"Time to move out. We do not have time to waste. Those bastards are about to die due to the arrays that the clan leader has placed," a red-haired youth said as he directed a small army of youths like him toward a point near the beaches of the island. Unlike the main army, this small group wore silver robes that shimmered faintly under the light, clearly of high quality.
"Whoever kills more gets the whole month to himself, and each of us will spoil him for that month. The more you kill, the higher your chances," the youth added.
On hearing this, none of them felt aggrieved. Their blood boiled with vigor as their eyes shone with excitement.
Seeing this, the young man wore a satisfied smile.
"Whoever kills the least contributes the most, so be careful not to be the last," he added as he charged forward, holding a silver blade in one hand and a shield in the other.
What they were targeting was a group of fools who thought they could break the barrier shield from the ocean. They had not expected traps in the first place. The small army was already trapped within a bewildering array, like chickens waiting for slaughter.
Just as the group advanced to finish them off, the golden wave passed by them. The red-haired man frowned slightly, then shook his head and continued forward. To them, only the battle ahead mattered.
"What was that just now," someone muttered behind him, their voice uncertain but not yet alarmed.
"Does not matter, continue moving forward," the red-haired youth answered without breaking stride.
And they continued.
As they moved deeper into the array field, the structure revealed itself more clearly.
Figures appeared within the distortion, shapes that had been hidden until that moment.
Trapped enemies, already waiting in position.
The red-haired youth raised his blade without hesitation.
"Attack immediately and leave no one alive," he ordered as he pushed forward first.
The sword came down with clean intent.
Just as he was about to strike, something impossible happened. The trapped enemy blocked his sword. And, to make matters worse, he launched a counterattack toward the young man.
Puchi.
The sword went through the young man like butter, piercing his chest and killing him instantly.
He did not even have time to react, his eyes bulging in shock as the situation unfolded. Moments later, he fell with a heavy thud.
This scene played out across the ocean, and moments later, all the young men following the red-haired youth were dead.
"Poor kids," a man near a portal said quietly as he observed the scene from a distance, his tone carrying no surprise.
"They never understood what hit them," he added before turning his attention away from the coastline.
"It seems that it is working. Morgan really managed to pull it off." he said as he stepped back toward the portal and disappeared into it.
Across the coastline, the same pattern began repeating in different places.
This kind of situation spread across the island, with the arrays being the first to fail.
Meanwhile, back at Vexer's manor, Three felt a tremor run through the structure. The lights began to flicker.
"What is happening?" Three thought as he looked toward his mother, hoping for answers, only to see the same disturbed expression on her face.
Khate, on the other hand, frowned deeply. She already knew what was happening. The arrays were failing.
"How could this happen," she thought as a black flag materialized in her hand. Through it, she gained a sense of connection with the arrays, allowing her to communicate with them.
Moments later, she received feedback. The arrays were dying, and there was no way to restore them.
Amidst the chaos, only a few Starborns had died, but their deaths carried a new realization. They were falling too easily. Still, the situation was becoming overwhelming.
For every soldier that fell, five more replaced him on the enemy side, while the Starborns had no means of replenishing themselves.
Before the attack began, Sigil had reached out to a few names he had once considered reliable. People he had fought beside, people who had once owed him more than a polite memory. The responses had come back carefully worded, respectful even, each one refusing without actually saying the word.
Some cited distance. Others cited timing. A few simply reminded him that they still valued the Starborn clan… just not enough to stand beside it now.
None of them closed their doors completely. That was the worst part. Every refusal came wrapped in future possibility, as if hesitation could be mistaken for loyalty.
Sigil understood what it meant without needing it spelled out.
Standing alone was not a dramatic choice. It was the only remaining shape his situation allowed. A pillar did not ask for support. It either held, or it broke.
And then Morgan moved.
The golden light spread across the battlefield, quiet at first, almost gentle in its arrival. It did not feel like an attack at the beginning. It felt like something settling into place.
Sigil felt it almost immediately as his breathing slowed slightly and his internal energy flow became uneven in a way that was difficult to ignore.
Then he noticed that the effect was stronger around his position than anywhere else on the battlefield.
He turned his head slightly while narrowing his focus toward the source of the change.
"…toward me?"
"Is this because he used my blood?" he thought, attention narrowing across the battlefield as he traced the spread of the effect.
Across the distance, Morgan stood exactly where he had been since the beginning. No movement. No change in posture. Watching as if the entire battlefield was already a solved equation playing itself out.
Sigil's hand curled slightly.
Something about this was not just suppression.
It was recognition.
His voice came out low.
"What did you do to my clan?"