I closed my eyes.
And gazed into Astravax's golden eyes.
Those ancient slit pupils stared directly back at me from the darkness.
[Dragon of Eternal Stars — Astravax Synchronization: 4%]
Holding Nocturne Veil in my hands, I spoke softly.
Unlike the radiant light that usually flowed through my blade—
this time—
it was complete darkness.
True darkness.
Chaos mixed with the abyss itself.
Black mana poured endlessly from the sword as the surroundings distorted violently.
The Beast of Kharzeth watched with interest.
Then—
I screamed.
"Sword Field: Sword Grave of Chaos!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The world vanished.
An endless graveyard stretched beneath us.
Thousands upon thousands of swords were embedded throughout the black wasteland endlessly. Broken blades. Rusted blades. Gigantic swords radiating ancient killing intent.
Storms of silver mana howled across the domain.
The creature looked around slowly.
Then—
it grinned.
As if amused.
I raised my finger.
And the graveyard answered.
SHRRRRKKK.
Thousands of blades erupted from the ground simultaneously before launching toward Kharzeth like a divine execution.
The creature was instantly impaled from every direction.
Its arms.
Its torso.
Its grotesque mouths.
The swords pierced through everything.
Yet I didn't stop.
My finger moved again.
The blades tore through the creature repeatedly, slicing apart chunks of flesh endlessly while black blood exploded throughout the sword field.
Kharzeth screamed.
Its body twisted grotesquely while attempting regeneration—
only for another storm of blades to sever it apart again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The graveyard itself shook violently as countless swords moved according to my will.
Silver watched with widened eyes from afar.
"…He's overwhelming it…"
Astravax narrowed his eyes slightly.
[No.]
[The creature is adapting.]
Then—
Kharzeth laughed.
A horrifying overlapping laugh echoed throughout the graveyard.
Its flesh suddenly expanded outward violently.
CRACK.
Several blades shattered instantly.
Then—
dark roots erupted from its body like an ocean.
BOOOOOOM.
Thousands of swords were blasted apart instantly.
The creature lunged forward.
Fast.
Too fast.
Its gigantic arm slammed directly into me before I could fully react.
CRASH.
My body flew through dozens of embedded swords before crashing across the wasteland violently.
Pain exploded throughout my body.
Blood spilled from my mouth.
Yet the creature didn't stop.
Its distorted limbs smashed across the sword field repeatedly while dark beams erupted from its countless mouths.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The entire Sword Grave of Chaos trembled violently.
One by one—
the embedded swords shattered.
The sky cracked further.
The domain was collapsing.
I forced myself back up.
Then swung Nocturne Veil again.
Thousands of swords answered.
But this time—
Kharzeth caught them.
The creature's arms wrapped around entire storms of blades before crushing them apart with pure force.
My eyes widened.
Impossible—
The creature suddenly appeared before me.
Its gigantic hand wrapped around my throat instantly.
Then—
SLAM.
My body crashed into the ground.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The entire sword field shattered apart violently.
Reality returned.
I collapsed onto the broken floor of the orphanage coughing blood endlessly.
My arms trembled violently.
Nocturne Veil itself had cracks across the blade now.
I stared upward blankly.
I had everything.
An SSS rank mana core.
Every affinity.
The Dragon of Eternal Stars as my spirit bond.
And yet—
I was still losing.
Kharzeth slowly approached through the ruins.
Its gigantic body regenerated completely while darkness swallowed the orphanage further.
I clenched my bloodied fists.
Then—
Aurelia's teachings echoed within my mind.
"Space is not movement."
"Space is authority."
"Control the distance itself."
My trembling eyes slowly widened.
"…Space…"
The creature slowly approached through the ruined orphanage.
Each step made the floor tremble.
Its countless mouths twitched grotesquely while black blood dripped endlessly from its body. The remaining children cried weakly behind Silver and Tristan while Reina stood silently at the center of it all.
Watching.
I forced myself upward slowly.
Every muscle in my body screamed in pain.
Blood dripped from my chin as I tightened my grip around Nocturne Veil.
Aurelia's words repeated endlessly within my head.
Space is authority.
Not movement.
Not teleportation.
Authority itself.
My eyes slowly locked onto the creature.
Then—
for the first time—
I could see it.
The space around Kharzeth.
The distortions.
The invisible flow.
Everything occupying reality had coordinates.
Including the creature itself.
My golden pupils narrowed.
Mana exploded outward.
The surroundings suddenly distorted violently.
Silver's eyes widened.
"…What is he doing now?"
The air around me folded unnaturally.
Like paper.
Kharzeth suddenly shrieked.
It sensed danger.
Real danger.
Its gigantic body lunged toward me instantly while thousands of arms erupted outward.
Fast.
Yet—
my hand moved first.
"Collapse."
CRRRRRRACK.
Space folded.
The creature's left arm suddenly twisted unnaturally before imploding completely into itself.
Black blood exploded everywhere.
Kharzeth screamed violently.
Its regeneration tried activating—
but failed.
Because the very space where the arm existed had collapsed.
Even Astravax went silent briefly.
I stared at my trembling hand.
So this is—
Space affinity.
The creature roared and unleashed several dark beams directly toward me.
I raised Nocturne Veil weakly.
"Sever."
SHING.
The space before the beams split apart.
The attacks vanished into distorted fractures instantly before reappearing behind Kharzeth itself.
BOOOOOOM.
Its own attacks exploded across its body violently.
Silver stared speechless.
"…Monster…"
No—
I wasn't a monster.
The real monster stood in front of me.
Kharzeth roared again before charging directly toward me in madness.
Its distorted mouths opened endlessly.
The pressure alone shattered the remaining walls.
My exhausted body trembled violently.
I couldn't keep this up much longer.
Synchronization was tearing my body apart.
Then—
Astravax laughed softly.
[Finally.]
[Now stop fighting like prey.]
Black and golden mana erupted around me simultaneously.
I slowly raised Nocturne Veil once more.
Space distorted around the blade itself now.
The creature lunged.
And I swung.
"Spatial Severance."
The world split.
A single black line crossed the battlefield instantly.
Then—
Kharzeth froze.
Its gigantic body slowly separated diagonally apart.
Cleanly.
Like reality itself had been cut open.
The creature gurgled painfully.
Its gigantic body twitched violently while black blood flooded across the shattered orphanage floor.
I slowly fell to my knees.
My arms no longer moved.
Nocturne Veil slipped slightly from my grasp.
I couldn't swing anymore.
No—
it was supposed to end here.
I was supposed to win.
My vision blurred slowly as exhaustion consumed me completely.
Then—
through my fading consciousness—
I heard Astravax's voice.
[I suppose I'll finish it then.]
A small smile formed across my face.
And everything went dark.
…
The black cat standing beside Rio slowly rose.
Then—
its body shifted.
Darkness exploded outward violently.
Silver's eyes widened.
The small cat vanished completely—
and in its place stood a gigantic black dragon.
Dark purple runes glowed across its enormous body while ancient golden eyes illuminated the night itself.
Pressure descended upon the entire orphanage.
No—
upon Solmere itself.
Silver's breathing stopped.
"He… still had enough mana to summon his spirit?"
What Silver failed to understand—
was that Astravax was no spirit beast.
He was chaos itself.
Mana meant nothing to chaos.
The Beast of Kharzeth froze instantly.
For the first time since its manifestation—
fear appeared.
True fear.
Even Reina's trembling eyes widened as she stared upward at the colossal dragon before her.
Astravax slowly lowered his head.
The Dragon of Eternal Stars gazed coldly toward the grotesque creature.
Then—
he opened his mouth.
Space distorted instantly.
Silver, Tristan, and the unconscious Rio vanished from the battlefield completely.
"Huh—?!"
Silver stumbled forward in shock.
"Where are we?!"
They had been teleported far away from the orphanage entirely.
Yet even from this distance—
they could still see the immense black dragon standing beneath the night sky.
Astravax spread his massive wings slowly.
Then—
his mouth illuminated.
Dark purple light condensed endlessly within it while stars themselves seemed to distort around the beam forming inside his jaws.
The Beast of Kharzeth screamed.
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Astravax unleashed a colossal beam of chaos.
The sky split apart.
The entire orphanage vanished beneath the overwhelming blast instantly as endless black and purple radiance engulfed everything in its path.
The clouds above Solmere were erased completely.
The night itself lit up.
Throughout the city—
people stopped walking.
Stopped speaking.
Stopped breathing.
And stared upward in awe.
A child pointed toward the horizon.
"Mom… what's that?"
Inside the guild headquarters—
Elena suddenly rose from her chair violently.
Her crimson eyes widened as the enormous beam illuminated the windows of her office.
Beside her—
even Ogram's expression darkened completely.
"…That pressure…"
Elena immediately grabbed her coat and sword.
"North."
Ogram cracked his knuckles slowly.
"…Something monstrous is there."
Then both of them vanished from the office instantly—
sprinting toward the outskirts of Solmere at full speed.