Dawn.
The first of the Solaris Mystic Arts.
Solaris Knights ca in all shapes and sizes. So focused on speed. So focused on power. There were even many who went the auxiliary route and took supportive roles. But if one wished to be a Solaris Knight, there was one thing that they had to master—Dawn.
Its power replicated the rising Sun, and it was the first skill handed down from the Golden Dragon Sovereign to the Solaris Founder. But as much as the successive generations tried, they could only replicate a fragnt of what those juggernauts of the past could accomplish.
And as Leon watched the Solaris Saint, the woman widely considered the most powerful human of all ti, cast the very sa art that he mastered… he couldn't help but drop his jaw.
The Demon Cult's headquarters lay in complete ruin. The roof had been obliterated, despite the chamber being buried tres underground. Above, the night sky burned crimson with fire and solar mana. Darkness no longer existed—only blinding brilliance, as if a second Sun had risen to replace the Milky Way with rivers of golden fla. And at the heart of that radiant devastation stood the Solaris Saint, unmoved and indifferent to the destruction she had wrought.
The two Demon Counts summoned by Kieran were on the brink of fading out of existence. Their indomitable bodies were riddled with holes, and their massive well of demonic mana had all but emptied.
Behind them, Kieran remained on his throne—frozen.
In the last minute, the Demon Counts had managed to protect him from any physical damage. The throne was intact, and his body didn't have a single blemish. However, his pupils were fluttering, unable to shake the ntal shock he'd just received.
"... who are you?"
"..."
Agios didn't answer, thinking it was beneath her even to breathe the sa air as this betrayer. She pointed her finger at Kieran, ready to launch another attack. But a glacier suddenly appeared between them, blocking her direct view of the Apostle.
As if erging from falling snow, a blue-haired woman with sharp green eyes adjusted her glasses, her expression calm and calculating. Without uttering a single word, she began weaving spells with practised ease. In an instant, multiple Chaos Dolls, each powered by a Magatama, materialised around the Solaris Saint, forcing the Saint to lower her radiant, muscular arm with a weary sigh.
"Ravenna, you were supposed to guard the formation."
The first words out of Kieran's mouth weren't gratitude, but so reproach. Nevertheless, his eased posture betrayed his relief.
"There's no point in guarding the formation if you're dead," Ravenna, the Apostle of Grief, retorted.
"Apologies… It seems that we've underestimated their ans."
"Yes, but fortunately… we have the numbers."
Ravenna continued to cast her spells until the entire area was covered in chilling frost. Ice and snow descended upon the Solaris Saint while the Chaos Doll, each possessing enough power to overwhelm a Solaris Knight, sward by the hundreds. Glaciers appeared above Agios, aiming to crush her with their overwhelming weight.
But Agios simply let out a serene smile.
"How cute."
The Solaris Saint gathered solar mana onto her index finger, forming an artificial Sun within her grasp. It pulsed violently… unstable, volatile, a star on the verge of erupting in every direction.
As she continued to condense power, the very gravity of the chamber began to warp. The ground buckled, and several Chaos Dolls cracked beneath the crushing pressure. Yet they were not the Demon Cult's ultimate weapons for nothing. With assassin-like precision, the Dolls advanced, their blades gleaming with venom and demonic mana, one graze enough to condemn a soul to irreversible ruin.
But the Solaris Saint remained unfazed.
The photon at her fingertip flared to its limit—and then, with divine indifference, she released it.
"Solar Mayhem."
The unstable Sun exploded into a billion flaming apparitions—so in the shape of balls, others in streams, and so in spears. The flas brutally attacked every threat that Agios deed dangerous, and wreaked mayhem within the Demon Cult's side with ruthless precision.
Seeing the move, Leon widened his eyes, clearly stunned that Solar Mayhem could be used in this manner. But the Solaris Saint wasn't done.
The entire battlefield was covered in a beautiful, ethereal sanctuary—one that could hold the stars within its pillars. Not only that, with the Holy Grail by her side, Agios could directly bring down enough Holy Power to purify the demons that dared to step into her domain.
Combined with the devastation that Solar Mayhem had brought, the Solaris Saint had effectively defeated the Demon Cult single-handedly.
"If this is her now… how was Lord Agios in her pri?" Leon gulped, clearly taken aback at how powerful his predecessor was. But, as he cald down, he realised one glaring issue. "Her presence in this world… It's fading fast."
The Solaris Saint's soul, which had descended upon the mortal world, was rapidly fading away. While she was the most powerful human of all ti, even she couldn't defy the natural law of death. Her soul had passed on centuries ago, and it was a miracle that she could even temporarily descend in this manner. At the rate she was using her energy, it was only a matter of ti before her soul needed to return to Ascalon for a long rest.
And that was the start of Leon's problems.
BOOM!!!
From afar, Leon could see the first teor breaking through the atmosphere. Like an apocalyptic missile, the teor clashed violently against the weakened barrier of Zephys. While the Staff of Yiirun blocked most of the damage, small pieces of space broke through the barrier and fell viciously onto nearby buildings like shrapnel.
Residents all scread and ran in panic. The lucky ones were able to leave before any debris got to them, but for the unlucky few… they weren't even able to say their goodbyes before several tonnes of rock smashed them into at paste.
"Starfall has begun."
Leon bit the bottom of his lip as his heart ached. Their attempt to prevent the Third Calamity had failed, and the best they could do now was to mitigate the damage. And the first way to do so… was to kill the mastermind controlling the apocalyptic level spell.
As the second and third teors tore through the heavens, Leon knew he couldn't afford another second of hesitation. His grip on Ascalon tightened until his skin split, blood running down the hilt of the Holy Blade.
But pain no longer registered.
In the next instant, Leon vanished, his body moving at lightspeed, as he appeared behind Kieran, slipping cleanly into the Apostle's blind spot. With every ounce of his being, he swung Ascalon. His twenty-five Suns flared, his divine ocean bloodline awakened, and all the Holy Power within him surged into a single, transcendent strike—one capable of erasing a mountain from existence.
If he could just drive the blade through… he would end Kieran, and with him, the Calamity itself.
Alas…
"Well, we can't have you doing that now."
From the void, a black, demonised fist clashed with Ascalon, blocking Leon from landing the decisive blow. Samael, the Apostle of Chaos, now stood in his way with a playful smile as he sent the young hero flying in the opposite direction.
"... Samael!"
"Yours truly."
"You…"
"Leon!"
Carn and Gallahad rushed to aid the injured Leon, who was still recovering from the shock. On their faces, there was remorse for failing to stop the dangerous Apostle. Behind them, the twin Apostles of Vengeance ca running in, as if they felt neglected for being invited last to the party.
"Hey! Our fight ain't over yet!"
"... only weaklings run from battle."
But they weren't the final ones to arrive.
A woman of otherworldly allure stepped through the summoning gate… a beauty that straddled the line between the demonic and the divine. Her golden hair shimred like liquid sunlight, contrasting the deep erald gleam of her eyes.
Yet behind that radiance lay danger.
A legion of Greater Demons trailed her every step, so slinking at her heels like obedient pets, others standing tall as vigilant sentinels. Whatever the hierarchy, one truth was undeniable: this woman alone possessed the power to reduce an entire city to ashes.
Behind her, the Pope of the Utopia Church entered with a languid yawn, the very picture of indifference. But when his gaze fell upon Leon—and the constellation of formidable figures encircling Kieran—a sharp, gleeful smile spread across his face, revealing a row of pearly white teeth that glead with anticipation.
This was the full might of the Demon Cult.
Their Apostles, their followers, their Demons.
While Kieran sat on his throne, the Apostles gathered one by one. They set a protective formation with Kieran in the middle, all while teors continued to rain down from the heavens. If not for the destruction Starfall was about to cause, Leon would have thought it would have made an unimaginable picture.
"Lord Agios… Please take Ella to safety."
"..."
"I know that you're strong, but you can't stay in the mortal realm for much longer. At the very least, please save Ella."
"..."
Leon made that decision in haste. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the situation they were in was dire. While they had the Solaris Saint materialised, she could only stay around for a few more minutes at best. If that's the case, it was better for her to save Ellahan, while Leon and the two Commanders remained… to give their best to stop the catastrophic spell.
Looking at the iron resolve that Leon had, Agios wore a faint smile, thinking that her successor and she were quite alike. There were nurous situations in the past where she made the sa decision, taking on a multitude of enemies while protecting her allies.
But, this ti… it was different.
"No, there's no need for that."
"Lord Agios!"
"Can't you feel it?"
"..."
Realising her hint, Leon finally allowed his focus to wander elsewhere. And when he felt the familiar energy strolling right behind him, his blue eyes widened in complete shock, before his mind healed into serenity. Shaking his head, he simply whispered:
"What took you so long?"
"Sorry for the wait."
As Leon finally allowed himself to breathe, a wave of familiar presences filled the chamber behind him.
The first to arrive was his mother, the newly ascended Ocean Goddess. She imdiately knelt beside him, her divine aura washing over the battlefield like a calming tide. With a worried glance, she placed her hand upon his wounds, her touch nding them with the gentle power of the sea.
Then ca his grandfather, Alrock, and the Sword Saint; their very presence radiated authority so imnse that the Apostles nearby instinctively stiffened under its weight.
Behind them followed the warriors of Eldorin, no longer the novices they once were, but seasoned champions who had razed countless Demon Cult strongholds.
Yet, among all the legends and heroes gathered, Leon's gaze drifted past them.
What mattered most to him wasn't the veterans who stood atop the world, nor the rising prodigies destined to shape its future—it was the young man who had guided him, believed in him, and, until recently, had been confined to a sickbed.
"Just wait here patiently… It'll be over soon."
Amon Solaris, no, Amon the Great, had descended upon the battlefield.
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