The battlefield roared to life. The swirling portal cracked and hissed like an angry serpent as wave after wave of elves surged out—more organized now, clearly more elite than the first.

Unlike the first batch, these wore deep emerald cloaks and bore intricate magical tattoos glowing with battle enchantments. Their formation tightened, spells charging in unison as they raised their staffs, bows, and blades.

"Formation two! Intercept now!" Maestro called out, spinning his baton as a new spell played through his violin.

The music changed to sharp, urgent, full of staccato strikes.

The Musical Notes in air become sharp, and attacked the elves swiftly.

The team split. This time, they moved not just as rookies but as veterans who had trained together.

Cecilia, like ever calm beautiful flower stepped forward and raised both arms.

Her spell was Mirror Bloom. Upon activation, Light fractured around her as a barrier of transparent lotus petals formed in front of the squad, deflecting a barrage of incoming magical arrows.

Its petals shimmered, each one a reflective shield that not only blocked spells but absorbed them. With a twist of her wrist, she redirected the absorbed magic back, sending a wave of searing wind toward the archers.

"First blood's fine, but let's not hog all the Exp, Yuan!" Delilah shouted from the back, attacking with her Magic Sniper Gun.

"Bang!"

The enchanted bullet passed through an adult elf's body in an instant.

Yuan grinned, still brawling in the middle of the chaos. His fists crackled with growing magical energy.

Just then, another elf appeared.

This one wielded a twin-bladed halberd, coated in frost. He swung it at Yuan with inhuman speed.

Clang!

The impact pushed Yuan back slightly. But instead of faltering, he smiled wider. "Now that's more like it. I thought eleves have only weaklings."

The air around him shimmered again. His Titanic Soul Spell wasn't just about size. It was about growing stronger the more pressure he endured.

His body adjusted in real time, muscles expanding, his reflexes sharpening. He welcomed the challenge.

Farther behind, Petra whispered something under her breath. Her eyes glowed faint gold.

A pulse of holy energy radiated from her hands as Celestial Markings appeared across her arms and neck like glowing in the pattern of constellations. Her magic, Starweaver's Light, allowed her to call down divine sigils that could be used for offense, healing, or enhancing others.

One of those glowing marks landed on Raizel's back.

He felt a sudden clarity of movement, his grip on the spear tightening with newfound strength.

He looked at Petra, impressed.

"Don't waste the boost," Petra murmured with a smirk. "Consider it as a gift."

Raizel didn't respond, but nodded silently.

He dashed through the battlefield like a blur—his spear spinning in arcs that stole magical power from his enemies with every touch. With his anti-magic weapon, he disrupted several spells mid-cast, leaving the elves vulnerable.

He was getting faster. More precise.

[ EXP: 12,400/40,000 ]

Garret, the quiet brute, suddenly charged in from the side with a roar. His massive hammer landed with a quake-like crash. Dust and blood flew upward.

Unlike Yuan's adaptive strength, Garret's Class was Earth Elemental.

Using Earth Manipulation, his body became denser the longer he stood still, and now, after remaining rooted for over a minute, he was like a walking mountain.

His attacks tore through defenses, even cracking the elven shielding spells.

"Garret's in that state again," Maestro noted as he swiped his baton across the air. The battlefield's tempo changed again.

The music played faster.

More intense.

And in the center of it all, Maestro's eyes gleamed. His spell, Sonata of War, wasn't just a boost.

He could "compose" temporary magical scores, embedding spells into melodies. Every shift in tempo was a command. Every note a trigger.

Now he cast a haunting refrain called Frozen Waltz, and the ground beneath the elves shimmered before spikes of ethereal ice exploded from below, freezing a whole squad mid-motion.

"Delilah!" Maestro barked. "Long Rangers—eleven o'clock!"

"You got it!" Deliah nodded charging up her magical Rail Gun with a spell.

"Bang!"

As the gunshot rang out, Nina cast her Wind Spell— Wind Blades— targeting the elves, who were still increasing in numbers.

But they couldn't make a formation to attack. They were defending as the best they could. But there was a flicker of disbelief crossed theur faces.

They weren't supposed to be battling as soon as they arrive. They weren't prepared for that. But it looks like the humans got alarmed long beforehand. Which made it more harder.

Kierra, agile as ever, dashed up the slanted ridge with her twin daggers. But as she ran, she cast her Fireball Spell directly into their middle, turning it into explosion.

"Boom!"

The hundred or so elves were scattered away from their defensive position. And they were badly burned accross theur beautiful faces.

But Kierrra didn't stop.

She moved like a ghost as she strike down one by one.

By the sideline, Britney, the lean girl with silver-rimmed glasses, observed from a floating position. Her hands were raised like a conductor's.

Her Innate Spell, Chrono Thread, was subtle—dangerously so.

She could reverse a single moment within five seconds of casting.

When Yuan was nearly caught in a net of vines, Britney's eyes glowed, and the moment reversed—the vines retracting midair. Yuan barely even noticed.

That was Briney's role—guardian of time and probability.

Meanwhile, Raizel's proficiency with spear increased as he decided finally distributed his 15 stats points to Strength, Agility, and Intelligence.

--

[ Strength: 40 ↑6 ]

[ Agility: 37 ↑6 ]

[ Stamina: 61 ]

[ Intelligence: 27 ↑3 ]

--

With increased strength and agility, he was able take down tens of elves alone. Although, each time he stabbed one, he felt guilt that he quite couldn't explain.

One elf screamed, trying to resist, but was drawn in and impaled by Raizel's spear before he could speak another word.

It was then that Raizel sensed something was off.

The gate wasn't closing. In fact it was expanding.

Captain Joshua noticed it too. His gaze narrowed.

"That's… not supposed to happen."

Then, the unexpected occurred.

A thunderclap tore the sky as something big approached from the other side of the portal.

Then the illusive figure of 10 meter giant emerged from the Gate.

Unlike the elves, this one had six wings of black and violet light, and a halo that was twisted like a broken crown.

It didn't walk. It hovered.

Its eyes glowed pure gold.

"A high-ranking Spirit?" Joshua muttered, stunned. "What's a spirit doing among the elves? Don't tell me—"

Captain Joshua paused, as if realizing a greater undercurrent was at play. A storm was brewing.

"You humans are really getting on my nerves," the Spirit muttered, shielding the remaining elves behind him.

"Perhaps I must teach you a lesson!"

He raised his massive foot high, looking down at them condescendingly.

"Not good," Joshua said, already moving to intercept the giant Spirit.

"Go to eternal slumber, puny humans!" the Spirit grinned.

BOOOOM!

In a span of milliseconds, the foot landed with a thunderous impact.

As the destructive energy wave surged toward the Forgotten Heroes team, everyone stood frozen, speechless—unable to process what had just happened. Their minds couldn't keep up with the sheer speed of the event.

They were on the brink of death. But their bodies couldn't even react to save themselves.

Cecilia, Maestro, Yuan, Garrett, and the others could only watch as a flash of destructive energy rushed toward them, promising to crush their bodies and souls into tiny particles.

It almost seemed as if their fate had been sealed.

But just before the wave of annihilation could reach them—

A figure stood in its path.

It was a red giant, holding a gleaming, crimson broadsword.

Raizel, in his Red Berserker Form.

He slammed the massive sword into the ground, gripping it firmly like an immovable mountain, teeth clenched tight.

Whaaack! Buzzz!

The annihilation wave finally reached him. At once, blood poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth as he endured the raw, destructive force.

But despite the internal injuries, his blood-soaked crimson eyes remained unyielding. He roared with primal fury—one that accepted no defeat.

Whizzzz!

And his resistance paid off.

The annihilation energy, infused with high-level magical destruction, twisted—then reflected back toward the Spirit in a violent arc.

Bang!

The Spirit was knocked back, caught off guard by the counter. He took the brunt of his own attack.

The annihilation magic faded at last.

Raizel turned, breathing heavily, his vision blurry with pain. But he could see them—his team. They were all still standing. Eyes wide with horror and disbelief… but alive.

Everyone was safe.

Except for one.

Britney.

She had been assisting from the side, providing long-range support, too far from the center of Raizel's protection.

She hadn't made it.

Joshua had dashed toward her at the last second, changing direction with everything he had. But all he touched… was ash.

Joshua froze.

His hands trembled. His heart slowed to a crawl.

He stared at the fine, white dust on his palms in silence, until his eyes began to blur with unshed tears. The tears of failure. Of regret.

And then… they turned red with rage.

He slowly raised his head, locking eyes with the towering Spirit, glaring at the cause of his grief and sorrow..

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