It felt strange. My body was still, my steps quiet, but something deep inside me knew they were there. I could hear the demons. Not just noise or growls. I could feel exactly where they were, like a map in my mind. But I kept walking like nothing was wrong. I didn't say a word to anyone. Who would believe me anyway? They'd think I was crazy.
We were heading toward the capital city, and the closer we got to Venice, the heavier everything felt. The air was thick, and my heart was beating louder with each step. Then I saw it.
The streets were covered with death.
Bodies… so many bodies.
Some were civilians. Others were soldiers. Blood soaked the roads like spilled paint. Heads were severed. Arms, legs… torn apart like paper. Some bodies were slumped over each other. Some were just pieces scattered everywhere. It didn't feel real. It looked like a nightmare. But it wasn't.
It was real.
And then, like a sudden cold breeze brushing against my skin, I felt something. A terrible sensation crawled up my back. My whole body froze. My chest tightened. Something bad was about to happen.
"Renzo, duck!" I heard someone scream.
It was Iris. Her voice broke through my fear.
I didn't think. I dropped low just as something massive came flying toward me. A huge axe. Sharp. Angry. It whistled through the air, aimed straight at my neck. It came from the north, just a few meters away.
I barely had time to react.
The only thing I could do was slam my hands into the ground and break the earth's surface. I pulled up a massive chunk of the crust and held it like a shield in front of me.
It wasn't enough.
The axe hit the boulder with such force that it shattered into pieces. It didn't slow down—it exploded through it like it was nothing. The force knocked me off my feet. I flew through the air like a leaf caught in the wind and slammed into a nearby pillar.
My back hit it hard. The stone cracked behind me. I felt dust fill my lungs as the pillar collapsed on top of me.
Strangely… I wasn't hurt.
I should've been broken. My ribs should've snapped. My arm should've been gone. But nothing. Not even a scratch. It was like something had protected me. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was something else.
Before I could stand, I felt the ground shake beneath me. The demon was coming. Fast. It was charging toward me with rage in its eyes, like it knew me. Like it wanted me dead more than anything.
I was panicking.
My hands trembled as I tried to lift myself. My breathing was sharp and loud. I couldn't move fast enough. The demon was getting closer. I could hear its heavy steps. I could feel its anger. My heart was beating out of my chest.
Then I remembered something.
Captain Strix.
I remembered how he used his power in the last battle. How he formed weapons from earth with precision and control.
Maybe I could do it too.
With that thought, I grabbed the broken pieces of the pillar around me. My fingers dug into the stone. I pulled them together, shaping them with everything I had. My mind went quiet. I focused only on surviving.
Suddenly, the pieces formed an axe.
My axe.
It felt like something inside me snapped into place. I didn't just feel the earth anymore. I controlled it. Fully. For the first time.
The demon was just a breath away.
I stood, lifted the axe, and with a roar, I swung it with all the strength I had.
The blade sliced clean through the demon's neck.
It stopped.
Then, slowly, its head fell to the ground with a thud, followed by the rest of its body collapsing like a lifeless sack.
Blood sprayed from the neck like a fountain. It soaked the ground. It even reached my boots. I stood there, frozen, shaking.
I had killed it.
I killed a demon.
And I was still alive.
Tears burned in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. My chest was tight with relief. My legs were weak, but I stayed standing. I looked around. My teammates rushed over, their eyes wide. They saw the demon's headless body lying at my feet, and the expression on their faces changed.
They were relieved. I wasn't dead. I was still standing.
But we didn't have time to celebrate.
Without warning, more demons came rushing toward us. Dozens of them. Furious. Hungry. Vengeful. They must've seen their fallen comrade. Now they were coming to avenge it.
There were over twenty of them.
Julian didn't hesitate. A grin stretched across his face like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life.
"Time to become a hero," he muttered, and then charged at them head-on.
No plan. No fear.
He created a broadsword out of nothing but rock and air, grabbed it mid-spin, and leapt forward. In a single sweeping motion, he sliced the heads off five demons in front of him.
Their bodies dropped, and blood painted the ground.
Everyone froze for a second, stunned.
Then something inside us shifted.
The fear we felt moments ago… vanished.
We stopped thinking. We just fought.
Iris screamed as she broke off a large chunk from the pillar I had shattered earlier. With strength I didn't know she had, she hurled it across the battlefield. It crushed two demons instantly, smashing them into the earth.
Liam… oh Liam.
There was fire in his eyes.
He didn't speak. He just moved. He picked up pieces of broken stone, spun them in the air like a storm, and formed a swirling tornado of blades. It ripped through a demon, tearing its body into pieces.
Carlos dashed forward from behind me.
He formed a perfect nodachi from the rock around him, its edge sharp and graceful. In a fluid, elegant motion, he cut down four demons charging toward us. One by one, they fell. His sword moved like wind. Diagonal slashes left deep cuts across their chests, and blood splattered across his face.
He turned to me and grinned.
"Try to keep up," he teased.
But then I saw it.
Five more demons were closing in behind him—fast.
He didn't notice.
I didn't think. I acted.
I slammed my hand into the nearby wall, broke off pieces of it, and shot them like bullets toward the demons. One by one, they fell, crashing to the ground with loud, ugly groans.
Carlos turned, surprised, and nodded at me with a smirk.
We kept going.
The battle raged on. One demon after another fell. We worked as a team. Each one of us fighting not just to survive but to protect each other.
I didn't count how many I killed. I didn't stop to catch my breath. I just kept fighting.
And then… suddenly…
It was quiet.
The demons were gone.
The ground was soaked in blood and scattered with broken bodies. But we were still standing. Breathing. Alive.
Our clothes were torn. Our faces were scratched. But something in us had changed.
We had survived.
Together.
We stood in silence for a moment, just staring at each other.
And then slowly, we began to move.
We didn't speak much. There wasn't much to say. The fight had drained us, physically and emotionally.
We split into small groups, three and two, and quietly walked away from the battlefield.
Each step felt heavier than the last. Not from pain—but from everything we had just lived through.
And deep in my heart, I knew something had changed in me forever.