Marcus raised his fist again — but Nix had already moved first.
"Pyre Prison!"
Four pillars of fire rose around Marcus, converging above, forming a blazing cage. The fire wasn't just hot — but heavy, like hot iron pressing from all directions.
Marcus growled. "What—"
"Brand of Submission!"
Nix hurled a large fire seal at Marcus's chest. The seal adhered, radiating an incredibly heavy energy — as if locking Marcus's body with invisible chains. His shoulders dropped. His knees buckled.
Marcus fell to his knees. But he still struggled to rise. Veins bulged in his neck. His teeth ground together.
"Sunforge Chains!"
Solid chains of molten metal emerged from the ground, wrapping around Marcus's body — arms, legs, waist, neck. The chains tightened, radiating heat that weakened his physical strength. Each link pulsed like a bed of coals.
Marcus growled. But couldn't move.
"You... think... this is enough?"
"Enough to keep you quiet," said Nix, his breath ragged. His hands were still raised, maintaining the spells. Sweat flowed down his temples.
---
Celestia still stood, dagger in hand. Raven behind her, bow raised. But both were exhausted. Celestia's shoulders rose and fell rapidly. Raven's fingers holding the bowstring trembled slightly.
Leon didn't strike first. He stood, Lokantaka in hand, waiting.
"You won't attack?" asked Celestia.
"Do you yield?"
Celestia laughed softly. There was no humor there. Only bitterness. "No."
"Bridal Step!"
Celestia moved in a zigzag pattern like a dance. Her body twisted, creating multiple afterimages — not illusions, but movement traces difficult to follow. Her dagger thrust from the left, then right, then above.
Leon didn't retreat.
"Riftrend Barrage!"
He moved at high speed, leaving spatial cracks around him. Every slash, every thrust, every parry — not only striking Celestia but also tearing small fissures in the air. Those cracks were like glowing purple scratches on the canvas of reality, flickering briefly before closing with a piercing sound.
Celestia couldn't keep up. His movements were too chaotic. Too unpredictable.
Her dagger was knocked away. It fell to the marble floor with a sharp sound.
Celestia fell to her knees.
Leon stood before her. Lokantaka in hand, not raised. "Done."
Celestia didn't answer. She only bowed her head. Sighed.
Raven didn't join.
Since the start of this duel, she had only retreated. Waiting. Observing. Now, she stepped forward.
Her eyes weren't on Celestia. Only on Leon.
"You're strong, Zero. But this will be my final attack."
She drew her bowstring. Not like before. This time, fire energy didn't emanate from her fingers, but from her entire body. From her hair. From her eyes. From her skin. The air vibrated. The heat was so intense that the surrounding marble floor began to melt.
Bluish-white fire gathered at the bow's tip. Not a ball. Not a blast. An arrow. One arrow. Small. Dense. With a black core at its center, like a hole pulling everything around it.
The air in the room grew hot. Then cold. Then hot again. Alternating, like a fever.
"Sun Piercer."
Leon felt it. Not the heat. Not the cold. But the emptiness. That arrow was not just burning. Not just exploding. But erasing. Annihilating. Obliterating.
"Leon!" Nix shouted from a distance. His hands were still busy maintaining the chains, the cage, and the seal on Marcus's body. "Don't get hit by that attack!"
"I know."
Leon didn't run. He stood in place. Raised his left hand.
Darkness magic began gathering in his palm. The air around him grew extremely cold — contrasting with the heat from Raven's arrow. Shadows on the floor moved on their own, slithering toward Leon like snakes.
A pitch-black ball the size of a hand began to form. Rotating. Thin rings appeared around it.
"What is that?" Celestia whispered from the floor. Her eyes didn't blink.
No one answered.
The black ball expanded. Became the size of a ball — half a meter in diameter. Its rings pulsed. Gravity around Leon went haywire — small rocks and dust lifted into the air, not falling. Crystal chandeliers on the ceiling trembled.
Raven didn't move. Her arrow was perfect. Bluish-white fire at her bow's tip pulsed like a heartbeat. Her face was pale — channeling all her energy into a single attack.
"Sun Piercer!"
She released.
Leon raised his hand. The black planet in his palm had reached full size — one and a half meters in diameter. Its rings spun rapidly, leaving trails of blue and white light.
"Hollow Eclipse!"
He hurled it.
The planet shot forward. Not fast. Not slow. Like a celestial body already fated — unstoppable, undeflectable. Its rings continued spinning, its gravity pulling dust and small rocks from the floor.
The arrow shot forward. Fast. Like lightning. Like light burning everything in its path.
They collided in the center of the room.
There was no explosion.
The black planet swallowed the arrow. Bluish-white fire tried to penetrate — attempted to burn from within, tried to erase the planet from existence. But couldn't. The planet continued spinning. Its rings released shockwaves of darkness — invisible, but tangible. The entire room trembled.
The arrow vanished.
Sucked into the vortex. Erased from existence.
The planet continued forward.
Toward Raven.
Raven couldn't dodge. Exhausted. Out of energy. Out of time.
The planet struck her.
It didn't explode. The planet fell upon Raven's body like a real planet — crushing anything it touched. Bone. Flesh. Fire. Everything.
The planet's rings released a shockwave across a several-meter radius. Stone, dust, floor fragments — all flattened. Sent flying to the walls. Destroyed.
At the impact's center point, a miniature black hole was created. Small — only the size of a fist. But enough. It lasted ten seconds. Pulling whatever remained not yet destroyed.
When the black hole vanished, nothing remained.
Raven was gone.
Leon collapsed. One knee touched the floor. His breath was ragged. His body trembling — not from fear, but from exhaustion.
"I did it..." he whispered.
In the distance, Nix and Kazan could only watch in silence.
---
Kaelen was already severely wounded. His shoulder still bled — the stab wound from Kazan's sword hadn't healed. The blue fire at his fingertips was nearly extinguished, only flickering occasionally.
Garran still stood before him, shield raised — but his shield was cracked. Hairline fractures spread from the center to the edge. It wouldn't last much longer.
"You can stop," said Kazan.
"I can't."
Garran attacked. "Judgment Strike!" A wide horizontal slash with his two-handed sword. Not aimed at one enemy — but three. Reaching Leon, Nix, and Kazan simultaneously.
Kazan dodged. His body spun, sword sweeping.
"Tenshi no Ichigeki!" He leaped into the air, katana drawn back. As he descended, a downward slash — and when his sword touched the ground, a white energy wave shot forward.
Garran raised his shield. "Iron Wall!"
The shield expanded — but it was cracked. The white energy struck the shield, seeped into the fractures. The shield shattered. Into pieces. Falling to the floor.
Garran fell to his knees.
Kaelen tried to attack from behind. "Hellblade!" Dense blue fire formed a sword in his hand — but it was weak. Not like before. Its flame was dim, its blade wavering.
Kazan had already turned. "Mizu no Kamae. "
Kaelen's fire sword was parried — not hard, but softly, deflecting its direction. Then, in the same motion, Kazan's sword cut forward. Not at the body. At Kaelen's already wounded arm.
Kaelen screamed. His fire sword extinguished. He fell, clutching his severed arm.
Kazan stood before them. Sword still in hand. Not raised. "Done."
Garran didn't answer. Kaelen didn't answer. They only sat on the floor, exhausted, unable to rise.
---
Grom was still shackled by Searing Manacle, unable to move. Hot chains wrapped around his wrists, locking his movement. His face was red — not from anger, but from the heat continuously flowing.
Sera beside him, trembling. The ice crystals in her hands vibrated — not because she was ready to attack, but because her hands couldn't stay still.
"Do you yield?" asked Nix.
Sera didn't answer. She raised her ice crystals — her hands trembling.
"Ice Nails!"
Sharp ice nails emerged from the ground beneath Nix — fast, unexpected, deadly.
Nix was already airborne. "Phoenix Dive!"
His body shot into the air, diving like a meteor. Red fire enveloped his body. A fiery explosion and shockwave struck the ground beside Sera — not directly hitting her, but enough to knock her down. Her body was thrown back, tumbling across the marble floor.
Grom growled. "Don't... touch... her..."
But he couldn't move. Searing Manacle still wrapped around his wrists. The heat intensified.
Nix stood before Sera. Fire still burned in his palms — but he didn't raise them. His face was calm.
"You've lost."
Sera looked down. Her ice crystals fell. Rolled on the floor. No one picked them up.
---
Kal rose from the floor. His left arm was still wounded — impossible to move. Blood still dripped from his fingertips. But his eyes remained sharp.
He vanished into the shadows.
Leon didn't move. Lokantaka in hand. His eyes scanned the surroundings. "He ran."
"Let him," said Kazan. "He won't go far."
Kal reappeared — not behind Leon, but near the exit. His body half-hidden in shadow. His eyes were restless — calculating, searching for gaps, searching for escape.
But the door had been closed since the start. Since the battle began, no one entered. No one left.
"Damn..."
He couldn't leave. Couldn't hide forever.
---
One by one, the guardians began to fall.
Garran knelt, his shield shattered, unable to rise. Kaelen sat on the floor, clutching his severed arm that still bled. Grom still shackled, unable to move. Sera sat beside her fallen ice crystals, not daring to pick them up. Kal stood near the door, unable to leave. Celestia sat on the floor not far from Leon, her dagger lying beside her.
Raven was gone.
Only Marcus and Zenless still stood.
But Marcus didn't move. The Sunforge Chains still wrapped around his body — his arms bound to his sides, his legs shackled. The Pyre Prison still blazed around him — not heat, but oppressive weight. The Brand of Submission still adhered to his chest — pulsing faintly, sending waves of heavy energy through his entire body.
His eyes were open. But he couldn't move.
Zenless clapped his hands.
Slowly. Unhurried. Without emotion.
"Amazing," he said. "I didn't think you could last this long, Zero."
Leon looked at him. Lokantaka in hand, not raised. But not lowered either.
"Your turn now?"
Zenless smiled.
"Not yet."
He leaned back on his throne. His golden fan open in his hand. His robes still pristine — no wrinkles, no dust. As if he didn't care about the chaos around him.
"I want to see how far you can go."
Leon didn't answer.
---
Leon, Nix, and Kazan stood in the center of the ruined room.
The marble floor was cracked — scarred by Hollow Eclipse, by Meteor Hammer Impact, by Kazan's slashes. Crystal chandeliers lay scattered on the floor, shattered into pieces. Black marble walls were scratched — marked by fire, by ice, by darkness.
But Marcus was still there.
Still shackled. Still imprisoned. Still silent.
But his eyes — his eyes were open.
"You... won..." he whispered. His voice was heavy, but not angry. Just... a statement of fact. "But it's not over."
Leon didn't answer. He looked at Zenless.
The battle wasn't over.
=== CHAPTER 34 END ===