The Tournament's Toll
Aryavarta's arena roared with thunderous cheers. Nero watched Yoshito shed his clumsy demeanor like a snake skin. Glasses shattered. A mythic sword materialized.
"You dare touch my sister?" Yoshito's voice echoed with primordial fury.
Blurs of steel. The noble opponent screamed as Yoshito carved him apart—inch by inch—a surgeon of agony. Blood painted the sand.
"BROTHER, STOP!" Miku's cry shattered Yoshito's rage. The sword vanished. He knelt, trembling.
Nero's blood ran cold. What else have my friends hidden?
Something is odd
Nero faced Suna—a poison mistress. Her toxins shimmered like liquid night.
"Surrender, priest-boy," she sneered.
Nero's blue flames hissed, incinerating her venom. One strike. Suna fell.
As the crowd roared, Nero caught Ayumi's gaze. Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Something's wrong.
The Sky Rips Open
Keisuke stood triumphant over Kai—arm regenerated, fist glowing with calamitous energy—when the sky screamed.
Portions tore like rotten fabric. Demons rained—scorpion-tailed, winged, dripping abyssal sludge. Chaos erupted.
Tsumibito materialized in the stands, laughing. "RIGHT ON SCHEDULE!"
A blast hurled Nero skyward. Stone shattered beneath him. Death inhaled—
THUD. Ledger caught him, robes charred, eyes haunted.
"They want you SACRIFICED, Nero. RUN."
Ledger's Sacrifice
They fled through burning streets. Ledger's voice was raw:
"Tessa's the traitor. The Head Priest sold us all."
At the border, Tsumibito awaited—cursed runes pulsing on his skin.
"Ledger! Still playing hero?"
"And you—still a rat." Ledger shoved Nero toward Sornya. "GO!"
Their clash ignited the forest—former brothers, now death dealers. Lightning vs. shadow. Bone cracked. Ledger smiled through blood. "I owed you this."
The Last Stand
Nero found Yui and Eri cornered by five S-rank mages.
"Abyssal filth!" a mage spat, aiming at Eri's horns.
Nero's flames roared—a blue inferno. Two mages vaporized.
CRACK. Yoshito and Keisuke dropped from nowhere. Yoshito's blade severed a jaw; Keisuke's fist shattered ribs.
"Miku'd cry if you died, idiot," Yoshito growled.
The last mages grinned, slicing their own throats. "HE COMES..."
The air curdled. Rain froze mid-fall.
General Arata descended—golden lion badge gleaming, eyes colder than the abyss.
The Betrayal
Nero staggered toward Ayumi in the ruins. She stood atop a crumbled pillar, silver dress stained crimson.
"Ayumi! We need to—"
Her dagger plunged into his chest. Not deep. Precise.
Nero gasped. He looked at her cold eyes.
"Why?" he choked.
Her whisper was a requiem: "Die you traitor.... you ruined our kingdom."
She ripped the blade free. Nero tumbled into darkness—Arata's shadow swallowing him whole.
Epilogue: The Fall
Wind howled in Nero's ears as he fell through the Eye of Destruction.
Ledger's spectacles floated beside him, etched with a final message:
"Gate 1 requires hellish pain. You just earned it. Survive. Convince the twins.
—L"
Above, Aryavarta burned. Below, gods stirred.