The gates collapsed.
A thunderous crash rang through the air, sending splinters and debris flying in all directions.
And then—
The Imps poured in.
——
Screams filled the air.
The once-structured defensive formations broke apart beneath the sheer overwhelming force of the invading horde. The ground trembled beneath the weight of hundreds of clawed feet, the pungent stench of dirt, iron, and blood thickening the atmosphere.
I could hear Garret shouting orders, his voice raw from exhaustion.
"FALL BACK! REGROUP! HOLD THE INNER PERIMETER!"
But it was too late for that.
The battle was already inside the walls.
——
I turned, catching a glimpse of Lucian and Boros, back to back as they fought desperately to push the Imps back.
Lucian wielded his curved blade, his movements fluid, efficient, but each swing was met with two more enemies pressing in.
Boros, his bow long discarded, was now wielding a hunting knife, fending off attackers with desperate, brute force.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE THE REINFORCEMENTS?!" Lucian shouted, his voice ragged.
Boros let out a wet, humourless chuckle between heavy breaths.
"Reinforcements? Lucian, mate—" he twisted his knife into an Imp's throat, shoving the corpse away—"We ARE the reinforcements."
——
I barely had time to react before something massive loomed over the battlefield.
A heavy impact shook the earth.
Imps scattered, their chatter shifting into frantic, guttural yelps.
Something was moving through them.
Something bigger.
Something worse.
——
And then I saw him.
Red Nose.
He stepped over the wreckage of the gate, his massive form towering over the battlefield, his shell-covered frame glinting under the flickering torchlight.
His mutated limbs, spiked and layered with unnatural armour, flexed with sickening ease, his claws curling as if savouring the slaughter.
His eyes gleamed with something unholy—not just rage, but hunger.
And in that moment—
Everything changed.
——
The Imps, once fighting with reckless abandon, suddenly shifted.
They weren't mindless beasts anymore.
They were soldiers following a leader.
And that leader was now on the battlefield.
——
I barely had time to raise my weapon before he moved.
Faster than he should have been.
His first swing—a monstrous, sweeping strike with a massive, jagged club—sent at least five soldiers flying through the air, their armour crumpling like paper.
Screams.
Cracking bone.
Blood splattered against the ground.
I ducked, barely avoiding a second swing, my breath catching in my throat.
He wasn't just strong.
He was unrelenting.
——
"WE CAN'T FIGHT THAT THING!"
It was Galeas, his face twisted in panic as he tried to pull away.
"WE HAVE TO RUN!"
He turned—
And an Imp spear found his back.
——
I gasped as Galeas staggered, his hands clenching at the iron tip jutting from his stomach.
His mouth opened—no sound. Just… a horrified realisation.
Then—
He fell.
Face-first into the dirt.
And the battle went on.
——
I gritted my teeth, pushing forward, my blade meeting flesh as I carved through the thick of the fight.
Lucian was still standing, bloodied, his stance weakening.
Boros had taken an arrow through the thigh, but was still fighting, gripping his blade like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
Garret was holding the centre, his shield shattered, yet still barking orders like a man too stubborn to accept his own mortality.
But one by one—
They were falling.
——
And then, as if to tear away all hope—
A familiar, agonised cry rang through the air.
——
I turned just in time to see Edan collapse.
His hand was pressed to his side, blood seeping between his fingers.
"Edan!"
I barely had time to think before I was running toward him.
He groaned, shifting slightly, his breathing uneven.
"That was… careless," he muttered, his lips twitching into something almost resembling amusement despite the pain.
I fell to my knees beside him, my hands hovering uselessly.
"What happened?!"
"Arrow," he rasped, wincing as he tried to sit up. "I think it hit… something important."
"Then stop moving!"
"Well, it's either that or get crushed under—"
A shadow fell over us.
——
Red Nose.
Standing just a few feet away.
And for the first time, I saw it.
The way his gaze fixated—not on the battlefield, not on the crumbling camp—
But on Elias.
——
A slow, twisting rage contorted Red Nose's already grotesque features.
His clawed fingers curled, the glow of his mutated veins pulsing brighter, deeper.
"Vash'tal… ISSHKAR!."
——
Elias stiffened.
His smirk was gone.
His posture changed.
Not relaxed.
Not amused.
But something else entirely.
Something cold.
——
Elias shows a puzzled expression
"Thief?" Elias echoed, his voice lower, something almost too controlled lurking beneath it.
Red Nose let out a snarl, his breath thick with something foul, rotten, wrong.
"YOU TOOK WHAT WAS NOT YOURS."
"Ushto'kai… NATHUR! T'KAASH! NAV'RAK! ISSHH-TORAH!"
——
The air shifted.
The Imps stopped.
Everything—
For just a moment—
Everything paused.
——
And then—
Red Nose charged.
——
The ground cracked beneath him, his weight collapsing the earth in his wake.
I barely had time to react before he swung, his club tearing through the ground like it was nothing.
Elias moved.
He didn't run.
He didn't dodge.
He vanished.
A blink.
A shadow.
And then—
He was behind Red Nose.
——
The monster roared, twisting, his massive form slower, but still unnaturally powerful.
Elias's eyes glowed for a single heartbeat, his fingers twitching, the remnants of black mist curling around his hands.
And I saw it.
The way he felt it.
The way the darkness wanted him to answer.
To strike.
To consume.
——
I exhaled, my grip tightening on my weapon.
"EDAN," I shouted, my voice barely cutting through the chaos.
He was still on the ground, but his eyes were wide now.
Because he saw it too.
This wasn't just a battle anymore.
This was something else.
Something older.
Something far more dangerous.
——
And I knew—
If we didn't end this soon, if we didn't find a way to stop it—
Something far worse than death was waiting.