With a subtle flick of his finger, Vraal—the Demon King—didn't even need to speak.
A sudden, crushing wave of air pressure slammed through the grand throne room. Before anyone could react, the spatial fabric tore open, and in a blink, both the wounded monster and the General were instantly teleported outside the massive gate, leaving the cavern behind.
The General, now standing under the ominous glow of the cavern's roof, casually adjusted his attire. "Take me to them. Now."
The monster bowed frantically, its remaining wing trembling. "Right away, Len!"
Meanwhile, back at the clearing near the fallen tree...
Ayush's eyes snapped open. A violent spike of danger buzzed through his senses, instantly jolting him awake. He sat up, breathing heavily, and immediately started shaking the two knocked-out idiots next to him.
"Yo! Get up! Wake the hell up!" Ayush yelled, his voice laced with panic. "Something's coming! A high-level monster is heading right for us!"
Aryan groaned, burying his face deeper into his improvised dirt pillow. "Bro... leave it... who's even gonna pull up at this hour-? go back to sleep..."
"Are you fr right now?! Get up!" Ayush urged, but Vikas just rolled over with a muffled grumble.
The trio was completely wiped out from the brutal boat journey across the sea—their bodies felt like lead. They were in no condition to move.
Ayush looked at his sleeping friends, then back out toward the perimeter. He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Honestly... maybe they're right. The shadow perimeter is stacked. Nothing should be able to breach it that easily..."
Defeated by his own sheer exhaustion, Ayush collapsed back onto the ground and closed his eyes.
A few moments later, outside the perimeter.
Len and the winged monster stepped into the territory. The absolute second Len's boot touched the ground, the trap sprung.
SWOOSH!
Without a moment's hesitation, every single shadow soldier buried in the grass, ditches, and trees burst forth! Dozens of pitch-black figures surged forward in a synchronized, lethal hive-mind attack, launching themselves at Len all at once.
Len didn't even flinch.
With absolute disdain, Len swung his arm in a casual, blindingly fast arc.
BOOM!
A shockwave of pure force exploded outward. In a single casual strike, four to five shadow soldiers were instantly obliterated into dark mist, while the rest were sent flying hundreds of feet backward, smashing through trees and ripping up the terrain.
CRASH!
The violent shockwave trembled through the ground, slamming right into the camping site.
Ayush, Aryan, and Vikas were blasted awake as the earth shook violently beneath them!
"WHAT THE—?!" Aryan yelled, instantly snapping into a defensive stance. This is how we die-
Stupid "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Vikas shouted, his sleepy state completely evaporating into adrenaline.
The trio sprinted out from behind the massive root barrier just as the first light of dawn began to break over the horizon. The sunrise cast a deep crimson tint across the battle-scarred clearing.
Through the dust and rising sunbeams, they saw them.
Aryan's breath hitched, his eyes widening in pure horror at the sheer size and grotesque aura of the flying monster—and the terrifying figure standing effortlessly beside it.
Ayush felt his stomach drop. Every single instinct in his body—his primal survival urge—was screaming at him to RUN. The air felt suffocatingly heavy.
Standing side-by-side, frozen in absolute fear yet forcing themselves into combat stances, the three boys stared down the intruders.
Ayush gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his temple. Bracing himself, he dumped every single drop of his remaining mana into his shadow authority.
FWOSH—!
The ground bled shadow. Hundreds of pitch-black soldiers erupted from the darkness, surrounding the boys in a protective wall of sharp eyes and dark energy.
Len stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as a faint, suspicious smirk crept onto his face. He locked his gaze on Ayush, eyeing the endless horde of shadows rising from a mere human.
"So..." Len murmured, his aura flaring dark and oppressive. "You're the one pulling monsters out of thin air." Why you-