Burn a path for the citizens to follow.

Riviera was a beautiful graveyard of abandoned ruins and overgrowing green.

Cygnus was a world apart; freezing-cold, smothered in white snow, yet alive.

Struggling even now to survive, as goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, and every manner of their monstrous pets scoured the streets. Looting everything in sight, all the remaining wealth and resources not ground down by the eternal siege. Setting fire to structures at will.

Turning countless homes and businesses in the densely-packed, organically-winding streets of the city core into enormous bonfires, often with their owners still barricaded inside.

There were bodies everywhere, mostly those of the mortal tribes.

Not entirely, though. There was also a pitched, chaotic street-to-street, door-to-door battle still going on. The enemy had not secured such a vast territory, merely pushed through it and suppressed the locals.

Who fought even when they had no hope to turn the tide; to preserve their livelihoods, or families, or just because they no longer had any choice. With forged steel or improvised clubs, the young and the old alike, they raged against the dying of their light, and made it long enough to see another light over their horizon of ruined buildings.

One burning furiously bright. Though it was midday, many thought the sun was just coming up, casting away long shadows with its radiance.

Even one born to make lives better saw no reason to spare a second of mercy for murderous beasts. They were the ones who burned in the streets now, melting swaths of deep snow as each blast flew outwards. Divine judgment washed over the city, saving survivors, and striking down their attackers with terrible ease.

They were no challenge whatsoever for a divine being, and they knew it.

Noriko and the STAR PALADIN had little more to do than point out targets, a role that suited the ever-heroic Brigid just fine. She busied herself organizing the growing crowd rallying to her banner.

The same starry blue standard of Cygnus still defiantly hanging out shop windows.

Whether they spotted the wave of destruction coming up from the downhill docks, or they sensed the overwhelming aura of this presence pushing them away, most of the monsters didn’t stick around to be defeated.

They withdrew in panicked frenzy, through the same holes they’d just made.

Slow beasts, or those consumed with killing, rapine and plunder, died. Those who were fast or perceptive largely escaped with whatever they could carry, or tossed it aside to make themselves faster.

A smart move, when **** was inches behind, a solid wave of arrows and fireballs.

The traveler and his growing contingent of mortals made their way towards the besieged keep atop the highest hill. It had once been totally surrounded by the more organized soldiers of the dark forces; yet every variety of them cleared out well ahead of the oncoming mob.

Still, their presence, and clearly standardized, professional equipment, made him wonder what exactly was stuffed into those armored suits.

“What does it matter, so long as they are routed?” the voice asked. “No, that’s perhaps unfair. That was always what I said in life, and now look at me. You can’t! Even after centuries of strife, we still know so little of our enemy.”

The heavy wooden doors of what had once been a grand cathedral were bashed open, and inside were the remains of makeshift barricades.

The bodies in here bore their own uniforms and armors, with crests matching the tattered flags of Cygnus. What was left of the city’s defenders, the ones who didn’t try to escort the refugees, stayed behind where they knew the darkness would concentrate its final push. Buying precious seconds, minutes of life for the people.

This sight caused Noriko to chant a prayer in some foreign tongue, and her Lord expected they would just find bodies on top of bodies, a mountain of dead. That they were too late.

However, some still lived, for the cries of women filled the halls.

In the sanctum sanctorum, in the midst of a grand monastery turned into a castle, stained glass windows let in the sun’s rays upon a twisted display of power and cruelty. The ad-hoc rescue party of guards, citizens, and these newly-arrived strangers were struck dumb.

To find the two women Brigid Wallace had described as the leaders of this city; the mayor, and her assistant. Mother and daughter, respectively. Beautiful blonde human maidens who carried on in the memory of the late mayor, who died some months back ago defending the walls.

Giselle and Adrienne Leonhart, still alive, but limp and powerless… each in the muscular embrace of a gigantic orc warlord.

These were not loving embraces.

Using no weapon more advanced than their own bulky figures, they had the women trapped in brutal, back-breaking bearhugs, and had clearly spent the past while intent on nothing but causing agony.

Adrienne, the daughter with glasses and a sharp stare, still thrashed and clawed uselessly at green back, arms, and face, producing nothing but a bellowing laughter that just crushed her even more flat against her captor. She kicked her feet into legs three times her own size.

Her mother, Giselle, huge in every sense yet entirely soft and fluffy, was not resisting. She was leaning against her captor and tormentor in a moment of ****, humiliating intimacy, face turning red. Enormous chest not allowed to expand against the rock-hard orcish muscle steadily crushing her.

To shake the resistance from Adrienne, she was getting ‘pulses’ of power that produced audible, sickening crackling.

The warlords had scars in plenty, and resembled each other in features, with ponytailed black hair. Their patchwork excuses for armor, mostly showing off their masculine, conquering figures, also revealed a wealth of intricate blood-red tattoos. If nothing else gave it away, this made things clear.

These two were responsible for the attack.

“Thankfully, though they overcame Cygnus, they are stupid and cruel. Who knows how long these women have suffered? But they are neither dead, nor do the warlords appear to have been interested in, well… T-the point is, they survive. Hurry and dispatch these beasts.”

“Who dares interrupt our fun?!” One of the mountainous orc warlords bellowed.

Before he could so much as turn around, a warhammer wielded with precise control and overflowing strength knocked his head clean off, and through one of the stained-glass windows.

Shattered shards rained down. The last hadn’t hit the ground before the other warlord tossed Adrienne to the floor and wheeled around.

“Brother, no! How dare you, you monster-”

With no risk of hitting anyone else, the Lord could finish it cleanly, and incinerate this enormous juggernaut alive.

He didn’t stop until there was nothing left but ash.

Noriko only took a moment to gawk at the one-sided destruction before rushing forward, hands glowing with holy power. Though these women had nearly been crushed to ****, they were indeed still alive.

Brigid made sure they would be okay, and then at Giselle’s murmured request, climbed the bell-tower. While an assistant rang the great brass bell over and over, she waved her banner from the tallest point in the city.

The people came out onto the streets, saw this, and knew they were saved.

Not just for today; what had happened here had been foretold, and seen elsewhere.

The message was clear to mortals and monsters alike.

Cygnus was defended.