Nathan drew Moonlight as the party formed up behind him. Mirko shifted to humanoid form, Dragon’s Fang blazing. Kuro materialized beside her, Silence and Stillness cold and ready. Shiro’s golden eyes burned with dragon fire.

"Darius Fester," Nathan said. "I presume."

The figure on the Oblivion Drake’s back tilted his head. The red seams of his suit caught the dim light.

"You presume correctly."

The Oblivion Drake opened its mouth and roared, the sound shattered the sky.

It was not a sound that belonged to the natural world. It was deeper than thunder, a vibration that sank into Nathan’s bones and made his teeth ache. The red sky above the foothills dimmed, as if the creature was absorbing the light itself, and the air around it grew so cold that frost formed on the scorched earth.

And then the legion emerged.

They came from the shadows behind Darius Fester.

Corrupted Hounds with too many limbs, their bodies swollen and twisted, dark veins pulsing beneath their cracked skin. Giant Hawks with too many eyes, each one blinking on its own, their scaled feathers glowing with a sickly purple light. Serpents with extra heads hissed and snapped at the air. Twisted metal constructs covered in dark, glowing magic moved with bent and unnatural bodies.

And there were more behind them.

Dozens. Hundreds.

A huge wave of corruption stretched across the foothills, making it look like the world itself had been wounded.

Some of the creatures were Court summons that had been strengthened by the same mutation ritual Nathan had seen in the mine. Others had once belonged to Climbers who had fallen during the Cleansing. Their bonds had been broken, and their summons had been corrupted and forced to serve the Dominator.

Now, every one of them obeyed him.

"Impressive, isn’t it?" Fester’s voice carried across the shaking ground. He sounded calm and relaxed despite the huge army behind him. He stood on the Oblivion Drake’s head, one hand resting casually on its ghostly scales. His dark suit, marked with red lines, moved in a wind that no one else could feel.

"Every summon I take, every creature I control, becomes part of my army. The Cleansing has been very good to me, Bunny King. So many Climbers. So many summons. So much material for the new world."

Nathan’s [Hunter’s Insight] scanned the horde, and his stomach sank when he saw the numbers.

Fifty. A hundred. Maybe more.

The army stretched far into the shadows, growing larger as more creatures came from the badlands—wild monsters, corrupted beasts, and the remains of the Towers that had fallen in the eastern sector.

Fester wasn’t just commanding an army.

He was creating one.

Every creature within his reach could be taken, controlled, and sent into battle.

"Formation!" Nathan shouted, keeping his voice steady despite the fear building inside him. "Defensive! Don’t let them surround us!"

The party closed ranks. Mirko activated [Impenetrable Fortress], the green barrier blazing to life around them. Garrett and Red anchored the front, Volcan’s molten veins pulsing with heat. Dillon and Cloudy took the air, static crackling. Elise raised Aurora’s Heart, the Frost Golem looming behind her. Shiro’s golden eyes blazed. Kuro’s daggers gleamed.

"Kill them," Fester said, and the legion attacked.

---

The first wave was a terrifying mass of teeth and corruption.

Mirko charged forward to meet them, Dragon’s Fang burning brightly. The sword cut through a Corrupted Hound’s skull, and the creature turned to ash. She quickly turned and used [Aegis Strike], sending a crescent of green-and-gold fire through the enemies and knocking three more away.

"Hmph! There are many of you, but you are weak! This Knight has fought true dragons! You are nothing but vermin who think you are powerful!"

Shiro moved like a golden flash. [Dragon King’s Ascension] carried her through the horde, leaving dragon-shaped afterimages that confused the corrupted creatures. She reached a group of serpents and used [Tyrant Dragon Fist]—KRAK-BOOOOOM!

A huge spectral dragon head appeared around her fist. The shockwave smashed through the serpents, breaking their bodies apart and sending their corrupted limbs flying.

"The Young Lord’s enemies will fall before the dragon’s fire! I swear it!"

Garrett and Red held the center. Volcan erupted against a Corrupted Construct’s chest—KRAK-BOOM—the thermal pulse melting twisted metal. Red’s horns caught a Hound mid-lunge, and Garrett’s [Impact Strike] crushed its skull. "Keep them off the mages! Don’t let them break the line!"

Dillon and Cloudy owned the sky. Cloudy’s static discharge arced across the Giant Hawks—CRACKLE-BOOM—frying their corrupted feathers. Dillon’s [Thunder Edge] carved through another, his Storm Striders carrying him through the aerial chaos. "There’s too many of them! Every time we kill one, two more take its place!"

Elise froze the flanks. [Glacial Lance] punched through a cluster of mutated serpents—CRRRRACK—ice spreading across their corrupted bodies. The Frost Golem waded into the frozen creatures, shattering them. "The frost is holding, but barely! We can’t keep this up forever!"

Kuro moved through the shadows. [Invisibility] carried her past the front line, into the heart of the horde. Silence and Stillness flashed—SHINK-SHINK—and corrupted creatures fell, their bodies locked rigid by the Imoogi Scale’s paralytic energy. But for every creature she killed, three more surged forward.

Nathan fired [Starfall Barrage] into the densest cluster. A single arrow ascended, split into dozens of celestial projectiles, and rained down on the horde. Silver light erupted across the foothills, and dozens of corrupted creatures dissolved. But the gap filled almost instantly.

The legion was endless. Fester wasn’t just commanding them—he was replenishing them, dominating new creatures from the badlands and throwing them into the fray faster than the party could kill them.

"The Dominator class," Elise called, her voice tight. "It lets him seize control of any creature. Any summon. He’s turning the local wildlife into weapons. Every monster in the badlands is a potential soldier."

"Then we stop him at the source," Nathan said. "We take out Fester."

"Easier said than done," Dillon muttered. "He’s standing on a dragon the size of a skyscraper."

Nathan marked Fester with [Death’s Homing Compass]. The silver sigil appeared over the Dominator’s heart. He fired. The arrow curved through the air, weaving between corrupted creatures, homing in on its target—

But Fester caught it.

His hand moved faster than Nathan’s [Hunter’s Insight] could track, plucking the arrow from the air like a child catching a toy. The silver sigil flickered and died. Fester examined the arrow for a moment, then crushed it in his fist.

"A homing skill. Clever. But not clever enough." He dropped the fragments. "Let me show you what true power looks like, Bunny King."

He raised his hand. And his pale eyes fixed on Mirko.

---

The cold pressure hit the link like a blade.

Nathan felt it—a foreign will reaching through the bond, wrapping around Mirko’s consciousness like tendrils of ice. It was invasive, violating, a violation of everything the summon bond was supposed to be. The Dominator’s ability, turned on his first summon.

"A D-Rank Bunny hunoind with knight class Capabilities." Fester’s voice was almost admiring. "Impressive summon. Strong. Loyal. The kind of summon that would make a fine addition to my army." His pale eyes gleamed. "And summons belong to me."

The pressure intensified. Nathan felt Mirko’s presence flicker—not with fear, but with fury. The cold tendrils tried to wrap around her, to sever the golden thread of the bond that connected her to Nathan, to claim her for the Dominator.

"Mirko!" Nathan shouted. "Resist! Fight it!"

Mirko’s eyes blazed with pink fire. She planted her feet, raised Dragon’s fang, and roared.

"Hmph! You think you can control ME?!" Her voice echoed across the battlefield, cutting through the howls of the horde. "I am Mirko, first summon of Master Nathan!, Knight Commander of the Bunny Girls legion! Bearer of The Dragon’s Fang! Seniorest of all Master’s Bunny girls! I am not some mindless beast for you to command! I am not some corrupted creature for you to enslave! I am a Knight! I AM HIS KNIGHT!"

The Bunny Girl System flared.

Nathan felt it—the golden light of the System rising through the link, wrapping around Mirko like a shield. The bond that connected them, forged in the summoning circle at graduation, strengthened through every battle, deepened through every victory and every loss—that bond blazed with light. It was not merely a magical contract. It was a promise. A partnership. A family.

The Dominator’s dark tendrils touched that golden light... and shattered.

Fester recoiled. His hand dropped, and something like genuine surprise crossed his shadowed features. "What? That’s not possible. A summon cannot resist my control. A D-Rank summon cannot—"

"Hmph! This summon CAN! This summon HAS!" Mirko raised Dragon’s Fang, the blade’s flame edge blazing brighter than ever. "Your power is useless against the Bunny Girl Legion! And now, you will learn that trying to control this Knight was the worst mistake you have ever made!"

She charged forward as Fester’s composure cracked.

The Dominator’s surprise quickly turned into anger.

But it was not the loud, explosive anger of someone losing his temper. It was colder than that—a deep and powerful fury burning behind his pale eyes. His arrogance and calm confidence disappeared, replaced by something dark and frightening. Nathan could feel the pressure coming from Fester, making the air around them tremble.

"Interesting."

Fester’s voice was soft, but everyone on the battlefield could hear him.

"That link of yours is more than just a strange way of summoning creatures. It’s protecting them. It’s stopping me from controlling them. The bond between you and your summons is... different. Stronger. Almost like you’re equals."

His eyes narrowed.

"That makes you more dangerous than I thought. And much more valuable."

He raised both hands.

The Oblivion Drake descended from the red sky, opening its huge void-filled mouth. The legion charged forward with even greater force. Fester then stepped off the Drake’s head and landed on the burned ground as lightly as a falling shadow.

"Let’s see how long your defiance lasts, Bunny King."

The real battle began and the party was surrounded.

The legion attacked from every direction. Corrupted creatures howled, mutated summons shrieked, and Fester’s endless army closed in around them like a trap. The Oblivion Drake descended from above, its huge spectral body covering the red sky. Its strange eyes remained fixed on the party, filled with an ancient hunger.

The cold coming from the creature was so strong that Nathan’s Winterhart cloak, which had somehow remained functional until now, began to flicker under the pressure.

And Fester himself was advancing. His dark suit rippled like living shadow. His pale eyes burned with cold fury. The Dominator had entered the battle personally, and Nathan could feel the weight of his power pressing down on them like a physical force.

"We’re surrounded," Garrett said. His voice was strained, Volcan’s molten veins pulsing erratically. "We can’t hold this line forever."

"Any ideas?" Dillon asked. Cloudy was coiled around his shoulders, her scales dim with exhaustion. "Because I’m running out of clever things to say."

Nathan stood at the center of his party, Moonlight in his hand, with his three summons around him. Mirko was breathing heavily, Dragon’s Fang still burning in her hand. Kuro’s daggers were covered in corrupted blood. Shiro’s golden eyes were starting to lose their brightness.

They were exhausted, injured, and outnumbered a hundred to one.

But they were not defeated.

"Fight," Nathan said. "Survive. Wait for an opening."

"That’s not a plan!" Dillon shouted.

"It’s the start of one!"

The Oblivion Drake opened its huge void-filled mouth. The entire legion let out a terrifying roar. Fester raised his hand as dark energy gathered around his fingers.

Nathan saw it forming.

The killing blow.

A massive blast of pure Dominator power that could sweep across the foothills and destroy them all.

And then—

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