The soldiers fighting near the gate felt the exhaustion build up. They were tired—very tired. But they kept fighting for what they believed.

The wounds and the pain they bought were nothing compared to the anguish of losing a brother in war. A war that they did not start.

As the waves of the beast began to slowly overwhelm them, they all had one thought in mind.

Hope.

But before death could harvest their souls, a pressure befell the land, one they had not experienced in all the years they've been fighting. The pressure was so violent that even the beasts halted their attacks as they trembled.

The soldiers dare not make a move as a titanic weight pressed down against the abominations, forcing them to cower. The sky appeared as though it was tainted in blood, and the scent of iron was prevalent in the air.

Looking at the distance, they saw it—the source of the pressure.

Samael swallowed hard as his instincts roared at him, screaming alarms of danger.

Although Ishkar made sure to exclude him from the effects, for a brief moment, Samael felt and witnessed his power.

If Icarius's soul forge was refined and noble, Ishkar was akin to a warrior bathed in the blood of his vanquished foes. It was... suffocating.

When Ishkar activated his soul forge, blood began to exit from his eyes and skin, enveloping his body in its whole entirety. When it was finished, Ishkar now has crimson chains hugging his body and gauntlet.

Without warning, Ishkar's figure blurred as a large explosion shook the battlefield. Samael had to swiftly lower himself and grasp the earth as the ground began to sink.

When the dust settled, Samuel's eyes widened as he witnessed the carnage Ishkar unleashed.

Before him were mountains of corpses forming lakes of blood, their heads smashed in, brains oozing out while some were ripped in two like a piece of paper.

Pushing through the mist of blood, a road of nothing but dead bodies lay ahead of him.

Expanding his Void compass, Samael can sense a presence that far outweighs everyone in the field, and it was moving rapidly—so fast even his compass was finding it hard to follow.

Time to go! Samael blasted through the mountains of corpses as he hacked and cleaved through the remaining beasts Ishkar missed.

Samael's eyes darted back and forth as multiple thunderous explosions shook the earth, sending shockwaves at random. The farther he got, the more the bodies were and the harsher the stench of iron.

However, Samael felt his blood run cold as multiple new figures emerged from the rift, entering his Void compass rapidly. As he feared, they were all heading for him.

These creatures were all ranked or higher than Saint and were too much even for him. This was insanity!

Gathering layers of Void matter in his feet, Samael spoke. "Void Pul—"

Samael's eyes widened as the mist of blood was blown away when a large claw descended from above.

Exploding into a flock of ravens, Samael weaved through the attack as he escaped through the sky.

Unfortunately, this ability was not permanent, as Samael was forced to regroup and land back. Not wasting time, he shot forward like an arrow, narrowly avoiding the beasts lunging at him.

"Damn it!" Samael roared as he nimbly bobbed his head back, the tip of what appeared as a mace-like tail nicking his forehead and scratching his Void skin.

But before he could advance, another beast blocked his path; it's speed was too fast for Samael as it delved down for a quick bite.

Shit Samael thought as he watched its maws close.

"Not too fast."

Appearing from the mist, Ishkar's figure zoomed past Samael, blowing through the skull of the bastard as its body flopped down dead.

"Keep moving."

Samael gave the man a nod as he rose up and pushed forward.

Clearing the path for him, Samael's advance was smoother than before, but even he could feel the alarming increase in opponents and the strength they carried.

Not only that, but these beasts were somehow getting past Ishkar with clever tricks such as delivering underneath or using camouflage. It seems all they wanted was to kill Samael, even if it cost them everything.

Whatever the Void was planning, the enemy had noticed it. And it was desperately trying to stop him.

Stolen story; please report.

Pushing past another fallen beast, Samael felt the world spin as he barely avoided a fall; his vision felt as though it was being crumpled like paper, along with a splitting headache.

"What the...?" Samael muttered.

Evolution ability [Abyss Depths] has taken effect!

Samael's head swiftly lost pressure as he felt the pain lessen. Reading the panel, his eyes widened.

Mental attacks! Fuck! Samael cussed as he expanded his Void compass. Sensing a presence deep in the ground, Samuel's eyes narrowed. Found you.

Shooting forward, Samuel spoke.

"Void fire: Pulse mode!"

Waves of Void matter began to converge in Samael's fingertips as he aimed low, exactly where the creature was as it began to move in a panic.

"Too slow," Samael said as a purple beam blasted forth, pushing him a little higher in the air with its sheer force.

As the beam hit the ground, it shattered into fragments before a fountain of blood flew up, followed by a system panel.

Not wasting nore time, Samael continued his advance when the earth began to tremble.

Stabilising himself, Samael's face paled when the ground began to sink. Leaping forward, he narrowly avoided being buried to death.

But it was not over yet.

Soon, the ground beneath him began to tremble again. There was no doubt it was another abomination.

Raising his hand, Samuel spoke.

"Devourer."

Sinking his hand in the earth, a thunderous screech ripped in the air as an earthquake of great proportions shook the land.

It worked! Samael thought as he blew away.

Using Devourer, he tore off a part of the beast, buying him time as it wailed in pain.

Looking at the map the codex saved, Samael deduced he was close to the deadzones. But looking around, it seems he did not need to look at the map to understand this was where it all began.

The land had become barren as though its vitality had been sucked away. The earth was coarse, and the stench of beasts was strong.

But what truly sold it was the surge of energy Samael felt in Tera.

Rifts.

And hundreds of them.

But this was not his final destination. He must delve deeper.

"Now what?" Ishkar asked as he landed beside the boy, his body caked in blood.

"I need to get deeper, in the centre of all this," Samael said.

"If that's the case, brace for impact," Ishkar said as he shot a look ahead.

Noticing his gaze, Samael speared a glance forward as multiple entities entered his Void compass.

"Whatever is making these rifts used a great deal of energy to the point it shut down some of the portals to create those four. I can handle them, but I cannot guarantee your safety," Ishkar said. "Do you understand what this means?"

Looking at the rapidly approaching beasts, Samael can deduce they were around the Transcendent rank, and all of them also possessed a form of element, judging by how some of them were actively using them to boost their speed.

"I understand," Samael said as he took a deep breath.

It was the final stretch.

His objective was only roughly 800 meters away based on the Codex; he was so near.

"Then let's do this," Ishkar said as he stretched his arms.

"No other way around it," Samael replied as he muttered.

"Hyperdrive."

Veins began to jut out of Samael's skin as he clenched his teeth, his muscles tightening, showing the striations of his muscle fibres as they drew lines in his flesh.

Samael's skin began to release steam and dark smoke as the Void matter began to seep out of his flesh, corroding his body slowly but surely while his soul screamed in utter agony.

Isaac's eyes narrowed as his face morphed. Samael truly was a monster. To have the will to endure something so agonising takes a hell of a lot of spirit and perseverance.

Not wasting more time, Ishkar blasted forward, meeting the transcendents head-on as he leaped in the air.

"Crimson judgement."

Before the beast's eyes, a large hammer made of blood that would dwarf Ishkar's previous attack materialised in his hands.

Pulling with all his strength, Ishkar roared as he smashed the ground with a force to level a small village, causing the earth to sink.

Feeling the ground drop, Samael groaned as he blasted in the sky, breezing through the wind with speed no man can see.

Samael gritted his teeth as blood began to spread in the corners of his eyes, with some forming tears.

But Samael's advance was slowed as a beam of lightning tore through his shoulder, immobilising his left hand.

With his momentum lost, Samael plummeted down, gaining speed every second before smashing against the earth with a reckoning boom.

Samael bit his lips as he tasted iron in his mouth. Gathering his strength, Samael rose up as he trembled in sheer pain, his arms shattered and some of his ribs broken, piercing his flesh.

Spitting blood, Samael crouched as he blasted forward, narrowly avoiding another beam from above.

Ishkar's eyes narrowed as he switched his gaze at the flying beast. However, before he could proceed, the other three jumped at him, forcing him to stop and face them.

Samael's entirety cried in pain as blood began to exit all the holes in his body, trickling down his skin while his arms flew around like paper.

400 meters. He was so close.

With another forceful step forward, he glided through the air, his hair blown back, showing the cracks in his skin.

300 meters—

Samael's eyes widened as a sharp pain hit him straight, disorienting him.

The flying abomination released a screech as another bolt of lightning burnt Samael, tearing pieces of his skin.

But Samael did not fall as he leaped forward using what little strength remained in him.

The bird roared in rage as it conjured a ball of pure lightning, causing the sky to darken as though a storm was brewing.

100 meters. He was close. It was just there.

Gathering his remaining flicker of power, Samael dashed forward, breaking his legs as he closed the distance fast.

90 meters.

80 meters.

70.

60.

50.

40—

The abomination swallowed the ball of lightning as its body glew blue, as though lightning had engulfed it.

With one flap of its wings, it shot straight down, heading straight for Samael rapidly.

30 meters.

20 meters.

Reaching for the target location, the beast was but centimetres from Samael's back, aiming for his heart, and for a moment, time seemed to slow down.

Then there was light.

Ishkar braced hard as a shockwave swept the entire dead zones, sweeping everything in its path, may it be beasts or nature itself.

Large chunks of earth and dead trees were thrown with great speed while the abominations who were unable to stand the force were torn to shreds.

The light was bright enough that even the people near the wall could see the dome of glowing blue and the tremble in the ground.

"Samael!" Ishkar roared as he realised he had failed to protect the boy.

When the dust settled and the light had subsided, there was nothing but ruins and destruction...

And something he has never seen before.

"Spawn of zealots, you do not belong here. Go back from whence you came."