The sound of arrows slicing through the air came in rapid bursts, each one a sharp, dry snap. Eleanor loosed them one after another, fingers already numb to the heat of the bowstring. Her enchanted quiver brimmed with arrows born of her mana, each shot vanishing only for another to take its place. Before the battle, she had also gathered every arrow she could find in the camp chests, storing them in her storage item. The others who'd survived had done the same.

The undead advanced in waves, a sea of rotting bodies clawing their way toward Eleanor and her group, blocking the path to the castle. The surviving group had made it inside moments before the massive doors slammed shut on their own, the echo rolling like thunder through the mist. No one knew what caused it, only that those left outside were running out of time.

"Help them!" voices shouted from the bridge.

Soldiers charged forward through smoke and fog, crossing the narrow span to reinforce the line. Eleanor's focus stayed locked on the enemy generals, towering figures wrapped in blackened armor. Her arrows struck them again and again, some deflecting off steel, others finding narrow gaps between the plates.

One of Erza's maids barely ducked beneath the sweep of a halberd that hissed past her throat. Another general broke from the horde, barreling toward Eleanor and her group. Eugene, standing beside her, hurled his spear. Lightning burst from the weapon on impact, dancing across the creature's body as it staggered back with a distorted, guttural roar.

They scattered, each fighter claiming what space they could. Eleanor's pulse pounded in her ears as she realized how close she was to the edge; a single misstep, a slip on the slick stone, and she would vanish into the void. There was no ground beneath them, no bottom, only emptiness. The castle floated on a jagged island of stone suspended above the abyss.

She took a steadying breath, retreating a few steps. Then a glass vial spun through the air, hurled by one of the maids. It shattered against the general's armor, splashing him with some kind of volatile liquid. Another raised her wand and fired. The resulting blast lit the night, fire crawling up the monster's frame and burrowing through the cracks in his armor.

Eleanor seized the opening. Two arrows flew in quick succession, both hitting their mark. The creature toppled backward, engulfed in flame, crashing to the ground like a burning monument collapsing into ash.

Another general was locked in combat with Ronan and the few soldiers still holding the line. Eleanor turned sharply, bow already drawn. Every arrow she loosed cleared a path, dropping undead and carving room for the men to push forward. Her rhythm was relentless—precise, mechanical—a cadence of war.

On the bridge, more archers joined the fight, their arrows slicing through the gray sky like a storm of steel. Eleanor moved with practiced speed, nocking the next shaft before the last even found its mark. Every motion was instinct, no thought wasted on hesitation.

"What's the plan?" Dustin shouted between breaths. "Who's doing what? Luke? Allison? What's their play?"

"You're asking that now?" Quinn snapped without looking away from his opponent.

Dustin fell silent, the clash of blades and the crunch of splintering bones drowning any retort.

Eugene sprinted past, his spear crackling with static energy. He hurled it at a warden, the weapon piercing clean through its chest. "He's asking if there's a backup plan," he said flatly. "In case something goes wrong inside. That it?"

"Yeah," Dustin muttered.

"There is no backup plan. If that group fails to kill whatever's in there, we're finished."

Eleanor drew another arrow and released it in one fluid motion. The shaft struck a charging corpse square in the forehead, shattering the skull. She glanced over her shoulder—the generals were being pushed back, and the line was advancing. "It's under control," she whispered, almost to herself.

She needed to help the others inside. When she reached the doors, she planted her palms against the black wood and shoved with all her strength. Nothing. The doors didn't so much as creak.

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"What?" She tried again, this time bracing her legs, throwing her full weight into it—arms, shoulders, everything. Not a single inch.

She stepped back, took a deep breath, and slammed into it with all her momentum. The impact rattled her bones but produced no sound, no reaction at all.

Frowning, she nocked an arrow and fired. Then another. Both struck dead center—and bounced off harmlessly. That shouldn't have been possible. The doors looked like wood. They should've splintered, cracked, something. But they didn't.

It was as if the castle itself rejected them, alive and aware, denying entry to anyone left outside.

"This can't be…" she murmured.

The group inside was trapped. No help was coming.

***

A chill crawled up Luke's spine before his mind could even process why. The air grew heavier, thicker, almost tangible, like gravity itself had multiplied. Every breath took effort. The floor trembled beneath his boots in a faint, rhythmic pulse. He turned instinctively.

He turned back the way they had come and froze. Something was there, right behind them.

It was tall, far taller than any human, nearly three meters of living stone. Its skin was ashen gray, its body veined with deep fractures. Four wings arched from its back like broken monuments. The aura that rolled off it was suffocating, primal.

An angel.

[Fallen Stone Archangel (Midnight King) - Lvl 137]

Luke swallowed hard. The glowing system tag floated before his eyes, cold, detached, clinical, but the reality behind that name was crushing. The Midnight King. A Rank D being. Far beyond anything they had ever faced. Stronger than the wyvern. Faster than anything human. The gap between them was absolute. A single strike from that creature could erase them completely.

The angel stood in silence, watching. Its stone face bore human features, flawless, serene, and utterly devoid of empathy. Yet beneath that perfection, Luke saw something twisted. Cruel. The faintest curve of mockery carved into its expression.

If it had wanted to, it could have killed them before they even noticed its presence. There had been no mana signature, no ripple in perception, nothing. The archangel hadn't appeared. It had chosen to exist in that moment.

It stepped forward.

"Do you still believe," the voice rumbled, smooth as metal grinding against metal, "that I require protection?"

The words struck with calm authority, not rage. No shouting, no haste. Just certainty. A barrier flared to life in front of them, instinctive, desperate. Luke didn't know whether it came from Jack or Anne, but the shimmer of mana wavered like a soap bubble in a storm.

An angel, he thought. A remnant of the First Universe.

The realization hit like a blow to the chest. Luke took a slow step back until he stood beside Charlie.

"Well, well," the Midnight King said, a light laugh threading his words, almost amused. "Didn't I tell you? I only wanted to talk."

The angel advanced, wings stirring the dust in slow, deliberate waves. He held no weapon, and that absence made him more terrifying—he did not need one.

"But I see some of you aren't as frightened as I expected," his voice held genuine curiosity. The archangel inclined his head, eyes narrowing as he studied them like specimens in a collection. "After everything you've been through, I supposed you'd be better prepared for something like me."

He rubbed a hand over his chin in a strangely human gesture, which made the scene all the more disorienting.

Luke kept his bow ready. He felt the weight of a nocked arrow and imagined the clean, impossible shot. A single strike, maybe—maybe it would work. His heart hammered too loud for clear thought. He also knew the truth: if he attacked, everyone would die in the blast. And the angel would understand in an instant.

Erza broke the silence first. "A conversation?" she asked, tone flat.

"A simple conversation. After all, you are my guests," the King replied, strolling slowly among them. The barrier that had held them dissolved into the air.

They stayed in formation. The archangel walked straight through them, unarmed, each step shaking the floor. Power thrummed in the air—vast, palpable power.

"Come with me to the throne," the Midnight King said without looking back. Even in that calm voice there was no room for negotiation. "If you refuse to obey and deride our conversation, we will begin what you think you came to do. Believe me, I will finish it quickly."

He paused; his wings shifted like a slow tide.

"The choice is yours. Face me now and die within seconds… or listen to what I have to say."

He turned just enough for the profile of stone to catch the torchlight. "You have until I reach the throne to decide. If, when I turn, you are still standing there… I will kill you."

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