I watch with terror as this creature descends the wall, reaching the ground.

  Lord Eru looks at Kata's body and walks with a shadowed face, stopping in front of the creature, whose height almost surpasses him by two meters.

  "Izkuldar. You're uglier than the stories tell," Lord Eru says.

  The creature attacks Lord Eru with great speed, but he manages to dodge its attacks. Despite its appearance, the way this creature fights shows a lot of experience, leaving no opening for Lord Eru to counterattack despite only using its claws.

  I try to move and activate Jasmine's Herencia. I concentrate on her memories, thoughts, and feelings. On her desire to help others. With that, I activate it little by little and heal my wounds.

  Just as I succeed, Lord Eru cuts off one of the creature's arms.

  "What's wrong? Can't the famous monster Izkuldar keep up with a naughty kid like me?" Lord Eru taunts.

  The creature looks at Lord Eru and lets out a smile that even its mask can’t hide. The lance stuck in Kata's body comes loose and flies towards Lord Eru, piercing through his arm.

  Lord Eru lets out a cry and falls to his knees, holding his shoulder. The creature picks up its severed arm from the ground and reattaches it. The creature moves it again as if nothing had happened.

  Lord Eru's marks begin to disappear.

  "A rather tasty Herencia," resonates the creature's deep and raspy voice, vibrating in my chest.

  "You took my Herencia away?" Lord Eru says with a mask of terror, but then he regains his composure and tears off part of his clothes to tie his arm and stop the bleeding. "Altair, we'll have to work together. Otherwise, we'll all die." He says without taking his eyes off the creature.

  Lord Eru's words catch me by surprise. But I know that he might be right.

  "I swear by Altum. If you help me, I'll let the Adamantita clan and the Lobos live. What do you say?"

  I nod. “I accept”

  With that, as soon as Lord Eru starts to fight, I rush towards Amator and heal his wounds.

  "But what the..?" Amator says as he wakes up. "Is that Izkuldar."

  "I'd like to explain, but there's no time. I'll heal the wounded while you fight him with Eru. The creature… Izkuldar can steal Herencias with his spear, don’t let him cut you."

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  "Leave it to me."

  Amator stands up and immediately heads towards Izkuldar.

  I spot Mukasa and I’m abut to reach her when I barely manage to dodge the spear’s attack. It grazes me, and I gradually feel Jasmine's mark fading away.

  "No, no!"

  Amator manages to land hits on Izkuldar, but they don't seem to have any effect.

  I decide to go support Amator and Lord Eru, but then other creatures emerge and block my path.

  "More creatures?"

  They seem smaller and weaker than Izkuldar, but their numbers start to increase. Making it hard to handle them all and make my way to help Amator.

  "Get away, damn creatures!" Lord Eru shouts, who starts to be bitten by the creatures, which cling to him like rabid dogs. They do the same with Amator, trying to bite off his skin.

  "Amator, use the fire!" a voice comes from the throne side. It's Astu. She throws him a bottle.

  Amator grabs the bottle and pours the drink all over his body. He then puts his hand in the fire and lets it spread all over his body.

  Despite being engulfed in flames, Amator maintains his smile. Some creatures leap towards him, but upon touching him and being struck by Amator, they catch fire and die quickly amidst screams. In the chaos, I cannot see Izkuldar anywhere.

  I alternate between using Mukasa's and Hoomul's marks to push them off the cliff. About 15 minutes pass, and we manage to annihilate the creatures. The flames surrounding Amator extinguish, and he breathes heavily.

  "What's happening here? Why are the Penumbra creatures here?"

  "Do you know what these creatures are?"

  "Yes, they're from the Penumbra clan. Although I've only heard stories about them. Even on my journey to the Forest of Terrors, I never encountered one. I thought they might had become extinct long ago in the era before the Great Fire Clan."

  The silence produced by our thoughts is interrupted by Astu's coughs.

  "Mother!"

  Amator approaches Astu and holds her. At the same time, I try to check Lord Eru's condition, but I can't see him anywhere. Did the creatures capture him?

  "Altair, use Jasmine's Herencia!"

  "I can't, Izkuldar took it away," I say tensing my face.

  "We must hurry, Jasmine must be at the base," Amator says as he carries Astu.

  I search for Mukasa and Enlil, but all I see is Mukasa's unconscious body and no signs of Enlil. I want to look more for him, but that will take time we don’t have, maybe he managed to escape.

  Both of us hurry to the base, descending through the gorge. We find no sign of Ríe and Enlil's mother’s hounds.

  When we emerge from the gorge, we are welcomed by roars and shouts. And then we see them. The army of creatures causes chaos in the distance at the base of the mountain. They lunge at Dorados and Lobos alike.

  "What going on?"

  I see no traces of the giant brothers, nor Hoomul, Ragnar, or Lilu. They may have escaped upon seeing the attack of the creatures. That’s what I hope for.

  Amator and I hasten to the base. The chaos becomes more violent and noisy.

  "Fresh meat," resonates like multiple voices in unison.

  When I turn my back, I see one of the creatures. It's gigantic, and its multiple climbing limbs give it the shape of a centipede.