MORPHORCE-Chapter 40 - 39: The First Gate Raid (4)

Afraan launched wind blades one after another.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

"Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to kill them?" Afraan growled, desperation edging into his voice. "Just die already!"

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

But no matter how many times he destroyed them, the monsters kept reviving.

And the distance between them kept closing.

The first monster roared and leapt toward Afraan, lunging with massive jaws.

Afraan barely dodged to the side, but another monster rushed in from his right, aiming for his arm.

Afraan tried to evade, but couldn’t move fast enough.

The monster’s teeth tore into his arm.

"Argh!" Pain shot through his right arm.

But he had no time to rest. The remaining four monsters were already in front of him, attacking together.

"Grrrrrrrrr!"

"Grrrrrrrrr!"

They lunged at him.

Afraan thrust his palm forward.

The air in front of him compressed violently—

Boom!

The shockwave didn’t just surge outward. The recoil slammed into Afraan’s body, throwing him backward in a controlled slide, while the four monsters were crushed by the blast.

But it didn’t take long for them to revive once again.

Suddenly, Afraan noticed something. One of the monsters hadn’t revived.

His eyes widened. He had actually killed one of them. No matter how many times he had destroyed them before, they always regenerated. But this time... one of them didn’t come back.

His mind raced.

’Did I really kill it? Or did it hide itself?’

The remaining five monsters gave him no time to think. They continued their assault, forcing Afraan to dodge.

’No... It didn’t hide.’

If it had, it would’ve ambushed him by now from a blind spot or attacked from behind.

’So I really killed it this time. But how?’

’How did I do it? Is there a limit to how many times they can revive?’

Afraan dodged once more and fired another wind blade.

Whooom!

The attack destroyed the monsters instantly. But just like before, all of them revived and launched another assault.

As expected... it seemed they could revive an unlimited number of times.

’Then what is it? How the hell did I kill that one? What did I miss?’

There had to be something. Some weakness. A critical part of their bodies.

While dodging the monsters’ attacks, Afraan’s gaze suddenly locked onto their chests.

Yeah—there was something glowing there.

A thought flashed through his mind.

’Could it be...?’

He didn’t waste a second.

Afraan shot forward at blinding speed, wind gathering around his hand. When it finished forming, his hand had turned into a blade.

In the blink of an eye, Afraan slashed straight through the chest of one of the monsters.

The instant Afraan’s wind-forged blade cleaved through the monster’s chest—

KRRSSSH!

The glowing core shattered like fragile glass.

For a split second, the shadow-beast froze.

Then—

FWOOO—

Its body dissolved into nothingness, scattering into the air like smoke caught in a violent gust.

The remaining four monsters halted for a fraction of a second.

Then they moved.

All at once.

“GRRRRAAAAAH!”

They closed in from every direction—front, back, left, right—claws tearing through the crimson-lit air, jaws snapping hungrily.

Afraan’s eyes sharpened.

And the monster he destroyed—

did not revive.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“...I see,” he murmured. “So that’s how it is.”

The wind around him stirred.

No—

It roared.

“Let’s end this,” Afraan said quietly. “Here and now.”

The monsters lunged.

But in the very next instant—

Afraan vanished.

BOOM!

The ground cratered where he had stood, the shockwave ripping outward as compressed wind detonated beneath his feet.

A blur streaked through the battlefield.

Too fast to follow.

SHRAAASH!

The first monster’s chest split—core shattered.

CRACK!

The creature disintegrated mid-lunge.

Before the echoes faded—

WHOOSH—SHRAAASH!

Another slash.

Another shattered core.

Another monster erased.

The remaining two barely had time to react.

Afraan appeared between them, the wind screaming like a living thing.

SHRRRKK!

One core shattered.

KRRSSHH!

The last one broke apart an instant later.

Silence fell.

The forest stood still once more.

Afraan slowed, the wind dispersing around him as he straightened.

“Huuuh...” He exhaled heavily, chest rising and falling.

He lifted his gaze toward the two crimson moons hanging ominously in the sky.

“At last...” he muttered.

“...I killed them all.”

***

Somewhere else within the gate—

Deep inside the forest, within an ancient tomb, a figure sat upon a throne.

He wore armor shaped like that of a knight. One leg was crossed over the other, his right elbow resting casually on the arm of the throne, his head supported by his hand. His eyes glimmered with a faint purple light.

His very presence felt like an anomaly.

Then, a faint smile tugged at his lips. A vile smile—the kind that sent chills down the spine.

“Tha ve sae...”

His voice itself sounded unnatural—something that could freeze the listener the moment it was heard.

“Ketha vel roo...”

He paused, fingers drumming once against the throne’s armrest.

"...Sael."

Author’s Note:

[Written on December 31st, 8:00 PM]

Happy New Year, everyone!

As this year comes to an end, I just want to say thank you—from the bottom of my heart—to everyone who’s been reading, supporting, and sticking with this story. Whether you found it early, joined halfway, or just started recently, I’m genuinely grateful.

This story and its characters mean a lot to me, and I’ll keep doing my best to make the journey worth it for you in the year ahead.

I hope the new year brings you good health, peace, and moments that make you smile.

Let’s step into the next year together.

Happy New Year!

— MASKO