The Author's Viewpoint
Chapter 158 - High-Stakes Plan

Chapter 158: Chapter 158 - High-Stakes Plan

Skarathor, the tier 8 monster.

This gigantic, overpowered creature was never meant to be here. This was supposed to be a tier 4 rift, the kind of mission that should’ve been relatively simple to handle, especially with a lineup of Gaia Masters, including several forest elves, who on average are far stronger than humans.

But everything changed when the demons slipped into this rift and twisted its core with their manipulations. Their interference turned the entire domain into what’s now classified as an Emergency Rift. And from that chaos, something utterly abnormal emerged.

A tier 8 monster. Skarathor.

But what exactly is Skarathor?

In the original tale, this beast was a timeless entity, a relic of the old world. It once ruled the skies of the North Continent, nesting above the high grounds and feeding on swirling currents of Gaia Force. Up there, where the air thinned and the anomalies thickened, it grew, too powerful, too sentient. Until its presence became a threat into the land. Eventually, it was pulled into a pocket world of its own making, sealed away.

Yet fate did not let it rest. That creature was hurled from one pocket world to another, eventually becoming something like a guardian of rift explorations. A harbinger. A witness. It became the living symbol of extreme anomalies within rifts. Its presence a rare but unmistakable marker that an Emergency Rift had reached critical levels of instability.

To put it simply, this creature was a sentinel, an omen and a judge when awakeners come face-to-face with the unrelenting force of Gaia, powerless to resist their fate.

Normally, Skarathor only wanders. It patrols the rift skies silently, watching, offering no meaningful aid, no direct interference.

Until... the moment it must.

Until the exact moment it’s called to act, to restore the rift’s balance with a strike so massive, it rewrites the course of everything.

Skarathor had been circling the skies for a while now. Tave had been watching its pattern closely, memorizing every sweep and glide of the bird’s path. He knew, with absolute certainty, that the creature would fly over this exact spot at this exact moment. And he was ready to take full advantage of that knowledge. For his own victory.

Because, charging into a horde of hundreds of demons with only four fighters at your side? That’s nothing short of madness. A guaranteed death wish. Even with the recent upgrades Tave and Vanya had received, their strength was nowhere near enough to pull that off.

No... Tave never planned to win by force. He was after something else entirely.

Because Skarathor would descend. It would be drawn to the massive anomaly unfolding right here. When the demons would attempt to open their gate, to forge a bridge straight into Yunatea.

And Skarathor? Skarathor would not allow that. Not now. Not ever.

Skarathor let out a deafening roar—like thunder tearing through the sky, shaking the very bones of the earth. It was a cry that awakened the entire forest, the whole rift stirred by its call.

It was a sign, an omen of catastrophic scale. That roar would draw every living thing in the rift toward this one place. And, without fail, it did.

Moments later, the ground trembled under the rumbling footsteps and howls of countless creatures, surging from every direction.

The beat of Skarathor’s massive wings slammed against the earth with such force it sent shockwaves tearing through the forest. A tornado formed on one side, spinning so violently it seemed to lift the forest itself into the air.

The swirling vortex now turned, roaring straight toward the demons’ fortress. Tave allowed himself a faint smile. He knew. They weren’t going to like this one bit.

Below, the demons struggled to stay upright, shielding themselves from the howling winds assaulting them from every angle. They scrambled to regroup, to rise again. They had no choice. They had to defend the fortress.

Of course they did.

Why else would they build a fortress so deep within a rift if they weren’t trying to protect something?

The gate. It was forming inside that fortress. And if they meant to keep it intact, they couldn’t let anything, especially a beast like Skarathor, tear the place apart.

Tave flapped his wings hard, carefully avoiding any direct clash with the demons. But they no longer paid him any mind. Their focus was gone, redirected entirely toward the incoming chaos.

In that moment, he activated his stealth and vanished into the air, slipping away from their ranks unseen.

"Damn it! The rat got away!"

"We don’t have time! Everyone get down there! Stop every monster that gets close!"

From the treeline came a thunderous crash. The monsters arrived, bursting through, roaring, wild. Flying lizards swarmed the sky. Lightning cracked, tornadoes spiraled, and a massive storm began to consume the land.

Tave’s eyes locked onto the spot where the massive golem lay collapsed on the ground, its body partially shattered. On its back, a cocoon of vine-like structures had formed a small dome. A temporary shelter where Vanya was taking cover.

Even with that, the vine dome looked barely capable of withstanding the relentless force of the winds battering the earth.

Tave beat his wings with all his strength, straining against the chaotic gusts. Every few seconds, the violent air would toss his body aside, forcing him to steady himself all over again.

He disabled his stealth, focusing his full power. Then he surged forward, cutting through the gale, flying straight toward the cocoon where Vanya was hidden.

As he neared it, the vine nest slowly opened, and Tave dove inside, slamming his body through the narrow gap. He crashed in and quickly repositioned himself into a seated posture just as the protective shell closed behind him, sealed again by Vanya.

Within the cramped shelter, flickering green elemental particles floated gently through the air, casting a faint luminescence across the space. The soft glow touched Vanya’s face, and it was unmistakable. She wasn’t okay.

Her skin was ghostly pale. She had clearly pushed herself far beyond her limits, draining her energy and stamina just to survive this long.

And even though they’d reached the very moment Tave had foreseen, had prepared for. He couldn’t bring himself to blame her, or anyone else.

Their enemy was simply too powerful. And far too numerous.

Under normal conditions, they wouldn’t have lasted this long. Their survival was due only to Vanya’s exceptional long-range combat skills, and the fact that she had positioned herself atop the massive golem. That alone made it difficult for the close-range demons to reach her.

Besides, demons always had a habit of toying with their prey. Arrogance, yes, their own pride had led them into this chaos.

They had weakened the golem enough for Tave and Vanya to take control of it. They had destabilized the rift to such a degree that Skarathor had been drawn to intervene.

And they had started a war, a massive, spiraling conflict on this very ground. Though that last part... Well, that was Tave’s doing. He had deliberately provoked them into waging a large-scale battle. It was all part of the plan. A risky one, but necessary.

And now, Skarathor was angry.

"Tave... all of this, it escalated so far, so fast. Did you anticipate any of this happening?"

"What should we do now?" she added.

And yes... they had to act. Now.

Because Tave had to set his next move in motion. The next phase in this carefully woven, high-stakes plan.