General Sentinel

"Don't blame yourself… don't blame yourself…" Danny Locke's voice cracked as he desperately tried to push his fallen comrade's intestines back into his abdomen, hoping in vain to save his life. But when he looked up, the older man, Lucas, had already passed away, his eyes still glaring at the sky in anger.

"No… no… please…" Danny sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. His bloodied hands continued their futile work, trying to hold onto what little hope remained.

After laying Lucas flat on the ground, Danny stood up, his hands trembling from the loss and covered in his friend's blood. He let out a guttural roar, gripping his weapon tightly and charging back into the fight.

This time, he fought with reckless abandon, like a man with nothing left to lose.

Lucas's death had sent shockwaves through the team of exorcists, each of them feeling the weight of their fallen comrade. The grief fueled their rage, and like Danny, they fought with a newfound ferocity, hurling themselves at the two gray-robed attackers with suicidal determination.

The tide of battle shifted. The two cloaked figures, though powerful, were now struggling to keep up. Thirty exorcists fighting with the desperation of men resigned to die made it impossible for them to maintain their previous advantage.

But then, a chilling, otherworldly screech echoed across the battlefield. Liam Caine felt his heart sink. The thing he had feared most was now upon them.

The three remaining gray-robed figures had reached the Bull-Headed Aberration and freed it.

"If we can't hold them back… then let's go down swinging!"

Liam threw his black-rimmed glasses to the ground, the calm, scholarly look that usually defined him vanishing in an instant. His face twisted into one of pure rage as he raised his sword, the Sentinel.

A thick black mist poured from the blade, swirling violently around Liam as it whipped up into a small cyclone. The air hummed with energy as the ground beneath him shook.

The two gray-robed figures fighting the exorcists immediately disengaged, jumping back from the fray. They could sense the immense power gathering around Liam and dared not stay within its reach.

"Everyone, fall back! My next attack won't discriminate between friend or foe!" Liam's voice boomed as the swirling winds lifted him high into the air, enveloping his entire body.

"Retreat, now!" The exorcists, despite their refusal to surrender, knew they couldn't afford to die at the hands of their leader. They quickly pulled back, giving Liam a wide berth.

The wind roared as it reached a fever pitch, and then, as suddenly as it had begun, the cyclone died down, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

When the black mist cleared, Liam was no longer the man they knew. His eyes, once warm and gentle, were now cold and bloodthirsty, filled with the merciless intent of a killer. His entire aura had changed—he was no longer just Liam. Behind him loomed a ten-meter-tall spectral figure, clad in ancient beast-emblazoned armor, wielding a massive version of the Sentinel. Its glowing red eyes burned with a primal desire for slaughter.

Liam had become the General of the Dead.

"Slash!" Liam swung his sword, and the spectral figure mimicked his movements, releasing a colossal wave of energy that carved a deep gash into the ground, stretching for over thirty meters.

But to the exorcists' horror, the General's attack wasn't aimed at the gray-robed figures—it was heading straight for them.

"Scatter! We're too many in one place. It's seeing us as the threat!" one of the exorcists shouted, urging his comrades to spread out.

As they scrambled apart, the General's attention shifted. With the exorcists out of the way, it finally turned its focus on the two robed enemies.

"Impressive," one of the cloaked figures muttered.

"The sword is… exceptional," the other agreed.

Undeterred, they rushed forward again, their curved blades gleaming under the darkened sky as they attacked the spectral figure.

Liam, now fully in sync with the General, met their assault head-on. Each swing of his sword sent out powerful waves of energy, forcing the robed figures to dodge and weave, barely keeping up with his relentless offense.

"I underestimated him," one of the attackers admitted as they narrowly avoided another devastating slash.

"Retreat for now."

But just as they considered pulling back, three more robed figures approached from the distance, joining their comrades.

They had freed the Bull-Headed Aberration, and it was slowly recovering, consuming the earth around it to regain its strength. Soon, they would unleash it upon the city.

"Let's see what this 'General' can really do," one of the newcomers said, his voice filled with malice.

Together, the five cloaked figures closed in on Liam and the General.

Meanwhile, back at the exorcists' headquarters, Commissioner Sean Burke was in the middle of reviewing files when the door to his office burst open. A panicked exorcist rushed in, out of breath.

"Commissioner! We've lost contact with a supply team. They were last reported heading to East Lake," the exorcist stammered, his voice filled with urgency.

Sean's face darkened. He had a bad feeling about this. "East Lake? That's where Liam's team is stationed," he muttered, rising to his feet. The city was still crawling with aberrations, and the thought of more appearing made his stomach churn.

Grabbing his phone, Sean dialed Liam's number. The line rang for what felt like an eternity before someone finally answered.

"Hello? Liam, is everything alright over there—" Sean's voice trailed off as he realized who had picked up the phone.

"This is Wolf. Try someone else's number," came the low, rasping voice of the werewolf. The fearsome tone sent a shiver down Sean's spine.

"I… I apologize," Sean muttered hastily before ending the call.

Cursing himself for his mistake, Sean frantically tried calling other members of the East Lake team, but each call was met with the same chilling message: "No signal."

His heart pounded in his chest. Something was terribly wrong.

Without wasting another second, Sean sprinted from his office, barking orders as he raced to assemble reinforcements.