CHAPTER 62: FRESHER BALL — FINAL

Chapter 61: Fresher Ball — Final

The battlefield burned white with frost and red with flame.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the frozen earth where Michael’s Ice Domain still lingered.

Shadows swirled and pulsed from the second pillar, bleeding into the form of the towering demon commander. Its horned helm gleamed faintly, eyes smoldering with cruel hunger.

Michael’s breath steamed in ragged bursts. His ribs still ached from intercepting the demon’s tail earlier, but his grip on his sword did not falter.

My stamina’s dropping fast... I can’t keep trading like this. If I collapse before they sync, we’re finished.

He shifted his stance lower, sliding into Siekie Ryoku’s defensive form.

Behind him, the others scrambled to regroup. Emily stood protectively near Leon, daggers flashing, while Aurelia and Elara coordinated spells with eerie precision golden light and earthy roots weaving together in a makeshift bulwark. Justin gritted his teeth, bloodied but refusing to sit out.

And then there was Lyra.

"Oi, bucket-head!" she shouted at the demon, flames coiling around her staff as she conjured a blazing orb. Her grin was reckless, defiant. "Try this on for size!"

She hurled the Fire Orb. It exploded across the demon’s chest in a flash of heat and sparks.

The commander didn’t even flinch.

A low growl rumbled from its throat as it swatted the flames aside with one massive claw. The shockwave sent Lyra skidding backward, her boots scraping against the ice.

"Tch—!" She spat and steadied her stance, water already flowing around her to dampen the backlash.

"That all you got?!"

"Lyra!" Leon’s voice cracked in panic. "Don’t provoke it recklessly!"

She shot him a grin over her shoulder, wild fire dancing in her eyes. "If we wait for your plans, golden boy, we’ll be dead before they’re ready!"

"Idiot," Elara muttered coldly from her position, arrow nocked. Yet, Michael noticed the faintest twitch at her lips—half irritation, half... reluctant amusement.

---

Aiden Joins the Fray

"Ha! Now that’s more like it!" Aiden roared, twin short swords crackling with lightning. He sprinted across the ice, leaving sparks in his wake. "Move, Lyra I’ll show you how it’s done!"

"Try not to trip over your ego!" she shot back, already forming a water serpent to coil around the demon’s legs.

The commander growled as the watery construct bound its ankles. Aiden dashed in, blades flashing in a flurry of strikes. Each impact sparked against demonic armor, jolts of lightning searing into its body.

"Storm Fang Blitz!"

A cascade of slashes landed, forcing the demon to stagger half a step.

Aiden laughed, exhilarated. "See that? It’s working!"

Michael’s eyes narrowed. No... not enough. That thing hasn’t even shown its real strength yet.

---

Selena’s Quiet Strength

Amidst the chaos, Selena stood firm, her scythe of shadow humming with restrained energy. Her expression was calm, but her knuckles were white around the haft.

"Stay steady," she called softly, her voice somehow cutting through the noise. "Focus your strikes together—don’t scatter them."

Her holy affinity flared, a faint glow weaving into her scythe’s shadow. With a graceful arc, she sliced forward.

"Night Veil Slash."

A crescent of condensed mana cut through the air, colliding with the demon’s exposed side where Aiden’s lightning had left cracks. The shadow-imbued slash seared deep, forcing a roar from the commander.

Selena’s eyes softened, but her voice was resolute. "Michael. Call the timing—I’ll match it."

He gave a slight nod, chest tightening. She... actually listens. That’s what we need right now.

---

(Aurelia & Elara’s POV)

Aurelia’s rapier gleamed as she thrust forward, flame spiraling at its tip. "Elara—left shoulder!"

"Understood," Elara replied curtly, loosing an arrow laced with earth essence.

The arrow struck first, splintering a chunk of armor. Aurelia’s flame-lunge pierced the exposed spot an instant later, a burst of golden sparks flaring outward.

The two girls exchanged the briefest glance Elara’s cool, Aurelia’s sharp and then returned their focus wordlessly to the fight.

Michael’s lips thinned. For all their differences, they can sync when it matters. That’s what will keep us alive.

---

From the rear, Maria’s voice rang out, dripping with scorn.

"My, my. What a touching display of teamwork. Pity it won’t matter when that thing crushes you like ants."

She lifted her staff, ice shards forming in a deadly halo. "But do keep entertaining me. I’d rather not waste my mana carrying weaklings."

Lyra whirled on her. "You wanna run your mouth instead of fighting, Frost-bitch?!"

Maria smirked, unleashing a volley of Frost Shards that whistled past Lyra’s shoulder—each one embedding with surgical precision in the demon’s joints.

"I fight," Maria said coolly, "I just don’t need to scream about it."

Lyra growled, staff sparking with fire. "Say that again—"

"Enough!" Michael barked, his voice cracking like a whip. Both girls froze, startled by the raw authority.

He inhaled sharply. "We don’t have the luxury to bicker. Eyes on the demon—or you’ll be corpses."

---

(Michael’s POV)

His Quantum Analysis Mind surged, lines of probability flickering like ghostly threads before his vision. The demon was preparing another sweep a devastating arc that would catch Aiden, Leon, and Emily all at once.

I can stop it. But if I Shadow Swap again... my body might tear apart.

His grip tightened on the sword. Doesn’t matter. If I don’t, they’ll die.

---

The commander reared back, blade igniting with shadow flame.

Michael exhaled slowly, shifting his stance Siekie Ryoku’s Form Three, the one he had sworn not to use until he was ready.

His aura flared cold blue, mixing with ice mana.

"...Form Three," he whispered under his breath, blade trembling. "Heaven Splitter."

Michael’s blade dripped faintly with dark violet blood, the sharp edge shimmering with lingering frost.

He exhaled sharply.

(Three Lesser Demons down... but my mana consumption is too high. If I keep fighting like this, I’ll burn out before the real battle even starts.)

The clash against the vanguard had ended, but silence was fleeting. From the ruined archways ahead, more shadows began to emerge. Their horns gleamed beneath the fractured moonlight.

---

Aurelia adjusted her glasses, her sharp eyes darting between the ruins and the hostile presence ahead. She flicked her wrist, her notebook opening itself with a flicker of golden runes.

Aurelia calmly

"Estimate... five Lessar Demon of C rank , possibly a Duke-class signature in the rear. We’re not dealing with mere fodder anymore."

Her words sent a ripple through the group.

Lyra twirled her twin blades, a grin flashing across her lips despite the growing tension.

Lyra smirking

"Heh. Finally, something worth cutting down. I was getting bored with those weaklings."

Elara, standing slightly apart from the others, tightened her grip on her glaive. Her icy violet eyes narrowed.

Elara flatly

"Don’t underestimate this Demon . They’re equivalent to C-Rank Hunters at least... and we don’t have the numbers to fight recklessly."

Aiden cracked his knuckles, stepping up beside Leon with his usual loud confidence.

Aiden (grinning):

"Numbers don’t matter if we hit harder. Just point me at the biggest one and I’ll smash it into the ground."

Selena, standing behind Michael and Leon, placed a hand over her chest. Her voice trembled faintly but held firm.

Selena (softly):

"...We must be careful. These ranks aren’t just symbols—they’re lifetimes of difference in power. Even a single step between B+ and A-... can be fatal."

---

Michael’s Thoughts

Michael’s gaze lingered on the encroaching demons. Their aura was suffocating—violent flames licking across his skin, as though the air itself sought to burn him alive.

Warriors... D to C class, huh? In game terms, this should’ve been a mid-raid boss encounter, one requiring dozens of players to clear. But here we are just eight of us, standing like fools against an army

His grip on his sword tightened. The frost around the blade pulsed faintly.

But I can’t back down. If I falter, if I hesitate even for a second these people will die.

And this story... will collapse into ruin, just like the game

--

The first Demon Warrior stepped forward. Its armor was jagged black steel, fused with bone. A massive halberd gleamed in its clawed grip, its surface dripping with corrupt flame.

With a guttural roar, it charged.

The ground cracked under its weight as it swung down with earth-shattering force.

Aiden:

"Mine!"

He stepped into the blow, muscles surging, his own greatsword wrapped in wind mana. Steel collided with steel, shockwaves tearing outward. The impact forced Aiden back three steps, his boots carving trenches into the dirt.

Aiden gritting teeth

"...Tch, heavier than I thought."

Lyra:

"Don’t hog all the fun!"

She blurred past him, flames bursting from her twin daggers as she slashed across the demon’s armored knee. Sparks and molten blood erupted, the beast howling in fury.

But before it could retaliate, a second Warrior descended from above, aiming to cleave her in half.

Michael (shouting):

"Lyra, duck!"

His frost blade flared, and with a sharp motion, jagged ice spires erupted from the ground, impaling the demon mid-leap and halting its strike.

Lyra rolled aside, fire burning around her as she grinned.

Lyra (teasing):

"Hah! Guess you’re not just an ’extra’ after all, Willson!"

Michael didn’t answer—his focus locked on the three more shadows rushing forward.

---

Aurelia’s Coordination

Aurelia (sharply):

"Elara, cover the flanks. Justin, shield Selena. Leon is to take mid-support with Michael. Aiden and Lyra will draw aggro."

Her voice was crisp, commanding is not requesting, but expecting compliance.

Elara coldly, but obeying

"...Understood."

Leon (nodding):

"Got it."

The formation snapped into place.

Elara’s glaive whirled, intercepting a Warrior’s spear thrust with cold precision, while Selena’s healing light glowed faintly behind Justin’s shield.

---

One of the warriors towering, horned, with a jagged blade dripping venom locked its crimson eyes on Michael.

It lunged.

Michael sidestepped, his frost blade meeting its strike. Sparks flew as steel screeched against corrupted metal. His arms trembled from the sheer force.

’Damn... its strength is at least A-rank. I can’t win head-on.’

The demon snarled and pressed harder.

Michael gritted his teeth, ice surging down his blade. With a twist, he redirected the strike, carving a shallow line across the monster’s forearm. Frost spread along its black armor, slowing its movement.

But the demon only roared louder, kicking him in the chest.

"—Gah!"

Michael was hurled back, crashing into shattered stone. His lungs burned, vision blurring.

Selena worried looking at Michael

"Michael!"

He spat blood, forcing himself to stand.

’No... I can’t collapse. Not now. Not in front of them. I promised... I’d change this fate’

The battlefield burned, steel clashed, and blood spilled. Yet the true shadow in the ruins—the Duke-level presence Aurelia had sensed—hadn’t even revealed itself yet.

And Michael knew.

’If this is just the warm-up... then what’s waiting behind them is strong enough to erase us all.’