The two remaining Kalians landed carefully this time, their eyes fixed on the ground beneath their feet, watching for any sign of collapse like the earlier pit traps, but the ground did not give way immediately.

Instead...

Their legs sank, not into a pit but into mud.

The surface looked normal at first glance, but the moment their weight settled, the soil softened and pulled at their feet, trapping them halfway as the thick, wet ground resisted every attempt to move freely.

They tried to step, forcing their legs up and stamping on the mud...

Pain followed.

Sharp stakes hidden beneath the mud pierced into their feet with each movement, not deep enough to immobilize instantly, but enough to slow them down and make every step costly and painful.

The more they moved, the more the hidden stakes struck them from below, both Kalians roared in frustration and pain now understanding they had not been chasing Ezra.

They had been led, every step and their movement.

Controlled.

The Kalian with the metal claws reacted first.

Its roar rose above the other as it thrust its right arm forward, the claws stretching out rapidly toward Ezra the moment he finished killing the second one.

Ezra moved.

His right leg kicked upward, lifting the axe lying on the ground, he caught it mid-air, turned and blocked.

Clank!

The five extended claws struck the axe head, sparks scattering as the force pushed against him.

The Kalian followed immediately; its left hand shot forward. The claws pierced into the muddy ground, gripping beneath the surface, then it pulled, its body lifted out of the trap, freeing itself while the other Kalian with the spear remained stuck, still struggling against the mud and hidden stakes.

The clawed Kalian landed.

Its arms drew back, both claws retracted preparing for another attack.

Ezra didn’t wait, the moment the claws pulled back...

Bang! Bang!

He fired.

The Kalian reacted quickly, slicing through the bullets with its claws, sparks flashing in the dim light as the fragments scattered.

Then...

It attacked.

Left claw thrust and right claw followed, both strikes came with force, cutting through the air like projectiles.

Ezra moved with controlled footwork.

He stepped aside, weaving one, then blocking another.

The claws struck the ground, tearing through soil and snow, leaving deep marks where they landed.

They retracted, then came again. The rhythm repeated.

Weave, block, step and shift. Ezra kept moving, then...

With enhanced strength, he threw the axe straight at the Kalian just before it fully landed from its movement.

The Kalian reacted, its left claw struck the axe mid-air, knocking it aside before it could connect.

It landed and immediately spun; its claws extended fully, both arms rotating rapidly as it turned into a moving vortex of blades, cutting through the air in a circular pattern.

Ezra didn’t retreat far.

He ran into the vortex of blades jumping plus, rolling mid-air and passed between two of the rotating claws, his body slipping through the narrow gap with precise control, the moment he landed.

He lowered his body, one hand touching the ground to stabilize himself as three claws passed over him, close enough to tear parts of his clothing and leave shallow cuts across his skin.

He pushed himself up, then moved forward, breaking through the spinning range.

His control over his center of gravity remained steady, but as he moved closer, the damage was beginning to show. Small tears spread across his coat, and thin lines of blood appeared on his arms, forehead, and legs.

He closed the distance, the Kel-Tec PMR-30 tightened in his grip.

At close range...

The Kalian retracted its right claws and swung down with force, the sharp edges cutting through the air as it aimed to split Ezra apart in one clean motion.

Ezra lowered his body at the exact moment the attack came, stepping to his right while raising the Kel-Tec PMR-30 and firing multiple shots in quick succession, each bullet aimed carefully at the Kalian’s right knee joint with precise intent.

The Kalian reacted on instinct. Its body lifted off the ground in a sharp jump, narrowly escaping the incoming bullets as they struck the grassy surface beneath where it had stood, sending bits of soil, grass and snow flying outward.

Before Ezra could reposition, the Kalian countered immediately, swinging its left claw. The blades stretched outward, extending rapidly toward him with a wide, sweeping slash meant to cut off his escape.

Ezra did not step back...

Instead, he moved forward.

He ran directly into the incoming attack, his hand already moving into his space bag as he pulled out a dagger attached to a thin steel rope. The faint light from the torches reflected along the smooth surface of the rope for a brief moment before he threw it.

The dagger flew straight into the incoming slash, wrapping tightly around two of the extended claws.

Ezra’s foot pressed firmly into the ground as he pulled, forcing the two claws together. The tension locked them in place for a brief second, halting their movement while the remaining claws swept past behind his back, missing him by a narrow margin.

The Kalian reacted quickly, drawing its claws back.

The force dragged Ezra forward with it.

At the same time, it thrust its right claw straight toward his incoming body, aiming to impale him mid-motion.

Ezra adjusted instantly.

His body spun in the air, his movement controlled as he slipped past the thrusting arm, gliding just outside its range. In that same motion, he wrapped the thin steel rope around the Kalian’s right arm as well, pulling both arms together so they interfered with each other’s movement.

He did not stop there.

His hand reached into his space bag again, pulling out more the whole thin steel rope, another dagger attached at the end. His movements were fast but controlled, his body already shifting into position before the Kalian could fully react.

He drove the dagger down.

Hard.

It pierced into the back of the Kalian’s right leg. The thin steel wires tying in place.

Blue blood spilled immediately, staining his hand as he released the grip and stepped back, his other hand already moving to his weapon.

The magazine was nearly empty.

He removed it quickly, bringing out a loaded one.

The Kalian screamed, the sound filled with both pain and anger as its muscles tightened. The steel ropes dug into its limbs, resisting its strength for a moment, but the pressure kept building.

Then...

It broke free.

The thin steel snapped under the force.

At that exact moment, Ezra slammed a new magazine into the Kel-Tec PMR-30 with a sharp click.

Both of them moved again.

The Kalian, now injured, attacked with everything it had left, its movements still fast, still dangerous, but less controlled than before.

Ezra responded by weaving through every attack.

Each swing, each thrust, each sudden movement.

He read them all.

In the Kalian’s perspective, Ezra stood right in front of it, smaller, weaker, someone who should have been easy to crush.

One clean hit would end the fight, but that hit never came.

Every attack missed, every motion was avoided with just enough movement and in between those movements...

Ezra fired.

His gun shifted direction smoothly in his hand, adjusting from one target point to another without hesitation. His grip remained steady, his finger moving with controlled rhythm on the trigger, unaffected by the repeated recoil.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets struck.

Knees, elbows, wrists, ankles.

Each shot, placed deliberately.

The Kalian’s body began to lose coordination.

Its movements slowed and its stance weakened.

It stepped back.

Again, and again.

Blue blood streamed down its body, covering its limbs and dripping onto the ground beneath it.

It looked unstable now, like something barely holding itself together.

Ezra moved forward, then jumped.

Both legs drove forward.

A clean double dropkick landed against the Kalian’s abdomen.

The impact sent it flying backward through the air, its body hit the ground hard.

At that moment...

A faint metallic sound echoed beneath it.

Then...

BOOM!!!!!

The explosion erupted from the ground where it landed, the force tearing upward as fire and debris burst outward.

Another explosion followed.

Then another.

The ground detonated in sequence, each blast hitting the same area, tearing apart the surface and everything caught within it.

The shockwaves pushed out soil, snow, and fragments of stone, filling the air before slowly settling.

When it finally stopped, only the sound of small flames crackling and sand falling back to the ground remained, blue blood poured across the battlefield like rain, pieces of the Kalian’s body were scattered across the area and its metal claws lay apart from the rest, still smoking from the heat of the explosion.

Ezra stood there, staring at the aftermath for a moment, then...

He tilted his head slightly to the left.

A spear passed by him, cutting through the air where his head had been moments before.

"What took you so long?" he said, turning toward the last Kalian, his voice calm despite the blood dripping from his forehead, arms, and leg.

The Kalian stood there, its body in a terrible state.

Blood loss was visible across its form, several needles were embedded in its arm and neck.

Blood dripped steadily from under its leg.

Its breathing was heavy, uneven.

It looked like it had already fought through multiple traps before reaching this point.

It got caught in more of my traps...

Ezra observed quietly, his eyes steady.

Snow continued to fall during the fight, settling over the battlefield little by little.

At that moment, a bright light suddenly illuminated from the front of the castle, casting a glow across the field.

Ezra glanced toward it briefly, then looked back at the Kalian.

"It really got bad luck," he said under his breath.

The Kalian’s face twitched, then it moved fast, its right hand stretched out as it called back its spear.

Ezra shifted to the right; the spear passed him.

The Kalian lunged forward immediately, its mouth opening wide as it tried to bite down on him.

Ezra reacted at the exact moment.

His hand moved into his space bag.

A black steel bottle appeared.

He opened it in one swift motion...

And poured.

The liquid splashed directly into the Kalian’s open mouth.

"KKKKKKRRRIIIIIIIIOOOOOAARRRRRR!!!!!!"

The Kalian’s scream tore through the air as it jumped back, clutching its face in agony.

"KKRIIOOAARR!"

It staggered, moving wildly as the pain spread through its mouth, its body reacting violently to the burning sensation.

The moment the Kalian got close to Ezra with its mouth wide open, aiming to bite down and finish the fight in one decisive motion, Ezra moved without hesitation. His hand slipped into his space bag and pulled out a black steel bottle container, his fingers already twisting the cap open in a swift, practiced motion.

He stepped in closer, then he poured.

The liquid—Zyphoric acid—flowed straight into the Kalian’s open mouth.

The reaction was immediate, but not explosive. Because the acid had been diluted, the effect spread slower, but no less painful. The Kalian’s mouth began to disfigure gradually, the flesh reacting to the corrosive liquid as its jaw twitched and its tongue curled uncontrollably.

Its scream came out broken and distorted.

It could no longer form a proper sound.

The Kalian staggered back, but it did not fall.

Instead, it reached its hand out drawing the spear back. It gripped its spear tightly, its fingers tightening around the shaft as its muscles tensed. Veins rose across its arms and neck, twitching under its skin as it forced its body to stabilize despite the pain.

It positioned itself again.

Ready to attack.

On Ezra’s side, he dropped the empty bottle without looking at where it fell. The sound of it hitting the ground barely registered in his mind as he reached into his space bag again, pulling out another gun along with a mask.

He moved efficiently, the Kel-Tec PMR-30 disappeared back into the space bag and the mask came up to his face.

He wore it.

Then he raised the new weapon.

Both of them stood facing each other.

The Kalian’s breathing grew heavier, rough and uneven. Saliva mixed with melted tissue dripped from its disfigured mouth, falling onto the snow-covered ground. Its palms showed visible burns where it had come into contact with the acid, the skin darkened and damaged.

Ezra wasn’t untouched either.

His arms trembled slightly from the repeated impacts he had blocked earlier, the vibrations from those hits still lingering in his muscles. Blood loss had begun to catch up with him, his clothes stained in multiple places, his breathing steady but heavier than before.

He hadn’t exhausted his Cognis, but his body had taken its share of strain.

They both knew this was the last exchange.

The wind moved quietly across the battlefield.

Snow fell between them.

Then they moved, in a flash.

At the same time.

The Kalian surged forward with everything it had left, its spear thrusting out with full force. The air parted along the path of the blade, the movement direct and overwhelming, like a projectile launched with the intent to pierce through anything in its way.

Ezra did something unexpected.

He stopped mid-way, planting his feet on the ground, raised the gun and fired.

Two needles shot out from the Taser Gun, each attached to thin steel wires. They moved just as fast as the spear, meeting it head-on.

The moment they made contact... 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Electricity erupted.

It burst out violently, spreading across the metal surface of the spear like a living thing. The current traveled instantly, running along the length of the weapon and into the Kalian’s hands before spreading through its entire body.

The Kalian froze.

Its eyes widened in shock.

BRRAK-KSH!!

The sound of electrification tore through the battlefield, sharp and continuous as the current surged through it. Its body shook violently, muscles locking as the electricity forced its nervous system into chaos.

The sound continued.

Seconds stretched.

The light flickered across the snow.

Then...

It stopped slowly.

The current faded and the needles dropped to the ground.

Ezra pressed the trigger again.

They retracted back into the Taser Gun smoothly, the thin wires pulling in as smoke drifted from the muzzle of the weapon.

The Kalian stood there.

Still.

Its body blackened in places, smoke rising from its skin.

For a moment, it twitched.

Then its legs gave out. It collapsed onto the ground.

Dead.

Ezra remained standing for a second longer, then his body gave in.

He slumped down onto the ground, sitting where he stood, his legs stretched slightly forward as he looked across the ruined battlefield.

He removed the mask slowly and tossed it aside.

His head tilted back looking up at the sky.

Silent.

Breathing in and out.

The cold air filled his lungs as the heat from his body slowly began to fade making his body vibrate from the cold.

Immediately, he reached into his space bag again and pulled out a wrapped piece of paper. He opened it carefully and took out two pills, placing them into his mouth and swallowing them without water.

Warmth began to build inside his body.

Slow at first, then spreading.

He had gotten them from Bobby after returning from Bale’s castle, when the snowfall had begun and the cold started to worsen for him. They were heat stimulants.

The wind passed over the battlefield quietly.

The snow continued to fall and just like that...

The battle of the third wave...

Finally ended for their group.