---
The sky was on fire.
Not the warm glow of sunset — no.
This was a sky scorched by rage, grief, and the screams of thousands being devoured by the Abyssal Legion.
Lian, Elyra, and Jayce stood at the mouth of a shattered bridge.
Behind them, smoke rose from the collapsed subway.
Ahead of them… the road was broken, jagged, bleeding shadows.
Above it all, a single tower rose from the cracked horizon — a spire of flesh and bone.
The Abyssal King's Cocoon.
They had 70 hours left.
---
Jayce grunted as he adjusted the blackened gauntlet of his demon arm.
"It's starting. The first surge."
As if summoned by his words, a wave of screeches echoed from the broken city below.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Abyss-borns — humanoid beasts with melted faces and elongated limbs — rushed forward like a tide of nightmare.
Lian mounted his Reckless Voyager Cycle.
His body was shaking. His soul still torn from the evolution. But he bared his teeth.
"Time to burn."
---
Battle Commenced: World Event – Demonic Invasion, Phase I
---
Lian activated [Mad Dash].
Time seemed to slow as his cycle screamed forward in a burst of soul-forged flame.
He crashed into the frontline like a living bullet, spinning midair and kicking one of the demons straight through a concrete pillar.
His screen glitched with pain.
> [HP: 64/100]
[Recoil Damage Triggered]
[Backlash Active – Next hit deals 2x damage… to YOU.]
He grinned through the blood in his mouth.
"Who cares? Let's dance."
---
Meanwhile, Elyra knelt beside the edge of the overpass, chanting.
Purple sigils floated above her fingers, her breath shaky, sweat pouring from her brow.
Every second she cast magic, her mind whispered horrors.
Visions of her dead brother. Of burning children. Of herself laughing as she slaughtered innocents.
She forced them back, screaming.
"NOT YET! NOT YET!!"
She unleashed a storm of mana — black lightning that turned half the battlefield into molten glass.
> [Madness Meter: 61%]
[Cognitive Drift Detected.]
Jayce was laughing again.
Not out of joy — but because if he didn't laugh, he'd fall apart.
He tore into the horde with his demon arm, each punch collapsing skulls and tearing through multiple enemies.
But the whispers were louder now.
"More."
"Rip more. Burn them all."
He ground his teeth.
"Shut. UP."
---
They fought for three hours straight.
There was no rest. No safe zone.
Only the never-ending onslaught.
At one point, a mother carrying her child ran toward them, screaming for help.
Jayce rushed to grab her.
But a blade made of bone pierced her from behind. The child hit the ground, rolling, crying.
Lian's eyes widened. "NO—!"
He turned, activated Mad Dash again — but too late.
A demon lunged. The baby's cries stopped.
Elyra froze.
Then… she snapped.
---
> [CHAOS STATE TRIGGERED.]
[Core Stabilizers: OFFLINE]
[Mana Output: 1300%]
---
"YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME!!!"
She unleashed a mana storm so powerful it ripped the entire block off the earth.
Even the survivors hiding nearby were turned to ash.
---
When it was over, silence fell.
Smoke. Fire. Blood. Ash.
The city was gone.
The demons had been pushed back… but at what cost?
Elyra collapsed to her knees.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I… I couldn't stop it… I couldn't…"
Jayce didn't speak. His demon arm was twitching. Blood poured from his nose.
He wanted to punch a wall until his bones shattered.
Lian sat beside the crushed body of the baby, staring.
He didn't cry.
He couldn't.
> [Quest Update: 14 Survivors Rescued]
[Casualties: 22 Confirmed. Innocents: 5]
---
That night, they sat in silence around a half-lit fire.
Elyra whispered, "I killed them, didn't I? Even the ones we were supposed to save..."
Jayce didn't answer. Lian looked up at the blood-red moon.
"There's no mercy on this road," he said.
Then he stood.
"We bury the dead. We don't cry. We carry them on our backs."
---
System Notification:
> [New Modifier Unlocked – Crimson Pact]
Survivors lost under your watch increase your power by 1% per death.
Buff expires after 48 hours.
---
They stared at the message.
It was cruel.
Monstrous.
But Lian muttered, "Fine. Then I'll carry every death."
He gripped the Cycle's handle, still trembling.
"This world won't take one more from me."
---
Chapter End.
---
Summary of Chapter 44:
Lian uses Mad Dash but suffers soul recoil — he's getting dangerously close to collapse.
Elyra enters Chaos State and wipes out everything, including allies. She's nearly lost to madness.
Jayce continues racking up corruption through brutal hand-to-hand combat — he's hearing whispers.
The group fails to save a mother and child, triggering emotional and moral breakdowns.
A new system modifier ("Crimson Pact") grants power in exchange for survivor deaths.
The Abyssal King is still not awake… but the first wave has nearly broken them.
...
Sorry guys but from now on only 4 ch will come in a day and it may be reduced to 2 or 3 chapters later on