The sky drowned in darkness, collapsing into itself like a eclipse.
Above, a colossal shadow stretched across the heavens as the storm clouds shuddered, coughing out drifting embers. The monsters came like tiny ashes as if the world were erupting beneath them.
The Belzaic—a swarm born of hunger and instinct—swept downward in a single, writhing mass.
They craved the scent of humans… a sweetness that twisted their minds and drove them feral.
Their wings carved through the air, splitting the wind with every beat, and their shrieks shredded the silence into jagged terror.
Their are about hundreds of them. Descending towards the village as they saw their prey
Below the village, the people stood in rigid formation—unbreakable, unmoving, a wall of determination carved against the coming storm. Sweat slid down their brows as they stared up at the monstrous horde blotting out the sky.
Behind them, at the third support line, their mighty chief planted his feet. Wearing heavy armor clashing with the glow of enchanted relics strapped across his body.
In his hand, a wooden staff—old, weathered, yet pulsing with power.
He grit his teeth.
The air trembled.
The world froze for a moment.
Then, with a roar tearing from his lungs, he thrust the staff skyward.
"ATTAAAACK!"
And the world answered
Third line of defense.
Together, they unleashed their volley—arrows, pebbles, and stones, each one drenched in their own mana. In the air, the projectiles bloomed into elements:
Pebbles ignited into tiny suns, arrows crackled with raw lightning, others blazed like falling comets, and stones shimmered with biting frost.
This was magic only Enhancers could wield—raw, primal, unforgiving.
For a single, thunderous heartbeat
KRRSSHHH–THWKK!!
The clash erupted in the sky.
Belzaic dived down from the monstrous cloud bank—
—and the storm broke loose.
Fireballs smashed into leathery wings, exploding in spirals of flame. Ice-forged arrows tore through the air, freezing anything they pierced mid-screech.
Wind spheres detonated like invisible bombs, bursting Belzaic apart in violent, spiraling gusts.
Above the battlefield, it was chaos made divine—Different elements colliding with an army of nightmares.
Each hit dragged the Belzaic down from the sky like storm-torn leaves— but with the weight of thunder behind them.
SLAM! SLAM!
They struck the ground hard enough to crack stone and shake rooftops, falling like furious shadows from above.
But even that wasn't enough to stop them.
The Belzaic staggered… then rose again.
Their bodies trembled, shaking off the impact as if refusing to acknowledge defeat.
Wings folded, limbs unsteady, yet their eyes still burned with wild intent.
They moved.
Some sprinted down the main road despite their injuries, feet pounding with relentless force.
Others pushed themselves forward with uneven steps, determined, refusing to slow.
Even those knocked down from higher above managed to get up again, steadying themselves before charging ahead.
One after another, more creatures descended from the sky, landing with heavy crashes—
and every single one of them kept advancing.
The horde didn't waver.
The horde didn't fall back.
They pressed forward like a storm that simply could not be stopped.
At the sky, their numbers swelled—blots of living shadow multiplying against the clouds. And with every heartbeat, the distance shrank. Closer… closer… while elemenys rained upward to cut them down mid-flight.
First line of defense — the front line.
"EVERYONE… HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!"
The warriors braced. Mana churned around them like rising mist, gathering, condensing, forming the shape of a coming defensive blast. Shields hummed. Ground cracked under the pressure.
Behind them, the second support line stood ready—more than ready. They were the wall behind the wall, the force that would clash with whatever Belzaic broke through their defense.
And among them…
Zeke.
Jaw set. Pulse steady. Eyes locked on the sky where monsters dove like falling ashes.
Tonight, he wasn't just prepared.
He was waiting.
Unlike the others who were visibly tense, he wasn't nervous at all—he looked excited, almost thrilled by the chaos about to unfold...
Back to the clash above: the swarm pressed downward like a living storm from now the third defense can take care of it.
Their priority was below, others approached from the main road —an endless, terrifying wave.
"NOW!"
The response came instantly.
The earth manipulators dropped into stance, knees bent, arms sweeping in practiced motion. A green aura pulsed from their palms, running through the ground like awakening veins.
A massive green magic circle flared beneath them.
They raised a leg—
Then STOMPED.
The earth shuddered.
Stone and soil lurched upward, convulsing as they tore from the ground.
A massive barricade erupted, crashing into place like a rising cliff. Belzaic slammed into it, stumbling mid-run, while others were caught between walls of stone twisting upward like a sudden maze.
The monsters faltered, their movements slowing—but their numbers were still endless. Many staggered to their feet, dodging the last assault, rising once more to charge into the fray.
But the real show was only just beginning.
"OKAY… NOW!!!"
A new wave of ice manipulators surged forward. Their aura of freezing cold spread like a creeping storm across the front line. The air itself seemed to crackle with frost, and the gathered mana in their veins thrummed with lethal promise.
Then, in a single, earth-shaking instant—
STOMP!
The ground shattered beneath them. Rocks, coated in jagged ice, exploded forward like missiles forged from a glacier. Massive spikes of frozen crystal tore through the battlefield. Time itself seemed to slow: any who dared touch the icy onslaught would be swallowed whole, their bodies freezing solid before they could even scream.
The front line shivered, not just from the cold, but from the terrifying spectacle of unstoppable ice ripping through the chaos.
But for a Belzaic, even that was not enough to exterminate them.
Some froze only by the feet, others blocked the attack with their wings. Many were swallowed whole by the ice, frozen solid in a cruel, silent tomb.
Yet a few broke free, crawling again, relentless, hungry, unstoppable. Their hunt did not pause.
The tactical defense, however, was far from over.
At the front line, eight lightning elementalist stepped forward. One led them, raising his palms, sparks flickering across his fingers—a magic circle of energy flickered.
"Electric Chain…" he whispered.
In the next heartbeat, a storm of crackling energy erupted forward. The current raced through the ice—water in its solid state conducting electricity with lethal efficiency.
Belzaic shrieked as the electricity lanced through them, halting their advance. Muscles seized, bodies convulsed, movement slowed—pain dragging them into slow, agonizing death.
The battlefield trembled under the raw power of the combined elemental might.
Their attack was unfolding exactly as planned. The front lines had no trouble holding the ground… but what about above?
The sky roared, clouds swirling in crimson-black chaos. Swarms of belzaic filled the heavens, their ranged attacks hammering down, threatening to drain the people of their precious mana. Every second counted, and the air itself seemed charged with impending doom.
At the center stood Zeke, grinning like a storm incarnate. Around him, others readied their deadly weapons, each radiating lethal intent.
And then there was him—the one with the silliest weapon of all: a simple shovel. Yet he stood with unmatched confidence, the gleam in his eyes daring the monsters to test him.
"It's showtime…"
Above them, a few had already broken through, streaking through the sky with terrifying speed, jaws wide open, hungry for anything in their path.
"About six of them… GET READY!"
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to pause.
WHAAM!
Three of the monsters slammed into the ice below, shattering it in a spray of frozen shards. The other three followed, streaking down like falling comets.
A lone mage struck out with lightning, hitting the first belzaic as it landed on the defensive line. Sparks flew, but it wasn't enough to fell the beast. The remaining two split in opposite directions, circling, hunting, relentless.
They landed just as an aggressive Belzaic swung its long tail, striking from a distance. Many men stumbled under the force, yet still managed to take some damage. The guards bore the brunt of the creature's blows, holding the line.
Those uninjured were enhancers, rapidly recovering from impacts, but even they weren't invincible—their lives were still on the line.
Three more Belzaic lurked, ready to strike…
"LOOK OUT!"
But before the warning even sank in—PIERCE!
In a blink, a sharp, flame-like sphere struck the creatures' blind spots, slaying all three at once.
They froze eyes widen for a heartbeat.
One Belzaic crashed to the ground half its body crushed, yet still crawling mouth watering with hunger that made everyone to startle...
However
CLANG!
A single swing of a shovel ended it.
"I guess I finally took my first hit you'll …"
He said proudly with that annoying smile again...
'what is wrong with him?'
For the next moment—
"Sh*t… THERE'S MORE!"
The sky darkened with the swarm. Belzaics rained down like a living storm, their numbers overwhelming, their claws and fangs glinting under the crimson-black clouds.
The front lines faltered—mana nearly drained, attacks sputtering, exhaustion etched into every face.
Zeke planted his feet, gripping his shovel so tightly his knuckles whitened. No grin. No jokes. Just the steel of determination.
The swarm lunged closer, a tidal wave of teeth, talons, and rage.
"We can do this everyone... Let's put our faith and —"
The man who lead them halted the air suddenly pause. The world seemed to hold its breath.
When a blade of fire tore through the air, sharp enough to carve reality itself. Flames wrapped a figure in molten light, igniting his weapon. Every swing was a storm, each slash cleaving belzaics in half, showering the battlefield with sparks and smoke. The fire moved like it had a mind, dancing around him, unstoppable.
They froze. Even the chief's jaw dropped. Zeke's chest tightened; his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Th that's…"
He blinked.
"Dad?"
Time itself seemed to bend around the fiery figure, the inferno's roar drowning out everything else—the swarm, the cries, the chaos—leaving only awe, shock, and the sudden hope of survival.