Arthur dropped to his knees as he fell from the sky, digging into fractured earth as the suffocating presence of Morax’s Domain finally collapsed.

“Cough… cough…” He coughed, clutching at the dagger still embedded in his chest.

The pitch-black blade pulsed faintly with Morax’s energy, and the poison coursed through his veins, preventing regeneration of the wound. His vision swam for a second, then sharpened again as his body slowly adapted to the poison.

Arthur gritted his teeth and with one pull, he ripped the dagger out.

SCHHHNK!

Blood spilled down his chest, but his regeneration kicked in. His cells started knitting together, sealing torn muscle and skin. The sluggishness from the venom disappeared second by second until the wound sealed shut.

Arthur slowly rose to his feet, steadying himself. His gaze turned towards the ruined treeline, where hulking shapes of monsters lingered. Dozens of monsters had gathered, their eyes gleaming with greed as they looked at him. They hadn’t approached him yet and were just watching him from a distance with predatory eyes.

He ignored them. What caught his attention wasn’t the monsters, it was the presence of others who had been lurking around during his fight with Morax.

Arthur sighed in exasperation. “Figures, everyone loves free shows.”

He then turned to leave when…

FWOOM!

A blinding golden light speared down from the sky, directly in front of him.

Arthur narrowed his eyes due to the sudden brightness and covered them with his hand. And it wasn’t just here, he looked at the sky and saw other pillars of golden light were igniting all across the Ancient Realm, showering the realm with their radiance.

“…The hell?”

When the intensity of the light slowly dimmed. He saw that suspended in the heart of the golden beam in front of him was a single red amorphous orb, mana pulsating from it like a beating heart. It radiated so much power that prickled across his skin.

Arthur frowned, and stepped closer. He reached forward and plucked the orb from the light pillar. The pillar of light disappeared the instant he took hold of the orb.

The instant his fingers wrapped around it, information flooded into his mind.

[Artifact: Formless Aegis]

[Description: A relic from the era of Gods, capable of transforming into multiple shapes. The primary function of the artifact is defense.]

Arthur stared down at the red sphere in his hand which was moving like a liquid. “…A defense artifact? Huh.”

He rolled it in his palm once, feeling its cold surface on his skin. Then he turned around, ready to leave the area.

But then…

RRRROOOOAR!

The monsters surrounding the clearing suddenly went berserk. Their eyes locked on the orb, and Arthur instantly felt their bloodlust focused on him.

Arthur glanced at the orb in his hand, then back at the crowd of salivating beasts. His mouth opened. “…Oh sh*t.”

The monsters who were waiting for the others to attack first, forgot all the strategy and pounced on him.

Arthur didn’t even bother waiting for them to reach him.

WHOOSH!

He bolted towards the forest, the ground cracking under his explosive movement. Dust kicked up behind him as he shot through the dense forest. And just like that, the horde erupted after him. 

Trees shattered, earth split apart, and the forest quaked as monsters of all shapes and sizes thundered in pursuit. From wolves with obsidian hides to serpents the size of five-story buildings, charged behind Arthur with greed blazing in their eyes.

Arthur could sense even the people who were watching his fight against Morax, too began to move, running towards the golden beams that had appeared across the horizon.

Arthur glanced over his shoulder at the mass of monsters running after him. Then looked at the artifact at his palm, and muttered. “So, this is one of the opportunities people were talking about, found in the ancient realm.”

His eyes flicked ahead where, in the distance, another golden pillar lit up the sky.

“…Well,” Arthur smirked. “No way in hell I’m sticking around here when there’s more where this came from.”

He pushed harder, lightning sparking at his feet as he accelerated, weaving between trees and boulders. Behind him, the monsters roared and pursued relentlessly, unwilling to let their prize escape.

But Arthur didn’t slow down. His grin widened, a mix of adrenaline, and excitement flowing in his blood.

“This realm just got a whole lot more interesting.”

…

Arthur exploded out of the treeline in a flash, leaving the forest canopy behind him. The sheer force of his leap carved a crater into the ground, shockwaves blasting dirt and leaves upwards.

The monsters below roared in fury as their prey suddenly left their reach. A handful of winged beasts started to fly behind him, but Arthur’s speed left them in the dust. Lightning cracked across his body as he pushed into his top speed, leaving behind nothing but streaks of light.

He flew towards the next light pillar leaving behind the monsters pursuing him.

Nearly ten minutes later, he streaked across the huge forest and came to a halt above another battlefield. The sight below made him narrow his eyes.

Some distance away, a second golden pillar bathed the land in its brilliance. Suspended midair at its heart was an artifact, this one not an orb but a sword. Arthur thought this artifact might even be stronger than the previous one he got. Its blade was etched with runes, each pulse of energy from the artifact was sending ripples of pressure across the clearing.

But the area around it was in pure chaos. 

A massive horde of monsters clashed violently, fangs, claws, and elemental attacks tearing into each other. The earth was blackened with blood and charred flesh, darkened bones already littering the ground. The weaker beasts had been trampled to paste under the foot of the stronger monsters, while the strongest circled the pillar with wary growls, each waiting for the other to slip up first.

And it wasn’t just monsters that were present there.

Arthur’s gaze sharpened as he scanned the treeline opposite him. He could feel the presence of people lurking around, waiting for the horde to thin out. Among them were humans, dwarves, beastkins, and elves nestled in the higher branches with their weapons clutched at their hands. He even picked out dragonkin, who appeared more confident than the others present.

At the far edge of the clearing, partially concealed by shadows, stood a smaller group of beast-kins. But what caught Arthur’s attention wasn’t them, it was the tall figure standing among them.

A man whose features bore the unmistakable resemblance of the demon race.

Arthur rubbed his jaw as he thought. ‘…What are the beastkins doing with demons?’

The beast-kins didn’t look like they were being forced. They stood side by side with the demon, they appeared as if they were the subordinates of the demon.

Arthur then remembered reading somewhere that many beast-kins had failed to escape when the demons conquered their continent. But for them to be here, standing next to a demon in cooperation…

‘But why would the demons let them enter this realm?’ Arthur frowned as the thought lingering in his mind.

He shifted slightly on the thick branch where he perched, while keeping his Chi cloak activated.

Below, the situation with the monster brawl began to change. One by one, the weaker beasts either died or fled, leaving behind only the apex predators. Towering beasts stood in tense silence, eyeing both each other and the glowing sword floating within the pillar.

The air itself grew heavier. None of the people hiding dared to move first, as most were weaker than the monsters, especially the humans. Only the dragons and the demon had enough strength to compare with the monsters. 

The others were just there to gain something out of this as they knew they were not strong enough to contend for the artifact. They thought they could at least collect the cores of the weaker monsters that were killed by the stronger ones as they would be useless for the stronger people present here.

Arthur scanned the perimeter again and caught movement.

The dragons were beginning to inch closer towards the battlefield, their eyes burned with greed. Even the demon and his beast-kin slaves started to move forward cautiously, their gazes fixed on the artifact.

Arthur leaned forward on the branch, his eyes flicked back to the sword suspended in the golden light. It radiated enough power that the monsters and people alike were ready to slaughter each other over it.

Arthur’s grip tightened on the Formless Aegis orb in his palm. He muttered under his breath, “Let’s see where this goes.”

…

From one end of the clearing, three figures emerged, they were the three dragons that arrived earlier. The dragons’ very presence pressed down on the others, a suffocating weight that made the weaker races shift uneasily where they hid.

The tallest of the trio, with long onyx dark hair let his lips curl into a sneer as his gaze locked onto the opposite side of the battlefield.

There, the demon and his beast-kin entourage had stepped forward into the open.

The dragon’s eyes narrowed, his voice dripping with disdain. “Tch. These pests didn’t even leave this realm alone… and now they dare to reach for our resources?” His voice was loud enough for all to hear, in a deliberate provocation.

He turned his head towards the two younger dragons at his side, his tone was cold and commanding. “I will conserve my strength in this fight. You two take care of the monsters. Once we secure the artifact…” His gaze flicked to the demon, his golden pupils narrowing into slits, “…we’ll kill that rat.”

The two dragons exchanged sharp grins and nodded in unison. Their claws flexed eagerly, scales faintly surfacing along their arms as their excitement bled through.

On the other side, the demon chuckled, the sound low and mocking. He stood tall, and wore a pitch-black armor, his yellow eyes gleaming with amusement.

“Well, well,” he drawled, his voice carrying across the clearing. “Looks like my mere appearance has made these lizards restless.”

The dragons glared at the demon hearing him mocking them.

The demon grinned seeing the dragons getting agitated, he then looked back and leaned slightly toward his underlings and spoke. “Remember your role as meat shields. Do it properly… or you already know what will happen to your families.”

The beast-kins froze as though struck. Their throats bobbed as they swallowed hard, their eyes were wide with fear. A few nodded quickly, fearing of angering the demon.

“Y-Yes, my lord…”

Arthur, still perched on his branch above, saw the interaction between the two groups but didn’t reveal himself.

Down below, the clearing grew tenser by the second.

The monsters who had been looking wearily at each other in tense silence, shifted uneasily as they noticed the new arrivals. Their low growls reverberated across the air ready to attack.

One particularly massive beast, its body was like a lion but its mane was made of fire, snarled and bared its fangs at the newcomers. Others also followed suit, seeing the newcomers trying to go towards the light pillar.

But still… no one moved to attack.

It was a deadly standstill, between the dragons, the demon and monsters circling the light pillar, waiting for the slightest trigger.

Arthur narrowed his eyes as he muttered under his breath. “…This is about to get messy.”

***

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