Blood soaked into the broken forest floor.
The last of the rival squad had just fallen.
Zael stood with his blade lowered, breathing slow and controlled. Lily wiped blood from her cheek, her spatial aura still flickering faintly around her hands.
Only three enemies remained standing.
They were the same ones who had led the ambush against them earlier.
At their center stood Aurelion of Province Twelve, the Mythical-grade awakener whose golden pupils glowed with condensed mana. His profession — Lightbound Sovereign — radiated oppressive pressure even while injured.
To his right was Darius Vorn (Province Twelve), bearer of the Legendary Profession — Thunder Reaver, leaning on his crackling spear.
To his left stood Nyx Calder (Province Twelve), her Legendary Profession — Shadow Sculptor forming dark blades around her arms.
They had been enemies minutes ago.
Now they stood in a loose half-circle with Zael and Lily.
"…They're coming," Nyx said quietly.
Aurelion's gaze lifted. "Yes. I can feel them."
The forest ahead warped.
Five figures stepped out from between twisted trees.
Black robes.
Veins glowing crimson beneath their skin.
Eyes filled with something that was no longer human.
Rogue awakeners.
Their leader — tall, armored in bone-like growths — tilted his head.
"So this is the top of the nations," he said softly.
"How convenient."
Lily felt cold run down her spine.
"They don't have ranking sigils…"
Zael's eyes narrowed.
"They're not contestants."
> [Warning: Non-Contestant Hostiles Detected]
Aurelion stepped forward despite his wounds.
"Temporary alliance," he said firmly.
"If we fight each other, we die."
Darius gave a grim laugh. "Didn't plan on dying today."
Nyx's shadows spread outward. "Then don't."
The rogue leader raised his hand.
Black sigils ignited beneath their feet.
"Let's see," he murmured,
"how national elites taste."
—
The rogue leader's hand dropped.
The forest exploded.
Black sigils flared beneath their feet, and corrupted mana surged upward like erupting veins. The ground twisted, roots snapping as demonic energy warped the terrain.
"Scatter!" Lily shouted.
Space folded around her as she yanked Zael sideways. A beam of crimson light tore through the place they'd been standing a heartbeat earlier, leaving a melted trench in the soil.
Aurelion raised both hands.
Golden light burst from his body.
"Lightbound Domain."
A radiant barrier expanded outward, forcing the rogue awakeners back. Their robes smoked where the light touched them, but instead of retreating, they laughed.
"So holy," one of them sneered. "So fragile."
He slammed his palm into the ground.
Dark chains erupted from the soil and wrapped around Aurelion's legs.
Darius roared and hurled his spear.
Thunder detonated on impact, shredding one rogue apart — but instead of falling, the body twitched and kept moving, held together by black mist.
"…They don't die normally," Nyx whispered.
Zael moved.
He slipped past a blast of corrupted flame, blade flashing in a tight arc. One rogue lost an arm — but black energy surged from the stump, forming a new limb made of writhing shadow.
His eyes narrowed.
"They're burning something to stay alive."
A rogue lunged at Lily.
Space folded — she reappeared behind him and crushed his head with a spatial implosion. The body collapsed, finally still.
> [Rogue Awakener Terminated]
Another rogue slammed into Zael from the side.
He felt ribs crack.
Pain flared — sharp and real.
He skidded across the ground, coughing.
Aurelion's light speared through the attacker's chest, but the rogue only shrieked and ripped himself free, flesh tearing unnaturally.
"They're using demon cores," Aurelion said grimly. "Artificial ones."
The rogue leader finally moved.
He blurred forward and punched Darius square in the chest.
Thunder armor shattered.
Darius flew backward, smashing into a tree with a sound like breaking stone.
Nyx screamed and sent shadow blades spiraling — they cut deep, but black veins stitched the wounds shut instantly.
Zael forced himself upright.
No regeneration like this exists naturally…
The leader's gaze locked onto him.
"You're the dangerous one," he said softly. "I can feel it."
He raised his hand.
The air collapsed inward.
Zael felt gravity spike — his body slammed into the earth, blood leaking from his mouth.
Lily warped beside him instantly.
"Zael!"
"I'm alive," he said hoarsely. "Barely."
Aurelion staggered forward, light flickering.
"We can't win by attrition," he said. "They don't run out first."
Nyx's shadows trembled.
"Then we break the leader."
The rogue leader smiled.
"You can try."
He snapped his fingers.
Three remaining rogues charged simultaneously.
Darius forced himself up, lightning crackling weakly.
"For Province Twelve," he growled.
He hurled himself into them.
The forest became chaos.
Light.
Thunder.
Shadows.
Warped space.
Black flame.
Zael moved like a ghost between collapsing trees, striking only when openings appeared. He avoided every unnecessary clash, letting Lily pull him through space when attacks grew too dense.
Then—
Aurelion screamed.
The rogue leader's claw pierced through his golden barrier and slammed into his side, lifting him off the ground.
Golden blood spilled.
The leader leaned close.
"Mythical?" he whispered. "Still mortal."
Zael felt something snap inside his chest.
Not power.
Resolve.
He stepped forward.
"You let him go."
The rogue leader turned.
"Oh?"
Zael's blade glowed faintly.
No roar.
No explosion.
Just one clean strike aimed at the demon core embedded in the man's chest.
The blade sank in.
The core cracked.
The rogue leader froze.
"…Interesting."
Then he burst apart into black ash.
Silence fell.
The remaining rogues shrieked and retreated into warped space, vanishing.
The battlefield was ruined.
Trees burned.
Earth broken.
Bodies scattered.
Aurelion collapsed to one knee.
Darius dropped beside him.
Nyx leaned on her shadows to stay standing.
Lily sank down beside Zael, shaking.
They were alive.
Barely.
> [Survivors Remaining: 217]
Zael stared at the system message.
"…So many still left."
Lily swallowed.
"And now they can really die."
Aurelion looked at the blackened ground where the rogue leader had stood.
"This trial just became war."
---