A chorus of loud screeches tore through the night, shaking the stillness of The Fang. Kazel, who had been quietly enjoying the moonlight atop the curved roof, furrowed his brows. In the silver gleam of the full moon, he saw them—shadows stretching across the sky in a long, undulating line. Their wings beat in rhythm, countless in number.
Juvenile Ice Rocs.
Their glistening feathers shimmered faintly with frost as they moved in a great, loose formation across the sky. Though individually weak, the sheer volume of them made for a haunting spectacle.
Kazel didn't draw his weapon. His arms remained crossed as his gaze sharpened.
"Kazel!" Saya's voice cut through the night as she dashed into the courtyard, her expression tense.
"I see them," Kazel said, not looking at her. "Are we under attack?"
"They're juvenile Ice Rocs," said Saya, stepping beside him. "It's migration season. They're not a real threat, but the numbers can cause chaos."
"Ice Rocs…" Kazel narrowed his eyes. "Spirit Beasts?"
"Yeah, common aerial ones. Not dangerous alone, but when they come in flocks like this, they can disrupt sect formations, especially weaker sects."
Then, on the tallest tower in the Curved Blade Sect's line of sight, a figure stood poised. A woman in a snow-white robe, her presence commanding yet calm. She raised her hand, signaling the archers behind her. Her gaze swept the sky—then briefly flicked toward the Curved Blade Sect's rooftops.
Her eyes caught Kazel's silhouette. Her expression shifted, brows subtly furrowing as if in recognition or surprise.
Then, she turned sharply back to the incoming swarm.
"Prepare to fire," she commanded, her voice crisp despite the distance.
A magnificent bow materialized in her hand, a creation of soul energy—elegant in icy patterns of white and brave blue, humming with restraint.
"Fire!"
The sky erupted into bursts of light—arrows made of soul energy flared like fireworks, painting streaks across the darkness. One after another, the Ice Rocs shrieked in pain, their wings folding as they plummeted from the sky in a hail of feathers and frost. Their numbers thinned rapidly.
But then, a deeper screech echoed above the rest—a cry heavier, more resonant.
A larger figure cut through the formation. Its wingspan doubled the others, its eyes glinting with intelligence and defiance. It flapped harder, resisting the chaos, letting out a thundering shriek as if rallying the remnants of its flock.
"Elder Juni," one of the archers on the tower called out, urgency creeping into his voice.
"Leave it to me," the woman in the snow robe replied calmly.
From her back, a majestic Silver Ram spirit beast flared into manifestation—its horns gleaming like moonlit blades, its body outlined with flowing, glacial energy. The very air around her shifted.
Elder Juni nocked a single arrow. She drew it back slowly. Her lips parted.
"Starshot."
The moment she released it, a shockwave burst outward, rustling the robes and hair of every archer on the tower. The arrow left a trail of silver light in its wake, arcing through the sky with terrifying precision.
It struck the large Roc clean through its chest.
The beast let out one final cry before its wings collapsed, and it tumbled from the sky, crashing into the forest beyond with a distant, muffled thud.
The remaining Rocs scattered, their formation broken, fear overwhelming instinct.
"Good work, everyone," said Elder Juni, her voice steady but reserved. She turned, her snow-white robe catching the moonlight, and her gaze locked briefly on Kazel in the distance.
Then, her ears twitched.
A faint sound—thunk—echoed up the tower from below. Something had struck the stone.
"What is that?" an archer asked, stepping forward, peering into the darkness.
Whoosh—!A thin streak cut through the air.
Juni's head turned fast—but not fast enough. A sharp, freezing pain traced her cheek. Blood mixed with frost bloomed as a small gash opened, thin and icy.
She blinked. Her pupils narrowed.
The object embedded itself in a neighboring tower wall with a low shhk, releasing a pale white mist that hissed against the stone.
Her voice boomed, sharp with authority."Everyone, get down—!"
Then came the storm.
From the black veil of the treeline, dozens of ice shards shot through the air like bullets. Their speed broke the sound of the night—ripping the silence into panic.
Thhkk!One archer's face exploded in a spray of red and ice as a shard tore through his skull.
Crack!Another screamed—a woman—as her hand was torn clean off by a glancing shard. She collapsed behind the battlement, howling in agony as she clutched the bleeding stump.
The tower trembled under the sudden barrage.
Meanwhile, down below, Saya's breath caught in her throat. Her voice was barely a whisper."W-What's going on…?"
Her hands clenched. Her eyes darted to Kazel.
And above, in the moonlit sky, the night no longer looked like a migration.
It looked like a calculated assault.
"Shit!" Juni cursed under her breath. She could feel it—the tremble of the tower beneath her boots, dust shaking loose from cracks along the stone. It wouldn't hold if the barrage resumed.
But then… silence.
The screaming wind stopped.
"It stopped…" Saya muttered from below, breathless.
"Yes," Kazel replied, his eyes narrowed, voice calm—but low with certainty. "But it's not over."
From different corners of the town, figures began to emerge.
Yasha stepped out of the Duskwind Inn, petal still in her mouth, eyes narrowed with intrigue rather than fear.
Nobu, still half-cloaked, appeared from the gates of the Curved Blade Sect, his hand resting near his hilt.
The twin black-armored warriors of the Spear and Shield mercenaries stomped into formation, their eyes sweeping the skies.
And the silent silhouettes of the Punctured stood at the ready, ghostlike in their presence.
Up on the tower, Juni slowly peeked over the ledge. Her breath caught.
A shadow moved above her.
Her gaze lifted——and the world seemed to stop.
The moon dimmed under a massive wing.
An avian beast—titanic, elegant, terrifying—glided across the cloudline. Its wingspan alone stretched like a veil across the stars. It didn't flap. It merely existed above them.
Then—
FWHUMP!
One single flap.
The air cracked.
From above the clouds, dozens—no, hundreds—of ice shards launched downward like spears from the heavens, slicing through the clouds in silver streaks.
Down they came—toward the Fang.Toward all of them.
Saya immediately drew her sword, its edge gleaming under the pale moonlight. She met the incoming shards with swift, precise slashes—each strike deflecting an icy missile, but the force behind them was overwhelming.
Every parry rattled her bones.( It's like batting away a falling mountain... )She gritted her teeth, holding her stance. But the second wave came faster—harder.
"Saya! Are you alright?!" Nobu called out from below.
"I'm alright, Master!" she shouted back, her blade vibrating from the last impact. Her eyes flicked sideways. "Kazel, how about... you..."
She paused.He wasn't even moving.Kazel stood calmly, hands behind his back, watching the sky. Ice shards rained down—and not one touched him.
He simply stepped through the gaps.Like he had read the sky itself.
"How did—"
A deafening screech ripped through the air, cutting her words short.
The colossal beast still soared above the clouds. A titan in the sky. A harbinger of ruin.
Kazel finally spoke."What are the chances this town will work together to bring that thing down? Because otherwise..." he gestured lightly toward the damaged buildings, "...it'll be a deserted town by morning."
"Should be pretty high," said Nobu, stepping beside him. "It's in everyone's interest that this place survives."
"Crap..." Yasha muttered. She stepped over rubble outside the Duskwind Inn, chewing her petal with more bite than usual. "If only eldest sister were here... or at least the other three."
"This is not good," said one of the twin black knights, sword dragging along the stone. "We can't fight that thing if it stays above the clouds."
"Then we do what we can—defend!" barked the other.
Amid the flurry of motion, one of the shadowy figures from the Punctured group tilted his head, eyeing Kazel.
"Now's not the time to kill..." he muttered, voice like rusted metal scraping.Then he grinned."...or is it?"