The Man They Feared
"He's coming."
The whispers echoed inside David's head.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The battlefield had become strangely quiet.
Even the Ghost Army had stopped advancing.
Thousands of ghost soldiers stood frozen.
Waiting.
Watching.
Listening.
The mountains trembled.
Far away.
Yet every person on the battlefield could feel it.
Something powerful was approaching.
Something powerful enough to frighten McLone.
Daniel looked toward the horizon.
His thoughts were a mess.
Ava.
The seal.
Bill.
The lies.
The truth.
Everything was crashing together.
Then he looked at McLone.
The confidence was gone.
The arrogance was gone.
Only tension remained.
And that terrified him.
Because McLone was one of the strongest enemies they had ever faced.
If she was afraid—
What was coming?
BOOOOOOM!
A distant mountain exploded.
The entire battlefield shook.
Students screamed.
Teachers looked toward the horizon.
Dust filled the sky.
Another explosion followed.
Then another.
Then another.
Something was moving through the mountains.
Not walking.
Charging.
Destroying everything in its path.
McLone's grip tightened around her spear.
"No..."
Bill noticed.
"You know who it is."
It wasn't a question.
McLone didn't answer.
For the first time—
She genuinely looked uncertain.
Then David suddenly screamed.
The whispers had become unbearable.
He dropped to both knees.
Blood trickled from his nose.
Lily immediately rushed toward him.
"David!"
The visions returned.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Ancient memories.
Ancient battles.
Ancient wars.
And standing at the center of them—
One man.
A man covered in black armor.
A man carrying a broken sword.
A man walking through armies.
Not fighting them.
Walking through them.
As if nothing could stop him.
David gasped.
Then whispered:
"The Black General."
Silence.
McLone froze.
Bill froze.
Mr. Stone froze.
Everyone noticed.
The name meant something.
Something terrible.
Daniel immediately turned.
"Who is that?"
Nobody answered.
Then Mr. Stone finally spoke.
His voice was quieter than usual.
"The strongest commander of the First Ghost War."
The courtyard became silent.
Daniel blinked.
"The strongest?"
Mr. Stone nodded.
"He was stronger than entire armies."
The Great 8 stared.
Even Felix stopped fighting.
Even Noah forgot his exhaustion.
The strongest commander of the First Ghost War?
That sounded impossible.
Then another explosion shook the horizon.
Closer this time.
Much closer.
McLone suddenly looked toward her soldiers.
"Retreat."
Nobody moved.
The order shocked everyone.
Ghost soldiers looked confused.
McLone shouted again.
"RETREAT!"
The entire battlefield froze.
Daniel couldn't believe it.
McLone had just ordered a retreat.
The woman who wanted to destroy the academy.
The woman who feared nothing.
The woman who had been winning.
She wanted to leave.
Then they saw it.
A figure appeared at the far end of the battlefield.
Tiny.
Almost impossible to see.
A single man.
Walking.
Nothing more.
Just walking.
Yet every step shook the earth.
BOOM.
Another step.
BOOM.
Another.
BOOM.
Ghost soldiers began backing away.
Then running.
Then fleeing.
Panic spread throughout the army.
Thousands of enemies abandoning the battlefield.
Daniel had never seen anything like it.
The figure continued walking.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Then suddenly—
McLone moved.
She shot forward.
Spear aimed directly at Daniel.
Everyone froze.
She wasn't retreating.
She was making one final move.
"IF I CAN'T TAKE THE VESSEL—"
BOOOOOOM!
The rest of her sentence vanished.
A shockwave erupted.
The entire battlefield exploded.
Students were thrown backward.
Teachers crashed into walls.
The academy trembled.
Dust covered everything.
For several seconds—
Nobody could see.
Nobody could breathe.
Nobody could understand what had happened.
Then the dust slowly cleared.
Silence followed.
Pure silence.
McLone stood frozen.
Completely frozen.
Her spear had stopped.
Just inches from Daniel's face.
Daniel stared.
Confused.
Then he saw it.
A hand.
Someone had caught the spear.
With one hand.
Everyone slowly followed the arm upward.
A black coat.
Ancient armor beneath it.
A scarred face.
Cold eyes.
The newcomer stood between Daniel and McLone.
McLone's face had gone pale.
The battlefield froze.
Then she whispered:
"No..."
The man finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
Cold.
Ancient.
"You've become careless."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The Ghost Army had completely stopped.
Even Bill looked stunned.
Even Mr. Stone looked shocked.
The stranger glanced toward Daniel.
Then toward McLone.
And finally said:
"You were ordered to watch."
The pressure around him increased.
The battlefield cracked.
Ghost soldiers collapsed.
Several teachers fell to one knee.
McLone gritted her teeth.
For the first time since her introduction—
She looked weak.
Small.
Insignificant.
Then the stranger's eyes narrowed.
And he spoke the words that changed everything.
"Tell Finn Foster that the Hunter has awakened."
Silence.
McLone's face turned white.
Daniel's heart skipped a beat.
The Hunter.
The same being that had appeared beyond the mountains.
The same being that frightened everyone.
The stranger released the spear.
McLone immediately jumped backward.
Creating distance.
For the first time—
She wasn't attacking.
She was escaping.
And Daniel realized something terrifying.
This man wasn't here for the academy.
He wasn't here for the Great 8.
He wasn't even here for McLone.
He was here because something much bigger had begun.
And the Academy War had just become a small part of a far greater conflict.
To Be Continued...