Chapter 26
The crimson sky brought forth endless opportunities as new life was being formed across the realm. Long-forgotten treasures and artifacts that had lost every trace of energy suddenly regained their power.
Cultivators who had already given up on breaking through their realms found themselves stepping forward once more.
The sudden surge of world energy wrapped around the entire realm, turning the crimson night into something that would be spoken of throughout history.
It would be remembered as one of the most significant and blessed days the realm had ever known.
But whatever brought great benefit also brought great danger.
Entities sealed away for centuries, whether because they were nuisances or because they were too powerful and destabilizing, were now absorbing enough energy to awaken. Ancient seals weakened. Forgotten coffins stirred.
One such creature finally rose from hundreds of years of forced slumber.
It was a being made entirely of black, inky substance. The lid of its coffin shattered as it pushed its way out, its form rippling as it stood. Its head throbbed, dazed from the sudden flood of information forcefully etched into its mind.
Only one conclusion remained.
Run.
Grow stronger.
Escape before the guardians found him.
If he was sealed again, there was no telling how long the next sleep would last. He refused to accept that fate. The inky creature turned and fled.
He did not get far.
Danger surged through his senses. An instant later, an explosion tore through the space he had just occupied.
His body was hurled violently into the ancient underground wall, the impact alone a testament to the force behind the attack.
The inky creature raised his head. His dread crystallized into terror.
Floating in midair, staring at him with childish curiosity, was a strange girl. If she could even be called that.
She wore layers upon layers of mismatched clothing, her face painted with unsettling makeup that twisted her smile into something wrong.
"Hey, little inky," she said cheerfully. "Wanna go back to sleep?"
The creature did not respond. He attacked with everything he had. His plan was simple. Catch the guardian off guard and escape.
For a split second, he thought he succeeded.
Then he realized he was facing the ground again. His body fell uncontrollably, slammed into the earth, and shattered the hardened concrete beneath him.
A young, childish voice spoke right behind him.
"Seems like inky is becoming a bad prisoner."
He could not move. He could not resist.
"And bad prisoners need to be punished."
She leaned closer, her smile widening, cute and horrifying all at once.
"How fitting that you finally meet the new punisher among the guardians."
The inky monster froze. If he could sweat, he would have broken into cold sweat.
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Meanwhile, Noi was not the only guardian on the move.
In another location, a deafening explosion rocked the land as a massive figure slammed hard into the ground. The earth trembled violently, cracks tearing outward in every direction. What followed was an explosive force powerful enough to erase an entire region.
The smoke slowly cleared.
A figure floated down from above.
He wore nothing but simple cloth, primitive and rough, like something from the rock age. His black hair whipped through the air, framing dark eyes that were calm and unwavering.
Not a hint of concern showed on his face, even though the creature before him was an extremely powerful abomination that would not fall easily.
As if responding to his presence, the ground trembled again.
A massive creature made entirely of gray, stone-like substance rose from the dirt. Cracks littered its body from the earlier exchange, but if it had been conserving energy before, that restraint was gone now. The guardians were arrogant. This one would not be allowed to walk away today.
The cracks sealed shut.
The earth shook furiously as several gray spikes burst from its body, framing parts of it like a war machine.
Multiple red eyes flared with dense, violent energy as the creature continued to grow. Bigger. Larger. Until it stood three times its original size.
There was only one word to describe it.
Massive.
Still, Yuro's eyes did not change. Calm. Confident. As if the abomination existed only to entertain him.
That indifference enraged the creature.
With full force, it launched itself forward, appearing instantly before Yuro. A spiked fist swung down, carrying power meant to level mountains and decimate regions.
"Not impressed," Yuro muttered.
His hand moved. Fast. Unbelievably fast.
He slapped the giant hand aside.
The abomination froze in shock. Before it could react, Yuro was already standing in front of it. With a casual motion, he slapped the creature's face, like disciplining a misbehaving child.
The slap looked effortless.
The force behind it was anything but.
Fear, pain, and dread flared through the abomination's many eyes as the impact sent it flying. It crashed into the ground with such speed and power that the explosion dwarfed the earlier one by hundreds of times.
The land was erased.
Beasts, terrain, and any unfortunate life nearby were completely wiped out.
When the dust finally settled, fragments of the abomination were scattered everywhere. Amid the rubble of gray stone lay its true form. A small, pebble-sized creature with a single red eye. Weak. Exposed.
"We can talk th—"
Before it could finish, Yuro picked it up and sealed it inside a special container.
He would have preferred to kill it. But these things could not be killed. Or at least, the guardians had yet to find a way.
Yuro lifted his gaze to the crimson sky.
His expression did not change.
Whether he felt anger, confusion, or amusement, nothing showed on his face.q
He wondered how many more horrors would escape their seals and how many the guardians could actually catch.
That depended on the realm's luck.
Hopefully none slipped through before they were contained. Otherwise, those foolish kingdoms still busy tearing each other apart would soon face a problem far beyond petty wars.
With that thought, he vanished. His destination lay elsewhere. Another place where more horrors were sealed.
Meanwhile, the guardians were not the only ones affected by the crimson cloud.
Deep within a dark cave, a new batch of horrors was forming. They looked part human, part beast. Their gazes burned with incomprehensible intelligence, and the aura rolling off them was enormous. In total, they numbered in the hundreds.
They were exhausted from their creation. Their seeds had existed from the beginning, but the energy needed for their birth had never been enough. Not until now.
"Let us destroy the Sky Continent first," one abomination said.
For reasons unknown, they possessed deep knowledge of the realm, as if its truths were etched into their very being. Without anyone telling them, they felt an intense urge to bring destruction to everything that lived.
"No. The Heart Continent," another corrected. "The Great One may be there. I believe the crimson-hued savior comes from that place."
"Yes. The savior wants us to wipe out the Heart Continent first. That is why we were freed," another speculated.
After exchanging thoughts, the horrors reached a single conclusion.
The Heart Continent would fall first.
As they prepared to leave, an overwhelming aura slammed down on them. Every single one dropped to their knees, crushed into the ground.
Their expressions shifted instantly.
There were no guardians nearby. So where was this pressure coming from?
As if answering them, they all turned in the same direction.
Space itself cracked open.
From within the rift, a sleeping dragon revealed itself in all its massive glory. Midnight scales shimmered beneath distorted space, and then one colossal eye opened. A glowing red eye filled with immeasurable power.
The moment the horrors met that gaze, their lives ended. They collapsed face-first into the ground, dead on the spot.
The dragon did not kill them for threatening humans. He could not care less about that.
Their smell disgusted him. Worse, they had disturbed his sleep.
With one eye still open, the dragon looked toward the crimson sky.
His body was not truly in the mortal realm, trapped instead within fractured space. Yet even so, dread crept into his being as he stared at that sky.
Why did it radiate such power? Such pressure? As if the existence behind it was far beyond his comprehension.
"The mortal realm is about to change," the dragon thought. "And I doubt it will be a good one."
He closed his eye.
And returned to his sleep.
Meanwhile, in another region far from civilization, a massive crack tore through a colossal monument.
From the fissures, abominations began to emerge. First a handful. Then dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. They seemed endless.
Worse, each radiated an aura far beyond that of a cultivator who believed they had reached the peak of their power. Ridiculously strong. Unstoppable.
And yet, their minds were empty. Thoughtless. All they knew was kill. Consume. Devour.
As the horrors spread, a lone figure stood in the mist of clouds, eyes fixed on the chaos below, a small frown tugging at his lips.
Humans were strong. Strong enough to handle the abominations, perhaps.
And sincerely, he had no interest in testing them.
James considered leaving the humans to fend for themselves, waiting for them to rise into powerhouses capable of confronting these monstrosities. That way, he wouldn't have to strain himself.
But he knew that would never happen in time.
If left unchecked, these horrors would annihilate the nearest human settlements in no time.
His gaze flicked toward the crimson sky.
That cloud. That damned anomaly. It was causing the guardians more trouble than they had ever faced.
And the worst part? They still had no clue who—or what—was behind it.
The effects, however, were undeniable. Vast. Unstoppable.
James's eyes lingered on the ever-expanding army of horrors. He raised a hand, pushing his glasses up gently. They seemed to vanish.
He cracked his knuckles.
And jumped.
The impact of his landing shook the earth with a deafening boom. Dust and debris erupted in all directions.
Slowly, deliberately, James rose from the ground.
His eyes glowed a deep, feral green.
"Well," he said, voice low, deadly calm, "let's get this over with."
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TO BE CONTINUED…