New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

It took Genie and White half an hour of biting and tearing before the demon finally died. During this, Astaroth contemplated whether he gave the Elf too easy of a way out.

"Maybe I should have done this to it, instead of to the demon. Meh. Too late now."

When the demon finally died, its body pieces dissipated into a puff of black and red smoke. That was when he knew he was done here.

Calling back Genie and White, Astaroth stood back to his feet. He still had a battle to rejoin, so he couldn't dally much longer.

Half an hour had passed, and in war, that was an eternity. Astaroth wondered what had happened on the outside while he was in there.

***

During the half-hour, Astaroth had assuaged his rage, and let his savage tendencies take over, the battle had rapidly changed.

A lot of the black domes had faded away, with only demons walking out alive, which had quickly sent the allied troops into a perilous battle. When the dome where Phoenix and the rest of the party broke down, she gasped at the madness.

Everyone in the party was still present and accounted for, aside from Astaroth, whom all of them doubted had fallen. But no allied officer was visible anywhere on the ground or in the sky.

Phoenix knew she had to take charge.

She quickly scanned across the battlefield, spotting the demon officers, some of whom were hanging back due to injuries, whilst others were in the thick of battle, overcoming swathes of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and a plethora of races of the allied troops.

Things were not looking good.

"Alright, listen up, guys! We need to bring this battle back to a steady one. A lot of low-rank officers have been taken out, and the battle is slipping into chaos. This is what the demons want. So let's fuck up their day!" Phoenix hollered.

Everyone in the party seemed more than happy to hear this.

"Jeanne, Jaxx, and Peaceful Grove, you guys are on stabilizing duty. Go around the battlefield and heal the troops. Jaxx, you keep both of them safe. Understood?"

The three players concerned nodded, darting off to get to work.

Jaxx immediately activated his legacy skill, ready to throw down with any demon that would wander too close to his sister and ally.

Phoenix immediately turned her head to the next players.

"Chronos, Food Goblin, Meat-Shield, and Twinxie. You guys are on mobile battle unit duty! I'll guide you where to go, while you guys strike out squads of demons to get our troops on a better footing."

"Aye aye, boss lady!" Food Goblin chirped.

"First go a hundred meters southwest of here. A battalion is getting overrun, so help them out. Be careful, though. You won't have a healer unless Jeanne and Peaceful Grove happen to be near. So don't get reckless."

The four of them nodded, bolting off toward their first assigned location.

Phoenix looked at the remaining three players before her. In terms of power, RedWing might be a bit weaker than Jaxx, but since Jaxx was tankier, he would make better protection for the healers than the Dragonborn.

But she was still happy with her choices.

"The rest of you, you are on hunting duty. I need you to pick off any demon battle officer you can see. Break their chain of command again. Even if it's only temporary, it will buy us time to get some officers back, hopefully. I'll fly around the battlefield and try to get some semblance of order reestablished."

Galtion grinned widely, his eyes squinting through the slit in his full-piece helmet. The spear in his hand crackled with energy before he disappeared, followed by a sonic boom.

Phoenix, Violette, and RedWing had to cover their ears, lest they became deaf.

"Where should I go, Ma'am?" RedWing asked, slightly thrown off to be set loose like this.

"Listen, Tusk, I mean RedWing. You are a lieutenant of Paragons. Get yourself together. You might be in charge of entire parties of our players in the future. I am going to need you to get a sense of tactic for yourself. I can't be holding your hand forever."

Red wing gulped at the chid. But he knew she was right.

Gripping the haft of his greataxe tightly, he nodded. His eyes reflected a growing resolve, as well as nervousness.

But he eventually had to fly on his own. This was his chance.

As he darted off, tentatively using his wings to accelerate his gait, Phoenix turned to Violette, who was still standing next to her.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Phoenix asked her.

"I wonder why Astaroth is taking so long to come out of this bubble, is all. I have a feeling something is up with him. He's been especially violent today. I'm worried about him," Violette replied, her face reflecting her emotions.

Phoenix wanted to reassure her that everything was fine. That Astaroth wasn't acting any differently than usual.

But she would be lying to the girl. And she refused to lie to Violette.

"Astaroth has been on edge lately. A lot of people are trying to harm him, and he has gone on the defensive. This makes him more… reactive than usual. But he will be fine, dear. I trust him. Don't you?"

Violette looked Phoenix in the eyes, trying to find comfort in her words. She found only incertitude.

But she did trust Astaroth. She trusted him more than many people.

"Okay…" she said with a sigh.

"I do have a question, though," she added.

"Hmm?"

"How loose do you want me to go?"

Phoenix grinned at the little girl's question.

"Give them hell. Send them back home with a fear of water they will remember for eternity," Phoenix replied, patting the girl's head.

Violette's face changed from a mask of worry to an innocent, yet devilish smile.

"Okey dokey!"

Phoenix watched as Violette's form shimmered and grew, until she stood twenty meters high, made of crystal-clear water, and she washed into the demon army, taking with her anything that wasn't an ally.

"She's growing stronger every day. I can't let myself fall behind…" Phoenix said, a smile hanging on her lips.

She had been holding her Avatar of Flames form during all the battle, the power up from consuming fire earlier helping her keep her mana reserves high. But it was time to kick things into higher gear.

"Regulus Battle Regalia," she whispered.