.
.
.
•
Another notification echoed.
[Summon, Alzuring has sustained serious injuries and has been rendered unconscious. He has been sent to the mindspace for recovery.]
Ju’Nero was a blur as he closed the distance between himself and Alister in an instant.
His massive hand clamped around Alister’s throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. Alister’s feet kicked uselessly in the air as his claws instinctively lashed out. The razor-sharp talons sliced through Ju’Nero’s flesh, leaving gashes that oozed dark, viscous blood.
But the wounds were shallow, barely an inconvenience to the monstrous wolf-man.
With each desperate slash, Ju’Nero’s grip tightened, his claws digging into Alister’s neck, cutting off his air and sending waves of pain coursing through his body.
In the distance, two battered and bloodied figures stirred. Draven, his armor shattered and cracked, pushed himself up with trembling arms. He took his hand off his wound and tossed his helmet aside, revealing his black hair, purple eyes, and mouth dripping with blood. Mar’Garet, her aura now dim, staggered to her feet, her expression twisted with fury and desperation.
“Unhand our Lord, you bastard!”
Mar’Garet’s voice was a feral snarl. Blood trickled from a gash above her brow, mixing with the sand beneath her feet as she leaned heavily on her spear for support.
Draven, his voice weaker but no less intense, spoke as well. “Let him go, foul beast!” Ju’Nero’s head snapped toward them, his crimson eyes blazing. “SILENCE,” he growled. Despite their injuries, Mar’Garet and Draven began to move toward him. Mar’Garet’s teeth clenched as she forced her body forward, her muscles screaming in protest with every step. Draven followed, his pace slower but equally determined.
Ju’Nero clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Annoying,” he muttered.
Without releasing his grip on Alister, he surged forward with a sudden burst of speed. In a flash, he was in front of Mar’Garet. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could react, his foot shot out, connecting with her abdomen. The force of the kick sent her crashing to the ground, the impact driving the air from her lungs.
She gasped, struggling to rise, but Ju’Nero gave her no moment to recover. He raised his foot and brought it down with brutal force, the sound of the impact echoing across the desolate desert. Blood sprayed from her mouth as his boot crushed into her ribs, the sickening crunch of bone reverberating in the air.
“Stay down,” he said coldly, but there was no mercy in his tone.
Mar’Garet’s defiant glare never wavered. Even as her vision blurred and her strength waned, she spat blood and growled through clenched teeth. Ju’Nero responded with another stomp, this time targeting her head. Her skull rebounded against the unforgiving ground, and blood spattered like a grotesque spray of crimson paint.
Draven’s anguished cries filled the air as he dragged himself toward her, his body shaking with effort. “Mar’Garet! No!”
But Ju’Nero was relentless. He continued to stomp, each blow more savage than the last, until Mar’Garet’s body went limp. The desert floor was slick with her blood, and her battered form began to shimmer faintly. A soft, golden light enveloped her as a system notification flashed in the corner of Alister’s fading vision:
[Summon, Mar’Garet has sustained critical injuries and has been rendered unconscious. Her body has been sent to the mindspace to regenerate.]
Her form dissolved into particles of light, scattering into the air like fireflies in the night. The desert was silent for a moment, except for the faint hum of the unknown system notification, which persisted, growing louder and climbing steadily:
[-??- has increased by… 93%… 94%… 95%…]
Ju’Nero’s lips curled into a twisted smile. “Pathetic,” he sneered, turning his gaze back to Alister, who still struggled weakly in his grip. The light in Alister’s eyes dimmed as consciousness threatened to slip away. The system’s notifications were the only sound grounding him in the nightmare unfolding around him.
Draven’s vision blurred as blood trickled from the deep wound on his abdomen, pooling beneath him. His breaths were ragged, each inhale feeling like fire searing through his lungs. But the sight of Mar’Garet’s crumpled form and the relentless grip Ju’Nero maintained on Lord Alister fueled his resolve.
With a shaky hand, his fingers tightened around the hilt of his greatsword. A surge of pain shot through him, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. His purple eyes crackled with lightning.
Taking a battle stance, Draven inhaled deeply, steadying his trembling limbs. His voice echoed across the desert as he yelled:
“Valor-Void Sword Art,” he called out, his blade trembling as dark mana surged through it, crackling with arcs of violet lightning. “16th Form: Thunder Judgement!”
Summoning every ounce of strength, Draven launched himself forward with a burst of speed, the ground cracking beneath his feet. Lightning trailed behind him as he closed the gap between him and Ju’Nero, his sword a blur.
Ju’Nero’s expression twisted into a sneer. He waited until the last possible moment, then raised his massive paw. With a casual motion, he caught the blade mid-swing, his claws clamping down on the crackling steel. Sparks flew as the blade trembled in his grip, but Ju’Nero’s strength was overwhelming.
“Impressive effort,” he mocked.
With a sickening crunch, Ju’Nero tightened his grip, and the sword shattered into jagged pieces. Before Draven could react, Ju’Nero snatched a shard of the broken blade, its edges glinting in his crimson ether aura.
“Let me show you how a weapon should be used,” Ju’Nero growled.
He drove the shard into Draven’s already wounded abdomen. Draven’s eyes widened in shock as blood erupted from the wound, staining the jagged shard and Ju’Nero’s claws.
The next moment, Ju’Nero’s leg shot out, connecting with Draven’s midsection. The force of the kick unleashed a shockwave, propelling Draven backward with devastating speed.
His body slammed through multiple rock formations, each impact sending fragments of stone flying. The echoes of destruction filled the air until Draven’s body finally came to a stop, sprawled amidst the debris.
A system notification rang out again.
[Summon, Draven, has sustained critical injuries and has been rendered unconscious. His body has been sent to the mindspace to regenerate.]
Draven’s shattered sword, fragmented armor, and unconscious body began to dissolve, golden particles of light rising into the air like mournful fireflies.
Ju’Nero wiped the bloodied shard on his fur, tossing it aside with a bored expression. His gaze returned to Alister, who still dangled in his grip, barely clinging to consciousness.
The unknown system notification persisted, its rhythmic hum growing louder, climbing
steadily… At this point, Alister could hear it:
[-??- has increased by… 96%… 97%…]
Ju’Nero’s glowing crimson eyes shifted back to Alister, his lips curling into a grim smile. His
voice carried an unsettling calm as he spoke.
“Now that all the pests are gone, we can finally chat in peace.”
The towering wolf-man’s gaze hardened, a shadow of menace sweeping across his expression. He tilted his head slightly, his claws glinting under the desert sun.
“Now, hand over that item,” he demanded. “Else I’ll be sending you to join your lizard friends
in the afterlife.”
Alister dangled limply in Ju’Nero’s grip, his breaths shallow and ragged. The system
notifications blinked incessantly in his mind, warning him:
[Warning to the player: HP dangerously low!]
[15/100%]
[Further damage taken would eventually lead to death!]
Blood dripped steadily from the gashes in his neck and abdomen, pooling beneath him and
staining Ju’Nero’s claws.
Ju’Nero’s expression twisted in frustration as Alister remained unresponsive.
“I said ANSWER ME!” Ju’Nero roared, his patience snapping like a thread.
Without hesitation, he drove his claws deep into Alister’s abdomen, shattering his scales and piercing flesh and muscle. Alister’s body convulsed, but he uttered no sound.
Ju’Nero’s claws twisted inside the wound, the pain shooting through Alister like lightning, yet his lips remained sealed, his gaze distant and unreadable.
“You dare defy me?!” Ju’Nero snarled, his voice edged with his building fury.
He released Alister’s neck, letting his limp form drop momentarily before seizing him by the tail. With monstrous strength, Ju’Nero swung Alister around like a ragdoll, slamming him mercilessly into the earth. The impact left craters in the desert floor, the force reverberating
like thunder.
Blood erupted from Alister’s mouth, splattering the ground as Ju’Nero lifted and slammed
him again and again… and again…
Repeatedly…
Sending shockwaves across the battlefield, each impact wrenched gasps of pain from Alister’s
broken body, but he still refused to answer.
“Where is it?!” Ju’Nero roared, his voice a thunderclap of rage. “Give me that item NOW!”
In the distance, amidst the rubble and blood-soaked sands, there was a faint stir of movement. Cinder, her massive dragon body, managed to lift her head. Her vision was hazy, her thoughts sluggish, but she saw it clearly-the harrowing sight of her lord being treated like a plaything.
Her lips quivered, and a whisper, barely audible, escaped.
“My lord… I… I’ve failed you…” Her voice cracked, tears streaming down her face. “Forgive
me…”
Ju’Nero continued his savage assault, slamming Alister into the ground over and over. The monstrous wolf-man’s frustration only grew as Alister’s silence persisted.
[Warning to the player: HP dangerously low!]
[5/100%
In Alister’s mind, amidst the fog of pain and the chaos of the system notifications, his
thoughts raced.
‘I began to think myself invincible…’
‘As I recovered my memories, I began to regain my pride, my radiance, my skill, my power…’
‘I was determined… I was unstoppable.’
‘Yet, after all I’ve been through… Is this it?’
‘Is this my limit?’
‘Is this really where I meet my end?’
The haunting questions echoed in his mind.
But then, something else echoed…
[-??- Has reached 100%.]
[-??- Has been identified as: The Undoing of the Soul Seal!]
[Warning! To the player: A presence besides a summon has entered the mindspace!]
Suddenly, in the depths of Alister’s mind, he heard a voice speak to him, one that belonged
neither to his summons nor the system…
‘Imagine dying at the hands of such a painfully weak creature.’
‘Your failures never fail to surprise me… Brother.’