Vlora didn't get far.
He had just cleared the edge of the forest when the first blade ca down—Zack's sword, nearly catching him across the side. He dodged, barely, and rolled to his feet, eyes blazing.
They had found him.
The seven mbers of the Gars Guild stood in a loose arc around him, their expressions cold, focused. No more running.
No more beasts to hide behind.
No more ti.
Vlora snarled, channeling power through his body. Energy pulsed off his fra, cracking the earth beneath his feet. Even without his monstrous army, even without his carriage or backup, he was still strong.
Strong enough to take at least one of them down.
Or so he thought.
But they didn't give him the chance.
Pierre slamd forward first, shield raised, creating an opening. Zack darted in behind him, striking low. Vlora deflected, only to be struck in the back by a wind-laced spell from Carn.
Lei followed up with a deep gash across Vlora's leg, and Evan appeared from behind a tree, silent as ever, slashing along his ribs before vanishing again.
Maria summoned a wall of fire to corner him.
And Carole—
Carole waited.
She stood at the back, chanting softly. A halo of light gathered around her as the others drove Vlora back with coordinated precision.
He roared, furious, lashing out with a clawed hand, nearly catching Pierre across the chest.
But it was too late.
The final spell struck from above, divine light cascading like a waterfall, slicing through his body and piercing the ground beneath him.
Carole's voice echoed with quiet authority as she lowered her hands.
Vlora collapsed, his monstrous form crumbling into smoke and ash.
And then—silence.
A single, clean ding resounded in their minds.
[GLOBAL NOTIFICATION: The Last Demon, Vlora, has been slain by player Carole.]
For a second, no one moved.
Then—
Laughter. Relief. Cheers.
Zack whooped, spinning his swords and nearly falling over. "Carole! You killed the last Demon! That's insane!"
"I thought Pierre would get the last hit for sure," Lei said with a smirk. "Guess our priest got tired of babysitting."
Maria grabbed Carole's arm, eyes wide. "You leveled again, didn't you?"
They all did.
Another wave of power rolled through their systems. Stats jumped. Notifications blinked across their screens.
This was it.
The last Demon was dead.
Their job was almost done.
One more step. Just one more.
If Asef died, it would all be over.
They wouldn't need to kill again.
They wouldn't need to fight again.
Maria was crying and laughing at the sa ti. "I can't believe it. I actually can't believe it."
Even Carn smiled—a soft, relieved thing that made her look years younger than she already was.
Carole looked down at her hands, stunned.
"I didn't expect…"
"You earned it," Pierre said simply. "You kept us alive for one year. You deserve to end it."
They all laughed again.
And then—
The light dimd.
Slowly.
Almost imperceptibly.
Until the world around them was bathed in shadow.
"What…" Carole blinked, looking up. "The sun?"
The air grew cold.
Not freezing—but heavy. Dense. Like the pressure dropped all at once.
Then Carn stopped moving.
So did Carole.
So did Maria.
The three of them froze.
For a mont, the others thought it was shock.
Then they saw it.
A shape.
Massive.
Falling.
Fast.
It wasn't coming from the sky. It was already on the ground. But it was so tall, so big, that its re movent blocked the sun.
A hand was descending.
Massive, blackened, covered in lines of silver that shimred like veins. It moved with eerie silence, aiming straight for the trio.
And then—
Carole moved.
Just in ti.
She pushed Maria hard, sending her tumbling out of the hand's trajectory.
Zack reacted instantly. He lunged, grabbing Carole's arm and yanking her away just as the hand descended.
"Get down!" he yelled.
But he didn't make it out.
Neither did Evan—he had tried to do the sa for Carn but was half a second too late.
The hand hit the earth with a thunderous, wet crack.
Dust exploded outward.
Silence.
Then soone scread.
"Zack?! Evan?! Carn?!"
It was Maria.
She scrambled back toward the fallen spot, Carole behind her.
But there was no response.
Just stillness.
And when the hand slowly lifted—effortlessly, without urgency—it revealed three bodies.
Twisted. Broken.
Crushed under a force they couldn't stop.
Then, just as quickly, the corpses disintegrated.
Particles of light floated into the air.
Gone.
Pierre staggered forward, stunned. He opened his interface, checking the leaderboard.
Their nas weren't there.
Offline.
"Gone," he whispered. "They're… gone."
There was only one explanation.
They had died.
In Trion.
And now they were back on Earth—disconnected. Never able to return.
The four who remained stared at the spot where their friends had fallen.
They didn't cry. There was no need to. Their friends were safe on Earth.
There wasn't ti.
The hand hadn't retreated.
The enemy was still there.
Still towering. Still watching.
And now they could see him.
Not flying—no.
He didn't need to fly.
He was so big, even standing on the ground, he eclipsed the sky.
A man.
Long. Impossibly tall. Limbs stretched like shadows, head tilted slightly, expression unreadable.
The man from the bet.
Vlora's transportation.
And now, their next opponent.
"Circle up," Pierre said, voice firm.
Maria's hands trembled, but she nodded.
Carole swallowed her tears and stepped into place. Zack had taken her place, so she couldn't waste it.
Lei unsheathed her blade without a word.
They ford a new ring around Carole.
They had no idea what this thing was. There shouldn't have been another Demon that could send the players back.
And Asef couldn't be there. Otherwise, he would need to fight them as well as Arlon. This would make things harder for him.
So, they had no idea why it had attacked them now.
But they knew this much:
If they didn't get one shot, Carole could keep them standing.
So they braced.
And looked up.
The shadow didn't move.
Yet.
But it was watching.
And it was far from done.
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