The city was drowning in chaos.
Adventurers and knights, bloodied, exhausted were getting pushed back into tight alleys, surrounded by undead that snarled and clawed from every direction.
Their weapons were shaking in their hands, hope slipping through their fingers.
A young archer, cornered, drew her last arrow, tears in her eyes.
"Fuck... not like that..."
Suddenly, a crackling boom.
A jagged streak of lightning burst down from the sky, twisting like a snake of light, weaving between the undead and exploding in a spectacular blast that turned them to ash.
Standing at the alley’s entrance was a tall man in casual clothes, lightning sparking from his fingertips.
"Need a break? I’ll take it from here," he said simply, his blue eyes gleaming under his golden mane.
Another street over, a group of warriors was forced against a crumbling wall, shields barely holding.
The undead surged, and then, the ground rippled.
With a deep rumble, thick black vines shot up from the earth, snaking and twisting at impossible speed.
They wrapped around the undead, coiling tighter and tighter.
The adventurers gasped as the bodies began to dissolve, lting away into dark mist.
Before they could even catch their breath, a calm voice floated down from above.
"Step aside."
Their eyes shot up.
Perched on the roof of the building behind them, a petite woman was standing.
She had short pale hair, dark skin, her elf ears were twitching, and had large hands, larger than a normal individual.
Her eyes turned to the horizon, where the first faint glow of dawn was starting to peek through.
"Dawn is coming," she said softly, her voice calm and certain.
Across the plaza, an adventurer scread, falling under a pile of undead.
But then, the air itself shimred.
A barrage of glowing arrows, thousands of them, appeared out of thin air, raining down in a spiral and vaporizing every single corpse.
The adventurers blinked up in shock as a young boy with a staff twice his size walked out, yawning.
"You seriously let it get this bad? What a ss... just sit down before you make it worse," he muttered, voice lazy but eyes sharp.
One by one, more warriors erged, each with phenonal power, and for the first ti in this disaster, hope was filling the air.
In the castle, Aurus stood at the high window, arms crossed, watching the chaos below.
Beside him, the king wiped sweat from his brow, his voice shaking.
"This... this is a disaster. We’ve lost too many. You let them die just to get to this point?"
Aurus didn’t look away, eyes locked on the rising light in the heart of the city.
"Sotis the worst sacrifices are the only path to true victory. Now... we have what we need."
The king clenched his fists, furious, but Aurus simply leaned in closer to the window, his voice smooth and detached.
"This world doesn’t need the past Hero and his companions. It needs new saviors. That’s why... I won’t step in. This is their ti now. The Sacred’s ti to show off."
In the square, Kardrax stood facing Akedios, the air thick with tension.
Kardrax grinned, cracking his knuckles, his red eyes gleaming.
"Well, well, Mr. Dead-Eyes. You look like you just rolled outta bed and forgot how to fight. You seriously making wait this long? What are you, allergic to effort?"
Akedios didn’t even lift his head, flipping lazily through his book. His voice was slow, dragging, like every word was too much work.
"Mmm... annoying. All this noise... extra effort... you’re such a headache. Why didn’t you show up instead of letting them die?"
Kardrax laughed loudly, pacing like a lion.
"Oh, that’s rich. I was actually about to get as far as possible from this city. But your little spectacle is my favorite entertainnt, so I pulled up. Your bad luck. I’m ready to break sothing, so let’s make this ssy."
Akedios sighed long and slow, finally shutting his book with a snap.
"Fine. If it shuts you up... Give them a hint and they take the whole mile. People always overdo it."
Kardrax’s grin widened.
"Aw, poor lazy bastard. Guess what? I’m gonna make you work overti."
Both of them stepped forward, their auras flaring up with a roar, Kardrax’s burning red like wildfire, while Akedios’s seeped out, thick and cold, a deep purple mist swirling and coiling around him.
Akedios raised his hand slowly, lazily, like even that was too much effort. Kardrax tensed, ready to move, when—
His eyes snapped wide. He felt sothing—a flicker of danger.
"Tch!" He twisted instinctively, leaping back just as fast, launching a wild slash of energy in front of him at the sa ti.
A blast followed, but not on Akedios, right between them.
Kardrax’s boots hit the ground hard as he skidded, landing in a crouch.
He whistled, grinning.
"Damn, not bad at all. You sneaky bastard."
Akedios frowned, looking genuinely annoyed.
"Ugh..."
He started raising his hand again. But this ti, Kardrax was quicker, his own hand shot up, and with a sharp flick, several red beams blasted out toward Akedios.
Boom!
A burst of small explosions crackled between them once again.
Akedios groaned low, shielding his face with one arm. Kardrax’s grin stretched wider.
"Ohhh... I get it now. That’s how you killed him."
Akedios blinked, confused, his brow furrowed. Logan, watching from the sidelines, looked like he’d just seen a ghost.
anwhile, over on New Horizon’s side, things were falling apart fast.
Most of the adventurers had fallen into a frenzied state, gnashing their teeth, clawing at each other, biting down hard enough to draw blood.
The others were barely keeping it together, trying to fight Vezalia, but it was hopeless.
Crest’s chest heaved as he stared at the ground, sweat dripping off his chin. And then it hit him... the mory, the feeling. He knew exactly why this girl was familiar.
His eyes snapped wide, and he shouted.
"DON’T LOOK HER IN THE EYES!"
Arkel lunged at Vezalia, shield raised, but at Crest’s warning, he yanked his head aside, missing his target completely.
"HOW THE HELL are we supposed to fight if we can’t even look at her?!" he barked, frustrated.
Vezalia’s sweet, musical voice echoed in his ear.
"Aw, can’t fight without seeing your target? Poor thing... maybe try area attacks? Just a little suggestion."
Arkel growled and threw a punch, slamming it forward blindly. His fist touched her, but the second it connected, his heart thumped violently in his chest.
His eyes glazed over, and within seconds, he was biting into his own hand like a rabid animal.
"Arkel!" Cassandra scread, hurling four massive fireballs at Vezalia.
The glowing spheres rocketed through the air, but as they closed in, Vezalia just giggled, pressing one finger to her cheek and winking playfully.
Suddenly, it was like sothing invisible ripped through the fireballs, shattering them apart.
A burst of pressure rushed toward Cassandra, forcing her to stumble back, nearly falling.
"Damn..." she hissed.
Lyraen ran forward fast, pulling a long, strange staff off her back, its head twisted, with sharp teeth embedded in it.
"Don’t let her touch you!" she shouted. "Not with your body!"
She slamd the staff on the ground.
"Spirit of earth, spirit of fla, answer my call!" she cried.
An orange light wrapped around her feet, a deep red glow enveloping her arms.
She spun the staff, then jumped and swung it hard at Vezalia, unleashing a massive impact.
The blast rocked the street, smoke rising thick and fast.
For a second, only silence.
Then... Vezalia’s voice, smooth and playful, drifted out of the smoke.
"... isn’t this a bit too much of a handicap for you all?"
The smoke parted, and there she was, standing on top of Lyraen’s staff, perfectly balanced.
Lyraen flinched, closing her eyes tight and turning her head away, her grip on the staff tightening.
"Poor little things," Vezalia cooed. "I do feel for you. But even like this..." she leaned in close to Lyraen’s ear, her breath cold and teasing, "I can still touch you and end this."
Her voice dropped, lower.
"But... I rember you. From that ti. You think highly of Lord Ravager, don’t you? Hm? My way to go is cautiousness, so I’ll spare you."
Lyraen’s eyes snapped open, shocked.
"W-What?"
Vezalia smiled sweetly.
"But in exchange... you’ll prove your faith. In their blood."
Her finger floated toward Lyraen’s cheek, a touch away—
CRASH!
A brutal impact smashed Vezalia sideways, slamming her to the ground.
Everyone flinched, stunned.
Vezalia groaned, looking down at her chest.
A sword was impaled deep, purple blood oozing out slowly.
She growled.
"Ugh... always the sa. Too much food on the plate, and I’m not even allowed to eat so of it or I’ll offend him. How am I supposed to act properly here?"
A new voice rang out.
"Cry about it! You’re not the only one hunting for trophies!"
It was Airi, stepping forward, eyes blazing.
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