A resounding boom echoed across the desolated landscape as one of the ruined buildings crashed to the ground, its weakened but massive frame giving rise to a wave of dust, dirt, and debris in all directions. The ground trembled under the weight of the collapsed structure, causing the surrounding creatures to scatter and run in frenzied circles.
At the center of the aftermath lay a gory trail of what used to be several four-limbed beasts—much like to the ones now speeding through the ruins—their remains dispersed around the debris. The now collapsed structure had been toppled by a relentless advance, yet the perpetrators were surprisingly unscathed.
Amidst the abrupt chaos, Ascalon and Lilithra stood side-by-side, the latter panting as she recovered her breath. Roars and monstrous cries reverberated through the air, yet they remained unfazed and with their weapons at the ready, their hearts beating in a coordinated rhythm. Ascalon in particular, wondered just how this event had come to pass.
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Just a while earlier, the pair had begun strolling around the edge of the makeshift camp, inspecting the area and idly chatting away the time. But at some point, the knight had felt something.
“Hmm?” Ascalon muttered as he narrowed his sole eye, focusing on the distance and prompting Lilithra to perk up in wariness.
A strange creature approached curiously, its yellow eyes scanning the duo as its scaly paws carefully navigated the uneven path. It resembled a large feline and looked slim and agile, with its body covered in black scales. Its eyes were small and furtive, and its back end ended in a long tail that gleamed under the fading sunlight—likely sharp and lethal.
Ascalon and Lilithra quickly understood the implications of such a creature approaching—it had to be strong enough to resist the effects of both his presence and her amulet. Just as they were getting ready for combat, a surprised voice startled them from behind.
“They really grew!” Damian exclaimed in astonishment, with both Irwin and Lilly at his side.
“Incredible…! Our theories… they’re true!” Irwin added, his tired eyes sparkling with newfound life. Lilly looked impressed, yet a flash of concern crossed her face before she too spoke up.
“But… isn’t that the worst-case scenario?” She asked with slight reluctance, causing the other two researchers to nod.
“Yes… yes it is.” Irwin declared, causing the air to tense up. Just then, the creature stopped its advance at a good distance and raised its head, revealing its neck to them. A set of what appeared to be gills or scaled flaps of some sort started vibrating, just as a high-pitched screech escaped the beast’s mouth. It wasn’t much of a roar, but rather a loud, uncomfortable whistling.
The researchers covered their ears, while Lilithra and Ascalon exchanged glances. “Go!” Lilithra commanded without hesitation, and Ascalon acknowledged the order.
In a split second, the knight burst forth as his armor started to form, his spear materializing in his right hand. Crossing the land with ease, he drew back his arm momentarily before thrusting forward with a quick, precise strike. The sound of Exemplaris parting the air caused the surrounding ruins to shake slightly under the ensuing shockwave.
The creature couldn’t react at all as the lance pierced clean through its body, cutting off its screech as its remains dispersed from to the sheer force of Ascalon’s charge. Ascalon studied what was left of its corpse as the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.
“Hey!” Lilithra called out as she arrived. “S-sorry for ordering you around!” She apologized, blushing slightly. “I kinda panicked when it cried and the researchers were nearby…” Lilithra explained as she sighed, but Ascalon simply listened intently with a smile on his lips.
“Do not apologize for exercising your right as the leader.” The knight responded with utmost confidence. “Especially when I am your knight—yours to command!” He added as his smile turned bolder, and Lilithra’s cheeks reddened further. As she fidgeted in place, her gaze locked onto his eye, a new screech could be heard from far away.
“Huh?” Lilithra was taken by surprise, her banner materializing in her hands out of instinct. “Oh no…” She murmured as realization struck, her gaze shifting toward the distance. Ascalon frowned at her side, and both witnessed how the blurry horizon became uneven—a mass of creatures rapidly approached. Their frames bobbed up and down as they inched closer, answering what seemed to have been a call for action by the deceased beast.
Amidst the incoming horde, Lilithra’s thoughts raced. She glanced back at the researchers, who looked at her in astonishment, and quickly produced the communication device. Lifting it to her mouth, she spoke into it.
“Everyone! Beasts are coming!” She warned, concentrating on passing on a clear and concise message. “We’ll try to hold them back while you retreat—Selorien should’ve placed a… gateway near the tent!” Lilithra stammered as she was about to explain the elf’s skill in a more roundabout way, but decided to simply call it a ‘gateway’ and shorten her explanation.
“W-we see it!” Ragna’s voice suddenly crackled from the device, and Lilithra smiled in both relief and excitement. For one, Selorien’s skill had worked! But then, where was he?
“But, is it safe?” Lidia cut through Lilithra’s thoughts with a question from beyond the gadget, her tone wary, and understandably so.
“Yes, don’t worry!” Lilithra replied straightforwardly, smiling to herself as she glanced over to the horizon once more. The creatures were now even closer, so much she could even distinguish them apart from each other.
“Let us grab their attention, Lilithra.” Ascalon suddenly addressed her, causing her to jump slightly. She considered his words for a brief moment, and then nodded resolutely. Seeing her acknowledgment, Ascalon beamed with confidence and dashed forth.
His stance shifted lower as he leaned forward, gripping the lance’s shaft with both hands to further boost a ruthless, piercing charge. Lilithra mimicked his actions, bursting into a dash and using her own similar skill to try and keep up. She charged behind the knight with her banner’s bladed edge thrusting through the air, and both advanced in unison to meet the oncoming threat.
Lilithra felt a rush of adrenaline and a surge of joy flare within, moved by the fact that they were both in harmonious synchrony—even if she was no match for his speed, and despite the dangerous situation. But this moment, fueled by her emotions, coupled with Ascalon’s passive skills, and by the tight bond they had forged, gave birth to a most unexpected event.
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Little by little, their steps began to match, and Lilithra felt as if her speed had suddenly increased beyond what she was used to. A strange sensation overcame her, as if her essence were reaching out toward Ascalon. The knight noticed a change as well, as his movements aligned with Lilithra’s, sensing a deep connection blossoming between them.
Breathing, rhythm, motion, heartbeat—their whole beings synchronized, and their charge became unstoppable!
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Both Ascalon and Lilithra were momentarily taken aback by the abrupt appearance of the blue screen, yet their bodies surged forward without missing a beat—like a fine-tuned machine racing through the lands! Around them, the wind lashed wildly due to their combined spears cutting through the air, and their footsteps echoed so strongly they created the illusion of an army marching across the ruins.
The creatures stood no chance as the duo’s advance obliterated everything in their path. Debris flew in all directions as their charge warped the once-solemn ruins into a chaotic maelstrom of destruction.
Despite their courageous, unrelenting strides, their minds raced with a mix of confusion and elation, not allowing for them to even think about stopping. Just then, their rush was met with a towering structure, and Lilithra slightly closed her eyes as she braced for the imminent collision.
But instead of crashing against the building, they pierced cleanly through, generating a massive hole in their wake. The powerful impact sent shockwaves rippling through the structure, causing the entire edifice to wobble and begin to topple.
The creatures not caught in their offensive ran amok around them, mostly confused and alerted. While Lilithra caught her breath, Ascalon pondered about the recent event. He felt the rush of emotions slowly dwindle, his gaze fixed on Lilithra, who looked completely dumbfounded. It seemed they had unlocked some kind of unique skill—an amazing one at that!
It wasn’t only powerful and peculiar, but it had also connected him with Lilithra in a way he had never felt before—not even when standing shoulder to shoulder with his most trusted knights, nor when he swore his oath to his Goddess and received the Gods’ blessings. The emotions that had gradually subsided gave way to a surging, profound joy, intertwined with a desire to further explore this newfound connection.
But his curiosity had to be set aside for the time being, as he noticed some of the beasts roaming toward the direction of the makeshift base.
“Lilithra!” Ascalon suddenly exclaimed, causing the girl to jolt in place.
“W-what?!” She asked in a panic, her cheeks as red as her hair. Most likely, she too was pondering about their unusual skill, but there was no time for that!
“Fall back to defend the camp—I shall take care of matters here!” Ascalon commanded, his authoritative voice prompting Lilithra to snap back to focus. She nodded resolutely, a confident smile forming amidst her blushing cheeks, and burst forth back to the camp.
“Be brave!” She chanted as she ran, charging with her banner once again. As her momentum and speed increased, she pierced through a few of the beasts in her path while Ascalon gazed at her from afar.
His chest was overflowing with a sense of pride and longing as his voice surged through the chaos. “Come and face me, creatures!” He ordered as his [Heroic Challenge] skill activated, taunting the remaining beasts and forcing them to attack him.
The scaled, feline-like beasts pounced on him—claws, fangs, and sharp tail ends raining down from all directions. With an assured smile on his lips, Aegis materialized in his left hand, and he quickly began to block the assault, turning and ducking to meet every single attack. Meanwhile, his right hand maintained the mighty Exemplaris, ready for anything.
As the creatures cried in confusion, Ascalon unleashed a barrage of consecutive thrusts, his deft movements claiming the lives of such beasts in quick succession. It took no longer than a couple of minutes before the last of the monsters fell, allowing Ascalon to let out a deep sigh of relief.
Yet just as he thought the danger was over, his senses picked up something else fast approaching. His gaze shifted toward the distance, where a humongous beast charged at him. Its features were akin to the corpses resting at his feet, only bigger, sharper, and more violent.
The ground trembled beneath the beast's heavy paws, sending dust and debris into the air as it closed the distance with terrifying speed. Ascalon shook his head in disbelief as he ran to meet it midway, his spear moving through the air in an ascending, piercing strike.
Taken aback by Ascalon’s bravery, the large creature hesitated before pouncing toward him, falling pretty much onto the knight’s attack. Exemplaris perforated the monster with ease, cleaving through as Ascalon moved with precision in order to not be bathed in crimson.
The lance drove deep into the beast’s massive chest, sending a shockwave rippling through its insides and causing it to screech in pain as its life faded. Ascalon removed the spear with a swift movement, watching as the monster crumpled to the ground, now an unmoving, bloody lump of muscles and fur.
He sighed as his gaze parted from the corpse, inspecting the surroundings one last time, only to find the silent aftermath of the battle. If that had been the strongest beast—perhaps even the leader of the pack, even if utterly weak in comparison to prior enemies—then the camp was probably spared from further complications, he thought.
With that in mind, he crouched slightly, flexing his legs, before leaping with a controlled yet powerful jump aimed back at the makeshift base. From above, he could see the camp was empty, at least. His eye darted from one spot to the other, noticing there was no damage to the facilities. As he landed with an echoing thud, he recomposed himself and expanded his senses.
“Hmm… I cannot find them.” Ascalon muttered to himself while he looked around. Then, he caught sight of an interesting detail. Right where Selorien had used his skill stood now a mass of black, swirling shadows, its form resembling a rectangular portal. Its dark surface shimmered slightly, resembling distant stars twinkling in the night sky, giving it a mystical allure.
Urged by curiosity and longing for his friends, he approached it. “Hmm… shall I just… touch it?” Ascalon pondered as he extended his hand toward the gateway. It felt like a veil—soft and fluid, similar to sand but without the coarse texture—and produced no discomfort at his touch. Without further ado, he bravely crossed the threshold.
The sensation was different from the portals he had used to travel to and from dungeons, as it was more like he had simply blinked in a more instantaneous, seamless way.
“Whoa.” Ascalon muttered as he emerged, gathering his surroundings just as a familiar voice greeted him.
“Ascalon!” Lilithra chirped, standing at his side with her banner at the ready. She seemed to have been guarding the gateway. Commendable!
From behind her shoulder peeked Selorien, yawning with his usual carefreeness. “Hey~!” The elf waved at him, and Ascalon sighed in relief. It seemed everyone was fine!
To further solidify his thoughts, the other researchers approached, with Irwin and Ragna leading the group.
“Is it safe now?” The older man asked, his eyes set in the distance. Ascalon followed his gaze and noticed they were quite the distance away from the base—Selorien had really taken a lengthy ‘stroll’!
“I believe it is. But I suggest we wait here for a while—just in case.” Ascalon replied with a reassuring voice and a soft smile on his lips. The researchers sighed collectively in relief, while Lilithra giggled smugly at his side.
“Nicely done!” She exclaimed as she beamed at him, and Ascalon placed a hand on her head.
“You too, Lilithra, Selorien.” Ascalon said as he gazed upon his friends, who had done a remarkable job. Even if the situation could’ve been handled by him alone, it was gratifying to see his companions in action.
For now, things had calmed down, and all they could do was wait and see how things would develop next.