The morning mist slid through the tall trees of the Uryan Forest. The imperial squad, now officially active under the name Jeagers, advanced along a little-used path toward some ancient ruins. The mission was clear: eliminate a minor demonic presence that had been wreaking havoc in several nearby villages.
At the front was Yurichi—silent but alert, eyes fixed on the horizon. At his side walked Rose, arms crossed and brow furrowed.
"Are you sure this is the right path? Because if not, I'm going to scream at General Zhaor until that invisible mustache of his falls off," Rose muttered.
"It is. We've checked the map twice," Yurichi replied, unfazed.
Raika walked further back, spinning her sword between her fingers like she was bored.
"Don't worry so much. If the demon shows up, I'll eliminate it in three seconds and then we can go get ramen."
Rose whipped her head around so fast a lock of her hair fell across her face.
"Shut up, lightning legs! You don't even know what we're facing."
"Neither do you, screamer. But that's not stopping you from breathing fire."
Retro, completely silent, stopped beside a tree. He raised his rifle, aimed at an empty branch, and fired. A snake, silently slithering above them, fell.
Yurichi turned slightly.
"Retro, it's time."
The sniper nodded, moved away from the group, and began climbing the forest slope. He was to find a vantage point from where he could cover the exit of the ruins. His mission: fire when the target emerged.
The squad reached one of the attacked villages before arriving at the ruins. What they found was devastating: bodies suspended in the air by nearly invisible threads, fine cut marks all over the place. Doors were sealed with hardened silk.
An old man, barely conscious, mumbled from a corner:
"Can't see... only strings... it moves between the threads of air..."
Rose covered him with a blanket from the cart, more serious than usual.
"Whatever this thing is... it's not playing."
Yurichi nodded.
"Let's be careful. And don't split up. What's in those ruins isn't an animal. It thinks."
The ruins rose at midday among the vegetation, with broken columns and moss-covered entrances. Clearly once a temple centuries ago, they now seemed like a living trap.
From the moment they entered, the air shifted. Fine threads hung from the ceiling, stretched between columns like an invisible weaver's web. Every step added tension, as if the place was breathing.
A creak. Then another. And suddenly, from the shadows, a soft, mocking voice:
"Well, well... new guests... Fresh meat. How lucky I am today..."
From a side corridor emerged a slender figure, with grayish skin and pearly green eyes. Its smile was wide, unnatural. From its back sprouted cords like living veins.
"I am Akemi, the one who weaves death! And this is my sacred loom. Welcome to your final act."
Before they could react, the cords shot out in all directions. One snared Rose's leg, another separated Yurichi from the others. Raika dodged by sheer reflex.
"Damn insect! I'll rip your threads out one by one!" Rose shouted as she slashed with her spores.
Outside, Retro observed through his scope. The demon moved too fast inside. He needed it to come out.
The dark ruins echoed with sinister laughter as Akemi unleashed his cords on Yurichi and the others, who fought desperately, trying to evade the mortal threads he wove with diabolical mastery.
The demonic being reveled in his macabre spectacle, delighting in others' suffering. The ancient ruins, silent witnesses to old tragedies, were now adorned with deadly thread traps, ensnaring the unwary like venomous spiderwebs.
Yurichi, with a calm gaze, saw the dark truth: they were doomed if they remained in that cursed place. A spark of cunning lit in his mind—a glimmer of hope in the gloom. "We stand no chance in here," he murmured, determined to change their fate.
With feline grace and samurai resolve, Yurichi lunged toward the only viable option: force Akemi out of the ruins. With agile and precise movements, he struck through the air, ready to challenge evil in its lair. But his blow met only a shield of cords, woven with the same venomous skill that defined his enemy.
The clash of opposing forces echoed in the ancient chamber, creating an invisible barrier between light and darkness. Akemi sneered, his cruel laughter bouncing off the ancient walls. "Your bravery is your doom, warrior," he hissed, his eyes gleaming with infernal fire.
Yurichi did not flinch. With firm eyes and indomitable spirit, he defied Akemi with a stare radiating determination. "I will not surrender, demon," he declared in a steady voice, his iron will challenging the abyss of dark magic.
The fate of the confrontation hung in the balance—opposing forces clashing in a dance of power and will. Amid the silent ruins, the battle between light and shadow reached its peak. Dodging the cords flung at him, Yurichi approached Rose and Raika and shared his plan to force the demon out of its lair. Then, the three struck from different angles, maneuvering to the far end of the ruin, preparing to attack from behind, with the goal of driving it out.
Yurichi deflected a deadly lash of cord with a sweep of his katana and stepped back—right where Rose and Raika waited. When we launch our combined attacks from three flanks, we'll retreat together to the entrance. Retro, get ready for the headshot, Yurichi thought.
Rose slid in from the right, unleashing her Crimson Garden in bursts that shredded dozens of threads. Raika, from the left, channeled lightning into swift thrusts, scorching the lines that blocked the corridor.
Yurichi, at the center, swept his sacred blade in a wide arc, unleashing a pulse of golden light that forced Akemi to shield himself with a twisted wall of cords.
"Now!" Yurichi shouted.
The three warriors charged in unison: Rose leaped off a crumbled column, diving at Akemi; Raika unleashed a torrent of lightning from above; and Yurichi advanced steadily, his katana singing with unleashed fury.
Cornered and wounded, the demon retreated to the rear exit, dragging his cord shields with him. There, at the edge of the crypt, Retro raised his rifle, steadied the trigger, and waited for the perfect shot.
Akemi stumbled into his sights, forehead exposed. Retro held his breath, adjusted his aim, and—
BANG.
The shot rang like contained thunder. The demon collapsed on the damp earth, its many eyes blinking one final time before going still. Its cords loosened and fell like withered petals.
Rose landed beside Akemi, breathing hard. Raika exhaled a "holy crap" in awe, and Yurichi placed a hand on Retro's shoulder, barely catching his breath.
"Good shot," Yurichi said with respect. "We did it together."
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the Uryan mist, the Black Hand of the Sun gathered once again at the entrance of the ruins—with the certainty that, by working together, even in the darkest places, they could make the light prevail.