Chapter 5: The Dawn of Veilbreak Dominion
Two days passed beneath the shadow of war.
Beyond the northern forest, the demons gathered in silence.
Thousands of monstrous figures moved between the frozen trees, raising crude war camps from bone, iron, and rotting flesh Fires burned through the night while the scent of blood drifted across the wind like a warning from death itself.
And inside the human settlement beside the river-
Fear spread rapidly.
Kael Draven and his hunting party had vanished without a trace.
No scouts returned.
No signals appeared from the forest.
People whispered in corners.
Children cried in silence.
Even the warriors standing guard upon the walls could feel the tension slowly crushing the village.
Then suddenly-
A scout burst through the village gates.
"Leader Ragnar Vael!"
The man stumbled forward, breathing heavily.
"The demons... they’re gathering inside the northern forest! Thousands of them! They’re preparing for war!"
The entire village froze.
Before Ragnar could respond, another man arrived from the western road.
It was Elric.
His face was pale.
And his hands were shaking.
"Kael Draven..." he whispered.
The crowd turned toward him.
Elric lowered his head.
"Kael Draven and the others are dead."
Silence descended upon the village like a funeral veil.
"They crossed into demon territory by mistake," Elric continued weakly "The demons slaughtered them all."
A woman collapsed to her knees.
Someone began crying.
Others lowered their heads in disbelief.
Ragnar Vael stood motionless for several seconds.
Then-
He stepped forward.
The pressure radiating from him silenced the entire village.
"This is no longer a simple battle," Ragnar said calmly.
His voice carried across the settlement like iron striking stone.
"The demons have murdered our people once again."
His eyes hardened.
"They butchered Kael Draven."
"They butchered our brothers."
"And if we do nothing... they will butcher our children next."
The warriors slowly tightened their grips on their weapons.
Ragnar raised his sword toward the sky.
"So listen carefully."
"We will not run."
"We will not kneel."
"We will bury every demon that dares step onto our land."
A violent roar erupted from the warriors.
"YEAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Meanwhile, deep within the demon encampment, Demon Chief Voragath stood beside General Kajkha beneath a towering structure made from giant bones.
"The humans know we are coming," Voragath muttered "Listen to them They are preparing for war."
Distant battle drums echoed faintly through the forest.
Kajkha smirked.
"Then we change the timing."
His crimson eyes glowed beneath the morning mist.
"If they expect death during the night..."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"...we will give it to them at sunrise."
Voragath bowed immediately.
"As you command, General."
Back within the village, humanity prepared desperately for the coming battle.
Women carried supplies underground.
Children were hidden inside stone houses.
Healers gathered herbs, medicine, water, and cloth for the wounded.
Warriors sharpened weapons through the night while blacksmiths worked until their hands bled.
Ragnar Vael walked along the walls like a storm given human form.
"Raise the barriers!"
"Double the archers on the eastern side!"
"Move the wounded away from the front line!"
His voice never shook.
But everyone could see it in his eyes.
He understood exactly what was coming.
And then-
Morning arrived.
The first rays of sunlight barely touched the horizon when the forest began to tremble.
Thousands of demons emerged from the trees like a living nightmare.
The ground shook beneath their march.
Kajkha stepped forward and raised his massive weapon.
"ATTACK!"
His roar thundered across the battlefield.
"Kill the humans!"
"Devour their flesh!"
"Crush their hope!"
The demons exploded into a frenzy.
At the same moment, Ragnar Vael drew his sword and pointed it toward the enemy.
"The demons are here!"
His voice shook the walls themselves.
"But humanity is no longer weak!"
"Fight for your families!"
"Fight for the fallen!"
"ATTACK!"
The battlefield erupted instantly.
Steel collided against claws.
Arrows darkened the sky.
Screams echoed across the plains.
The humans initially managed to hold the front lines.
Years of growth had made them far stronger than the demons remembered.
But the demons were monsters born for slaughter.
And once the fighting intensified-
The battlefield transformed into hell.
A demon tore through three warriors with a single swing.
Another crushed a human skull beneath its foot.
Blood soaked the earth.
Bodies piled across the battlefield.
One massive demon warrior laughed while ripping a wounded soldier apart.
"These insects dare resist us?"
The demon sneered.
"Pathetic."
Fear began spreading among the human ranks.
The demons were stronger than expected.
Faster.
More savage.
More overwhelming.
Among the terrified warriors stood a young man named Neel.
Weak.
Inexperienced.
Forgettable.
Compared to the others, he barely knew how to fight.
And now-
He watched people die all around him.
A spear shattered beside his face.
A man screamed somewhere behind him.
Another body collapsed at his feet.
Fear consumed him completely.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
Then-
A demon suddenly lunged toward him.
Its claws tore through the air.
Neel’s pupils shrank.
Death was directly in front of him.
And at that exact moment-
Something inside him broke.
No.
Something awakened.
The world stopped.
The battlefield froze completely.
Falling blood remained suspended in the air.
Swords halted mid-swing.
Even the screams disappeared.
Only silence remained.
Neel stared around himself in disbelief.
Then-
A voice echoed through the emptiness.
Ancient.
Calm.
Absolute.
"Fear is the chain that binds humanity."
"You called yourself weak long before anyone else did."
"You accepted helplessness."
"You surrendered before the battle even began."
Neel’s breathing trembled.
"Who... are you?"
The voice ignored the question.
"Stand."
"Reject fear."
"Reject weakness."
"Reject the lie that you were born insignificant."
A strange heat spread through Neel’s body.
His heartbeat began shaking the silence itself.
"You will become the first crack."
"The beginning of humanity’s awakening."
Then-
Words appeared before his eyes.
"VEILBREAK DOMINION THE FIRST CRACK"
The first stage of Dominion.
Awakened by those who surpass the limits of fear and helplessness.
•Threat Assessment:
City-Level → Continental Potential
•Conditions:
- Survive absolute terror
- Reject helplessness completely
- Possess overwhelming will to survive
•Abilities:
- Enhanced physical strength
- Accelerated speed and reflexes
- Heightened sensory perception
- Minor energy manipulation
- Resistance against mental suppression
- Rapid combat adaptation
•Weaknesses:
- Mental instability weakens Dominion
- Severe injuries remain fatal
- Excessive usage rapidly exhausts the body
Neel stared at the words silently.
Then the voice spoke one final time.
"Believe in yourself."
"Not because others believe in you."
"But because you refuse to fall."
The frozen world shattered.
Time resumed instantly.
The battlefield exploded back into motion.
Sound returned violently.
Screams.
Steel.
Blood.
Chaos.
Neel slowly lifted his head.
In the distance, Ragnar Vael was fighting desperately against multiple demons alone.
Ragnar noticed him standing still and shouted furiously:
"Neel!"
"You’re too weak for this battlefield!"
"Go back to the village!"
But Neel no longer looked afraid.
His trembling had stopped.
His eyes had changed.
He slowly clenched his fists.
"I am not weak anymore."
A dark pressure erupted from his body.
"And from this moment onward..."
His gaze locked onto the charging demons.
"...I will never depend on anyone else again."
Five demons lunged toward him simultaneously.
And then-
Something flashed.
For a brief second, nobody understood what happened.
The demons suddenly stopped moving.
Thin crimson lines appeared across their necks.
Then-
Their heads slid from their bodies.
Blood scattered across the battlefield.
Five corpses collapsed at Neel’s feet.
Silence spread across the nearby war zone.
Humans froze.
Demons froze.
Even Ragnar Vael stared in disbelief.
The remaining demons slowly stepped backward.
Their eyes widened with horror.
"What..."
"How did he..."
"One strike?"
"No..."
A demon’s voice trembled.
"That wasn’t human."