One Man

'No…! No…! No…!'

Far from the relentless carnage, a solitary humanoid form stood enveloped in an ominous black mist, silently observing as its familiars were mercilessly obliterated by an unseen, overwhelming force.

Within a mere thirty seconds, a dozen lives were extinguished. As another minute elapsed, the toll rose dramatically, with hundreds of the creature's Horrors succumbing to an unstoppable force, crushed and vanquished.

The humanoid figure shrouded in mist unleashed its full arsenal, tapping into every reserve it had meticulously stored. The resources originally intended for an impending invasion were now employed for a singular purpose, channeling all its might into the ongoing struggle.

'That grimoire!'

This Horror happened to hear a few pieces of information that the Crux of the Unseen Wonder was here at the Dreaded Swamps. 

That was it.

A decade ago, the Horror descended upon this place, its forewarnings proving accurate. The sole impediment lay in its invincibility, a barrier only breached when a human, in a fateful encounter, made contact – a scenario that unfolded a few years ago.

The only problem was that the Horror didn't know who earned it as if its mind was brainwashed by something.

The individual was ensnared in a foolish game and then disclosed themselves as a mere pawn under the influence of another.

It had a lot of downsides, but one thing became certain. The current commander of the dreaded swamps held the grimoire.

Whatever actions Oliver took to erase the true events of the expedition from everyone's memory, it became apparent that he played a pivotal role in the operation.

'That guy had mastered the way the grimoire is used.'

The Horror swiftly withdrew its troops, unwilling to incur any further losses. The toll it had suffered prior to this retreat was already substantial, realizing that losing more would render an invasion untenable.

He had to accumulate this kind of strength for another decade again.

'I can't let that happen!'

Where did things go wrong?

The humanoid mist knew he had been meticulous, always found the efficient method on his side, and merciless just to get his goal.

Nevertheless, the coveted power that the Horror aspired to possess was now wielded by an individual who proved incapable and unworthy to grapple with the profound force it harbored.

-What's wrong?

A chilly voice ran down to his head.

-Are you afraid of me?

"!"

Even though he was using his familiar's ears, since it was directed at him, which is neigh impossible since he didn't have any clue, the voice was domineering.

- I'll track you down through the depths of hell! Even if I have to crawl through my own insides, I'll find you, and I swear I'll end you with my bare hands!

But that's just what he did.

The Horror stayed silent.

He didn't know what to do next.

-You're not coming?

"…"

-Then, I'll come to you.

Beneath the shroud of black mist, the Horror's eyes widened in astonishment as Oliver disappeared instantaneously, right from the very spot the Horror itself hadn't noticed.

'What!?'

-Not here…

Splash—!

He felt his Horrors dying one by one all around the place as Oliver searched for the culprit.

-Not here either.

The most astonishing aspect was the remarkable speed at which Oliver moved, seamlessly appearing and disappearing over vast distances in the blink of an eye.

-You fucking coward, where are you?!

Splash—!

"T-this…"

Despite only a few minutes elapsing, the scenes unfolding before him had escalated into a realm of utter absurdity.

Splash—!

"…there you are,"

The black mist recoiled, and a ripple of unease crossed its form as it stepped back. Its ethereal ears caught a voice directly in front of it, distinct from the usual echoes resonating from its familiars.

"Bastard!"

Oliver swiftly clenched his hand while stretching it out towards the black mist to crush him using the dominating power he currently had.

However, his eyes widened in realization as the black mist dispersed, unveiling that the speed he possessed was identical to his own.

Swoosh—!

Oliver sensed something so fast at his side that he immediately defended using the invisible wall.

Bang—!

The humanoid fist met an invisible force as the two stared down at each other. 

Gritting his teeth, Oliver harnessed the invisible force to propel the black mist far away, then, with a subtle sway of his hand, asserted his command.

Thump—!

The humanoid mist, who barely avoided it, appeared right above the head of his familiar while feeling his insides burning in rage.

Oliver touched his bleeding arm which didn't even pause for a moment, barely clinging to the life and determination to kill the Horror mist.

If not for these driving forces, he would be already dead the instant he did these lengthy actions to subdue the Horror.

'This fucking bastard who was at fault today!'

Lowering his bloodied hand, disregarding the critical injury on his body, Oliver cracked his neck with determination before abruptly vanishing from his location.

"Come!"

The Horror called out its familiars and used them to rush at Oliver who didn't even make a difference since he was plainly invisible.

But that didn't mean the black mist fell short behind.

The Horror came to the stark realization that Oliver was struggling to acclimate to the newfound power. The toll on his body had been excessive, and his soul was beginning to fracture under the strain of the sudden surge of an unknown and formidable force.

The problem is if he adjusted really fast.

The source of the power emanated from an enigmatic deity. Oliver, in this narrative, was nothing more than a combatant assigned the duty of acquiring the grimoire. The ominous warning loomed that even if he were to grow accustomed to the power, he would be powerless to halt the impending onslaught of unimaginable force.

Meaning, he was also in trouble of using the power he wielded.

Splash—!

Horrors were either propelled or smashed into nothingness until they were merely blood juices the second they met Oliver.

Unfathomable force reduced the size of the Horror's army yet nevertheless, the creature was in glee.

'Come on, waste your strength.'

Now that he had a good look at Oliver, everything made sense.

'He dealt with the grimoire too much and too imprecisely.' 

Now, this Horror is only maintaining quite a distance, away from Oliver whose eyes are full of madness.

Seconds turned into minutes.

The relentless clashes between the Horror's familiars and Oliver's unyielding force were gradually subsiding, leaving no opportunity for Oliver to engage in another confrontation with the Horror.

The bastard was too smart.

"Kill me? Are you seriously going to do that!?" The Horror shouted, "You don't know who am I, do you?! I'm the revered Lupire and today will be your end!"

Splash—!

Dozens of monsters are being crushed in a minute as they surround Oliver, persistently charging through his invisible wall that was weakening.

"Hahahaha!"

Splash—!

"Ma'am Ariana!"

Gin violently shook his captain, who was trapped in a blank and unresponsive state. Despite the urgency of the situation, the captain could only look helplessly through his eyes at the unfolding scene.

Far away, Oliver was fighting those Horrors all along that seemed to have no end.

As a result, not a single Horror lingered in their vicinity, yet the aftermath painted a brutal picture, the landscape marred by blood and the remnants of vanquished monsters.

"Ma'am Ariana! Commander Oliver… Commander Oliver will die at this rate! Please… please just wake up and tell me what to do!"

He repeatedly did this earlier before Oliver avert the gaze of Horrors but now, he needed his reliable captain more than ever.

"Ariana!"

Finally, after some time of convincing the broken captain, Gin spotted a change in Ariana's expression.

Ariana's unfocused gaze seemed lost started to shimmer with life, and almost instantly began to tear up.

"Mandy…"

"There's no time for it!"

Gin's sullen and exhausted eyes made Ariana flinch.

"We must help the commander first! I'm begging you, please!"

"Oliver…"

Ariana redirected her focus toward the epicenter of the loudest battle, her gaze fixated on the unfolding chaos.

Far away, she could see an endless number of Horrors that seemed to be charging like a wave where Oliver was being buried underneath by it.

The way there was still no movement by him made a significant point that he was barely holding on.

Ariana slapped her cheeks before a determined look stuck to her face.

"…"

Ariana stood up from the ground and shifted her attention to where a swarm of monsters were currently located.

"Gin, I'll go first. Try to catch up,"

"Wait, you don't know yet—"

"I understand it."

Gin had a look of regret in his eyes before nodding once.

"I'll catch up. I have something to do."

Ariana nodded before rushing towards Oliver.

Watching her back receding from his view, Gin stood up from the ground before his eyes narrowed from somewhere.

It took only a few steps before reaching his destination.

Lies in his destination is a book.

The grimoire's aura was like a cat's fur that tempted everyone to caress it. A curse that even if someone knows it's dangerous, they will naturally get attracted to it.

A honey trap.

Picking up the grimoire, Gin started running towards where Oliver was.

Running away, Gin pulled his dagger out of his sleeve and tried to damage the grimoire which seemed to be as hard as diamond.

"Foolish human,"

"Because of you…"

The grimoire trembled as if it didn't like the next words he would utter as he interfered. 

"Don't blame me for anything. The human found me because it is what intended in the first place. Kekekeke, it was very amusing until it lasted."

"Shut the fuck up."

Gin carefully looked at the grimoire as he added, "When I tell you to shut up, shut up. I'm trying to think."

The grimoire abruptly ceased its speech in that very moment, yet it persisted in trembling and emanating its mysterious aura without pause.

"Kekekeke,"

And the disgusting mockery wasn't removed either.

No, it was more like it predicted how this would turn out. The grimoire assumed what Gin will do when he picked the book up.

It was right.

Gin closed his eyes and, with the dagger in his hand, cut his palm. Uttering incantations beneath his breath, he initiated a ritual.

"Beyond the edge where 'you retreat,"

He chanted its incantation.