When Selene came back to her senses, her eyes burned with fury.
"What are you doing, Rina?" she snapped, her voice trembling with anger, "Why did you drag me out of the camp? We have to go back and help!"
Rina, chest heaving, dropped to the ground and shook her head. "You can't fight those things," she said between heavy breaths, pointing toward the distant horizon. Looming above the burning camp, a swarm of creatures twisted and pulsed like shadows made of stars. "Alex and I already faced them. Our attacks—nothing worked. They absorb everything. It's a monster made of the space element. If you fight it, you'll die."
Selene's defiance wavered.
Space element.
Her body stiffened; the name alone made her fear. The Veylor Clan had ruled through terror once—not because of numbers, but because of that cursed affinity. After the death of the Void Sage, the clan had fallen from power. Yet one name still lingered.
Riven Veylor.
Said to be his successor in talent. But to Selene, he was nothing more than a coward cloaked in ambition, with greed and lust always flickering in his eyes.
Far from them, moments before the siege, a lone watchtower stood at the intersection between forest and mountain. There, Josh clutched his spear, eyes narrowed at the horizon—until the sky split open.
From that rift came the Ray Phantoms. Black, translucent like a shattered mirror, they fell like a rain of death. Josh didn't have time to scream. One merely brushed his legs, and they exploded into mangled flesh. He collapsed, agony blinding. In despair, he drove his spear into his own heart.
One of the phantoms opened a grotesque maw—its mouth lined with glassy tentacles—and devoured his body, a sickening crunch echoing through the mountains.
The descent became a massacre. Ray Phantoms swarmed the camp, tearing through tents, limbs, and flesh. Screams rang across the mountain—a chorus of horror. Those who fought back saw their attacks vanish—like throwing stones into a black hole.
Despair hit like an avalanche.
Yet amid the terror, Meika fought.
She darted through shadows, twin daggers dancing with her dark element. She spotted a Phantom dragging away a student—still alive, hands clawing at the ground in desperation, screaming in horror with tears and snot running down.
Meika came out of the shadow.
Slash!
Tap tap.
Black ichor started dripping.
The beast screeched—high-pitched, almost human—then stumbled back.
Meika scrunched her face; the rotten egg smell hit her.
"So I can hurt them," Meika whispered, eyes narrowing. "Then let's go all out."
But just as she bent her knee to attack another, her eyes caught a figure on a distant ridge.
Riven Veylor.
Hidden in the shadows, his lips curled into a slow, eerie smile. Watching.
Meika's blood ran cold.
"I can't go all out," she muttered under her breath. "I'll need strength... in case that bastard moves."
Meika merged back into the shadows, her movements swift and precise. She kept saving the students by attacking like an assassin, her dark daggers flashing. But she wasn't going all out—not with Riven Veylor lurking nearby.
On the other hand, only one person was fighting like a mad dragon—Varek Drakthorn.
When Varek spotted the monsters descending, he came rushing with his gorilla-like body.
Thrum, Thrum!
He saw monsters eating students from far away and formed a fireball in his hand, condensing as much elemental power as he could. The fireball, half the size of an adult, looked like a lava boulder, giving out so much heat the ground turned into molten lava. Smiling, he took the fire boulder in one hand, bent backward like rubber, and threw it.
The fire boulder came at the horde of Ray Phantoms who were eating the students, crunching sounds echoing, and screams of agony ringing out.
But the fire boulder passed through their bodies like they weren't even there. It dropped at the base of the mountain.
Boom!
The echo rang through the mountains.
Lava formed where the fire boulder landed.
When Varek saw this, his eyes turned red with rage.
He jumped at the nearest Ray Phantom.
Varek punched it with all his strength.
Boom!
A shockwave passed through the vicinity.
But when the punch came near the monster—
—it started getting shredded, like thousands of little blades were cutting it.
A blood-curdling roar tore from his mouth.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Varek stumbled back, clutching his arm. It looked like meat hanging from the bone. Below his elbow, two white bones and crushed fingers were visible, with blood dripping on the ground.
The hunk of a man—like a gorilla—kneeled, clutching his bloody arm in pain.
Meika appeared in front of him, emerging from the shadows like she had always been there.
"You really are an idiot, you know that, right?" Meika shouted, planting herself between him and the monsters.
Varek looked at her, bloodied and breathless, and simply smiled.
From the shadow of a nearby hill, Riven Veylor watched everything unfold. He knew he could help.
But why should he?
What do I gain? Risking his life for people who could betray him the moment they saw a chance? No. I'll help when it benefits me. That's help, isn't it?
Then, without warning, a blue screen appeared before his eyes.
TASK ALERT!
TASK: Save remaining people dramatically.
TIP: By killing the leader—the biggest one—all other Ray Phantoms will flee.
TASK CANNOT BE REFUSED.
"Yes, I know the gig, System," Riven muttered, annoyed but resigned.
Let's think... what would be a dramatic entrance?
Then he saw a Ray Phantom flying in the sky, overlooking the massacre.
A blue screen popped up:
ALERT!
B-RANK Ray Phantom monster spotted: the leader of the pack.
Let's kill that one in an instant. It'll be dramatic enough, and I'll be noticed. All of the Ray Phantoms will run away.
But Riven Veylor was afraid. He saw Varek's agony. He didn't want to go through such pain.
"Hey System, can you tell me how much of a chance I have of beating that leader?"
A blue screen popped in front of him:
Affirmative.
With sneak attack using all of the 6-circle space elemental power you have, you'll be able to eliminate it.
Then that's good enough, I think.
He stepped out of the shadows and vanished—teleporting straight to the leader of the horde.
Around fifteen arcs made of sleek black and dark purple light appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the biggest Ray Phantom.
Before it could react, Riven brought his hand down, making a sword arc with his hand.
All the slashes shredded the monster.
The monster didn't even get a chance to scream—it turned into pieces, and a rain of black ichor dropped to the ground.
Fuck. This sucked all of my power. If someone tried to attack me now, I wouldn't be able to defend myself, Riven thought.
Everyone was shocked!
When the monsters saw their leader was gone, they started running away—like dogs being chased.
In one instant, the monsters that had slaughtered dozens were gone.
Cheers broke out.
Students who were still alive began celebrating.
Riven walked calmly among the wounded, helping the injured without a word. Around a hundred uninjured students gathered around him, applauding. Then they lifted him and tossed him into the air, cheering his name.
From the edge of the battlefield, Meika had seen everything—from start to finish.
And now she understood.
He knew.
He knew the attack would happen.
He knew how to stop it.
He knew that if the leader died, the others would flee.
And yet… he waited. He let almost half the students die before stepping in.
Just to play the hero.
Her fists clenched around her daggers.
Now I see who you are, Riven Veylor.
She glared at Riven Veylor, who was smiling from ear to ear.