CHAPTER 52: THE FALL OF THE GHOSTS

The sky darkened as an unnatural wind swept across the northern plains of the Ghost Village. Birds fled from the trees. The air turned electric with danger. Something ancient—something monstrous—was coming.

It began with a low tremor. Then came the thunder. Not from the heavens, but from the ground. Everyone turned toward the gates in fear.

Thud!! Thud!! Thud!!

The rhythmic thuds grew louder until the very ground cracked beneath their weight.

Soldiers of the Ghost Force, once so confident in their training and unity, now trembled at the unnatural sight that crested over the horizon.

Ten Colossus Beings.

Towering at nearly a hundred feet, their forms were twisted monuments of muscle, stone, and bone. They bore no armor, for their skin was tougher than steel. Their faces were emotionless masks, except for their leader.

Gravemind.

He stood taller than the others, his obsidian horns curling forward like a demon’s crown. His body was laced with living magma, red lines coursing through his muscles like veins of fire. His voice was a blend of growls and grinding rock.

"Bring down the Ghosts. Kill everyone who stands," he ordered, and the Colossus beings obeyed.

Morgan watched from the distance, cloaked in shadow, a twisted smirk on her lips. This was her plan. Her mother’s legacy would fall. And Dominic... he would crumble. She had always envied her mother but her mother never paid much attention to her. Instead she only noticed Alice. This was her pay back.

The Ghost Barracks shook violently. Alarms rang.

Dominic was already at the command room with Lady Fares and Alice when the emergency bell sounded. They turned sharply to the entrance as a young officer ran in, face pale.

"Colossus beings... at the northern border. Ten of them. They’ve already crushed the outpost guards."

"What?!" Lady Fares said, stunned.

Alice clenched her fists. "This is no normal raid. Someone unleashed hell itself."

Dominic stood silent, then turned to Lillian.

"Mobilize every capable squad. Get the Ghost Cannons ready. If they break into the inner district, it’s over."

Lillian nodded and darted off.

Dominic turned to Lady Fares. "We hold the gate. We can’t let them reach the central palace."

"I’m with you," she said.

Alice drew her blade. "Me too. We’ll take down whoever tries to get past."

North Border.

Squads Alpha through Danielle had already engaged. Ghost Soldiers, beautiful and deadly women, darted across rooftops and fired coordinated arrows and explosive runes—but they were nothing before the Colossus Beings.

Five Ghosts leaped through the air to ambush a Colossus. But its reflexes were far faster than they expected. It looked up sharply with a deadly grin on its lips.

And in a single swipe of its massive arm, five of them were smashed mid-air, their bodies crushed and flung into nearby buildings. Screams echoed.

Gravemind stepped into the center of the chaos.

"Pathetic," he snarled.

He raised his colossal foot and stomped. The shockwave alone shattered buildings. Flames erupted. One of the battalions was reduced to ashes.

Danielle ran towards Gravemind with extreme speed. She smiled as she saw his shadow. It was large to form a deadly hit. She lasted in absorbing a huge of shadow energy.

She leaped up and Gravemind turned sharply to notice her. Shock etched on his face. Danielle smirked and sent a ripple of shadows at his face. The energy she shot sent him slamming his arm against a building causing it to shatter instantly.

"Now. The kill." She muttered as she dived with full speed at Gravemind. But the instant she plunged her sword on his neck, her sword broke instantly.

She gasped in shock but Gravemind swung his arm right to grab her tightly. A smile trailed on his lips as he stood back on his feet.

"Let her be!!" A Ghost exclaimed as she ran towards him with full speed. That moment his feet slammed thud against her, squashing her to nothing but broken bones and blood.

Danielle screamed in fear. For the first time in her life she felt what it was to be in fear. Her heart throbbed lightly. But as soon she opened her mouth to plead for escape, Gravemind squeezed his hand and she squashed into blood. A smile trailed his lips.

Western Border

Lillian dashed through the smoke. She coordinated a rear maneuver, trying to flank one of the smaller Colossi.

"Focus fire on the legs!" she shouted.

They obeyed.

Dozens of arcane bullets and plasma spears shot into the knees of the nearest Colossus. It staggered. Lillian leaped.

Her sword lit with ghostfire. She brought it down with all her strength into the Colossus’s ankle.

CRACK.

It howled in pain. The leg buckled.

She grinned, but in the next instant, another Colossus caught her off guard.

Its massive hand swept in from the side—

BOOM!

Lillian screamed as the force threw her like a ragdoll across the battlefield. Blood splattered across the ground. She rolled, groaning.

When she sat up, she felt a numbing heat crawl down her arm.

Her left arm... was gone.

"No... no... No!!!!" she gasped and turned to see the two Colossus lunging at her.

Dominic arrived seconds later, just in time to see two Colossus Beings closing in on the wounded Ghost Commander.

"No!" he yelled, and activated Massacre Domain.

Shadows erupted around him. His body blurred and vanished into the gloom.

He appeared mid-air, above the Colossus that had struck Lillian.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Dominic dropped like a missile, his sword formed from condensed darkness.

With a roar, he plunged the blade into the creature’s eye.

It screeched and flailed, toppling backward and slamming into two buildings. One exploded from the impact.

Dominic landed beside Lillian. He glanced at her wound, then pressed a healing rune to her shoulder.

"You’re not dying today," he muttered.

She coughed blood but smiled faintly. "Took you long enough, General."

Eastern Border

Meanwhile, Lady Fares and Alice were orchestrating a large-scale counterattack from the eastern wall.

"Archers! Aim for their eyes! Don’t let them recover!" Lady Fares barked.

Alice led a team of elite assassins across the rooftops, each woman darting with precision.

One by one, they targeted exposed tendons and joints. Small explosions rocked the battlefield. Some Colossi fell, struggling to get up.

But Gravemind still stood tall.

He watched as more of his brethren were injured.

"No more games." His body ignited with burning fury.

He raised his hand and summoned a great obsidian hammer formed from his own molten essence. It pulsed like a living weapon.

He hurled it into the middle of the Ghost encampment.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A blast wave swept across the battlefield. Nearly a hundred soldiers were incinerated. Craters formed. The walls cracked.

Dominic gritted his teeth.

"Tsk." he whispered. "That one’s mine."

Lillian clutched his sleeve. "Don’t... face him alone. He’s... a monster."

Dominic looked down at her, determination in his eyes.

"I’m the General now. If I can’t take down a monster... I don’t deserve the title."

He stood.

Shadows gathered behind him.

The battle had only just begun.