A few moments earlier.

A rumble spread throughout, and seeing The Remnant react so intensely to it, Rion guessed, 'That must've been Father.'

His blank mind finally calmed, he swiftly shifted his gaze to Valak and sent a command to his head using Mental Whisper, <Call everyone after The Remnant leaves.>

Valak frowned, but before he could ask or even say anything, Golden flames erupted across Rion's whole body, and he bolted towards the west to check whatever had caused the rumble.

Without making a single sound, he disappeared, and he stared at the empty spot with wide eyes.

Valak gulped deeply and mumbled, "He said to call everyone..."

Marin slowly turned his head to Valak and said with a solemn nod, "Then call everyone."

Seeing the anguish in Marin's eyes, Valak asked, "Are you sure about this? We have already lost twelve warriors."

A hollow laugh slipped from Marin's lips. He replied, "It doesn't matter."

"What?" Valak whispered in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter, we cannot prolong the war any longer. The more warriors there are, the easier it will be for them to kill the monsters," Marin said, his fists clenched so tightly that thin streams of blood trickled from them.

Valak nodded sombrely, his eyes shifted towards The Remnant, but he had already left to chase after Rion.

After drawing a steady breath, Valak sent his order to all the group leaders through Mental Whisper, <Come, all of you.>

Countless war cries rose from the Redwood Den and tore through the gloom infesting the battlefield.

As they marched forward to the battlefield, the ground quaked beneath their steps.

Arrows, spears and other throwables were rained at the humanoid monsters — the warriors, who had been waiting at the edge of Redwood Den, had finally joined the war.

Unaware of Haden's defeat, they carved through the monsters with ruthless resolve.

Every group leader except Haria, who was still fighting the drake within the Redwood Den, descended upon the three-lined.

Karhun and Tarun worked together and blasted through the two-lined monsters. Tarun's mace crashed into the monsters, and Karhun's fist turned them into mush before his fist reached the core hiding deep at their hearts.

White lighting danced across the layers of one-lined, and just a moment later, the monsters exploded into dark dust. Yuura scanned the monsters and zipped towards his next targets.

Dora climbed atop a redwood tree near the scorched forest and watched the chaos below, an arrow drawn tightly against her bowstring.

The other warriors fought together or alone to destroy the humanoid monsters as quickly as possible, and none questioned why they had been summoned all at once; they sensed that something had gone terribly wrong, yet understanding it would neither aid them nor halt the war.

But one truth was undeniable: the humanoid monsters that had once dominated the battlefield were now falling within moments, and the warriors who knew what had gone wrong were slowly regaining hope, recalling Rion's words.

—

A soul-gruelling scream tore through the eerie silence of the devastated western forest.

The agony that his body had failed to process earlier now surged through him like a feral beast, his jaw stretched to its limit, his eyes dull and empty, and his mind fracturing beneath the sensation of being torn into six pieces.

Moments later, he collapsed face-first onto the ground. Sweat soaked his quivering body as he drew several sharp breaths to steady himself and recognise where, who and why he was.

The Remnant, who was watching him scream at the top of his lungs, stepped closer. A vicious glimmer flickered in his gaze as he muttered, "Did you truly believe that this body is enough for you to act so presumptuously?"

He lifted his leg and drove his foot into Rion's abdomen.

Rion's bare body skidded across the jagged earth and slammed into a boulder.

He groaned as pain coursed from his stomach to his spine. His eyelids were barely parted, and seeing this, The Remnant shook his head in disapproval.

"Maybe I thought too much of you," The Remnant said. He lifted his katana; purple flames and demonic energy crawled along its blade, bending the air around it, and he brought it crashing down.

A devastating slash born from the fusion of both forces tore free from his katana and sped toward Rion while carving through the ground.

As it left the katana, Rion's eyes turned red, weak and critical points appeared all over the incoming slash. After seeing them, he mumbled weakly, "Calm."

A golden glow erupted from his back as the authority of Absolute Will forced his mind to calm down.

The agony lessened, and he regained his ability to function.

Just as the attack was about to reach him, a golden aura burst outward, and an aura dome formed around him as he forced himself to stand.

The slash crashed into the aura dome, and just like before, the fragile layer screeched under the weight of The Remnant's attack and fell apart.

However, before the slash could even touch Rion, he threw an aura-clad punch at the critical point of it.

Fissure ran along the slash — it burst apart into purple sparks and miasma.

The Remnant's eyes flickered in delight. He stated, "I wouldn't have liked it if you were defeated so easily."

Aura exploded beneath Rion's feet, and he launched himself toward The Remnant, his fist coated in dense aura.

"But I would love it if you were defeated easily!" Rion yelled as he prepared to strike The Remnant's head.

The Remnant raised his katana.

Rion's aura-clad fist collided with the blade, light pouring from the point of impact, and the resulting explosion sent them both flying.

The Remnant was hurled from the crater, while Rion was thrown back to its centre.

Rion's injuries closed instantly as he drove his hands into the soil and forced himself upright. As he stood, his gaze fell upon a strange circle several steps ahead of him.

"That's odd..." he mumbled curiously, and a tremor spread outwards from the circle.

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