Silence fell after Kazan drew his sword.
Ten against three. But no one moved. The air in the room felt heavy, like before a storm. The crystal chandeliers on the ceiling still glowed dimly, illuminating tense faces.
Zenless sighed. His smile did not return.
"Capture them."
His voice was soft. But the command echoed throughout the room.
Garran raised his shield. Kaelen smiled cynically, blue fire at his fingertips growing larger. Grom planted his shield into the ground. Sera raised ice crystals in her palms.
Kal had already vanished into the shadows.
Mira stepped back.
Celestia gripped her dagger. Raven had already aimed her bow.
Marcus didn't move — but his fists clenched.
Leon, Nix, and Kazan stood back to back. Three small circles in the center of an ocean of enemies.
"Don't die," Leon whispered.
"You first," Kazan replied.
Nix smiled faintly. Red fire had already gathered in his palms. "You two, don't be a burden."
---
Garran charged first.
His shield raised, his footsteps vibrating the marble floor. Each step created small tremors that spread throughout the room.
"Elephant's Stomp!"
The ground vibrations made Leon, Nix, and Kazan lose their balance for a moment. They shifted, postures slightly unsteady.
Kaelen exploited the opening. His blackened, burnt-looking fingers pointed at Leon.
"Spark Shower!"
Five small blue fireballs shot forth like bullets. They didn't fly straight, but zigzagged, unpredictable.
Leon dodged with a short teleportation. His body vanished for a moment, then reappeared three meters to the side. The fireballs shot past where he had stood, scorching the marble floor.
But Kazan didn't dodge.
He let the fireballs approach. Blue fire illuminated his cold face. Then —
"Hikari no Battō!"
A flash of light. One slash.
The five blue fireballs split in mid-air, neither exploding nor igniting. They simply... vanished. As if they had never existed.
Kaelen blinked. "What—"
Kazan had already shot forward.
Not toward Kaelen. But toward Garran.
His body moved like the wind. In an instant, he was before Garran, sword raised high.
"Yoru no zangeki!"
His sword descended from above. Not an ordinary slash. White energy enveloped the blade, making it feel heavier, deadlier.
Garran raised his shield. "Iron Wall!"
The shield expanded before him — not physically, but a dense energy layer appeared on its surface.
CLANG!
Kazan's sword struck Garran's shield. Sparks flew. A small shockwave sent dust scattering.
Garran stepped back one step.
Only one.
But it was enough to make him lose position.
"You're strong," Kazan said, his eyes unblinking. "But slow."
Kaelen leaped back, retreating. His body turned to ash for a moment — "Ash Leap!" — then reappeared at another location, five meters from his original position.
"I don't like close combat," he said, his breath slightly ragged.
"I know." Kazan had already turned toward him.
He raised his katana high with both hands. White energy began gathering on its blade.
"Seppaku no Kōmyō!"
Kazan concentrated. The energy in his sword continued to grow, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Kaelen didn't stay still. "Ember Rain!" Twenty small blue fireballs shot to the ceiling, then fell like rain over an eight-meter radius. Leon and Nix were forced to retreat.
But Kazan didn't move.
He let the fireballs approach. Let their heat sting his skin. Then —
A straight downward slash.
"Seppaku no Kōmyō!"
A white wave split the air. Not like wind. Like an invisible giant sword cutting through the world.
The blue fireballs split apart. The ember rain vanished before touching the ground. The white wave continued — toward Kaelen, toward Garran, toward anyone standing before it.
Garran stepped forward. "Steel Reflection!" He met the attack with his sword — not blocking, but absorbing. The white energy entered his blade, spun, then —
Shot back out.
The white wave rebounded, shooting toward Kazan.
Kazan was thrown back.
His body hit the marble floor, rolled twice, then stopped. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"No one can defeat me alone," Garran said, his voice heavy.
Kaelen smiled from behind. "You're strong, human. But you're outnumbered."
Kazan rose.
He wiped the blood from his lips. His eyes hadn't changed — still cold, still sharp.
"Mizu no Kamae."
He lowered his sword to a low position — not attacking, not defending. Like flowing water, ready to adapt to the shape of its container.
Kaelen leaped forward. "Hellblade!" Dense blue fire formed a one-meter-long sword in his hand. He swung it at Kazan — hard, fast, wild.
Kazan didn't move.
The fire sword approached. One inch from his neck.
He moved.
"Mizu no Kamae."
His sword parried Kaelen's fire sword — not hard, but softly, deflecting its direction. Then, in the same motion, Kazan's sword thrust forward.
Kaelen screamed. His shoulder was wounded. Blood flowed.
He retreated, clutching his wound.
Kazan didn't pursue. He stood in place, sword still in hand.
"You can't defeat me alone," he said, echoing Garran's words. "But I'm not alone."
---
On the other side of the room, Nix stood facing Grom and Sera.
Grom advanced with his shield. "Iron Gate!" His massive shield magically expanded, forming a thick wall before Sera. Only a small gap remained at the side — for Sera to launch her magic.
Sera behind him raised the ice crystals in her palms. The air around them grew cold. Frost began forming on the marble floor.
"Ice Needles!"
Five small ice needles shot forth. They didn't fly straight but spun like drills, creating a piercing hissing sound.
Nix didn't dodge.
He swatted the ice needles away with his bare hands — red fire in his palms melting the ice before it touched his skin. Boiling water dripped to the floor, steaming.
"Warm-up," Nix said.
He raised both hands. Red fire gathered between his palms, forming a growing ball.
"Flame Lash!"
A straight blast of red fire shot toward Grom and Sera. Its heat made the air waver.
Grom didn't move.
"Protection Circle!"
He planted his shield into the ground. The shield magically expanded, encircling Grom and Sera within a three-meter radius. Nix's fire struck the shield — but didn't penetrate.
Sera raised her hands from behind the shield. Frost began forming in the air. "Ice Golem!"
A 1.5-meter-tall ice golem appeared before her. Its body was made of solid ice, gleaming under the crystal chandeliers. The golem charged at Nix, its ice fist swinging.
Nix dodged the first swing. Then the second. Then the third.
"Talons of Rebirth!"
Fire concentrated at Nix's fingertips, forming blazing claws. He didn't slash — he tore.
His fire claws ripped through the golem's body. Once. Twice. Three times. Ice shattered and scattered, melting before touching the ground.
The golem was destroyed.
But Sera was ready.
"Blizzard!"
She exhaled — and a small five-meter radius blizzard engulfed the area around Nix.
Visibility dropped to one meter. Nix's movements slowed by thirty percent. Snow clung to his clothes, freezing on his eyebrows.
"Now, Grom!" Sera shouted.
Grom raised his axe high. His muscles bulged, veins in his neck protruding.
"Bone Breaker!"
A full-power horizontal slash. The axe spun through the air, creating a deafening whistling sound.
Nix couldn't see. But he didn't need to.
"Sunflare Orb!"
A dense, bright fireball formed in his hand — not large, but dense, gleaming like a small sun. He threw it upward.
The fireball exploded.
Blinding light filled the entire room. Everyone — ally and enemy alike — covered their eyes. Grom groaned, his axe missing its mark, striking the marble floor beside Nix.
Nix exploited the opening.
"Searing Manacle!"
A pair of fire shackles flew from his hands, shooting toward Grom. The shackles locked around Grom's wrists — short chains of hot energy connecting them.
Grom growled. The heat stung, burning his skin. He couldn't raise his axe. Couldn't move his hands.
"Grom!" Sera cried.
"I'm... fine..." Grom growled, but his body didn't move. The fire shackles continued channeling heat — not enough to kill, but enough to immobilize.
Nix stood before Sera. Fire still burned in his palms. His face wasn't angry. Not arrogant. Just... calm.
"Do you yield?"
Sera bit her lip. Her hands trembled holding the ice crystals. But she didn't answer.
---
In the center of the room, Leon stood facing Celestia.
Raven stepped back a few paces, bow in hand, arrow on her thigh. Her eyes moved quickly, observing Leon's every movement, searching for openings, seeking weaknesses.
Celestia moved first.
Her dagger shot toward Leon — fast, accurate, deadly. Not an ordinary slash. This was a thrust, straight to the heart.
Leon blocked with Lokantaka. "Dark Edge!" The bluish-black blade was shrouded in dark energy. CLANG! Celestia's dagger struck Leon's sword.
"You haven't changed," Celestia said, her eyes unblinking. "Still stubborn."
"Neither have you," Leon replied.
He pushed Lokantaka forward, forcing Celestia back. But Celestia didn't fall. She spun her body, dodged, then — "Silent Dagger!" A quick thrust to a vital point — Leon's neck.
Leon dodged at the last second.
But the dagger only grazed his neck. Slightly. Almost invisible.
Blood dripped.
"Next time, it won't miss," Celestia said, her dagger still raised.
Leon didn't answer. He pushed Lokantaka forward. "Wailing Crescent!" A circular slash, a crescent-shaped energy wave shooting toward Celestia.
Celestia dodged — her body spun gracefully, like a dancer. But Raven had already released her arrow.
"Fire Arrow!"
A fire arrow shot straight at Leon. Not one — three. Three fire arrows from three different directions.
Leon couldn't dodge. But he didn't need to.
"Shadow Section!"
From his own shadow, pitch-black blades shot forth — three blades, each parrying one fire arrow. The arrows exploded in mid-air, creating small bursts.
Raven blinked. "That's..."
She didn't finish her sentence. "Rapid Fire!" Dozens of fire arrows shot forth in an instant, like a machine gun.
Leon raised his hand. "Isolation Field!"
A semi-transparent purplish-grey rectangular wall appeared around him. Raven's arrows struck the wall — and vanished. Muffled sounds. The world outside the wall looked blurry, like seeing through thick glass.
Celestia approached, her dagger ready to thrust. "He's hiding."
"He's planning something," Raven said, her bow still raised.
But Leon wasn't hiding. He was just... catching his breath.
The wall collapsed.
Leon stood in the same spot. Lokantaka in his hand. His eyes — cold.
"My turn."
=== CHAPTER 32 END ===