Near the wall, only around five hundred zombies remained, and the elites were almost gone. But that didn’t matter anymore, because the real danger still stood, the Wall Breaker and the remaining Apex Zombies.

What truly shook them, however, was something else. Isha, their captain, was injured.

"...Captain..."

Ayesha’s voice lowered as she continued firing, her rhythm breaking for a moment. Deepak tightened his grip on his weapon. "...Damn it..." Even he, who rarely showed emotion, looked tense.

Vikram saw it. He saw Isha lying on the ground, injured, and something snapped inside him.

"I’m going."He stepped forward, ready to jump, but two hands stopped him. Sana and Kavya held him firmly.

"Why?" Vikram asked sharply. "Let go."

"Don’t worry," Sana said quickly. "She’s our captain. Even if she’s injured, she won’t fall so easily."

Kavya nodded beside her. "She’s the strongest. You don’t need to interfere."

But those words were only half true. They weren’t lying, but they weren’t fully confident either, because deep down, they were worried too.

They didn’t know Vikram’s power, only that he had awakened today, which meant unstable, untrained, and unpredictable. And the plant summons behind him, to them, looked like toys, not something that could survive this battlefield.

If he went, he might die instantly. He was the captain’s most precious person. They couldn’t risk it, not even a little.

So they held him tighter. Vikram’s jaw clenched, his eyes locked on Isha, on the battlefield, on the danger ahead.

---

Pooja saw it, Isha falling, injured. For a brief moment, her smile disappeared.

"...You..." She lowered her head slightly as the flames around her began to change. They were no longer wild or playful. They turned violent.

The Armored Colossus stepped forward again, its heavy body shaking the ground with each step.

It raised its arm, ready to finish the fight, but before it could move. A massive wave of fire struck it head-on, forcing it to stagger back for the first time.

Pooja appeared in front of it, her eyes burning with anger. "...You dare...?" Her voice was low and cold.

The Colossus roared and charged, bringing its massive fist down.

Pooja didn’t dodge. She raised her hand and stopped the attack, flames wrapping tightly around her arm.

Her flames spread across its arm, burning through the cracks in its armor as they began to glow red.

The Colossus tried to pull back, but she grabbed it tightly. "Going somewhere?"

It swung its other arm, but she blasted it away instantly. She stepped closer, and murmured, "Burn Core."

Her hand struck its chest. Flames exploded inside its body, making it shake violently as cracks spread across its armor.

Colossus roared and tried to push her away, still resisting.

"...Still standing?" Pooja smiled again and raised both hands as flames gathered between them, compressing rapidly.

"Then let’s end this properly."

The Colossus charged again in one final attempt.

Pooja thrust both hands forward. "Inferno Collapse."

A massive explosion consumed the Colossus, the flames crushed inward, destroying its core completely. For a moment, it stood still.

Then cracks spread across its body, and light burst out from within.

Its entire body collapsed, shattered, and burned into pieces.

Pooja without wasting a second, she moved to save her captain.

---

On Raghav’s side, a distant shot echoed as "THOOM" rang across the battlefield, followed by two heavy explosions.

The Hulking’s legs were blasted apart from the knees. Its massive body instantly lost balance and crashed to the ground with a heavy "THUDDD!!!", shaking the battlefield.

Raghav, still breathing heavily, lifted his head. "...James..." Even without seeing clearly, he knew.

"...Enough." He wiped the blood from his mouth as his hands steadied. He picked up his launcher and loaded it slowly and carefully.

He stepped forward, moving closer and closer until he stood directly in front of the Hulking’s face. The creature tried to move, but without its legs it couldn’t rise properly, and its arms were still regenerating.

Raghav raised the launcher and pressed the muzzle against its face. "Let’s end this."

The Hulking roared, trying to bite and move, but it was already too late.

"THOOOOOOOOOM!!!" The shot fired point-blank, followed by a massive explosion.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!"

Its entire head was blown apart. Flesh and bone scattered violently, and a shockwave spread outward. The Hulking was dead.

But Raghav didn’t relax. He turned immediately and ran toward Isha.

---

On the other side of the battlefield, Arjun saw his captain injured. For a brief second, his grip on the sword tightened, and his eyes turned colder than before.

"...Enough."

The Shadow Lurker flickered again, trying to disappear and regain control of the battlefield, but this time Arjun didn’t give it any chance.

He moved so fast that there was no sound, no warning. In the next instant, he appeared behind it, and then moved again, crossing through it repeatedly.

Within a single minute, he had passed through the Shadow Lurker dozens of times, so fast that even Neha and Vikrant couldn’t follow. To them, it looked like nothing was happening.

Even the Shadow Lurker didn’t understand what was happening. It tried to react, tried to vanish, tried to create illusions, but nothing worked.

A strange sensation spread through its body. It felt lighter. Unstable.

It looked down. A thin line appeared across its torso. Then another. And then many more.

"SHHHK..."

Small pieces of its body began to slip. Its arm separated and fell. Its leg split apart and collapsed. Its chest opened in layers, as if it had been cut hundreds of times. Even its face cracked, splitting apart into fragments.

The Shadow Lurker tried to roar, to react, to escape, but it couldn’t. Its body was no longer whole.

"..."

No sound came out. In the next second, its entire form collapsed and disintegrated into countless pieces.

Arjun stood behind where it once was, his sword lowered.

Neha and Vikrant stared in shock. For a moment, they couldn’t understand what had happened.

"...He... killed it?"

Arjun didn’t respond. He simply turned and ran toward Isha.

One by one, they all finished their battles, Arjun, Pooja, Raghav, Imran, Neha, Vikrant. All of them moved at the same time, toward their captain.

---

The Wall Breaker stood there, completely unshaken and unharmed, its massive body towering over Isha, who was still on the ground, injured and struggling to rise.

Its weapon arm was already raised, aimed directly at her face.

"No—!" Pooja’s voice broke.

"Captain!!" Raghav tried to run, his legs barely holding. Imran forced his broken body forward. Neha stumbled but kept pushing. Vikrant gritted his teeth and dashed ahead. Behind them, Arjun surged forward at full speed, his body leaning so far ahead it almost looked like he was flying.

Even on the wall, Vikram saw it, and this time he didn’t hesitate. He jumped straight off the wall, landed hard, and immediately ran forward faster than ever before.

The Wall Breaker tilted its head slightly, that same broken laugh echoing again.

"Khrr... khh... HA... HA...!!"

Its launcher began to glow as dense, violent energy gathered, unavoidable and absolute.

It fired. Isha looked up, her vision blurred, her body unresponsive, her aura flickering. The moment she saw the attack, she understood.

This might be the end. She closed her eyes.

Pooja reached out desperately. "...No..."

Raghav’s eyes widened. Imran tried to shout, but no sound came out. Neha froze. Vikrant’s body went stiff. Arjun stumbled mid-run, his foot slipping as he lost balance and fell hard to the ground. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Vikram kept running, faster and more desperate than ever, but even he knew. It was too late. One by one, they closed their eyes.

Because none of them wanted to see what would happen next.

Seconds passed. One. Two. Three.

But no explosion came. There was no "BOOOOOOM!!!," no shockwave, no destruction.

"...?"

One by one, they slowly opened their eyes. The Wall Breaker stood in the same position, its launcher still pointed forward, but nothing had fired.

And in front of it stood Isha. Then a sound broke the silence.

"Hahahaha... hahahaha... HAHAHAHA...!!"

Isha was laughing. Not her usual calm smile. Not a light chuckle. A full, maniacal laugh.

Everyone froze in confusion. Even the Wall Breaker tilted its head slightly, as if it couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Pooja was the first to reach her. "Captain...?"

Her voice was uncertain, because this was the first time she had seen Isha like this.

Raghav, Imran, Neha, and Vikrant gathered around, still alert and tense.

At the same time, Vikram was still running toward her, breath heavy and eyes wide.

Isha noticed him even at that moment. She raised her hand slightly and gave a signal. Arjun understood instantly. Without a word, he moved.

In the next moment, he appeared beside Vikram, grabbed him, and disappeared. A second later, Vikram was back on the wall, safe.

Because even now, the Wall Breaker was still alive, and Isha would not take even a single risk with him.

Back on the ground Pooja stepped closer. "Captain... what happened?"

Isha finally stopped laughing, though a faint smile still remained.

She looked at the Wall Breaker and spoke calmly.

"I forgot..." She paused slightly. "...that bastard has limited ammo."

Her smile widened, almost amused. "Now his rockets are finished."

She stepped forward as her aura rose again, stronger and sharper. "...Now he’s just a child to me."

Isha stepped forward slowly, without any rush or pressure. Her aura rose again, stable, sharp, and fully controlled.

The Wall Breaker stood still for a moment. Its weapon arm no longer glowed, and no energy gathered. It tried to activate the launcher, but nothing came out.

Isha smiled slightly. "...Tried?" In the next instant, she disappeared.

She reappeared right in front of it and slammed her fist into its torso, not even with full strength, yet the impact echoed as the massive body staggered back.

Before it could recover, her claws flashed. A deep, precise cut tore across its chest.

The Wall Breaker swung its arm. She tilted her head slightly, letting the punch pass inches from her face.

She stepped in again. Another punch, stronger this time, snapped its head to the side.

It tried to grab her, but she slipped out of reach like a shadow.

Now she wasn’t fighting seriously. She was playing. Every movement was effortless. She cut across its arm, to weaken it.

A kick struck its knee, forcing the massive body to drop slightly.

It roared in anger and frustration, but it was powerless. Because now it had lost its greatest advantage: distance and firepower.

In close combat, it couldn’t match her. Isha circled around it, calm and almost bored.

The Wall Breaker lunged again, desperate and wild. She caught its fist mid-air, her claws sliced through.

The arm was severed again, the massive limb crashing to the ground. It tried to regenerate, but she didn’t allow it.

She stepped in, grabbed its shoulder, and slammed it into the ground.

"BOOOOOOM!!!" The impact shattered the earth beneath it. Then she stood over it.

"...let’s end this properly." The Wall Breaker struggled beneath her, its massive body twisting as it tried to rise, regenerate, and fight back.

But Isha didn’t allow him, her aura burning brighter than ever.

"...You had your chance. Now it was mine..." Her claws came down clean and precise, severing the regenerating arm before it could fully form.

It tried to move, to roll, to escape, but she stepped forward and placed her foot firmly on its chest, pinning it down completely.

"Stay down." The ground cracked beneath it as it struggled, but it couldn’t move, not even an inch.

Isha raised her hand as her claws dissolved and reformed into something new, a long, pure white blade, shaped entirely from her will.

She held it calmly, without hesitation. "...This ends here."

The Wall Breaker let out a low, broken sound, something closer to resistance.

But Isha didn’t show him any mercy, the blade pierced straight through its head, from front to back.

For a moment, everything froze. Then cracks spread across its entire body as light burst out from within.

"CRRRRRRACK—!!!"

Its form began to break apart piece by piece. Armor shattered, flesh disintegrated, and its entire body collapsed.

Isha stood there, still and calm, her aura slowly fading, while behind her the team watched in silence, because they all understood what they had just witnessed, the strongest enemy of the night had fallen, and their captain stood victorious.