Tiphanna gently pushed the vial away and shook her head. "You… need that more than I do," she said slowly, her voice strained. "You still need… to defeat that monster… don't you?"
Daisuke felt his heart sink, not at the prospect of having to confront that fiend again, but confessing to the girl that her most prized creation was ruined.
Suddenly, an alarm bell split the air.
Its frantic toll rolled across the palace like a shriek, dragging Daisuke's attention upward. High above, in the half-ruined tower, soldiers had finally caught wind of the devastation left behind in the throne room—and panic answered in kind.
Boots thundered through the inner ward. Armor clattered. Shouted orders overlapped as troops poured in from barracks and side halls, spilling into the courtyard like a disturbed nest of ants, all of them looking up at the shattered palace with dawning horror.
The lieutenant of the royal knights was the first to breach the throne room. He skidded to a halt the moment he took it in—the collapsed ceiling, the crushed pillars, the knight commander sprawled unmoving amid rubble, and the chancellor's mangled remains smeared grotesquely along the wall.
The lieutenant's face twisted, somewhere between disbelief and fury. "Gods above…" he breathed. Then his voice snapped hard. "All units—engage the fiend! Now!"
Steel rang as swords were drawn. The knights surged forward, but they didn't even reach it.
The homunculus turned, both heads snarling in unison, and swept its massive blade once. The ceiling gave way in a deafening roar. Stone and timber collapsed in a crushing wave, swallowing the charge whole.
Screams were cut short.
Outside, in the inner ward, a captain barked orders, desperation sharpening his voice. "Archers! Fire!"
Arrows and bolts filled the air, streaking upward in dark arcs.
They shattered harmlessly against the creature's hide.
Daisuke felt his chest tighten. "Fall back!" he shouted hoarsely. "Get out of there—now!"
But it was much too late.
One of the homunculus's heads reared back, its maw glowing white-hot. Fire erupted forth like a raging torrent, sweeping across the courtyard in a single, merciless pass. Soldiers were engulfed where they stood, their armor glowing red before collapsing inward as their screams turned wet and raw.
The other head snarled, its massive hand slamming into the ground as it willed the earth to its command. In response, jagged stone spikes burst upward in a violent chorus, impaling fleeing men mid-step, lifting bodies screaming into the air before going still. Blood steamed against the scorched ground.
Silence quickly followed.
Not peace—just absence.
With the pests eradicated, the titan turned slowly, deliberately, back toward the ruined structure where Daisuke, its initial prey, stood. Both heads tilted upward, jaws splitting wide.
Red energy flared from one throat. Brown, earthen light gathered in the other.
The elements twisted together.
Fire fused with stone, compressing into a massive sphere of molten rock, magma dripping from its surface as heat warped the air around it. It pulsed once—twice—then tore free, shrieking forward like a meteor.
Daisuke stepped forward without thinking, planting himself squarely in front of Tiphanna's broken form. He raised the Ironhide Bulwark—the only sturdy weapon he had left—muscles screaming as he braced his stance.
But instinctively, he knew it wouldn't be enough.
Just before the molten mass could obliterate them both, the air shifted. A presence appeared—calm, resolute, unyielding.
Lyndoria stepped forward into the open as if answering a silent summons. Her skirts snapped and billowed around her legs, hair whipping loose like a banner caught in a storm as she planted her feet between the oncoming calamity and those behind her.
She thrust her hands forward.
At her command, water surged from the air itself, converging into a massive, serpent-shaped torrent that slammed headlong into the molten projectile.
There was a thunderous hiss, steam detonating outward as fire met water. The magma's glow dimmed, its surface rapidly cooling and cracking as heat bled away in violent bursts.
Lyndoria didn't stop there.
Her hands moved with elegant movements. The water serpent unraveled, reshaping itself into countless razor-thin wisps—blades of liquid that flashed forward and sliced into the cooling rock. The meteor shattered apart, diced into dozens of jagged fragments.
For a fleeting moment, it almost seemed enough.
Then the fragments kept coming.
The shattered pieces hurtled onward, their momentum unchanged, transformed into a storm of superheated shrapnel streaking toward them.
Lyndoria's breath hitched—but she didn't waver.
She drew deep, deeper than she should have. What little mana remained answered her call in a desperate surge, pooling in front of her and condensing rapidly. A thick, square plate of ice formed—dense, layered, reinforced with every ounce of strength she had left.
"Hold…" she whispered, more prayer than command.
The fragments struck.
The impact was deafening.
The ice wall shattered in a blinding flash, exploding outward in a storm of ice shards and pulverized stone. The shockwave tore through the courtyard, hurling debris in every direction. The force slammed into Lyndoria full-on, ripping her from her airborne position and throwing her into the building beside Daisuke and Tiphanna.
The silence that followed was brief.
And heavy.
Daisuke stared at the ruin where she'd fallen, shield still raised, heart hammering as the heat and echoes of destruction rolled over him.
"Lynn!" he shouted in alarm.
"Forget about me!" she asserted with what little strength she had left. "Your main focus… should be defeating that monster… before it gets loose into the city."
"She's right," Lumielle agreed, her face flushed with dread, even as she chanted a series of incantations to cast healing and buffing spells onto him. "You promised that you would help me to save this kingdom. Please. Please, Haxks… I need you to honor that promise to me right now."
"…Lumielle," Daisuke whispered, his expression grave.
The princess met his gaze, her eyes steady despite the weight behind them. "…My father once told me that the true king and queen of a sovereign are not those born with royal blood, but those who serve it—the people themselves.
Without its citizens, without every man, woman, and child, a kingdom is nothing more than empty stone, doomed to rot." Her voice softened. "Haxks… please. Save them."
Daisuke glanced down at the cracked daggers materializing in his hands. "Lynn, Lumielle… I—"
"…Haxks," Tiphanna began breathlessly, forcing herself to sit upright. "Have you… forgotten? Those daggers are special… they're able to mend themselves upon being damaged."
[Dark Upheaval]
A weapon masterfully forged by the blacksmith Tiphanna Eryndoril using the remains of several fearsome monsters. Infused with the resilience of apex predators, its blade regenerates upon damage, ensuring it never loses its deadly edge in the heat of battle.]
Daisuke's eyes widened with marvel as he glanced down at the daggers—and, sure enough, the cracked blades had visibly begun mending themselves albeit slowly.
The sight had a wave of relief washing over his body. But that revelation wasn't where all the warmth stemmed from—Lumielle was beside him, pouring every ounce of her mana into healing and strengthening him.
It was incredibly soothing.
He could feel it… feel the hope and trust weaved into her power. Feel the gentle protection layering his body. She had placed all her bets on him, and he couldn't allow himself to let her down.
Clutching her injured left shoulder, Lyndoria staggered to the princess's side just in time to cradle her before her mana fully depleted. Together, they sank to the ground, bodies heavy with exhaustion.
Lumielle weakly lifted her gaze to Daisuke as darkness crept in from the edges of her vision. Just before consciousness slipped away, her lips moved, voice slurred and faint. "I believe in you."
"…The princess has entrusted the fate of this entire nation to your hands," Lyndoria murmured, her frown deepening as she looked at him. "Do not betray that trust, Haxks Starfrost."
"…To fulfill those important promises," Tiphanna began weakly, even as she reached into the magic bag on her hip. "I've prepared something special for you."
[ByteMage: Holy fudge! Pretty sure Haxks just got killed by that insane attack just now. Nothing could've survived that 😵💫😵
FrostByte: So what? Players can revive indefinitely… or have you forgotten?
YeetMage: Sure—but did anyone ever confirm that Haxks is an actual player? Maybe NPC plot armor is why he's so badass.
SnackGoblin: Mmm… you do have a point. RadiantKnight?
RadiantKnight: …Honestly, I think Haxks is a player with a special kind of class.
SnackGoblin: Nigel?
Nigel: …]
From atop a small mound of rubble in the throne room, Nigel's drone spectated the battlefield unscathed. With eight limbs akin to that of a spider's, the gadget strived to produce the best footage possible.
The viewers watched—some with exhilaration, others with mounting dread—as the two-headed fiend hurled itself from the chamber, crashing hundreds of feet below into the inner ward.
The ground quaked violently, fissures snaking outward like jagged veins, yet the soldiers pressing toward the battlefield held firm. They did not falter—not when they were being led into battle by none other than their revered prince.
Reneal's horse reared, hooves pawing at the air as it came to a halt in the courtyard. In perfect synchrony, the prince raised his sword high, sunlight glinting off his armor as he rallied his troops with unwavering, chivalrous authority.
"Stand strong, men! You're the only bastion of defense standing between this monster and your families. Hold the line until the knights and court mages arrive!"
The Voice of Sovereignty and King's Decree took hold of the soldiers, hardening both their resolve and might. With hearty shouts, they brandished their weapons and banded together.
The homunculus roared in outrage at the swarming insects. Even if there were a thousand, they still wouldn't have been a threat. But the creature loathed the idea of their meddling costing it the pleasure of slowly picking apart its prey.
Somewhere deep within the fiend's subconsciousness, Stynx wanted nothing more than to tear Haxks Starfrost apart, while Vaerythos wanted to utterly humiliate and destroy Lumielle. Together, both souls heaved a feral howl—a manifestation of their shared hunger for vengeance.
The soldiers halted in their tracks as tiny, tadpole-looking formations proliferated along the calf of the creature's legs. The moment they detached and hit the ground, they started growing, transforming into mantis-like spawns with blade-like forearms.
"We will not yield!" Reneal bellowed as he pointed his blade in the direction of the source of their turmoil. "Together with me! Charge!"
"For the kingdom!"
"For Prince Reneal!"
"For his Majesty!"
Abandoning what little fear clouded their resolve, the soldiers confronted the spawns in a fierce clash of steel and keratin.
Atop his fearless steed, Reneal charged through the writhing horde of monsters, making a beeline for the homunculus.
With precise timing, he balanced on his saddle and launched into a high arc, bringing his sword down with every ounce of strength, aiming to cleave through one of the fiend's heads. His blade met no resistance—except the creature's forearm, which was as hard as tempered steel.
The jarring recoil shot up his arms, and Reneal flinched—but that was the least of his worries. In the next beat, the fiend's expression twisted into a cruel grin.
With a single, merciless sweep of its colossal sword, it shredded the horse beneath him, leaving the knight with nothing to land upon.
Reneal swung in a wide arc, cutting down several spawns to secure his footing, every step guided by Sovereign Tempo. But when the fiend's massive fingers clenched the hilt of the broadsword and it swelled in response, he realized with chilling clarity that his newly acquired powers might not be enough to avert impending annihilation.