Steel clashed, magic roared, and the stench of blood filled the ruined clearing as chaos descended upon the crimson forest.
Rigel and Siora stood side by side, their armor gleaming under the flickering glow of shattered runes and burning trees. Around them, the Red Band charged, hundreds of crimson-cloaked soldiers surging forward like a tide of desperation.
"Here we go again," Rigel muttered, exhaling softly. The faint hum of telekinetic force rippled around his body, bending the air. "Try not to leave anyone conscious this time."
Siora's eyes were cold and focused. "You're the one who left survivors last time."
Rigel smirked. "I was feeling merciful."
"Then stop."
Her tone snapped like a whip.
And then they moved.
The first wave of Red Bands reached them, blades glinting, shields raised, battle cries filling the air.
Rigel's eyes glowed faintly blue. His telekinesis rippled outward in a violent pulse.
Crack.
The front line exploded.
Men flew backward, armor crumpled inward like tin cans. Bones shattered, blood sprayed in arcs through the air. The shockwave ripped through the formation, turning the first twenty soldiers into broken heaps before they even swung their blades.
Siora was already among the second wave before their screams faded.
She didn't use much of her powers. She didn't need to.
Her armored fists moved faster than sight, each punch reinforced by raw telekinetic compression. A single strike caved in a man's chest. A second crushed a skull. Another tore through a line of soldiers, their bodies splitting apart as invisible pressure ripped them limb from limb.
The Red Bands screamed, but they charged anyway, madness, courage, or fear driving them forward. The ground was slick with blood before the second minute passed.
"Back! Form up!" shouted one of the red bands, but his voice was drowned beneath the chaos.
Rigel caught a charging soldier by the throat, lifting him effortlessly with telekinesis. The man's eyes bulged, his sword clattering to the ground.
Rigel's expression didn't change as he clenched his hand.
The soldier's neck twisted with a wet snap.
Rigel tossed the corpse aside and stepped forward, deflecting a spear with his gauntlet before sending the attacker flying into a burning tree. He didn't even watch him hit the ground.
Siora was pure efficiency, no wasted motion, no hesitation. Her telekinesis flared around her form like a living aura, bending arrows in midair, crushing bones before the weapons could even reach her.
The Red Bands fought like cornered beasts. They screamed, swung, and died in the same breath.
One soldier tried to stab her from behind. Her body shimmered faintly, and the blade shattered before it touched her armor. She turned, grabbed his face, and slammed him into the ground with enough force to crater the earth.
Crack.
His skull gave way instantly.
Blood splattered across her armor. She didn't even blink.
Rigel's laughter echoed faintly amidst the carnage. "This is supposed to be a fight? Come on!"
He extended his hand, and half a dozen Red Bands froze in midair. Their screams were cut short as their bodies folded inward, crushed by the invisible weight of his telekinesis. The sound was sickening, a mix of bone and steel grinding into pulp.
Siora's voice cut through it all. "Rigel. Focus."
He exhaled and dropped the mangled bodies to the ground. "Right, right."
Within minutes, the Red Bands were broken. Those who could still crawl threw down their weapons. Others simply lay in the dirt, gasping and bleeding.
The battlefield was silent again, except for the crackle of burning wood and the distant growl of something approaching.
Then, a roar.
The sound split the air, deep and primal. Trees trembled. Dust and ash swirled into the sky.
Siora turned, her eyes narrowing. "Here they come."
Rigel glanced toward the treeline. "Oh… hell."
The orcs moved.
Their massive forms crashed through the forest, shaking the earth. Twenty giants, clad in blackened steel and bone, their muscles rippling with raw power. Each step they took felt like the heartbeat of the world itself.
The Red Band survivors scrambled away, screaming, as the orcs stormed into the clearing.
Rigel and Siora barely had time to react before the first impact hit.
A boulder-sized hammer slammed into the ground beside them, blasting a wave of dirt and air that hurled them both backward. Rigel crashed into a shattered wall, coughing, blood on his lip. Siora rolled to her feet, dust streaking her armor.
From the shadows, the orc leader emerged.
He stood over ten feet tall, his armor engraved with golden runes that pulsed faintly. His tusks gleamed under the moonlight, and his red eyes burned like coals. His cleaver, almost as long as a man, rested casually on his shoulder.
"You three clad in legendary armors," the orc leader rumbled, his voice deep enough to shake leaves from the trees. "You must be from the floating citadel."
Rigel spat dirt, groaning.
The orc's grin widened. "The citadel that slaughtered our goblin scouts. Do you puny humans even know what you've done?"
Rigel wiped blood from his mouth. "We don't fucking know."
Siora emerged from the rubble beside him, dust cascading from her armor. "And we don't fucking care."
The orcs around them growled, tightening their grips on their weapons.
The leader stepped forward, the ground cracking under his boots. "Then all of you are fools. Your citadel killed the son of Duke Nark. The goblin captain you butchered may have been weak, but his bloodline is noble. His death demands retribution."
He raised his cleaver, pointing it at them. "Your citadel will be ours. You will all be violated, and your corpses offered to the Blood Pyres."
Rigel's jaw clenched. "Even if that little goblin captain lived, Gnarlak kingdom will still invade our citadel."
The leader laughed.
The orcs roared as one, their voices shaking the forest. Blood-red mana flared around them as runes ignited across their armor. Each one began to chant guttural incantations, the ground beneath them glowing faintly.
Their bodies expanded, muscles thickening, veins bulging, their eyes burning brighter.
"Enhancements again," Siora muttered. "Physical and magical just like the leaders of the red band."
"Great," Rigel grunted. "Because they weren't big enough already."
The orcs charged.
Siora and Rigel met them head-on.
The first collision sent shockwaves across the clearing. Steel screamed, magic burst, and earth shattered beneath the sheer force of their clash.
Rigel's blade met an orc's cleaver. The impact threw him back several feet, boots carving trenches in the dirt. He barely managed to deflect the next swing, the weight alone enough to crack the air like thunder.
He reached out with telekinesis, trying to seize the orc mid-motion but nothing happened.
"What—?"
The orc's grin widened. "Your tricks don't work on us, human!"
Rigel's eyes widened. The orc lunged, swinging again. Rigel ducked under the cleaver, telekinetically hurling a nearby boulder at his head. The rock shattered on impact but the orc only staggered.
"Okay, that's new," Rigel muttered, backstepping.
Siora's battle was even more vicious.
Two orcs surrounded her, their blades flashing in wide arcs. She ducked, parried, and countered, her telekinetic aura flaring each time steel met steel. Sparks cascaded like rain. One orc tried to grab her arm, she shattered his wrist with a backhand and slammed her palm into his chest, sending him flying through a tree.
The second orc roared and swung down. She caught the cleaver mid-swing, her gauntlet screeching against the blade. Her boots dug into the earth as she twisted her torso and hurled him across the field.
Rigel gritted his teeth and reinforced his body with telekinesis. His aura flared, forming a shimmering outline around his limbs. He charged forward, meeting another orc head-on, their blades colliding in a deafening crash.
The battle devolved into chaos, pure, brutal chaos.
Every strike shattered the ground. Every blow cracked trees and sent shockwaves through the air. Sparks and mana flashes painted the night in violent light.
Siora's strikes were precise, each one fatal. She ripped through an orc's throat with her gauntlet, twisted around, and shattered another's knee before driving her fist through his ribcage.
Rigel wasn't far behind. He used his telekinesis to launch debris, rocks, shards, even broken swords at incredible speed. Each projectile struck with the force of a cannonball, denting armor and breaking bones.
They fought like monsters. But so did the orcs.
For every orc that fell, another replaced him. And the two that Siora and Rigel managed to kill left them breathing harder, blood streaking their armor, limbs aching.
Rigel's telekinetic barrier cracked under a massive strike. He grunted, rolling aside as a cleaver slammed into the ground where he had stood. The impact left a crater.
"Fuck!" he hissed. "They just keep coming!"
Siora didn't answer. Her eyes flickered, her movements slowing slightly. One orc's axe grazed her side. It didn't scratch her armor but she absolutely felt the impact through her body. She retaliated instantly, crushing his skull between her hands, but blood dripped from the gash.
The orc leader laughed as he approached, his cleaver dragging through the dirt. "You fight well, humans. But your strength means nothing against us."
Rigel spat blood and smirked weakly. "We'll see about that."
The leader's grin widened. "Your people will lose. Your floating citadel will be ours. And you… will be the first to be violate—"
He didn't finish.
Because Siora's head lifted slowly.
Her eyes burned not just with light, but with something far deeper. Cracks began to appear across her skin, glowing faintly with white-blue radiance. The air around her trembled.
Rigel's breathing steadied, his own veins pulsing with light as similar cracks spread across his arms and neck. His telekinesis flared violently, distorting the air in a wide radius.
The orc leader's grin faded.
"Wha... what are you—"
The earth began to quake.
The air screamed as pressure built, invisible yet crushing. Stones levitated, trees bent, the ground split open beneath their feet.
Siora's voice was calm, almost serene. "I will not lose, I will not be beaten by some shit looking pig."
Rigel's eyes also glowed brighter and his skin also started to crack.
The orcs hesitated, their instincts screaming.
And then—
The world turned white.