It had been two years since the death of his mother. But in those two years, things haven't been easy.
A blade carved into the stone wall, cracking it with force. Sparks scattered as Ash drove the edge deeper, anchoring himself before reaching up with his free hand. His arms trembled, not from weakness, but from something heavier. The climb continued, slow and steady, rage burning behind his eyes.
He had been climbing for a few minutes now. He still didn't know how the others were doing up there.
A crooked branch jutted from the cliffside just ahead.
Something landed on it.
A crow.
But not a normal one.
Its body shimmered like oil caught in moonlight, feathers shifting unnaturally with each movement. Five eyes stared out from its face—each glowing white, unblinking. They didn't move. They just watched him. The creature tilted its head, not afraid, not curious. Or maybe just confused.
Ash swung.
The blade swept through the branch.
The crow vanished before it struck.
He watched it fly into the sky, silent, and sadly... untouched.
He didn't know if he missed because he was too tired or because the thing was too fast. He didn't care.
His jaw clenched.
"Damn creature."
He kept climbing, fingers scraping stone.
Near the edge, something leapt at him from above. It looked like it had been waiting.
Ash had already seen the movement before so he was shaken, the glint of bone, the gaping jaws. A skull-shaped head lunged forward, teeth like stone needles aiming for his throat.
But he remembered that face.
This was the same thing that threw him off the cliff before.
He moved faster.
His hand caught the creature's head, fingers pressing into the hollows where eyes were supposed to be. He didn't hesitate. He slammed it down the cliffside with all the strength he could summon.
It screamed all the way down.
Ash pulled himself over the edge and paused only long enough to breathe. His gaze moved across the field in front of him.
Then he saw it.
The creature towered above the others—its shape like a mantis, but twisted. Its wings were made of black glass, its claws like bones sharpened to a point. Dozens of eyes scattered across its body twitched constantly, each watching something. The hissing never stopped. Even with one leg missing, it fought like nothing mattered.
Ash narrowed his eyes.
Fire crashed down from the sky and struck the monster. It raised an arm and blocked the blast, its body holding firm against the flame. A screech tore from its mouth—long and sharp. It wasn't just sound. The pressure hit like a strike, a shockwave of noise that bent the air.
Another fireblast spun through the sky, cutting above the screech.
The one who fired it dropped from the air.
Keal.
His body twisted in midair. Hair black and wild. A single streak of red cut through it like a flame refusing to die. His grin was sharp, like he was having fun in the middle of a storm.
He dropped fast and struck the creature's stomach with his fist. The impact shook the field. The monster doubled over.
And vomited.
Three large eggs spilled from its throat and rolled onto the earth.
Keal's grin faded.
"Not this nonsense again. So annoying."
His eyes flicked toward the eggs. That hesitation cost him.
The monster's claw slammed into his side and threw him into a broken barrier nearby. The metal groaned beneath him.
The creature turned back to the eggs.
They pulsed.
Split.
Then hatched.
Three new horrors pulled themselves free. Each one stood like a man, but moved like an insect. Four legs. Wings clear as ice. Faces that looked like skulls stolen from the dead.
They didn't waste time.
They turned.
Not toward Keal.
Toward the side.
Behind the twisted fence, a group of people stood frozen. They were silent, tense. Faces pale, backs straight.
They were not screaming or thinking of running either. And of course, they were not calm. They knew what they were looking at.
They were all Tier 1s, some even Tier 0.
And that huge abominable standing in front of them, sending its children towards them to feed—was a Tier 5.
No one needed to say what that meant. Everyone knew.
Tier 1 creatures are nothing when facing a creature of a similar race or higher in Tier 5.
When the weak met something that was far above them, it was already over.
But they weren't alone.
Team Vortex had come.
That's what they told themselves.
That someone would help.
That they would be saved.
But the creatures kept coming.
One flew.
Another crawled.
The last crept low along the ground, eyes locked on its prey.
Then a blast tore through the side of the field.
One of the insectoids was hit in the ribs. The impact shattered its body. It dropped, lifeless.
The others turned.
Their hunger hadn't faded.
Only their direction.
A man stood behind the rising smoke. Arm raised, fingers shaped into a barrel. His body was wrapped in a sleek suit of black plates, and a curved helmet covered his face. Smoke curled from his palm.
The mantis screamed again. Angry over the loss of its dead child.
A high-pitched screech that cracked the dirt and split the clouds. A beam of raw sound surged from her throat, a lance of pressure aimed straight at the shooter.
The man moved—sideways, fast. The beam carved the earth where he'd been.
He fired again. Then again. Bursts of light slammed into the mantis.
The remaining newborns turned towards him. Their wings snapped open as they charged.
They struck him mid-step. One drove him down. The other followed. Its claws raised, one ready to strike this armored man out of his suit.
Ash's heart clenched. He had been watching this scene. He could have joined sooner, but he needed to let his body rest a bit. He stepped forward, rage still rising in his chest.
"Shit, Max."
Ash shifted his weight, ready to move.
Then something rose behind him.
Wings buzzed—fast and sharp. A shadow closed in. The creature he threw down few minutes ago finally came back.
Of course, Ash suspected something like this would happen, but he didn't want it to.
Ash snarled, blade halfway drawn.
"How the hell are these damn things learning to fly this fast?"
The creature dove towards him.
Ash spun, just before impact. His blade flashed. One wing sliced clean off. The creature dropped, screeching, limbs flailing.
It didn't stay down.
Claws tore at the earth as it lunged again, jaws wide, ready to bite into Ash.
But Ash wasn't a noob when it came to dealing with something like this. He trained all his life after all.
Ash stepped in. Drove the blade through the creature's skull.
A crunch. Then silence.
It had stopped moving.
Ash yanked the weapon free, turned, and split the head in two—just to be sure it wasn't pretending to be dead like what happened before.
Then he ran.
Max was still out there.
But before Ash could reach him, something echoed inside his mind—cold and strange. The voice wasn't that strange, actually, it was very familiar. Ash has heard it lots of times because the voice actually sounds like his own.
"[Vanquished. You killed a Tier 2 Creature: Broodspawn Mantid]"
His breath hitched for a second.
That voice again.
Of course, it was distracting, but Ash didn't stop. He'd heard it too many times to care.
Ahead, beams of light flared.
Both remaining broodspawn dropped, bodies twitching in the dust.
Max stood between them, his suit stained with black blood. One shoulder plate bent. His visor cracked, showing a bit of his face, but not too much.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. The mantis charged towards him, each step like a hammer.
Just as the creature was about to slam into him. A burst of force ignited beneath Max's boots, launching him backward just as the claw came down. Stone shattered where he had stood.
Max spun in the air.
His gauntlet shifted, and the barrel on his hand flared.
Bolts of energy screamed through the air, slamming into the beast.
It raised an arm, blocking the shots with its thick shell.
Still, Max didn't stop, he continued firing. He was in the sky where the creature couldn't meet him.
Well... Max didn't know yet. All this time while fighting, he had been trying to study the way this creature fights, and its having wings and not using them is strange on its own.
This is why he flew to see if the creature would follow, blinded by the death of its children.
And of course, it almost works. The creature spread its wings. Ready to take flight but it couldn't. One of its wings had already taken serious damage from one of Kael's fire attacks, making its ability to fly non-functional.
Ash moved.
Sparks danced across his skin. Small arcs flickered between his fingers and the blade in his hand.
Then the voice returned.
"[Skill: Storm Vein]"
"[Skill: Static Surge]"
The world shifted.
Edges sharpened. Time stretched. Every motion slowed except his own.
Ash lunged.
His body blurred, the storm inside him cracking through muscle and bone. He slipped past the creature's claws, ducked beneath the curve of its blade-like leg, and drove his weapon toward its head.
The blade punched through chitin, sank deep between some of its twitching eyes.
The beast screamed.
But it didn't die.
It threw its weight back, dragging Ash with it before slamming into the ground. Max fired. The blasts struck its neck—but it didn't fall.
The creature roared and surged forward. It couldn't fly but it could jump. Really. Really high, caught Max by surprise.
It slams into Max and swings Ash aside like toys.
Ash rolled across the stone. Max was sent skidding into a boulder, suit sparking.
The beast didn't care about him anymore; it liked to have other plans.
It turned.
Straight for the survivors.
The cage stood in its way—twisted steel and reinforced bars—but the creature hit it like a wrecking ball. Quickly snapping metal apart.
Screams rose in the cage.
One man in front tried to run towards the back.
Too slow.
A claw pinned him down. Dragging him towards his mouth. Its Jaws opened. As the man's Bones crunched.
Then silence.
The body vanished.
In its place, the creature coughed.
Four wet pods dropped from its mouth. Eggs, pulsing with sick light.
Max was already close by. He suspected something like this would happen. When this creature fed, it dropped random numbers of eggs. The egg that hatches the broodspawn.
Max raised his arm. His gauntlet sparked, preparing to fire—
—But the Matis head slammed into him before he could shoot. He flew back, crashing into a wall hard enough to leave a dent.
The beast turned again.
The remaining survivors were frozen. Legs trembling. There were no weapons for them to use. Even if they have any, what could they do to a monster like that?
Suddenly, the air shifted.
A shadow streaked past.
Fire exploded across the Matis side.
Kael hit it like a meteor.
They moved scraping the earth.
His whole body burned—flames rising from his skin like they were burning red and alive, feeding on his rage.
He drove his fist into the mantid's chest. Again. And again.
Each hit scorched flesh and shattered chitin.
The creatures screamed, claws flailing—but Kael didn't stop. He still dragged it across the ground, fists pounding, flames roaring louder than the creature's shrieks.
Together, they vanished into the distance—fire trailing behind them.
Ash didn't look toward Kael. His eyes were locked on the eggs the creature had vomited.
He moved.
Blade drawn, crackling faintly with static electricity. He swung down hard.
Too late.
One egg split open. Then another. And another.
Four broodspawn spilled out—smaller than the mantis, but faster. And they look really hungry.
They shrieked.
Ash stepped in. His blade cut a clean arc, severing the head of the first.
It hit the ground, twitching.
Then the voice slithered into his skull again—unwelcome, but familiar.
"[Vanquished.]"
Ash didn't have time to breathe.
A second creature slammed into his ribs, knocking the wind from his lungs.
Another rose, wings buzzing, and latched onto him. Its legs were wrapped tightly. Then it lifted.
The ground fell away.
Ash caught a glimpse of the cliff edge. He remembered the drop. The sharp rocks below. It was thanks to his tier 5 body that he was able to survive that. He doesn't mind the fall, but the journey up was the problem.
His jaw tightened.
"No. No, no, no—we are not doing that again."
He twisted, jamming his blade into the creature's side.
It shrieked.
They dropped.
Ash hit the ground in a rough tumble, rolled through dust and blood, then rose again—bruised but standing.
In front of him, one of the broodspawn landed and hissed. The one he just stabbed. Its Wings twitching. Eyes burning with hunger.
The others turned toward the fleeing survivors who had managed to find a way to leave this hell.
Ash didn't move. Not yet.
He stared at the one in front of him, lightning still sparking at his fingertips.
"You're alone now,"
His voice was low.
"You're going to die here, you damn creature."