"I'll head to the center. Stay in the rear guard — we still have the cavalry hidden in the trees to the right," said Katarina to Nora, before riding straight into the battlefield. Nora remained behind, commanding the rest of the troops.
Katarina soon noticed her soldiers scattering across the field. She raised her voice with authority:
"First and second lines, regroup into joint formation! Raise your shields and hold them with all your strength!"
A defensive barrier formed on the left flank, pushing Asura's troops to the right — straight into Katarina's forces. The bloodbath began in full. There were no fathers, no mothers, only warriors taking each other's lives. Golden hair turned crimson, mud clung to skin, and the stench of death hung heavy in the air. Katarina, not tall herself, nearly disappeared among the piles of corpses beneath her feet.
[Screams]
"Kill those vermin!""No prisoners today! Burn the survivors alive!"
Katarina climbed a mound of bodies and looked ahead. There were still countless enemies left. Then she heard Asura's distant roar:
"Advance, my carnivores!!"
From behind Asura's main force, more than two thousand creatures charged forward — running on all fours like beasts. Pale, bald, and corpse-like, they moved with terrifying speed, shaking the ground beneath them. When they reached the wall of shields, they leapt upon the soldiers, biting into necks and exposed flesh.
"What… what are those things?" Katarina whispered, eyes wide in disbelief. Could a human devour another human?
"Everyone, fall back! Fall back now!" she shouted.
Even as her troops retreated, the monsters kept coming. Realizing there was no other choice, Katarina abandoned her plan to reserve strength for Asura. She turned, seeing her men being torn apart and devoured alive — fury erupted from deep within her soul.
"Ahhhh… 𝓐𝓦𝓐𝓚𝓔𝓝, 𝓕𝓡𝓔𝓨𝓐!!!"
A light as radiant as dawn burst forth. She held that golden, formless light — a pulsing star illuminating everything around her. The photons gathered, shaping themselves into a long golden sword with a deep blue hilt.
For many of her soldiers, it was the first time witnessing their general's full strength — her shining soul in physical form. For a moment, even amidst blood and chaos, they stood frozen in awe at the sight of her beauty drenched in battle's filth.
"Freya! State Zero!" shouted Katarina, her voice echoing into her soul.
A calm, melodic voice answered within her mind:
"𝓨𝓮𝓼, 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓪𝓭𝔂… 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓭𝓸 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓼."
Katarina drove her sword into the ground. Instantly, everything within a kilometer radius froze solid — even part of the enemy ranks caught near the epicenter.
State Zero was a forbidden technique that froze everything the blade touched, even nearby enemies. But its cost was steep — each use consumed years of her lifespan, sometimes up to fifty.
"Asura! Come at me with everything you've got!!" Katarina roared amid the frozen corpses.
Across the field, Asura's voice thundered back:
"Everyone forward! Kill those filthy half-breeds!"
Another twenty thousand warriors surged forth, while Asura herself remained unmoving.
For the first time in her life, Katarina's hands trembled. She gazed at the massive horde charging toward her and whispered to herself:
"I cannot falter… for my people, I will show what I'm truly capable of."
"Freya… are you with me?" she asked softly.
"𝓤𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱, 𝓘 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾."
"You know, Freya… once someone told me that light mana is the rarest and most powerful of all. Do you know why? Because it draws power from our purest memories — joy, love, gratitude, hope. But to me, its true strength lies in this: it can illuminate even the deepest abyss of despair."
"My family, my people… I must protect them, even if it costs me everything."
Katarina raised her glowing blade toward the cloudless sky. A golden lightning bolt descended, merging with her sword — its blade expanding over two hundred meters, crackling with divine energy.
"I hold no hatred… no malice. Only happiness — the joy of fighting for the lives of those I love. Now vanish before me… Templar's End!"
She swung the colossal sword downward. The heavens themselves trembled.
But before the attack could cleave the continent in half, Asura's furious voice cut through the roar:
"Don't think it will end that easily!!"
Sensing the impending devastation, Asura summoned her own dark soul, channeling all her mana into a counterstrike.
"Akamanah! Let's show these half-breeds the power of darkness — the absolute strength that hatred can bring! Split the heavens apart!"
Their attacks collided — light and shadow clashing with the force of two worlds colliding. The sound was like glass shattering into a million pieces. Both attacks canceled each other perfectly, their powers equal.
"Impossible…" Katarina whispered, collapsing to her knees from exhaustion.
The battlefield fell silent. Soldiers stood frozen, relief and fear mixed in their eyes.
[Voices]"They're monsters…""I just survived death itself…"
"You've already lost this war," said Asura, grinning wickedly. "Surrender now."
"I still have enough strength… to change this fate," Katarina replied, panting.
"Then die before them all!" Asura charged, sword raised—
—but before her strike landed, Nora emerged in her shadow form, attacking like a phantom.
Moving faster than sight, Nora kicked Asura with the force of a collapsing mountain, sending her flying east — straight toward the massive lake. The impact sent waves erupting skyward like a geyser.
"Are you alright?" Nora asked.
"I'll manage… go. Don't waste your chance," Katarina answered between labored breaths.
"Understood!"
As Nora dashed toward Asura's location, Katarina shouted another command:
"Bartra! Now!!"
From behind the forest to the left, the hidden cavalry emerged, catching the enemy by surprise. Chaos ensued once more as blood rained over the field.
Riding through the carnage, Bartra noticed his commander's condition worsening.
"My lady, are you alright?"
Katarina coughed blood. Something was clearly wrong.
"It happens sometimes… a side effect of using life expectancy," she said faintly.
"I see…"
"I'll need your horse."
"Of course."
"Take command and hold them as long as you can. I'm going to help Nora."
With that, Katarina mounted Bartra's horse and galloped toward where Nora was fighting.
To be continued...