The ground behind the elves suddenly collapsed.
Ancient roots burst apart, pushed from the depths by an unstoppable mass. The second beast emerged from the fissure. The mana distorting the air around it was not merely dense—it was crushing, a pure manifestation of an Omega-class creature.
The earth trembled with every step.
The elves instinctively retreated, but Grisela suppressed her panic, raised her bow, and shouted a desperate order:
—Fire!
A wave of emerald arrows streaked through the gloom. Dozens of glowing projectiles struck the monster's torso, only to shatter against its blackened hide without even scratching it or slowing its advance by a single inch.
One of the elven mages gathered all his mana between his hands, compressing it into a blazing sphere before releasing it with a furious cry:
—Back!
A spear of pure light tore through the forest and struck the monster directly in the head. The explosion sent trees and tons of mud flying. For a fraction of a second, the creature disappeared behind the smoke.
Then it burst through the flames.
Far too fast for something of its size.
The elf hastily raised an arcane shield, but the beast tore through the barrier as if it were paper. Its frontal horn pierced through magic, armor, and torso in one continuous motion. Blood erupted into the gloom, and the corpse was hurled violently against an ancient oak, the impact splitting its trunk.
Emily took a step back, her face drained of color.
—...What is that thing?
The creature parted its jaws, and the mana in the area began collapsing inward toward its throat. Even the air seemed to be sucked into a black spiral.
Grisela understood the danger in an instant.
—Take cover!
A beam of corrupted mana tore through the forest.
It did not explode.
Everything it touched began to disintegrate, reduced to particles before the wind could scatter them. Trees, vegetation, and earth were erased in a perfectly straight line.
Two elves caught at the edge of the discharge vanished instantly.
No bodies remained. No blood. Not even ashes.
The forest was left scarred by a streak of dead ash.
Silence lasted for a single second.
Then the screams erupted.
The survivors began firing wildly, their formation shattered by terror as they desperately tried to delay an inevitable death. The creature continued advancing through the barrage, utterly indifferent to the desperation of its prey.
Emily reached Lusian and dropped to her knees on the grass without wasting a moment. Her trembling hands released healing magic over the young man's wounds as she stared helplessly at the slaughter. The screams, the executions, the river of blood—they were tearing her apart from within.
She turned toward Lusian, tears streaming down her cheeks.
—LU-SI-AN! —Her voice broke into a sob. —If we don't do something... they're all going to die. ALL OF THEM!
The silence that followed was heavy and cold.
Lusian did not answer immediately.
His analytical gaze swept across the battlefield, assessing distances, the beast's attack patterns, and every tactical mistake the elves were making in their panic.
He let out a tired sigh.
—...What can we do to help? —Emily asked in a trembling whisper, her magic faltering as her hands shook.
Lusian shook his head by barely a fraction.
—I don't know.
He looked over the massacre once more, weighing for a moment the option of simply turning around and leaving without a second thought... knowing perfectly well that if he did, the distance between Emily's heart and his own would never close again.
Another roar from the Omega beast tore through the night.
Lusian swallowed as he felt the crushing vibration beneath his feet.
—Damn it... —he muttered through clenched teeth.
He raised his right hand in a sharp gesture.
Dayana immediately understood the signal and slipped toward the corpse of the first guardian. The residual mana of the dead stag still fluctuated over the bloodstained snow.
The vampire pressed her fingers against the monster's forehead. A thread of invisible corrupted mana seeped into the remnants of the beast's mind.
—It's still useful... a little —she murmured with a cold smile.
The corpse convulsed.
Forced to obey a foreign will, the fallen titan shakily rose to its feet. The bark covering its body tightened unnaturally as its muscles remembered how to fight.
—It won't last long —Dayana warned, stepping back.
Lusian advanced toward the Omega-class threat.
Around him, the gloom began to twist, taking the shape of spears made from pure shadow. Dayana smiled in anticipation. Emily released the breath she had been holding. Elizabeth tightened her grip on the reins and gathered her mana, while Thunder pounded the forest floor with hooves wrapped in blue lightning.
Lusian snapped his fingers.
—Let's go.
The intervention had begun.
The colossal stag lowered its antlers. The air itself crackled as purple bolts of energy raced across the branches of bone and wood.
—Retreat —the abomination growled in that cavernous, stolen voice. —Or you will die like dry leaves.
The beast charged.
The earth exploded beneath its weight, sending three elves flying into the oaks. One of them landed motionless, his spine bent at a grotesque angle.
—FORMATION! —Grisela roared, blood staining her throat. —STOP IT!
Too late.
The massive creature tore through the first defensive line. One of its legs crushed an archer beneath it, the body bursting under the weight. Its antlers swept across the right flank, hurling two combatants in opposite directions. One slammed into a tree with enough force to split the trunk in half. The other disappeared into the gloom of the undergrowth.
The monster opened its jaws.
Demonic mana collapsed between its fangs, forming an unstable sphere.
Grisela's eyes widened in terror.
—DOWN!
The purple beam tore through the forest.
Trees exploded in a chain reaction, while an elven warrior caught in the center of the blast disintegrated before his remains could even touch the snow. The creature's aura expanded violently, enveloping it like a living storm.
Grisela stumbled backward, her hands trembling around the bowstring.
—That's not a guardian of the forest... —she whispered in horror. —It's a usurper.
In that split second, the puppet revived by Dayana charged head-on.
The collision between the two massive creatures shook the earth. Their antlers slammed together with a deafening crack, and the shockwave tore layers of earth and vegetation from the ground.
Lusian slipped through the blind spot.
Dainslein descended wrapped in a mass of liquid shadow, carving a deep gash across the hardened armor of the Omega beast. The creature roared in pain and fired an erratic purple beam that vaporized the crowns of several trees.
Behind the front line, Emily extended both hands. Her healing magic enveloped the fallen elves, sealing wounds and setting shattered bones as the survivors struggled back to their feet.
Mounted on Thunder, Elizabeth restrained the demonic mana beast struggling to awaken within her body. She was ready to unleash hell, but remained in position. Lusian had strictly forbidden her from doing so, unwilling to expose the true nature of her power to either the Empire or the elves.
Thunder reared violently, his body bristling with arcs of electricity, while the Omega beast roared again, making the air tremble beneath its destructive pressure.
Lusian muttered to himself as he recognized the pattern.
—An Alpha Cervus Corruptus. Level 97.
But before he could plan his next move, the beast spoke again in that guttural, borrowed voice:
—This is no longer your home... Now it belongs to me. By right of blood offered... and blood taken.
Grisela drew her bowstring back again, her eyes burning with fury and pain.
—MONSTER! The forest will never accept you!
The creature slowly turned its massive head toward her.
—It already has.
In that instant, the left antler began to glow with a violet flash, and the air itself trembled.
Emily stepped forward as sacred light enveloped her body.
—LUSIAN! We don't have any time left!
He clicked his tongue, visibly irritated.
—Yes, yes. I know how to kill it.
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise.
—You know its weakness?
—Yes —Lusian replied, retrieving the mechanics of that optional boss from an old patch where countless players had fallen.
—Lusian! —Dayana shouted from the front.
The controlled puppet was holding the Omega at bay, but barely. The Alpha Cervus Corruptus continued forcing its way forward while purple lightning erupted from its antlers in every direction.
Lusian pointed toward the antlers.
—Alpha Cervus channel all their magic through them. If we break one, their mana cycle will collapse.
A dark bolt of lightning exploded against the vegetation behind them.
—And how do you break something that dense? —Emily asked.
—Distract it! —Lusian ordered.
The titanic beast controlled by Dayana charged head-on once more.
The impact shook the forest floor.
The Omega roared and caught the corpse between its remaining antlers, tearing half its neck away with a single violent movement.
Dayana gritted her teeth, maintaining the strain on the connection.
—Now!
Lusian burst through the flank like an exhalation.
Dark mana enveloped the edge of Dainslein, and the sword rose with all the force of his momentum.
One clean, brutal slash.
The left antler went flying.
Corrupted blood erupted alongside an uncontrolled surge of purple energy. The monster released a deafening bellow as the accumulated power detonated around its body.
The shockwave swept through the grove like a storm.
Dayana's puppet took the full impact. Its body tensed for a second before exploding into a rain of flesh, bark, and bone fragments.
Dayana staggered back as the mana link snapped.
Lusian landed awkwardly, but the monster's shadow was already covering him.
One enormous hoof slammed down inches from his position, opening a gigantic crater. The shockwave hurled him several meters across the ground. He rolled through mud and snow before coming to a stop, breathing heavily, his fingers trembling around the hilt of Dainslein.
The beast immediately turned to finish him.
—LUSIAN! —Emily screamed.
In that instant, Thunder charged in with Elizabeth on his back.
They released their attack in perfect synchronization.
A blue bolt of lightning crossed the air and struck the Omega directly in the face, detonating between its broken antlers.
The beast's charge veered slightly.
Just enough.
Its hoof missed Lusian again, blasting tons of earth into the air.
Elizabeth breathed heavily atop the steed, suppressing the demonic manifestation coursing through her body. The creature, its antlers shattered and bleeding unstable mana, had completely lost control.
—IT'S VULNERABLE NOW! —Lusian declared.
The Alpha Cervus charged blindly, consumed by rage.
Its attacks remained devastating, but they had lost all precision. An oak more than forty meters tall split in two when the beast crashed through it without slowing down.
Lusian got back to his feet and dodged while riding on Thunder, Elizabeth holding on tightly as wind and magical pressure battered their faces. Another charge passed dangerously close, detonating the ground in its wake.
Lusian raised his right hand.
A fissure of pure shadow emerged in the air and traveled in a straight line toward the monster's exposed neck.
The creature tried to condense mana to defend itself, but without its primary channel, the barrier collapsed before it could even form.
The rift tore through flesh, bark, and corruption.
The monster's head jerked violently, and the Omega-class beast dropped to its knees, shaking the earth beneath it.
For an instant, the darkness in its eyes faded, revealing a final spark of agonizing lucidity.
Before collapsing completely, the creature whispered:
—He... will come...
Its body crashed onto the forest floor.
Silence returned to the grove.