A powerful frame of steel-like muscle and sharpened fangs and claws hurtled straight for Levi. Flaring the mana in his container—what remained of it—he placed a trap on the ground and leapt backwards. The bat was too big to stop. Like a bull plated in heavy natural armour, it rampaged for him.

  The moment it stepped on Levi’s spell, orange and red assaulted his senses. The impact was so large that even Levi was caught up in it. Empowered by his Trap Making Skill, Levi was flung backwards, his body smashing through a building. Stone and wood shattered. Levi recovered almost instantly thanks to his regeneration. Shaking his head and coughing away the dust, Levi dashed back onto the street.

  What he saw was carnage. His magic had left a crater in the floor. Embers flickered to life within and the air practically sizzled under its heat—like a desert horizon.

  From a building on the other side of the street, all Levi heard was the sound of debris shifting. Parts of the ceiling and wall caved in further, and then out shot the hulking beast. Eyes hazed over in fury, each stomp of its feet trembled the ground.

  The civilians screamed in panic as they fought to get closer to the train station. Three long lines of soldiers forced them back. Against those with Birthright seeds—even just one—it was a monumental gap in strength that couldn’t be passed. They were beaten back. The soldiers swung their bats, bones cracked.

  Above, bats swarmed. The adventurer mages, once they had recovered their mana, unleashed more spells. But it wasn’t enough. The fighting force within the walls was pitiful. How long had it been since they had seen true battle? How long had they overly relied on the colossal walls to protect them from harm?

  Anger bubbled up within Levi, but he couldn’t pay the soldiers any heed right now. He had his own battle to take care off. During that time, Levi had activated Meditate. It was risky, especially as the evolved bat tore right for him. Only seconds had passed, yet it had provided him with a little more mana. Mana that he desperately needed.

  Spear in hand, he threw it with everything he had. Fire spat all around Levi as the spear pierced the air like a supernatural javelin imbued with the power of a volcano. The weapon reached the bat in under a second, the spear disappearing halfway into the bat's chest.

  Levi’s aim struck true, but the bat was obviously no ordinary opponent. Blood seeped from the creature's mouth as it forged on.

  Gritting his teeth, Levi was well aware he couldn't move. Right behind him, were the civilians currently being pushed back further into the street. The soldiers didn’t care they were offering them to the jaws of a bloodthirsty beast.

  A boulder struck nearby, rolling through the buildings like a battering ram. Smoke and dust rose like an all consuming cloud. Levi spared a glance to the top of the wall. Trees and greenery had sprouted from atop it. The Railway Slayers used them as cover. Aleric fought on, only the sounds of his overbearing axe evidence that he was still fighting.

  Something struck the wall fiercely. Rubble and brick fell from atop. But largely remained in tact. Just how strong was it that it could resist a full attack from a demonic titan?

  Levi drew a breath as he imbued his arms and legs with fire, bolstering his might. Forging a physical spear with nothing but his own fire control, Levi stabbed at the bats front limb. If he couldn’t kill it, he’d instead take away its movement.

  The massive monster stumbled, its claws descending on Levi. Levi couldn’t dodge, had no time to. He braced for impact, golden scales and fire covering his body like a protective shell. The claws descended upon him like a freight train. His left arm cracked and then came the rest of the impact. Levi was flung to the floor, rolling to a painful stop.

  His heart thumped violently. With a spare thought that it’d jump out of his chest, Levi leapt to his feet and sprinted ahead. He clashed against the bat, head smashing against its skull. Fire spat and took hold of the bats fur like a symbiotic parasite.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Levi used his speed and size to his advantage, clambering up on the back of the beast. He grabbed one of its ears and pulled. Tearing off its ear, blood spurted outward. The monster roared in pain, thrashing to the side. It crashed into a nearby building, Levi, along with it.

  Levi touched everything he could, sending the house into a devastating blaze. Wooden beams fell on the bat, crashing into its body. Meanwhile, Levi continued spearing into its flesh in a maddened craze. And then, finally, the creature stopped resisting.

  Multiple System notifications rang throughout his mind, but he had to ignore them for now. Levi stumbled out of the burning building, and noticed a few bats approaching. With a simple wave of his hand, the flames from the house behind him spread out like a wall. All the weaker bats who came into contact with his evolved fire turned to ash within seconds.

  Noticing that the bats had lessened somewhat, Levi took that time to Meditate. Mana gathered into his core by the second, but he couldn’t help but look up. The civilians at the back were looking at him incredulously. Some of the children were his age. They gazed at him with stars in their eyes. They were all afraid.

  “Are you a Sway user?” One of them shouted in curiosity.

  “Of course he is!” another said. “How can he fight them otherwise?”

  “Are you really our age? I hear some Sway users retain their youthful appearance. Are you really 200 years old?!”

  Levi grinned at the discussions. He had to admit, the adoration was quite addicting. A stone formed in his throat. All throughout his adult life, he wasn’t sure he had received even one compliment. Not one in 24 years of his life.

  One of the kids was nudged backwards, almost falling on the ground if not for his dad making sure he didn’t fall.

  “Stop pushing!”

  “Let us through!”

  Now that Levi wasn’t staring death in the face, he saw how dire the situation truly was. Every time a noble was let through, the lower-caste civilians grew angrier, and it was easy to understand why. Levi had been on one of the trains—there was enough room for at least 25% of the population. But what about the other 75%?

  Even if he used his powers to fight back the soldiers, what then? Evacuation wasn’t enough; they had to face the threat head-on. Maybe that’s why Aleric was fighting so fiercely. He knew that even with the train, many would still die today. The losses would be catastrophic.

  Feeling that his container had reached at least 30% of capacity, Levi stood up. All they had to do was fight on and hope Aleric was strong enough to defeat the demon.

  With those thoughts in place, Levi reserved nothing back. He fought on, fighting the waves of bats both in the streets, and on the roof tops along with Gregory and the others. His team. He supported them in any way that he could. Because of his fire, Levi held exceptional area attacks.

  After what felt like hours had passed, Levi and the gang had just finished defeating an evolved bat when something in the air changed. Levi spun around, feeling the drastic difference. The mana was coming to life.

  High in the sky, he saw it. A spiralling purple mass and a devouring darkness that chased it. Levi’s heart and stomach sank, like he was being weighed down by a mountain.

  Not another one, Levi thought desperately. If another demon arrived, they’d all be finished. Everyone in the city would be annihilated. But when he heard the titan scream out in horror and… pain. The realisation that another was arriving was no more.

  The titan’s spawn blotting the skies turned and flew away, retreating into the skyline. Levi rushed to one of the taller buildings that still remained, climbing it until he reached its apex. Even at the top, he still couldn't see the titan. But he saw the swirling purple mass in the air pulsate. First it was slow, then it sped up.

  Levi watched on in shock as the titanous monster was pulled up into the sky, and consumed the beast whole.

  The Krag had summoned it back.

  Breathing heavy with exhaustion, Levi gazed around at the destroyed city. Hundreds of buildings had been felled by the massive boulders. Fire, red and orange, and angry, started spreading throughout. Screams of panic and mourning filtered through the broken streets.

  Bram climbed up next to him, and said, “I know you are tired. But we need your help.”

  “With what?” Levi asked, turning to Bram, mind numb from all the fighting and destruction.

  “With removing the fire.”

  Levi nodded. He stared at the destruction for a moment longer. This world was his home now.