As the triple convoy crossed the final barrier of the nation’s walls, three flags rose with a weight unrelated to the wind:
The banner of the Third Order — firm, sharp, metallic gray with the number 3 emblazoned.
The banner of the Fifth Order — burning, bronze-toned, marked with the number 5.
The banner of the Ninth Order — a strip of shadow, torn black, bearing the number 9.
Valdro Himel, sub-commander of the Third Order and overall leader of the mission, led the central wing.
Every five minutes, he knelt, placed his palm on the ground, muttered words no one could hear... then rose.
To his left, Karo Valsayn walked without a helmet, wearing only a light chest plate, as if his heat alone was enough to ward off any threat.
Behind them, Asten Rakviel drifted through the ranks like a phantom, appearing between soldiers without anyone noticing his steps.
As the convoy neared the first threshold of the Lava Zone, the soldiers took up positions based on the pre-assigned strategy.
The front lines consisted only of:
Advanced Combatants,
Knights,
And Elite Knights.
It was clear that anyone below the rank of Advanced Combatant had already been moved to the rear units.
Elite Knights— they were the rare core upon which the weight of the expedition rested.
“There are only 39 people in the world today with this title.”
“All commanders of the Orders and their deputies... belong to this class.”
“It’s not a position... it’s a rank.”
The title of Elite Knight isn’t granted by seniority or loyalty—
Only to those whose Will has reached the third level (Core of Control) and mastered it in full combat application.
One soldier murmured as he glanced toward Karo:
“That’s no ordinary man... that’s mastery of the Will itself.”
The aura a fighter emits through the Will isn’t just for protection...
It shields the body from harsh temperatures,
Reduces spiritual pressure,
And keeps the mind focused under inhuman conditions.
**Scene Two – First Contact**
Suddenly, Valdro halted.
He raised his hand in a full stop signal.
“The ground is not just shifting…” he muttered, “It’s listening.”
Astin appeared beside him silently.
“A warning?”
Karo commented coolly:
“Or a welcome... to something that plans to consume us.”
Just then… a speck of hot ash landed on the helmet of one of the soldiers.
It didn’t fall from the sky… but from the top of the ridge.
What they had assumed was a rock… began to move.
Steam started to rise from fissures in its hide. Its body was massive, as if carved from a giant boulder.
Each step made the earth shudder… yet it was slow, deliberate, calculated.
The soldiers froze.
The stone beast walked along the ridge, scanning, turning, observing.
Every few paces, it would pause, tilt its head, adjust its posture—
as if mapping their formation… understanding their positions… reading their intent.
One soldier whispered:
“What is this thing? No roar… no charge… just… movement.”
Valdro gave a firm command:
“Half-arc formation. No one attacks unless ordered.”
Karo launched a faint ring of fire… which extinguished before completing its arc.
“This land absorbs flame,” he whispered to himself.
Astin melted back into the shadows.
One of the expert knights approached carefully and asked:
“Commander… Is this a known beast?”
After a moment, Valdro replied:
“No. This… is something that was never recorded.”
Then, reverently, he added:
“Watch how it moves.”
The stone creature was not heading directly for them.
It was observing… analyzing.
Then… it knelt.
Placed its hand on the ground.
Exactly as Valdro often did.
A crushing silence spread.
“Is it… mimicking you?” Karo asked, eyes fixed.
Valdro didn’t respond.
But something in his expression tightened.
Even the earth seemed to tremble slightly beneath them.
A soldier in the rear collapsed to his knees.
“I… I can’t breathe… the pressure… this aura is crushing me…”
Even expert-ranked knights began to instinctively step back.
Then… the creature raised its head.
Opened its mouth.
No sound came.
Only a deep exhale—like a silent volcano breathing.
Then it moved.
It charged.
Scene Three – The First Clash
The stone beast did not charge immediately.
Instead, it dropped to one knee and placed its massive hand on the ground—exactly like Valdro.
A breathless silence fell over the entire formation.
“Is it... mimicking you?” Karo asked, eyes narrowed.
Valdro didn’t respond. His gaze remained fixed on the creature, as if deciphering a language written in tremors.
Then, the monster raised its head.
A searing exhale burst from its mouth—soundless, yet forceful.
And then... it moved.
It launched forward.
No one gave the order to attack.
No one shouted to fall back.
Yet everyone knew… the battle had begun.
The beast’s steps didn’t thunder—they resonated.
Every time it struck the ground, a wave of pressure rippled outward.
One soldier dropped his weapon just from the recoil alone.
“Hold your ground!” Valdro commanded. “Do NOT engage alone!”
But a young expert knight from the Fifth Order, driven by instinct or pride, didn’t listen.
He leapt forward, spear in hand, and aimed for the beast’s upper body.
The weapon shattered on contact.
The knight tumbled backward like a broken doll, rolling several meters before coming to a halt.
Karo stepped in immediately.
He unleashed a fireball—not to strike, but to shield the fallen.
The flame vanished midair.
“What...?!” Karo growled. “It’s disrupting fire—absorbing it!”
The creature bent down, grabbed a boulder, and hurled it with terrifying force.
Three soldiers were thrown like debris.
Astin emerged from the shadows behind the beast.
He launched three shadow daggers toward its rear joints.
They struck—but the beast dragged its feet forward as if nothing touched it.
Valdro struck the ground with both hands.
Earth shot upward, forming a stone wall.
The creature didn’t slow.
It rammed through the barrier with its head—shattering it in an instant.
Panic surged.
“It doesn’t feel pain!” one soldier yelled.
“It doesn’t stop!” shouted another.
“This thing… it has no weak point!”
“Anyone below Knight rank—fall back!” Karo roared.
He formed a spiral of flame to obscure the enemy visually.
The creature paused within the firestorm.
Its body began to hum, a grinding noise echoing from its core.
Valdro launched twin earthen spears.
One pierced its left shoulder. The other embedded in its right thigh.
Dark, viscous fluid oozed from the wounds.
The beast stopped.
Then, without warning, turned… and retreated.
Silence followed.
“Is it over?” someone whispered.
“No…” Karo muttered. “That wasn’t an attack.
That was a test.”
Astin added, “It was observing our reactions… memorizing our positions.
It’ll be back—with purpose.”
Valdro nodded grimly. “The next round won’t be a probe.
It’ll be a reckoning.”
The sharp silence that followed cracked like fragile glass.
A soldier from the third line, a young man with sharp eyes and a loose helmet, suddenly lifted his head as if stung by invisible force.
> "There… at the ridge…" he whispered.
All eyes turned.
Breaths froze.
Time itself stalled—not for a reason, but because no one could process what they were seeing.
Something stood atop a charred arc of rock—
Far enough that its features were lost,
Close enough that everyone knew it was watching them.
A dark silhouette,
Unmoving, unblinking, emitting no aura—
But every soldier felt it pressing into their hearts like a buried weight.
> "Is that… a rock?" murmured one of the expert knights, hand on his sword but not drawing it.
> "Rocks don't stand on two legs… or vanish like that," whispered a soldier from the Ninth Order, as if regretting his words.
What followed was not movement.
It wasn't leaping, fleeing, or any action at all.
It was… disappearance.
One moment it was there.
Then it wasn't.
Like someone had erased a mark from paper… and left behind silence.
That void wasn't calm.
It was a visual vacuum breathing pressure.
Valdro, barely noticeably, raised his hand—full halt.
All soldiers froze in place.
Even the breathing units on their backs seemed to lower their hum, as if shy to exhale.
> "Did… it see us?" whispered one warrior. His voice sliced through the silence.
But no one answered.
Not because they didn’t know.
But because none of them dared to find out.
The air grew heavier with each passing second. Though the creature had vanished into the mist, its presence lingered like a shadow etched into the nerves of every soldier. Not a soul moved. Not a whisper. Even the wind, if it dared pass, held its breath.
A soldier sitting at the rear tapped his knee with trembling fingers, eyes locked on the fading mist. “It’s gone… did we survive this?”
A female knight from the Fifth Order covered her mouth with one hand, scanning the field as though searching for a wall to lean on. “That… thing wasn’t made to fight. It was made to erase.”
At the heart of the battlefield, the three commanders stood unmoving. Valdro’s hand remained pressed against the scorched earth as if waiting for some delayed energy backlash. Karo’s lips were tight, flames around his arms no longer danced—they watched, still and focused. Astin emerged from behind a jagged rock, and for the first time, his eyes held not calculation… but questions.
One of the advanced combatants stepped forward hesitantly, his legs resisting the command to move. “Was that its final cry? ?”
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Valdro’s voice came after a long pause, low and weighty: “That scream… wasn’t an ending. It was a signature.”
Karo raised his head slowly, glancing over the weary soldiers. “Creatures that roar to instill fear… are weak. But this one… it roared to brand itself into our bones.”
A soldier looked at Karo, then at Astin. “Sir… if you hadn’t been here… we would’ve all been ash.”
Another knight, voice cracking, added, “I saw what it did to Valdro’s wall. None of us could survive a single hit.”
Among the ranks, knights exchanged glances—not just fear of the creature, but awe for the three who had faced it head-on. “The beast was a B-class… but these commanders… they’re another class entirely.”
Valdro stood slowly, brushing dust from his palm before turning to Karo and Astin. “From here on out, the battle isn’t just about danger. It’s about knowledge.”
Karo nodded. “And we know nothing.”
Astin glanced back at the soldiers. “This is where the second phase begins… survival under a logic we do not yet understand.”
Silence fell again—calm, yet far from comforting. No one considered this a victory. It was the start of a countdown to something deeper… and far more dangerous.
Every few minutes, Valdro would kneel, press his palm to the earth, whisper something no one else could hear… then stand again.
To his left, Karo Valsayn walked without a helmet, wearing only a light chestplate, as if his internal heat was defense enough.
Behind them, Astin Rakvil moved among the soldiers like a shadow, barely noticeable, vanishing between movements.
As the Triad Convoy advanced toward the first line of the Firelands, soldiers began assuming positions based on prior tactical deployment.
The front lines were composed exclusively of:
- Advanced combatants,
- Knights,
- and Expert Knights.
It was clear that anyone below the rank of Advanced Combatant had been reassigned to the rear units.
Expert Knights were the elite few—those on whom the expedition’s entire balance depended.
> “Only 39 people in the world today carry that title.”
“All Commanders and their seconds... belong to this category.”
“It’s not a position—it’s a rank.”
The title of Expert Knight wasn’t awarded through seniority or loyalty, but only to those who had reached the third level of Will (Essence of Control) and mastered it in full combat capacity.
One of the soldiers murmured, glancing at Karo:
> “That’s not just a man… that’s total mastery of Will.”
The aura released by a fighter through their Will wasn’t just for defense—it protected the body from extreme environmental heat, reduced pressure buildup, and kept the mind focused under inhuman conditions.
The rocky behemoth stepped forward.
Its body made no sound except for the low, vibrating hum from its chest cavity.
There was no growl, no screech—just a steady presence that bent reality around it.
One soldier muttered under his breath, "Is this... a Class B creature?"
"That can't be," gasped another. "They only appear beyond Floor Sixty!"
Even among elite fighters, panic crept in like frost over steel.
A seasoned knight dropped to one knee.
Another let his weapon clatter to the ash-covered ground.
Valdro gritted his teeth and raised his spear.
"Prepare for immediate engagement! Send the signal to the First Order. Now."
A short-range burst transmission was sent, encrypted and urgent:
> "Class B entity confirmed outside the Abyss. Coordinates attached. – Valdro Himel, Third Order."
Within moments, the command structure adjusted.
Valdro barked new orders, "Do not engage head-on. Hit and vanish. Treat it like a rolling surge."
Karro led the left flank, generating a fire barrier to shield the rear convoy.
Astin dispersed into the shadows, coordinating a silent assault.
Meanwhile, the soldiers primed the energy pylons—temporary staves meant to pin down massive targets with pulsing force.
The first to strike was a seasoned knight—Lios Treim.
He dashed, leaped, and aimed his sword at the monster’s throat.
The blade exploded.
Not bent. Not repelled. It detonated on contact.
“Internal vibration field,” a tactical analyst shouted. “It’s destabilizing weapon integrity.”
Lios fell back, barely alive.
The stone beast turned its head—slowly.
Time warped. Those within a 60-meter radius felt the world decelerate.
“We’re moving slower than it is,” Astin whispered, stunned.
The creature swiped its massive arm.
It didn’t touch anyone—but the pressure alone sent three soldiers flying.
Valdro slammed both palms to the ground.
“Triple barricade—earth spears, fall now!”
Massive pillars erupted in triangular formation, forming a partial maze.
Overhead, dozens of stone spears rained down, targeting the monster’s limbs.
Karro summoned a spiral arc of flame, aiming it at the beast’s leg from the left.
The fire struck—but barely phased it.
Astin released a high-pressure water burst.
Its purpose wasn't damage—it destabilized the thermal air barrier, lessening the shockwaves.
Still, the beast moved.
It dragged an entire chunk of terrain with one step, displacing Valdro.
Shards of earth struck his shoulder and arm. He stumbled, injured—but rose with one hand on his spear.
He fought on.
The battlefield echoed with cries—not of war, but disbelief.
A soldier at the rear of the formation sat down, his fingers tapping his knee repeatedly, eyes fixed on the void:
"He... disappeared? Was that the end?"
A female soldier from the Fifth Order covered her mouth,
then looked around as if searching for a wall to lean against:
"That thing... it wasn’t made for combat. It was made to erase what’s around it."
In the middle of the battlefield, the three commanders remained in their positions.
They did not move.
Valdro was still staring at the spot where the creature had jumped.
His hand remained on the ground, as if waiting for a delayed energy feedback.
Karo’s lips were sealed, and the fire on his arms no longer danced...
It settled, as though watching from within.
Asten emerged from the shadow behind a rock,
but this time... his eyes held questions, not plans.
One of the advanced fighters stepped forward slowly, as if his legs betrayed him.
"Was that its final cry...?"
Valdro answered after a long silence, his voice deep and weighted:
"That cry was not an end...
It was a signature."
Karo slowly raised his head and looked at the exhausted soldiers:
"Creatures that scream to intimidate...
are weak.
But this one... it screamed to leave its mark in our bones."
One of the soldiers looked at Karo, then at Asten, and said:
"Sir... if you hadn’t been here... we would all be ash by now."
Another soldier — of knight rank — spoke in a strained voice:
"I saw what it did to Valdro’s wall...
None of us could’ve withstood even one strike."
The knights began exchanging glances.
They weren’t just afraid of the beast...
They were looking at the three commanders—
How did they endure? How did they not move?
How did they remain in position... even after the creature disappeared?
A soldier whispered:
"The monster was ranked B...
But those commanders... they were something else entirely."
Valdro stood calmly, brushed the dust from his hand,
Then turned to Karo and Asten.
"From this point onward...
The fight is no longer about danger—
It’s about knowledge."
Karo:
"And we... know nothing."
Asten looked at the soldiers, then said:
"And so begins the second phase...
Survival under rules we don't understand."
A hush settled once again...
But no one called this a victory.
It was the beginning of a countdown—
Toward something deeper... and far more dangerous.
After several minutes of stunned silence,
Once the portable devices had been rebooted,
And the soldiers had shifted from shock to slow formation,
The convoy began moving again... cautiously.
**
Valdro led at the front, walking slowly,
His palm never leaving the ground,
As if the earth itself was speaking to him in a voice no one else could hear.
**
Karo scanned the cliffs above,
A faint pulse of flame still drifting from his fingertips.
**
Asten was the first to notice.
He stopped at a raised outcrop,
Looked right... then left... then murmured:
"Where are they?"
Karo approached quietly:
"What do you mean?"
Asten:
"This place... it’s empty.
No footprints.
No remnants.
Not even claw marks."
He pointed to a stone wall nearly four meters high:
"Normally, these places are crawling with small creatures.
But now... nothing."
**
Valdro turned toward them:
"This area is known as an active lava zone.
Even the deadliest creatures never travel alone."
Then he added in a hushed tone:
"But we’ve seen nothing...
No fire beasts,
No thermal lizards,
Not even energy ants."
A nervous soldier whispered to his partner:
"Do you think... it wiped out everything around it?"
The partner didn’t answer.
But the silence that followed...
Was enough to confirm the fear.
**
Valdro stood, turned toward the column of soldiers, and spoke in a commanding voice:
"As of now,
The Tri-Order Convoy has officially entered the Third Zone beyond the State.
Emergency directive:
All personnel must wear respiratory masks.
(In the Third Zone, the air doesn’t disappear…
It becomes a spectral layer unbreathable by humans.
Prolonged exposure without protection leads to nerve damage,
Then vascular collapse.
The body thinks it’s breathing… but it’s not.)
**
The soldiers donned their masks.
Valdro stood in the mist, his shoulder bleeding, his armor torn—
But his eyes fixed forward.
He said:
"What we just faced...
Might not be the real threat."
"This is only the …"
— End of Chapter 21: The Wall of Ash and Fire —
It was the silence.
The hesitation.
A creature that didn’t attack with strength — but with confidence.
One that didn’t show what it had — but what we weren’t ready to see.
And the mountains still hide more than they reveal.
It’s “who will still be standing by the end?”
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