The soldiers’ faces looked strange.

  Their expressions felt like they were trying to tell me something, but they couldn’t. Their eyes kept searching… almost like they were asking for help.

  Their attacks were powerful, but something was wrong.

  The intention behind them didn’t feel real.

  It was as if they were trapped… or being controlled.

  Maybe I’m overthinking this, I told myself.

  Right now, I had to focus on the fight.

  For a moment, I thought about calling Lucy here.

  But I stopped myself.

  This place was too dangerous. I couldn’t bring her into something like this. I knew she was strong… but still, I couldn’t put her in danger.

  Meanwhile, the man’s attacks grew stronger as he spoke.

  “You’re right,” he said coldly. “But life isn’t the same for everyone. There comes a moment when people grow tired… when they lose hope.”

  His voice deepened.

  “And when that happens… their hearts turn cold.”

  He looked at me sharply.

  “The weather never stays the same. So why should kindness and hope remain forever?”

  For a moment, the battlefield fell quiet.

  Kelix slowly lowered his hands.

  “It’s still a human choice,” he said calmly. “Like I said… it’s never too late to change.”

  He looked up at the sky.

  “Even with weather, it depends on perspective.”

  “In winter, you can see only the cold… or you can see the beauty of snowfall.”

  “In the rain, you can hear the peaceful sound of falling drops… or only complain about the mud and dirty water.”

  He looked back at the man.

  “It’s the same with life.”

  “You can hold on to hope and keep moving forward…”

  “Or give up and let the hardships decide who you become.”

  Their eyes trembled.

  It looked as if they were trying to say something, silently begging for help.

  Kelix felt it clearly now.

  They aren’t fighting by choice…

  For a moment, the battlefield blurred as memories rushed into his mind.

  “I also faced a moment like that,” Kelix said quietly, his voice heavy but firm. “The moment when I lost my family.”

  His fists clenched.

  “If I had given up back then… I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

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  His eyes hardened with determination.

  “I found them once… and I’m not going to lose them again.”

  The soldiers rushed forward again, blades flashing in the dim light.

  Kelix dodged, blocking their strikes, but his mind was racing.

  I have to find a way…

  Maybe this is my last chance.

  Then—

  A voice echoed inside his head.

  Cold.

  Ancient.

  “If you wish to win… then listen carefully.”

  Kelix froze for a fraction of a second.

  “The pawns before you are nothing but hollow shells without commands.”

  Kelix spoke in his mind.

  “I don’t know what you are… but I need your help again.”

  The voice responded slowly.

  “You may call upon me whenever you wish… but if you do, be prepared for the consequences.”

  Kelix closed his eyes for a brief moment.

  “I already know… there’s no way back.”

  All he could see in his mind was his family.

  “I’m ready.”

  The voice chuckled softly.

  “You are a stubborn boy.”

  Kelix’s eyes opened again, sharper than before.

  His mind finally connected the pieces.

  The soldiers… they appeared from that man’s spell.

  If they are controlled… then they cannot act without commands.

  Kelix exhaled slowly.

  Then the answer is simple.

  He tightened his stance, ignoring the soldiers closing in around him.

  I don’t need to fight them.

  I just need to focus on the one controlling them.

  Kelix’s gaze locked onto the man in the distance.

  Cold.

  Unshaken.

  Because now—

  He had found the way to end it.

  Now Kelix began targeting the man controlling everything.

  He dashed forward, ignoring the soldiers surrounding him, his eyes locked only on the man in the distance.

  But the moment he moved—

  The soldiers stepped in.

  One after another, they blocked his path, forming a wall between him and their master.

  Their movements were precise and perfectly coordinated, as if they shared the same mind.

  Kelix frowned.

  Something about them felt strange.

  These weren’t ordinary soldiers.

  Their strength… their aura… it was far too powerful.

  They fought like warriors who held high positions of power, not like mindless pawns summoned by a spell.

  Each strike carried terrifying force, and every movement was sharp and disciplined.

  Kelix realised something was wrong.

  These soldiers… they aren’t meant to be just soldiers.

  Yet somehow, they were standing here like puppets, forced to protect the man controlling them.

  And that only made Kelix more certain.

  The real enemy…

  was the man behind them.

  Kelix staggered forward, his breath ragged, his body already pushed far beyond its limits.

  I have to do something… even if it takes me down with it.

  A low growl escaped his throat as he gathered the last fragments of strength left inside him.

  Then—

  Something changed.

  Every vein across Kelix’s body suddenly bulged, crawling beneath his skin like burning wires. His muscles tightened, trembling under a surge of violent energy. His eyes snapped open—

  Blood red.

  No pupils.

  Just endless crimson fury.

  The air around him seemed to distort as he lowered his stance.

  And in the next instant—

  He vanished.

  A shockwave blasted across the floor as Kelix launched forward at terrifying speed.

  Before the man could react—

  CRASH!

  Kelix slammed into him like a meteor, driving him straight through the stone wall. Dust and fragments exploded into the air as both bodies burst into the next chamber.

  The man barely had time to breathe before Kelix grabbed him by the collar and hurled him again—

  BOOM!

  Wall to wall.

  Stone shattered.

  Columns cracked.

  Kelix’s fists rained down like a storm.

  BAM!

  CRACK!

  THUD!

  Each punch shook the room, smashing the man deeper into the broken floor. Blood splattered across the shattered stone as Kelix struck again and again, his red eyes burning with unstoppable rage.

  The man tried to speak—

  “T—troo—”

  But before he could finish the order—

  Kelix’s hand shot forward.

  The words died instantly in the man’s mouth. He gasped, clutching his neck, unable to force out a command. The strike hadn’t crushed his throat—but for now, his voice was completely blocked.

  Kelix leaned close, his voice low and cold.

  “No orders… from you.”

  The man’s body was already broken, barely conscious.

  Kelix slowly released him, letting him collapse into the rubble like a discarded corpse.

  Then—

  Kelix turned.

  Across the hall, rows of soldiers stood frozen.

  Their eyes waited for a command that never came.

  But without their master’s voice—

  They were nothing.

  Just puppets.

  Kelix cracked his neck slowly, blood dripping from his knuckles.

  His red gaze swept across them.

  A faint, dangerous smile formed.

  “The puppets… are still standing.”

  He took a step forward.

  “Then I’ll cut the strings myself.”

  And the soldiers charged.

  Kelix charged at the soldiers, and the fight began again.

  It worked—but not the way he expected.

  Their attacks were slower now, lacking the sharp coordination they had when the man commanded them. Yet their strength remained their own. Every strike still carried heavy force.

  Kelix blocked and countered, forcing himself to keep moving.

  Slow… but still powerful.

  The ground trembled under the impact of their blows. Cracks spread across the battlefield as the clash continued without pause.

  “My attacks are strong… but my body isn’t,” Kelix thought, breathing harder. “If this keeps going, I won’t last long.”

  He needed to save energy.

  Kelix slammed his foot into the ground and summoned power from the earth. Stones began to shake loose from the floor. Pieces of the broken ground lifted into the air, spinning around him like a storm.

  With a sharp motion of his hand—

  He hurled them all at once.

  The stones shot forward like a barrage of arrows, crashing into the soldiers and forcing them back.

  But Kelix didn’t give them a moment to recover.

  He raised both hands again and tore a massive boulder from the fractured ground. With a roar, he swung his arms and launched it toward them.

  The giant rock thundered across the battlefield, smashing straight into the advancing soldiers.

  Kelix knew he couldn’t keep fighting forever.

  I have to make sure my family… and everyone here… gets out safely.

  With a deep breath, he slammed both hands onto the ground. The earth responded instantly. Massive chunks of stone rose from the broken floor, sliding together and stacking upon each other.

  Within seconds, a thick stone wall formed in front of the soldiers, blocking their path.

  The soldiers began striking the barrier immediately. Each blow shook the wall, cracks slowly spreading across its surface.

  Kelix clenched his fists, forcing more power into it.

  “Hold… just a little longer.”

  Behind him, a portal suddenly opened.

  A flash of light—

  And Lucy stepped out.

  “Kelix!”

  Kelix glanced back at her, relief flickering across his tired face.

  “Lucy… there’s something you have to do,” he said quickly, breathing heavily. “I can’t hold this wall for long. You need to take everyone—my family and the others—and get them out of here while I deal with them.”

  Lucy hesitated. “But—”

  “There’s no time to explain,” Kelix cut in, his voice firm but strained. “Just go.”

  For a moment she looked at him, understanding the risk he was taking.

  Then she nodded.

  “Okay.”

  Lucy turned and ran toward the room where the people were hiding.

  After a few steps, Kelix called out again.

  “Lucy.”

  She stopped and looked back.

  Kelix’s voice was quieter this time.

  “Please… make sure you stay safe too.”

  Lucy’s eyes softened for a brief second.

  “I will, Kelix.”

  Then she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Kelix alone with the shaking wall as the soldiers kept pounding against it.