Number One’s gatling cannon roared. BRRRRRT. The sound tore across the blood-soaked street as rounds shredded through green orcs and goblins trying to push toward the Safe Zone entrance, while spent casings clattered against pavement already slick with rain and viscera.

Aiden’s longsword cut through a goblin’s throat, white light crackling along the blade as his third-stage Sword Aura burned through flesh and bone. The body dropped, though he was already moving, pivoting left as another orc swung a crude axe at his head. Steel met steel with a harsh CLANG before Aiden’s counter-strike took the orc’s arm off at the elbow. Blood sprayed.

Callum stabbed a goblin through the ribs with his short sword, and the creature screamed and clawed at him until he kicked the body away. His movements were rough but getting sharper under the pressure, though his breathing was ragged and his arms shook from exertion.

The street was complete chaos.

Civilians screamed as they ran for the Safe Zone, though some made it while most didn’t. Hunters fought in clusters, trying to hold ground against the horde pouring through the dimensional portals, yet bodies piled up where the fighting was thickest while rain mixed with blood in the gutters.

A yellow goblin archer loosed an arrow from a rooftop, and the shot caught a young hunter in the eye. The man’s head snapped back before he dropped without a sound, though his party members didn’t notice for three seconds. By then two of them were dead too.

An ogre grabbed a civilian woman by the head, his fingers wrapping around her skull like she was a toy before he squeezed. Her spine cracked with a wet pop, then he tossed the body aside and reached for the next target.

Aiden cut down another orc, his Sword Aura leaving a burning line across the creature’s chest, while Number One’s cannon never stopped firing. Callum blocked a goblin’s dagger before driving his short sword into its gut. They were holding ground but taking damage and getting tired, with blood running down Aiden’s left arm from a shallow cut he didn’t remember receiving.

Then everything changed. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Every green orc and goblin on the street stopped mid-swing, as warriors froze with weapons raised while archers lowered their bows. The silence hit like a physical thing after the chaos of combat, and then they all dropped to one knee in perfect unison with heads bowed and weapons lowered to the ground.

Aiden’s eyes snapped to the main portal.

Four figures stepped through the dimensional rift.

The pressure they radiated made Aiden’s skin crawl, though it wasn’t just power—it was experience, confidence, the weight of beings who had killed thousands and conquered worlds. Every awakener still alive on the street felt it, recognizing prey in the presence of apex predators.

The first general was a Shaman who carried a staff carved from humanoid bones lashed together with sinew. Dark energy pulsed around him in visible waves that distorted the air like heat shimmer, while his robes were made from flayed skin with symbols cut into his gray flesh.

The second general wielded dual axes, each weapon the size of a man’s torso with crimson Aura wrapped around the blades thick enough to see. The air around him rippled and warped from the pressure, and his armor was made from blackened bone plates.

The third general had a greatsword strapped to his back, the blade taller than Aiden with brutal Aura radiating from him in waves that cracked the pavement under his feet. His muscles were corded like steel cables while scars covered every visible inch of skin.

The fourth wielded a heavy chain with a spiked axe head attached, and the weapon dripped with Aura that left smoking marks on the ground. He was leaner than the others but moved with predatory grace, his eyes scanning the battlefield like he was selecting prey.

The Shaman spoke first. His voice carried across the street with unnatural clarity. System brackets appeared briefly in Aiden’s vision.

[Translation Active]

"These warriors are stronger than expected." The Shaman’s guttural language rendered into English automatically. "The blood here will make excellent offerings to the King."

The dual-axe general laughed. The sound was like grinding stone. "Twelve worlds we’ve conquered. Finally, one with some bite."

The chain-wielder grinned. Rows of sharpened teeth showed. "The small one with the metal beast looks fun to break."

They fanned out. Selecting targets. Dividing prey like experienced hunters.

The Shaman pointed his bone staff directly at Aiden. "This one looks strong enough to fight properly. We honor you with our attention."

Aiden’s grip tightened on his longsword. White Sword Aura flared brighter along the blade.

Callum’s breathing sped up. His knuckles were white around his sword hilt.

Number One’s targeting systems locked onto all four generals. Threat assessment flashed red across every sensor. Critical level danger.

The dual-axe general moved first.

He crossed twenty meters in a blink, both weapons swinging in a cross-slash aimed at Aiden’s torso. Aiden blocked with his longsword reinforced by Sword Aura, yet the collision sent a metallic CLANG across the street while the force drove him backward three meters. His boots tore trenches in the asphalt.

The greatsword general was already there.

His massive blade came down in an overhead chop that would split Aiden in half, but Aiden used Phantom Step and his body blurred to the side. The greatsword hit pavement where he’d been standing, and the impact CRACKED the entire section apart so that the street cratered while debris flew in all directions.

A woman running for the Safe Zone took a chunk of concrete the size of a football to the head, her skull caving in before she dropped.

A man nearby caught the shockwave, and his body broke against a brick wall twenty feet away.

The Shaman stood back from the melee and began casting, with dark energy flowing from his bone staff in streams of shadow. The magic sank into the three orc warriors, and their Aura intensified visibly as it grew brighter and more violent. The pressure increased.

The dual-axe general’s next swing was faster and sharper.

The greatsword general’s strikes hit harder, while the ground cracked deeper under his footfalls.

The chain-wielder’s movements became fluid, graceful despite his size.

The Shaman’s free hand gestured, and dark hexes manifested as small black symbols that appeared on Aiden’s chest and arms. The marks sank into his flesh, then Aiden felt his reflexes slow by a fraction while his strikes weakened slightly and his perception clouded at the edges. These were subtle effects but in a fight against Aura users every fraction mattered.

Callum tried to coordinate Number One’s fire on the Shaman. The robot’s gatling cannon spun up. BRRRRRT. Rounds streaked toward the caster.

The chain-wielder intercepted.

His weapon swung in wide horizontal arcs. Number One had to stop firing to dodge. The chain wrapped around the robot’s left arm. The spiked axe head embedded into the shoulder joint. Metal screamed. The orc YANKED with full strength.

Servos strained. Hydraulic fluid leaked from the damaged joint. The robot barely tore free by reversing its arm rotation. Armor plating was cracked. Warning lights flashed across its chassis.

Aiden fought both the dual-axe and greatsword generals simultaneously.

The dual-axe orc feinted left. Drew Aiden’s guard. Then swung right with the second weapon in a blur. Aiden parried but the axe still cut across his ribs. Blood soaked into his armor. The greatsword general thrust at Aiden’s chest without pause. Aiden deflected with Sword Aura blazing white. The collision sent a shockwave CLANG across the street. Both fighters were forced back two steps.

Aiden tried to activate Slaughter Intent. Killing pressure began to radiate outward.

The Shaman countered immediately. A dark wave disrupted Aiden’s concentration. The Intent collapsed.