Kieran advanced painfully with Ryan on his back, his body heavily wounded and exhausted. Each step he took was a struggle against pain and fatigue, but he could not afford to falter now.

"Charge!!"

"Buy time for them to evacuate!"

"Don't let any beasts pass!"

The sound of battles was heard a few hundred meters away from him, but he could only see blurry shadows fighting between them in the distance. Without Runihoril's instructions, he wouldn't even know that the orbital shuttle was in that area, much less be able to navigate through the horde of crystal beasts separating him from it.

He took a step back when he felt something enter his dome-shaped crystal sense, dodging a spiky tail that swooped down on him. In a swift motion, his double-bladed sword moved, slicing the tail with a vertical cut.

The howl of pain of a beast was heard. Kieran took a step forward while twirling his sword in his hands, forming a horizontal cut that severed the beast's head.

Continuing his advance, he raised one of the blades in front of his face. Suddenly, a metallic noise sounded, and he felt an impact along the blade. An arrow stopped short, and fell to the ground the next moment.

"Who shot that arrow?"

"A goblin, 20 meters away from you. It hasn't moved from its position yet."

"Thank, Master."

The exchange between the two was quick in Kieran's mind. Grabbing the remains of the spike-filled tail he had just sliced off with his left hand, he swung his arm back before throwing it with all his might in the direction the arrow came.

The goblin, who had notched a new arrow, only saw a shadow approaching him quickly before his upper body was ripped off by the tail, which continued on its way for a few meters, knocking down several crystal beasts in its path.

One step at a time, Kieran got closer to the cultivators who were fighting on the front line. His double-bladed sword hissed through the air, slicing through the bodies of crystal beasts that entered inside his dome-shaped crystal sense.

As he was about to kill another crystal beast, his body froze in place. He tried to force his body to move, but something held him back.

'What's happening to me?!'

A fox stood aside, hidden among the other crystal beasts. Wisps danced around it while a mysteriously glowing third eye was open on its forehead, staring intently at him.

A gorilla with horns on its forehead of the Silver rank took advantage of his condition, swinging its huge fist into his chest, throwing him back, and making him spit blood.

His body pushed backward. He felt control returning to his body. He twisted his body in the air to avoid landing on his back, where his brother was still securely tied.

His double-bladed sword disappeared from his hands. Pushing down on the ground with both hands before his body made contact with it, he propelled himself through the air avoiding further injury, before landing properly a few meters back. His chest slightly sinks with a trace of impact and blood running down his lips.

"A beast with mind-type abilities hides among the others, watch your movements, try to get away from this place if you can," said Runihoril.

Kieran nodded, making his double-bladed sword reappear again. He started to run away when he felt like he was losing control of his body again.

The gorilla lunged at him again, its giant fist swinging at him.

'Move! Come on, move!!' Kieran screamed in his mind as he bit his tongue, trying to regain control over his body.

The massive body of the gorilla came between Kieran and the fox, giving him a brief respite and giving him full control of his body. His double-bladed sword moved quickly to intercept the gorilla's fist, but before they collided, the gorilla's arm underwent a sudden metamorphosis. Its muscles suddenly strengthened, its limbs swelled and contracted with unparalleled power.

*crack*

*roars*

A cracking sound echoed through the air, accompanied by the deep roar of the gorilla. Metal shards scatter noisily on the ground, witnesses of the violence of the impact. The gorilla's powerful blow had broken one of the blades of Kieran's sword, leaving part of the blade embedded in its fist.

The impact spun Kieran's body to the side, exposing Ryan within reach of the gorilla. In a fit of rage over its injury, the gorilla threw its second fist at his back.

Feeling the path the gorilla's fist took with its crystal sense, Kieran's face turned pale. He dropped the remnants of his double-bladed sword and twisted his body, moving the giant transformation into his right arm.

The two fists collided violently, creating a shock wave that propelled them both backward. While the gorilla was simply pushed back a few steps, Kieran was violently thrown several meters. His right arm was hanging loose in an abnormal position, a broken bone piercing his skin and protruding from his wrist.

Kieran gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. He spread the giant transformation to the other parts of his body, keeping his right arm in a normal state.

Fatigue took hold of his mind, altering certain parts of his body that he struggled to maintain in his lycan form. The crystal essence deficit was beginning to be felt, and the dome formed by his crystal sense seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

The horned gorilla let out a resounding roar, bounding towards him with a force that shook the ground with each of its deafening steps.

Kieran stood still, staring at its approach, his body shaking with pain and exhaustion. Still, he eased his mind as much as possible, preparing to muster all of his strength to deliver one final blow.

"Sorry, Ryan…" he whispered, taking a step forward and bringing his left fist back, close to his hip, the muscles in his arm tensing.

It was then that a celestial figure appeared before him, her long silver hair reflecting the light and her golden eyes staring at the approaching horned gorilla. In Kieran's vision, only a blurry shadow appeared in front of him.

"Are you all right?"

A voice out of this world entered his ears, stopping all his actions. As he seemed to freeze in place, he felt the horned gorilla enter his crystal sense. The next moment, the gorilla's body split into two halves and fell to the ground.

Kieran's face changed, he should be happy, but even then, he hadn't forgotten about the fox hiding among the other crystal beasts.

"Be careful! There is a beast that can control your movements!" Kieran shouted, worried about the person who had come to save him.

A trace of surprise appeared in Elseria's eyes. Her crystal sense was about to expand around her when her body froze in place.

A dark aura appeared near her, taking the form of a dark beast wrapped in shadows with long, menacing claws. His body seemed to be covered with red veins that converged at the level of his two eyes, which shone with a blood-red color.

*Ba..thump*

Kieran's heart pounded madly when he felt the beast appear in his crystal sense. Time seemed to stand still, stretching out into infinity, as some unknown thing seemed to scream inside his body. His crystal trees seemed to crack as if sacrificing a part of themselves to give him more strength.

0.1 seconds since the appearance of the beast. Slowly, Kieran's left hand moved, tearing the rope that held his brother.

0.2 seconds, his crystal sense was completely shattered, its fragments strewn through the air like fleeting stars.

0.3 seconds, the giant's transformation ability shifted, concentrating on his legs as all of his remaining crystal essence flowed to that part of his body.

0.4 seconds, Kieran pushed with all his might on both legs as if every thousandth of a second was an eternity.

0.5 seconds, the protruding claws of the beast began to move in the direction of Elseria.

0.6 seconds, Kieran suddenly appeared between her and the beast.

0.7 seconds, raising his left hand, he pushed Elseria back.

0.8 seconds, the beast's sharp claws came dangerously close to him, threatening to pierce him through.

0.9 seconds, as the thousandths of a second seemed to stretch into infinity, the claws ended up slicing through his chest, pain stabbing him intensely.

Time seemed to return to normal as a smile appeared on his face despite all the pain he had to endure. Runihoril's voice echoed in his mind, but he couldn't hear it.

"Please... save my brother..."

Those were Kieran's last words before the world turned black in his vision, descending into darkness as he lost consciousness.

 

Horned Gorilla and Three Eyed Fox Illustrations :