Chapter 83 They're Coming
Layla was extremely occupied, but she was quick to explain the situation.
"That is the last of the life forces I can employ," Layla explained whilst pointing to the leaves that crumbled upon falling to the floor. "Without a force in sight, I can't just summon—"
Layla paused. She saw the eighth group of human girls rushing forward, but the barrier was already beginning to close. And then, Ophelia widened her eyes. A thought came over Layla.
"M-my blood," Ophelia urged in a low and quiet voice. "The Alpha will kill me—"
"N-not if I can h-help it," Ophelia demanded whilst taking Layla's wand and pointing it to her wrist.
"My lady!" Janette sobbed out, whilst dashing forward. She was almost here and could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Human… girl!" The goblins roared, dashing forward with their wooden clubs infused with metal. There were at least ten tiny ones, led by an enormous ogre. "Now!" Ophelia cried out, leaving Layla no choice.
Layla dug the sharp end of her stick against Ophelia's wrist. Immediately, more blood unlike any began to flow out. Layla's voice died in her throat, but she shakingly summoned its powers. Unable to even say a single word, she pointed the blood-coated end of the stick towards the barrier.
"Obice extensio!" Layla demanded, and immediately the shimmering forces in front of them grew further, enough to envelope Janette.
"ARGH!" The goblins wildly banged at the barriers, sending the thin walls shaking and glistening. Ophelia's eyes widened as she looked death right in the eye. Then, the ninth group dashed inside the doors, the last girls' hair just an inch from being yanked by the goblins. "Arcte claude!" Layla shouted, immediately, casting the white and glowing barriers to the ground, tightly sealing them in.
Then, Layla swiftly jutted her wand to the left, which sent the enormous iron doors grumbling. Within seconds, the doors slammed shut, drowning them in a faint light from the lanterns in the bunker. There was no visible light in the room, for it was to deter invaders from seeking the bunker.
"T-this way!" Ophelia urged an exasperated group of human girls. Her heart was pounding roughly in her chest, blood rushing to her hearing, and she could barely focus on the problem at hand. Tears filled the human girls' eyes as Ophelia wrapped an arm around one of the traumatized women. She knew their life flashed right before her eyes. Death by goblins' brute force for both men and women was worse than one could possibly imagine. They were aphrodisiac creatures that wouldn't hesitate to violate and ransack the closest thing to them, including ripping off clothes, and forcing their way inside of a human.
"O-oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" The girls all gathered around her, sobbing and crying in relief. "We thank you, gracious lady!"
Immediately, they dropped to their feet, their shoulders caved in, as they bowed towards her deeply.
Ophelia was touched, but shocked at how quick they were to throw away their morals. They bowed and kneeled so low, that their foreheads touched the ground. She was quick to see that many of them had obvious bite marks on their necks from the fangs of vampires. Some had scarred over, others seemed like fresh wounds.
"P-please get up," Ophelia struggled out, awkward by their immense respect towards her. Ophelia had never witnessed a scene of at least a hundred girls bowing like this. She was overwhelmed with the sight of their bent backs.
Ophelia helped the nearest one to her feet, but they quickly flinched back.
"P-please get up!" Ophelia insisted again, this time, in a firmer tone.
Almost everyone was sniffling and sobbing, big fat tears dripping down their faces. She made the startling realization that most likely, not many people have ever shown them kindness before. What a horrible sight. Humans were at the bottom of the food chain. They were treated worse than livestock at times, for at least animals had a predictable death, whereas the humans had to look behind their shoulders every living moment in the fear of being killed.
"T-the basement bunkers are s-sealed, but these doors s-should keep us alright," Ophelia explained in an attempt to keep them calm and upright. She even tried to offer them a smile, but none seemed to nod in agreement.
"Thank you, gracious lady!" They continued to thank her and express their gratitude, barely able to see past their feet from how hard they were crying. Some were even huddled into a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth in terror.
Ophelia's throat tightened. She didn't know what else to do for these traumatized humans. She thought her life as an aristocratic human was bad, but theirs were much worse. At least, the noble human lady's worst nightmare was participating in the Decade Tribute Ceremony, but these servant girls' fates were most likely worse than death. "Everything is all set, my lady," Layla addressed with a loud sigh of relief. Immediately, she blocked everyone's view of the lady and whispered a soft spell with the last of the blood remnants on her wand.
"Vulnus prope," Layla muttered, whilst pulling out a handkerchief to cover the cut.
Ophelia felt her wrist grow warm. Then, she felt the prickling sensation was gone. She glanced down at her skin to see the dried blood, but with her long sleeve, it was barely visible. There was only a single scratch on her.
As Layla and Ophelia's gaze landed upon each other, a silent understanding filled the room—they needed to talk about this matter afterward.
"W-where are the other magicians?" Ophelia whispered.
"On the battlefield protecting and fighting," Layla said. "I am the strongest female witch they have and closest to this place, so I was sent here to protect you girls. Other witches couldn't come on time."
Ophelia let out a shaky breath of disbelief. BANG!
Layla jolted. She straightened up as everyone immediately grew silent. "The barrier is down."
A woman sobbed in the corner, followed by another terrorized yelp. Soon, they began to cower like frightened animals. Everyone scrambled away from the staircase, for it was the first place to be attacked.
Layla's grip tightened on her wand and she slowly rose to her feet. She held up a palm, silencing everyone.
"The doors are still on their hinges. One of you should message your mates and inform them of the situation." Ophelia slowly blinked. She read about this just this morning. Mated werewolves shared telepathy with each other, up to a certain distance. She saw the mother's eyes glaze over, her mouth moving, and then, she tensed.
BOOM!
A servant squeaked in fear, followed by the sound of women crying. Quickly, maids alike rushed forward to silence each other, but it was impossible. They were frightened of their location being discovered. Some even dropped to their knees to pray and beg. "Oh great heavens…"
"Please Moon Goddess, spare us all, please watch over us."
"May mercy fall upon us and everyone in here, dear Moon Goddess, I beg of thee!"
A few of the human girls took out their cross necklaces and began pleading over it, holding the jewelry tightly in their frail fingers.
Ophelia's throat tightened as the chaos was about to come. She was too distracted by the gravity of the situation to note that even humans prayed to the Moon Goddess. Ophelia had never been religious in her life, since Matriarch Eves abhorred religions, claiming they were wishful thinking. As such, Ophelia was never raised with the ideology of the Moon Goddess.
THUD! THUD!
Ophelia watched and stared in horror as the metal doors were beginning to dent from the goblins' ferocious attacks. Not even the thick and heavy metal doors could keep out the largest of their kind. And if Ophelia remembered correctly, these goblins were practically the sizes of boulders. She knew the minute goblins flooded this room, there was nothing to save them—not even Layla. "Get back," Layla instantly instructed with her wand pointed directly at the bunker entrance. Her face was grim and cold sweat dripped down her forehead. She tightened her grip on her wand, but her palms were clammy.
Layla tried her best to remain calm in this situation, for panicking brought forth no benefits.
Layla slowly turned to Ophelia, almost as if she witnessed her life ending on the spot.
"Layla…" Ophelia breathed out, her voice cracking and breaking. "T-they're coming."
BANG! BANG! BOOM!
Ophelia flinched as she heard the monstrous roars of the goblins assaulting the metal door. "NOOOO!" a woman wailed in the corner, loudly crying and falling to her knees in grief. Many followed after her, but didn't dare to make a noise. The human girls could only gather in a group, huddle amongst each other, whilst hugging each other's shoulders, to prepare themselves for the worst.
"The monsters will begin to enter the room soon."
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