Exhausted, the group, or rather what's left of it, allowed their body to relax. Fortunately, none of them were killed in battle. Injured, but alive.
The remaining sister and the female mage began treating the wounded and unconscious. The ones that awoke and were able to walk, gathered the ones that couldn't, assisting the ones that did, but were injured.
**Skreeeee!!!**
Multiple screeches could be heard from the distance, a sign of demons approaching.
"We can't stay here longer." The knight captain advised.
"No shit! Who the fuck even was that? What the fuck even was that?" An adventurer who awoke retorted, still shaken.
Hurried, they started gathering their horses. The blizzard was getting stronger and they could not spare another second.
"What about her body? The demons will get to it!" The sister worriedly said.
"Lady, if you want to carry any more weight, be my guest. We're already short on horses with this damned weather." The archer reminded her.
Some of their horses already ran, both from the commotion and the blizzard, a problem presenting itself.
They could choose to leave the body, allowing the demons to consume her and her innate Divinity, strengthening the oncoming wave of demons, or they bear the weight of carrying her body all the way back to base through the soon to be raging blizzard.
A person's Divinity can be measured by the church using a special instrument, allowing one to temporarily "see" Divinity. Separate from Mana, Divinity works differently. Instead of an amount "felt" by the person, Divinity is measured by its color and an aura-like density that surrounds the body. A light, near-clear hue enveloping the person's body signifies a "pure" or "holy" form of Divinity, seen mostly in Paladins, Saints, or the Royal Family whose blood descends from the ancient heroes. The darker and denser it is, the lower its effects become. These effects can range from physical and magical enhancements, Mana capacity increases, or the emergence of unique abilities.
Unlike Mana which is present even in the air, Divinity is innate. One's Divinity varies from person to person but increases over time, albeit this growth being incredibly slow. Currently, there are no other known ways to increase Divinity with a consistently effective and reliable method. Compared to Mana, which you can steadily increase or improve with various different techniques, potions, and other methods, the general consensus to one's Divinity level is based on luck, bloodline, or simply age.
Divinity is not naturally present in demons, but consuming a person with Divinity allows them to steal and assimilate Divinity as their own, changing their physiology and abilities. With the assumption that the feral woman they fought had a high level of Divinity due to her overwhelming strength and speed, allowing her to be consumed by the demons would significantly empower them, possibly endangering the entirety of the expedition.
"What if we burnt her body?" One knight suggested.
"Not possible with this blizzard. It'll extinguish in seconds."
"Disentegrate it with the spell from earlier?" Another knight brought forth his idea.
"Not enough Mana. I'm almost dry. I can't even draw in more, the blizzard's screwing me here."
"What if I just buried her?" The orcish adventurer asked.
"With what? A broken leg and a busted arm? You'll be swarmed before you even part the snow." The sister replied.
"I'll take her." The knight captain declared.
"You plan on doing that… how?" The group faced him.
"Do any of you have rope?" He asked curiously, the archer slowly raising his hand.
The knight captain tied the lifeless body to a makeshift sled connected to his horse's saddle, dragging it across the ground.
"All set, move!" He commanded.
With haste, the group saddled up, and rode towards the direction of their basecamp.
The blizzard slowed their pace, their horses neighed as frost built up on their bodies.
"How much further?" One of them yelled through the howling wind.
"Just a bit more!" The captain reassured them.
"The horses won't hold out!"
"Thaw them out with magic!" The captain ordered.
"I hear you!" The mage replied.
With a burst of light, a pulse of heat shot out from the mage, temporarily thawing the frost that had built up on the horse's legs.
"How many more times can you do that?"
"Twice more!" She replied.
"Do you have a Mana potion?"
"No! I left them at base. I wasn't exactly expecting a fight." She protested.
**Skreeeee!**
"Better keep moving then, if those things get to us, it's over." The captain said in a grim tone.
"Thank's for the words of encouragement!!!" The adventurer group collectively replied with sarcasm.
The blizzards in the north act adversely. Although smaller in its effective range, in the open trail where they rode, the Mana mixed with the cold air, strengthening it, condensing into shard-like ice particles. These particles can cause cuts and build up frost significantly faster over time. The longer they stay in it, the harder it is to leave its area, a disadvantage to them, an advantage to the demons hot on their tail.
The demons of the north have acclimated to its harsh environment, adapting their biology with boiling hot blood, keeping them constantly warm even through prolonged blizzard storms.
Despite these conditions, the group surged forward, unhalting. They pushed through the blizzard, using the little mana they had left to barely make it into a dense forest, the large trees blocking a significant amount of nature's cold wrath. They were still not in the clear, their base is just right beyond these woods. There, they can enter a barrier erected by the priest and the sisters who stayed, a barrier that prevents the cold and the blizzard's effect. With it in sight, they began rushing towards the woods' opening.
**Rattle** **Shake** **Shake** **Rattle**
Unbeknownst to them, the body they had brought was convulsing, tendrils reforming its damaged limb, closing injuries, reconstructing the missing part of its head.
…
"Haa… Haa… Fooh… " Hot steam leaving their mouths as they panted.
The time they spent away was used by the others to additionally strengthen the base's defensive integrity. They stood at the front of a wooden gate, sturdy wood walls surrounding their base.
"Open the gates! We have injured men!"
**Creeeak**
The sizable wooden gate opened, two knights stood guard from within. A sister came to greet them, assisting with their cargo.
"Captain, what happened?" A knight came forward to ask.
"There's no time to explain, call the knight captains, sound the horns, arm yourselves!"
**Vruuuuuuuh**
The horn echoed a deep brass rumbling into the air.
"Prepare for battle!"