The battle briefly turned silent as Eleana, Nyelle, Marvis, and Symon looked in shock at John, who was half-smiling with a chilling expression at Merissa. Marvis coughed blood, staring at John in disbelief as he muttered, "John... was he always this strong?"
Rhaelle muttered, "So he was really this strong all along?"
Symon looked at Rhaelle, who nodded. "I once heard about this from Myrell..."
Everyone was stunned as the surroundings burned. The shouts of the Braeven army and the Drudar soldiers created chaos all around. The formation was finally broken as the darkness swirled like a drake, though it was unable to heal those who were already dead.
Vridga, Neigrel, and Kandra simultaneously shouted, "Canthia..."
Sethsi grunted, kneeling and taking deep breaths as she looked at Canthia in the distance.
John spoke through gritted teeth, his presence radiating like a bursting flare. "As I was coming here, Eleana, I saw Canthia somehow kill Laren... which should be impossible."
Symon shouted, "What? That should be impossible! He... he is the strongest among us!"
Marvis added, "You're kidding, right? That guy can't be pierced by any weapon..."
Eleana muttered in absolute shock, "This..."
A barrage of hundreds of arrows shattered the final defense of the formation, giving Drudar's army the upper hand once again. The darkness above deepened as hollow insects spread further, blocking out the sky. Flaming pots crashed down, temporarily igniting the gloom as screams echoed endlessly.
The situation grew increasingly tense. John pointed his sword at Merissa and shouted, "Let's kill every single one of them! Once the commander arrives with Sythris and the others, it will be an easy victory."
Drowning in sadness and shock, Eleana looked back and forth between Merissa and John. She took a deep breath, casting a spell as she brought her sword toward her forehead. She needed to avenge the fallen.
Vridga, Neigrel, and Kandra immediately tried to pursue John, but Rhaelle, Symon, and Marvis intercepted them.
Nearby, Sethsi was tending to her wounds. Nyelle lay flat on her back, looking at Sethsi with a mocking smile. "Sethsi, take a breath... you're going to die today anyway."
Blood spurted from Nyelle's wounds as she bandaged herself but it didn't help.
Sethsi muttered, "The words of a knight whose sister betrayed the kingdom..." She forced herself up as the blood flowing from her severed hand finally stopped.
Nyelle stood up as well as she gritted her teeth. In her stomach was a hollow void where her injury had been—it seemed she had used void powers to seal the wound and stop the bleeding.
Nyelle clenched her teeth and unleashed a series of rapid punches, muttering, "Fist God Blows!"
Sethsi's mocking laugh vanished as she uttered, "Dominator of Evasion... Evasive Mist!"
She dodged most of the attacks, but a few managed to strike her face. Groaning, she crashed through the ranks of the armies, her spear landing far out of reach.
Nyelle pursued her, bleeding profusely yet refusing to stop her assault. Blood flowed from her lips as her red hair fluttered in the wind. "Sethsi... it was you, wasn't it? The one who destroyed my sister!"
"That letter was from you!"
Dodging the rapid blows, Sethsi shouted, "No! I never did that!"
........
In the distance, John lunged at Merissa, launching a whirlwind of flames that threatened to completely consume her. Merissa gritted her teeth, swinging her flame sword as she moved through the fire to clash with John's blade.
John parried Merissa's strikes, suddenly plunging his flaming sword into the ground. A loud boom reverberated through the air, sending Merissa flying backward. Eleana, having defended herself, moved in on Merissa as well. Her pre-cast spells activated, sending a dozen crescent moon blades slicing through the air toward Merissa, who crashed into the distance with a series of loud, sizzling noises.
Far away, Marvis went after Kandra, leaving Eleana and John to deal with Merissa, while Symon engaged Vridga.
Vridga's eyes were bloodshot. "Very well... since you think you're so capable, I'll kill you myself!"
He assumed a strange stance, shifting his hands into a subtle position before suddenly pulling out a golden needle that began launching high-speed projectiles. The projectiles swirled around, attacking Symon from all directions and making it nearly impossible for him to react.
Symon barely managed to defend himself and was forced back. He shouted, "Vridga, do you really think you've grown up? You're still just a wild brat... just like back then!"
"Shut up! Symon!"
Symon gripped his spear tightly. The ground beneath him shattered, glowing with golden flames as he leaped into the air and hurled the weapon at Vridga.
The massive knight felt the cannonball-like power surging from the spear. His armor expanded, and he summoned a dome-shaped, intricately designed shield around himself.
He screamed maniacally as the shield formed. At that moment, both the soldiers and captains recognized the true extent of Symon's power for the first time.
An earthquake shook the battlefield amidst the deafening noise. Hundreds of spectral spears slammed into Vridga's shield, cracking it piece by piece until it shattered completely. A terrible scream rang out, followed by a cloud of debris, leaving his fate unknown.
.....
Merissa grunted as another scream tore through the air. Where Eleana's attacks had landed, a swirl of darkness engulfed the area. Both John and Eleana looked on with grave expressions.
John asked looking ahead as he took a breath, "Eleana, do you know anything about that swirling darkness?"
Eleana shook her head.
John continued, "I heard a bit about it from Sir Myrell. They say it's the product of a sacred ritual—a blessing from their deity, the Formless Mother."
Eleana glanced at John's profile. Half of his hair was stained red, making him look almost demonic. His crimson armor and blood-drenched body stood in stark contrast to her own appearance. As he uttered the name Formless Mother, blood began to trickle from his ears.
Eleana's white helmet and white-and-black armor made her resemble a white angel showered in blood.
Merissa slowly stood up as the darkness around her faded. Her armor was completely shattered, leaving her body in full view of Eleana and John. John was momentarily dazed by her figure, and even Eleana seemed briefly stunned.
Merissa's long hair flowed down to her waist. Her lithe, perfect figure was covered in blood and intricate black markings, and her helmet lay broken. Her face was beautiful, featuring deep black eyes, cherry-red lips, and a glowing red gem embedded in her forehead.
She walked forward slowly, surveying the battlefield where everyone was locked in their own fights.
"Eleana, dodge!"
Eleana leaped aside just as a red spear whizzed past her former spot. She muttered in anger, "Where did that spear come from?"
John and Merissa stepped forward, both vanishing simultaneously for a fraction of a second. Eleana rushed ahead, casting a grand spell that summoned a massive blade of light into existence.
The moment John and Merissa reappeared, the massive energy blade slammed directly into Merissa, causing her to scream in agony. At the exact same time, John thrust his sword toward Eleana's head, aiming directly where a faint red crystal was shining.
Merissa let out a frantic shriek as John abruptly pulled back. Eleana couldn't clearly see what John had done, but she retreated as well—Merissa was suddenly radiating an overwhelming presence that rivaled a Grey Knight. Darkness surged violently around her.
Merissa began acting erratically, screaming, "No... no... Queen... ahhhhh!"
"Please stop! Queen... Mother... please!"
The gem on Merissa's forehead glowed alongside her eyes as she threw her arms wide. Her flame-like weapons elongated dramatically, stretching across a vast distance that covered nearly half the battlefield's former formation area.
John yelled, "Everyone, get back! She's gone crazy!"
A wave of strange darkness knocked John off his feet, forcing him backward again. As the darkness continued to envelop Merissa, all the knights across the field ceased their fighting.
Far in the distance, the Braeven knights watched in terror, shouting, "Run! Run! Lady Merissa is using the technique of legends! Save yourselves!"
Hundreds of crimson spikes burst across the battlefield as Merissa's body became a cradle of thorns. Red spikes extended from her torso while her arms stretched out into elongated, gleaming red blades.
"KILL!" she screamed.
In an instant, hundreds of golden knights were sliced in half across the field by waves of dark crimson energy. Many were bisected before they even had time to scream. Only the captains managed to dodge the devastation.
Vridga emerged from the debris-filled ground, his whole in blood, muttering, "She's lost her mind..."
Screams echoed everywhere as chaos consumed the ranks. Bodies dropped in heaps—even the elite golden knights stood no chance against the onslaught. Eleana and John barely managed to dodge the massive, leagues-wide slashes that tore up the earth, leaving strange, deadly spikes embedded in the ground behind them.
Eleana gritted her teeth as she watched her followers and the golden knights being torn apart.
Nyelle ducked behind Sethsi, who spat in frustration and summoned a glowing white shield to protect them both. Nyelle offered a faint, mocking smile, though Sethsi's expression only darkened as they took in the ruin around them.
"Your captain is even worse than my sister," Nyelle grunted mockingly.
.....
Eleana manifested another moon as she coughed from exhaustion and using Eleana's Moon Shift technique to keep them safe from the attacks, John muttered, "I have a way to stop this, but I need you to buy me a few breaths of time..."
Eleana nodded. She sliched her hand as blood flowed on her blade. She muttered something closing her eyes as her lunar spell expanded until a massive moon stood as a barrier in front of them. John began chanting an incantation that made even Eleana's eyes widen—his art shared a striking resemblance to Shura's arts.
A net of ethereal energy began forming in the air, expanding upward from John.
Meanwhile, Merissa's slashes battered the barrier relentlessly. Eleana cried out, "I can't hold it much longer! Hurry up, John!"
Just then Eleana's spell shattered, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. At that exact moment, the massive net descended, binding Merissa tight. The energy was identical in color to her own slashes. Ethereal strands dug deep into Merissa's flesh, causing her to scream so loudly that the ground quaked beneath them.
"Noooo!" she shrieked. "It can't be you!"
Chaos buzzed in Eleana's ears as she downed a healing potion.
A glowing yellow core was forcibly extracted from Merissa's body, and she collapsed into unconsciousness, her condition unknown.
The devastation finally ceased, leaving very few survivors. John sat down, breathing heavily, while Eleana clutched her stomach, staring at the surrounding destruction and the shining core hovering above Merissa's limp form.
The darkness continued to stir. Eleana sighed, scanning the dead-silent battlefield.
John forced himself to his feet and began walking slowly forward, with Eleana approaching the core beside him. John muttered, "It's the secret of Braeven... seems likeonly Merissa ever succeeded."
A seed of doubt planted itself in Eleana's mind as she looked at John. The other surviving captains were gathering nearby: Nyelle was dragging a exhausted Sethsi—who no longer bothered to attack—and Symon was carrying an injured Vridga toward them.
As Eleana stared at the swarming darkness, John spoke abruptly: "It might not be over yet..."
Before anyone could process his words, a massive wave of darkness surged, and a giant, pitch-black hand manifested from the void. The hand slowly moved as though it wanted something. The pressure hit like a wave across battlefield.
The atmosphere stilled completely. In the absolute absence of light, the dark hand reached out and grasped the shining core. Though it was still only evening descending outside suddenly everywhere in the battlefield it was dark.
Time seemed to freeze. Every captain from both sides stared in complete shock.
Eleana collapsed to her knees, barely able to whisper as she was in shock, "Is this puppetry...that book...."
Hundreds of glowing threads burst from the hand, extending across the entire battlefield. The giant hand—composed entirely of swarming insects—clutched the core as the strings crept toward every corpse on the field.
Slowly and steadily, one by one... the dead began to rise.