As Traka's grip tightened around Mruga's collar, she struggled to breathe.
Unlike the first time, she was not completely turned into a puppet. Her consciousness was still there somewhere beneath the restraint. She could think. She could see. She could feel.
But she couldn't move freely.
The collar around her neck was forcing her body to obey Traka's will, suppressing whatever resistance remained inside her.
Mruga's breathing became heavier as she tried to resist the control.
Traka, meanwhile, was beginning to sweat.
Maintaining such a powerful restraint was clearly putting pressure on him, but even with the strain showing on his face, he was far from finished.
His eyes remained fixed on Limbo.
A strange, arrogant smile slowly appeared across his face.
"Looks like the time has come for the Master's gift."
Something unusual had happened to Limbo.
The power that had awakened inside him had not simply given him a sudden increase in strength.
It was also accelerating his recovery.
His wounds were beginning to heal at a speed that shouldn't have been possible under normal circumstances. The injuries that had left him barely conscious were gradually closing, while his breathing became stronger with every passing moment.
At first, it was difficult to hear.
Then his breathing became deeper, and he inhaled slowly. The atmosphere around him seemed to change.
His breath carried a strange pressure, almost like the presence of a wild king of beasts standing directly in front of everyone.
Even the corrupted creatures seemed to sense something different.
The blessing of...
Limbo's thoughts trailed off, and he looked at his own hand. His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
"So this is what it feels like..."
He clenched his hand tightly.
Then, after a moment, he slowly loosened the fist.
His expression remained calm, but deep down he already understood something important.
This power was temporary.
Whatever had happened to him, whatever had suddenly awakened inside his body, it wasn't something he could maintain forever.
I don't have much time.
I need to hurry.
His eyes shifted toward Traka.
Then toward Mruga.
He noticed the collar around her neck.
The energy moving through it was unlike anything he had seen before. And then he noticed something else.
Something strange was being emitted from Mruga's body.
It was different from his own mana. Yet, at the same time, it felt strangely familiar.
Not identical.
But similar to something he had already encountered.
Limbo narrowed his eyes.
What is that...?
It's different from... But why does it feel somewhat similar to them?
His thoughts continued for a moment.
Could this be... The root of corruption?
Before he could understand it further, Traka raised his hand.
"Kill him first."
The command echoed across the battlefield.
The corrupted beasts began moving toward Limbo. Their rotten bodies dragged themselves forward, whatever weapons and claws ready to tear him apart while he was still recovering.
Limbo's eyes moved toward Mora and then toward Adri.
He didn't need to say anything. Adri understood.
She immediately stepped forward and positioned herself between Mora and the approaching horde.
Mora remained behind her.
She was frightened, but there was nothing she could do. She had no power. Nor any weapon, nor any way to help Limbo.
And besides, Adri was already occupied with Mruga.
Limbo slowly raised his hands forward. He closed them together. One hand tightened into a grip while the other remained in its position. (hand sign 👊🫷)
Then he began pulling his hands apart. Something metallic emerged.
An iron whip.
The weapon extended between his hands as he slowly separated them.
Limbo looked at it.
"Urumi..." His voice was quiet.
But there was something different in it. He tightened his grip.
"It's time."
The Urumi shifted slightly in his hand.
"Let the blood cleanse the forest."
Lightning began to crawl across the weapon.
"Rise and shine..."
The glow became stronger.
"Burn these swine."
Limbo took his stance, there was no unnecessary movement. No wild swinging.
His posture was calm.
Steady. Balanced.
He stood tall and straight, his body positioned carefully.
His left hand moved slightly backward and remained suspended in the air, helping maintain his balance, while his right hand held the Urumi with a tight yet flexible grip.
He wasn't simply holding a weapon.
He was preparing his entire body to move with it, with strong yet agile leg movement.
Slowly, lightning mana began flowing through the Urumi.
The strands of the weapon started glowing as the lightning spread across them.
Another elemental energy began covering the weapon as well, mixing with the lightning and creating a strange, unstable but powerful aura. Something inside Limbo's mind began changing.
The strange stance triggered fragments of memories and knowledge that had been buried deep inside him.
Different fighting stances. Different movements. Different ways of positioning the body.
Some of them were completely unfamiliar.
Others... He knew them.
They were techniques and stances he had seen before in the Royal Archives.
Things he had once observed without truly understanding their purpose. Yet now, somehow, his body seemed to recognize them.
The knowledge wasn't complete. But fragments were connecting.
Limbo moved.
He began following the flow of the air. His body moved like flowing water. There was no rigid movement.
No unnecessary resistance.
His legs remained strong and firm, grounded like the earth beneath him.
The power moving through his body burned like fire.
A destructive fire. Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Lightning.
All of it seemed to become part of his movement.
For a moment, everyone on the battlefield stopped. Their eyes widened.
No one could understand what they were seeing.
It was as though something beyond ordinary martial movement was happening before them. The movement felt almost like a dance.
A dance between two impossible forces that can cause creation and destruction.
It felt as though a man and Nature were dancing together in perfect harmony, yet the energy forming around Limbo was neither simply divine nor destructive.
It was Limbo himself.
Creation and destruction existing together.
For some, the sight was strangely calm.
Assuring. Almost like a sign of relief.
But for others... It was fear and death itself.
Then the beasts attacked.
"ROAAAAARRRR!"
"SCREEEECH!"
The forest was filled with the roars and screeches of corrupted creatures. Their rotten bodies charged toward Limbo. Some picked up rocks and threw them.
Others launched sharp bones.
Spears.
Pointed wooden sticks.
Some attacked with their bare hands, while others came from above, descending directly toward him.
Limbo moved.
One attack passed beside his face.
He twisted his body and allowed another to pass over his shoulder.
A rock struck the ground behind him.
A beast lunged from the side.
He stepped away.
His movements followed the rhythm. He didn't fight against the attacks. He moved with them.
Some attacks he successfully dodged.
But not all of them.
One sharp object cut across his body.
Another struck his shoulder. A claw tore into his side. Blood appeared across his body.
The injuries hurt.
His body was taking damage.
But none of them were fatal. And Limbo didn't stop.
His posture changed with every step.
Every movement led naturally into the next, the Urumi began gaining momentum. He didn't need to forcefully swing it.
That was the nature of the weapon.
Momentum. Power. Inertia.
Once the movement began, the weapon itself carried the motion forward. One swing became another.
Then another.
The speed increased.
Limbo's body moved with the Urumi rather than against it. After several swings, the momentum began taking over.
Then—
BOOM!
Lightning erupted from the Urumi.
Limbo spun, the weapon moved around him in a full 360-degree sweep.
The entire frontline was caught within its range.
Lightning mana surged through the Urumi while the other elemental energy followed the movement.
The attack didn't feel forced.
It flowed. Smoothly. Naturally.
And everything caught within its path was destroyed.
The Urumi struck like falling thunder. Every movement carried the sound of lightning.
Every strike brought destruction.
The corrupted creatures fell one after another.
Limbo continued moving.
Again. And again.
His rage continued growing.
Something inside him was changing.
He could no longer properly distinguish between friend and foe.
Enemy and ally.
His mind was becoming increasingly difficult to recognize. It was as if only one thing remained inside him.
The instinct to slaughter anything standing in his path.
His body was begun to pay the price.
The strain could be seen clearly.
His breathing became heavier.
Blood continued flowing from his wounds.
His muscles were being pushed beyond their normal limits.
Yet ignoring everything, he didn't stop.
He didn't even seem to notice the pain anymore, he simply continued forward.
Anything that entered his path was cut down.
The battlefield itself seemed to move around him.
And Traka... Was staring.
He was shocked.
For the first time since his arrival in the forest, he felt something he hadn't expected to feel fear.
Real fear.
He hadn't felt this against the stronger corrupted beasts. He hadn't felt it even when facing Mruga.
The Forest Sub-Guardian, in charge of that place and part of forest.
The one responsible for protecting this place. The one whose tremendous power Traka had already witnessed.
Yet the figure standing before him not even an adult was making something deep inside him scream.
I've felt this before...
His eyes widened.
Only against the one...
His breathing stopped for a moment.
"No..." He stared at Limbo. "It can't be..."
The arrogance that had been present on his face only moments earlier began to disappear. Traka's attention was now completely fixed on Limbo.
"Kill him at any cost!"
The beasts hesitated.
Traka's voice became harsher.
"Even if it costs you your lives!".
His eyes remained locked on Limbo.
"I want him dead."
His grip around Mruga's collar loosened slightly.
Only a little. But Mruga felt it.
Her breathing changed.
The pressure around her neck became slightly weaker. For the first time in a while, she could feel something other than Traka's command.
She looked toward Limbo, Something inside her stirred.
Adri hadn't blinked.
She continued watching Limbo.
Behind her, Mora covered her eyes.
She couldn't bear to watch the battlefield anymore.
The corrupted beasts stood before Limbo.
Some hesitated. They had witnessed what happened to the creatures that attacked him.
They had seen the Urumi.
They had seen the lightning.
They had seen the destruction.
Limbo slowly raised his weapon.
His body remained calm.
His eyes remained fixed on them.
"Come, beasts."
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"Let's dance together."
The Urumi crackled with lightning.
Limbo's grip tightened.
"Dance on your funeral..."
He stepped forward.
"Come..." That spread a chill in the beast.
For several moments, the beasts hesitated.
But Traka's gaze remained fixed on them.
His command left them no choice.
They began moving again.
And Limbo...
stood ready to meet them with Urumi in hand, And the thought...
...Of Destruction.