BOOM!

The sound spread through the entire forest, then it was quickly followed by a graveyard silence.

Aria's eyes widened as the impact from the bullet tore straight through her stomach. She felt all the energy she had gathered before leaping up fade, leaving her unsupported mid-air.

THUD!

She fell to the ground with a loud thud. The strong metallic scent filled the air as her cold blood seeped into the earth, painting the ground crimson. Her eyes remained locked on the leader of the group, who floated above her on his hoverboard.

His loud, mocking laughter tore through the air. "Ridiculous," he spat as he pointed his own gun down at her. "I didn't plan on causing this much havoc, but I guess you're all too stubborn." He gently pressed his fingers against the trigger.

The Orcs could only watch with hopeless gazes as he prepared to execute Aria.

"Sir, we've found the crystal!" one of the men suddenly shouted, catching the leader's attention.

The leader quickly turned toward the man who called him. The man stood in front of a destroyed tent, holding a bright red crystal ball.

The leader paused. "For a moment, I thought it wasn't here and that brat took it with him, but I guess we are lucky," he said with a dark laugh. "Get it, and let's leave this place, but before that..." He turned his gaze back to Aria.

To his surprise, the Orc lady didn't look at him with a plea for mercy as he expected. Instead, her gaze was filled with pure disgust, anger, and disdain. Seeing that condescending look annoyed him even further.

"Bitch," he snarled, ready to pull the trigger.

But this time, his telecom rang loudly. He wanted to shoot and finish the job, but he could only grit his teeth and answer first.

"He's coming back! Leave the settlement now! Be quick, and use a detour!" the voice warned from the other side.

Meanwhile, back outside Norclin City, a figure could be seen blasting through the air at an astonishing speed. None of the other players had yet obtained special skills that allowed them to fly without hoverboards, so many were surprised to see someone move with such velocity.

Akhil gathered so much attention even without knowing it, but he didn't care. He was in a world of his own, a sense of crushing urgency biting at his nerves. He didn't know why, but every second he spent away from the settlement, his chest tightened in fear. It was almost as though he could smell the trouble in the air, and he hated it.

'Thankfully, I'm closer now,' he reassured himself as he picked up his speed, accelerating toward the teleportation hub. Trying to keep up behind him was Ryan, who was moving with just as much urgency and worry. However, without the ability to fly like Akhil, he was much slower.

Akhil didn't even spare a second after he burst out of the transporter, as he shot into the air, heading straight for the settlement.

Back at the settlement, immediately after receiving the news, the leader bit his lips in frustration.

"Let's leave. Their boss is coming back; he can't find any of us here," the leader said, throwing a final glance at Aria before turning around to flee.

All the others did the same, including the one who had found the gem. Another carried an Orc he had knocked out.

While the main group headed out, one of the masked men stood looking at the old Orc he'd shot in the gut, Grandma Gino. "I'll just end this one and join the others," he said with a malicious glint in his eyes as he raised his gun to finish the work.

But right before he could, he felt a hand shove him hard to the side.

A female Orc, tears choking her words, ran past him, holding onto Grandma Gino. "Leave her alone! Don't kill her! Don't!" the Orc girl yelled. All she wanted was to protect the old lady.

The human glared at her in anger, seeing as she had pushed him. "You piece of shit!" he roared, raising his hand to strike the female Orc, who was crying by Gino's side.

As he raised his hand, the young girl flinched, shielding herself. But the hit never landed.

When she opened her eyes, the human fell to her side with a dull thud, blood leaking from the back of his head.

Standing above him with shivering hands was Gon. "You young kids should learn to respect us old people!" he said with a shaky voice.

Before the human could land his blow, Gon used a heavy piece of wood and slammed it against the back of his head, causing him to faint from the force of the hit.

Seeing the old Gramps in front of her, the young Orc teared up. "Thank you, Gramps Gon," she said, before quickly turning back to the old Lady Gino, who was barely hanging on, her breaths slow.

"Grandma Gino, please don't die, stay awake!" The lady Orc screamed at the top of her lungs, but a cold quietness met her.

The Orcs gathered round their destroyed settlement. Everything they had built had been torn down: the tents, the wooden walls... Everything. They were left to drown in the sorrow of all those they had lost in the fight.

And amidst it all, a figure slowly descended from the sky, looking at the barely recognizable settlement he left in utter shock..

His gaze widened as he stared at the destruction and chaos that lay beneath him: the blood that soaked the earth, the destroyed tents.

Then slowly, his gaze shifted further away from the wreckage, and right there in front of a ruined tent, in a puddle of her own blood, Aria stared up at him, barely clinging to life with the little breath left in her.

A warm, gentle smile spread across her face as she spotted him. "Akhil. You're safe." Her eyes grew heavy and she could no longer hold them up.

Akhil quickly flew down straight toward her, his eyes wide in shock, still trying to make sense of the devastating sight.

He carried her off the ground, her body's cold skin rubbing against his, her skin deathly pale.

An intense chill covered the entire settlement, and all the Orcs flinched, turning their gaze back. They finally noticed Akhil—or perhaps the demon that looked like him.

He asked only one question, his voice stripped bare of any emotion, cold and utterly terrifying.

"Who did this?"

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