As Kai’s group, the prisoners, and Hansen’s party readied themselves for the march to Fallhaven, the sky turned violent. Thunder rolled across the horizon like distant drums of war. A storm was coming, and with it, Florian and his monsters.

  Florian descended from the clouds atop a grotesque, bat-like abomination. Its face was twisted into a snarling bat’s visage, its wings vast and leathery, and its serpentine body coiled and writhed beneath him.

  A creature born of nightmare, crafted not for beauty or function, but for domination.

  It had once held a human soul. Now, it was nothing but a mount for its master.

  “Children,” Florian rasped, his voice thin and sharp like broken glass, “we are close. I expect nothing less than total annihilation. I sense twenty still within the facility.”

  Rat chuckled, “Fools. They should’ve fled when they had the chance.”

  The higher ranks gathered behind Tweek, cowls falling from their heads in silent reverence.

  Their mana pulsed with malice, thickening the air like smoke before a fire.

  Each of the six looked different; their mana exuded malice.

  Next to the Boar and the Viper stood four more, each monument to Florian’s twisted genius:

  The tallest one of them wore a bear's pelt over his human torso; his bear-like head glistened over the falling sun.

  Next to him stood a woman; she looked deceptively human until one noticed the massive scorpion stinger arching from her back, dripping venom onto the earth.

  The third was a hawk-nosed figure, his skeletal frame fused with enormous bird wings that twitched with anticipation.

  And the last was the most ominous of them all, pure shadow, no flesh, no bone. Just a void where a body should be, with two glowing red eyes burning like coals in the dark.

  They knelt before Florian, not as soldiers, but as worshippers.

  “We await your commands, master!” they yelled in perfect unison, their voices echoing like a ritual chant.

  Florian raised one withered hand. Green summoning magic circles ignited across the valley, casting eerie light over the once peaceful meadow.

  From the depths of the magic, hundreds of gray, malformed creatures emerged, limbs bent wrong, eyes vacant, mouths agape in silent agony.

  “Viper. Scorpio, take these and secure the area around the woods.

  A small viper-like girl hissed, “Yes, master.” She and the scorpion woman scattered around the valley, guiding the gray horrors like shepherds of death.

  He would let none escape.

  “Boar. Bear. Hawk. You three will lead the assault on the facility.”

  Another wave of monsters erupted from the summoning circles, fewer in number, but far more grotesque.

  Thirty flesh golems, each a towering mass of muscle and sinew, stitched together from the remains of humans and beasts.

  The trio nodded and marched into the forest, their golems trailing behind like a living avalanche.

  “Shadow. Tweek. Stay with me. We will watch... and wait.”

  A massive mana screen shimmered into existence before them, casting a sickly green glow over the valley.

  Through it, the battlefield unfolded, soon to be drenched in blood and fire.

  ***

  Kai was about to lead the group outside when a chill ran down his spine. He felt them, approaching fast. His spirit sense had never been turned off. He trusted no one, and now, that paranoia had paid off.

  “Everyone, prepare for battle,” he said, voice sharp and steady. “We’re under attack. Thirty lesser enemies, knight level. Three stronger ones… peak knight level.”

  Gasps rippled through the group. Faces paled.

  It needed to be understood that Knight-level figures were very few in the southern lands; To reach such a level meant reforging one’s body through immense resources, talent, and luck. Down here, where survival was a daily struggle, progress was a luxury few could afford.

  Of the seven prisoners, all of them were at the Apprentice level, which was enough to hunt beasts and survive, but not enough to face what was coming.

  From Hansen’s party, the twins and Kran were also Apprentices. The barbarians barely scraped into Knight level. Thorpe and Hansen stood at mid-Knight level.

  Harrietta was the anomaly, a five-circle Magus, on the cusp of her sixth. But even she needed time and mana crystals to ascend.

  Adepts and Mages were rarer than fighters. One needed to be gifted enough to manage to form circles but also smart enough to understand more complex spells and formulas. That’s why for every hundred fighters there would be maybe one mage on the continent, if that.

  Kai knew that the situation was grave.

  “Bjorn, stay here with the others and protect Lisa. Scry stay as well, but if anything happens, pull them into Arcanum and hide. “

  “Umbra,” he said, turning to his beast, “we fight.”

  “Finally,” she purred, her voice laced with excitement. “Time to stretch my wings.”

  She truly loved to fight.

  Lisa watched them prepare. A familiar dread clawed at her chest, the same feeling she had when her parents died.

  Scry gently patted her head. “Don’t worry. Brother Kai doesn’t lose easily.” Scry truly believed that. Especially after the fight with Lupus.

  Kai turned to Hansen. “What will you do?”

  “We fight,” Hansen replied, his tone grim. “You hired us, but we need to survive as well.”

  “Kran, twins, you three will stay here. It’s too dangerous. The rest follow me.”

  He led the others toward Harrietta, who was already outside, her mana flaring like wildfire.

  “This is bullshit,” one twin muttered.

  “Why can’t we help? We’re fast!” the other protested.

  Hansen spun around, voice thunderous. “You’ll die out there. Stay put. That’s an order.”

  The twins fell silent; lips curled in frustration.

  Kran said nothing, but his eyes burned with quiet defiance.

  Kai caught the look and whispered as he passed, “Don’t even think about it. I’ll protect her.”

  He understood the boy. They were likely the same age, but Kai had walked through hell, while Kran was still learning what fire felt like.

  Kai and Umbra led the others out.

  Outside, Harrietta prepared for a fight as well, her mana crackling in the air; she had sensed the incoming waves of enemies.

  “Just my fucking luck,” she growled. “Leave the village for the first time in years and get ambushed by monsters from hell.”

  “Boy, tell me what you can do fast. I need to make plans fast.” She screamed at Kai.

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  “You don’t need to worry about me,” Kai said calmly. “I’ll handle most of it. But if you must know, my body’s at peak Knight level and I’ve formed two circles.”

  The others stared at him like he was the monster.

  “Bloody hell, boy, no wonder you are confident. Which mana do you train in?” She asked, a little bit warmer now. She appreciated strength.

  “Water, light, fire, thunder.” He casually replied.

  Silence.

  “Holy shit!” First time you could hear Hansen curse, probably ever.

  Harrietta laughed, wild and unhinged. “I knew you had it in you, Hansen. And boy, I’m starting to feel sorry for the enemy. I use fire. So, if you hear me scream spell names, stay out of the way.”

  Kai smiled and jumped on Umbra as they soared into the sky.

  Hansen didn’t have time to be amazed as he prepared a position on one of the towers and pulled out his bow and arrows. “Sparrow, be my eyes, Hunter’s Vision!” he summoned his spirit.

  The barbarians roared, their axes glowing with yellow earth mana as they charged behind Kai and Umbra.

  Thorpe melted into the shadows, daggers drawn, his innate ability cloaking him in darkness. He wasn’t fully human either.

  Harrietta strode forward, casting a mid-grade fire spell. Her battle staff blazed crimson. Though her body was only at Apprentice level, years of combat had forged her into something more.

  Kai flew toward the three strongest monsters, leaving the golems to the others.

  “Umbra, I’ll take two. You take one. Kill it fast and help the rest.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, her voice gleaming with bloodlust.

  ***

  Boar and Bear tore through the forest like living siege engines, trees splintering and crashing around them. Hawk soared above, his necrotic wings trailing black mist, blotting out the last bits of sunlight.

  They were moments away from reaching the facility when they saw it, man and beast, flying straight toward them.

  Boar laughed, a guttural, twisted sound. “Fools. Rushing to their deaths.”

  His mana surged, thick and malicious. His body twisted grotesquely, bones cracking and flesh warping until he stood five meters tall, a monstrous black boar. His tusks glowed red-hot, ready to crush anything in his path.

  Beside him, Bear roared. His transformation was worse. Eight meters tall, his body swelled with muscle and rage. A draconic spine erupted from his back, ending in a skeletal tail that lashed the air. His claws shimmered with dark mana, each swipe promising death.

  Hawk didn’t transform. He rose higher, summoning magic circles in the sky. Wind converged into a massive ten-meter lance, glowing with pale green fury. With a cry, he hurled it toward Kai and Umbra.

  The lance tore through the air, ripping apart the landscape below. Trees exploded. Earth split.

  Kai leapt from Umbra’s back mid-flight, his body glowing with red moonlight. His quasi-aura flared, and with a single slash, he cleaved the lance in two. The wind mana detonated around him, but his Blood Moon held firm. Not a scratch was left on his shadow armor.

  The Hawk couldn’t believe what he saw. One of his strongest spells was destroyed like that.

  Before he could react, Umbra was upon him, claws covered in darkfire, slashing with precision and fury. Blades of sharp mana followed each strike, raining down like death.

  Hawk shielded himself with his enormous wings, unnatural things, gifted by Florian himself. The darkfire struck, but the wings held. They were his strongest defense.

  Umbra snarled, unleashing a flurry of slashes. Still, the wings held.

  Then Hawk cast again. A tornado erupted around him, swirling violently, forcing Umbra to retreat. The wind howled, distorting the air, making flight nearly impossible.

  Seizing the moment, Hawk launched a barrage of spells, compressed wind discs flew, cutting through the air with lethal precision.

  Boreal Disc was a mid-level spell that used the destructive nature of wind mana and compressed it into pure elemental weapons.

  Umbra twisted mid-air, vanishing into the shadows just before impact. The discs tore through her clone, which exploded in a burst of darkfire and smoke.

  Hawk smirked. He thought he’d won.

  ***

  While Umbra and Hawk clashed in the skies, Kai charged the two monstrous beasts below.

  The Boar roared and lunged, his massive frame tearing through the forest like a battering ram. Fire surged from his tusks, engulfing his body in a blazing inferno. Trees exploded into splinters as he bulldozed forward, a living catastrophe.

  Kai didn’t flinch. He raised his hand and cast Poison Jet, pouring mana into the spell until the magic circle expanded to two meters wide. A compressed stream of toxic water erupted, colliding with the Boar mid-charge.

  Steam hissed as poison met flame. A thick, corrosive mist enveloped the beast, eating away at its hide. The Boar staggered, blinded and choking, thrashing violently.

  Kai left the boar struggling in the poison and rushed the Bear, who stood like a mountain of muscle and bone. The Bear’s maw opened wide, and his draconic spine and tail pulsed with dark mana.

  A beam of compressed darkness tore through the air, warping reality around it.

  Kai countered with a dual slash, lightning and water, his blade crackling and hissing. The clash sent shockwaves through the ruined forest, forcing Kai back several meters.

  He landed hard, skidding across the scorched earth.

  The beasts were stronger than expected.

  He rose slowly, eyes scanning the battlefield. The forest was gone, reduced to ash and ruin.

  Behind him, the others fought desperately.

  Hansen stood atop a broken tower, firing arrows laced with poison. Each shot struck a golem’s weak point, slowing their advance, but they regenerated, relentlessly.

  The barbarians worked together, hacking at one golem’s legs. It collapsed, and they moved in, decapitating it with brutal precision. Without its head, it couldn’t regenerate further and died.

  Thorpe darted through the chaos, blades flashing. He sliced through golems with surgical speed, disrupting their healing with shallow but strategic cuts.

  It was all part of Harrietta’s plan.

  She stood at the center of the battlefield, her staff glowing red-hot. Her chants reached a crescendo as a massive sun formed above her, radiating pure fire mana.

  “Move now, bastards!” she roared.

  Thorpe and the barbarians retreated behind her just as she raised her staff.

  “Fire be my guide. Rays of sunlight, burn my enemies, Royal Sunlight!”

  The fiery sun responded, unleashing beams of solar fire wherever she pointed.

  Golems ignited, screamed, and crumbled to ash.

  The remaining golems hesitated. They saw their brethren die and faltered.

  Harrietta didn’t stop. She unleashed another volley, incinerating half of the remaining horde.

  “Hansen, now!” she shouted.

  Hansen had prepared three sets of silver arrows; each arrow was made of a mysterious metal. He shot them through the burning sun.

  The arrows absorbed the solar magic mid-flight and landed among the retreating golems.

  A flash of yellow and red colored the area as they detonated.

  The forest lit up. Golems disintegrated. Flames consumed the battlefield.

  The night sky darkened as rain began to fall, hissing against the scorched earth.

  Harrietta staggered, her staff trembling. She had spent everything on that spell.

  The barbarians rushed to her side, catching her before she collapsed. Thorpe followed, silent and sharp.

  “You did well, bastards,” she laughed weakly, her voice hoarse.

  Hansen looked at her, something stirring in his chest.

  “Maybe loving such a woman wouldn’t be so bad after all.”

  ***

  Hawk saw the explosion rip through their golems and panicked. He began casting another Wind Lance, not bothering to confirm if Umbra had survived.

  That was his mistake.

  She moved through the shadows and lunged from the closest ones to the Hawk. Her whips of shadow lashed out, binding Hawk’s wings and limbs before he could finish his spell or retreat behind his defenses.

  Dark magic circles spun around her, glowing with malevolent energy.

  Beams of pure darkfire erupted, drilling through Hawk’s body. He screamed as he plummeted to the ground, his form twitching and broken.

  Umbra hovered above, watching. Waiting as the dust settled.

  Then came the screech.

  Hawk’s body began to regenerate, holes closing, flesh reforming. Green mana surged through him, his wings expanding grotesquely. His entire form twisted into a monstrous, massive, dark green hawk.

  Umbra smiled coldly. She wouldn’t let him finish his transformation.

  She summoned a barrage of Darkfire Novas, orbs of darkfire burned hot and cold, crackling with lightning.

  With a wave of her paw, the orbs descended, detonating across Hawk’s mutating body.

  Each explosion tore through flesh and bone. Hawk tried to regenerate, but the darkfire clung to him, burning not just his body, but his soul.

  He screamed, a sound that echoed through the valley, as the rain hissed against the burning pile of twisted remains.

  ***

  Far away in the valley.

  Florians faced a darkened; He hadn’t expected this level of resistance.

  “Shadow,” he said coldly, “prepare for Option B.”

  He tossed a container of glowing green liquid into the shadowy figure beside him.

  The figure absorbed it silently and vanished, merging into Florian’s own shadow.

  Tweek shivered. He didn’t know what Option B was, but he knew it wasn’t good.

  ***

  Back on the battlefield, Kai sensed that Umbra and Harrietta had finished their enemies.

  He smirked. He felt like he was falling behind.

  His Thunder Tree surged, pumping lightning mana through his draconic channels. His body crackled with energy, hair spiking outward.

  He awoke his fire tattoo, and flames enveloped his blade as lightning crackled around it.

  Deep within, his Thunderfire Circle awakened, merging the two elements into one devastating force.

  He felt powerful, unstoppable. A deep desire for destruction awoke inside his soul as a draconic wolf stirred inside his tattoo.

  The Boar, still alive, roared in fury. His burning black body evaporated the falling rain, steam rising around him.

  Before he could charge again, Kai vanished in a thunderclap. Where he’d stood, a crater remained.

  He reappeared beside the Boar, whispering:

  “Goodbye.”

  As he struck with Thunderfire. The destructive force enveloped the monster and obliterated him without much effort. Only huge tusks still burning were left behind.

  Easy, let's kill more. The second circle whispered to him, feeding his hunger...

  He dashed toward the Bear, who had just finished preparing his next attack.

  A cannon-like explosion erupted, a beam of darkness, faster and stronger than before.

  The attack was fast, but not faster than lightning. Kai dodged and dashed, casting his own spell.

  “Thunderfire – Ignis!”

  His draconic body roared as the flames surged around his blade, forming a dragon’s breath.

  He plunged the sword into the Bear’s chest and released the fire, cooking him from the inside.

  The monster screamed with mortifying sounds as he collapsed dead, his massive body now just an empty shell.

  Kai laughed, wild and unrestrained, as Umbra landed beside him.

  “Brother, control it. Don’t let it consume you. You are the dragon's inheritor, not a power-hungry wolf.” Her voice cut through the haze.

  Her voice cut through the haze.

  Kai blinked, then sighed. “Sorry, Umbra… I let the power guide me. Second time now.”

  He deactivated his Thunderfire mana, the glow fading.

  “I need time to strengthen my mind, to control the destructive force inside me.”

  He calmed himself and scanned the battlefield.

  Behind them, silence. All enemies lie dead.

  But ahead, hundreds of minions, four powerful mana signatures, and one that felt like a master.

  Kai narrowed his eyes.

  “This isn’t over yet. Let’s go make the bastard that started all this pay.”

  He led Umbra forward into the storm.