I reach for my spear, but before I can extend it into staff and steady my grip, the creature moves , unnaturally fast.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkq5cwnxKc
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Its twisted, joint-bending front leg lashes out, striking my torso with bone-crushing force.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBEhHFSvQL
My body lifts off the ground as if weightless,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnhEQptZbx
flung into the bridge’s boundary. The impact rattles my skull,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0rcUOKmLI
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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRGg6dFWuB
seeping into my lashes.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yV37NOcXT
My ribs scream in protest with every breath.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmwpf8bZu8
My insides feel like they are stung, sharp pain driving through my core like knives.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxPjzdeCiR
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I cough, thick and wet, splattering crimson onto the stone floor.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJdNJKGWht
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Warzheil is still fighting, his heavy blows crashing into the monstrous sheep,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uFj9h3t2D
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kkuET59WT
Not just any bone. My mind barely functions through the haze,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7d4XoG1zo0
but I understand.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAmMFmfFNc
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8He1Nlv6I
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My muscles twist and shift,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiwn1HfpOu
bones realigning as if being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUivWmEX4D
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVbigq8QGo
My limbs spasm against the stone, muscles convulsing in unnatural patterns.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkg9DdIMHM
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The lich is on back of a zombified dragon, as it shares its vision with the sheep monster.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1AoSSWfDs
“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!”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxfVX8mslq
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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 undead14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWedf0GBXz
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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!”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTkGV6LUf0
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlicnlKusDP
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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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuciAlaFba
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But the sheep decides it need to switch targets as it ignores Warzheil’s attack and runs towards me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfIAbiAP5I
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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUw6Skr3TvM
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTWplzctip
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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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiW6wMQeVH
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XQMUhyxNu
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9TtOsdCqW
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYpNC6GFVA
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJL3G2k4vSx
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxaTTDOOid
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwy95ln4S8
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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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitp2eTy6dQ
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9Sx2zJdmJ
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“Warzheil!” I shout next14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPNOUr5L73
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6btrPgf9gG
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“Woah, Slow down a little Ronin! If you run so fast you will be exhausted before long.” Warzheil says14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtvaRzEeox
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“I feel like I am running on air, my body feels rather light even with you on my back.” I say14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLxBVJ9ZJe
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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 asks14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXnNzkRI9M
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“It’s a bit complex, so you see…” I explain the early events of me meeting Geolard.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEVF5bki2M
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“What!? You killed Geolard the forgotten 126th demon lord?” he yells14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy10TcpJ9n
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“Stop yelling in my ears, you want me to go Deaf?” I say with irritation.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGuBxwMXOb
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnR0JTl7rJ
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“Why are you so excited though? I almost died back then.” I say14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuFIVQHIFL
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“But you didn’t right?” he replies14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPEr4ggsmn
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As I run, we see a bot with a book, which looks like a mage heading towards the undead army.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfsbsj0cxn
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeLQInfYMD
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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?”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkaU3oDKds
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aoh7BOxY7
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkDMnHlyU9
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSF2jgrtvl
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHv10NLhyP
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gMLNu65wj
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiywzedVz2d
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“Anyway What was that about just now? Is that dratnir your friend from Earth or something?” he asks14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLmJVDwrNJ
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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 demand14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57la286qbq
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntgjbFsglV
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWWS5JI35p
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZRCbpILIE
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHjbO2vHZP
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywTY6uzZul
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nisAr4HEJ
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrDru6PjoF
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We were suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEbFE0vGKJ
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQZRpeqHhk
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