The air itself seemed to suffocate inside Kai’s lungs as the brood mother, Vermorga, emerged from the darkness. An arcane spider, colossal in size, its body radiated death. Streaks of black mana pulsed along her grotesque form, veins twisted with dead mana. Its carapace was a swirling mass of shadow. Wherever it moved, it looked as if the ground beneath it seemed to wilt. Kai’s eyes trailed down to its eight legs and numerous eyes, and images of all the deadly fiends he had battled with flashed through his eyes. The brood mother was just as terrifying.

Its presence set an immediate wave of bloodthirst through the battlefield. Beasts that had been mindlessly attacking moments before now moved with a terrifying unity. Kai’s eyes met with the remaining boars, trolls, arsenic bears and every other species whose eyes alight with renewed fury.

The sight sent cold chills down his body.

The brood mother's screech— piercing, high-pitched, and filled with dark energy— seemed to shatter the air. It echoed like a war cry, and the beasts around it responded immediately. The frenzy that shook the entire battlefield was everything and unsettling.

Vicious, relentless. The beasts were getting harder to control.

Kai saw their guards struggling as the attacks from the beasts got more violent— as if something inside them stirred.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Vermorga's overwhelming form. His heartbeat steadied, no longer racing with panic. This was it. It was a moment of ‘now or never’.

A pulse of mana surged through his veins as he assessed the battlefield.

His eyes darted toward Balen, who stood near the mana cannons, filling in the atheum in the cannons before blasting groups of beasts on the ground.

“Balen!” The minotaur turned, hearing his voice. “Are the preparations ready?”

Balen, wiping sweat from his brow, gave a toothy grin. “Aye! Just like we planned, Lord Arzan!” Kai could see the confidence in his cheery words that wasn’t there in the others who actively fought beasts.

Kai nodded, a surge of adrenaline and mana washing over him. Everything was ready and all his plans were made just for this moment.

He took one last look at the monstrous creature, it's dark presence taking over the battlefield due to its size and the attention it commanded.

"Okay, I’m going in," Kai said, his voice calm despite the chaos swirling around him.

His eyes narrowed, tracking the beasts on the ground. With a flick of his wrist, a blazing inferno appeared on his palms and engulfed the frontline creatures, their cries echoing in the air as they burned away to ash. But not all were so easily dispatched. A bladeclaw monkey ploughed through the flames with barely a singe.

Kai grinned. Fire wouldn’t work on this one.

Time for a change, he thought, feeling the shift in mana around him. The air rippled, and a gust of wind slammed into the creature, knocking it off balance. Before it could regain footing, ice formed in the air, condensing into jagged spears that shot toward the monkey, freezing it mid-charge. Its body cracked, the sound of shattering ice the last thing it ever heard.

Kai moved swiftly, eliminating beast after beast like that, numbers falling before him in a blur of elemental fury. Fire, wind, ice— each spell carved through the tide of monsters like they were nothing more than fodder for his magic. But just as his focus zeroed in on the next wave, a flicker of movement caught his eye.

He spun around, ready to unleash another spell, only to pause. Charging through the chaos, a massive army stormed the battlefield. Not ordinarily beasts— They were frays.

Among them, the fray king led the charge, his eyes wide as he met Kai’s gaze.

"You..." the fray king’s voice came loud, breathless with disbelief. "I didn’t expect… this strength… power." He shook his head, a slight grin tugging at his lips. "Sorry for delay, human. We take care rest. You..." He pointed at the big brood mother far away, its ugly shape moving. "You go kill that… thing."

With that, the frays surged forward, their numbers overwhelming the remnants of the beast tide. Kai clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing on the massive brood.

"Killian!" he called, and the knight turned from the skirmish. "Take charge!"

Without waiting for a response, Kai launched himself forward, his body a blur of motion as mana surged through him. Flames erupted at his feet, propelling him toward the brood mother like a comet streaking across the sky. Wind swirled around him, amplifying his speed. The fire encasing him turned white, glowing with the intensity of starfire. It clung to him like armour, shielding him from the dark energy that radiated from the brood mother’s form.

As he neared it, he thrust his hands forward, releasing a concentrated blast of white flames— [Fiendfire]!

The brood mother screeched, its legs whipping out to spin a thick, protective web in front of it. Toxic green orbs of destruction shot from its mouth, sizzling through the air toward Kai. But his flames, unyielding, devoured them, turning its webs to ash and burning through the venomous attacks.

The brood mother’s numerous eyes widened in disbelief. This was not the prey it had expected.

Its towering form cast a shadow across the battlefield, its eight legs plunging into the ground with every step. Its carapace, dark and slick, pulsed with dead mana that coiled around it like an aura of death. Every strike of Kai’s white-hot flames seemed to sear into its flesh, but no matter how deeply the fire scorched it, the wounds sealed with the same dark energy, its carapace regenerating, black lines crawling across the surface as if mocking his efforts.

The brood mother's attacks came fast, relentless. Venomous webs shot out in thick strands, burning the ground wherever they landed. Orbs of toxic energy hissed through the air, mixed with the suffocating essence of dead mana. From its back, sharp, deadly projectiles launched without warning, dark, cutting through the sky toward Kai, forcing him to weave between them in bursts of wind and flame.

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Kai was hyperfocused on the spider’s every movement— he dodged and retaliated, unleashing waves of flames that engulfed it in burning light.

The brood mother suddenly stilled. Its massive eyes glinted with a knowing malice. Then, for the first time, a voice— deep, clear, and dripping with spit— filled the air.

"Human..." the voice was a sinister whisper, but it echoed with terrifying clarity. "You are strong, but not strong enough to contest my power. Not now. Not with my newfound strength."

Kai froze, his heart pounding in his chest. The creature could speak?

"Why struggle?" the brood mother continued, its voice filled with a twisted calmness. "Why not surrender and kneel before me? The dead do not discriminate. It will take you too, just as it has taken countless others. In death, we are all the same."

For a moment, Kai’s mind raced. He hadn’t expected this. A beast this size, this corrupted— speaking with such clarity? Although high grade beasts speaking wasn’t a rare occurrence, the brood mother was a fiend and it was way harder for them to have semblance of intelligence. But he quickly shoved the shock aside. His eyes hardened, flames still dancing along his arms and legs.

"If death ever takes me," Kai said, "it won’t be as a servant. Not to you, not to anyone. The flames that surround me were made to devour someone like you. So don't resist."

With a powerful surge of mana, Kai raised his hands, casting [Infernal Chains].

Chains fueled by pure fire erupted from the earth beneath the brood mother, wrapping around its legs and abdomen. The chains, imbued with his will, glowed with a radiant energy, pulling the massive creature down.

But the brood mother let out a blood-curdling roar, its eyes narrowing as its body convulsed. Dark energy pulsed from it, shattering the chains with raw, unrelenting force. It rose higher, venom dripping from its maw as it screeched, and the earth around it cracked under the weight of its power.

The battle escalated. Finally, they both were using their maximum powers, strongest attacks and knowing the ruthlessness of fiends, Kai wasn’t going to hold himself back.

***

Death was everywhere Amyra looked. It lingered on the walls, clung to the ground, and swarmed in the air as beasts attacked from all directions.

The scent of blood and burning flesh filled the air, mingling with the endless screeches of creatures and the cries of the wounded. She had never seen anything like this before— this chaos, this destruction. But even as the horror of it washed over her, Amyra stood firm. She had resolved to be here, to take part in the battle, and to help in any way she could. There was no turning back.

She scanned the battlefield from her vantage point atop the wall, her eyes catching a flash of movement— one of the mercenaries, a red-haired man she recognized from before— Kellen, fighting fiercely. He was mid-swing when a flying beast darted at him from the side. Its claws slashed into his leg, sending him stumbling back against the stone of the wall. He let out a pained shout, clutching his wounded leg as the beast circled for another strike.

But before it could do that, an arrow took it on the head as the beast fell.

Without thinking, Amyra sprinted toward Kellen. “Let me help you!" she shouted, dropping to her knees beside him. Her hands hovered over his injured leg, already starting to glow as she channelled her mana, just like Kai had taught her. The basic first-circle healing spell came to her with surprising ease, as if the mana itself was guiding her hands. She had needed incantations at first, but now it was like second nature to her.

“[Heal]”

The warmth of her magic seeped into the mercenary’s wounds, mending the torn muscle and tissue bit by bit.

The man winced, swearing under his breath. "Fuck, that hurts," he growled. His face twisted in pain, but his gaze was sharp. "Those bastards... My own party members ran away before the fight even started. Can you believe that? Just because they weren’t getting paid this time…"

Amyra tried not to listen. She focused on her spell, watching as the wound slowly knitted itself back together, Kellen’s body relaxing slightly as the pain ebbed. "You’re going to be okay," she said calmly, pulling her hands back once the worst of the damage was repaired. "Get in one of the stretchers. The rescue team will get you to safety."

The mercenary shook his head, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "Too many of those bastards are still alive out there. No way I’m sitting out now."

Before Amyra could protest, he pushed himself to his feet, gritting his teeth as he steadied himself. With a determined grunt, he pulled a vial that was tied around his waist and chugged it down in one go, drew his weapon and launched himself back into the fray, charging at another beast without hesitation.

From what Amyra recalled, the vial contained a potion that numbed the pain. Everyone was given one to keep battling even with injuries.

Amyra watched him go, her hands still tingling with the remnants of her spell. Death was all around her, but here and now, she was doing her part to push it back.

She didn’t linger, pushing the red-haired mercenary’s determination to the back of her mind as she scanned the battlefield. Her eyes landed on Rhea, off to the left, aiding the rescue efforts in the rear just as Kai had instructed. Relief washed over Amyra, and she opened her mouth to call out to her friend. But before she could say anything, a massive shadow blotted out the sky above.

A giant bird swooped down, its wings beating like thunder as it zeroed in on her position. Arrows and spells peppered the creature, but it took the hits without flinching, its beady eyes fixed on a single target. Amyra’s heart lurched as she realised what it was aiming for.

The mana cannon.

The bird let out a shrill cry and dived, crashing directly into the massive weapon. The operator scrambled back, barely avoiding the impact, but it was too late. The collision triggered a calamitous explosion. Mana crackled wildly, sending a shockwave through the air. A chunk of the wall disintegrated as the cannon blew apart, and Amyra, caught in the blast, felt herself being thrown into the chaos below.

As she plummeted, the wind howled in her ears and panic seized her. She was falling, straight into the heart of the battle. Death was going to consume her too.

But just before she hit the ground, something caught her midair. A familiar, heavy presence wrapped arms around her.

Her eyes flew open, and she gasped, "Sentinel!"

Sentinel, large and battered, stood beneath her, its hands cradling her gently. It had been fighting valiantly, its stone body cracked and chipped, pieces of it missing. But even in its damaged state, it hadn’t faltered. It gently set her down, then turned back toward the battlefield with no hesitation, charging into a group of beasts as if the damage to its body meant nothing.

Amyra collapsed to the ground, momentarily stunned. She sat there, amidst the chaos, her breath ragged as she watched the battle continue around her. Beasts clashed with Enforcers, guards, and frays in every direction. Blood and mana filled the air, and fear gripped her heart. She had never felt so small, so utterly out of control.

She scrambled to her feet, instinctively trying to find a way back to safety. But everywhere she looked, there was only death and destruction. Monsters of different kinds, features, ugly faces, bloodied limbs were trying to kill whatever was in front of them. Her hands trembled as panic set in, her feet refusing to move.

“Amyra!” Knight Killian’s voice cut through the chaos, and she turned to see him rushing toward her, his face flushed with concern. "Are you okay?"

She blinked at him, still shaking. "Yes… I’m fine. Sentinel… My golem… it saved me."

Killian gave a quick nod, scanning the area. "Lord Arzan programmed it to save anyone it could and kill beasts. It’s been a big help." His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp. "Stay behind me. I’ll protect you."

But before he could even finish his sentence, a spine-chilling sound filled the air— a clattering of legs moved swiftly around them.

Both of them turned their heads, eyes wide, as a dozen corrupted spiders charged toward them. The beasts’ carapaces were covered in black lines, radiating the unmistakable stench of dead mana. Their many eyes glinted with malevolence, and their fangs dripped with poison.

Amyra’s blood ran cold as her eyes locked on the fiends. Her voice barely came out as a whisper. "Fiends… they found me here too."

The spiders rushed closer, their legs tearing up the ground, the smell of decay overwhelming her— but not more than her memories.