Chapter 26: Echoes of the Past (Part 5)
The battlefield shifted. Synoh's voice echoed through the formation:
"Distract it. Keep it off Lux. This is our moment!"
The team moved.
Edward slammed both fists into the ground—a wall of jagged stone erupted beneath the Bugbear's feet, unbalancing it for a moment. He followed it up with earthen spikes jabbing at its legs.
"This is payback, beast!" he growled.
Mina and the archers let loose a wave of glowing red-tipped arrows.
"Mark the gem!" she shouted. Each arrow burned brightly, drawing the monster's attention like flares in the dark.
The casters fired volley after volley—ice to freeze its footing, wind to push it off balance, fire to burn and blind.
"This is for Marcus!" one of them shouted.
Meanwhile, Yuta moved like a shadow, slipping into the darkness with the assassins. His summoned goblins returned, smaller, quicker, and suicidally aggressive, leaping onto the Bugbear's back to distract it.
"Go," he whispered to the others, "get that armor off."
The assassins dashed forward with glowing daggers, climbing and stabbing at the joints. Yuta slid beneath the beast, his blade glowing green, and with a precise upward slash, cracked the armor over the chest.
"Almost there," he whispered, blood dripping from his mouth. "We're not losing this time."
Then Lux stepped forward. Alone.
He closed his eyes, light magic humming around him. His sword shone brighter than ever, blinding like the midday sun.
"This ends now," Lux muttered. "Sword of Judgment…"
The Bugbear let out a feral roar and charged at Lux, swinging its massive kanabo with murderous rage. Its eyes squeezed shut from the blinding light, relying only on instinct and fury.
Just before the blow could land—
Synoh stepped in.
Shadow and flame wrapped around his blade—Fel's dark magic awakening within him. He slashed upwards, clashing against the kanabo, redirecting it slightly—but the sheer force still hurled Synoh through the air, crashing into the canyon wall.
Blood stained the ground where he landed—but he smiled, knowing what came next.
Lux opened his eyes, now glowing gold. His body surged with power.
"Sword of Judgment!!" he cried.
The blade extended, a pillar of searing light descending like divine wrath. The sword struck the Bugbear dead center—right on the gem.
A moment of silence—then a crack.
The gem shattered.
And the Bugbear screamed, its body convulsing before collapsing like a felled mountain, dust rising high into the moonlit sky.