Chapter 47: Storms Fury
"Here they come!!"
Zodac's voice tore through the night like a blade, sharp and urgent. The warning had barely left his lips when shadows detached themselves from the darkness beyond the treeline. Dozens of glowing eyes ignited at once—yellow, feral, filled with hunger—and the ground trembled under the weight of bodies sprinting toward them.
They were faster this time.
Not cautious.
Not probing.
They came with killing intent.
Zodac didn't retreat. He surged forward instead, boots digging into the dirt as he met the wave head-on. The night air screamed as he swung Kogestu in a wide arc.
"Kogestu—Whirlwind!"
A crescent of compressed force ripped forward, cutting cleanly through the throat of the first monster. Its head snapped back, separated in a spray of dark blood, and its body collapsed before it even understood it was dead.
But it didn't slow the rest.
They poured in behind it—snarling, clawing, bodies crashing over the corpse of their fallen kin without hesitation. Zodac plunged into them like a storm given flesh. Steel flashed again and again, each swing precise, economical. An arm hit the ground, severed at the elbow. A blade reversed direction and opened a neck. Another creature lunged—
Zodac twisted.
"Kogestu—Crescent Slash!"
He swung twice in rapid succession. Two arcs of force exploded outward. The first took a monster's head clean off. The second carved straight through another's torso, splitting it into three mangled sections that slammed into the earth with wet, final thuds.
Blood soaked into the dirt. Steam rose where warm bodies fell into the cold night.
Another beast tried to ambush him from the side. Zodac stepped in instead of back, driving Kogestu straight through its chest. The blade pierced bone, muscle, heart. The creature convulsed once, then went limp, sliding off the sword.
Too many.
They kept coming.
Zodac felt it then—not fear, but pressure. Numbers. Weight. Even with his skill, even with his speed, the sheer volume was beginning to close in around him.
Then—
"Ice Breath!"
Roxy's voice rang out from behind.
A brilliant blue light flared from the orb of her staff. A concentrated beam of freezing energy surged forward, engulfing the monsters surrounding Zodac. Frost raced over their bodies in seconds, locking them in place mid-motion. Their snarls cut off as ice claimed them, turning flesh into brittle statues.
A heartbeat later—
*CRACK—CRASH!*
The frozen monsters shattered, collapsing into jagged fragments that scattered across the ground.
Zodac didn't waste the opening. He tore his blade free from another corpse and moved again, slashing, stepping, killing. With Roxy supporting him from behind, thinning their numbers with ruthless efficiency, the fight became a brutal rhythm.
Strike.
Spell.
Death.
But the rhythm didn't end.
The darkness beyond them churned again.
More shadows emerged.
Too many.
They surrounded him.
Zodac stopped.
He exhaled slowly.
*SIGH.*
The sound was calm—almost weary.
The war shield materialized on his arm, its surface humming with power as the green orb at its center pulsed faintly.
"Rebel Rush."
The world seemed to blur.
Zodac launched forward like a living battering ram, his body wrapped in a violent force that crushed everything in his path. He smashed straight through the encirclement, bodies exploding on impact or being hurled aside like broken dolls. Bones snapped. Organs ruptured. Monsters flew through the air, lifeless before they hit the ground.
He skidded to a stop and turned, shield raised, having forced his way out of the center.
They didn't hesitate.
They charged again.
"Crescent Slash!"
Two waves of force ripped outward. One decapitated its target instantly. The second slit another's throat so cleanly the creature took three steps before collapsing, blood spraying into the dirt.
The rest came faster now, screeching, tripping over corpses just to reach him. One was quicker than the rest—its fist slammed into the war shield with a thunderous *BOOM*, forcing Zodac to skid backward.
"Ughh—!"
His boots dug furrows into the ground as he fought to stay upright, lungs burning.
Before he could reset—
"Laws of the land," Roxy shouted, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Defy the laws of nature and heed my command!"
She slammed the base of her staff into the earth.
"High Volt!"
Blue light surged through the ground like living lightning, racing beneath the monsters clustered around Zodac. When it erupted, electricity tore through them from below. Six beasts froze mid-motion, bodies arched as lightning danced over their flesh.
They screamed.
Then they dropped.
Steam poured from their corpses as they hit the ground.
Zodac didn't look back. His focus snapped instantly to the right.
More shadows—this time moving past him.
Toward Roxy.
"No—!"
Zodac moved.
A hexagonal platform of light—Hectorgon—formed in front of him. He stepped on it, then *launched*, using it as a springboard. His body arced through the air.
"Crescent Slash!"
He swung downward mid-flight. The slash wave cleaved a monster in half below him. He landed hard, knees bending to absorb the impact, then swung again.
One head.
Two heads.
Three.
All fell in the same heartbeat.
Silence followed—brief, deceptive.
Zodac stood panting, chest heaving. Sweat mixed with blood ran down his face. The war shield felt heavier now, its weight dragging at his arm.
Then—
*BOOM!*
A massive fist slammed into his face.
Zodac was sent flying. He tumbled across the ground, slammed into the dirt, rolled—then forced himself upright.
*COUGH—!*
*COUGH—!*
Blood spilled from his mouth and nose as he staggered, vision swimming.
Too many.
Even with everything he had… it was too much.
"Roxy—RUN!" he roared. "I'll buy you time!"
He turned back toward the swarm, body screaming in protest as he pushed forward again, taking blows as he struck, blood spraying with every impact.
"Enemy Hate Reaction!"
A crimson wave burst from him.
The monsters that had begun closing on Roxy snapped their heads toward Zodac instantly, their attention forcibly torn away. Snarls redirected. Bodies pivoted.
They came for him.
Nagendra activated.
The shield formed over his left arm, scales slithering into place, englofing his entire arm up to his shoulder.
"Gauntling!" He said raising the shield towards them,
The scales fired like bullets—dozens, hundreds—piercing flesh, embedding poison deep into their bodies. Monsters screamed, staggering, collapsing as the toxin spread.
One didn't stop.
It roared, berserk, ignoring the pain, charging straight through the barrage. Its fist came down—
Zodac sidestepped.
The punch shattered a tree behind him.
The scales stopped firing.
From the orb, a spectral serpent burst forth, biting into the monster's arm before vanishing. The creature froze, convulsed, then collapsed as poison shut its body down.
Others who were shot by the scales followed, dropping one by one.
Roxy watched in horror.
If he kept this up… he would die.
She clenched her teeth, hands shaking. Then she reached into her pouch, pulled out a potion, and drank every drop. Mana surged back into her veins like fire.
She raised her staff high.
"Laws of the land, laws of the air, laws of the sky," she shouted, voice ringing with conviction. "Go against the laws of nature and heed my command!"
The wind howled.
Clouds swallowed the stars as everywhere around them was engolfed in darkness.
Thunder rolled overhead.
"I call upon a storm so mighty it brings terror, pain, and misery on its passing!"
Zodac looked up, blood dripping from his chin.
"A storm…?"
A monster struck him again, sending him crashing into a tree.
Then—
"I CALL UPON THE FALLEN!"
Roxy slammed her staff into the ground.
The sky split open.
Lightning rained down like divine punishment, obliterating everything caught beneath it. Monsters screamed as bolts tore through them, bodies disintegrating under the storm's fury burning the ground black in color .
Zodac raised his war shield just in time. Lightning struck it directly, energy crackling over its surface.
"Ahhhhhggg" He yells struggling to keep the shield up as his arm burned with pain.
Then—silence.
The storm faded.
Roxy collapsed to her knees, exhausted, barely conscious.
But Three monsters remained.
They advanced slowly, cautiously towards the now vulnerable Roxy. Seeing the carnage Roxy had caused they didn't date act irrationally.
One leapt.
Roxy squeezed her eyes shut, knowing what comes next but to her surprise nothing happened.
Warm liquid splashed over her.
She opened them to look at her body.
Blood.
Zodac stood before her, sword dripping, one monster already dead at her feet. He moved again—leaping, slicing another's head clean off. The last screamed as Zodac severed its arm, then drove Kogestu through its chest.
Silence returned at last. Zodac turns to her and walks towards her closing the distance between them.
"Are you okay?" he asked, offering his hand.
"Yes," she whispered, cheeks flushed.
"You were amazing," he said.
"You too."
They both stood looking at the carnage, as bodies and body parts of monsters lingered every where in the area.
*SIGH* Roxy gave a sigh of relief,
"I guess we're done" She said,
"I'm tired" She said then turns to Zodac,
"I guess if you don't have plans or anything l was hoping we could"
Then Zodac stiffened.
"Shh."
His grip tightened on Kogestu.
"We're not done yet."
"Wait what!!!" Roxy exclaims,
His eyes lifted toward the darkness.
"I didn't expect them to be this many," he thought grimly.
He took his stance as something large enters his spartial range.
"Here comes the boss monster."