Kurgami descended slowly from the sky onto the barrier. He wore a black mask with three violet stripes, covering his pale white face—only his glowing violet eyes were visible.
He approached the commander, who was crawling forward with difficulty toward the corpse of one of his followers, still battling agony...
Suddenly, Kurgami felt the energy he'd absorbed was nearly depleted. Freed from his power's control over his consciousness, he returned to his senses and witnessed the horrific scene before him.
He showed no reaction, as if seeing nothing. His violet eyes remained fixed, but this time, tiny black rings swirled within them—a sign that fragments of his old memories had resurfaced.
Inside his body, the darkness began receding—systematically, just as he'd trained for that year in the hellish cell. Ragnar drilled him daily when guards weren't patrolling, teaching him ancient techniques. Some, despite Kurgami's weakness, he could still wield.
Others, however, were forbidden—techniques capable of erasing entire nations from the map with a mere wave of his hand. Their price was steep. Using one risked detection by the Twelve Kings, something Ragnar constantly warned against. The Kings would seize any chance to kill him.
The technique he'd used to detonate the dark energy in his body was ordinary, yet his flesh unexpectedly endured it for only thirty minutes. Twenty had passed, and its effects were fading. The energy he'd absorbed from the commander and the beast clashed violently within him, but the dark energy forcibly contained both.
"Aghh... Why now?!"
Kurgami groaned in pain:
"Always... when I need strength most, this weak body fails me... How pitiful..."
Drip... Drip...
Rain began falling softly, tapping the barrier's surface as if the sky itself hesitated in sorrow. But suddenly, without warning, it poured violently.
KRAKOOM!
Thunder roared like a buried scream of rage, splitting the black sky. In its fleeting flash, the mask's shape on Kurgami's face sharpened.
He endured the agony of three warring energies inside him and the downpour hammering his cloak. Then, step by step, he walked toward the commander.
The commander still crawled toward the giant guard's corpse—split vertically in half...
Ragnar stood atop the corpse, watching Kurgami, as if awaiting a single signal to kill the commander. But Kurgami gestured for him to withdraw. Ragnar vanished, reappearing ten meters away.
Whooosh!
A fierce wind swept over the rain, pooling water across the barrier's surface into puddles.
Suddenly, the beast lunged from the black bones behind Kurgami—astonishing speed—and swung a hammer-like fist toward his back.
But Kurgami ignored it. His focus was solely on the commander...
"You'll pay, damned human!"
The beast shrieked, its voice grotesque and furious.
As the blow neared, a shadowy figure materialized behind Kurgami and seized the beast's arm.
"Beast..." Ragnar's voice was devoid of emotion.
"I spared you earlier for my master's plan. But it seems the crystal stone lost control as his energy faded... Now he has no interest in you—meaning he no longer needs you."
Ragnar eyed the beast's body, noting the wound Kurgami had left earlier—still unhealed.
He released his grip and moved. In less than a second, dozens of strikes landed before he paused, coldly observing:
"I'd overestimated your strength."
"Huh?"
The beast barely gasped before hurtling downward. The barrier stood 3,000 meters high, but all the beast felt was accelerating speed—then—
BOOOOOOOM!!
The earth shook.
Not just an impact—
Like a mountain crashing from the sky.
Dust exploded. Rocks shattered beneath its body. A tidal wave of darkness surged outward, scorching the land barren.
Everything in the blast's path vanished. Trees withered. Earth became a dead desert.
The commander felt the shockwave and turned—stunned.
He saw Kurgami advancing... and behind him, that shadow-thing.
In that moment, hope's glimmer vanished from his eyes. He was ready to die. A large rock lay ahead. He twisted his body, rested his head against it, and watched Kurgami's slow approach... Kurgami halted, gazing down as if at something worthless.
The commander stared into Kurgami's eyes—they seemed to search for something beyond this world...
Knowing death was certain, the commander whispered weakly:
"What do you seek with these actions?... Do you think they'll fulfill your purpose?"
Kurgami fell silent, then murmured:
"I seek not truth... but something no one can explain to me."
After speaking, he raised his hand toward the commander's face. Darkness coalesced into energy in his palm, gathering from everywhere. The violet glow intensified.
Kurgami looked down at the commander sprawled on the rock, hope extinguished in his eyes... Something within Kurgami flickered and faded.
But he ignored it. Refocusing, he said coldly:
"Any last words?
I respect only that you stood against beasts, holding them back ten years...
Yet even so... I cannot let you live."
"I see..."
The commander knew from Kurgami's tone: no mercy. Words meant nothing now, but he needed to speak one last thing...
"Can you..."
His voice faltered. Summoning strength, he pleaded:
"Bury me beside my wife and son's grave?... My final humble wish..."
Tears flooded from his one intact eye.
Kurgami felt the words—but he, more than anyone, knew heroes' true faces.
What others called valor meant nothing in a world that defied wishes.
He muttered inwardly, then replied:
"Sorry...
But not even ash will remain if this strikes you..."
His voice was both mournful and icy.
"Very well..."
The commander pulled back, resting his head against the giant stone.
KRAKOOM!
Lightning tore the sky, illuminating Kurgami's mask.
The commander looked at him one last time, saw that mask, and said:
"May you find your purpose... boy."
Those were his final words. He wanted only death—escape from torment.
The dark energy in Kurgami's palm peaked. He opened his hand fully, ready to unleash it upon the commander, whose last eye closed.
But suddenly—
A figure flashed from a streak of light—blinding speed—darting toward the commander to seize him!
Yet Kurgami caught his ankle mid-ascent and slammed him onto the barrier.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Kurgami roared, hurling him down.
"Aghh..."
A groan escaped the figure, but he twisted agilely mid-air, gently lowering the commander to the ground. Light scattered around him.
As the glow faded into rain and smoke, the figure sharpened into view...
A white cloak fluttered like a broken wing. Blue eyes shone as if holding a dead sky. Short blond hair clung to his face, drenched by rain...
It was him... Jeff.
He stood between Kurgami and the commander—a human wall against a flood of darkness.
Kurgami lifted his gaze. Behind the mask lay no anger, no surprise... only something like weariness.
He murmured, as if to fate itself:
"I knew one of you would come... But I never expected you."