𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 𝟮: 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 𝟭𝟵 – 𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧
Almost an hour later, the wormhole was finally close to 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱.
The vast forest, which had once been loud with the terrifying 𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, exploding elemental spells, and the sharp 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀, had slowly fallen into an uneasy, suffocating silence.
Burned grass smoked quietly beneath the pale moonlight.
Ancient trees stood shattered and broken like corpses scattered across a fresh battlefield.
The heavy air smelled of damp mud, metallic blood, dark ash, and the remnants of foul demonic mana.
Everyone had separated into two distinct groups.
One group stayed behind with Akira near the flickering wormhole, pouring their remaining strength into completely sealing the dimensional tear before it could violently reopen again.
The second group moved deeper into the thick forest with Indra, searching every shadow for any remaining monsters hiding in the pitch-darkness.
The surviving witches were completely exhausted.
The archers had nearly run out of their enchanted arrows.
Even the hardened mana warriors were breathing heavily, their chests heaving in fatigue.
But they still continued.
Because they knew the stakes.
If even one single monster managed to escape into the nearby city…
Thousands of innocent civilians could die in a matter of hours.
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀…
Jatin walked through the dark forest with his favorite camera hanging securely around his neck.
He had originally come into this region for wildlife photography with a local hobbyist group.
But after getting distracted while following what looked like a rare bird deeper into the brush, he had unknowingly wandered completely away from everyone else.
And now—
He froze.
His eyes widened to the size of saucers at the unbelievable sight directly in front of him.
A massive glowing wormhole floated between the ancient trees like a jagged, bleeding wound ripped into reality itself.
Strange, unreadable symbols rotated slowly around it while exhausted witches and mages cast glowing spells toward its center.
And standing around the clearing…
Were armed people carrying real swords, bows, staves, and strange weapons that pulsed with raw energy.
Jatin slowly took one cautious step forward.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴…?”
His heartbeat rose rapidly with pure excitement instead of fear.
Without wasting a single second, he quickly grabbed his camera, brought the viewfinder to his eye, and began taking pictures.
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸.
Pictures of the towering wormhole.
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸.
Pictures of the intricate, glowing mana circles.
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸.
Pictures of the mysterious masked warriors standing guard.
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸.
Pictures of Akira commanding everyone while desperately helping to seal the dimensional tear.
Jatin’s breathing became incredibly fast.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦…”
His hands trembled slightly while adjusting the camera’s focus ring.
“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵…? 𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵…? 𝘕𝘰… 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭…”
Then—
𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸.
Jatin accidentally stepped squarely on a dry branch.
The sharp sound echoed loudly through the silent, tense forest.
Immediate silence.
Every single mage and warrior in the clearing stopped moving instantly.
Akira’s eyes widened in sheer shock.
Slowly…
Every head turned toward the source of the sound.
And they saw him.
A completely random civilian standing in the brush, holding a high-end camera.
For three full seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
Then Jatin realized something absolutely terrifying.
Every single person standing there was heavily armed.
And staring directly at him with lethal intensity.
“…𝘖𝘩 𝘯𝘰.”
Jatin slowly took one nervous step backward.
Then another.
Then he turned around and completely bolted.
“𝙃𝙀𝙔— 𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏!”
Akira instantly dashed after him, his speed blurring beneath the trees.
Jatin ran through the dense foliage as fast as his legs could carry him, nearly tripping over hidden roots while clutching his camera tightly to his chest.
“𝙉𝙊𝙋𝙀! 𝙉𝙊𝙋𝙀! 𝙄 𝘿𝙄𝘿𝙉’𝙏 𝙎𝙀𝙀 𝘼𝙉𝙔𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂! 𝙄’𝙈 𝘽𝙇𝙄𝙉𝘿!”
Behind him, Akira jumped over heavy rocks and fallen branches effortlessly, closing the distance like a predator.
“𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋 𝙍𝙐𝙉𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂!”
“𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏’𝙎 𝙀𝙓𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙇𝙔 𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙒𝙃𝙊 𝙒𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙎 𝙏𝙊 𝙆𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝙈𝙀 𝙒𝙊𝙐𝙇𝘿 𝙎𝘼𝙔!”
Jatin took a sharp, desperate turn between two massive trees.
But that tiny moment of slowing down was all it took.
Akira leaped forward.
𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗗.
Both of them crashed heavily onto the hard ground, rolling into the dirt.
“𝘖𝘸—!”
Before Jatin could even attempt to scramble away, Akira quickly pinned him down and grabbed both of his arms, securing him.
Jatin stared up at the masked boy in pure, unadulterated panic.
“𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵! 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵! 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳! 𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥!”
Akira looked equally stressed, his mind racing at the massive security breach.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?!”
“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝙄 𝘿𝙄𝘿! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸!”
Jatin kicked helplessly, scuffing his shoes in the dirt while Akira firmly dragged him back toward the clearing and the rest of the team.
“𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘯! 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥!”
“𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘵𝘰! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨!”
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 — 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗠.
Mud, shattered roots, and broken rocks exploded everywhere in a violent spray.
The creature standing before her looked like something dragged straight out of a nightmare.
𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴, so long that its jagged knuckles dragged heavily against the forest floor.
𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 capable of tearing through solid steel armor.
𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻, 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄, 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 stared down at her with endless, insatiable hunger.
The witch’s breathing shook violently as she scrambled backward.
“𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴!? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?!”
The monster screeched, a sound that rattled her teeth, and lunged toward her unprotected throat again.
She immediately raised her trembling hand, pushing her remaining mana to the surface.
“𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴!”
Several gigantic, jagged stone spikes burst violently from the ground to impale the beast.
But the creature twisted its skeletal body in an unnatural, horrific angle and dodged them completely.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?!”
The monster jumped straight toward her, its shadow eclipsing the moon.
Its razor-sharp claws aimed directly for her neck.
Then—
𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞.
A heavy dagger suddenly pierced directly through the creature’s left eye, sinking deep into its skull.
The monster screamed in agonizing pain and staggered backward violently, clutching its face.
The witch blinked in utter shock.
Standing right behind her was 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮.
Smirking.
One hand was still extended from his perfect throwing motion, while several more throwing blades remained attached neatly around his waist.
“𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺…” he muttered, casually rolling his right shoulder.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸.”
Another sleek dagger spun fluidly into his palm.
The blinded monster roared in pure fury again and charged blindly, its massive claws swinging wildly toward his face.
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚.
Indra blocked the massive strike effortlessly with his dagger and immediately stepped sideways, using the momentum to redirect the force.
The heavy creature lost its balance for half a second.
That tiny window was more than enough.
Indra tightened his grip on his secondary blade.
Then he drove the dagger directly into the center of the monster’s chest, channeling a burst of mana.
“𝙉𝙊𝙒!”
The nearby mages instantly understood his signal.
“𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦!”
Several blazing, high-temperature projectiles blasted forward through the trees.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗠.
The monster’s large body erupted in raging flames while it screamed horribly, flailing until the light left its eyes.
A few moments later…
Silence returned to the eastern sector.
The smoking, burned corpse collapsed heavily onto the forest floor, dissolving slowly into ash.
Everyone immediately sat down on the ground, completely drained from the relentless fighting.
One weary mage wiped thick sweat from his forehead.
“…𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”
Indra chuckled lightly, wiping his blade on a leaf before sliding it back into its sheath, and rubbed the back of his neck.
“𝘚𝘰… 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?”
A nearby sensor mage closed his eyes for a moment, extending his mana perception through the surrounding trees.
“…𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”
Indra nodded, satisfied.
“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘢’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.”
Everyone laughed tiredly in agreement.
Because honestly—
Who in their right mind would randomly come into a dangerous, dark forest this deep at night?
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 — 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.
Jatin now sat tightly tied to a thick oak tree with heavy rope wrapped around his arms and torso.
“…𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭,” he muttered, pouting.
“𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.”
“𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥,” a frustrated witch replied immediately, tightening a knot.
Several elite warriors surrounded him, pacing back and forth while arguing over what they should do with the intruder.
Akira stood nearby, holding his head, stressed beyond belief.
This was the last thing they needed after a grueling battle.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴,” one witch suggested while raising her hand casually, her fingertips glowing with a faint blue light.
“𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.”
Jatin’s eyes widened instantly in horror.
“𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏 𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏 𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏— 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘾𝘼𝙉’𝙏 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝘿𝙀𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀 𝙈𝙔 𝘽𝙍𝘼𝙄𝙉!”
“𝘞𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥?!”
An exhausted archer sighed deeply, leaning against his bow.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?”
“𝘠𝘦𝘴! 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴!”
“𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴.”
Everyone nodded in unison, completely dismissing his pleas.
Jatin pouted in extreme frustration, crossing his eyes at them.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.”
One witch stepped forward and smacked the back of his head lightly.
“𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦.”
“𝘖𝘸! 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴!”
Jatin groaned dramatically, slump-sitting against the rope before looking around the clearing again.
Even now, despite being absolutely terrified out of his mind…
He was curious.
Incredibly curious.
Who were these highly organized people?
What were those terrifying monsters?
What was that glowing energy they kept calling mana?
And why did all of this feel like the ordinary world had suddenly cracked open tonight, revealing something deeply horrifying hiding underneath the surface of normal life?
Then—
The atmosphere changed. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Instantly.
Every single mage froze mid-sentence.
The air became heavier.
Much, much heavier.
The temperature plummeted, and a suffocating weight descended upon the clearing.
Akira slowly turned his head toward the deep distance, his face turning pale.
“…𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺.”
A horrifying, dominant pressure spread across the entire forest like a thick fog.
Even the simple act of breathing suddenly felt incredibly difficult, as if gravity itself had multiplied.
Then—
𝗥𝗥𝗥𝗥𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗣.
Space itself tore apart with a sickening, violent sound.
Another wormhole opened.
But this one…
Was completely different.
It was huge.
At least twice the size of the previous gate they had just spent an hour sealing.
The ancient trees surrounding the clearing literally bent and cracked from the sheer pressure radiating from it alone.
Dark red, malevolent energy leaked continuously from the massive crack like fresh blood pouring from reality itself.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶—!?” one seasoned warrior shouted, stumbling back.
The sheer wave of raw demonic mana exploding from the new wormhole instantly knocked several exhausted archers completely unconscious.
𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗗.
𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗗.
𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗗.
Their bodies collapsed lifelessly onto the dirt.
Even the experienced mages staggered backward in deep fear, their knees shaking.
Far away, even Indra’s returning group felt the massive shockwave of mana.
Everyone in the eastern sector immediately stopped dead in their tracks.
Indra’s confident smile vanished entirely.
“…𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥.”
𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥.
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲—
Jatin stared around him in pure horror.
Unlike the others, he strangely hadn’t passed out from the crushing pressure.
Not because he secretly possessed legendary hidden powers.
𝗡𝗼.
It was simply because after spending years of his childhood hanging around Garvit’s subconscious aura, 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 had gradually, bit by bit, 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 to handling high mana pressure without him ever realizing it.
But even then—
His legs shook violently against the tree.
Because what his eyes were witnessing now…
Was far beyond human understanding.
The massive wormhole widened further, tearing the fabric of space.
Then—
Hands emerged from inside the crimson void.
Not human hands.
𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.
𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿-𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.
𝗚𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.
Then, a tidal wave of monsters crawled out of the tear.
𝗚𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘀.
𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀.
𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 with impossible, twisted body structures.
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻, 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀.
Some crawled violently on all fours, tearing up the mud.
Others walked upright like corrupted humans.
One massive creature had six glowing, unblinking red eyes.
Another dragged a heavy, brutal axe made entirely from human bones.
And all of them stopped, casting their gazes toward the remaining humans standing before them.
Hungry.
Jatin’s breathing completely stopped.
The army of monsters screamed together in unison.
The sound echoed violently across the entire forest.
A sound so utterly inhuman, so filled with malice, that it made his blood run ice-cold.
One young mage whispered shakily, his staff dropping from his hand—
“…𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦…”
Another took a step backward, tears of terror forming in his eyes.
“…𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚.”
Akira slowly grabbed the hilt of his sword, drawing the blade.
His hands trembled slightly against the steel.
Even he was scared.
Because this wasn’t an encounter their small, exhausted group was prepared for.
Not even close.
And standing right in the middle of all that unfolding horror…
𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻.
A completely normal human.
No magical powers.
No combat training.
No understanding of what was actually happening.
Only fear.
Pure, unadulterated fear.
Because now…
This was no longer some mysterious, cool secret hidden beautifully in the shadows.
No longer an exciting government conspiracy to capture on camera.
No longer a fun night of wildlife photography.
No longer a child’s imagination.
This—
𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹.