The battle had become a nightmare.
The six hours inside the Shadowed Area had felt like six years.
Every warrior was exhausted.
Armor was cracked.
Weapons were chipped.
Bodies were covered in wounds that refused to close completely.
The endless tide of shadow creatures continued pouring from the darkness like a black ocean seeking to devour everything in its path.
Yet the convoy still moved.
Step by step.
Bloodied.
Broken.
But alive.
Far behind them, at the rear of the formation, a lone figure continued cutting through monsters like a crimson storm.
Jade.
Nobody remembered him.
Nobody knew his name anymore.
Yet he continued fighting.
His blood-red greatsword rose and fell repeatedly.
Each strike severed limbs.
Each slash split apart shadow creatures.
Each kill fed the relic granted by the Beast God.
The crimson blade glowed brighter with every death.
The sword hungered.
And in return, it gave Jade power.
Strength surged through his body.
His wounds healed.
His speed increased.
His senses expanded.
The more creatures he killed, the stronger he became.
But the price was obvious.
The sword desired blood.
More blood.
More death.
More slaughter.
Jade could feel its hunger whispering at the edge of his thoughts.
Yet he ignored it.
There were more important things to worry about.
The convoy was still trapped.
---
Not far away, Aviana was fighting desperately.
Her sword flashed through the darkness.
Black blood sprayed across the ground.
Her movements were graceful yet fierce.
Then something made her pause.
She glanced backward.
Through countless monsters.
Through flying shadows.
Through the chaos.
She saw him.
A teenage warrior.
And beside him stood a mysterious woman cloaked in crimson armor.
The Ant Demon.
Together they were holding back an entire section of the battlefield.
Alone.
Aviana's eyes widened.
The sight looked impossible.
Monsters were falling around them like wheat before a harvest blade.
Yet the two figures continued fighting.
Refusing to retreat.
Refusing to surrender.
For a moment, something stirred inside Aviana.
A strange feeling.
A sense of familiarity.
As though she should know that warrior.
As though his face should mean something.
But the feeling vanished before she could grasp it.
Still...
She couldn't leave them behind.
---
Aviana spread her arms.
Dark feathers erupted around her body.
A powerful transformation overtook her.
Her bones shifted.
Her body expanded.
Wings unfolded.
Massive.
Majestic.
Terrifying.
Within seconds a gigantic predatory bird stood where the girl had been.
Its feathers were black as midnight.
Its eyes glowed silver.
Its talons looked capable of tearing steel apart.
Aviana released a piercing screech.
The sound cut through the battlefield.
A sharp cry that echoed across the Shadowed Area.
The creatures below visibly recoiled.
Some stumbled.
Others hesitated.
The monstrous aura radiating from her god body pressed down upon them.
Fear spread through the ranks of the shadow creatures.
That single moment of hesitation was all Jade needed.
---
Jade moved.
Like lightning.
Like death itself.
His crimson blade became a red blur.
One creature lost its head.
Another was split apart from shoulder to waist.
A third was pierced through its weak point before it could even react.
Blood-red light exploded around him.
The relic's power surged.
The sword practically sang with excitement.
Its glow became brighter.
Its hunger became stronger.
The battlefield became a feast.
Jade could almost feel the weak points of every monster around him.
The Beast God's blessing was terrifying.
Each creature appeared before him like a broken puzzle.
He could see where to strike.
Where to pierce.
Where to cut.
Every weakness revealed itself.
Every flaw exposed itself.
Every death became inevitable.
---
Aviana dived from above.
Her gigantic wings folded inward.
She became a living missile.
A creature looked upward too late.
BOOM!
Her talons crushed its skull.
The impact shattered the ground beneath it.
She immediately launched herself skyward again.
Another screech echoed.
Another creature froze.
Another opening appeared.
Another death followed.
The battlefield was becoming a dance.
A dance of death.
A dance led by a forgotten warrior and a giant bird.
---
Elsewhere, Ella struggled to remain standing.
Her condition was terrible.
Her armor had been torn apart in multiple places.
Blood stained her clothing.
Her sword was chipped.
Several deep wounds covered her body.
Only her powerful regeneration prevented her from collapsing.
Yet she continued fighting.
Because everyone depended on her.
Because giving up meant death.
Because nobody else would.
Ella cut down another creature.
Then another.
Then another.
But she could see the truth.
The convoy was not winning.
They were surviving.
There was a difference.
A huge difference.
If something didn't change soon...
everyone would die.
---
Then an idea appeared.
A desperate idea.
A dangerous idea.
Ella reached into her storage pouch.
Her fingers wrapped around a small object.
A charm.
A strange item she had obtained earlier after killing a creature.
She had never tested it.
Never understood it.
Never trusted it.
The item was called:
Bad Luck Charm.
---
Ella stared at it.
Then laughed weakly.
"Well... let's see what happens."
She activated it.
Immediately.
Everything changed.
---
Every monster stopped.
Every head turned.
Every eye focused on her.
Thousands of eyes.
Thousands of creatures.
Thousands of predators.
All staring at one target.
Ella.
Her face turned pale.
"...oh."
The charm worked.
Far better than expected.
---
The entire horde charged.
---
"RUN!" Ella screamed.
"AARON! LEAD THEM OUT!"
---
Aaron turned around.
His eyes widened.
The sight was horrifying.
An entire ocean of shadow creatures was chasing one girl.
He wanted to help.
Wanted to fight.
Wanted to protect her.
But he understood immediately.
This was their chance.
The opening they needed.
---
Aaron clenched his sword.
Then shouted.
"EVERYONE MOVE!"
---
The convoy surged forward.
For the first time in hours.
They began escaping.
---
Meanwhile, Ella ran.
Monsters followed her like a black tidal wave.
The ground shook beneath countless feet.
Trees collapsed.
Rocks shattered.
The sky itself seemed darker.
Yet Ella continued running.
Refusing to stop.
Refusing to die.
---
Back at the rear, Jade sensed everything.
Every movement.
Every creature.
Every weak point.
Every heartbeat.
The battlefield unfolded inside his mind like a massive chessboard.
And for the first time...
the pieces were moving exactly where they needed to be.
---
Then Aaron returned.
Not alone.
Henry.
Blake.
Cassie.
Sarah.
All of them rushed back into the Shadowed Area.
---
Jade almost groaned.
They had escaped.
And now they were coming back.
---
Ahead, Ella dismissed the charm.
Instantly the monsters lost their fixation.
Their attention scattered.
The horde turned.
And now they saw fresh prey.
Aaron.
Henry.
Blake.
Cassie.
Sarah.
---
The creatures charged.
Again.
---
The battle exploded once more.
Steel clashed.
Essence erupted.
Monsters screamed.
Warriors roared.
The Shadowed Area became chaos.
---
Jade moved.
His vines shot outward.
Attaching themselves to multiple creatures.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
More.
The vines spread across the battlefield like black lightning.
Then Jade leaped.
---
He didn't run.
He flew.
---
Using the monsters themselves as anchors.
Swinging from creature to creature.
Launching himself across the battlefield.
The shadow horde became his path.
Every movement precise.
Every jump perfect.
Every kill intentional.
---
The Ant Demon followed behind him.
Her crimson cloak fluttered.
Her greatsword carved through monsters effortlessly.
Any creature attempting to intercept Jade died instantly.
---
Finally.
Jade reached the others.
---
Aviana landed nearby.
Her gigantic bird form folded its wings.
Wind exploded outward.
Several creatures were blown away.
---
Ahead stood salvation.
The exit.
The border of the Shadowed Area.
---
After six endless hours.
They had finally reached it.
---
Henry crossed first.
Then Blake.
Then Cassie.
Then Sarah.
Each one stumbling out of the darkness and into relative safety.
---
But there was a problem.
A serious problem.
---
The opening was collapsing.
The passage could not hold everyone.
Not with the pressure of the monsters behind them.
Not with the unstable nature of the trial.
---
Only a limited number could pass through immediately.
---
Aviana crossed.
Ella followed.
The others barely made it.
---
Then the passage narrowed.
---
Only two figures remained behind.
---
Aaron.
And Jade.
---
Behind them stretched an endless sea of shadow creatures.
Ahead lay the shrinking exit.
The battlefield fell strangely silent.
Like the calm before another storm.
Aaron tightened his grip on his sword.
Jade silently raised his crimson blade.
Neither intended to retreat.
Neither intended to surrender.
To be continued...