From his eyes, a burning purple aura spilled out like fire.
Each step echoed with intent.
He smirked—not cruelly, but with the fire of vengeance long denied.
"Kael…"
"It's your turn."
The battlefield was painted in red and despair.
Chief Balzock's sword clashed again and again—yet every swing, every strike, every ounce of strength he poured into his blade, did nothing. Kael stood unmoved, untouched. His body didn't even flinch.
Balzock roared and slashed downward with both hands, channeling his life force into his weapon—
But Kael simply raised his fist and—
CRACK!
A brutal punch shattered Balzock's jaw and sent him crashing across the plaza, skidding through rubble like a ragdoll. Blood poured from his mouth. He tried to stand… but his body no longer obeyed.
Lili screamed as she unleashed every kind of dark and elemental spell—fire, lightning, ice, black spheres of void energy—all at once. The air warped with magic.
She dashed forward and punched with condensed shadow energy in her spirit form, a force that had once shattered mountains—
But Kael met her strike with his own.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the capital. Lili flew backward, tumbling through the air—
—but Kael was already behind her.
"Too slow."
He kicked her in the back of the head. Her body hit the ground hard, forming a crater beneath her.
Sara, bleeding from deep wounds, shouted weakly:
"Sheron! Help them…!"
But Sheron was down. His body motionless. Blood pooled beneath him. His sword—shattered beside his hand.
Sara turned to Zack, whose breathing was shallow. But he still nodded, biting his lip in desperation.
He activated both his skills.
His claws extended, glowing with beast energy. He roared, launching slashing wind blades toward Kael, trying to rip him apart from a distance.
Then he charged with his strength-boosted form—his eyes burning.
He struck, again and again—
But Kael didn't even blink.
With one brutal kick to the chest, Zack coughed blood and flew backward, crashing into the ruins.
Sara stood, barely able to hold her bow.
"Please…" she whispered.
She tried to nock an arrow.
Kael turned toward her—and punched her straight into a wall.
Her ribs cracked. She slumped, gasping, bleeding.
"If it weren't for Lili's protection enchantments… we'd all be dead," she thought through the haze of pain.
Kael turned to Balzock again. The old man tried to rise—he couldn't.
Kael raised his fist, divine golden energy swirling around it.
"Die, old man."
CRASH!
The punch connected—and Balzock was sent flying like a broken doll. He didn't move again.
Lili, on her knees, summoned her last spell. But Kael smirked and raised his hand, speaking ancient divine words.
Golden chains burst from the ground—and wrapped around her.
Her spirit form flickered—
"No… no!!" Lili cried as her body was forced into its physical state. "This… this can't happen!"
Her power—fading. Her strongest magic—sealed.
Kael approached slowly, smirking.
"Time to finish you, goddamn witch."
A vortex of divine power gathered around his fist. He charged forward at terrifying speed, fist raised for the killing blow—
Lili shut her eyes.
But it never came.
BOOM.
A shockwave pulsed across the battlefield.
Lili opened her eyes slowly.
Kael's fist—was stopped.
Held in place effortlessly by a single hand.
Kael's divine yellow aura flickered—and began turning purple.
He stumbled back, confused, rage flashing in his eyes.
"Who… the hell are you?!"
The dust parted.
Leo stood in front of Lili, his eyes glowing violet like twin stars. A calm smirk tugged at his lips.
"You call that a punch?"
He dropped Kael's hand casually.
The earth beneath him cracked as his aura flared—dark, radiant, immense.
He took a step forward.
"Kael, I've been waiting a long time…"
"To make you suffer."
Kael narrowed his eyes. His voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"Who the hell are you?"
Leo didn't answer. Not yet. His glowing purple eyes flicked to Lili, who was on her knees behind him, chains still glowing with divine seal magic.
"Lili," he said calmly. "Teleport everyone. Get out of the capital. Head to that mountain—" he raised a finger to a distant peak on the horizon, shrouded in mist and old memory, "—the one that used to be my home."
Lili looked up, face pale. "I… I can't. These divine chains sealed my magic. I'm useless—"
Leo stepped toward her. "No, you're not."
He placed one hand on the divine chains. A faint violet glow pulsed from his palm—and CRACK!
The chains shattered like glass.
Kael's eyes widened.
"Wha…? A human broke a divine seal…?"
Lili didn't hesitate. She raised her hand, teleportation circles spinning beneath everyone. She glanced at Leo one last time—
"Stay alive."
FLASH.
The rebel group, battered survivors, and wounded allies vanished from the capital.
All except Leo and Kael.
High on the distant mountain, Niya, Lyra, Sara, Zack, and the others turned to stare in horror at the capital, now bathed in an unnatural violet-yellow storm of clashing auras.
Back in the city—ruined and empty save for the two—
Leo finally spoke.
"So… Mister Kael. Still don't recognize me?"
Kael gave a cruel smirk. "Pretty sure I've never met you."
Leo's smile was cold, hollow. "Of course. You never met this personality."
Kael's smirk faded into a thoughtful scowl. His golden aura shifted slightly.
"…Leo Vallis."
"…That boy from the mountain village."
Leo nodded slowly.
"So you do remember me."
He took a step forward. The stone beneath his foot cracked under the pressure.
"Then tell me, Kael—why did you kill my father? My mother?"
Kael laughed. "Those bastards?" he sneered. "I killed them because my goddess ordered it. You know…" he tapped his temple, "…I can still hear her whispering to me."
Leo's eyes darkened.
"Your goddess… again?" he said flatly.
"Doesn't matter. I'm going to kill her too."
Kael tilted his head, amused. "You talk big. But I'm a hero, Leo. Chosen by divinity. Blessed by light. You think killing a few nobles and a coward king changes anything?"
Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
"Killed them too, by the way. Slaughtered every last one. Screaming."
Kael's expression didn't change.
"Doesn't matter."
"You're just a shadow chasing justice. I'm the blade of the gods."
Leo raised his hand. The air thickened.
"Then it's time you learned who the hell I really am."
BOOM.
An enormous purple aura erupted from Leo's body. It warped the air. The capital's stone paths began to break apart, chunks of road lifting into the air. Every step he took made the surface tremble.
On the mountain, the earth shuddered. Trees swayed violently. People stumbled, clutching each other.
Zack gasped.
"That pressure… from just his aura… it's like the sky's collapsing."
Back in the capital, Kael grinned with bloodthirsty joy and let loose his own aura—
A blazing golden storm.
The holy energy flattened buildings, cracked roads, and sent debris flying in every direction. His yellow divine aura clashed with Leo's purple one like fire meeting void.
The sky darkened. Lightning crackled.
The winds howled.
The ground between them splintered like glass, with both of their powers pulling and pushing the very terrain.
Leo stood on the right. Kael on the left.
They both smirked.
Then—
They vanished.
In a blink, they reappeared at the center, fists pulled back. Their eyes locked.
And—
BOOOOOOOM!!!
When their fists collided, the world split.
A dome of shockwave ripped through the capital, sending rubble flying miles away. The entire capital began to crumble—walls collapsed, towers disintegrated, the stone streets broke apart and rose into the air.
In the sky, the clouds didn't scatter—they were blown back like a bomb had detonated. The skies cleared in a perfect ring above the city—unnaturally blue in the eye of the storm.
On the mountain, the rebels dropped to the ground as the shockwave slammed into them, winds tearing through trees and blasting dirt from the earth.
Lili stared, trembling.
"This is no longer a battle…"
"…it's a war between monsters."
Even the mountain's surface cracked. Animals fled. The sky shifted in color.
Back in the air, Leo and Kael had disappeared again, now clashing across the skies, punching, kicking, colliding like comets.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Every strike lit up the sky like thunderbolts. Trails of gold and violet danced across the heavens as if two gods were carving the sky apart.
The capital?
Gone.
It was now a crater of ruin. Fires flickered in the rubble. Buildings were dust.
And still, they fought.
The sky trembled.
Every punch exchanged between Leo and Kael shattered the air itself, leaving streaks of radiation burning through the atmosphere. Shockwaves rippled from every collision, thundering like distant gods clashing. Even the mountains far away—where survivors took shelter—quaked under the weight of their battle. The ground cracked, the clouds split apart, and the skies groaned under the pressure.
Leo darted behind Kael in a blur and struck hard—fist slamming into his ribs—but Kael twisted just in time, countering with a blow that forced Leo back through layers of air. No angle worked. Even surprise attacks were deflected as if Kael could feel them coming.
Both fighters were monsters in human form.
Kael, amidst his movements, narrowed his eyes in thought.
"How... How can a mere human grow this powerful in just a few years?"
His expression darkened. "This isn't just talent—he's evolving mid-battle. And that's a problem."
Leo struck again—this time a brutal uppercut to Kael's chest—sending him soaring higher, past the stratosphere. The atmosphere thinned, the blue sky turning to black void. Leo followed, relentless.
Kael's mind raced
"None of my divine hacks are ready… I lied to the world about my 'infinite durability,' 'reality immunity,' and 'endless stamina' to keep threats away. But this guy—"
Kael barely blocked the next strike. "I am pretty sure he knows the same but he still came for me."
A blow landed square on Kael's face, hurling him toward the mesosphere.
Leo's breathing grew heavier. Sweat floated off him in weightlessness.
"Dammit," he thought, clenching his fists. "My stamina's dropping. He's not even breathing hard... Why isn't he getting tired?"
He snapped his fingers, and gravity bent around him. His feet locked onto invisible pressure, anchoring him.
"Good—gravity manipulation's active. Bought myself some ground in space."
But no time to rest.
Kael reappeared before him, faster than a blink.
"You're not the only one who can move in zero-G, Leo Vallis."
Leo growled, fists igniting with purple aura.
He swung first—his punch slamming into Kael's face, sending him spiraling into orbit.
Their battlefield had changed.