure in the background. She was more than that. She had power, knowledge, and a terrifying ability to make difficult decisions for the sake of those she cared about.
A question almost slipped from his lips, but he stopped himself just in time. What else does she know?
Before he could ask, the ground shook again, violently this time. A roar of earth-shattering magnitude echoed from the battlefield, sending a fresh wave of panic through the air.
Kael snapped to attention, his heart hammering in his chest.
Virelle's expression hardened in an instant. "It's getting out of hand," she muttered, her gaze sharpening as she glanced back toward the battle. The golem had finally turned its attention from the glowing fairies to the soldiers—its massive fists raised, eyes glinting with unbridled fury.
It was clear that the creature had begun to realize that the tiny humans were its true threat, not the distractions that fluttered harmlessly around its face. It was about to strike.
"Virelle!" Kael's voice cracked, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her side. "What's happening?"
Before Virelle could respond, the golem's giant arms slammed down, both fists coming together in a thunderous impact. The earth trembled beneath the shockwave, sending a massive gust of air through the battlefield, flinging soldiers and militia members into the air like ragdolls.
A scream pierced the air, and Kael watched in horror as a few of the soldiers were sent flying, their bodies tumbling through the air before crashing onto the ground. The shockwave sent debris flying in every direction, the force so intense it felt like the ground itself might crack open.
Kael's instincts screamed for action, but Virelle held him back, placing a gentle but firm hand on his chest. "Stay low," she ordered, her voice calm, but her eyes darting to the battle in the distance. "The soldiers will need time to recover."
Raleigh's voice rang out, calm and authoritative despite the chaos. "Evasive maneuvers! Move now!" His shout cut through the clamor, and soldiers quickly scattered, leaping out of the golem's strike zone just in time.
But Kael's eyes were fixed on the carnage left in the wake of the golem's attack. The soldiers who had not been quick enough were still on the ground, struggling to get up as the golem began to prepare for another strike.
Kael's teeth clenched. "This is going too far. We can't just—"
"I've already taken care of the plans for this battle," Virelle interrupted, her voice steady. "Trust Raleigh to handle the golem. We need to stay hidden for now."
Kael stared at her. He knew she was right; rushing into the fray would solve nothing. Yet, something within him twisted, an urge to act, to do something, anything. He wanted to stop the madness, to ensure that no one else would get hurt.
But he had to trust her, for once. The same woman who had encouraged him to lay low in the past, to accept his weaknesses. She had done the opposite here—she had acted. She had made a choice.
And Kael understood that. Now more than ever.
Virelle's gaze softened, though her focus never wavered from the chaos in front of them. "Just stay here. We need to wait for the golem to tire itself out. You don't have to fight this battle."
Kael nodded, but the unease still churned in his chest. He hadn't fought for anything meaningful in his life until now—his father's death, the years of isolation, the crushing weight of inaction.
Yet, for the first time, he saw what fighting truly meant—not just with his hands, but with his mind.
His mind was racing now, not with fear, but with resolve. Something had to change.