Cassian had left the inn, pressing forward into the dark of night.

Just then, the stone ground beneath his feet grated. Dozens of thick vines erupted from the earth, lunging at him, seeking to entangle him unawares.

But before they could even make contact, a sudden, intense wave of flame radiated from Cassian's body, incinerating them all to ash.

Cassian stopped and slowly looked back. Rose stood there, staff in hand, her face a dangerous mixture of anger, disappointment, and determination.

Just in front of her stood Rod, sword drawn, positioned defensively to protect her.

Then, to Cassian's left, Kael emerged from the shadows; the two daggers in his hands gleamed ominously in the moonlight. To his right, Eric appeared, bearing his shield and sword. And when he looked straight ahead, Hebi blocked his path, her sword aimed directly at him.

He was surrounded.

"I'm sorry, Cassian," Eric said. He was the first to speak, facing Cassian with his shield and sword. His voice was heavy, strained by the weight of confronting a friend. "But we can't let you go. You're not going anywhere until you tell Lord Fredrinn what you told us those terrible prophecies."

I scanned the five people surrounding me. "I don't want to hurt you," I said, my voice weary and devoid of emotion. "If you step aside, we can still part ways with the good memories we share. Otherwise..."

I slowly drew my black katana from its sheath. The rasp of steel split the night's silence like a scream.

I knew my situation was hopeless. Everyone here was powerful, an expert in their field.

Eric, a seasoned shield and sword warrior, possessed a Six-Star mana core; he had the skill and experience to defeat me in my current state all on his own.

And now, I stood alone against five experienced, coordinated mercenaries who had worked together for years.

I knew they wouldn't just let me walk away, not after I'd thrown the bitter truths of the future at them.

"I suppose... you've left me no other choice."

I slowly slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out the ominous, smooth black orb. Dr. Aris's memories... Even looking at this cursed object, pure hatred swelled in my chest.

This weapon, belonging to the monster who had once caused me untold suffering, was now in my hand. I hesitated to use it, knowing what entity resided within. But I had no other choice.

I tossed the orb into the air. "Come, Zagna!"

The orb stopped mid-air and suddenly cracked.

A dark energy burst from within, shifting its form. First, four massive arms appeared, each as thick as a helmed giant's, ending in long, razor-sharp claws.

Then, its enormous, five-foot-tall torso emerged. On its head sat four crude, mismatched horns of varying sizes and colors. Behind it, a long, scaled tail, reminiscent of a crocodile's and ending in a sharp spike, swished back and forth.

And where its face should have been... there was only a flat line of white, soulless light, glowing in the darkness.

Zagna dropped from the air, landing on two feet directly between me and the five mercenaries. The impact cracked the stone ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

Every one of them took an involuntary step back at the sight of this nightmarish monster. They had seen many beasts in their lives, but this was the first time they had encountered something that radiated such pure chaos and terror.

As if understanding their fear, I continued. "I'll say it again. Get out of my way. Or the consequences will not be good for you."

After a moment's hesitation, Eric was the first to charge, bolstering the others' courage.

Zagna met the blade with the claws of two of its four arms. The sound of metal on metal was ear-splitting. Simultaneously, it attacked Eric with its other two hands. Eric blocked the assault with his shield, but the force behind it was unimaginable. He felt the bones in his arms crackle.

The monster spun rapidly, whipping its massive tail like a scourge.

Eric, relying on his experience, defended himself with his shield at the last second, but this time the force of the blow sent him flying backward. He crashed into the wall of a nearby building, and a section of it collapsed.

The beast lunged at him again without pause. Eric dodged sideways at the last moment, avoiding the lethal claws, but this time the monster's kick landed squarely in his abdomen. Eric was launched into the air, coughing up blood.

"Eric!" Rose screamed. She quickly raised her staff, and vines erupted from the ground, catching Eric in mid-air and pulling him back to her, to a safe distance. "Rod! Protect us for 15 seconds!"

Rose quickly pulled a healing and a strengthening potion from her bag and forced them down the throat of Eric, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

Rod was now the only obstacle between the massive creature and Rose. He felt the sword in his hand begin to tremble with fear. He slapped himself hard across the face, steadying his nerves. "I can do this... I have to..." he whispered.

The huge monster, despite its size, was unbelievably fast. It appeared in front of Rod in an instant. Rod, as planned, pulled a small vial from his pocket and threw it at the glowing line where the monster's face should be. The creature snatched the vial out of the air with its tail and crushed it.

A dense, black cloud of smoke instantly billowed from the vial, shrouding the area. Rod moved quickly around the blinded monster, aiming his sword at what he believed was its weakest point: its legs, right at the heel. The sword barely cut through the thick hide and snagged when it hit the bone.

The monster roared in pain and swung a blind backhand into the smoke toward Rod. Rod tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. He tried to defend himself with his arm, to avoid a heavy blow. But the difference in power between them was that of a mountain and a pebble. Rod's arm broke with an audible snap under the impact. His defense shattered, he was sent flying like a rag doll by a reverse tail strike, landing near Rose.

He was out of the fight, but he had bought Eric and Rose the precious time they needed. Eric, empowered by the potions, staggered to his feet and charged forward again, shield and sword ready. He wouldn't lower his guard this time. This was no ordinary monster.

Meanwhile, my own battle had begun.

Hebi, ignoring the appearance of the monster, was the first to charge me. She thrust her sword straight at my heart. In that instant, I activated Stormheart mode. My body electrified, my reflexes sharpening. I met her attack with my katana. At first, Hebi seemed to have the advantage in raw strength, pushing my blade back. But then, I increased the power in my mana core and pushed her back forcefully.

"You...!" Hebi said, stunned.

"Yes, you guessed right. My mana core leveled up."

I swung my katana at Hebi. Simultaneously, I formed two ice lances and launched them at her from the left and right. Rose, spotting my magic from a distance, intercepted the ice lances with fireballs, shattering them in mid-air.

Hebi's sword and mine clashed again. But this time, instead of meeting my strength head-on, Hebi chose to redirect it. It was a masterful sword technique she had learned in the East. She deftly deflected the tip of my katana, causing it to plunge into the ground. Hebi capitalized on the opening, striking at my face with her elbow. But just then, a wall of spiked ice materialized in front of my face.

Hebi's elbow slammed into the sharp ice spikes, and she recoiled immediately, her face contorting in pain. I wrenched my katana free from the ground and swung a horizontal slash at her stomach. The blade cut cleanly across her abdomen. The wound wasn't deep, thanks to her quick leap backward.

Before she could recover, I conjured a Lightning Spear from the air and hurled it at her. Hebi swung her sword to block the spell, simultaneously leaping aside to escape its range.

But just as the Lightning Spear was about to hit her, it split into four pieces in mid-air, attacking Hebi from different directions.

Hebi managed to destroy two of the lances with her sword, but she could still feel the power of the lightning coursing through the blade and into her. The other two Lightning Lances struck her from the sides, causing her body to seize in agony.

In that moment of vulnerability, as she spasmed, I planted my fist square in the middle of her face. Hebi dropped to the ground, her nose broken and bloody.

Seeing Hebi fall, Kael abandoned his watch on Eric's fight with Zagna and attacked me with his daggers. He approached silently from behind, attempting to plunge a dagger into my shoulder. I spun quickly, parrying his attack with my katana. But Kael, a dual-wielder with an incredibly fast fighting style, was close to breaking my defense. He wielded his daggers expertly, trying to slip through every opening I showed. His feet never stayed still; I tried to direct my ice to freeze him, but by the time the ice formed, he had already moved.

I stopped another dagger thrust, this time with my bare hand. I let the dagger pierce straight through my palm. Before Kael could retract it, I grasped both the dagger and the hand that held it. I had no intention of letting him escape. With my other hand, I punched Kael in the stomach with all my strength. Kael tried to dodge, but he couldn't break my grip.

The punch landed like a sledgehammer. His breath hitched, and he crumpled to the ground, groaning.

Just then, I threw Kael's body onto Hebi, who was just struggling to her feet to charge me again. The two collided and collapsed in a heap. While they were weakened, I sealed them with chains of Chaos Flame. I could have used Void Decay, but that might have left... undesirable side effects.

I turned my gaze back to the chaotic battle raging in the night. Eric's shield was nearly shattered. His face was slick with sweat, blood streaming from his forehead. His posture was broken; it was clear he had several broken ribs. Rod stood aside, his arm bent at an unnatural, broken angle. He was out of the fight, gasping for breath, his own ribs likely broken as well.

And on the other side, Rose was desperately casting defensive and offensive spells.

I took a step toward Rose. It was time to end this fight.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.