I Was a Loner, but My Class Got Summoned to Another World…

[I think they have gathered enough. They're on the move. They've started their march on the forest. Everyone, I suggest you begin pulling back. If possible, find a place to hide for now.]

Yui's voice echoed through the Empathic Link, her presence hidden in safety from view as she focused and continued relaying the demons' movements in real time. The enemy was mobilizing fast.

Lisa, listening in through the communication device, scanned her surroundings with a tense expression.

"Silis, we're going to need you to get us out of here—Terra too. We need to escape for now."

The great basilisk nodded. Below them, Terra had already begun tunneling a quick escape route, crafting a wide enough passage with steps to ensure the humans could descend safely.

Meanwhile, Scorch, Regal, and the other creatures had already begun pulling back into the forest's shadows.

After retreating a few hundred meters, they surfaced again.

It was time to start planning their actions.

"I think it's time we set up another plan," Victor called out. "I've marked a few key zones where we can split the demons. I'll have the shadows divide—one will take the left flank, the other the right. I'll go with Scorch, Regal, and Serana on the left."

"I'll go too," Kai added without hesitation. He gave Chloe a tight hug before pulling away. "You'll need a geomancer if we have to make a quick exit. I can at least stall them."

"That leaves us the right side," Lisa said, stepping forward. "Silis and Terra will be our main force. Everyone else, prepare for combat. We'll need coordination."

"I'll join you," Ren volunteered. "With the two best geomancers, we'll catch them off guard."

He didn't say it aloud, but in reality, he wanted to stay back and keep Yui safe, but he gave up on this quickly. His sister was likely the safest among them, but he couldn't shake the urge to protect her.

With that, the groups divided and moved out.

But before they could make it far, something unexpected happened.

The ceiling—once solid stone—vanished.

The dark roof of the cavern dissolved into nothingness, replaced by shafts of sunlight pouring in from above. A bright sky stretched over their heads, open and clear as if it had always been there.

"What did Logan do this time…" Lisa muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead.

She didn't stop moving, but her voice carried a mixture of exasperation and disbelief. "He's always in the middle of everything."

The sky above them now began to let rays of sunlight in, right above the path where Wyver's massive, dark silhouette flew. He had had to show it's for from time to time and use grand scale magic to show that he was real enough for the demons to look for and attack.

Suddenly, the demons began to throw powerful ranged magic at the shadow, which, however, missed at began causing damage to the group instead.

"Guess this is it… We'll need to get ready for a long fight," Rubina muttered.

Silis and Terra were already at work, tearing into the ground to form pit after pit. Chloe dashed between them, using her new evolution's power and speed to create a fine layer over each pit and sharpened spikes at the bottom. Thanks to her level 80 advancement, she could keep up with the creatures.

Time was short.

They could already hear the distant crashes of magic tearing through trees—signs the demons were clearing a path toward them.

In the end, they only managed to dig ten or so pits. Hastily made and barely covered, but it would have to do.

[I think that's all the demons,] Yui's voice echoed over the Empathic Link. [I'm following the group heading left—they seem to be the most numerous. Victor… and especially you, Serana, be careful. With the sun rising, your power will be weaker.]

Yui moved like a shadow, trailing the thirty-strong demon group from above. Using her shuriken as a way of transportation, she flung it from tree to tree, blinking across the forest canopy with Shadow Step. None of the demons looked back to look for her—they were far too confident and focused, unaware they were being stalked.

When the illusion broke, most of the demons just paused. Scanning the surroundings, they assumed the dragons were responsible for breaking the illusion, which only pressed the demons to work harder and try to kill the two beasts who were no doubt the guardians of the darkness temple.

That mistake cost some their lives.

Scorch began the assault with a thunderous roar. Fire exploded across the treetops as the flaming Tyrannosaurus Rex led the charge. There was no time to waste—the miasma was thinning by the second, and once it cleared completely, Serana and her minions would be vulnerable.

Serana struck fast.

She and her minions—Umbral and Iris—moved as a single entity.

They were silent and unstoppable.

From a tall tree, her beholder Veldir oversaw the battlefield, identifying the strongest targets and relaying signals through their own form of communication.

They struck with precision, killing some who had separated from the group before the demons had time to react.

Victor remained behind, eyes locked onto Drakhel.

The massive blood dragon surged forward, casting a terrifying shadow across the battlefield. Victor had one goal in mind: draw the enemy's attention.

If someone had to take a fatal blow, better the shadow dragon falls and then lose Scorch or Serana.

"Make it flashy," Victor muttered, and the shadow Drakhel obeyed.

A blast of crimson energy erupted from his mouth as he dove into the enemy formation, daring them to strike him first.

And just like that, chaos took the forest.

Scorch, hidden beneath the canopy, unleashed concentrated beams of fire—his breath narrowed into a beam of power and searing heat that tore through the demons' ranks.

He struck with a devastation which caught a group of them off-guard, then followed each blast with a crushing bite to finish the job.

But so far, only the fledglings had died.

It didn't take long for the stronger demons to respond.

Their leaders barked orders, and within seconds, the formation reorganized, making it nearly impossible for Serana to keep isolating targets for assassination.

The demons began forming squads of eight, and their counterattack was swift and brutal.

Each group of demons used embedded mana crystals to drain elemental attacks directed at them, nullifying fire, darkness, and even some earth spells before they could land.

Within moments, the tide turned.

The real threat revealed itself—the elite units.

These weren't just common scouts.

They were close to the power of the generals when in groups; they were demons assigned to conquer the Temple of Darkness.

Each one fought with strength equal to a high-level beast.

Some of them—shockingly—matched Scorch in power when using the blue mutated crystal to give them power.

The shadow dragon fell first.

Dozens of spells rained down on it, and the beast was shredded in a storm of mana.

His body crumbled back into particles of mana, vanishing in a plume of shadow as the tether to Victor snapped.

Then Scorch's hiding place was destroyed.

A massive explosion ripped through the trees, tearing apart the forest and exposing the dinosaur.

Smoke filled the area around him, which even created a crater around the large dinosaur that stood in the middle of it.

Scorch became enraged and melted everything it stood on as it readied its retaliation.

"Damn it… this won't be easy now," Victor hissed.

He had no choice. He moved to reinforce Serana, just as several demons broke through the line and engaged her group in close-quarters combat. The three girls—Serana, Iris, and Umbral—suddenly found themselves cornered.

Elsewhere, Nyxar fought alone.

The once-demon turned vampire used a large red blade to carve through his former kin with terrifying power.

They screamed "traitor" as they attacked him, but Nyxar didn't even flinch.

He didn't seem to remember them—only that they stood in his way.

With a growl, he plowed through them, only to be sealed moments later within a translucent force field, glowing faintly with a strange sigil.

Meanwhile, Rath—the garmr—was being hunted. Though he had slain two demons already, five more were chasing him relentlessly. Their anger burned brighter than their reason, a reaction to their fallen comrades.

But Rath had done enough.

The pursuing demons were forced to activate their berserk stones—dark red gems that shattered in their hands, unleashing a burst of strength and fury. That alone was proof of how much damage the garmr had dealt.

Victor looked around, eyes narrowing as the battlefield fell into chaos.

They were being overwhelmed.

Scorch fought on, his flames fierce and furious, but the enemy had already adapted. A unit had formed specifically to counter him, combining their efforts to shackle the dinosaur with high-level ice magic.

Victor clenched his fists.

They needed to turn this around—and soon.

The only one now that was not tied up was Kai; he was stealthily throwing around sharp spears that were short but very deadly, they were tossed in a way that would not expose him, but they were also being countered with barriers.