The shattered remains of the third mountain settled into silence.
Dust drifted through the air like a gray curtain as the four remaining Zodiac members emerged from the ruined cavern. Broken stone rolled down the mountainside while the wind carried the scent of freshly destroyed earth across the continent of Seli.
Standing opposite them were only two figures.
Nyk and Erethon. Neither of them moved.
Neither of them looked concerned.
Deathlock studied the pair carefully before speaking. His expression remained calm, but his eyes had already accepted what this encounter truly meant.
"You are clearly here for a purpose, and that is to kill us… so Darkness is behind this."
Arthur slowly lowered his head before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Well… I'd rather die by their hands than end up like Sebastian."
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Zella, Deathlock, and Denichi exchanged brief glances.
None of them argued. None of them denied it. Deathlock finally nodded.
"It's better than nothing."
A pillar of black-and-white radiance descended from the heavens, engulfing Deathlock completely.
"God's Descent."
His body transformed.
His hair shifted into alternating black and white, while both eyes glowed with opposing colors. Waves of divine authority rolled from his body.
Beside him, Zella also called upon his constellation.
"God's Descent."
His skin became covered in layers of hardened protective shell. Both of his arms enlarged into enormous crab-like claws capable of crushing nearly anything.
Arthur's own transformation followed.
A radiant bow materialized in his grasp as divine wind gathered around his body, greatly increasing his speed.
Finally, Denichi's body dissolved into flowing water, his physical form becoming an extension of the surrounding sea itself. Across from them, Nyk smiled. Blue monarch energy erupted around him.
"Monarch Transformation."
The tips of his black hair slowly turned white while the rest remained untouched. His aura became an ocean of deep blue, carrying with it the overwhelming authority of Ruin itself.
The four Zodiacs immediately felt it.
An instinctive pressure weighed upon their very existence.
Erethon simply grinned. His hollow crimson eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
Without another word The battlefield exploded into motion.
Zella and Denichi rushed directly toward Nyk.
At the same instant, Arthur and Deathlock charged straight for Erethon.
Denichi raised one hand toward the distant ocean.
"Water Tide."
The sea answered his command.
Entire sections of the surrounding ocean rose into the heavens before crashing onto the continent.
Gigantic waves flooded Seli within moments.
Buildings disappeared beneath the rushing water. Forests vanished.
The battlefield transformed into an endless sea.
Nyk and Erethon leaped high into the air just before the tidal wave swallowed the land beneath them.
The instant Nyk landed atop the raging waters, he disappeared.
He reappeared directly before Denichi. Destroyer flashed through the air. One slash. Then another. Then dozens more.
Even though Denichi's body was made entirely of water, every cut infused him with Monarch Energy.
The power of Ruin did not simply wound.
It erased function itself. Denichi immediately realized the danger.
Before Nyk could finish him Zella arrived. His enormous claw descended toward Nyk with enough force to flatten a fortress.
Nyk calmly raised Destroyer. Steel collided against shell. The impact echoed across the flooded continent.
Instead of retreating, Nyk stepped directly into Zella's guard.
His right leg shot upward. His kick landed squarely against Zella's face.
Crack. The protective shell shattered. Zella staggered backward.
Nyk never gave him the chance to recover.
He launched himself toward Denichi once more.
Denichi instantly erected an enormous wall of water between them.
It towered like a moving ocean. Nyk swung Destroyer once. The wall split apart. He emerged through the collapsing water only a few meters from Denichi.
His left hand reached forward. Ruin gathered around his fingertips.
Just before he could touch him Zella intercepted again. A massive claw swung toward Nyk's exposed side.
Nyk smiled.
"Axis of Creation."
Reality shifted.
In an instant Both Zella and Denichi found themselves completely upside down.
Their sense of direction collapsed.
Their bodies obeyed a new axis of existence.
Before either of them could react Destroyer flashed once. Denichi's watery body was sliced into countless pieces.
Normally, water would simply reform.
This time…It did not. The Monarch of Ruin had already touched his existence. His body failed to regenerate. His consciousness faded.
The countless fragments of water lost all life before dissolving into nothing.
Denichi…Had died. The floodwaters immediately receded back toward the ocean.
Only Zella remained before Nyk.
Breathing heavily, he slowly turned his head. His eyes widened.
Not far away Arthur and Deathlock were losing. Miserably.
Their combined attacks tore through the air with incredible speed.
Arrows. Blades. Divine energy. None of them landed.
Erethon avoided every strike with effortless movements, almost looking bored as he stepped between each attack.
He tilted his head slightly.
Then smiled.
"Spark of Darkness."
Darkness exploded outward.
Arthur and Deathlock suddenly disappeared.
The battlefield vanished around them. Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch.
Even their sense of balance…Everything was gone. Only endless darkness remained.
Panic immediately filled both of their minds. They could no longer tell whether they were standing…Or falling forever.
Then Hands rested upon both of their heads.
Erethon's voice echoed beside them.
"Insanity."
Their minds shattered instantly.
Thoughts collapsed.
Memories fractured.
Blood streamed from their eyes, ears, and mouths as their consciousness was completely destroyed.
Within moments…Both Arthur and Deathlock fell lifelessly into the darkness.
Dead. Only Zella remained.