The Undead Knight had been summoned by Varkov—classified as Class B.
Unlike Paragon warriors or mages, undead rankings had only seven tiers instead of the usual nine. Their order ran from Class F to Class S—F being the weakest, S the strongest.
Undead weren't the only creations ranked this way. Some mage constructs followed the same alphabetical scale.
Class S stood equal to Stage 9. A matched Stage 8. B to Stage 7. C to Stage 6. D to Stage 5. E to Stage 4. F to Stage 3.
Stages one and two? They didn't even register on the undead scale.
Right now, Tamsin, Gwen, and Merrick were up against a Class B Undead Knight—a monster equivalent to a Stage 7 Paragon warrior.
The thing slammed down from the air, its landing cracking the ground open like thin glass.
The shockwave threw dust and broken stones across the ruined hall.
Gwen had already been taken out—a brutal strike from the knight had ripped through her defenses. Her suit was damaged, the plating cracked. She lay there motionless, her head resting on Tamsin's lap.
Meanwhile, the Undead Knight's hollow eyes burned faint blue. Its armor groaned as it turned, dragging a rusted great bone sword through the dirt and Snow.
As it landed, its intimidating features came into full view — armor blackened by decay, hollow eyes burning with a faint green glow.
Panic rippled through the survivors who'd just been rescued from the mission.
"Arhh…!" someone screamed from the crowd. Chaos followed instantly.
Those who hadn't yet entered the portal shoved each other, tripping and scrambling to reach it. Desperation clouded every face — fear made them animals.
The commotion drew the undead knight's attention. Its empty gaze turned, slow and heavy, locking onto them.
The knight raised its sword, the motion eerily calm. Then it pointed straight toward the group.
"Shit… He's going to destroy the portal!" Tamsin shouted.
A thick, dark aura began to pulse around the undead's blade, tendrils of shadow swirling like smoke before collapsing inward. With one vertical swing, it unleashed the attack.
The dark energy tore through the air, scraping the ground as it rushed toward the portal like a black storm.
Merrick and Tamsin reacted instantly.
Tamsin flung his arms out, sprinting toward the captives. Threads of qi burst from his hands, slamming into the oncoming wave, but it barely slowed.
The dark aura struck the ground with the force of a hurricane. Dust and pressure blasted outward — yet there was no explosion.
Instead, the shimmering portal flickered once… then died out completely.
The circular device projecting it dimmed, its runes fading to cold silence.
Tamsin had stopped, confused by what he was seeing.
He'd expected a blast, a shockwave — something. But instead, silence fell over the crowd. The screams faded. No one moved.
'Was that… nothing?' he wondered.
His gaze shifted back to the undead knight. The creature still stood firm, its bony sword aimed at the survivors like an executioner waiting for the next order.
Then Tamsin saw it — thin trails of dark aura leaking out from the bodies of those who'd been rescued. The shadows twisted together, writhing like black smoke caught in a storm.
The auras coiled, merged, and spun into a vortex before racing back toward the undead knight.
One by one, the captives collapsed. Lifeless.
'What… is going on?' Tamsin's chest tightened.
The dark vortex reentered the undead's sword, feeding it. For a moment, the entire weapon pulsed — faint cracks of dark light crawling over its surface. Power surged through the knight.
The undead lifted the blade, spinning it with a sharp flick before pointing it straight at Tamsin. The air around the sword began to twist again, dark aura gathering for another strike.
Boom!
But before the attack could fire, a gunshot echoed.
A single bullet slammed into the knight's hand, bursting into raw qi energy. The blast tore through its forearm, scattering bones and black mist into the air.
The shot jolted the undead's hand off course.
Tamsin blinked, snapping out of his daze.
Across the field, Merrick already had his rifle steady, the barrel glowing faintly with qi. He fired again.
The bullet whistled through the air—
Clang!
The undead knight swung its bone sword, deflecting the shot with a burst of sparks. Then, without pause, it lunged forward and leaped high, its massive frame casting a shadow over Tamsin. The sword came down like an executioner's strike.
Bang!
Another projectile hit midair, exploding against its ribs and throwing the creature off balance. The undead slammed into the ground, stabbing its sword into the dirt to stop itself from skidding.
Tamsin didn't waste the moment. He holstered his qi cannon and braced his stance.
'My sword's still on cooldown after that fight with the Stage Seven warrior,' he thought grimly. 'All I've got now are my skills and the cannon.'
He shouted across the field, "Merrick! Cover me! I'll try to keep it busy up close!"
Merrick gave a sharp nod. His form shimmered, splitting into several astral copies. Each one darted in a different direction, spreading out to flank the undead knight.
Meanwhile, Tamsin drew his twin blades. Their edges glinted under the dim light, but there was no power humming through them this time.
After that brutal clash with Lucius, both weapons had burned through their charge. Now, they were just metal—refined, durable, but ordinary.
Still, Tamsin tightened his grip. Ordinary or not, they'd have to do.
Tamsin charged in, blades flashing as the undead knight yanked its sword free from the cracked ground. The creature's empty eyes locked onto him, cold and unreadable.
Tamsin struck first—his left blade came in fast, aiming for the knight's side.
Clang!
The undead blocked it with a heavy swing that sent a jolt up Tamsin's arm. He didn't hesitate. His right-hand sword came around immediately, a blur of steel.
But the knight moved faster than he expected. It twisted its body, dragging its bone sword free from the lock and spinning with unnatural speed.
Clang!
The second strike met the knight's swing dead-on. Sparks burst as steel and bone clashed, the vibration numbing Tamsin's fingers. His sword was torn clean from his grip and sent flying.
The knight didn't pause. It spun again and thrust its sword straight for his chest.
Bang!
A bullet hit the undead's arm mid-thrust, bursting into a wave of qi energy that threw the blade's aim off course.
Tamsin didn't waste the chance. He drove his fist forward, qi flaring around it, and slammed a punch into the creature's arm.
The hit landed with a dull, heavy crack. Bone fragments chipped off.
Bang!
The impact sent both of them sliding back a few feet. Tamsin steadied himself, panting, keeping distance between them.
The knight didn't flinch—it simply stood there, its arm twitching, the dark aura around it swirling again like smoke feeding flame.
'Its sword strikes are fast… of course they are. It's a knight after all,' Tamsin thought, eyes narrowing.
Then Merrick opened fire.
From every angle, his astral projections rained qi bullets onto the undead. Each shot hit with a flash and explosion, hammering the creature's armored body again and again—but even then, the knight didn't fall. It simply raised its sword, taking the barrage head-on like a wall of death refusing to break.
The astral bodies kept firing nonstop, their qi bullets cracking through the air like thunder. But no matter how many rounds they poured out, the undead knight didn't even flinch. Each impact left no dent, no mark—just a faint spark as the energy dispersed uselessly across its armor.
Merrick's own bullets, though, hit harder. Every time his sniper fired, the knight's body jerked back slightly, the qi explosion leaving faint burns on its bone armor. Still not enough to kill it, but enough to annoy it.
The undead knight turned its head, finally locking onto Merrick's true position. Without warning, it swung its sword in his direction.
A wave of dark aura shot out like a black slash tearing through the ground. But Merrick had already anticipated that—he swapped places with one of his astral bodies just before the strike hit. The aura ripped through the clone instead, splitting it apart in an instant.
Still, Merrick didn't stop shooting. His bullets kept coming from a new angle, hitting harder, faster.
The knight growled—a low, guttural sound that echoed through the air. Its sword rose high, and black lightning began cracking across the clouds above.
Then, with a violent thrust, it drove the blade into the ground.
BOOM!
The dark aura spread everywhere, covering the entire top of the cliff.