I reach for my spear, but before I can extend it into staff and steady my grip, the creature moves , unnaturally fast.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Q603g0VIi
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Its twisted, joint-bending front leg lashes out, striking my torso with bone-crushing force.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLC69gGah1t
My body lifts off the ground as if weightless,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTV02gSkFX
flung into the bridge’s boundary. The impact rattles my skull,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFaMukbAqZ
And I barely register being hit into the wall before darkness edges my vision.
When my eyes flicker open, everything is red—blood blurring my sight,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGJzN6VIRW
seeping into my lashes.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrWpEFjf0Q
My ribs scream in protest with every breath.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM24ZprSlm5
My insides feel like they are stung, sharp pain driving through my core like knives.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTY1HsSgAA
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I cough, thick and wet, splattering crimson onto the stone floor.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24XlL2NCTf
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Warzheil is still fighting, his heavy blows crashing into the monstrous sheep,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoNXfuHteS
yet the beast barely reacts, fixated on me instead.
I force my head up and see something slide inches away from my trembling fingers—a bone.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6Pf3LBz5H
Not just any bone. My mind barely functions through the haze,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjtLR6W3hH
but I understand.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrbCZOrVkm
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Warzheil is yelling something at me. His voice feels distant, lost in the throbbing hum overtaking my head.
I have no choice. I know what I must do.
My stomach churns in disgust, but survival outweighs revulsion. I seize the bone and start absorbing it. At first, warmth spreads through my limbs—then fire.
A searing agony erupts from within, shredding through every nerve. It’s worse than the pain of my wounds.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVN9ZEzH1q
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My muscles twist and shift,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNjchFSsaF
bones realigning as if being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWWXtdguMo
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My very blood feels like it’s boiling, bubbling under my skin with raw, burning energy. I want to scream, but my throat clenches as waves of unbearable torment ripple through me.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1HsTJYBeg
My limbs spasm against the stone, muscles convulsing in unnatural patterns.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzDj7mrUif
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The lich is on back of a zombified dragon, as it shares its vision with the sheep monster.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMEzma87a1
“A human with a Bone-Demons’s arm? *Grah* these little low-life insects try to steal the power which should be rightfully mine! Kill him first!”23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNX2Bew7it
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he instructs the sheep but is interrupted by the Dratnir bot, as it throws a sword made of light at the undead23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOrbRTNwRa
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“Violation of Bridge law deem you unfit for passage, Light element engaged for power saving, You shall not pass on my watch Undead filth!”23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDRWDqQhoc
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the Dratnir bot says as if alive, not fearing the massive undead army coming at it like a tidal wave, it lights up the entire scene with a single slash.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhhsKkKeHS
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“Hey! I am your enemy!” Warzheil Shouts as he hits the sheep’s head which makes it stumble and fall down with its left legs on their knees,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8M5s4mRPh0
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But the sheep decides it need to switch targets as it ignores Warzheil’s attack and runs towards me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RQXrG9RyP
Baring its razor sharp teeth.
Just as I thought I might black out again, it changes.
The fire in my veins turns into something controlled—stronger, sharper. The pain remains, but beneath it, something new awakens,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kU1wzIKyL
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I feel new warmth. My vision sharpens past the haze. Every heartbeat feels heavier, more solid.
A shadow looms over me.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5qGBGvHhV
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The sheep monster is above, its jaw unhinged, lined with jagged, rotten teeth. Its breath reeks of decay as it lunges. I barely react before its maw clamps down—only this time, something is different.
Its fangs pierce my skin, but they don’t sink deep. The beast jerks its head violently, flinging me from side to side like a ragdoll. Pain should consume me, but instead, I feel my body shifting again. Strength surges through my limbs. The beast tightens its grip, but this time, my fingers move with newfound force.
I grasp its jaw—not just to pry it open, but to break it.
A surge of raw power flows through me. Instead of struggling against its bite, I press harder, my grip like steel. The creature lets out a guttural, pained howl as its bones crack under my fingers. With a final push, its lower jaw snaps with a sickening crunch.
I drop, rolling onto the stone, panting. My wounds should be fatal, yet they’re closing. Blood no longer spills from my cuts. My hands tremble—not from pain, but from the rush of energy coursing through my veins. The crimson liquid dripping from my wounds shimmers faintly, glittering under the bridge’s light.
What is happening to me?
Before I can process it, movement catches my eye. More figures approach.
The sheep monster staggers back, its grotesque jaw hanging limp,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2LJLikr3h
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but it isn’t alone anymore. Two more have arrived, their milky green , dead eyes fixating on me like predators sensing prey.
I exhale, feeling the newfound strength settling into my bones.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEUlustbzc
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I flex my fingers. My body, though still aching, moves with a precision I didn’t possess before.
A slow smirk pulls at my lips.
"You two came just in time," I mutter, stepping forward. The first sheep lunges. This time, I don’t flinch. I don’t brace. I move.
I sidestep its charge with inhuman speed, twisting my body as my fist meets its skull with crushing force.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFPRw3uzas
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Bone cracks under my knuckles as the monster staggers, dazed. The second one rushes in, its legs tensed to pounce—yet before it even reaches me, something halts it mid-air.
A faint shimmer surrounds me—a barely visible barrier pulsing with unnatural energy.
I glance at my hands, feeling the shift within me.
“Ronin!” Warzheil’s voice cuts through my focus.“The numbers on the display just stopped dropping at 7650! That means one Dratnir bot is down. We need to finish up before we're completely surrounded!"
I roll my shoulders, feeling power settle into me like second nature. Warzheil smashes his hammers together, taunting the remaining sheep.
I crack my knuckles, meeting my approaching opponent’s empty gaze.
“This time,” I murmur, “I will be the hunter.”
I don’t want to waste time waiting for the rest 7000 undead to swarm us, so I stop testing my new strength with brutal force and switch to precise strike.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlw0zbXQsm
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I spartan kick one sheep, lauching it away from me, but the sheep with broken jaw tries to tackle me, giving me a good chance as I lower myself and get into the area between its head and ribs as I lift it to get it a German Supplex and I could see its innards rotten, bones break as I slam it on ground with the new force I possess.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTA1xXv7Bnv
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It struggles to get up and this time I stomp its head again and it works, the bones of the head get crushed under my feet, even making a crater on the bridge.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLYtRpITAu
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“That’s one down Warzheil, a hammer!” I say signaling Warzheil to toss me one of his hammers, he does as asked and I launch the hammer with speed at the sheep I kicked away which was now running toward me, the hammer goes crushing through the sheep and gets covered in oily green and purple goo.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZoq6OQoTW
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“How dare you dirty my hammer!?” Warzheil says in anger as he fills up his hammer with thunder from a small cloud around the hammer he is wielding and then launches his hammer on the sheep’s head,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjTrWESv3b
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crushing it into pieces as they splinter away with lighting trailing behind them.
Now that they are out of the way, lets get out of here before –“ I say as I turn to look back on the way we came from and surely I can see a huge wave of black and white entities rushing towards us as if the night sky had descended on the land.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSYj7sUIeK
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“Warzheil!” I shout next23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XGkSATU3o
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Without a need for more words I give Drax’s bone to Drax who puts it in his dimensional pocket again and hops onto my back, I run with unimaginable speeds.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40psUBOwqJ
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“Woah, Slow down a little Ronin! If you run so fast you will be exhausted before long.” Warzheil says23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAZwL0xhvB
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“I feel like I am running on air, my body feels rather light even with you on my back.” I say23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lOCKLerIh
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“That’s madness, I thought your ability allows you to heal, but to think you can transform like a high bone-demon. How did you even become like this? Were you a part of an experiment?” he asks23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUVRY8pCTS
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“It’s a bit complex, so you see…” I explain the early events of me meeting Geolard.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppbwXCZMUm
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“What!? You killed Geolard the forgotten 126th demon lord?” he yells23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IeVRhLL7o
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“Stop yelling in my ears, you want me to go Deaf?” I say with irritation.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQah3i4mHM
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“Oh, my bad. But god do you have devil’s luck? And that’s black orb that killed him was like your left eye? You are turning more and more into a mystery, lad.” He says almost excited.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mxbjCmyhs
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“Why are you so excited though? I almost died back then.” I say23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7FA37Xp3E
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“But you didn’t right?” he replies23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXWN67jmfA
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As I run, we see a bot with a book, which looks like a mage heading towards the undead army.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OzPf8yrnQ
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After running for what felt like hours I stop to look back, I don’t see the undead army anymore but I see a beast flying toward us and it looks like a dragon.
We need to increase our speed.
“Old man, something is heading our way on a dragon’s back, and I don’t think we need to guess who it is,” I warn as I start running again.
After a short while, I see a robot archer running on the third furthest lane on our right.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQyjlnAHlH
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“Intruders with weapons are to be eliminated. Travellers should retreat to the teleporter.” it says looking at us as it stops at a distance as it aims at the dragon that’s on our tail.
I glance at the counter on the nearby divider and see that there are still around 7600 undead left.
“There goes the third robot,” Warzheil says, his voice laced with concern.
“Weren’t they meant to be strong? How did they get destroyed so fast?” I ask, shocked.
“They must be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers,” he replies.
As we continue running, I hear the sound of flapping wings again after running for a few more minutes. I look back and see the King of Undead, the lich, flying toward us on his dragon.
The dragon shoots a greenish blue flame at us. I maintain my momentum, trying to dodge, but a huge spear flies into the dragon’s mouth. A robot stands at a distance, moving toward us as the dragon falls.
A figure jumps down from the dragon’s back, landing gently on the ground. The ends of his cloak flutter, revealing his skeletal frame.
The robot stands in front of us.
“Threat level is too high for the current form. Need admin authority to activate phase 2 defence. Positive decision highly recommended,” the robot says, turning its head toward me.
“W-wait, Me? Am I an admin?”23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeYPFf7lcc
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“The only person qualified to give orders is you, the bridge authorities stopped functioning 1 existent cycle ago.” The bot replies as if sentient.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHq2TyEfa38
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I notice something wrong, I see the other 3 bots we saw on the bots running towards us, green glow in their structure. I know this can’t be good, and so do Warzheil as I turn to look at his face which twists into a face that finally about to give in to fear.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBD9wyAbtWu
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“Ronin, we need to run right now, we cannot face the Dratnir bots too. Just say yes so we can leave here.” Warzheil says.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZMxQnU9Dh
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“Like I would allow something like that” says a crancky voice full of malice, I turn to look at he lich who had already launched an attack on me, but he seems baffled when he sees his attack disappear in thin air as it closes in onto me.
“Yes, do it,” I reply to the bot.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk4VxPs1Qs
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“Permission confirmed,” the robot says, as the lich watches, seemingly plotting something.
The robot transforms into a larger, more intimidating version, glowing with an intense light.
“Transformation complete. Temporary access to Behemoth granted,” it speaks.
The robot points in the East direction.
“Time is less. The bridge has energy worth 15 minutes left to maintain phase 2 before the colossus collapse. Within this time, please make your way to the teleporter 16 km from here. It will teleport you to any active bridge or any one end of the bridge. I will stop these trespassers here, I wish you well for your future endeavours,” it says, bowing while keeping its right fist on its left chest.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7T53OgnMd
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Are these even robots anymore? It looks like a living transformer from one of the sci-fi movie I watched on earth.
And 18 km in less than 15 minutes? I pick up Warzheil, give him the skeleton, and start running to measure my current speed using the suit’s built-in speedometer. I’m currently at 54 km/h, which is already insane for a human. But I need to be at above 90 km/h to reach the teleporter a minute before the time runs out. I don’t want to experience that pain again, but if I don’t, the teleporter will be disabled.
“Warzheil, we need to go much faster than this. I need more power,” I say, determination driving me.
“Start running, I will fetch the bone from the pocket.” he replies, as he goes through his dimensional pocket.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmNQKJ3Ml2
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“Anyway What was that about just now? Is that dratnir your friend from Earth or something?” he asks23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe01dzRN5Ho
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“Stop asking stupid questions, how am I supposed to know? Just hand me a bone already before I turn into a bone hungry dog.” I demand23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsB9pQjHoWK
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“You are the one in need of shutting up lad, and what do you mean you will turn into a dog? I don’t want to ride a human mutt.” He says, almost shocking me on his low sense of sarcasm.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9gCmGrnia
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“Will you be alright? Last time your shouts felt like you were in too much pain.” He asks but I don’t want to describe the pain as I brace to suffer through it once more.
I start absorbing more power, and it’s kind of addictive. Soon, I feel more pain, which forces me to stop, but this time I won’t faint. I bellow, keeping myself awake as I try to control the power.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAd6j881Io5
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Ah, I can see my bones moving inside the suit. I fall down, unable to do anything, but I manage to keep awake this time.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP69yreS36Z
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The pain subsides faster this time. I feel as if I’d be able to run on water if I tried. My suit feels a bit tighter, even though its interior is woven from stretchable fiber.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFE7I7X41a
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I want to know I fast I can go, and then it clicks in my mind, I have an A.I. integrated mask which comes with many features, although the A.I. is very annoying so I keep it turned off.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgZZbWPR4W
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I take out the mask and wear it, it tightly fits on my face, but my face has hardened too, although my nose is bent so I need to breathe from my mouth.
I invite Warzheil onto my back, and this time my speed is over 105 km/h. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Only cheetahs could run at this speed, and that’s at the cost of their lives. But I feel like I can run forever now!
“Hahahahhaaaaaa, wooooh!!!” I exclaim, exhilaration coursing through me.
“Hey, kid! I will fall, run slow!” Warzheil warns, clinging to my back.
“Sorry, but we only have 10 minutes left, and we still have around 16 km to go. Can’t stop, won’t stop!” I reply, pushing my speed to the limits, achieving a speed of 110 km/h.
I glance at Warzheil, who’s struggling to hold on.
“Who knows what else you can do in the future? Even heroes can’t run this fast,” he says, awe in his voice.
After 8 minutes, we reach another large structure that covers the lanes like a tunnel, with a circular beam on a platform glowing blue. Warzheil uses the stairs while I make a jump, barely reaching the teleporter platform. I rush to the teleporter, where I see a display with three points of the bridge: one in the East, one in the North, and one in the center. There are only 40 seconds left. The bridge’s lights fluctuate.
“Come fast, old man! We will miss our chance,” I urge.
But Warzheil takes 25 seconds, and I hit the East point. The teleporter gets covered by metallic sheets, and there’s too much light. We open our eyes to see the metal sheets going down, but then it jams halfway, and the power seems to die out.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMa0vJEHmq
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For a second there we almost gave up hope, but thankfully the metal sheets start to rise again, and just when 8 seconds were left, it worked.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuT1EFQgX9W
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We were suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWU2gV70QfN
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“Gah, my eyes! It should have warned us at least, so much for technology” Warzheil says, irritation evident in his voice.
For every 1000 views, one bonus chapter along with weekly release.
Dear Reader, be kind enough to leave a comment in the chapter about it, as it inspires me to keep improving and doing better. And like if you enjoyed this chapter.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEWAEGpG0e
It hardly takes a few seconds to write "Good", but it boosts the confidence of us authors.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrefdZo9JQl
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