𝘼𝙧𝙘 𝟮: 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 𝟮𝟭 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙨.
𝗝𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻 stood there breathing heavily, blood from the monster still splattered across his face and clothes.
His hands trembled violently around the heavy iron handle of the broken war hammer, but he still forced out a shaky, defiant smile toward Indra.
Or rather—
𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘁.
He stretched out his hand through the lingering smoke.
Indra stared at him silently for a long second, processing the impossible reality of his ordinary best friend standing in the middle of a warzone, before finally grabbing it and pulling himself back onto his feet.
“𝘏-𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶—”
Jatin immediately cut him off, shaking his head and pointing a dirt-stained finger toward the braided thread bracelet wrapped around Indra’s left wrist.
“𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺,” he said between heavy, ragged breaths, wiping a streak of dark blood from his cheek, “𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”
For a brief moment, even in the middle of a horrific hell itself, an eerie silence passed between them.
It was not an awkward or tense silence.
It was the profound, unbroken understanding shared between two friends who had known each other for years, through boring classroom lectures and long walks home.
Then another twisted goblin screamed piercingly somewhere behind them, followed by the sound of tearing flesh.
Reality returned instantly.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” Jatin asked, his voice cracking slightly as he looked at the swelling horde.
Indra reached toward his leather weapon belt for another throwing dagger—
Then froze.
𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆.
Only five daggers remained in his entire arsenal, the rest scattered across the bloody battlefield.
His eyes narrowed to sharp slits beneath the fabric of his mask.
Jatin noticed the hesitation immediately.
He let out a loud, annoyed sigh and tightened his grip around the heavy iron hammer, adjusting his unstable stance.
“𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.”
A large goblin suddenly leapt toward them from a low-hanging branch, its wet mouth wide open to reveal row after row of jagged teeth.
Jatin reacted before the freezing sensation of fear could stop his muscles.
He stepped forward, put his entire body weight into the movement, and swung the iron hammer with both hands in a wild, horizontal arc.
𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞.
The heavy iron connected directly with the beast’s temple.
The goblin’s skull shattered instantly under the blunt force, its limp body collapsing lifelessly across the muddy forest floor.
Jatin stared down at the dead creature for half a second, breathing shakily as the vibration from the impact rattled up his arms.
Then he forced out a reckless smirk, trying to mask his terror.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”
He glanced sideways at Indra, his eyes wide but determined.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘰𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”
Indra noticed it then, beneath the brave words.
Jatin’s legs were 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 uncontrollably against the dirt.
His 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 and frantic.
His hands looked barely stable enough to even hold the heavy weapon without dropping it.
He was absolutely 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻.
But despite the overwhelming horror of the situation, he still stayed.
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 of mages and monsters.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
Just 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱.
Indra let out a quiet, emotional chuckle beneath his dark mask.
“𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,” he muttered while shifting his weight and taking his lethal, low-profile combat stance again.
“𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭.”
And then, with a synchronized burst of movement, both of them charged back into the chaotic battlefield.
A few meters away, Akira sliced cleanly through the muscular neck of a charging half-beast, letting the dark mana blood spray onto the grass before glancing toward the side.
His eyes widened in absolute disbelief at seeing Jatin swinging a war hammer right beside Indra.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦…?”
Before he could think any further or yell for the civilian to retreat, a massive, mutated creature lunged at him from the thick smoke.
Its claws were enormous and serrated, large enough to tear through reinforced armor plates like wet paper.
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚.
The immense physical impact shook the ground beneath his boots, sinking them inches into the mud.
The creature screeched an ear-piercing sound and pushed its weight down harder, trying to crush him.
Akira gritted his teeth, his muscles straining to the limit, before suddenly twisting his body at a sharp angle and delivering a mana-infused kick straight into the monster’s chest, sending it stumbling backward.
The beast lost its footing.
Akira instantly dashed forward, his blade transforming into a streak of silver light as he drove it straight through the open mouth of the creature.
The creature screamed violently, its internal organs rupturing—
Then, in a final, desperate act of malice, it lashed out blindly, its razor-sharp claws slashing Akira deeply across his torso.
“𝘈𝘎𝘏—!”
The sheer force of the strike threw Akira through the air like a ragdoll before he crashed violently against a thick, ancient tree trunk.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺, snapping several thick branches.
His precious sword 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗽 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱, clattering uselessly into the high grass.
Fresh, crimson blood slowly began running down 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗺, painting his uniform in a horrific red.
Then—
He stopped moving entirely.
An absolute, suffocating silence spread across the immediate battlefield.
For one long, agonizing second…
Everyone, both human and monster alike, waited for him to stand back up.
𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵.
𝗧𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹.
𝗧𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀.
But he didn’t.
He just lay there completely motionless against the roots as his lifeblood slowly soaked into the dry forest floor beneath him.
One of the active casting mages froze completely mid-spell, his glowing hands trembling.
His face went entirely pale.
“𝘐… 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢…”
His voice shook with a terrifying realization.
“𝘖𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦…”
Everyone’s eyes widened in pure, unadulterated horror as the anchor of their hope shattered.
“𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙍𝘼!!”
Indra immediately broke away from his position, trying to run through the brush toward his fallen comrade—
But dozens of aggressive, dwarf-like monsters surrounded him from every single direction, blocking the path with a wall of spears and teeth.
Jatin instantly jumped beside his friend, using his heavy momentum to swing his hammer at one of the encroaching beasts.
“𝘋𝘖𝘕’𝘛 𝘍𝘙𝘌𝘌𝘡𝘌!” he shouted desperately, trying to snap Indra out of his shock.
“𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨!”
One brave mage ran past the line toward Akira’s unmoving body and dropped to his knees, frantically channeling a bright green healing spell.
“𝘊’𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘺-𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦! 𝘈𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘢-! Wake up!”
Then, a monstrous, towering spider-like fiend dropped silently from the canopy above, its multiple red eyes gleaming.
It shot a stream of thick, sticky web, wrapping around the healer’s torso and pulling that mage violently toward its mandibles.
Before the screaming mage could even attempt to escape or cast a counter-spell, the giant spider bit his head clean off his neck with a sickening crunch.
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 — 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮
Far away from the bloody nightmare of the main battlefield, the oblivious 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 were still completely busy taking high-quality pictures of rare night birds and wild boars, completely unaware that hell itself had opened up just a kilometer away.
𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀, several elite witches watched the tourists nervously.
One whispered anxiously, her knuckles white against her staff,
“𝘚𝘰… 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’s 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯? The barrier won’t hold the sound much longer.”
Another witch peeked toward the laughing tourists nervously, her brow furrowed.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮… it would cause a city-wide panic.”
Suddenly, the leading witch snapped her fingers sharply through the darkness.
𝗔𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮.
“𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦…”
The others immediately understood the strategic intent.
Together, crossing their hands in unison, they began casting a wide-area illusion.
“…𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘣.”
A massive wave of specialized mana spread silently through the forest floor.
Suddenly, hundreds of massive, terrifyingly realistic illusionary beasts appeared between the trees, their eyes glowing wild.
𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀.
𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗠𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝘀.
𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲, thundering 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗲 of giant wild animals rushed directly toward the civilian camp.
𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 among the tourists.
People dropped their expensive cameras, screamed in absolute terror, and ran toward their jeeps and transport vehicles without a single second of hesitation. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Within minutes, engines roared to life, and the entire wildlife viewing area was completely empty.
The witches finally released long, exhausted breaths as the massive illusions dissolved into harmless green mist.
Then, without wasting a single breath, they immediately turned back toward the northern sector.
Because the real, blood-soaked nightmare was still waiting for them there.
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱
The massive red invasion gate had finally, painfully been sealed shut.
But 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 with it.
Because the dozens of terrifying monsters that had already successfully crossed over into reality were still very much alive and bloodthirsty.
𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱, circling the clearing like wolves.
The final group of mages who had successfully sealed the gate 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱, their skin pale and withered.
They had resorted to using 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲.
A strictly forbidden, suicidal spell that forcibly closed dimensional tears by 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁.**
Now, the few remaining survivors stood completely surrounded by a tightening circle of monsters, breathing in the stench of exhaustion, blood, and absolute despair.
Indra breathed heavily, his chest burning as he wiped a thick mixture of sweat and blood from his forehead.
His trusted daggers were completely gone, lost in the bodies of the slain.
Jatin’s heavy iron hammer had been shattered into useless metallic pieces between a massive monster’s stone-hard jaws moments ago.
Everywhere Indra looked through his blurred vision—
People were severely injured.
𝗗𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗕𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁.
𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹.
Then suddenly—
A sharp, winged creature lunged directly toward Indra’s exposed head from the high canopy above.
He barely managed to react, stepping inside its guard to stab it through the chest with a broken branch before another feral dwarf-monster leapt from behind his back and opened its wide, foul jaws toward his neck.
Before its teeth could sink into his flesh—
𝗔 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛.
The dwarf-monster was split into two perfect halves instantly, its black fluids spraying onto the grass.
Everyone, human and demon alike, froze in absolute shock.
Indra slowly, disbelievingly turned his body around.
And his breathing completely stopped.
𝗔𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
Thick, dark 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲, dripping from his chin.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆, 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 and broken 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗼.
Raw, golden 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 like steam from a broken engine.
But despite looking like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave—
𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲-𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗻.
The trademark grin that always appeared on his face whenever things became absolutely impossible to survive.
Akira picked up his heavy sword again with his remaining trembling fingers, adjusting his grip, and took a slow, agonizing step forward.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶…”
His voice shook with a deep, systemic exhaustion, but the intent was pure steel.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶…”
He pointed the tip of his bleeding blade directly toward the centering horde of monsters.
“𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘏𝘜𝘙𝘛 𝘔𝘠 𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘋𝘚?”
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆,creating a physical shockwave that blew back the dirt.
The remaining monsters actually 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 a pace instinctively, feeling the sudden, overwhelming pressure of a predator.
Akira’s bloody grin widened to its limits.
“𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘒 𝘈𝘎𝘈𝘐𝘕.”
He slowly, majestically raised his heavy sword toward the night sky.
“𝘉𝘌𝘊𝘈𝘜𝘚𝘌…”
The entire burning forest itself seemed to hold its breath as the wind stopped.
“𝘐 𝘈𝘔 𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘓𝘓…”
𝗔 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, illuminating the entire night.
“𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀!!”