CHAPTER 416: CH 416: THE VOICES - PART 1

The screams fell silent. The mist evaporated.

Kyle stood alone, breath steady, the last echoes of the illusion dispersing into the lifeless air.

The battlefield reasserted itself around him—cracked earth, mangled corpses, and mana-saturated winds. The cursed voices faded like a bad dream, leaving only the cold steel of reality.

He didn’t wait. Somewhere ahead, Nigel still hadn’t escaped.

Following his mana trail, Kyle leapt across shattered ground and impaled a lunging monster mid-air.

Without pausing, he landed behind another and skewered it through the back. A sharp turn, a burst of mana, and the third was blown apart before it could even open its maw.

Then he saw him.

Nigel was trapped—pinned against a rock by three hulking monsters, his blade heavy in his hand, eyes glazed over.

One of the monsters reared back, maw open, drool thick with corrupted mana as it aimed for Nigel’s head.

Kyle didn’t speak. He moved.

Lightning wrapped his limbs as he crossed the gap in an instant, his sword crashing down like a divine verdict.

The beast split cleanly in two, and Kyle’s foot slammed into the second’s gut, launching it backward.

The third turned to face him—but too late. Kyle drove his blade into its chest and released a pulse of mana, blowing it apart.

Nigel blinked rapidly, finally snapping out of the daze.

"Wha—? I..."

Kyle grabbed his arm and yanked him upright.

"Focus."

Nigel exhaled shakily.

"Gods, that was dirty. What even was that? Hallucinations? Memories?"

"A curse. He scattered himself across the monsters. Tried to trap us in our minds."

Kyle muttered.

"Well, it worked. Underhanded, but... I’ll give him credit. That was efficient."

Nigel muttered, shaking his head like he was trying to get water out of his ears. Kyle didn’t answer. The ground shook again.

From every direction, the monsters came.

But something had changed. Their movements were sharper. Their roars more coordinated. Their eyes... they burned with a flicker of intelligence.

The god’s last will had taken root. These weren’t just beasts anymore—they were cursed vessels of judgment.

Nigel groaned.

"Did they get stronger again? What, are we in some cursed survival game now?"

Kyle raised his blade again.

"If you’re tired, then finish this in one go."

He said casually.

"Finish it in one—? What do you think I am, some final boss?"

Nigel choked out a laugh between two parries.

Kyle sliced through another monster with a sweep of his sword.

"Then don’t drag it out."

"I don’t even know how to do that!" Nigel snapped, spinning and barely blocking a claw swipe.

Then he paused.

For a heartbeat, he just stood there—breathing, staring at the monsters closing in, Kyle’s words echoing in his head.

His body trembled. Mana surged around him. He held out his hand.

It gathered—light, heat, weight—compressing into a sphere so dense the air bent around it. Then, with a shout, Nigel released it.

The explosion rippled outward like a tidal wave of magic, vaporizing everything in its path. The pressure was immense.

Dozens of monsters turned to ash in a blink, and those beyond the edge of the blast were flung far away, broken.

Dust settled.

Kyle stared for a moment, then walked over with a small smirk and reached out to ruffle Nigel’s hair.

"You’re holding back for no reason. On a battlefield, it’s better to do than to overthink."

He said softly.

Nigel blinked, cheeks a little red under the grime. He didn’t swat Kyle’s hand away. Instead, he leaned into it, almost like a weary cat needing that one moment of calm.

"I knew that."

He muttered.

Kyle raised a brow.

"Didn’t look like it."

Nigel looked away.

"I did. I know what I can do. But even when I wanted to act, my body froze. It was like—like fear kept wrapping around my limbs."

Kyle didn’t reply. He just waited.

Nigel glanced back at him, a faint smile curling on his lips.

"So I have you to thank."

"For what?"

"For giving me the courage to move anyway. Even when I couldn’t breathe. Even when I couldn’t see the end."

Nigel said.

Kyle paused. Then gently pulled his hand back and gave a nod.

"Good. Then let’s finish what we started."

He said.

Kyle turned away first, sword still humming with stored mana as he began walking deeper into the battlefield. Nigel fell in behind him, shoulders tense but eyes clearer now—focused.

The next wave was already forming.

But something was different. The monsters no longer swarmed mindlessly. They stood in formation—tall, grotesque figures with barely visible threads of mana linking them.

Their forms flickered like candlelight, a remnant of the god of justice still pulsing in their cores.

"They’re connected. Like one mind split into dozens."

Nigel muttered, eyes narrowing.

"Not dozens. Thousands. And if we don’t cut the core, they’ll keep adapting."

Kyle said, lifting a hand.

He tapped into his mana senses—an ability far beyond most humans—and traced the threads. It wasn’t hard to spot.

One massive beast stood at the center, nearly twice the height of the others. Its body was a grotesque mockery of justice itself—its face wrapped in a blindfold, scales melted into its limbs, and a massive sword dragging behind it.

"That one. It’s the core."

Kyle said.

As if hearing him, the creature raised its head—and the mana threads pulsed violently.

In an instant, the monsters charged.

Nigel cursed and launched a barrage of mana bolts, blowing a path open.

"I’ll keep them busy!"

Kyle didn’t argue. He bolted forward, weaving between creatures, slicing through limbs and dodging razor-sharp claws. He moved like a phantom—untouchable, relentless.

The core beast raised its sword and slammed it into the ground. A shockwave of divine energy burst out, disintegrating lesser monsters nearby and blasting Kyle back.

He hit the dirt hard, gritting his teeth as his mana barrier absorbed the worst of it.

But he didn’t stop.

He surged forward again, this time imbuing his sword with a layered sequence of seals—each one crafted over years of study.

A single strike wouldn’t kill this thing, but sealing the god’s fragment inside it might buy humanity time.

The beast roared, swinging its sword in a wide arc that tore the land in half.

Kyle ducked under it and lunged—his sword piercing straight through the creature’s chest. He didn’t stop there. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and pushed deeper, anchoring the seal.

The monster screamed, divine light bursting from its wounds. Its limbs spasmed, and for a moment, the battlefield froze. The mana threads connecting the horde trembled violently.

Then shattered.

All around them, the monsters howled in pain and confusion. The coordination broke. Some fell. Others turned on each other. Without the core beast, the unity granted by the god’s power collapsed.

Nigel saw it happen and shouted.

"You did it!"

But Kyle didn’t celebrate. He stepped back from the twitching corpse of the sealed core beast, gaze fixed on the horizon.

"This was one node. There will be others."

He said quietly.

Nigel’s face darkened.

"Then we find them all."

Kyle nodded.

"And end this. One curse at a time."

After all, they were not the only ones dealing with this mess.