GRAAAAAAAH!

The horde of monsters howled like beasts as they pursued the fleeing dwarf children.

They bore an intense hatred toward life itself. Drawn by the scent of life, they spread out instinctively toward those fleeing far away in the distance.

Thududududu!

Right into the center of the monster swarm, a massive blue wolf charged.

Some of the monsters turned their attention to Kyle and Dark, but with the sheer number of enemies, only a fraction actually rushed at them. The rest continued chasing after the dwarves.

BOOOOM!

Kyle swung his sword with full force, unleashing a surge of mana. The shockwave expelled from his blade obliterated dozens of monsters in an instant.

For someone like Kyle, who had reached the highest tier of strength, killing a few frail undead wasn’t difficult.

The real problem was the sheer number of enemies. And then there were the high-ranking priests and black mages of the Salvation Order observing from the rear—no one could tell when they might make their move.

“Damn it... Come on, all of you, come to me.”

Kyle gritted his teeth and lowered himself against Dark’s back.

Whoosh!

Twisted claws and bones barely grazed past his head.

Kyle immediately swung his sword, and a shockwave of blue light blasted the surrounding monsters away.

BOOM!

The flying monsters slammed into the others, causing chaos. But Kyle didn’t continue the assault. He quickly yanked on the reins.

“Dark! Right side!”

“Got it!”

Dark’s body tilted like a trained acrobat, weaving through the gaps in the horde.

The charging monsters turned their gazes toward Kyle. He swung his sword and shouted at them.

“Yeah, look at me! Over here, you bastards!”

GRAAAAAH!

Kyle, riding on Dark’s back, darted left and right. Each time he moved, the monsters reacted in unison, following his every motion.

“Look at me!”

BOOM!

A fresh burst of mana exploded, blowing away another cluster of monsters.

The force he exuded was like the brightest blaze of life in the area.

The monsters began to chase him in earnest.

GRAAAAARGH!

The undead's dead eyes locked onto Kyle. Their claws raked toward him.

CRACK!

Kyle leapt from Dark’s back and slashed his sword.

BOOOOM!

A violent shockwave burst forth, shredding the nearby undead.

At the same time, Dark swung his massive claws, slicing apart undead on the opposite side.

“Again!”

Kyle climbed back onto Dark’s back, and Dark charged through an open path.

Even while running, Kyle didn’t stop swinging his sword, expelling mana with every motion.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Explosions rang out as the monsters around them collapsed.

Using mana this way drained energy rapidly. But with this many monsters, he had no choice.

Thududududu!

Dark, in the form of a massive blue wolf, continued racing across the battlefield without pause.

Mounted on his back, Kyle panted heavily, but his sharp gaze remained steady.

Not yet. Still not enough.

A fair number of monsters were chasing him now, but it wasn’t enough. Many were still pursuing the dwarf children.

At least, there were barely any flying monsters left. The mercenaries had used most of their magic against them earlier during the skirmish.

The remaining ones instinctively targeted only Kyle. Even if a few slipped past, the mercenaries guarding the children could hold them off.

Thanks to Ghislain’s hellish training, even they had reached knight-level skills.

Thudududu!

Dark shouted as he ran.

“Up left! Winged one incoming!”

“Got it!”

Instead of dodging, Dark jumped high into the air.

The flying monster swooping from above tried to slash at them—but Kyle’s sword was faster.

BOOM!

Several of the flying monsters were split in half and plummeted to the ground.

THUD!

Dark landed and trampled the monsters gathering below him.

The more power he used, the more quickly the energy that formed his body was depleted.

But this time, Ghislain had generously infused him with mana—so he could still hold out.

Kyle glanced at Dark with a hint of admiration.

“Damn, you’re actually good at this. Didn’t expect that.”

“I’ve been on hundreds of battlefields with my master. If I wanted to, I could kill a transcendent or two.”

Kyle burst out laughing at Dark’s bravado.

Still, having him by his side was undeniably reassuring.

GRAAAAAAARGH!

The monsters once again surged toward Kyle and Dark.

Dark spun and lashed his tail. One of the charging monsters was flung like a wooden doll.

Kyle used Dark’s momentum to swing his sword in the opposite direction.

BOOOOOM!

At his level, every swing unleashed devastating mana, tearing through the monsters.

But the cost was heavy. At this rate, he’d burn out soon.

Just a little longer...

Kyle took a deep breath and looked back.

The children had gotten farther away—but not far enough. The black mages and Salvation Order priests were still unaccounted for.

He needed to push harder.

“Dark!”

“Hang on tight!”

Dark charged into the horde at full {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} speed. Kyle twisted his upper body on the run, cleaving through monsters with relentless strikes.

BOOM! CRACK!

Their blade and claws moved in perfect sync, cutting through the monsters.

Whenever Kyle was in danger, Dark instinctively dodged. When Dark lacked room to move, Kyle carved open a path.

They didn’t need to speak—just a glance or a flicker of presence was enough. They moved as one.

It was a flawless partnership.

GRAAAAAAH!

The monsters increasingly swarmed around the two. But that only made it easier for the dwarf children to escape.

As Dark continued darting about, he spoke.

“Shouldn’t we be thinking about pulling out now?”

Kyle hesitated, then shook his head.

“No. Not yet. The kids are still too slow. They’re dwarves—they’re even slower.”

“Stubborn fool. But I get now why someone like you ended up a Hero’s companion.”

“Let’s hold out a bit longer.”

If it were just the slow undead, Kyle would’ve already fallen back. But the modified chimeras were extremely fast.

And no one knew what the remaining black mages might do. He had to buy more time.

BOOOOOM!

Kyle released another surge of mana without holding back, blasting the monsters once more. Dark followed up swiftly, supporting him perfectly.

The more Kyle and Dark rampaged, the more the monsters changed direction to follow them.

The monsters lacked intelligence. All they had was the command to kill any life in sight—so they couldn’t help but follow Kyle and Dark’s movements.

One of the black mages, who had been orchestrating the horde, narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“What the...? Why is a human helping the dwarves?”

His skills were formidable. And the wolf he rode moved like a spirit—it was nothing ordinary.

The black mage hesitated for a moment before turning to the one beside him and asking,

“That overwhelming spell—looks like he can’t use it anymore. So, what should we do?”

“Hmm... if we ignore that human and push forward, we’ll just end up taking more losses. He’s stronger than expected. Looks like he’s near the peak of the high rank.”

“Then how about we just kill him here and now? At this rate, we’ll take damage and delay our advance.”

As he spoke, the black mage glanced behind him.

The priest of the Salvation Order stood silently, saying nothing—as if to imply they should handle it themselves.

The other black mage also checked the priest’s expression before responding.

“Yeah, that’s probably better. Those idiot monsters are being dragged around like puppets.”

“Tch. Because of him, we’re gonna have to waste more mana.”

Controlling this massive horde of monsters required a tremendous amount of mana. That was why they had simply let the creatures loose—they’d chase after any living being on their own.

But now, they had to actively spend mana to issue new commands.

The black mages stretched out their arms and gave the order.

“Kill that human... You must kill him...”

In an instant, the entire formation of monsters rippled and shifted—every single one began to converge on Kyle.

Even the ones who hadn’t noticed him from afar now locked their eyes on him with perfect clarity.

GRAAAAAAAH!

Kyle and Dark immediately realized that the monsters’ behavior had changed.

But instead of fear, a grin spread across Kyle’s face.

“Good. This is how it should’ve been from the start.”

Even as thousands of monsters barreled toward him, Kyle didn’t flinch.

Instead, he charged deeper—faster—straight into the heart of the horde.

“Not a single one of you will leave this place alive.”

BOOOOOM!

Kyle once again unleashed his mana, sweeping the monsters aside. His blade split the earth, and explosions tore through the enemies from every direction.

But there were too many.

As all of them began targeting him in earnest, wounds started accumulating across Kyle’s body.

Dark, too, was starting to shrink. Kyle had been able to conserve his strength thanks to him, but now even that time was running out.

Kyle’s breathing grew rough, his eyes bloodshot. His body was reaching its limit.

But his sword did not stop. No—in fact, his strikes only grew sharper, more precise.

Don’t fall apart.

You can do this.

You can’t back down.

Silently spurring himself on, Kyle expelled another wave of mana.

BOOOOOM!

His mana split the center of the monster horde like an axe through wood.

The resulting shockwave crushed several monsters before they could even scream.

Dark didn’t miss the opening. He charged forward, claws slashing.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Blood, flesh, and shattered bones exploded into the air.

In this moment, Kyle and Dark were a stronger shield than any army.

One by one, then another, then another—

Together, Kyle and Dark annihilated hundreds of monsters.

Watching them from a distance, the priest of the Salvation Order furrowed his brow.

...An impressive human. And that spirit he rides is no less formidable.

It wasn’t just their power—their battlefield instincts were exceptional. They herded the monsters with surgical precision, maximizing their impact while minimizing effort.

He could intervene and subdue them himself—but he had no intention of doing so.

That human is on the level of a peak high-rank knight. His swordsmanship is flawless.

At this stage, even a transcendent could be wounded if caught off guard. And with someone this skilled, even more so.

On top of that, the powerful spells Kyle used earlier still lingered in the priest’s mind. He might be conserving them for an even stronger opponent.

The Salvation Order’s core directive was always the same: conserve strength. They were fewer in number than the Allied Forces—so they had no choice.

Wary and calculating, the priest finally gave the order to the black mages.

“We’ve wasted enough time. Kill them now.”

The two black mages tensed. The human causing havoc was clearly stronger than either of them.

And the spirit he rode was no ordinary creature, either.

But they couldn’t disobey a priest of the Salvation Order.

“...Understood.”

Still, they figured it was doable. The monsters were still numerous, and their enemies had clearly exhausted much of their strength.

Immediately, the black mages began to move in secret.

BOOOOM!

Each time Kyle struck, silence swept across the battlefield. The horde—once endless—had now been reduced to less than half.

This was the result of pushing himself to the absolute limit.

And the toll was catching up to him. Each breath now betrayed just how fatigued he was.

Dark was no different. Noticeably smaller now, he surveyed the area and spoke.

“Let’s pull out. We’ve done enough.”

“...Not yet. Not yet.”

Kyle shook his head stubbornly.

The distance was greater now, yes—but it still wasn’t safe. Judging by the monsters’ behavior, it was clear the black mages were intervening.

And once they used their power, they could force the monsters to move faster.

Just a little more. He had to hold on just a little longer.

Dark growled.

“You idiot. If you keep fighting like this, you’re going to die. It’d be better to catch up with the kids and guard their retreat.”

“And if a skirmish breaks out back there, they’ll get caught in it.”

“...Didn’t you say you hated how Julien and Deneb always played the sucker, helping others?”

Kyle let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, I did. But I also told you—they always stepped in when they didn’t have to. That’s different from now.”

“What the hell’s different?!”

“I told you—right now, there’s no one else to protect those kids but me.”

“You stupid—”

Dark turned sharply before he could finish the insult.

FSSSSHHHH!

A hazy, smoke-like wave of black mana surged toward them.

Dark reared up to block it with his body.

BOOOOM!

“Guh!”

Kyle tumbled off Dark’s back.

He quickly lifted his head.

“Dark!”

“Damn it...”

Dark’s body had shrunk to nearly half its original size.

He had burned through too much energy blocking the sudden, powerful attack.

Dark immediately tapped into Ghislain’s consciousness to assess the situation—he was about to cry for help.

Shit...

But things weren’t good over there either. Everyone was barely holding on, trying to protect Deneb.

No one could come to help them.

And just then, another powerful presence surged toward them.

Dark turned his head and shouted.

“RUN!”

BOOOOOOOM!

Those were his final words before his body scattered and disappeared.