The scent of scorched earth and fresh blood clung to the air like a funeral shroud.
The battlefield trembled beneath the fury of clashing fangs and steel. The war between the invading Beasts and Jakartha's defenders had erupted into full chaos.
Near the forest barrier where the 4th Team was stationed forty strong tension pressed down like a vice. Here, the lush green of Jakartha's sacred woods had twisted into a blackened nightmare, corrupted by monstrous influence. Trees bled black sap. Shadows slithered unnaturally. The protective city barrier shimmered weakly, groaning under unseen strain.
Crack!
A tree split in two behind the squad's position.
Jack crouched beside the stump, breath low and dagger poised. Ten months of brutal training had carved the boy into something sharp.something dangerous. His grip tightened. The metal of his blade gave a quiet, promising shink.
Rustle
Snap!
The first wave came like a shriek from hell.
KREEEEEEE!!
The Duskrats gnarled rat-beasts with barbed tails and glowing red eyes.burst from the shadows. Dozens. Venom dripped from their teeth like acid rain, sizzling on the dead leaves.
Jack moved.
SHINK!
His blade tore one open, slicing its belly in a single upward arc. Viscera sprayed. Another leapt for his throat. Jack twisted mid-step, rolled, and..
THUD!
His boot slammed down on its skull, snapping bone.
"Too slow," he hissed through gritted teeth.
WHOOSH!
A gust swept through the clearing.
Emma landed beside him, robes billowing with ethereal grace. Her staff glowed blue and an intricate Hydro Sigil burned beneath her feet.
Ding!
"Aqua Bind!"
From the earth, ribbons of water burst forth like living serpents. They wrapped around a charging cluster of Bramblesnout Boars hulking, tusked beasts with thorny fur.
CRACK!
SPLASH!
The water constricted. Boars squealed, tusks cracking as pressure crushed their bones. Blood and thorns scattered like rain.
But there was no time to breathe.
AWHOOOOO!!
A chilling howl pierced the trees.
Frostfang Jackals erupted from the forest mist, their crystalline breath turning air to frost. The temperature dropped in an instant.
Emma shivered. "Tch… They're getting stronger."
"Good," a voice growled.
James stepped forward like a wall of flesh and fury. Beside him, his tamed beast Ironfang roared, metal-hide gleaming with silver menace.
BOOM!
His meteoric-ore sword came down like a divine of judgment, cleaving a Bogshade Imp in half. Vile ichor painted the mud.
Ironfang lunged.
BANG!
The tamed beast's jaws crushed a Glimmertoad, sparks flying as its bloated form burst in a shower of sludge and slime.
Jack's heart thundered in his chest. His breath came fast, but steady. The sky above was black with smoke and ash. The ground below was a pit of death.
Around them, monsters swarmed like a living nightmare. Wispfang Bats screamed from above, their sonar screeches disrupting spells. Soot Sprites clung to armor, igniting combustive spores. Rustclaw Crabs snapped at boots, trying to shatter ankles.
It was hell.
And it was only the beginning.
Skreeee!!
A Cragsting Scorpion massive, armored, with a glowing blue tail charged straight toward Jack.
Click-click-click
WHOOSH!
"Jack!" Emma's voice tore through the chaos.
Too fast.
Jack turned.too slow.
BOOOOM!!
A blast of air smashed into the scorpion, sending it flying into a tree with a bone-shattering
CRUNCH!
Jack blinked.
From above, a figure dropped with the force of a meteor. Cloak fluttering. A heavy poleaxe crackling with lightning in his hands.
An Otherworlder.
He landed like a god of war, his weapon glowing with condensed aura.
KRA-KOOM!
One swing cleaved through three beasts in a single arc.
"Get up," the man said coldly, eyes locked on Jack.
"This is war. No room for hesitation."
Jack nodded, rising slowly. His knuckles were white around his dagger. Not from fear.
But from the realization.
This wasn't a battle. It was a baptism.
A trial by fire and fang. Only the ruthless would survive.
And Jakartha's 4th Team had no plans to die today.
BOOM!
A blast of wind tore through the battlefield, slamming the Cragsting Scorpion sideways into a boulder with a deafening.
CRACK!
Jack blinked in shock.
A boy landed in front of him, spear spinning once in a smooth arc before settling in his grip. His armor was strange, sleek, luminous, and reinforced with runes unfamiliar to local smiths.
Definitely Otherworlder-made.
"You good?" the boy asked with a cocky grin.
"Jack," he said cautiously.
"Toru." The boy twirled his spear, then stabbed without looking.
SHLUNK!
A Bloodvine Creeper burst from the soil behind him, skewered mid-slither. It writhed once and went limp, black ichor oozing from its wound.
All around them, the tide shifted. The Otherworlders had arrived in force.
A girl to their left raised a glyph-marked tome, her chant echoing.
Ding! Ding!
"Come forth Ironhide Moles!"
THUMP! THUMP!
Massive earthen beasts erupted from beneath, their plated hides crashing through enemy lines like siege engines.
Above, the sky lit up.
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
Arrows laced with Electro Sigils streaked through the dark like falling stars, homing in with deadly precision.
Then
SKREEEE!
A Stormfeather Crow shrieked from above, wings crackling with lightning. It dived, talons aimed straight for Emma.
She raised her staff.but the crow was too fast.
BOOOOM!
A crimson shockwave exploded in mid-air.
Feathers rained down like ash.
James stood beneath the blast's echo, fist still raised. His Aura Ring blazed around him, pulsing with raw force.
Emma blinked, then flicked her hair aside with practiced ease.
"Show-off."
James smirked, eyes gleaming. "I am the best."
The brief levity died instantly.
RUMBLE...
The ground trembled with weight and rage.
From the corrupted tree line, a Shadowfang Boar lumbered out. Massive. Smoke rose from its bristled back. Its eyes glowed red, its tusks curved like twin blades.
Mid 2-Star.
Dangerous. Fast. Smart.
It locked eyes with Jack.
And charged.
THUD….THUD….THUD!
Jack's limbs froze.
The roar of the battlefield faded. The world shrank to the beast's thundering approach.
Then it happened.
Hum...
A vibration in his chest. A low, guttural pull.
The Devourer Blessing stirred.
Something inside him awakened, triggered by the intensity, the blood, the danger, the proximity to death.
Hunger.
Time slowed.
Jack's eyes snapped into focus.
He dashed forward directly toward the charging boar.
WHOOSH!
He slid low, the beast's tusk scraping just inches above his head.
SLASH!
One cut across its underbelly fast, precise.
A second strike, this one enhanced by stolen speed from a fallen Mistclaw Owl crack!
The boar's front leg buckled.
Jack pivoted, twisting on instinct. His dagger arced up.
SHLIK!
Straight through the beast's throat.
GURGLE!
A geyser of dark blood sprayed as the Shadowfang staggered.
THUD!
It collapsed.
Dead.
Jack landed hard, chest heaving. His dagger dripped crimson. His eyes glowed faintly for a moment, blessing still pulsing.
Around him, silence followed. Then
Caw!
Hiss!
SCREE!
Duskrats lay in twitching heaps. Cinderwasps roasted by elemental bursts. Ashclaw Drakes torn apart by tamed beast.
The enemy was dead.
All of them.
Behind Jack is his family. Beside him Otherworlders. Before him the unknown.
He whispered, barely audible through the blood and wind.
"This... was just the beginning."
----
To Be Continued..!!