Though he was enraged, he remained cool headed. He extended his soul-sense to envelope the entire settlement and several kilometres around it, then reversed all distortion layers that were clouding his perception. He could then form a bird's-eye view of the whole battlefield and lock on to the targets of his vengeance.

The moment he dispelled the fog of distortion over the city, his point of view expanded and he saw fires breaking out, collapsed buildings and fleeing citizens. He surveyed the hotspots of battle and decided on his first objective – a warehouse where Saint Ren's team of 7 Divine warriors formed a ring around a group of civilians, protecting them against more than a dozen crawlers that were darting around furtively.

'The five cloaked figures… They're lurking at the edges of the battle. I suppose they're adopting a wait-and-see stance… No matter; I'll let them have their way – then strike them when they come in for the kill…'

If they were here for the Bell of the North Heaven, it was likely that they were waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack on Elder Mash'noth. That would happen only when the battle reached the zenith – which meant he would have to bide his time as well.

'So for now I'll just have to disrupt your meticulous plans and give you a reason to come out early to play…'

He smiled without the slightest trace of warmth as he headed for Saint Ren's group.

* * * * *

Saint Ren was sweating profusely, body trembling as he held his arms up to channel a defensive barrier, alongside his squad members.

"My lord Saint! We can't hold the runes much longer, the Dark energy is corroding our Light Aegis!"

"Focus, Nidja! The Elder should be here soon!"

The 7 Divine warriors and Saint Ren were positioned in a concentric formation around the civilians, located at the eight cardinal directions around them like an octagon. They were channelling their Divine power into the defensive force field that encapsulated more than 50 residents – mothers, children, the weak and the elderly.

However, this barrier had long begun to lose its l.u.s.tre, turning from a robust golden colour to copper and now fading to a faint bronze. Soon, it would fade to a transparent brown before shattering completely together with their hopes of survival.

The 8 Divine warriors were brave and vigorous, determined to lay down their lives for the sake of their home and people. However, even Saint Ren and Nidja, his sub-commander of the Divine Spear squadron were reaching their limits.

They had set up this defensive position as a trap, intending to wipe out all the crawlers in one fell swoop – but who knew that these crawlers would refuse to attack.

'These crawlers… They're too different; too smart… Almost as if someone were commanding them…' Saint Ren was at his rope's end. They could only hold on for another few minutes – no, a minute and a half at most. He couldn't understand where Elder Mash'noth was or what had held her up. But whatever it was, they could only rely on themselves to resolve this situation.

'Only 45 seconds left... d.a.m.n it! My only choice left is to…' Saint Ren's grim expression turned into one of ease as he made his final decision.

He turned gently to Nidja, nodding at him.

His sub-commander's face turned to one of shock, horror – then gradually, a look of understanding replaced his shock. He tightened his lips together and reluctantly nodded.

"Divine Spear squadron! Fulfil your duties! I, Saint Ren and captain of the Divine Spears shall fulfil my duty today! Sub-captain Nidja, you shall lead! Observe!"

Saint Ren roared out these words, then withdrew his Divine Light energy back into himself, reinforcing his battle capabilities.

He then circulated all the energies madly, intending to flare up his Divine Light in a singular explosion and take the crawlers down with him.

Then he walked forward, leaving the protection of the Aegis Light barrier and facing the pack of crawlers alone.

"We shall not fail you, Saint Ren! Captain! We, the Divine Spear squadron, observe!"

At those words, veins bulged on Nidja and the other Divine warriors' faces as they overdrew their Divine energy to make up for Saint Ren leaving the formation. Blood seeped from their mouths and eyes as they strained themselves to the utmost.

'No matter what… We must protect our people… Live on! Even if we ourselves are to die here…' Thoughts ran through his mind as blood flowed down Nidja's dark moustache. He shook under the strain, but refused to give up.

'…Live on!!!' Grim resolve fuelled the Divine warriors' hearts as they maintained the barrier at the cost of their lives.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still for Saint Ren. He had a beatific expression as he cast his gaze about, *feeling* bodies of darkness lurking around the periphery of his senses. He could tell that they were impatient, restless… Hungry for his blood.

Ready to pounce on him, their delicious snack.

'Lord Seth… Captain Vis… Today I'll repay my debt…' As he prepared for their deadly attack and prepared his own retaliation, Saint Ren closed his eyes and took in what would be his last breath and gave his last words.

'I'll see you again soon!'

The crawlers shot out of the darkness, sinister streaks of darkness that looked like the claws of a beast ready to tear apart a delicious morsel.

And Saint Ren jammed his eye shut, crossed his arms in front of his chest, focused his Divine energy into a single point at his chest and—

"Oof!"

He felt a soft but strong hand push him in the chest, knocking him backwards. His channelling was inadvertently disrupted, the Divine energy dispersing harmlessly, and he found himself back inside the Aegis Light barrier.

"…???" Fallen on his posterior, he stared at the slim back of a teenage boy who was now standing where he had been, coming under the onslaught of more than a dozen dark creatures.

The boy's back looked too small, too weak, too frail. Saint Ren couldn't help the fear that rose in his heart – he could not let the Fated Child of Light fall here!

"Boy!!What are you doing, you'll get yourself killed!" Saint Ren tried to scramble to his feet, tried to get up and drag the boy back, drag him back to safety. But his feet were too slow, his body not following his orders as he could only watch in despair as the crawlers approached.

"LARS!!! Get out of the way, you'll die!!!" Saint Ren cried out, but he was too late. The crawlers were about to kill him.

This time he was absolutely sure that time really did slow down for a moment as Saint Ren watched Lars move impossibly fast – so fast that the crawlers seemed to be suspended mid-air, mid-pounce.

A fist.

A kick.

A finger, an elbow.

A head b.u.t.t, a palm, a knee, a backhand blow.

Lars arms and legs turned into blurs of resplendent light, seeming to flicker in and out of reality as he reaped the lives of one crawler after another.

And one by one, the brilliantly s.h.i.+ning figure of Lars struck the crawlers, piercing cleanly through their bodies, making their ethereal yet impenetrable defences look like jelly.

Before anyone could even blink, Lars stood back in his original position, hands clasped behind his back calmly – while the more than a dozen crawlers suspended in mid-air fell to the ground, collapsing in heaps of mutilated flesh, gore and blood.

In just an instant, the crawlers that had forced them all to the edge of despair were turned into piles of rotting flesh by one man – no, one hero's unerring attacks.

In their shock, Nidja and the Divine warriors forgot to maintain the barrier and it petered out. Their jaws were dropped in shock, their knees trembling in awe of the magnificent sight of the one boy who had saved them all.

"O-One move, one kill… G-G.o.dly power…! Absolutely G.o.dly!!!" A resident could not hold back his awe, blurting out these words.

"We're saved!! Our hero has saved us!!"

"Lars! Our hero's name is Lars!"

"Thank you, our saviour!!"

Very soon, the other civilians followed suit, clamouring in excitement, relief and wors.h.i.+p of their G.o.dly saviour.

And at this time, Saint Ren was still seated on the floor, unable to get up, staring at the same back that he had been so worried about just seconds earlier.

But this time, the boy's back looked strong – strong enough to carry the weight of the whole world.