Rain fell harder, turning the battlefield into a lake of mud, blood, and shattered stone. The screams of civilians and hunters mixed with the howls of the wolves until it became impossible to tell which was which. The storm swallowed everything.
A wolf crashed through a shop window.
A mage screamed.
A child cried out for her mother.
A street collapsed under the weight of beasts.
Bo City was dissolving into chaos.
From the collapsing rooftops, Mo Fan saw it all—the terrified faces, the buildings splitting apart, the hunters being torn down one by one. Lightning illuminated the battlefield for a heartbeat, revealing the flood of wolves spreading through the district like infection.
Then he saw her.
An instructor from their school—a strict woman with her hair tied back tightly, glasses cracked from the rain—was surrounded by wolves. She was trying desperately to hold the line so a group of students could escape behind her.
Her hands shook as she stabilized her magic.
"Fire Burst!"
A ball of flame blasted forward, killing two wolves.
But four more took their place instantly.
She stepped backward—
Her heel slipped in the mud.
The wolves leaped.
"No—!" Mo Fan yelled.
He sprinted, flames bursting at his feet to propel him forward. Fire circled his arm as he clenched his fist, ready to launch Fiery Fist straight into the wolves' flanks—
A Shadow Wolf materialized out of the darkness behind the instructor.
Its claws tore through her stomach.
Her scream was drowned by thunder. Blood painted the wall.
Mo Fan watched, helpless, as she fell onto the wet ground, eyes wide, reaching for the students she had tried to protect.
Her last breath mixed with rain.
The wolves didn't stop.
They descended on her body like vultures.
Something snapped inside Mo Fan.
The flames on his fists exploded violently, scorching the air so intensely that the rain hissed and evaporated around him. His eyes burned red—not from fire magic, but rage.
Lightning flashed across his skin, crawling up his arms in jagged arcs.
The Shadow Wolf turned toward him, muzzle dripping blood.
Mo Fan didn't wait.
"Fiery Fist—Blazing Impact!"
He punched forward, and the explosion lit the destroyed street brighter than the lightning above. The wolf was obliterated instantly—reduced to cinders and ash.
The other wolves recoiled.
But Mo Fan didn't stop.
He launched himself into the pack, fists blazing, lightning crackling around his body. Every strike exploded into flames that illuminated the surrounding ruin. Wolves that had seemed unstoppable moments before were crushed under the force of his fury.
Thunder shook the sky as Mo Fan unleashed his full power without restraint.
From atop a collapsed rooftop, Xu Mang saw the shift.
"That's not normal Fire temper," he muttered.
"It's killing intent," Lu Jun said quietly. "What he saw… pushed him too far."
Mo Fan tore through another wolf with a lightning-coated blow, then stomped the ground, flames bursting upward in a fiery ring that engulfed five more. Blood and ash coated his arms.
He barely noticed.
He only saw red.
Only heard the instructor's scream echoing in his mind.
Only felt fire roaring through his veins.
Only understood one thing—
He had to kill every beast that touched this city.
—
Zhan Kong's battle with the Greater-Commander grew more violent.
The beast's claws struck with force that tore chunks of the wall away. The ground cratered beneath its weight. Every time Zhan Kong blinked away with Wind Trail, the beast followed with unnatural precision, guided by hatred—and something else. Its eyes glimmered faintly with the same crimson taint the wolves carried.
Black Vatican had corrupted it.
Zhan Kong slashed its leg with Wind Disc.
The beast retaliated, slamming its massive skull into him midair.
He crashed into a half-fallen building, coughing blood as bricks collapsed around him.
The Greater-Commander roared, charging through the ruins in a frenzy. Zhan Kong pushed himself up, staggering slightly, wiping blood from his mouth.
From the smoke, a familiar voice called out.
"Captain!"
A team of military hunters rushed in from the south, launching spells at the beast—Wind Discs, Earth Waves, Water Shields, Fire Bursts. All struck the commander simultaneously, pelting it with elemental force.
It barely flinched.
With a single sweep of its claws, it sent half the hunter squad flying into the debris. The howl that followed shook the entire northern district.
The commander slammed into the street, collapsing another row of buildings.
Children cried.
Women screamed.
The elderly stumbled through the water, clutching each other as beasts lunged from shadows.
Zhan Kong forced himself forward again.
He had no time to bleed.
He swept his arm.
"Wind Wings!"
A powerful gale wrapped around him, blasting him forward at lethal speed. He slammed into the commander's throat with enough force to snap iron.
But the monster twisted mid-blow, biting down onto Zhan Kong's shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
His coat tore open.
The beast hurled him into the street, where he rolled through the mud before forcing himself upright again.
His vision blurred.
His breath shook.
But he still stood.
Because if he fell—
the city would fall with him.
—
Black Vatican watched from a shattered balcony, masked faces hidden beneath dripping hoods.
One priest lifted his hand, conjuring another pulse of crimson energy.
"Let them break," he whispered. "Let Bo City drown in its sins."
He pressed his palm down.
A wave of corrupted power surged into the ground, racing toward the southern district where evacuees were gathering.
Wolves felt it instantly.
They turned.
They howled.
They charged the civilians.
Lu Jun's expression hardened.
Xu Mang's lightning flared.
They sprinted.
"Water Shield!" Lu Jun cried, erecting a barrier before a group of fleeing families.
"Lightning Strike!" Xu Mang shot three wolves mid-leap, their bodies twitching as they fell.
But hundreds more poured through the streets.
Hunters tried to hold the line, but they were exhausted, wounded, drained. Their spells grew weak. Their shields broke. Their lines collapsed.
Rain washed their blood down the streets like red rivers.
Mo Fan saw it.
He clenched his fists, fire burning so hot it steamed the rain around him.
He wouldn't let the city die.
He wouldn't let these beasts take everything.
He lifted his head.
The flames pulsing around him flared brighter.
The lightning crawling across his arms sharpened.
For the first time that night,
he looked like someone who could change the fate of a dying city.
Bo City had not yet fallen—
because he still stood.