https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liPu1_aPH5k

The walls of the estate shuddered under the constant barrage of explosions and the anguished cries of war. High above, the Auto Defense Turrets perched on the battlements swiveled methodically, spitting streams of bullets and mana-charged rounds into the seething mass of mercenaries and magic beasts below. Human soldiers lined the parapets added to the cacophony with mana-infused weapons lighting up the dusk.

Despite their stalwart defense, the tide of enemies threatened to overwhelm them whole. The human forces below the walls were being slaughtered, only saved from total annihilation by the heroic efforts of three individuals.

The Fire Knight swung its blazing greatsword and curved through the enemy ranks with relentless ferocity, leaving trails of fire that incinerated any who dared approach. Beside it, the Water Mage conjured torrents of water, dousing flames and freezing beasts solid with arcing spears of ice. High above them, the Wind Archer danced across the battlements and rained arrows infused with slicing gales upon the enemy with deadly precision.

Lieutenant Dallas stood on top of the walls along with his men. He clenched his fist as he watched every comrade fall one by one and tightened his jaw with suppressed frustration. Suddenly, the crackle of his earpiece jolted him from his thoughts.

[Lieutenant! This is Golden Eagle Squadron! We have a Golden Eagle down. I repeat, Shepherd 6-4 is down! Crashed a few clicks northwest of your position. Crew status unknown!]

Dallas froze. "Golden Eagle Actual, 6-2, say again?"

[This is 6-2, Shepherd 6-4 is down!]

“Damn it,” he hissed through gritted teeth. He knew exactly who was aboard that helicopter. Carmel and Gadiel, his friends.

"Pilot!" Dallas turned sharply as he addressed the UH-28 operator waiting near him. "Get your chopper ready! I’m going out there with a squad to secure the crash site."

The pilot blinked in surprise. "With all due respect, sir, are you sure it’s wise to leave? This battle—"

"I don’t have time for this!" Dallas snapped, his voice sharper than intended. He paused, his voice softening under the weight of his worry. "My frie-... my men are out there. If there’s a chance they’re alive, I’m not leaving them. Prepare the chopper."

“Understood, sir.” The pilot saluted, then sprinted off to ready the craft.

Dallas turned to his second-in-command, a stern-faced officer whose name plate read “Commander Greaves”.

"Commander, you’re in charge of the defense while I’m gone. Hold the line. Do not let those beasts breach the estate walls."

Greaves nodded sharply. "Understood, Lieutenant. I’ll make sure these bastards don’t gain another inch."

Within minutes, Dallas and his ten handpicked soldiers boarded the waiting UH-28. The rotors spun up, kicking up clouds of dust that swirled like restless spirits in the fading light. Standing by the open door, Dallas cast one last glance at the estate walls and clenched his fists.

“We’ll be back,” he muttered under his breath. “Don’t die on me.”

The helicopter rose into the sky as the thrum of its engines drowned out by the chaos below. Flashes of light from explosions illuminated the battlefield like a grim fireworks display. Fires raged, shadows danced, and the screams of the dying were carried on the wind. The pilot skillfully maneuvered the craft, avoiding incoming fire from both the mercenaries and the beasts.

Back at the estate, Commander Greaves stood resolute on the battlements with binoculars in hand. His sharp gaze cut through the smoke and fire and assessed the battlefield, until a crackle of static broke through his earpiece, followed by a frantic report.

[Commander! A new wave of magic beasts is coming through those portals! They’re massive!]

Greaves lowered the binoculars as a curse slipped past his lips.

In the distance, the green glow of the enemy portals intensified. Through the haze, he saw hulking silhouettes emerging with twisted amalgamations of scales, claws, and grotesque wings.

Claudius’s magic beasts. Their guttural roars tore through the air as they charged, their sheer size and ferocity striking fear into even the most seasoned defenders.

"Mortar teams!" Greaves barked into his comms. "Target those portals and anything coming through them. Fire at will!"

In the courtyard behind the walls, dozens of mortar teams worked into action, loading shells and firing in rapid succession. The heavy thuds of launching mortar shells echoed like war drums, followed moments later by the thunderous booms of impact. Explosions ripped through the advancing beasts, sending twisted limbs and shards of scorched earth skyward.

The combined might of the mortars, automated turrets, and the relentless barrage from the wall’s defenders slowed the monstrous tide. But even as they fell, more beasts poured from the portals and their roars shook the air.

Greaves gritted his teeth and adjusted his comms.

“Hold the line!” he commanded. “Concentrate fire on the larger ones! Keep them away from the gates at all costs!”

The defenders redoubled their efforts, but Greaves knew this battle was far from won. The enemy’s strength seemed inexhaustible, and the day was still young.

————————————————————————

The smoking wreckage of the UH-28 Golden Eagle laid precariously at an angle on top of the ruins of a collapsed building. There was a small desolate square barely the size of a basketball court before it with a small sad fountain at the center and water barely trickling out from the decorative fixture.

Gadiel moaned as he shook himself awake. He felt his feet hurting, and when he glanced down, his heart sank when he saw a sharp piece of metal had pierced his left leg. He yelped in pain as he desperately unbuckled his safety harness and tried to stand up clumsy.

"Oh… Allah!" He wailed in despair as he saw the broken wreckage of the Golden Eagle. "NO! Carmel?"

Dragging himself through the warped cargo hull, Gadiel’s heart pounded. The scene inside was a nightmare as he found both soldiers manning the guns dead, crushed into a bloody paste.

Fighting back the nausea, he pressed on and finally reached the cockpit to find the remains of the co-pilot underneath a massive slab of masonry. But there, slumped against the controls, was his Jewish friend, Carmel, who is still alive, though barely.

“Carmel!” Gadiel croaked as he tried to pull his friend free from the cockpit. The pilot’s shallow breaths and pale complexion told him time was running out.

Until then, he heard the familiar roar of another UH-28 helicopter echoed above. Gadiel climbed out of the cockpit and waved his arms madly at the circling heli.

“HEY! OVER HERE! WE’RE ALIVEEE!”

The helicopter circled briefly before hovering low. A rope dropped from its side, and one by one, eleven soldiers fast rope down and ran up to Gadiel, who had tears of joy in his eyes as he saw the first figure approaching him, Dallas.

“Dallas! Over here!”

Dallas turned to see Gadiel limping toward them and sprinted forward before grabbing Gadiel’s shoulder as he reached him. His gaze flicked over the battered soldier, noting the blood dripping from his temple and the awkward way he cradled his injured arm.

“Gadiel! You alright? Where’s Carmel?”

Gadiel grimaced as he sat down while another soldier took out his medkit to treat his wounded leg. “He's… he's still in the cockpit.” he hesitated and swallowed hard. "The rest… they're all dead.”

“Damn it,” Dallas’s jaw clenched, but he wasted no time. “Stay here. We’ll get him out.” He turned to his team. “Jameson, Clark, with me!”

The trio moved toward the cockpit, smelling the acrid stench of fuel and burned flesh thick in the air. Inside, they found Carmel barely conscious in the pilot seat with a shard of shrapnel lodged deep in his side. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive.

“He’s alive,” Jameson confirmed after checking his pulse.

“Barely,” Dallas muttered. “Clark, get the medkit. We need to stabilize him before we move him.”

While the soldiers worked, Dallas glanced over his shoulder at Gadiel, who had managed to hobble closer. “What happened?”

“We were hit mid-air,” Gadiel said in exhaustion. “Some kind of… red arrows. They came out of nowhere.”

Clark injected Carmel with a dose of painkillers while Jameson wrapped a bandage around Carmel's wounds as best he could. “He’s stable for now, sir, but we need to move him.”

“Hey, help me get him out!” Dallas called to the rest of the team outside. Several soldiers rushed forward, and together, they gently lifted Carmel onto a makeshift stretcher. They carried him to the rear of the collapsed building to set him down together with Gadiel.

Carmel coughed weakly and blinked his eyes as his conscience returned and asked. "Dallas? Where's the rescue team?"

“Were it,” Dallas replied grimly. “You alright, Carmel?”

Carmel managed a faint nod. “Yeah… but I can’t feel my legs.”

Dallas gave him a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here.” He turned to his comms. “Pilot! Bring the chopper down. We’re getting out of here!”

The UH-28 above descended smoothly with its landing skids touching the ground. Soldiers rushed to load Carmel onto the helicopter while carefully securing his stretcher.

Suddenly, a shadow shifted unnaturally beneath one of the soldiers. Before anyone could react, a six-legged Shadow Panther burst from the darkness as its glowing eyes locked onto its prey.

“Get down!” Dallas shouted, but the warning came too late as the beast struck with terrifying speed with its claws ripping through three soldiers in a single motion, and their cries of pain were silenced as their bodies crumpled to the ground.

The remaining soldiers opened fire with their magic rifles. The air filled with the sharp crackle of magic rounds and bursts of glowing energy, but the panther moved like a phantom, dodging with impossible speed as it weaved through the barrage. With a feral snarl, it lunged at another soldier and tore him apart in a spray of blood.

“Keep firing!” Dallas yelled.

The helicopter’s door gunners joined in with their mounted magic machine guns shredding through concrete walls and asphalt road as they tried to pin the panther down. Glowing bullets riddled its shadowy body, eliciting an ear-piercing screech, but it wasn't enough against the beast.

With a powerful leap, the panther twisted mid-air and its body contorted unnaturally as dark energy surged around it.

Activating a Shadow Magic Skill, it sank into the swirling darkness beneath the helicopter. The shadows surged upward and wrapped around the UH-28 like hungry tendrils.

In an instant, the helicopter fell to the ground with a violent crash. Flames erupted from its engines and sent a plume of black smoke billowing into the air.

“Fall back to the wreckage!” Dallas ordered as he rallied his soldiers.

From the burning helicopter emerged the panther, its body now coated in writhing dark energy. Its snarl reverberated like a low growl of thunder as it prepared to strike again, but Dallas didn’t hesitate.

“Grenades! Now!”

The soldiers obeyed and tossed flashbangs and frag grenades at the beast. The detonations lit up the battlefield, blinding flashes and deafening booms reverberating off the surrounding rubble. The panther howled in agony, momentarily stunned and disoriented.

“Light it up!” Dallas shouted.

Seizing the opening, the squad poured everything they had into the beast. Mithril bullets tore through the panther’s hide with bursts of magic energy ripping apart its shadowy armor. The beast writhed and screeched, its movements slowing as its strength waned. After what felt like an eternity, it let out a final gurgling growl before collapsing in a lifeless heap.

The battlefield fell silent except for the ragged breathing of the survivors. Smoke hung heavy in the air, mingling with the metallic scent of blood.

“Everyone okay?” Dallas asked hoarsely.

“We lost half the squad,” Clark replied grimly as he kneeled beside one of the fallen soldiers. His expression was somber and his hands trembled as he closed the man’s lifeless eyes.

Gadiel leaned heavily against a piece of rubble, heaving his chest as he tried to catch his breath. “What the hell was that thing?”

“A Shadow Panther,” Dallas muttered as his eyes fixed on the carcass. “Definitely one of that Beast Tamer’s pets. And a damn strong one.”

“Sir!” a soldier called from on top of the wreckage. “Mercenaries incoming! A lot of them! Our battle seemed to get their attention!”

Dallas turned to see the enemy approaching through the buildings with their weapons glinting in the firelight. The sound of approaching boots and shouted orders echoed across the battlefield.

He clenched his fists and forced down the grief and fatigue threatening to overtake him.

"Lieutenant! What are our orders?" One of his men asked.

“We fight!" He roared out as he turned to his men, "Brothers! Assemble around the Golden Eagle and formed a defensive circle! Protect the wounded and the wreckage! Victory or death!"

Feeling the rushing adrenaline from their leader's words, the soldiers slammed their fist on their chest.

"Yes, Lieutenant! Victory or death!!"

"Bronco Company! We hold this ground… IN THE NAME OF OUR EMPIRE!!”

With full determination, the soldiers moved into action and formed a tight perimeter around the downed helicopter.

As soon as the first mercenaries were spotted, the Austronesian Liberation soldiers opened fire, and the Black Hawk Down-style battle began in earnest.

————————————————————————

The battlefield was a graveyard of broken bodies and shattered defenses. Blood stained the ground, and the cries of the dying mixed with the distant roar of magic and gunfire. The remnants of the human forces and their elven allies were gathered in the estate courtyard behind the walls, desperately holding their ground like a candle in the wind.

Commander Greaves leaned heavily against a slab of rubble with torn and bloodied uniform. Beside him, one of his soldiers stared grimly at the carnage.

“Sir, we’ve lost nearly 250 men,” the soldier rasped in exhaustion. “Most of them were slaughtered by those three maniacs. We can’t hold much longer.”

Greaves wiped the sweat and blood from his brow with a calm expression despite the chaos. “We’re not done yet,” he said evenly.

“Not done? Sir, look around you!” The soldier gestured to the ruined battlefield. “They’ve torn through everything, our men, the walls, the gates! And that damn bunny—"

The soldier paused as a blur of motion zipped past them. Yuri was a whirlwind of destruction as her [Berserk Mode] had fully activated, and she moved with terrifying speed with her katana-like sword slashing through mercenaries and magic beasts alike. Blood sprayed with every movement as her eyes burned red with unrestrained fury.

“She and the other three Elementals are the only reason we’re still standing,” the soldier muttered.

Greaves tapped his earpiece and spoke calmly. “Command, this is Commander Greaves. We need those reinforcements now.”

A voice responded firmly. [Understood, Commander. Hold the line. Reinforcements are already inbound.]

Greaves turned to the soldier. “They’re coming. We just need to hold.”

“Reinforcements? When and where exactly?” the soldier asked, seemingly skeptical.

Before Greaves could answer, the air was shattered by a deafening crash. The ruined gates exploded inward, and a section of the wall collapsed. Through the smoke and debris stepped three figures with their presence enough to make even the bravest soldiers to freeze.

The three Heads of Destruction had arrived.

Behind them lay a trail of blood and bodies of human soldiers, elven guards, and the three fallen Elemental Guardians.

“Well, well,” Claudius smirked mockingly as he looked at the battered defenders. “Still standing, are we?”

Phonio chuckled as he licked the edge of one of his bloodied claws. “I’m impressed. I thought you’d all be corpses by now.”

Fernand said nothing, but his oppressive silence was more menacing than words. His presence was suffocating, like the calm before a devastating storm ready to break.

Barron clenched his fist tightly and stepped forward. “You monsters… how many lives have you stolen today? How many more will it take to satisfy your bloodlust?”

Claudius laughed out menacingly. “All of them, son of Ronald. Every. Last. One.”

Greaves stepped forward and placed a hand on Barron’s shoulder. “Sir Barron, enough talk,” he said calmly as his sharp eyes locked with the three figures before them. “If you’re here to kill us, get on with it.”

Fernand tilted his head slightly before a cruel smile curled his lips. “Oh, we will. But first… let’s enjoy the taste of your despair.”

With measured steps, the three Heads of Destruction began their advance as their footsteps echoed ominously across the battlefield like the tolling of a funeral bell. Around them, the remaining soldiers and elven guards tightened their grips on their weapons, each preparing for what felt like an inevitable final stand.

Then, a sudden high-pitched whine filled the air, causing everyone to freeze in place.

“What… is that?” Yuri asked as she looked up.

A streak of light blazed across the sky, moving impossibly faster than anything they had seen before. The sleek frame of a multirole jet appeared, glinting in the blood-red glow under the fading sunlight.

“Is that… our air support?” a soldier whispered as his voice trembled with hope.

The jet’s underbelly opened, revealing a large metallic object suspended by a crane. For a moment, the battlefield fell into an uneasy silence as both sides watched in stunned confusion. Then, with a mechanical hiss, the crane released its grip, and the object fell toward the ground.

Seconds before impact, a rocket propulsion system ignited and slammed the object into the ground with a thunderous crash between the two sides. Dust and debris shot into the air, obscuring the battlefield in a thick choking cloud.

“What the hell was that?” Claudius growled as he shielded his face from the blast.

As the dust began to settle, the object was revealed to be a massive metallic cylinder construct embedded deep into the earth. The enemy forces hesitated before breaking into laughter.

“That’s it?” Phonio sneered as he flexed his claws. “This is your big plan? Dropping a glorified barrel on us?”

Greaves didn’t flinch. His eyes remained locked on the cylinder with an unwavering expression.

“Wait for it.” He said softly.

The top of the cylinder hissed loudly with steam escaping from hidden vents as the top began to slowly open. The sound was mechanical, deliberate, like the slow unveiling of something meant to inspire dread.

From within, a platform slowly rose, carrying a lone figure who stepped forward in deliberate and calculated movement

Sensing something wrong, the laughter died abruptly. Claudius’s smug grin faded and his eyes narrowed. Phonio took an instinctive step back as his sneer was replaced with unease. Even Fernand’s stoic expression cracked and frowned upon seeing the person.

“What… is this feeling?” Claudius murmured with an uncharacteristic note of unease in his voice.

Greaves allowed himself a small grim smile as he tightened his grip on his rifle. “I told you,” he said quietly. “Reinforcements were coming.”

————————————————————————

Dallas took up a prone position inside the shattered wreckage of the Golden Eagle that overlooked the north side of the small fountain square while Clark and Jameson covered the eastern flank, aided by a handful of soldiers scattered across the perimeter. They managed to salvage a single AFMG-1 machine gun and several hundred rounds of ammunition, which Dallas meticulously linked into a single continuous belt.

The first enemy that entered the fountain square that had five entrances in, earned him a bullet in the head fired by Dallas’ rifle as he fired a mercenary that is unlucky enough to step into his crosshairs before dropping them with a clean silent shot to the head.

His customized suppressed AF-2 rifle equipped with a long engagement scope easily tagged the next mercenary who quickly followed close behind.

He snapped his rifle left and right as more and more targers entered into his line of sight but luckily the enemy seemed confused as they looked around and failed to locate the source of the silent death thinning their ranks.

Clark, seeing the growing number of enemies, broke the silence with the sharp fire of his unsuppressed AF-2 rifle, which earned more attention of the enemy, and they moved toward his position. Clark’s shots knocked them down one after another, but their numbers threatened to overwhelm him.

When Dallas’s rifle ran dry, he switched over to the AFMG-1 and lay down heavy fire at the rushing army. The sheer volume of bullets forced them into a hasty retreat and left behind a trail of bodies. But the reprieve was short-lived when moments later, the mercenaries returned, but this time they were accompanied by a pair of Magic Beasts and they attempted a second attack.

“Magic Beasts sighted! Keep firing!” Dallas shouted.

Before he could continue, a spell struck the soldier beside him, tearing away half his face in a smoking grisly mess.

“Fuck!” Dallas cursed under his breath as another arcane missile streaked past his head and forced him to duck instinctively.

“Fuck this!”

He swung the AFMG-1 machine gun towards the direction where the spell had come from, backtracking the source of the spell from the white trail of smoke back to a robed figure with his hands glowing half hidden on a rooftop.

Without hesitation, he gave the rooftop a good dose of mithril bullets that shredded the area around the caster, keeping his fire on the rooftop before he was satisfied that the asshole was dead.

He turned and faced the gun forward, firing at the army of mercenaries and Magic beast who were attempting to swarm his team.

Suddenly several spells slammed into the side of the Golden Eagle and flipped over the wreckage onto its side from the force. Training instinctively took over and Dallas rolled over while holding the machine gun just as the crumpled wreck crushed the ground where he’d been seconds earlier.

"Goddamnit!" Dallas grumbled, feeling adrenaline rushing as the rest of his ken were suppressing the enemy. He turned to a lone soldier trembling in fear. "Hey man, you good over there?"

"Shit my pants, Lieutenant!" The soldier hollered back quiveringly. "I think my balls have shrunk!"

“You never had a pair anyway, so don’t sweat it!” Dallas joked back as he crawled out from cover to lay down another burst of fire. “Medic! Get over here!”

The medic came up to him with a grim look. “Lieutenant, we’ve got two critically wounded and several others with various degrees of injuries. I… don't think we can keep up! At this rate, we will run out of bodies before bullets.”

Dallas clenched his jaw as he glanced at his beleaguered team, seeing their desperate struggle into every movement and fighting for their lives.

“Shit, is it that bad?”

“It’s worse,” the medic replied grimly. “Everyone’s hurt, Lieutenant. Everyone except for me-”

A sudden spell struck the medic square in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground with his armor smoking.

“FUUUCK!” Dallas roared in frustration. “How the hell are we supposed to hold off hundreds of superhuman elves and Magic Beasts with a squad barely hanging on? GODDAMMIT!”

He turned to his men and ordered. “Mount up! We are sitting ducks here!”

Meanwhile, Carmel fired his shotgun at the exposed back of a Magic Beast as it sprinted past him. Gadiel was holding the other side of the crumbling building, cursing the enemy and dealing death with every pull of his sawed-off shotgun.

He could hear the heavy gunfire coming from outside the collapsed building intensifying as time passed which deepened the sinking feeling in Carmel’s chest as he wondered. Would reinforcements arrive in time?

Dallas was still at the front, holding the line with the AFMG-1 until it jammed. Cursing under his breath, he switched over to his AF-2, firing single shots at any enemy that crossed a line made out of bodies and blood. They had already piled up quite the number of kills, yet the enemy had no signs of stopping. They made probing attacks like some kind of wild animal tactics and even appeared to be flanking them from the sounds of the shotguns behind.

Dallas dropped another mercenary mid-cast of a [Fireball] spell, but not before the fiery explosion erupted which sent several soldiers flying and leaving scorch marks across the square.

“I’m out!” Clark’s voice rang out as he appeared beside Dallas and grabbed the jammed AFMG-1.

Clark expertly cleared the jam while Dallas provided cover fire. Once the jam was fixed, Clark carried the machine gun out along with the remaining ammo and returned to his previous post to lay down suppressive fire.

Dallas kept up his fire, aiming those that posed the most threat to their position, like the robed mages or those with crossbows or even the rampaging Magic Beast. He ignored those armed with melee weapons and focused on the ranged attackers, leaving the melee attackers to Clark, Jameson and a few remaining soldiers, who held them off with sheer grit and desperation.

“Gahhh!!”

To his horror, Dallas turned just in time to see Jameson and several soldiers suddenly got shredded in mere moments by a massive serpentine creature with an axe in its head. The beast hissed as its eyes fixed on the wrecked helicopter, but before it could advance, Clark trained the AFMG-1 on its face, riddling it with bullets until it collapsed in a bloodied heap.

For a moment, the battlefield seemed to quiet. Then Dallas realized the machine gun fire had stopped and he leaned out of cover to check on Clark, only got his heart to sank as he spotted his lifeless body laid flat on the ground. His helmet was caved in, with smoke rising faintly from the impact of a magic spell.

“No…” Dallas muttered as he went from his cover and run to his fallen comrade. He knelt by Clark, checking for a pulse that wasn’t there.

He gave a tired sigh and fired at a couple of mercenaries that crept up too close. He grabbed Clark’s sidearm and ammo before running back into the collapsed building, where Carmel and Gadiel were sheltering in.

“Hey,” Dallas called out as he tossed Clark’s sidearm to Carmel. “You watch yourself. It’s just me left at the front now. Good luck!”

Carmel stared at the weapon in despair then at Dallas who rushed back to the front lines and he felt all hope was gone.

“Gadiel!”

“Yes, Carmel?” Gadiel hurried over with concern written all over his face.

“Take this.” Carmel handed him the sidearm. “You need to find a way out of here.”

“What?” Gadiel frowned. “You want me to leave you behind?”

“There’s no point in all of us dying here,” Carmel said firmly. “I can’t move, but you’re still strong enough to escape this shit. Go find a safe place to hide and link up with the others when they arrive.”

“NO way!” Gadiel yelled. “I can’t abandon you or Dallas! We survived multiple Demon attacks together! If you and Dallas die, then I’ll die too!”

Carmel’s grip tightened on his shotgun as he looked at Gadiel with a mix of frustration and sorrow.

“Don’t be an idiot. There’s no shame in surviving. Go!”

————————————————————————

Dallas felt he was totally in the zone, as every shot he fired, he dropped one of the enemies, whether they are the Mercenary Gang or Magic Beast.

He was like an automaton killing machine. Nothing could get past his line of defense.

The ground around him became a graveyard, with bodies piling high up in his killing zone, and even the bravest among the enemy hesitated to cross into that death trap and they felt awed and terrified after witnessing how many had died by a single human.

For the first time in his life, Dallas felt a strange, almost eerie calm. Not even during the battles against the demons had he experienced this kind of calmness. He did not even feel sadness or anger over the deaths of Clark, Jameson, or the soldiers under his command. All that remained was a singular purpose: to take as many of these motherfuckers with him as he could.

The calm shattered when an arcane missile slammed into his chest, knocking him back. The impact would have killed him outright if not for his mithril armor, which absorbed most of the force.

Gritting his teeth, Dallas switched his AF-2 rifle to his left hand and kept firing, but another [Wind Blade] spell sliced through his chest, shattering his rifle and ripping through the trauma plating of his armor vest.

The force knocked the air off his lungs, and he fell back to the ground, gasping for air.

Seeing the attacker is finally down, all the mercenaries immediately rushed forward with no hesitation.

Dallas, seeing the mercenaries rushing into the building, ignored his wounds and the searing pain coursing through his body. With trembling hands, he painfully drew his revolver out and fired into the oncoming wave, knocking back several mercenaries who crowded around the entrance.

The normal bullets ricocheted off their magic shields, doing little damage but slowing their advance, if only for a precious few moments.

When the revolver clicked empty, the mercenaries overwhelmed him. They poured into the building and used all of their weapons to furiously slashed and bashed the limp body until they turned the entire room into a blood-soaked nightmare.

As the end came, memories flooded Dallas’s mind, where he saw himself at the dinner table, laughing with his lovely family. He remembered attending Sunday Mass in a church with them. He thought of playing games with Carmel and Gadiel with their unshaken friendship unshaken despite their differing religions and beliefs.

Then came the Great Earthquake during the New Year Tragedy that had shattered his world. He remembered the news of when his family lost their lives by the calamity unleashed by the Demon Lord.

“At least… I’ll see them again…”

Tears streaked down Dallas’s face, mingling with the blood staining his skin. A faint smile curved the corner of his mouth as his last thoughts drifted to his wife. He pictured her laughter and her radiant smile under a moonlit sky. They had once lain in a grassy field together in their college days, her beauty illuminated by the gentle glow of the moon.

That vision remained with him as a blade appeared between his eyes.

The world dissolved into darkness and pain, and then into nothingness.

————————————————————————

Carmel fired his shotgun at another mercenary who found a way in through the back. He worked the pump, jacking in another shell when he heard a collective cheer coming from the front of the building.

"Shit! Gadiel! They’re breaking through the front!"

Gadiel, crouched nearby, snapped open his double-barrel shotgun and hurriedly loaded fresh shells.

“You know what? Fuck this!”

He grabbed a long enchanted dagger from a dead mercenary and ran toward the front of the building. With both barrels primed, he fired into the mercenaries that were desecrating Dallas’s lifeless body. The spray of buckshot ripped through the nearest enemies, forcing the rest to stagger back in shock as Gadiel charged into their midst like a man possessed.

“RAHHHHHH!!!”

Gadiel moved between the mercenaries and slashed at legs, bellies, and throats with the precision of desperation. His blade bit deep as he weaved and dodged with erratic and unpredictable movements. Chaos rippled through the crowd as they chased and tried to kill the slippery human.

Unfortunately, due to Gadiel’s wounded leg, he faltered and a blade caught him at his back, drawing a pained curse from his lips.

An elf with a magical gauntlet seized the opening and rushed forward to wrench the shotgun from Gadiel’s grip. With a sneer, the elf drove a brutal kick into Gadiel’s left leg with force strong enough to snap it, causing Gadiel to scream out in pain and pure agony.

“URAAAAGHHH!” Gadiel screamed as he collapsed to the ground.

The elf stood over him with a wicked grin. “Now let me hear you squeal!”

Reeling one of arms back, the elf increased his mass, his muscle significantly grew as the power of his gauntlet amplified his strength. With a roar, he swung his fist and the blow sent Gadiel flying through the air like a ragdoll.

BOOM!

Gadiel’s dazed eyes widened as another elf with spiky hair appeared above him mid-air, and before he could react in time, the elf unleashed a flurry of punches at blinding speed, each strike landing with a sickening thud.

“ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORAAA!!”

Delivering a powerful hook to Gadiel’s face, the elf launched him higher into the air. Spinning helplessly, he barely registered the female elf waiting below as she raised an oversized sledgehammer high.

She swung with thunderous force, and the hammer collided with his chest. The force of the impact caved in his ribs with a sickening crunch, and he was sent flying across the clearing and back into the elf with the gauntlet, who caught the human by the face with ease, as if swatting a fly.

“Where are your filthy monkeigh friends?” the elf snarled as his grip tightened on Gadiel’s skull.

“F-Fuck… yo—”

With a roar of fury, the elf slammed him into the ground with such force that the concrete floor cracked, forming a small crater beneath him.

It was a miracle Gadiel wasn’t killed outright, though the mithril armor he wore was barely holding together. His entire body screamed in agony, paralyzed by the impact. Before he could choke out another word, he was once again being pummeled down as the elf descended on him again and rained his fists down in a relentless barrage.

“A mere insect dares to curse me?! Go on! Lay there like the pathetic animal you are!!”

Gadiel instinctively raised his arms to shield himself, but it was like trying to block a sledgehammer with twigs. Each punch shatters his defenses with fractures spreading through his bones.

Then came the literal hammer when the female elf swung her massive weapon with inhuman strength and slammed it into Gadiel’s side. The blow sent his body flying like a broken ragdoll as he crashed into a distant building, and the sound of snapping bones echoed through the area.

“Stop playing with him and finish that freak already!” the green-haired female elf snapped coldly. “There are plenty of other inferior humans to kill.”

But to their shock, Gadiel was able to stand up on his feet even after all the beating. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his shattered armor clinging to his bloodied form, and his face was barely recognizable.

Memories began flooding through his mind, a fleeting image of a dinner table from his childhood and he remembered his mother serving meat while he could hear her warm and kind laughter.

‘I wanted to… ask her for more… it was so delicious…’

Then his memory was shattered as another brutal blow struck against his side, followed by a dozen fists, kicks, and the heavy butts of weapons rained on him as the group of mercenaries surrounded him and beat the shit out of him, each taking turns in a frenzied assault.

When they finally stopped, Gadiel was a bloodied motionless heap on the ground. The elf with the gauntlet grabbed his face and lifted his limp body effortlessly off the ground, all bloodied and injured.

“Any last words, monkeigh?” he sneered.

Just then, to everyone’s surprise, Gadiel let out a broken defiant laugh.

“Allahu… Akbar.”

With trembling hands, he twisted out the pins from the two incendiary grenades in his hands, and triumphantly showed them to the elves who seemed confused.

As the grenades were dropped to the floor, Gadiel gave the group of elves his broken middle fingers and the elves froze with shock and horror across their faces as they realized there was something wrong… but it was too late.

BOOOM!!

The incendiary grenades detonated in a blinding flash and engulfed the area in an inferno of blood and flames.

The shockwave from the sudden explosion knocked Carmel off his perch and sent him sprawling. He cried out in pain as his eardrums rang painfully, and he coughed as dust and smoke filled his lungs. When he forced himself to look, the sight before him was devastating.

The ground where Gadiel had stood was scorched black, littered with the mutilated remains of the elves who’d mocked him.

And at the epicenter of the blast, among the charred wreckage, was the blackened severed head of his friend.

Carmel’s throat tightened as his vision blurred with tears.

“Gadiel, you… idiot.”