The atmosphere was cold and tense.

  Unease hung in the air, and terror had become yet another inhabitant of Gignit.

  And from there—from the other side of the gate that marked the boundary between the village’s warmth and the ominous darkness—they saw it.

  They saw macabre, diabolical darkness wrapping itself around Gignit, promising death and mourning.

  They saw the being that embodied absolute evil.

  They saw what was considered the most repulsive abomination of existence.

  They saw the most blasphemous and aberrant creature, a sacrilege against existence itself.

  The mere fact that it breathed was considered the gravest possible offense to life.

  They saw living sin—utterly unforgivable.

  They saw one of those beings whose very existence is the ultimate insult, sacrilege, offense, and profanation against the Gods themselves.

  Its body was foul and mephitic to behold, its existence an affront to the natural cycle of Kosmos.

  There—approaching in a nauseating, horrifying manner—emerging from the tenebrous darkness, they saw one of the beings that must be exterminated without delay.

  For otherwise… all life in Kosmos would be extinguished.

  There, Gignit suffered the misfortune of having appear at its gates—

  A Daimonas.

  A being born in a place beyond even the abyss itself: the deep vortex of absolute evil.

  “This isn’t possible!” Alexander shouted, fear saturating every word, hatred seeping from his very pores. “I killed it! I KILLED the Daimonas! That monster should be dead.”

  “I saw it with my own eyes,” Hermán said, holding his children with the strength that only emerges when a father protects those he loves. “I saw Alexander kill it. It truly shouldn’t be alive…”

  “Hermán… what’s going to happen to us?”

  But neither Hermán nor Rachell could continue speaking.

  They could only watch as that living sin advanced slowly—deliberately—as if mocking them.

  “This is a tragedy…” Jhon murmured, unable to pull himself away from his daughter, who—like all the children—remained unconscious.

  “Jhon… they were supposed to have killed it!” Lilian cried, trembling uncontrollably, completely paralyzed by fear. “This can’t be… it can’t be! Jhon, please… do something…

  “I don’t want to die!”

  And truly, no one wanted to die.

  But before a Daimonas… anything could happen—and whatever happened always led to something terrible.

  Alexander placed his son into the arms of his beloved wife.

  Now it was Valentina who protected his greatest treasures… and the one who had now become a new member of the Hope family—their daughter, Selestia.

  “Alexander… what are you going to do…?”

  Valentina couldn’t finish the sentence.

  Alexander pressed a deep kiss against her warm, sweet lips, stealing her voice for a few heartbeats. When she looked into his face, she understood his intentions at once.

  “Valentina, listen to me…”

  “Don’t you dare leave me, Alexander! I won’t allow you to face the Daimonas alone because I—”

  “SHUT UP!”

  The scream tore itself from the depths of Alexander’s soul. It hurt him deeply to shout at her, and the pain was clear in the melancholy that crossed his face.

  But he forced himself to gather his courage.

  “Gignit… is the most important thing in the world,” he said, clenching his fists. “We—its leaders—must protect it.”

  Valentina bit her lips.

  “Yes, I know, but—”

  “There is no ‘but.’ There is no time,” Alexander said, kissing her one last time. “You must make sure everyone leaves the village. Guide them to the portals and take them down, while we do everything we can to stop it…”

  He paused, his trembling hands finally growing still.

  “No… we won’t stop it. This time, we’ll exterminate it—once and for all.”

  He stepped away and turned his back on her.

  “Go… go now!”

  Valentina pressed her lips together in rage, then turned and fulfilled her role as leader—guiding her people toward tomorrow.

  “Very well… we meet again,”

  Alexander murmured as he stepped forward, standing several meters before the Daimonas, which continued dragging itself toward him.

  He stood firm, fixing his gaze on that abominable monster, still shrouded in a nauseating, poisonous aura of pure miasma.

  Taking a deep breath, fear pounding in his chest yet filled with resolve, Alexander let out a thunderous shout—calling all those with the courage to stand against the monster.

  “GIGNIT IS OUR HOME! IT IS OUR WORLD! WE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!”

  He inhaled once more, filling his lungs with air thick with fury.

  “WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT MONSTER—THAT DAMNED DAIMONAS—TO DESTROY OUR HOME! OUR LIVES!

  “WE HAVE ENDURED TOO MUCH PAIN, MISERY, AND SUFFERING TO ALLOW THIS ABOMINATION TO UNDO EVERYTHING IT HAS COST US SO MUCH TO ACHIEVE!”

  At that moment, many people—men and women who had been torn between what to do—stepped forward. Their eyes, still heavy with fear, fixed on Alexander’s back, which now stood as Gignit’s new wall… the barrier that would stop the monster from advancing any further.

  “I WILL SAY IT AS MANY TIMES AS NECESSARY! GIGNIT IS OUR HOME! IT IS OUR WORLD! AND OUR FAMILIES ARE HERE!”

  Fear vanished from his eyes, replaced by a colossal conviction—greater than anything he had ever felt before.

  And with that, his mind, his being, his soul… his very existence evolved.

  Now, he stood braver before the Daimonas. And because of that courage, he turned his back on it and faced those who were still torn between fleeing with the others… or staying to fight for their home.

  “PLEASE… I BEG ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE THE COURAGE—

  “STAY AND FIGHT BY MY SIDE! PLEASE, HELP ME PROTECT THE VILLAGE THAT I LOVE SO MUCH!

  “I BEG YOU… HELP ME SAVE GIGNIT!”

  Once more, filled with unshakable resolve, he turned back toward the blasphemous being as it crossed the gates.

  Alexander clenched his fists, fury burning within him as he remembered all the evil that atrocious creature had inflicted upon them.

  “AND ABOVE ALL… LET US AVENGE ALL OUR FRIENDS WHO HAVE FALLEN BECAUSE OF THIS DISGUSTING CREATURE—

  “LET US ERASE IT FROM THIS WORLD!”

  And instantly—without waiting even a single second—everyone, truly everyone whose hearts had been reached by Alexander’s words, shouted in unison.

  “YEEEEEEEEEEEEES!”

  Men and women alike. Young adults and elders.

  All those capable of fighting raised their fists toward the sky, clutching their hopes within them.

  “LEEEET’S GOOOOOO!”

  And following Alexander, who now led them, they marched toward the Daimonas.

  They marched to protect Gignit.

  And they marched to exterminate the enemy of the entire world.

  —Fire Elemental Magic: Fire Arrows.

  —Fire Elemental Magic: Fire Spear.

  —Water Elemental Magic: Big Waterball.

  —Water Elemental Magic: Ultra-Pressure Water Jet.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  —Earth Elemental Magic: Triple Rock Fist.

  —Earth Elemental Magic: Sharp Rock.

  —Air Elemental Magic: Great Gale.

  —Air Elemental Magic: Whirlwind.

  Everyone attacked the Daimonas.

  BOOOOOM

  Countless magical attacks slammed into the Daimonas, causing it extreme pain. That much was clear from the way its massive body writhed and twisted—yet it remained hidden behind the endless miasma that continuously poured from its existence.

  “Don’t stop!” Alexander shouted, surrounding himself with a violent surge of reddish magical energy that flared almost out of control. “Keep attacking it—don’t give it a chance to recover!”

  “That monster can kill all of us if we give it even the slightest opening to attack!”

  “And it really can,” Hermán said, keeping his distance while circling the Daimonas. “We have to force it to do that again. Otherwise, we won’t be able to kill it.”

  “Yes!” Tobias shouted in agreement, staying close to Hermán. “All we can do is attack it with everything we have—and this time, there are more of us!”

  Both of them stopped several meters in front of the Daimonas.

  A powerful magical aura erupted around Tobias, growing stronger with every passing second.

  The same happened with Hermán. He surrounded himself with dense magical energy that continued to intensify—but this wasn’t a spell.

  It was a magical technique.

  Hermán swung his katana, cutting through the air in a vertical arc from above, while Tobias thrust both fists forward—one beneath the other—the knuckles of his right hand facing upward, those of his left facing downward.

  “Crescent Slash.”

  “Feral Wolf Impact.”

  The magical techniques manifested fully in the physical world and, once released, shot forward at terrifying speed toward the Daimonas, still hidden within the poisonous cloud of miasma.

  The magical technique unleashed by Hermán resembled a mystical crescent moon shining in the heavens, now torn from the sky and hurled down into the mortal world, racing straight toward the Daimonas. At the same time, Tobias’s technique took shape as a massive wave of energy, almost like the head of a monstrous wolf forged from pure power.

  Both attacks struck.

  And for the first time since the brutal battle began, the Daimonas roared in pain.

  “RRROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR—AAAAARRGGGGG!”

  The Daimonas’s roar alone was lethal to living beings.

  Just hearing it caused many of those present to start bleeding from their ears. It was, without question, the most horrifying sound anyone there had ever experienced.

  It wasn’t merely horrible, diabolical, or destructive.

  It was a sound that went against the world itself.

  “It’s horrible!” an elf screamed as he began to vomit, despite having successfully landed multiple attacks against the enemy.

  “Its roar…” Jhon murmured, having remained behind while Lilian escorted Anita to safety. “It still feels the same… like a mixture of souls begging for death.”

  “RRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!”

  But it wasn’t over.

  The Daimonas began to move.

  And that alone threw everyone into a state of absolute alert.

  From within the demonic miasma, a mass of grotesque, flesh-colored tentacles erupted. Each one was lined with countless bleeding mouths, filled with twisted, jagged teeth and long tongues that seemed to taste the very air.

  And worse still—

  Inside many of those reeking mouths, glowing red eyes stared back.

  Those tentacles were not blind. They could see.

  That made it far easier for them to find their victims.

  “Everyone, be careful!” Alexander shouted.

  At least fifty tentacles lunged forward at once, striking at multiple targets simultaneously.

  The defenders were forced onto the defensive—slashing with their weapons, dodging, blocking, deflecting—doing everything they could to prevent those attacks from landing.

  The tension only escalated.

  The Daimonas’s strikes were neither slow nor weak. Each blow carried overwhelming force, enough to drive back anyone who stood in its path.

  Alexander planted his feet firmly—one forward, one back—anchoring himself just as a tentacle slammed into him.

  They’re incredibly hard… like steel, he thought, gritting his teeth. The first time we fought this monster, we could cut it without too much trouble… but now, for some reason, it’s far tougher.

  BOOOOOOOM

  The Daimonas was forced back several meters as more magical attacks collided with its cursed body, and once again, it roared in agony.

  Alexander and Hermán shut their eyes tightly, struggling to endure the pain inflicted simply by hearing its scream.

  That roar—so unnatural, so violently opposed to everything—sounded like a mixture of countless living beings screaming in infinite agony.

  Every time it roared, one could swear they heard thousands of souls crying out at once. It was as if boys and girls, men and women of every race, and even animals and magical beasts were all screaming together.

  And within those cries lived endless despair, mixed with suffering beyond comparison.

  The Daimonas stood at the center of it all.

  “Do you have a plan?” Hermán asked. “Last time, you managed to cut it when its miasma faded… but now…”

  “It’s protecting itself,” Alexander replied, his eyes fixed on the poisonous cloud. “Or rather… that monster knows the miasma protects it, and now it’s actively using it.”

  “We need to force it to expel it again,” Hermán said, watching as the so-called Power Trio—along with many others, including Mansot—assaulted it from every direction. “We know it’s acidic, but if it releases it again, we’ll be able to damage it far more.”

  “Yes,” Alexander nodded. “And the only way to do that is by hurting it enough. I know how to achieve that—but we’ll need your advantage, together with Tadeo and Tobias. You know which one I mean.”

  “Oh!” Tobias’s canine eyes widened slightly. “Yes… that could work. But both of us need time to gather enough magical energy to unleash it. Once we do, everyone must stay back.”

  “We’ll handle distracting it,” Alexander said, glancing at the others, who responded with firm nods. “Just make sure you don’t miss.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  ? ? ?

  “This thing is even stronger than before!” Mansot shouted, leaping aside to dodge one of the tentacles that continued to harass them relentlessly. “If even one of those touches me, I’d probably—”

  “AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

  The first scream of agonizing pain echoed from the side of Gignit.

  “HEEEEELP! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

  It was a young guard—one of the many tentacles had caught him.

  Horror spread across the young man’s face as he realized he was completely surrounded by those disgusting appendages, each one covered in eyes that stared at him as if he were nothing more than food.

  “PLEASE, HEEEELP!” he screamed again, plunged into absolute despair as the tentacle slowly tightened around his body.

  Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock, reflecting a level of terror he had never experienced before.

  And in that moment, he threw his head back and screamed to the sky with such force that it would have been strange if the other empires hadn’t heard it.

  “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT’S BITING ME! IT’S BITING ME!”

  Hearing that, the others who were still fighting the tentacles turned toward him.

  “IT’S EATING MEEEEEEEEEEE!”

  Everyone could see the tears streaming down his face—until, mixed with those tears, thick crimson blood began to spill from his mouth.

  “HEEEEEELP!”

  “Damn it!” Mansot roared, charging toward the trapped guard. “I’ll take care of him! All of you keep repelling the Daimonas’s tentacles!”

  “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! DAMN MONSTER, LET ME GO! AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

  The amount of blood he coughed up increased drastically. The sensation of those mouths tearing chunks from his flesh was beyond horrific.

  “Hold on! I’ll free you right now!” Mansot raised his scimitar, gripping it tightly with both hands.

  He swung it down with overwhelming force, the blade crashing into the tentacle that continued to devour the young man.

  Nothing happened.

  The shock on Mansot’s face made it clear.

  “I can’t cut it!” he shouted, rage exploding from his chest. “It’s too hard! Swords don’t work on it anymore!”

  The young man kept screaming as Mansot struck the same spot again and again.

  “It’s not working!” he yelled.

  “Mansot, move aside!”

  Instinctively, the semihuman turned.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  Mansot leapt backward just as the elven brothers, ONE and TWO, descended from the skies—both enveloped in the unmistakable aura of elven magic.

  —Racial Magic: Elf Magic: Spirit Arrow

  A bow formed in each of their hands. Despite being made purely of magic, they handled them as naturally as any physical weapon.

  An arrow condensed instantly on each bowstring, packed with an enormous concentration of energy.

  They fired at the same time.

  The first arrow pierced straight through the tentacle, severing it effortlessly. The second sliced cleanly through the section restraining the young guard, freeing him at last.

  “RRROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!”

  The Daimonas roared from within the miasma—but this time, a massive reddish circle became visible within it.

  Its eye.

  And it burned with infinite rage.

  “Take him away, now!” ONE shouted. “The Daimonas is about to attack with everything it has!”

  Without wasting a second, Mansot grabbed the young man and carried him away from the battlefield. He stopped near the houses and gently laid him down.

  But the moment he looked at the guard’s body…

  Mansot froze.

  “Damn…” he muttered under his breath as he examined every part of the young man’s body. “It’s true. The Daimonas was eating him.”

  Every inch of the body that had been restrained by the Daimonas’s tentacle showed the same thing: horrible bite marks.

  And not just bites—some parts of the young man’s body had already been torn off and devoured. Mansot could even see half-eaten muscle, and bones marked with deep bite scars.

  “We need to get rid of the Daimonas as soon as possible,” Mansot murmured to himself. “If we don’t, what Alexander said will come true. It’ll kill us all.”

  “Damn… damn… it hurts so much,” the young man groaned weakly.

  “Listen to me,” Mansot said firmly. “This area should be safe, so go and take shelter wherever you can.”

  He paused when the young man’s tear-filled eyes met his.

  “And I need to return to the fight,” he added. “We need everyone who can still fight to destroy the Daimonas once and for all.”

  The young man only nodded and began crawling away as best as he could.

  ? ? ?

  “Keep it up!” Alexander shouted. “Distract it as much as you can until they finish preparing their magical attack!”

  Following the Lord of Gignit’s orders, the others continued attacking from mid and long range. They had to be careful—otherwise, what had happened to that young man could happen again.

  —Racial Magic: Elf Magic: Spirit Arrow

  The elven brothers continued their assault, their racial magic proving to be one of the few attacks that consistently damaged the Daimonas. Tentacles fell to the ground, writhing briefly before becoming completely motionless.

  “Good! Take advantage of the fact that the Daimonas feels pain and push it back!”

  The others nodded.

  Once again, many unleashed a rain of magical attacks, while others began preparing heavier spells—techniques that required far greater concentration of magical energy.

  Alexander, Hermán, and Mansot—who had already returned to the battlefield—were enveloped by the aura that signaled the casting of reinforcement magic upon themselves.

  —Reinforcement Magic: Strengthening.

  Their muscles swelled slightly, veins becoming visible as the magical energy around the three of them surged dramatically, rising several meters into the air.

  At the same time, the aura of reinforcement magic changed, taking on earthen tones—rising like dust as it continued to accumulate.

  There was no need to link their minds.

  It wasn’t necessary.

  They all intended to enhance the same thing.

  —Earth Elemental Magic: Great Stone Fist.

  From in front of the Daimonas, four massive arms of rock emerged, each ending in tightly clenched fists. It took only a single moment before those overwhelmingly powerful magical attacks slammed directly into the Daimonas’s body, forcing it back several meters.

  And for a fleeting instant, many of those present were able to see a tiny fraction of the being hidden behind the mephitic, poisonous cloud of demonic miasma: a foot—utterly deformed and nauseating, covered in pus and repulsive eyes that, for a brief moment, stared back at them all.

  But the Daimonas was not going to be defeated so easily.

  New tentacles emerged from its existence—ten in total—and they pierced into the ground at once, anchoring its body and preventing it from being blasted away.

  “It didn’t work either!” Hermán complained. “It’s like it’s getting stronger by the second!”

  “We still have to try,” Mansot added. “I won’t let that monster destroy my home.”

  “We’ve accomplished our goal of distracting it!” Alexander shouted. “EVERYONE, FALL BACK TO A SAFE LOCATION!”

  “They’re already ready to attack!”

  Hermán and Mansot understood immediately—just like everyone else. They began retreating as quickly as possible, putting distance between themselves and the Daimonas.

  Everyone did.

  Except for two people.

  Surrounded by an intense aura that clearly marked the use of earth magic, Tobias and Tadeo advanced instead, side by side, their expressions carved with absolute seriousness.

  “TAKE COVER!” both the human and the beastman shouted at the same time.

  They positioned themselves back to back, all their focus fixed on the Daimonas.

  Tadeo raised his right arm forward, shaping his hand as if it were the jaws of a ferocious beast.

  Behind him, Tobias raised his left arm in the same stance—but the beastly jaws formed by his hand faced upward.

  As the Daimonas began to advance again, those jaws slowly opened.

  The ground beneath their feet cracked, threatening to collapse under the sheer pressure of the magical energy being accumulated.

  The Daimonas took another step, regaining its balance.

  And then, together, Tobias and Tadeo spoke the name of the spell, bringing their hands together as if a colossal beast had finally sunk its fangs into its prey.

  —Earth Elemental Magic: Great Earth Wolf’s Bite.