Human and evolved beast corpses lay everywhere.
Some had their heads severed, while others lay with their limbs torn off.
Few corpses remained whole.
The air was filled with the musky scent of both fresh and old blood.
But no one had time to mourn the dead.
---
The Mongolian Steppe.
The final battlefield between humanity and the evolved beasts.
Everyone fought desperately to survive.
"KEKEKEKE! You still pretend this world is yours? How adorable." A humanoid saltwater crocodile suddenly spoke.
In front of him was a girl.
She tried to get away, but her legs gave out.
"N-No... P-Please.... I don't want to die!!!" Tears streamed down her fear-stricken face.
Everyone around her was busy fighting for their own survival.
Black veins pulsed beneath the crocodile's scales — the mark of a parasite host.
The creature grinned.
Not the mindless hunger of animals.
Something sharper.
As the crocodile lunged to tear the girl apart—
Ethan stepped forward.
With a sword in his hand and his enhanced physique supporting him, his blade clashed against the crocodile's fangs.
Ethan managed to push the crocodile back five steps.
"Ah… the human savior."
The crocodile's grin widened.
"Good. Very good." It spoke again. "Then die with her." It suddenly attacked with more strength.
Ethan clashed with it again and again, but the crocodile's hide was far too tough. It was a natural tank.
"Hurry! Run!" Ethan shouted at the girl.
But when he turned back, the girl had already run the moment he stepped forward.
Ethan didn't bother calling after her. They never stayed.
He was used to human reactions by now, but… it still hurt him.
People only cared about themselves.
Survival came before everything else.
As the strongest human alive, he had chosen to become humanity's last defense.
That's what he always tells himself.
Then the memory returned.
His friend standing in front of him.
Taking the blade meant for Ethan.
He gritted his teeth.
"If I'm here fighting, they'll believe we can win. That humanity can rise again. That we're not just prey anymore. So I can't give up. I'll save them. That's the responsibility that comes with being the strongest."
He wore a bitter smile.
When he found a chance.
When the crocodile opened his mouth to bite him...
That's when he struck!
He thrust his sword directly into the crocodile's open mouth.
The crocodile's hide was strong, but its insides…
"THUD!—"
Its body collapsed to the ground.
Blood seeped from its head, painting the already blood-red ground.
"Hufff!! Hufff!!"
Ethan exhaled slowly.
Intelligent beasts were always the worst.
But he didn't have time to celebrate his victory.
He ran again, towards people that can still be saved.
He fought to save, while others fought to survive.
The battlefield went quiet.
Even the beasts stopped fighting.
"There you are… my other half."
The tiger's eyes gleamed.
"The parasite chose well."
A menacing voice echoed across the battlefield.
Even the parasite beasts feared only one creature on this battlefield.
The one that just spoke was none other than the Ruler!
The ruler of the surviving conscious parasites and the beasts.
In the form of an evolved tiger!
"I'll devour your parasite and be complete once again!" It said as it charged toward Ethan.
"Damn it! Why is he here?!" His heart palpitated.
His sword nearly slipped from his trembling hands. Not from fear but from overexerting himself. But he still gripped his sword with trembling hands and uneven breaths. Then, lightning began to form along its edge.
"Die!" Ethan charged at the beast at the same speed.
The ground shook, then cracked.
Spiderweb cracks formed with every collision.
'Hmm... Not bad for weak humans.' The tiger observed Ethan while they clashed.
'How is he so strong?! If I had devoured more parasites... No! Stop! You'll be just like them! You can't exchange your morals for strength!'
The tiger narrowed his eyes. The human was analyzing him too.
Suddenly, instead of using his sword, Ethan threw a punch at the tiger.
The tiger's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected that.
The tiger staggered three steps back — then lunged forward again.
Before Ethan could recover, a heavy knee slammed into his abdomen.
Ethan was caught off guard. The tiger was physically stronger. Ethan was driven five steps back.
The tiger's wound pulsed. Parasite energy stitched the flesh closed.
Ethan's grip tightened on his sword.
Some humans had begun using that same power.
Devouring parasite cores.
Becoming something else.
Ethan would rather die.
Lightning crawled along the tiger's claws.
Wind and fire coiled around Ethan's blade.
He weakened the wind just enough to feed the flames, turning it into fuel.
The execution was nearly instantaneous.
The Tiger smirked.
He coated his claws with lightning and clashed with Ethan.
In raw strength, Ethan was easily pushed back.
Ethan and the Tiger didn't speak. Their fight spoke louder.
The tiger's claw slashed across his right eye. Blood blurred his vision.
But it wasn't for nothing. He had carved a deep wound across the tiger's chest.
Lightning exploded as claw met blade.
"How about you join my tribe, human?"
It wasn't an offer. It was mockery.
Ethan slid across the blood-soaked earth, boots carving trenches.
The tiger lunged again.
"I'd rather die."
Its jaws snapped shut inches from Ethan's throat.
Fire erupted from his blade.
The plains burned.
Still neither retreated.
But no one interfered.
Not because they wanted to, but because they couldn't.
"RAAAAH!"
The tiger withdrew and roared.
He was calling every intelligent beast to gather.
Ethan stepped back toward the human line, forcing the tiger to stop advancing.
Once the beasts gathered, there were fifty of them. Each had strength only one step lower than the Tiger and Ethan.
"Humans. Listen carefully.
Kneel, and I will spare you.
Resist, and you already know the outcome.
From this day forward, your kind will no longer be hunted for food. You will live. Work. Breathe.
In exchange…
Hand over that human."
It spoke calmly, yet its voice carried across the battlefield.
Only a hundred combat-specialized humans remained.
Although they outnumbered the beasts, their overall strength couldn't compare to those beasts.
The only force holding the battle together was Ethan.
No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more struggling for survival.
How tempting it sounded.
Everyone instinctively looked at each other.
Then, their gaze fell towards one person.
ETHAN.
No one spoke at first.
No one met his eyes.
One by one, they looked away.
Someone dropped their weapon.
The metal rang loudly against the ground.
"E-Ethan…" a man muttered, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You said we're fighting for peace, right?"
Another voice joined in. "If you give yourself up… that still counts as saving humanity, doesn't it?"
They began convincing him.
"You're kidding me… You actually believe him?"
This was ridiculous. So ridiculous that he started laughing.
The tiger laughed. As if mocking him.
"I, Kruskha, the ruler of Ashfang Tribe, swear to my honor that I will keep my word."
He said as if adding fuel to the fire.
Ethan gritted his teeth.
He had sacrificed his own growth to save these people and now... Some even started reaching for their weapons.
Then, a fifteen year old girl shouted.
"WHY?! Why won't you just do it?! Didn't you say you'd save us? Didn't you promise you'd bring peace back to this world?!"
Her voice cracked, but she kept going.
"Then why are you hesitating now?! If you're really the strongest… if you really care about humanity… why can't you sacrifice yourself for us?!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"We're not like you! We're not strong! We can't fight them!"
Her fists clenched.
"But you can! So why won't you?! If you just give yourself up… then everyone can live! Isn't that what a hero is supposed to do?!"
Murmurs rose behind her.
"She's right…"
"You said you'd protect us…"
"If you die, at least the rest of us survive…"
After that, the excuses came easily.
All Ethan could do was laugh.
A broken laugh full of agony.
Not one of them stepped forward. Not one said no.
Both his body and mind were exhausted.
"I gave them everything… and this is all I'm worth?"
Ethan laughed softly.
All this time, he thought he was protecting humanity.
Maybe…
Humanity was never worth saving.
Then—
A man stepped forward.
"This is wrong—"
Then he looked at the beasts behind Kruskha.
His voice died in his throat.
Ethan watched as both sides charged toward him.
He was already tired from the earlier battle with Kruskha.
After resisting for a while, his strength finally gave out. His sword slipped from his grasp.
A blade slashed across his back.
He staggered forward, almost falling to the ground, but he didn't give up.
He leaned on his sword to stay upright.
But before he could recover…
Another blade pierced his side.
They didn't stop.
"I—I don't want to die!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I have no choice!"
Their voices overlapped until they became a blur in Ethan's ears.
A sudden manic laughter escaped his mouth—a broken, exhausted sound.
"So this… is how it ends."
Then—
An icicle shot toward him.
He saw it coming but his body was far too slow to react.
It struck his chest—
It wasn't deep enough to kill him. The cold dulled the pain but it was enough to make him falter.
His breath hitched.
He looked up. He remembered her—the little girl who had shouted earlier.
"W-We can survive now… Hah… hah…"
She laughed but her hands trembled violently.
Staring at her, a smile tugged at his lips.
"If you've steeled yourself… don't show me that look. At least let me hate you when I die."
Before he could even move—
A blade drove straight through his chest.
Clean and decisive.
"Shut up! You don't know our pain!" a man shouted as he pierced Ethan's heart with a blade.
His body stiffened.
Blood slowly dripped from his mouth, but he still forced a laugh, even while choking on his own blood.
'Everyone talks about their struggle, but what about mine?'
That was his last thought.
In the end, the beasts didn't kill him.
Humanity did.