Alden vanishes.
One moment, he stands beneath the portal; the next, he is already in front of Number Zero.
No sound.
No warning.
Only a blur of dark motion.
Number Zero's eyes narrow.
Her sword rises instinctively to defend.
But she is slower.
Alden's clawed palm slams into her chest.
The impact explodes outward.
Number Zero is lifted from the ground like a leaf caught in a storm.
She is thrown backwards across the cavern.
Her body crosses past Clive,
And crashes into the stone wall.
The rock fractures.
Her form embeds into it.
Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.
Dust rains down.
Alden lowers his arm slowly.
His gaze shifts toward Clive.
The transformed Disaster Wolf stands there, mid-change, surrounded by divine energy still flowing into his body.
Alden's lips curl.
"Thief… die."
He raises his claw.
Then slashes.
A blade of condensed disaster energy tears through the air toward Clive.
Clive reacts instinctively.
His body is not fully under control.
Still transforming.
Still absorbing.
But the beast within him moves.
He raises his paw.
Black claws collide with the incoming attack.
For a moment,
Resistance.
Then,
The force overwhelms him.
A mournful howl escapes his throat.
His body is thrown across the cavern.
He crashes through the air,
At the same moment, Number Zero tears herself free from the wall.
Clive slams into her.
The impact drives her backwards again.
She plants her sword into the ground.
The blade carves a deep groove through stone as she forces herself to stop.
She steadies herself.
Then gently lowers Clive onto the ground behind her.
The half-transformed Disaster Wolf lies there, trembling, divine energy still pouring into him.
Number Zero steps forward.
She places herself between Alden and Clive.
Alden watches her.
His expression darkens.
Anger rises.
Not sudden.
Not chaotic.
But deep.
Old.
This is not the first time they have stood against each other.
Once,
They fought side by side.
Once,
He loved her.
Number Zero.
A number.
A weapon of the Church.
Women implanted with the Disaster Wolf bloodline.
Created to serve.
To fight.
To give everything.
No freedom.
No future.
No love.
He had asked for her.
Begged the Pope to release her.
To let her be free.
To let her choose him.
Before the Pope could even answer,
She refused him.
He had believed then,
That she was forced.
That the Pope made her say no.
That she wanted freedom.
That she wanted him.
So he chose the Bishop.
Chose rebellion.
Chose war.
All to break the chains that bound her.
But now,
He sees her standing there.
Protecting another man.
With her life.
Alden's heart twists.
His eyes burn.
"Why…?"
His voice trembles.
But no answer comes.
Only silence.
And Clive behind her.
Something inside him breaks.
The confusion turns to rage.
The pain turns to hatred.
"DIE!"
His roar shakes the cavern.
He gathers energy.
Death energy.
Disaster energy.
They merge in his palm.
A dense black sphere forms.
It pulses violently.
The air distorts around it.
The pressure alone makes the ground crack.
Then,
He thrusts his arm forward.
The energy ball shoots toward Number Zero.
Toward Clive.
Number Zero's expression changes.
For the first time,
A trace of fear.
She raises her sword.
Fighting energy erupts from her body.
She swings.
An energy wave bursts forward.
The wave collides with the black sphere.
The impact shakes the cavern.
The wave pushes.
The sphere resists.
For a moment, they hold.
Then,
The sphere begins moving.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
It cuts through the wave.
Inch by inch.
The energy wave fractures.
Breaks apart.
The black sphere continues forward.
Closer.
Closer.
Number Zero's grip tightens.
Her body trembles.
She cannot stop it.
She cannot escape.
There is nowhere to go.
Behind her,
Clive.
Her eyes soften slightly.
Then calm.
She releases her resistance.
The energy wave fades.
She accepts it.
Death.
Just before the sphere reaches her,
A flash.
A streak of ice.
An ice sword energy slices through the air.
It strikes the black sphere.
The sphere detonates.
A massive explosion erupts.
Shockwaves tear through the cavern.
Stone shatters.
Bodies are thrown backwards.
Number Zero is blasted away.
Clive is swept into the air.
Abel, Elie, and Rosalyn all crash into the cavern wall.
Dust fills everything.
Silence follows.
Then,
The dust begins to settle.
A figure emerges.
Standing.
Unmoved.
Elodie.
Her aura has changed.
No longer merely that of an Earth Knight.
It has risen.
Quasi Sky Knight.
But more than that,
It feels complete.
Before, her presence had been incomplete.
As if something was missing.
Now,
It is whole.
Her energy carries something new.
Ice.
And death.
Perfectly fused.
Her eyes are cold.
Sharp.
Unwavering.
She raises her sword.
Then moves.
In an instant,
She appears before Alden.
Her blade descends.
Ice and death intertwined.
The next clash begins.
Elodie's blade meets Alden's claw in a burst of ice and dark energy.
The collision shakes the cavern.
Frost spreads across the ground where her sword passes, while Alden's strikes tear through the ice with raw, destructive force.
They move faster than the eye can follow.
Elodie advances with precision.
Her sword arcs in controlled, lethal patterns.
Each strike carries both ice and death energy, freezing and eroding at once.
Alden answers with overwhelming power.
His claws rip through the air, each swing carrying enough force to shatter stone.
Elodie blocks.
Deflects.
Slides back.
Her boots carve lines across the frozen ground.
At first, the battle seems even.
But slowly,
The difference shows.
Elodie is only a quasi-third-stage transcend.
Alden is fully there.
Every clash drains her more.
Every strike from Alden carries greater weight.
Her breathing grows heavier.
Her movements, though still precise, begin to slow.
Alden notices.
A cruel smile spreads across his face.
"Is this all?"
He swings again.
Elodie blocks, but the impact forces her back several meters.
The ice beneath her feet fractures.
She steadies herself.
Then,
A blur appears beside her.
Number Zero.
Without a word, she joins the fight.
Her sword flashes.
Disaster energy surges from her blade.
The two women attack together.
Ice and disaster intertwine.
Their coordination is flawless.
They strike from opposite angles.
Alden is forced to defend.
For a moment, the pressure shifts.
But only for a moment.
Alden roars.
His aura explodes outward.
The cavern trembles.
The portal above responds.
It shakes.
Then begins to open further.
Darkness deepens within it.
Something stirs.
From within the portal,
Divine energy surges outward.
But it is not pure.
A twisted will hides within it.
Corrupt.
Hungry.
It flows toward Alden.
At the same time,
Another stream of divine energy moves toward Clive.
Pure.
Radiant.
It sinks into his transforming body.
Alden's aura surges again.
Stronger.
More violent.
His power climbs beyond what it was before.
He moves.
Faster than before.
His claw strikes.
Once.
Number Zero raises her sword.
Too late.
She is sent flying.
Her body crashes into the cavern wall.
Alden turns.
Second strike.
Elodie meets it.
Her blade shatters the air with frost.
But the force overwhelms her.
She is thrown backwards.
Her body slams into the wall beside Number Zero.
Both fall.
Alden stands alone.
His chest rises and falls slowly.
His aura burns like a dark sun.
Then,
The portal opens wider.
And something emerges.
A hand.
A massive, colourful hand.
It stretches out from the darkness.
Its surface shifts with unnatural hues.
Not flesh.
Not energy.
Something beyond both.
The moment it appears,
The world changes.
Those still conscious feel it instantly.
The nobles and their families collapse.
Their minds break under the pressure.
They scream.
Then fall silent.
Tears of blood stream from their eyes.
Nick drops to his knees.
Blood flows from his eyes.
His mind fractures under the weight of what he sees.
Rosalyn gasps.
Her body trembles.
She clamps her eyes shut.
She dares not look.
Elie and Abel freeze.
They feel it.
Their nascent paths.
Their understanding of their way.
Twisting.
Being rewritten.
They close their eyes in horror.
They lower their heads.
Even Elodie and Number Zero are affected.
Number Zero shuts her eyes tightly.
Her entire body trembles.
Elodie,
Suddenly,
Collapses.
Her aura drops instantly.
From quasi Sky Knight,
Back to Great Knight.
She loses consciousness.
The cavern falls into silence.
Only Alden remains standing.
He stares at the hand.
Reverence.
Madness.
Joy.
"My Lord…"
His voice trembles.
Then,
The hand moves.
A voice echoes from within the portal.
"Bug."
The word is soft.
Yet it carries absolute authority.
The hand slaps downward.
Alden does not react.
He cannot.
The force crushes him into the ground.
His body flattens.
His bones shatter.
His breath fades.
Slowly.
Completely.
Silence.
The hand turns.
It faces Clive.
Still transforming.
Still absorbing divine energy.
For a moment,
It lingers.
As if deciding.
Then,
It withdraws.
The hand retracts into the portal.
The swirling darkness collapses inward.
The portal closes.
The cavern falls silent.