The formation tightened.
Jade stood at the front.
Aaron to his right.
Ella above, wings spread wide like a commander watching over a battlefield of fate.
Behind them—what remained of their army.
Thousands once.
Now fewer.
Much fewer.
But still standing.
Still breathing.
Still willing to fight.
---
"Hold formation!" Jade's voice rang out, calm but absolute.
The survivors responded instantly.
Sword fighters moved to the front.
Archers adjusted positions.
Elemental users stepped into the second line.
No hesitation.
No fear—at least not outwardly.
Because ahead…
Something was coming.
---
The ground trembled.
A low vibration.
Then—
SKREEEEEE—
A sound unlike anything they had heard before.
Not quite a roar.
Not quite a scream.
Something… unnatural.
---
They appeared.
Dozens at first.
Then hundreds.
Then—
Thousands.
---
The creatures crawled into view.
Massive.
Grotesque.
Terrifying.
---
They were a fusion of nightmare and mutation.
Their bodies resembled giant scorpions—
Armored.
Segmented.
Covered in a dark, chitinous shell that reflected light like dull metal.
But their upper bodies…
Were wrong.
---
Their faces resembled that of a distorted ibia-like creature—elongated, hollow-eyed, with jagged mandibles twitching unnaturally.
Instead of hands—
They had pincers.
Large.
Crushing.
Capable of snapping bone like twigs.
---
Their tails were long.
Longer than their bodies.
Curved upward like a weapon forged for execution.
At the tip—
A stinger.
Dripping with thick, dark venom.
---
Jade's eyes narrowed.
"…Venom Bia."
The name came to him naturally.
As if the system had whispered it.
---
"Prepare!"
The creatures charged.
---
Jade moved first.
---
His vines erupted outward—
Ice Vine.
Sharp.
Crystalline.
Deadly.
---
They lashed forward—
SLASH!
PIERCE!
CRACK!
---
But—
Something was wrong.
---
The vines struck—
But didn't penetrate deeply.
---
Jade's expression shifted.
"…Their armor…"
Too tough.
---
The Venom Bia pushed forward relentlessly.
Unaffected.
Unstoppable.
---
Jade adjusted instantly.
He redirected his vines—
Aimed for joints.
Eyes.
Gaps.
---
Some fell.
But too few.
---
Beside him—
Aaron moved.
A blur.
A shadow.
---
His blade flashed—
Clean.
Precise.
Deadly.
---
Creatures fell.
Split apart.
Destroyed.
---
But then—
Something strange happened.
---
Jade paused mid-strike.
"…Why…"
---
No system notification.
---
Aaron spoke at the same time.
"…Same here."
His voice was low.
"I'm killing them…"
"…But no confirmation."
---
That meant only one thing.
---
"They're not dead."
---
Ella's voice cut through the chaos.
From above.
Sharp.
Urgent.
---
"Look at the sky!"
---
Jade's gaze snapped upward.
---
And what he saw—
Made his heart tighten.
---
The sun.
---
It glowed—
But not normally.
---
From its light…
Shadows fell.
---
And from those shadows—
The Venom Bia rose again.
---
Their broken bodies—
Reforming.
Rebuilding.
Multiplying.
---
Each one that "died"—
Returned.
---
Stronger.
---
Faster.
---
More violent.
---
"…They're not just reviving…"
Jade muttered.
"…They're multiplying."
---
Aaron's eyes darkened.
"…So killing them like this is pointless."
---
The battlefield grew worse.
---
More creatures poured in.
---
More survivors fell.
---
The line—
Began to break.
---
Then—
Jade spoke.
---
"…I have a plan."
---
He raised his voice.
Loud.
Clear.
Commanding.
---
"SWORD FIGHTERS—FRONT LINE!"
"ARCHERS—MAX VOLLEY!"
---
The formation shifted instantly.
---
Arrows filled the sky.
---
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
---
They rained down like a storm.
---
Piercing.
Crushing.
Shattering.
---
Elemental attacks followed.
Fire.
Wind.
Ice.
Lightning.
---
The battlefield exploded into chaos.
---
Jade—
Stopped using his vines.
---
Instead—
He changed.
---
"Shadow Halo."
---
A black halo appeared above his head.
---
The light around him dimmed.
---
His presence—
Faded.
---
He stepped into shadow.
---
"Blood Wings."
---
Wings burst from his back.
Dark.
Powerful.
Alive.
---
"Bone Shield."
---
A massive shield formed in his hand.
Thick.
Heavy.
Unbreakable.
---
Jade rose into the sky.
---
Higher.
Higher.
Higher.
---
The wind howled around him.
---
His Wind Fragment activated.
---
Speed surged through his body.
---
The world below—
Shrank.
---
The battlefield became a blur.
---
Then—
He stopped.
---
At the peak.
---
And dove.
---
Like a meteor.
---
His body ignited from speed.
---
Flames wrapped around him—
But didn't burn him.
---
His Flame Fragment protected him.
---
He became—
A falling star.
---
And then—
Impact.
---
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
---
The ground shattered.
---
Hundreds of Venom Bia—
Crushed instantly.
---
The shockwave spread outward.
---
Opening a massive gap.
---
"NOW!" Jade roared.
---
The sword fighters charged.
---
Through the opening.
---
Cutting.
Screaming.
Fighting like madmen.
---
Hope returned.
---
Momentum shifted.
---
Then—
It got worse.
---
More Venom Bia appeared.
---
But these—
Were different.
---
Larger.
Darker.
More dangerous.
---
Their stingers glowed.
---
Venom dripped—
Thicker.
Deadlier.
---
"…Stronger variants."
Aaron muttered.
---
They moved faster.
Hit harder.
Killed quicker.
---
A fighter was struck—
His body froze—
Then collapsed.
Dead.
---
Another screamed—
Venom spreading through his veins.
---
Losses increased.
Rapidly.
---
From thousands—
To two thousand.
---
And dropping.
---
Still—
No one retreated.
---
No one ran.
---
Some threw away their weapons.
---
And fought with fists.
---
With teeth.
---
With everything they had.
---
Jade watched.
Shocked.
---
Even those at death's edge—
Stood again.
---
Fought again.
---
Adapted.
---
Evolved.
---
It was as if—
The trial itself—
Was forcing growth.
---
Breaking limits.
---
Destroying weakness.
---
Creating monsters.
---
The battle raged.
---
Hours passed.
---
Day turned—
To dusk.
---
Dusk turned—
To night.
---
Still—
They fought.
---
No one stopped.
---
No one slowed.
---
Then—
Jade noticed something.
---
"…Wait…"
---
The Venom Bia—
Stopped multiplying.
---
The sky—
Changed.
---
The sun—
Was gone.
---
The moon—
Rose.
---
Silver.
Cold.
Silent.
---
And then—
It happened.
---
The Venom Bia—
All of them—
Paused.
---
Then—
They dissolved.
---
Like dust.
---
Like shadows fading.
---
Gone.
---
Every single one.
---
Dead.
Alive.
---
Gone.
---
Silence.
---
Total silence.
---
The battlefield—
Empty.
---
Jade stood still.
Breathing heavily.
---
Around him—
Survivors dropped.
Not dead.
Just…
Exhausted.
---
"…We survived…"
Someone whispered.
---
Hope returned.
---
Strength returned.
---
Life returned.
---
Jade looked at the moon.
---
"…So that's the rule."
---
Sun—
They rise.
---
Moon—
They die.
---
Aaron walked beside him.
---
"…Good thing we didn't retreat."
---
Ella landed nearby.
---
"…We're not done."
---
Jade nodded.
---
Ahead—
The path cleared.
---
The river crossed.
---
The horde defeated.
---
Now—
Only one thing remained.
---
The ancient ruin.
---
Jade stepped forward.
---
"…Move out."
---
And the survivors—
Followed.
---
Toward destiny.