𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 𝟮: 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 𝟮𝟮 – 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 of Akira’s raw, unrestrained mana tore through the dark battlefield like a raging tsunami, rewriting the very atmosphere of the forest.
𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 violently to their deepest roots.
𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 from their branches in a frantic green blur.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿, thick and suffocating to anyone breathing it.
Nearby 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 into the grass, unable to withstand the sheer pressure.
𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 instantly onto the muddy earth under the weight of the pressure alone, their weak hearts bursting.
Even the surviving, battle-hardened warriors felt 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗽 a terrifying beat as that overwhelming golden force washed over their exhausted bodies.
Akira stood tall right in the absolute middle of the bloody battlefield, 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 from a deep gash, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, broken and shattered.
Yet, despite looking like a corpse, he smiled.
A wild, completely exhausted smile that defied reality itself.
“𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨… 𝘉𝘌𝘊𝘈𝘜𝘚𝘌… 𝘐 𝘈𝘔… 𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌!!”
His guttural scream echoed through the entire stretching forest, tearing through the darkness.
For a brief, suspended moment, every single creature froze in its tracks.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗲 tonight—
𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 in an instant.
And in its cold place came something infinitely stronger.
𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲.
𝗔 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 tightened his bleeding grip on his wooden staff, sparks flying from the tip.
𝗔𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 archer slowly, agonizingly stood back up, wiping dirt from his eyes.
Even the young witches, whose internal mana reserves were nearly completely empty, straightened their backs once again.
Then, the battlefield exploded back into violent, frantic motion.
“𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘈𝘊𝘒!!”
Spells of every tier erupted across the dark forest, illuminating the horrific scene.
Flames roared like hungry dragons through the deep darkness.
Tornadoes of wind tore shattered trees cleanly from the ground, spinning them around.
Lightning crashed violently against the charging monsters with deafening, earth-shaking screams.
The very earth itself split apart beneath the heavy feet of the gigantic beasts.
Black and red blood soaked the battlefield entirely.
One massive, eight-eyed creature crouched low over a dead mage, tearing flesh apart with its jagged teeth.
It slowly lifted its head toward Akira, letting out a wet roar—
—and suddenly, a heavy steel dagger pierced straight through its central skull.
The monster collapsed instantly into the mud, its eyes glazing over.
Jatin stood right behind it, breathing heavily in ragged gasps as he pulled another bloodied dagger from the corpse of a fallen dwarf monster nearby.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴… 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨…”
Even while his entire body was shaking in pure, unadulterated fear, he forced his aching legs forward again.
Nearby, Indra ducked swiftly beneath the sweeping claws of a towering, skeletal beast.
The monster’s long nails carved cleanly through the cold air just millimeters above his head.
Indra stepped forward instantly, utilizing the momentum.
One dagger pierced deep into the chest of a lunging winged creature, twisting the blade.
Another dagger slashed across the leathery throat of a goblin trying to attack him from behind.
He twisted his agile body, kicked a heavy dwarf-like monster straight into a burning tree, then ripped his dagger free from the corpse in one smooth, practiced motion.
Foul blood sprayed across the dark ground.
Yet, he didn’t stop moving for a single fraction of a second.
Not even for a single breath.
Meanwhile, deeper in the chaotic battlefield, Jatin swung a broken iron war hammer toward a muscular half-beast charging wildly at him.
The thing looked absolutely horrifying up close.
Its body was 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸, 𝗳𝘂𝗿-𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗿-𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀.
𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲, 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿, 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗮𝘁.
𝗥𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱, 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 as black, acidic saliva dripped down its muscled body.
Jatin screamed in panic and smashed the heavy hammer directly into its split head.
𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞.
The monster stumbled backward, its skull cracked—
—and suddenly, out of the darkness, something thick wrapped violently around his torso.
“𝘈𝘙𝘎𝘏—!!”
A massive, serpent-like monster tightened its heavy tail around his body, squeezing the air from his lungs.
Jatin coughed out bright red blood instantly as his ribs groaned under the pressure.
The crushing pressure was completely unbearable.
It felt as though every single bone inside his fragile human body was being crushed apart into dust.
He kicked his legs wildly, gasping frantically for a single shred of air.
“𝙅𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙉!!”
Indra noticed him immediately from across the clearing and raised a fresh dagger—
—but before he could even throw it, a concentrated sphere of pure elemental energy blasted straight through the serpent woman’s face.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗠.
The creature’s entire head exploded apart in a shower of flesh and dark mana.
Its massive body loosened instantly and collapsed heavily to the ground, freeing the boy.
Indra froze, lowering his hand, and turned toward the direction of the sudden spell.
Several young witches stood panting between the burning trees, their hands glowing with residual magic, breathing heavily.
One of them gave a tired, trembling thumbs-up toward them.
“𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴… 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥… 𝘔𝘐… 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦…” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Akira glanced back at them through his one uninjured eye before grinning through the blood.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥! 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!”
He sliced cleanly through another charging beast and pointed his gleaming sword toward the remaining scattering monsters.
“𝘖𝘕𝘓𝘠 𝘌𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘓𝘌𝘍𝘛!!”
The exhausted warriors looked toward him, feeling a surge of final strength.
Akira raised his blade higher into the moonlit sky.
“𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘞𝘈𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘍𝘖𝘙!?! 𝘓𝘌𝘛’𝘚 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘔!!”
The witches grinned defiantly through their fatigue.
The mages roared, channeling their final spells.
Even Jatin, leaning against a tree trunk, forced out a shaky, bloody laugh.
Then, Akira dashed forward, his golden mana trailing behind him.
“𝙇𝙀𝙏’𝙎… 𝙒𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙎!!!”
And for the final, brutal time—
—the apocalyptic battle resumed with absolute fury.
Some fought 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.
Some fought 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 handsomely for their risk.
Some fought 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗻 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆.
Some fought 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 and had trained their entire lives for horrific moments like this.
And then— there was one complete, ordinary idiot who fought for absolutely none of those noble reasons.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 standing right beside him in the mud.
The battlefield became absolute chaos once again as the final eight monsters fought for survival.
Spells of fire and earth 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 heavily against sharp demonic claws.
Swords 𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗲 through tough, leathery flesh with wet sounds.
Desperate goblin screams echoed continuously through the burning forest.
Akira sliced apart two towering beasts with brutal, surgical precision, his single arm moving like a flash.
Indra grabbed a feral dwarf creature by its hairy leg, smashed it repeatedly against a large boulder, before burying a dagger straight through its skull.
Several witches protected Jatin’s blind spots, casting glowing defensive barriers around him whenever a beast drew too close.
Mages used their remaining spiritual chains to tightly bind the monsters long enough for the front-line warriors to run up and kill them.
One by one— 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 single 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹 to the ground.
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 disgusting 𝗴𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱.
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 mutated 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 completely 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.
Until finally— 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 to the clearing.
𝗔𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱
The entire forest smelled heavily of thick smoke, charred flesh, and coppery blood.
Several young witches carefully treated Akira’s severe wounds while he sat propped against a broken, blackened tree trunk.
One healed the deep gash on his forehead with a gentle green glow.
Another carefully repaired the shattered, broken bones in his left arm with advanced regeneration magic, causing him to wince.
Nearby, exhausted mages burned the mountain of monster corpses alongside destroyed trees and blood-covered, broken weapons to erase all evidence.
“𝘔𝘢𝘯… 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰…”
One completely exhausted mage complained loudly while dragging a heavy goblin corpse by its leg toward the fire pit.
A few archers who had been knocked out early slowly regained consciousness nearby, groaning as they held their heads.
“𝘋𝘐𝘋 𝘞𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘕!? 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘠 𝘎𝘖𝘕𝘌?!”
One of them instantly jumped up in a panic and nearly fired a stray arrow into the woods before another older archer smacked the back of his head hard.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘚𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.”
Tired, relieved laughter spread through the exhausted, bloodied survivors.
𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸.
𝗧𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲.
To them, this horrific secret life had already become completely normal over the years.
𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀.
𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 the night.
𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 the cycle.
In another quiet corner of the battlefield, Indra quietly collected his remaining silver daggers from the chests of various monster corpses, wiping them clean on the grass.
For the first time in hours— everything felt genuinely 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 — something small moved silently in the deep darkness of the unburned bushes.
𝗔 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 appeared between the thick trees, locked onto Indra’s back.
Indra froze as his spine went cold.
His elite instincts screamed inside his mind instantly, warning him of immediate danger.
“𝘞𝘈𝘐—!!”
It was 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲.
A gigantic, mutated 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 exploded from the shadows with terrifying speed and lunged directly toward his unprotected back.
Indra tried to twist his exhausted body to parry—
—but someone else moved first.
Just 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 they had survived 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼.
Just 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲.
𝗡𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in his steps.
𝗡𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵.
𝗡𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘄, 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
Jatin jumped directly in front of him, throwing his own body as a human shield.
𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛.
The monster’s massive claws pierced deeply through 𝗝𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵, tearing skin and muscle apart.
𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛.
Its powerful jaws closed tightly around his right shoulder, tearing through his arm.
For one horrific, frozen second— the entire active battlefield fell into absolute dead silence.
Jatin staggered backward, his face turning completely white.
𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 and rapidly from his ruined torso, staining the grass a deep crimson.
His single remaining hand weakly grabbed the beast’s thick, coarse fur as he 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 onto the ground.
Then—
“𝘈… 𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘙𝘎𝘏𝘏𝘏𝘏!!!”
His agonizing scream of pure pain tore through the entire forest, breaking everyone’s hearts.
Indra’s eyes widened to their absolute limits in sheer, unadulterated horror.
“𝙅𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙉!!! 𝙉𝙊!!!”
Before Jatin could even manage to form a single word— 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 beneath him.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘆 onto the dirt.
𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆.
Bright red blood spread quickly beneath his unmoving body 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿.
For one frozen, silent second— 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 in the clearing 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱, paralyzed by the sudden tragedy.
Then, Indra’s mind completely snapped.
𝗔 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 ripped out of his throat so violently it almost sounded like an inhuman monster itself.
With a burst of forbidden mana, he tackled the 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 with immense force 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 with his dagger.
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
Even long after the creature had stopped moving entirely and its skull was ruined— 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 in a blind frenzy of rage and grief.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, covered in thick gore.
His breathing was completely shattered into ragged sobs.
The steel dagger eventually got stuck deep inside the shattered bone of the corpse from the pure force of his blows.
Only then, gasping for air, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 his hands.
Indra stumbled blindly toward Jatin’s unmoving body and dropped heavily to his knees beside him.
“𝘖𝘪… 𝘖𝘪, 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱… 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺…”
His voice shook terribly, tears streaming down from beneath his mask.
He grabbed Jatin by his bloody shoulders and began shaking him desperately, his heart tearing apart.
“𝙒𝘼𝙆𝙀 𝙐𝙋!!”
No response came from the pale boy.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦… 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘵…!”
Indra looked around at the gathering crowd wildly, his eyes wide with madness.
“𝙒𝙄𝙏𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙎!! 𝙈𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙎!! 𝘼𝙉𝙔𝙊𝙉𝙀!! 𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆 𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙍 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀!!”
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱, breaking under the weight of his despair.
“𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘓 𝘏𝘐𝘔!! 𝘜𝘚𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘐𝘊!! 𝘘𝘜𝘐𝘊𝘓𝘠!!”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲 in their places, lowering their heads.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲, unable to look him in the eye.
Because every single person standing there knew the grim truth already.
Jatin’s skin had 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗲.
His wide eyes 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 or focused on anything.
Too much blood kept pouring rapidly from wounds 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹, 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲.
Indra pulled Jatin’s heavy, limp body tightly into his arms anyway, refusing to accept reality.
His own hands became completely 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
“𝘑𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯…”
His voice became smaller, dissolving into a whisper.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻.
“𝘑𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯… 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦…”
Then, finally, as the cold truth settled into his chest, Indra 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 into the night sky.
“𝙅𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙉𝙉𝙉!!!”