The ruins were silent, save for the rhythmic breath of the ghouls. Ten Scavenger Ghouls crouched in place, their bony arms gripping crude stone weapons scavenged from the rubble. Their cracked bones twitched at every sound. Kairos stood at the center of his makeshift barricade, a wall of jagged ruin stones stacked in haste, but angled deliberately to leave openings where he wanted them. His mind was calm—colder than the night wind that rolled across the broken walls.
The four hours had passed.
He had counted them like a strategist counting turns on a board. Four hours of anticipation, of adjusting formations, of coaxing his ghouls into readiness. And then—
A low vibration shivered across the ground. It came like a heartbeat.
Then came the growl.
It was distant, guttural, and multiplied by many throats. Kairos' eyes narrowed. His instinct sharpened—an instinct forged from countless strategy games back in his old life. He raised his hand, and the Command Nexus pulsed within his mind like a living HUD.
[System Message: The protective aura has collapsed. Hostile entities inbound. Prepare for engagement.]
Kairos exhaled slowly. "Finally… it begins."
He opened the Formation Organization Function, the interface unfurling like a lattice of light in his vision. He slid his fingers across the glowing constructs only he could see.
"Iron Crescent Formation… deploy."
The ghouls shivered, their pale eyes locking onto his signal. Six shuffled into position, their bodies forming a wide crescent arc. The remaining four dropped back, forming the second layer of the trap. The broken ruin walls channeled the field of battle perfectly into the crescent's open maw.
"The funnel is ready," Kairos murmured. His lips curled slightly. "Let's see if this works in reality as well as it did in my head."
The air grew heavy. From the east side of the ruins, shadows slithered between crumbled stone pillars. Then they came.
The first were Junkmaws— beasts with bloated bodies, iron-colored hides, and mouths bristling with broken metallic teeth. They looked as if scrap metal had fused into their flesh. Their growls rattled the stones.
Behind them slithered Snap Gnashers—leaner creatures, reptilian with elongated jaws, sprinting on all fours with claws that screeched against the cobblestones. Both were tier-1 monsters, but their numbers gave them weight.
Kairos felt the tremor of fear at their raw hostility, but it didn't linger.
Instead, a clarity descended on him. This was not chaos—it was a battle.
He raised his hand and barked the first order.
"Frontline—brace! Keep the crescent open. Rearline—ready to flank once they're funneled!"
The ghouls reacted instantly. For all their twisted, feral appearance, they obeyed his will without hesitation. The six front-liners raised jagged stones and bones like crude clubs and angled their hunched bodies inward. The crescent became a fanged trap.
The monsters charged, their roars echoing through the ruins.
"Hold… hold…" Kairos muttered, pacing behind his line, eyes sharp. He wasn't just watching—he was calculating, anticipating, reshaping possibilities in his mind.
The Junkmaws hit first. They crashed into the crescent, metal teeth gnashing, their weight slamming against the ghoul line. One ghoul staggered back, nearly buckling, but Kairos was already there.
"Anchor your left! Support with the right! Don't break the shape!"
The ghoul twisted, letting the Junkmaw's weight slide sideways, forcing it deeper into the crescent's curve. The beast bellowed in frustration, unable to escape.
"Rearline! Now—cut their exit!"
The four rear ghouls rushed forward with shocking speed, their claws slashing across the flanks of the funnel. They closed the trap. The crescent snapped into a half-circle—an iron jaw.
The Snap Gnashers, quick and vicious, darted toward the openings, but Kairos was faster.
"Left flank, pivot and smother! Don't let them circle around!"
Two ghouls turned like a gate closing, blocking the Snap Gnashers. They lashed out with clawed hands, grappling the creatures and dragging them into the chaos.
Now the monsters were caught.
The battlefield became a storm of savage motion.
The ghouls bit and clawed, their movements crude yet effective. Junkmaws rammed and gnashed their metal teeth, snapping bones and tearing flesh. Snap Gnashers leapt, their jaws snapping shut like bear traps on ghoul limbs. The air filled with shrieks and growls, with the crunch of bone against stone.
Kairos' voice cut through it all.
"Ghoul three, shift right—don't get boxed! Rearline two, strike the Snappers' legs—disable their speed!"
He moved along the line, every step deliberate, every order precise. His words weren't flamboyant, but sharp and utilitarian. He didn't call for glorious strikes—he demanded effective ones.
One ghoul lost half an arm to a Snap Gnasher's bite. It screamed, staggering back. The beast lunged for the kill—
"Frontline five! Intercept!"
The fifth ghoul pivoted and slammed a stone club directly into the Snap Gnasher's side. Bones cracked. The creature howled as its ribs collapsed inward. The wounded ghoul snarled in gratitude and plunged its claws into the creature's throat, ripping it apart in a spray of black ichor.
Another Junkmaw barreled through, slamming two ghouls against the ruin wall, crushing one.
Kairos' eyes narrowed. "Rearline, collapse on its back—don't let it build momentum!"
The rear ghouls obeyed, swarming over the Junkmaw like ants on a boar. They clawed at its eyes, ripped at the softer flesh beneath its jaw, and bit into its throat until the beast thrashed wildly, toppling to the ground with a metallic screech.
The crescent closed tighter. The monsters were trapped, their numbers working against them. Every lunge only pulled them deeper into the maw of ghouls.
Kairos barked a final sequence of orders.
"Break their rhythm! Strike in pairs—one high, one low! Don't give them a single breath!"
The ghouls howled as one, following his rhythm like a drumbeat. Two by two, they tore into the trapped monsters—one smashing down on skulls with bone clubs, the other ripping into throats and bellies. The formation pulsed like a machine, crushing all resistance.
Minutes dragged by in blood and grit, until finally—the last Snap Gnasher collapsed with its throat torn out.
The ruins fell silent again, save for the panting of ghouls and the drip of blood onto broken stone.
Kairos stood still for a long moment, chest rising and falling. His hands trembled slightly—but not from fear.
It was exhilaration.
Then the Command Nexus pulsed.
System Message: Mission Complete. Hostile monsters defeated.
Experience gained: 10/100 until Tier Upgrade.
Energy harvested: 50.
Kairos let out a long breath. His lips curved upward into something between a smile and a snarl.
"…I did it." His voice was hoarse, but triumphant. "My first battle… my first true achievement here."
The ghouls gathered before him, bloodied but obedient. They hissed softly, awaiting his next order. He looked at them not as monsters, but as soldiers—his soldiers.
"This is just the beginning," he whispered. His eyes burned with quiet resolve. "If a handful of scavenger ghouls and a wall of ruins can crush beasts like these… what else can I build? What else can I command?"
The idea rooted itself in his chest like fire. Not just survival. Not just scraping by.
Power.
Power that could be shaped, commanded, built into something unshakable.
Kairos clenched his fist. "I will form my own power in this world. No matter what it takes."
The ruins were quiet, but beyond them—on the horizon—a glow flickered.
Far in the distance, a village burned. Flames licked the night sky, orange against the stars. Screams echoed faintly across the wind, corpses lau wast on the ashen ground, adults and children alike, a large hulking beast, covered in black scales, its tail built like a Warhammer, flames coming out from its jaw, searched every corner of that burnt village, searching for something.....or someone.