The dead forest trembled as Ellie raised her staff, her voice ringing with authority.
"Oh source of the sun, heed my will and trace down mine enemies…
Blazing Spear—Flash!"
Light ignited above her.
Before the last echo of her chant faded, several long, pale-yellow spears materialized, spinning violently in the air and producing a faint hum. They shot forward in rapid succession, each one thundering out with such force that it cleared the ground of dense leaves, disintegrating all that stood in the spears' fuming path.
Connor, seeing this scene, couldn't help but praise the might of an initial Bloom.
"Enhance!" Alex barked from the side, not waiting for a command.
The fabric gloves on his limbs lightened instantly, muscles drawing tight like coiled steel.
He exhaled and launched himself forward.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he accelerated—faster than before—speeding toward the hidden archers perched across the dead forest. The destructive power of a transcendent-awakened.
Arrows whistled at him from all directions, released by the dormant monster archers lying in wait. Alex twisted and weaved through the air with uncanny flexibility.
He locked onto one monster—the one crouched high on a treetop, its bow drawn.
Still sprinting, Alex dropped his upper body closer to the ground and pushed off with a powerful stomp. His right leg bulged with force. He sprang upward, twisting mid-air to add momentum to the strike.
His gauntleted fist slammed into the monster's ribcage.
The creature was blasted off the branch, its body dissolving into black particles before it even touched the ground.
Alex didn't stop.
In a smooth, deadly rhythm, he tore through all five archers before the others could even enter the safe zone.
A guttural growl shook the forest.
The initial decayed-bloom guardian stepped forward.
Its decayed iron armor clanged with every movement, an old helmet covering its rotten face except for the visor—where two burning red eyes glared with murderous hatred. Smoke leaked from the gaps in its helmet as it snorted and turned toward Alex.
But it never reached him.
A blazing spear streaked in, curving mid-flight and almost taking the guardian's head off.
"I'll keep it busy, Alex! I'll support you—go! Take down the two awakened monsters protecting the core!" Ellie shouted.
She had moved closer to the battlefield without him noticing.
Alex nodded once, then dashed off, brushing right past the guardian. The monster tried to give chase, but a storm of light spears curved violently toward it, forcing it back.
Connor wasn't idle either. He had climbed a tree, bow in hand, a quiver of arrows glowing faintly from Ellie's earlier enchantments. Their penetrating power was fearsome.
He pulled the string back with harmonized-awakened strength and released.
Snap.
The arrow tore through the air, passing Alex and piercing a harmonised-awakened monster cleanly through the exposed gap in its helmet.
Before the corpse fully dissolved, Alex was already attacking a second one.
He leapt, spinning, and delivered a crushing kick to the monster's head. Its helmet flew off, revealing a rotten, twisted face.
It screeched angrily and lunged, yellow teeth snapping at the boy who dared hit it.
Alex vaulted backward, dodging its bite. He twisted in the air and spun again—this time faster—driving his heel into the creature's skull.
The head burst, spraying grey brain matter and blackened blood across the ashen soil and dead leaves.
_So that strong pressure Connor sensed earlier… it must've been the core guardian. _
_A rank-3 initial decayed-bloom… no wonder the aura confused him. This core birthed random ranked monsters. _
Alex's thoughts flickered—
—and then his instincts screamed.
Danger.
He didn't turn. He dropped instantly, spinning in a tight crouch, and punched upward with all his strength.
The uppercut should've shattered bone like brittle rock—
But instead, a shockwave traveled down his arm, numbing it.
The guardian.
The decayed-bloom guardian towered over him… but it was terrifyingly no longer the same rank.
It was now at the initial Evolved rank, excluding the suffocating evil energy.
Alex flipped backward repeatedly, widening the distance.
When he finally skidded to a stop, he searched for Ellie.
She was trapped inside a transparent dome of fire that was pulsing subtly, the heat it radiated was extremely intense, it made Alex sweat from where he stood. She was panting heavily, one knee on the ground with her long red scepter acting as support.
She had used the defensive talisman her dad, the city's Lord, powered…
_This is really bad. Can I outrun it? Connor is already out cold, and I can't sense anyone's presence within this vicinity._
The monster straightened slowly.
It stared at Alex, its neck twisted at a disturbing angle. With one clawed hand, it grasped its own head and rotated it with snapping, grinding pops—setting the bones in place.
The red eyes burned brighter.
And then, in a deep, rough, almost human voice, it spoke:
"You… special… human…"
Alex felt his entire body suddenly grow unnaturally light after hearing the monster's distorted words.
It wasn't the effect of his enhanced stats—this thing carried corruptive power.
In this world, integrators exposed to corruption either dissolved into drifting particles of light called the dissolution faze… or lost themselves completely to madness.
A cold weight settled in Alex's stomach as he grasped the depth of his situation. His heartbeat hammered violently.
He considered running—instinct screaming at him to flee—but he knew he couldn't outrun the creature that had forced Ellie to use a defense talisman powered by the city lord, a desperate action that had already doomed their mission.
With trembling fingers, Alex pulled out a gun-shaped device from his pocket and fired a red flare into the sky.
"It's all up to luck now," he muttered through a shaky breath. "Hopefully the elders monitoring the expedition see that… and those three approaching earlier notice something's wrong and keep their distance. '
The monster before him was a mutant—a special decayed-bloom that had reached the Evolved Rank suddenly, one full stage above Ellie.
The gap between their ranks was insurmountable… and she had only just advanced two days ago.
Still boosted by the enhancement, he abruptly dashed to his left.
The creature did not react immediately; it merely observed him with eerie calm.
Then, with effortless grace, it lifted its leg and shot forward—its movements blending seamlessly with the wind.
It reached Alex in a single heartbeat.
Its iron-coated leg swung, smashing into Alex's ribs.
The sound of bones shattering crackled through the air as he was launched several meters away, crashing through trees before slamming into the ground.
His body rolled, limp and broken, until he came to a stop.
He twitched, trying desperately to rise, but nothing obeyed him.
"No… no… no…" his voice cracked as panic flooded him. "No one said anything about dying on this expedition. I can't die here. I can't—get up… damn it!"
He tried again. And again. But his ruined body refused him.
The clanging of metal boots echoed closer—loud, distorted, drowning out everything as his ears buzzed.
The steps stopped right beside his head.
"You… threaten… us… in future… Die."
Alex squeezed his eyes shut, convinced those were the last words he would ever hear.
But then—through the ringing in his ears—another voice cut in. Familiar. Warm. Impossible.
"Dad…"
A faint, relieved smile touched Alex's lips before consciousness slipped away.