The ground quaked as roars echoed from every direction.
From fissures and broken ridges, the Abyss spewed monsters in a tide unlike anything they had seen before.
Stoneboars thundered forward, tusks glowing as earthen spikes erupted in their wake. Venomwings shrieked overhead, their poisoned bile burning holes into the stone.
And lumbering at the rear, a new shape emerged, towering constructs of pale rock, their veins glowing white like molten cracks. Each step shook the fractured ground, their stony fists leaving craters.
Kael's gaze sharpened. "Stonehulks. B-rank golem mutations."
His tone darkened. "And this density, it's never been like this before. The Abyss has never swarmed in such numbers."
"Something is wrong here. But we can't let this tide spill beyond the barrier."
"If they reach the surface, the outposts will fall. We clear them quickly and retreat."
His expression hardened. "No more grinding. This is war."
And then he moved.
His body blurred, each of his spatial blades tearing rifts through monsters by the dozen. Venomwings split apart mid-air, Stoneboars collapsed into shattered husks.
The higher-form mana within his strikes left nothing but silence in his wake.
The burden eased on the others. Thomas, Elara, and Ironwood surged forward, their faces set with determination.
Adrian walked with them, calm amidst the chaos. His mist whispered at him, eager to erase everything in sight.
He knew that with a single Absolute Source Order, he could obliterate the battlefield. Yet he held back.
"Not yet. They need this. Mother, Father, Ironwood… they need to break through."
So Adrian became their shield instead. His blade of mist cut down any threat too sharp, his whip lashed out to block every lethal blow that slipped past their defenses.
A Stonehulk's massive fist crashed toward Elara's back as she battled three Venomwings. Adrian's manifestation snapped out like a living thing, wrapping around the golem's arm and crushing it to powder.
Thomas spun, flame roaring around his blade as he carved through a pack of Stoneboars. But more poured from the ridges, endless waves of tusks and stone.
"There's too many!" Ironwood shouted, his steel arms deflecting a rain of poisoned spittle. Green acid hissed where it struck his metallic skin.
Amidst the clash, Elara and Thomas noticed Adrian shielding them.
Initially, they believed that while he might have killed an A-rank outside, the Abyss posed a different threat, and they were prepared to protect him even at the cost of their own lives. Yet now, the roles had reversed.
For a heartbeat, pride and worry warred in Elara's eyes. He was sixteen. He should have been in the Academy, not standing in the heart of the Abyss.
Yet here he was, steady, protecting them. She swallowed the ache in her chest, forcing herself back into the fight.
Thomas, however, laughed through the blood and fire, his blade of molten flame burning brighter with every swing. "That's my boy!" he roared, his voice carrying over the battlefield.
"Even if I die now, I'll die happy!"
Elara nearly stumbled. "Shut up, Thomas! Don't you dare say something that stupid!"
Their bickering made Ironwood snap. "Enough!" he thundered, his arms turning to gleaming steel as he took the front line.
"Argue at the dinner table, not in the Abyss!"
Then the monsters came for him.
Three Stonehulks converged on his position, their massive forms casting shadows across the battlefield. Ironwood met them head-on, his steel fists ringing against their rocky hides.
A Stonehulk swung a massive fist, the impact rattling Ironwood's steel-plated frame. The blow sent shockwaves through the fractured ground, chunks of pale stone flying in every direction.
Ironwood staggered, his body bled, his steel cracked, yet still he planted his feet like an unshakable wall.
"General!" Thomas shouted, flame erupting around his blade as he carved through three Stoneboars rushing toward Ironwood's exposed flank.
Elara's light blazed brighter, her radiant spears piercing Venomwings that dove to exploit the opening. "Hold the line!"
But Ironwood barely heard them. Every blow compressed his mana tighter, each impact forcing it deeper into his core. The suppression ground his reserves like a millstone, crushing them into something denser, heavier.
Adrian watched the transformation begin, his manifestation stirring with recognition. The air around Ironwood began to shimmer, weight gathering like a storm about to break.
And then, something changed.
Ironwood's aura shifted, the weight around him deepening, resonating through the battlefield. His mana condensed, thickened, until drops of liquefied mana coursed through him.
"Finally," he whispered, his voice carrying new authority.
Ironwood roared, his body blazing with higher-form mana that made the very air tremble. His steel arms gleamed like weapons forged by gods themselves.
His fist, once dulled and brittle, now struck with the force of a falling star. A Stoneboar's tusks exploded into shards as he punched clean through its skull, the creature's massive body crumpling instantly.
Venomwings that rained venom found their wings crushed in his grip, their bones pulverized before they could screech. Even the towering Stonehulks reeled under his strikes, cracks spiderwebbing across their rocky forms.
The battlefield froze for a heartbeat as everyone present felt the shift. The oppressive weight of S-rank power rolled across the Abyss.
Adrian's eyes widened, his Source manifestation responding to the higher-form mana with hungry recognition. He felt it, the gulf between basic mana and this liquefied essence, the raw weight that vibrated in his bones.
"Incredible," Adrian breathed, watching Ironwood tear through monsters that had moments before threatened to overwhelm them.
Thomas grinned wildly despite the blood on his lips, his flame burning brighter in response to his friend's ascension. "About time!"
Elara's golden eyes blazed with fierce pride, her light spears striking with renewed precision. "Show them what humanity's strength looks like!"
The veteran general stood taller than ever, his body gleaming like a fortress incarnate. His roar echoed through the Abyss, a declaration of rebirth that sent lesser monsters fleeing into the mist.
But the Abyss was not done.
The ground trembled violently beneath their feet, fissures splitting open with sounds like breaking thunder. From the void below, a guttural roar rose, deeper and heavier than anything before, something that made even Ironwood's S-rank presence feel small.
Kael's face hardened, spatial energy crackling around his form as he prepared for whatever emerged. "Something stronger is coming."