Morning broke gently over Setedel, sunlight spilling across rooftops that should have been reduced to ash. Instead, the town still stood—scarred, shaken, but alive. Smoke from extinguished fires drifted lazily upward, carrying not the stench of despair, but the quiet relief of survival.
The first to notice them were the children.
They stood frozen at the edge of the street, eyes wide, mouths half-open, as heavy footsteps echoed from the eastern road. Shapes emerged from the morning mist—figures clad in black armor that drank in the light rather than reflecting it. Each warrior moved with a predator's confidence, bodies larger, denser, radiating pressure that made the air feel heavier with every step.
At their head rode Daniel Bellhem atop Silver.
The massive wolf had grown again. His shoulders were broader, his fangs longer, his eyes glowing with a sharp, intelligent dominance that made even hardened hunters instinctively avert their gaze. Behind him padded the rest of the pack, their numbers reduced from the previous night but their presence magnified tenfold. Each wolf looked carved from muscle and mana, fur bristling with barely restrained power.
The villagers slowly emerged from their homes.
Some fell to their knees immediately.
Others clasped their hands together in silent prayer.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"They're here…"
"The ones from the banner…"
"The wolves…"
Daniel dismounted calmly, boots touching the ground without sound. His warriors followed, eighteen in total now, their black Armor newly forged and fitted, etched with subtle crimson lines that pulsed faintly with mana. They looked less like soldiers and more like an execution squad sculpted by war itself.
Maria stood among them, her presence striking even before she spoke. The whip coiled at her waist was no longer the simple weapon she once wielded—it crackled softly with restrained electricity, arcs of blue-white lightning crawling along its length like living veins. Her posture was upright, confident, her eyes clear and burning with purpose.
Eseren stretched casually, armour hugging her toned frame as if molded directly onto her body. She glanced at the stunned villagers, then smirked.
"Try not to faint," she muttered. "We haven't even eaten yet."
Daniel led them toward the tavern at the center of town. It was battered but standing, its doors thrown open as if in surrender. The smell of warm bread and stew drifted out, and for the first time in days, Setedel felt something dangerously close to normal.
Inside, the tavern fell silent.
Then someone spoke.
"Thank you…"
The words broke the dam.
Villagers crowded forward—old men bowing deeply, women with tears streaming down their faces, children clutching onto Maria's cloak as if afraid she might vanish. Gratitude poured out in fractured sentences and broken sobs.
Maria froze at first.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't proud or arrogant. It was soft. Real.
She turned toward Daniel, her voice low but steady. "I think… I finally understand."
He looked at her, waiting.
"I love this," she continued. "Saving lives. Clearing out darkness. Creating places where people can breathe again." Her grip tightened around her whip. "I had doubts before. About following someone into war. About power. About what it costs."
She met his eyes fully now.
"From now on, I follow you without hesitation. I'll lay down my life for this cause if I have to."
One by one, the others echoed her resolve, voices overlapping in oaths of loyalty and purpose.
Eseren crossed her arms smugly. "Naturally. And just to be clear, I'm still the vice war general."
No one argued.
News traveled faster than armies ever could.
By midday, messengers were already riding hard toward the capital, carrying reports so absurd they bordered on insanity. When the information was read aloud in the royal court, disbelief turned to shock.
"He controls wolves?"
"How many?"
"An estimate of one hundred and ninety."
The room erupted.
"That's impossible!"
"Fifteen level-nine demonic beasts eliminated?"
An elder's voice trembled as he continued. "Just one of those beasts is capable of erasing a town spanning two thousand square miles."
Silence followed.
Then fear.
The king leaned forward slowly. "Send envoys," he said at last. "If this man is willing… an alliance may be the only way we turn the tide."
—
Daniel did not wait.
By afternoon, they were already moving again, leaving Setedel behind fortified and guarded by a small detachment of wolves. The road ahead twisted through forested terrain, mana thickening with every mile.
That was when Daniel heard it.
Steel clashing.
A cry of effort.
He stopped instantly.
"Talon," he murmured.
High above, the eagle responded, vision linking seamlessly with Daniel's own. The world shifted.
He saw them.
A boy and a girl, fighting back-to-back in a narrow clearing. Both wielded long spears, bodies slick with sweat and blood—not all of it their own. Seven demonic beasts lay dead around them, bodies pierced cleanly through the skull or heart.
They were exhausted.
But still standing.
The girl moved first, using her spear in a way that defied conventional technique. She planted its butt into the ground and bent it, using its flexibility like a spring. With a sharp release, she launched herself into the air, flipping over a charging beast and driving the spear straight down through its skull upon landing.
Instant kill.
Before she could recover, another beast lunged. She twisted mid-motion, reversing her grip and using the blunt end to redirect its charge—forcing the creature's own momentum to drive the sharpened tip through its throat.
The boy was heavier, stronger. He fought with ruthless efficiency, using his weight to anchor his strikes. He stepped into every thrust, letting gravity and mass turn each attack into a lethal execution. One clean strike punched straight through a beast's head, the spear exiting in a spray of corrupted matter.
They moved in perfect coordination.
But exhaustion was catching up.
They were surrounded again.
The girl's voice rang out, fierce and unbroken. "If we die, we die as warriors—not cowards!"
They pushed forward despite everything.
"That's enough," Daniel said calmly.
The world snapped back.
The Mawazi brothers arrived like a storm, their strikes precise and overwhelming. Within seconds, the remaining demonic beasts were reduced to corpses—except one.
It turned and fled, screeching for reinforcements.
Daniel sighed and snapped his fingers. "Ahhhh. Just shut up."
Am trying to talk here.
As if in que an arrow of crimson-blue light streaked past.
Eseren's used Blaze Blast which exploded against the beast's head mid-scream.
The explosion erased it completely.
Brain matter and scorched flesh splattered the trees.
The two youths stood frozen, mouths open in disbelief, at the power this group of people possess.
Daniel approached, eyes sharp with approval.
"I like the fire in your eyes," he said. "Join me. Walk a path that leads to strength, honour, and respect."
Behind him, the wolves watched silently on their backs Eseren ,maria and the mawazi brothers had returned back on their mounts, clad in majestic black crimson armour .
And somewhere far away, the capital trembled—unaware that the future of the war had just taken another decisive step forward.