Roen's eyes widened in disbelief. His voice trembled as he stared at the dissolving corpse.

"It was just a puppet..?"

A heartbeat later rage boiled through him.

"FUCKK!" Roen yelled violently as it scraped his throat. His fist slammed into the ground and dust scattered.

An eerie laughter echoed across the battlefield. It did not sound human, instead it felt like a thousand whispers crawling inside the skull at once. Black mist drifted across the broken stone like spilled ink and slowly gathered. It twisted and curled until it shaped itself into a tall, crooked silhouette.

The figure looked like a mage, yet his form was unstable. His robes fluttered even though there was no wind.

His skin looked cracked like dried clay and dark veins pulsed beneath it. His eyes flickered like two dying embers. The mist around him writhed like parasitic worms. His presence felt frantic, unstable and deeply wrong, like he was a person made of screaming souls instead of flesh. Every breath he took sounded like a broken laugh.

Meanwhile, Ethan stood ahead without blinking. His gaze stayed fixed on the forming figure and understanding dawned slowly in his eyes.

"I see..." Ethan muttered to himself. His voice was low yet heavy enough to show he finally understood why the earlier one felt so weak and had no detectable rank.

He turned toward Roen with clarity, knowing what needed to be done.

"Run away.."

But Roen, already frenzied from the fight, refused. Anger clouded every part of him.

"Go to hell!" Roen shouted and rushed forward like a madman, his sword raised high. His footsteps splashed in pooled blood.

Before he could take his second step, Ethan's hand shot out,and gripped him as hard as steel. He grabbed Roen's shoulder and with effortless strength threw him back towards Julia.

BANG!

Roen skidded across dirt and cracked stone.

"Handle your brother.. He is blocking my way." Ethan ordered, his voice steady and cold.

Julia nodded without hesitation. Her jaw tightened and she slammed the butt of her sword against Roen's head."Calm down you idiot."

"Ouchhh!" Roen screamed as pain burst through his skull. He held his head with both hands and his balance faltered. His vision blurred for a moment.

He opened his mouth, ready to shout back at her, but Ethan's icy glare was sharper than any command. Both siblings froze as if pierced by spears.

"Runnn!" Ethan barked. His voice boomed across the battlefield like the crack of thunder.

A furious roar answered him, shaking the ground beneath their feet."In your dreams!"

The real one had arrived.

Loan stepped forward, and this time there was no puppet nor trick.

His presence alone felt like a weight pressing on lungs. Even though he was the weakest among the three Dark Mages, power radiated from him like wildfire. His aura trembled with fresh sacrifice. After today he would rise, maybe even become a Bishop blessed personally by the Lord.

His eyes were bloodshot, swollen with madness. His face twisted in hatred.

"Did you really think of me as fodder.. Do you think it's even possible for them to escape before me.."

His voice dropped to a venom soaked whisper.

"I am not a weakling."

The air trembled around him as his power grew violent.And then Loan smirked.He raised his staff and magic swelled like a crashing wave.

"Die in agony, you ants!"

A blazing red light burst from the tip of his staff.

In the next heartbeat, hundreds of blood-red slimy arms shot out like serpents, fast, wild, and hungry. They writhed in the air and lunged straight at Ethan's unit.

These arms were not ordinary magic. They dripped foul energy. Each carried a curse.

Crimson Touch, a forbidden technique whispered only within the cult's inner circle. A single touch would drain blood, muscle and life in seconds then feed strength back into the caster.

The battlefield shook as the spell intensified.

The air grew thick like hot iron and breathing felt harder.Some soldiers staggered, clutching their chests with fear.

Ethan's eyes hardened. His voice was calm yet freezing."Time to use system gifts."

The tentacles struck at him first. Ethan lifted his hand without hesitation. He tapped the Brooch at his chest.

Holy light erupted from his body like a sun shattering darkness.The glow was so pure that anyone who believed in the Goddess of Light felt their knees weaken.

The light washed over him and the tentacles shriveled, burned and cracked to ash.

For a moment there was silence.

"So that's not enough huh .. Then take this."

Loan hissed with a twisted grin and slammed his staff into the ground.

The earth split and a magic circle spread outward like blooming thorns.Blood from fallen corpses dragged itself across the ground as if alive, pulled toward the circle by invisible hands.

Bones rattled and flesh twitched. The circle widened and twisted into a grotesque shape like an open ribcage.

Loan chanted through clenched teeth. His voice was like wet stones grinding.

The spell name echoed,[Crimson Deadly Hand,listen to my call and laid everyone to waste.]

Blood spiraled upward and hundreds of tentacles formed again, thicker, wetter, pulsating with life like beating hearts. They burst from the ground, ripping open soil and stone. They whipped forward with no mercy, attacking everything alive. They did not see allies or foes.

All of the beings before them were only food.

Ethan clicked his tongue."That's why I hate these brain dead shit heads.."

Zombies surged at him next, drawn by the chaos. Groans rose like thunder as they rushed his position. Ethan could charge forward, but if he stepped away his forces would cut like grass before a scythe.

More magic circles layered over each other, glowing like blood soaked suns. The tentacles swarmed everywhere without end.

Ethan spun around and bellowed."Fall back.. Let me handle this."

Julia and Roen obeyed without question this time. They scrambled to regroup, pulling wounded soldiers back. The field shook like a storm.

Ethan reached to his back.

With one solid motion he drew the Greatsword.

The blade hummed and divine light shimmered across its edges like liquid gold. His fighting spirit poured into it steadily.

"Time to see what it can do."

He planted his feet, breath steady and firm. His grip tightened. His body lowered slightly as power gathered in his core.

[Sacred Luminous Art]

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