Eri was familiar enough with the concept of a fighting retreat. Elen had drilled it into his head well enough.

  Instead of breaking and running, the retreating force uses organised resistance — skirmishing, delaying actions, ambushes, or defensive lines — to slow the enemy’s advance and protect their own allies until they can reach a stronger position, regroup, or escape entirely.

  Even when fighting alone, Eri had used the concept before to great effect. Setting traps, using explosives, and leveraging his superior speed to skirmish the foe as he drew them into safer grounds and prevented them from swarming him with superior numbers.

  The problem with a fighting retreat, however, was that it required safer grounds to retreat to.

  When faced with opposition both front and back, the battle could no longer be called a retreat; it was a pincer.

  And a massacre usually followed.

  “There are in front of us, too!” Bori screamed shrilly.

  “I fucking noticed!” Julie snarled. “Clear the lane! FIRING!”

  [Artillery Archer, Second Form: Sonic-tearing Arrow]

  A rippling blast tore through the tightly packed swarm of lesser demons before them. Flesh and limbs were ripped apart, and a parting breach in their formation was created.

  Bori and Joarris charged forward, sword and shield blazing as they hacked apart the surviving monsters to allow their comrades through. The group kept running, for to stop was to mean certain death.

  Behind them, the roar of greater demons closed in, their fury only held at bay by the herculean efforts of one lone pyromaniac.

  Eri panted for breath as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, dancing around the countless slithering appendages of snarling teeth. From his hands came explosives of all kinds: satchel charges, dice grenades, firecrackers, and more.

  His ears had gone half-deaf from the countless explosions he had used to lay waste to the incoming monsters, but it only ever slowed down, not killed. Two more King Hydras had joined the fray, leading to a total of five Gold-Core Demons chasing down the group.

  Joarris at least had enough sense to use the tight corridors and labyrinthine layout of the port to their advantage. Had the group been chased through open ground, they would have been caught up by the King Hydras already.

  As it was, the tighter space meant that the enormous Hydras had to squeeze and destroy their way through, slowing them down. It also allowed Eri to maximise the effectiveness of his explosives.

  Another satchel charge detonated, causing a side structure to collapse onto the slithering beasts. A cluster of incendiary bombs and oil pots set the rubble ablaze, further hindering the demons’ advance through the narrowed chokepoint.

  That should buy them half a minute. The grounds up ahead surrounding the pumping station were wide open, and they needed as much time as they could get.

  Eri turned and felt his heart sink when he saw that the party’s progress was halted. A pair of Marrowcrabs was blocking the way. He tiredly cursed and rushed to them.

  “Can your team take out a Silver-Core in under fifteen seconds?” he hurriedly asked Joarris, who was leading the battle.

  The man grimaced. “If it’s weak and slow, maybe.”

  Eri wasted no time pulling out his deadlier arsenal. From his tiny inventory pouch came a mass rack of three crude but terrifying-looking weapons: iron tubes stuffed with foul-smelling incendiary chemicals, bound tightly with thin metal to a wooden shaft fixed with propellant at its rear.

  The boy used [Enduring Firefist] to ignite the bottom end of the weapon, lighting up the fuse. A second later, the three rockets violently shot through the air, shrieking like blazing dragons as they corkscrewed widely towards their target.

  The lead Marrowcrab bore the brunt of the explosion. All three explosive missiles struck it head-on, letting loose a spray of molten destruction as the warheads detonated with groundshaking impact.

  The chemical within blazed with white flames, raining all over the Crab Demon. The liquid did not behave like oil or flowing water; instead, it stuck like glue to the demon’s form and bored deep holes into its bone armour. Soon, the screaming creature was perforated through with a dozen smoking holes, the superheated chemical feasting on the liquified flesh within.

  “That should be slow enough,” Eri stated, ignoring the horrified looks of the others as he turned to engage the other Marrowcrab.

  Even as he raised his daggers, the boy could feel his body faltering. He was fatigued beyond his limits, though he refused to show it in his expression. His arms were lead weights. His leg muscles were locking up.

  Still, Eri pushed on. There was no other way. To stop would mean death. He just needed to hold out a little longer. All they had to do was reach the pumping station, and then…

  And then what? Would the structure even be stable enough to protect them from multiple Gold-Core Demons?

  But there was no other place they could go. Eri gritted his teeth and pushed such thoughts from his mind.

  His daggers aimed for the Marrowcrab’s joints, coming dangerously close to its pincer as he risked instant death to slay the foe even just a second faster. Steel slashed hard against its legs, some strikes faltering as Eri’s arms just gave out before the dagger could cut cleanly through. He rolled, ducked, and leapt over the aquatic leviathan’s retaliation, at long last finally causing the demon to topple to one side as he crippled all of its left legs.

  Eri jumped upon its snapping pincer to deliver the final blow, but sheer exhaustion finally caught up to him, and when he drew upon his Core for power, it sputtered.

  Eri’s dagger slipped from numbed hands as he blacked out. His body flopped against the Marrowcrab’s head and fell to the ground.

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  The Crab Demon lifted its claw and brought it hurtling downwards, intent on crushing the boy to paste.

  The grinding impact of claw against steel jolted Eri awake. He looked up and saw Joarris standing over him with his shield raised, blocking the attack.

  “Get up!” The man roared. The Crab Demon lifted its claws and smashed them down again, causing Joarris’s knees to buckle. “Run!”

  Eri shuddered violently, pulling a heavy dagger from his pouch and lighting the thin fuse attached to its side. “Just… a second…”

  The boy gathered his strength and forced his arm to motion, throwing the dagger straight for the soft tissue between the Marrowcrab’s eyestalk. At this range and with the monster crippled, he could not miss.

  The heavy knife struck true against the foe, and a second later, it detonated, raining a shower of splattered crab brain over the two.

  Joarris threw his shield aside and hastily pulled Eri out of the way in time before the corpse of the hulking behemoth could crush them.

  “Goddess be damned, how many bombs have you tucked away on you, Eri?” Joarris cursed as he kept dragging him, his movements frantic.

  “I don’t know.” Eri’s voice was slurred. He could barely keep his eyes open. “How many slices of bread have you eaten in your life?”

  A distant part of his brain released that the ground was shaking.

  “That doesn’t even make any sense,” Joarris hissed as he pulled the boy under shelter. The man turned to someone else. “Shut the doors!”

  There was the sound of something heavy being pulled. The rumbling outside was getting closer.

  “This won’t hold them!” Eri heard Julie shout, her voice shrill with panic.

  “There’s nowhere left to run!” Bori shouted. “We’re trapped!”

  Joarris swore. “Everyone, mana check!”

  “I’m out!” “Tank’s dry, Boss!” “I’m empty.”

  Negative replies all around. Even in his half-wavering state, Eri could sense their despair:

  That sinking realisation that they were all about to die.

  “It’s been good knowing you boys,” Alvine said, voice oddly calm. “Julie, sorry to spring this on you at the last minute, but I’ve always liked you.”

  “Huh? U-um, thanks, I like you too—”

  “No, I mean, like-like.”

  “W-what?” Bori exclaimed. “But you were always calling her a dirty peasant and acting like a total bitch to her!”

  “Actually, that would explain so many things,” Raharim giggled, his voice too high from distress. “Like why she kept rejecting those courtship offers from noble sons. You have really shitty timing, Al.”

  “All of you, focus!” Joarris’s commanding voice was swallowed by the roar of incoming demons. “I will buy you an opening! When you see it, grab Eri and run!”

  “Give it up, Bossman. This is the end—”

  “IT DOESN’T END UNTIL I SAY IT DOES!” Joarris roared, defiant. “Get ready! On three, you run! One, two—”

  Eri stood up.

  The boy shakily grabbed Joarris’s broad shoulders and pulled him back.

  The leader turned to him, eyes wide. “Idiot! You need to stay down, or—”

  “Joarris.”

  Eri’s voice stopped Joarris’s words cold. That tone sent a shiver down his spine.

  There was an inexplicable quality in the young boy’s purple gaze. It blocked out everything else, even the demonic howls of monsters that were seconds away from reaching the gates.

  “Make sure everyone stays out of the way.”

  Eri walked forth. Joarris didn’t stop him.

  The boy breathed out, weak and trembling. His legs were stiff like stone. His senses were numb. He was so tired. He wanted to lie down and sleep forever.

  With shaking fingers, Eri pulled out an ampoule and injected its contents into his vein.

  The world was cold, distant, and bellowing with hateful life.

  Enemies at my gates, once more.

  That was fine. He would just do what he had always done when the heroes came to his castle doors.

  Burn them all.

  “Boil, my blood.”

  Heat and agony. The world was cold no longer. Fire consumed all, even his flesh.

  Sleep would wait. He could rest in the ashes once the killing was done.

  Erizen drew blood-hued daggers from his wrist and charged.

  ~~~~~~

  Optional Except

  [System Tutorial: Hollowfang Artes]

  The Hollowfang Artes are a secret school of magic taught among the Beastmen tribes who live within the corrupted rainforests of the fercund South. Swift and powerful, their techniques excel in ambush and assassination, favouring speed and sudden strikes over prolonged battles. Practitioners channel their mana into short bursts of power, making them lethal in surprise attacks but ill-suited for endurance fights.

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s First Form: Tigerclaw Assassination]

  Unlock at Dagger Proficiency: Student

  Effects: Drastically increases Sneak Attack Critical damage for the first round of combat. (+100% DMG per Tier in Dagger Proficiency)

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s Second Form: Rampage of the Feral]

  Unlock at Dagger Proficiency: Novice

  Effects: Temporarily boosts strength, speed, and dexterity. (+15% in Relevant Attribute per Tier in Dagger Proficiency; +5 seconds in duration per Tier in Dagger Proficiency)

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s Third Form: Two-Step Kill]

  Unlock at Dagger Proficiency: Adept

  Effects: Two-phase attack. Teleports to the target and forces them to perform a Willpower Check. If they fail, their next attack misses, and the user teleports behind them, allowing for a free Sneak Attack Critical. (Willpower Check Difficulty increases per Tier in Dagger Proficiency)

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s Fourth Form: Life-Emptying Crucible]

  Unlock at Dagger Proficiency: Expert

  Effects: A powerful, single-strike attack that drains a lot of mana. The slash will cut apart just about anything, but leaves the user exhausted afterwards. (+200% DMG per Tier in Dagger Proficiency)

  ~~~~~~

  Optional Excerpt

  [System Tutorial: Ascetic Fire Monks Artes]

  Hailing from the far east, the practitioners of this unforgiving school of magic train within a monastery built atop an active volcano. Despite their precarious location, their Sect has never once been destroyed by the countless eruptions over the last ten centuries. Wedding discipline to destruction, their unarmed techniques rely on their bodies, hardening fists and limbs with volcanic mana until every blow burns like molten rock. Their style emphasises endurance and relentless pressure; to build strength like a simmering crater before erupting in devastating bursts.

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ First Form: Enduring Firefist]

  Unlock at Unarmed Proficiency: Student

  Effects: Increase Unarmed DMG. Fire Element added to Unarmed DMG. Allows barefist to deflect bladed weapons. (+15% Unarmed DMG per Tier in Unarmed Proficiency)

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ Second Form: Rippling Heat]

  Unlock at Unarmed Proficiency: Novice

  Effects: Emits superheated seismic tremors from the user’s palm. Requires touch upon the target, but the attack bypasses conventional defences. (+25% Fire DMG per Tier in Unarmed Proficiency)

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ Third Form: Explosive Stinger]

  Unlock at Unarmed Proficiency: Adept

  Effects: Manifests a blazing stinger protruding from the user’s wrist. It can be used as a weapon or launched as a projectile. If launched, the stinger will explode violently after half a second. The explosion will not harm the user. (+75% Fire DMG per Tier in Unarmed Proficiency)