A nightmarish creature emerged from the ghostly atmosphere.

The monster had a grotesque, sinewy body covered in red flesh and bone-like protrusions. Its gaping mouth was filled with multiple layers of razor-sharp teeth, and its face was distorted with long, spiked tendrils jutting out in every direction.

It was towering enough to cover an entire village and gazing at it from below, it was as though its presence was enough to turn the sky dark and turbulent.

Halo swallowed hard.

It didn't require any introduction. This was the massive Crawler they'd seen spreading across Inferno Moist, the crimson land. This was the weapon the Crawlers had been building.

But why so soon?

Before Halo could process anything else, the tenth member of the Vile of Hawks charged the creature with wild excitement. She launched herself at the Sinner's head, axe raised for the kill, but the creature caught her blade in its jaws, shattering it, and slammed her into the ground.

Halo's mouth parted in startlement.

The girl had launched herself ten feet into the air for her opening attack, and even after being driven into the ground, she was already back up and charging in again, this time without her axe.

She was indeed as the rumor said.

As he stood transfixed, Seraph came up beside him and motioned for a weapon. Halo hesitated for a second before morphing his daggers into twin swords and handing one over.

This was their biggest threat. If they had secured Fade of Bridle's body even a fraction earlier, this monster would have come after them instead. But now, considering they were already struggling to kill the tenth member of the Vile of Hawks, he just wanted the two of them to kill each other.

The girl was formidable, no question. If the battle had gone on much longer, they would have won, but at such a cost that Mill could've easily finished them off afterward.

But observing the fight, it was clear the girl couldn't defeat the Crawler alone. Her weapon was already in pieces, and all she was accomplishing now was damaging herself with each attack.

This was still a do-or-die situation. They needed to use her strength and aggression to their advantage.

In a flash, Halo, Tough, and Liam joined the fight.

Liam darted between the creature's legs, his feathers tearing into its leathery skin while Tough moved in behind him, hammering the same spots Liam had struck. They were attempting to bring the monster down.

Seraph lit her sword with her flames, fire rippling along the blade as she shadowed Halo's movements precisely.

Halo knew burning the creature alive was their best shot, but given its armored skin, they'd have to burn it from the inside out. His attacks had no flames, but Seraph's were scorched in fire. He'd have to act as a distraction so Seraph could land the killing blow.

But even that wasn't working.

The creature was tactical. It understood its natural armor and bulk, and seemed to calculate exactly how fast to move in every situation.

Its jaws snapped faster than Halo could process, and with the red-haired girl throwing herself at the creature without any caution, finding a moment to strike was incredibly difficult.

Unlike the girl, neither he nor Seraph could jump that high to strike it directly. But he was faster than Seraph, so he used the bumps and ridges on the creature's body to propel himself upward, timing his attack to coincide with the red-haired girl's assault.

The moment he moved, the Sinner reacted as if it had eyes everywhere. Its jaws whipped around at Halo with blinding speed and force, giving him only a fraction of a second to react.

He slammed his sword against the creature's jaw and used the impact to propel himself back, barely escaping its lethal bite.

But it seemed the Crawler had barely registered Halo's presence. Its jaws were already lunging for the girl again in the next instant, and this time, she wasn't trying to get away.

The Sinner's fangs punctured the girl's arm, but she just laughed through the brutal moment. She repositioned herself and wrenched the rest of her arm off, abandoning it in the creature's mouth.

Her laughter intensified as she drove her fist deep into the Sinner's eye. The Crawler shrieked in agony, and Seraph didn't waste the opening.

Before Halo hit the ground, Seraph's flaming sword struck the Sinner's neck, slicing through the tough skin as fire erupted across its flesh.

The creature thrashed violently, flinging everyone away in its fury and sending both Liam and the red-haired girl slamming into the earth.

Halo gulped the moment Seraph came to stand beside him.

The fire had caught, but it wasn't spreading as fast as Halo needed it to. The creature seemed barely bothered by the flames, it was focused entirely on its ruined eye.

"Halo… more Sinners are coming. I'm sorry."

Halo and Seraph turned to Liam as he uttered those words before going unconscious.

Halo clenched his jaw in frustration. Liam was exhausted, and the red-haired girl had lost an arm. No matter how fierce she was, she couldn't maintain her initial fighting intensity.

His fist tightened. This was how they'd die. With more Sinners coming, their chances of making it out alive were nearly zero.

They had to flee.

"Hey, Halo… you have to let me release Fade."

Halo and Seraph turned Mill in confusion.

"What the fuck do you mean?"

Mill gestured toward Fade of Bridle's body, which was protected by a tent in a hole.

"Trust me, this is our only way of surviving this."

The logic was sound. These creatures were built to find Fade of Bridle, and they'd witnessed his devastating strength themselves. But they couldn't tell if he'd be an ally or enemy, especially since he'd attacked Seraph before despite being barely functional.

He could deal with the Sinners, but that might just replace one threat they couldn't handle with another.

The Crawler released a bone-chilling scream that drew their focus. When they looked, its eye had already grown back, and the flames and Seraph's cut were completely gone.

Sweat formed on Halo's brow.

Seraph took a backward step, her hand trembling on the sword.

"I don't trust Mill. Listen to him anyway, Halo. This is our only chance."

Her voice cracked as the words left her.

Halo looked right and saw the red-haired girl standing tall, her torn shirt wrapped securely around her severed limb.

It was encouraging, but he knew they couldn't win.

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