The dim light of dawn bathed the shattered village in a pale glow, casting shadows over the rubble and carnage that marked Evelori's devastating assault. 

The tattoo in Qarek, Nert, and Jiighual's tattoo then disappeared in an instant.

Ruby and Lyra crouched beside Nert and Jiighual, their hands moving quickly yet gently to bandage the deep bite marks and bloodied gashes that marred their battered forms. 

The air was thick with tension and the faint scent of blood—

A grim reminder of their struggle.

"Hold still," Lyra muttered as she tied off a bandage around Jiighual's arm. Her voice was steady, but the tightness in her jaw betrayed her worry. Ruby, quieter than usual, wiped away the blood from Nert's shoulder with trembling hands.

Nert winced, glancing at Ruby. 

He tried to joke, but his voice was hoarse, devoid of its usual energy. 

"Sorry... It's just a scratch."

Ruby didn't respond, her focus remaining on the wound.

Across from them, Qarek sat on a fallen log, his eyes fixed on Zach, who stood with his back to the rising sun, his frame resolute despite the weight of the past hours. 

The enchanted sword hung at his side, its faint glow a beacon of hope amidst the devastation.

Qarek broke the silence. 

"Captain," he began, his voice heavy. 

"What happened to you? How... how did you get back on your feet? We thought..." 

He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Zach's eyes softened, though his stance remained firm. 

"I don't know," he admitted. 

"I just remember hearing the window creak open. And then... nothing. The next thing I knew, I woke up with Ruby beside me. The villagers had found us both unconscious and brought us to safety."

Qarek frowned, the weight of his own helplessness surfacing. 

"So... even Evelori can take down a war god like you, Captain. Be careful, alright? We almost got eaten alive. Don't want that to happen to you too."

A faint smile tugged at Zach's lips. 

"I'm just glad you three are alright."

Qarek's face darkened as his mind drifted to the horrors they had witnessed. 

His voice cracked as he spoke. 

"Captain... Yzavynne and Leeani... Master... They were holding ground against these creatures, but..." 

His words faltered. 

"These creatures... they... they killed them..."

Before Qarek could finish, Zach stepped forward, cutting him off. 

"No. They're not dead."

The firmness in his voice caused all eyes to turn to him.

Zach continued, his tone unshakable. 

"When I woke up, the villagers caring for me told me what they had seen. Then Lyra barged in to the cabin and filled me in with the details I needed to know. I saw Yzavynne and Leeani leading the creatures toward the sea, buying time for the villagers to flee into the forest. That was no accident. That was strategy—your strategy, Qarek. You all did well without me."

The compliment hit Qarek like a hammer. 

He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. 

"We just... did what we had to."

Zach placed a hand on Qarek's shoulder, his voice low but sincere. 

"You did more than that. You kept them alive. You gave them hope."

For a moment, Qarek was silent, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. 

Then he nodded, his voice barely a whisper. 

"Thank you, Captain."

Zach straightened, his gaze sharpening as he looked toward the heart of the village, where Evelori and her twisted creatures still lingered. 

"Now, go. I'll handle this. This fight... it's mine to finish."

Qarek hesitated. 

"You got this, Captain."

Zach glanced back at him, his expression unwavering. 

"I always do."

Turning to Lyra, he nodded. 

"You did well trusting me with this sword."

Lyra, who had been silent until now, crossed her arms and smirked faintly. 

"Well, I've heard the stories. From Qarek. From Yzavynne. From Leeani. Figured you'd live up to the legend."

"Hmph," Zach grunted. 

"Now, enough chit-chat. I have a battle to win."

Ruby stepped forward, her voice soft but firm. 

"Zach... stay alive."

He looked at her, his expression softening briefly. 

"I will."

With that, Zach signaled to Ruby, Lyra, Qarek, Nert, and Jiighual. 

"Go. Head to the sea. The others will be waiting. I'll catch up when this is over."

The group hesitated but eventually obeyed, retreating toward safety. 

As their footsteps faded, Zach turned back toward Evelori and her monstrous creations.

The morning sun cast a harsh light on the scene, illuminating the grotesque forms of Evelori's creatures as they shifted and writhed. 

Evelori herself stood at their center, her lips curling into a mocking smile.

Zach's grip on the enchanted sword tightened, his knuckles white. 

His jaw clenched as fury surged through him.

His voice, when it came, was like thunder, echoing across the ruins of the village. 

"Evelori."

She tilted her head, amused.

"You think you've broken us," Zach snarled, his tone dripping with venom. 

"You think this destruction makes you powerful. But you don't understand what you've done. You didn't just hurt my people. You hurt me. And now..." 

His eyes burned with unrelenting rage. 

"...you've given me a reason to end you."

The creatures hissed and shifted, their movements restless—

But Zach didn't flinch. 

He raised the sword, its glow intensifying.

"This will end fast because you crossed a line you can't come back from. You made this personal."

He stepped forward, his presence dominating the space between them. 

"So come on. Show me the monster you are. Let me show you what it means to stand against someone who refuses to fall."

The air around him seemed to thrum with energy, the weight of his words silencing even Evelori's laughter. 

For the first time—

The smug confidence in her eyes wavered.

Evelori's lips twisted into a snarl as she raised her arms, commanding her horde of grotesque creatures. 

Her voice dripped with venom, a cacophony of rage and hatred. 

"Kill him! KILL THAT LITTLE MAN! Rip his limbs from his body! Shred his flesh from his bones! Tear out his eyes and feed them to each other! Leave nothing of him behind but a bloody smear on the ground!" 

Her voice grew more shrill and hysterical with every word, her desperation spilling into madness. 

"Snap his spine, crush his skull, make him scream! DISMEMBER HIM! EAT HIM!"

At her command, the creatures surged forward, moving with eerie, jerky motions as though they were puppets on invisible strings. 

Their eyes, wide and unblinking, gleamed with a soulless hunger. 

They closed the distance with unnatural speed, their clawed hands outstretched, ready to tear Zach apart.

Zach stood his ground—

Unshaken. 

His breathing was steady, his eyes cold and sharp. 

As the first wave reached him, his enchanted sword cleaved through the air with a whistle. 

The blade carved a deadly arc, and the creatures' torsos split cleanly in half, their grotesque forms collapsing to the ground in sickening thuds. 

Black ichor sprayed into the air, staining the ruined earth.

Not a single creature touched him.

Evelori's confidence wavered as her monstrous horde fell, one after another, to Zach's relentless onslaught. 

His movements were precise, efficient, and merciless. 

The blade sang as it swung, severing limbs and bisecting bodies with terrifying ease. The creatures hissed and screeched, but they couldn't even graze him. 

Their attacks met only the empty air as Zach weaved and dodged with unnatural fluidity.

Zach's face remained eerily neutral, but his eyes burned with quiet fury. 

He moved like a storm—unstoppable, devastating, and cold. 

Evelori's panic grew as she realized the truth: her hundreds of creatures were nothing more than fodder against this man.

"Impossible..." she muttered, her voice trembling as she watched the carnage unfold. 

"How... How is he doing this?!"

Zach's voice cut through the chaos like a blade, loud and deliberate, ensuring Evelori heard every word. 

"You started this war. You thought you were clever, knocking me unconscious to make my family suffer while I was helpless. But now..." 

He swung his blade again, decapitating a creature with a single strike. 

"...I'm awake. Let's finish this. Monster against monster."

He paused, letting his words hang in the air before delivering the final blow to her pride. 

"I'll show you the skills of someone who's destroyed two kingdoms."

With that, Zach broke into a sprint, his blade slashing through the wall of creatures in his path. 

Each step was a thunderous declaration of his intent to reach Evelori. 

The creatures swarmed him—

Clawing and snapping—

But they were nothing more than obstacles in his way. 

His sword danced through the air, cutting them down with precision, leaving a trail of lifeless bodies in his wake.

Evelori's instincts screamed at her. 

She stumbled backward, her humanoid form trembling. 

She shrieked, before turning and fleeing toward the eastern forest, where the villagers had sought refuge.

"No... NO!" 

Zach's shout boomed behind her, filled with raw fury. 

"Why are you running from me?! Come and face me, coward!"

Evelori pushed herself to run faster, her desperation overriding her pride. 

But Zach wasn't about to let her escape. 

With a growl, he hurled his enchanted sword with all his strength. 

"Argh! Hrmph!"

The blade spun through the air, gleaming like a falling star, before striking Evelori's right leg. 

The impact was immediate—the blade sank deep, and her flesh began to evaporate like liquid, leaving nothing but bone where her leg had been. 

She collapsed to the ground with a scream, clawing at the earth in agony.

"ARRRRRGHHHHHH!"

Zach didn't slow down. 

He leaped into the air, landing atop the heads of the remaining creatures. 

Using them as stepping stones, he sprinted toward Evelori, his movements swift and calculated.

Evelori writhed on the ground, trying to push herself up, but the pain from the enchanted blade was unbearable. 

She gasped, her eyes wide with terror as she looked back. Zach was already upon her.

In a last-ditch effort, she opened her mouth wide, green toxins spilling out like a cloud of death. 

But Zach didn't flinch. 

He grabbed the sword still embedded in the ground and lunged at her, tackling her back to the earth. 

His hands gripped her jaw, and with a sickening crack, he forced it shut, breaking it in the process. 

Evelori's muffled screams filled the air as she thrashed beneath him.

Zach raised his sword to strike again, but Evelori's body shimmered and melted into a viscous liquid, slipping free from his grasp. 

Reforming into her humanoid shape several feet away, she stumbled to her one remaining leg, her breathing ragged. 

She turned and began hobbling toward the forest.

"You... You cannot kill what's already dead!" 

She screamed, her voice laced with desperation. 

"I am the mistress of death! I am the necro—"

Before she could finish, Zach's sword pierced her stomach, cutting her words short. 

Her body seized as the blade began to eat away at her flesh, the evaporation spreading from her chest outward. 

She clawed at the sword, her wide eyes filled with terror.

Zach stepped closer, his voice low and cold as he whispered into her ear.

"You may be death itself, but even death can bleed."

Evelori's scream was guttural, her body writhing as the enchanted sword consumed her. 

Zach didn't flinch. 

His grip on the blade was unyielding, his expression devoid of mercy. 

"Bleed, Evelori!"

This was the end she had brought upon herself.

Zach stood over Evelori's writhing form, his sword lodged deep into her stomach, the blade's enchanted power spreading across her body like a merciless wildfire. 

Her skin evaporated into a putrid mist, her flesh dissolving into nothingness as her once-deadly aura seemed to flicker and fade. 

Her screams had dwindled into ragged gasps, and for a fleeting moment, it seemed like this was the end for the mistress of death.

"ARRRRGGHHHH! MY BEAUTIFUL SKIN!"

But then, as Zach pressed harder on the hilt of his blade, her gasps twisted into something else. 

A smile. 

A hideous, bloodied grin crept across her face as her dimming eyes flashed with malevolence.

"You fool," she rasped, her voice barely audible, but dripping with venom. 

"Did you really think you could kill me so easily?"

Before Zach could react, Evelori's body convulsed violently. 

A grotesque, spiked appendage erupted from her back—a spear-like growth of bone and sinew, dripping with black ichor. 

It lashed out with lightning speed, plunging into Zach's chest with a sickening crunch.

Zach gasped as the force of the strike sent him hurtling backward. 

"Urgh!"

His body crashed into the dirt, blood pooling beneath him as he clutched at the jagged wound in his chest. 

The pain was blinding, and for a moment, the world seemed to tilt as he struggled to focus. 

Evelori's laughter rang in his ears, shrill and triumphant.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

She staggered to her one remaining leg, clutching her oozing stomach wound. 

Her breaths were shallow, her movements erratic, but she still managed to stumble forward. 

Her body was breaking down, but her determination burned brighter than ever.

"Run," she muttered to herself, her voice trembling with desperation. 

"I must... I must reach them..."

The sun's rays pierced through the trees, bathing her in their harsh light. Evelori hissed, shielding her face as her skin sizzled under the sun's touch. 

"This cursed sun... It's seeping my power away! Weakening me! I need fear... Yes... fear!" 

Her eyes glinted as she turned her gaze toward the distant villagers watching the battle unfold. 

"Their fear... It will give me power. Strength to stop this little man. Strength to kill him!"

She limped forward with renewed urgency, leaving a trail of black ichor in her wake. 

The creatures that had been scattered by Zach's earlier assault turned their hollow, lifeless eyes back toward him. 

Sensing his momentary weakness, they moved in unison, their jerky movements growing more frenzied as they closed the distance.

Zach gritted his teeth, his vision blurring as he forced himself to his feet. 

Blood seeped from the wound in his chest, but he ignored the pain. 

His hand instinctively reached for his sword, still embedded in the ground where Evelori had left him. 

The creatures lunged at him just as he gripped the hilt.

With a guttural roar, Zach swung the blade in a wide arc, cleaving through the first wave of monsters. 

"AHHHHHH!"

Their bodies crumpled and fell, ichor spraying into the air. 

Another group lunged at him, and Zach twisted, his movements fueled by sheer rage. 

The enchanted blade glowed brightly as it cut through the air, severing limbs and torsos in rapid succession.

Zach shouted, his voice shaking with fury. 

"You don't get to run, Evelori!" 

His expression, normally calm and composed, twisted into something feral, something raw. 

"You hear me?! You don't get to run! EVELORI!"

The sound of his voice was deafening, reverberating across the battlefield. 

Even Evelori, now nearing the edge of the forest, faltered for a brief moment. 

Her crooked form turned slightly, her eyes widening as she saw Zach, still standing, cutting down the horde with terrifying efficiency. 

His fury was palpable, a storm that threatened to consume everything in its path.

But she pushed forward, driven by desperation. 

△▼△▼△▼△

The villagers, huddled at the forest's edge, stared in horror as she limped toward them. 

Their eyes darted between Evelori and Zach, who was still battling the seemingly endless wave of creatures. Fear gripped them, their breaths shallow as they realized the mistress of death was heading straight for them.

Farther down the shoreline, another group was racing toward the village. 

Gargeal, Yzavynne, Leeani, Qarek, Jiighual, Nert, Ruby, and Lyra sprinted along the sea's edge, their weapons drawn and their faces grim. 

Behind them, a horde of creatures surged like a tide of nightmares, their skeletal frames illuminated by the harsh sunlight.

"Faster!" Yzavynne barked, her voice sharp and commanding. 

"We need to reach the villagers before she does!"

"We're not going to make it in time!" Leeani shouted, her light armor glinting as she glanced toward the forest in the distance. 

"Look!"

Ruby shouted in agony.

"Zach!"

The group's eyes followed her gaze. 

There, amidst the chaos, they caught a glimpse of Zach. 

He stood in the midst of a sea of creatures, bloodied but unyielding. 

His blade cut through the monsters with relentless precision, but even he seemed to be struggling under the sheer number of them.

And then, they saw Evelori. 

Her twisted form was unmistakable, even at a distance. 

She was limping toward the villagers, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

"She's going for the villagers!" Gargeal growled, his fists tightening. 

"We have to stop her!"

"But Zach..." Jiighual muttered, his voice heavy with concern. His eyes lingered on their leader, who was still surrounded by creatures. 

"He's barely holding on."

"We don't have time to split up!" Qarek shouted, his voice filled with urgency. 

"If we don't stop Evelori now, she'll—"

"She won't make it," Ruby interrupted, her voice firm despite the panic in her eyes. 

"Zach will stop her. He has to."

Ahead of them, Evelori reached the edge of the forest, her twisted form illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the trees. 

She turned her head slightly, her sunken eyes locking onto the villagers. 

Their fear washed over her like a wave, and she grinned, her jagged teeth gleaming.

"Yes," she muttered, her voice a sickly hiss. 

"That's it... Fear me. Let your terror feed me. Let it make me whole again..."

But before she could take another step, Zach's voice roared through the battlefield once more. 

"EVELORI!"

The sound was so powerful that even the creatures hesitated, their jerky movements faltering as they turned to look at him. 

Evelori froze, her grin fading as she realized he was closer than she had anticipated.

Zach's sword glinted in the sunlight as he carved through the last of the creatures between them. 

His chest heaved with exertion, his wound still bleeding, but his steps were unwavering. 

His rage burned brighter than the sun, a force that Evelori couldn't ignore.

She turned fully toward him, her one leg trembling as she prepared to face the storm she had unleashed. 

And for the first time—

The Mistress of Death felt something she hadn't experienced in centuries: fear.

═════ ◆ TO BE CONTINUED ◆ ═════