The orc lord’s gaze settled on Edward, his expression shifting into something almost... intrigued.
His massive form loomed over us, the sheer weight of his presence making it hard to breathe.
But he didn’t attack.
Not yet.
Instead, he chuckled, a deep, guttural sound that reverberated through the frozen air like a distant landslide.
"How interesting," he mused, tilting his head as if observing some rare creature in a cage. "You, human... you seem to have something which I consider quite annoying."
His crimson eyes flickered with something almost resembling amusement.
"An Absolute Will. Absolute freedom. The more your rage grows, the more unshackled you become."
I stiffened at his words, glancing at Edward.
His breathing was heavy, his body trembling, not from fear, but from something else.
Heat pulsed from him in waves, like a storm waiting to break.
His fists were clenched so tightly.
So that is how Edward ability works.
It isn’t just a normal rage growth and radiation stuff.
Just like what the orc lord said, Edward has absolute will and absolute freedom the more his rage increases.
The orc lord let out another rumbling chuckle.
"But... you’re not quite there yet, are you?" He sighed, shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment. "Your rage... it’s still low. Too low in my sight to be anything more than an inconvenience. A little problem, really."
His smirk widened, revealing sharp, jagged teeth.
"But that doesn’t mean you’re completely useless. No, no. In fact, I quite enjoy this." He gestured at us lazily, as if we were nothing more than toys scattered before him. "Struggle more. Let me see how far you can push yourselves before you break."
My jaw tightened.
He was playing with us.
He knew he could end this at any moment, and yet he was toying with us like a predator savoring its prey.
Edward’s breath came out in slow, measured exhales.
His body was still burning with that heat energy, but he wasn’t lashing out.
He was holding back.
It sure took enough out of Edward for him to be able to pass through that time freeze.
The orc lord’s grin faded slightly.
"Of course..." His voice dropped, the amusement thinning into something sharper, darker. "I do hope you won’t force me to use more power than what I’ve already decided on."
A cold chill ran down my spine.
He wasn’t at full strength.
Not even close.
And yet, we were barely standing against him.
Edward exhaled, his voice rough.
"Then let’s see how much you enjoy it when I force you to take us seriously and destroy you to pieces."
The orc lord’s grin returned, this time full of anticipation.
"Now that," he said, raising his club, "sounds like fun."
I exhaled slowly, my breath visible in the frozen air.
Every muscle in my body was tense, waiting, anticipating.
The orc lord’s grin had faded into something unreadable, calculating.
He was enjoying this game far too much, but I had a feeling that was about to change.
"Edward, Beth," I called, my voice steady despite the storm of thoughts in my head. "Prepare yourselves. I don’t think his next move is going to be funny."
Beth let out a dry laugh, though there was no humor in it.
She was already gripping her weapon tightly, eyes locked on the monster before us.
"You think?" she muttered. "I knew that before you even said it."
I glanced at Edward, expecting some kind of reassurance, but his expression was unreadable.
He was standing slightly ahead of us, his posture rigid, the heat radiating from him still increasing.
Then, finally, he spoke, his tone low and measured.
"We just need to hold him off," he said. "If we can buy some time, maybe, just maybe, some awakened will be able to break through the freeze."
Beth scoffed.
"Yeah? And what if they can’t?, You know this monster isn’t normal, right?"
Edward didn’t answer immediately.
He simply kept his gaze locked on the orc lord, his jaw tightening.
"Then we keep fighting until he break,"
The silence that followed was heavy.
We all knew the reality of the situation.
No reinforcements had come.
No one had broken through the orc lord’s time freeze yet.
The mages who put up the barrier won’t be able to fight due to them using all of their energy.
We were on our own.
But that didn’t mean we would give up.
I tightened my grip, my entire body screaming in protest as I forced it to stay ready.
The air around us felt like it was thickening, pressing in from all sides.
The orc lord wasn’t moving, but something had shifted in the way he stood.
A predator... just before the kill.
I swallowed hard.
"Stay sharp," I whispered.
Then, the ground beneath us trembled.
The air grew unbearably thick, suffocating with an invisible weight.
Every muscle in my body screamed at me to move, to react, to do something, anything.
But I couldn’t.
None of us could.
The orc lord stood before us, his hulking frame unmoving, his crimson eyes filled with something beyond arrogance.
This wasn’t just confidence.
This was certainty.
He knew what was coming, and he knew we had no way of stopping it.
Slowly, he lifted his massive hand, fingers spreading wide.
A sharp chill ran down my spine.
"Move," I whispered, but my voice barely made it past my lips.
His hand hovered in the air, steady, unshaken.
"Almighty... Crush!"
Then, he brought it down.
Then silence.
A silence so deep, so unnatural, it was deafening.
I don’t like it.
It wasn’t the kind of quiet that came after an explosion, where ringing in the ears took over.
No, this was worse.
This was the absence of sound itself, as if the world had been placed on mute.
I could feel my heart pounded against my ribs.
Not in fear...
But in uncertainty, concentration.
My breath caught in my throat.
Then the orc lord slowly grinned.
That same cold and merciless grin.
And in that moment, everything shattered.