In that moment when the killing erupted, it seemed as if time itself had slowed…
As if the world had taken a deep breath… then stopped to watch the coming massacre.
A few seconds… yet long enough for everyone to feel what awaited them.
Then everyone moved.
They surged forward all at once men and women… even children who had not yet reached manhood.
There was no discipline of soldiers in their eyes, no skill of warriors… only something simpler, and far more cruel.
Despair.
Each of them charged, fighting with everything they believed in and everything they feared to lose.
Sickles, hammers, sticks, stones… anything could become a weapon in the hands of someone who had no other choice.
One of them shouted, "Break their defense! Don't let them advance!"
But the words shattered before they could even reach the knights' shields.
Because the knights… were not farmers.
They were trained.
Each knight faced two men… sometimes three.
They were not many.
But they did not need to be.
Because strength was not in numbers.
A strike from a sickle was blocked by a steel shield.
A hammer came down with all its force… only to slide off the edge of the shield.
Then… a stab.
A sword pierced flesh as if tearing through cheap cloth.
A man fell.
A woman screamed.
An old man's arm shattered as he tried to raise his stick.
No one escaped their brutality.
Not the elder who could barely stand.
Nor the boy whose hands trembled as he waved a stone.
Blood began to stain the ground.
And the screams… began to become too much.
As for elia, he was facing Marcus.
Damn that cursed body.
elia attacked once… twice… three times.
Fast, calculated strikes, each exploiting a small gap in his opponent's defense.
But nothing not even a scratch.
'What is this cursed body…?'
elia gritted his teeth.
'Why the hell… won't it break?!'
He used everything he had learned.
All his combat experience.
Quick strikes.
Evasive movements.
Position switching.
But no matter what he did…
It was as if he was attacking a living wall.
Marcus didn't step back even once.
Then he spoke calmly, the sound of clashing blades around them, "Boy…"
He raised an eyebrow slightly, as if amused.
"That strength of yours… is quite impressive indeed."
Then he smiled a small, cold smile.
"But… do you really think it's enough against me?"
He spoke with complete calm.
As if this battle were nothing but a ridiculous joke.
As if slaughtering these people was something he did every morning before breakfast.
He stepped forward.
"If you were in our land…"
He swung his sword sideways, forcing elia back.
"And at this age…"
Their blades collided with force.
"You would have made an excellent aide."
Then his tone shifted slightly.
Colder.
"What a shame…"
He raised his fist.
"This life of yours won't last long."
Then his fist shot forward.
It was terrifyingly fast.
Like artillery fired from a distance of one meter.
elia barely dodged.
The air itself exploded as the fist passed by him.
If it had hit…
All his ribs would have shattered.
elia stepped back, his breath heavy.
'Damn it…'
'One strike from him…'
'Is enough to end this fight.'
He clenched his fist.
'While I…'
'Can't even scratch him!'
Behind him, the chaos intensified.
The knights advanced slowly… steadily.
And with every step…
More people fell.
Some died instantly.
Some screamed as they bled out.
Others were trampled mercilessly.
Iron boots did not stop.
This was not a clean fight.
And it never would be.
Not when the imbalance of power was this great.
And so…
The dirty tricks began.
Suddenly, one of the fighters threw something small.
Then another.
Then another.
Parasites.
Tiny creatures… very tiny.
So small they slipped through the gaps in the armor.
The knights didn't notice them at first.
But they were there.
Wriggling… Crawling…
Then they began to bite.
At first, it was just a faint prick.
But moments later, one of them screamed.
"What… what is this da ?!"
Then he dropped to his knees.
The parasites were devouring their flesh from the inside.
Diving into the skin…
Tearing the muscles apart.
Slowly… and voraciously.
Another knight fell.
Then another.
Some of them stood back up…
But they were no longer themselves.
Their eyes were glassy.
Their movements twitching.
As if something else… now inhabited their bodies.
But filth was not limited to one side.
One knight stabbed a man from behind while he was fighting another.
Another threw a handful of dirt into his opponent's eyes.
The man screamed as he staggered blindly.
Then a sword severed his head.
There was no honor here, no heroism only one truth.
To win, anything would be done.
No matter how vile.
No matter how filthy.
And in the back…
In a place barely visible from the battlefield…
Selena stood.
A torn piece of cloth barely covered her body.
The cold air brushed against her trembling skin.
But she did not feel the cold.
Her eyes were fixed on the battlefield.
On that horrific scene.
People she knew…
Her brothers…
Her childhood friends…
Fighting.
Screaming.
Dying.
Pushing each other forward…
Only to be slaughtered one after another.
She tightened the cloth around her body slightly.
"Damn it…"
Her voice trembled.
"What… is happening to us?"
But there was no answer.
Because in that moment…
There was only one sound filling the place.
The sound of killing.
Anger spread through her chest slowly…
Like a black poison seeping into her veins.
Her breathing grew heavier, and her fingers trembled slightly.
Then the fine hairs on her back began to move.
One… then another.
As if something alive dwelled there.
As if small serpents had begun to awaken from their slumber, writhing slowly over her skin, sensing the air, responding to the anger rising within her.
Selena clenched her teeth and whispered bitterly, "Are you really this unlucky, elia…?"
Her voice was a strange mixture of mockery… irritation… and something else she wouldn't even admit to herself.
But it wasn't just about him.
Her eyes returned to the battlefield.
To her brothers.
To the faces she had grown up with… faces now covered in blood.
She didn't know how this fight had started.
But she knew very well…
how it would end if they lost.
Death would be the only mercy.
As for the rest…
their lives would be far worse.
She slowly tightened her fist.
Then she spoke in a low voice, as if addressing someone far away, "This time…"
She took a slow breath.
"I will stand on your side."
"But next time…"
Her eyes glinted faintly.
"Your neck will be mine, elia."
In that moment…
something small began to form above her palm.
A flame.
Weak at first.
Just a faint flicker… like a lost spark.
But it began to grow.
Slowly.
The air around it started to tremble.
Heat concentrated into a single point, as if the entire world was being pulled toward that small sphere of fire.
It grew…
then became a small fireball.
But it wasn't ordinary.
It didn't explode or dance.
It was compressed… condensed… like a miniature sun forcibly trapped within the grip of her hand.
Cold sweat trickled down Selena's forehead.
Then the fire began to shrink.
Smaller… and smaller…
until it became a tiny point of light.
But the heat it emitted grew more terrifying.
Selena whispered, her voice trembling between faith and madness:
"My brothers…"
She raised her hand slightly.
"I will be your light."
Her eyes closed for a moment.
"Beside the god…"
The air around her quivered.
"Who chose me… to be one of his envoys."
The point shot forward.
No one saw it.
No one heard it.
It was too small… too fast…
just a fleeting flash cutting through the air.
But everything it passed…
burned.
The air itself cracked under immense heat.
The point reached the first knight in silence.
Just one moment for his body to ignite.
But the fire wasn't outside.
It was inside the armor.
The knight screamed suddenly.
A torn scream ripped from his throat
"AAAAAAAH!!"
The armor that protected him became an oven.
The iron began to redden.
Then it glowed brighter.
The flesh beneath began to burn slowly.
The knight fell to the ground, writhing.
"W-what… what is happening?!"
one of the soldiers shouted.
No one understood what they were seeing.
There was no arrow.
No visible spell.
Just a knight burning inside his armor.
But the people didn't waste the opportunity.
"Attack! Damn it, attack now!"
They rushed him.
Sickles… hammers… knives.
His burning body fell under the blows.
As for Marcus, he noticed.
His trained senses caught something.
Something unnatural in the air.
He smiled slowly as he looked at elia.
"It seems…"
he said in a slightly interested tone,
"that you have a mage on your side."
Then he narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If only you had brought them much earlier, boy."
elia replied coldly as he tightened his grip on his sword, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Then he spat a little blood.
"I've had a bad experience with those bastards."
Then he lunged forward in a mad charge.
It wasn't entirely calculated.
But it was fast… sharp… filled with anger.
The sword flashed through the air and sliced Marcus's neck.
A small wound.
But…
real.
Marcus paused for a moment.
His hand touched his neck.
Then he looked at his fingers.
Blood.
His blood.
Hot.
Moving slowly over his skin.
He smiled.
A wider smile this time.
"Nice…"
He raised his gaze to elia.
"Very nice, boy."
Then he laughed lightly.
"That sword of yours… caused a real wound."
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Despite your modest level."
Then he tilted his head a little, as if thinking.
"But this…"
His voice grew a bit deeper.
"makes me wonder."
He stared into elia's eyes.
A long look.
"This body of yours…"
He stepped closer.
"is drowned in darkness."
He paused briefly.
"But…"
His eyes narrowed.
"Are you alright, boy…?"
Then he smiled a strange smile.
"Or is it not just you…?"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Because the ground shook.
A tremor.
Then another.
Then a stronger quake.
Dust rose slightly from the ground.
Small stones began to jump.
"Wha…?"
Some of the fighters turned.
Then came the sound.
A scream.
A savage, deep scream… as if it came from the belly of the earth itself.
All heads turned toward the horizon.
And there…
they were coming.
A massive… terrifying creature.
A giant… black.
But it did not have two legs.
Its body only crawled.
It relied on enormous arms, digging them into the ground and pushing itself forward.
Its body was grotesquely shaped.
Like a distorted black cross.
And its mouth…
was unnaturally wide.
Rows of uneven teeth moved within it.
And behind it, hordes of monsters.
Twisted creatures.
Crawling… running… howling.
The gate had fallen.
And the city looked to them like an open feast.
Everyone stopped.
No one moved.
No one could.
"…We're finished."
And it was the same thought echoing in every mind.
Passing through the head of every person there.
There wasn't much they could do against those creatures.
No plan.
No hope.
Only to hold out for as long as possible.
Marcus looked at the scene… then let out a low whistle.
"Boy…"
he said as if talking about bad weather,
"it seems trouble follows you often."
elia replied as he gripped his sword tightly,
"Shut up, you bastard."
He looked at the monsters.
Then back at him.
"You're the one who attacked us."
He clenched his teeth.
"And now this?!"
For a moment…
it seemed like a ridiculous quarrel.
But the truth was clear.
Harshly… beyond dispute.
Either they cooperate…
or both of them die here.