Dreados's team finally came to a halt—fourteen kilometres away from the centre of the blast.
They turned slowly, the ground still shaking beneath them. Their hair flowed in the wind, stirred by the silent roar of the colossal mushroom cloud blooming in the distance.
Valerius, Eryndor, and Ziraiah stood side by side, their expressions pale, their bodies bloodied but upright.
Valerius narrowed his eyes. "No way he survives a nuke, right?"
He turned to Silvie, raising both arms like he was surrendering. "Your words, not mine."
Silvie, standing with arms crossed and a cut bleeding down her cheek, replied dryly, "I didn't think he'd actually get hit by one."
Valerius shrugged. "I'm not even sure we can call that a nuke."
Ziraiah pointed toward the glowing plume with narrowed eyes. "Then what would you call that? That's nuke-level destruction. Maybe worse."
Eryndor exhaled through his nose, still steady despite the exhaustion. "To think there are people in this world capable of that…"
Valerius glanced at Silvie again. "What about you? How are you still alive? Even these guys were running like death was at their heels."
Silvie placed her hands on her hips, smirking. "Just like you—I got carried."
Valerius followed her gaze—down to the earth where Anuel sat, knees folded to her chest, quietly sobbing. Jeriana stood nearby, face unreadable.
Anuel looked up at her slowly.
"You could've saved Spencer," she whispered, tears streaming freely. "You could've used Floatation. You had enough for one more spell. Why didn't you save him…?"
Jeriana lowered herself beside her and pulled Anuel into an embrace.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I couldn't. Not at that speed. I barely managed to grab Silvie and Lisa. I tried… I really did."
Anuel shook against her, the pain escaping through broken sobs. She hugged Jeriana tighter, her cries muffled by Jeriana's shoulder.
Not far off, Lisa wept alone in silence.
Valerius turned to Silvie. "Were they close? I didn't see her cry like that when Marie died."
Silvie nodded. "Beily told me... Spencer was like a father to her."
The silence returned—heavy, painful.
Then Anuel stood up slowly, still trembling.
"Where's Dreados?" she asked, voice hoarse. "We lost Marie. We lost Spencer… and we don't even know if Omfry survived that blast. All this happening, and our leader... he's nowhere. Isn't he supposed to lead us? It was just Lycans… it's Dreados. How hard could it have been?"
No one answered her.
---
Far away, near the crater…
Elvis Grifion descended from high above, his figure slicing through the haze like a spear of light. He hovered briefly—then dropped into the gaping wound Omfry had vanished into.
Nine kilometres from the epicentre, rubble shifted. Anisa's hand burst through the stones first, followed by Lizzy and Eliana dragging themselves free.
Eliana's ears rang. Her vision swam. She coughed, trying to stand.
A few metres away, Fenry exploded from the debris, punching upward, eyes half-lidded, breath ragged.
He sat down hard, staring at the distant mushroom cloud.
Lizzy touched his shoulder. "You okay, Fenry?"
Her hand passed right through him.
She blinked. "Oh… right."
Anisa dusted herself off and turned to Eliana.
"Now that we've got you," she said, "we should get to the king. Time to leave this hellhole."
She looked around, frowning. "Elvis?"
No answer.
Elvis had already landed—inside the crater, walking its scorched floor in steady steps. Every stone was blackened, melted, brittle underfoot.
Lizzy glanced back. "Didn't know Elvis was nearby. Lucky, huh?"
Anisa nodded. "Yeah… that Dragoon is definitely dead."
Elvis kept walking, expression unreadable.
Anisa added, "The way your spirit talked about him... I didn't think my spell was enough."
Fenry didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the horizon.
Lizzy stepped in front of him, her voice light but edged. "Why so quiet? Lighten up. We just took out the Dragoon. Rescued the Princess. Mission complete. Let's go find the Queen."
Fenry slowly stood, never breaking his gaze.
"…Start moving," he said softly.
They all paused.
Fenry's voice deepened. "It's not over. That man… is still alive."
Silence.
Inside the crater—at its very centre—Elvis came to a halt.
The smoke was thick. The ground was still hot.
But as the dust cleared…
He saw it.
"…No," he whispered. "It can't be."
Just a few metres ahead, a figure stood.
His back was straight.
His body bloodied—burned from head to toe.
His trousers shredded, reduced to scorched fabric clinging to his waist. His upper body bare, every muscle cut like a blade. Every inch of him scarred. Cracked.
But alive.
Omfry stood there.
Still.
Arms folded across his chest.
He wasn't swaying. He wasn't stumbling.
He was breathing.
Heavy. Steady. Steam rising from his nostrils.
Elvis froze.
And then—Omfry turned.
He turned his head over his shoulder, his eyes locking onto Elvis.
The breath Elvis held escaped in a shudder.
He started to turn—to run.
But the second he moved—
Omfry was already there.
Inches from him.
Smiling.
A slow, malevolent grin curled across his bloodied lips.
He rested one heavy arm across Elvis's shoulder.
The other hand pressed gently—but firmly—against Elvis's ribs.
His voice was calm.
"I don't blame you for ganging up on me," Omfry said softly.
His eyes glinted.
"That was your one and only shot…"
The grin widened.
"Wasted."
He tapped Elvis's side with two fingers.
"So... what will you do now?"
---
Back at Anisa's group—
Lizzy's eyes widened. "What do you mean he's still alive?! That wasn't just any attack—it was our combined full power!"
Fenry nodded slowly.
"I know."
He turned his head slightly.
"Use Search. You'll see."
Anisa and Lizzy exchanged a look.
Then spoke in unison.
"Search."
Their auras pulsed. A wave of magic expanded outward, scanning every inch of terrain.
And there—clear as day—they felt it.
Two signatures.
One radiating with disbelief.
The other?
Calm.
Unshaken.
Burning like a forge beneath the surface.
Alive.
Very much alive.
Elvis's mind raced, his breath ragged. What now will I resort to? That attack expended most of my mana. If I failed to kill him at best, now the chances are even slimmer. His muscles tensed, desperation clawing at his thoughts. He's too close. I must devise a way to flee.
Omfry's voice cut through the silence like a blade through flesh. "Nothing to say, Spellbound? Too bad."
Then—pain.
Omfry's hand speared through Elvis's ribs, fingers curling inside him like a predator claiming its kill. Elvis screamed, a raw, guttural sound, as Omfry pulled him closer in a mockery of an embrace. The monster's face was blank, indifferent, as he pushed deeper, his arm disappearing into Elvis's torso.
Blood bubbled from Elvis's lips. Omfry's fingers closed around his first heart—and crushed it.
A wet, sickening pop.
Elvis convulsed, his vision swimming, his body screaming in agony. Omfry didn't stop. He reached further, gripping the second heart, squeezing just enough to make Elvis feel it.
Through the pain, through the blood filling his mouth, Elvis grabbed Omfry's face with trembling hands. His voice was a whisper, a curse, a prophecy.
"You… will die… a very… ugly death."
Then Omfry ripped his hand free, holding Elvis's still-beating heart in his fist.
Elvis collapsed.
Dead.
---
Lizzy's eyes widened in horror. "Elvis… he just died."
Fenry didn't hesitate. "Let's get out of here. Now." He snatched up the princess and bolted.
Anisa's face twisted in rage, tears carving paths through the dirt on her cheeks. "I'm going to kill that bastard!"
Lizzy seized her shoulders, fingers digging in. "No. The priority is the princess. If you go after him, you're going to die." She shook her, forcing Anisa to meet her gaze. "You hear me, Anisa?"
The two locked eyes—sisterhood, duty, fury, grief—all passing between them in an instant.
Then Anisa turned and flew after Fenry, her wings cutting through the air like a storm. Lizzy followed, leaving behind the corpse of their fallen comrade.
---
Omfry peeled off Elvis's trousers and pulled them on, his movements casual, unhurried. Then he crouched, bare feet pressing into the earth.
With a single explosive push, he launched into the sky like a living missile, streaking after the fleeing women. Wind howled around him as he grinned, fangs glinting.
"It's been a long time since I felt pain like that."
Then—
Agony.
His skull split with a sudden, inexplicable torment. His flight faltered, his body twisting mid-air before crashing to the ground in a violent tumble. Dust plumed around him as he rolled to a stop, groaning.
"Uuuuh, my head…"
---
Far above, on the first floor's edge, the hooded man watched.
"These people have entertained me enough," he mused. "Time to do my job."
Without hesitation, he stepped off the ledge, plummeting into the abyss. The second floor yawned miles below, but he didn't care. He closed his eyes, letting the wind scream past him—until, with a single step on empty air, he kicked off.
A shockwave detonated behind him as he rocketed forward, faster than sight, faster than sound.
His destination?
Valerius.
And the Black March.
---
Beily sat on a rock, his shattered jaw clicking as Gustein's healing magic stitched bone and flesh back together and regrew his severed arm.
"Omfry… he's alive," Beily muttered, testing his newly regrown teeth.
Sumshus smirked, leaning against a boulder. "Of course he is. No way he'd die on us." He nudged Gustein. "You're lucky this leporid is here. Lisa can't regrow bones and teeth, and Jeriana sucks at healing magic."
Gustein sighed. "How many times must I say—my name is Gustein."
Sumshus waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, Gustein."
Then—
Anuel and Beily snapped their heads up at the same instant.
"Something's coming!"
BOOM.
The impact shook the earth like a god's hammer. The black-hooded man landed with apocalyptic force, the ground exploding outward in a devastating crater. Valerius was hurled through the air, his body crashing through rubble before skidding to a stop. Half his helmet had shattered away, revealing one bloodshot eye struggling to focus through the settling dust.
As the world stopped spinning, Valerius saw him.
The hooded figure stood motionless, one foot planted casually on the chest of the one-eyed man. His black trench coat rippled in the wind, the hood still partially obscuring his face.
Beily moved before thought—his fist lashed out in a blur, connecting with the man's jaw.
Crack.
The man's head barely turned. The ground beneath his other foot spiderwebbed with fractures, yet he remained standing as if Beily had struck a mountain. The force of the blow tore the hood back, revealing him fully—short blue hair whipping in the wind, ivory skin, and piercing light-blue eyes that glowed with eerie calm.
He stood at a monstrous ten feet and six inches, his presence suffocating.
The man's icy blue eyes slid to Beily, who recoiled instantly—muscles tensing, body moving before thought. A primal instinct screamed at him to run.
"Good instincts," the man remarked, his voice like velvet wrapped around steel. "I was about to kill you there."
Then—crunch.
His foot pressed down. The one-eyed man's ribs collapsed like dry twigs, his body jerking once before going still. Dead before he could scream.
The Black March attacked as one.
Fire. Lightning. Blades of pure force—all crashed against the man in a storm of destruction. He didn't move. Didn't blink. Spells that could level buildings washed over him like rain.
Anuel became a silver blur—striking, retreating, striking again—her sword flashing faster than sight. Each blow landed with perfect precision.
Yet the man remained untouched.
Not a scratch. Not a bruise. Only his eyes moved, tracking her with detached amusement.
Valerius and his siblings watched, paralyzed.
Then—
The man took a single step forward—
And froze.
His eyes flicked sideways. Jeriana stood with fists clenched, veins bulging in her arms as invisible chains coiled around him.
"That's as far as you go," she growled through gritted teeth.
Anuel didn't hesitate.
She launched herself, sword tip aimed dead-center at his heart. The air itself screamed as she struck—
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted outward, dust and debris exploding in all directions.
Valerius grabbed his siblings. "Come with me!"
They scrambled behind a massive glowing boulder, hearts pounding.
Gustein, seeing the chaos unfolding and knowing he couldbe collateral damage, made a split-second decision. Drawing upon the augmented strength of his Arch Armour, he clenched his fist—then drove it downward with brutal force.
BOOM.
The ground split open beneath him, a crater forming instantly as shards of stone flew in every direction. Without hesitation, he dropped into the hole he'd created, vanishing into the fractured ground just as the wind above began to scream.
Down in the dark, Gustein pressed himself into the tight space. He curled into a coil, pulling his limbs close, his hands shielding his head, every muscle tense.
Dust fell. The ground trembled.
As the dust settled—
Anuel's blade pressed against the man's chest.
It didn't pierce.
Didn't even dent his skin.
She pushed with everything—muscles trembling, teeth gritted—but the sword might as well have been pressing against a mountain.
The man looked down at it.
Then up at her.
And smiled.
Faster than thought, his hand snapped up—grabbing her face in his palm, lifting her off the ground like a doll.
"I really don't like hurting pretty women," he mused.
Jeriana's eyes widened. "How can he move?!" She yanked at the chains with all her strength—but they might as well have been cobwebs.
Lisa's scream cut through the chaos. "Stop! Stop attacking! He has Anuel!" She whirled on Beily, voice breaking. "Why are you just standing there? *Do something!"
But Beily couldn't move.
That look—that cold, indifferent stare—burned in his mind.
The way he looked at me... Beily realized with dawning horror. That's the third time I almost died.
Silvie, trembling, pressed close to Valerius and the others behind the rock.
The man tilted his head at Anuel.
"You're the Black March, aren't you?" he said casually. "That elf and Dragoon gave it away. Well, I'm not after you—at least, not currently."
Then—
A flick of his wrist.
A small rock shot from his fingers—
CRACK!
It punched through the glowing boulder like paper—
And erased Silvie's head in a spray of red.
Ziraiah turned—
And saw.
Silvie's body slumped, a gaping ruin where her face had been.
Ziraiah's scream tore through the battlefield—a sound of pure, unfiltered agony. Erydnor covered her mouth, pulled her against his chest, muffling her against his armour.
Valerius stood frozen.
Breath gone.
Mind blank.
The man sighed, as if mildly inconvenienced.
"I do hate the stench of humans."
Silence.
To Be Continued...