With a sharp, instinctive turn, Alex and Iris snapped their heads toward the rough, guttural sound erupting behind them. The scene gave them no time to breathe. From between the tangled shadows, a creature emerged—a Developed Goblin, its appearance alone a silent declaration of war.
There was no time for hesitation. Like a freshly fired projectile, the goblin lunged forward with astonishing speed, swinging its black, gleaming spear with lethal intent. The target was clear: Alex.
Thanks to the unseen tendrils intertwined beneath his armored plating, Alex hurled himself to the right with explosive force. It was a smooth, lightning-fast slide, just enough to escape the spear that ripped through the air where he had stood mere moments before.
At that exact instant, Iris vanished. It wasn't movement—it was erasure. A heartbeat later, she reappeared several meters away, her ruby eyes gleaming with cold caution as she analyzed the feral creature.
The goblin wasted no time chasing shadows. Its savage instinct locked onto Alex once more. Compared to Iris, Alex seemed the weaker, less mystifying prey.
The goblin raised its spear. For a brief moment, mana thickened in the air. The weapon's tip swelled with dense black energy, compacting into a pulsating void. Then, with a blinding flash, a destructive beam shot forth with terrifying velocity.
Alex didn't waste a heartbeat. Enhanced senses and mana-honed reflexes kicked in. His invisible tendrils converged at impossible speed, weaving themselves into a protective shield before him.
The impact was brutal. The shield trembled violently but held, absorbing the deadly blast. Yet the force flung Alex backward, dragging him several steps before he managed to stabilize himself.
And in that decisive heartbeat—Iris moved.
She vanished again and materialized directly behind the Developed Goblin. Her three luminous butterflies now glowed a stark, radiant white. Before the goblin could turn or comprehend the shift in the battlefield, one butterfly condensed into a razor-sharp black blade.
With a silent, merciless strike, the blade pierced the goblin's skull, ending its life in a single instant.
The beast collapsed in a heavy thud, dust rising around it.
A cold shiver crept down Alex's spine as he witnessed the seamless execution. Iris' fluid motion… her impossible speed… the versatility of her powers… she was lethality incarnate.
"Two out of three," Alex muttered to himself as he regained balance. "One for teleportation… one for weaponization… the third is still unknown. A deadly combination…"
He rushed toward Iris, who now stood calmly over the goblin's corpse, her expression untouched by exertion or emotion.
Iris met his gaze, her voice steady and clear.
"Alex, we need to move. Now."
Alex nodded.
"Right. They wouldn't come in numbers like this without a reason. Luckily, we're not in the center of it yet. Your fight back there was incredible. That goblin wasn't an easy opponent."
"Thank you," she replied coolly as the butterflies resumed their quiet orbit.
"But we can't stay here. The noise from all this fighting will draw more attention. And this is only the beginning."
Alex nodded again—but his eyes had already drifted toward the distance.
The battlefield ahead was a nightmare.
"Look there," he said, pointing. "The leader.
Garrak, the Developed Goblin Commander… he looks dangerous."
Garrak unleashed torrents of dense black fire at a monstrous creature armored in thick bone plates—bigger than a tank. Above them, the Greater Wasp, spanning more than ten meters, circled the sky, dropping devastating bolts of energy from above.
The armies of the three leaders clashed in a brutal, unending storm of violence.
A wide empty circle had formed around their shared target:
the Core Metal—the heart of the conflict.
Each faction fought to claim it, and any who approached were instantly attacked by the other two.
"This is a full-scale war," Alex said, unease heavy in his voice.
"And all of them want that thing."
"Yes…" Iris narrowed her eyes. "No alliances. Just a single goal."
Alex exhaled.
"We can't wait for them to finish. That could take hours—and we'd be trapped or dead before then. But charging in is suicide too."
Iris paused, thinking.
"No… waiting isn't an option. Whoever wins will gain the Core's power. And that's far worse."
She lifted her head. Alex followed her gaze—the Greater Wasp circling above everything.
"Infiltration is impossible," she continued. "The monsters cover every ground route. We need… bigger chaos."
"Chaos? How?" Alex asked. "We're nothing but two insects in front of a war machine."
"Not if we choose the right target," Iris murmured, her lips curling ever so slightly into a cold smile.
"The Greater Wasp controls the sky. If we redirect its attacks toward Garrak, chaos will erupt. Their armies will turn on each other."
Alex's eyes widened.
"You're thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you?"
"Alex," Iris said, turning away from the goblin's corpse,
"I'll slip through the battlefield and manipulate the Wasp King's attacks toward Garrak. In that moment, you head straight for the building and retrieve the Core Metal. Once you have it, I'll teleport us out."
Alex's pulse quickened.
"How far can you teleport us? A few hundred meters won't be enough."
"I can take us much farther," she answered calmly. "But it will drain nearly all of my mana. We'll be vulnerable afterward. So the rest depends on you.
Remember—speed is everything. We can't fight long. We shift their focus… then strike."
Alex looked at the raging battlefield.
"Alright. It's insane—but it might be our only way. I'm ready. Let's spark the chaos."
"Then let's begin," Iris said.
"Don't hesitate—but don't throw your life away either."
And in the next heartbeat, Alex bolted forward with blistering speed toward the war-torn zone, while Iris vanished once again—preparing her deadly aerial maneuver.
The battlefield was about to descend into an even more catastrophic storm.
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