The battlefield was already a ruin of ash and bone, yet the clash between the ghouls and the beast called Karhux turned it into something far worse—a theater of destruction where every second stretched into eternity.
Six ghouls still stood, their cracked bodies and their skeletal jaws clattering in unholy defiance. Across from them, Karhux loomed like an unmovable calamity, its massive frame scarcely blemished despite the relentless assault. Its eyes glowed like molten iron, and every twitch of its body carried a primal weight that shook the ground.
Kairo stood behind them, sweat streaking down his temple. His calculating mind worked furiously, spinning scenarios, probabilities, outcomes—yet every answer kept circling back to the same truth: they were losing.
Beside him, Shiri knelt, clutching the unconscious boy, chest heaving with exhaustion. His robes were shredded, heart beating erratically, his will the only thing keeping him up. He had survived Karhux's earlier blow by sheer stubbornness, shielding the child with his own body. But the price was plain—he was a flickering candle in a storm, one breath away from guttering out.
The monster shifted, and its attention turned fully upon Shiri. That dreadful gaze narrowed, locking onto him and the child in his arms. It did not blink. It did not falter. It wanted them.
Kairo's gut clenched. He could already feel it—Karhux had chosen its prey.
[Command Nexus Advisory]
[Karhux Target Priority: Shiri + unidentified boy]
[Optimal Tactical Decision: Abandon Non-Essential Asset]
Probability of Host Survival increases by 68% if Shiri + unidentified boy are sacrificed.
Recommendation: Leave Shiri.
Kairo froze. The words stabbed into his mind like icy needles. He had asked for guidance—he had demanded the Command Nexus give him clarity when his own judgment wavered—and this was its answer?
To abandon Shiri.
To sacrifice the child.
To walk away, unscathed, while Karhux feasted.
He stood still for half a heartbeat, the numbers rolling through his head, the cold certainty of logic whispering to just let go. Then, as quickly as it came, a flare of disgust and anger burned it out.
"Shut. Up," Kairo hissed under his breath, eyes narrowing.
He clenched his fists, fury lacing his words. "If this is the kind of 'optimal' logic you offer, then you're worthless to me."
For a moment, silence—then only the grinding roar of Karhux's breath. Kairo turned his eyes back to the battlefield, determination searing through him.
"They're not numbers. They're mine. And I won't abandon them."
[Command Override Registered]
Directive Accepted: Protect Shiri + Hostage at Any Cost.
The ghouls shifted, awaiting their master's will. Kairo raised his hand.
"Go. Protect them—no matter what happens. Buy us time."
As one, the six remaining ghouls roared their guttural, hollow cries and charged.
Karhux thundered forward to meet them.
The clash was a storm made flesh.
One ghoul vaulted high, claws swiping for Karhux's eyes. The beast twisted its head, jaws snapping, severing the ghoul's torso in a spray of black ichor.
[Ghoul Unit has been destroyed]
Another lunged low, jagged bone-blades slashing at Karhux's tendons. Sparks erupted where bone struck hide—but the beast's counterblow smashed down, pulverizing the ghoul into paste.
[Ghoul Unit has been destroyed]
The four remaining swarmed with inhuman fury. One latched onto Karhux's arm, its jaw unhinging impossibly wide as it bit down, bone cracking against hide. Another climbed its back, digging claws deep, trying to tear. The third unleashed a surge of shadow-flame from its maw, black fire eating into the air. The fourth—Fire Manager, their strange leader—directed them with flicks of its hands, orchestrating the suicidal dance.
Karhux bellowed, body twisting, muscles straining like mountains shifting. With a violent lurch, it rolled, crushing the ghoul clinging to its arm beneath its bulk. Bones shattered, ichor spraying.
[Ghoul Unit has been destroyed]
The fire manager ghoul's attack scorched across Karhux's flank, finally drawing a roar of pain. For the first time, true blood welled from the beast's body, sizzling on the dirt. Another ghoul shrieked in triumph—only to be caught in Karhux's tail sweep. It was ripped in two midair, its upper half flung into rubble.
[Ghoul Unit has been destroyed]
The ghoul on its back clawed deeper, tearing strips of flesh, but Karhux rolled again, smashing its spine to dust.
[Ghoul Unit has been destroyed]
The battlefield rang with the cacophony of destruction. One by one, Kairo's soldiers fell, their sacrifices carving only shallow wounds. Yet through it all, Fire Manager persisted, darting in and out, hurling bursts of flame to distract, commanding with silent gestures.
Then Karhux pivoted, faster than the eye could follow, and slammed its colossal fist down. The blow caught Fire Manager full in the chest.
The ghoul flew, weightless, through the air, a streak of bone and fire. It smashed through broken walls, tumbling until it crashed into the shattered remains of the caravan.
Kairo's eyes widened. "No…"
He turned, rushing to Shiri's side. Together, they hefted the boy, dragging him toward cover, trying desperately to move. He risked a glance back and saw Fire Manager lying still, its form cracked and mangled. Its fractured body laying besides the faintly glowing mana core, cracks running across it.
"…I'll never know, will I?" Kairo whispered, throat tight. "What made you different."
Behind them, Karhux tore through the last of the fallen ghouls and turned its attention back on them.
Its roar rolled like thunder, and its steps shook the ground as it advanced.
Kairo's heart clenched. Is this it? After everything?
Shiri was gasping, barely able to move. The boy was limp in his arms. Karhux was nearly upon them.
And then—
From the rubble of the caravan, something flickered, the mana core, cracking and leaking glowing energy, reacts with the ghoul's body, binding itself into the ghoul's chest.
A shape moved.
The Fire Manager ghoul dragged itself upright, half its body shattered, its skull cracked open, one arm dangling by threads of sinew. Its chest glowed, the mana core within split down the center, leaking light. It should not have been able to stand. It should not have been able to exist.
Yet it rose.
Its soulless eyes flickered—not with emptiness, but with something unnameable.
Something alive.
Something defiant.
The ghoul lifted its head, cracked jaw hanging loose, and stared at Karhux.
For the first time since the battle began, the beast paused, its molten eyes narrowing.
The air grew taut with silent pressure.
And then the cracked ghoul took a step forward.
The world itself seemed to hold its breath.
[Top priority notification: Hero Awakening in progress]
To be continued…