In the besieged kingdom, five towering bastions stood as the last line of defense against the encroaching darkness—two at the front, and one each in the north, south, and west. The western tower was under the vigilant watch of Poll and the elite Nightread team, who fought relentlessly to keep the tower safe from advancing threats.
Inside the command center, the King's voice crackled through the communication badge, filled with urgency.
"Have they located it yet?"
"Not yet, Your Majesty," came the reply, a hint of tension in the soldier's voice.
"Then tell them to hurry. We don't have much time," the King urged, his tone steady but sharp with the weight of looming disaster.
In the south tower, Aeren, a sharp-eyed young man of twenty-four, paced with purpose. Clad in a sleek white-and-green battle uniform, his array of small, deadly weapons gleamed at his waist. Alongside him, Reik adjusted a detection device, scanning the surroundings with intensity. The two were focused, alert to every movement. Suddenly, their badges buzzed with a message from HQ.
"HQ to South Tower. Do you copy?"
Aeren grumbled in irritation, his voice steady despite his frustration. "Yes, loud and clear."
"King's orders—finish the sweep quickly. We're running out of time."
Aeren rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. "Alright, alright. You don't need to remind us every few minutes." His gaze never wavered from the horizon, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The tension in the air was palpable.
Just then, Reik's eyes lit up as the device hummed, blinking with urgency.
"I've got it! Three individuals over there—corruption readings!"
Without hesitation, Aeren drew three knives from his belt. In a fluid motion, the blades sailed through the air with deadly precision. Each knife struck its target in the neck. Despite the accuracy of the strikes, the figures remained standing, though the poison left them paralyzed, unable to resist as soldiers swiftly moved in, restraining them for interrogation.
Aeren let out a quiet sigh of disappointment. "That was too easy."
He touched his badge again. "Mission complete on this end. What's the status of the other towers?"
The voice that came through was calm, but strained. "Still in process. Hold your position at South Tower and await further instructions."
As Aeren pocketed his remaining weapons, he exchanged a wary glance with Reik. Both of them knew that the battle was far from over.
Back at the headquarters, the communications crackled again.
"HQ to King, South Tower is secure," an officer reported, voice steady but filled with urgency.
The Butler, standing nearby, nodded but turned to another officer, his expression grim. "And the other towers?"
The officer glanced at the screens. "No unusual activity detected at the northern tower, but we've had no updates from the front two."
"Send reinforcements immediately," the Butler ordered, his voice cold with authority. "We can't afford to lose any of the towers."
Just as the tension thickened, a new officer rushed forward, his face pale.
"Sir, we're reading extreme mana corruption from the second front tower. It's… it's escalating!"
Before anyone could respond, the entire command center trembled. A thunderous roar echoed through the kingdom, shaking the walls and sending shockwaves through the command room. The battlefield screens flickered and trembled. On one of the monitors, the image of the second tower came into view—and a massive creature had burst forth from inside.
The creature was a hulking mass, its corrupted form rippling with dark mana. Towering at thirty feet, it grew even larger as they watched, an abomination born of flesh and corruption.
"Sir… that's an S-class monster!" one officer stammered, his face drained of color. "The second tower… it's fallen."
The Butler's eyes hardened, his voice a cold whisper. "Prepare for the worst. The enemy has breached our defenses."
[Fifteen minutes earlier, inside the 2nd tower]
The stone stairs groaned underfoot as Ass, a towering warrior clad in heavy armor, climbed with surprising speed. His footsteps were rhythmic, almost like the sound of thunder in the narrow, winding stairwell. Beside him, Rem, a high-level mage with sharp features and an equally sharp tongue, moved swiftly, though her expression was a mixture of annoyance and barely-contained frustration.
"You're an ass, you know that?" Rem muttered, casting a pointed glare at Ass as she caught up.
"What?" Ass responded, clearly unfazed. "What's wrong now?"
"Why did you drag me up here?" she demanded, exasperation clear in her voice. "I was right in the middle of some important research!"
"I thought you liked me," Ass replied, flashing a cocky, lopsided grin.
Rem rolled her eyes. "Shut up, you big oaf," she snapped, though a small, involuntary grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "And quit acting like we're on a date."
The sound of their footsteps echoed in the narrow tower hallway as they reached the final door. Rem's expression shifted, her brow furrowing. She raised her hand to stop Ass, signaling him to be quiet. The air had changed—an unsettling chill lingered in the thick atmosphere.
"The corruption traces are strong—right behind this wall," she said, her voice lowering to a tense whisper.
Ass cocked his head, scanning the area. "Behind there?" He looked around, clearly confused. "What are you talking about? It's just a door."
"Shh…!" Rem hissed, giving him an exasperated look. Her eyes narrowed with intensity as she felt the dark presence pressing against her senses. "This feels... different."
"Whatever." Ass grunted, rolling his shoulders as he cracked his knuckles, dismissing her concern. He was the blunt instrument, after all. Stepping forward, he raised his booted foot and kicked the door open with a mighty crash.
The scene inside was enough to stop them both cold. Seated at a wooden table was a man, his face streaked with grotesque, red-lined patterns like veins of corruption. His nose bled sluggishly, and his eyes glowed with an unnatural, feral light—almost as if the very essence of madness was pouring out of him. The air was thick with the scent of rot and foul magic.
"What in the—?" Rem whispered, her voice barely a breath as her heart pounded in her chest.
Before she could finish her thought, Ass was already in motion. With blinding speed, he drew his massive sword and sliced through the man's neck in a single, fluid strike. The head tumbled to the floor with a sickening thud.
But as the head hit the stone ground, something far worse happened.
Rem gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "He's still... the mana corruption's still there!"
The body, even without a head, began to bubble and writhe. Flesh stretched unnaturally, twisting and contorting as it absorbed everything around it. Mana stones from the table, enchanted items scattered nearby, and even the walls of the room began to disintegrate, consumed by the growing corruption. The man's body was no longer human; it morphed into a grotesque, monstrous form—a towering creature of flesh and dark magic, pulsing with a malevolent energy.
Ass stepped back, his eyes narrowing. "Well, that's not normal."
Rem, stunned, barely had time to react. "We need to—"
The creature's new form roared, its mouth splitting open to reveal rows of jagged teeth, and the very air around it seemed to warp as the beast grew, absorbing more and more of the corrupted mana. It towered in the center of the room, feeding off the remnants of the dark magic around it, swelling in size as the twisted mana continued to fuel its transformation.
Now, back in the present, the monster that had emerged from the tower loomed large, spreading fear and chaos across the battlefield.
It was impossible to ignore. The creature, now a massive, pulsating abomination, loomed over the soldiers below, a swirling vortex of corruption and dread. It was a monstrosity—flesh rippling with dark energy, covered in spiny protrusions that seemed to pulse and twitch as they fed on the very air.
The beast's form continued to expand, growing with unnatural speed as it absorbed every trace of dark energy around it. Mana stones, enchanted relics, and even the fallen soldiers' mana were sucked into its grotesque mass, making it nearly unstoppable.
"Is that… what I think it is?" one soldier whispered, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yeah," another replied, his voice shaking. "That's an S-Class monster… how is it even possible ? Where that thing came from..?"
The creature let out a deafening roar, and with a terrifying lurch, it stomped forward, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. The ground trembled beneath its massive feet, and the corrupted energy that radiated from its body threatened to overwhelm the air itself. Soldiers scrambled, fear gripping their hearts as they tried to regroup, but it was clear that no one was prepared for this kind of assault.
In the distance, King Varyndor watched the chaos unfold, his hand clenched into a fist. He knew they couldn't afford to waste any more time. The corruption that had spawned this beast had already begun to spread—if they didn't act fast, they might lose the entire front line.
Back in the command center, officers scrambled to issue orders, but the overwhelming force of the corruption had already put them on the defensive.
"The 2nd tower... it's fallen," one officer reported, his voice strained. "That thing... it's growing faster than we can deal with it!"
As the battle raged on, the presence of the abomination from the tower cast a shadow over everything. It wasn't just the size or strength of the creature—it was the taint of corruption that followed in its wake, spreading through the very heart of the kingdom. The true battle had begun.