Kairo's question hung in the air as he saw the ork warrior sitting on the ground with his arms crossed. Garth had stopped fighting.
For a moment, even the battlefield seemed to hesitate.
Dust drifted. Blood steamed against the cold air. The distant howls of the Shackled Hounds echoed—but here, in this pocket of tension, everything narrowed to a single, absurd sight.
A hero… refusing to fight.
Garth sat unmoving, his massive axe planted beside him like a discarded tool. His tusked jaw was set, eyes locked forward—not at the enemy, but at the figure standing between him and the Alpha.
Onyx.
The skeletal warrior moved like a shadow given purpose, his violet lance cutting precise arcs as he engaged the Shackled Hound Alpha. No wasted motion. No flourish. Just controlled violence.
Garth spat to the side.
"That bag of bones…" he growled. "No honor."
Behind the front lines, Renn stepped forward, panic breaking through his composure.
"What are you doing?!" he shouted. "Get up! Pick up that weapon and help fight that beast, you fool!"
Garth didn't even look at him.
"I won't."
The refusal was absolute.
Shiri let out a low hiss, arms folded as his serpentine form coiled slightly behind the shield line of rabbitmen and kabolts.
"What a handful…" he muttered. "That ork…"
Kairo said nothing.
He stood behind the formation, gaze sweeping the battlefield—not judging, not reacting—calculating.
At the very front, Fallon adjusted her grip on her tower shield.
(Well… if the idiot doesn't want to fight… they won't mind me stepping in, right?)
Her lips twitched faintly.
(I really wanna punch that mutt in the face.)
The thought almost made her grin.
But before she could move—
The battlefield surged.
In a distant chamber, Jeeves observed through the crimson stones embedded in the Alpha's neck, his calm expression sharpening.
"How impudent… a mere Tier 4 dares refuse our Tier 5 beast."
His voice lowered, precise and cold.
"Alpha—target the ork. Prioritize elimination."
The beast's gaze snapped to Garth.
It advanced.
Onyx moved first.
The Alpha lunged—not blindly, but with intent. Its massive frame blurred forward, chains rattling violently as it drove straight toward Garth.
Onyx stepped in.
No skill.
Just timing.
He pivoted at the last instant, lance sweeping low—not to wound, but to redirect. The Alpha's charge shifted slightly, claws tearing through empty air where Garth's head had been moments ago.
Onyx didn't press.
He circled.
Measured.
Watching.
A flicker—he vanished.
Shadow Step.
He emerged from the Alpha's own shadow, lance already mid-thrust. The violet tip carved a clean arc across the beast's flank—but the Alpha twisted unnaturally, muscles compressing as it absorbed the blow and kept moving.
Fast.
Too fast.
A claw the size of a blade tore through the air, forcing Onyx back. He slid across the ground, armor grinding against stone, before rising again without pause.
No hesitation. No emotion.
Black tendrils erupted from beneath the Alpha.
Shadow Bind.
They coiled around its limbs, tightening—
—and snapped.
The Alpha roared, raw force tearing through the restraints as it surged forward again, ignoring Onyx entirely.
It wanted Garth.
Onyx adjusted instantly.
His free hand twisted, darkness condensing—
Black Armament.
A second weapon formed—a jagged shadow blade—which he drove into the Alpha's path, forcing a collision. The impact shook the ground, but the Alpha did not stop.
The Alpha turned sharply, adjusting faster than expected. A claw lashed out—Onyx ducked under it, sliding across the ground before rising into a counter-thrust.
The lance struck.
The Alpha responded immediately—its body twisting with unnatural force, shoulder slamming forward. Onyx took the hit head-on, boots grinding into the earth as he absorbed the impact instead of dodging.
Then he stepped back.
Repositioned.
Again.
He wasn't trying to overpower it.
He was mapping it.
Every movement, every reaction—recorded, processed.
A flicker of shadow beneath his feet—
Shadow Step.
He reappeared behind the Alpha, driving his lance toward the base of its neck.
The Alpha shifted.
Too fast.
The strike grazed instead of piercing.
Onyx didn't linger.
He withdrew instantly, circling again.
No greed.
No overcommitment.
The Alpha lunged once more—this time ignoring him completely.
Straight toward Garth.
Garth remained seated.
Unmoving.
The clash intensified around him—steel, claws, shadows—but he didn't react.
Onyx blurred forward again, intercepting at the last possible moment. The Alpha's strike slipped through his guard—just barely.
For a split second—
Impact was inevitable.
Onyx twisted mid-motion, angling his body instead of blocking directly. The blow deflected—barely—but the force sent him skidding backward, armor grinding against the bloodied ground.
He rose immediately.
Silent.
Unshaken.
Behind them, chaos bled into the lines.
Theo didn't look back.
Didn't think.
Didn't care.
A hound lunged—he cut it down.
Another came from the side—he twisted, barely avoiding its jaws as his blade carved upward.
"Get off—!"
He shoved one away, breathing hard, eyes sharp with survival instinct.
This wasn't about formation.
This was about staying alive.
At the front, Fallon braced as the hounds slammed into her shield.
The impact rang through her arms.
(Not this again…)
Spears thrust forward beside her, but the beasts kept coming—climbing, snapping, forcing their way in.
Behind the line, Renn turned back again.
"Listen to me!" he snapped. "This isn't about honor anymore! People are going to die if you don't move!"
"I said no."
Garth's voice didn't waver.
Shiri's eyes narrowed.
"You're really choosing this now?" he asked. "While a Tier 5 is trying to kill you?"
Garth's grip tightened slightly—but he still didn't move.
"That thing was mine," he said. "A warrior's fight isn't something you steal."
Renn ran a hand through his hair.
"Are you insane?!"
"No," Garth replied. "I'm a warrior."
Another crash shook the line.
A kabolt stumbled—then vanished under snapping jaws.
Still—
Garth didn't move.
Kairo exhaled softly.
A sigh.
Small.
Controlled.
Decisive.
"Onyx."
The word cut cleanly through the battlefield.
Onyx halted mid-step.
"Retrieve," Kairo said, voice calm, absolute. "Refocus on the Shackled Hounds."
A pause.
Then—
"Garth will handle the Alpha."
For the first time—
Garth smiled.
A wide, savage grin split across his face as he rose, fingers tightening around his axe.
"Now that's how a leader leads!" he barked. "Stay out of my way!"
He surged forward.
A blur of power.
Onyx remained still for a fraction of a second.
Processing.
Then he stepped back—shadows swallowing him briefly before he reappeared near the formation, already moving to intercept the incoming hounds.
No hesitation.
No resistance.
Only obedience.
Shiri glanced at Kairo.
"You're letting him fight it alone?" he asked. "That's a Tier 5."
"It's his choice," Kairo replied.
His gaze remained fixed ahead.
"We just need to keep the rest occupied."
A faint smile formed.
"Besides…"
His eyes sharpened.
"Let's see what he's capable of."
Ahead—
Garth roared.
The Alpha met him head-on.
Axe collided with claw—
The impact exploded outward, cracking the ground beneath them.
This wasn't a test.
This was a clash.
Behind the shield line, Fallon watched.
Her grip tightened.
(Why…)
Her eye narrowed slightly.
(Why doesn't he send me in…?)
A pause.
(I'd end it faster.)
To be continued.....