Sub-Chapter 14.1: The Veins Beneath The World
The Dark Elven Forest no longer sounded alive.
That was the first thing Marvelerick noticed.
No insects.
No distant animal cries.
No whispering wind through leaves.
Only silence.
-----------------------
A heavy, unnatural silence that pressed against the skin like cold wet cloth.
The massive trees of the forest towered above them like ancient pillars holding up the night itself. Their twisted roots crawled across the earth like sleeping serpents, thick enough to swallow entire roads.
-----------------------
Marvelerick walked at the front of the group, his hand resting near the hilt of Archangel's blade that Lucifell gave to him.
Behind him...
Jacob rode slowly beside his griffin, both unusually quiet.
Harald's unicorn snorted uneasily, its silver mane twitching as if sensing something buried beneath the soil.
Luna kept glancing toward the darkness between the trees.
Winona walked near the center of the formation, her staff glowing faintly with soft golden light.
And Flamini...
his sharp eyes never stopped moving.
Watching.
Calculating.
Hunting.
-----------------------
"This place gives me chills," Jacob muttered quietly.
"That's because something's watching us," Luna replied.
Jacob immediately stiffened. "…Could you not say that so casually?"
Harald let out a short laugh. "She's probably right."
"Harald..."
"I hate you."
Jacob rolled his eyes.
-----------------------
The group continued forward beneath the enormous black canopy.
Then...
the trees stopped.
Abruptly.
As though the forest itself refused to move any closer.
And there...
half-hidden beneath colossal roots...
stood the ancient temple of Lavik.
-----------------------
The structure looked less like architecture…
…and more like something excavated from a nightmare.
Black stone walls twisted together with massive roots.
Ancient elven symbols glowed faintly across cracked pillars.
Parts of the temple had collapsed long ago, yet somehow it still stood, stubborn and decaying beneath the earth.
Several wounded dark elves guarded the entrance.
But something immediately felt wrong.
None of them looked cursed anymore.
No scales.
No poisoned veins.
No monstrous deformities.
They looked…
normal.
Or at least as normal as dark elves could appear.
-----------------------
Luna narrowed her eyes slightly.
"…Lucifell really healed them."
One of the elves noticed the ARCANA insignia and immediately lowered his weapon.
"You came."
His voice carried exhaustion.
Relief.
Marvelerick stepped forward slowly.
"We are from Mournvale Kingdom," he said calmly.
A brief pause.
"And Lucifell… the ARCANA Commander… sent us here."
-----------------------
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
At the mention of Lucifell...
the wounded elves exchanged glances.
Some lowered their heads slightly.
Others visibly relaxed.
Even fear itself seemed to retreat for a moment.
-----------------------
Then...
slow footsteps echoed from within the temple darkness.
Heavy.
Dragging.
Deliberate.
And from the shadows...
something emerged.
Tall.
Unnaturally thin.
Like a corpse stretched beyond human proportions.
A tattered black cloak draped over his skeletal frame, dragging across the stone floor behind him.
Beneath the hood...
two burning orange eyes stared directly at the group.
And when he smiled...
the forest itself felt colder.
Lavik the Cutterbones.
-----------------------
Jacob instinctively reached for his weapon.
Harald's unicorn stepped backward immediately, muscles tightening in fear.
Even Winona visibly tensed.
Flamini slowly reached his arrow.
Marvelerick and Luna remained still.
-----------------------
Lavik tilted his head slowly.
"…Interesting."
His voice sounded smooth.
Almost amused.
"These are Lucifell's little ravens?"
Luna frowned instantly. "...We're... not..."
Marvelerick raised his hand slightly, stopping her before the argument began.
Lavik noticed.
And laughed softly.
"Heheheh…"
His orange eyes lingered on Marvelerick.
Studying him.
Measuring him.
"…Smarter than the others."
The smile remained...
but weakened slightly.
As though something heavier sat behind it now.
"He was right."
Marvelerick narrowed his eyes. "…Who?"
"The Nightbringer."
The title alone made the temple feel colder.
Lavik slowly turned his gaze toward the darkness deeper within the temple.
"…Something below is trying to reach the surface."
-----------------------
Silence consumed the group.
Even the wounded elves looked disturbed.
-----------------------
Flamini crossed his arms. "And you can't stop it?"
Lavik's thin smile returned immediately.
Disturbing.
Cruel.
Amused.
"Oh, little wolf…"
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"We are stopping it."
-----------------------
Then..
a sound echoed from somewhere far beneath the temple.
Not a roar.
Not footsteps.
Something worse.
Something dragging itself slowly across stone.
-----------------------
SCRAAAAAPE...
-----------------------
The entire group froze.
Even Harald's unicorn trembled violently now.
Lavik noticed immediately.
"…Animals hear it better."
Jacob swallowed hard. "What exactly is down there?"
For the first time since appearing...
Lavik stopped smiling completely.
"…An old mistake."
Silence.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Then Lavik turned away, his black cloak swaying behind him like living shadow.
"Come."
The faint glow of his orange eyes disappeared slowly into the darkness ahead.
"The veins beneath this world are beginning to rot."
And one by one...
ARCANA followed him into the temple beneath the roots.
-----------------------
Sub-Chapter 14.2: The Pathway Below
-----------------------
The deeper they descended...
the colder the world became.
Not natural cold.
Not the cold of winter or mountain wind.
This cold felt older.
Like the absence of sunlight itself.
Torch flames flickered weakly along the temple walls as Lavik guided them downward through ancient stone corridors buried beneath the Dark Elven Forest.
Massive roots pierced through the ceiling and walls, twisting around black pillars like giant veins choking the underground passage.
Some roots pulsed faintly.
As though something beneath the earth still breathed.
-----------------------
Jacob looked upward uneasily from atop his griffin.
"…Please tell me those roots aren't moving."
"They are," Lavik answered casually.
Jacob immediately regretted asking.
Harald's unicorn suddenly stopped walking.
Its entire body stiffened.
The creature lowered its head, breathing heavily as if refusing to continue deeper.
Harald frowned softly and placed a hand against its neck.
"…Easy."
But the unicorn did not move.
Its silver eyes remained locked toward the darkness ahead.
Flamini noticed immediately.
"…It senses something."
Lavik continued walking without looking back.
"It senses many things."
His voice echoed faintly through the corridor.
"…Most of them should remain buried."
That sentence did not help anyone feel better.
-----------------------
The pathway widened gradually as they descended deeper beneath the forest.
Ancient murals began appearing across the stone walls.
Huge carvings.
Worn by time.
Yet still disturbingly detailed.
-----------------------
Luna slowed her steps slightly.
"…These weren't made by dark elves."
Winona approached one of the murals carefully.
The carving depicted massive winged figures descending from the sky.
Some carried spears.
Others carried chains.
Beneath them...
monstrous creatures crawled upward from cracks beneath the earth.
"…Angels…" Winona whispered quietly.
Lavik chuckled softly ahead of them.
"So Heaven did leave records behind after all."
Marvelerick studied the mural closely.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not because of the creatures.
Because of the expressions.
The winged figures were not portrayed as saviors.
They looked afraid.
-----------------------
Jacob landed beside them, staring at another carving nearby.
"…Uh…"
His voice suddenly lost its usual confidence.
"…Guys?"
Everyone turned.
-----------------------
Another mural stretched across the wall ahead.
Larger than the others.
Much larger.
A towering black figure stood at the center.
Crowned.
Winged.
Surrounded by shadows that swallowed entire armies beneath its feet.
The face was hidden behind a dark mask.
But the shape of the wings...
the posture...
the presence...
felt disturbingly familiar.
Winonafrowned. "…What is that?"
No one answered immediately.
Even Lavik had stopped walking.
His burning orange eyes lingered silently on the mural.
Longer than necessary.
Far longer.
Something unreadable moved behind his expression.
Not amusement.
Not curiosity.
Something closer to concern.
Then...
he smiled again.
But weaker this time.
"…An old king."
Marvelerick narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know this figure?"
Lavik's gaze slowly shifted away from the mural.
"…No."
A pause.
"…I only know the stories."
Flamini stepped closer to the carving.
Unlike the others, his eyes focused less on the figure...
and more on the battlefield around it.
"…These symbols…"
He traced one of the ancient marks carefully.
"…This isn't depicting a war."
Lunalookedathim. "Then what is it?"
Flamini's expression darkened slightly.
"…A sealing."
Silence spread instantly through the corridor.
Jacob laughed nervously. "…Okay, I officially hate this place now."
-----------------------
Harald remained near his unicorn, still trying to calm the creature.
But the unicorn refused to lower its guard.
Its ears remained pinned backward toward the darkness ahead.
As though it could hear breathing deep beneath the stone.
Then...
another sound echoed upward through the tunnel.
-----------------------
SCRAAAAAPE...
-----------------------
Closer this time.
Much closer.
The torches flickered violently.
And for a brief moment..
something moved far below within the darkness.
Not clearly.
Only a silhouette.
Too large.
Too thin.
Gone the instant they noticed it.
Winona instinctively stepped closer to Marvelerick.
"…That wasn't a goblin."
"No," Lavik replied quietly.
His orange eyes narrowed toward the abyss below.
"…Goblin screams sound smaller."
The corridor fell silent again.
Then Lavik finally continued walking deeper underground.
His cloak dragging slowly against the ancient stone.
"…Stay close."
A faint grin returned to his face.
"But not too close."
And far beneath the world...
something laughed.
-----------------------
Sub-Chapter 14.3: Something's There
-----------------------
The pathway below the Dark Elven Forest no longer resembled ruins.
The deeper they descended...
the more it began to resemble a buried kingdom.
Ancient pillars stretched upward into darkness beyond torchlight.
Massive bridges crossed endless chasms beneath the earth.
Old stone roads carved directly into the cavern walls spiraled downward like veins leading toward the heart of something forgotten.
And everywhere...
there were signs of war.
Broken barricades.
Shattered weapons.
Blood.
Fresh blood.
-----------------------
Marvelerick's expression hardened slightly.
"…This wasn't from last night."
Lavik walked ahead of them casually, his black cloak dragging against the stone.
"No."
A faint smile curled beneath his hood.
"…This is from this morning."
Jacob immediately frowned. "That is NOT comforting information."
-----------------------
Further ahead...
voices echoed through the cavern.
Shouting.
Orders.
Metal striking stone.
Then...
they saw them.
Dark elves.
Dozens of them.
Some wounded.
Some exhausted.
Some barely standing.
Barricades of broken wood and black stone surrounded a massive gate carved directly into the cavern wall.
Ancient symbols glowed faintly across its surface.
But the gate itself...
was cracked.
And through those cracks...
dark red light pulsed slowly from the other side.
Like a heartbeat.
-----------------------
Marvelerick immediately understood.
"…That's the breach."
Lavik stopped beside him.
"…One of them."
The answer made everyone uncomfortable.
-----------------------
Winona quickly moved toward several injured elves, immediately beginning to heal them with soft golden light.
One wounded elf looked at her in disbelief.
"…Warm…"
His voice trembled slightly.
"…I forgot warmth felt like this."
Winona froze briefly at those words.
Then continued healing silently.
-----------------------
Then continued healing silently.
Nearby...
Luna inspected the barricades.
Deep claw marks covered the stone.
Some looked melted.
Others looked…
pierced.
Flamini crouched beside one of the massive marks carved across the floor.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Something heavy."
A pause.
"…But fast."
Harald's unicorn suddenly snorted violently.
The creature stepped backward, refusing to approach the gate itself.
Jacob noticed immediately. "Your horse knows something."
"It's not a horse," Harald replied automatically.
Then his expression darkened.
"…And yes."
-----------------------
A low growl echoed faintly from beyond the gate.
Deep.
Layered.
Wrong.
-----------------------
Jacob slowly looked toward the massive crack in the stone.
"…Please tell me that's not something bad."
Lavik's smile returned instantly.
Cruel.
Interested.
Almost excited.
"Oh…"
His orange eyes burned brighter beneath the hood.
"…You'll know when you see it."
Marvelerick folded his arms. "You still haven't explained what's actually trying to come through."
-----------------------
For the first time since they arrived...
Lavik's expression became serious.
Not playful.
Not amused.
Serious.
"That tunnel connects to multiple buried pathways beneath this continent."
His voice echoed quietly through the cavern.
"Old kingdoms." "Forgotten prisons." "Collapsed sanctuaries."
A pause.
"And eventually…"
His burning eyes shifted toward the cracked gate.
"…The Underworld Kingdom."
-----------------------
Silence spread instantly.
Even Jacob stopped joking.
-----------------------
Lavik continued.
"Most pathways were sealed long ago."
His fingers brushed lightly against the black stone wall beside him.
"But seals decay."
-----------------------
The red glow behind the gate pulsed again.
Stronger this time.
-----------------------
"…And something below recently started pushing upward."
said Lavik.
Marvelerick narrowed hiseyes. "The Underworld Army?"
Lavik slowly shook his head.
"…No."
That answer chilled the entire cavern.
"The army came after."
-----------------------
Another growl echoed from behind the gate.
Closer now.
Heavy breathing followed.
Three different breathing patterns.
-----------------------
Winona slowly stepped away from the wounded elves.
"…Something's there."
-----------------------
SCRAAAAAPE...
-----------------------
A massive claw slowly dragged across the other side of the gate.
Stone cracked instantly.
Several dark elves raised their weapons immediately.
Fear spread across the barricade.
-----------------------
Lavik smiled again.
But this time...
the smile carried tension beneath it.
"…Well...."
His dual sickles slowly unfolded from beneath his cloak.
"…The kennel beast woke up."
Jacobblinked. "The WHAT?"
-----------------------
The gate trembled violently.
-----------------------
BOOOOM!
Another impact.
-----------------------
Larger.
Stronger.
Dust rained from the cavern ceiling.
-----------------------
Then...
through the widening crack...
three burning eyes appeared within the darkness.
Not six.
Three.
One eye for each head.
Watching.
Waiting.
-----------------------
The cavern temperature rose instantly.
Flames flickered through the widening gap.
And slowly...
a low growl escaped from all three throats at once.
A sound so deep it vibrated through bone.
-----------------------
Harald's unicorn nearly panicked completely.
Winona instinctively stepped backward.
Even Luna's expression tightened.
-----------------------
Then...
the creature smiled.
All three mouths.
At the same time.
Lavik's burning orange eyes narrowed with excitement.
"…Well then."
His sickles spun slowly in his hands.
"Let's see if Lucifell's little ravens can survive the basement of the world."
-----------------------
Sub-Chapter 14.4: Echoes of The Underworld
-----------------------
BOOOOM!
The cracked gate exploded inward.
Stone fragments scattered across the cavern like shrapnel as waves of heat burst violently into the underground chamber.
Several dark elves were thrown backward instantly.
And from the burning breach...
it emerged.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As though it already knew nothing here could stop it.
The Flaming Cerberus.
Its body resembled a monstrous hellhound skinned in molten armor, black flesh split apart by glowing crimson cracks that pulsed like magma beneath its hide.
Three massive heads swayed independently.
Each carried only one enormous burning eye.
Watching.
Searching.
Thinking.
Small demonic wings twitched along its back, too small to support flight yet constantly moving with restless aggression.
And behind it...
its spear-like tail scraped slowly against the stone floor.
SCRAAAAAPE...
-----------------------
The sound alone made Jacob's skin crawl.
"…Nope."
He immediately backed away beside his griffin.
"Absolutely not."
The Cerberus exhaled.
And fire leaked from between its teeth.
Not ordinary flame.
Dark flame.
Heavy flame.
Flame that looked alive.
Several wounded dark elves visibly panicked.
One dropped his weapon entirely.
"…It got bigger…"
said Jacob.
Lavik stepped forward casually.
"…Yes."
His burning orange eyes remained locked on the beast.
"…It's feeding."
Marvelerick immediately looked at him. "Feeding on what?"
Lavik smiled thinly.
"Fear." A pause. "Death." Another pause. "…And heat."
-----------------------
The three heads slowly turned toward the group.
Then...
all three eyes locked onto Winona's healing light.
The creature growled immediately.
Low.
Aggressive.
Hungry.
Winona froze.
"…Why is it staring at me?"
"Because you smell alive," Lavik answered.
That did not help.
The Cerberus suddenly moved.
FAST.
Far faster than something that massive should move.
"MOVE!" Marvelerick shouted instantly.
-----------------------
BOOOOM!
The ground shattered beneath its charge as all three jaws lunged toward the barricade simultaneously.
Dark elves scattered.
Jacob pulled Winona backward while Harald shoved Luna aside just before one massive claw tore through the barricade.
Stone exploded everywhere.
The spear-tail shot forward immediately afterward...
PIERCE...
straight through a dark elf soldier's chest.
The creature lifted the screaming elf effortlessly into the air.
Then...
one head bit down.
CRUNCH.
Silence followed.
-----------------------
Jacob's face turned pale instantly. "...Damn..."
The Cerberus swallowed.
And the glowing cracks across its body pulsed brighter.
Lavik's smile vanished.
"…See?"
His sickles slowly spun in his hands.
"…Feeding."
Marvelerick immediately stepped forward.
"All units! Don't let it consume the wounded!"
This time...
his voice carried authority.
Clear.
Sharp.
Controlled.
-----------------------
Everyone reacted instantly.
Flamini moved first.
An arrow flew through the cavern...
THUCK!
Directly into one of the Cerberus' burning eyes.
The beast ROARED violently.
But not in pain.
Anger.
Only anger.
"…The eye regenerated…" Flamini muttered.
The wound already began closing.
-----------------------
Luna's hands ignited with icy blue energy.
"Then stop its movement."
She slammed both palms against the ground.
CRACK!!!
Massive frozen chains erupted upward from the stone floor, wrapping around two of the Cerberus' legs.
The creature immediately fought against them...
melting the ice simply through heat alone.
But it slowed.
And that was enough.
-----------------------
Harald moved.
His unicorn charged forward with terrifying speed, silver light trailing behind it as Harald leapt from its back directly toward the Cerberus' flank.
His blade carved across the creature's side...
SPARK!!!
and he shot some multiple shots from his arm-cross bow...
THURCK!
THURCK!
THURCK!
But instead of blood...
molten fire exploded outward.
Harald barely twisted away in time.
"…It burns from the inside," he growled.
-----------------------
Meanwhile...
Lavik laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not because things were under control.
But because violence excited him.
The poisonous scales along his body expanded slowly, releasing faint green vapor around him.
"…Now THIS feels familiar."
Then he vanished.
One second standing...
the next already above the Cerberus.
Both sickles descended simultaneously.
SHRRRKK...
One head was severed cleanly.
The massive burning skull crashed against the stone floor.
The dark elves CHEERED instantly...
until the head began moving again.
Its single eye rolled toward them slowly.
Then the severed neck started growing flesh.
-----------------------
Jacob stared in horror. "…That is cheating."
Lavik landed gracefully atop the beast's back.
"…Welcome to the Underworld."
-----------------------
Then...
suddenly...
the Cerberus stopped moving.
All three heads slowly lifted upward.
Sniffing.
The cavern fell silent.
Even Lavik's expression shifted slightly.
The beast was no longer focused on them.
It was listening.
Far below the gate...
something else had moved.
Something deeper.
Something larger.
-----------------------
The Cerberus whimpered.
WHIMPERED.
Every person in the cavern froze.
Because predators were not supposed to sound afraid.
-----------------------
Then...
from somewhere deep beneath the endless tunnels...
a distant horn echoed upward through the underground pathways.
OOOOOOOOOO!!!
Ancient.
Heavy.
Alive.
Lavik's smile disappeared completely.
"…No."
For the first time...
fear touched his voice.
And deep below the world...
something answered the horn.
-----------------------
Chapter 14.5: The First Breach
-----------------------
Something massive moved.
THOOM.
The ground trembled.
Small stones rolled across the pathway.
Harald instinctively tightened his grip on the unicorn's reins.
"…Tell me that was just part of the cave," he muttered.
"No," Lavik answered immediately.
For once...
the cursed warlord was not smiling.
That alone made the atmosphere worse.
Marvelerick noticed it instantly.
Lavik the Cutterbones feared almost nothing.
Yet now...
the tall cursed elf had gone completely still.
Orange eyes narrowed toward the darkness below.
Listening.
Waiting.
-----------------------
THOOOM.
Another tremor.
This one stronger.
Far behind them, several recovering dark elves flinched violently.
One nearly dropped his spear.
"…No…"
Another whispered shakily:
"Abaddon…"
Jacob frowned from atop his griffin.
"…Abaddon?"
Lavik slowly exhaled through his nose.
"The World Enders."
Even the title felt heavy.
-----------------------
The underground wind suddenly grew hotter.
Then...
far below the pathway...
a faint red glow appeared.
Like fire moving through darkness.
At first…
only one.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Torches.
A slow-moving sea of crimson lights advancing upward from the abyss beneath the underground pathways.
-----------------------
Winona's expression paled.
"…That's an army."
"No," Lavik corrected quietly.
His gaze darkened.
"That is extinction."
-----------------------
THOOOM.
THOOOM.
THOOOM.
The entire tunnel now shook rhythmically.
Not explosions.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Monstrous.
Closer.
The Flaming Cerberus beside the gate still whimpered.
The giant hellhound lowered all three heads instinctively, wings twitching uneasily.
Flamini slowly looked toward the beast.
"…Even that thing is scared?"
Lavik's smile finally returned.
Thin.
Unstable.
"Yes."
That answer terrified everyone more than if he had screamed.
-----------------------
Then...
BOOOOOOM!!!
A colossal impact exploded somewhere below.
The entire underground pathway cracked violently.
Dust rained from above.
Several dark elves stumbled backward in panic.
And from the darkness beneath the pathway...
something emerged.
A gigantic hand.
Grey-green skin.
Veins bulging like roots beneath stone.
The fingers alone were larger than a human body.
Then another hand grabbed the edge of the pathway.
CRAAAAACK!!!
The stone bridge bent beneath the pressure.
Slowly...
a colossal figure pulled itself upward from the abyss below.
Ten meters tall.
One massive crimson eye burning at the center of its grotesque face.
Curved horns twisted upward from its skull.
Heavy iron armor covered portions of its enormous body.
And resting across one shoulder...
was a gigantic war mace covered in dried blood.
The creature's breathing alone sounded like thunder.
-----------------------
Everyone froze.
Even Harald's unicorn stepped backward nervously.
The giant cyclops slowly lifted its head.
Its single red eye stared directly at the ARCANA squad.
Then...
it smiled.
A horrible smile.
Too wide.
Too eager.
"…Tiny people."
Its voice shook the tunnel walls.
-----------------------
Luna instinctively reached for her weapon.
Winona swallowed hard.
Jacob's griffin growled uneasily.
And then...
more red lights began appearing behind the giant.
Dozens.
Moving slowly upward through the darkness below.
More footsteps echoed afterward.
THOOOM.
THOOOM.
THOOOM.
-----------------------
Marvelerick's expression sharpened immediately.
Not fear.
Calculation.
The young Eclipse Guard member stepped forward slightly.
Instantly placing himself between the squad and the giant cyclops.
Luna noticed it immediately.
No hesitation.
No dramatic speech.
He simply moved first.
Like protecting others was natural to him.
"…Eyes up, squad," Marvelerick said calmly.
His voice remained steady despite the monstrous pressure crushing the tunnel.
"Formation Delta."
-----------------------
Immediately...
ARCANA moved.
Jacob ascended slightly atop his griffin for aerial support.
Harald ignited his gauntlets.
Flamini guided the frightened elves backward.
Winona prepared healing magic.
Luna silently moved beside Marvelerick.
Not behind him.
Beside him.
Lavik watched all of it quietly.
And somewhere behind his madness...
something almost resembling respect flickered briefly in his burning orange eyes.
-----------------------
The giant cyclops suddenly stepped fully onto the pathway.
BOOOOOOM!.
The ancient stone bridge groaned violently beneath its weight.
The creature slowly dragged its colossal mace against the ground.
SCREEEEEECH.
Sparks exploded across the tunnel floor.
"…You smell alive," the cyclops muttered.
Then it tilted its massive head unnaturally.
"…Which one breaks first?"
-----------------------
Jacob immediately whispered:
"…I officially hate this mission."
Harald nervously laughed once.
"…Agreed.
-----------------------
Then...
Lavik suddenly stepped forward.
His black cloak fluttered slowly behind him.
The poisonous scales beneath his skin began expanding faintly.
Green toxic mist leaked from his body.
And when he spoke…
even the tunnel itself seemed colder.
"…Captain of the Abaddon Legion."
His burning orange eyes narrowed.
"…Gromyr."
The giant cyclops laughed.
A deep monstrous sound.
Then...
it lifted the colossal war mace with one hand.
The pressure alone shattered nearby stone.
"Lavik."
The cyclops grinned wider.
"I heard the forest rat joined the surface kingdom."
Its massive red eye slowly shifted toward Marvelerick and the others.
"…Now I see children standing beside him."
Luna immediately reacted:
"Children?!"
Malvelerick grabbed her shoulder instantly.
"…Not now."
Luna's gaze shifted slightly toward Marvelerick again.
The young Eclipse Guard leader had not moved.
Had not flinched.
Even facing something this enormous...
his voice remained calm.
"…No fear," Marvelerick said quietly.
Then he stepped forward first.
Lucifell's Archangels Sword lowering into stance.
"Forward."
And for some reason...
that single moment made Luna's chest tighten unexpectedly.
Because this was not the cold monster she expected from the Eclipse Guard.
Not another Nightbringer.
Not another living weapon.
Just…
someone willingly standing first between danger and everyone else.
-----------------------
Then...
far behind Gromyr...
more gigantic red eyes slowly began opening within the abyss below.
One after another.
Watching silently from the darkness.
The Abaddon Legion.
Waiting.
Gromyr smiled wider.
"…Found the gate."
-----------------------
Sub-Chapter 14.6: The Voice Ignivar Heard
-----------------------
Far above the southern sea of Mournvale...
the storm still raged.
Black clouds twisted endlessly across the heavens as wavescrashedviolently beneath them, illuminated only by distantflashes of crimson fire and dark green light.
The ocean itself had begun boiling.
Steam rose endlessly across the battlefield sky.
And at the center of it...
two figures continued tearingtheworldapart.
-----------------------
BOOOOM!!!
Lucifell's blade collided against Ignivar's twin flaming swords once more.
The impactshattered the surrounding clouds instantly.
A shockwaveexploded across the sea surface below, sending massive walls of water crashing outward in every direction.
Then both vanished.
Only streaks of black and crimson remained across the storm.
Faster.
Sharper.
More violent than before.
Neither slowing.
Neither yielding.
-----------------------
And yet...
something had changed.
Ignivar noticedit.
Again.
Dark purple lightning flickeredbriefly around Lucifell's wings.
Small.
Unstable.
Wrong.
Not holy energy.
Not Dark Amber.
Something deeper.
Something that shouldnotexist.
-----------------------
CLANG!!!
Another clash.
-----------------------
Lucifell suddenly twisted midair and drove his knee directly into Ignivar's chest.
The Fire Knight crashed through three layers of storm clouds before stabilizing himself above the boilingsea.
Flames erupted around him instantly.
But he was smiling again.
Not mockingly.
Curiously.
"…Heh I told you."
Lucifell said nothing.
His black wings spreadslowly behind him as dark rain slid across his armor.
The turquoise glow beneath his mask flickeredfaintly.
-----------------------
Then...
purple lightning appeared again.
Longer this time.
Thin strands crawlingbriefly across the edges of his wings.
The surrounding air distorted for half a second.
Like reality itself blinkedincorrectly.
Ignivar saw it clearly.
his smile weakened.
"…You still don't hear it?"
Silence.
Only rain.
Only thunder.
Only the roaringsea beneath them.
Lucifell slowlyraised his blade again.
"…Hear what?"
Ignivar laughedsoftly.
But this time...
there was no madness behind it.
Onlyunease.
"…That voice."
-----------------------
CLANG!!!
They clashed again instantly.
Fire and darkness eruptedviolently across the sky.
-----------------------
Ignivar swung both flaming swords downward.
Lucifell blocked...
and the surrounding atmosphere cracked from the pressurealone.
The sea below splitapartbriefly.
-----------------------
Then...
mid-clash...
Ignivar spoke again.
"…Something inside you is screaming."
For a briefsecond...
Lucifell's movements stopped.
Not physically.
Mentally.
A single heartbeat.
But Ignivar noticed.
"…Interesting."
-----------------------
Lucifell immediately forced him backward with a violentburst of Dark Amber flames.
BOOOOM!!!
Ignivar skidded across the storm-filled sky before stabilizing himself once more.
But now...
he was staring.
Studying.
Like a man looking at something impossible.
-----------------------
Dark purple lightning flickered again around Lucifell.
Stronger now.
And beneath the mask...
something pulsedfaintly across his chest.
Not visible.
But there.
Watching.
Waiting.
The rain suddenly stopped.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
The ocean below became still.
The storm froze.
Even thunder vanished.
For one terrifying moment...
the entire world fell silent.
-----------------------
Ignivar's burning eyes widenedslightly.
"…I see...,"
The Fire Knight slowlylowered one sword.
Not out of weakness.
Out of realization.
"…The prophecy was right."
-----------------------
Far below...
the sea trembled.
Tiny cracks of dark purple energy crawledbriefly across the sky around Lucifell before disappearing again.
Reality correcting itself.
Trying to close something.
Trying to suppress something.
Lucifell remained motionless.
Confused.
Unaware.
But Ignivar…
Ignivar finally understood why the wraith seems excited when speaking about the fallen angel.
Not because Lucifell would become another monster.
No.
Something far worse.
Something even the Underworld should never witness.
-----------------------
Ignivar slowlyinhaled.
Then exhaled burning smoke into the storm.
"…Someday…"
His voice echoedquietly above the silentsea.
"…even the Underworld will fear you."
-----------------------
Then...
the storm returnedviolently.
THUNDERexploded across the heavens once more.
Rain crashed downward.
The ocean roared back to life.
And high above the boilingsea...
dark purple lightning silentlycrawled once more across Lucifell's black wings.
The storm screamed around them.
Rain crashedviolently against burningskies.
And for several long seconds...
Ignivar simply stared.
Not at Lucifell.
Beyond him.
Through him.
Like he was trying to see something hidden beneath flesh… beneath soul… beneath existence itself.
-----------------------
Then slowly...
the Fire Knight smiled again.
But this time...
there was no mockery behind it.
Only anticipation.
"…Perhaps," Ignivar muttered softly.
Flames spiraledviolently around both of his swords.
"…I've been going too easy on you."
-----------------------
Lucifell narrowed his gaze.
But something felt wrong.
Because Ignivar was not looking at him anymore.
He was speaking to something else.
Something deeper.
Something sleeping.
-----------------------
The flames around Ignivar suddenly intensified.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The sky itself ignited crimson.
His twin swords slowly began mergingtogether...
metal screaming against metal as infernal fire fused both blades into a single colossal weapon.
A dual flaming greatsword.
-----------------------
The ocean below instantly evaporated beneath the overwhelming heat.
Even the storm clouds began burning.
-----------------------
Ignivar raised the gigantic flaming blade slowly.
And for the first time...
the Fire Knight's voice carried genuine excitement.
"…Let us find out."
The flames explodedupwardviolently.
"…if the myth was true."
Then...
Ignivar vanished.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
The entire sky detonated.
A colossal flaming meteor descendedinstantly toward Lucifell.
Not merely fast.
Catastrophic.
The heavens themselves splitapart from the pressure.
"Primordial Ascending."
A flaming sword thrustdescended like the wrath of a dying star.
-----------------------
Lucifell's eyes widened slightly beneath the mask.
Then...
he raised Light Bearer.
CLAAAAAAAAANG!!!!!!
The impact shattered the sky.
The ocean beneath them explodedupward into towering walls of steam and boiling water.
For one impossible second...
Lucifell held it.
Black wings spread.
Armor screaming.
Purple lightning eruptingwildly across his body.
But then...
CRACK.
A single fracture appeared across Light Bearer.
Lucifell's eyes widened.
Ignivar smiled.
CRAAAAAAACK.
The sacred blade shatteredapartviolently.
Fragments of Light Bearer scattered across the storm.
Then...
the flaming thrustpierceddirectly into Lucifell's left shoulder.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!
The explosion consumed the heavens.
A shockwavetore across the sea for miles.
And beneath the inferno...
part of Lucifell's mask shatteredapart.
The left side exploded into fragments.
Turquoise light flickeringviolently between broken steel.
Then...
his body fell.
Downward.
Silently.
Into the endless black sea below.
SPLAAAAASH!!!
Far beneath the storm...
Lucifell disappeared into darkness.
-----------------------
And suddenly...
inside Alquine's transmission network...
his mana presence vanished.
Completely.
Silence.
-----------------------
Then...
Kestrel's voice shattered through the link.
"LUCIFELL!!"
Panic.
Real panic.
Not captain to commander.
Not soldier to leader.
Just fear.
Raw and humanly.
-----------------------
Ignivar hoveredsilently beneath burningskies.
His colossal flaming sword slowlydissolved back into embers.
But his burning eyes remainedfixed on the oceanbelow.
Waiting.
Watching.
As though expecting something to rise back up.
Or something else entirely.
-----------------------
TO BE CONTINUED.