Reinforcements had arrived — so why weren't they showing themselves?
Were they testing them? Watching from the dark to see how a rookie patrol handled a desperate fight? Hoping they'd awaken some hidden power, break their limits, maybe transcend at the brink of death?
Possible — but Rod's instincts told him otherwise.
There were too many contradictions. Tonight was Dark Moon Night, one of the busiest times for the Defense Corps. Warders weren't philosophers; their duty was to guard the district and protect lives, not run sadistic experiments. A true warder wouldn't risk letting trainees die just to "temper" them.
If that wasn't it, then… why was he hiding?
A sharp chill climbed up Rod's spine.
Could he be—one of the Doomsday Cult?
The thought hit like ice. He didn't know exactly how strong a seventh-rank combatant was, but judging by how polished Raeslin's three-man team already looked as fresh full-rank fighters, a squad leader-level veteran could kill him as easily as stepping on an insect.
Maybe the warder was waiting for the right moment.Maybe Raeslin's group was too competent, and the man didn't want to leave evidence.
If that was true, the only slim chance of survival was to end the battle fast—before the man decided to act.
But the fight ahead was going badly.The black crow was a monster far tougher than they'd imagined.
Its defenses were absurd. Neither Raeslin's steel storm nor Aeg's white fog could harm it. Its attacks were brutal—each dive a killing blow—and even Raeslin could only dodge and parry, burning energy just to stay alive. The thing moved fast enough to catch anyone not locked down by fog.
Rod watched for several tense seconds. The crow's spirit pattern was solid iron, flawless. No gaps.
He fired once. The true-silver bullet struck square on the skull, detonating in a burst of searing light—and the crow simply burst through the flash, unscathed.
Even heavy-charge mode couldn't pierce it.
But—for a fraction of a second, right at impact, he saw it. The tar-like flow of its aether rippled, leaving a thin seam of emptiness.
According to Raeslin's lectures, a monster's energy constantly suffused its flesh; that was its natural armor. If that flow broke for even an instant—so did the defense.
The weak point lay beneath the head, at the joint of jaw and neck.
If someone could strike right there, at the instant of impact, it would be a perfect weak-spot hit.
But how to tell them—without giving himself away?
The warder's stare crawled across his back like needles. The team's aether was fading fast: Aeg's fog barely held for seconds now, Raeslin's movement slowed, wounds going unhealed as Calamon's strength waned.
No time left.
He had to gamble.
"Raeslin!" Rod shouted. "When my bullet hits, strike under its jaw—where the neck meets the head! That's the gap!"
Raeslin rolled three times, narrowly dodging the crow's dives. Aeg's fog surged again, binding it mid-air. Covered in brown sludge, Raeslin gave a quick hand-sign — got it! — and sprinted straight at the bird.
Rod lifted the gun, sight steady, breath locked.The fight blurred into rhythm—Raeslin dodging and countering, Aeg flickering mist, Calamon throwing blue healing arcs through the dark.
When the crow swooped again, Rod fired.
Through the Soul-Eye his shot was a key turning a lock. The silver bullet hit dead center. The explosion tore the crow's energy web open—there, the gap beneath the jaw pulsed wide.
Raeslin slid low beneath the strike, sparks trailing from his boots. Calamon's resonance burst across him in a wave of blue.
"Now!"
Raeslin roared, his whole body igniting in aether. He drove the long blade up into the crow's throat.
The monster screamed, a noise that made the sewer tremble. It crashed to the floor, neck twitching, the energy in its soul-map fracturing, its flow sputtering out.
"Finish it!" Rod yelled.
Raeslin ripped the blade free and hacked again. Aeg's fog condensed into a white cudgel, smashing down; even Calamon was whipping at it in frenzy.
The crow's soul-wave writhed violently—it was dying—but slowly, too slowly. Its core pattern was stabilizing again, energy trickling back.
It was getting up.
Rod fired the second round.
The bullet punched through the wound, detonating inside. The explosion split it clean in two. The enormous head flew thirty meters, slammed into the sewer wall, bounced, and splashed into a pool of black water. The rest of the body tore apart and fell into the drainage pits.
Black vapor gushed up. Thousands of motes scattered like locusts—but three thicker threads twined together and speared straight into Rod.
[Soul of the Malice Black-Crow]
Yes.
Heat surged through him, spreading like molten honey, melting every shred of fear into fierce elation.
He didn't look back—he ran to them. Close was safe.
Raeslin misunderstood, grabbed him in a muddy bear hug. "Rod, you're our damn savior!"
Aeg and Calamon dropped from above, fog dissipating, and barreled in to join.
"Unbelievable! I knew you were faking being weak! No special student is ever simple!"
"Uuuuh—uhuhuh!"Calamon couldn't even speak—just bawled, wiping tears and snot all over Rod's coat.
Rod laughed breathlessly, touched in spite of himself.
He'd thought they'd been calm before the fight—confident, maybe sure of victory. But seeing them now, it was obvious: they'd gone in ready to die. They just hadn't shown it.
Fight, Raeslin had said.I'm going in.
So simple. So brave.
At least the ending wasn't tragic. They'd survived. And if the warder really was an enemy, he'd missed his best moment to strike. Now it would be harder for him to act openly.
But how should Rod even tell them what he'd seen?
He hesitated—then Calamon suddenly shouted, "Monster bone-ash!"
He ran over, grinning, and scooped up a chunk of gray solid residue from where the crow's head had burst.
Aeg beamed. "Ha! Luck's with us tonight!"
Rod was still deciding whether to speak when hurried footsteps echoed from the right-hand tunnel. Moments later, four figures in patrol armor burst through.
Raeslin's face lit up. "Finally! You made it!"
Calamon tucked the gray lump into his coat and smirked. "Too late—we already killed everything!"
The newcomers stared, wide-eyed.
Their squad leader, disbelief written across his face, asked,"You… killed them all?"