Leo had already dropped to his knees…
In front of him—
The Orge King lay dead.
Its massive body was now nothing more than a lifeless corpse.
The jungle had gone silent again…
But this silence—
Was far more terrifying than before.
Leo's breathing was heavy.
His body was shaking slightly.
His shoulder…
The pain was unbearable.
It felt like something inside had completely broken.
"LEO!!"
Nyra, Alex, and Kio came running toward him.
Nyra immediately dropped to her knees in front of him.
"Leo… are you okay?"
Leo slowly lifted his head.
His vision was already fading.
His voice came out broken—
"…my shoulder… it hurts… a lot…"
Kio looked at the wound carefully.
His expression turned serious.
"This isn't normal…"
"This pain… it's definitely because of the fight with Zark."
Alex clenched his fists.
"We need to do something fast—"
But before he could finish—
COUGH—!
Blood spilled from Leo's mouth.
Nyra froze.
"LEO!"
Leo's vision started to blur.
Everything around him began to shake…
Voices felt distant…
Like he was slowly sinking into darkness.
"…no…"
He whispered to himself.
"I can't… pass out…"
"If I do… they won't be able to handle this…"
His eyes trembled—
But then—
He suddenly pinched his own leg hard.
His nails dug into his skin.
A sharp wave of pain rushed through his body.
"tch—!"
That pain pulled him back.
His vision stabilized slightly.
Not fully clear—
But enough.
Then—
He felt it.
The ground… was trembling.
The air… was getting heavier.
Leo's eyes widened slightly.
"…shit…"
"Many orges… they're coming this way…"
"And fast…"
For the first time—
There was tension in his voice.
"Nyra… open the map…"
"Tell me where we go."
Nyra hesitated.
"But Leo… you need rest—"
"NO."
His voice cut through her words.
"We don't have time…"
"We need to move… now…"
Dozens of orges are moving toward us…They know… their king is dead.
And the rage in their steps—it's not just anger…it's vengeance.
Kio and Alex froze for a second.
Fear crept into their throats.
Nyra quickly opened the map.
"There's a village… not far from here—"
"Then we go there."
Leo said—
And the next second—
His body went completely limp.
He collapsed.
"LEO!!"
Kio panicked.
Alex immediately checked his heartbeat.
"…he's alive. Just unconscious."
Without wasting a second—
Alex lifted Leo onto his back.
Then—
GRRRRRRRR…
A deep sound echoed from behind.
They turned.
Orges.
They had arrived.
And they were coming straight for them.
"RUN!!" Nyra shouted.
Kio grabbed Leo's katana.
And all three of them started running at full speed.
The forest became denser.
Branches scratched their skin.
Their breathing turned uneven.
But they didn't stop.
They couldn't.
Nyra kept checking the map while running.
"We have to pass through this dense forest!"
Alex's focus was split—
10% on the path…
90% on Leo.
Blood from Leo's shoulder kept dripping down.
"Leo… just stay alive…" Alex whispered again and again.
Finally—
They broke out of the dense forest.
And ahead of them—
A village.
But something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The village was empty.
Not a single person.
Houses—
Broken.
Doors—
Open.
It looked like everyone had disappeared suddenly.
"…what happened here…" Nyra whispered.
"We don't have time," Alex said.
"We check inside."
Kio entered one of the houses.
The door was already open.
Inside—
Everything was destroyed.
The roof was partially broken.
Furniture scattered.
Signs of a violent struggle.
He searched the drawers quickly—
Nothing.
Then—
His eyes fell on the floor.
And he froze.
A small girl's severed head…
On the other side—
Her arm…
Kio's breath stopped.
"…!"
He immediately ran outside.
Nyra looked at him.
"Did you find anything?"
Kio's face had turned pale.
"…this day is cursed…"
"Feels like someone placed a curse on us…"
THUD!
Alex punched him.
"Focus!"
We don't know what happened to this place…no one was able to save them…and we wouldn't have been able to either…
…but this time—we don't fail.
We save Leo
Suddenly—
A sound came from the bushes.
Nyra turned quickly.
Someone was running.
"WAIT!!"
She chased after them.
"Please stop! We need help!"
She finally caught the person.
It was a girl.
Not too young…
Not too old…
But she was preety and her face was weak
Like she hadn't eaten in days.
Nyra dropped to her knees.
"Please… save my friend…"
Alex and Kio came from behind—
They also knelt.
The girl looked at Leo.
Silent.
Thinking.
Then she spoke—
"…fine. Come with me."
She took them to her house.
It was also broken—just like the others.
"Lay him on the bed."
Nyra did exactly that.
The girl didn't waste a second.
She tore Leo's clothes near the shoulder.
Stopped the bleeding.
Then took out a small vial.
"This is a healing potion."
She made Leo drink it.
Then wrapped the wound.
After a few moments—
"He's stable now."
"The potion will heal his internal injuries."
Everyone let out a breath.
"…thank you," Nyra said softly.
The girl looked at them.
"My name… is Maya."
"Who are you?"
They introduced themselves.
Then Maya asked—
"How did he get injured like this?"
Kio answered slowly—
"…Orge King."
The moment she heard that—
Her expression changed.
Her fists tightened.
Anger filled her eyes.
Nyra noticed immediately.
"Maya… why are you angry—"
Before she could finish—
THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…
Heavy footsteps echoed outside.
Everyone froze.
Maya's face turned serious.
She whispered—
"…they're here."