In the open-air chamber, chaos reigns. Karden furiously holds back the waves of monsters, keeping them away from the wall where Alex has been laid down. Amid the deafening clash, Ella's voice tears through the air:
"Alex! Alex! Come back to your senses, pull yourself together! You have to try!"
But Alex is dying. His breathing is a muffled rasp, he coughs up blood in violent spurts, and the wound in his abdomen is draining his life onto the stone floor. Ella, her hands trembling, begins to lose composure.
(Oh no, it's happening again… Why? Why did you put yourself in my place? Do you think that makes things easier for me? Mister 'hero' sacrificing himself… I'd really like you to explain what goes through your head!)
She presses her hands against the young man's chest. Through precise mana manipulation, she manages to expel the blood that had accumulated in his airways. Alex's breathing stabilizes slightly.
(As I thought, his right lung is damaged. I can't fully heal him here, but I can stop the hemorrhage.)
A complex magic circle lights up beneath them. Torn flesh begins to knit together, held in place by filaments of pure mana. Ella stands up, her face marked by exhaustion.
"As long as you stay inside this circle, your wounds will remain sealed. But don't get your hopes up—your condition is critical, and this spell consumes too much energy for me to maintain forever. I'll be back. I'll make it quick."
She pulls her staff to her hand with telekinesis and flies toward the opening in the ceiling.
"Protect him, Karden!" she shouts. "I'm going to find a way to blow that monster to pieces. Nothing must happen to Alex—I still need to beat him up for what he just did!"
Karden, busy slicing through a horned wolf, glances up.
"Why would you want to hit him if he saved your life?"
"I didn't ask for it!" Ella snaps, frustrated. "I hate his heroics, especially when they involve me!"
She disappears through the opening to gain altitude. Inside the cavern, Karden allows himself a faint smile.
(She really looks furious…)
He refocuses on the battle.
(Lately, I've been taken down too quickly. My body lacks durability—that's why I wear this armor. But my mana reserves… they're immense.)
A sinister aura begins to emanate from him and his scythe. His eyes darken.
"Spell: Extinction Nightmare!"
Within a defined radius, the monsters freeze, their eyes rolling back as horrific visions overwhelm them. Seizing the opportunity, Karden becomes a whirlwind of death, reaping and tearing through the creatures with terrifying fluidity before the illusion fades. In the distance, the Golden-Antlered Stag watches him. A primal instinct screams within the boss: Danger.
"Don't worry, buddy," Karden sneers. "I don't have the strength to finish you alone. If I tried, I'd be drained. I'll let the 'real' monster handle you."
A roar echoes from the sky. Ella bombards the stag with pillars of compressed air, making the colossus stagger. But the monster's hide is too thick; the attacks ricochet or shatter without piercing its defense.
Meanwhile, within the depths of Alex's unconscious mind, a voice resounds.
"Alex! Alex! Yoo-hoo! Are you listening?"
(What now… Mom?)
The scenery shifts drastically. Plants grow before his eyes, the world expanding around him. Alex looks at his hands—they are those of a child. A gentle hand holds his. He looks up at a woman with black hair, but her face remains a blurred, indescribable stain. He blinks, and suddenly he sees only a white smile in the darkness before feeling a soft stroke on his head.
"Tell me, Alex, are you afraid? Don't worry. You no longer have anything to fear… for now."
She points to a majestic creature: a massive white boar, shimmering with a bluish aura.
"Look. That's him. He will protect you. But stay vigilant, my son… Be a hero."
The scene shifts again. Alex is a little older, but still a child. He is curled up on the ground in the middle of a massacre. About twenty adults are trying to fight a monster… the same Golden-Antlered Stag. The men are trampled and crushed. The earth is red. A cornered, terrified man grabs little Alex and deliberately throws him toward the monster to create a distraction and escape.
Alex is impaled and flung away like a broken toy. The man, meanwhile, is crushed beneath the monster's hoof.
(It hurts… It hurts! It hurts!) the child cries.
The stag approaches, its hot breath washing over the boy's face.
(I don't want to die!)
BOOM!
Against all expectations, the child dodges the crushing hoof. Tears still stream down his face, but his gaze has changed. His azure-blue irises glow with a savage light. The monster hesitates, sensing danger, and launches more attacks. The child dodges again and picks up a broken sword from the ground. Pain tears through him, but he climbs onto the beast's back, clinging to its fur as it tries to throw him off.
That's when he sees it: the carotid artery, pulsing beneath the skin of its neck. The only vulnerable point. With a cry of pure desperation, he drives his blade down with all his strength.
The monster shrieks, a piercing sound that rips through the cave. Blood bursts forth in a geyser. The beast collapses in a final spasm. On the ground, Alex loses consciousness, sobbing:
"Mom… I'm scared… I'm scared…"
A deep, imposing voice then resounds:
"Alex Andreas."
He glimpses the sacred beast—the Moonlight Boar.
"You are a being shaped by fear. You fear death. Then cling to life with all your strength. That is the only inheritance I can leave you, son of my former friend."
The vision fades. The wounds vanish.
Back in the cave, Ella and Karden freeze when they hear a chilling chuckle.
Alex slowly rises, stepping out of the healing circle.
"So that was it… just that."
His voice is unrecognizable, stripped of all humanity. Ella screams:
"What does that idiot think he's doing?!"
Alex grips his dagger. A crushing, unsettling pressure fills the cave. A wide, predatory grin stretches across his lips as he stares the Golden-Antlered Stag straight in the eyes.
"I'm not going to die. You won't have me… You're the one who's going six feet under."
The monster takes a step back. For the first time, the creature that ruled the cave knows true terror.
END OF CHAPTER
NEXT CHAPTER: Royal Academy, Act 2 – Survival Instinct