The Smiling Death

A Few Minutes Earlier.

Far away from where Amon, Seraphina, and Alaric were clashing. Another fierce battle raged through the forest.

After retreating from the devastating collision between the golden and violet energies, Aisha, Marcus, Eliana, and Soren had created enough distance to avoid being caught in the explosion.

The four landed among a field of shattered trees. The ground was covered in frost. Cold mist drifted through the air.

Soren slowly lowered his hands. His eyes calmly observed the three students.

"You survived. I expected as much."

Aisha answered with action instead of words. Blue lightning exploded beneath her feet.

BOOM!

She vanished. Her body became a streak of blue electricity as she rushed toward Soren from behind.

Lightning wrapped around her armor and greatsword, releasing deafening cracks with every step. She raised the massive blade overhead.

"Die!"

The sword descended like a bolt of lightning.

Soren sensed her at the last instant. A thick wall of ice erupted behind him.

CLANG!!

The greatsword shattered the ice barrier into countless fragments. Before the frozen shards even reached the ground...

Marcus arrived. His flaming spear thrust straight toward Soren’s ribs.

Soren twisted his body just enough for the spear to graze his side. Even so the burning spearhead left a deep gash across his waist.

Blood splashed onto the frozen ground. Soren’s calm expression changed.

He swung an ice-covered fist.

BOOM!

Marcus crossed his spear to block. The tremendous impact sent him flying backward through two trees before crashing onto the forest floor.

"Cough!"

Blood escaped Marcus’s mouth. Several ribs had cracked.

Soren immediately pursued.

But Aisha intercepted him again. Lightning exploded around her greatsword as she launched a relentless series of heavy swings.

Each strike carried enough force to split boulders. Soren blocked the first.

The second.

The third.

Ice gauntlets shattered and reformed with every collision. The battlefield became a storm of frost and lightning.

Then a calm voice echoed from above.

"Spirit...answer my call."

A soft green light spread across the forest. Eliana stood atop a broken tree trunk with both hands resting upon her bow.

A brilliant emerald magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Mana poured into the sky. The surrounding wind gathered rapidly. Leaves danced through the air. The gentle breeze became a raging gale.

A portal appeared. From inside something stepped out. The wind condensed around that creature. A wolf. Its entire body was formed from pale white-green wind mana like they were furs.

It stood nearly four meters tall. Its emerald eyes glowed with intelligence as streams of wind continuously flowed around its body.

The enormous spirit let out a deep howl.

Awooooo!!

Eliana pointed toward Soren.

"Go."

The Wind Spirit disappeared. Its speed rivaled the wind itself. Before Soren could react the gigantic wolf slammed into him from the side.

BOOM!!

Powerful winds exploded upon impact, throwing Soren dozens of meters across the frozen battlefield.

The spirit didn’t stop. It lunged again. Its enormous claws, formed from compressed wind blades, slashed repeatedly.

Soren retaliated. Dozens of razor-sharp ice spears erupted from the ground. Several pierced through the spirit’s body.

Yet the wolf simply dissolved into wind before instantly reforming. It wasn’t flesh. It couldn’t be killed so easily.

Aisha seized the opening. She charged together with the Wind Spirit. Marcus rejoined them from the opposite side despite the blood staining his clothes.

The three attacked simultaneously.

Marcus’s flaming spear swept low. Aisha’s lightning-covered greatsword descended from above. The Wind Spirit’s claws struck from Soren’s blind spot.

Soren was overwhelmed. He raised several layers of ice walls.

Marcus’s flames exploded against them. Aisha’s sword shattered them. The Wind Spirit slipped through the opening.

Slash!

Its claws tore across Soren’s back. Blood splashed through the air.

Soren staggered. Eliana had already drawn another arrow. This time she condensed nearly all of her remaining mana into it.

A pale green arrow several times larger than normal appeared upon her bowstring. The surrounding wind spiraled toward it.

"Go."

She released the string.

SWIIIISH!!

The arrow became a beam of emerald light. At that exact moment Marcus thrust his spear.

Aisha swung her greatsword.

Soren blocked both attacks. His attention remained fixed on them. He never saw Eliana’s arrow.

THRUST!!

The emerald projectile pierced straight through his stomach. Soren’s eyes widened. He looked down in disbelief at the hole through his body.

Marcus immediately stepped forward. With every ounce of strength he had left. He drove his flaming spear completely through Soren’s heart.

BOOM!

Flames erupted from within the wound.

Soren’s body trembled. His emerald eyes slowly lost their light.

"...Impressive..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I underestimated...you."

His body collapsed onto the frozen ground.

Silence returned.

The Wind Spirit slowly dissolved into countless green particles before disappearing into the night. The three students stood there breathing heavily.

Aisha’s right arm hung limply at her side after suffering a deep cut from Soren’s ice. Marcus could barely remain standing, his cracked ribs making every breath painful.

Eliana leaned against her bow for support, her face pale after exhausting nearly all of her mana.

They had won. But the victory had come at a heavy price.

Then a colossal explosion erupted from the direction where Amon and Seraphina were fighting.

The entire forest shook. The three students immediately turned toward the distant.

"...Amon and Seraphina!"

The three of them had barely taken a few steps when a blur flashed through the forest.

A figure wrapped in a dark cloak raced across the shattered battlefield with astonishing speed, heading in the exact same direction as Amon and Seraphina.

The stranger moved so quickly that only a fleeting silhouette could be seen between the broken trees.

Marcus instinctively stopped.

"Someone’s there!"

Aisha immediately raised her greatsword despite her injuries.

"Who is it?"

Eliana narrowed her sharp elven eyes, trying to make out the figure through the darkness.

"I... couldn’t see."

"They’re too fast."

Within moments, the mysterious cloaked figure disappeared into the forest. None of them had time to chase.

The battle ahead demanded their attention. An overwhelming pressure descended upon the entire mountain range. The air itself seemed to freeze.

"What?"

Marcus looked toward the distant battlefield. There, a gigantic circle of crackling purple light suddenly bloomed deep within the forest.

The unstable mana inside it swelled at a terrifying rate.

Aisha’s expression changed instantly.

"No... we need to run!"

Before anyone could react.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

A cataclysmic explosion erupted. Unlike the previous clash of golden and violet energies. This explosion was composed entirely of violent purple lightning.

A colossal pillar of crackling violet light shot into the heavens. The forest disappeared beneath an ocean of thunder. An enormous shockwave exploded outward, flattening everything in its path.

Ancient trees were uprooted like blades of grass. Massive boulders shattered into countless fragments. The ground split apart as deep fissures spread through the valley.

Purple lightning danced wildly across the devastated landscape, striking anything that remained standing.

Even the village who was two kilometers away. The peaceful houses of Eriye Village trembled violently.

Windows rattled. Roofs shook.

Villagers stumbled out of their homes in panic as the thunderous explosion echoed through the mountains.

Back on the battlefield.

Marcus, Aisha, and Eliana instinctively crossed their arms before their faces. The violent shockwave slammed into them with overwhelming force.

Their clothes whipped violently in the raging wind. Dust, broken branches, and shattered stones flew past them like deadly projectiles.

For several long seconds. Nothing could be seen except a wall of dust and crackling violet lightning.

When the shockwave finally weakened. Silence fell once more. The three students slowly lowered their guards. Their faces had gone pale.

Aisha stared toward the distant battlefield, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

"Amon..."

"Seraphina..."

She whispered their names, praying they had somehow survived.