A wall of black steel rose before Luke.

[Midnight Warden – Level 40]

It stood towering, encased in dark armor with no flesh exposed, spectral eyes burning like twin embers behind the helmet. The blade in its hand was already raised—silent, steady, patient. Ready to kill.

Luke scanned the damage. The armor was dented and torn in places—scars from the cave-in that had nearly buried it. Whatever had clawed its way back from that stone grave was no longer a soldier. It had become something far worse. Its final combat form.

The Warden's roar hit like a shockwave, vibrating through the earth. Luke didn't move. His kukris pulsed with tension in his grip, but it wasn't fear that held him in place—it was guilt. Angelica's body now rested inside his inventory, sealed away by his own hand.

The Warden raised its sword and pointed it at him. There was no choice now. Kill or be killed.

He opened his system interface mid-dodge. The Warden charged, each step cracking the stone beneath its feet like thunder. Luke moved instinctively, barely escaping the first swing. Time was running out. He had four unspent stat points and no room left for caution.

Stats Updated: Strength: 132 -> 136 Free Points: 4 -> 0

All of it went into strength. No vitality. No mana. Just power.

Steel met steel. The Warden's attack slammed into Luke with bone-crushing force, launching him across the chamber. He struck the wall, air ripped from his lungs before he could scream. When his vision cleared, the Warden was already above him. The blade came down like divine judgment.

Luke rolled at the last second. The sword shattered the floor where his chest had been. The Warden pressed forward, each swing heavier than the last. Luke blocked with his kukris, arms screaming under the strain. Then a kick drove into his ribs, lifting him from the ground. His body collided with the wall. Pain bloomed like fire. Blood spilled from his mouth.

He tried to get up, but everything failed him. Muscles refused to move. The Warden advanced—unyielding, mechanical, merciless. Sword raised for the final strike.

So this is how I die. It all ends here.

He closed his eyes. A second roar shook the tunnel. This one wasn't from the Warden. A figure crashed down like a meteor, striking the ground with seismic force. The Warden was flung back into the wall. Luke turned his head, vision swimming in and out of focus.

"...Charlie?"

She stood between him and death, her aura burning with raw power. The air still hummed with the echo of her Force Shout. Furious. Alive. Ready.

Luke staggered upright, one hand pressed to the wound in his side. The spear strike from earlier hadn't stopped bleeding—he was losing health steadily. One point per minute. Every sharp motion only worsened it.

He looked toward Charlie. She hadn't used all her stat points yet.

Stats Updated (Princess Charlie): Strength: 121 (161) -> 123 (163) Free Points: 2 -> 0

"Charlie..." Luke's voice came out rough, his eyes never leaving the armored figure rising from the rubble. "We can't hold anything back. If we save even one move... I die."

There was no doubt. The Warden would kill Charlie first, then come for him. Even if he tried to run, to climb, to escape—he wouldn't make it far. A spear would find him. Every path led to death.

But surrender wasn't an option. Across the cavern, the Warden raised its blade. Its presence pulsed like a living void—steel and silence focused into a single, lethal purpose. Charlie turned to Luke and gave a firm nod.

The Warden charged. Momentum exploded into motion. Luke leapt back—but it wasn't coming for him. It was coming for Charlie.

The ground erupted. A shockwave of heat and debris tore through the cave like an explosion from the planet's core. And at the center of the chaos, wreathed in fire, stood a silhouette of defiance.

Charlie.

Steam hissed from her armor. Flames coiled around her limbs like serpents, drawn to the fury in her soul. Her presence pulsed with raw heat, burning through the swirling dust. She had activated Berserker Mode—the power inherited from Morvat himself.

The Warden tilted its head, hesitating. Then it struck.

Charlie and the Warden collided with a force that cracked the cavern. She triggered her core abilities in one burst—Force Shout, Steel Fist, full Berserker ignition. Her stamina surged through her limbs, amplifying every ounce of her strength. She leapt into the air and landed a punch that hurled the Warden across the chamber. It dug its blade into the ground to stop the momentum, but Charlie met it midair with a brutal spinning kick.

At that exact instant, Luke dropped from above.

Demonic Blade Dance. Mimic active. Force Infusion charged.

He became a blur of steel. The kukris slashed across the Warden's armor, seeking gaps, targeting weaknesses. His mimic—a shadowborn echo—moved in sync, doubling the assault.

The Warden struggled to keep up. Attacks rained from all sides. Charlie drove forward with relentless fury, flaming fists pounding like war drums. Luke circled behind, slashing, stabbing, ducking.

A boulder collapsed beside them, dislodged by the fight—Luke seized the moment and channeled stamina into his legs, diving into the fray. But the Warden roared. It absorbed a barrage from Charlie, caught her with one arm, and spun like a hurricane. The blade carved through the air and struck her full-force, sending her crashing into the far wall.

Luke dashed forward—Dark Dash flashing beneath his feet—both kukris blazing with power. He aimed for the fractured gap in the helmet and leapt. But the Warden twisted mid-spin and intercepted him. Its arm slammed into his side, sending him tumbling across the cave. His back cracked against stone. He rolled, vision swimming, blades scattered.

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He looked up just in time to see the sword descending.

Then—impact.

But not from steel. Charlie smashed into the Warden. Channeling every shred of stamina, her Steel Fist collided with its helmet in a single, devastating strike. The Warden was launched backward, crashing against the wall. Stone shattered. Smoke curled from the crater now etched into its headplate.

Luke coughed blood and staggered upright, breath torn and uneven. The Warden turned slowly, its glowing eyes locking onto Charlie with pulsing hate. Then, it dropped its sword.

And charged. Barehanded. A black hurricane of rage, bent on tearing her apart with fists alone. Charlie met it head-on and blocked the first barrage—but it was like trying to stop a landslide with bare hands.

The Warden spun, slammed a kick into Charlie's ribs, and followed with a brutal uppercut that snapped her head back. Luke couldn't let it continue. He pushed to his feet, summoned his kukris back with magnetism, and sprinted—circling the chaos.

One of his blades drove into the Warden's back, piercing through cracked armor and sinking deep into the flesh beneath. The creature staggered with a sharp, guttural grunt. Pain. Real pain.

Luke had charged that blade with Force Infusion. The Warden's armor, already compromised by the cave-in and Charlie's relentless barrage, was coming apart under pressure. Luke saw something in that instant—a possibility.

It's possible.

Even here, in the belly of death, a spark ignited. If they kept going—if they didn't stop—they could kill it. But doubt crept in with every second. Charlie's mana was nearly gone. Berserker Mode drained everything, and when it ended, so would her bonuses. When that happened... they were both dead.

They had to end it—now.

Charlie rushed in, fists blazing with fire. She struck the Warden like a living warhammer, no longer relying on her sword. The force of the impact launched the creature backward, cracking the stone wall behind it.

Luke appeared behind it and drove a kukri into the exposed joint of its armor. The Warden howled and lashed out with an elbow that hurled him across the chamber. Charlie sprinted toward him to help—but the Warden intercepted, slamming a headbutt into her skull. She reeled, stunned, and the monster followed with a savage punch that sent her flying.

Luke saw it then—in the Warden's eyes. Intelligence. Cold calculation. The creature understood. Luke had been creating openings, pulling its attention. That plan ended now. It charged him.

Luke tried to dash, to retreat—but there was no time. The Warden reached him with a roar. He raised his blades to defend... too slow.

A fist crashed into his ribs, throwing him against the cavern wall. His vision exploded with white. He dropped to one knee, barely conscious. The Warden dragged its sword across the floor, the steel screeching in anticipation. It raised the weapon overhead in a brutal vertical arc.

Luke vanished into mist. But the shockwave tore through even that. The pressure collapsed the form, forcing him to rematerialize midair—completely exposed. He didn't see the punch. He only felt the impact. His body slammed to the floor and rolled to a stop, breath shallow, blood warming the stone beneath him. Through the haze, he saw her. Charlie. Still standing.

The Berserker fire around her had dimmed. Her armor cracked. Her mana nearly gone. But she didn't retreat. She stepped between Luke and the monster, one final wall between death and survival.

The Warden roared and charged. Sword met blade. Fist met steel. She held the line—but barely. For every block, two strikes slipped through. Luke could see it in her stance, in her slowing pace, in the weakening force behind each blow.

She didn't have much left. Luke forced his body upright. Every nerve screamed, but he moved. He funneled the last of his stamina into a single kukri and hurled it. The blade tore into the Warden's back, making it stumble.

Charlie took a blow and collapsed. Spent. Berserker Mode ended. Her strength gone. Her body broken. The Warden turned toward Luke. Sword raised. He was next.

With his last kukri in hand, Luke gathered everything—every scrap of strength, focus, and dying breath—and channeled it into the blade. His final move. The monster charged, sword lowered like a spear, screaming its fury.

Luke didn't move. No stamina wasted. No steps back. His eyes locked on the crack in its helmet—left behind by Charlie's fists. He would throw. In that instant. Even if it killed him.

The Warden reached him. Luke screamed too, arm already in motion to throw—but it was too late. The blade was almost at his chest. Then, spectral chains burst from the air and yanked the monster backward with brutal force. Charlie. Using the last drop of mana she had. An opening.

Luke threw.

The kukri flew like a living arrow, charged with every ounce of strength, will, and life he had left. It struck the center of the Warden's helmet and detonated. A crack split the steel, and half the helm tore open.

He collapsed to the ground. No stamina. No breath. But alive. The Warden staggered back, screeching in pain as it slammed into the wall and dropped to a seated position.

I did it…

Luke fumbled for the necklace and pulled a stamina potion from his pocket dimension. He drank deeply. Then cracks spiderwebbed across Charlie's body. She tried to take a step—but her body shattered. She collapsed backward, breaking apart like glass.

[Your servant Princess Charlie has been slain in combat]

She had given everything. To the very end.

Thank you, Charlie... The thought passed in silence. Without her, he'd already be dead.

He rose, trembling. Stamina slowly ticking upward. He grabbed another potion, drained it, and steadied himself. That's when he heard the thud—the Warden's helmet hitting the ground.

Luke froze.

There, beneath the shattered steel, was necrotic skin. Brown, soft, splitting from rot. Putrid. Almost human. The Midnight Warden was unmasked. Its face exposed.

"It's undead," he whispered.

He took a step forward and summoned a kukri back into his hand.

I have to finish this. Every movement felt like dragging himself through tar, but there the monster lay—down, exposed, unconscious. Only its rage remained.

Luke raised the kukri and aimed for the skull. No risks. No mercy. Not another second wasted. Then its eyes opened. Only one glowed. The other was a caved-in, blood-caked hollow.

Luke threw. The kukri shot forward, but the Warden roared and lifted its arm. The blade clanged harmlessly against the gauntlet and clattered to the floor. It began to rise.

"No… no, no…" Luke whispered, reaching for the blade. He called it back with magnetism. He had to be faster. He had to end this now.

But the roar that followed wasn't pain—it was fury. A sound that screamed: 'I'm not dead. Not even close.'

The Warden stood, bleeding, rotting, cracked—but whole. It pulled its sword from inventory, raised it, and leveled it at Luke with undead intent. It wasn't over. Charlie was gone. His body ached. His stamina barely recovering. And now, he was alone.

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