A deafening explosion shook the ground beneath them, the shockwave reverberating through their bones.
[ /!\ Warning: TheArtifactisactive /!\ ]
"Damn!" Key cursed, his mind racing. How the hell did it activate?!
"Key, what—" Nythra started, but he cut her off before she could finish.
"No time to explain! You all handle the Abyssal Beasts!" Key barked, already sprinting towards the village.
"Not this time! I'm coming with you!" Nythra yelled, her determination unwavering as she bolted after him.
"On the way, Master!" Zyrenna followed without hesitation.
"Can't leave me out of the fun!" Sketch grinned as he ran to join them.
The remaining group stood their ground, watching as the others disappeared into the distance.
Gamble exhaled sharply and turned back, catching sight of the trembling figures of Spam and Ravenna. He sweatdropped before shifting his gaze to the rest of the group.
"…Guess it's just us four." he muttered, directing his words to Dheerash, Eunoia, and Thana.
"Four is all we need." Dheerash said, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "Been a while, hasn't it, Eunoia?"
Eunoia's lips curled into a knowing smile, a violet glow flickering around her. "Hope you haven't gotten rusty."
Dheerash's grin turned feral. "Never."
Thana let out a sharp laugh, scarlet Abyssal Energy crackling around her. "Wow, this is getting fun! Spam, Rave—you two are such pussies!"
"Shut up!!" Both shouted in unison, making Thana giggle.
Gamble glanced back at them and smirked. "Stay behind and support." he ordered.
Spam and Ravenna nodded, grateful for the directive.
"Thanks, Gam!" Spam grinned.
"Yes, sir!!" Ravenna saluted.
With a chuckle, Gamble turned forward. The Abyssal Beasts were approaching fast. His expression hardened.
"Expand."
His body erupted in size, muscles swelling as he grew—not just to ten feet, but a towering one hundred feet, matching the colossal Goliaths. A dark smirk played on his lips.
"It's time."
.
.
Key skidded to a halt, the others arriving just behind him. His eyes immediately found Speedy, who was regaining her balance while protectively shielding a young girl.
He pulled off his shirt and walked toward them.
"Here."
Speedy looked up, meeting his warm gaze. Her expression softened, and a grateful smile stretched across her face.
"Thank you, Key." She took the purple shirt and draped it over the young girl, who giggled as the oversized fabric reached her ankles, resembling a dress.
"Thank you, sir!" The girl beamed, bowing politely.
Key nodded. "Of course."
"Speedy!!"
Before she could respond, she was suddenly enveloped in a crushing embrace. Sketch and Nythra clung to her, squeezing tightly.
"Aww, guys!!" She squealed, her usual lively personality breaking through.
Standing beside Key, Zyrenna watched the heartfelt reunion with a small smile. "They're really close… Not something you see every day, especially in a place like this."
"For real." Key agreed, his expression briefly softening. "Snakes lurk everywhere, but genuine people? Hard to come by."
His tone shifted as he turned back to Speedy. "But right now, we have more important matters. What was that explosion? And what happened to the others?"
Speedy pulled away from the hug, her expression darkening. "I got the women and children out of here. Used a memory spell—made sure they forgot what happened."
She barely got the words out before—
ROOOAAARRR!!
The ground erupted in front of them, a massive crater forming in the earth. The very air grew cold as a suffocating wave of Abyssal Energy crashed over them.
Everyone instinctively jumped back to avoid being pulled into the abyss.
From the crater, a glowing red crystal hand emerged.
Then another.
Then another.
More and more until finally, a colossal, black-red crystal form hauled itself free, its rage-filled crimson eyes glaring at them.
[TheArtifact LV. 200]
Key exhaled sharply, an unamused chuckle escaping him.
"Well..ain't this some shit."
.
.
Gamble let out a grunt, catching the claws of two Goliaths before launching a third with a devastating front kick. The force sent it crashing backward, knocking over three others like bowling pins.
Perched on his shoulders, Spam and Ravenna exchanged a casual conversation.
"So, Rave, what made you so scared of clowns?" Spam asked.
"You ever seen the original 'It' movie?" Ravenna replied.
"Wait..really?! I thought I was the only one scared of the original!" Spam gasped.
"Nope. That guy's a creep!"
Both giggled.
"Ladies-" Gamble grunted, unamused. A Goliath lunged from behind, claw poised to strike.
"Oops—sorry, Gam!" Spam yelped, magic flaring.
Brilliant white energy surged around her. "Thunder Raid!"
A barrage of crackling lightning bolts rained from the sky, obliterating the beast mid-lunge, leaving behind a smoking crater.
"Creation Tier 3: Meteor Shower." Ravenna whispered.
A moment later, the sky split open. Hundreds of meteors cascaded from the void, raining destruction upon the battlefield. Abyssal Beasts shrieked in agony, their bodies crushed beneath the celestial onslaught.
Below, Dheerash, Eunoia, and Thana were tearing through the Abyssal horde.
Thana clapped her hands together. "Destruction Tier 1: Minefield."
Scarlet runes shimmered beneath the beasts before—BOOM—a chain of explosions erupted, eviscerating everything in a thunderous detonation.
Dheerash laughed, flipping over a lunging beast and driving his knee into its skull, shattering it instantly. His arms glowed with eerie, orange Abyssal Energy, his muscles twitching with contained power.
"Hope you haven't gotten rusty either, Eunoia!" he taunted, slamming another beast face-first into the dirt. "Haven't had this much fun in years!"
Eunoia simply smirked, violet energy flickering around her.
"Gravity Collapse."
The battlefield distorted—the very air bending as a crushing gravitational force pulled the Abyssal Beasts inward. They screamed as their bodies imploded, collapsing into dense black mist.
Dheerash smirked as he did a slow yet impressed clap. "Now that's the Eunoia I know."
Thana wiped her brow, grinning. "You're terrifying."
Eunoia merely shrugged. "It's efficient."
Gamble cracked his knuckles, surveying the battlefield. "We're clearing them fast, but there's still too many. Spam, Ravenna—keep raining hell from above. Thana, Dheerash—we push forward and finish this."
Dheerash's smirk widened. "Understood."
It was time to get serious.
.
.
Key and the others faced the towering rage-infested Artifact. Key exhaled, stepping forward.
"Look, we don't have to fight. We could, I dunno, go out to ea—"
"I knowyou."
Everyone stood guard at that.
The beast spoke.
"Butbeforewegetintowhy—"
Key's eyes flashed dark purple, his power flaring violently. He sensed what The Artifact was about to do.
"Everybody, get ba—!"
CLAPPP!!
A shockwave of Abyssal force engulfed the area, blinding him in an instant.
Dust. Debris. Silence.
As the dust settled, Key turned, his eyes narrowing.
They were gone.
"…What did you do to them?" His voice was low. Dangerous.
The Artifact chuckled.
"I merelysentthemtotheEldergloomForest. I wantedtoconverse… alone."