As the battle ended, we returned to camp. The legion gathered for reports and debriefings before dispersing to our quarters. Vina and Jaden approached Victor and me, their faces weary but resolute.
The conversation soon turned personal as we shared our reasons for joining the Order.
When they learned we were from Paxluma, a heavy silence fell over the group. They exchanged knowing looks Vina murmured, "My condolences."
When I turned the question back on them, Jaden exhaled and said, "We just wanted our normal lives back, that’s all." His voice was low but firm.
They revealed that they had once served in the kingdom’s army, stationed in the peaceful town of Neuderstadd—a secluded town on its own island south of Verm. Then the calamity came. The territory was now under Lord Sygwen’s control, its people forced into his noble army. Fortunately, their families had survived the chaos, but the actions of the nobility had left them disgusted.
"The way the nobles acted… wasting their resources fighting each other instead of ending the threat while it was still small," Vina muttered, her expression darkening. "Look at things now… this is their fault." She exhaled sharply before shaking her head. "When the Order formed, we saw our chance."
Though Lord Sygwen had aligned himself with the Alliance, they no longer wished to serve under him. The Order offered something better—a purpose beyond the petty ambitions of nobility.
We shared a few moments of lighthearted banter, letting the tension ease. But in the end, our resolve remained the same.
"We survive together," we said in unison. "And we close all the Breaches. That’s our only oath."
For the next operation, Laugion had learned about the Arcane Sabers within his ranks—and more importantly, he had discovered the Ultimate, a devastating power that could turn the tide of battle.
He proposed an open-field engagement just north of our current position in Verudia. His strategy was simple but bold: The Ultimates will carve a path forward. The venators and sorcerers—will strike down the Abyssal core. The rest of the forces will shield the Arcane Sabers until the Abyss is completely eradicated.
Murmurs of unease spread among the Arcane Sabers. Casting Ultimate left one exposed and vulnerable, but in an open field, it was a sound strategy. Most agreed, including Victor. I didn't—nor did the others who couldn't yet perfect the Ultimate technique. Our role would be protection, nothing more.
As we marched onto the battlefield, a sea of black creatures loomed before us. Then, Victor began casting his Ultimate—Tempest Evocata. Colossal sigils formed in the air as the sky cracked open, revealing enormous green blades. One by one, others followed, their own sigils glowing in different colors, summoning massive blades that hung above the battlefield, all aimed at the writhing mass of darkness at the heart of the desolate field.
As the colossal swords reached their targets—BOOM—simultaneous circular shockwaves shattered into sharp shards, obliterating the horde in an instant. The shards burst apart with sharp cracks, releasing smaller glowing blades that whistled through the air, striking down the remaining black creatures. Finally, the colossal sigils released a devastating wave of colorful energy, obliterating the remaining hordes and transforming the desolate land into a chasm.
The destructive power was insane. With just a few Arcane Sabers working in unison, a sea of black creatures vanished before my eyes.
But even then, some of those damned floating monstrosities survived, their massive tendrils lashing down—appendages no shield or barrier could withstand. Those who tried to block them were reduced to dust.
My heart pounded. I barely had time to think—I activated Exalt Shift, dissolving into blue particles as I teleported just in time to pull Victor away from danger. We dodged, weaving through the onslaught, waiting for our opening.
Then, the Venators unleashed their power. Elemental energy crackled through their bows as they drew back, channeling everything into a single strike. A heartbeat later, they fired—giant projectile beams tearing through the sky, converging at the heart of the Abyssal Breach.
A blinding flash erupted, followed by a deafening roar. Then, in an instant, it collapsed in on itself—vanishing from existence.
Most casualties were Arcane Sabers this time, though fewer than usual. I wondered if I would be next when I learned the Ultimate. The thought chilled me.
We employed the same strategy in the next battle, but once again, many Arcane Sabers fell.
The order came down—I had to push forward with my Ultimate training. Despite my fear, I knew it was crucial for our battles—a deciding factor between survival and annihilation.
After countless attempts, I finally cast it—a surge of power erupting around me. The invocation to unleash it was Exalted Evocata, because of my Exalt element.
But it wasn’t perfect. Unlike the others, my circular burst had a smaller range, its destructive force not yet fully realized.
In the battle that followed, I noticed something new: black skeletal creatures resembling humans moved among the familiar hordes. Their numbers seemed limited. Had they evolved somehow?
As the Arcane Sabers in the distance unleashed their Ultimates, one of the skeletal creatures suddenly materialized near Victor. Its hand morphed into a black spear, striking toward him with lethal precision. Jaden and I reacted instantly, intercepting the attack with our blades. Vina followed up with a volley of light magic projectiles, but the creature had already vanished. Seeing the threat, Victor canceled his Ultimate.
Then we heard it—the sharp sounds of Arcane Sabers dying before they could complete their castings. Laugion quickly changed our strategy, and we fought as we always had. The rally of battle echoed around us—tendrils lashed while magic and steel clashed.
I kept my senses alert for these skeletal creatures. My eight Spectral Swords hovered near me, attacking and defending as needed. This new enemy made me paranoid. I unleashed slash after slash and energy blasts from my hands.
Then I saw it—the creature lurking behind Vina. I teleported to her side. I intercepted its spear thrust, parrying the blow, and commanded my Spectral Swords to engage. The creature used both its spear hands to deflect the spectral blades, its movements eerily precise.
Jaden and Victor arrived, swords ready. The creature twisted unnaturally to evade, but one of Victor’s spectral sword landed, cutting into its left shoulder before it could fully escape.
“The core is in the left shoulder. Aim for it,” Victor said, breathing heavily.
We tried, but these new creatures were possibly even more dangerous than the monstrosities in the sky. With precise coordination, Victor and Jaden struck their cores, allowing us to take down only two. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, exhaustion weighing on us. We had carved a path forward, but the cost was heavy.
That day, no victory cry rose among the winners. I gazed at the others and saw only sadness. Even Laugion wore a disappointed, mournful expression. We still had a long way to go before reaching Paxluma—we hadn't even reached Verm yet.
We returned to camp with empty looks, the weight of our losses hanging over us like a shroud.
Then came the orders from the Holy Emperor. Some veteran Arcane Sabers were being recalled from the battlefield back to the Empire's capital. Victor was among them. They were ordered to train a new generation of Arcane Sabers as reinforcements arrived—mainly Umbradi, the underground natives of the Empire with their ashen skin and red eyes.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
It was time for goodbyes. Victor clasped my arm, his eyes reflecting the bond we'd forged through battle.
"Our oath remains," he said solemnly. "Hope we meet again after this ends."
He expressed regret at not teaching me the last spell, Exilium Furgor, and not witnessing my completed Ultimate. I tried asking the remaining Arcane Sabers about the spell, but they were like me—some hadn't even mastered their own Ultimates yet, and none knew Exilium Furgor.
So I focused on what I could control: the battles ahead and honing the skills I already possessed, training my body to respond instinctively to the chaos of combat. That was all I could do.
We fought battle after battle. Some abyssal breaches we claimed, others forced us to retreat. I lost track of how long this cycle continued as darkness seemed to distort our very sense of time. New faces arrived constantly—young and inexperienced fighters who couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen years old. It was unbelievable that children so young were being sent to this slaughter.
Some were placed under my new command, while others served under Jaden and Vina. Though our combat classes varied, the outcome was always devastating. I didn't even get to know most of them well or remember their names. But their deaths—those I remembered with painful clarity. Bodies turning to dust, pierced by tendrils, faces rendered unrecognizable by the horrors they faced.
After each battle, we returned to camp to rest. I still honored their dedication, these children who fought and died before they'd truly lived. But my heart ached with pity for them. None of us even knew if the abyssal breaches we fought so hard to close were the same ones that had been sealed before, now reopened, or entirely new tears in reality.
The memory of my first victory—the tears of relief, the triumphant cry, the feeling of accomplishment—seemed distant now, like something from another life. I caught Jaden and Vina's expressions across the camp. Their faces mirrored my own—hollow, haunted, and hardened by endless battle.
Even the Grim Reaper, no longer carried the same commanding presence. His gaze had dulled, his once-unshakable aura fading with each passing fight.
As I stared into the campfire, I wondered if this war would ever truly end, or if we were simply delaying the inevitable darkness that seemed determined to consume our world.
Then, spectral birds arrived at our camp. The sound of cheers and rallying cries grew deafening. Curious, I approached a jubilant soldier to inquire about the commotion.
"Nusa and Serrahn!" he shouted over the noise. "They’ve closed every damn Breach and reclaimed all their lands!"
My eyes widened as my heart pounded against my ribs. That seemed impossible. The Shining Virtue had accomplished what we could not. How? Did they possess some secret weapon? Even with the Grim Reaper fighting at our side, victory had remained elusive. We had reclaimed perhaps half of Verudia at best, not counting the new abyssal breaches that continually reappeared.
Despite my disbelief, excitement flooded through me. I joined their cheers, as did Vina and Jaden. Smiles spread across faces that had forgotten how to express joy. Even the Grim Reaper smiled—an unusual sight, as I rarely saw him without his half-face armor. Perhaps it had been too soon to give up hope.
Days later, her army arrived with Mina at her side. I wondered what made them different from us. What strategy had led to their success where we had failed? I anticipated the coming battle under her command with renewed vigor.
At the briefing—which I was fortunate enough to attend along with several others—the Shining Virtue took the lead, with the Grim Reaper serving as her second-in-command. She informed us that the creatures we fought now had an official classification: Cataclysmaris. They had been studied extensively, with remains collected and different species named accordingly.
She proposed a new formation with her forces at the front, suggesting a single-line assault. The massive tendrils couldn't be blocked by conventional defensive measures, but they could be repelled by the Holy Knights' Ultimate abilities. Her strategy called for the Holy Knights to use their Ultimates first, followed by the Sorcerers' Ultimates to clear the path, and finally the Venators' Ultimates to close the breach.
The plan seemed sound, but timing remained a concern. How could we coordinate the attacks to counter the tendrils? She explained that the floating creatures had a predictable attack range—about half the height of the Tower of Aelumia, the tallest structure in Paxluma. Since most Holy Knights hailed from Paxluma, and many of them were stationed at the tower, they could estimate the distance.
We executed her strategy, but the Grim Reaper insisted on fighting by her side.
The Shining Virtue, wielding her signature light banner spear, personally led the charge alongside her hundred Luminous Legion—warriors forged from her own light, wielding weapons ranging from bows to melee arms. Mina stood beside her, flanked by other elite troops and the Grim Reaper’s spectral cavalry legions. Together, they drew the attention of the smaller black creatures and skeletal abominations, while the rest of us held our ground, clearing a path.
Then, the floating monstrosities descended, their massive tendrils lashing down. But the Holy Knights were ready. In perfect unison, they cast their Ultimates, materializing countless transparent domes that shielded the troops from the deadly appendages.
The Sorcerers completed their casting and unleashed their Ultimates in perfect sync with the frontline forces—meteors rained down, thousands of homing ice beams carved through the darkness, and howling tempests ripped the horde apart.
The path forward was clear.
My Spectral Swords manifested around me as Jaden, Vina, and I accompanied the Venator squad within firing range of the abyssal breach. We sliced through tendrils, my swords forming a defensive formation while Vina cast barriers and healing spells for the wounded. The Venators launched their massive projectiles into the breach, and just like that—it was gone.
After the battle, I noticed the Shining Virtue drenched in sweat, her breathing labored. Materializing and controlling hundreds of light legions simultaneously must have taken an immense toll. She was no ordinary woman, that much was clear. Mina followed closely behind her as we returned to camp amidst cheers that filled the sky.
Back at camp, I approached a red-haired Sorceress named Cyla, who appeared to be part of the Shining Virtue's troops. I asked if she remembered me. She seemed surprised to see me alive and even more astonished that I had abandoned my mage path to become an Arcane Saber.
After exchanging pleasantries, I asked the question that had been burning in my mind: how had the Shining Virtue managed to reclaim entire continents?
"There were heavy casualties," she admitted, "but the Serrahn natives—they're incredibly skilled fighters and resilient warriors." Her expression darkened. "It's unfortunate they couldn't join this battle. But..."
She hesitated before continuing, "We were occasionally aided by Infernal Knight."
My brow furrowed at this revelation.
"I never saw them myself," she added quickly, "but sometimes, the Cataclysmaris hordes would just—turn to ash in an instant, like they’d been caught in a volcanic eruption. All from a single, massive slash."
She hesitated, her voice quieter. "My friend… the one who didn’t make it… she said that knight wasn’t normal. They carried a red, glowing artifact in their pouch."
I nodded thoughtfully, wondering if that Infernal Knight might come to our aid as well.
As the battle raged on, under the joint command of the Shining Virtue and the Grim Reaper, we finally reclaimed Verudia—then Verm. Now, we stood at the threshold of Varlumia, closer to Paxluma than I had ever dared to hope. Yet, I had never once seen that Infernal Knight. Despite the heavy casualties and countless sacrifices, we were finally nearing our goal.
Our forces split, with my unit remaining under the Shining Virtue's command while The Grim Reaper Laugion's army took the northwest. I wondered how many years had passed in this endless cycle of darkness and bland rations. My mind remained fixated on Paxluma—the faster we reclaimed it, the sooner I could create proper graves for those I had lost in my homeland.
The final battle for Varlumia proved perhaps the most difficult I had ever faced. I could only imagine what awaited us in Paxluma. The Cataclysmaris horde was nearly a dozen times larger than usual, with countless skeletal creatures among them.
As the battle began, I materialized a dozen Spectral Swords, assigning half to attack and half to defend. My gaze swept across the battlefield with Jaden and Vina at my side. The Shining Virtue at the front lines was forced to retreat as the horde overwhelmed her position. We moved to assist.
In desperation, Mina unleashed her Ultimate: Exaltation. Elemental guardians materialized around her, unleashing a relentless onslaught—firestorms, blizzards, tempests, earthquakes, and beams of darkness, deep burgundy, and radiant light, all striking in unison. Their combined assault obliterated the entire horde in an instant, leaving a massive chasm in the battlefield.
It was an awe-inspiring display, equivalent to the combined power of multiple Arcane Sabers' Ultimates. But the cost was evident immediately. I rushed to Mina as she stood vulnerable, her energy depleted. A surviving skeletal creature charged toward her. She raised her arm reflexively against the fatal blow and collapsed, bleeding profusely.
With adrenaline surging through my veins, I teleported to her side, casting a healing spell in an attempt to close her wound while my Spectral Swords hovered defensively around us. I carried her to safety as the battle concluded. Looking skyward, I saw the abyssal breach dissolve into nothingness. Familiar cries of victory filled the air as I brought Mina to the medical camp.
Her injuries were severe, requiring treatment beyond our field capabilities. She was transported back to the Empire's capital for more advanced medical care. The Shining Virtue watched her departure with sad eyes before her expression returned to its usual unwavering determination.
Finally, at long last, I gazed toward Paxluma while Jaden and Vina stood by my side. This time, we would end it once and for all