Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

Even as Axel shouted, the creatures lunged. The two tallest transformed mid-air — one cloaked in flame, his skin blackened and cracking like burning coal; the other covered head to toe in barbed spikes, even his eyes bulging grotesquely from their sockets.

They moved faster than thought.

Before anyone could fully process what was happening, the spiked demon slammed into Millers.

“Bang!”

Millers was thrown across the yard, impaled as though crushed by a thousand thorns. Blood burst from his lips as a torrent of flame from the charcoal demon engulfed him.

“Goddammit—my armor needs repairs again!” he coughed, his words half fury, half despair.

Vince reacted instantly, his blade sweeping in a tight arc. Flames scattered like shattered glass, and in a single flash, his sword punched through the charcoal demon’s skull.

“This is a Shikigami—a Stormhold construct!” Charles barked, his voice sharp. “Valerie still had the Original Instruments on her!”

Even weakened, Valerie’s cache of relics was staggering — every artifact radiating power, each one at least B-rank.

Before anyone could catch their breath, the smallest girl — the one in the blood-red dress — lifted her arms. Her skin dripped crimson, her eyes hollow.

A torrent of bloody rain burst from the sky, pouring over the entire courtyard.

Rosaline snarled. “I knew that ‘poor orphan’ act was bullshit.” She stomped once, and a wave of icy Force surged outward.

A massive ice barrier formed overhead, catching the rain before it touched them. The impact hissed like acid. The ice sizzled and cracked, corroding faster than she could reinforce it. Rosaline’s hair whipped wildly as she pushed harder, freezing the rain midair before flinging it back toward the red-dressed specter.

The frozen shards impaled the blood ghost, tearing her form apart in a violent burst of crimson mist.

Kaia and Phoenix were already locked in combat with two more of the twisted children. Their limbs jerked at unnatural angles, their pale faces twitching in pain and madness.

“Ah! This is disgusting! I don’t wanna fight this!” Kaia screamed, panic in her voice.

Phoenix gritted his teeth. His thick, stone-like skin split under claw and fang, blood spilling down his arms — but he held the line. Kaia wasn’t so lucky; crimson gashes crisscrossed her body, and she was already faltering.

“Kaia, move!”

Charles’ eyes glowed briefly. With a pulse of psychic energy, the demon chasing Kaia exploded — its head rupturing like a smashed melon.

But the body didn’t stop. Its twisted limbs scuttled forward, dragging itself like a spider across the dirt, headless but still alive.

“Help me!” Kaia screamed.

The battlefield had descended into chaos. Finnegan charged forward to assist — only for a withered hand to burst from the ground, gripping his ankle. The flesh was warped and blackened, the fingers bending backward like broken branches.

The instant it touched him, green smoke curled up from his leg, burning through the fabric of his pants.

Rosaline fired an ice arrow, Vince’s sword strike following — both hitting their mark — but the grotesque hand simply vanished underground.

“It’s burrowing!” Rosaline snapped. “Stay together!”

She slammed her palm to the ground, releasing another surge of Force. A blue ice field spread beneath their feet, sealing the earth in a glacial layer.

“Ahhh!” Kaia’s cry rang out again — the crawling Shikigami had reached her, hammering the ice beneath her feet.

“Kaia, stop screaming and fight!” Rosaline shouted. Her patience was wearing thin. The mental fatigue from Valerie’s dream was dragging on all of them, and their stamina was running dry.

No one had expected Valerie — a Peak Level Five Awakener — to be this damn difficult to kill.

Vince stretched his senses, his mental energy combing the area for the creature beneath them.

Then the spiked demon let out a hideous screech and lunged again, rolling like a ball of blades.

“Danger—!” Phoenix yelled, seeing it barreling straight toward Vince and Rosaline. He threw himself forward, desperate to block it.

“Phoenix, don’t—!” Vince shouted.

They’d seen what that thing could do — one hit could shred a man to ribbons.

But before Phoenix could collide, a blur moved past him.

“I’ve got it!” Axel roared.

He slammed into the creature head-on. The spikes tore into him, ripping deep wounds across his chest and arms. Blood sprayed — but Axel didn’t let go.

The demon thrashed violently, impaling him again and again, yet he only held tighter, forcing the creature still.

“Abundant! Explosive Energy!”

Axel’s two awakened abilities ignited at once. His wounds sealed almost as fast as they opened, his body glowing faintly with raw vitality.

“This kid’s built like a tank,” Charles muttered, half in awe.

Vince didn’t waste the opening. His sword flashed down in a clean arc, splitting the spiked demon clean through the middle.

“Forget the rest,” Rosaline hissed, her breath ragged. “Kill Valerie first.”

She raised her hand, and a barrage of ice arrows erupted from her palm, whistling through the air.

They struck true — pinning Valerie’s collapsing body to the floor just as she tried to flee back into the ruined home.

Charles’ mental sweep finally locked onto the source. “There!” he shouted.

Vince didn’t hesitate—his blade sliced through the ground in one brutal swing.

The earth split open, and a massive doll, stitched together with strips of fabric and a grotesque human hand, collapsed in two. Its blood-red eyes flickered once before fading to dull gray.

“Damn… just a little more,” Valerie muttered weakly, dragging herself toward the old radio on the table.

“Save it. Go to hell,” Rosaline said flatly.

She flicked her wrist, and a volley of ice arrows tore through Valerie’s chest and skull.

The sound of shattering frost filled the silence—and then, nothing.

Everything went still.

The team stood there gasping, every muscle trembling from exhaustion.

“Jesus Christ,” Millers panted, peeling off his battered armor with a grimace. “She was just a Level Five Awakener? Then why the hell was she this hard to kill?”

Vince and Rosaline didn’t answer right away. Both wore the same hollow, shell-shocked expression.

They had assumed their squad’s combined strength could take down even a Level Six Awakener. But this fight had shredded that confidence to pieces.

Their mental reserves had already been torn apart by the dream incursion—and this battle against Valerie’s summoned Shikigami had drained the last of their Force.

Just surviving her was an achievement in itself.

“Don’t beat yourselves up,” Charles said, voice hoarse. “She was overloaded with Original Instruments. I’ve never seen anyone carry that many B-rank relics at once.”

He looked utterly spent. The psychic exertion of pulling everyone from Valerie’s dreamscape had already drained him to the edge. Then he’d blown apart a Shikigami’s head and helped Vince pinpoint the buried one.

Now, deep lines cut across his face. “The important thing is—we won. And turning in this many Instruments will rack up serious military credit.”

The others exhaled, letting the tension bleed out of them.

From Charles’ explanation, they learned the truth: the Shikigami Valerie had unleashed wasn’t one of her innate powers—it was an Original Instrument known as a Shikigami Order.

“In addition to that,” Charles continued, “she was using a Class B relic that amplifies spiritual control. Without it, there’s no way she could’ve maintained command over so many high-tier Shikigami at once.”

Hearing that, the group finally allowed themselves a moment of relief.

Vince pulled out his communicator, its faint light flickering in the smoky air. “Sean, we’re done here.”

Finnegan’s voice came through, heavy with fatigue. “Vince… I—I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

Finnegan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Earlier, he’d tried to charge into the fight, thinking it was his time to prove himself—but Valerie’s first counterattack had nearly crippled him.

He had to face the truth: years of city life had softened him. He wasn’t on the Whisper Syndicate’s level anymore.

“Mr. Finnegan, you did your best,” Phoenix said gently.

That only made Finnegan sigh deeper. “Where’s Team Embercrag? They should’ve shown up by now.”

Several minutes had passed since Valerie’s death, yet Team Embercrag hadn’t made contact.