The night burned with unnatural fire.
The enforcer's presence was a weight pressing down on the street, heavier than the air before a storm. Even with my sword drawn, my grip firm, I could feel my pulse stuttering, my Soul Resonance thrumming in warning. This was no ordinary opponent.
[ Warning: High-Level Entity Detected ]
[ Threat Classification: Council Enforcer – Tier ??? ]
[ Recommendation: Terminate Ward Source or Retreat ]
Behind him, the Serpents stirred like vipers in the dark, their masks gleaming in the torchlight. Dozens. Enough to overwhelm any resistance that dared stand in their way.
But I wasn't alone. Not anymore.
Ryn slipped to my side, daggers drawn, her eyes scanning every shadow. Mira's sigils pulsed faintly on her skin, glowing with restrained energy. And Loran—stubborn, reckless Loran—cracked his neck and hefted his axe with a grin that dared the enemy to move first.
We were four against an army.
And yet, for the first time in too long, I felt like we had a chance.
The enforcer raised his hand, and the Serpents surged forward.
"Move!" I barked.
The street erupted into chaos.
Ryn darted ahead first, a blur of speed and precision. Her daggers flashed, striking at throats and joints with ruthless efficiency. Each Serpent that fell never had the chance to cry out. She was the ghost of every alley they had ever haunted, turning their own tactics against them.
Mira stayed behind me, her hands weaving sigils into the air. Fire burst from her palms in searing arcs, cutting off enemy reinforcements, while threads of light wrapped around me, strengthening my limbs, slowing the poison still lingering in my veins.
[ Buff Applied: Soul Reinforcement (+20% Strength, +15% Endurance) ]
Her magic wasn't just destruction—it was salvation.
Loran, of course, charged straight into the thick of them. His axe cleaved through Serpent after Serpent, each swing powered by brute force and a fury that seemed endless. Where he moved, the enemy scattered, their formation shattered by his sheer presence.
I pressed forward, sword carving a path toward the enforcer. Every clash of steel against steel vibrated up my arms, my Soul Resonance blazing brighter as if feeding off the storm around me.
But the enforcer did not flinch.
He waited.
And when I was close enough, he struck.
His sword was a slab of black steel, massive and brutal. He swung it with impossible speed, and the first impact nearly drove me to my knees. Sparks exploded between us, and the shock of the blow rattled my bones.
[ Health -12% ]
[ Stamina -8% ]
"You're strong," his distorted voice growled through the mask. "But strength without submission is meaningless."
I shoved back with a roar, sparks scattering as our blades locked. "Then let me show you the meaning of resistance."
Ryn was suddenly there, slashing at the enforcer's side—but his free hand caught her wrist mid-strike, twisting until her dagger clattered to the ground. Before he could crush her arm, Loran barreled in, slamming his axe against the enforcer's armor. The sheer force forced him a step back, releasing Ryn.
"Stay off my people!" Loran bellowed.
The enforcer tilted his head slowly, as if amused. "Animals. All of you."
He swung his blade in a wide arc, forcing us apart. The sheer power in the strike shattered cobblestones, leaving a deep scar in the street.
I lunged again, this time guided by Mira's energy surging through me. My blade found a gap in his armor and bit deep, drawing a hiss of pain beneath the mask.
[ Critical Hit – Armor Integrity Compromised (12%) ]
It wasn't much. But it was something.
The Serpents pressed harder, trying to keep us from focusing on their master. Mira threw up a shield of light, holding three at bay, sweat dripping down her brow as she maintained the barrier.
"Kael!" she shouted. "He's drawing from the wards! You have to sever his link!"
I glanced up. The torches lining the ward walls—each one burning with unnatural flame, woven with the Council's sigils. That's where his strength came from. That's why he hadn't faltered.
[ Objective Updated: Destroy Ward Torches (0/5) ]
"Ryn!" I called. "The wards!"
She was already moving, darting through the battlefield like a shadow. With a dagger reclaimed from the ground, she slashed the first torch free. Its flame sputtered out, the enchantment broken.
[ Ward Destroyed (1/5) – Enforcer Power Reduced ]
The enforcer staggered. His blade slowed—barely.
I pressed harder, matching blow for blow, feeling the cracks spread through his power.
Loran covered Ryn as she cut down the next sigil, his axe cleaving Serpents in two, his laughter booming even as blood streamed down his arm. "Faster, shadow-girl!" he roared. "Before Kael gets himself killed!"
By the fourth ward broken, the enforcer faltered, dropping to one knee. His blade slammed into the stone to hold himself steady, smoke rising from the runes etched across his armor.
"This city… belongs to the Council…" he rasped, voice cracking.
"Not tonight," I growled.
With every ounce of strength left in me, I brought my sword down. The impact cleaved through mask and metal alike, the enforcer's body collapsing in a cloud of smoke and shattered wards.
[ Boss Defeated: Council Enforcer ]
[ Rewards Pending… ]
Silence fell.
The Serpents still standing froze. Then, like shadows at dawn, they melted into the alleys, abandoning their fallen master.
I dropped to one knee, chest heaving, vision blurring. Mira rushed to my side, her hands glowing as she steadied my pulse.
"You did it. Kael—you did it."
"No," I whispered, forcing myself to stand. My eyes swept over my companions—Ryn wiping blood from her blades, Loran laughing through his wounds, Mira pale but unbroken. "We did it."
[ Party Objective Completed: Survive the Enforcer ]
[ New Objective: Prepare for Council Counterstrike – Timeframe Unknown ]
But deep down, I knew this was only the beginning.
The Council had sent one enforcer. One. And it had nearly broken us.
When they realized we had won, they wouldn't send another.
They'd send them all.
And by the hundredth chapter of this war, we'd have to be ready to end it.