The crack of Vincent’s high-caliber magic sniper rifle echoed across the battlefield as another {Bone Serpent} collapsed, its skull exploded from within.

"That’s the fifteenth one in the last ten minutes," Vincent muttered, his Devil Eyes already tracking the next target through his scope. His enhanced optical ability allowed him to see far beyond what could even be considered reasonable, picking out weak points in the strongest defenses and calculating bullet trajectories with mathematical precision. "At this rate, we’ll be here until the sun sets."

Beside him, Calio raised his hands, fingers dancing as threads of condensed mana began to weave themselves into existence. The translucent strands caught the dim light like spider silk, but Vincent knew they were harder than steel and sharp enough to cut through bone. With a flick of his wrist, Calio sent the mana threads whipping outward.

A {Crimson Stalker} that had been scaling the wall’s outer face suddenly found itself entangled, the razor-sharp threads slicing through its legs. The creature shrieked as it tumbled toward the ground, leaving dark ichor splattered across the stone.

"Nice work," Vincent called out, not taking his eye from the scope. "But you aren’t killing them fast enough. Soon, they’ll be in our asses."

"I’m working on it," Calio replied, already weaving another set of mana strings. "These things are harder to make than they look."

"Everything worthwhile is indeed," Vincent muttered.

He was silent for a moment then silently muttered, "bang", before squeezing the trigger. His bullet punched through the crystalline shell of a {Prism Blue Beetle}, the creature’s refractive armor doing nothing to stop the high-velocity mana bullet.

He called out through the comms,

"Manny, how’re you holding up over there?"

Unlike the two of them, Manny was fully entrenched in the battle on the wall. With his transformation, he had become many times more durable than before so he not only had his speed working for him.

He had turned into a dark shadow that zipped across the rampart, tearing through the monsters that had made their way into the wall.

Runic patterns covered his transformed body, pulsing with crimson light. His face had elongated, becoming more angular and predatory, with curved horns jutting from his temples. He had become a monster through and through.

But his speed made him even more terrifying. There was nothing as scary as a disaster one could not even see coming.

Devil Manny moved like a crashing bolt of violence.

A pack of {Thorn Spiderwolves}, mid-sized rabid canids with multiple hairly limbs that had managed to breach the wall’s outer defenses, their bark-like hide bristling with poisonous spikes as they clambered up the walls with crimson eyes heavy with bloodlust.

Manny had long since become a blur of motion, his six blades creating a storm of steel around him. He appeared behind the spiderwolf before it could react, all six swords piercing its body from different angles. The blades were so fast, they cut through flesh faster than the beast could register. Its flesh and organ came undone even as it climbed up the wall, leaving only a falling trail of viscera and fluids.

A second beast tried to launch poisonous spikes, but he was already gone. His monstrous form did not lose any of his skills as he deftly danced through the sky, reappearing at the creature’s side. His blades moved in perfect harmony, dismembering the beast in a particularly gruesome manner with just a fraction of a moment.

"Well," Vincent sighed, reloading his rifle smoothly, "at least someone’s enjoying themselves."

Calio had gone pale, his mana threads wavering slightly. "Is he getting faster?"

"Probably," Vincent confirmed, his next shot taking the head off a {Shadow Crawler} that had been trying to scale the wall. "The transformation’s been getting stronger each time. For some reason, he hasn’t gone over the deep end yet. Normally, he would have become a Devil corrupted thrall by now. I guess his lack of brains might be a good thing in this case."

As if to demonstrate, Devil Manny launched himself from the wall into the midst of a larger cluster of creatures below. Doing something like this would take mindless guts— something he seemed to have in abundance.

His six blades carved through dozens of mutant creatures with methodical efficiency, each strike flowing seamlessly into the next. He moved between enemies faster than the eye could follow, appearing and disappearing like a deadly phantom.

"Should we be concerned about that?" Calio asked, sending another web of mana threads to entangle a {Crystal Mantis} that had been attempting to flank their position.

"Probably," Vincent admitted, putting a bullet through the mantis’s compound eyes while Calio’s threads held it in place. "But not right now. Right now, we need him exactly as bloodthirsty as he is."

The tide of creatures seemed endless. Vincent’s rifle sang its deadly song, each carefully aimed shot dropping another beast.

But even with his precision marksmanship, the numbers were overwhelming.

Calio had found his rhythm, weaving increasingly complex patterns of mana threads. He’d discovered that by creating layered webs, he could catch multiple creatures at once, then use secondary threads to slice through them while they were trapped. It was gruesome work, but it was rather effective.

"Vincent," Calio called out, his voice tight with concentration, "there’s something big coming."

Vincent swiveled his scope toward the distance and felt his blood run cold. A massive shape was detaching itself from the main horde—a {Wroughtbone Titan}, easily twenty feet tall and built like a walking siege engine. Its skeletal frame was held together by pulsing dark sinew, and its empty eye sockets burned with malevolent intelligence.

"Now that," Vincent said, "is a problem." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Vincent’s mind raced through possibilities. His rifle could probably penetrate the Titan’s defenses, but it would take multiple perfectly placed shots, and he wasn’t sure they had that kind of time. The creature was already beginning to lumber toward their section of wall with ground-shaking steps.

"Manny!" Vincent called out. "We need you back up here! There’s a big one coming!"

Devil Manny’s head snapped around, his burning gaze finding the approaching Titan. The nightmare smile that spread across his transformed features would have made devils shiver.

"Finally," he growled, his voice carrying that inhuman rasp.

Instead of returning to the wall, Devil Manny began sprinting directly at the Bone Titan. His speed was incredible— allowing him to move like a dark comet across the battlefield, his six blades gleaming with a ghastly aura that cut through any creature slow and foolish enough to get in his path.

"Is he completely insane?" Calio demanded, his mana threads beginning to form a protective barrier around their position.

Vincent raised a brow,

"That is a rather strange question to ask. Of course he is. That’s what makes him perfect for doing stuff like this." Vincent said as he adjusted his scope for the shot of a lifetime.

The collision between Manny and the Titan was spectacular. At the last possible moment, Manny leaped, using his incredible speed to build momentum as he drove all six blades into the creature’s ribcage. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, and the Titan’s roar of pain and rage could be heard for miles.

Vincent squeezed his trigger. The bullet streaked across the battlefield and punched through the Titan’s left eye socket, sending spider-web cracks racing across its skull. The creature staggered, momentarily disoriented.

Manny didn’t waste the opportunity. His speed allowed him to flow around the massive creature like water, his blades finding every gap in its defenses. Two swords carved through the tendons holding its left arm together, while another pair began sawing through vertebrae. The remaining weapons worked on dismantling joints and severing the dark sinews that held the creature together.

But the Titan wasn’t defenseless. It managed to catch Devil Manny with its remaining good arm, massive bone fingers closing around the transformed warrior. Vincent could hear ribs creaking even from his position on the wall.

"Damn it!" Calio cursed, his concentration breaking as several of his mana threads snapped.

Manny let out a chilling howl that cut through the battlefield like a ray of crimson moonlight.

Moving faster than physics should allow, he became a blur within the Titan’s grip. His six blades turned into a bone and meat grinder, their edges burning with a wicked heat that only seemed to ramp up the faster he got.

With a final, ear-splitting crack, the creature’s arm separated at the shoulder. Devil Manny dropped to the ground, landed in a perfect crouch, and immediately launched himself at the Titan’s damaged skull.

His blades found the cracks Vincent’s bullet had created and began to widen them. The Titan thrashed and bucked, but Manny’s speed let him stay exactly where he needed to be, his weapons carving deeper and deeper into the creature’s head.

Finally, with a sound that made the world tremble, the skull gave way. The {Wroughtbone Titan}toppled backward, hitting the earth with enough force to send tremors through the wall’s foundations.

Standing atop his fallen foe, Manny raised all six blades to the dark sky, and let out a roar of triumph that made the remaining creatures hesitate in their advance.

But only for a moment.

The battle was not yet over, after all.

"Show off," Vincent muttered, but there was genuine admiration in his voice. Then he glanced behind him.

"Calio," he said quietly, his eyes filled with strange shapes and runes terrifying Calio, "how’s your mana holding up?"

The young Beastman wiped sweat from his brow, his hands still weaving threads,

"I won’t be able to leave threads all day. I don’t have the Mana reserves for it. I might be joining that idiot in the melee soon."

"That is good news then. We still have a long way to go."

Calio’s expression soured into a grimace,

"How is that good news?!"

Vincent chuckled,

"Well, it is good news because the Calvary has finally arrived."