CHAPTER 38
"The Price of War"
The cave no longer felt like stone and earth.
It felt alive.
Burning.
Breathing fire and blood.
Ernos stood at the center of the battlefield like a god of destruction, flames spiraling around his body in violent waves. Behind him, the faint silhouette of Lord lingered in the shadows, silent… observing.
Asher rose to his feet again.
Blood trickled down the side of his face.
Sebastian stepped beside him.
For a moment, they didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
Sebastian tightened his grip on his sword.
"Asher."
Asher's eyes locked onto Ernos.
"Together."
And then—
They charged.
The ground cracked beneath their feet as both of them launched forward at full speed. Sebastian's blade ignited, flames roaring along its edge. Asher's fist compressed the air itself, pressure warping around his arm.
They attacked simultaneously.
Sebastian struck from the right.
Asher from the left.
A perfect pincer assault.
Ernos reacted instantly.
He caught Sebastian's burning blade with one hand.
With the other—
He grabbed Asher's punch mid-impact.
The collision sent shockwaves across the cavern.
Stone shattered.
Air exploded outward.
Ernos smirked.
"Still… not enough."
Before he could counter—
A blur moved behind him.
Riven.
Fast. Silent. Precise.
Twin daggers aimed straight for Ernos' spine.
"For Vale!" Riven shouted.
But Ernos had already sensed him.
Without turning fully, he released one hand from Sebastian's blade and struck backward with brutal force.
His flaming fist connected with Riven's chest.
The impact echoed like thunder.
Riven's body folded mid-air before being launched across the cave wall.
He hit the stone hard and dropped to the ground, unmoving.
"RIVEN!" someone screamed.
Ernos flung Sebastian aside and shoved Asher backward.
Before he could continue—
Lightning struck.
A direct hit.
Lance Poll descended from above like a storm incarnate, electricity tearing through Ernos' flames.
"This ends NOW!"
For the first time—
Ernos staggered.
The lightning burned through his armor of fire, forcing him one step back.
Poll didn't stop.
He drove a second lightning-infused punch straight into Ernos' chest.
BOOM.
Energy exploded outward in a blinding flash.
The cave ceiling trembled.
Dust rained down.
Asher looked up.
Hope flickered again.
But Ernos slowly lifted his head.
Smoke rose from his chest.
His eyes burned brighter than before.
"You insects…"
He grabbed Lance Poll by the throat.
Lifted him off the ground.
Lightning surged wildly around Poll's body, but Ernos endured it.
He slammed Poll into the ground so hard the stone cratered beneath him.
Poll coughed blood but was still conscious.
Then—
A figure rushed in.
Oliver Mark.
Screaming in fury.
Dual blades spinning with lethal precision.
He moved faster than before.
Desperate.
Determined.
He slashed across Ernos' arm—
Drew blood.
A thin line of red cut through flame.
For the first time—
Ernos bled.
Oliver didn't hesitate.
He lunged for the neck.
But Lord's dark energy pulsed from behind.
Just for a split second—
Ernos' speed doubled.
He sidestepped.
Caught Oliver by the wrist.
Crushed it.
The sound of bone snapping echoed brutally.
Oliver gasped—
But he didn't scream.
He swung his remaining blade toward Ernos' throat.
Ernos' eyes turned cold.
"Die."
He drove his flaming fist straight through Oliver Mark's chest.
Silence.
The blade fell from Oliver's hand.
The fire burned through him from the inside.
Ernos pulled his hand back.
Oliver's body collapsed to the ground.
Lifeless.
The battlefield froze.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Lina dropped to her knees.
"...Oliver?"
Lance struggled to rise, horror in his eyes.
Sebastian stared in disbelief.
And Asher—
Asher felt something inside him crack.
Oliver had trained with them.
Laughed with them.
Fought beside them.
And now—
He was gone.
Ernos stepped over the body without emotion.
"Next."
Behind him, Lord remained silent.
Watching.
Calculating.
Asher's hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From rage.
The pressure around him began to distort the air again.
Stronger than before.
Darker.
Unstable.
This war had taken its first true price.
And it would not be the last.
Asher slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were no longer just red.
They were glowing.