Master Sung cleaned his hands on a piece of rag, the cloth soaking up the crimson remnants of Falcon Guild mbers' blood on his hands.
As he used the cloth to clean between his fingers, removing the last traces of blood from his skin, Master Sung's attention was drawn upward by a sound that made his gaze intensify coldly—laughter echoing through the night air.
The sound was unmistakable, carrying with it years of bitter mories, and a familiarity that no amount of ti or distance could erase.
It was the sa laugh that had once filled their childhood ho, the sa laugh that had turned mocking and cruel as they grew older and chose different paths.
Without a shadow of doubt clouding his mind, Master Sung knew for certain who it was. Yuki.
The laughter was short-lived, though it carried a lasting effect. Then it was followed by a mont of silence so absolute that everyone held their breath and remained unmoving, staring at the sky and waiting for whatever terrible thing was about to unfold.
Cutting through the stillness sharply was a single word that echoed through the air with otherworldly resonance:
"Open."
The word wasn't pronounced loudly or projected by an amplifier—it was said calmly, almost in a growling manner, as if whoever said it was overconfident.
But for so strange reason, it carved through the air with unnatural clarity, allowing every single living thing below, within a radius that no one could determine the exact distance of, to hear it with perfect clarity.
The word seed to be nothing like normal sound entirely; it felt like it wasn't spoken for their ears, but resonated directly into their minds.
Ryder, Mara, Brok, Leo, Yuki, Koji, Akira, and Master Sung—who had all gathered around in a cluster after wiping out all the deployed Falcon Guild mbers—heard this clearly and recognized the direction it was coming from.
The voice had spoken from a direction they didn't know exactly; all they could do was to cautiously observe their surroundings with their eyes darting back and forth.
"I knew it wasn't over," Master Sung spoke bluntly, his voice carrying grim acceptance. He tossed the bloodied rag aside and looked up at the sky with eyes that held years of accumulated pain. "You would never start a battle you couldn't win, Yuki."
All the clouds within the area began to disperse with unnatural speed, as if being pushed aside by an invisible hand. The night sky, which had been shrouded in darkness, suddenly beca crystal clear, revealing the vast expanse of stars above.
The very air felt different now, charged with a kind of energy that wasn't there before, even though they could not see any visible difference anywhere with their eyes.
The night was dark, but now, they all could see clearly what was floating above due to their familiars' shared senses. The bond between summoner and familiar granted enhanced perception that went a long way, which included allowing them to see through darkness as if it were daylight, to perceive details at great distances that would not be possible with normal human eyes.
Darkness wasn't an obstruction to them, nor were far objects at great distances away. What they saw floating high above them made them all tense up.
"So that's where he has been all this while," Zhou glead maniacally, his voice carrying the kind of excitent that belonged in the deepest pits of madness.
"It would have been a big turn-off if the leader of the guild himself never ca to his own battle," Zhou continued, his voice carrying anticipation. The idea of getting to face such a formidable opponent didn't terrify him—in fact, it excited him.
"Get the hell down and let's end this once and for all, you piece of crap!" Master Sung's voice bood through the night sky, carrying all the rage, clear and unhidden rage.
"Do you have any idea what this could an?" Ryder whispered to Leo, his voice barely audible even in the quietness. "I clearly heard soone say 'open' and nothing else happened."
"That word seed to be enchanted with sothing otherworldly," Leo spoke, unreadably.
While the others possessed the gamma sense technique, Leo's sight was still different. He possessed what he had once explained to them as silver gaze—a much more refined eye technique compared to what they had learned from Akira.
It was a natural ability he had developed by himself that allowed him to perceive things beyond the human limit.
Ryder turned to look at Leo with a questionable look, although he had replied, Ryder only realized that Leo didn't reply to him. He was muttering to himself, frozen and lost in his mind.
"Leo," Ryder shook him by the shoulder, noticing the oddness in him. "Are you okay?"
Leo's blue-silver eyes were wide with horror, staring up at the sky as if he was witnessing sothing that others couldn't see.
Mara also noticed the oddness in Leo's behavior and tapped him as well. "Leo?" she called out, her voice carrying genuine concern. Suddenly, he snapped back to his senses.
"Guys," Leo finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. He took a huge gulp, his throat working as if he was trying to swallow sothing terrible. Throughout his life, he had kept and maintained a fearless image, never showing weakness or vulnerability, only showing playfulness. He wasn't the type to show fear—he mustn't show weakness because he could handle anything.
But what he was seeing now challenged everything he thought he knew about the limits of power in their world.
"Sothing is coming," Leo announced, his voice carrying dread. "Sothing terrifying. It may have not completely manifested yet, but I can see a portal opening above us in the sky."
He paused, gathering his courage to continue. "They are summoning sothing out, and whatever that is, it's sothing that exhibits an aura that should be at least at Luxy's level."
The others imdiately understood what Leo ant, but Brok was the quickest to grasp the full dread of the situation just like Leo—they had both seen Luxy being summoned out. His face went ashen as the implications hit him like a physical blow.
"And how many do you sense?" Brok asked urgently, his voice cracking with fear. "How huge is the army of familiars?"
"That is where the problem lies," Leo responded. "So far, the presence is coming from just one body. It is just one familiar, and it is a black-marked familiar."
This declaration made everyone gasp in shock, but Ryder was particularly surprised.
"There is another black-marked summoner out there!" He exclaid, his voice carrying disbelief.
Leo quickly clarified. "No, no, there's not another black-marked summoner. The summoning isn't going through the normal traditional summoning process, and I cannot sense the familiar being linked in any way to anyone."
He paused, his silver eyes reflecting the horror of what he was seeing. "It is not being summoned out—it is nearly coming out on its own. All that chanted word did was open a gate for it."
**Rumble**
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