Three days had passed since the clash with Karhux. The scorched smell of the battlefield still lingered in Kairo's mind, though the actual fires had long gone out. He and Shiri had returned to their ruined stronghold, the fractured stone walls now carrying a new weight—the unconscious boy they had found.
The ruins felt quieter than usual, save for the rhythmic crunch of armored feet. Kairo was already testing his new units.
With a low chant and a pulse of mana, the air shimmered in front of him.
Ten towering figures emerged—scaled warriors, their dark green hides glinting in the dim light. Yellow eyes burned with primal focus, and a primitive skirt of thick hide covered their lower bodies. In one hand they gripped jagged iron axes, in the other, spears carved from bone and obsidian.
They weren't as large as Karhux had been, but each still loomed over Kairo and Shiri.
Kairo's eyes narrowed as the system window flickered.
[Status: Kabolt Unit]
Subtype: Dragon-Blood Warrior
Bloodline Purity: 23%
Combat Role: Frontline Defense / Assault
Command Limit: 10 / 10 Active
Special Trait: Scaled Resilience – Increased defense against slashing and piercing damage.
A slow smile formed on Kairo's face.
"Dragon blood… so Karhux left me with more than just trouble."
He raised his hand. "Form a defensive line."
In perfect sync, the kabolts slammed their spear-butts against the ground and moved into formation, shields interlocking in a wall of scaled muscle and iron.
"These will be our wall," Kairo muttered, satisfied. "Our first and last line of defense."
Once the test was complete, he turned his attention to his scavenger ghouls. With a snap of his fingers, they appeared—lanky, pale figures with gnawing teeth and twitching movements, their tattered armor rattling.
"Onyx," Kairo called.
The shadow reaper emerged from the darkness, his skeletal frame draped in a black tattered cloak. His lance gleamed faintly in the ruin's dim light, and a faint mist curled at his feet.
"You'll be training them," Kairo said. "Scouting, ambush tactics. I want a recon unit that can disappear into the wind."
Onyx bowed, his voice a whisper like distant steel.
"As you command… my master."
They marched to the scorched village, now claimed as part of Kairo's territory. The blackened husks of houses stood like silent witnesses to Karhux's reign. Here, Kairo established a training center for his skeleton soldiers and a barracks to produce more units.
The system flickered again:
[Territory Upgrade Unlocked]
Outpost Established: Scorched Village
Functions: Skeleton Training (Lv.1), Unit Production (Lv.1)
Hero Unit Assigned: Onyx – Recon & Ambush Drills
For hours, Onyx drilled the ghouls in moving silently, attacking from blind spots, and vanishing before retaliation could land. By the time the sun dipped, they could slip between shadows like whispers.
When Kairo and Onyx returned to the ruins, however, they found chaos.
The boy had awakened.
And he was running.
"Hold!" Kairo barked, striding forward.
The boy skidded to a halt—only because the kabolt guards loomed in front of him, blocking every escape. His wild eyes darted from side to side, the memory of Karhux clearly flashing in them. The scales, the eyes—it was too much.
Kairo stepped between them, raising a hand to signal the kabolts to fall back. Shiri knelt beside the trembling child.
"It's alright," he said softly. "They won't hurt you."
The boy's breathing slowed, though his stomach growled audibly. Kairo produced a strip of cooked meat from his supplies and held it out.
The boy hesitated—eyes flicking between the food and Kairo's unreadable face—but hunger won. He tore into it with a desperation that spoke of days without food.
The system flared violently in Kairo's vision.
[New Entity Detected]
Name: Theo
Race: Unknown Hybrid (Horned)
Potential: Hero King – Rank S+
Danger Level: Unassessed
Status: Mana Overload (Residual), Severe Malnutrition
Kairo's eyes narrowed. Hero King potential? That's not a title the system gives lightly.
When the boy finished eating, Kairo finally spoke. "Your name."
"Theo," he said after a pause. "I… I was from the village near the black forest. Not anymore. They threw me out when I was eleven. Said I was cursed because of these."
He pointed to the small black horns curling from his head.
"I never knew my parents. They left me at birth. I survived on scraps, sleeping where I could. Then… one day, Karhux came."
Theo's eyes darkened. "It killed everyone. But when it looked at me… there was no rage. Just greed. Hunger. Like I was… valuable. It locked me in a burned house and fed me mana. Said it would make me strong—then it would eat me."
Shiri's hand stilled mid-motion.
"That's when these started," Theo added, showing faint green scales running along his forearms. "I escaped. Hid. But the mana was too much. I collapsed. Next thing I knew, I was here… and saw those kabolts. I thought Karhux had come back."
Kairo leaned back slightly, processing.
"And now?"
Theo's voice firmed. "Now I want to stay. Train under you. Repay the debt for saving me."
Kairo didn't hesitate. "Done."
The boy blinked, then broke into a wide grin—only to pass out moments later from exhaustion. Shiri caught him and laid him back onto the bedroll.
Later, as the night settled over the ruins, Kairo stood with Shiri atop the broken wall, watching the kabolts on patrol.
"He's dangerous," Shiri said. "But also alone and weak."
"Yes," Kairo said, voice low. "Which is exactly why I'd rather have him here than out there in someone else's hands."
They spoke long into the night, discussing defenses. In the end, Kairo decided on a new plan—clear the surrounding area and build a wall around the ruins.
"That will take resources," Shiri noted.
"Then we'll get them," Kairo said simply. "Starting tomorrow."
Far away, in a place the ruins had no name for, three figures sat in a crude stone chamber. Four thrones stood here, the fourth empty. Small pillars rose like teeth around them, and the air carried the scent of smoke and cold stone.
The woman with black horns and long white hair spoke first, her voice a blade wrapped in silk.
"Karhux is dead. Months of dominion in the scorched village… erased in a single battle."
The man with spiky yellow hair leaned forward, his orange jacket crumpling. "Good riddance. I hated that overgrown lizard anyway."
"Focus," the third said, adjusting his silver robes and glasses. His tone was precise, almost surgical. "It's not the loss of Karhux that concerns us—it's what killed him. Reports indicate unusual activity in the western ruins. Someone is consolidating power there."
The horned woman's smile was cold. "Then perhaps… it's time we paid them a visit."
The empty throne remained silent, as if waiting for someone—or something—to return.