Nathan darted forward, every muscle tuned to the tempo of battle, every step deliberately reckless. The Surnok met his charge with a hiss that shook the cavern walls, its claws raking through stone like it was paper.
He slid beneath the first swipe, pivoted, and slashed again, this time aiming for its eye.
The beast snapped its head back at the last moment, and Nathan's blade glanced off the bridge of its nose, leaving behind only a shallow gouge and more fury.
Behind him, Theo threw himself between Veyra and the beast's flank, deflecting a sweeping claw with his spear. "Hurry!"
"I know!" she growled. Her hands were a blur, carving symbols midair that pulsed with growing light. Runes spun around her like a constellation forming, incomplete but accelerating.
Nathan felt the pull of Nova grow stronger. The Surnok was fast. Too fast. Stronger than anything he'd fought. He needed to end this before it figured them out.
It lunged again, and this time it anticipated his dodge, sweeping its tail low while feinting with its jaws.
Nathan twisted in midair, barely avoiding the crushing force, but pain flared in his side as the tail clipped his ribs. He tumbled, hit the ground hard, and tasted dirt and blood.
The Surnok roared.
And then the runes exploded.
A dome of light surged up from the ground beneath Veyra, racing outward in an arc. As it passed under the Surnok, glowing tendrils shot from the floor and latched onto its limbs, yanking them downward like invisible chains.
The beast screeched, thrashing against the arcane bindings. It shook two loose immediately—but the others held.
Veyra dropped to one knee, sweat pouring down her face. "That's half a bind! It won't last!"
Theo threw a dagger into the beast's shoulder to slow it. "Then what's the plan?"
Nathan rose, teeth clenched. His power seethed just below the surface. The Nova was screaming now—Use me. End this in one strike.
But he couldn't.
Not here.
He approached the Surnok slowly, cautiously, as it writhed in partial restraint.
"You're not just protecting a nest," he muttered. "You were driven here."
Veyra's head snapped up. "What?"
Nathan pointed to the markings on the floor. Some were Surnok prints. But others—smaller, rounder, scorched with a deeper heat—had been layered beneath.
Theo followed his gaze. "Those aren't the beast's. What the hell left those?"
Nathan stared at the charred pattern underfoot. It pulsed faintly. And for the first time, something beneath the Surnok answered—a pulse of heat, a soft rumble in the stone.
Veyra looked horrified. "This isn't a nest. It's a rupture."
The Surnok screeched again—more desperate now, nearly breaking free.
Nathan took a step back, breathing hard. "We need to leave."
"What?!" Theo barked. "We're not done!"
Veyra was already retracting her bindings, her voice sharp. "Everyone out. Now."
They didn't run.
They retreated, eyes on the Surnok until it faded behind the cave's curve, still thrashing, still howling.
The sky cracked open above them.
Nathan sprinted through the charred forest, breath burning in his lungs, the shriek of the Surnok echoing behind him like a storm made flesh. Branches snapped overhead as something massive barreled through the trees. Not one anymore.
Two. Maybe three.
Theo cursed beside him, clutching his bleeding side as he ran. "They're faster than before!"
"They're angry!" Veyra snapped, dragging the satchel of etched relics tighter to her chest. "We stepped on their nesting site, they're defending it."
Behind them, the lead Surnok let out a roar that turned Nathan's spine to ice. Violet eyes blazed through the smoke. .
It lunged.
A shockwave erupted behind them. Trees shattered like kindling. Theo was thrown forward, tumbling into a ditch, and Veyra fell hard, the relics spilling.
Nathan skidded to a halt.
"Keep moving!" she screamed.
But he wasn't listening anymore.
Because the third Surnok had landed between him and the others.
Its claws dug into the earth, molten breath rising in huffs from its throat. Its hide shimmered, refracting the dying light like cracked crystal. This one was bigger. Older. The alpha.
It roared , the sound cracked the air, sent birds scattering miles away.
Nathan didn't think.
He reached inside, to the place he had locked away.
Nova burned at the edge of his vision, and Threadstone followed—threads of energy winding around his limbs like veins lit by fire. The air pulsed. Space warped. Heat shimmered off his skin.
The Surnok charged.
And Nathan moved.
Not like a soldier. Not like a human.
Like a God.
He slid beneath the first strike, rose into the air, levitating for a half-second, and slammed his palm against the creature's plated head. Nova erupted in a spiral of light and thunder.
The Surnok shrieked. Its skull cracked. The shockwave split the earth beneath it.
And Nathan didn't stop.
He spun.
Ability: Divine Punishment
His blade flashed, turning into a long beam of light Nathan lunged at the beast, his blade spinning to the beast. It pierced.
A moment of silence. The creature staggered.
Then fell.
Dead.
His Life Book, appeared, ink started to write itself.
Achievement: Defeat Surnok, The Guardian of Demons
Title Unlocked: Titan Slayer (Boosts damage to all demons by 50%)
Behind him, the other two stopped short, staring at their fallen alpha.
Theo, bruised and bleeding, stared too.
Veyra slowly rose to her feet, her eyes wide.
"Nathan…" she whispered.
He stood there, surrounded by scorched ground and crackling remnants of light, panting. The glow in his veins faded.
He hadn't meant to reveal it. Not here.
But they would've died otherwise.
And now… they knew.
"Light Magic?" Theo said. He stared at Nathan for a while. I thought only people born of the holy ones can use light magic.
Verya glanced at Theo. "Who really are you Nathan?"
"I'll explain everything later, but for now we have bigger problems to worry about."
Because somewhere deep in the forest, more howls began to rise.
And they knew this wasn't over yet.