From the bleak heavens, they descended—dark shapes, massive and ominous, their wings so wide they seemed to blot out the faint light that managed to pierce the dense cloud cover. The air was suffocating, heavy with the scent of rot, like a battlefield long abandoned. Each beat of their enormous wings stirred gusts of foul wind, laden with the stench of death. They came in packs, swirling down toward the ruined city like harbingers of doom. The sound of their leathery wings filled the silence, growing louder with each passing second.
As they approached, their grotesque forms became clearer. They were like giant bats, yet their appearance was far more monstrous. Their black, leathery skin clung tightly to skeletal frames, and their glowing crimson eyes pierced the darkness with malevolent intent. Their wide, flat heads resembled predators bred for destruction, their serrated teeth dripping with venomous saliva that sizzled upon contact with the ground.
These were Voidwing Predators, named for their ability to blend into the darkness, appearing without warning and attacking from above. They were classified as Basic-tier Beasts, but it wasn't their individual strength that made them dangerous—it was their sheer numbers. In swarms, they could overwhelm even the most seasoned soldiers.
"Stick together! Don't let them have their way!" Brandon's voice rang out, snapping the group into action. Flames erupted around his arms as he activated his Infernal core, the heat intensifying in the air around him. He leaped into the sky, launching a blazing fist through three Voidwings, disintegrating them into ash. But the air was filled with their high-pitched screeches as more of them descended, their numbers unrelenting.
One of the creatures swooped toward Brandon from behind, but a sudden gust of wind knocked it off course. Brandon landed with a grunt, looking up to see an endless swarm descending upon them.
"This is bad," he muttered, conjuring a fireball in his hand and hurling it toward the sky. It exploded upon contact, sending more of the bat-like creatures into fiery oblivion. Jim joined him, launching fireballs alongside a Level 4 first-year girl. But for every Voidwing they incinerated, more replaced them.
The creatures screeched in anger, their cries echoing through the ruins as they dove toward the squad, claws extended. A Gaia core user quickly summoned a dome of earth, covering the group from the descending onslaught. The ground trembled as the Voidwings crashed against the dome, their sharp beaks and claws piercing into the surface. The constant cracking of the earth under the assault echoed around them.
"What are we going to do now?" Martin asked, his voice laced with fear. His eyes darted toward Brandon, the only one who seemed to be holding his composure.
"We can't stay in here forever!" Michael yelled from the side, his hands trembling as he struggled to maintain his section of the dome. "They're going to break through!"
"It's all your fault!" Jim snapped at Eric, who stood apart from the rest of the group, his face calm despite the chaos around him. "We should've left before these things showed up!"
Eric smirked, folding his arms. "They're attracted to noise, Jim. And you've been screaming this whole time."
As if on cue, the Voidwings intensified their attack, their beaks and claws ripping through the dome with renewed fury. The cracks spread rapidly.
"I can't hold it any longer!" Another Gaia core user—a boy on the same level as Michael—cried out. His section shattered first, sending him flying backward. A Voidwing seized the opportunity and burst through the opening, its glowing eyes locked onto Larry, the blind boy standing helplessly in the center of the group.
But before it could reach him, Eric shot forward, grabbing the Voidwing by one of its claws and flinging it into the air. The impact caused the entire dome to shatter, leaving the group exposed to the swarm once more.
"I didn't mean to…" Eric muttered, pulling Larry closer as he kicked another Voidwing square in the chest.
"I can fight too!" Larry protested, frustration etched across his face as the battle raged around him. The sounds of wings, claws, and the cries of his comrades echoed in his ears, making him feel more useless by the second.
"They're faster than you, Larry. Just stay down," Eric replied, his voice firm but not unkind. He leaped into the air, grabbing two Voidwings by their wings and spinning them toward Brandon, who instantly vaporized them with a fiery blast.
The battle was chaotic. Fireballs erupted in the sky, casting fleeting light over the broken city as the squad fought for their lives. Gaia core users raised walls of earth, momentarily halting the relentless swarm, while the Aerial core users conjured gusts of wind to knock the Voidwings off balance. But even with their combined efforts, it felt as though the creatures were endless.
One by one, the Voidwings fell, their charred bodies littering the ground, their wings torn and scattered. The acrid scent of burning flesh hung heavy in the air. Black blood oozed from the lifeless carcasses, staining the ruined streets and soaking into the cracked earth.
"I can't believe it," Ariana, the Level 4 Aerial core user, gasped, her chest heaving as she surveyed the aftermath. Her suit was stained with the black substance that once ran through the Voidwings' veins. "We… we did it."
The group was exhausted, their suits smeared with grime and blood, their faces slick with sweat. Only Larry remained untouched, and Brandon, whose flames had kept the creatures at bay.
"Don't get too excited," Bliss, one of the second-year students, scoffed. "I could've wiped them all out if I wanted to. We just thought you first-years needed some practice."
Roland rolled his eyes. "We all saw the look on your face. You were just as freaked out as the rest of us."
Brandon, wiping the sweat from his brow, turned toward the edge of the blue circle that marked their safe zone. "Let's not waste any more time. We need to move on."
But just as he took a step forward, Larry's voice cut through the air. "Wait."
The entire group froze. The tension was palpable as everyone turned to the blind boy, who stood perfectly still, his head tilted as though listening to something they couldn't hear.
"I don't think it's over," Larry whispered, his voice barely audible. But the fear in it was unmistakable.
Ariana's face drained of color. "What do you mean, not over?" she asked, panic creeping into her voice.
"I can't believe you're all listening to this blind fool!" one of the first-year students sneered, stepping out of the circle. He turned his back on the group, mocking them for their hesitation.
"What are you all waiting for?" He cried out as he walked backward, his figure blending with the darkness.
David gritted his teeth and started walking forward, the taunting voice of the First Year Student has gotten over his head. The moment he placed a feet out of the circle,
A sickening splutch echoed through the ruins as red liquid splattered across his body.
"What in the world?" He cried out, his eyes wide in horror as he retreated back to the others who were as shocked as him.
Standing yards away was a massive creature, far larger than the Voidwings they had just fought. Its beak was long—longer than a human arm—and its crimson eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence. Its leathery skin blended seamlessly with the void of the night sky, and its claws dug deep into the earth as it dragged the headless body of the first-year toward the group.
"What… what the hell is that?" Jim whispered, his voice trembling as he stared at the creature.
Brandon's face hardened as he stepped forward. "That's Alpha Voidwing, the leader of the Voidwings we just defeated. Larry's right, it's here to avenge its pack."
The massive beast stood over eight feet tall, its beak dripping with blood. Its red eyes surveyed the group with a cold, calculating stare, as though it knew exactly what it wanted—and how to get it.
The second-year students quickly formed a line, their faces grim. Brandon and Jim, both Infernal core users, moved to the front, flames igniting around their fists. Martin and Edwin, the Gaia core users, flanked them, their hands already summoning the earth beneath them. David, the lone Aqua user, prepared himself beside Brandon, while Bliss hovered in the back, her Aerial core ready to strike.
"This isn't just any beast," Brandon warned. "This is an intelligent intermediate-tier monster. Don't hold back. Fight like your lives depend on it—because they do."