Amongst the darkness.
The creature lunged through the smoke.
This ti—
I moved.
Our clash distorted the entire chamber instantly.
My fist collided against its claws.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave vaporized everything nearby.
And strength was getting stronger than before.
The Chira was launched backward again, smashing through multiple palace walls before stabilizing itself midair using black wings ford from corrupted flesh.
I flexed my fingers slightly.
My physical strength alone now exceeded most weapons.
"...This is absurd."
[Your body is adapting rapidly to the Transcendent Rank.]
Jeremiah sounded unusually interested.
The Chira opened its jaws.
A massive sphere of corrupted energy condensed instantly.
Then fired.
A beam large enough to erase the entire palace surged toward .
I raised one hand lazily.
The beam stopped.
Not blocked.
Stopped.
The attack trembled violently against an invisible force before collapsing inward.
The Chira froze.
I smiled faintly.
"Return it."
Mirror Thousandfold activated.
The compressed beam exploded backward.
The Chira barely managed to cross its arms before the attack consud it entirely.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The palace shook violently.
The entire upper structure collapsed.
Outside—
the battlefield across the capital had already descended into complete chaos.
Alicia's POV
I will not say it.
It was all a fever.
Yes it is.
I couldn't help but clasp my face tightly.
This damn idiot.
I know he was helping , but did we really need to be in that kind of position?
I buried my face deeper into my fingers.
Despite the continuous barrage of enemy attacks, my thoughts remained occupied by sothing completely different.
The heat around intensified alongside the sudden blackness.
Apollo retreated to guard .
I couldn't help but shake my head.
It seed he was worried I might get affected by the dark matter again.
Actually, after recovering from that invading energy, it no longer posed any real threat to .
I was simply caught off guard earlier, which resulted in... that entire ss happening.
And unfortunately—
rembering that mont only made my face grow hotter.
At tis like this, the best solution was obvious.
Retreat.
The mont Apollo fully engaged the Chira—
I moved.
There was no point staying behind.
Not when there were still countless places that needed help.
Not when the battlefield outside was worsening by the second.
Repeating those reasons in my head, I didn't hesitate to leave.
{Apollo}
I contacted him telepathically.
{I will leave and help the others.}
{Sure. Be careful.}
I don't know why, but his reply sounded strangely gentle inside my mind.
Shaking my head quickly, I decided to stop thinking about it and simply kept moving.
Flas erupted behind as I shot through the collapsing palace halls and burst into the open skies above the capital.
The mont I arrived—
a Pillar was already attempting to crush Abraham beneath a collapsing distortion of space.
I flicked my fingers instantly.
Black flas devoured the spell before it could fully activate.
The distorted space cracked apart like glass before dissolving into embers.
Abraham glanced toward briefly, icy wind swirling around his bow.
"...You are late, my lady."
"Well, you looked fine to ."
He snorted before releasing another arrow.
The frozen projectile pierced directly through a Pillar's shoulder, instantly locking its entire arm in solid ice.
"How is Aug?"
He was referring to the Emperor Augustus.
The small trace of mischief on my face disappeared, replaced by a more serious expression.
"Still dealing with Lorenzo."
I replied without worry.
Excalibur alone was already sufficient.
He could handle it.
Another wave of soldiers mixed together with chiras surged toward us through the ruined streets below.
I rely waved my hand.
Black flas descended instantly.
Screams echoed across the battlefield as entire groups vanished beneath the burning tide.
Harald imdiately followed after .
His sacred axe descended like a falling teor.
BOOOOOOM!
The roaring impact slamd into our ears hard enough to shake the surrounding district.
Another Pillar crashed into the ground with enough force to split several buildings apart.
Stone and debris rained across the capital.
Yet even then—
the enemy survived.
"Damn monsters," Harald muttered.
His breathing was growing heavier now.
Even the sacred weapon in his hands seed to beco heavier with every swing.
A growing fatigue with an endless horde of enemies is weighing in now.
Still he looked calm as if he hadn't fight seriously yet.
The skies above the capital no longer resembled a battlefield.
It looked like the world itself was ending.
Lightning storms clashed against frozen fields suspended in midair.
Explosions and sacred flas consud entire clouds.
Reality distorted repeatedly beneath the violent collisions of spells and techniques.
The air slled of ash, blood, and scorched mana.
Even the heavens themselves seed unstable.
And in the center of it all—
Helios stood calmly with the sacred staff in hand.
Every spell approaching him vanished instantly beneath Domination.
Even high-level magic crumbled before reaching him.
Gilgash suddenly appeared beside through a spatial distortion.
"You are here."
"You guys were struggling. Soone had to help."
The Southern Duke rely smiled.
"Good enough."
A spear ford from compressed mana shot toward us instantly.
Gilgash shattered it with one swing before disappearing once more.
Another Pillar descended from above.
This one carried enough pressure to distort gravity itself.
The air bent unnaturally around its body while entire streets below collapsed beneath its re presence.
Then suddenly—
space behind the enemy tore open.
A spear erupted from within the distortion.
SCHKKKK!
Gilgash pierced directly through the Pillar's torso.
At the exact sa mont—
Abraham's arrow froze its core.
Then Harald's axe split the rest apart.
Another Pillar died.
Another life dissolved into the battlefield.
And far below—
I suddenly felt Apollo.
"...It's happening again."
I noticed it the very first ti I saw him grow stronger during battle.
For so unknown reason—
Apollo beca stronger whenever soone died.
I never pried too deeply into it because I couldn't determine whether it was truly dangerous.
And so, even until now, I still viewed his power as sothing dark.
Sothing terrifying.
Yet strangely—
I also understood him because of it.
I couldn't reveal myself fully.
And neither could he.
The pressure leaking from the palace suddenly intensified.
The surrounding mana trembled violently.
Then—
sothing else happened.
A pulse.
A familiar pulse.
Gilgash suddenly looked downward.
"...Heli, is that you?"
Helios frowned imdiately.
"Idiot. I'm right here. How could I be there?"
Gil scratched the back of his head awkwardly while motioning peace toward him.
I couldn't help but look toward the direction they were staring at.
Far away from the battlefield—
another power had appeared.
Sothing familiar.
Sothing sacred.
━━━━━━━━━━
Eros' POV
The city was slowly regaining its light.
The enemies had been defeated.
The injured soldiers were gradually receiving treatnt.
Everything was finally turning for the better.
My body rested against the watchtower railing as I observed the city from above.
I wanted to hear the people again.
Their relief.
Their laughter.
Proof that they had survived.
As I closed my eyes—
my body suddenly tensed violently.
Every muscle contracted at once, forcing a gasp from my throat.
"What is going on...?"
My pupils dilated instinctively while my body desperately searched for answers.
Then—
the replica staff in my hand began vibrating violently.
Golden light pulsed from its core.
The pressure crushing my chest vanished instantly, replaced by sothing else.
Understanding.
No—
guidance.
"You're trying to tell sothing again..."
The golden core pulsed repeatedly while the surrounding mana spiraled out of control.
The whispers beca louder.
Clearer.
Yet I still couldn't understand a single word.
It sounded ancient.
Like echoes from another era.
"What the hell—"
Before I could finish—
the world twisted.
Space folded around instantly.
My vision distorted violently as if reality itself had been ripped apart.
Then—
BOOOOM!
The sound slamd into my ears like a war drum.
Before I could react—
I landed directly in the middle of a battlefield.
My senses were imdiately overwheld.
Smoke.
Blood.
Collapsed buildings.
Burning corpses.
The tallic scent of death filled the air.
And above —
a sky drowning in flas and crimson light.
"...Where am I?"
Confusion struck instantly.
My gaze wandered toward a barrier being bombarded continuously in the distance.
Strangely—
it only protected one specific section of the city.
Then realization struck .
"Wait..."
This—
This place...
The Imperial Capital.
My eyes widened.
"...What happened here?"
Screams echoed throughout the ruined streets while soldiers desperately fought invading forces.
I had been thrown into a battlefield without explanation.
Without warning.
Then—
I felt it.
A familiar presence.
I imdiately turned.
A group of Aileenian soldiers stood nearby.
And in front of them—
Emilia.
Her silver hair fluttered amidst the destruction while blood stained portions of her armor.
The mont our eyes t—
everything froze.
Shock imdiately crossed her face.
"Eros...?"
My grip around the replica staff tightened instinctively.
"...Emilia."
The soldiers around her imdiately raised their weapons.
"Princess!"
"Step back!"
Mana surged violently throughout the ruined street.
But neither of us moved.
Because for one brief mont—
the battlefield disappeared.
And only silence remained between us.
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