Elyon City
Deep beneath Elyon City.
Inside a C-rank dungeon.
Arisha and her party were desperately fleeing through a long underground passage. The calm dungeon exploration they had expected had turned into a nightmare.
ROOOOOOAAARRRRRRR!!
A deafening roar echoed behind them. The sound was quickly followed by dozens more.
The monsters were coming. But an entire horde.
"Don’t stop running!" Brenett shouted from the front of the group.
The tall greatsword user tightened his grip around his massive blade while glancing over his shoulder.
"They’re gaining on us!"
The party had entered the dungeon several hours earlier.
Everything had gone according to plan at first.
They had defeated the dungeon’s native monsters one after another while steadily advancing deeper underground.
Then without warning. The ground had split open.
Cracks spread throughout the dungeon floor. From beneath the earth those creatures had emerged.
The same horrifying monsters.
Pale, oily white skin. Long arms ending in black claws. Seven black horns. They simply kept coming.
No matter how many they killed. More climbed out from underground. Realizing they would eventually be overwhelmed...
Brenett had immediately ordered a retreat.
Now the five of them were fighting while running for their lives.
Arisha suddenly glanced backward. The monsters were almost upon them.
She immediately planted one foot firmly against the ground. Her bow was already drawn.
Mana surged into the string.
She released it.
SWISH!!
A single arrow streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning. But it was covered with dense azure mana.
Mid-flight the mana surrounding it exploded.
One arrow became many. More than ten radiant mana arrows spread across the passage before descending upon the charging monsters.
Weapon Art—Sky Hunter.
Second Form: Thousand Feather Rain.
Every arrow flew with deadly precision.
SHRK!
SHRK!
SHRK!
Several monsters had their shoulders pierced. Others were struck through their thighs.
A few were hit directly in the eyes. The barrage briefly slowed the front ranks.
"Keep moving!"
Arisha shouted as she immediately resumed running.
Beside her...
Emma clenched both fists. Brown mana flowed around her gauntlets.
The stone beneath her feet suddenly rose. Chunks of rock wrapped around her fists, forming thick stone armor.
At the same time several pillars of earth erupted from the ground behind them.
BOOM!
The stone pillars blocked the narrow corridor. Several charging monsters slammed directly into them.
The passage collapsed partially, burying a handful of creatures beneath falling rocks.
"It won’t hold them long!"
Emma warned.
"They’re breaking through already!"
As if proving her words the creatures smashed apart the earth pillars with terrifying brute strength.
Behind them Piara raised her wand.
Blue mana circles rapidly appeared around its tip. "Ice Spears!"
More than a dozen icy lances shot backward. They pierced through several monsters before shattering into freezing mist.
The creatures slowed only slightly. Their numbers barely changed.
"Damn it..."
Piara’s breathing had become ragged. Mana exhaustion was beginning to catch up to her.
Ricky remained at the rear of the group. The dual-dagger wielder moved like a shadow. Whenever a monster got too close he instantly appeared before it.
His twin daggers flashed.
Slash!
A creature’s throat split open. He kicked its body backward into the monsters chasing behind it before immediately retreating.
"Move! They’re surrounding us!"
Brenett suddenly stopped. Turning around, he planted his feet firmly against the stone floor.
His enormous greatsword was raised high above his shoulder.
Mana erupted around the blade. With a furious roar.
He swung.
BOOOOOOM!!
A gigantic sword wave tore through the tunnel. The front line of monsters was sent flying.
Several crashed into the walls while others were sliced apart. Yet even that overwhelming attack failed to stop the horde.
Piara, Ricky and Brenett were condensed core rank adventurers. But they were still weak for fighting this many monsters head on.
More creatures climbed over the bodies of their fallen companions. They showed no fear.
No hesitation.
Only hunger.
Brenett clicked his tongue. "...Damn monsters."
He turned immediately.
"Run!"
The five continued sprinting through the dungeon. None of them remained uninjured. A long claw mark stretched across Brenett’s left shoulder, staining his armor with blood.
Arisha’s right forearm bore several fresh cuts from narrowly avoiding a monster’s claws. Her righ forearm had three scratches from those creatures. Blood stream down from it.
Emma’s breathing had become heavy, and blood dripped steadily from a bite wound on her calf.
Piara’s robe was torn across her side, exposing a bleeding gash beneath.
Even Ricky, despite his speed, had several deep scratches across his back where a monster had nearly caught him.
They were exhausted. Their mana was rapidly running dry.
Yet behind them. The horrifying creatures continued pouring through the underground passage without end.
Like an endless tide of nightmares.
For the first time since becoming adventurers. Every member of the party realized the same terrifying truth.
This wasn’t a normal dungeon outbreak. Something far more terrifying had begun.
----
Ebonreach Duchy
At the heart of the Duchy of Ebonreach stood its capital...
Silverbrook City.
The home of House Nightfall.
Normally, its streets bustled with merchants, adventurers, and nobles going about their daily lives. Today it had become a battlefield.
Only a short while earlier without the slightest warning. The earth had shaken violently. Not throughout the entire city only within the bustling commercial district.
At first, the citizens believed it was nothing more than an ordinary earthquake.
Then the ground split apart.
BOOOOOOM!!
A deafening crack echoed across the district. The stone-paved streets ruptured as a gigantic fissure tore through the city.
Buildings tilted.
Roads collapsed.
Market stalls were swallowed whole.
The crack stretched for hundreds of meters, tearing through houses, warehouses, and even the underground utility tunnels beneath the city.
No one could see its bottom.
It disappeared into absolute darkness.
Then aomething climbed out. The first creature emerged from the abyss. An endless stream of pale monsters poured from the underground fissure.
They spread through the city like a flood.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!"
Terrified screams echoed from every direction.
The monsters didn’t hesitate. They attacked anyone they saw.
A merchant tried shielding himself with a wooden cart. One creature ripped straight through it.
Another grabbed him before sinking its grotesque teeth into his shoulder. His scream lasted only seconds. Nearby a mother desperately clutched her young daughter.
"No! Someone help us! Please!"
She tried to run. She never made it. One of the creatures pounced from the side.
Blood splattered across the street. "My child!!"
The mother’s desperate scream echoed through the district. The little girl reached toward her. Before another monster seized her as well.
Children. Elderly people. Merchants. Travelers. None were spared.
Panic spread faster than the monsters themselves. Fortunately the Knights of House Nightfall responded almost immediately.
"Protect the civilians!"
"Evacuate everyone!"
"Move them toward the northern district!"
Groups of black-armored knights rushed through the streets, forming defensive lines between the monsters and fleeing civilians.
City security squads joined them without hesitation.
Magic illuminated the streets. Arrows flew overhead. Swords clashed against claws.
One monster fell.
Three more emerged from the fissure. The numbers simply refused to decrease. It was an endless tide. To make matters worse the city’s strongest protector wasn’t even there.
Duke Lionel Nightfall was still away from Silverbrook.
The responsibility of defending the capital now rested entirely upon the knights. Several rooftops away a shadow rippled silently atop a small stone building overlooking the battlefield.
The darkness expanded. From within it a figure stepped out. A man dressed entirely in black.
Black coat. Black gloves. Black boots. Even a black mask concealed his face. It was Shadow. Standing beside him was Kaelan Nightfall.
The young heir stared at the burning streets below. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"My city..."
His voice trembled.
"They’re killing everyone..."
His eyes followed the countless pale creatures flooding from the enormous fissure.
There were simply too many. Even the Nightfall Knights were slowly being overwhelmed.
Shadow quietly observed the battlefield. Then he sighed.
"Looks like I arrived a little too late."
He glanced sideways at Kaelan.
"I can still save your city. I can stop this before even more innocent people die."
Kaelan immediately turned toward him.
"And what do you want in return?"
Shadow smiled beneath his mask.
"Join me. My organization."
Silence.
Kaelan stared at him.
"So... If I refuse... You won’t help them?"
Shadow laughed.
"Heh. You’re misunderstanding me." He folded his arms. "I’ll help regardless. I have no desire to watch innocent people die."
His gaze returned to the battlefield.
"But... I’d like you to witness my strength with your own eyes. Perhaps then... You’ll truly understand why joining me is the right choice."
Kaelan looked back toward the streets below. Another explosion echoed through the city. More screams followed. He clenched his jaw.
"Fine." His voice was cold. "If you really can save them... I’ll join your organization."
For the first time.
"Good. A wise decision."
Then he added with a chuckle,
"And don’t think you’re getting a free ride."
He looked directly at Kaelan.
"You’re fighting too. You need to train as well and experience how to fight in such situations."
Before Kaelan could respond. Shadow’s own shadow spread rapidly beneath their feet. It swallowed both of them whole.
The rooftop became empty once more. As though neither of them had ever been there. Only the distant screams of Silverbrook continued echoing across the city.
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