Vortex Origins
Chapter 92: The Third creature wave - 10

Chapter 92: The Third creature wave - 10

The bots moved without a word.

Some dropped beside Ash, metal limbs locking into battle stances, while others soared toward the chaos tearing through the settlement.

On the far side, Alex and Kaius fought with everything they had.

Wind exploded from Alex’s hand, a wide arc of force that sent the nearest wave of Grimhorns flying back into the swarm. Bodies tumbled and crashed, but there was no pause. No fear. The horde kept pushing.

Then came the bots.

Lasers lanced through the battlefield. Precision fire. Every Grimhorn that dropped twitched once, then lay still. Any human that had turned, any undead that rose—gone before they could move.

Alex glanced upward. More bots flew overhead, vanishing into the horizon.

Mia stood atop a wide stone wall, her arms raised as sweat ran down her face. Grimhorns slammed into the barrier below her, snarling, clawing, trying to force their way through. Behind her, stone golems crashed into any that made it past.

On a floating platform beside her, Kevin knelt, eyes closed, unmoving.

His voice broke the tension.

"Almost done. Just a little longer."

Mia didn’t look at him.

"My soul pool’s dropping. The golems won’t last forever. And I’m the only thing keeping that wall standing."

Kevin’s eyes still remained closed

"This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for that man."

Mia scoffed.

"Still shocked you saw someone in there. Walking. With those things."

"I know what I saw. And he’s not normal."

"No kidding. I figured that out when he cracked your soulcore."

Then the sky lit up again.

Lasers. Blasts. Max’s bots flew into view, some descending beside the stone golems. Gunfire echoed in the distance as the machines joined the frontline.

Max grinned then let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we’re not dying today."

Kevin tilted his head.

"What?"

"We got backup and they are robots"

The bots pressed forward, clearing a path through the chaos—straight toward Ash.

Ash stood silent, watching the fused knight through narrowed eyes. Then he glanced at the bot beside him.

"Hey. You there?"

The bot’s visor flickered.

A face appeared on the screen—same playful grin, drawn in white lines. It turned toward the knight.

The screen flashed once—blood red:

!

Ash stared at the knight, then at the bot beside him.

"Yeah... i know. That thing’s stronger than anything we’ve seen. Because it’s not just one creature. It’s two."

The bot’s visor tilted, confused. The face on its screen blinked.

Then the knight moved.

Steel tore the air. The blade came down hard. The bot didn’t move fast enough.

A loud crunch. Metal twisted, sparks flew—pieces scattered across the dirt.

Ash had already vanished, Phantom’s Stride pulling him from the strike, his feet landing a few meters away. He glanced back.

The knight stood still, staring at the crushed bot like it remembered something. Or someone.

Ash didn’t wait. He turned to the next nearest bot. Its visor lit up. The same grinning face appeared.

"I’ve got a plan. Might not work. But I need you to separate it from one of the swords. Can you do that?"

There was a pause. Then the screen blinked. A thumbs-up.

Ash nodded once.

"Go."

The bot’s screen changed again—saluting emoji.

Ash frowned.

’Why the hell is he using emojis...?’

The bots moved. Fast. Six of them charged the knight, sprinting across the rubble-strewn battlefield. They didn’t hesitate.

The knight raised both blades, the air around him thick with pressure. The bots came anyway.

The bots charged.

Ash stood still, his breath caught in his chest as steel met steel. Each time the knight moved, another bot was torn apart—shattered like glass beneath a hammer. Heads rolled. Limbs flew. Sparks lit the ground like fireflies in a storm.

He watched, heart steady.

’Alright. If it’s just a sword... then I’ll break the damn thing.’

The plan crawled into place. He’d seen it before—during their first fight. The knight had been fast, strong, but not faster than him back then. Not before it fused. Its speed now didn’t make sense. Not for something that heavy. The armor had to be hiding its true tier. Before, it moved like a Tier 5. Now, it felt like something else entirely.

A Tier 7, maybe.

Ash tightened his grip on the blade at his side. It hummed faintly in his hand.

’If it’s still Tier 5, there’s a high chance I can crack it.’

He looked to the chaos ahead. The bots were falling. Three gone with every swing. No formation could hold.

Then something hit.

A flash above.

A diamond rod crashed from the sky, slamming into the knight’s chest like a comet. It didn’t pierce—just dented, forced the monster down to one knee.

Ash’s eyes narrowed.

The knight pushed up, slow, as if confused. Another rod fell, jabbing into its chestplate. It staggered.

Then with one brutal swing, it shattered the diamond.

The knight surged up from the ground, its sword raised behind its back, ready to strike again.

Another rod fell—clean, fast, brutal—slamming straight into its gauntlet.

Steel cracked.

The knight’s grip faltered.

Ash didn’t hesitate.

He flashed forward, closing the gap in a single blur. His hand wrapped around the loosened hilt and, with a twist, he tore the blade free. In the same motion, he hurled it across the battlefield. The sword spun through the air, landing with a sharp clang as it lodged deep into a stone slab.

Then Ash stepped back.

Where the sword landed, something began to form. Black mist swirled, shaping into a figure clad in shadowed armor. Not as tall. Not as sharp. This one lacked the dreadful weight of the knight before—it was the older form. The tier five.

A nearby bot approached Ash, its visor blinking with a wide grin.

Ash glanced sideways at other knight who had also transformed to its tier 5 form.

"Keep that one busy. If you can, break that blade. And if this thing throws its other sword, intercept it. It knows about the rods now—it’ll avoid them."

The knight facing Ash suddenly turned, armor grinding, and hurled its remaining sword toward its twin.

But Ash was already there.

He reappeared in a burst, Phantom’s Stride still burning in his limbs. His blade met the flying sword midair with a ringing clash. Steel hit steel, and the knight’s sword dropped to the dirt.

Ash landed hard, sliding to a stop, blade at the ready.

’Thats one.’

The knight reformed again, body pulling back together from the shadows, with the sword on its hand.

Ash lowered into a stance, his eyes burning into the creature.

"You’re not going any further. Not today. This ends here."

He stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet.

No more running.

Now it was just him and the thing that should never have lived.