LThe tide of the battlefield changed the moment Kael's domain spread fully across the ground.
It wasn't just a feeling.
It was real.
Fighters who had been struggling moments ago now moved with renewed strength. Their arms felt lighter, their grip steadier, their breathing more controlled. Wounds still hurt, but the pain no longer slowed them the way it had before.
A young soldier drove his blade through the chest of a mutated creature, then stepped back as it collapsed. He stared at his hands, his chest rising and falling quickly.
"When did I become this strong…?" he muttered, disbelief clear in his voice.
Another fighter beside him let out a short laugh, his blade already dripping with dark blood.
"You feel it too, right? I thought I was about to die a minute ago, and now I feel like I can wrestle ten bulls if I have to."
A third raised his weapon and shouted, his voice carrying across the wall.
"Then stop talking and move! For the ones we already lost, we push them back!!"
"CHARGE!!"
The response came immediately.
Voices rose together, rough, tired, but filled with something stronger than fear. The fighters surged forward again, their movements sharper, their strikes heavier, pushing into the horde instead of just holding the line.
At the center of the chaos, Uzo moved like a force of nature.
His hammer came down with a deep, crushing sound that shook the ground beneath him. The impact sent a ripple outward, scattering bones and tearing apart the bodies of the creatures clustered too close.
Another swing followed, faster this time.
The air whistled around the weapon before it struck, and the crack that followed split through a cluster of skeletons, their ribcages shattering as fragments flew outward in every direction.
Uzo grinned, sweat running down the side of his face.
"I could do this all day long!" he shouted, his voice filled with raw excitement.
A shadow dropped from above.
Zara landed beside him, her blades already in motion as she cut down a creature that had been rushing toward his back. The strike was clean, precise, the body falling apart before it even hit the ground.
"Uzo, focus," she said, her tone sharp.
He glanced at her, scratching the side of his head briefly.
"Yeah, yeah, I saw it coming," he replied, though the grin on his face said otherwise. "Thanks."
Zara didn't answer. She was already moving again.
Her wings snapped open, sending a burst of wind outward as she lifted into the air. From above, she scanned the battlefield quickly, her eyes locking onto movement, threats, openings. Then she dove again, her blades flashing as they cut through another group of creatures before she pulled up at the last second.
Below, a fighter stumbled as a skeletal arm reached for his leg.
He didn't have time to react.
A barrier formed around him in an instant, the bone claws striking against it with a dull, hollow sound. The soldier froze, his breath catching as he looked around in confusion.
Jide stood a short distance away, one hand raised.
"Fall back!" he called out, his voice firm.
With his other hand, he pushed forward, sending out a series of energy projections shaped like sharp spears. They cut through the approaching undead, piercing skulls and pinning bodies to the ground.
Beside him, Lina stepped forward slowly.
Her hands lifted.
The ground beneath the fallen began to shimmer.
Shapes rose.
Translucent figures formed from the remnants of those who had died, their outlines glowing faintly blue. They weren't solid, but they weren't illusions either. They moved with purpose, their forms stabilizing as Lina guided them.
Her wrist turned slightly.
The echoes surged forward.
They crashed into the horde, cutting through the creatures with unnatural precision, pushing them back in a way that gave the fighters space to breathe again.
For a moment, it worked.
For a moment, it felt like they might actually turn the battle.
Then something changed,everyone felt it.
The creatures stopped moving the way they had before.
They didn't rush blindly anymore.
They didn't throw themselves forward without thought.
They slowed.
Adjusted.
Then began to move with purpose.
A soldier near the wall stiffened, his grip tightening on his weapon as his eyes shifted toward the north.
"Something is coming…" he said, his voice low but strained.
He raised his arm and pointed.
Others followed his gaze.
At the back of the horde, where the mass of bodies stretched into the distance, three figures stepped forward.
They didn't rush.
They didn't hesitate.
They simply walked.
Yet with each step they took, the space around them seemed to change. The creatures nearby shifted out of their way, creating a clear path without needing to be commanded.
The air grew heavier.
The battlefield grew quieter.
Even the sounds of fighting dulled slightly, as if something unseen had pressed down over everything at once.
Far behind them, the bone throne continued its slow advance.
The thin figure seated upon it watched in silence.
Closer to the front, the three generals entered the battlefield.
The first wore what remained of a broken set of armor, pieces of a once-proud yoroi hanging loosely over a skeletal frame. A blade rested in its hand, chipped and worn, yet it held it with a familiarity that spoke of countless battles.
Its movements were steady.
Controlled.
Its gaze locked forward.
"We find… the devourer," it said, its voice rough, like dry bones scraping together. "We end him."
Beside it, a second figure walked with a slower, almost relaxed pace.
A tattered dark cloak hung from its shoulders, the fabric moving without wind. Beneath the hood, faint points of light glowed where eyes should have been. The air around it twisted slightly, as if reality itself was bending away from its presence.
A low chuckle slipped from it.
"We will," it said, its tone calm, almost amused. "But there is no need to rush. It has been a long time since I last enjoyed a battlefield like this."
The third said nothing.
It didn't need to.
A massive undead horse carried it forward, each step heavy, deliberate. Blue flames burned along its armor, spreading across its body and into the form of the beast beneath it. The horse's eyes glowed with the same cold fire, its breath leaving faint trails in the air.
The rider had no head.
Yet the presence it carried was overwhelming.
The swordsman glanced once at the cloaked figure.
"Then go," it said. "Find him. I will clear the rest."
The cloaked figure tilted its head slightly, the faint glow beneath its hood flickering.
"Very well,". The swordsman replied softly. "Try not to be destroyed before I return."
The moment passed.
Then everything moved.
The swordsman and the mounted knight broke forward at the same time, their speed cutting through the battlefield as they headed straight toward Kael.
At the same moment—
Kael felt it.
A notification flashed briefly in his vision.
[Warning: High-Level Entities Detected]
[Threat Level: Extreme ]
[Recommendation: Immediate Caution]
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The battlefield slowed.
Not physically.
But in his perception.
He watched the movement of the horde, the shift in their behavior, the way the space ahead parted unnaturally.
Then he saw them.
Two figures, moving straight toward him.
They were different.
Not like the rest.
'So this is it…'
The thought passed quietly through his mind.
Behind him, the others reacted.
"I'm going first!" Uzo shouted, already moving before anyone could stop him.
His hammer dragged slightly against the ground as he pushed forward, his speed surprising for someone his size.
Zara followed without hesitation, her wings snapping open as she launched into the air to keep pace.
Jide stepped forward as well, but the moment he did, the horde surged again.
Not wildly.
Deliberately.
Creatures moved to block their path, cutting them off from reaching Kael.
At the same time, the cloaked figure stepped into their line of sight.
"Let us leave him to his own battle," it said, its voice calm, almost gentle. "I would very much like to see how long you can last."
Jide's expression hardened.
"Zara, go support Uzo!" he called out quickly. "We'll handle this one!"
Zara didn't argue. She shifted direction mid-air, pushing forward toward Uzo.
Lina stepped closer to Jide, her eyes fixed on the cloaked figure.
The air around it felt wrong.
Heavy.
Cold.
Kael didn't look back.
His attention was already forward.
The swordsman stopped a short distance away from him, its blade lowering slightly as it pointed directly at Kael.
"You…" it said slowly, its voice grinding with each word. "…die here."
To the side, the mounted knight pulled to a stop as well.
Silvar stepped forward.
The two creatures faced each other, neither moving, both measuring the other in silence.
The battlefield held its breath.
Kael adjusted his grip on Kōsetsu.
The faint hum of the blade deepened.
His coat shifted slightly in the wind as he took a single step forward, his eyes fixed on the swordsman.
"Then come," he said quietly.
And the fight began.