Chapter 101: Into the Depths of War
The Vanguard had come prepared for battle.
But Xelthar had been waiting.
Now?
They were scattered across the battlefield, each facing an enemy far beyond what they had expected.
And beneath it all—something ancient was stirring.
Kael exhaled, his vision adjusting to the dim, eerie glow of the underground ruins. The air was thick, charged with a mana far older than Eldoria itself.
Beside him, Lucian Eldoria rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck as his golden aura flared subtly.
The beast in the darkness growled.
Its golden eyes burned, its massive form shifting. It was too large for the narrow corridors, its hunched figure pressing against the walls of the ancient ruins.
Kael didn't waste words.
His Gravity Sigil activated, pressing the weight of mana onto the beast's limbs, trying to slow it down.
It didn't even flinch.
Lucian clicked his tongue. "Of course it's immune."
The creature lunged.
Lucian met it head-on, his royal blade coated in draconic flames, clashing against the beast's jet-black claws. Sparks and fire scattered in the dark.
Kael took his opening.
His Crimson Sigils burned as he slashed down with all his strength.
The attack connected—
And the beast roared, staggering backward.
Lucian smirked. "So it can feel pain."
Kael readjusted his stance. "Let's make sure it remembers it."
They charged together, diving deeper into the unknown.
The first creature fell.
Then another.
And another.
Cassian moved like a blur, his rapier flashing, piercing the vital points of the twisted, mana-corrupted creatures swarming the underground tunnels.
Beside him, Mira was breathing heavily, her sword drenched in blackened blood.
The creatures kept coming.
And they didn't die easily.
Cassian exhaled, flicking the blood from his blade. "This is getting tedious."
Mira stabbed another through the chest, kicking the corpse away. "No kidding."
Then—the air changed.
A new figure emerged from the darkness.
Not a mindless beast.
A Xelthar warlord.
Tall, wrapped in scarlet armor, his face hidden behind a mask of bone.
He tilted his head at them, his voice distorted by an enchantment.
"You've made it far," he mused. "But this is where your story ends."
Cassian smirked. "Oh? That's adorable."
The warlord moved.
Cassian barely had time to dodge before a massive crimson axe cleaved through the space he had been standing in.
Mira reacted instantly, her blade flashing—but the warlord caught it with his bare hand.
Her eyes widened.
Before she could react, he slammed his knee into her ribs, sending her crashing into the wall.
Cassian's grin vanished.
"Alright," he muttered. "I hate this guy."
And then, he attacked.
The battlefield was chaos.
Xelthar's elite forces clashed against the Vanguard, their numbers overwhelming, their warriors faster and stronger than any soldier they had faced before.
Darius stood in the center of it all, lightning flickering across his arms.
Evelyne stood beside him, her greatsword resting against her shoulder.
The Xelthar General they faced grinned.
"You fight well," the General mused. "But brute force will not be enough."
Evelyne smirked. "That's funny. Because that's all I need."
She moved first.
Her Titan's Resilience burned through her body, increasing her strength to monstrous levels.
Her greatsword swung in a brutal arc, aiming to cleave the General in half.
He caught it with one hand.
Evelyne's eyes widened.
Before she could react, the General twisted her blade aside and punched her across the battlefield.
Darius gritted his teeth.
He raised his hands—lightning surged, crackling into a devastating storm.
The General smirked.
And vanished.
Darius' instincts screamed.
Too late.
The General appeared behind him—blade already mid-swing.
Darius barely managed to block, but the force sent him skidding back, his arms burning from the impact.
Evelyne coughed as she stood, wiping blood from her lips.
Darius exhaled. "Okay. Maybe this guy is a problem."
The General smirked. "Now you understand."
And then he attacked again.
The whispers did not stop.
Selene's silver eyes flickered as she stepped forward, her hand resting on her spear.
Rael stayed close, his fingers twitching toward his own blades.
The chamber around them was unnatural.
It pulsed as if alive, the walls lined with runes that glowed faintly with ancient magic.
Then—
A low voice echoed from the darkness.
"You should not be here."
Selene stopped moving.
Rael drew his blade. "We're really doing this?"
The shadows shifted.
And something stepped forward.
A figure wrapped in black robes, their face obscured, their aura heavy with something ancient.
Rael exhaled.
"Yeah," he muttered. "We're doing this."
Leonel stood far above the battlefield, watching from the ruins of a shattered tower.
His hands rested on an ancient tome, the pages flickering with arcane light.
His mission was not to fight.
Not yet.
His mission was to find the key to the war.
His eyes narrowed as he traced the runes hidden beneath the fortress.
Then—he found it.
A sealed chamber, locked beneath Xelthar's stronghold.
And inside?
Something that should not exist.
Leonel's breath slowed.
"So this is their real plan."
He stepped back.
And then—he vanished.
The pieces were moving.