Paul's mind slipped into numbness as he descended into the dark chasm, the dim ball of light casting eerie shadows on the walls around him. The stench of decay grew stronger with each step, seeping into his senses until it became almost unbearable. Though he'd been descending for what felt like an eternity, the bottom remained elusive, the cave stretching downward, seemingly endless, swallowing him in its cold, oppressive isolation.

His heart pounded faster with every second, fear gnawing at the edges of his mind. As the light illuminated the space below, a grotesque sight greeted him—piles of rotting corpses tangled together. His stomach churned as he recognized familiar faces—friends, elders from his village, people he had once known and cherished. His eyes darted frantically, scanning the horrific mess until his sight landed on a decapitated head lying apart from the others, the only person with black hair in their village—it was his father.

Paul rushed forward, barely able to breathe as he turned the head, his worst fears confirmed. A soul-wrenching cry tore from his throat, echoing through the cavern and up to the surface, a sound so raw and full of anguish that his comrades above felt it reverberate through their bones.

After some time, still suffocating with grief, Paul forced himself to search for his mother. He moved slowly through the pile of bodies, anxiety intensifying with each step. Eventually, he found a woman’s corpse with torn clothes. His heart hammered as he drew closer, praying it wasn't her. But as the light washed over the woman's face, his heart shattered—there she was, his mother, lifeless and broken.

He collapsed to his knees, cradling her body, tears flowing freely. "No... Mother, Father... I swear, I will avenge you!. I will avenge our people!. Whoever did this will pay!!."

Anger surged through Paul’s veins, his blood boiling. His eyes began to glow an intense, unnatural green, and a radiant aura flared around him, lighting up the cave like the sun. Power coursed through him—foreign, overwhelming—and his grip on reality began to slip. With a burst of speed, Paul shot up from the hole, his body glowing as he hovered above his stunned comrades.

“Paul? Is that you?” Zaell’s voice trembled with confusion, his gaze locking onto the glowing figure. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Paul’s glowing eyes focused on the lifeless corpse of a fat man nearby. In a blur, he kicked the body with such force that it decimated in an instant. His comrades stood frozen, awe-struck, as Paul darted through the remaining rooms, flinging doors open with terrifying speed. They scrambled to keep up, uncertain of what was driving him.

He eventually reached a set of large double doors. With a single powerful kick, they flew open, revealing a grand chamber. Inside, a heavily armored man stood, gripping a massive sword. He eyed Paul warily.

"Who are you?!’’ the man demanded, his voice thick with authority. His appearance matched the description of the bandit leader.

Paul wasted no time. In a flash, he soared to the ceiling, unleashing a barrage of arrows at the man. The bandit deflected most of them with his sword and, with a wave of his hand, cast a dark magic that coated the blade in black flames. He leaped toward Paul, delivering a deadly swing, but Zaell, who had just arrived in time, intervened, enlarging his shields to block the attack. However, the intense heat began to melt one of Zaell’s shields, forcing him to retreat.

"What are you doing, Paul? This wasn’t the plan!" Zaell shouted, his voice filled with frustration. But Paul didn’t respond; it was as if he wasn't himself anymore.

"What's wrong with him?" Jeyel asked, his voice edged with concern.

"Listen up, everyone. This is not the time to let our guard down. We've got a serious problem here," Rhys declared as he raised his weapons, taking aim at the bandit boss. With lightning-fast reflexes, he teleported around the room, unleashing a barrage of gunfire in all directions. However, the bandit dodged every shot with uncanny agility, moving as if he could predict Rhys's every move.

"Stay alert!" Rhys called out, frustration evident in his voice. "This guy is no ordinary foe," he warned, quickly teleporting back to their position to reload, his eyes never leaving the bandit.

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"I’ll handle this!" Eijay shouted, imbuing his skin with a fire resistance spell. He charged at the bandit, unleashing heavy blows, but each strike was swiftly blocked by the bandit’s flaming sword.

“Not bad for a bunch of hunters,” the bandit sneered. Eijay gritted his teeth as the heat from the blade seared through his spells. Realizing brute force wasn’t enough, Eijay backed away, trying to strategize.

Jeyel jumped onto Eijay’s back and launched himself at the bandit, his katana shimmering with ice magic. He struck the bandit’s blade, freezing it yet only momentarily as the dark flames appeared to be stronger, melting the ice.

“Our attacks aren’t working!” Zaell shouted, trying to devise a new plan.

But Paul wasn’t finished. He bombarded the bandit with arrows that accurately hit the bandit's vital spots. The bandit knew that if it weren't for his armor and the flames hovering around his sword, those hits would have been dangerous.

Nevertheless, Paul soon ran out of ammo, causing the bandit to grin. Yet, in one swift motion, Paul dropped his bow and flew at high speed toward the bandit, delivering a kick powerful enough to crack the blade and send shockwaves through the chamber. His prosthetic leg melted from the heat, but Paul didn’t stop—he kept attacking, even as his other leg melted. His glowing aura intensified as he punched the bandit relentlessly, his hands burning with every strike.

Noticing it, Eijay quickly cast a fire resistance spell on Paul’s arms to prevent further damage. Ignoring the pain, Paul continued his assault, while the bandit blocked each strike with his sword, causing more cracks to form on the weapon.

Stunned by Paul's tenacity, the bandit summoned even more dark flames to his sword, their clashes sending embers flying and igniting fires around the room. Undeterred, Paul channeled all his energy into his knuckles. With a roar of fury, he delivered a devastating punch that shattered the bandit's sword in half, sending a shockwave through the chamber.

While the force staggered the bandit, it came at a terrible cost—Paul’s arm was severed in the exchange. Despite the broken blade, it still pulsed with dark energy as the bandit, still standing, lunged at Paul for a killing strike.

Before the blow could land, Zaell, Eijay, Rhys, and Jeyel acted in unison—Eijay held the bandit in place with his immense strength, Zaell enlarging his shield, smashed it into the bandit’s face, Rhys riddled his back with bullets, and Jeyel plunged his icy blade through the bandit’s heart.

The bandit crumpled to the ground, lifeless, his large broken sword clattering beside him as the dark flames flickered and died. Yet the fire it produces remains and continues to grow, the heat and smoke becoming more intense with each passing second.

Zaell rushed to Paul, who lay on the ground, his arm severed, bleeding out. Desperately, Zaell searched Paul's pockets and found the familiar vial of healing potion, quickly pouring it into his mouth. The potion closed the wounds and stopped the bleeding, but the severed arm did not regenerate, leaving Paul with a stump where his arm used to be.

Eijay then carried Paul on his shoulders, rushing out of the burning cave with the captives. As they all ascended, they noticed all the rooms where the bandits had been sleeping were now eerily empty. Climbing higher, a loud noise from outside grabbed their attention, signaling a fierce battle on the cave's surface.

Rushing outside, they found Chris and a group of hunters locked in battle with the remaining bandits. While most of the freed captives, now able to use magic, fought by flanking the bandits and launching surprise attacks, a few quivered at the sight of their captors, their trauma clearly lingering. Eijay carefully laid Paul down at the cave entrance, ready to join the fray alongside his companions.

Rhys rushed his relentless assault, shooting down enemies one by one, his teleportation faster than the eye could track, while Eijay's sleep spell rendered more bandits helpless. Jeyel methodically moved through the incapacitated foes, his blade flashing in the dim light. Zaell opened his bag and grabbed a small amount of pebbles, with a swift motion, hurled a handful of pebbles, each transforming mid-air into massive boulders that crashed into the enemy forces, causing chaos and devastation. Chris, with a disarming smile, bewitched more adversaries to fall in love with him, their infatuated gazes turning to horror as his sword claimed their lives.

Hours later, the battle began to wane. Paul awoke, missing both legs and an arm, disoriented. He wondered how he got there yet when he saw the cave which was already burning, all the memories came flooding back into his mind.

Paull recalled hugging the lifeless body of her mother. This causes him grief but at the same time a burning rage. That was why when he saw the ongoing battle that was happening just across, he grabbed a sword nearby and flew into the battle, despite his missing limbs. Each swing of his sword was driven by fury, his weakened body fueled only by vengeance.

As the sun set, casting an orange glow over the battlefield, the bandits’ lines finally broke. The fight was over. Paul, breathing heavily, stood with Zaell and the others. He once again looked back at the cave who was now burning even more. He then dropped the sword to the ground. Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered his slain parents and people. He landed on the floor, praying for the souls of his loved ones, vowing to never fail again.