— SHRIIIEEKKK! —

— SHRIIIEEKKK! —

— SHRIIIEEKKK! —

Their hearts all stopped beating as they realized what this meant….more Ephial commanders?!

”We’re screwed….” A player wailed.

”This area’s so damn unbalanced!!” Another complained.

”Wait?! They sound far away. Let’s leave the City. Then we can—”

Jack shook his head at the silly suggestion. Run away? As if that was still an option! The Ephials would be king in the open plain with their near-unlimited stamina.

No, it seemed like they were out of the City, coming back from a military campaign, perhaps? It wasn’t the time to cower, quite the contrary.

”No, we head deeper! GOOO!” He ordered instead.

The Centaur Chief led the way, running from rooftop to rooftop, the regulars Ephials below eying them menacingly and the corrupted bluejays trying to stop them to no avail.

— Tap! Tap! Tap! —

They had a specific destination in mind.

In the middle of the City stood a large cathedral dedicated to the Wind Step God, he who blessed the Centaurs with its godspeed…or so the legend said.

”Are you sure our enemy’s there? Wouldn’t a godly power be poison to a corrupted being?” The Chief asked as he ran, doubtful.

”Poison? Definitely, the sweetest of all poisons.”

Such a power would be akin to processed sugar to humans. Bad for one’s health and actually damaging if taken in high quantity but still irresistible.

Then they finally reached a rooftop near the cathedral.

Wind swirled around it, seemingly fighting patches of darkness growing on its massive walls akin to cancer. It smelled of corruption and death, even from afar.

The Ephials’ leader would 100% be in there! But would they be able to kill it in time? They could already hear the enemies closing in.

— SHRIIIEEKKK! —

”God, they’re getting closer. How do we get down?!”

”Jump.”

”?!?”

”Just do it.”

”Woo!” (Right there!)

That’s when the smug little wolf pointed toward the ground at a wooden hay shop. Finding this place was the result of its skeletal chicken brother’s efforts!

* Gulp! *

The Centaur gave a terrified look as he finally realized what they expected of him. But the approaching shrieks and Jack’s stern look didn’t give any room for getting out of it.

”Eternal Galloping Father, please protect me….”

— JUMP! —

The terrified howl of an airborne Centaur was so powerful that it almost made the Ephials down below recoil in shock. —BAM! —

Then the squad followed, dropping with screams worthy of hell residents. Centaurs were NOT built for heights!

They emerged as hay-covered vengeful demons, staring resentfully at the sea of monsters blocking their way. Regular Ephials? They were nothing compared to the fear of jumping!

”CHARGEEE!”

With Jack’s scream, they dove into the fray, not worried one bit about their safety. They were so full of adrenaline that they would have dared charge at a god!

”KILLLLLL!”

The poor Ephials simply couldn’t cope as they flew all over the place.

Still, this would quickly exhaust them…no, very quickly! Jack frowned as he realized the Centaurs had lost sight of their objective in their rage.

Why were some killing enemies?! They were supposed to rush to the cathedral! At this rate, they’d be stopped right here. No, he needed to give his troops a target for their anger.

”Everyone, look at how they desecrated this place!” Jack shouted as he pointed straight at one of the many Pumpkin Statues that now decorated the City.

This one just so happened to be one of a Pumpkin unicorn. “See, they’re saying unicorns are better than Centaurs!” He bull**ted.

”What?!”

”How dare they!!!”

”Wreck-it to pieces!!!”

The Centaurs’ eyes turned red, all the adrenaline from their “near-death” jump getting fueled toward the innocent Pumpkin Statue.

They finally got back on track, rushing forward with the speed of a thousand avengers, orange pulp soon flying all over the place as they obliterated the statue.

Even the semi-sentient Ephials couldn’t help but watch it happen, shellshocked. There was definitely something wrong with those people’s brains!

The “vile” orange enemy was finally defeated, and the troops finally returned to their senses.

”Head in!” Jack urged them.

They went through the entrance arches, full of wind and dark energies that seemed to be fighting even now, akin to oil and water.

— Woosh! —

Instantly it felt like they were in a different world, a large courtyard and a gigantic Marble-White Centaur statue greeting them.

”AH!” Many unconsciously bent a leg to show respect, only to freeze.

”Where’s the head?!” They exclaimed in shock.

Much like the headless Ephial Commander, the statue’s head had been replaced by a pulsating formless mass of darkness. This thing was alive!

The only question was how smart it was. Formless beings tended to have flawed thinking. They could very well exploit this, and— Jack froze as he sensed the thing’s will.

An appendage appeared from the formless mass as if a camera aimed at them. It began glowing with a dark light as if rejoicing at their presence. ~Tasty preys, lots of them!

He could sense the thing’s confidence: this was a trap and had been from the very beginning. Pride of a Corrupting monster? This one was different!