Ery strode confidently toward the southern gate, cloak billowing in the wind. Behind him followed Veyarel and Ivaris.
The chubby alchemist with sweat beading on his brow, muttered nervously under his breath. "This is madness... I should be in a lab, not charging into death traps... You've seen those beasts!" Ivaris hissed. "
"Don't worry," Ery said without looking back. "Just follow the plan."
Ery turned to Veyarel, who was following close behind, and handed the man one of his recovery pills—sothing to help keep him sane during the chaos of the coming fight.
They reached the southern wall as chaos unfolded below. The centipede god-beast—hundreds of ters long—was coiling its armored body, hamring at the outer gate with a thunderous rhythm. Spikes like black obsidian jutted from its plates, each strike shaking the very stone of the stronghold. Dozens of defenders lined the walls, unleashing spells and arrows, desperately trying to prevent it from breaking through the gate.
Above, the mosquito beast dove through the sky, twisting through magical barriers like smoke. It phased past three struggling cosmic defenders, its wings shrieking like blades against steel, slamming into the magical shield with trendous force.
The third beast—a bloated frog the size of a small fortress—remained in the rear. Atop its head stood the barbarian beastmaster herself.
Ery remained silent, watching intently as the chaos unfolded, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Beside him, Veyarel was closely monitoring the shield's energy patterns.
Finally, when the timing was right, Ery leapt atop the wall.
The mont the female barbarian beastmaster caught sight of him, her fury ignited like dry tinder. With a guttural snarl, she unleashed her battlefield domain—an oppressive wave of power that surged across the area, boosting her godly beasts with terrifying force.
In an instant, the barrier shattered.
"KILL HIM!!!" she roared.
The centipede beast let out a piercing screech as it slamd its colossal body into the gate. The reinforced barrier cracked and then shattered under the force, wooden and stone debris flying in every direction. Without hesitation, the creature slithered forward, its segnted body writhing like a living battering ram across the wall, charging straight at Ery from below.
At the sa mont, the mosquito beast phased through the air, bypassing the three cosmic experts entirely. It dove down from the sky, its sharp proboscis gleaming with deadly intent as it descended on Ery from above.
It was a critical mont. One godly beast alone would be enough to obliterate him—but now, two were converging on him at once.
With calm precision, Ery unleashed his Elysian Root. The radiant tendrils shot out, forming layered barriers to block the incoming attacks. But the creatures were too strong. His defense barely held for seconds before beginning to crack under the weight of their assault.
Then, just as the beasts closed within a few ters of Ery— they stopped.
Two towering golden golems crashed down on either side of him, fists raised like divine guardians. They seized the centipede and the mosquito in a mighty deadlock, halting their advance. The beasts strained and thrashed, caught in place by pure, immovable force.
The female beastmaster snarled from atop her frog beast. "Hah! You think they can hold my children?"
As she spoke, glowing runes etched along the bodies of her beasts flared to life. Arcane energy pulsed through them, and their strength surged again. The golden golems groaned under the pressure as the creatures began to break free.
But Ery didn't flinch. Instead, he reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a black flag. The air around it grew heavy with cursed energy.
The barbarian's eyes went wide in shock—and then rage.
"You! It was you who stole that! My artifact!"
This was no ordinary flag. It was [Varkhaal Banner], her beast-control relic—an artifact Rosin Karat had taken after destroying her physical body. Uninterested in the path of beast enslavent, Rosin had handed it over to Ery. And since then, Ery had spent days pouring his soul into deciphering its secrets.
The process had been nearly impossible—after all, the original master still lived. But with blood left behind from her slain physical form, Ery had made progress.
"You're right," Ery replied, his tone casual. "I don't have the power to completely master this artifact..."
He raised the flag high, and its runes shimred with dark energy.
"...But I can do this much."
The runes on the beasts' bodies began to flicker, their glow dimming. The surge of strength granted by the beastmaster faded, and the godly beasts trembled, weakening. Their resistance faltered as the artifact's power began to overwrite the commands they were given.
"Thank you," Ery said with a grin. "Your seal made this much easier."
From the side, seeing things working as planned, Ivaris leapt into action. "Here goes nothing!" he cried, tossing a series of potions toward the beasts. Glass shattered on impact, soaking the monsters with fluorescent liquid. Then ca the undying fla, his signature blend. The concoction ignited with an otherworldly screech, crawling across the beasts' armored bodies, searing and shocking their nerves.
These flas weren't ant to kill the creatures, but they were more than enough to weaken them. Through pain, Ery could begin asserting control.
The beasts trembled. The pain, the weakened seals, and the relic's pull began to break through their resistance. Slowly, inch by inch, their minds dulled under the pressure.
"YOU DARE!" the female barbarian shrieked, her voice filled with venomous rage. She surged forward atop her frog-like beast, only to be stopped abruptly as she slamd into the stronghold's barrier with a thundering impact.
"What…?! How did it restore so quickly?!" she cried, confused and furious.
But it was all part of Ery's plan.
With access to the defense crystal, Veyarel had synchronized his magnetic mastery with the fortress's protective system. He had forced the barrier to montarily drop, just long enough to bait the beast in, then instantly rebuild it, locking the beastmaster out before she could intervene.
"DAMN YOU! Let my children go!" she howled, pounding on the barrier with raw fury.
Ery grinned once again. "They are better off with ."
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