The spear arrived first.
It punched through the shoulder of the long-limbed Narkal with a sound like a tree splitting, the impact driving the creature sideways into the dirt hard enough to throw up a wall of broken soil.
Despite the savagery of the strike, it hadn't killed it.
Ashen arrived a half-second later, directly behind the falling spear, and the world around him opened into red.
He planted one boot against the creature's collapsing shoulder, used the resistance to wrench the spear free with both hands, and let the momentum carry him into a full rotation.
Blood and torn muscle sprayed in an arc as the blade cleared the wound. He came out of the spin already facing the next threat, spear angled low.
The soldiers nearest him went still.
What they were witnessing should have been madness by any measure of logic.
By now, most of them knew Ashen's true step level. Fighting one step above his rank was already something barely conceivable. Two? That was pure madness.
...Even with all the outrageous rumors they had heard about his deeds during the last Narkal war.
But Ashen was the king of the battlefield. Their undefeated king. The one who had never once let them down.
And so, even in the face of madness, not one of them entertained the thought of his defeat.
That was why no one protested, and why no one moved to stop his advance.
Ashen ran the numbers even as he settled into stance.
'I've killed Great Demons before. Never five at once... well, there's a first time for everything.'
Riven Convergence sprang to life almost instantly, mana threading through every fiber of his body and tightening him into a single coiled intent rather than a collection of separate muscles.
Honestly, in his current state, this reinforcement skill contributed to most of his lethality alongside Mana Authority.
CRACK—!
The bladed Narkal moved first.
Its orbiting weapons snapped outward into a wide net meant to cut him from four directions at once.
Ashen stepped into it instead of away.
The blades passed close enough to split the air against his skin. Two grazed his forearm, carving shallow lines that bled freely.
He was already past the perimeter.
His spear drove straight toward the creature's center mass before its orbit could correct.
Ashen knew this opening existed mostly because of surprise.
He likely wouldn't get another chance like this.
So he put everything into the strike.
Mana erupted through Mel's shaft like a storm.
It gathered in an instant, condensing around his intent until even the surrounding space seemed to groan under the pressure.
The spear tip gradually took on an ivory hue.
Then, in that brief instant, something strange happened. Ashen felt his desire to kill the creature before him recede.
The desire to win vanished as well.
The sharp intensity in his eyes melted away, replaced by an almost lazy countenance, as though he had just woken from an exceptionally pleasant nap.
Within him, a certain concept stirred.
Slothful Transcendence.
The deadly intent within the spear shifted, morphed, and evolved. It no longer carried the brutality of a killing blow. Instead, it transformed into something imperial.
An aura that regarded everything before it as beneath notice manifested.
The Narkal, at first, felt a deathly pressure pin it in place.
Then even that sensation was erased by something far grander.
A presence so overwhelming it made the creature feel smaller than dust.
…It made it feel like it was nothing more than a pebble on the roadside.
…An insect to be stepped on and forgotten.
It was...
Nothing.
BOOOOOOOOOMMMM—!!!!
A beam of alabaster mana erupted from the spear thrust.
The Narkal folded around the blow with a wet, startled sound before the entire middle section of its body disintegrated.
'One.'
With that kill, Ashen snapped out of his trance just in time to sense the brute behind him recover and charge.
Instead of dodging, he met it head-on.
He drove into it shoulder-first, absorbing the collision through Riven Convergence's reinforcement, then used the brute's own momentum to pivot his spear upward into its jaw.
The impact snapped its head back hard enough to crack its own spine.
'This is workable. I can—'
The thought never finished.
The fourth and fifth Great Demons struck from opposite sides at the exact same instant.
And in the fraction of a second before impact, Ashen realized his mistake.
He had approached this fight as four separate problems, but it was the furthest thing from that. This was one coordinated whole.
He twisted at the last possible moment, taking the worse of the two blows on his shoulder instead of his ribs.
Even mitigated, the force still launched him sideways through the air for nearly fifteen meters before he converted the tumble into a barely controlled roll.
He rose with a sharp breath.
'They waited. They let the first one die as bait to see how I'd react. Then they took their chance at me.'
The remaining four Great Demons regrouped without any visible signal passing between them.
'Just great. Where's all that beastly stupidity when I actually need it…'
He pressed forward anyway. Pressing forward was the only option that didn't end with him dying where he stood.
The next exchange went worse.
He opened with a thrust toward the long-limbed one's throat.
Its body folded at an angle no human joint could ever replicate, letting the spear pass a hand's width from its skin.
The counter came from a direction Ashen hadn't accounted for.
Claws concentrated with foul mana raked across his back before he could fully recover his stance, tearing through Riven Convergence's reinforcement and opening four deep lines from shoulder to hip.
Before the pain could even register, Ashen's body moved on instinct, throwing itself sideways.
BOOM—!
A sonic boom exploded across the clearing, followed by a storm of dirt and debris.
The brute snarled in frustration after its punch missed by a fraction.
Ashen bit down on the pain and kept moving. Stopping meant death. But the rhythm he had built over weeks of relentless slaughter had broken somewhere in the last thirty seconds.
And he couldn't find it again.
The fifth one… the creature that had crawled out of the fissure.. revealed something none of the others had shown.
It emitted a low, guttural sound. It was not quite a roar but more like a series of clicks and grinding noises. And every time it made that sound, the others adjusted their positioning.
'It's directing them.'
That confirmed his suspicion.
The reason they were this coordinated was simple. They had a commander. And that commander had identified him as the priority target the moment he entered the battle.
As the clash between five Narkals and one human intensified, Ashen took another hit.
…Then another.
Before long, it almost felt as if they were toying with him.
If not for that opening strike that had made them wary, they likely would have swarmed him and ended the fight immediately.
A claw tore through his thigh, opening it to the bone.
Vital Stillness fought to close the wound, but the damage was accumulating faster than even his passive regeneration could handle under this level of sustained pressure.
Blood spread beneath him in widening patches.
Then the brute struck.
The surviving partner of the bladed corpse slammed into him with enough force to send him crashing through the trunk of a dead tree and deep into the dirt beyond.
Ashen lay there for half a second longer than he should have.
The Great Demons didn't rush him; they circled him unhurriedly.
The clicking one made another noise, sounding nearly amused. Meanwhile, the brute bent down and picked something off the ground as it approached.
It was a human corpse.
The creature held it up almost casually, then dropped it in front of Ashen just as he forced himself back to his feet.
Look. This will be you soon.
He didn't know if that was truly the intent behind the gesture, or if he was simply forcing meaning into something mindless.
It didn't matter.
His gaze lingered on the dead soldier's face for one half-second too long. That half-second was all the long-limbed Narkal needed.
It crossed the distance instantly and slammed him back into the ground with a blow that made something crack inside his ribs.
'Fuck—!'
CRASH—!
'Is this it…?'
The thought came with resignation. But the next instant, a hot, unwilling feeling surged in his chest.
'Is this really the best I can do?'
Ashen pushed himself onto one knee.
The clicking one watched him rise with what looked, absurdly enough, like patience. As if it had all the time in the world.
Maybe it was another psychological trick, or maybe it truly did… Because he was the one running out of options.
For the span of a single breath, Ashen thought about the seal.
He could feel it existing at the back of his mind like a boundary.
That was the line separating him from the other version of himself, the version that would undoubtedly crush these monsters.
One thought or intention. That was all it would take for the Time Magician to take the wheel and end this battle in under a minute.
But that personality was far too volatile. Ashen had no idea what kind of disaster he might unleash in this situation.
That was also why he avoided using time spells. Hell, even ordinary spells were dangerous now.
He had tested it not long ago. Just a few small spells had already loosened the seal. But even beyond that…
His unwillingness came from something deeper.
He wanted to fight as himself. As Ashen Hart. The man who wanted to save this world and the man who wanted to keep his lovers safe.
It had always been like this. Whenever things became hard… he ran. Either the madman who cared for nothing saved him, or the regressor with unfathomable thoughts dragged him into even crueler trials.
This time, he refused. With only himself and his army, he wanted to know.
How far could he go?
It might have been reckless and irresponsible. Lives might be lost because of this choice. But Ashen was no longer thinking rationally.
Only one thought remained in his mind: How far can I go…
…as Ashen Hart?
As it turned out—
Not very far.
Reality caught up to him fast. Each additional blow dragged him closer to collapse.
His vision blurred with blood, then turned foggy. His footing became unstable. His expression turned hazy.
'I can still go on.'
BOOM—!
'I can keep going.'
CRASH—!
'I can…'
'I can…!'
'I can do this…!!!'
CRASH—THUD—!
He didn't even know when it happened.
One moment he was fighting.
The next, he was airborne.
Then his body smashed violently into the thick trunk of a dead tree.
"..."
.
.
.
'So this is really it.'
A bitter laugh almost escaped him.
'Haah… pathetic.'
Ashen was just about to release the seal—
when a charming voice suddenly echoed through his soul. It froze him in place.
'From now on… follow my commands.'