The temporary setback had only honed Yajij's rage to a razor's edge. With a guttural roar that promised annihilation, he launched himself at the Old Man. This was no longer a battle of strategy or even a clash of titans; it was a savage, bloody brawl for survival.The Old Man met the charge, his hybrid form a blur of bestial fury and human cunning. Claws of dark energy met Yajij's own stone-like fists in a series of impacts that sent shockwaves rippling outwards, cracking the very ground beneath their feet. But the momentum had shifted. The healing ritual, as grotesque as it was, had restored Yajij to his peak, and his attacks now carried a renewed, desperate ferocity.The Old Man began to give ground. A massive swing from Yajij shattered his guard, sending him stumbling back. Another blow, aimed at his head, was only partially deflected, the force of it tearing a gash across his shoulder that leaked not blood, but a shimmering, dark energy. He was failing, his strength waning against

The Old Man, his bestial form heaving with ragged breaths, staggered back from a punishing blow. His dark, shimmering blood dripped from a dozen new gashes, and one of his arms hung at an unnatural angle.“Hazim… Black Knight…” the Old Man rasped, his voice a distorted echo of its former power. “I am sorry… I am tired. The wounds… I cannot continue much longer.”He never got to finish. Seizing on the moment of weakness, Yajij lunged. It was not a feral pounce, but a calculated, brutal tackle that drove the Old Man into the ground with the force of a meteor impact. The earth cracked beneath them.“NO!” Hazim roared, unleashing a torrent of fire. Yajij didn’t even look up. He simply exhaled a concentrated blast of dark energy that met the flames head-on, neutralizing them in a sizzling cloud of steam. The Black Knight moved in silence, his void-blade aiming for Yajij’s exposed neck.But Yajij was a whirlwind of perception and motion. His hand snapped out, not to dodge, but to catch the

The grand strategy, born from desperation and Ali's ingenuity, unfolded in a chaotic symphony of steel and fire. Yajij, for the first time in the battle, found himself completely surrounded. A sea of Knights pressed in from all sides, their war cries a unified roar meant to shake the heavens. Yet, a flicker of contemptuous understanding quickly replaced any initial surprise in his ancient eyes.He saw the truth. They were not all engaging him. Most were hurling their swords like javelins, firing rockets from a distance, creating a dizzying, multi-directional storm of projectiles. It was a nuisance, a childish trick."Fools!" Yajij's voice boomed, thick with derision. "You think this petty distraction can hinder me?" He inhaled, his chest swelling to an impossible size, and then expelled a hurricane-force blast of air. The shockwave was physical, visible. Knights were lifted from their feet and thrown backward like dolls, their formation shattered in an instant. The incoming rockets we

Time itself seemed to freeze on the ravaged battlefield. A profound, ringing silence descended, so absolute it was deafening. Every knight, from the mightiest to the most wounded, stood transfixed, their eyes locked on the sight of Yajij's severed head settling on the scorched earth. The collective breath of the army was held in a unified, suspended moment of disbelief. They watched, waiting, as the headless body trembled violently.Just as the colossal corpse began to topple forward, aiming to reconnect with its fallen head, a blur of motion intercepted it. Labib, having shed his human guise, stood revealed in his full, terrifying Ghoul form—a creature of sharp angles, tall figure, and claws like polished obsidian. With a swift, merciless sweep of his razor-sharp claws he cleaved the descending body cleanly in two, preventing any chance of regeneration or dark ritual.The bisected form of Yajij did not bleed. Instead, it began to dissolve, crumbling from the edges inward into a fine

The celebratory roar of the city was a distant background sound here, on the tenth floor of Askalan General Hospital. The four of them, Hadi, Hazim, Haitham, and Ali—walked down the corridor, their footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor. They had come here first, before the parades, before the debriefs. This was the only victory that truly mattered.Hadi pushed open the door to the first room. Laith, his arm in a sling and his face a mosaic of purple bruises, looked up from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed, trying to pull a shirt on with one hand."Trying to escape already?" Haitham grunted, a faint, weary smile touching his lips.Laith winced as he moved his shoulder. "The nurses are worse than the Ghouls. They won't even let me have coffee." He looked at the four of them, his eyes, though tired, were clear. "I saw the feeds. I saw… all of it." His gaze settled on Ali. "You were brilliant."Ali shuffled his feet, looking down at the clean floor. His own scars, hidden bene