The sky was still darkened by plumes of smoke rising from the collapsed buildings. The fleeting calm that had settled after the previous Vorm's fall was violently shattered by a sudden shockwave. The earth trembled, deep and guttural, as if it were expressing an ancient terror. The surviving recruits, still panting and bloodied, raised their heads in unison. From the thick shroud of dust and shadow emerged a gargantuan silhouette — a monstrous lizard, towering as high as a ten-story building, its body covered in black scales veined with crimson. Its eyes gleamed with a primal glow, and every step it took cracked the ground with a thunderous rumble.
Kael, leaning against a crumbled wall, struggled to catch his breath. His eyes met Declan's, who was still on his knees, face smeared with dried blood. The eerie silence that followed was broken by the creature's roar — a deafening, guttural sound. A pressure wave swept across the ruins, shattering remaining glass, reducing nearby structures to rubble, and throwing several unconscious soldiers through the air. Some vomited on the spot — Kael included. Only one man remained standing, unmoved, straight as a blade — Sareth, the Steelbreaker.
"How many engineers are still alive?!" Sareth shouted, his eyes never leaving the beast. A soldier, still conscious, shakily raised a hand. "Four! They're over there — injured!"
"Get them patched up. They'll fix the transports. We're heading back up as soon as they're ready." He turned slightly, his armor groaning from the tension. "I'll hold this thing off."
Kael tried to stand, defiant. "I can still fight… Let me—"
"No," Sareth cut in without hesitation. "You've done your part, soldier. Stay here. Save your strength. You'll have other monsters to kill."
There was no arrogance in his voice — only a cold lucidity. Kael clenched his fists but obeyed. He watched, transfixed, as the man stood alone against a Vorm whose very presence bent the world around it.
Sareth took a step. Then another. Each footfall rang out like a tolling bell. His torn cape drifted behind him, his massive sword dragging across the fractured concrete, throwing sparks with every scrape. The Vorm tilted its head, almost curious — then it pounced.
The impact was brutal. A flash of steel, a blast of air. Sareth blocked the Vorm's first strike with his blade. The ground collapsed beneath him, forming a smoking crater. The shockwave sent several remaining soldiers flying. But the man did not budge.
"So you're the new terror among Vorms?" Sareth muttered. "You look more like a rabid cockroach."
The lizard shrieked, extending a barbed tongue as its segmented tails cracked through the air like whips. It struck again — a flurry of rapid, erratic blows. Sareth dodged with surgical precision, slid beneath the beast's armored belly, and drove his blade deep. The Vorm shrieked toward the heavens. But it leapt backward just in time to avoid a fatal blow.
Around them, the survivors watched in awe and dread. Declan clenched his fists. Naelys, wide-eyed, whispered, "He... he moves like he's dancing with death."
The battle escalated. The creature spewed a toxic mist — a green vapor that corrupted the air. Sareth tapped a rune on his chestplate, activating a barrier. With a powerful leap, he soared above the fog, spun mid-air, and came crashing down on the creature. His sword sliced off one of the Vorm's horns, sending it crashing into a wall.
But it wasn't over. The lizard rose again, muscles pulsing with dark energy. It let out a shrill howl, and suddenly its body radiated with a crimson aura. An energy field erupted from it, forcing the soldiers back. Sareth was pushed several meters, sliding across the ground before jamming his sword into the earth to stop himself.
Kael's knees buckled. "This pressure… it's even worse than the last one…"
The lizard charged, its claws glowing with a hellish light. Sareth shouted back, slamming his fist into the ground. The concrete shattered, and a wave of blue aura burst from him. He spun his sword in a wide arc and unleashed a shockwave. The two forces collided in a thunderous explosion, a storm of energy tearing through the battlefield.
"Titanfall Impact!" Sareth roared, slamming his sword down with crushing force.
The attack split the air. The blue wave smashed into the Vorm's chest, hurling it backward into a building that collapsed on impact. A rain of debris followed, burying the creature beneath stone and steel.
Silence fell. Then — a heavy breath. The Vorm rose again. Wounded, leaking black vapor, but still alive.
Sareth, panting, dropped to one knee. His hand still gripped his sword. He spat on the ground. "Tough bastard. You want to dance? Then let's keep dancing."
On a frozen scene: on one side, Sareth standing in the center of the ruins, his aura still flaring; on the other, the looming silhouette of the Vorm, its eyes burning with rage, ready to retaliate.