Chapter 411: The Beaststorm

Noctis surged forward through the clearing, each powerful stride crushing snow beneath his paws. Sophia clung tightly to his back, her short swords strapped at her sides, eyes wide as she scanned the battlefield. Her gaze swept over the chaos, searching for any sign of Ronan and the others who had gone into Nirvana.

The clearing was familiar, exactly like the one she had seen.

Snow sprayed from crashing feet and claws, the shriek of beasts ringing sharp against the icy wind.

It didn’t take her long to spot them, though she saw Sam first. She was with Bianca and Joren, and they were locked in a deadly ballet of steel and muscle, fending off tidebreakers and mirlurkers. Snow and ice splintered around them as limbs struck, claws tore, and the ground shivered with the sheer force of the monstrous strikes.

Sophia knew the tidebreakers. She had seen them and even fought them before, but she had never seen a mirelurker. She knew they were mirelurkers, though, because of how they attacked from beneath the surface.

Noctis’s ears twitched, nostrils flaring as the wind carried the scents of dozens of monsters converging in the clearing. It was as if the battlefield itself had tuned in on Sophia and him. A sudden tremor of the snow beneath them — a mirelurker erupting — jolted Sophia. Limbs tore upward from the snow, attempting to drag Noctis under the frozen earth.

Without a pause, Noctis twisted sharply mid-stride, fangs snapping into the limb. Bone crushed under his bite, tendons snapping like thread. He dragged the mirelurker free from the ground, where it loved to sneak on people, fangs finding its skull next, and with a brutal snap, its head was wrenched from its body. Snow sprayed red as the monster collapsed into the snow. Sophia inhaled sharply, awed, yet terrified at the raw power she had just witnessed.

She knew Noctis was strong, if not from how he fought, then from how huge he was. She had seen him fight before, but it wasn’t as intense as this. It was like he was stronger.

A Skylur charged at them next — massive and white-furred, jagged teeth gleaming in the dim light, jaws gaping wide. It lunged toward them with predatory precision. Noctis growled low, a deep, guttural sound that shook the snow around them. He barreled forward, Sophia holding tight, teeth bared, and in one devastating bite, he dislodged the Skylur’s head from its neck. The beast’s scream pierced the wind, a hollow echo that faded as it collapsed into the snow.

Sophia’s eyes were wide, unblinking. Again, she was shocked.

She patted Noctis. "Apart from being more handsome, you may even be stronger than Orion."

Noctis made an appreciative sound as Sophia’s lips curled in a smile.

But the battle was far from over. Five more Skylurs, their growls resonating with fury, surged forward, eyes locked on Sophia and Noctis.

Sophia wasn’t the least bit surprised at that. The Skylurs moved in packs after all, and she suspected from their reaction that Noctis had just killed the leader of their pack.

Noctis snarled, muscles rippling under his snowy pelt. He lunged, fangs meeting flesh, and sank them into the leg of the nearest Skylur, tearing it free from its footing. Another lunged from behind, jaws snapping for Sophia, but she reacted with lightning speed.

She threw one of her daggers immediately, and it embedded itself in the Skylur’s eye. Its howl of pain cut through the roar of battle. Sophia picked up her shortswords and buried them on either side of the neck of the Skylur.

Another one lunged, teeth glinting, claws slashing toward her. She leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the strike, and felt Noctis turn beneath her. He rotated mid-step, powerful jaws clamping down on another threat, and tore mercilessly, finishing the beast before it could recover.

The battlefield seemed to bend around them. Noctis and Sophia moved as one — predator and rider, sinew and steel in harmony. Yet the chaos only escalated. The Trihydra that had tried to attack Ronan hissed in fury, twisting its massive coils and redirecting toward Sophia. Its three heads lashed independently, venom dripping, eyes burning with malevolence.

Ronan observed from where he was, frozen for a heartbeat. His grip tightened on Darius’s discarded sword. He couldn’t allow the Trihydra to overwhelm them. Shifting instantly, he bounded toward the approaching serpentine threat, determination etched in every movement, forging a path toward his friend and Sophia.

Meanwhile, Noctis’s ferocity intensified. He barreled into another Skylur, snapping, biting, and tearing at exposed joints with precision. Sophia, still clinging to his back, drew her shortswords with blinding speed, cutting into eyes, necks, and soft tissue where she could, each strike deliberate and devastating.

The Skylurs were relentless. One reared high, claws slashing down. Noctis sidestepped, twisting midair and clamping his jaws onto its shoulder, shaking violently. Sophia used the movement to thrust a sword directly into its eye, and with a feral roar, Noctis tore its head clean from its body.

But even as they took that pack down, more approached them. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Orion took over mid-stride, Noctis’s strength channeled through him with lethal accuracy. He struck with fists, massive and precise, each blow sending the Skylur staggering. Sophia moved as if they were an extension of one another. Her blade sliced the second beast’s throat, the action perfectly timed with Orion’s downward strike to the one in front. Together, they were a whirlwind of destruction.

One Skylur lunged from behind, trying to attack Sophia, who turned to avoid it. Orion spun, catching Sophia mid-turn, and they countered instantly. She drove both swords into the creature’s flanks while Orion’s blade drove through the chest of the other one that had tried to attack him from the front. The two beasts collapsed, a tangle of fur and blood.

Everyone stared in shock as they watched them. It was like Sophia was a different person with Orion. She was stronger and more powerful.

Ronan, too, was surprised. It was like Orion was even more powerful, and he wondered if that had anything to do with the bond Orion shared with Sophia.

But the battle had a cruel rhythm. Their dominance only seemed to infuriate the remaining monsters. The Skylurs were done with their attacks, but now the other beasts were even more alert.