I entered the forest with the feeling that every step was being watched.
The empty field had been left behind, but the pressure I felt there seemed to have crossed the line of trees with me. The air was colder. Not because of the temperature, but because of something that didn't come from nature.
We walked in silence.
Elara kept her eyes alert around us. Liriel seemed focused on something I couldn't perceive. Vespera moved carefully, evaluating every detail of the terrain. Rai'kanna and Lyannis were right behind me, ready to react.
No sound of animals.
No wind in the leaves.
Nothing.
After a few minutes, I stopped.
Not because I saw something.
But because I felt it.
A presence so strong it seemed to push the air against my body.
Elara spoke quietly. "You felt it too."
I nodded.
Liriel closed her eyes for a second. "He's here."
There was no need to search.
He appeared.
A few meters ahead, between two trees, a figure began to form as if emerging from the shadow itself. There were no footsteps. No sound. Only presence.
Tall. Calm. Still.
The Fifth General of the demons.
He carried no weapon. He didn't look tense. He simply observed us as if he already knew exactly who we were.
His eyes stopped on me.
"So you are the human."
His voice was firm, unhurried.
I didn't answer.
He tilted his head slightly. "The rumors were true."
Elara stepped beside me. Liriel gathered mana in her hands. Vespera adjusted her stance. Rai'kanna and Lyannis prepared themselves.
The General observed them all.
"And you brought your full group."
Then something happened.
Without any visible gesture, his body distorted for an instant. As if the image had split.
And, in the next second, there was more of him.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Each copy perfectly identical. Same presence. Same strength.
Each one slowly positioning itself in front of one of them.
One before Elara.
One before Liriel.
One before Vespera.
One before Rai'kanna.
One before Lyannis.
The real one remained standing in front of me.
I felt the weight of it immediately.
"I've waited for this," he said.
Liriel tried to move forward, but the copy in front of her moved first, blocking the way.
"These copies are yours," the General continued. "I want only him."
Elara looked at me. She didn't need to say anything.
I understood.
I nodded to them.
Each of them stepped back once, taking their position before their own copy.
The General took two steps toward me.
The pressure increased.
"I wanted to see with my own eyes," he said. "The human who defeated my brothers."
I took a deep breath.
He smiled faintly.
Then he moved.
So fast that, for an instant, it seemed like he had simply disappeared.
I managed to block the first strike by reflex. The impact ran through my entire arm and forced me to slide several meters backward.
The ground cracked where my feet had been.
He didn't stop.
He came again.
This time stronger.
I barely dodged and felt the air slice past my side as if struck by an invisible blade.
Behind me, I heard the sound of the battles beginning.
Elara's magic lighting up the forest.
Liriel's intense light opening space.
The sharp sound of Vespera's movements.
The solid impacts of Rai'kanna.
The precise speed of Lyannis.
But I couldn't look.
The General gave no room.
Every attack from him was direct. Clean. Without waste.
I attacked, but he dodged with irritating ease.
"You are fast," he commented while evading one of my strikes. "But you're still far from it."
He advanced again.
This time, I managed to counterattack, forcing him to retreat a few steps.
The impact of my sword against the ground opened a crack in the earth.
He looked at the damage and then at me.
"Interesting."
He advanced once more.
The exchange of blows began to intensify. Each collision between us generated an impact that made the surrounding trees tremble.
I tried to stay calm.
He was strong.
Much stronger than any general I had faced before.
And he still seemed to be holding back.
"You don't fight like an ordinary human," he said while dodging. "Now I understand why they were defeated."
I tried to land a direct strike, but he disappeared from in front of me and reappeared at my side, grazing my shoulder.
The pain came immediately.
I felt blood run down my arm.
I jumped back, creating distance.
He didn't advance this time.
He simply observed me.
"You're tired," he said. "I can tell."
I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain.
In the distance, I heard Liriel unleash another burst of light. But her copy was still standing.
Elara was also attacking relentlessly. Rai'kanna and Lyannis kept the pressure. Vespera moved swiftly.
But none of them were winning.
The copies didn't retreat.
The General glanced briefly to the sides, assessing the situation.
"They won't win," he said calmly. "These copies are exactly like me."
That confirmed what I feared.
I advanced again.
This time with more force.
He blocked. The impact caused a tree behind him to split in half.
He smiled faintly.
"Yes. That's what I wanted to see."
We advanced at the same time.
The clash between us opened a crater in the ground.
For a few seconds, everything turned into movement, impact, earth flying, trunks breaking.
I knew one thing.
This fight wouldn't be decided by exchanging blows.
I needed an opening.
Just one.
Because my sword had something he still didn't know about.
And I only needed to land one strike.
But looking at him now, I realized the problem.
He was too fast.
Faster than any enemy I had ever faced.
If I didn't find a way to overcome that…
This fight would have no end.
And, for the first time since the confrontation began, I understood clearly.
I was facing the most dangerous enemy I had ever fought until today.