Helga, Aldric, and Seraphine approached Reidar. They reached the same conclusion he did.

"We need to talk," Aldric said; his voice was low since it was meant only for their small group. "About what we do next."

Reidar tore his gaze from the Behemoth. "There's nothing we can do. That thing is at level 763. The Aegis Phalanx can barely slow it down, and they have thousands of warriors above level 300."

"We must run, then," Helga said. She didn't sound pleased about it, and it was weird to hear her say that. "We get everyone out of the valley and away from that monster's path."

"And go where?" Seraphine asked. With those monsters around, there was no safe place. "Look around you."

She gestured upward, where smaller, yet still terrifying, creatures continued to pour from the rifts, engaging the Phalanx in chaotic dogfights.

"The valley is flooding with portal creatures. Level 300, level 450. Things we can't handle in our current state. They're spreading in every direction."

Aldric's jaw tightened. "She's right. Those creatures have to go somewhere. They'll flood the surrounding territories. All the settlements our people came from. They'll be swarmed."

"So we're trapped," Helga said. "Between a world-ending monster and an army of things that can kill us just as easily."

Seraphine stepped forward. "Not trapped. We have one option." She looked directly at Reidar. "Creamont."

"Creamont?"

"It's the largest settlement in the region," Seraphine said. "It has fortified walls and organized defenses. My people are there, along with several other factions. If we're going to mount any kind of defense, it has to be there. There is strength in numbers."

"If Creamont will be standing," Aldric said. "That monster is going straight for it."

"It's a gamble," Seraphine said. "But it's the only chance we have. Out there, we're scattered prey. In Creamont, we're an army."

"Ok," Aldric said. "But if the monster is going there, what's the point? It will destroy the city nonetheless."

"I know," Seraphine said. "This was just in case that thing changed its course. It was really more for the other monsters."

Reidar's mind raced. His parents were in Creamont. His father was still caring for his comatose mother. The thought of that monster reaching them made his chest tighten.

But the truth was that the case was almost certain based on how things were going.

He looked at the sky. "They are failing." He paused.

"She's right," Reidar said, his voice low but steady. "There's no running from this. Nowhere is safe. That thing will keep coming, and it won't stop at Creamont. It'll burn every town, every village, until there's nothing left but ash."

"So? What do you suggest?" Helga asked.

Seraphine took the lead again. "The monster needs to be steered away. It's following the path of least resistance toward Creamont, where the population is most concentrated. But if we can create a stronger lure, something it must pursue, or something annoying, we could redirect it."

"Steer it away?" Helga scoffed, though the sound was hollow. "How do you 'steer' a walking mountain that the Aegis Phalanx can't even scratch?"

All eyes turned to Reidar. He felt the weight of their stares. "Ah, shit… You want me to do it."

"Well, maybe with you it's possible," Aldric said. "But he might be able to. Reidar, your summons... You can give them to the Aegis Phalanx. The summoned creatures will be around their levels, so they will at least be able to do something against it."

"You're the only one who can," Aldric said.

Reidar clenched his fists. "I don't know if that will work. The Aegis Phalanx are already using summons, and they're barely slowing it down."

There were thousands of creatures in the sky, even dragons, as far as Reidar saw, and yet they weren't enough to defeat that thing.

"But it did notice them," Seraphine said. "It changed course to go after them. That means it responds to threats. And you—you can generate more of them, faster than anyone else. You just need to share the skills with their summons; this way there will be so many pests flying around that giant that not even that thing will be able to ignore them."

"It's the only chance Creamont has," Seraphine said.

Reidar turned to the horizon, where the walking catastrophe walked; he looked at the determined faces surrounding him. He thought about his father and his mother.

They stood directly in the path of destruction. Every instinct screamed to run—but that felt like betrayal. If he remained, he would put his life at severe risk. Seraphine's plan was a razor's edge between the two: dangerous and desperate, but at least it offered a chance to fight for something instead of merely fleeing.

Reidar sighed. They were right. "I don't know if it will work," Reidar said. "But trying is better than letting it walk straight to Creamont." He paused.

"But I can't protect the rest of you while I'm doing it," Reidar continued, turning to the three leaders.

"You need to get everyone else out of this valley. You won't fight. You'll run." Reidar's gaze shifted past them, toward Jake and the cot where Lena lay unconscious.

Jake's face was pale, eyes wide with fear as he clutched Lena's limp hand. Her breathing was shallow, her skin clammy, and her usual sharpness replaced by fragile stillness. Reidar knelt beside them, jaw clenched. He couldn't save them both—not here. Not yet. The choice burned, but the path ahead was clear. He had to do it.

"I'm going to share Summon Feral Pack with everyone who can use it. With the bears and wolves, you'll be able to cover more ground and move faster through the forest and plains. The beasts can carry the wounded, break through ambushes, and fight off the smaller creatures."

He scanned the group. "But do not summon the crows. The skies are swarming with flying monsters. If you take to the sky, they'll tear you apart before you clear the treeline. Stick to the ground. Use the pack beasts for mobility, but stay low, stay hidden. Seraphine, your people are better at guiding through difficult terrain with Lena knocked out cold; lead them. Helga, Aldric, take the rear. Protect the weak."

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