The air itself seemed to tremble from the sheer force of the beast's cries, a sound that reverberated deep into the chest of every soldier present.
Across the battlefield, the Atroxians slammed against the flame wall in a blind frenzy, their claws striking the flame wall in vain, desperate to break through and reach their queen.
Yet the flame roared higher with each impact, fueled by both Mezra's will and the raw Eidra she had—flowing through the barrier.
Some atroxians tried to barge their way through the flamewall, but before they could even step through to the other side—they were burned into ash.
Their bodies vanished in the intense heat, leaving behind nothing but blackened smoke.
"Keep firing at them!" exclaimed Evaan to his commanders.
*Sounds of explosives and artillery
The soldiers stationed behind the wall, nearly half a million strong—unleashed constant firepower. Their shots never stopped, a steady storm of projectile that crushed the atroxian horde.
It was a one-sided fight.
The atroxians were helpless against the military force of the Zerafhon Empire.
Both their mindless soldiers and their towering Queen were falling, as the attacks from both sides were relentless.
The Queen let out a visceral scream, her huge arms flailing wildly. But her movements were too slow for the likes of Merilyn, Mezra, and Erenhold.
With swift steps, they dodged her strikes and ran up her massive arms, closing in to land their attacks.
Merilyn's sundering wind attacks slashed the beast multiple times, while Erenhold's chains wrapped tightly around its limbs, locking them in place.
Mezra followed with burning strikes that tore through its flesh without mercy.
The Queen's black, corrupted blood poured out from every wound, staining the ground beneath her.
Her once deafening voice now grew weaker, reduced to low and shuddering cries.
"Let's finish this," Mezra said, her voice calm but firm.
She bent her knees and launched herself high into the sky, her flaming sword pointed straight down as her crimson red hair fluttered with the wind.
As she rose, the Eidra around her body gathered like a storm of fire, igniting in bright flames that danced across her body.
She became a falling star, a meteor wrapped in fire, aimed straight for the Queen's head.
*Bang!
With a thunderous crash, Mezra struck.
Her blade pierced deep into the Queen's massive eye, sending the beast into a violent frenzy. It writhed and howled, thrashing its arms in pain, but it was already too late.
*Screech!
The monster thrashed and struggled, trying to grab at Mezra with both of its massive arms. But before it could even reach her, Erenhold tightened his chains around them, holding the beast back with all his strength.
His arms shook slightly from the force, but his grip never wavered.
Above, Mezra gathered her strength.
"Eriskera in Flamethron." She muttered under her breath.
Flame Eidra poured from her core into her sword, making it glow brighter and hotter with every heartbeat.
Her body became a furnace, and her weapon a burning spear—a flaming needle that pierced through the very existence of the monster.
"Burn!"
With a sharp cry, Mezra released the gathered power straight into the monster's skull. A violent, echoing bang followed—the firestorm from Flamethorn bursting deep inside the Queen's head.
Cracks of glowing red tore across the creature's body, spreading like veins of a molten rock.
*Sizzle
The intense flames devoured everything from within, boiling the corrupted blood, charring bone, and burning flesh in a steady—yet painful manner.
The beast's entire frame shook violently before a final, searing explosion blew through its body.
*Sizzle!
Its blood hissed and sizzled against the ground as the heat raged inside it.
The Queen's screams were no more—silenced at last.
Mezra yanked her sword free and pushed off from the corpse, landing lightly on the ground below.
The beast stood there for a moment longer, trembling.
It was over.
As the beast's massive body trembled, its limbs convulsed as it began to topple toward the soldiers below.
The soldiers flinched in reaction, as they began to scatter in every direction to avoid being crushed under by the beast.
But before the chaos could go further, Merilyn reacted swiftly.
With a fierce and practiced motion, she swung Zaepherax in a wide arc.
*Vwoom!
The glaive's edge cut through the air with a powerful gust, sending a violent wave of wind toward the falling creature.
The force of the blast hit the beast's body mid-fall, shifting its trajectory.
The enormous corpse tilted to the side,
*Boom!
crashing into the earth with a thunderous impact that sent shockwaves through the ground.
The beast landed with a resounding crash, but thankfully, it missed the soldiers completely.
"Mhm." Mezra sheathed her sword, "Very well done." her fingers adjusting her eye glasses.
Yet before they had any time to savor their victory, a powerful surge of Eidra permeated the air.
It was not corrupt, nor incomplete—like the monsters they had just slain.
It was something pure—yet something...
Utterly sinister.
Mezra, Merilyn, and Erenhold's eyes widened in realization.
"All soldiers—retreat toward th—"
But before she could finish her words, an entity rose from deep underground.
With a terrifying speed, it began to lacerate each soldier it could see, cutting through them with almost instant precision.
Merilyn and the others saw it in that split second.
It was no giant, but an entity that stood the same height as them—yet it was undeniably a beast.
"Shit!" exclaimed Merilyn, blinking forward towards the unknown entity, her glaive wrapped in powerful wind Eidra.
With a swift and precise strike, Merilyn swung her glaive at the beast, aiming for its exposed side.
*Clang!
But as the weapon came down, it was blocked. Twin blades extended from the creature's arms like jagged steel, absorbing the blow effortlessly.
*Roar!
The entity roared, sending a shockwave through the ground, and lashed out, knocking Merilyn away with great force.
She barely had time to recover when Mezra, her fiery sword blazing crimson, charged in.
Mezra's strike was blocked just as easily by the creature's extended blades. Frustration flashed in her eyes, but she quickly readied herself for another move.
Sensing it was outnumbered, the beast pulsed with pure black Eidra.
The energy surrounding it was thick with malice. Then, with a sudden ripple, the creature split into five separate entities, each one radiating the same deadly aura.
The three siblings braced themselves.
Merilyn's opponent rushed at her, blades sharp and vicious. She spun her glaive, sending a blast of wind Eidra to knock it back, but the entity recovered quickly, its movements unnervingly fast.
On the other side, Mezra's flaming sword collided with another of the creatures. The heat from her blade intensified, but the creature's form twisted unnaturally, evading her strike.
Erenhold didn't hesitate.
His chains whipped out, binding another entity's limbs, but even as he yanked it back, he knew this battle wasn't going to be easy.
Meanwhile, the other two entities vanished into the chaos, their presence still felt, like a shadow lurking in the background.
Merilyn, Mezra, and Erenhold exchanged a glance.
The fight had just escalated—and the real battle had only begun.