CHAPTER 26: [AN OPENING]

Mio moved before Eli could even blink.

"Zaira!" he shouted, voice cutting through the battlefield like a blade.

His fingers flicked outward—sharp, practiced.

A blast of silver threads erupted from his palms, glittering under the fractured sunlight. The strands snapped through the air, anchoring with precision into the back of Zaira’s coat.

Then, with a violent tug, Mio yanked.

Zaira’s body whipped backward just as the grotesque arm lunging from the mutated ogre’s stomach sliced through the air, claws gleaming with blackened ichor. The blow missed—but only by a breath.

The sheer force of it tore into the ground, carving a deep groove into the concrete where her spine had been a heartbeat ago.

The wind of the attack roared past them like a hurricane.

Zaira crashed hard into Mio’s chest with a startled gasp, but he caught her with the ease of someone who’d done it a hundred times.

"Thanks for the save," she muttered, breathless.

"Don’t thank me," Mio said, voice low. "Thank them."

Both of them turned their gazes toward Eli—still clutched in Kairo’s arm, panting, chest heaving, heart pounding.

Eli blinked at them, throat dry. ’They’re looking at me. Because I saw it. I—I helped.’

But the moment shattered as Kairo’s voice snapped through the chaos.

"Zaira. Mio. Focus!"

The two S-Class hunters jolted slightly—like cadets caught slacking in front of a commander.

"When the boss roars louder, the mutated one adapts—grows limbs, gets stronger. Zaira, stay at range. Don’t let that thing touch you. Mio, bind its arms tighter. I’ll handle the boss with Mel."

Kairo didn’t wait for acknowledgment. He darted sideways in a crimson blur, avoiding a massive vertical slash from the boss ogre. Its blade carved into the pavement with an earthshaking crash, slowed just enough by the vines coiled tight around its limbs—Mel’s ability still working overtime.

Then—

Kairo turned his head, glancing at the person tucked in his arm.

"And you."

Eli flinched. His eyes snapped up to meet Kairo’s, pulse spiking in his ears.

"You did good," Kairo said simply, his voice rough with exertion—but genuine.

Eli’s brain short-circuited.

’Wh—he just—he just praised me—’

His throat dried. His soul nearly left his body. But somehow, somehow, he managed to swallow the scream clawing up his windpipe.

"Just doing what I can to help," Eli said quickly, trying his absolute best to sound like a normal person and not a fangirl about to combust.

Kairo gave a small nod—barely noticeable—but enough to make Eli’s heart lurch again.

"Mhm," Kairo murmured, adjusting his grip slightly to steady him. "Now figure out how to kill this damn boss so we can end it."

Kairo’s breathing had changed.

It wasn’t ragged. Not yet.

But it was heavier—heavier than before.

Every shift in his weight, every swing of his sword, every flick of blood came with a fraction more effort.

A fraction more strain.

Eli could tell.

’He’s really nearing his limit...’

The realization twisted like barbed wire in Eli’s chest. He’d been watching carefully—tracking the way Kairo’s movements had slowed by milliseconds, the slight delay in how his blood responded, the tensing in his jaw after each blow.

It was subtle. But unmistakable.

’We’re so close—I can’t let him burn out now.’

Maybe they had missed their earlier window to finish the boss ogre cleanly. But Zaira was alive because of it. They all were.

’One step back—but we’re still in the fight. That’s what matters.’

Eli shook the hesitation from his mind. He tightened his grip around Kairo’s neck as they ducked beneath another crushing blow.

The obsidian blade shrieked past them, carving a fresh canyon into the street as Kairo twisted mid-air, his boots hitting pavement in a controlled slide.

Behind them, Mel cursed under his breath, vines growing faster than he could command them.

"The thing’s getting stronger," Mel gritted, fingers twitching as more vines erupted from the ground. "It’s ripping through everything I throw at it."

"Then throw more," Kairo snapped, his voice sharp but steady. He pivoted again, narrowly dodging another downswing that shook the earth.

"Oh, sure. Let me just bask in sunlight and grow faster," Mel muttered, but already his vines thickened, bark hardening with a rough, almost metallic sheen as they tried to anchor the boss ogre’s legs once more.

On the other side of the ruined street, Mio and Zaira hadn’t relented. Threads whipped through the air like silver razors, binding the mutated ogre’s limbs with methodical brutality.

Zaira stood behind cover, her shimmering aura distorting the space around her like heat waves off asphalt, keeping the creature’s bloodlust unfocused.

’They’re not making the same mistake twice,’ Eli noted, eyes flicking back to the main threat. ’No openings. No risks. Every second counts.’

"Duck!" Eli shouted suddenly, danger sense flaring like a flare inside his skull.

Kairo dropped instantly. The ogre’s blade screamed overhead, missing by a breath. The pressure

of it alone cracked windows across the block and sent debris flying like shrapnel.

’He’s too fast...!’

"Right sweep—now!"

Kairo reacted without question, tucking low into a sliding pivot. The boss ogre’s horizontal swing whooshed past again, the force snapping a light post in half. Wind and dust spiraled in their wake.

But Eli saw something. A detail. A potential edge.

"Wait—there!" he pointed, voice sharp with urgency. "Dead ogre—your left! That one bled out!"

The corpse of a fallen ogre lay broken across the battlefield. Its body was limp, grotesque—and surrounded by a massive pool of congealed blood still steaming in the air.

Kairo didn’t need more.

He veered toward it in an arc, blood seeping from his palm.

His crimson tendrils shot forward, writhing across the concrete like serpents, diving into the puddle. Instantly, the blood twisted and merged—and Eli felt it.

A pulse of power.

The aura around Kairo surged. The air turned metallic with the scent of blood and iron.

Eli could feel it in his teeth. His bones.

’This is good. The more blood he has, the more powerful he becomes.’

All he needed now was to give Kairo an opening.

"Hey!" Eli shouted, eyes locked onto the towering boss ogre again. "Mio!"

"Still here, gorgeous," Mio called back, eyes focused.

"Thread his neck! And his arm—if you can!"

Mio quirked a brow, but he didn’t hesitate. He flicked both wrists, and a shimmer of silver exploded through the air like lightning.

Dozens of threads whipped around the boss ogre’s neck, shoulder, and bicep, tightening in a blink.

"Mel!" Eli yelled next. "Can you bind his legs tighter?"

"Weeell," Mel says. "Not sure if you’ve heard of me, but I tend to grow weaker the more vines I put out within a span of seconds!"

"We just need one shot! Make an opening for Kairo!"

That got their attention. Both men glanced at Kairo for confirmation.

He gave a single nod.

That was all it took.

The ground shuddered as Mel’s vines erupted like tidal waves—coiling and latching up the ogre’s legs, waist, and unarmed limb like anaconda-thick chains. Mio’s threads found their mark too—tightening like garrote wires.

And then—

The roar.

It wavered.

Only for a second.

But Eli heard it. Felt it.

’It’s confused. Mio and Mel are overwhelming him, and he also can’t look away from Kairo.’

"Go!" Eli screamed. "Now’s the window! Strike the head—go for the eyes!"

Kairo turned, blood slicking down his arm, and stared at him.

"Eyes?" he asked, skeptical.

"You’ll see!" Eli shouted back. "Just trust me!"

Kairo didn’t hesitate.

In the next instant, he surged forward—blood exploding beneath his boots like boosters, launching them skyward in a crimson arc. They flew like a comet through the smoke-choked air, hurtling toward the ogre’s massive skull.

’Holy shit!’

The beast tried to respond. It roared louder, flailing, trying to bring its sword up to intercept.

But instinct betrayed it.

It raised its arms to shield its neck.

Leaving its face—its glowing, blood-red eyes—exposed.

Big mistake.

"Now, Kairo!"

Kairo’s blade flashed. Reinforced with pooled blood, honed by sheer killing intent.

He plunged the blade into the first eye.

Schlkkk.

"RAUUUUUUUUUUGHHH!!!"

The ogre screamed—not a commanding roar—but a shriek of agony.

Its body convulsed, the feedback of pain rattling through the vines and threads holding it in place. The air rippled. The world shook.

Eli’s ears rang. His skin tingled. His danger sense howled in every direction.

But Kairo wasn’t done.

With a grunt, he twisted the blade free—and slammed it into the second eye.

Shhhhhrkk!

Another scream—louder. Deeper.

The beast stumbled for the first time...and fell to the ground in pain.