Chapter 658: Before the Storm

Somewhere in the middle of the Ultras continent, a small party carved through the barren heartland at breakneck speed.

They were few, but several of them possessed staggering individual power. In less than a single day they clashed with multiple enemy groups .. and erased them in record time.

It was, of course, Frey Starlight’s squad: only his friends from the Temple.

After a full day on the move, they paused beneath the shade of a mountain to catch their breath. Sitting in a close circle, they were still searching for Snow Lionheart.

"It looks like Snow fought a hard battle too..." Seris murmured, remembering what they’d found at the point where his signal vanished.

The place had been a ruin .. clear evidence of a brutal fight .. and that stirred fresh worry about the Empire’s white knight.

"Snow isn’t weak. He won’t die that easily," Frey said, scrolling idly through the system interface.

Snow’s name still sat there, along with a high Affinity score; at the very least, it meant he was alive. He was likely unconscious, which was why Frey couldn’t lock onto him with the third-person player view.

"The moment I get a fix on him, I’ll teleport straight in and bring him back."

That was the plan—but he’d gotten no ping at all for the past twenty-four hours.

"You said you fought a demon of the Tenth Upper Rank, Frey. Makes me wonder what Snow ran into at the same time..." Daemon said, fiddling with his armor. Frey hesitated, then answered.

"I don’t know exactly what he fought... but it wasn’t some ordinary foe. Most likely the demon of the Thirteenth Upper Rank."

"Sorry for keeping that to myself, but the tenth didn’t come alone .. the thirteenth was here too."

"And how does the Thirteenth compare to the Tenth?" Dawn asked.

"There’s no comparison in raw power. The Tenth is far stronger," Frey said, laying out what he knew.

He wasn’t wrong. Even at fifty percent, Zibar’s clone outclassed Geppetto. The gap between the top ten and those below .. save perhaps the Eleventh ..was enormous. But Geppetto was a special case.

"The Thirteenth is terrifying because of his cursed ability: he can use the corpses of the dead, raise them, and make them fight for him. In wartime, that makes him one of the most dangerous demons alive .. his army of the dead has no known limit."

That left most of them stunned.

"Isn’t that a catastrophe for us? If he can use corpses at will, he can build an endless army .. and even turn our fallen against us," Selena said. Frey nodded.

"Exactly. That’s why he has to be killed as soon as possible."

Easier said than done. Geppetto had survived for ages; no one had managed to kill him. Demons weren’t fools .. they never let him roam alone. He’d come with Zibar; and even without Zibar, Wisker lurked close by. Dealing with him was a genuine headache.

"This is infuriating. It feels like we won’t be able to do anything against enemies like that..." Daemon grumbled, clearly rattled by the scale of the battles they were glimpsing.

The man beside him was the one who had split the moon with his sword.

Frey only shook his head. "Don’t jump ahead. Everyone has a role to play in this war. You’re all strong .. you just need time to grow."

"You sound like an old man when you say that ..and it’s not exactly fair coming from you, considering you hit your current level at record pace," Daemon shot back.

He’d been born with talent, yes .. but he was still human. No cosmic entity had chosen him as a successor, no broken training path had catapulted him past his peers.

Chasing strength, he’d done something no one else had: after losing a leg during that old abduction and hunt on the Ultras continent, he replaced it with his golden armor’s limb... and then kept going, deliberately destroying more of his body and fusing it with the same golden armor.

It was a savage, merciless process with no guarantees .. but Daemon did it. Whenever Frey looked at him with enhanced sight, the result still seemed bizarre: more than half of Daemon’s body had merged with the armor.

He’d become something like a cyborg .. half man, half weapon.

That strange evolution had supercharged him .. but even so, he was still far from Frey and Snow. Impressive as Daemon’s feat was, it wasn’t enough to reach their tier.

"My strength comes from the trials I’ve lived through .. the life-and-death fights I survived. I’m just a walking mass of chaos wearing a human shape. Don’t compare yourself to me. Move at your own pace, Daemon."

Frey looked around at the others. "That goes for all of you."

"I’m getting used to the supernatural lately .. nothing feels that strange anymore. Take Dawn Polaris here ..perfect example," Selena said, propping her chin on one hand, pointing at Dawn beside her.

"He’s got some freaky ability that lets him survive anything. No matter the opponent. Honestly, I find that more impressive than the raw power you monsters throw around."

The Last Survivor .. Dawn’s ability .. would always be a mystery, and Selena wasn’t wrong.

"Since you brought it up, I’ve always felt something... off with you, Dawn Polaris. What exactly is that ability of yours?" Daemon asked, thinking back. "Back when we were hunted, you were the only one who came out without a scratch. Even in this war, you’re always spotless .. meanwhile the sorceress next to you has taken hits."

It didn’t add up.

"That’s why I stick close to him," Selena said dryly. "I know I’m guaranteed to make it out as long as I do."

At that, Daemon Valerion raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I figured you two were having some kind of wartime romance, the way you cling to him."

"Hah... who in the hell would do that in the middle of a war?!" Selena snapped—so Daemon simply pointed at someone.

"Frey Starlight does."

Thinking about it, everyone had to admit he had a point.

"Love and war... those two don’t mix at all. How can you even think about relationships when death is breathing down your neck every second?" Selena asked .. and the reply came from Frey, unexpectedly:

"What’s wrong with it? Seems like a good way to step away from the pressure of war now and then." Frey smiled lightly.

He drew everyone’s gaze .. especially Auriel, who hadn’t expected that from him. Frey had always seemed like a man who poured everything into fighting, to the point that chasing romance felt unreal for him. He fought and fought; every time he felled one enemy and survived, an even worse one appeared. The cycle repeated like a curse.

Yet even under that crushing weight, he could still say something like this. No one could find a retort.

"Anyway... Dawn, let me give you a friend’s advice," Frey said, turning back to him.

"Of course," Dawn Polaris replied easily—then Frey warned him.

"That ability that keeps saving your life .. it’s strong. Like Selena said, in some ways it’s more impressive than what people like me and Snow have... but it isn’t absolute. Keep that in mind."

At that, both Dawn and Selena frowned.

"What do you mean, Frey? Please be clear," Selena shot back. Dawn seemed to share her view; he truly believed he could survive any situation he ended up in. Frey wanted to pull him out of that illusion.

"What you have is an ability ..supernatural, yes, but still just an ability. It keeps you alive, sure. But you’re not the only one in this world with something like that," Frey continued. "Plenty of beings have comparable tricks, and the Upper Ten Demons are prime examples. Your power might save you from most of them, but some have tools that can nullify the causality your Last Survivor relies on. If that happens... you know what the result will be."

He said it flatly, and Dawn stiffened for a beat.

"So you’re saying his ability isn’t absolute?" Selena asked.

"There’s nothing absolute in this world—not even the Demon King," Frey replied.

Believing in perfect powers was foolish. Everything had a weak point .. and Dawn’s was his total reliance on the Last Survivor. If he ever met a monster who could cancel the ability’s causality, that would be the end. Frey wanted him to think about that—and stop leaning on it blindly.

Dawn clearly hadn’t expected to hear this. He fell silent, mulling it over.

Frey rose. "Let’s move. We’ve rested enough."

They fell in behind him, setting off once more across the Ultras desert.

"This really brings back memories... can’t believe we’re out here again, just us," Daemon said, recalling their abduction and how they’d fought to escape the continent. A year later, they’d returned .. by choice.

"A lot’s changed since then," Frey said simply.

They were far stronger now .. no longer temple students dragged off in chains.

"I’m sure most of you have your reasons for coming back. As for me... I just wanted to pay back the sons of bitches who tried to kill me," Daemon said, blunt as ever.

Most of the elite students had chosen to return .. Lara Croft the archer was the lone exception, refusing to step foot on this continent after what happened. Aside from her, the rest were brave enough to come back.

"For me... I wanted to help others survive instead of surviving alone," Dawn said, voicing what he truly felt. It would be great if he could extend his ability to those around him .. but realistically, it still looked like he’d mostly survive on his own.

Selena kept her reason to herself; Seris spoke next instead. "I came to fight for my family... and to take revenge on a certain someone."

At that, Frey and the others knew exactly who she meant: Baylor Moonlight. She had fought him during the abduction and been utterly defeated .. but she hadn’t let go of her goal. Revenge was still her aim.

"My role is to save and support people. That’s why I’m here," Auriel said softly from the center of the group. "And... there’s a sin I want to atone for."

That left Frey.

"The way you’re all talking about your goals sounds like a string of death flags," he said dryly. "Most people die before they ever reach what they’re aiming for."

Then he smiled and gave his own answer. "My goal hasn’t changed. I’m here to kill as many enemies as possible .. nothing more, nothing less."

Simple as that. By doing it, Frey would keep growing .. strong enough to crush his foes, protect those close to him, and fight the fate closing in.

As they trekked through the Ultras in that brief calm, Frey had no idea how many mountains of corpses and seas of blood awaited him. The killing had only just begun. The road ahead was long .. stacked with harsher, harder trials .. ready to script a new struggle, and new suffering.