𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝗔𝗿𝗰 𝟮: 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝘼𝙧𝙘.
𝘾𝙝 𝟮𝟬 — 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩.
The horde of monsters stared viciously at the few humans standing defiantly before them.
Then, they screamed.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀.
It sounded like 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 crying together in agonizing pain inside a deep cave filled with endless echoes.
The horrifying vibration traveled through the air, causing the nearby birds to instantly fly away from the treetops in sheer terror, while wild animals deeper in the forest ran blindly in a frantic panic to save themselves.
Even the solid ground itself seemed to shake violently from the pure weight of those inhuman, monstrous voices.
Jatin’s entire body froze right against the tree bark.
His breathing became shallow and uneven while he stared at the nightmarish creatures crawling out from the newly formed invasion gate, one after another, as if a dam of pure malice had broken open.
𝗚𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘀.
𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀.
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀.
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿.
And every single one of them looked hungry.
Very hungry.
One particularly grotesque goblin suddenly tilted its head sharply toward the tied-up boy.
Its yellow, bloodshot eyes widened with immediate excitement as it caught the scent of weak, unarmored civilian flesh.
Then, it grinned.
A disgusting, rotten grin that exposed rows of jagged, black teeth dripping with foul saliva.
The goblin shrieked in absolute delight and sprinted directly toward Jatin, its movements a blur of manic speed.
Jatin’s eyes widened in pure horror as his mind went completely blank.
”𝘏-𝘏𝘦𝘺—!”
The frantic cry had barely left his lips before the goblin leaped into the air, its sharp claws aimed directly at his exposed throat.
𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚.
A brilliant arc of steel sliced through the creature instantly.
The goblin’s small body split cleanly into two bloody pieces midair before collapsing heavily onto the dirt floor right beside Jatin’s feet.
Dark, foul-smelling blood splattered violently across the dirt, some droplets hitting Jatin’s clothes.
Jatin immediately covered his mouth with his tied hands and choked back a sob, nearly vomiting on the spot from sheer disgust and the sudden proximity of death.
His trembling eyes slowly lifted upward through the darkness.
And 𝗦𝗮𝘄 𝗛𝗶𝗺.
𝗔𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 stood firmly in front of him with his long sword raised, the edge of the blade dripping with fresh black blood.
His stance was rock-firm.
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.
Like an unbreakable wall standing between humanity and hell itself.
For a brief moment, through Jatin’s utterly terrified and tear-filled eyes—
Akira looked like the 𝘀𝘂𝗻 itself protecting innocent, fragile planets from dangerous, all-consuming 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀.
”𝙒𝙄𝙏𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙎!” Akira shouted at the top of his lungs, never keeping his sharp eyes locked off the monsters emerging from the gate for even a fraction of a second.
Another skinny, long-armed monster lunged toward him instantly, its bladed fingers whistling through the cold night air.
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚.
Akira blocked the heavy claw strike with his primary blade, sparks flying in the dark, before quickly pulling a secondary knife from his belt and driving it straight into the creature’s black heart.
The monster screamed an ear-piercing cry and collapsed into a useless heap.
”𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘺!” he ordered loudly to the remaining active personnel.
Several nearby witches immediately nodded, swallowing down their own rising panic.
Akira looked back over his shoulder toward the circle of mages still standing directly near the pulsing invasion gate.
”𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 sealing 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaotic din.
Then his tone hardened to pure steel.
”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴!”
Everyone immediately moved according to the command, the discipline of their harsh training overriding their exhaustion.
Some mages began channeling complex sealing spells toward the massive wormhole, sending rings of glowing mana to suppress the tear.
While the others joined the brutal vanguard battle beside the front-line mana warriors.
Powerful spells lit up the dark forest in a chaotic, blinding display of elemental power.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲.
𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱.
𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.
𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Meanwhile, several agile witches quickly grabbed the unconscious archers who had been knocked out by the initial mana shockwave, hoisting them forcefully onto their shoulders.
One of them rushed to the tree, cut the ropes binding Jatin with a swift flick of her wrist, and lifted him forcefully by his arm.
”𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦!”
Before they escaped into the safety of the deeper brush, Akira glanced back one final time, his face covered in sweat and grime.
”𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,” he shouted while ducking beneath a massive bone axe that shattered a nearby boulder
“𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰! 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵!”
The witches gave a sharp nod and immediately began running deeper into the thick woods, dragging Jatin along.
Behind them—
The terrifying sounds of a full-scale battle exploded once again into the night sky.
𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.
And Akira remained standing directly in the center of all that horrific madness like a lone, unyielding warrior absolutely refusing to fall.
Jatin looked back over his shoulder as he was pulled away, his body shaking violently from pure fear and adrenaline.
”𝘏-𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙣…?”
The witch carrying him along glanced down at his pale face briefly as they leaped over thick brambles.
Despite the clear fear visible in her own young eyes…
She smiled gently, trying to offer whatever comfort she could.
”𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦,” she whispered softly while tightening her grip on his arm to keep him from tripping, “𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚.”
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁
Running blindly through the dark paths, the fleeing witches finally reached the eastern clearing where Indra’s vanguard group was heading back from their own clean-up operation.
The moment Indra noticed the terrified expressions on the faces of the arriving retreat team—
Then his eyes scanned the small group, and he saw Jatin running along with them, disheveled and covered in dirt.
His eyes widened to their absolute limits beneath his concealment mask.
”…What the hell happened?”
One witch collapsed to her knees, struggling desperately to breathe properly after the sprint.
”𝘈-𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦… 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴…”
𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
Every single member of the eastern group froze dead in their tracks.
Even the most experienced, battle-hardened warriors looked completely shaken to their core.
Because invasion gates were not minor incidents—they were 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 if left unchecked for even a single hour.
Indra immediately stepped forward, his casual demeanor evaporating into raw authority.
”𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺!”
He pointed a commanding finger toward the exhausted witches who had arrived from Akira’s front line.
”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶,” he ordered while drawing his dual daggers, the metal gleaming coldly under the moon, “𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.”
His sharp eyes hardened behind the dark fabric of his mask.
”𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘯.
𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘼𝙠𝙞𝙧𝙖.”
Nobody hesitated for a single beat.
The gravity of an invasion gate meant there was no room for second-guessing.
Everyone immediately turned and began sprinting back toward the northern sector at maximum speed.
As Indra passed directly beside Jatin to lead the charge—
Jatin’s eyes caught something small on the warrior’s wrist.
𝗔 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁.
A simple, braided blue-and-black thread bracelet wrapped tightly around Indra’s left wrist.
It was a piece of cheap jewelry that Jatin recognized instantly.
Because he himself had bought it from a local street vendor and gifted 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼 to his best friend.
Jatin’s eyes widened in utter disbelief as the world around him seemed to slow down.
𝘕𝘰…
𝘕𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘺.
His thoughts immediately began violently rejecting the absurd idea popping into his head.
𝘏-𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺…
𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮… 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘴…
But the more he stared at the retreating figure of the masked warrior—
The more completely impossible it became to deny the blinding truth.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁-𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.
Everything that had seemed strange over the past few years suddenly started connecting together perfectly inside his head like pieces of a complex puzzle falling into place.
The unexplainable memories.
Garvit disappearing randomly for days without any real explanation.
His bizarrely specific knowledge about ancient weapons and combat history.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘀 whenever something fell or dropped near him.
The faint, deep scars across his back and arms that he had once clumsily tried to hide during physical education class by claiming he fell off a bicycle.
Jatin slowly stepped backward in complete, paralyzing shock as his reality shattered.
The witch holding his arm to guide him toward the exit tightened her grip firmly.
”𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.
𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 perimeter.”
But Jatin barely heard a single syllable coming out of her mouth anymore.
His heartbeat thundered like a wild drum inside his chest cavity.
It was no longer from the fear of the monsters.
It was from a sudden, staggering realization.
And then came the worry.
Pure, agonizing worry.
Because if Garvit was truly the person behind that fearsome mask…
Then his ordinary, quiet best friend was currently running headfirst into a slaughter to fight those terrifying demons.
Jatin slowly but firmly pushed the witch’s restraining arm away from his torso.
Then he took another step back into the dark path.
And another.
With every backward step, flashes of countless mundane memories exploded inside his mind.
𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝗸𝗲𝘀 in the back row of the classroom.
Eating 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘀 from the street stall while complaining about the heat after grueling coaching classes.
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗲𝘀 and comic books on the long walk home.
𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝗴 and actually 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 together one day.
His chest tightened so painfully it felt like he was suffocating.
His best friend wasn’t ordinary.
His best friend was out there dying in secret while everyone else lived a normal life.
Then, suddenly—
Before the witches could react, Jatin turned and ran.
”𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏!
𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀!” the leading witch shouted in total frustration.
She immediately raised her hand, her palm glowing with restrictive magic.
”𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴!”
A vibrant, intricate green mana circle formed instantly behind her back.
Several snakes of magical white chains shot forward through the air toward Jatin at high speed, aiming to bind his ankles.
But the sheer influx of raw panic and survival adrenaline pushed Jatin’s ordinary human body much harder and faster than ever before in his life.
He threw his weight sideways, dodging the incoming chains clumsily by throwing himself into a bush, before scrambling back up and disappearing completely deeper into the pitch-black forest.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗔𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲
The central clearing of the northern sector had turned into an absolute, unadulterated nightmare.
The entire forest floor was literally 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱, turning the soil into a gruesome, muddy swamp.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻, 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 fiercely from stray elemental magic explosions, casting dancing, demonic shadows over the clearing. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀 of all shapes and sizes littered the ground, piled high beside the tragic forms of several 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀 who hadn’t been quick enough.
Five powerful mages were already confirmed dead, their broken staffs resting beside them.
And despite all their desperate sacrifices, the towering crimson invasion gate still remained wide open, pulsing with dark energy.
Akira stood like a battered titan in front of the remaining active spellcasters, serving as their final human shield.
His breathing had grown incredibly heavy, his chest rattling with every breath.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁 from the continuous, heavy impact of parrying demonic strikes.
His uniform and hair were heavily stained with dark blood—𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁.
But he still absolutely refused to take even a single step back from his position.
Because directly behind his bleeding back—
Several surviving mages continued to pour every drop of their remaining life force into trying to seal the violent wormhole.
And if they failed to hold the line…
The invasion would spill into the city, and everything would end tonight.
A wild goblin suddenly managed to flank Akira, jumping high into the air toward his blind spot with its teeth bared.
But before Akira could spin his heavy sword around to counter the surprise attack—
𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗞.
A heavy silver dagger pierced straight through the center of the goblin’s skull with pinpoint precision, pinning its dead weight against a burning tree trunk.
Akira blinked in genuine surprise.
Then, he slowly turned his head toward the southern path where the sudden throw had originated.
Indra stood there at the edge of the clearing, his chest heaving as he caught his breath.
Behind his back stood the remaining reinforcements of warriors and mages from the eastern division.
Akira smirked tiredly, a faint spark of relief returning to his eyes.
”𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸,” he muttered, spitting out a bit of blood from his cheek, “𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢.”
Indra caught a returning dagger in his palm, rolling the hilt casually between his fingers.
”𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦,” he replied with a sharp, defiant grin visible beneath his dark mask, “𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Then, with a shared nod, both groups charged forward into the fray together.
And the entire chaotic battlefield exploded into violence once again.
𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀.
𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱-𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
One front-line warrior 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗺 to a beast’s jaws, crying out before being pulled back.
A small squad of goblins got 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰.
A massive winged beast crashed violently from the stormy sky 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀.
Pure, unbridled chaos swallowed the senses.
Indra dashed fluidly between the towering monsters with terrifying, practiced speed.
His twin daggers moved like blinding flashes of silver lightning through the shadows.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝘁.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
But suddenly, as the sheer numbers began to overwhelm his positioning—
𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 managed to jump onto his exposed back from a low branch behind him.
”𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙃—!”
Their sharp, corrupted teeth bit deeply into his unprotected shoulder and the side of his neck, tearing through fabric and flesh.
Indra staggered forward from the sudden, agonizing weight before violently throwing his body backward into a tree trunk to crush them.
He stabbed one directly through its open, biting mouth before kicking another forcefully into a nearby fire.
But the exact moment he tried to regain his balance and look back up—
𝗔 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 charged straight out of the smoke toward him.
It was easily 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻, its skin like hardened stone.
Before Indra could raise his daggers into a defensive guard, the creature’s massive, tree-trunk arm slammed heavily into his torso and sent him flying backward, crashing violently onto the hard ground.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗠.
Indra coughed violently, a spray of bright red blood spilling from his lips as the wind was entirely knocked out of him.
The heavy creature roared in triumph and raised its massive, spiked claw directly over his head to deliver the killing blow.
Akira noticed the danger from across the clearing and looked back instantly, his eyes widening in pure panic.
”𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙍𝘼!!”
But Akira himself was completely trapped, fighting off several elite skeletal monsters at once.
Nobody on the entire battlefield could reach Indra’s position in time to save him.
The giant monster brought its terrifying claw down with full, crushing force.
Then—
𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆, 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 suddenly echoed through the noise of the clearing.
Someone had 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻, 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 from the bloody grass and was 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 with everything he had.
Indra barely managed to turn his blurry, aching head toward the sound.
Then—
𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗛.
The heavy iron hammer smashed directly into the side of 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝘂𝗴𝗹𝘆, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝘂𝗹𝗹.
The sheer physical impact was so immense it practically shook the ground beneath them.
The towering creature’s eyes rolled back, and its entire massive body collapsed instantly beside Indra’s trembling form.
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱.
A thick wave of dark monster 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, coating the grass and the savior.
For a long, surreal second—
Everything became completely silent inside Indra’s ringing mind.
Because there standing over the beast’s corpse…
𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱…
Breathing in ragged, terrified gasps while gripping the heavy iron handle 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀…
𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻.
Indra’s eyes widened to their absolute limits beneath the dark fabric of his wet mask.
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸.
𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳.
𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿.
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 inside his soul.
Jatin slowly lowered his gaze down to meet the eyes of his masked best friend.
Then, despite the tears of sheer terror leaking down his blood-stained cheeks, he forced out a breathless, trembling smile.
”𝘠𝘰… 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙩.”