Sheltered behind a thick root, Elenya saw everything.
Marcus staggering after the hit.
Ethan burning his own vitality to keep the fire going.
She looked at her hands.
They trembled.
I'm doing nothing.
My normal arrows can't break the shell.
Ahead, the Warden drew its arms back for another crushing blow. Its chest expanded, drawing mana. The core pulsed.
Open.
Vulnerable.
For one second.
It was the window.
The only one.
"ELENYA!" Ethan shouted, turning toward her. "FORGET THE MONSTER! IT'S JUST A TARGET! HIT THE CORE OR WE ALL DIE!"
The words struck like a physical slap.
Elenya closed her eyes for a heartbeat.
The chaos, the screams, the monster's roar… all muted, replaced by one sound: her own heartbeat.
She inhaled, holding the air.
Her hand went to the quiver.
Touched the feathers of a different arrow.
It felt heavier.
Obsidian tip.
Reinforced shaft with runic gold.
"I haven't mastered the technique yet," she whispered. "First time… in a real fight."
She opened her eyes.
The trembling stopped.
The world turned cold and sharp.
"And I can't miss."
She rose from cover.
Fear was gone.
Only absolute focus remained.
Elenya set the arrow to the string. The metal tip glowed gold, responding to the class's ultimate skill.
"Guide me, wind…"
She pulled the string to its limit. The bow groaned under the tension.
"PENETRATION!"
TWANG.
The arrow didn't fly.
It vanished.
A golden streak tore through the blue gloom of the clearing. The Warden tried to close its wooden ribs. Tried to cross its arms.
Too slow.
The arrow passed through its left arm like smoke, continued onward, and slammed violently into the center of the blue glow.
CRACK–BOOM!
It wasn't an impact.
It was a rupture.
The magical protection shattered into thousands of light fragments. The Warden froze mid-motion. The sound it made wasn't tectonic.
It was shrill.
A scream of pure pain, like an entire forest burning alive in a single second.
Blue light spilled erratically, bathing the clearing in agony.
"HIT!" Marcus shouted, voice thick with blood and triumph. "IT'S VULNERABLE! KILL IT!"
Hope detonated through the group.
Darren charged forward, sword raised.
"NOW!" he roared. "EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! FINISH IT!"
Mages, warriors, archers—all surged in a unified scream, blinded by opportunity.
And forgot the oldest rule of all.
A wounded beast is the most dangerous.
The Warden's three eyes changed color.
Blue died.
They turned blood red.
It ignored Jay.
Ignored the army.
Ignored the fire.
Its wooden head snapped with a dry, mechanical crack, locking onto a single person.
The archer who had wounded its soul.
Elenya was still recovering from the firing animation when she saw the red eye fix on her.
And in that instant, she felt death… staring back.
Inside the creature's ancient, unfathomable mind, calculation shifted instantly.
The pain in its chest wasn't just damage.
It was an end warning.
For the first time in centuries, the forest felt the cold of imminent death. That projectile hadn't merely scratched its bark; it had cracked the source of its existence.
That arrow…
The Warden's thought wasn't rage.
It was instinct.
If she fires again, I cease to exist.
Nature's logic was merciless: eliminate the greatest threat first.
Ignore the shielded human. Ignore the fire. Ignore the army.
The archer was the true danger.
And she had to die.
The right arm drew back. Wood groaned, spiraling inward. Fibers compressed like a colossal catapult winding tight. Fingers fused, shaping into a massive siege lance.
Elenya was still locked in recovery.
She saw the red eye.
Saw the wood coil, building momentum.
It wasn't attacking the group.
It wanted her.
The Warden released.
The arm launched.
Not lightning-fast.
Heavy. Inevitable.
The wooden lance tore through the air with a deep, violent roar, crossing the clearing in a straight line, gaining speed with every meter, destined to pierce its target.
"ELENYA!" Ethan screamed, throat tearing. "MOVE!"
She tried.
Fear locked her legs.