The cavern was silent, the air thick with tension as Venom, Silas, and Katsuo stared down the mage, now cornered and trembling. The glintstone crab, once an imposing force of destruction, lay shattered on the cavern floor, its massive body torn apart by their combined efforts. Shards of glintstone flickered with dying light, their luminescence fading like the mage’s hope of escape.

For the first time since the battle began, the mage's eyes flickered with something that wasn’t amusement or sadistic glee—it was fear. Her pale face, smeared with grime and sweat, twisted with the realization that she was trapped, with three vanguards blocking any path to freedom.

“You won’t win,” the mage spat, though her voice wavered. “I’ll burn you all to ashes, like I did your precious training grounds.”

Her words struck a chord, and Katsuo’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. The image of the charred remains of the Aegis Guild branch flashed in his mind—Yuu and Dachi, their lifeless bodies twisted in the wreckage. His rage simmered beneath the surface, but he forced himself to stay focused. He wouldn’t let anger cloud his judgment.

“Do you really think you can get away from this?” Venom asked coldly, stepping forward with her eyes locked on the mage. Her voice was low, dangerous, like a predator sizing up its prey. “You’re out of tricks. There’s no escape.”

The mage’s eyes darted toward the cavern’s exit, but Venom moved like a shadow, cutting her off before she could even think about making a run for it. With a flick of her wrist, Venom threw a kunai, embedding it deep into the stone floor just inches from the mage’s foot—a clear warning.

“Try it,” Venom whispered, her voice icy and lethal.

The mage’s breath quickened, her eyes wild as she realized she had nowhere to go. But desperation was a dangerous thing, and Katsuo saw the shift in her expression—the way her trembling hands tightened around the edges of her robe.

“I’m not going down without a fight!” she screamed, pulling a book from beneath her robes. The air around her crackled with heat as dark runes glowed across the pages, their twisted shapes pulsating with magical energy.

Katsuo’s eyes widened as the temperature in the cave spiked dramatically. Flames erupted from the book, swirling around the mage in a blazing inferno. The heat was suffocating, the walls of the cave illuminated in a fiery glow.

The mage’s lips twisted into a wicked grin as she raised her hands, summoning a massive fireball above her head. The inferno crackled with malicious energy, growing in size and intensity until it was nearly too bright to look at.

"Burn!" she shrieked, and with a flick of her fingers, the fireball hurtled toward Katsuo, roaring like a ravenous beast.

The memories of the burning Aegis Guild, the fallen vanguards, and the flames that had devoured his comrades flooded Katsuo’s mind in an instant. His rage, already simmering, boiled over, igniting something fierce and unyielding inside him.

In an instant, Katsuo shifted into the 1st Form. His movements were fluid, precise, and driven by pure, focused fury. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the oncoming fireball, his odachi gleaming in the fiery light. The heat was unbearable, searing his skin, but Katsuo didn’t slow.

With a powerful swing, Katsuo’s sword met the fireball. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the cavern, but Katsuo didn’t stop. He gritted his teeth and pushed through the intense heat, his sword slicing through the flames. The fireball split in two, each half dissipating into embers that scattered harmlessly across the cavern floor.

The mage’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Impossible…”

But Katsuo wasn’t done. He kept moving, his body a blur of motion as he closed the distance between himself and the mage. Her surprise turned to panic as she frantically summoned another spell, her hands glowing with icy blue energy. A barrage of icicle spears shot toward him, but Katsuo’s reflexes were sharp, his movements fluid. He dodged and deflected the spears with ease, his blade cutting through the air like a gust of wind.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The mage stumbled back, fear overtaking her features. “Stay away from me!” she shrieked, her voice trembling. She raised her hand to cast another spell, but Katsuo was too fast.

In one fluid motion, Katsuo lunged forward, his odachi gleaming as he swung with deadly precision. The blade flashed in the dim light, and in an instant, the mage’s body went still.

Katsuo stood over her, his chest heaving with exhaustion as his sword cleaved clean through her neck. The mage’s head toppled from her shoulders, her expression frozen in shock, and her body crumpled to the ground.

The cavern fell deathly silent.

The only sound that remained was the crackling of glintstone shards scattered across the floor, their faint glow slowly dimming in the aftermath of the battle. Katsuo dropped to one knee, his body trembling from both the physical strain and the emotional toll of the fight. His breath came in ragged gasps, and the weight of the battle settled heavily on his shoulders.

Venom appeared beside him, her own body showing signs of wear from the battle. She glanced down at the mage’s lifeless body, then at Katsuo, her usual stoic demeanor softened by the exhaustion they both shared.

“She’s gone,” Venom said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s over.”

Katsuo nodded, but he didn’t feel victorious. The weight of everything that had happened, the destruction, the loss—it all hung heavy in the air. He couldn’t bring himself to celebrate. The mage was dead, but so were Yuu, Dachi, and so many others. The victory felt hollow, the cost too high.

Silas approached them, his usual smirk absent, replaced by a rare moment of solemnity. "Well, that was one hell of a fight," he said, his voice quieter than usual. "But damn, we really took a beating this time."

Katsuo managed a small nod, unable to find the words. His body ached, his muscles burning from the exertion, but his mind was heavier still. They had survived, but the price of that survival was steep.

“We did it,” Silas continued, his tone a bit lighter now. “But damn, that was close.”

Venom offered Katsuo a hand, helping him to his feet. "You fought well," she said, her voice calm but with a hint of respect. "It couldn’t have been easy."

Katsuo sighed, his body swaying with fatigue, but he stood tall. "We couldn’t let her escape. Not after everything she’s done."

They made their way out of the cave, the cold air outside a stark contrast to the heat of the battle they had just fought. As they stepped out into the daylight, Katsuo’s heart sank at the sight before him.

The devastation outside was even worse than he had imagined. The once-thriving Aegis Guild branch was now a smoldering ruin. Bodies of vanguards—friends, comrades—were strewn across the wreckage, their lives snuffed out in the chaos.

Katsuo clenched his fists, his rage simmering beneath the surface once more. He had done everything he could, but it hadn’t been enough. The mage’s death felt meaningless in the face of such loss.

"Why did it have to end like this?" Katsuo whispered, his voice barely audible over the crackling flames of the ruined training grounds.

They walked through the devastation, their footsteps slow and heavy. The stench of death and smoke filled the air, and the ground beneath them was littered with debris and broken weapons. Every step was a reminder of the lives lost, of the destruction that had been wrought by the mages.

They found Serena kneeling beside Natasha’s lifeless body, her face streaked with tears. The sight was gut-wrenching, and Katsuo felt his chest tighten as he watched Serena mourn her fallen friend.

“This… this isn’t right…” Serena’s voice was broken, barely more than a whisper. “Why did it have to be like this?”

Venom placed a hand on Serena’s shoulder, her own expression grim but resolute. “I don’t know, Serena. But we need to keep moving. There might be others who still need our help.”

Katsuo knelt down beside Serena, his voice soft but filled with the weight of his own grief. “We’ll find whoever did this… and we’ll make them pay.”

The sun had fully risen by the time they regrouped with the remaining vanguards. Zeke and Zin arrived shortly after, their faces ashen as they took in the destruction. The once vibrant training grounds were now a wasteland of death and ruin.

“We managed to defeat the mages… but it seems like it came with a great cost,” Zeke said, his voice heavy with sorrow as he surveyed the carnage.

“If only I stayed longer, we could have avoided the worst-case scenario…” Zin added, his usual bravado replaced with deep regret.

They spent the next few hours searching the ruins for any survivors, tending to the wounded, and collecting the bodies of the fallen. The memories of what had been lost hung heavy in the air, every step through the ruins a painful reminder of the cost of their survival.

The trip back to Gosapor was a somber one. No one spoke, the weight of their grief pressing down on them like a suffocating blanket. The sound of hooves on the dirt road and the occasional sob from the party were the only sounds that filled the air.

It was a time for mourning, a time to reflect on the events that had transpired and the lives that had been lost.