Groza was confident in her victory, which is why she offered the terms. One powerful attack was all she needed to defeat a complete novice like Kreyn.
Azura and Liam exchanged glances, but they both understood that the fate of their worlds now depended on their leaders.
"Get ready! I'll show you what the strongest warrior in our world is capable of!" Groza exclaimed as electric discharges burst from her sword.
She lunged forward, ready to strike Kreyn like a mighty lightning spear. She cut through the wind as Kreyn responded by thrusting his sword forward.
His grin was wider than ever, for he could finally see the power of his Epos.
[Spark: Atomic Burst.]
At that moment, he had no time for description. His whole being wanted to use this ability, and it was the best moment for it.
The hollow in his sword filled with bright light as the energy ran along the lines, bursting out of the blade in a powerful, destructive blast that, for a split second, became hot enough to melt the ground, filling the surface with cinders.
Tremble! Tremble! Tremble!
The deafening explosion threw the two figures aside, shaking the battlefield with a dark blue flash.
"Groza!" "Kreyn!" Azura and Liam exclaimed simultaneously.
Crack.
Groza plunged her sword into the ground, trying to get up. Cuts tore her body, her clothes were torn, and blood gushed from her mouth.
But Kreyn was in no better condition. His left chest and arm were covered in burns.
"Hey, is that all you've got?" Kreyn croaked, struggling to get up from the ground.
With an awkward gait, he walked toward Groza as she looked up and saw his smirk.
"Bastard... Are you even human? If you think I'll give up after that, you're wrong!"
Crack.
Kreyn kicked her in the stomach, knocking her down.
"GHA!" Groza cried out in pain.
She tried to get up, but a heavy boot pressed her face to the ground as Kreyn towered over her.
"Surrender! You lost. Your plan failed. Your world was weaker!"
He leaned down as their eyes met.
"Show me the World Heart so I can end this, or else..." Kreyn's voice trailed off as he pointed to the sky. "Look."
Groza's pupils narrowed as she watched the arrowhead-shaped bomber cutting through the sky. The iron reaper was heading straight for the portal.
Sure, Groza couldn't know what this object was capable of, but two missiles were enough to destroy her frigate, and this particular aircraft was Kreyn's trump card.
"Take off the Ruler's Ring and surrender, or I'll destroy your fucking world!" Kreyn exclaimed, pressing her skull to the ground.
Through clenched teeth, she muttered:
"N-Never."
Silence.
Kreyn said nothing for a moment, then shrugged.
"Alright. I hear you."
"Agh...?" Groza looked at him in disbelief.
Her willpower was able to break Kreyn's aggression. At least she believed in it.
Click.
A click sounded as Kreyn pulled the remote out of his pocket. It was nothing more than a final order.
"No! No! No!" Liam jumped up from the ground and headed for the portal as if he could stop the inevitable.
The dark bomber flew into the portal where the sky was purple instead of blue. Then, the bay opened as a single bomb the size of a house went into free fall.
Even then, Groza and Liam, unfamiliar with modern military technology, understood what was about to happen.
As soon as the bomb reached the surface of the fantasy world, the purple sky turned red.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The shockwave from the explosion shook the walls between the worlds as streams of flame poured through the portal, casting a crimson light on Kreyn, who had been staring at Groza the whole time.
Only when the impact subsided and the black smoke that burned the world billowed out did he look toward the portal.
"Here we go. This bomb was created as a doomsday weapon, but all wars ended before there was a reason to use something so destructive." Kreyn smirked. "How fortunate that you decided to attack us, isn't it?"
"W-Why...?"
Groza's trembling voice rang out.
Kreyn raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"Why do you look so pleased? That smirk… It will haunt my nightmares. You just destroyed my world, you sick bastard!"
Sadness and rage overwhelmed Groza and Liam, yet they waited for a response from the one who personally created hell on earth, ultimately turning one of the two worlds into a pile of ashes.
Step.
With a heavy step, Kreyn bent down and grabbed Groza by the back of her head as they bumped foreheads.
"It's very simple." His eyes were cold. "Because I like it. Just this morning, I was sure that I would live my whole life in peace and only think about war in my dreams, but..."
Kreyn waved his hand.
"Look at that! Now I am free to do what I have wanted my whole life! The world is burning, and you know what the best part is? This is only the beginning, because the Great Lands await me!"
Crack.
At the same moment, Groza's ring cracked as a golden orb rose between her and Kreyn, beating like a heart from time to time.
She, Liam, and this orb were the last remnants of her world.
Before Groza could say anything, Kreyn's ring turned into a long, dark blade.
Without hesitation, he plunged the Overlord's Blade directly into the World Heart.
A bright amber light burst from the World Heart, falling on Kreyn's face and reflecting in his deep black eyes.
In place of the World Heart, a spinning circle with a rune in the center rose up.
[You have destroyed the World Heart of another world.]
[The Ascension Circle is ready to transport you to the Great Lands. As the owner of the Overlord's Blade, you may take others with you, but they all must be the Origins.]
"What will happen to my world?" Kreyn asked with a slight frown.
[The energy has come to this world, now it is the Connected World. People can receive the Eposes, become the Origins, and destroy the World Hearts. Or... Be destroyed by another world wishing to enter the Great Lands.]
Kreyn nodded. He understood that he had simply become the first of many. And possibly the last in his world as well.
He glanced at Azura, who nodded confidently, giving her consent. Then, he turned to Groza and Liam.
"What about you? Will you come with me to the Great Lands, or is that it? Will you give up and perish after the fall of your world, or will you join me?"
Silence.
Groza and Liam were silent for a long time until they exchanged glances.
"We will go to the Great Lands with you because we both have long wanted to achieve this goal," Groza proclaimed. "But! Don't think we will obey you, you sick bastard!"
Kreyn shrugged. "Fine. Followers are not brought, they come of their own free will."
"That will never happen!" Groza exclaimed.
Kreyn just smirked and faced the Ascension Circle.
"We are ready."
[Your wish to enter the Great Lands will be granted. Right now.]
The Ascension Circle spun as a bright pillar of light emerged from each of them, their figures scattering like shadows running from the bright sun — transmigrated to another, the only real world.
...
As if in a dreamless night, an unknown amount of time passed before Kreyn opened his eyes.
A rat scurried across the dirty, dusty ground near the bones in the corner while moonlight fell through the window onto the gaunt prisoner in torn rags.
Slowly, Kreyn rose as the rat froze in place, seemingly unable to believe that this man was still alive.
"Where the hell am I...?" Kreyn muttered, his voice dry as sand.
He glanced around. The room looked like a medieval prison cell as he picked up a shard of broken mirror from the ground.
In the reflection, he saw an exhausted young man with black hair and eyes, his pale skin revealing his cheekbones.
Kreyn turned his face at different angles and grinned.
"Well, well, so this is what it means to end up in the Great Lands. Hmm... To be honest, I look exactly the same, just a little younger, dirtier, and much skinnier. I'm starved. Does that mean the same thing happened to the others?"
He glanced at the skeleton in the corner.
"Did they, like me, take the place of someone who just died?"
Kreyn kept an eye on the door, listening to the night, noticing a few distant screams and painful moans.
"Hmm, considering that we were all moved at once, does that mean this place was the only one suitable for all of us? So..." Kreyn thought. "Which of the three should I save first?"
'Azura and Groza, hah, they can stand up for themselves, and if we're in prison, their original conditions must be a little better than mine. But, Liam?'
For a moment, Liam appeared in Kreyn's mind, an androgynous handsome male with long blond hair and blue eyes.
His face twitched.
"Shit... I have to find him as soon as possible."
"But."
Kreyn stared at the heavy iron door.
"How am I supposed to do that?"