Gara, Blade of Carbrarra
The forest screamed.
Not with sound—but with mana.
The western frontier of the Empire shattered as ancient roots tore through stone and steel alike. Emerald light surged from the ground, veins of corrupted life cracking open the barrier spell that had protected the region for centuries.
From the breach stepped Gara.
One of Demon Lord Carbrarra's Seven Generals.
The Elf Queen who had abandoned the World Tree.
Her silver hair flowed freely, streaked with dark green mana like poison ivy threaded through moonlight. Her armor was grown, not forged—living bark hardened like steel, vines coiling around her limbs as if alive. Flowers bloomed where she walked… only to rot and crumble seconds later.
Life twisted into a weapon.
"The Empire resists still," Gara said, her voice calm, ancient, and heavy with disdain. "Carbrarra expected as much."
Her eyes scanned the battlefield—burned streets, fallen soldiers, summoning circles still fading in the air.
"No matter. I will carve obedience into this land."
The air thickened. Trees bent toward her like kneeling subjects.
Then—
Steel rang.
A lone figure stepped forward from the broken battlements.
Sylvia.
Her armor was cracked from previous battles, her cloak torn and stained, but her grip on her sword was steady. The blade hummed faintly, reacting to the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Carbrarra General.
"I am Sylvia," she said, voice unwavering.
"Knight of the Empire. Protector of its people."
Gara's emerald eyes settled on her.
"…A human stands alone?"
There was no laughter.
Only interest.
General vs Knight
Gara lifted her hand.
The forest answered.
Roots burst from the earth, snapping toward Sylvia like spears. Sylvia moved instantly—her blade flashed, severing vines midair, spinning as bark and splinters exploded around her. Each step was precise, practiced, desperate.
Fast.
But not enough.
Gara vanished.
Sylvia barely blocked in time as a blade of condensed mana slammed against her sword, the impact throwing her backward through stone. She rolled, coughing, boots carving trenches into the earth.
"You are strong," Gara said, walking forward, the ground blooming and dying beneath her feet. "But you are not what I came for."
Sylvia forced herself up.
"You'll have to go through me anyway."
Gara's lips curved faintly.
"Very well."
Mana surged.
This was not a duel.
This was an execution.
Elsewhere on the Battlefield
High above the Empire walls, Rocky felt it.
The pressure.
The difference.
His system flickered violently.
WARNING
Carbrarra General Detected: Gara – Rank Catastrophe
Risha—now evolved, her demonic presence deeper and heavier—turned sharply toward the forest.
"That elf…" she muttered. "She's different. Closer to Carbrarra than the others."
Rocky clenched his fists.
Sylvia was out there.
Facing that thing alone.
And for the first time since gaining the Summoner System, Rocky understood something terrifying—
They weren't ready.
Not yet.
The forest collapsed inward.
Not falling—bowing.
Mana compressed so violently around Gara that the air itself screamed. Roots knotted together, branches hardened like iron, and the ground beneath Sylvia's feet turned into a living trap.
Sylvia reacted on instinct.
She leapt.
The moment her boots left the earth, massive roots erupted upward, snapping shut where she had stood. Her sword flashed as she twisted midair, cutting through a vine thick as a tower column, landing hard and rolling across scorched grass.
She came up on one knee.
Breathing steady.
Pain ignored.
Gara tilted her head slightly.
"You adapt quickly," the Carbrarra General said. "Most humans break by now."
Sylvia wiped blood from the corner of her mouth with her thumb and raised her blade again.
"I don't fight to win," she answered. "I fight to hold the line."
That—finally—made Gara smile.
A real one.
"Then you will die beautifully."
The Weight of a General
Gara moved.
There was no sound. No warning.
One moment she stood ten paces away—the next, her hand was inches from Sylvia's throat, wrapped in twisting green mana shaped like claws.
Sylvia barely parried.
Steel met mana.
The impact detonated outward, leveling trees and blasting a crater into the battlefield. Sylvia skidded backward, boots tearing trenches through the dirt, arms screaming as the force traveled up her blade.
Gara didn't pursue.
She advanced.
Each step bent the battlefield to her will.
"You humans misunderstand power," Gara said calmly. "You think strength comes from effort. From resolve."
She raised her arm.
The forest behind her rose.
Hundreds of trees tore free from the ground, hovering, rotating slowly as if awaiting command.
"Power comes from belonging," Gara continued. "From being chosen."
Her fingers closed.
The trees launched.
Sylvia sprinted.
She weaved between collapsing trunks, deflecting splinters, leaping over shockwaves as massive roots slammed down around her. One clipped her shoulder—armor shattered, blood sprayed, but she didn't slow.
She couldn't.
Because she knew—
If she fell, the Empire fell with her.
Rocky's Realization
Miles away, Rocky staggered as the Summoner System screamed warnings into his vision.
ANALYSIS FAILED
TARGET: GARA — CARBRARRA GENERAL
THREAT LEVEL: OVERWHELMING
His fists trembled.
He could feel Sylvia's presence flickering—burning bright, then dimmer, then bright again.
Like a candle in a storm.
Risha grabbed his arm.
"Rocky," she said sharply. "If you go now, you die."
"I know," he snapped.
"But if I don't—"
"She won't die for nothing," Risha interrupted. Her eyes burned, darker than before. "She's buying time. That's what knights do."
Rocky froze.
Buying time.
The words struck deeper than any blade.
For the first time since the system appeared, Rocky stopped thinking like a summoner who reacted—
And started thinking like one who commanded.
"…Retreat," he said quietly.
Risha turned.
"What?"
"Signal the Empire," Rocky said, forcing the words out. "Evacuation. Full withdrawal from the western sector. No counterattack."
His hands clenched.
"We're too weak. All of us."
The system pulsed again—this time, not warning.
INSIGHT UNLOCKED
SUMMONER PATH: TACTICAL DOMINION
You have acknowledged limitation. Growth condition met.
Rocky didn't smile.
He looked toward the forest.
"Please," he whispered. "Hold on."
Knight Against Nature
Sylvia screamed as another blow sent her crashing through stone ruins. She rolled, barely raising her sword as Gara's mana blade came down again—each strike heavier than the last.
Her arms were numb.
Her vision blurred.
But her feet still moved.
"You won't win," Gara said, standing over her now. "Even if the Summoner escapes, Carbrarra will come."
Sylvia forced herself upright, sword trembling.
"Then we'll fight him too."
Gara paused.
For the first time—
She hesitated.
"…Humans are strange," she murmured.
Then her mana surged.
"This ends."
Roots burst upward, coiling around Sylvia's legs, arms, torso—pinning her midair like prey. Her sword slipped from her grasp, clattering uselessly to the ground.
Gara approached slowly.
"You did well," she said. "Be proud."
Sylvia met her gaze.
And smiled.
"Good," she said softly.
Gara frowned.
The next instant—
A horn sounded.
Long.
Low.
Imperial retreat.
Gara's eyes widened slightly as mana signatures across the battlefield vanished, one by one.
The Empire was pulling back.
Sylvia had succeeded.
Before Gara could react, a teleportation circle ignited beneath Sylvia—rough, unstable, desperate.
Risha's work.
Sylvia vanished in a flash of crimson light.
Silence fell.
Aftermath
The forest slowly settled.
Gara stood alone amid destruction.
She looked at the empty space where Sylvia had been.
"…Interesting," she said.
Then she turned toward the Empire.
"Run," the Carbrarra General whispered. "Grow stronger."
Her lips curved into a cruel smile.
"I'll enjoy breaking you later."
The invasion had only begun.