The forest had not suddenly come alive;the forest had stopped breathing.
Moonlight filtered through the trees, illuminating hundreds of moving shadows on the ground. These were not branches swaying in the wind. These were hunger, given shape.
"Twelve," Hope said, holding his scythe parallel to the ground. His eyes scanned the darkness. "No… twenty-four. Thirty-six."
"Stop counting," Deniz said, gripping his sword with both hands. "It's enough to know it's 'too many.'"
The bushes rustled, and the first wave entered their field of vision.
Bone Breakers.
They were the same creatures Hope had cut down moments ago, but smaller. Faster. Wilder. Their skinless muscles glistened wetly under the moonlight. Drool dripped from their vertical mouths.
"Get ready!" Hope shouted.
And the pack attacked.
Like a flood, a wave of flesh and bone crashed toward them.
"LEFT FLANK! THREE!"
Yaat's voice pierced through the noise of battle. His eyes had turned completely white. His body trembled, but his voice was sharp. He wasn't speaking like a commander, but like a radar operator.
"One from below! Two from the air!"
Reacting instantly to Yaat's warning, Deniz turned his shield to the left.
BOOM!
Two airborne creatures slammed into Deniz's shield. Without the warning, his neck would have been torn off. Deniz swung his sword, severing one head from its body.
"Right side! Lypin, they're coming for you!"
Hope tried to turn, but three Bone Breakers blocked his path. He swung his scythe, green mana slicing through the air, but there were too many of them. Every time Hope cut one down, another exploited the opening and slashed with its claws.
I'm still too slow, Hope thought, clenching his teeth. Bianca would have slipped through that gap.
Lypin saw four creatures charging toward her. She was trembling with fear. She had no weapon. But inside her… right at the center of her chest, that clock-like thing was screaming.
"Stay back!" Lypin screamed.
She thrust her hands forward.
No flames burst from her palms. No lightning struck.
Instead, the light itself changed. Moonlight thickened, grew heavy. A pale, silvery dust cloud settled over the creatures.
[Starfallen Ability: Gravity of the Moon]
The four creatures charging at Lypin suddenly slowed. It was as if they were trying to run underwater. Their movements grew sluggish, their growls deepened. Gravity felt ten times stronger upon them.
"Now, Hope!" Yaat shouted. "Their defenses are down!"
Hope seized the opportunity.
He crouched and swung his scythe in a wide arc.
"Soul Sever!"
The green crescent sliced through the slowed creatures' legs. All four collapsed at once.
"It's working!" Deniz shouted, crushing another with his shield. "This team… damn it, it actually works!"
But it was far too early to celebrate.
From deep within the forest came a sound that drowned out all the growls. Not a roar.
An order.
GRRR-KRAAAK.
The creatures froze. They retreated, forming a circle and clearing a path.
And then it appeared.
The Alpha.
It was at least three times larger than the others.
It had no skin, but its bones were not white, they were obsidian black. Bone spikes jutted from its back like spears. Its vertical mouth was wide enough to swallow a human whole.
And its eyes… unlike the others, it had eyes. Four of them. Yellow, burning with intelligence.
The Tree Branch Above
Kai lowered his binoculars and whistled beneath his mask.
"Well damn. Look at that, Bianca. That's an Obsidian Alpha. Its bones are worth diamonds on the market."
Bianca sat at the edge of the branch, watching Hope below as he fought for breath.
"The kid is improving," Bianca said, mild interest in her voice. "Still very technical. He doesn't dance, he solves problems."
"Did you see the girl?" Kai said. "That spell… incredibly rare."
"Focus, Kai," Bianca said. "The Alpha's there. Hope and his team will weaken it. Once the creature is exhausted, we step in. Alpha first, then the Architect."
"For our first assassination job," Kai said, spinning his dagger, "that's great money."
The plan fell apart when the Alpha suddenly lifted its head.
Four yellow eyes locked directly onto the branch where they were hiding.
Kai froze. "Shit."
The Alpha opened its mouth. Not to bite.
One of the black bone spikes on its back launched like a missile, muscles contracting.
VIIIIIZT!
The bone spear broke the sound barrier and struck the tree.
The thick branch Kai and Bianca were standing on exploded apart.
"Down!" Bianca shouted.
They were forced to flip through the air to land, but where they landed was anything but safe.
They dropped right into the middle of the battlefield, between Hope and the Alpha.
Hope turned his scythe toward the two figures emerging from the dust.
"You…"
Deniz roared. "You little rats! Were you using us as bait?"
Forgetting the Alpha, Deniz pointed his sword at Kai. "How about we finish our fight right now?!"
"Not the time, you walking pile of muscle!" Kai shouted, backing up against Bianca. "That thing saw us! And it's pissed!"
The Alpha roared. This time it wasn't just a sound. It was a shockwave.
The creature charged, attacking both Hope's team and the new 'guests.'
Bianca landed beside Hope.
"Still alive, Builder?" Bianca asked with her hollow smile.
"Your death probability calculation was wrong," Hope said without taking his eyes off the Alpha. "But now we have a new variable."
"Cooperation?" Bianca smirked. "Are you stupid enough to trust us?"
"You tried to kill me," Hope said. "But if that thing eats us, you won't get paid by the Baron."
Bianca paused. Then nodded.
"Logical."
The Alpha lunged.
Its massive claw slammed into the ground like a warhammer.
"SPREAD OUT!"
Everyone leapt aside. The impact cratered the earth.
Kai leapt onto the Alpha's back like a shadow, trying to drive his daggers into the muscles of its neck.
"Too hard!" Kai shouted. "Its hide is like armor! Blades won't bite!"
The Alpha shook violently, extending the spikes on its back. Kai barely escaped with a backward flip, but the edge of his mask tore.
"Fall back, fox!" Deniz shouted, stepping in front with his shield. "I'll hold it!"
Deniz planted his shield into the ground and took the Alpha's shoulder charge head-on.
BOOM!
Deniz was pushed back several meters, his boots tearing grooves in the soil, but he didn't fall.
"Hope! Now!"
"Yaat! Guide me!" Hope shouted.
"Tail!" Yaat screamed. "It's spinning!"
Hope ducked. The Alpha's massive tail cracked through the air above his head like a whip.
Without the warning, Hope's head would have been torn off.
Bianca used the opening created by Hope's movement. She stepped on his back, launched herself upward, and kicked the Alpha in the eye.
"Move!"
The blade in her heel sliced across the Alpha's eye.
The creature howled in pain, its balance faltering.
"Nice jump," Hope said.
"Nice stepping stone," Bianca replied.
But the Alpha wasn't finished. The injury hadn't slowed it, only driven it mad.
Its black bones began to vibrate.
Then it opened its mouth.
This time, it wasn't a physical attack.
CHIIIIIIING!
A high-frequency sound wave.
Lypin covered her ears. Deniz dropped to his knees. Hope's teeth ached.
But Kai was hit the hardest.
His ears were far more sensitive than a human's. The sound drilled into his brain like a power tool.
"AAAAH!"
Kai dropped his daggers and collapsed, clutching his head. His mask fell away completely. His face was slick with sweat and pain. Blood streamed from his nose. His heightened senses had betrayed him.
The Alpha noticed.
It saw the weak one.
The sound stopped, and the Alpha raised its massive claw to crush the writhing Kai.
Bianca was too far away.
Deniz was stunned.
Lypin was drained.
Kai saw the shadow of death descending. He closed his eyes.
So this is it.
But the blow never came.
CRACK!
Kai opened his eyes.
A figure stood before him.
Hope.
Hope had jammed the handle of his scythe beneath the Alpha's claw, using it like a lever to stop the strike.
His knees shook. The creature's strength was overwhelming. Hope's feet were sinking into the earth.
"Why…" Kai growled through bloody teeth. "Why save me?"
Hope clenched his teeth, pouring every ounce of strength into the scythe's shaft. Green mana overflowed from his arms.
"Because," Hope said through the strain, "your death doesn't benefit me. I need DPS."
Hope looked at Kai.
"Get up! And use those damn claws of yours to tear its throat out!"
Kai's golden eyes widened. Shock… then anger. Anger at himself. The humiliation of being saved by an Architect.
Kai snarled. The human side retreated. The fox took over, raw instinct seizing control.
"Fine," Kai said. His voice was no longer human. It was an animal's growl.
Kai sprang to his feet.
He tore his gloves apart. Black, razor-sharp claws extended from his fingertips.
This was his True Form.
"Hold it, Architect!" Kai shouted.
With one final surge, Hope forced the scythe upward, lifting the Alpha's arm. Its chest was exposed.
Kai launched like a crimson lightning bolt.
"YOUR BLOOD IS MINE!"
He drove his claws into the Alpha's chest, between the obsidian bones, into the soft flesh beneath, tearing wildly, savagely.
The Alpha screamed, throwing Hope aside and trying to grab Kai.
But Kai was too fast now. He bounced across the creature like a parasite, opening new wounds every second.
Bianca joined in, slamming one of her hydraulic-press kicks into the Alpha's kneecap. The creature dropped to one knee.
Deniz struck from the side with his shield.
Lypin summoned one last pulse of silver light.
And Hope…
Hope readied his scythe.
"The skeletal structure has collapsed," Hope said. "Structural integrity: zero."
He hooked the scythe around the Alpha's neck.
And pulled.