The Mornak didn't even pause.
The second I said it—kill—those white lights at the edge of the forest lurched forward like something had yanked their leashes.
They crashed into the camp, fearless.
Locked in.
Obeying.
The humans reacted instantly.
Hands shot up. Light burst out. Monsters tore into existence around the perimeter like weapons being unsheathed in panic.
Flarex—Faren's fire dragon—was the first to strike.
It inhaled, chest swelling huge—
—and exhaled a blast so hot it didn't burn the nearest Mornak.
It erased it.
One heartbeat the thing existed.
The next it was nothing but a smear of black goo hissing into the dirt.
Flarex didn't even get to roar.
A long, pale limb snapped out from the dark and slammed into its side.
The dragon jerked on instinct—fire bursting outward in a defensive flare that engulfed the Mornak's arm.
The limb sizzled.
The Mornak didn't scream.
It simply yanked its arm back, black goo dripping, and leapt in again.
At the edge of the camp, Youichi's Aeralisk expanded its chest in a way that didn't look possible.
Then it fired.
Compressed air hammered the night—sharp, invisible bullets—ripping holes through anything it could hit.
But it couldn't see bodies.
Only the white glow of eyes.
So it aimed for the lights, spraying the darkness wild, tearing it apart by guesswork and reflex.
Rovan's Karneth planted itself like a living bunker.
Stone plates along its shoulders and spine tightened, hardening further as it braced—taking lashes from Mornak limbs that rang off it like strikes on rock.
Rovan stayed tucked behind it, crouched close, using the beast's bulk as cover.
Other monsters joined the fight—unknown shapes, unknown abilities stacking over each other, the camp becoming a storm of light and shadow.
One creature locked eyes with a charging Mornak—
—and the Mornak stuttered.
Their charge faltered. Coordination unraveled. They wobbled like drunk creatures, dazed, losing focus.
Then Talvyr swooped low overhead, Kael already in the sky—wings snapping sharply as it released compressed air blades.
The blades rained down through the confused Mornak.
Splits.
Severs.
Black, rubbery limbs and chunks of goo slid off bodies mid-motion, falling in wet pieces that didn't look like they understood they were dead yet.
Another summoned beast stepped forward and drove all four limbs deep into the ground.
The earth responded.
Hardened.
Stiffened.
The ground beneath the Mornak turned hostile—stealing traction, slowing their lunges, making them skid and stagger just long enough for the Aeralisk's air bullets to punch through.
And through the chaos, a rubbery, flesh-looking monster darted among the Mornak and touched them—quick taps, barely more than brushes—
—and every Mornak it touched stopped mid-stride like an invisible weight had dropped onto their spine.
Pressure mounted.
Not a grapple.
Not a bind.
A force that made standing feel like drowning.
The camp became a war of monsters.
A storm.
But none of it mattered.
Because the leader and I never looked away from each other.
I shifted my body, bracing for what I knew was coming.
His eyes stayed sharp, cold.
He raised his hand.
"Come forth," he commanded, voice slicing through the chaos like steel. "Grimfen. Veylroot."
Light flared.
Two monsters appeared in front of him.
One was a plant-beast hybrid—root-thick limbs rising from its lower body, bark-dark hide pulsing with faint internal veins.
No eyes.
Only sensory pits along a trunk-like structure.
It remained partially embedded in the ground, like the earth itself was part of it.
The other looked like the previous lord's kind—wolf-like, slightly smaller.
Familiar stance.
Familiar danger.
I used Sovereign's Sight.
Veylroot — Level 16
Grimfen — Level 17
I'm stronger than both.
But together—
Tricky.
And I didn't know what the Veylroot could really do.
Better to keep distance.
I held eye contact with the leader.
His focus sharpened further.
His mouth moved—silent.
I couldn't hear him.
But the monsters reacted.
He's giving them orders.
The Veylroot pressed an arm to the ground.
The earth rumbled.
Roots burst up—fast—racing toward me like living spears.
I dodged easily at first, speed carrying me between strikes—
—but these roots weren't simple.
They followed.
They tracked my movement, smashing through trees and hills as they hunted me down.
I snapped my attention toward the leader—
—and the wolf was gone.
Where—?
Perception flared.
Right side.
A claw slash screamed toward me.
I adjusted mid-motion and let it tear past—
—and it carved through the roots chasing me, severing them clean.
I landed—
and roots erupted beneath my feet.
I jumped.
They chased me.
Midair.
That was a problem.
The wolf landed.
Then vanished again.
Damn it.
Shadow Step.
The wolf reappeared in front of me and fired another claw slash.
No choice.
I threw my own.
The two slashes met—
collided—
and detonated in a burst of compressed force.
Six separate arcs burst outward like shrapnel.
One slash clipped the root beneath me midair, splitting it in half and letting me land safely.
One of the slashes ripped through the camp itself, a screaming wall of force that sent the humans diving aside as it passed.
A few Mornak weren't fast enough—caught mid-leap and cleaved cleanly apart as the air tore through them.
The other two slashes carved straight into the nearby hill, ripping through stone and earth and turning it into rolling debris.
I checked myself.
HP: 39 / 55
MP: 16 / 27
The Veylroot kept its arm in the ground.
The wolf stood in front of it, circling slowly.
I can kill that wolf one on one.
But the roots are the problem.
If I can reach Veylroot…
One strike.
Then I win.
The standoff tightened.
I saw the leader whisper again.
The wolf stepped.
Vanished.
This doesn't work on me as well as you think.
I knew where it was.
I moved anyway—ignoring it—and sprinted straight for Veylroot.
Roots snapped toward me.
I ran over them, using their bodies as terrain.
The ends of the roots curved and tried to capture me—
—and I noticed something.
They're slowing down the closer I get.
I looked down at the root beneath me.
This part wasn't moving.
Only the ends.
I glanced back.
Longer roots were slower, struggling to turn fast.
It can't extend from anywhere.
The longer they are, the slower they get.
Interesting.
The wolf reappeared to my right and fired a claw slash.
I jumped—clearing it—
and landed hard on the root, my jelly body compressing before rebounding.
The next claw slash whipped beneath me as I bounced back into the air.
I landed and kept running.
The wolf was getting desperate now—nonstop slashes, tearing roots and ground, shredding everything trying to stop me.
I smirked.
I've got you.
I leapt off the root, fist ready to punch—
—and Veylroot pulled its arm free.
The chasing roots stopped dead behind me.
Then it slammed both arms into the ground.
Roots formed around it.
Thick.
Layering.
Tightening.
A living fortress made of entwined wood and pressure.
I drove my fist into the roots.
The impact punched outward in a massive pulse—energy gusting through the battlefield, knocking trees, staggering monsters, making even the air feel heavy for a moment.
My fist splattered against the roots, punching through the outer layer and bending it inward—hard—
—but the deeper layers held.
I didn't reach its body.
And the rebound force launched me backward through the air.
The wolf reappeared.
A claw slash tore straight toward me.
I tried to twist midair—
failed—
—and the slash cut into me and sent me spiraling.
I hit the ground hard.
The impact drove the air out of me and sent dust billowing up in a choking cloud that swallowed everything.
I tried to rise—dazed—my body sluggish as mind and flesh struggled to reconnect.
I looked down.
A massive cut split through my jelly body, flaring red.
HP: 7 / 55
Damn it.
That did a lot.
I forced myself up, climbing out of the crater.
Dust still hung thick.
A claw slash ripped through it.
I dodged and stuck to a nearby tree.
I stared at the wound.
Tagged again.
I sighed.
Another claw slash cut through the tree—
then slammed into the ground behind me, exploding in a spray of dirt and splintered wood.
I leapt off and landed on the grass as the dust finally settled.
A voice spoke—calm. Certain.
"You did well to survive this long," the leader said.
"But this is over."
He stepped forward, gaze sharp.
"Now you have a choice."
"Either be captured and live…"
"Or die like you never existed in the first place."
My thoughts raced.
Then I scoffed.
So it's give up and become a slave…
or die trying not to be.
I glanced at the Mornak.
Even they wavered, uncertain—like the hesitation in me made them lose confidence in the fight.
Then I looked back at the leader.
Cold settled over my expression.
You can try.
I launched again—straight for Veylroot—ignoring the wolf.
Veylroot didn't even bother attacking this time.
It prepared to defend.
The leader sighed.
"So you've chosen death."
"It's admirable."
"But also foolish."
He whispered again.
The wolf erupted into motion.
It sent out a claw slash—but this time it wasn't one.
Five. Seven. Ten—
Too many.
They came so fast the air behind them braided together, collapsing into a single roaring wave of power.
I changed direction through trees, weaving—
But the slashes chased.
Mixed.
Stacked.
A storm.
Then I looked at Veylroot.
An idea settled into place.
Perfect.
I sprinted straight for it.
Prepared my fist.
The claw-slash storm followed behind me, ripping up dirt and trees like it was alive.
I leapt.
Veylroot slammed both arms into the ground again.
Roots wrapped around it.
The leader exhaled.
"It's over."
A faint smirk touched his mouth.
Midair—
I changed direction.
Not toward the roots.
Toward the ground.
I punched down.
The ground opened with a violent explosion—an impact crater swallowing me as I slammed into it.
The claw-slash storm arrived a split-second later—
but it couldn't follow into the hole.
It detonated on the surface.
Right in front of Veylroot.
A massive explosion ripped the battlefield open—dirt and stone torn free, roots snapping as the ground convulsed and hurled debris skyward.
Trees shuddered.
Leaves screamed loose.
Then—silence.
Then the dust began to fall.
The leader looked stunned.
The wolf landed and sniffed the crater, circling.
Veylroot still stood.
Its root-fortress held—except for a small gap where repeated claw slashes had gouged deep furrows, the roots there splintered and buckled under the pressure.
The leader released a breath.
"That was more difficult than I imagined."
He raised his hand to recall Veylroot.
Light flared—
Nothing happened.
His face tightened in confusion.
Then the roots began to decay.
Collapse.
Rotting away like the ground no longer wanted them.
As the roots disappeared, Veylroot stood exposed.
The leader sighed in relief.
"I thought something happened to you—"
The sentence died in his throat.
Veylroot was lifting.
Not moving on its own.
Being lifted.
By flesh.
The leader's eyes widened.
I was behind it.
My arms wrapped around its trunk-like neck, holding it up like prey.
My body had darkened.
A red tint bleeding through my jelly form.
The leader's voice sharpened—urgent now.
"Stop."
He took a step forward, hand raised.
"We can let you go for now."
"Release it."
He wants me to release it.
Okay.
My grip tightened.
I'll release it from this world.
A snap echoed—like a tree breaking under storm pressure.
Veylroot went limp.
It hit the dirt like dead weight.
The leader stared.
Shock.
Then the wolf shadow-stepped in close and fired a claw slash—
Too slow.
I weaved through it.
Then I darted forward and grabbed the wolf by its jaw.
And slammed it into the ground.
I lifted my hand.
The wolf didn't move.
The impact sent a violent plume of dust and shattered earth erupting outward, swallowing everything in a choking cloud.
I walked through it.
I looked at the leader.
For the first time since entering the forest—
He showed real fear.
He backed away slowly.
"Stay away!" he shouted.
"You monster!"
The word hit me.
Monster.
I repeated it, quieter.
"Monster."
He heard me speak—couldn't understand the language, but he understood the sound.
My smile widened.
My eyes burned.
"No," I said, my voice rough. "You are the monster."
The leader didn't understand what I said.
But he understood what was about to happen.
"No—!"
I moved.
In one instant, I was on him.
And I tore his head off.
His body collapsed.
I stood there holding the head for a heartbeat—
Then threw it into the camp.
The humans froze.
Even the Mornak went still.
Staring at me.
Then Kael screamed.
"RUN!"
He clung to Talvyr as it skimmed low through the air, wings flapping urgently as it tried to pull away.
Others grabbed at it as it lifted, scrambling to escape.
The Mornak surged.
A musk of purple darkness rolled over the camp—snuffing flames, dimming light.
In the dark, the Mornak grew stronger.
They consumed the remaining humans and their monsters under my order.
I looked up.
Talvyr was already fleeing.
I can't catch that.
Fine.
Looks like I couldn't stop them anyway.
Then I saw it.
A human dangling from Talvyr's leg.
Kael kicking—trying to shake him off.
Faren.
How is he so lucky…
My body convulsed.
Pain hit so hard I couldn't breathe.
The red began to fade from my flesh.
I collapsed onto the torn ground, the massive slash in my body no longer burning red now that the wolf was dead.
I stared at my own form, shaking.
This ability…
It's powerful.
But my thoughts felt… warped.
My emotions too sharp.
Too eager.
I think it's changing me.
I swallowed, breath shallow.
I don't know if that's good…
or bad.