Ashes of the Fallen Forest
The forest no longer breathed.
Blackened trunks stood like the bones of a dead world, and the evening wind dragged smoke through the air like fading memories of battle. Burnt leaves cracked under the dying light of the sun.
Hewin stood frozen, staring at the empty place where Seyokthai had stood moments ago. His eyes were buried in realization, his teeth clenched so tightly that his jaw trembled.
For a moment… no one moved.
Then Ziasian slowly regained control of his body. The paralysis faded, though exhaustion weighed on him like chains.
Both of them staggered forward toward the fallen body of Pshychorusino.
When they turned him over… their hearts dropped.
His face had gone pale. His breathing was faint… almost disappearing.
Hewin's eyes wetted with water, but the tears refused to fall. He felt helpless. His body was too exhausted to run… too broken even to stand properly.
The sun slowly began to disappear behind the trees.
Night was about to take the forest.
And then—
A faint sparkle caught Hewin's eye.
A small sack lay on the ground nearby. Inside it were several tiny bottles filled with a shimmering liquid.
Hewin ,urgent,
"Ziasian… bring that."
Ziasian quickly grabbed the sack and handed one bottle to Hewin.
He held Pshychorusino's head carefully.
Ziasian ,worried,
"Pshychorusino… hold on. Nothing will happen to you."
Then he looked at the liquid in Hewin's hand.
Ziasian ,confused,
"What is it… by the way?"
Hewin stared at the bottle for a moment.
Hewin , uncertain,
"Who knows?"
Ziasian's eyes widened.
Ziasian ,shocked,
"Then why are you pouring it into his mouth?! What if something happens—?"
Hewin cut him off immediately.
Hewin ,serious,
"We don't have any other choice. And if I'm not wrong…"
His gaze shifted toward the place where Seyokthai once stood.
Hewin , quiet realization,
"He's the one who dropped this here. So I believe… he'll be alright."
The liquid touched Pshychorusino's lips.
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
Pshychorusino screamed.
A violent roar of pain exploded from his throat.
Hewin and Ziasian instinctively slid back in fear.
But after a few seconds…
His breathing stabilized.
The trembling stopped.
Pshychorusino's chest raised up and downed calmly.
Pshychorusino lay there, gasping for air, slowly recovering.
Ziasian collapsed to the ground with relief.
Hewin let out a deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
Yet the worry in his eyes remained.
Hewin ,troubled,
"What… is going to happen to them?"
The fading sunlight swallowed the forest.
And the world slowly shifted into darkness.
The Path Into the Astral Dungeon
Deep within the Astral Dungeon, a lone figure walked forward.
Shammroy.
He is walking through the stone and uneven corridor.
His footsteps echo through the vast hollow tunnel.
But his mind was far away.
Fragments of memory flashed like lightning.
Bovorias.
Logeria.
Syrian.
They stood before him in arrogance, their presence blocking his path.
Shammroy's eyes darkened as he still remembered and tried to process the villager's fearful words.
Suddenly he turned and shouted.
Shammroy , commanding,
"Querion! Ferin! Kaizer! Come here!"
The three immediately stopped their warm-up duel from earlier and rushed toward him.
Querion suddenly turned away, making the tewon imbalance.
Tewon, alarm,
" Hey!"
But the moment they saw the three Vanguard warriors standing before the shammroy…
Their expressions froze.
Tewon stepped forward in disbelief.
Tewon shocked,
"Why are the Vanguards here? And why do they stand in front of him?"
Kaizer, unknown,
" Who knows? What might happen again?"
Without any other the three jogged towards the shammroy.
Querion, gasping for air,
" What happened??"
Kaizer, exhaling ,
" Yeah! What's going on!!"
Shammroy didn't hesitate.
Shammroy ,firm,
"You three handle them. I'll go to the dungeon."
Querion blinked.
Querion , stunned,
"What?!"
But Shammroy had already turned and walked away.
A girl grabbed his wrist suddenly.
Girl ,worried,
"Don't risk yourself. This isn't what you think it is. It could cost your life."
Shammroy looked at her for a moment.
Then a soft smirk appeared on his face.
And in the next instant—
He vanished.
Logeria clenched his teeth in anger.
Logeria ,furious,
"Did he just treat us like we were nothing?"
Querion, Ferin, and Kaizer stood silently, still trying to understand what had just happened.
Syrian laughed arrogantly.
Syrian , mocking,
"Relax. We'll defeat these insects and then kill him inside that dungeon."
Bovorias, teaching,
" Language Syrian! Don't underestimate and take it easy on our opponents."
Syrian give a expression of anger to Bavoria's words and scoffs off like she doesn't care about his words
Ferin's eyes suddenly flickered with cold rage.
Ferin ,dangerous,
"What did you say?"
The memory shattered.
Darkness returned.
The Guardian of the Dungeon
Shammroy sighed while walking deeper into the dungeon.
Shammroy , tired,
"How much longer do I need to walk…"
Before he could relax himself, something strange happens—
There he noticed something strange.
The bodies of several wolves lay scattered across the ground.
But their shapes looked… wrong.
Distorted.
Unnatural.
He stepped forward cautiously.
The tunnel suddenly opened into a massive chamber.
It looked as if something enormous had burst through the dungeon walls, creating a vast hollow space.
Shammroy stepped into the center.
Then—
A rumbling sound echoed behind him.
Something crawled along the walls.
A disturbing scraping sound.
Followed by eerie laughter.
Shammroy turned.
Nothing.
Another sound behind him.
Then above him.
Shammroy turned.
But found nothing.
The creature moved like a nightmare hiding in the shadows.
Shammroy scratched his head.
Shammroy ,annoyed,
"Oye… don't make this into some kind of horror show."
Suddenly—
A monstrous figure appeared before him.
Nearly ten feet tall.
Its head was covered with countless eyes.
Its arms were wrapped with dozens of long fingers.
Its legs were thick and monstrous.
The creature growled.
Creature ,hostile,
"Grrrr… talkative little punk."
Shammroy blinked.
Shammroy, casual,
"What? Talkative? I'm not— you know what, forget it."
He casually extended his hand.
Shammroy ,friendly,
" Let us introduce ourselves.I'm Shammroy. And you?"
The creature slapped his hand away.
Shammroy was launched across the chamber, slamming into the wall so hard that cracks spread like a spiderweb across the stone.
The creature spoke proudly.
Gwopelition , dominant,
"I am Gwopelition."
Shammroy slowly stood up, dust falling from his shoulders.
Shammroy ,calm,
"Noted."
He brushes dust off from his clothes.
Shammroy, questioning,
" By the way , what are you doing here! I mean are you the sigil beast i am looking for??!"
Gwopelition, steady,
" I am a guardian."
Gwopelition cracked his neck.
Gwopelition ,serious,
"I always wanted a fair fight."
Shammroy raised an eyebrow.
Shammroy ,mocking,
"Yeah… by being twice the size of your opponent."
Gwopelition paused.
Then his body began shifting.
Muscles shrank.
Bones cracked.
Within seconds… he stood at the exact same height as Shammroy.
Gwopelition,,satisfied,
"Alright."
Shammroy stared awkwardly.
Shammroy , confused,
"Okay…?"
Then the Gwopelition attacked.
Clash of the Warrior and the Beast
Their bodies moved like non-ordinary humans.
But their attacks moved faster than light.
Shammroy dodged the first strike and grabbed Gwopelition's arm—
But the countless fingers along the creature's arm sliced into his hand making him bleed from the fist.
Shammroy quickly released him and stepped back.
He shook his hand painfully.
Shammroy ,irritated,
"Ouch! What are you doing?"
Gwopelition's power surged.
His movements became sharper.
Faster.
Deadlier.
He attacked again and again, forcing Shammroy backward.
Shammroy struck back with brutal punches—
But Gwopelition's strange body structure absorbed most of the damage.
Gwopelition closed his fist and landed a heavy blow smashed into Shammroy's ribs.
Shammroy tried to stop the attack, but Gwopelition's strange body structure forced him into a difficult defense, leaving him open to Gwopelition's next strike.
Shammroy flew and slammed with sheer force onto the ceiling, the ceiling beneath him fractured like a shattered glass.
And then —
Another strike — slammed him into the ground.
The dungeon trembled with every impact.
Blood trickled from Shammroy's mouth.
Then—
His eyes slowly turned pale gold.
His strength increased.
Now he blocked Gwopelition's strikes.
But the sheer force still pushed him back, sending him sliding across the stone floor before slamming into the wall. This time, however, the impact and damage were far less than before.
Gwopelition roared in frustration.
Gwopelition , angry,
"I told you… I want a fair fight! But you're not giving me one!"
Shammroy coughed, wiping blood from his lip.
He stood upright again.
Shammroy , calm,
"You're right. Let's make it fair."
He looked directly at Gwopelition.
Shammroy , warning,
"But before that… I should tell you something."
His voice became colder.
Shammroy , serious,
"If I use my power… nothing will remain."
Gwopelition roared.
Gwopelition , rage,
"Too much confidence! Then give me a fair fight!"
Shammroy sighed.
Shammroy ,quiet,
"Confidence? No."
A smirk appeared.
Shammroy ,dark,
"I'm just warning you."
The Demon Within
Black and red aura began rising from Shammroy's feet.
It slowly crawled across his body.
The scars on his skin began to move.
They stretched.
Split open.
From his elbows to his fingers and shoulders.
From his shoulders to his neck.
Across his chest.
The demonic aura surrounded him like a storm.
Shammroy calmly stepped forward.
Then the real battle began.
They didn't fly.
They didn't run.
They fought standing on the ground.
Fists clashed.
Blows shattered the air.
Shockwaves rippled across the dungeon.
The entire chamber trembled with their strikes.
Deep within the darkness of the dungeon…
A pair of silent eyes watched the battle unfold.
Gwopelition lunged again.
His fingers expanded and wrapped around Shammroy's face.
Just as the grip tightened—
Shammroy's eyes changed.
The eyes again changed into pale gold eyes.
With his gaze—
The fingers exploded apart without Shammroy even touching them.
Then he vanished.
In the next instant he appeared before the Gwopelition.
His fist ready to strike.
Gwopelition smiled, believing the fair fight had finally begun.
He raised his arm to block—
But the blow never came.
Instead—
A devastating strike crashed into his back.
Gwopelition's body blasted through the dungeon walls.
He flew out of the dungeon entirely.
His body crashed across the village ground and slid across the earth.
As the morning sunlight is about to shine.
His body slowly fades his last breath and power .
The Warrior Who Carried the Name
One of the wounded villagers slowly approached the lifeless monster.
He stared at the fallen guardian in disbelief.
Villager ,shocked,
"How could a mere warrior defeat him…?"
Then he whispered quietly.
Villager ,fearful whisper,
"To defeat him , someone or something must have the uncontrollable power…"
Before the sentence finished—
He slowly tilts his head upward through the entrance of the dungeon.
Shammroy walked out of the dungeon.
His demonic aura had disappeared.
The scars on his body slowly closed and got into their position as before.
The slowly rising morning sun stood behind him.
Its golden light framed his silhouette like a legend reborn.
The villagers slowly lifted their heads.
Shock spread across every face.
The same name they once feared…
Now stood before them as their savior.
Shammroy's voice thundered across the silent village.
Shammroy , sighing, roaring, commanding,
"I am Keyokthai Shammroy."
And in that moment—
The name that once brought fear…
Became the name that saved them.
The episode ends.