The lightning crash had shaken the world. The moment it struck, sand rose like a wave, devouring the battlefield in a choking, blinding storm. Shapes became silhouettes. Screams turned to muffled echoes. Only the low hum of charged air and the frantic pulse of heartbeats remained.
"Master Dain!"
The lone soldier who'd stayed back cupped his hands around his mouth, eyes searching the sand-swallowed chaos ahead. Behind him, the rest of the convoy was in turmoil. The soldiers had fled, abandoning their posts. Mothers clung to their children, shielding them with trembling arms. The merchants—most of them—hid behind their cargo, peeking with wide, terrified eyes, whispering prayers and curses in equal breath.
Then somewhere beyond that wall of sand, something shifted.
The soldier narrowed his eyes.
There.
A flicker of color in the storm—crimson, tinged with black as if it came straight from hell.
Then the sand fell, collapsing like a curtain at the end of an act. The battlefield returned to view.
And standing in the center, between the ruins was Dain.
His armor had cracked. His coat was torn and dusted with ash. But that wasn't what stole the soldier's breath.
It was the horn.
Crimson and black, twisted like obsidian forged under pressure, now jutted from the left side of Dain's forehead. Below it, a gauntlet covered his arm from fingertips to shoulder, matching the horn's unholy colors. Dark crimson fire clung to it, burning without smoke, alive and twitching like a predator barely leashed.
He had changed.
Transformed.
That horn wasn't there before…
'I heard about Master Dain's form after he participated in the trial… but this, i didn't think it was true'
Then he muttered under his breath with awe "The demon of salvation"
Dain didn't speak. His chest rose and fell in slow, heavy breaths. The gauntlet on his arm sizzled, still glowing from having absorbed the Eldon's lightning moments ago. Sparks danced along his boots, trailing through the sand, reminders of the near-death strike he had intercepted.
His thoughts were clear.
'That wasn't just a test shot. That thing was aiming to kill me in one go. These aren't the same mindless beasts from the border breach. These two… they hunt together.'
He took a step forward. His vision twitched to the right.
The winged Eldon was circling again.
Obsidian spikes shimmered beneath its wings like an iron curtain, shifting, growing, aimed.
'Its trying to blind me, keep me focused on the ground attacker so it can strike from above. Typical. But smart.'
The soldier still behind him called again, quieter this time.
"Master Dain…?"
Dain raised a hand—only slightly—and the soldier fell silent.
Behind them, the mothers whispered to their children, pressing them tighter to their chests. One of them, a woman with a gash on her brow, stared at Dain with wide eyes. Not with fear… but hope.
"Is he… like them?" a boy whispered.
"No," she answered, steady. "He's fighting them."
But Dain's focus never wavered. The lightning Eldon reemerged from the left—its tall, almost skeletal body moved at a speed that made it hard to track. It charged again, electricity crackling at its limbs like chains snapping through the air.
Dain bent his knees.
Waited.
Don't overuse the flame. It still burns me if I lose focus. Let the gauntlet absorb the energy first—
The Eldon lunged.
A claw arced toward his chest, buzzing with lightning.
Dain moved.
The gauntlet met the claw mid-swing, and the impact sparked a shockwave. Sand burst beneath their feet. For a moment, they held—Dain's arm pushing back against the raw power of the strike.
Then, with a grunt, he twisted his body and countered.
His foot slid forward, a flash of crimson fire igniting beneath his heel. He used the motion to throw the Eldon off-balance, then swung his free hand in a wide arc. The dark-red flame flared—striking the Eldon across its side.
It screamed—an unholy, animalistic screech that sounded like metal tearing—and stumbled back.
But the victory was short-lived.
Above, the winged one dove.
Dain turned too late.
"SHIT"
A barrage of obsidian spears rained down. He threw himself to the side, rolling over his shoulder, fire sparking from his gauntlet to blast some of the spikes away. But one of them clipped his back making him bleed dangerously.
He landed on one knee.
'Thats bad, very bad'
Behind him, the mothers screamed again.
The flying Eldon was already turning for another pass.
The soldier behind Dain moved instinctively, raising his strange, modified rifle. "Get away from them, freak!"
He fired.
A strange, vibrating hum left the barrel as a glowing projectile shot forward. It missed but barely. The flying Eldon twisted mid-air, letting the shot pass before diving low.
Dain stood.
'Too many risks. I can't afford to miss anymore.'
The fire at his gauntlet grew hotter, brighter. His horn pulsed—once. Crimson light poured through his left eye, and his grip on the power steadied.
He drew a circle in the air with his gauntlet. The flame followed, forming a floating ring. Then, as the winged Eldon approached—
He stepped through it.
The ring of fire blinked—and Dain was suddenly above the creature.
"Gotcha"
Flame trailed behind his feet as he twisted his body, gauntlet raised high.
And then he slammed down onto its back.
The impact sent both of them crashing into the ground, the obsidian-spiked Eldon shrieking and flailing.
But the strike wasn't enough.
The Eldon writhed beneath him, then spun and slashed. One claw raked across Dain's ribs. He grunted, stumbling back. Blood soaked through his side.
'Fast recovery'… he thought, his vision blurred for a moment.
With a grunt he muttered under his breath
"They're adapting, they fucking adapting."
The lightning Eldon was approaching again—this time slower. Studying.
Dain wiped the blood from his lip.
Behind him, the soldier stood between the convoy and the creatures, weapon ready.
The mothers didn't move. They held their children and watched.
Watched as Dain, bleeding and scorched, stood tall again—his horn still glowing, the fire around his gauntlet swirling faster, angrier.
They didn't need to speak to know it.
He wasn't finished yet.
And neither were they.
—End of Chapter 5.