There was a split moment of shock and fear from the Hunters nearby as a hundred shadows rose from the ground. As one, the shadow mages conjured fireballs made of black fire and launched them into the sea of beasts. The humans cheered as the fireballs created craters in the ground where they landed. Dozens of beasts wailed in agony as the black fire burned their bodies.

The rest of the shadows split off into different directions. He could hear Tyr laughing madly in the distance as he cleaved through several of the beasts in a single blow.

All at once, the battle seemed to shift in the favor of the humans. Evan watched as the Midnight guild members and the Hunters that had been fighting rallied together and threw themselves at the beasts.

Notifications drifted in and out of his vision as he and his shadows culled the beasts.

You have gained [100 experience points] as a result of your [Shadow Knight] defeating a [Dungeon Widow]

You have gained [200 experience points] for defeating [Dungeon Widow]

…

You have gained [100 experience points] as a result of your [Shadow Knight] defeating a [Dungeon Fire Wolf]

Fenrir’s roar echoed through the battlefield. The dungeon core’s bloodlust tinted the summoner’s vision red. His dark blade flickered in and out of existence as he cut his way deeper and deeper into the swarm.

He thrust the blade into the mouth of a dungeon wolf, severing its brainstem as the blade jutted out the other side of its skull. Bright, red blood sprayed out of the wound and onto a dungeon spider behind the wolf. The spider instinctively tried to take advantage of the fact that the summoner’s blade was embedded in the wolf’s skull, but a moment later it found itself convulsing in pain as the blade split it in two.

Minutes turned to hours as they fought. For every beast they managed to slay, another two took their place. Evan’s arms grew heavy as he slaughtered the beasts by the hundreds. The only source of relief came from [The System].

You have reached [Level 3]

You have reached [Level 4]

…

You have reached [Level 8]

Every level-up seemed to increase his power two-fold. He grew stronger and faster. The fatigue in his arms and legs faded away and he continued to carve a path deeper and deeper into the sea of dungeon beasts. He’d allowed Fenrir’s bloodlust to overtake him so completely that he didn’t even notice that the heavy fog that shrouded his thoughts after each level-up had stopped getting lighter.

An hour passed. He began to feel a stabbing pain in the back of his mind. But he was so consumed by Fenrir’s hunger and the intoxicating effects of the mana that came from killing the beasts that he paid it no attention.

Another hour went by.

Evan thrust his blade into the back of a dungeon widow. He grinned as the spider screeched in pain. Fenrir laughed. “More! More, my King!”

There was a moment of utter silence before the bomb went off in his head. His body slumped to the ground, and Fenrir’s laughter turned into the scream of a dying animal. A translucent screen saved his life before he could go unconscious.

You have reached [Level 10]

[The System]’s magical healing power swelled through his body and kept him on the cusp of consciousness. He felt the bite of claws and fangs on his arms and legs as he tried to crawl back towards the human line.

Black blood coated the dirt around him as the beasts tore into his body. Fenrir whimpered softly in his ear.

A moment passed before he felt himself being lifted into someone’s arms. He opened his eyes to see Jason’s face. The man was covered in blood, both his and Evan’s. Up ahead he could see Tyr swinging his massive sword, cutting a path for Jason as he carried his king to safety.

“Don’t worry Evan, I got you!” Jason yelled over the sounds of the living and the dying.

The summoner closed his eyes. “Fenrir, what happened?” he whispered in his mind.

“Mana rebound. There are too many, my King. Our shadows are weak. They are being cut down almost as soon as they are formed. We can’t regenerate mana fast enough. We are not strong enough ... again,” the dungeon core whispered back.

He heard a voice calling to him from somewhere far away. “Evan! Evan! Wake up!”

There was something familiar about the voice, but he couldn’t place it. There was a warmth that spread through his body. Wounds disappeared and the cloud that hung over his thoughts cleared for a moment. He opened his eyes to see Astrid staring down at him, her eyes full of panic and fear.

The summoner smiled. “I’m okay. I’m okay,” he managed to choke out.

Evan could hear the sounds of the battle getting closer. Without him and his shadows, the human Hunters were being overrun again. He watched as the healer chugged potion after potion, practically dragging her tired body around as she tended to the wounded.

Fenrir was the first to notice the wolves as they stalked her. “The healer!”

He tried to stand. To go to her. To save her. But his body wouldn’t obey his mind. He watched helplessly as one of the wolves lunged at the healer’s back.

By some twist of fate, Jason had heard Fenrir when he had shouted out over the sounds of the battle. Evan watched as the young warrior rammed his shield into the side of the wolf, shattering its bones. The wolf whimpered as Jason slit its throat.

* * *

The warrior smiled at Astrid, proud of himself for being able to defend her after she had saved him from ending his life all those years ago.

Astrid’s smile turned into a scream as she pointed at something behind him. Confused, he turned around to see what she was pointing at.

* * *

Evan watched in slow-motion as the second wolf lunged for Jason. He heard Astrid scream and point, trying to warn him. Move. Please move. Run. Run.

The world went silent as the summoner watched the wolf rip out Jason’s throat. The young man’s eyes widened in surprise as he fell to his knees. Blood pooled in his mouth and flowed freely from his ruined neck. His sword and shield clattered on the floor.

Jason fell to the ground clutching his throat. His eyes filled with fear a second before life left them. Then he was gone.

Evan felt something inside him snap. Fenrir unleashed a roar that shook the entire area around them like an earthquake. His blue eyes turned to pure black as mana seeped out of them. He lost himself to pure, blinding, pitch-black rage.

In an instant, a hundred shadows appeared around him. The shadows screamed in pain. In rage. In grief.

“KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!”