The ground beneath their feet shattered as Kael and the beast-like guard vanished from their standing positions. They met in the center of the clearing with a violent collision of fists. The impact generated a shockwave that rippled through the air, but the thunderous blast was swallowed by the sudden bloom of festive fireworks in the distance, painting the sky in mocking shades of red and gold.
A thick veil of smoke billowed from the point of impact, obscuring the battlefield for a heartbeat before both leaped backward, creating distance.
The guard hissed, blood still leaking from his eyes, his green mane swaying like a toxic flame. "I've to say..." he growled, his voice vibrating with monstrous power. "You're almost the same speed as mine."
Kael didn't bother with a verbal retort. He simply offered a casual, sharp smile. In the blink of an eye, he blurred forward, appearing in the guard's blind spot. He launched a heavy punch, but the guard—fueled by the primal instincts of Stage-2—twisted his massive frame. He dodged the strike, his clawed hand clamping onto Kael's wrist like a vice, and drove a counter-punch deep into Kael's stomach.
Kael's breath hitched, a sharp cough escaping his lips, but he didn't recoil. Using the guard's grip as a pivot point, he whipped his free arm around, slamming his elbow into the side of the guard's skull with a sickening thud.
The guard's head snapped back, his balance faltering for a fraction of a second. It was all the opening Kael needed.
"Too slow," Kael whispered.
His right fist surged with a swirling, dark black energy. As the guard struggled to stabilize, Kael unleashed an upward strike, his shadow-charged fist connecting squarely with the guard's chin. The sheer force of the shadow energy detonated on impact, launching the massive, green-haired beast high into the air, soaring toward the dark canopy above.
Kael didn't wait for the guard to reach the apex of his flight. In a blur of black motion, he vanished and reappeared in the air above the beast. With a cold, predatory focus, Kael clamped his hand onto the guard's ankle and swung his entire body, hurling the massive creature back toward the earth with devastating velocity.
The guard hit the ground like a falling star, the impact vibrating through the forest floor.
Standing a safe distance away, Tatsuya's eyes darted frantically, his head snapping back and forth. "Too fast!..." he muttered, his teeth grit in frustration. "I can't even see them. They're moving in the gaps between heartbeats."
In the crater behind him, Argen let out a wet, ragged cough, more crimson staining his chin.
Haruto didn't look up. His hands were hovering over Argen's shattered chest, glowing with a concentrated, pulsing Shadow Energy—the vital life force that fueled every technique.
"Hang in there, Argen," Haruto commanded, his voice tight with focus.
"I... It's no use..." Argen rasped, his vision beginning to fade into gray. "I won't survive this... my spine... my hands..." He coughed again, the sound bubbling in his throat.
"Shut up and let me do my work!" Haruto snapped, sweat dripping from his forehead as he poured his energy into the Argen's broken body, desperately trying to knit bone and sinew back together.
Above them, the air was screaming. Kael and the guard had collided again, moving at speeds that defied physics. They were two blurs of emerald and obsidian, clashing so rapidly that the sound of their strikes merged into a single, continuous roar of thunder.
The guard, forced into a desperate defensive stance, raised his massive forearms to block a relentless barrage of Kael's punches. Even in his frenzied Stage-2 state, he was struggling to keep up.
"You really are something," the guard spat, his grin twisted by the blood leaking from his mouth.
The guard leaped backward, his feet skidding across the dirt as he sought a moment of breathing room. Kael didn't give it to him. Instead of a direct strike, Kael lunged forward and slammed his shadow-charged fist directly into the earth.
BOOM!
A massive eruption of dark energy detonated from the point of impact. The ground buckled, sending a shockwave that lifted the guard off his feet and hurled him backward. The beast snarled, digging his obsidian nails into the soil, dragging them like anchors to arrest his momentum.
"Shadow energy control this precise..." the guard rasped, his eyes fixed on the crater Kael had just created. "I see... you must be an S-Rank, aren't you?"
Kael stood amidst the settling dust, his chest heaving. A few strands of hair fell over his eyes as he took a sharp breath. "So what?" he countered, his voice dripping with icy indifference.
The guard began to rise, but instead of staying on the ground, he drifted upward, hovering in mid-air. "Well then..." he chuckled, a sound like grinding stones. "Let's show you what a real shadow technique looks like."
He brought his hands together, his palms locking as his massive frame began to pulsate with a sickly, iridescent green shadow energy. The light became so intense it felt like it was burning the very air around him.
The guard's smile widened into something truly inhuman. "MIRROR BURIAL!"
In a flash of emerald light, the sky above the clearing fractured. Thousands of crystalline mirrors materialized out of thin air, suspended in a massive, shimmering sphere that completely surrounded Kael. Each mirror turned, angling its surface toward Kael, and began to glow with a haunting, emerald radiance.
Kael's eyes darted across the shimmering cage. He blurred in a dash, attempting to break the perimeter before the formation stabilized, but more mirrors materialized instantly, snapping together like the teeth of a trap. He was locked in—a lone shadow in a house of emerald glass.
On the ground, Argen's breathing turned into a shallow, wet rattle. He gripped Tatsuya's sleeve with his remaining strength. "Go!… help Kael..." he wheezed, another spray of blood hitting the dirt. "Or he'll die."
"Keep your mouth shut!" Haruto barked, his hands trembling as he poured every drop of his remaining shadow energy into Argen's chest.
"G... Go!! Both of you," Argen whispered, his voice fading into a ghost of a sound. Slowly, his fingers lost their grip on Tatsuya's arm. His head lolled to the side, and his eyes drifted shut.
"Hey… Hey!!" Haruto screamed, shaking the Argen's holders. The golden light of the healing energy flickered and died. Haruto pressed two fingers to Argen's neck, waiting... praying.
Nothing.
Haruto's face crumpled. He stood up slowly, grabbing Tatsuya's arm, his voice thick with a grief he couldn't hide. "Let's go… he's dead."
High above, the guard ignored the tragedy below. He looked down at the trapped Commander, his face twisted in a mask of triumph. "Are you ready to die… bastard!"
Kael didn't answer. He lunged at the nearest mirror, his fist wreathed in a massive concentration of black shadow energy. He struck the glass with enough force to shatter a mountain.
CRACK—!
But the mirror didn't break. Instead, the surface rippled, and the entire momentum of the blow reversed. The impact surged back through Kael's arm, throwing him backward with the force of his own S-Rank strength. He slammed violently into the mirror directly behind him, the rebound leaving him gasping for air.
Kael stood in the center of the crystalline prison, his breath ragged. Everywhere he looked, he saw thousands of reflections of his own battered face. There was no gap, no seam, and no exit. The Mirror Burial was a perfect, sealed tomb of emerald light.
"Damn it," Kael hissed, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword.
Above the structure, the guard hovered like a vengeful god. The green blood leaking from his eyes was now a steady stream, soaking into his fur. He knew his time was running out.
"Enough fun... let's finish it," the guard growled. He extended his right palm toward the cage, his aura flaring to its absolute limit. "REFLECTED DEATH!!"
The command triggered a cataclysm. Every single one of the thousand mirrors ignited with a dark, toxic green glow. Simultaneously, a lethal laser beam erupted from every surface, all converging on a single point: Kael Noctis.
Kael stood still as the world turned green. He closed his eyes, his silhouette swallowed by the blinding convergence of energy.
BOOM!
A gargantuan explosion ripped through the clearing. The force was so immense that the mirrors shattered into a million microscopic shards of dust. A thick, suffocating cloud of smoke and shadow energy expanded, masking everything within the crater.
The guard plummeted from the sky, his transformation finally buckling under the strain. He hit the ground hard, coughing up thick, clotted blood as his massive size began to fluctuate. He forced himself to his feet, his legs shaking like dry twigs.
"I barely have a few minutes left," he rasped, staring into the smoke.
The scene shifts away from the carnage of the western route, back to the shadows of the main entrance. Tucked behind thick trunks and tall, swaying grass, the rest of the strike force waited in an agonizing silence.
Toji slammed his fist into the dirt, his patience finally snapping. "Why are they taking so much time to complete a single, simple task?" he hissed, his eyes darting toward the darkness of the trees. "It's a infiltration, not a damn marathon."
Soichiro stood motionless, his gaze fixed toward the western horizon. His jaw tightened until the muscles throbbed. "Are they in trouble?" he asked, his voice low and heavy with a growing dread.
"No way!" Toji snapped, his tone sharp with denial. "Kazaim doesn't have hunters strong enough to face someone like Argen—let alone a Commander like Kael."
High above, the fireworks continued to bloom, their festive light mocking the tension on the ground. Red, blue, and gold sparks showered the sky, momentarily illuminating the anxious faces of the warriors.
Then, the world changed.
A roar louder than any firework tore through the air. A massive explosion detonated from the western route, and a pillar of green and black energy briefly touched the clouds. The earth beneath them didn't just tremble—it buckled. The shockwave slammed into the main gate area, causing the warriors to stumble.
"What's that! What the fuck!" the warriors shouted, drawing their weapons as they stared at the horizon.
The blast from the guard's "Reflected Death" was visible even from their distance, a haunting emerald mushroom cloud rising over the trees. The sheer power of the impact had shaken the very foundations of the land.
Soichiro's eyes widened as he felt the residual pressure.
Soichiro's eyes widened to the point of breaking as he stared at the dissipating green light on the horizon. He felt the cold, lingering vibration of the energy in his very marrow.
"This shadow energy!..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "I've faced this technique before."
Toji and the others stood frozen, the shockwave still ringing in their ears. Toji's aggressive bravado had vanished, replaced by a pale, hollow mask of realization. "Isn't it... the Reflected Death?"
Soichiro nodded slowly, his face grim. That technique was a legendary executioner's move—one that left nothing behind but dust.
Suddenly, the festive atmosphere of the night was shattered. The rhythmic, joyous thuds of the fireworks were drowned out by a new sound: a piercing, mechanical scream that tore through the air. The alarm bells of Kazaim. One by one, towers across the city ignited with red signal fires, and the sirens wailed in a deafening, synchronized chorus.
Toji's knees buckled as tears welled up in his eyes, reflecting the crimson alarm lights. "This... this can't be happening," he choked out.
One of the warriors behind them sank to his knees, his weapon clattering to the dirt in a gesture of total hopelessness. "Our plan is ruined," he muttered. "They know we're here. They know everything."
[SCENE SHIFTS: THE MARRIAGE HALL]
Inside the grand hall, the air had been thick with the scent of expensive wine and the sounds of laughter. The elite of Kazaim were toasted to a new union, unaware of the blood being spilled in the forest.
Then, the floor groaned.
The massive chandeliers overhead swayed violently, their crystal prisms chiming a frantic tune. The wine in the glasses rippled as the ground shook from the distant blast. A heartbeat later, the music died instantly as the wail of the alarm bells penetrated the thick stone walls.
The smiles on the guests' faces froze. Silence fell over the room—a heavy, suffocating silence that was broken only by the frantic ringing of the fort's bells.
The elegance of the wedding was instantly replaced by a wave of pure, unfiltered panic. The nobles, who moments ago were boasting of their wealth, were now trembling, their expensive silks rustling as they huddled together.
"What... what is happening?" someone shrieked.
The King slammed his hands onto the banquet table, the wood groaning under his strength as he stood. "Calm down everybody... Calm down... please!" he roared, his voice cutting through the hysteria, though his own eyes betrayed a flicker of sharp concern.
The heavy oak doors of the hall burst open. Eight guards in full ceremonial armor rushed in, their formation messy and their breaths coming in ragged gasps. The lead guard skidded to a halt, his helmet slightly askew.
"My lord..." the guard panted, his face pale with sweat. "We're being attacked at the western route! The outer perimeter has been breached!"
At the center of the hall, Zafira's bouquet slipped through her fingers, petals scattering across the floor. She turned to the man beside her, her voice small and trembling. "Luke... what's happening?"
Luke didn't hesitate. He reached out and grabbed her hand, his grip firm and grounding. He leaned in, staring directly into her eyes with a focused intensity. "Don't worry... It'll be okay," he promised, though his gaze flickered toward the closed doors with the instinct of a fighter.
The King didn't waste another second. He turned to his advisors, his voice booming with the authority of a sovereign. "I want 200 hunters in this Hall right now! Form a defensive perimeter! And move every other available hunter to the western gate—crush whoever dared to step onto our soil!"
"Yes, my lord!" The guards saluted and retreated, their boots thundering against the stone as they raced to mobilize the city's forces.
"Close the gates of the hall!" the King commanded.
Luke's aura shifted instantly. The gentle groom vanished, replaced by a commander of iron. He turned his gaze toward a specific group of elite men standing among the guests, their formal attire unable to hide the lethal posture of seasoned killers.
"Hunters!! Move to the gate of the hall, fast!" Luke barked.
To the shock of the trembling nobles, twenty men stepped forward. These were not mere bodyguards; they were 20 S-Rank Hunters, the pinnacle of the strength of kingdom of justice . They moved with terrifying synchronicity, reaching the massive doors in seconds. They slammed the door and stood in a rigid, unbreakable line, their presence radiating a suffocating pressure.
The blue energy around Luke didn't dissipate; instead, it began to thread upward like thin, glowing wires, connecting every hunter in the kingdom. His eyes glowed with the same cerulean light as he channeled all his shadow energy into a wide connection.
"If the attackers are warriors, then we can't do anything alone..." Luke stated, his voice echoing with a magical resonance. "We would need help."
Using the blue shadow energy as a conductor, Luke linked his consciousness to the communication crystals held by every high-ranking hunter across the Kingdom. His voice projected into their minds simultaneously:
"It's an emergency call. Kazaim is being attacked... we need support right now. Every available unit, converge on the capital immediately."
One of the palace guards, standing near the S-Rank line, looked at Luke with a confused expression. "But Lord Luke... we have more than 1,500 hunters stationed within the fort walls.Why do we need outside help? Intelligence says there are only 124 warriors remaining in the resistance... they are nothing in front of us."
Luke stopped his hand signs and looked at the guard. A thin, grim smile played on his lips.
"Are you out of your mind?" Luke asked quietly. "I think you haven't heard about the Cinder Sovereign and Soichiro Matsuda."
A collective gasp went through the older nobles who recognized those names.
"If those two are here," Luke continued, his gaze hardening, "then they are enough to destroy Kazaim alone. Numbers mean nothing to men who can turn a city into an ash heap in a single night."
The scene shifts deep into the Blackwood Forest, miles away from the capital. The rhythmic thunder of hundreds of hooves shatters the silence of the woods. Mizoro, his cape billowing like a shadow behind him, leads a specialized unit of elite riders. They are a blur of steel and dark leather moving through the moonlight.
"We're about to reach the location," Mizoro shouted over the wind, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
"Yes, Lord!" a Z-Rank hunter replied, leaning low over his horse's mane to maintain their grueling pace.
Suddenly, the horses whinnied in distress, their ears pinning back as a strange, static-like hum filled the air. Every hunter in the unit felt a sharp, cold prickle at the base of their skulls—the unmistakable sensation of a high-level mental intrusion.
"Lord! Someone is trying to connect to us!" a hunter yelled, clutching his head as his shadow energy flared in a defensive reflex.
Then, the cerulean-blue resonance of Luke's voice exploded in their minds, clear as a bell:
"It's an emergency call... Kazaim is being attacked... we need support right now."
Mizoro's eyes widened, the pupils shrinking to pinpricks. The shock was so physical it nearly unseated him. "What!"
He didn't hesitate for a single heartbeat. With a violent tug on the reins, he forced his horse into a sharp, sliding turn that kicked up a massive cloud of pine needles and dirt.
"Change of plans!" Mizoro roared, his voice filled with a new, desperate urgency.
Mizoro leaned forward, his face twisting into a mask of cold fury. "Today is the Princess's marriage..." he hissed through gritted teeth. "Damn these bastards. They chose the one night we were supposed to be celebrating."
Then, a dark, jagged smile spread across his lips. It wasn't the smile of a worried man, but that of a butcher who had just found more cattle. "Whatever! It doesn't matter. This will be their last night on this earth."
[SCENE SHIFTS: THE WESTERN ROUTE]
Back at the epicenter of the destruction, the green-haired guard limped through the roiling clouds of soot. His transformation was fading, his skin pale and leaking steam. He peered into the gray haze, expecting to see nothing but a charred crater and the scattered remains of his enemies.
The smoke began to thin, swirling in the wind.
Deep within the haze, something caught the light. It wasn't the green of his mirrors or the red of the fires. It was a rhythmic, obsidian-black shine.
The guard skidded to a halt, his lungs burning. "What's that...?" he whispered, squinting to analyze the silhouette through the shifting vapor.
The smoke finally cleared.
The guard's jaw dropped. His eyes widened until the veins looked ready to burst. "What the hell!!!!!"
Standing at the center of the devastation was Tatsuya, his arms crossed and his gaze sharp. He stood firmly in front of a kneeling Kael. Hovering in the air around them was the source of the shine: six hexagonal shields made of dense, crystallized shadow energy.
The shields formed a perfect geometric barrier, humming with a frequency that nullified the surrounding heat. Despite the ground around them being pulverized into a deep, cracked canyon, there wasn't a single scratch on Tatsuya's clothes or Kael' body. The Reflected Death had been completely, utterly neutralized.
The guard's psyche finally fractured. Seeing his ultimate technique—the move that had cost him his very life force—nullified so effortlessly was too much to bear.
"GIVE UP ALREADY!!!" he screamed, his voice cracking as he lunged forward with trembling, blood-soaked claws.
Behind the obsidian shields, Kael slowly stood up. He wiped a smear of blood from his lip, his eyes glowing with a terrifying, calm intensity. "Tatsuya..." he said, his voice low and resonant. "Move away. You won't be able to handle what's about to happen."
Tatsuya didn't hesitate. He knew that tone. Without a single word, he gave a short nod, and in a flicker of displacement, he teleported out of the blast zone, vanishing into the treeline.
Kael began to walk toward the guard. Each step was slow, deliberate, and heavy with a presence that seemed to make the very air solidify. He looked directly into the guard's panicked eyes and let out a short, mocking laugh.
"That's what you call a shadow energy technique?" Kael asked, his smile cutting like a razor through the dark. "Weak. Pathetic. An insult to the night."
Kael stopped a few paces away. "Well then... let me show you the difference between playing with shadows and ruling them."
Kael knelt on one knee in the center of the cracked earth. He raised his right palm toward the pale moon hanging in the sky, and with his left hand, he drove his jet-black sword deep into the ground.
SHINK—!
The moment the blade pierced the soil, a perfect circle of abyssal shadow energy erupted around him. It wasn't flat; it was a void, a hole in reality that began to drink the light from the surrounding fires.
The guard froze, his instincts screaming at him to run, but his legs felt like they were rooted in lead. "What the—?!" he stammered, his eyes darting to the black ring that was rapidly expanding. "What is this?!"
The air didn't just grow cold; it became a vacuum.
Kael's body began to release an ocean of shadow energy, thick and viscous like liquid obsidian. It poured out of him in rhythmic pulses, each wave vibrating with a frequency that silenced the wind and the distant alarms. The black circle at his feet didn't stop—it expanded, devouring the green reflections of the guard's shattered mirrors and turning the very soil into a pitch-black abyss.
The guard's legs began to tremble uncontrollably. He tried to take a step back, but the gravity of the energy pinned him in place. "This shadow energy!?" he gasped, his voice barely a whisper. "It's not just dense... it's... it's suffocating the world."
Kael's face was a mask of absolute serenity amidst the storm of darkness. He slowly closed his eyes, his voice dropping into a deep, guttural tone that seemed to vibrate from the earth itself.
"Absolute Authority!!..."
The shadows for miles around suddenly stood still. The trees stopped swaying. The flickering fires froze. Every existing shadow in the western route suddenly detached from its source, rising like a wall of soldiers answering a king's call.
"UMBRAL DOMINION."
To Be Continued...