The battlefield was a nightmare painted in blood and fire. The howls of monsters echoed through the shattered ravine, mingling with the cries of warriors who refused to fall.
Kaida staggered to his feet, blood dripping down his chin, forcing jagged stone spears upward to drive the "Hollow Warg" back. The beast swiped once, and the spears shattered like twigs.
Renji loosed another volley of wind arrows, but his arms shook so badly that half of them missed. Miya's lightning crackled faintly, her aura dimming. Haruka groaned on the ground, clutching her bleeding waist, her healing light flickering.
And through it all, the "Duskfang Serpent" slithered, its obsidian scales gleaming under the fractured moonlight. Its four jaws split open, dripping venom that burned holes into the stone.
Its cold, unblinking eyes locked onto one target.
"Mori."
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> Mori's Fear
Mori froze as the serpent began to slither toward him. Each impact of its massive body rattled his bones.
"N-No…" His throat was dry, his body refusing to respond. His legs felt as though they were chained to the ground. His fingers trembled uselessly at his sides.
'Move… move…' he screamed inside his head. But his body ignored him. His heart thundered painfully, his vision narrowing until all he could see was the gaping maw of the serpent lunging at him.
The stench of venom filled the air. The monster's hiss drowned out the cries of battle.
'I'm going to die.'
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> The Voice
But before the serpent struck, something stirred.
The "chain-wielder", bleeding heavily, barely conscious, staggered up from where he had fallen. His vision was blurred, but as he glanced at Mori, a piercing voice rang inside his skull.
""Protect him.""
The voice was deep, resonant, commanding. It echoed as if it came from beyond the battlefield, beyond this cursed world.
"Protect the boy… no matter what happens."
The chain-wielder gasped, clutching his head. He didn't understand the voice—whether it was a hallucination or something greater—but instinct told him it was undeniable.
He looked at Mori, trembling and frozen in fear. A boy who had no power yet. A boy who might hold something unseen.
"…Tch. If that's my role…" His lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "Then so be it."
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> The Last Stand
With a roar, the chain-wielder's aura flared one last time. The broken links of his weapon writhed to life, glowing with desperate energy.
The "Duskfang Serpent" lunged, four jaws opening wide to devour Mori whole.
"Not… while I still breathe!" the chain-wielder bellowed. He hurled his chains forward, latching onto the serpent's maw. With impossible strength born of sheer will, he yanked the beast's head back.
The serpent thrashed violently, its body crushing stone as it writhed. The chains creaked and snapped one by one, but the man refused to release them.
"Go!" he screamed over his shoulder at Mori. "Run!"
Mori couldn't move. His legs shook violently, his throat locked. "I—I can't—!"
The serpent's tail whipped forward, smashing into the chain-wielder's ribs. Bones shattered audibly. Blood sprayed from his mouth, but still he held fast, anchoring his chains into the ground with every last shred of his strength.
The serpent roared, venom spraying across the rocks, sizzling holes into the ground. One of its jaws clamped onto his shoulder, tearing flesh. Another tore into his leg. But even as his body was ripped apart, the chain-wielder laughed hoarsely.
"Heh… if I fall here… at least I fall protecting someone…"
With one final surge, he drove his chains deep into the serpent's throat. The beast shrieked, rearing back violently. But the effort tore the last of his strength away.
The chains shattered.
The man's body was caught in the serpent's jaws, crushed mercilessly before being hurled to the ground. He landed in front of Mori with a sickening thud, blood pooling beneath him.
His dimming eyes turned to Mori. "…Live… boy…"
And then they closed forever.
---
> The Scream
For a heartbeat, silence fell. Even the beasts paused, as though acknowledging the fall of a warrior.
Then—
""BROTHER!!!""
The woman's scream split the night, raw and agonized. Her shadow-forged blade dropped from her one remaining hand as she staggered forward, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief.
Tears streamed down her bloodstained face. Her voice cracked, breaking into a howl of grief. "No… no, not you! Not like this!"
Her scream shook the battlefield more than any roar of the beasts. Even Mori's team froze, eyes widening in shock.
'Brother?' Mori thought numbly, his heart lurching. 'They're… siblings?'
The serpent hissed again, venom dripping, ready to strike anew. The Hollow Warg and Ashen Reaper Mantis howled, pressing the remaining fighters further into despair.
But all Mori could see was the broken body before him. The man who died protecting him.
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