The creature suddenly charged toward Gomah.
Each footfall slammed into the earth like a colossal hammer, triggering small earthquakes that rippled in every direction. The ground split open, dust exploded upward, and the surrounding trees shook violently.
Gomah tightened his grip on the war hammer. His muscles tensed, his gaze sharpened. He lowered his stance slightly, preparing to meet the charge with everything he had.
Below, Armand, Zerik, and what remained of their forces nearly lost their footing. The violent tremors reached all the way to the battlefield, making it painfully clear that what was coming was no ordinary clash.
Armand immediately ordered a full retreat.
He commanded everyone to fall back and find safety—leave the forest as quickly as possible, put as much distance as they could between themselves and the growing epicenter of chaos.
Zerik glanced toward Lucien, who was clearly trying to escape amid the panic.
His soldier's instinct surged.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He tightened his grip on his weapon, ready to pursue and finish Lucien before it was too late.
But Armand's voice stopped him.
"No," Armand said firmly.
"Prioritize everyone's safety. We survive first. The next move can wait."
Zerik held his breath, then nodded.
He swallowed his anger and obeyed.
Together with the remaining soldiers, they rushed toward where the horse carriages had been left behind.
They hoped there might still be a way out.
That hope died quickly.
The carriages were gone.
So were the horses.
The animals had fled long before them, leaving no means of escape behind.
They had no choice.
With what little strength remained, Armand's forces were forced to run on foot.
Their legs felt heavy, their breathing nearly uncontrollable—but survival instinct drove them forward.
Stopping meant death.
One by one, they abandoned the battlefield, fleeing from a forest that had turned into a living hell.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield…
The creature lunged toward Gomah with brutal speed.
Its massive claws tore through the air, carrying enough force to shred trees apart.
Gomah growled and raised his war hammer just in time.
A thunderous impact followed as the hammer blocked the strike, cracking the ground beneath their feet.
Gomah was shoved backward several steps, but he managed to keep his balance.
"Tch…"
He bared his teeth, even as his arms trembled from the shock.
The attack hadn't injured him.
But Gomah realized one thing.
The creature before him could not be taken lightly.
The monster gave him no breathing room.
It pressed forward relentlessly.
Its attacks came in violent succession—fast and savage. Massive claws swept in from every angle, ripping through the air with wild force.
Gomah raised his hammer, blocking one strike, then another.
Each collision sent violent shocks through his arms.
But his enlarged body became a burden.
His movements lagged behind.
One claw slipped through his defense and tore into his shoulder.
Another strike raked across his side, carving a deep wound that immediately began to bleed.
Gomah growled under his breath.
He didn't have time to feel the pain.
No time at all.
His hammer rose again and again—blocking, countering, blocking once more.
If he stopped for even a second, the next attack would tear him apart completely.
For the first time since the battle began,
Gomah realized something.
He wasn't dominating this fight.
He was fighting to survive.
The creature attacked again—this time swinging both arms at once.
A violent collision erupted as Gomah's hammer blocked the attack once more.
With a rough upward motion, Gomah forced the creature's arms high above its head.
A wide opening appeared.
From head to chest, the monster's body was completely exposed.
Its balance faltered.
Gomah didn't waste the chance.
Putting everything he had into it, he swung his war hammer straight toward the creature's head.
DUUM!
But instead of screaming in pain, the creature roared.
The sound tore through the air, making the ground quake around them.
Gomah raised his hammer again, preparing to follow up.
Too late.
The creature's tail moved faster than he could register.
With a single snap, it knocked the hammer aside—and instantly coiled around it, locking Gomah's weapon in place.
At the same time, a razor-sharp claw flashed forward.
The strike landed on Gomah's right arm.
Fresh blood sprayed into the air.
His right hand was severed.
Gomah let out a hoarse scream.
The pain finally caught up to him.
His massive body lost balance and crashed backward.
Below him, Lucien was still trying to escape.
His eyes widened as he realized Gomah was falling directly toward him.
"Tch—!"
With no other choice, Lucien activated a defensive spell.
A transparent layer of magic wrapped around his body just before impact.
Gomah came crashing down.
DUUM!!
The collision was unavoidable.
Gomah's enlarged body slammed into the magical barrier with overwhelming force.
Cracks raced across the surface of the barrier.
Within seconds, Lucien's protective magic shattered and vanished.
Lucien was thrown across the ground, coughing violently as his body slammed into the dirt.
But he was still alive.
Gomah lay sprawled on the earth.
His body began to shrink. Muscles deflated, and the magic that had enlarged him faded away.
Soon, he returned to his original size.
Even then, the creature did not look away.
Its gaze remained fixed forward.
On a single point.
Purple energy gathered once more inside its mouth—pulsing thicker than before.
The air trembled. The ground hissed. The glow reflected off the shattered trees around them.
Lucien saw it.
His face drained of color.
He tried to rise and run—but his body wouldn't move.
Only then did he realize.
Gomah's body was still on top of him.
Gomah was unconscious.
Heavy.
Motionless.
Pinning Lucien to the ground.
"Damn it… get up!" Lucien hissed in panic.
With what little strength he had left, he shoved Gomah's body, trying to pull himself free.
His hands shook. His breathing spiraled out of control. His chest tightened.
But the light in the creature's mouth only grew brighter.
The monster opened its jaws wider.
In the fraction of a second that felt like eternity, Lucien stared straight into that light.
For the first time—
there was no plan.
No magic.
No escape.
Then—
a massive beam of violet energy was unleashed.
The torrent shot straight toward Lucien and Gomah, who were trapped on the ground.
Panicking, Lucien immediately began chanting.
Magic circles formed in the air, and in an instant, layers of arcane barriers stacked themselves in front of his body.
Each barrier glimmered faintly, overlapping like transparent walls.
The violet beam slammed into the outermost layer.
DUUUM!!
A shockwave exploded outward, shaking the surrounding air.
Lucien clenched his teeth as mana was violently ripped from his body.
One by one, the barriers shattered.
Cracks spread—then burst into fragments of light that dissolved into the air.
The second barrier collapsed.
The third followed.
With every layer that broke, Lucien's breathing grew heavier.
Blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
His hands shook uncontrollably.
"No… not yet…" he whispered.
Now only a single barrier remained.
Lucien poured every last drop of mana into it.
The final barrier glowed brighter, pulsing unstably as it struggled against the relentless pressure of the beam.
But—
a cracking sound echoed.
Fine fractures crawled across its surface.
The light dimmed, flickered, and slowly began to lose cohesion.
The barrier… was failing.
The cracks widened.
The last shield vibrated violently, emitting a shrill sound like glass being crushed from all sides.
Its pale glow flickered erratically, on the verge of collapse.
Lucien screamed through clenched teeth.
He forced his remaining mana out, even as his body rebelled.
Veins bulged at his temples.
His chest burned from the inside.
"Hold…!"
"HOLD…!!"
But the beam did not weaken.
The pressure of the violet energy only intensified, driving the barrier inward.
The ground beneath Lucien fractured.
Small stones lifted into the air before being pulverized into dust.
The final barrier let out a louder scream.
KRAKK—
A massive fracture split across its surface.
Lucien's eyes widened.
For the first time since the night began, his cold composure completely shattered.
"No…"
Beyond the nearly destroyed barrier, the creature stood tall.
Its crimson eyes burned without emotion.
Its jaws remained wide open—
the violet beam pouring forth without any sign of stopping.
Lucien realized something.
This was not a battle.
This was punishment.
The final cracks spread rapidly.
And in a single silent second—
the barrier stood on the brink of collapse.
Despite every desperate effort, it finally gave way.
The last fracture raced across its surface, then—
KRAAAKK!!
The barrier shattered into countless fragments and vanished in an instant.
The violet light burst forward unhindered, rushing straight toward Lucien.
His eyes flew wide.
DUAARR!!
A catastrophic explosion tore through the forest.
The blast thundered far beyond the trees and hills, echoing even outside the woods. Violet light surged high into the sky, illuminating the night as if a false sun had just been born.
Armand and the others instinctively turned back.
Before they could react, the shockwave slammed into them.
Wild winds erupted, carrying dust, stones, and splintered wood.
Armand and the remaining soldiers were thrown to the ground, flung several meters before finally coming to a halt.
The earth shook violently.
Trees collapsed.
And for a brief moment…
everything drowned in roaring thunder and fading violet light.
Zerik, who had been carrying Lyanna's unconscious body, immediately turned his back to the blast and made himself a shield.
He hunched forward, pressing Lyanna's head tightly against his chest, protecting her face and skull from flying debris and crashing branches.
The shockwave struck them.
Relentless pressure drove Zerik backward. His boots scraped across the ground, his knees slammed into the hard earth—but he did not loosen his hold.
Branches snapped.
Small stones flew.
Dust swallowed the air.
Zerik clenched his teeth, enduring the pain burning through his back and shoulders.
No matter what happened…
he would not let Lyanna be harmed.
When the crushing wind finally subsided, the forest fell into an unnatural silence. Dust drifted slowly from the air, broken branches settled to the ground, and only the faint cracking of damaged wood remained. In the distance, the blast site had become scorched earth—a massive crater still releasing thin streams of violet smoke.
There were no screams.
No footsteps.
It was as if the entire forest was holding its breath—waiting to see whether the nightmare had truly ended…
or had only just begun.
Dust still hung thick over what had once been the battlefield.
The air felt heavy, saturated with the smell of burned soil and shattered timber.
Then, from deep within the forest, a low roar echoed once more.
Deep.
Heavy.
Reverberating like it came from the forest's own core.
Armand stiffened.
He turned toward the source of the sound, his heart pounding.
That roar was not a cry of victory.
Nor was it a scream of pain.
It was a warning.
The threat was not over.
When something that should never have been awakened finally rises…
is there still a way to stop it—
without losing everything?