Armand, Lucien, Gomah, and the soldiers froze at the same time.
The roar came from within the forest.
Not a human scream.
Not the cry of any ordinary beast.
UUUAAAGRRHHH!!
The sound slammed into the air like a massive shockwave, making the ground tremble and crushing the breath in their chests. Some soldiers instinctively covered their ears, while others staggered backward without realizing it.
Armand immediately recognized the source.
His chest tightened.
It came from the forest.
From where he had hidden Taron and Lyanna.
"No…" Armand whispered.
"That place…"
He tried to run.
Forced his body to move despite his shattered breathing.
But after only a few steps, his legs gave out.
Armand staggered, then dropped to one knee.
His breath came in harsh gasps, his chest feeling as though it were being crushed from the inside.
Exhaustion—and his wounds—had finally caught up to him.
"Damn it…" Armand hissed softly.
"Lyanna… Taron…"
Zerik heard him and immediately turned toward the forest.
He clenched his teeth.
Without wasting words, he forced his trembling body to move.
"I'll go," he said shortly.
With what little strength he had left, Zerik ran toward the forest.
Toward where Taron and Lyanna had been hidden.
The moment Zerik crossed the forest's boundary, the monstrous roar slammed into him.
The sound was so violent it made his eardrums tremble.
Zerik instinctively covered his ears, his steps faltering.
He looked up again at the creature.
Its body was massive, covered in dark scales, completely unclothed.
But when the monster shifted, Zerik noticed something amid the shattered earth and uprooted tree roots.
A piece of cloth.
Dull green.
Torn.
Shredded, as if ripped apart by uncontrollable power.
Zerik's breath caught in his throat.
"No way…" he whispered.
His hands clenched into fists.
He refused to finish the thought, but the weight in his chest grew heavier.
If that was true…
then the monster wasn't just some savage creature that had appeared out of nowhere.
Without wasting time, Zerik shifted his gaze.
In the distance, he spotted a body lying beneath a tree.
It wasn't moving.
Zerik's heart sank.
He rushed over.
When he got close enough, he recognized the hair and clothing.
Lyanna.
Zerik dropped to his knees beside her, his hands trembling slightly as he checked her breathing and pulse.
"Thank goodness…" he breathed softly.
"You're alright, Princess."
The monster began to move.
Its steps were slow, but each one sent faint tremors through the ground. Tree roots lifted, the soil cracking beneath its massive feet.
It did not approach Zerik.
Instead, the huge body turned away from him.
Zerik froze, holding his breath.
He followed the monster's line of sight—
and realized something that sent ice through his veins.
The creature was walking toward the battlefield.
Toward the soldiers.
Toward humanity.
A violent roar tore from its throat—raw, furious, filled with rage. It wasn't the cry of a predator hunting prey.
It was the scream of something that wanted to destroy everything in its path.
Trees shook violently. Leaves scattered through the air. Birds fled in panic, abandoning their nests.
Zerik clenched his teeth.
He didn't know what had happened.
He didn't know what had awakened the creature.
But one thing was painfully clear in his mind.
Whatever the monster passed through…
nothing would remain.
The tremors drew closer to Armand, Lucien, Gomah, and their forces.
The ground pulsed unnaturally, sending the same sense of dread into everyone standing there.
Each step of the creature slammed into the earth, forming small craters that made the world shake.
The vibrations grew nearer.
With every footfall, dust and gravel leapt into the air. Tree roots were torn free, and long cracks spread through the soil along its path.
Armand, Lucien, and Gomah stood frozen.
Not one of them moved.
Not because they couldn't—
but because their instincts were screaming the same warning.
Don't move.
Unlike Armand and the others, Lucien's soldiers broke first.
"Run!"
"That's not a normal monster!"
"I don't want to die here!"
One by one, they dropped their weapons and turned to flee.
Some stumbled. Some fell.
Not a single one dared to look back.
The tremors drew closer to Armand, Lucien, Gomah, and the guards around them.
The ground pulsed beneath their feet.
Each step of the creature carved massive depressions into the earth, splitting the soil and shaking the surrounding trees.
The frantic movement of the fleeing soldiers caught the monster's attention.
Its head turned slowly.
A low growl rolled from its throat, vibrating through the air.
Energy began to gather inside its mouth.
Purple light pulsed—denser with each passing second.
The fleeing soldiers realized too late.
The monster opened its jaws wide.
In an instant, a torrent of violet energy erupted toward Lucien's retreating troops.
One soldier tripped and fell as he tried to escape. His hands clawed at the dirt, trembling as he struggled to rise. When he glanced back—
the world seemed to stop.
The creature stood there, jaws still open, violet light blazing within like a bottomless abyss.
He wanted to scream.
To beg.
To move.
But his body refused.
In the split second before the light swallowed him, a final thought crossed his mind:
This isn't the punishment of war…
This is the wrath of something that should never have been awakened.
Armand watched in shock—so did Lucien and Gomah.
None of them had time to react as the violet light swallowed the soldiers who had failed to escape in time.
Lucien slowly lifted his gaze back toward the forest.
Only then did he truly understand what they were facing.
"That energy blast… don't tell me…"
His words died in his throat.
Lucien's body went weak. He dropped to the ground, his face drained of color, his eyes trembling as though staring into a nightmare he had only ever read about in forbidden tomes.
Gomah rushed to his side, panic slipping into his voice despite his attempt to remain composed.
"What is it, Lord Lucien?"
"What kind of creature is that?"
Lucien didn't answer right away.
His throat felt dry.
Impossible.
That creature was supposed to have gone extinct centuries ago.
Lucien swallowed hard.
The legend existed only in ancient texts.
A being so terrifying that many scholars believed it had never truly existed.
Then why…
why had it awakened now?
His thoughts shook.
For the first time since this night began, Lucien felt something he rarely allowed himself to acknowledge.
Fear.
"Lord Lucien!"
Gomah stepped closer, confusion clear on his face.
"What is that thing?!"
Lucien did not respond.
His gaze remained locked on the towering figure in the forest, as if words were no longer enough to describe what he was seeing.
The creature continued its brutal rampage.
With a single sweep of its tail, the surrounding forest was laid to waste.
Trees collapsed. The ground split open. Wooden debris was hurled in every direction.
With just one swing of its tail, the monster erased everything standing in its path.
It kept moving forward without any clear direction, slowly heading toward the edge of the forest.
It showed no awareness of Armand, Lucien, or Gomah.
Or perhaps…
it simply didn't care.
Its massive body moved away from them, each step carving deep craters into the earth.
But just as the creature was about to wander farther away—
Gomah stepped forward.
He tightened his grip on the handle of his war hammer, the muscles in his arms swelling.
A smug grin spread across his face.
"You think I'm scared?" he scoffed.
"I've beaten creatures bigger than that."
Without taking his eyes off the monster, Gomah raised his left hand.
"Hey, you," he barked toward the rear ranks.
"Mages. Get over here."
Several of his spellcasters flinched—but stepped forward hesitantly.
"Use your magic," Gomah commanded.
"Enlarge my body. Now."
He tightened his grip on the hammer, that arrogant smile never leaving his face.
"I want to crush it myself."
Lucien let Gomah do whatever he pleased.
He didn't stop him.
Nor did he intend to help.
From the beginning, Gomah had never been his subordinate.
They were merely allies bound by a shared target.
And now, with that creature standing before them, Lucien had reached a different conclusion.
That monster could not be defeated.
If Gomah wished to advance, that was his choice.
If he died there, it was none of Lucien's concern.
In Lucien's mind, only one objective remained.
Survive—
and leave before it was too late.
As the creature continued to walk away, a massive war hammer suddenly flew toward its back.
The air split with the heavy sound of spinning metal.
The monster stopped.
Its head turned slowly—just as the hammer slammed into its side with a thunderous impact.
DUUM!
The massive body was shoved sideways, its feet dragging across the ground for several meters before it finally halted. The earth beneath it cracked, dust and debris bursting into the air.
But the creature did not fall.
It straightened itself.
And for the first time since its emergence, its full attention turned toward the source of the attack.
The monster roared, its voice shaking the air as its glowing eyes locked directly onto Gomah—now enlarged.
The vibration of that roar made the ground tremble, leaves rain down from the trees, and the remaining soldiers step back without realizing it.
Gomah grinned.
He stepped forward, retrieved his massive hammer from the ground, then lifted it with one hand as if it weighed nothing.
"Hey, little lizard," he sneered.
"I'll smash you until there's nothing left."
Gomah pointed the hammer straight at the creature, his stance openly provocative—as if declaring that he didn't consider it a threat at all.
It was the same posture he had taken when he struck Taron earlier.
Full of confidence.
Full of arrogance.
Meanwhile, below—
Zerik finally emerged from between the trees.
He carried Lyanna's unconscious body in his arms, his steps heavy but urgent.
"Lyanna!" Armand shouted the moment he saw her.
He rushed forward, carefully taking his daughter into his arms.
"What happened? Why is it only Lyanna?
Where is Taron?"
The questions poured out in rapid succession.
Zerik drew in a deep breath.
"Princess Lyanna is safe, sir… but—"
"But what?" Armand cut in, his voice rising, close to breaking.
Zerik lowered his head.
"I… couldn't find Taron."
He then extended his hand.
Resting in his palm was a torn piece of cloth.
Dull green.
Badly shredded.
Armand took the fabric.
And for the first time since the battle began—
the resolve on his face finally cracked.
When power awakens without control…
who is truly in danger?
The enemy—
or the ones it was meant to protect?