What's behind men's masks? What are the forces that move us?

As Curse of the Demon passed through a Ghoul, Helial reflected on what gave him the strength to move his limbs.

Did he really go on, day after day, with the sole purpose of defending and protecting those he loved and of finally being able to live a life of peace and tranquillity? Maybe he had never really noticed... but perhaps he would not mind following the footsteps of the great monsters of the universe.

The blackish and slimy blood of those malevolent creatures splashed from all sides, smearing his face and clothes, just before being vaporized by the cleansing power of Flame of the Qilin.

Blow after blow, Helial couldn't help but think: he had shared bread with the greatest leader in history and received Iblis's teachings and, after reflecting for a long time, he had noticed something.

Helial lacked something, something that Alexander and the black-haired boy had, but he didn't.

He lacked the flame that burned in the heart of those two mythological figures.

And this was because nothing had ever made his soul impenetrable, nothing had shaken him enough to make him eager to complete a mission.

In fact, he had already found what he aspired to, but he couldn't see it. Literally.

Helial raised his hand and motioned to attack. An endless series of arrows and spells rained down on the Undead's rear, constituted by the Lich, even before it could be protected by the Soldiers.

The Ghouls continued to attack relentlessly, ready to tear the Goblins apart, but the testudo put together under Helial's order did not to show signs of giving way.

Only the Human boy fought outside the ranks, like a god of death bored by the world's slow and lazy movement, supported by his personal guard. One after another, the enemies were annihilated with disarming ease. The young man's action could be compared to that of a red-hot knife cutting through butter.

"Why greatness, for what purpose? For power. Freedom? Alexander was the greatest of all, and Iblis the most free, but did their freedom reach a point of no return and was restricted by themselves, didn't it? Or is the essence of freedom the exercise of extreme reason? "

Many questions echoed in Helial's heart, but none of them promised completely satisfactory answers.

Helial dodged the sharp fangs of a Ghoul, which could have ripped his throat in a moment. The burning fire of Flame of the Qilin surrounded the blade of Curse of the Demon. Their union was the perfect weapon to defeat those monsters in seconds.

Flame of the Qilin was the nemesis of the Undead.

"Just a couple of closer and I'd be dead," said Helial, trying to catch his breath.

The young man was facing a battle that was the prelude to a bloody war between Goblin and Undead, but in his heart there was a much bigger war going on between Life and Destruction.

Helial had chosen a completely new Way, and now he would have to forge all his weapons and Skills by himself. Nobody before him had had the courage or had been able to walk it, nobody had left crumbs along the path; it was up to him to leave footprints for those who would come after him.

In his mind the gigantic figures of Alexander and Iblis joined and overlapped; two beings who had taken huge steps, but who would not have helped him to get where he wanted.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!

Helial screamed at the top of his voice, interrupting the articulated flow of his thoughts; with that cry he had ordered the members of Circe's group to make the central body of the army retreat, allowing an undisputed advance of Ghoul and Soldiers, while the Lich, from the rear, laughed.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Kodiak, one of the three Undead generals leading the enemy faction, grabbed a worm that had just come out of his left orbital cavity and twisted it around his finger.

"It seems they are not even reacting. The orders are to take time. We are the least advantaged platoon. Those cursed beasts between the First and Third Phase are in charge of the supplies. While in the other battlefields they are in the vanguard, we must get by alone, pfui."

Bandit, another Lich whose face was covered by a black bandana with a green skull, looked at him thoughtfully: "If we could really beat the filthy Goblins without the help of the Trolls, the Elders would cover us with spoils. The Prince of Darkness hasn't even arrived and we're already winning."

"If by the end of the day they fail to recover, we will have to deploy all the Soldiers and Ghouls available, in this way their losses will skyrocket", laughed maliciously Jantzen, the third commander, watching the central deployment of Orma retreat step by step.

The other two nodded and didn't care too much about to the most important thing: the Goblins had suffered almost no losses. Although only Helial and his companions, who served as his guard, were in the middle of the fray, the testudos were totally impenetrable.

Francesca yelled worriedly at Helial: "We can't go on like this!"

The testudo protected the Goblins, so that the Ghouls could not kill them easily, but it also prevented them from fighting back. Basically, they were only putting off the inevitable.

"Another insubordination and you will be resurrected outside the battlefield," said Helial coldly, looking at Cesar's daughter. In war there was no room for kindness, there were only orders.

Zion impaled two Ghouls using a spear from inside the testudo, and he continued to scream orders to the right and left, allowing his men to change position and substitute the ones carrying the shields.

Lev murmured several formulas, while the bodies of his men were reinvigorated and their eyes burned with a fighting spirit.

Sidra, on the front line, carried the largest shield, periodically slamming it hard against the Ghouls' line and violently pushing back a dozen of them at a time. In Circe's group, she was the Main Tank, specialized in having superhuman defense and strength.

Francesca was probably the weakest member of the group, although it didn't mean much. In Circe's team, even the weakest warrior should not be underestimated.

Observing the situation among his new generals, Helial glanced at Vlad and Lumia: “Vlad, go to the top of the central shields. Lumia, go to the side with the most Ghouls and help Francesca. We need another couple of hours."

Francesca was on the left wing, while Zion and Lev on the right.

Sidra was in the centre, controlling her men's slow retreat. Although her body was covered with a metallic glow, a sign of an incredible defensive ability, the first cuts on her arms and face could now be seen. The Ghouls' fangs managed to wound her the instant when Sidra used all her strength to relieve the pressure from the shoulders of her men, exposing herself to the attacks of those creatures.

Sighing, Helial let four pearly sparks form on his palm and detach from it at an impressive speed.

“What matters, whatever path you take, is to remain attached to the simplicity of the emotion. The bigger our Mana Path, the simpler and more pure our emotions must be."

The sparks went swiftly towards the monstrous mass of Ghoul, burning dozens of them. The smell of burnt and rotten flesh assailed the nostrils of all the soldiers, who now looked at Helial in amazement. Their commander seemed an invincible warrior.

Zion also looked at Helial thoughtfully. He began to wonder if he would be able to repeat the carnage just made by the young Human, once he could set that silly spear aside and take up the sword that had earned him the name of Surgeon.

Were they really sure that the boy that was now leading them to victory was the same one who had been brutally defeated a few days earlier by their team inside the Colosseum?

The Goblin deployment continued to retreat in the centre. It gave way to countless rows of Undead.

Bandit placed the black bandana on his face and said to Jantzen and Kodiak: “They are already retreating and we still have to summon other warriors using the bodies of their friends. Imagine their faces as soon as we begin to claim enough victims."

Jantzen twisted his rotten jaw, risking dropping it to the ground: “If we don't hurry to send other warriors to help, they will decide to flee before we can kill them all. Our warriors are not renowned for their speed."

Kodiak nodded and transmitted various information telepathically to the reserve troops, ordering to immediately jump into the fray, focusing on the central wing, which seemed to be about to give up at any moment. Kodiak thought that without that terrifying boy, still claiming hundreds of victims among the Ghouls and easing the pressure on his deployment, the Goblins' central line would have already fallen.

Already retreating? Lunatics.

As soon as Circe saw what was happening, she thought that Helial had guessed once again. "Son of a bitch, he was right," swore the Witch, laughing. She immediately turned to the side to intercept the boy and said: "Are you ready? Eh? Where is he gone?"

Helial wasn't there anymore.

Circe looked around confused, seeing nothing but a blanket of black flames jumping at full speed towards the rear of the Undead army, while by now all the enemies had poured onto the battlefield.