The forest trembled as more of the twisted creatures emerged from the rift. Their chitinous bodies gleamed under the eerie red glow, their glowing violet eyes scanning the surroundings with unnatural intelligence.
Elias clenched his gauntleted fist, his mind racing. We're outnumbered. Outmatched. And we have no idea what these things are.
Reinhardt raised his hammer. "I count at least a dozen. Maybe more."
Cecilia spun her daggers. "They don't look friendly."
Marco's hands shook as he pulled out a vial of alchemical fire. "This isn't a normal mana disturbance. This… this is something else entirely."
Ivy narrowed her eyes. "They're watching us."
Elias exhaled. "Good. Let them."
The creatures lunged.
The First Battle Against the Unknown
Reinhardt met them head-on, his war hammer slamming into the first creature, sending it crashing into the ground. The impact cracked the earth, but the monster twitched violently, already regenerating.
Ivy loosed an arrow straight through the eye socket of another creature—but just like before, it healed instantly.
Cecilia danced between two of them, her daggers slashing through weak points, but the wounds closed as fast as she made them.
Marco threw his alchemical fire, engulfing one in flames.
For a moment, it screeched in agony—but then, the fire was absorbed into its body, the creature growing stronger instead of weaker.
Marco paled. "They're… adapting?"
Elias gritted his teeth. We can't kill them with normal attacks.
The creatures were regenerating, absorbing energy, adapting to whatever they were hit with.
But then—he noticed something.
The one he had hit with his gauntlet's shockwave hadn't regenerated as fast.
Elias's eyes narrowed. It disrupted their regeneration.
Lira ducked behind a tree. "Elias! We need a plan yesterday!"
Elias flexed his fingers, feeling the stored kinetic charge hum through his gauntlet.
"Hit them all at once," he said. "Too much damage for them to regenerate at the same time."
Reinhardt grinned. "So, big hits?"
Elias smirked. "Very big hits."
Overwhelming Force
Elias activated his kinetic overcharge, channeling all his stored energy into his gauntlet. Sparks crackled across its surface, the air humming with tension.
Reinhardt raised his hammer. "On your mark."
Ivy knocked an explosive arrow, her focus sharp.
Cecilia coated her blades with paralytic toxin, knowing she had to disable instead of kill.
Marco pulled out three vials, mixing them mid-air into an unstable volatile compound.
The creatures screeched, sensing the energy spike—and charged all at once.
Elias moved first.
He slammed his fist into the ground, releasing a massive shockwave.
BOOM.
The force rippled outward, hitting every creature at once. The ground shook violently, cracking apart beneath them.
Reinhardt followed up immediately, bringing his war hammer down with a tremendous impact, sending two creatures flying.
Ivy fired her explosive arrow, striking a cluster of enemies—the detonation engulfed them in raw force, not fire.
Cecilia blurred between three creatures, slashing key joints, leaving them paralyzed instead of injured.
Marco threw his unstable compound, which didn't burn—instead, it created a field of disorienting mist, disrupting their movement.
The creatures shrieking in confusion.
Their bodies twitched, struggling to regenerate.
Elias exhaled. It's working.
But then—the rift pulsed again.
And something else stepped through.
The First True Threat
The new figure was different.
It was taller, more humanoid, its chitinous armor thicker, darker, more refined.
But the real problem?
It spoke.
"Fascinating."
Elias's heart slammed against his ribs.
The others froze.
Cecilia whispered, "Oh. That's bad."
The humanoid creature studied them, its violet eyes glowing with eerie intelligence.
"You are not mages," it said, its voice unnervingly smooth. "Yet you fight as if you understand battle."
Elias clenched his fists. "Yeah? And who the hell are you?"
The creature smiled. "We are the first wave."
Lira paled. "Oh, hell no."
Elias activated his gauntlet. "Alright, buddy. Let's see what you've got."
The creature didn't move.
Instead, it raised a single hand—
And the entire battlefield twisted.
The air turned heavy, the mana around them warping, shifting, as if gravity itself had been altered.
Elias staggered, feeling his body resisting movement.
Marco gasped. "It's manipulating the mana field itself."
Ivy tried to shoot—but her arrow slowed mid-air, curving unnaturally.
Cecilia's movements were delayed, as if time itself was dragging her back.
Reinhardt gritted his teeth. "This isn't normal magic."
Elias growled. His gauntlet flickered, struggling against the pressure.
The humanoid creature tilted its head. "Curious. You use tools, not magic."
It lowered its hand.
"This world will not survive."
Then—it disappeared.
And the rift collapsed inward, taking the remaining creatures with it.
Silence crashed over the battlefield.
Lira's voice was the first to break it.
"…What. The hell. Was that?"
Elias stared at the empty space where the creature had been.
His breath was ragged, his mind racing.
Because now, he knew the truth.
This wasn't just an unstable mana disturbance.
This was a warning.
And whatever that thing was—
It wasn't from this world.