Chapter 403: I Will Free Them All
We moved fast, not stopping to waste a single moment. I guided my companions, passing the positions of the biggest groups with our mental link. They attacked without pause.
Soon, we reached the fifth level, the deepest and darkest part of the alpha zone. The trees were twisted and the ground rough. A cold wind blew through the branches, carrying the scent of decay and danger.
The tension between my summons was growing thick in the air. After Lyrate’s spectacular display on the third level, it was clear she had set the bar high. But Knight and Silver weren’t going to let her have all the glory.
Knight’s eyes gleamed with quiet confidence as he crouched low, muscles tensing beneath his sleek panther form. Silver hovered nearby, his wings folding and unfolding like a living storm, crimson feathers catching the dim light. It was clear: this was their chance to show what they could do.
Without a word, Knight melted into the shadows, becoming nearly invisible against the dark earth. The space around him rippled faintly. I could feel the calm rhythm of his heartbeat through our bond.
Silver let out a sharp cry, a high-pitched screech that cut through the silence like a blade.
At the same moment, Knight sprang from the darkness, his claws extended and tail flicking with precision. He moved with terrifying speed, a shadow slipping between the abominations.
His claws slashed through limbs, tearing flesh with ease, while tendrils of black shadow stretched from his body, wrapping around several creatures and ripping them apart before they even realized what was happening.
Silver was a whirlwind of wind and fury overhead. With a powerful beat of his wings, he stirred the air around him, sending razor-sharp wind blades slicing through clusters of abominations below.
Then, with a sudden flare of his crimson plumage, he fired a massive beam from his beak—wide, blazing, and filled with pure Essence. The beam cut through the forest floor, obliterating hundreds of abominations in a single strike, leaving a scorched trail in its wake.
The two worked in seamless harmony. As Knight slipped through the shadows, striking silently from behind, Silver rained destruction from above, his wind blades pushing creatures toward Knight’s waiting claws and shadows. It was a deadly dance.
I guided them, sending precise locations of abomination clusters. Knight’s sharp senses tracked the movement of every creature, his spatial manipulation twisting paths and warping shadows to isolate targets. Silver’s attacks grew more brutal and precise with every second, his wings carving deadly arcs through the air.
After a moment, Knight leapt high, his body dissolving into shadows mid-air, only to reappear right above a dense horde.
With a fierce growl, tendrils of darkness burst from him, piercing dozens of abominations at once.
They writhed and fell, the shadows pulling their life away like a suffocating grip.
Silver followed immediately with a sharp, focused screech, firing twin crimson beams that converged and spread out in a fan, incinerating the surviving pockets of enemies.
I could almost feel the surge of pride radiating from both of them through the connection. The silent competition between them pushed their bond to new heights. It wasn’t just about killing anymore, it was a game, a battle of skill and strength.
Silver rose slowly from the forest floor, his massive wings spreading wide in the soft light filtering through the trees.
I watched as the crimson mist that always surrounded him began to thicken, swirling like a growing storm.
His feathers shimmered in the light, glowing faintly with Essence, but then something incredible happened.
Thousands of bright crimson feathers suddenly appeared, spinning fast all around him like a deadly cloud.
The wind whipped up, stirring the air into a roar. Each feather was sharp and glowing, sharper than any blade.
They formed a swirling storm around Silver, circling him as if waiting for his command.
Without warning, Silver flared his wings and unleashed the storm.
The feathers shot out in every direction like arrows from a massive bow, flying fast and wide across the entire fifth level. The feathers were so numerous that wherever one landed, it sliced clean through the thickest trees, the dense undergrowth, and most importantly, the abominations that crawled and hid among the leaves.
I could see dozens of abominations caught in the blast.
The feathers struck them without mercy, cutting them apart in an instant. Some were sliced in two, others had limbs shredded to pieces, and many simply disappeared as if erased by a sharp red storm.
The air filled with the sound of splintering wood and the soft thuds of falling creatures.
The attack kept moving forward like a blade of wind and fire, sweeping through the forest. I watched a group of abominations try to scatter, but the feathers followed every move, splitting branches and slicing roots to get at them.
No matter where they turned, the crimson storm found them, tearing through entire groups with deadly ease.
The forest itself seemed to shudder under the power of the attack. Trees shook as feathers sliced through trunks, sending showers of leaves and bark falling like rain.
The ground was scorched in places, but the storm moved so fast it felt alive, like Silver himself was raining destruction from above.
As the feathers cleared one area, they immediately gathered back around Silver, swirling fast once more before shooting off again toward a new cluster of enemies.
I felt the consumption of Essence around me as Silver’s power flowed through the air. His control was perfect. He wasn’t just attacking blindly—he was hunting, seeking out every abomination hiding beneath the canopy and cutting them down before they even knew what hit them.
Minutes passed and the storm never slowed. Silver kept the feathers spinning around him, always ready to fire the next wave, never letting the enemy regroup or breathe. His screeches echoed above the chaos, sharp and commanding, guiding the feathers.
Lyrate and Knight paused simply and waited for Silver to finish what he was doing.
When the final wave of feathers shot out and the last abomination fell, Silver slowly folded his wings. The crimson mist around him faded, settling back into a soft glow. The forest was silent once more.
I floated down beside him, heart pounding with the thrill of watching such raw power in action.
"That was incredible," I said quietly. "You cleared this entire level with just one attack."
Silver gave a low, proud screech in response.
I checked my progress: 6835/10000.
Suddenly, I heard Knight growl beside me. I felt the sharp edge of his frustration and couldn’t help but chuckle. I reached down and patted his head gently. "It’s okay, buddy. Your strength is in stealth and assassination, not big attacks like this. Don’t worry, once we reach the gamma level, you’ll have plenty to do."
Then I turned to Cassian and asked, "So, what do you think?"
He shook his head with a small smile. "Crazy is the only word that comes to mind."
I chuckled.
"Once I reach level 250, I’ll make sure to cleanse our world of all abominations and free those poor souls from their suffering."