Arpious of the Planes

(Sophia POV)

I spread my soldiers among the rest of the army, reinforcing our already amazing formation even further. The humans had long fallen into despair after seeing their precious and supposedly all-mighty Healing Hero being killed instantly.

They were swinging randomly, which was no match for our properly trained and toned soldiers. Mixed with the formation that we had created, I wouldn't have been surprised if we didn't lose any more soldiers from now on.

Mia had given the signal for us to charge toward the heroes long ago, so I was on my way there. It seems Mia had also informed the other commanders as we slipped through the thousands of corpses, soldiers, and bloody mist that coated the battlefield.

If Akito hadn't wiped the previous layer from before, nobody would've been able to see anything.

As I took my first step into the [Blood Swamp], my nose was instantly assaulted by an ungodly smell that filled my nostrils. I let out a loud gag while dodging a blade that sliced towards me.

My shoes were instantly soaked with the murky red water. The squishy feeling with my socks against my shoes was so gross and unnatural that I visibly cringed.

Suddenly, a giant sword made of light erupts into the sky. It was then coated in a thick, oozing layer of yellow aura that enhanced the sword by at least 3 times its original power. The yellow light illuminated the battlefield, giving a new source of hope for the human soldiers.

When I directed my eyes downward, I saw Master trying to wring the red water splashed onto her clothes. Even as the giant sword ripped through the air, directed at Master, she didn't even flinch.

Could she possibly have not noticed it? Is the Light Hero that strong?!

"M-MASTER! WATCH OUT!"

Even after calling out to her, she didn't move from her spot. My voice was drowned out by the cheers of humans who looked at the spectacle their beloved hero presented them.

Is Master seriously going to die to this puny human? No, she must have a plan… I have to believe in her-

The giant sword of light was blocked with a normal longsword, held by the strongest swordswoman in the kingdom… another queen, Aika. But, unfortunately, her face was full of boredom, and it soon crumbled into disappointment at how weak the Light Heroes attack was.

Though I couldn't see it, I could sense that the human army behind me only fell deeper into despair. I'm not sure, but it looked to be one of the Light Heroes' strongest attacks, and a monster had just stopped it without even getting injured in the slightest.

Master's wives scolded her to pay attention, but she nonchalantly replied, saying that she knew they would stop the attack.

The massive light sword deactivates, and the Heroes back up in fear. Two of them still had their doubts, believing it was a fluke, but suddenly their legs started to tremble. Their pupils dilated in fear, their muscles tense up, and their teeth started to chatter.

Did they [Inspect] Master? What arrogance!

I sped up my pace to match the other commanders.

"H-HOW DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH FORBIDDEN MAGIC! NO! IT DOESN'T MATTER. WE HAVE TO KILL YOU WOMEN TO AVENGE SAMANTHA!" The Light Hero shouts, seething in anger and partly fear.

Master proceeds to wipe off the bit of red water that splashed onto her arms.

"Y-YOU BITCH! ANSWER ME-"

"Shut the hell up," Master, Miss Aika, Miss Kumo, and Miss Homura said at the same time.

A cloud had just passed over their head, allowing you only to see a silhouette of their body and their glowing eyes that sent chills not only down my spine but also the hero's spine. The heroes soon started to sweat bullets.

"C-C-CHARGE!" The Light Hero stammers in anger, with the other heroes following after him.

I could practically see a vein popping out of his neck and forehead as a burst of yellow aura erupts from his body. The other heroes expel an aura the same color as their respected color, causing the blood-red water below me to ripple into waves.

The human soldiers next to the heroes were wiped out instantly, disintegrating into dust. The heroes didn't even realize that they themselves were making the morale of their own army plummet into oblivion.

We commanders kicked off the ground, readying our weapons as we approached the Heroes.

The snake that curled around my bicep slithered up to my forearm, reinforcing it as I held a vine whip made from using [Forest Magic] and [Plant Growth]. I cracked it towards the black-cloaked figure that I assumed to be the Dark Hero.

She sensed my attack immediately and jumped far away, despite my attack retreating instantly.

Oh, it seems she knows how to counter a whip.

The best way to counter a whip is to either get in really close or stay extremely far away. If you continue to stay within their range, you'll eventually get hit since whips have no pattern. They're made up of random attacks that even the user doesn't know where it will hit.

"Wow. That is quite the whip you have there… and it seems you didn't even go all out," The black-clad woman says.

That voice seems very familiar… have I heard it before? Also… that damn [Inspect], I wish there was a way for me to know when I'm getting inspected… It's such a cheat!

The woman lowers her body and raises her daggers towards her chest. She held them in the proper position with the back of the blade against her forearm, preventing any chance of it getting hit out of her hand.

I stand up and use [Intense Focus] to boost my performance slightly.

The woman dashes towards me as I take a few steps back, cracking my whip towards her. Her feet splashed through the low level of water as she proceeded forward with nimble moves, dodging all my attacks.

She was so fast, and she used the shadows around her to the best of her abilities. Every time she knew she couldn't avoid one of my attacks, she slipped into the shadow beneath the water and then instantly popped out just a tiny bit closer to me.

I stumbled backward, my feet getting caught by the waves of water that splashed against my ankles. Trying to recover, I held my body up with my free hand and ducked down, barely dodging the incoming dagger that was aimed at my throat.

I let go of my whip and planted my hands on the ground. Then, putting all my strength into my arms, I pushed my body away from the assassin with daggers aimed straight at both of my eyes.

I somersaulted in the air, then landed on the water, sliding back while using my hands to stop me from falling onto my face.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF… I might not be able to win this with holding back… Am I going to have to... NO! Wake up, Sophia! It was an order from Master, so of course, you have to follow it until the end,"

Using [Weak Spirit Manipulation]... is something they already know about, so I don't think I have to keep this in reserve. I haven't fought much with it due to my duties of training my army, forming a close bond with them, and serving master to my greatest potential, but… I might be able to pull it off.

"[Weak Spirit Manipulation]..." I mutter, closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath.

The only spirits I could end up sensing were Forest Sprites… the lowest tier of spirits, and some smaller Forest Spirits, which are just one step above the Forest Sprites.

The Forest Sprites and Forest Spirits are so small that they appear to be green balls of light that occasionally reveal themselves to monsters. The stories of green lights leading citizens back to the kingdom were just the Forest Sprites and Forest Spirits.

I, on the other hand, am a Lesser Spirit of the Forest. Just one step above the Forest Spirits, allowing me to have a physical form while also having partial physical immunity that all spirits have.

"Fwooooo,"

I let out my held breath and raised my arms into the air. The Dark Hero tried to stop me, despite not knowing what I was doing, by rushing in towards me… but it was too late.

Green spirits erupted from the [Forest of Poison], swirling around me like a tornado that Master had made once. The spirits blocked the Dark Heroes' attacks by sacrificing their lives while I lowered my hands and pushed them towards the Dark Hero.

Since the spirits didn't have any defense or attack power, it blocked off her sight and put her in a slight daze, giving me an opening.

I lowered my hips and created a new vine whip with [Forest Magic] and [Plant Growth]. I cracked the whip with all my might, with my snake squeezing tighter around my forearm, almost causing my blood to stop completely.

CRACK

The Dark Heroes instincts and reflexes were sharp as she felt my immense bloodlust, allowing her to move her head out of the way. Though her head was okay, the mask that wrapped around her face had been torn in half, falling into the blood-red water below.

Now let's see who you are-

"M-mom?"