Deep within the forest, the monstrous Meteor leader brooded in its crude earthen nest, its hunger gnawing at its patience. The beast's heavy wings flapped against the air as it clawed the ground in irritation, awaiting the return of its hunting subordinate. But time passed, and no prey arrived.
The smaller Meteors around it cowered in silence, too afraid to make a sound. When the missing subordinate finally returned, relief briefly flickered across the leader's fierce, beaked face—until it saw what the underling carried.
The prey was no creature of flesh, but a rotting fruit filled with worms.
The foolish subordinate trembled and prostrated itself in apology, yet mercy was a word unknown in this nest. The leader shrieked and lunged, driving its beak through the creature's neck. The weak one died instantly, swallowed whole in a single bite. The others dared not move, for here, the leader's will was law.
Then, something caught its eye. A shadow moved above the trees. A large bird glided across the sky—but it was strange. One wing was iron, gleaming in the sunlight, and the other was feathered. The creature hovered briefly above the nest before disappearing into the clouds.
The Meteor leader tilted its head, confused. Then the sky answered with rain—not of water, but of glowing arrows.
Explosions tore through the clearing. Screeches and howls filled the air as the Meteors scattered in panic. A second volley followed, the arrows now tipped with faintly glowing blue stones.
And then, with a thunderous boom, the forest shook. The coordinated strike had begun.
Connor felt the tremor beneath his feet as Lanius's explosive arrow detonated, marking the start of the battle. The mercenary's blood surged with old instincts—this was the kind of raid he hadn't done in years.
Whipney lowered her sound barrier, and Connor gave the command to advance. The squad charged through the dense brush toward the Meteor nest.
The scene was chaos. Blue fire bloomed across the clearing as Lanius's arrows fell from the sky, vaporizing anything caught in their blast. Connor ordered Lanius to switch to standard magic arrows once the explosives ran out, keeping the formation tight.
Maiael dashed forward, wind swirling around her blade. With a single sweep, her sword split three Meteors apart, their bodies torn by invisible gales. Her precision was unmatched.
Whipney's floating orbs rained magic bullets from the flank, and Anastasia's blood ignited into roaring walls of fire, trapping the creatures in a ring of heat.
Behind them, Lug fought like a beast—grabbing a Meteor by the arm and hurling it into another. Bones cracked, and the pair fell lifeless to the dirt.
Everything was moving perfectly. Connor could feel it—their teamwork was seamless. The leader remained ahead, surrounded by three guards, but the fight was almost over.
Then, the air changed.
The leader's eyes glowed a fierce violet. A pulse of energy spread from its body, and it released a shriek so shrill it pierced the mind itself. Everyone staggered, clutching their ears in pain as the sound twisted the air.
Connor's instincts screamed in warning. His forehead burned as if something inside him were trying to break free.
The ground trembled. Cracks spread through the soil beneath the leader's feet.
Then, it came.
A massive arm burst out from underground, crushing the false leader in an instant. The creature that emerged next was no mere Meteor—it was something far older, far more powerful.
A headless giant, over five meters tall, rose from the earth. A blazing violet orb pulsed where its head should have been, casting a ghostly light across the battlefield.
Connor froze. This… was the true leader.
Maiael, acting on instinct, swung her magic sword, sending a cutting gust toward the giant—but the blade shattered the moment it struck. Her power didn't even scratch the creature's hide.
Before Connor could shout a warning, his vision flashed white—an ominous memory not his own bleeding into reality.
He saw an image of countless Meteors swarming from underground, surrounding them like an army. The same calamity that once destroyed a squad of mercenaries was about to repeat itself.
Snapping back to the present, Connor yelled for everyone to fall back.
The ground erupted as dozens—no, hundreds—of Meteors emerged, each one bearing a glowing crystal in its skull. The nest had been a trap all along.
Professor Master Muscle roared as he swung his massive tonfa. Each strike unleashed a wave of compressed force, obliterating several Meteors at once. The shockwaves split the air, leaving nothing but purple blood and shattered earth behind.
He shielded the students with his body, shouting for them to run.
Maiael, still shaken, muttered theories about the creature's unnatural defense, but Connor snapped her out of it and dragged her to her feet. Together, they followed the professor through the crumbling tunnels, retreating toward the surface.
Anastasia stumbled, her face pale from exhaustion and blood loss. Connor urged her to use her power one last time. With trembling hands, she spread her crimson magic across the ground.
When Connor gave the signal, her blood ignited.
A colossal wall of fire erupted behind them, cutting off the pursuing Meteors. Their screams filled the forest as the flames devoured them whole.
But the inferno grew too large, spreading across the forest in an uncontrollable blaze. Anastasia collapsed, and Connor caught her before she fell, her skin cold and drained of color. Lug rushed to help, while Lanius descended through the smoke, his metallic wings covered in ash.
"Meteor pursuit—stopped," he reported flatly.
Connor exhaled in relief. For now, they had escaped. But as he looked back through the wall of fire, he saw it—the silhouette of the headless giant, unmoving, watching.
His forehead throbbed again, warning him. This was only the beginning.