7. The Final Breath:

"A monster only can be defeated by a saint or an even worse monster."

Lord Fender - Sovereign of Gramorg

Jill and Chub were resting behind a column in the castle courtyard. If it weren't for them, the invaders would have already breached the castle. They were the last line of defense, and the regular warriors were on the verge of losing.

A knight approached them with elvish water and food, both enchanted to restore their strength. Chub emptied his plate as soon as it was handed to him.

“Well, it looks like the battle is still on, beauty queen,” Chub said excitedly. “I can't wait to kill all those damn bastards. Those three idiots are missing out.”

Jill looked at the knight trembling beside her. “You should go inside,” she said, smiling. “You'll be safer with Draco.”

“I can't,” replied the knight. “It would be abandoning my warrior's valor.”

“You're just a foot soldier; you'd only be a hindrance,” Chub retorted.

“How rude,” said Jill, sighing. “This battle is way beyond your level. We'll have to fall back as well. We're just buying time until our stronger forces gather in the throne room.”

“The stronger ones?” the knight repeated.

“Why do you think the guard hasn't shown up? Neither the healers nor the entropy and elemental mages,” Chub replied. "And by the stronger ones, I mean Draco, the two of us, and our fellow warriors. We are more than enough to kill all these bastards."

“Then why aren't they here?” the knight retorted. “They're letting us die!”

“We want to fight in a place where we have the advantage,” Jill declared. The knight turned to her with a frustrated expression. “The throne room is vast, allowing the battle to unfold easily. But the main reason is that all their mages are either attack or elemental; in a confined space, they won't be able to attack comfortably without getting buried.”

“If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to let them through?”

“I told you; we're buying time for everyone to get there. Besides, it's best to reduce their numbers as much as possible so that we're not overwhelmed by so many soldiers. That's why the two of us are here instead of the bulk of the soldiers... that's the Delta contingency plan,” she said, watching as Gramorg's warriors were overrun.

“It's time to take action,” Chub declared excitedly. Jill nodded, turned to the knight one last time. He had his head down and was about to leave when, at great speed, an arrow pierced his chest.

Jill opened her eyes in surprise, tried to help the knight, but she couldn't touch the arrow; it was made of magic. She looked up at the battlefield and saw the figure of a tall, slender man in a hood, holding a bow that seemed to be made of steel.

“We've got someone interesting there,” Jill said, wiping off the blood that had splattered on her. Chub grinned with excitement. Jill closed the knight's eyes and kissed his forehead, asking him to rest in peace.

“Yes! Be careful; you might break a nail.”

Both rushed into the battle. Chub wielded his axe with such ferocity that all the enemies in front of him were sent flying in pieces. Jill moved through the chaos and delivered swift thrusts to the soldiers she encountered, aiming for their vital points. They all fell instantly. A shiver ran down her spine, and she immediately crouched; a magical arrow passed over her head.

Chub ran toward the archer and tried to cut him down with his axe, but he dodged his attacks with great ease. Jill approached him at great speed and tried to stab him in the chest; the archer, surprised, tried to move away, but Chub swung his axe at his neck while smiling.

At that moment, a magical barrier emerged around him, deflecting the attacks of the two apprentices. Both jumped back and focused their gaze on a woman in a robe with black hair, who literally appeared behind the archer.

“I'm sorry, Draco's pets; I can't allow my precious slave to die so easily,” the woman said in a captivating tone that baffled Chub and made him lower his axe for a moment; Jill kicked him to snap him out of it.

“A witch who enchants her speech, that's not something you see every day,” Jill said, glaring at her. “Too bad it doesn't work on everyone. What should I call you?”

The sorceress chuckled, and immediately her expression changed so much that Chub lost all interest and raised his axe; revealing sharp teeth and empty eyes. She smiled macabrely.

“It's true, my speech magic only works to beguile men; I should improve that,” the woman replied, staring at Jill. “My name, you ask? You can call me Veronica, although it doesn't really matter; soon you'll be dead.”

“You have a lot of courage to threaten us,” said Jill.

“You clearly don't know who we are,” Chub challenged. Veronica burst into laughter.

“I know who you are, Jill, the ‘divine stab,’ and Chub, the ‘red death,’” both shuddered upon hearing their nickname “apprentices of the infamous 'demon hunter' Draco. You're quite famous in Poski; the two of you and a small army wiped out one of the most powerful cities in that nation in just three days; although I think I'm doing something similar.”

At that moment, they realized she was the one leading the enemy army. Both immediately assumed battle positions; an indescribable fear seized their bodies. ‘Who the hell is this woman?’ they both thought.

“You know that and still think you can beat us?” Chub asked anxiously.

“Oh, I don't think I can defeat you. Soon, my child will take care of you,” Jill raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I trained him specifically to kill you and Draco, a beast of extraordinary strength,” Chub and Jill concluded that she was referring to the demon Federic had mentioned. “In fact, he's about to kill one of you, along with that blond kid.”

Jill's expression darkened upon hearing Veronica's words. Chub was almost certain who she was talking about, but he still asked, “Who are you referring to?”