Klein’s knee slammed into the ground from the force of the abyssal general's overhead strike. While he managed to block the blow, his strength failed, and his sword flew from his grip, clattering across the floor. Klein’s opponent, a blue humanoid covered in studded armor named Kleegar, raised the giant mace over his head and swung again. Klein barely rolled out of the way. When he planted his hand to get up, the ground stained it red. It had landed in a pool of blood that used to be his healer Belerah. His other comrades' corpses lay nearby. He pushed past his grief.

Klein’s magic reached out and rocketed the Holy Sword back to his grip. He slashed horizontally before activating Quick Flank, appearing just behind Kleegar. The general recognized the move, but Klein's blade already bit the monster's flesh before he could manage a full turn. The weapon’s holy aura pierced through to the general’s skin and burned the flesh underneath. The general chuckled, and only then did Klein realize the trap. The general grabbed the still buried blade in his bare hand and traded a blow.

Klein couldn’t withdraw in time, and Kleegar’s mace struck his chest, launching him off his feet, across the room, and into the wall. His armor cracked, enchantments and mundane protection broken. Klein coughed up blood while trying to stand upright. He poured every ounce of energy in his muscles, but nothing happened. They refused to work. ‘No… It can’t end like this.’

His eyes lingered across the carnage. ‘Everyone was counting on us, on me. I failed them all.’ He raged, ‘How were any of us supposed to beat that Monster?’

Klein prepared himself for death as the abomination lumbered over with palpable smugness.

“Did you truly believe you could oppose us? Another so-called hero for the meat grinder. We will lay waste to your homes, your cities, and your nations. Your kind will fill our mines and our slaughterhouses. That is the way it was always going to end, but you will not be around to see it.”

Kleegar raised his mace to crush Klein’s skull.

And that's when the chamber doors exploded outward into a million pieces. Klein gaped, and the General was so shocked that he lowered his weapon as he snapped his head towards the door.

Klein’s brain raced. ‘Is it reinforcements? No. The regular army couldn’t have broken through.’

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“Where to next?” asked a male voice. The figure appeared to be made of shadows. No true face could be seen, only a vague outline that shifted over time.

“Over there, my lord.” An out of breath, small, fair skinned elf pointed at a door at the far end of the room. Her black robes resembled those of an acolyte of Thalia, but the colors were all wrong. Her face was covered by a small harlequin mask.

“I told you to stop calling me that,” the shadow said, with a hint of resignation. The figure disappeared in an instant.

‘Are my injuries making me delirious?’ Klein wondered. One look at Kleegar’s face dispelled that notion. Suddenly, the man reappeared at the far end of the chamber. He turned, waiting for his companion to catch up.

“Looking tired there, Priestess. You need to hurry up. Didn’t you vow to ‘follow me forever.’”

‘Is the ominous shadow… teasing her? This has to be the bloodloss.’

“You think you're REALLY funny, don’t you.” The elf shouted as she ran towards him.

It was then that the man noticed Klein and the general for the first time. A chill ran down Klein's spine as the shadow's eyes locked on him. It was… wrong. It just shouldn’t have been able to exist, as though there was a hole in the world. Kleegar's trembling hand indicated that he sensed this too.

The general turned to face his new foe. “I don’t know what you are, but all those who stand against the abyss must perish,” His menacing tone wavered with doubt.

‘This could be my only chance’ Klein thought as he slowly reached for the sword that had fallen nearby.

The blackness turned to the elf. “Do you know who that is?” he asked, ignoring the general.

“Master, that is Kleegar,” the elf said, grinning eagerly.

“I see,” the shadow whispered. Klein could not have imagined a noise so soft could contain such rage. The shadow vanished, but before Kleegar could register shock, a fist emerged out of the general’s skull. Brains splattered the wall above Klein. When the fist withdrew, the general's body collapsed to its knees, and Klein saw his savior again through the opening.

‘This is it!’ Klein used all of his remaining energy to lean forward and stab the beast before it could regenerate. As the blade pierced the foe’s heart, a blue light filled the general’s body. It resonated throughout its entire being, disintegrating it.

Spent from the effort, he collapsed.