CHAPTER 1005: FROZEN

Even with his Magic blazing and even with every ounce of power poured into his attack, the village leader could not even touch the man standing before him.

That truth cut deeper than the pain in his shattered hand.

The leader was called Dorrak, chief of this remote settlement. He staggered and his eyes flashing with disbelief.

He looked up through the haze of agony only to find Eccar staring down at him with that half-smirk.

It wasn’t mocking laughter that he let out loud but an expression that dripped with irritation, as if Dorrak’s struggle was nothing more than an inconvenience.

That look makes his fury hotter more than the breaking of his bones.

But Dorrak was not a man who bent to fear no matter how impossible the odds. If he had ever run away before danger he would never have held this village together while located far from the heart of the Human Kingdom, pressed by beasts and enemies alike.

Fear was a luxury he had never been allowed.

With a guttural growl he wrenched himself backward, leaping away from Eccar.

His boots skidded across the dirt, and he rose to his full height despite the pain.

"Prepare yourselves!" he shouted. His voice was rolling like thunder through the gathering of the villagers. "All of you! Fight with everything you’ve got!"

The villagers froze with eyes opening wide. They glanced at each other in disbelief.

Fight with all they got against two men? Their leader’s command carried weight but confusion rippled among them.

Still they didn’t hesitate for too long because Dorrak’s word was law.

Muttering nervously and remembering that the man had just cut their leader’s arm, they scrambled to arms drawing rusted blades, hefting spears, and nocking their arrows.

"You will not pass!" Dorrak roared, pointing his intact left hand at Krono and Eccar.

His eyes burned red with fury that radiated like fire. And even as he stood there his mangled right arm twitched, bones creaking back into place, flesh knitting itself. The regeneration had already begun.

Krono let out a long audible helpless sigh. His shoulders dipping as if the whole ordeal were more tiresome than dangerous.

He shook his head with quiet exasperation.

"Oh, you got strong Magic, big man," Eccar drawled, still smirking. "You’re already regrowing that hand of yours. Impressive. But..." His tone carried amusement, not respect. "You’re still not worth taking seriously."

Dorrak’s face contorted with rage. His body trembled, and suddenly he screamed.

"GRRHHHAAAAAA!"

The scream tore from his throat. It did not sound like a man’s shout but a beast’s howl.

His aura erupted raw and wild, spiraling out in a violent gale around his body.

The air thickened with bloodlust and unnatural force and his veins burned black as forbidden power coursed through him.

His body expanded slightly. Muscles taut with unnatural strength. His movements would become sharper and faster now.

Caelthar’s eyes widened.

"That looks like a forbidden Magic," he hissed.

Lyrel’s lips pressed into a thin line. She recognized it as well. The reckless human Magic that consumed both body and soul in exchange for speed and strength and regeneration power.

Her tongue itched to warn Eccar and Krono but she held the words back. They weren’t her responsibility. If these two reckless men were killed here she and Caelthar could simply leave and report back to the Kingdom. Their duty wasn’t to guard them after all, just to record.

However, as she watched Dorrak’s transformation and the storm of dark power coil around him, her conviction wavered.

No matter how much she told herself she wanted them humbled, broken, or even dead, she could not picture Eccar or Krono defeated.

Something about them carried a strange aura far beyond this place.

Their presence was too steady, too overwhelming, and too inevitable.

It felt less like they were facing danger and more like danger itself had wandered into this village disguised as these two mysterious men.

Krono suddenly stepped forward and Eccar fell into step beside him.

The villagers tightened their grips on the weapons they managed to grab and shifted nervously as the two men advanced without a shred of hesitation.

"I know you’ve seen a large creature with wings before," Krono’s voice boomed across the settlement, loud enough for every villager to hear. His dark golden eyes swept the crowd rather than fixing on Dorrak. "Tell us what you know, and we will spare you from death."

The words struck the villagers like a hammer. Murmurs rippled through them, faces paling.

Eccar blinked, smirk fading into mild surprise.

"They’ve seen the Dragon?" he asked, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity.

"Yes," Krono replied simply. "That’s why we’re here. At least one of them witnessed it then spread the word to this place. We’ll learn more if they choose to talk."

Eccar nodded slowly, lips curling again into a grin. "Ohhh, alright then."

But Dorrak gave them no chance. His mangled arm had already finished regenerating, the flesh was smooth and whole once more.

With a guttural roar he hurled himself forward. The ground trembling under his dash.

From behind him a volley of arrows whistled through the air as the villagers loosed the arrows they had prepared.

Krono and Eccar did not even exchange words. They didn’t need to.

Eccar launched himself to meet Dorrak immediately. His movements were sharp and quick, the ground cracking under his steps.

Meanwhile, Krono remained still, his hands folded calmly behind his back as he lifted his gaze toward the raining arrows.

His eyes glinted gold.

The air itself seemed to shiver. In an instant the dozens of arrows froze in the middle of the air, suspended above the battlefield.

They did not fall nor did they land. They simply hung there, quivering as though the moment of impact had been stolen from time itself.

Gasps erupted from the villagers.

Lyrel and Caelthar stared in unison. Their eyes wide, their mouths parted in utter disbelief.

They knew Magic, they had studied some forbidden spells, but this was something else entirely.

Time itself had bent beneath his will.

And as silence stretched, the sight of Krono standing untouched beneath a ceiling of arrows frozen in time made them all shocked.

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