Outside the northern walls of Base 101...
The battlefield fell silent.
The Emerald Behemoth remained perfectly still.
Its colossal form stood alone on the shattered plains before the kingdom.
Behind it...
The remaining monster army held formation under the command of Base 101's generals.
Far behind Sam...
The towering stone walls of Base 101 still stood firm.
Ben commanded the Vanguard at the northern gate.
Kael led the Spear Corps across the scarred battlefield.
Runa stood atop the highest watchtower with the Archer Corps.
Zora and the Goblin Archmage reinforced the kingdom's defenses from the eastern wall.
Leon continued his hunt through the enemy's command ranks.
Every eye...
Human and monster alike...
Was fixed on the duel unfolding before the kingdom.
The Emerald Behemoth's ancient emerald eyes never left the sword in Sam's hand.
Black mana...
Emerald mana...
The two energies twisted together around Soul Reaver, creating a vortex that distorted the surrounding air.
The cracks spreading across the blade no longer looked like damage.
They looked...
Alive.
---
Inside his mind...
Rex's calm voice echoed.
Commander...
Weapon Evolution Protocol continuing.
Evolution Progress: 42%.
Analysis complete.
Soul Reaver requires prolonged exposure to the Emerald Behemoth's ancient mana to complete its evolution.
Sam tightened his grip.
"So all I have to do..."
"...is stay alive."
A confident smile crossed his face.
"I've survived worse."
---
The Emerald Behemoth slowly nodded.
"So."
"You understand."
Its voice rolled across the battlefield.
"Many warriors have reached this point."
It slowly raised one colossal fist.
"Very few..."
"...lived long enough to witness what came next."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The giant vanished.
The ground where it had stood exploded beneath the force of its movement.
"So fast!"
Sam's pupils contracted.
"Shadow Step!"
WHOOSH!!
His body dissolved into darkness.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
The Emerald Behemoth's fist slammed into the northern battlefield outside Base 101.
The earth split apart.
Massive slabs of stone were hurled into the sky.
The shockwave reached the kingdom walls, rattling every battlement.
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
---
Sam emerged high above the Behemoth.
His left hand rose.
Black magic circles formed around him.
"Fire Missiles."
One.
Ten.
Fifty.
Hundreds.
The morning sky above Base 101 turned crimson.
Every soldier on the walls looked upward.
"So many..."
Ben whispered.
"Commander..."
Sam pointed downward.
"Go."
WHOOSH!!
Hundreds of blazing missiles descended.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Endless explosions swallowed the Emerald Behemoth.
Fire engulfed the battlefield.
The ground outside Base 101 shook beneath the relentless bombardment.
Nothing could be seen.
---
Then...
A single emerald fist burst through the flames.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The explosion itself was blown apart.
The Emerald Behemoth walked calmly through the inferno.
Its crystal armor glowed brilliantly.
Only a handful of black scorch marks remained.
Nothing more.
---
"...Impossible."
One soldier whispered.
Ben narrowed his eyes.
"No."
"The Commander was never trying to kill it."
Kael rested his Frost Spear across his shoulder.
"He's buying time."
High atop the northern watchtower...
Runa's Hawk Eye Dominion followed every movement.
"...Soul Reaver."
"The sword is still evolving."
Far behind the enemy lines...
Leon paused for only a heartbeat.
"It isn't finished yet."
Then he disappeared back into the shadows.
---
Inside Sam's mind...
Rex spoke.
Weapon Evolution Progress...
51%.
---
The Emerald Behemoth smiled.
"So."
"You've realized."
Ancient emerald mana erupted from every crystal embedded throughout its body.
The battlefield outside Base 101 trembled violently.
Even the clouds above the kingdom darkened.
Then—
It punched forward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A colossal wave of emerald mana surged across the battlefield.
Everything before it disappeared.
Boulders.
Broken siege ground.
Ancient stone outcroppings.
Reduced to dust.
---
"Commander!"
Mira's voice echoed from the northern wall.
Sam remained calm.
He slowly raised Soul Reaver.
The cracked blade hummed.
"Vertical..."
"...Instant Slash."
SHIIIIIIIIIIING!!
A crescent of black sword energy erupted forward.
The attack collided with the emerald wave.
For one terrifying moment...
The two forces struggled.
Then—
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
The emerald wave split cleanly in two.
The black slash continued onward.
It carved an enormous trench across the battlefield beyond the Emerald Behemoth, leaving the northern plains torn apart.
Silence.
---
The Emerald Behemoth stared at the destruction.
Then...
It laughed.
A deep...
Satisfied laugh.
"Excellent."
"It has been..."
"...thousands of years..."
"...since someone forced me to draw upon this much power."
---
Soul Reaver pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The emerald mana coating the blade no longer flowed around it.
It was being absorbed.
The black metal slowly transformed.
Ancient emerald runes spread across its surface.
The fractured edge slowly reforged itself before Sam's eyes.
The surrounding mana bent toward the blade as though acknowledging its existence.
---
Inside his mind...
Rex's voice carried something Sam had never heard before.
Excitement.
Commander...
Weapon Evolution Progress...
68%.
New weapon abilities detected.
Awaiting full synchronization.
---
Sam never looked away from the blade.
"...Almost."
---
The Emerald Behemoth slowly lowered its fists.
Its ancient gaze remained fixed on Soul Reaver.
Then...
It spoke.
"...I recognize it."
Sam frowned.
"What?"
The giant's voice echoed across the battlefield.
"The blacksmith who forged that weapon..."
"...was extraordinary."
Sam's grip tightened.
"Master Doran."
The Emerald Behemoth nodded.
"He forged the steel."
"He tempered its edge."
"He balanced its power."
"He created a blade worthy of a king."
Its emerald eyes shifted toward the glowing runes spreading across Soul Reaver.
"But..."
"...even a master blacksmith could not have known what rested within the material he forged."
Soul Reaver pulsed again.
The emerald glow intensified.
Sam looked down.
"The material?"
The Emerald Behemoth nodded.
"Long before kingdoms rose..."
"...before these lands were divided..."
"...a fragment of the Emerald Wildlands was separated from its source."
"It slept."
"For countless ages."
"Hidden within what appeared to be nothing more than rare ore."
Its gaze never left the blade.
"Your blacksmith discovered that forgotten fragment."
"He forged it."
"He shaped it."
"He unknowingly created a masterpiece."
"But only before my ancient mana..."
"...could its true nature awaken."
Inside his mind...
Rex immediately confirmed it.
Commander...
Analysis complete.
Dormant Ancient Emerald Core confirmed.
Master Blacksmith Doran unknowingly forged Soul Reaver around an ancient emerald fragment originating from the Emerald Wildlands.
Current exposure to the Emerald Behemoth's mana is awakening the dormant core.
Sam smiled.
"So that's it..."
"Doran..."
"...you really forged something incredible."
For the first time...
The Emerald Behemoth smiled with genuine respect.
"Few blacksmiths possess such skill."
"Fewer still..."
"...could forge a weapon capable of surviving its own awakening."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The giant lunged forward once more.
Ancient emerald mana erupted around its colossal fists.
Sam lowered his stance.
Shadow mana exploded around his feet.
Soul Reaver pulsed with black and emerald light.
The duel before Base 101 had entered its final stage.
The decisive clash...
Had begun.