Chapter 36 – The Lord of the Void
Meanwhile, Naël had already crossed the borders into the neighboring country. He walked slowly through the silent streets, his footsteps echoing on the bloodstained cobblestones. A vein pulsed on his forehead as he saw the scattered corpses—the lifeless bodies of innocents. Rage boiled within him, but he didn't let it show. He was waiting… for something. A call. A cry.
And it came.
A scream—faint, yet heavy with despair—pierced through the walls. Naël felt it vibrate in his bones. He leapt forward, racing through the alleys at full speed. When he arrived, he saw a wounded mother curled around her child, shielding him with all her strength. A dark figure approached slowly, savoring every second.
— "There's nothing more delicious than the taste of despair," murmured the figure, licking blood from his blade, a twisted smile on his lips.
He followed the crimson trail left by the mother, dragging his sword like a predator certain of its prey.
— "Hahaha… It's so delightful… ahhhh…"
Naël, perched on a rooftop, watched the scene. His gaze darkened. He saw the figure closing in on the mother.
— "Go on, scream louder," the creature sneered. "I'd love to see who dares to save you."
— "Me," said Naël, descending from the sky like a comet.
The figure looked up, intrigued.
— "Another suicidal fool…"
Naël landed gently in front of the mother. He turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
— "Don't worry," he whispered. "You're safe now."
A soft light burst from his palm, sealing the mother's wounds. Then, with a gesture, he teleported her and her child to safety.
He stood tall, facing the shadow.
— "Who are you, wretch? Show me your face."
The figure slowly pulled back his hood. Long black hair with bluish highlights fell over his shoulders. Two dark horns crowned his skull. His eyes glowed with an abyssal light.
— "I am Yzareth, Lord of the Void. And I will reduce you to ashes."
Naël let out a tense laugh.
— "How did you get here? This world is sealed."
— "That… is my secret."
Naël leapt into the air, sword in hand, diving toward Yzareth at full speed. Yzareth raised his clawed hand. The impact was brutal. Naël blocked the strike, but Yzareth caught his blade barehanded, to Naël's shock.
— "What…?"
Yzareth slashed the air with his claws. Space itself tore open, hurling Naël backward, his chest gashed.
Naël rose to his feet and extended his hand. His sword returned to him in a flash.
— "He's more dangerous than I thought… With this body, I won't last long. But why is he here? What's his true goal…?"
He sheathed his sword behind his back. No more thinking. He charged barehanded.
Yzareth attacked. Naël dodged with a leap, narrowly avoiding the slashes, then struck with a punch. Yzareth blocked with his scaled arm. A shockwave erupted around them.
— "How is he this strong physically?" growled Yzareth.
Naël followed up with a hook. Yzareth feinted, countered with a kick. Naël blocked it with his knee. Another shockwave.
The fight escalated. Brutal hand-to-hand combat. Fists, claws, dodges. Naël jumped back, flipped mid-air, and unleashed a titanic energy beam. Yzareth slashed the air, dispersing the attack. Rips in space surged toward Naël.
He sliced the air with his sword, creating a rift that absorbed the assault. Then, in a flash, he appeared before Yzareth and pierced him with a punch. But the demon staggered back, his body regenerating instantly.
---
Upper Plane – A Few Hours Earlier
Yzareth smiled. His plan was unfolding perfectly. He had extracted the souls of two of his most loyal servants, creating two avatars of himself. He infused them with their souls, granting each a fraction of his power.
For clarity, let's call them Yzareth 1 and Yzareth 2. The original remained hidden… watching.
---
Back to the battle.
Naël appeared before Yzareth 1 before he could react, delivering a horizontal sword slash. Yzareth 1 crossed his arms to block, but was hurled backward by the force of the blow.
He dug his claws into the ground to slow his momentum. Naël, already airborne, descended with a vertical strike. Yzareth 1 dodged with a backflip, but barely landed before Naël was on him again, blade slashing.
Yzareth 1 blocked with his right arm, sparks flying and another shockwave erupting. Naël spun, followed up with a second strike. Yzareth 1 blocked with his other arm, then retaliated with a flurry of slashes. His claws tore through the air at blinding speed.
Naël spun his sword, deflecting each attack with surgical precision. Then he stepped back, focused his energy, and unleashed a beam of pure light.
The explosion was blinding.
Everything was disintegrated.
Chapter 37 – The Masks Fall
After reducing Yzareth I to dust, Naël walked through the devastated city. His wounds regenerated slowly, as if his flesh hesitated to knit itself too quickly. His rage remained cold, contained—almost clinical.
He teleported to the place where he had sheltered the mother and her baby. Without a word, he took them into his arms.
— "I'm taking you somewhere safe," he murmured.
The woman was still sobbing, trembling.
— "I lost my husband… because of that awful man," she whispered.
Naël nodded, his gaze distant. In an instant, he reappeared among the ruins, scanning the ground as if he could read the final heartbeats of a vanished soul.
— "We'll find your husband's body," he said in a voice so soft it felt unreal.
— "No, stop… you've already done so much," the mother replied, broken.
Naël gently set her down, still holding the child close. As he looked around, he saw Yzareth I's corpse slowly reforming—particles gathering, bones reconstructing—but the body remained inert, breathless, soulless.
Naël frowned. He had vaporized the soul. So why this resurgence? Was it a residual essence? An autonomous avatar? Or a decoy, designed to resurrect and sow doubt?
He rose into the sky, his gaze hard, surveying the city like a displeased god.
The mother watched him leave, worried, clutching her child tightly.
Naël brought his hands together and cast a resonance spell—a gentle wave, almost musical, that swept through the city. Bodies stirred; some began to breathe again, others remained still, too broken to awaken.
— "I don't like severing the threads of fate," he murmured. "But I couldn't leave her like that."
He descended, retrieved the inert body of Yzareth I, and lifted it like a silent trophy. Before departing, the mother thanked him with a trembling voice. Naël nodded, then vanished, carrying the corpse. He had a plan—and it wasn't gentle.
---
Meanwhile, Valen was facing Yzareth II. The creature kept its hood on; its face remained hidden, as if afraid the world might recognize it.
Elyonna, now in miniature form, floated beside him, concerned.
— "He looks dangerous. What's your plan?" she asked.
Valen smiled confidently, his starry pupils already shifting.
— "Watch and learn."
The avatar lunged—a claw slash tore through the air. Valen didn't move. The attack shredded the space around him, slashed his clothes, but his skin didn't flinch. His body was too dense, too ancient.
Yzareth II attacked again, diving from above. Valen froze him mid-air with a single glance, then grabbed his throat in one swift motion. His gaze turned terrifying—abyssal.
With a silent pull, he ripped the creature's soul from its body. Yzareth II screamed, his voice shattering into the ether. Valen dove into his memories—but to his surprise, found nothing. No plan. No strategy. Just emptiness. A shell.
— "Just a puppet," he murmured.
Then he unraveled its essence like black smoke, scattered into the wind.
— "Yzareth will soon realize the deception," Valen said to Elyonna.
---
That was precisely when Yzareth's true plan began to unfold.
Hours earlier, in the shadows of the upper plane, he had prepared his pawns. Yzareth I and Yzareth II weren't meant to win—they were meant to reassure. Weak enough to be defeated, dangerous enough to distract. The goal was psychological: to make his enemies drop their guard.
By infiltrating the Guild, Yzareth intended to strike at its heart. He moved silently through the corridors, dismantling defenses as he went, erasing everything in his path until he reached Liora's office. There, he planned to sow panic while his avatars kept the hunters occupied elsewhere.
But Valen wasn't naïve. He had anticipated such an assault and left a clone of himself at HQ—a decoy, but a formidable one.
Yzareth had bet that the overwhelmed Guild would send the real Valen to the wrong location. On paper, the trap worked.
Valen's clone attacked what he believed was Yzareth. But it was just another avatar. The clone thought everything was under control. A status message was sent to Valen: HQ was secure.
But that message… did it really come from the clone?
Yzareth's psychological maneuver seemed to be working: divide, distract, strike. But Valen, eyes on Elyonna, raised an eyebrow.
— "See? I've got it covered," he said.
Elyonna sighed, both exasperated and impressed:
— "You're playing with fire… and fire always answers back."
---
Back at the portal, Lya, eyes fixed on the magical flows, updated her comrades.
— "Update: according to Valen, the situation outside has worsened. Servants are operating everywhere. And some of them aren't… normal."
Nova gripped her blade's hilt; Ryn reinforced the buffs, his hands trembling slightly; Drake cast a dark glance, ready for battle.
— "Time to finish these bastards," he growled.
Chapter 38 – The Sovereign's Aura
Arthur rose to his feet, his gaze burning with absolute determination. He summoned the Sovereign's Aura—a golden, commanding energy that spread across the battlefield like a silent shockwave. His will imposed itself on everyone. Nova, Valor, Ryn, Annabelle, Marie, Béatrice, and Ethan were enveloped in a vibrant light that amplified their power. In contrast, the hooded enemies felt their strength collapse, as if drained by an invisible hand.
Nova drew his sword. In a flash, he charged the enemies. His blade carved blazing arcs through the air, slicing several foes into pieces. He sheathed his sword in solemn silence, eyes locked on the next wave.
Annabelle conjured a fiery magic circle beneath the enemies' feet. Valor summoned blazing chains that erupted from the ground, binding them in place. Annabelle raised her arms, and the flames intensified. The hooded figures screamed, torn apart by the fire, until they were reduced to ashes.
A beam of light pierced through the enemy ranks. It halted abruptly, and a rain of slashes appeared across their bodies. They collapsed in pieces, unable to comprehend what had struck them. It was Ryn.
Ethan struck the air repeatedly. His blows seemed empty, but invisible shockwaves rippled outward, crushing the enemies as if struck by a titanic force.
Marie fired an arrow into a cluster of foes. When it hit the ground, spectral chains burst forth, ensnaring them. Drake leapt into the air and roared, "Titan Strike!" A massive explosion obliterated the hooded figures, leaving only drifting ash.
Lya charged toward the enemies. They retaliated with a massive energy beam, shouting:
— "We're vaporizing her! Don't let up!"
But a hand emerged from the beam, grabbed one of them, and slit his throat in a single motion.
— "How is that possible?!" another screamed.
Lya whispered:
— "Shadowless Style — Sixth Movement: Phantom Assault."
The remaining enemies saw their heads fall before they even understood what had happened.
— "Our attacks go right through her!" a final one cried in panic.
Arthur stepped forward, raising Excalibur.
— "Time to finish this."
He invoked: "King's Judgment — Disintegration."
A divine light burst from the sword. All remaining enemies were disintegrated, their screams swallowed by the purifying glow.
Lya turned to the group:
— "We need to get out of here. According to Valen, the situation outside is critical."
Drake said:
— "You've improved. Who taught you assassin techniques, Ryn?"
To which Ryn replied:
— "You know it—it was Lya who trained me."
Arthur frowned:
— "I find thoseorable. Nothing but cheap tricks."
Lya rolled her eyes:
— "Stop whining and spare us your code of honor."
---
Meanwhile…
The true Yzareth, Lord of the Void, entered Valen's office. Liora was there—calm, but alert.
— "You're the one commanding all these hunters, aren't you?" he said, his voice echoing like an abyss.
— "Yes. And what of it?" Liora replied, arms crossed.
— "Simple. I'm going to kill you. And let you mortals taste true despair."
— "You think it'll be easy?" she shot back, a sly smile on her lips.
Yzareth stepped forward, his aura warping the space around him.
— "Of course. What could possibly stop me? You? I don't even understand why you're their commander. If you were the strongest, I'd get it. But you're not. Clearly, humans have no idea what they're doing."
Liora rose slowly, her eyes glowing with a chilling light. She faced the Lord of the Void without flinching.
— "Maybe I'm not the strongest. But I'm the one who understands you best. And trust me… that's more than enough."
Chapter 39 – The Shadow of the Absolute
Yzareth stood before Liora, at the heart of the Guild HQ, hands clasped behind his back.
The air around him vibrated, charged with an energy so dense it distorted the crystals hanging from the ceiling.
— "Tell me, human… what makes you so confident in front of me?" he asked, his voice as cold as the space between stars.
Liora didn't flinch. Her gaze locked onto the dragon's, calm and defiant.
— "What I know about you?" she replied.
"That you're nothing but a lizard. A bit bigger, a bit louder… but still a lizard at heart."
The silence that followed was crushing. The HQ's windows trembled, magical currents began to ripple.
This time, Yzareth stopped playing. He slowly removed his hood — and in the next instant, the world tilted.
---
On Earth, the sky split with a black streak.
A dark scar slashed through the brilliant midday blue.
Winds reversed, tides roared, and a suffocating sensation fell upon the planet.
Even the gods, somewhere in the higher planes, paused to watch.
An unfathomable aura rose — a blend of chaos and absolute order.
In his true form, Yzareth appeared as a living paradox.
His body, sculpted in inhuman perfection, bore shifting symbols from the abyss.
Two smooth, curved black horns framed a face of maddening beauty.
His reptilian eyes, slit and burning with spectral blue, pierced the soul.
His black hair, tinged with blue, cascaded down to his waist, while a cloak of dark energy rippled around him.
He was the Primordial Black Dragon.
The Lord of the Void.
An essence even the laws of the world refused to name.
His mere presence defied logic, as if reality itself struggled to contain him.
Yzareth slowly raised a hand, and each movement seemed to bend the light around him.
> — "Liora… remember my words. You will be the cause of the massacre to come."
---
At that very moment, spiritual alarms screamed throughout the HQ.
Hunters rushed in from the corridors, drawn by the surge of energy.
— "What is this power?!" shouted Ethan.
Arthur, already prepared, frowned.
— "It's not a portal… it's something alive."
— "Quick, back to HQ! Trouble's brewing!" added Lya, eyes wide with fear.
The walls began to crack under the pressure.
Liora, still standing before Yzareth, replied evenly:
— "You think threats impress me? You're just a slightly bulkier lizard."
Yzareth's smile twisted into a sinister grimace.
In a blink, he vanished from sight.
A thunderous shock rang out.
Liora was hurled across the room, crashing through walls before landing outside.
Windows shattered, and the ground collapsed where she had stood.
> — "Commander Liora is down!" shouted a hunter.
— "That's no ordinary demon… it's a Primordial Dragon! His essence isn't even physical!"
— "He regenerates at an impossible rate! Our weapons won't cut it! We need a plan, now!"
S- to SSS-ranked hunters gathered, forming a perimeter around the HQ.
The tension was palpable. Even the strongest among them trembled before the aura of the Lord of the Void.
---
Thousands of kilometers away, Valen froze.
His gaze went blank for a moment, then he cursed under his breath.
— "No… That flux… it's not an avatar."
Elyonna, alarmed, materialized beside him.
— "You mean…"
— "Yes. The real Yzareth has entered the HQ. My clone was fooled.
Quick, we're heading back.
Hold on tight — we're going faster."
A tear of light opened, and they plunged into it.
---
In another country, Naël was calmly flying toward the HQ when the cosmic pressure hit him.
He stopped mid-air, eyes dark.
— "This time… it's him. The true Lord of the Void."
Around him, the air vibrated abnormally.
Even dimensions seemed to twist to accommodate the dragon's presence.
Naël clenched his fists.
— "If Valen doesn't hold him off, the world will collapse before I even arrive."
His aura exploded, cracking the plains below.
— "Time for me to step in."
---
Elsewhere, Zarion felt the same pressure.
A predatory smile spread across his lips.
— "Well… looks like we're finally getting some action."
---
Meanwhile, at the HQ, Liora slowly rose from the rubble.
Her body trembled, but her gaze remained clear.
Yzareth approached, dominating the scene, his shadow swallowing the daylight.
— "You still don't understand," he said, almost gently.
"I'm not seeking domination.
I'm correcting. The balance of the world has been corrupted… and I'm merely restoring it."
Liora spat blood, a smile tugging at her lips.
— "You speak of balance… while you reduce worlds to ashes?"
— "Flames don't destroy — they purify."
The two forces locked eyes, and a surge of energy burst between them, shaking the ground for kilometers.
---
In the sky above the HQ, a fracture appeared in space — the mark of a clash between superior entities.
The hunters looked up — and for the first time, they understood why Yzareth bore the title Lord of the Void.
The dragon's shadow engulfed the world.
And at that precise moment, the entire continent entered the Era of Judgment.