[Inside Lufen Portal]
Rain fell in sheets, heavy and relentless, turning the ground into a mess of mud and blood.
Thunder boomed overhead, the sound rolling across a sky that churned with dark clouds.
And in the middle of it all, dozens of survivors stood frozen, their bodies covered in cuts and grime, their clothes torn and stained crimson.
The portal exit shimmered in front of them, just a few hundred meters away.
They could see it clearly, could see the gateway back to their world, to safety and to home.
But nobody moved or even breathed.
Because standing between them and escape was a forty-meter giant, his armor splattered with blood that the rain couldn’t wash away fast enough.
Krazgor Ironjaw, Young Chief of the Ironjaw Tribe.
His massive frame blocked the path completely, his helmet’s eye slits glowing with satisfaction.
And kneeling before him in the mud were the last surviving members of the military garrison, their bodies broken and bleeding, their weapons scattered.
Commander Reeves knelt at the front, his left arm missing from the shoulder down, the stump wrapped in makeshift bandages that had soaked through hours ago.
His remaining hand pressed against the ground, Aura flowing outward in desperate patterns.
A translucent barrier dome covered the survivors, flickering with each breath he took, cracks spreading across its surface like spiderwebs.
Krazgor’s voice boomed across the battlefield, somehow cutting through the thunder.
"Commander Reeves, was it? You have a clever mind, human."
The giant’s tone carried something that might have been respect mixed with contempt.
"For hours, you stayed low, hiding your presence while my brothers and sisters cleared the portal world." He paused. "You fooled our army time and time again, slipping past our patrols, saving these pathetic civilians when you should have been running for your own life."
BOOM
His boot came down inches from Reeves’ kneeling form, the impact sending tremors through the ground.
"You almost succeeded. Almost got them all to safety."
The giant leaned forward, his massive face coming closer.
"But sadly for you, I was waiting here the entire time. Watching and letting you think you had a chance."
Reeves’s jaw clenched, his remaining hand trembling from the effort of maintaining the barrier.
Blood dripped from his mouth where he’d bitten his tongue to stay conscious.
’Just a little longer... Just need to hold on until–’
"Even though that mad woman managed to escape..."
Krazgor straightened, his voice becoming almost conversational.
"Do you really think your Military will send reinforcements?"
His finger shifted, pointing at his own massive form.
"Knowing that I am standing on the other side of this portal, will they even have the guts to try?"
The question hung in the rain-filled air.
Nobody answered, the only sounds coming from labored breathing and distant thunder.
"And even if they do send an army..."
Krazgor’s voice carried amusement now, dark and terrible.
"Look behind you, Commander."
Time seemed to slow down as Reeves’ head turned, his vision tracking across the muddy landscape.
And his heart stopped completely.
Thousands of giants were marching toward them, their boots shaking the earth, their weapons gleaming even in the storm’s dim light.
An army that stretched as far as his failing vision could see.
’We’re...’
The thought died before it could form.
BOOM
Krazgor’s fist slammed into the barrier dome, the barrier cracked further, entire sections splintering like glass.
"Time to end this farce, Commander."
BOOM
Another strike, harder this time.
More cracks spread, the translucent shield beginning to cave inward.
’No...’
Reeves poured more Aura into the barrier, his body shaking from the strain.
’The exit is so close... We’re so close to safety! Just a little bit more! If I can hold for just another minute, if someone comes through that portal–’
"Papa..."
The small voice cut through Reeves’ desperate thoughts like a knife.
His head snapped around, finding his daughter in his wife’s arms, both of them huddled among the other survivors.
The little girl’s face was streaked with tears and rain, but she was... smiling.
"It’s okay, Papa. You tried your best."
The words hit harder than any giant’s fist could.
"Commander..."
An elderly man’s voice emerged from the group, weathered and accepting.
"You did everything you could. We all know that. We’re grateful for the extra time you gave us."
"My family got to say goodbye because of you."
A woman’s voice this time, steady despite the tears.
"We saw our children one more time. That’s more than most people get."
More voices joined in, overlapping, each one carrying gratitude that felt wrong somehow, felt like giving up.
"Thank you, Commander."
"It was enough."
"You were enough."
"Major General..."
The voice came from beside him, one of his surviving soldiers, a young lieutenant who’d been with him since the portal’s fall.
Blood ran from a gash across the boy’s forehead, mixing with rain and mud.
"It was an honor to serve under your command."
The other kneeling soldiers echoed the sentiment, their voices rough but sincere.
"An honor, sir."
"Till the end."
"We follow you even into death."
Tears ran down Reeves’ face, mixing with the rain running down his face.
His vision blurred, the barrier’s glow becoming indistinct.
’Is it... is it really over?’
His thoughts came hollow and distant.
’Will no one come to save us? After everything, after all this fighting, is this where it ends?’
His remaining hand trembled against the ground, Aura flickering as his concentration wavered.
’I failed them! Failed my daughter, my wife, my soldiers, all these people who trusted me to get them home!’
CRACK
The barrier shattered completely, pieces of translucent energy dissolving into nothing.
"Goodbye, Commander Reeves."
Krazgor’s massive fist descended, blotting out what little light filtered through the storm clouds.
Reeves’ eyes closed, his body too broken to even try dodging.
’I’m sorry, sweetheart...’
The thought went out to his daughter, to her small face and trusting smile.
’Daddy is useless.’
The fist kept falling faster and closer.
And just as he waited for his death–
WHOOSH
–A sound cut through the rain, sharp and sudden.
BAM
Then impact, metal on metal, the collision creating a shockwave that blasted rainwater away in a perfect circle.
Reeves’ eyes snapped open.
And standing directly in front of him, back turned, was a figure in black armor.
Two massive curved horns extended from the helmet, raindrops sizzling against the dark surface.
One hand was raised, palm open, blocking Krazgor’s descending fist and holding it motionless despite the size difference.
The other hand gripped an axe, the weapon’s blade resting against the figure’s shoulder.
’Who–’
Reeves’s thoughts stuttered, unable to process what he was seeing.
Then a voice emerged from behind the black helmet, distorted slightly but carrying absolute authority.
"Soldiers of the Federation."
The words cut across the rain like a blade.
"Escort the civilians back home."
Before anyone could react, before anyone could even breathe–
WHOOSH
Invisible force wrapped around every survivor simultaneously, lifting them off the ground with perfect control.
Reeves felt it grab him, felt the sensation of flying as he was moved faster than his eyes could track.
One heartbeat they were hundreds of meters away from the portal.
The next they were standing directly in front of it, the dimensional barrier shimmering an arm’s length away.
Krazgor’s other hand had been moving to intercept them, massive fingers closing to crush.
But they arrived before he could react, the telekinetic movement too fast to stop.
Stunned silence fell across the entire battlefield.
Then whispers exploded through the survivor group.
"We... are we saved?"
"Just like that?"
"Who is he?! Who is the savior?!"
"Is he a Chief Inquisitor?"
"I’ve never seen armor like that..."
"Did you see him catch that punch?!"
Reeves finally found his voice, his training kicking in despite the impossibility of what had just happened.
"MOVE! GET THE CIVILIANS THROUGH THE PORTAL NOW!"
His shout broke the trance, soldiers and civilians surging forward toward the exit.
But even as he pushed his men to evacuate, even as parents carried their children toward safety, Reeves’s head turned back.
The armored figure remained standing exactly where they’d left him, facing Krazgor alone.
Behind the giant, the approaching army was getting closer, their war cries audible now over the rain.
’He... does he plan to–’
Horror crashed through Reeves’s chest.
"WARRIOR!"
His voice tore across the distance.
"HURRY UP! WE NEED TO LEAVE QUICKLY!"
The rain hammered down between them.
"THE GIANT ARMY IS ABOUT TO REACH HERE! YOU’LL BE SURROUNDED!"
But the armored figure didn’t move, didn’t turn.
His voice emerged calm and absolute, carrying clearly despite the storm.
"Leave?"
His grip shifted on the axe in his other hand.
"I didn’t come here to just leave."
Slaughter Intent exploded outward from his frame, crimson energy blazing around him like flames.
"I came here for war."
And the last thing Reeves saw before his subordinates pulled him through the portal–
–was a two-meter-tall figure standing against an army of thousands, the young chief of the Ironjaw tribe rising to his full forty-meter height, and Slaughter Intent painting the rain crimson.
Then the portal swallowed him, and everything went white.
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