The rumble deepened until it beca a living heartbeat, echoing through the stone walls. The ground trembled beneath Noel’s boots as dust fell from the ceiling in thin, nervous streams.
Then—silence.
A low hum followed, sharp and tallic, like steel vibrating in the air. From the darkness, a faint red glow traced the outline of a blade. The owner stepped forward.
The Fourth Pillar erged from the tunnel. His hand rested on the hilt of a weapon unlike any Noel had ever seen—a pitch-black sword veined with crimson cracks, pulsing with unstable mana. The hum it emitted was almost alive, resonating against Revenant Fang in Noel’s grasp.
The mont their weapons’ energies t, the chamber warped—the mana pressure spiked so suddenly that Selene staggered back half a step. Albrecht’s golden fla brightened, pushing against the crimson haze like dawn against blood-red clouds.
Noel exhaled, voice calm despite the tension. "There it is."
The Pillar said nothing. He simply tilted his head, studying them like insects, before planting his sword into the ground.
The walls began to move.
From the shadows crawled dozens—no, hundreds—of beasts. Their cores shone through their skin like lanterns: Blightclaws with molten talons, Molten Ravagers dripping magma from their jaws, and Eclipsed Marauders that split into black fog as they approached.
Selene’s wand shone with frostlight. "He brought an army."
Albrecht raised his blade. "Then we cut through it."
Noel’s eyes locked on the Pillar’s blade one last ti before lunging forward.
"Fire Arc!"
A burning crescent cleaved through the first wave—then chaos erupted, steel, frost, and fla colliding with the red tide as the war began.
The clash was instant—steel and mana colliding in a storm of light and sound.
Noel darted through the narrow chamber like lightning itself, Revenant Fang cutting through monsters in blazing arcs.
"Ignition Surge!"
Flas wrapped around his sword as he spun, the heat scorching the air. A Blightclaw lunged—he stepped into its swing and sliced its arm clean off, the creature’s roar cut short as the next slash severed its neck.
A notification flickered in the corner of his vision:
[You have slain Blightclaw (Ascendant – Common). 0.10%]
He didn’t stop to read it.
Across the chamber, Selene moved with icy precision, every flick of her wand releasing death.
"Gravition Hold!"
The air warped—gravity bent. A dozen Molten Ravagers collapsed mid-charge, pinned into the molten ground.
"Glacial Thrust!"
A spear of frozen mana erupted from her wand, piercing three monsters in one strike. Their molten hides crystallized before shattering into dust.
Steam rose where fire t frost, coating the cavern in thick mist.
Albrecht’s golden flas carved through the fog, his movents sharp, deliberate—each strike carried the weight of decades. One swing cut through four beasts, the shockwave alone splitting the stone beneath their feet.
Noel’s heart hamred, but his focus sharpened.
’They’re endless,’ he thought, parrying a swipe that nearly tore his clothes.
"Chain Flash!"
Bolts of lightning leapt from his blade, bouncing from one monster to another, bursting cores and scorching flesh.
Selene was beside him again, her frost colliding with his lightning in flashes of blue and white. She didn’t need to speak—their rhythm was perfect, their attacks flowing together like instinct.
But amid the carnage, Noel felt it again—that pressure. The sa pulse of power from before.
His gaze snapped upward.
The Fourth Pillar hadn’t moved. He stood still among the chaos, sword resting at his side—watching them, as if testing how long they could last.
Noel dashed forward, boots sliding across scorched stone, his breath steady and eyes alive with focus. Revenant Fang burned bright, its cursed edge hissing as it split through mana-drenched air.
A Molten Ravager leaped from the side—its jaws a furnace of molten red.
"Glacialis!"
A spike of frost exploded from Noel’s palm, piercing through the monster’s throat midair. The heat lted the ice in seconds, but the beast was already dead before hitting the ground.
Another lunged. Noel pivoted low, sliding beneath its strike, his blade tracing an upward crescent.
"Fire Arc!"
The wave of fire cut through two beasts at once, setting their molten blood ablaze. Their corpses illuminated the battlefield like dying stars.
Selene appeared beside him in a blur, wand raised, frost spiraling around her arm.
"Zero Point Burst!"
A sphere of gravity ford, black and shimring, pulling everything toward it. Ravagers, Leapers, even the debris from Noel’s last explosion were sucked inward. A second later, the sphere collapsed—the implosion followed by a flash-freeze that turned everything to crystal before shattering it in a deafening blast.
The mist from evaporated frost filled the air, thick and cold. Within it, Noel’s lightning flickered—ghostly outlines of his blade visible only when it struck.
"Stormpiercer!"
A thunderclap shook the ground as he vanished, reappearing ters ahead. Revenant Fang cleaved through three Crimson Juggerbeasts, slicing them clean in half with an electrified burst. Sparks arced across the chamber walls.
[You have slain 3 Crimson Juggerbeasts (Adept – Elite). 0.15%]
"Frostfall Requiem!" Selene’s voice rang out behind him.
The world turned white.
A wave of absolute cold surged outward, freezing the battlefield in an instant. The molten monsters solidified mid-roar, their fire extinguished by the overwhelming frost. Micro-needles of ice swirled like snow turned to blades, slicing through anything that dared to move.
Noel raised his arm to shield his eyes, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips.
’She’s terrifying when she gets serious.’
When the blizzard settled, silence fell—only crackling mana and the crunch of frozen corpses under their boots remained.
Albrecht advanced slowly through the mist, flas coiling around his sword like a golden serpent. He didn’t look tired. Not even close.
A pulse of red mana rippled across the chamber.
Then—silence.
Every monster froze mid-snarl, as if obeying a single unspoken command. Their glowing cores flickered once, twice... and then reignited in unison, brighter, more violent.
From the far end, the Fourth Pillar moved.
One step—thud. The ground cracked beneath his boot.
A second step—and the hum of his sword deepened, the crimson veins along its black edge flaring like living magma.
He was suddenly there, in front of Albrecht, their blades colliding in a blinding flash of gold and red.
The impact sent shockwaves racing through the cavern walls.
Noel and Selene were thrown back several ters, barely holding their footing as heat and pressure exploded outward.
Albrecht’s sword flared like a miniature sun, the fire around it dense enough to distort the air. His movents were calm, precise—he t every strike with perfect form, no wasted motion.
The Pillar countered with feral elegance, his black blade cutting through the golden fire and leaving trails of crimson energy that hissed against the flas. Sparks and embers rained down like teor showers.
Selene shouted over the roar, "Keep the others off them!"
"On it!" Noel replied, spinning Revenant Fang into a reverse grip. "Ignition Surge!"
His blade ignited once more, flas rippling up his arm as he charged into the horde that surrounded them.
Selene extended her wand. "Permafrost Halo!"
An icy ring expanded around her, slowing the monsters’ movents, their bodies turning sluggish and brittle. Noel’s fire carved through them like a burning tide—each slash bursting through frozen bodies in showers of steam and light.
But even while fighting, Noel’s eyes flicked toward his father.
He had never seen Albrecht Thorne like this—un inferno made flesh, his aura dominating the battlefield. Each swing carried the weight of a veteran forged by war.
Yet the Pillar matched him.
The black sword moved too fast to follow, arcs of crimson cutting through golden fla. When their weapons t, the cavern scread—the clash of their cores sending ripples that shattered stone and sent waves of mana through the air.
Noel clenched his jaw, deflecting a lunging monster.
’That sword... it’s feeding on mana. He’s channeling the beasts’ energy through it.’
Albrecht pushed forward, flas surging higher. "You’ll go no further!"
The Pillar’s crimson eyes narrowed. He parried once, twisted his blade, and whispered sothing Noel couldn’t hear—then a shockwave of red mana erupted, forcing even Albrecht to slide back a few steps.
Noel steadied himself beside Selene.
The monsters around them were fewer now, but the air was trembling, unstable.
Selene whispered, "That thing... it’s not fighting to win."
Noel’s grip tightened on Revenant Fang.
"I know," he said, gaze locked on the duel before them. "It’s waiting for sothing."
The night outside the mansion erupted into chaos.
From the hills beyond the estate, dozens—no, hundreds—of monsters surged forward, their howls shaking the air as crimson light spilled across the fields.
Charlotte pressed a hand to the window, golden eyes widening. "They’re here too..."
Elyra’s expression hardened imdiately. "So they split their forces."
Elena turned toward the courtyard, where Thorne soldiers were already forming defensive lines. "We need to help them."
But before ninguna pudiera moverse, a sudden wave of mana rolled through the night—thick, heavy, suffocating. It wasn’t coming toward the mansion. It was beneath it, deep underground.
Noir, crouched by the window in her smaller form, froze. Her fur bristled, eyes glowing violet as she felt it—like a heartbeat pounding through the soil.
’That energy... it’s the sa as before,’ she thought, tail twitching.
Elyra noticed. "Noir? What’s wrong?"
The wolf turned to face them, voice echoing in their minds.
’The monsters up here—they’re distractions. The real one... the strong one—it’s going straight for Dad.’
Elena’s eyes widened. "Noel—"
’You three handle this side,’ Noir interrupted, her tone sharp and commanding for once. ’The soldiers need you. I’ll go help him.’
Charlotte frowned. "Alone? It’s too dangerous—"
’He’s exhausted,’ Noir replied, already fading into shadow. ’If I don’t go now, it’ll be too late.’
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