Too focused on its target to notice, the whole situation turned around.


    *Bam*


    One bullet pierced its left wing, freezing it in the process.


    *Bam*


    Then, a second one, aimed at its right wing.


    Looking at Eric, who was aiming his gun at it, it shook the ice casing off, feeling an odd wind blowing past its neck.


    Disaster looked past Eric, and witnessed a jarring accumulation of wind behind him.


    There, Kamala was setting up the most powerful attack she could muster. Surrounded by violent gusts of wind, she stood resolutely alongside May.


    Sand gathered at her right arm, spreading on both sides in large arcs. Four arcs, creating a cross-shaped weapon with her wrist at the center, grew larger in record time.


    The two lower arcs pierced the ground, stabilizing her position. Strings of sand linked each sand arc, before fine grains of sand merged on a single point.


    May peered at the long stick of sand, lifting her hand toward it. A sphere of fire appeared in front of it, transforming shortly into the blazing tip of an arrow.


    Kamala pulled on the strings and aimed at Disaster, which was dealing with the ice magic Eric kept firing at it.


    "Eat this!"


    Hearing the creaking of the strings, Kamala released them, creating a blast of wind behind it, pushing the arrow even faster toward its target.


    The arrow split the air in half, as it met with the Corrupted Lord in the blink of an eye.


    Her improvised heavy bow crumbled into grains of sand as she fell forward, barely catching herself before losing consciousness.


    Having used the entirety of their magic energy, both her and May fell to the ground sweating pea-sized beads of sweat.


    Gasping for air, they never looked away for a single second, as the tip of the arrow entered Disaster''s chest.


    *Fush*


    Fire instantly consumed the corrupted from within, while the stick of the arrow shattered into sand particles, piercing its entire body.


    *KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*


    The screams of agony of the corrupted filled the battlefield, while its body burned radiantly.


    "We still have much to learn."


    Eric aimed his revolver at the bird, and closed his eyes.


    "But..."


    Opening his eyes, he glared with the rage of humans.


    "Don''t underestimate the tenacity of our faction!"


    *Bam*


    Focusing larger amounts of magic into the gun, he fired a concentrated ice bullet that pierced the wound of his enemy.


    Instantaneously, the fire froze, while Disaster turned into an ice sculpture itself.


    Rapidly dropping toward the ground, the ice cracked, before shattering completely the moment they met.


    The three finally breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the shards of ice explode into even smaller pieces.


    Disaster was no more, reduced into powdered snow.


    The battlefield became silent, until the screams of joy of the soldiers echoed from a distance behind them.


    Eric, Kamala, and May all looked at each other, and smiled. Until the two women fell unconscious, their faces first into the ashes.


    "No wonder."


    With a smile, Eric sat next to them, waiting for the others to come help.


    Fire burned brightly around the three, turning parts of the sky red from the heat. Yet, it was the only time Eric noticed such a beautiful display.


    He was too preoccupied by the enemy to notice the surrounding battlefield. As he glanced everywhere, he saw the aftermath of this battle.


    Craters ranging from five to ten meters wide, fire spreading everywhere, unrecognizable burnt corpses, large rock formations created by Eric.


    Massive openings in the earth caused by May that were still burning an orange fire, different from the flames created by Disaster''s explosions.


    Only then, Eric looked at his arm. Touching the throbbing pain that Florian managed to alleviate, he winced.


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    "Damn. The adrenaline is wearing off."


    Simply by feeling the pain return did he confirm that it had ended for real. His instinct was at peace, proving that the Corrupted Lord perished at last.


    He turned his head over his shoulder, hearing the sounds of metal rapidly approach. Footsteps echoed across the battlefield, before the men of Eric''s army appeared in sight.


    Kamala''s men stayed with Florian, while Florian''s men checked the battlefield for any surviving beast.


    Eric, Kamala, and May all were brought to base, where they managed to get their well-deserved rest.


    Florian, even injured, continued to order the men and women of the joint armies, cleaning up as a result.


    ~


    Far east, three beastmen stood menacingly in front of numerous Corrupted Lords.


    "Dylan..."


    "..."


    With a faint smile, he glanced at Eliza.


    "Is that a flying rat?"


    From the fifteen corrupted beasts, only one managed to surprise the woman. A gray rat the size of a horse, with wings.


    Trying to contain his laughter at her shock, Dylan looked away while placing a hand to his mouth.


    "Dad. Don''t laugh."


    "I-I''m not!"


    From his shadow, he saw two piercing eyes that were his son''s. Nylon parted ways with his shadow after talking to him, moving in serpentine movements from shadow to shadow.


    While Dylan did his best to avoid the gaze of his wife, Nylon emerged from the shadows, grabbed the rat by the throat from under, and pulled it into the shadows.


    "That''s impressive..."


    Watching her son''s prowess firsthand made Eliza blurt out those words unconsciously, which activated Dylan''s need to impress her too.


    As his claws stretched from his fingers, the rat''s head flew out of the shadow, detached from the rest of its body. Following it, a dark core flew out, shattering in the air. As Nylon left for another target, the lower body stayed behind, vanishing into dust.


    "You want some impressive actions? I''ll give you some!"


    Dylan ran toward a gray bear with a terrifying smile.


    "Are you seriously jealous of your son?"


    With a smirk, she stretched her arms above her, before suddenly crouching, avoiding a large rock flying toward her.


    "I guess you''re my opponent? Don''t break too fast, alright?"


    "It''s been quite some time since I''ve fought seriously."


    Eliza glared at a creature that looked like a meerkat with porcupine spikes on its back.


    It bared its teeth at her before launching another boulder that was created instantly.


    "So..."


    Clenching her fist with enough strength to shatter someone''s bone, she punched at the boulder.


    "I''m not sure whether I''ll be able to contain my strength."


    Immediately after, she rushed toward the corrupted, and savagely ripped it head off with her bare hands.


    Proceeding to kick it away, she destroyed the core inside its chest, dispatching the second Corrupted Lord.


    "They''re weak..."


    She said as she looked for another victim. Without looking, she lifted her arm above her chest, catching the detached arm of a gray bear.


    "Watch where you''re throwing things."


    While throwing it on the ground, she glanced at her husband, punching the face of the bear inside its body with both fists, creating a loud noise of bones breaking.


    Dylan proceeded to pierce the chest of his opponent with his claws, opening it like a stuffed animal. There, he saw the glistening black core, and crushed it without giving it a second thought.


    Falling backward, the bear vanished into dust without being able to lift a finger.


    "Sorry. Didn''t mean to."


    He shrugged while smiling at her.


    "You''re having fun, aren''t you?"


    "Is it that obvious?"


    Seeing the grin on his face, Eliza nodded.


    "You should see yours then."


    A gray tiger suddenly jumped at him from the side, catching his attention. It had long fangs, and a long tail.


    Eliza touched her face as she watched Dylan grab the tiger''s fangs with both hands, and enter a brawl with it.


    ''I really am smiling...''


    Feeling the curve of her lips with her fingers, she thought.


    ''I''ve really missed being healthy enough to move around.''


    A rolling ball of water crashed on her as she reflected upon her recovery.


    "Can''t you see I''m thinking?"


    The muscles on her arms bulged, as she lifted the large creature. The rolling beast covered in water magic looked similar to a pangolin, but it wasn''t relevant, as she slammed it into the ground, bursting the cores with one attack.


    Looking at the cracked ground, she cracked her neck.


    "That''s what you get for bothering a thinking lady."


    *Crack*


    Glancing at the side, she saw Dylan snap the neck of the tiger, and pull it off its shoulders. With the core being on its forehead, he crushed it under his foot, killing the tiger completely.


    Further into their ranks, Nylon was ruthlessly eradicating their ranks. Out of the fifteen, Dylan and Eliza killed two each, while Nylon was fighting his fifth corrupted beast.


    He emerged from the shadows out of nowhere, dark claws wrapped around his hands. With a lightning fast movement, he warped across the lizard standing on its hind legs, and slashed it to pieces.


    The core revealed itself, already slit. Bursting into dust, another corrupted fell in front of Nylon.


    ''Helping Elliott was a blessing in disguise.''


    He was thankful for the opportunity to have fought alongside Elliott now that he was in front of regular corrupted.


    Even if they were Corrupted Lords, able to use magic, they were far weaker than the original monsters from eons ago.


    Not only were they weaker, but they were simpler. With a single glance, Nylon was able to gather the exact place of the core inside their body.


    It could be from a simple bulge on one part of the body, or a place the opponent covered unconsciously.


    But ultimately, all was meaningless in front of his evolved strength. The Umbral Wolf on another level entirely.


    While his parents dealt with the ones trying to create a path through them, he slowly lowered their number.


    Before long, the last one fell without leaving a single scratch on the three beastmen.


    "Is everyone alright?"


    Nylon walked out of a shadow behind a tree, asking his parents an obvious question.


    "We''re fine. What about you?"


    Wiping off the dust on his arm, Dylan glanced at his son, feeling proud of him.


    His instinct kicked in as he sensed someone enter his blind spot. Everything moved slowly, as he turned his head.


    Two arms wrapped themselves around his neck, before time returned to normal.


    "You were so incredible! I never knew my son was this strong."


    Feeling his mother''s cheek rubbing against his, he smiled powerlessly.


    "Thank you, mom. Without you, it would have been harder to protect the village."


    "Aww~"


    With a faint smile, Dylan looked at his family.


    Yet, someone else appeared in his mind.


    ''Orion... I hope you are alright.''


    Seeing his father''s frown, Nylon understood to whom his worries were directed toward. In his heart, he was also incredibly worried about his brother.


    Eliza too. In a corner of her heart, she wanted to help her other son, the one who freed her from constant pain.


    With the dangerous beasts threatening Logran removed, most of the problems in Triazils were resolved.


    Only Olivia, who was perfecting her magic to help a creature of the sea, and the outbreak of corrupted humans, being contained by the two dragons Monolavir and Ruminona, remained.


    The battles in Horizon were about to become the main focus of the war, where the most powerful individuals of both parties met each others.


    Dramia and Drania against the last cloaked figure, Pierre.


    Senia and the sirens against Dony.


    Karteira against the tainted knight Lucas.


    And Elliott, facing his father, Miasma, wearing the appearance of the Apostle Layla.


    The only one watching everything unfold from a distance, Orion, waited for his moment to enter the scene.