2. No Hope Left

Hearing that familiar cry, Kairav instantly dashed toward the source of the voice. 

Amidst the pools of blood and lifeless bodies scattered around, he spotted one of his friends lying on the ground, gravely wounded.

Without hesitation, he pulled his friend up into a sitting position and supported him.

Despite the agony written all over his face, the burly young man still found the energy to joke. 

"Damn you, Failed Product! I crushed that malnourished monster's skull with my hammer, yet it still managed to stab my stomach with its bony fingers even in its final moments," Casildo grumbled, pressing down on the gaping wound in his abdomen as blood continued to seep out.

Kairav's gaze shifted to the nearby corpse of a monster with a shattered skull—a towering humanoid figure with a skeletal frame, its skin stretched tightly over its bones.

"Stop talking unless you want those curses to be your last words," Kairav snapped, frustration evident in his voice. His eyes briefly flickered to the spirit bull lying weakly beside his host.

Without wasting any time, Kairav unsheathed his spear and made a deep cut across his palm. "You and your spirit are both on the verge of death, yet your foul mouth still has the energy to run?" he muttered, letting a few drops of his blood drip onto Casildo's wound.

The burly warrior let out a weak chuckle despite the pain. "I won't die as long as you keep giving me your blood," he teased.

But his usual carefree grin soon faded when his gaze landed on the approaching form of the white unicorn spirit with a golden horn. 

"If only Rakai could receive your blood too..." Casildo said quietly. "Why did his life have to end right when we needed him the most?"

Kairav fell silent. His ocean-blue eyes dimmed with sorrow as he looked down at his unicorn spirit's horn, which emitted golden mist that slowly wrapped around Casildo's abdomen.

The gaping wound gradually sealed itself, as if it had never been there at all. "His fate had already run its course... Perhaps it's better this way. Now, at least, he can finally rest after everything he went through," Kairav murmured.

Casildo exhaled heavily, acknowledging the painful truth. Then, he stood up and extended a hand toward his friend. "Come on. The Silent Guardian is gone, but we still have other comrades to fight alongside."

Kairav took the offered hand, pulling himself up. As he wiped the blood trickling from a wound on his temple, his eyes swept over the battlefield.

From the depths of the forest, waves of Depths Abominations and Doomshade Guardians continued to flood the battleground, worsening the chaos.

Above, the crimson sky periodically split open, revealing gaping black holes from which Shadowrift Abominations descended, immediately wreaking havoc and spilling even more blood.

"We're getting overwhelmed," Kairav muttered, gripping his spear tighter. Uncertainty flickered in his gaze as he saw more and more soldiers falling around them.

"What do we do? We're outnumbered. If this keeps up—" Casildo's words were abruptly cut off by a piercing horse's neigh.

Both young men turned in the direction of the sound, their concern deepening as they spotted Arkana battling a monstrous humanoid creature with the head of a horse.

The beast delivered a vicious kick, sending the young prince hurtling through the air before he crashed violently into the ground.

"Arkana!" Kairav shouted. He instinctively moved to run toward his friend, but his steps halted at the sudden warning from Casildo.

"Failed Product, watch out!"

Kairav barely had time to turn before he saw Casildo's stone hammer spinning through the air, intercepting several whip-like reptilian tails covered in spikes that were lunging toward him.

The severed tails fell to the ground with dull thuds.

Casildo caught his hammer and cursed upon seeing the approaching swarm of massive black-scaled lizards. "Ah, great! The damn lizards that can self-amputate their tails are here too!"

"How do we even kill them this time?" Kairav asked, recognizing one of the many terrifying species of Shadowrift Abominations.

"Leave them to me. You go help Arkana," Casildo ordered.

"But you can't kill them without Galen's lightning or Rakai's flames," Kairav argued. "Without Rakai, they're practically immortal."

Casildo merely grinned and pounded his chest. "I may not be able to burn them, but I can at least try to bury them in my own grave, mwahaha!" he cackled before charging toward the monstrous lizards.

"Idiot..." Kairav grumbled, frustrated yet worried. He turned and sprinted toward Arkana, who was still struggling against the horse-headed monster.

"Its strength is too much! I can't restrain it with Root Bind!" Arkana shouted.

The monster neighed furiously, snapping the thick tree roots that bound its limbs with a single motion.

"Try again! I'll freeze it!" Kairav yelled back.

Arkana nodded and activated Root Bind once more. This time, the forest's roots surged from the ground like serpents, snaking past him and wrapping around the monster just as it lunged forward.

Though the creature once again started breaking free, it gave Kairav just enough time to strike.

Planting his spear firmly into the bloodstained grass, Kairav activated Winter Blossom Surge.

Instantly, frost spread across the ground, ice flowers blooming in its wake. 

The crystalline blossoms surged toward the monster and, as soon as one reached its hooves, an icy grip locked its legs in place, freezing it from the bottom up.

Then, Arkana flicked his wrist, summoning a single peacock feather in his palm. He threw it forward, and in mid-air, it multiplied into hundreds.

Featherfall Storm rained down, the sharp plumes piercing through the monster's frozen flesh. Crimson cracks formed along its body as blood seeped from the wounds.

Kairav leaped into action, activating Frostfang Cascade. He launched into the air, raising his spear skyward. 

In response, hundreds of icicle stalactites plummeted from the crimson sky, crashing onto the battlefield.

The frozen monster shattered under the impact, its howling neigh cut short as ice spikes drove into its flesh, splintering bone and bursting organs.

Arkana rushed in for the final strike, activating Golden-Silver Unification. He threw his twin daggers, which merged into a single massive blade before hurtling toward the horse-headed beast.

With one clean slice, the blade severed the monster's neck.

Splat!

"Finally..." Kairav exhaled, feeling a momentary relief as the severed head rolled among the carnage.

"But this isn't the end," Arkana reminded him grimly.

Kairav ran a hand through his hair, frustration mounting.

"No Astral Conjurers have died yet, right? Only the Myth Slayer Taskforce soldiers?" Arkana asked hesitantly.

Kairav shook his head but remained silent, his gaze roaming the blood-soaked battlefield filled with corpses and unending screams of agony.

"What now...?" he muttered, hopelessness creeping into his voice.

"Damn it, it looks like Galen's Stellar Essence is starting to run out of capacity," Arkana suddenly cursed, his gaze frantic as he looked in a certain direction.