The fighter broke through the clouds.
Its engines burned brightly against the night sky.
For a moment, the entire settlement became silent.
Even the undead orcs stopped moving.
Every head turned upward.
The people stared.
The guards stared.
Even the beast beneath the earth seemed to pause.
The aircraft descended rapidly.
It wasn't shaped like any machine they had ever seen.
There were no wings like the birds they knew.
No propellers.
No horses pulling it.
No visible magic circles.
It simply flew.
And the sound it produced shook the air.
VRRRRRRRRRRMMMM—
The entire sky seemed to tremble.
A child pointed toward the heavens.
"What's that?"
His mother pulled him closer.
"I don't know."
Another guard lowered his bow.
"Is that... a dragon?"
Roderic stared at it.
His mouth slowly opened.
"That's no dragon."
Elara looked toward Drek.
Her eyes were wide.
"Drek..."
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained focused on the battlefield.
The fighter's sensors were already connected to his system.
Information streamed across his visor.
TARGET ACQUISITION
HOSTILE ENERGY SIGNATURE: CONFIRMED
UNDERGROUND ENTITY: AWAKENING
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE: 23%
CIVILIAN COUNT: 1,247
Drek's expression hardened.
More information appeared.
PREDICTED SETTLEMENT COLLAPSE: 04 MINUTES 37 SECONDS
Drek immediately spoke.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"Can we evacuate everyone?"
The System processed the situation.
"Possible."
Drek waited.
"Estimated survival probability?"
"100%, assuming all civilians follow evacuation instructions."
Drek looked toward the settlement.
Then toward the walls.
The guards were still frozen.
They had no idea what was about to happen.
Drek grabbed his radio.
"Broadcast to the entire settlement."
"Confirmed."
A strange voice suddenly echoed from the settlement's magical communication towers.
Not a human voice.
Not a spirit.
Not a messenger.
A clear artificial voice.
"ATTENTION. ALL CIVILIANS. EVACUATE THE SETTLEMENT IMMEDIATELY."
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY EVACUATION."
"MOVE TOWARD THE WESTERN GATE."
"DO NOT APPROACH THE BATTLEFIELD."
"REMAIN CALM."
Roderic looked at Drek.
"What did you just do?"
Drek ignored the question.
He pointed toward the western side of the settlement.
"Captain."
Roderic turned.
"Yes?"
"Get everyone out."
The captain hesitated.
"But the eastern wall—"
Drek interrupted him.
"Forget the wall."
Roderic stared.
Drek's voice became firm.
"Your job is to save your people."
The captain looked toward the approaching beast.
Then back at Drek.
Something changed in his expression.
He nodded.
"You heard him!"
Roderic turned toward his soldiers.
"OPEN THE WESTERN GATE!"
The guards immediately moved.
"EVACUATE THE CIVILIANS!"
"MOVE!"
"EVERYONE TO THE WESTERN GATE!"
People began pouring out of their homes.
Merchants abandoned their stalls.
Families grabbed their children.
The elderly were helped by soldiers.
The settlement became a river of people moving toward the western gate.
Drek looked at Elara.
"Stay with Ushu."
Elara nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
Drek looked toward the ground.
The earth began shaking again.
BOOOOOOM.
The streets cracked.
Buildings trembled.
Tiles fell from rooftops.
People screamed.
Ushu immediately moved toward Elara.
She grabbed the princess's arm.
"We need to move."
Elara looked toward Drek.
"What about him?"
Ushu smiled faintly.
"He'll be fine."
Drek heard her.
He smiled.
"I like your confidence."
Another tremor struck.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground in the center of the settlement exploded upward.
Stone and dirt flew into the air.
The undead orcs surrounding the area immediately stepped backward.
Then—
something emerged.
First came a massive hand.
Blackened armor covered its fingers.
The claws dug into the ground.
Then came its arm.
Then its shoulder.
The earth continued collapsing around it.
The beast pulled itself from beneath the settlement.
Its body was enormous.
It towered above the settlement walls.
Its skin was dark and cracked.
Black energy flowed through its body like burning veins.
Its head slowly emerged.
Two enormous red eyes opened.
The beast looked around.
Then it roared.
"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The shockwave hit the settlement.
Windows shattered.
Wooden structures shook violently.
Several guards fell to their knees.
Elara covered her ears.
Ushu planted her feet firmly.
Drek didn't move.
His visor automatically compensated for the shockwave.
A massive information window appeared.
UNKNOWN ENTITY
CLASSIFICATION: INCOMPLETE
HEIGHT: 41.7 METERS
HOSTILE ENERGY: EXTREME
MAGICAL CORE: DETECTED
THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC
Drek stared at the display.
"Forty-one meters..."
The creature raised its arm.
A massive axe formed from dark energy appeared in its hand.
Drek looked at it.
"That's new."
But something else caught his attention.
The undead orcs.
All 846 of them remained on their knees.
None attacked.
None moved.
They simply bowed their heads toward the enormous creature.
Drek's visor immediately scanned them.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"Why aren't the undead attacking?"
The System processed the battlefield.
"Analyzing behavioral pattern."
Several seconds passed.
Then the answer appeared.
"The entities are awaiting an order."
Drek narrowed his eyes.
"From the creature?"
"Affirmative."
Ushu looked across the battlefield.
"They're obeying it."
Elara's face went pale.
"Then that thing is their master."
Drek watched carefully.
The beast slowly raised one enormous hand.
Every undead orc lifted its head.
Then—
all 846 stood simultaneously.
BOOM.
Hundreds of armored feet struck the ground.
The sound echoed across the settlement.
Roderic stared in horror.
"They're moving!"
The undead army began marching.
But instead of attacking the civilians fleeing through the western gate—
they turned toward the center of the settlement.
The beast had given them an order.
Drek's expression hardened.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"Can we stop all of them without killing them?"
The System responded immediately.
"Non-lethal suppression systems available."
Drek looked toward the fighter.
"Prepare them."
"Confirmed."
The beast suddenly raised its massive axe.
It swung.
The axe slammed into the eastern wall.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The entire wall exploded.
Stone and wood flew everywhere.
The remaining guards screamed.
"THE WALL!"
"RUN!"
"GET OUT!"
The undead orcs began charging.
Hundreds of them rushed through the ruined wall.
Drek raised his rifle.
"Nobody dies tonight."
Above them, the fighter's compartments opened.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Small drones emerged from the aircraft.
Their lights illuminated the night.
The people fleeing the settlement stopped and looked upward.
The drones spread across the sky.
Roderic stared.
"What in the name of the gods..."
Drek raised his rifle.
"Target the undead."
The drones immediately locked on.
Blue energy gathered beneath them.
Then—
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Wide pulses of energy swept across the battlefield.
The first wave of undead orcs was struck.
Instead of exploding, their bodies suddenly froze.
Their muscles locked.
Their weapons fell from their hands.
One after another, they collapsed onto the ground.
Drek watched the readings.
"Status?"
"Non-lethal suppression successful."
Drek nodded.
But hundreds remained.
The remaining undead charged faster.
Drek gave another command.
"Increase suppression radius."
The fighter changed formation.
Several drones moved lower.
Their systems began generating a massive electromagnetic and magical interference field.
The air itself seemed to distort.
Blue light spread across the battlefield.
The undead orcs suddenly slowed.
Their movements became sluggish.
Some dropped to one knee.
Others fell completely.
The guards stared.
One soldier whispered:
"They're not killing them..."
Another answered:
"He's stopping them."
Drek watched the battlefield.
"Keep going."
The fighter fired another pulse.
VMMMMMMMMMMMM—
A wave swept across the ground.
Dozens of undead orcs collapsed.
Then dozens more.
The army that had terrified the entire settlement was being defeated without a single death.
But the beast roared.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Dark energy erupted from its body.
The suppression field flickered.
Several drones were thrown backward.
Drek's system immediately warned him.
"Hostile entity interfering with suppression network."
Drek looked toward the beast.
"Then we'll separate it from the army."
He touched his earpiece.
"Fighter."
The aircraft immediately responded.
"Priority target: the large entity."
The fighter moved.
Its nose tilted downward.
Its engines became brighter.
The entire aircraft seemed to transform.
Hidden weapon systems emerged from its body.
The people watching couldn't understand what they were seeing.
To them, it looked like a machine becoming something else.
Something alive.
Something divine.
The fighter locked onto the beast.
TARGET LOCKED.
Drek raised his hand.
"Fire."
The sky exploded.
A massive beam of concentrated energy descended from the fighter.
It struck the beast directly.
VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!
The creature screamed.
The beam pushed it backward.
Its feet dug massive trenches into the streets.
Drek continued monitoring the readings.
"Come on..."
The beast roared again.
It raised its axe.
Dark energy gathered around the weapon.
Then it threw the axe toward the fighter.
The massive weapon flew through the air.
Drek's system immediately responded.
"Incoming projectile."
Drek didn't panic.
"Defense system."
A blue barrier appeared around the fighter.
The axe struck it.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact created a shockwave across the sky.
The axe shattered.
The guards stared.
Roderic whispered:
"It blocked that..."
The beast looked upward.
For the first time—
it appeared afraid.
Drek saw it.
"You don't belong here."
The beast roared.
Drek raised his rifle.
"Neither do I."
He fired.
A concentrated blue projectile struck the beast's chest.
This time, the creature's defenses failed.
The energy pierced through its magical barrier.
The beast stumbled.
Its enormous body began collapsing.
Drek immediately noticed the direction.
"System!"
"Yes, Major."
"If it falls here?"
"The settlement will suffer catastrophic structural damage."
Drek's eyes widened.
The beast was falling toward the center of town.
"Then we're moving it."
He switched to his command interface.
"Fighter."
The aircraft responded.
"Deploy gravitic restraint."
The fighter changed position.
A powerful invisible force surrounded the falling creature.
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then the beast stopped.
Its enormous body hung above the ground.
The people stared.
Drek clenched his fist.
"Move."
The fighter pulled.
The beast slowly began moving away from the settlement.
But below them—
the remaining undead orcs suddenly reacted.
The moment their master was lifted from the ground, they began moving again.
Hundreds of them started toward the western gate.
Drek's eyes widened.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"The undead are moving."
"Confirmed."
Drek looked toward the fleeing civilians.
Then toward the undead army.
"Intercept them."
The fighter's drones immediately changed formation.
The entire sky filled with blue light.
"NON-LETHAL SUPPRESSION FIELD: MAXIMUM."
A massive wave expanded outward.
The undead orcs were caught inside it.
One by one—
they stopped.
Their weapons fell.
Their bodies became motionless.
Some collapsed.
Some remained standing like statues.
Then the last undead orc fell to its knees.
Silence.
Drek stared at the battlefield.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"Casualties?"
The system responded.
"Zero fatalities."
Drek exhaled.
"Good."
The fighter continued carrying the massive beast away from the settlement.
Drek redirected it toward the empty forest beyond the walls.
The aircraft pulled the enormous creature through the air.
Then released it.
The beast crashed into the forest.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Trees exploded outward.
The ground shook.
Dust rose into the sky.
But the settlement remained standing.
More importantly—
the undead army had been completely neutralized.
Eight hundred and forty-six undead orcs.
Defeated.
Not destroyed.
Not killed.
Drek looked toward them.
His visor scanned the bodies.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"Are they dead?"
"Negative."
Drek's eyes narrowed.
"Alive?"
A pause.
"Biological life signs are extremely weak. However, their magical cores remain active."
Drek looked at the fallen undead.
"So they're still here."
"Affirmative."
Drek lowered his rifle.
"Then leave them."
Ushu approached.
She looked over the battlefield.
Hundreds of undead orcs lay scattered across the ground.
Some were unconscious.
Some were kneeling.
None were moving.
She looked at Drek.
"You defeated all of them."
Drek shook his head.
"The fighter did most of it."
Ushu smiled.
"And who controls the fighter?"
Drek didn't answer.
Elara approached slowly.
She stared at the battlefield.
Then at the enormous crater where the beast had emerged.
Then at the sky.
The fighter hovered silently above the settlement.
Its engines glowed against the darkness.
She looked at Drek.
"You saved everyone."
Drek looked at the settlement.
"That's what I was supposed to do."
Elara shook her head.
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You did something no army in this kingdom could have done."
Drek didn't answer.
Behind them, the guards slowly began returning.
Their weapons were lowered.
Their expressions were completely different now.
Roderic approached first.
His armor was covered in dust.
His sword remained sheathed.
He stopped several meters away from Drek.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he lowered his head.
"Major Drek."
Drek looked at him.
"Captain."
Roderic took a breath.
"I owe you an apology."
Drek raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For doubting you."
Drek glanced at the ruined eastern wall.
"You had a reason."
Roderic shook his head.
"I have served this kingdom for twenty years."
He looked toward the sky.
The fighter hovered above the settlement.
"I have seen armies."
He looked at the drones.
"I have seen powerful mages."
Then he looked back at Drek.
"I have never seen anything like that."
One of the younger guards whispered behind him.
"Is he a mage?"
Another shook his head.
"No mage can create something like that."
A third guard looked toward the fighter.
"Then what is he?"
Nobody answered.
Another guard whispered:
"Maybe he's a god."
The words spread quietly.
"A god..."
"He came from the sky."
"He controls the metal birds."
"He defeated the undead."
"He stopped the monster."
"He saved everyone."
Roderic heard the whispers.
He looked toward Drek.
Drek sighed.
"I'm not a god."
The nearby guards immediately became silent.
Drek looked at them.
"I'm a soldier."
Roderic frowned.
"A soldier?"
Drek nodded.
"That's all."
Roderic looked toward the impossible aircraft.
Then back at Drek.
He clearly didn't believe him.
Elara smiled faintly.
"They may not believe you."
Drek sighed.
"I noticed."
Ushu crossed her arms.
"Maybe you should stop showing them things that look like miracles."
Drek looked at her.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Ushu smiled.
Then—
the ground trembled.
Everyone immediately froze.
Drek's visor activated.
The System displayed a warning.
UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE: DECREASING
ENTITY STATUS: CRITICAL
Drek looked toward the forest.
The beast was still alive.
Barely.
But something else caught his attention.
A second reading appeared.
Not from the beast.
From beneath the settlement.
Drek's expression changed.
"System."
"Yes, Major."
"That wasn't the source."
Ushu looked at him.
"What?"
Drek turned toward the settlement.
"The beast wasn't the thing underneath the settlement."
Elara's smile disappeared.
"Then what was it?"
Drek stared at the cracks beneath the streets.
The System slowly reconstructed the underground structure.
A massive chamber appeared on his holographic map.
Then another.
And another.
The settlement hadn't been built over one underground chamber.
It had been built over an entire complex.
Drek's eyes narrowed.
"There's something else down there."
Roderic became pale.
"The old kingdom..."
Drek looked at him.
"What did they build here?"
Roderic shook his head.
"I don't know."
Drek's visor displayed a final message.
UNKNOWN STRUCTURE DETECTED
AGE: ESTIMATED 3,000+ YEARS
PURPOSE: UNKNOWN
POWER SOURCE: ACTIVE
Drek stared at the display.
The fighter hovered above the settlement.
The people were safe.
The beast had been stopped.
The 846 undead orcs had been defeated without a single death.
But the mystery beneath the settlement had only become deeper.
Drek looked at the fallen undead orcs.
His eyes remained on them for several seconds.
Something about them bothered him.
They hadn't attacked when the beast first appeared.
They had knelt.
They had waited for its command.
And when their master was attacked—
they had tried to defend it.
Drek's instincts told him there was a reason.
"System."
"Yes, Major Drek."
"Keep monitoring the undead."
"Understood."
"Don't destroy them unless they become an immediate threat."
"Confirmed."
Drek looked at Ushu.
She was already looking at him.
"We're going down there, aren't we?"
Drek smiled faintly.
"Eventually."
Elara stepped forward.
"Eventually?"
Drek looked toward the ruined eastern wall.
Then toward the exhausted guards.
Then toward the people who had just survived the attack.
"First, we help them rebuild."
Ushu smiled.
"That's surprisingly kind of you."
Drek shrugged.
"They're our hosts."
Roderic heard him.
For the first time since they arrived—
the captain smiled.
He turned toward his soldiers.
"You heard the Major."
The guards looked at him.
"Help the civilians."
Then Roderic turned back toward Drek.
He lowered his head.
"Welcome to our settlement, Major Drek."
Drek looked at him.
Roderic continued.
"This time..."
He glanced toward the fighter in the sky.
"...we mean it."
Drek smiled.
Above them, the impossible aircraft continued hovering beneath the stars.
And among the people of the settlement, a new story had already begun.
A story about a strange soldier from beyond the kingdom.
A man who carried thunder in his hands.
A man who commanded machines that flew without wings.
A man who had descended from the heavens—
and saved more than a thousand lives in a single night.
Some called him a soldier.
Some called him a hero.
And some had already begun calling him something else.
The God Who Fell From the Sky.
But Drek didn't hear the whispers.
His attention remained fixed on the cracks beneath the settlement.
Because somewhere deep below—
something was still awake.