Step.
Crunch.
Step.
Crunch.
The sound echoed through the frozen wasteland.
Kai frowned.
"...Who's there?"
The footsteps continued.
Not hurried.
Not afraid.
Each one carried absolute confidence.
The white storm slowly parted.
A figure emerged.
Long white hair danced with the wind.
A white cloak flowed behind her like falling snow.
Her sapphire eyes remained calm.
Cold.
Emotionless.
The snow itself seemed to bend around her.
Kai's pupils widened.
"...Huh?"
His confident smile disappeared.
"What the hell are you do—"
He never finished.
Seraphina calmly lifted one hand.
The world froze.
Mana flooded the heavens.
The blizzard above condensed into a single point.
Thousands...
Millions...
Billions...
Trillions of particles of frozen mana spiraled together.
Within a heartbeat—
A gigantic sphere of ice formed above Kai's head.
It was larger than a castle, even larger then Kai fire sphere.
The sheer density of mana inside it caused reality itself to distort.
Even the remaining Emperors looked upward in disbelief.
"...Impossible..."
Raizen muttered.
The sphere fell.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The entire mountain range exploded.
Ice erupted toward the heavens.
The ground split apart.
An avalanche swallowed entire cliffs.
Shockwaves blasted every Emperor backward several meters.
Kai disappeared beneath the impact.
For several seconds...
Nothing existed except blinding white.
Then...
The smoke slowly cleared.
Ellie looked upward.
"...Seraphina..."
Standing atop a broken cliff...
The Emperor of Ice overlooked the battlefield.
Her expression remained unreadable.
She slowly lowered her hand.
Snowflakes danced around her like loyal servants.
"You were right, Ellie."
Her calm voice echoed across the frozen valley.
"It is time."
She unsheathed her sword.
The blade shimmered with ancient frost.
"...To end this."
For the first time since the battle had begun...
Ellie smiled.
She wasn't smiling because they could win.
She smiled because...
She was no longer fighting alone.
Kai suddenly erupted from beneath the shattered glacier.
Orange flames exploded from his body.
The massive ice prison instantly evaporated into steam.
His clothes were torn.
Blood ran down one side of his forehead.
He slowly wiped it away before looking at Seraphina.
"...You've lost your damn mind."
Before another word could be spoken—
Space distorted.
Lucifer disappeared.
Then instantly reappeared in front of Seraphina.
His movement was so fast that no one saw him move.
One moment she stood alone.
The next—
His hand wrapped around her throat.
CRACK.
Seraphina's feet left the ground.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Lucifer suddenly appeared and stared into her face with complete indifference.
"...How disgusting."
Dark red wings erupted from his back.
Death mana spread across the sky.
The entire battlefield became colder despite the flames surrounding Kai.
Lucifer slowly lifted Seraphina higher into the air.
She attempted to summon an ice sphere.
The mana froze around his arm—
Before instantly crumbling into black ash.
He wasn't overpowering her magic.
He was killing it.
Lucifer glanced toward the remaining Emperors.
His voice carried no emotion.
"You underlings."
His dark red eyes slowly shifted toward Ellie.
"Handle her."
"I'll deal with this traitor."
Without waiting for an answer—
His wings exploded outward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The sky cracked
.
Lucifer vanished into the storm with Seraphina still trapped in his grasp.
Within seconds...
Neither of them could be seen.
Ellie's smile faded.
"...Seraphina..."
Kai cracked his neck.
"Well."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Looks like we're back to business."
One by one...
The remaining Emperors stepped forward.
Kai— the emperor of flames.
Raizen—the Emperor of Storms.
Nerissa—the Empress of the Sea.
Caelus—the Emperor of Sovereignty.
Sylvara—the Empress of Verdancy.
Darius—the Emperor of Titans.
Six overwhelming presences.
Against one.
Ellie slowly exhaled.
She adjusted her grip on her sword.
Blood continued running down her fingers.
"I guess..."
She lowered her stance.
"...I'll have to survive until Seraphina comes back."
Kai laughed.
"Survive?"
Orange fire ignited around his fists.
"No."
His smile disappeared.
"You're going to die."
The snow beneath everyone's feet exploded.
And six Emperors charged at once.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Six overwhelming mana signatures erupted at once, shaking the frozen wasteland.
Mountains cracked beneath the pressure alone. Snow that had rested untouched for centuries exploded into the sky, forming a blinding white storm.
Ellie's pupils contracted.
They're not holding back...
She pushed every ounce of mana through her body.
Her heart thundered.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Then—
She vanished.
A streak of silver cut through the blizzard.
Raizen arrived first.
The Emperor of Storms laughed wildly as blue-white lightning wrapped around his spear.
"Run all you want!"
"You'll never outrun lightning!"
BOOOOM!
The spear pierced where Ellie's head had been.
The mountain behind her exploded into rubble.
Ellie twisted through the air, barely avoiding death.
She landed lightly on the snow—
Only to realize vines had already wrapped around both ankles.
"...What?"
Sylvara smiled softly.
The Empress of Verdancy stood several hundred meters away with both hands gently raised.
The frozen ground burst apart.
Ancient emerald vines thicker than castle walls erupted upward.
Every vine shimmered with green mana.
Flowers bloomed across them despite the freezing temperature.
The beautiful sight hid terrifying power.
The vines lunged toward Ellie like living dragons.
She immediately swung her sword.
SLASH!
One vine split apart.
Another replaced it.
Then ten more.
Then fifty.
Within seconds, the battlefield had become a forest.
Ellie sprinted between the twisting vines.
Every step required perfect precision.
One mistake...
One hesitation...
And she'd be crushed alive.
Behind her—
Darius finally moved.
The Emperor of Titans.
The tallest among them.
Every footstep shook the mountains.
He didn't run.
He simply walked.
Yet each step covered hundreds of meters.
His gigantic fist slowly pulled back.
Ellie sensed him too late.
"...Shit!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The punch connected with her crossed blade.
For a single moment...
Everything became silent.
Then—
The mountain exploded.
Ellie was launched like a cannonball.
She crashed through one frozen cliff.
Then another.
Then another.
Each impact shattered countless tons of ice.
Finally—
She slammed into the side of a glacier.
CRAAAAACK!!
The glacier collapsed on top of her.
Silence returned.
Kai folded his arms.
"...Too easy."
The avalanche settled.
Snow drifted lazily through the air.
Nothing moved.
Then—
A hand burst from the rubble.
Blood covered it.
Another hand followed.
Ellie slowly climbed out from beneath thousands of tons of ice.
Blood poured down her forehead.
Her breathing had become ragged.
Her left arm trembled uncontrollably.
Yet...
She was smiling.
Kai frowned.
"...You're smiling?"
Ellie spat blood onto the snow.
"I've..."
She inhaled painfully.
"...survived worse."
Raizen smiled hardly.
Without warning—
Lightning engulfed his body.
His speed multiplied.
One.
Two.
Ten.
A hundred afterimages surrounded Ellie.
Spears came from every direction.
Above.
Below.
Behind.
Every strike aimed to kill.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Ellie's sword became nothing more than silver flashes.
Sparks exploded.
Lightning illuminated the storm.
She blocked thirty attacks.
Then fifty.
Then one slipped through.
A spear carved across her ribs.
Blood splashed across the snow.
Ellie gritted her teeth.
Ignoring the pain—
She stepped into Raizen's range instead of retreating.
His eyes widened.
"What—"
Her forehead slammed into his face.
CRACK!
Raizen stumbled backward.
Ellie immediately spun.
Her blade traced a perfect crescent.
Blue Moon.
A wave of blue mana erupted across the battlefield.
Raizen barely raised his spear.
The slash hurled him through an entire forest before he finally stopped.
Kai's grin disappeared.
"...Enough."
Orange flames exploded around his body.
The snow melted instantly.
Steam swallowed the battlefield.
The temperature skyrocketed.
Kai extended one hand.
A miniature sun formed above his palm.
The heat distorted reality.
Even Ellie instinctively stepped back.
"...He's serious now."
Kai smiled coldly.
"You should feel honored."
"This attack has injured one of the divine contractors."
He snapped his fingers.
The miniature sun shot toward Ellie.
Everything in its path evaporated.
Snow.
Ice.
Stone.
Even the air burned.
Ellie closed her eyes for one brief second.
I can't dodge.
She planted both feet firmly.
Mana flooded into her sword.
Every remaining drop.
The blade glowed brighter than ever before.
"I won't..."
She gritted her teeth.
"...fall here!"
She swung.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Her mana collided with fire.
Blue and gold consumed the horizon.
The explosion split the clouds.
Entire mountain peaks vanished beneath the shockwave.
When the light faded—
Ellie remained standing.
Barely.
Her sword trembled violently.
Her hands bled from gripping the hilt too tightly.
Across from her—
Kai's expression had changed.
For the first time...
He looked impressed.
"...You actually stopped it."
Ellie forced herself to smile.
"I told you..."
She coughed blood.
"...I won't fall today ."
No one laughed anymore.
The remaining Emperors finally understood something.
Ellie wasn't trying to defeat them.
She was simply refusing to fall.
And somehow...
That was becoming far more dangerous.
because every single Emperor had realized something.
Ellie...
Was still standing.
Blood dripped steadily from the tip of her sword.
Cuts covered her face.
One eye had swollen nearly shut.
Her breathing came in ragged, painful gasps.
Yet her stance never wavered.
She refused to kneel.
Across from her, six Emperors stood scattered throughout the ruined valley.
Kai, the Emperor of Flames.
Raizen, the Emperor of Storms.
Nerissa, the Empress of the Sea.
Caelus, the Emperor of Sovereignty.
Sylvara, the Empress of Verdancy.
Darius, the Emperor of Titans.
None of them looked relaxed anymore.
Kai slowly rolled his shoulders.
"...You're tougher than I expected."
Raizen laughed loudly.
He spun his spear across his shoulders.
"Can we stop talking and fight already?"
Kai smirked.
"...Fine."
He slowly raised one hand.
"Together."
The six disappeared.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
Lightning descended from the heavens.
Vines burst from beneath the snow.
Walls of ocean water rose hundreds of meters into the air despite being thousands of miles from the sea.
Mountains shook beneath Darius' footsteps.
Caelus extended a hand.
Invisible pressure blanketed the battlefield.
Ellie suddenly felt her body become heavier.
"...Gravity?"
"No."
Caelus spoke calmly.
"My Authority."
The invisible force attempted to force her to kneel.
The air itself obeyed him.
Ellie's knees bent.
Her muscles screamed.
Bones cracked beneath the overwhelming pressure.
"I..."
Blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"...won't..."
She planted her sword into the ground.
"...fall."
Black veins spread across her arms as she forced herself upright.
The pressure lessened—just enough.
Ellie's eyes flashed open.
She exploded forward.
She ducked beneath Raizen's spear.
Spun around Sylvara's vines.
Jumped over a tidal wave summoned by Nerissa.
Darius' fist descended like a meteor.
Ellie narrowly sidestepped.
The punch split the valley in half.
Kai appeared directly before her.
Orange flames erupted from both fists.
Ellie crossed her blade.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The impact launched her backward.
She flipped through the air before landing on one knee.
Before she could breathe—
Raizen was already above her.
Lightning gathered around his spear.
"DIE!"
The spear descended.
Ellie rolled.
The attack pierced the ground.
An explosion of lightning engulfed everything nearby.
Ellie emerged from the smoke.
Only for Sylvara's vines to wrap around her wrist.
"...Got you."
The vines tightened.
Bones creaked.
Ellie immediately drove her sword into the vines, severing them before they completely restrained her.
She escaped—
Straight into Darius.
His massive elbow crashed into her side.
BOOOM!!
She was hurled hundreds of meters, bouncing across frozen stone before finally crashing through a cliffside.
The entire mountain shook.
Dust filled the air.
Silence.
Kai sighed.
"...Is it over?"
The cliff exploded.
Ellie staggered out.
Every step left bloody footprints in the snow.
Her sword dragged behind her.
Her left arm hung uselessly.
She could barely keep one eye open.
Yet...
She smiled.
A tired...
Stubborn...
Almost insane smile.
Kai frowned.
"...What the fuck...what so funny?"
Ellie laughed weakly.
"...Because..."
She coughed blood.
"...you still haven't killed me."
Raizen burst into laughter.
"I'M STARTING TO LIKE THIS CRAZY WOMAN!"
Kai shot him an annoyed glance.
"Focus."
Ellie slowly raised her sword again.
Her entire body trembled.
Every instinct screamed at her to collapse.
Every wound begged her to stop.
But she remembered her brother.
Eryndor...
She couldn't lose here.
Not yet.
The six Emperors exchanged glances.
For the first time...
They acknowledged her.
Not as a traitor.
Not as a former comrade.
But...
As a genuine threat.
Kai pointed his flaming sword toward her.
"No more holding back."
The other five nodded.
Their mana erupted again.
The entire northern wasteland began collapsing beneath the combined pressure.
Ellie slowly inhaled.
Then...
Blue light burst from her body.
Blue light spread across the battlefield in every direction.
Ellie let out a groan, she took a deep breath raising her sword to charge up her holy radiant echo infused with threads of divine insight and precognitive fate and spoken in a painfully but steady voice.
"you fools did you forget who I am? I am the eternal echo of the sacred promise in the distant heavens. I am the unwavering vow of the ascending light who walks the path of revelation. I am one of the 9 emperors you fools..."
Ellie sword was full with her mana and she used one of her most powerful move.
"…Divine Art, Celestial Ruin."