Progress halted.
Valdro ordered the convoy to halt in a lowland encircled on three sides by sharp, jagged rock outcrops—like a natural valley that could be secured tactically. The ground wasn’t safe, but according to the engineers, it was the point least vulnerable to ambush.
Immediately, engineering teams began sweeping the area, fixing light pillars, and inspecting the surrounding walls for thermal cracks or pressure pockets.
At the same time, medical teams moved swiftly.
Wounded soldiers lay scattered on the ground—some bruised, others suffering from intense energy-induced migraines.
Valdro’s injured shoulder was taken directly to the temporary command tent, where the field medic began cleaning the wound and applying a healing-energy bandage.
Inside the command tent, the atmosphere was different.
This wasn't a military leadership tent—it was a den of mature dread.
On the makeshift wooden table lay a thermal map of the area, a pressure reading screen, and a frequency vibration monitor.
Valdro sat on the wooden chair, half his shoulder exposed, dried mud still clinging to his hair. On his right sat Karo, his face unreadable. Behind them, Asten sat silently in the corner.
"Let me start with the real question..." Valdro said coldly.
"How many of us… have actually faced a level B creature before?"
Silence held for several seconds.
Then Karo spoke—in a tone he had never used before:
"In direct confrontation… none of us could.
But I’ve seen my master, the leader of the Fifth Pillar, fight similar creatures on floor 65.
He led an expedition… we were just shadows trailing behind.
Nothing we did today even comes close."
A military specialist summoned into the tent added:
"Class B creatures are considered extremely rare… and discussions about them inside the state are always laced with rumors.
In the recorded history of the Pillars, there’s no case of a skilled knight defeating such a creature… unless a Pillar leader intervened personally."
Karo followed:
"We’ve sent the message to Central Command. Now we wait for the decision: withdraw or proceed?"
Asten, still not looking at them, replied:
"If they were going to order a retreat… they would’ve done so the moment the creature was spotted.
What we’re waiting for now… isn’t a tactical decision. It’s existential."
Valdro closed his eyes for a moment, then said:
"In today’s battle, we didn’t fall… but we didn’t win either.
Anyone reading the report may think we’re fine.
But we know… this is the first time we truly don’t know what we’re facing."
He raised his head:
"We’ll await the response… but we must prepare the soldiers for any scenario."
"The beast withdrew… but our eyes never stopped looking in its direction.
For in every soldier’s heart… one question remained:
Was that a first encounter… or a postponed farewell?"
Karo exited the tent and strode quickly toward the tents of his Fifth Pillar squad.
The area was hastily arranged, surrounded by temporary cooling devices to protect the equipment from the heat. Amid this tension stood a young man—tall and sharp as a spear, bearing the badge of an Elite Combatant.
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His name: Seyren, a graduate of the Fifth Pillar’s elite program.
Seyren stepped quietly toward Karo and asked softly:
"Forgive me, sir… but did you tell him? The commander?"
Karo, face still showing signs of fatigue, answered calmly:
"Yes, I did."
Seyren’s eyes widened slightly, sensing the answer was incomplete:
"And… did he agree?"
A moment of silence.
"He didn’t reply… he just opened his eyes."
Seyren bowed his head, then gave a smile—half nostalgic, half reverent:
"When our master trains, he never speaks.
Two years now… we’ve only watched him in silence."
"But he’s not weak. I’ve seen him defeat level B creatures myself.
He’s reached the fourth level of Miel… and now, he’s trying to surpass even that.
He never tried to go beyond floor 65—he doesn’t seek depth, but mastery.
He believes floor 65 hides something… he calls it 'the barrier'."
"That’s why… I sent him a message. Urgent, confidential, and illegal.
We’re not allowed to contact other Pillars during operations—only the Committee of the First.
But I broke that rule. I sent it directly to his Pillar."
Suddenly, a faint footstep echoed behind them.
Both turned swiftly—
But there was nothing. Just a distant shadow… or someone who vanished the instant they were noticed.
They exchanged a cautious look.
"Break time’s over," Karo muttered.
"Get ready."
Equipment recharged, oxygen masks filled, weapons restored—ranged devices charged with explosive cores, thermal bursts, or volatile water-pressure rounds.
The convoy began moving once more, led by the three deputy commanders.
The area ahead held no monsters… but a tangible dread.
They finally reached the Wall of Lava—a series of interconnected volcanoes overlooking a wide gray basin, where molten rivers ebbed and flowed in slow, glowing tides.
The scene looked like a living nightmare:
The sky, clogged with smoky red clouds that occasionally sparked lightning.
Mountains oozing magma in slow-motion waterfalls.
The crackling of scorched stone echoed across the valley.
The heat… almost melted the lungs—only the masks prevented suffocation.
Many soldiers had never seen this place before.
Eyes filled with awe, darting everywhere—watching, absorbing, fearing.
Asten stared into the horizon:
"The caves…"
Not a roar. Not a howl.
A voice—part-human, part-wrong.
It came from one of the smoky caves.
Not a scream… but a sentence.
Clear. Sharp. Like a sound wave slapping every ear:
"Where is the boy?"
Everyone froze.
Soldiers. Commanders. Even the wind.
From behind the smoke, something emerged—slowly, then clearer.
A creature.
Two and a half meters tall.
Its body, a fusion of sinewy human muscle and savage proportions.
Its face, split—one half beast, the other vaguely human. Eyes glowing amber.
Valdro barked instantly:
"Anyone below Elite Combatant—fall back 40 meters, establish a rear line!"
But the creature didn’t move.
It stood.
Watching them.
Then it spoke again:
"The boy isn’t here…?
I thought he would come.
No matter."
Dozens of soldiers froze—mouths open, eyes wide.
One young recruit collapsed backward, trembling:
"A v-voice?! Did it… speak?!"
Another muttered, barely audible:
"It… can’t be.
Monsters… they… don’t talk…"
Karo, usually emotionless, stood speechless. Then turned sharply to Valdro:
"Did you hear that…?"
Sweat lined Valdro’s brow for the first time in years.
He whispered:
"Yes… it spoke."
Asten slowly turned his head toward the cave:
"The first record… the first confirmation…"
One soldier, panicked:
"It… it knows someone! This thing has a purpose? Thoughts? Expectations?!"
Another fell to his knees, laughing, then crying:
"This… this isn’t just an enemy.
This is a mind… speaking!
What nightmare is this?!"
Then the creature turned its head slowly.
Its glowing eyes locked onto the commanders.
It said:
"Look behind you."
And behind them…
The stone beast had returned.
The same one they had fought.
The one that vanished into fog.
Now it stood silently.
No one spoke.
Not a sound.
Valdro whispered:
"Recalculate…
We are not fighting beasts without minds anymore."